Mailbag: Tilly’s mural is the kind of thing we need in Irvine

I want to add my comments to what I read in the Weekend opinion section on Dec 20 regarding the Tilly’s mural and the art work of Zio Ziegler (“Tilly’s mural spurs debate about art,” Dec. 13).

I just cannot see what benefit the Irvine Planning Commission sees in removing the mural from the Tilly’s building. Is it because if we let Tilly’s have artwork, everyone else will want to do something similar? I say let them. It’s an expression of art in a world of boring commercial buildings.

If we had more of this expression in Irvine, it would be a more colorful place. Or do we want what Will Ferrell told Parade magazine about Irvine, his childhood home? Parade, in its most recent edition, said the actor described Irvine as a place about as dull as Andy Griffith’s fictional TV haven of Mayberry.

Tilly’s is the kind of expression we need, not what we see on the I-5 in the City of Commerce at the Citadel Outlets shopping center. Its huge, community-destroying LED billboards are so bright and distracting that they present a danger for drivers on many nights.

Will Irvine city officials enforce their vision of artistic expression or can we remain the city of the future?

I think we need to take a hard look at the reason behind Irvine’s decision in this matter.

Elgin Deighton

Irvine