Los Angeles: The City of Art

I was thinking about what makes Los Angeles so unique , so visually interesting and I realized that it is all of the murals that adorn building, walls, and any flat surface that could use some style. I did some research and found out that there is a Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles that has a database of all of the registered murals in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is a continuous piece of art that we are all living in and whether murals are commissioned to areas destined for art or old brick buildings, they bring life to a city new and old and altogether create a more cohesive landscape.

The list of murals in Los Angeles is endless, but I thought I would list and give some background on some of my favorites and ones I’ve seen around the city. This mural was painted Tristan Eaton and is located on East 3rd street. It is described as “a juxtaposition of intertwined human and animal figures based on Korean mythology.”

Here is another mural by Risk called ‘Beautifully Destroyed” that is located on Traction Avenue. On the other hand, I want to bring this to a more analytical level of what art means to Los Angeles and its culture.

However, with all of these murals in the city, art starts to lose its meaning, its power, because southern California culture, especially of teenagers is becoming so enveloped in art through social media and technology that it has become something of visual pleasure rather than stimulation of the mind. People indulge in so many different types of art, music, and culture that it almost doesn’t matter what the meaning of the content is but whether or not people like it; it’s all subjective. It’s not a problem of solely Los Angeles, but rather so apparent here because of what Los Angeles is, an imagined city.