Inglewood Public Art

 Through these weeks, I have been documenting public art in my neighborhood. I feel that is is importantly to document for my own personal interest as I don’t live in the neighborhood anymore but it is still very dear to me. 

Joining the neighborhood in 2009 and seeing that so much that has changed is bitter sweet. I had overlooked the artworks on my everyday route to either the store, park as an adolescent. 

I have documentation of artworks from Inglewood parks mainly. 

Rogers Park - Wiggle Walls, Pathways to Success 

In this image, there are actually two artworks; Wiggle Walls is the foreground and Pathways to Success in the back.

Both artworks were made by Christopher Mercier with the second artwork Pathways to Success a collaboration with Adwin Babis Brown and Roger’s Park CAMP Youth  

 The thought process behind these artworks was for the community itself and, to enhance the environment of the school with a combination of urban planning and abstract with the winding walls covered with primary colors red, blue, and yellow. The project was completed in 2016 and is a collection of City of Inglewood Permanent Public Art Projects. 

Pathways to Success is a more ‘traditional’ artwork when someone thinks of public art. The mural was an 8 week process between Christopher Mercier, Adwin David Brown, and 20 youths of the Inglewood community with inspiration to lively graffiti art with the lines crossing on another with gears and words on the words also overlapping giving an abstract look as well complementing the Wiggle Walls.

 

Darby Park - On Your Mark

This artwork was completed by children and adults with physical and or mental disabilities from the community with supervision from artist Lucy Blake-Elahi. Elahi’s process for this project was something  that could be completed that played  into their strengths and something that she noticed was they were proficient in line work. The ceramic work was drawn on directly with multicolored titles of silhouettes of figures leaping. Completed in 2000 it became a collection of City of Inglewood Community-Based Public Art Projects the usage being ceramic tilted painted and assembled as a mural.

Darby Park - Parks Make Life Better

Made in the same park as On Your Mark this mural piece was made by Wayne Healy,  David Botello, and Michelle Glass with collaboration with Darby Art Action Youth; this artwork presents the many faces you’ll meet when at a park completed by children of the community and supervised by Healy and the other leading artists.

It was an 8 week course teaching the children art such as figure drawing, mural design, and color as the project continued on. 

It was completed in 2015 the material was acrylic on treated cinderblock it stands at 11’ in height and 41’ in width it is also a collection of  City of Inglewood Permanent Public Art Projects

A pattern notice all of these artworks as site-specific and a great one at that especially the Wiggle Walls and the inclusion of Graffiti font reading Roger’s Park Pre-school it made me immediately think of the past artworks that were discussed in class. Two of the artworks show the depiction of people and have great movements it’s as if I the paintings can jump right off the wall and it brings a lot of character to the location the art takes place in too. Parks in general, tend to have public art that be murals or statues presenting someone important in history. With Darby Park, there is also an auditorium named Martin Luther King Jr. there; when I was a kid, I had assumed that the park was named after him at first. 

The use of primary colors is also noticeable it makes a lot of sense to Roger’s Park since the preschool is right next to the park.

It is just everyday people being depicted in these paintings, that’s something I quite enjoy. There are so many interesting people that you can see at a park from passing glance or someone to strike conversation with. The artworks just further enhance the environment for everyone around. 

One of the murals Parks make Life Better looking into this specific artwork made me remember that there was a mural there before when I was little. I felt sad to see it go however, the new mural is a welcome change. Another idea I would’ve implemented could be something interactive for the people there while also adding more artworks to the park though I’m sure people decorate a park on their own accord anyways I have seen people many times draw on the ground with chalk but those go away in a few days. To me, maybe setting decoration on a tree presenting or depicting what makes that specific community unique. Inglewood is known for the Kia and Forum with a lot of shows I would show a mixture of the entertainment side and domestic life the two being intertwined.