Mike Rich, left, and Tim Clorius painted over slurs that defaced the murals along the alley that runs behind the Lancaster Building in Portland. Rich said, “I definitely don’t tolerate anyone vandalizing things I paint and I definitely do not tolerate words of hate.” Michele McDonald/Staff Photographer
Two local artists spent Friday evening painting over vandalism of murals behind the Lancaster Building at 50 Monument Square and that they said included slurs against gay people and Black people.
Portland artist Mike Rich, who has been curating the wall behind the concert and event space Aura for years, said he noticed earlier in the day that someone had splattered paint and written hate language on the art in the alleyway, which includes a Black Lives Matter mural and another mural that says, “Let Equality Shine” with a rainbow and sun.
Rich and fellow artist Tim Clorius of Brunswick decided to paint over the vandalism on the wall closest to Aura on Friday night. Rich painted a mermaid coming out of an underwater scene. “I definitely don’t tolerate anyone vandalizing things I paint and I definitely do not tolerate words of hate,” Rich said.
Mike Rich examines his work Friday evening. Behind him is another wall with a mural that was defaced with pink/flesh colored blotches. Slurs were painted over or power washed off earlier in the day. Michele McDonald/Staff Photographer
Clorius said he was in Portland Friday to paint a different mural when he noticed the vandalism.
“We just grabbed whatever paint we had around and were figuring out, ‘How can we do this quick and without the materials it would normally take?'” Clorius said. “It was just kind of freestyling a little bit to make something nice and clean.”
Portland police spokesman David Singer said Saturday that police are investigating a report of vandalism and expect to have more information next week.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
