Artist promises to restore downtown LA mural of Kobe and Gigi Bryant
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By Jasmine Viel
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LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — After someone vandalized it this week, artist Sloe Motion promised to restore one of the first murals of Kobe and Gigi Bryant.
“This was the first mural I ever did for Kobe,” he said.
The mural was located at 1361 South Main Street in downtown Los Angeles. Sloe Motion’s work of art depicted a touching image of the legendary laker kissing his daughter, Gigi. He decided to paint the mural shortly after Kobe, Gigi and seven others died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. He went on to paint dozens more, but it was his first that gave him the opportunity to meet Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, two years later.
“This is Los Angeles,” Bryant said in a commercial for Super Bowl LVI while parked in front of the mural. “The city of angels. Where iconic teams, where iconic moments and where icons have etched their place in the storybook of history. Where nothing is impossible without a lot of hard work and a little imagination.”
Now, it’s a blank, black wall after someone spray-painted graffiti over their faces.
“We didn’t want that disrespect to LA right here and for people to see that, especially Vanessa,” Sloe Motion said. “Kobe has brought nothing but light and insight and inspiration to the youth.”
The vandalism struck a chord with longtime LA Lakers fan Nathan Gibbs, who passed the mural every day.
“I am very hurt and disappointed for the simple fact that Kobe Bryant built this city,” he said.
Sloe Motion immediately started an online fundraiser to restore it. It quickly caught the attention of Lakers star Luka Dončić, who donated $5,000, the fundraising goal Sloe Motion set for the restoration project.
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