A Wyland Whaling Wall is forever.
I think that “forever” phrase originated in a commercial for a diamond firm, but it definitely applies to the many murals painted by world-renowned aquatic artist Robert Wyland. He has established art galleries in beach cities all over, including a headquarters gallery in Laguna Beach and a gallery in Lahaina that was destroyed by the devastating 2023 fire.
But Wyland may best be known for his giant murals depicting ocean life – primarily whales. He began the 100 Whaling Walls project in 1981 with the goal of bringing awareness to marine life and ocean conservation, starting with a relatively undersized mural of a gray whale and her calf in Laguna Beach, where he lived at the time.
It took Wyland 26 years to finish 100 murals. One prominent art piece is at Redondo Beach, on the wall of an AES electricity generating station. The fate of that mural is uncertain – the power station shut down in 2023. Its redevelopment has been a controversy ever since, and the mural’s fate is part of the controversy.
Wyland completed the Redondo Beach mural in 1991. The next year, he visited Long Beach at the invitation of then vice mayor Jeff Kellogg, the Eighth District City Councilman. A handshake later, and planning had begun for the largest (at the time) mural in the world on the Long Beach Arena.
More about that in a bit. First I want to talk about that “forever” clause.
Wyland is known for his massive murals, including this one in Long Beach that took him six weeks and 4,000 gallons of paint to create the 3-acre canvas, a 1,280-foot long painting that reaches 105-feet tall. (Photo courtesy of Wyland Foundation)
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Wyland is known for his massive murals, including this one in Long Beach that took him six weeks and 4,000 gallons of paint to create the 3-acre canvas, a 1,280-foot long painting that reaches 105-feet tall. (Photo courtesy of Wyland Foundation)
The Wyland Forever debate got hot again last month, when someone in Dallas connected with the World Cup soccer tournament (the World Cup has games in nearby Arlington) decided it would be a great idea to have a huge mural downtown about soccer to welcome fans. And there was this big wall with an old whale mural on it, so…
Wyland fans raised a ruckus when a coat of blue paint started covering the Whaling Wall – it’s Whaling Wall 82 to be specific. Last week, Wyland filed a $25 million lawsuit against FIFA, the World Cup governing body, for painting over the work. No one even reached out before destroying his work, Wyland said.
Yes, the building is owned by someone else – the owner “donated” the wall for the Wyland mural in 1999, and was asked to donate it again for the soccer mural.
And yes, Wyland does have legal standing to protect his work. There is a 1990 federal law called the Visual Artists Rights Act that protects artwork of “recognized stature” even if someone else owns the physical artwork.
Wyland paints these giant murals by hand – along with an army of volunteers. So just “re-doing it” is not a real option. The Texas lawsuit will undoubtedly take longer to resolve than the World Cup tournament, which ends mid-July.
So let’s get back to Long Beach.
Kellogg recalls that he wanted to get the Long Beach Arena painted because the exterior was in bad shape. But the city budget also was in bad shape, and City Manager Jim Hankla said it couldn’t be done.
Kellogg is a friend of mine, and can be pretty stubborn. He was aware of Wyland’s 100 Walls project and thought it couldn’t hurt to have him visit. It turns out the round arena wall was a canvas Wyland couldn’t refuse.
There was plenty of controversy. Arts aficionados weren’t pleased with the concept. Budget hawks blocked the use of city money. But Wyland was determined, got the truckloads of paint for cost and forged ahead.
Painting was taking place during the 1992 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and immediately got national attention. It didn’t hurt when Al Unser Jr. went up on a cherry picker, paintbrush in hand.
I covered the work for the Grunion.
The Long Beach Arena is the 33rd whaling wall, and was in the Guiness Book of World Records for a number of years as the largest mural in the world.
But salt-laden sea breezes – and likely port-originated pollution – took its toll. In 2009, Wyland returned to restore the mural, and added a semi-abstract painting of the earth on the arena roof, completing “Planet Ocean.” I still have an autographed poster hanging in my garage.
Fast forward to today. While World Cup games are a couple of cities away in Inglewood, several 2028 Summer Olympic Games events are scheduled to take place in the arena’s shadow – and one sport inside, as well.
Organizers are trying hard to figure out how Long Beach can put its best foot forward for the world in just two years. But the whaling wall is, well, shabby.
Wyland is no spring chicken, and paint prices have gone through the roof. It’s unlikely another restoration is in the offing, and besides, whales aren’t exactly Olympics-inspired.
There’s no appetite at City Hall for a fight with Wyland. There are rumors of an agreement with him to leave the mural alone, but even if that doesn’t exist, it appears he has the law on his side.
The current plan is to “wrap” the arena with monster Olympics-themed banners. We’re talking about covering a wall that is 100 feet tall and 1,280 feet around, so these will be some pretty massive pieces of cloth, or whatever is used. Pricey, no doubt. But not $25 million pricey.
And what shape will the whales be in once the banners come back down, you ask?
Let’s cross that whaling wall when we get to it.