Best Public Art In Los Angeles
Art is everywhere in Los Angeles. Whether at the dead end of a dirty alleyway, on sides of buildings in downtown Los Angeles, along the freeways, the LA River, locals and visitors alike can find great public art. All you have to do is open your eyes. The city of Los Angeles is a city of artists exploding with vitality and inspiration too big and too rambunctious to contain it all on a canvas and hang on a wall. Public art is a way of life, and it's thriving in Los Angeles. Of course, what's considered public art by one person is often considered vandalism by another. But that's one of the great things about public art. It's about interpretation, and it invokes passion and inspiration. Check out some local public art and see for yourself.
Street Art of Los Angeles: The Great Wall
Coldwater Canyon between Oxnard St. & Burbank Blvd.
The history of California is colorful to say the least. From dinosaurs to the suffragettes to the Chinese massacre to the birth of the film industry, it is all visually displayed along nearly half a mile in the LA river. Designed by Judith Baca, the project commenced in 1978 as an ongoing summer project for 40 artists and historians as well as 400 youths who helped. The Great Wall was finally completed in 1984. It has been repainted and restored over the years and is considered an LA treasure.
Hollywood And Vine Metro station
Hollywood and Vine
LA's Metro rail is a great, albeit limited, way to get around the city. While it's not as expansive as the NYC subway system, it does have something the Big Apple doesn't: art. Gilbert "Magu" Lujan was commissioned to design and decorate the most famous intersection in the city, Hollywood and Vine. From the subway platform all the way up to street level the station is a spectacular visual of iconic images LA is known for. The station walls are lined with 240 hand-painted tiles, the ceiling is covered with vintage film reels and on display are two authentic 1930s film projectors. You can't get more Hollywood than that.
The Chandelier Tree
West Silver Lake Dr. and Shadowlawn Ave.
What started out as a sort of artistic impulse has turned into a passion for not just the creator, Adam Tanenbaum, but for the neighborhood. The Chandelier Tree began with three left over chandeliers from a set-building job Tanenbaum had worked on. Those three chandeliers turned into 30, which turned into something magical. The up-cycled parking meter in front of Tanenbaum's house and the generosity of neighbors helps fund the electric bill which illuminates the chandeliers people travel from all over to see.
Illuminaughty
Esao x Tristan
2421 James M. Woods Blvd.
Esao: www.esao.net & Tristan: www.streetartbio.com
Two immensely talented artists from different backgrounds, Esao Andrews and Tristan Eaton, came together for a mural collaboration of urban beauty and expression. Commissioned by Static Medium (and painted on the side of their building) the image "Illuminaughty" is exciting with bold colors, movement and visual discovery. At first glance it may seem straightforward, but step back and absorb the conjoined symbolism. If you can get enough of this stunning mural it has been released as a limited print.
Watts Towers And Art Center
1761-1765 E. 107th St.
In 1921, an Italian immigrant by the name of Sam Rodia got it in his mind to do something big. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower, The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Galileo, he set out to build his own masterpiece, Nuestro Pueblo. Structured out of scrap steel and mortar and embellished with broken glass, sea shells and pottery, it took him more than 34 years to complete. The openwork towers still stand and is open for public viewing. Rodia's towering mosaic is proof that no dream is too big to become a reality.
Related: LA's Best Unusual & Unique Museums
