Gabriel Villa

Gabriel Villa (born in El Paso, Texas), is a Chicago-based artist and muralist. Villa arrived in Chicago in the late 1990s. Observations of his neighborhood had a profound visual and conceptual impact on the evolution of his work. Subjects such as public housing, surveillance, the marginalized, gang culture, family, religion and most recently gentrification/displacement all begin to morph and weave into broader ideas.

2009 mural censorship controversy

In May 2009, he was commissioned to paint a mural on private property in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood depicting three Chicago Police Department public surveillance cameras that carried the CPD logo along with other images, like a crucified Christ, a deer head and a skull.^[1] The mural was painted over completely by the Graffiti Blasters^[2][3] at the behest of 11th ward Alderman James Balcer, who said about the mural, "My main concern is the safety and well-being for the people in this community. We have gang violence and children getting shot, and I believed that the mural sent the wrong message."^[4] The incident sparked a local controversy over censorship, surveillance and private property.^[5][6]

See also

• Operation Virtual Shield