"The mystery artist who created the much-loved surfing Madonna mosaic in Encinitas came forward Wednesday after weeks of silence and accepted responsibility for his rogue public art piece.
Longtime Leucadia resident Mark Patterson, 58, notified the city through an attorney late Wednesday afternoon that he had created the piece, which appeared on a railroad bridge support along Encinitas Boulevard in late April.
After his attorney contacted City Hall, Patterson told the North County Times in a telephone interview that he never expected his 10-by-10-foot mosaic would attract national and even international media attention, and hadn't known quite how to handle the situation.
"I'm not used to this kind of attention," the former software company employee said.
Patterson said he quit his job so he could work full-time to bring the piece to life. He said he decided to create the 10-by-10-foot mosaic to send people a message about why they should protect the ocean. His piece depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe as a surfer, and down one side of the mosaic are the words, "Save the Ocean."
A Leucadia resident since 1983, Patterson said he decided to accept responsibility for the piece Wednesday because he was worried about its future and because he thought a city-hired art consulting company had discovered his identity Tuesday morning when they investigated whether the piece could be removed without harming it.
"I figured it's time to take the heat and go to jail or whatever," he said, adding that the city isn't very happy with him because he installed the mosaic on public property.
Three people with the Los Angeles-based Sculpture Conservation Studio discovered the words "Ark" and "Patterson" written in marker on the very upper edge of the piece during an investigation Tuesday morning. At first they said someone named Mark Patterson could be the artist, but they took another look and had second thoughts, saying the letters could have been written after the piece went up.
City officials were saying little Wednesday about their contact with the artist's attorney. They made a brief announcement at the start of the evening's City Council meeting, saying that an attorney for the person who created the mosaic had contacted them and they were in "discussions" about the work. They didn't give the name of the person.
"More to come, but not tonight ---- it's not on our agenda," Mayor James Bond said, adding to the TV cameras in the council chambers, "we probably won't be much of a good media show."
Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan said she knew the item wasn't on the agenda, but asked if the city could confirm for the many mosaic supporters that the piece wasn't about to be immediately destroyed. Bond said the council couldn't discuss the issue at this point.
The mosaic has drawn wide-spread media attention ever since appeared just before Easter on a railroad bridge support wall along Encinitas Boulevard between Vulcan Avenue and Coast Highway 101. Mock "construction" workers installed the piece during daylight hours, fooling many passersby into thinking it was an city-supported project.
Tourists and local residents have snapped many photographs of mosaic in the weeks since its installation and supporters have campaigned for it to remain in place.
City officials have said that the piece may be beautiful, but it wasn't an approved public art project and must come down. Among other issues, concerns have been raised about having a religious art project on public property.
Typically, when city officials discover "graffiti" as they have labeled this project, it is immediately removed. The mosaic, however, has escaped this fate so far.
In mid May, the City Council agreed to spend up to $2,000 for consultants investigate whether the city can remove the piece without harming it. There's been talk of giving it away, if it can be easily removed.
Three people with the Sculpture Conservation Studio company tested various removal techniques Tuesday morning, including heated saws and chemical products. They concluded that the removal prospects looked very poor, saying the piece was both bolted and glued to the wall. Removing it without destroying may be impossible, they said."
If you haven't seen it yet, take a look before it's gone...
