CAUTION: Intellectualoid At Work.

A Miami artist, who created a firestorm of controversy after she misspelled the names of such well-known figures as Einstein, Shakespeare and Michelangelo on a library mosaic, was back in Livermore Tuesday, correcting her mistakes.

But to make sure the new tiles would not trigger even more controversy, Assistant City Manager Jim Piper said the replacement tiles had been proofread "several times by several people."

When the mosaic was cemented into place in front of the city's new library more than a year ago, a close inspection revealed much to officials' chagrin that 11 of the 175 words or names in the $40,000 project were misspelled.
The errors touched off a dispute with the artist -- Maria Alquilar -- over correcting the mistakes. At first she said she would, but then backed out claiming the misspellings were the result of her artistic license.

Piper eventually persuaded her to rethink her decision.

"He convinced me the easiest way to lay the matter to rest is to correct it," said Alquilar at that time. "I really want people to see the work's meaning so they stop making issues of things that are unimportant."

Alquilar, who has called the mosaic's message one of "enlightenment" and pursuit of knowledge, said officials overseeing the project bore some responsibility for not catching errors before she cemented the tiles in.
The mosaic became the subject of considerable local controversy after the city acknowledged it would pay the artist $6,000 plus travel expenses to return and fix the misspellings.

But she took her time returning and eventually began the repair job quietly on Sunday -- 15 months after the artwork was originally installed. On Monday, onlookers gathered to watch her and by Tuesday, reporters began to flock to the project site.

Alquilar was selected for the project because she has created other mosaics and sculptures in California, including at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, the San Jose International Airport, and in Sacramento.