Art in the heart of Hollywood is causing a stir.
A noted South Florida artist known as Lebo painted a giant mural on the side of a bland yellow wall on historic Young Circle.
A least one city commissioner thinks it's junking up the neighborhood.
"We are not the urbanism that Wynwood is," said Commissioner Patricia Asseff. "This is a seaside community, it may not be collectively what we wanted."
Famed Graffiti Artist Futura: “Wynwood is Miami’s Brooklyn”
The artist doesn't care what the commissioner thinks.
"Part of what makes art art is people discussing it and people being moved by it," Lebo said. "They don't have to be moved by it in a positive way."
Lebo is from South Florida and has painted murals all over the world.
Mural Honors Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad
Hollywood officials invited Lebo to paint the wall and paid him $1,000 for his talents.
Lebo presented commissioners a rendition of what he envisioned. He admits he strayed a bit from the original idea, but the theme, he says, is what he promised.
"The aesthetic part of it, to me, they should not really have a say in that either way because that is really more of what you hire an artist to do especially on a project like that that's a mural project," Lebo said.
Latino Artist Trek6 Talks Growing Up in Miami
The $1,000 doesn't come close to covering Lebo's costs and he says money for the project came out of his pocket.
He says the criticism doesn't bother him, as he knows art is in the eye of the beholder.
"The fact that they did not pay for it and they actually don't have any stake in my future or my career whatsoever is what kind of makes me laugh about it," Lebo said.
More Local Stories:
- IKEA Breaks Ground on First Miami-Dade Store in Sweetwater
- Authorities Find Stolen Boat Worth $180K Pulled Along I-95
- Arredondo Recounts Man's Rescue After Boston Bombing
Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida