Are you looking to travel somewhere that has great weather and a thriving art scene? Then look no further as Los Angeles, CA could be your next destination. LA is a multi cultural city that has a plethora of both street and museum art. In fact, LA was dubbed the "mural capital of the world" in the 1960's. Art in LA is very diverse and includes many prominent street murals by famous street artists like Shepard Fairey to museums such as the Getty and the LA Museum of Art with everything in between.
Street Murals
Art in LA encompasses many popular street art exhibits like the 2008 Obama poster, West Holly Wood Library, and the Graph Aids Art Supply Store. Even though LA has a thriving street scene, it wasn't any easy path to achieve this status. For example, many artists have been arrested for vandalism and officials have fought against illegal painting. The main reason behind this is that the local police wanted to remove gang related pieces. It made sense these officials wanted to crack down on vandalism, because there are more than 450 gangs in LA. However, these authorities need to distinguish between gang related destruction and beneficial works of art.
Shepard Fairey is a popular street artist and is known for the famous 2008 Obama “Hope” campaign poster along with the OBEY clothing brand. Despite this, Mr. Fairey has been arrested for vandalism. Shepard describes street art as a big adrenaline rush, especially during his youth. Shepard's work can be found throughout LA with some pieces being featured in museums like the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
As mentioned above, Mr. Shepard describes street art as thrilling and has inspired other artists such as WRDSMTH. In fact, Mr. WRDSMTH learned his style by watching videos about Shepard Fairley. He also learned some ways to create "illegal" art work during the day. WRDSMTH has used tricks, such as painting during the day while wearing a hard hat and construction vest, which draws less public attention. Roughly 75% of WRDSMTH’s “illegal” art is created during the day, but its useful to have a lookout, who is typically another artist friend.
Luckily, in August 2013, art in LA was going through many positive reforms. The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles convinced the LA City Council to lift a ban on murals, which proved to be a positive turning point for many artists. However, artists that were attracted to the thrill of illegal art weren't as impacted by this rule. The rise of social media and documentaries especially Exit Through the Gift Shop, has elevated street art's status in pop culture. This elevated status has enabled popular businesses like The Line Hotel, to hire street artists to add life to their buildings.
Below you can learn about two popular street paintings!
RETNA
Building: West Hollywood Library
Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood
The West Hollywood Library opened in October 2011, Jeffrey Dietch, the then MOCA director, thought the new structure needed some authentic decoration. Due to this, he hired notable artists including Shepard Fairey, RETNA and Kenny Scharf, to create this unique mural. This mural also includes a peace dove next to an elephant, RETNA’s signature penmanship, and a variety of cartoon-esqe characters from Scharf.
El Mac & RETNA
Location: Graphaids Art Supply Store
Address: 3030 La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles
Ride around town and you'll likely see vivid images that were created by El Mac and RETNA. This specific work uses Retna's designs and El Mac's figures to form portraits of people of varying socioeconomic levels.
Per El Mac “This mural was inspired by the time we spent in Skid Row painting our previous mural together." The figure is inspired by a man named Ralph, also know as Chato, who gave El Mac and RETNA inspirational quotes about redemption. This inspired the duo to draw the quote, "So today I’m trying to change a few things to rectify the situation of my past." This duo likes to use art to move past tough times and look towards a brighter future.
J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
This museum houses a variety of art work from European, Asian to Indian exhibits. Today, the Monsoon: Indian Paintings of the Rainy Season exhibit is dedicated to the culture of India. The exhibit reflects India's unique weather patterns, especially monsoons and their impact on the culture. India's diverse weather has influenced many of its religions like Hinduism, which can be seen through many art forms.
The Pavilion for Japanese Art focuses on the eastern side of Asia, specifically Japan. This building contains a range of Japanese art forms that go back to roughly 3,000 B.C to the 20th century. Currently, there's a special exhibit to honor the 25th anniversary of the Pavilion, which was designed by famous architect, Bruce Goff. Goff designed this space to meet the specific viewing standards of traditional Japanese hanging scrolls and screens. Thus, each art piece is exposed to natural daylight and has its own alcove or tokonoma.
Art in LA has a unique history and includes all types of street and museum art. Street art has become more accepted and its' museums are world renown for their art collections. Is this list missing other great pieces of art in LA? Please tell us below!