Art defaced in possible hate crime
Mill Valley police were looking for a vandal with a can of spray paint who defaced the social justice art work in front of Tamalpais High School.
Police said in a statement that they were “treating this incident as a hate crime” and added that they were seeking the public’s help in identifying the person who defaced the sculpture.
In a grainy video from a surveillance camera that was posted online, a man in dark clothing holding a lightcolored bag can be seen spraying paint on the art work, titled “Perspectives: Past, Present and Future.”
The artwork by sculptor Zoe Frey consists of three colorful freestanding doors. On the city recreation department website, the work is described as a “community art project” in which the doors “serve as a blank canvas for community participation.”
The vandal used spray paint to cover up the words “Black Lives Matter” and “Equity” on two of the doors, according to Sgt. Shaun McCracken.
“Any time someone targets a piece of art promoting the message this one is promoting, we obviously take it very seriously,” McCracken said. “This seems targeted at a certain group in our community. That’s why we are treating it as a hate crime.”
The art was installed last summer in the downtown plaza and was moved months ago to the sidewalk on Miller Avenue in front of the school.
The vandalism appears to have been committed on July 20 at 11 p.m. but police only obtained the video footage in recent days, McCracken said.
Anyone with information should call McCracken at 4153894228.