The ''Pink Lady'' was a short-lived

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

on a rock face near

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...

in 1966. The painting was created by Lynne Seemayer (1936-2017), a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals i ...

from

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the comm ...

, and depicted a 60-foot (18m) tall,

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

in a

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

position.

History

The painting was located on the rock face above the southern entrance of the tunnel on Malibu Canyon Road near Malibu. For some time, the rock face above the tunnel had been covered with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, which Seemayer felt was "an eyesore". Working at night, she began removing the graffiti in January 1966, using

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

s to suspend herself in front of the rock. When the rock was clean, she created the painting on the night of Friday, October 28, 1966. By November 1, the painting had begun to attract local news coverage. It was dubbed the "Pink Lady" by the media, due to the pink paint used for the skin.

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

road officials, concerned about traffic problems the painting might cause, attempted to remove it with high-pressure spray from

fire hose A fire hose (or firehose) is a high-pressure hose that carries water or other fire retardant (such as foam) to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it attaches either to a fire engine, fire hydrant, or a portable fire pump. Indoors, it can perma ...

s, and then with

paint stripper Paint stripper, or paint remover, is a chemical product designed to remove paint, finishes, and coatings, while also cleaning the underlying surface. The product's material safety data sheet provides more safety information than its product la ...

. However, Seemayer had used heavy-duty house paint for her creation, and both methods failed to remove it. When she realized that her work was in danger, Seemayer publicly admitted to creating the Pink Lady, and sought a court injunction. This failed, however, and on November 3 a road crew covered the painting with brown paint. Seemayer sued the county for $1,000,000 for the destruction of her work, and the county counter-sued for $28,000 in removal costs. Since the painting was on private property, both cases were dismissed by the court. For some time after the painting was removed, Seemayer received

hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwise ...

and

phone calls A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network between the called party and the calling party. First telephone call The first telephone call was made on March 10, 1876, by Alexander Graham Bell. Bell demonstrated his ability to "ta ...

from people who felt the work was

obscene An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...

, including threats of violence against her and her children. She also received a few offers from art galleries to show her work. The image was used as a wine label.

References

External links

* * *
"context LA"
''Covering terrain'', May 22, 2011 * *

''California State University, Dominguez Hills'' ;Location
wikimapia"placemark"
''bbs.keyhole.com'' Public art in the United States Graffiti in the United States 1966 paintings {{Public-art-stub

History

See also

References

External links