A Venice Mural By Francisco Letelier

"A 10' x 10' cloth mural, stretched on plumbing pipe, featuring the Venice Ballerina Clown with tattoos on his arms representing homeless victims of violence this summer in Venice, homeless people at the top background, people taking selfies near a sign that says "STOP calling it Silicon Beach," drawings by evicted Venice artist William Attaway in the lower right corner and an artist working on a chalk mandala, which was also happening at the Abbot Kinney Festival" ... so read the description of the new mural by Francisco Letelier on his Facebook page. I went to go meet this mural yesterday, and instantly loved it, of course.

In a tribute to the Venice ballerina clown on Main Street by artist Jonathan Borofsky, Letelier created this miracle for this year's Abbot Kinney Festival, and it now lives on Broadway between Electric and Abbot Kinney. In describing his inspiration for the piece, Letelier wrote, "He escaped off the building at Rose and Main. Found him in my backyard smoking and drinking with possums, squirrels and emaciated racoons. He smelled like coyote and history. He never stopped smiling sadly. I told him I thought he was dead. " I never died" said he, "I never died." Just cause my tutu is a bit crooked and the man is selling like he always been selling. I am in the sidewalk cracks, I am in the mortar. I will always rise again, so take a picture man cause I got things to do and places I gotta be."

Us too, Ballerina Clown. Us too. 

Letelier is one of my favorite Venice artists and people, both making beautiful work and well taken points in all his work and activism, my favorite kind of art - art with a purpose.

Make a visit of your own to the "Payaso Veniztlan" with its tutu fluttering in the breeze ... and get it.