Tagger trashes amazing Dunbar/Spring mural

I'm sad to tell you that one of Tucson's most magnificent murals has been tagged. The mural covers much of the block of 9th Avenue south of University in the art-filled Dunbar/Spring neighborhood. I noticed the damage on April 25th, but I'd forgotten to post it until now. (Maybe I wanted to forget this awful vandalism.)

Let's start with the photo from 9th & University on the May 25, 2008 entry:


Now for a view of the same spot from the opposite side, then a close-up of the lovely tag:

I know that the city hires a contractor to erase tags on places like the blank walls along Aviation Bikeway. But how to erase a tag on a work of art like this? I'm afraid to try to contact artist Susan Kay Johnson — who lives nearby — because I'd guess this destruction makes her even more sad (and furious) than I am.