A coverup? Not so fast

What these two works by Los Angeles muralists have in common is that they are gone -- painted over recently within days of each other.

Both artists say they keenly feel the loss, but their circumstances differ in a key aspect that may have legal ramifications: One was given notice in January that his work would be painted over; the other, by all accounts, received not one word.

Kent Twitchell's "Ed Ruscha Monument," a portrait of fellow artist Ruscha that took Twitchell nine years to complete, was covered with beige paint two weeks ago without apparent warning to the artist.

At the time the painting took place, the facade of the building at 1031 S. Hill St. was undergoing repairs.

The U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees the Job Corps and the federal government-owned property, has declined to comment, except for a statement issued by spokesman David James: "The L.A. Job Corps Center's first concern is the safety of Job Corps students and staff. For that reason, they made the decision to repair a potential safety hazard posed by the condition of the building facade. We are in the process of assessing how the repair was handled in light of these concerns." A few days earlier and with virtually no media attention, Ricardo Mendoza's untitled work at 3531 W. Sunset Blvd. was given a coat of brown paint at the behest of the building's tenant, Living Room. The furniture store had moved three months ago into what had earlier been the field offices of L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti.

The owners of the shop, Steve and Alisa Melendrez, say the mural did not match their merchandise and that patrons didn't realize a new business had moved in because the building still looked the same. Mendoza calls it "hurtful" to see his mural obscured from public view. He adds that he did not have the money to pay for its removal from the wall -- which is possible with proper conservation techniques.

But because he had sufficient notice, the artist pulled together a group of supporters. They included staffers of state Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles), who once had occupied the building as a City Council member, and Garcetti, as well as the nonprofit Hollywood Beautification Team. With the cooperation of the tenant, they brought in conservationist Nathan Zackheim to oversee having the mural coated with a substance that preserves the artwork under the paint.