A panel mural was removed from the “Make an Image” exhibit in the pedestrian tunnel in downtown Traverse City after obscene images were found carved into it.
TRAVERSE CITY — People walking through Traverse City’s Clinch Park Tunnel under Grandview Parkway may notice something is missing.
The Downtown Development Authority has removed a mural panel of the Mazinaadin Exhibition “Make an Image” by Bobby Magee Lopez after it was discovered that the artwork had been vandalized with carvings of male genitalia, according to the Traverse City Police Department.
The damaged section was located on the southernmost slot on the eastern side of the tunnel.
City police said they were made aware of a missing mural panel and some additional graffiti early Saturday morning. The Traverse City Parks and Recreation Department submitted a second report to police on Monday around 4 p.m., a statement said.
The investigating officer determined that both of these reports were related to the vandalism, which is being investigated, police said.
The Traverse City Arts Commission board will discuss repairing the artwork at today’s monthly meeting at 3:30 p.m. in the Governmental Center.
“The panel will definitely be replaced,” Harry Burkholder, executive director of the DDA. “We really just need to discuss if we’ll be replacing more than the one panel.”
Other sections of the 19-panel mural installation have been marked with minor forms of vandalism, such as pen and pencil marks and stickers. Burkholder said that these are typically just scrubbed or scraped off.
But gouges and cuts are not so easily corrected – and the other panels have this type of permanent damage, Burkholder said. These are the sections worth considering replacing, in addition to the vandalized section, he said.
The installation is a hand-painted mural that is digitally printed onto panels. The replacements are printed by Image360 in Traverse City.
The mural depicts the artist’s interpretation of the history and culture of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians in the region. It was funded by a grant from the Grand Traverse of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians 2 percent grant program and the Traverse City Arts Commission Public Art Trust Fund.
“This exhibit is hugely popular,” Burkholder said. “It is a great collaboration between the tribe, the Arts Commission, and the city.”
“We will continue to work hard to ensure the mural is displayed and its integrity maintained,” he said.
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