Murals of South Los Angeles - Jaylen Grace
Murals of South Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a massive and diverse city with people from all types of cultures and backgrounds. In South Los Angeles, I've seen representation for POC communities through murals spread out around neighborhoods where I grew up.
FORGIVENESS
Location: West Slauson Ave and South Hoover St, Los Angeles, 90037
Artist: Mike Norice
Theme/Background: Mike Norice, born and raised in Los Angeles created this artwork as a part of his Artfully United project, where his goal was to create pieces of artwork in low-income communities to bring forth hope and positive messages within said communities. The artwork showing a young boy spray painting bold black lettering onto a white wall, promoted bringing down gang violence amongst the youth and encourages community healing and growth. Norice stated that this was his way to give back to the community, and to give an outlet to the children.
Representation really matters in communities like this, with a higher rate of gang violence and a larger low-income community. From what I can see, this can represent a number of children and young adults who fall victim to gang culture and violence, who feel like there is no where left for them to turn. This mural shows that there is hope for the community, hope that the community can heal from the systemic misfortunes brought upon them. Whether that be racism, poverty, and violence within their community, this shows that we can rise up.
STRONG LIKE A MADRE
Artist: Lapiztola
Theme/Background: El Pollo Loco commissioned the art group Lapiztola from Oaxaca, Mexico to paint this mural in honor of all mothers and the resilience and strength that they carry; as well as paying tribute to the Hispanic heritage and the community that El Pollo Loco mostly caters to. This derives from the company's twelve $5,000 'Madreship' grants that they created in 2021 to support mothers in the Los Angeles area who have been impacted financially by the pandemic of the previous year. This piece was created using Acrylic polymer paint and aerosol enamel paint on a cinderblock wall.
Although this piece might cater to the Latino community more than what it seems, the message behind this piece is for all mothers who were/are struggling and the strength they possess to carry on. Low-income communities were severely impacted by the pandemic with job-losses and exits within the workforce, 1 million of these community members being mothers.
“Mothers are the backbone of society and they’re constantly making sacrifices and putting themselves last in order to nurture and protect others. During the pandemic, they’ve had to make even more concessions as they’ve grappled with home schooling, childcare, work and overwhelming stress,”
- El Pollo Loco President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Acoca
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Location:
St. John's Community Health center at
808 W 58th St, Los Angeles,90037Artist: Erin Yoshi, Artsbysosa (Carlos Sosa), and Theletterthi
Theme/Background: This spray painted mural is presented on the exterior of a community health center, showing an effort to integrate art within community health advocacy. The mural encompasses health and diversity within the community showing a variety of people, young and old and also a prominent figure within the transgender community, Marsha P. Johnson.
When looking at the cultural history of St. John's, it was founded as a volunteer-run clinic created to provide accessible and quality care to communities who are underserved like low-income and minority communities. Their mission was a commitment to social justice and health equity within populations who are systematically oppressed, providing a wide range of health services and even housing and legal support. Looking at this history, it can be concluded that this mural was possibly made to send the message that healthcare is a right and equal access for all populations no matter their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, or gender is important.
HEART OF HYDE PARK
Artist: Moses Ball, Dezmond Crockett, Amani Holbert
Theme/Background: This project commissioned by LA Commons with the help of Metro Art was created to celebrate the rich culture and identity of Hyde Park and to honor local activists, business owners, and residents within the community in the face of urban changes like gentrification. The project features prominent figures like the late rapper Nipsey Hustle who was tragically killed across the street from where the mural was made, and local community activist Assata Umoja. This piece was painted on metal panels that were then installed onto the exterior walls of a US Bank Building.
With the mural showing predominately black figures, some people might perceive it as a lack of representation of other cultures, but looking at the history, Hyde Park has been historically considered a predominately Black neighborhood. Keeping this in mind, it can be seen for what it is as proper representation for the majority of the residents within the community who feel connected to this culture.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The artworks in South LA show similar messages and representation in the public realm. Pieces often center around low-income communities and minorities, more frequently showing Latino and African American figures in the artwork. Culturally this makes sense, as Los Angeles has a large Latino and African American population. Public art in South LA is paid for with money from both government programs and private sources. City departments, like the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the LA County Department of Arts and Culture make rules that require new building projects to set aside a small part of their budget to fund public art. Groups of experts and community members help decide what art gets made, making sure it fits local needs and voices. Private donors and art groups also help pay for special projects; El Pollo Loco for example, privately funded/commissioned the 'Strong Like A Madre' mural.
PROPOSAL
I grew up in South LA for a large quantity of my life, I am part of the 48% of Latinos that make up Los Angeles, which is why I chose to work with this site. Growing up I've seen how this community has changed, and the impacts of social injustices faced by the people in this community. I love to see the amount of minority representation in art surrounding the community and the positive messages they display when it comes to socioeconomic status and racial justice. I dislike when people tend to tag over some artworks, and I hope that there can be something in the works to help preserve said artworks and prevent them from being vandalized, but I think that's just the circle of life when it comes to art. I hope to see more murals and other pieces being created to honor the culture of South Los Angeles as I feel like I'm seeing less and less artwork being created in this community. I also would like to see more cultures being represented as well, like Indigenous/Native American culture.
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