Visual Beethoven
Los Angeles mural and graffiti art
the energy of a city emerges from many cracks in the landscape, much of it from the architecture. the stones that hold history. walking through a city's structures is kindof like drifting through a song. it can be uplifting, inspiring, dull, unnerving... when i arrived in los angeles a year ago, it evoked none of those emotions. it was just overwhelming. impossible to get a grasp of. i could not make out the tune, no matter in venice, los feliz or downtown. i could not feel the beat.
i was lost. no rythym to carry me through the city. nothing to guide me to the juicy spots. my eyes bored by the long stretches of bland architecture and strip malls, feasting occasionally on buildings from the 1920s or 1950s that broke up the monotonous tune. no visual beethoven here.for my own sanity, i decided that i needed to pick one thing that i liked about los angeles each day.
it was easier than i thought. day one, there were mountains. i can see the mountains. they are a crescent holding part of the city tight to the ocean. the mountain tops peeking out above the city. it is beautiful.
day two, this is the land of eternal spring.
and then, the murals! the murals made me happy. i even did a little dance. they gave me ground. gave me a beat to the city. to the history.
below i share what i found to be the rhythm of this city and the voices of the many different types of people that live here...
i was lost. no rythym to carry me through the city. nothing to guide me to the juicy spots. my eyes bored by the long stretches of bland architecture and strip malls, feasting occasionally on buildings from the 1920s or 1950s that broke up the monotonous tune. no visual beethoven here.for my own sanity, i decided that i needed to pick one thing that i liked about los angeles each day.
it was easier than i thought. day one, there were mountains. i can see the mountains. they are a crescent holding part of the city tight to the ocean. the mountain tops peeking out above the city. it is beautiful.
day two, this is the land of eternal spring.
and then, the murals! the murals made me happy. i even did a little dance. they gave me ground. gave me a beat to the city. to the history.
below i share what i found to be the rhythm of this city and the voices of the many different types of people that live here...
