River Archives
Lots of great stuff can be found walking around the railroad tracks downtown along the LA River. It is, however, off limits, and can lead to some twisted explanations to cops and other uniform wearers about how you got turned around on that one street, and just wanted to get a better view of the bridge...
Some fence hopping required too.
All photos by Mark Mauer. More after the jump.
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
The farther north you go, the more you see these massive letters 20 feet high or more...
While others stay out of the river and instead work topside.
All photos by Mark Mauer.
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Associated Press has a story on Yahoo News this morning about the permitted artwork along the Arroyo Seco that went up last year during the Meeting of Styles, which brought together graffiti artists from across the country.
According to their reporting, "The county has given organizers until Wednesday to whitewash the mural, and neither side is backing down."
Not everyone was pleased, however, with the results of the civic-minded effort, which had the city's blessing but has rekindled debates over whether Los Angeles County should condone a practice it pays millions to combat.
Some politicians protested that parts of the mural are obscene and have attracted gang-related tags in a city where graffiti already mars homes, sidewalks and buildings.
The story on Yahoo is currently one of the most popular stories on the web, which means literally millions of people are reading about this. The article also makes it clear that the project was legally approved ahead of time, and it was only after it was completed that County Supervisor Gloria Molina demanded the murals be whitewashed , "complaining that some of the images were inappropriate for a public art display."
L.A. Weekly's Matthew Flesicher reported on the fight between Molina and the event's organizer ManOne in January.
After the jump, pictures of the lurid murals that so offended Molina's sense of decency, and Gloria Molina's contact info.
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
A rough patch of the river here, but there will be some better looking stuff coming up tomorrow, though we get a couple glimpses of the massive pieces, like the PDB one below, that line the second half of this stretch of the river.
All photos by Mark Mauer. More after the jump.
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
This post starts a look at a few miles of the L.A. River going north from Atwater Village to the 134 that will continue for the next week or so.
Because the river bottom is mostly unpaved along this stretch, there's a lot of trees, birds, fish, and wildlife, all just a few feet away from the Golden State Freeway.
The L.A. River plays a huge part in the ongoing history of the city's graffiti, and is of course reviled by many city officials.
All photos by Mark Mauer. More after the jump.
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Matthew Flesicher wrote a piece in the news section about the County calling an "emergency" over the properly permitted art project held in the Arroyo Seco in September.
Standing on a bridge overlooking the confluence of the Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles rivers, Friends of the Los Angeles River founder Lewis MacAdams stares at the cement-walled streams and indulges in a moment of nostalgia. “This was the birthplace of FoLAR,” he says of the desolate area. “I came down here one day and saw how blighted and disgusting it was and just thought, ‘I have to do something about this.’ ”Twenty-two years after MacAdams founded FoLAR, however, the stretch of river that inspired him has landed his group in a bizarre battle with County Supervisor Gloria Molina, leaving the nonprofit organization potentially liable for thousands of dollars in cleanup costs.
Read the rest of Fleischer's article here.
To see part of what's already been lost, check out the before and after photos after the jump, showing the whitewash that destroyed several of the huge murals. Of course, it didn't stay whitewashed for more than a few days: sloppy bombing tags quickly covered the area, as anyone would know, making me wonder, what was the point of all of this anyway? Anyone would hbe hard pressed to say it looks better now than it did before.
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
If anyone has been down to the Arroyo since they supposedly blasted off a good deal of the art that was created (with permission, I might add) at Meeting of Styles LA a few weeks ago, I'd really like to hear from you. If you have pictures of the destruction, even better. (Send 'em to lurker@laweeky.com) This is the last batch of pix that I took from the event.
Also - Crewest Gallery is having an opening this weekend: Top of the Dome - the fourth annual Dia de Los Muertos Exhibition. 100 ceramic skulls painted and designed by dozens of artists. It's opening Saturday, November 3 with an opening reception starting at 6. Go to crewest.com for more info. On to the pix!
Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
Here's the second day's worth of photos from the incredible Meeting of Styles graffiti event that took place at Arroyo Seco in Highland Park next to the L.A. River. There were so many incredible works done that I'm going to spread out the photos over a few days. Basically these are posted in the order they were shot, walking up the Arroyo from the mouth. So the father along we get the more complete the pieces tend to be.
All photos by Mark Mauer. More after the jump.
Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
A week after getting rained out, the Meeting of Styles took place in Highland Park where the Arroyo Seco meets the L.A. River. Sponsored by Friends of L.A. River, Crewest Gallery and Man One Design, MoS LA handed over 10,000 square feet of space to more than 100 graffiti artists and crews from SoCal and beyond. It was an incredible event on a beautiful day, and we'll be posting a dozen or so photos each day for the next week or so. The water was still in ankle deep in places, but it was worth the wading.
Almost all of the pieces seen here were still being worked on when shot. We'll venture back to the river and get pictures of the finished pieces in coming weeks.
All photos by Mark Mauer. More after the jump
Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
Slideshows
-
Cobrasnake: Runway Renegades and Femme Fatales (Some photos NSFW)
Fashion gets bold with in-your-face slogans, pistol-heeled stilettos and barely-there sheers. -
Nightranger: Hell breaks loose at Bootie LA, Medusa Lounge and Rancid
Spandex-clad booty shakers and split-lipped punkers get wild with Lady Tigra and Rancid. Plus,... More>> -
Octavio Becerra's Fine Palate
Chef Octavio Becerra has opened a dream of a restaurant, Palate Food + Wine. ReadMore>>
Recent Posts
