October 21, 2012 15:19

Elliott Smith 'Figure 8' mural renovated for ninth anniversary of the singer's death

The Los Angeles indie landmark has been revamped in tribute to the late artist

Photo: Leonie Cooper

The mural featured on the cover of singer songwriter Elliott Smith's 'Figure 8' album has been repainted for the ninth anniversary of his death.

The mural, which is in the Silver Lake neighbourhood of Los Angeles, had been badly damaged by graffiti, but was repainted yesterday (October 20) by a group called the Punk Rock Marthas.

Elliott Smith died on October 21, 2003. The mural which features on the cover of 2000's 'Figure 8' - the last album to be released in his lifetime - can be found on Sunset Boulevard, outside a shop called Solutions Audio Video Repair.

The original photo on the cover of the album was taken by US music photographer Autumn de Wilde, who has also shot The White Stripes and Beck.

The revamped mural includes Smith's lyrics featured on paper flowers on the red wavy line, maps of his former residences and paper cranes on the black lines and a number of messages from fans on the white section. The group described their additions to the mural on Twitter:

Red- every line from every song. Black- his life + 1000 paper cranes. White- fan messages from all 9 years <3 twitter.com/PunkRockMartha…
— Punk Rock Marthas (@PunkRockMarthas) October 21, 2012

Today the Punk Rock Marthas will be staging a memorial tribute and benefit for Smith. Writing on Facebook, the group said:

"On the 9th anniversary of Elliott's passing, The Punk Marthas and Malo Restaurant (the site of the Figure 8 Album cover photo) will be having live music, food, Elliott Smith swag, a silent auction and other treats to celebrate his life and raise money for Free Arts for Abused Children, which is a beneficiary to his estate that puts some love back into our local community."

In 2010, former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters apologised after graffiti artists he commissioned to promote his The Wall tour accidentally defaced the mural.

A new documentary about Elliott Smith is currently in the works. Heaven Adores You is being directed by Nickolas Rossi and, as well as looking at the life and work of Smith, will cover his impact on fans and fellow musicians since his death.

Read more about it on the film's Kickstarter page. Heaven Adores You follows 2009's Searching for Elliott Smith.

Read more about the best Elliott Smith albums here.

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