A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Current Obsession

On August 22, 2012 I was walking north on Spring Street looking to see what I might see about the Eastern Clock Company and the Eastern Building (here is a link to the article I eventually wrote as my homage to this phenomenal architectural jewel at Ninth and Broadway in Los Angeles) and what was supposedly its first Los Angeles (LA) location at 556 S. Spring Street.

That is when I came upon the wall mural in the above photo.

As the writer of this blog, "Art 4 Art's Sake", it probably doesn't take too big of a leap to guess I love art and love to write about art.

Anyway, I was so sure this was a new piece since I hadn't noticed it on my August 9th trip to L.A. (which included walking this portion of South Spring Street), that searching for information about a new mural was one of the ways I began as I sought out information about this mural that I admired and appreciated.

The mural is about two years old now, give or take.  Not new!

However, since I had walked South Spring Street in a southernly direction, all that I noticed was the mural in the photo to the right (a JR creation).  

It is always interesting to me what may be "there" that isn't actually seen by me.

Upon a closer inspection of this mural/art piece, it was fairly clear that there are two distinct contributions and/or styles involved.  One portion of the mural seems to be very similar in style to the art in the above photo.  The other portion seems to have been almost carved out of some tree bark or something, while incorporating the bricks from the building the mural is affixed to as part of the art installation.

I was happy, then, when I photographed what appeared to be a signature or tag for this piece.  Please see the photo to the left.

Why?

I had assumed only one artist responsible for this art/mural only to find it was a collaboration.  This was a collaboration between someone who goes by "JR", born 22 February 1983, and another artist, "Vhils", born in 1987.

A little over two years ago (as I write this) from 9th of June, 2010 to 27th of June, 2010; a group show, Eurotrash at Lazarides Gallery, 320 North Beverly Drive,  LA, took place.  

According to a piece written May 30, 2010 in The Dirt Floor, "Portuguese artist, Vhils, (aka Alexandre Farto) from a photo by French artist, J.R." is responsible for this amazing art installation.

The artists did receive permission from the building owner to create/install this art at its current location, the south side of the building on the west side of South Spring Street.  To easily see it while walking South Spring Street, you need to be walking north on Spring Street.

While I am happy to know the artists received permission, I have a hard time imagining they could pull it off without receiving permission.

According to the April 28, 2011 Home Dsgn article, Street Artist Vhils Large-scale Portraits, "The artist creates striking multi-textural faces in decaying brick walls by meticulously chipping away at the wall’s weathered layers."  This explains the effect you see when you view this piece with your own eyes.

Doesn't appear that Vhils plans to create anything in the L.A. area anytime soon. 

Since 2010 when JR collaborated with Vhils for the piece I am featuring in this blog post, JR has completed a new art installation in L.A. 

To finish this blog post, I thank both JR and Vhils for the thought provoking piece you did together on the building wall of South Spring Street between 6th and 7th.  Thank you.

4th & Cherry

4th & Cherry.  Sort of has a nice ring to it, don't you think?  Or almost sounds like it could be something you would hear a ref shout at the end of an NFL football play, even though I know they wouldn't.  For the purposes of this blog post, 4th & Cherry is an intersection in Long Beach*, California that includes an art installation that delighted me.

 The photo to the left is just a portion of the installation.  You know sort of an up close and personal view.  I admire the way the artist created these pieces with a rusting patina.  To me it complements the dirt that may be characterized as the canvas for this art installation.  In the photo below you will note there is a number of these included in this installation.  They serve double duty (I wrote "duty"...get it?  ha ha) as sculpture and bike racks.  Together they are able to accommodate 34 bicycles.

 

The artist, Tom Walker, repurposed a 1957 Edsel station wagon with the number 4 where one of the head lights would be and the cherry symbol on the other.  The triangle looking area at the top of the hood is actually a flower box.  What you can't see from the photo is the benches that were fabricated onto the other side of the back area of the vehicle that has been spread out in the v-shape.  The benches are a nice place to sit and wait, if I do say so myself.

What is oh-so-wonderful should you choose to check this art installation out for your self is that it is located upon real estate on this corner that also includes a very inexpensive-to-park-there, parking lot.  As I write this, parking is only fifty cents an hour with a three hour max. 

I discovered this area when I was there to meet someone at the "We Be Well" facility located next to the parking lot.  Since I arrived quite early (I never know for sure how long it will take to get somewhere, especially if it is my virgin voyage to the destination), I had the chance to walk around a little.  What a lovely opportunity to make like the art paparazzi I be.

I also had time, sort of, for a little nosh at Lola's, shown in the photo above and located next to the building "We Be Well" occupies.  Lola's is a Mexican restaurant with sidewalk patio seating visible in the photo, a lovely outdoor patio area in the back and Day of the Dead art displayed throughout.  The food was enjoyable.  I also appreciated their cooperation about my need to speed eat. 

Across the street is a movie theater, Art, that looked like a place I would enjoy seeing a movie.  I loved seeing that they still show "Rocky Horror Picture Show" there.  I had my first "Rocky Horror" theater experience in 1987**.  Amazing that there are still places keeping this tradition alive.

What do you think...a little art, a little Mexican nosh and a movie?  Sounds pretty good to me.  As I watched while waiting, I noticed it must sound pretty good to a number of couples in the area too.  I don't think I have ever seen so many happy looking, hand-holding couples in such a short period of time as I did sitting on the bench of the 1957 Edsel Station Wagon.

When I crossed to the other side of 4th Street to get a closer look of the Art theater, I came upon the guitar shaped, metal bike racks in the photo above.  I also came upon the street art in the photo below.  Although, I am going to go out on a leash*** here and assume that this street art is sanctioned by the City of Long Beach...so not illegal unlike the other street art I wrote about in a previous blog post.

  

Lastly (but not leastly****) as it is art, I include the photo below of the mural on the side of the building "We Be Well" inhabits.

*One might contemplate why one might include art in Long Beach in a blog about art in Los Angeles (L.A.).  I mean couldn't Long Beach have it's own "art 4 art's sake" blog?  Couldn't most big cities?  So, I concede that L.A. is not Long Beach and vice-versa.  From the get-go, I loosely defined this blog as including the greater L.A. area.  According to Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, the greater L.A. area includes Long Beach.  AND you know if it is online, it must be true, yes?

**C'mon, I know you are doing the math.

***Just exercising a little blog post artistic license.

****See *** above. 

 end of posting fine print:  all photos are copyright 2012 Lori J. Bjork, lbjork9999@yahoo.com

 

That's A Spoke of An Idea

I came across this "sculpture" as I was walking back to the 7th Street Metro Station in downtown Los Angeles (L.A.).

Truth be told, when I saw this "sculpture" and decided to take a photo of it, I was actually pretty sure it was not a permanent "sculpture".  In fact I doubt the creators ever intended for it to be considered art or sculpture.

Upon further investigation, including the photo from Google Maps of the address of the Chipotle this "sculpture" was located in front of, this "sculpture" was more likely a clever way employed by the bikes' owners to ensure their bikes would not be stolen.

Even if this technically could not be considered a sculpture or art for that matter, in my own interesting point of view I think it could be considered art regardless of the intent of its creators or the length of time this particular bike configuration "had life" as a life form.

I ask you, "should the amount of time of an art's life determine whether or not it may be classified as art?"

I am reminded of the many artists whose medium is sand.  That their sand creations are ever fleeting at the whim of the tides, in my opinion makes them no less art.

So, thanks to the guys taking a Chipotle break for this bmx bike sculpture.  I quite enjoyed it.

P.S.  And in a way this life form continues to live on since I captured it digitally with my camera.

end of posting fine print:  all photos are copyright 2012 Lori J. Bjork, lbjork9999@yahoo.com

That's a Spork of an Idea

What do you get when you combine an art canvas, some paint, some spray adhesive, some sporks*, some actual kids from the hood** and one big kid with a big idea to create some art by combining all of the above ingredients?

Did you guess: "wts, bjork! #1"***

Sporks**** and what might be possible if I incorporated them into art was my inspiration.

To create a piece that incorporated sporks, I perceived there may be some obstacles that needed to be addressed, such as how to get the sporks to stick to the canvas.  That is when the spray adhesive got invited to this party.  In order to gain the randomness of where the sporks would end up on the canvas, the entire canvas had to first be sprayed with the adhesive.

After spraying the adhesive and randomly dropping the sporks***** onto the canvas, I pondered "what if I spray paint the entire thing some color?  Then that will sort of further adhere the sporks to the canvas to really make the sporks seem like they were a part of the canvas all along." 

In hind sight, I am not so sure why I chose gray.  Perhaps white may have been a better choice.  A little late to be second guessing, right?  Plus, this is art.  Technically can there be a mistake?

Then came the fun part.  I poured the different colors of paint into little dishes and opened up a fresh package of paint brushes.  I asked some of the neighbor kids to assist me by splashing paint onto the canvas.  As you can imagine, they were only too happy to oblige.

When we finished, I have to say we were all quite pleased with the results.  A collaborative art piece had surely been birthed that fine, sunny, SoCal afternoon.

Sadly, little by little the sporks began to bail from "wts, bjork #1" after I hung it on my wall.  Some sporks and the lone fork are still hanging in there.  And now happy again, because without planning it, I kind of like the outline the bailed sporks have left on this instant masterpiece.  

Isn't masterpiece slightly grandiose, Lori?

Well, without really realizing it this piece is sort of Jackson Pollock-esque.  If his are, why can't mine be?

With the pleasure derived from "wts, bjork! #1", I was ready to invest another $10 for an Ikea table top (same one as I referred to in the previous blog post) and some hardware I thought may work to hang the soon-to-be created "wts, bjork! #2" to my wall.

I enjoy having this piece on my wall by my kitchen table.  Maybe it would be more whimsical if I had named this piece, "Sporks on a Table Top" or something.  Or maybe I could refer to future pieces as Kitchen Pop Art.  You know what "they" say, though?  Once you begin to define something too narrowly, limitation is surely and soon to follow.

For "wts, bjork! #3", I decided to try something a little different while continuing with the whimsy.  Or maybe I like to think of it more like a "wink" (since those that "get it or got it" these pieces are sort of a send up on tables and sporks: things that usually involve eating and not art).  For the one affixed item that isn't a spork, I included a Hello Kitty (TM) tooth brush.  Get it?  Sporks on a table and everyone knows good girls and boys always brush after eating.  (Btw, this piece was a gift made for a girl's bedroom.)

Any whoo, I get that these art pieces in no way whatsoever ever included a true moment of suffering for one's art.  Isn't that necessary to be taken seriously as an artist and to have one's art be considered art?  What if it isn't?   

Also, as with every post I write for this blog, you (the reader) don't have to like what I consider art and/or even consider it to be art.  In this case, you don't need to refer to me as an artist.  You don't need to enjoy my writing either.  

What pleases me is that I have now convinced my self that I am an artist.  Even if I suck at drawing and painting freehand items that look like something.  Even if some of my art takes me a relatively short period of time to create.  And, even if I experienced a lot of fun and pleasure creating my art.

Also, I am going to go out on a metaphoric, digital limb here...get all controversial up in here...to express my interesting point of view that if you consider the expansive parameters of what constitutes art, there is most likely a little bit of artist in us all.  In other words, "surely if I can, then so can you".

What might you create today just for the fun of it? 

end of posting fine print:  all photos are copyright 2012 Lori J. Bjork, lbjork9999@yahoo.com

*Why my fascination with sporks?  Who can say?  Perhaps it has something to do with my last name being "Bjork" (pronounced like"buh" and then "york") and how spork rhymes with "Bjork" and I like rhymes.   In some circles sporks are referred to as "foons".  Would I have been so fascinated by this object if they were more commonly referred to as the "foon"?  And why did spork sort of "win out" over foon as the more commonly used moniker for this utensil?  My theory, sporks had a better publicist.  Speaking of publicists, sometimes I wonder if I had a publicist perhaps I would become the Kim K (you know who I mean) of "art 4 art's sake: L.A.".  Although, again, as long as I am aiming for Kim K, why not the Queen of "art 4 art's sake"?  It is good to be the Queen, yes?
**I love to jovially refer to the word "neighborhood" as "hood".
***"wts" is something I made up inspired by the text speak of "wtf".  "wft" is short for "what the f***".  "wts" is short for "what the spork".  Also, the #1 implies there is at least a #2.
****I really sacrificed (she wrote dripping with sarcasm) for my art with these pieces, as I had to make a lot of trips to Taco Bell.  Taco Bell to me is the best and surest place to go and know I can pick up an extra spork or two or ten with my taco supreme and one of my favorite soda concoctions, which they have the exclusive rights to.  I'd tell you what it is, but then...
*****And one random plastic knife as a symbol of non-conformity.
******To date there has been no "wts, bjork! #4" (not to say there couldn't be in the future).  What can I say?  I get bored easily. 

Is that Crazy or What?

The subject of this blog post and the next blog post refer to an L.A. artist that I have a passing knowledge of.  "Who?" you may ask.  C'est moi!  It's me, your author, Lori Bjork.

Is it right for me to write about me?  Is it right for me to feel like I am more or less "tooting my own horn", so to speak?  (I wrote "tooting".  Tee Hee)  Am I really an artist?  Is what I created actually art?  I can't help but wonder if enquiring (purposely misspelled this as in National Enquirer) minds may be curious.

Well, part of me wants to laugh out loud at how ridiculous it is that I might even entertain such questions.  Remember when we were three, four, five (and for some of us, even older) and our drawings or attempts at art were considered the most amazing things ever.  I'd go so far as to say, "genius".   Then somewhere along the way, that changed.  Is it because we were no longer being compared to our self and we were now being compared with artists like Michelangelo?  Mysteries such as these may never be solved.

You know what I realized more than anything, that over time I have accumulated a lot of interesting points of view about what art is and who is allowed to claim and/or define that they are an artist (as if there is some sort of central group or committee that has guidelines and hands out such distinctions).  One of my interesting points of view was that if I am not going to be paid for it, I can not consider my self an artist.  So even though I had ideas for art (and actually about writing, as well) I would love to create, why bother if I am not going to be paid for it, right?

I write about these interesting points of view because having them kept me from expressing the creativity I have inside me.  It is one of the reasons I called this blog, "art 4 art's sake".  By choosing to create art simply for the sheer pleasure of it, everything else that comes from it is a bonus.

By creating art, it was also almost like therapy.  I have Jackson Pollock to thank for this.  Did I know him?  No!  Here's my interesting point of view: his art is celebrated by those who supposedly know great art.  Yet, if I am completely honest, when I saw his work before I knew it was his I was like, "that's art!  I could do that...easy!"  Now truth is, maybe I couldn't do it "easy".  His art, to me, just looks like it would be easy and wouldn't take much talent.

Here's the kicker!  Do you think he would have cared what I thought of his art?  I am thinking, "no".  And just because my interesting point of view about his art is my interesting point of view, doesn't diminish the truth that it is art and Jackson Pollock is an artist.  

This contemplation leads me to wonder, "What if I could have a generosity of spirit* about all art, including my own?"

What if it takes a lot of courage to choose to create art and be an artist simply for the sake of choosing to create art...almost as if it has to be done...almost as if there is no choice?  What if it is difficult to perceive this about art and artists unless you have allowed your self the same choice of courage to create art simply for the sake of creating art, while being okay with what the end product ends up being (here's a hint:  the end result is rarely what you expect)?

Then there is the courage to allow our art to be seen knowing that it will be judged.  I don't know about you, but there is a part of me that would secretly (and now not so secretly) love to be applauded and lauded for my art.  For my art is a unique expression of me.  So in a way, by extension to love my art is to love me.  Who doesn't want to be loved, right?

Here's the interesting counter point, to hate my art does that mean you hate me?  And if you hate my art and/or by extension hate me, do I have the courage to receive and be in total allowance of that judgment?  A year ago I didn't.  A year ago I did not have the awareness that this was keeping me from making choices and wanting to be seen, including my creative expressions.  I have the teachings and tools of Access Consciousness(TM)** to thank for this awareness.  

Sometimes I wonder "what inspired or what might the artist have been going for?" when they created a particular art piece.  By creating art of my own, I tend to wonder if what they had in mind is most likely 180 degrees from what I might perceive it to have been.

In other words, what do you think inspired me and my choices with the art I have displayed thus far in this blog post?

Now as you are perhaps playing along, imagine the Jeopardy game show theme song running through your brain.  Do you have your questions, which as you know on that show are the answers?  Okay, then!  Let's play!

So, the above photo is of my first piece.  My inspiration was my brown leather couch and chaise.  Those of you playing at home, if you guessed, "Alex, What is brown leather couch and chaise?" Ding, ding, ding!  You are a winner.

Further impact on my choices included wondering what I might create using a table top from Ikea, knowing I don't feel I can paint free-hand to save my life and desiring to use the stencils I bought at a Micheals store. 

From there it was all hit and miss...what seemed to be working and what didn't.  For instance, do you notice there seems to be an underlying pattern in the seemingly solid brown portions of the design.  That is because my first attempt at adding paint to the table top...well, the paint wouldn't stick like that.  Which then had me asking a question something like,"okay, that didn't work, what will?"  That's when I painted the whole top brown, which for some reason did stick.  And then I used painters tape for the diagonal lines and the sort of framing of this piece.  Everything under the painters tape showed up brown because once it was taped up, I painted over the entire surface with white paint.  Then using my stencil, I used a foam brush with a flat surface to randomly stencil the silver and brown patterns into the white portions of the piece.

I have to say, when I was done I was quite pleased.  And to me it truly did look art worthy.  Or at the very least, it looked like something I would hang on my fridge if I was the parent of my five year old self.

It has been said and sung that "one thing leads to another", even though physicists might argue that everything is happening simultaneously.  This piece of "art" was merely a stepping stone to something I was excited to see whether it would turn out better than I hoped or not: my own unique attempt at an entertainment center for my living room.  Did you see that coming?  

I like my TV up high, but the walls in my home are not conducive to hanging something heavy on them as I had previously found out when I sought to affix a not very heavy shelf to them.  What if I could create my own entertainment center?  So, I did.

 
 Do I love it?  Sometimes yes.  Sometimes no.  Am I glad I did it?  Yes.  Does it excite me that I created something no one else has from my own two little brain cells?  Absolutely!  Do you have to love it or appreciate it?  Not even a little bit.

When you look at the entertainment center straight on, you can't tell what art is on the surface of the Ikea table tops.  This inspired me to continue to play with the motif and see what else I might create.  I liked what I created enough to choose to hang them as art for my walls.


The photo above is of one of the pieces I creates.  The photo to the right is of another one of my creations.  When I look at it, even though it wasn't intentional, it sort of reminds me a little of the album cover art for The Who's Tommy album.  It's my favorite of all the pieces of this similar motif that I created. 

Sometimes as I watch this show or that on HGTV, I wonder what critique Vern Yip would have of my creations.  I can't help but imagine it would not be "brilliant".  Am I okay with that?  Yes!  For it is at about this point I remind myself that Mr. Yip does not live in my home, I do.  While it would be nice to have his "kudos", it isn't necessary for me to enjoy my living space the way I have created it.
 

One plus to all of my art experiments I share here is that I didn't have to break the bank to experiment with these pieces.  If you were looking to get creative while simultaneously creating the makings of an inexpensive table, this may be something you may wish to experiment with yourself.  

The table top I used for the top part of the entertainment unit is only $5.99.  It makes an excellent size canvas (as you will see in my next post) and the non-white side of the table is pre-drilled with holes if you desire to affix table legs to it.***

Finally as I draw (art pun intended, I just love being "punny") this blog posting to a close, if I had a million dollars, I would reward the money to the person who correctly guessed what was my inspiration for using green, blue, yellow and rust colors in these pieces?

Did you guess?  What, you don't care?  

And the answer is, "Alex, what are my dishes?"  I loved the color vibe from my dishes so much that I based my entire color scheme on them.  Is that crazy or what?  Or maybe, just maybe, is that a stroke (art pun intended) of genius?

end of posting fine print:  all photos are copyright 2012 Lori J. Bjork, lbjork9999@yahoo.com

 
*Generosity of spirit - "...celebrate the good fortune of others as well as your self" according to a blog post in the Access Consciousness(TM) blog by Simone Milasas.
**These are the same teaching and tools that Ricky Williams, the former NFL player, has adopted in his life and is now facilitating.  He was one of the students in my first bars class.  And if it is good enough for an former NFL player... (just a little levity there).  I can't speak for Ricky, but I use the teachings and tools because they work for me.  I am not here to tell you what to do, I only bring it up as an invitation to what else may be possible (and maybe as a little "make me seem important" name dropping 'cuz if I saw him on the street I probably wouldn't recognize him to save my life, nor would he probably recognize me either)
***Please note I am not doing any sort of commercial for Ikea with this blog post.  My mentioning them is simply about sharing information in case this blog post inspired you to try some sort of similar type art of your own.  For that matter, the three pieces I did that I have affixed to my wall were done on canvas I got at Michaels and you could probably get at any art supply store. 
****Some of you may be thinking, "the entertainment center is not art, Lori...it's design!"  How did I do that?  How did I get in your head?  I notice "art v. design" appears to be a highly debated topic.  What if it can be both?  What if right here and right now, I can declare it to be both?  What would grant me that right?  Mostly, 'cuz this blog is sort of my Queendom.  So my rules!  I get to decide "just for me, just for fun".  Of course, you are invited to play with me here in my Queendom any time.  Now, what would be better than that? 

How to Go From Kitty Riot to Kiddie Ride

Now and then I come across something (whether another would consider it art or not), that amuses or tickles me somehow.  

  According to Henry M. Sayre in his book, "Writing About Art, Fourth Edition" (and I am not quoting but putting my spin on it), art involves choices made by the artist.  The creator and artist of this certainly made choices of all the infinite possibilities to come up with this, especially since in my mind the kitty portrayed here seems to look quite innocent.  Alone (without the words, "kitty riot"), I would never guess this kitty would have riotous thoughts coursing through its furry, little, feline head.

Now whoever created this, well, I tried to find you via internet search.  I found a delightful poster some gal did titled, "Kitty Riot", but that was as close as I got.  Artist of this, "Kitty Riot", if you ever end up reading this, thank you.  Thank you for amusing me.

Of course, while I'd love to give this artist his or her due, I also understand it is probably considered a crime to deface public sidewalks in this manner.  How to find out?  Starts with a "g" and ends with an "oogle".  And we have a winner!  Defacing public sidewalks in L.A. and California is a crime.   Thank you, Sue Basco.

Would you like to see, live and in person, this "Kitty Riot" street art for yourself (assuming it is still there)?  Then get yourself to Hyperion Avenue (north side of the street) by West Sunset Boulevard in the greater L.A. area known as Silver Lake.

Enquiring (purposely misspelled, as in National Enquirer) minds may be wondering what I, Lori Bjork, was doing in Silver Lake since this area is .94 miles away from the nearest Metro Line station (which btw is the Vermont/Santa Monica Red Line Station)?  The crew I was with at the time thought a little gelato after a pedicure would be fun.  So off to Pazzo Gelato we went.  Wahoo!

  I feel that I could argue that not only is gelato fun (in my interesting point of view), but gelato and food in general might also be considered art at times.  Or at least, for sure, definitely a creation.  And most importantly, yummy.  Yeah for yummy!

Now in the most interesting journey I've contemplated in a while, I include the photo here of the Harley Davidson Kiddie Ride at the Wee Soles store next to Pazzo Gelato.  Kitty Riot to Harley Davidson Motorcycle Kiddie Ride.  Couldn't have planned this people!

I am sure there are those who would definitely consider the Harley Davidson Motorcycle a thing of beauty and a work of art AND a functional piece of machinery.  Functional art!  Vrrrrrmmm.  Vrmmmmm.  (oooooooohhhhh!  Functional art.  Did I just come up with a new phrase...coin a new phrase, so to speak?  According to Google, that is a big N-O, good buddy.  Boo freakin' hoo!)

What if the kitty's rioted while riding kiddie ride size Harley Davidson motorcycles?  What if these kitties are so bad ass that they don't need no stinkin' helmets, even though they look sublimely innocent?  Hmmmm!  Sounds like inspiration for some art, maybe even a movie.  Now, that...I might go see! 

 end of posting fine print:  all photos are copyright 2012 Lori J. Bjork, lbjork9999@yahoo.com

Post Script:  As I write this post script, it is the day after I wrote this blog post.  I don't know about you, but sometimes stuff just seems to find its way into my awareness that surprises me.  What popped in was the realization that I had been interpreting the word "riot" in this instance to be the definition, "an unrestrained outbreak", yet outbreak of a violent nature.  If you recall, however, it can also be an unrestrained outbreak of laughter and hilarity.  It also means "unrestrained merrymaking, revelry and debauchery".  Interesting that I immediately went to the violent meaning when I like to think of me as a peaceful being.  

Now that I am reacquainted with it meaning unrestrained merrymaking and debauchery, it really seems appropriate to be paired with motorcycle riding kittens.  Even with this awareness, I still find it an interesting choice the artist made to have the kitty in this piece appear to look so innocent (at least to me) in juxtaposition with the word "riot".  Isn't it usually the ones you least expect?  So much for judging a book by its cover, right?.  Makes me wonder what it would take to start a laugh riot, which technically would "laugh riot" be redundant considering laugh is implied in the word "riot"?  Enquiring minds (or maybe it is just me) wish to know.

 

Clear Head

I have been exploring the streets of L.A. (and loving it BTW) for a few years now.  I love when I come upon art in places I least expect it or that simply moves me.  While a photo can't really stand in for seeing the real thing with one's own eyes (in my own interesting opinion), at least by once and for all starting this and doing this, with this blog I can acknowledge the artists for their creations...let her, him or them know it has been seen and appreciated (even if I never find out who they be).

So...with that in mind, I offer this thought provoking piece I found on my recent trip to downtown L.A. for the Art Walk L.A.  My Art Walk L.A. ended up being something way different than what I expected, but that...perhaps...is another story for another time.

I wish my photo had turned out better.  At this point it is what it is.  So I make it large here with the hope it will be easier to discern the components of this piece.

Is this a head that is clear?  Is the water representative of what will clear the head?  And what about the markings?  

What's the 411?

So, where can you see this art piece if you are so inclined?  

Did you guess at the public library?  

That's right!  Outside of a Los Angeles Public Library.  The Flower Street side of the historic Central Library Goodhue Building.  (This photo is of the Hope Street entrance.  I also happen to love books and actually took this photo for the inscription, "books invite all they constrain none".)

Now here is the interesting thing (at least for me), I googled this art installation every which way to Sunday and did not come up with any information about it.  Boo hoo!  I would so love to acknowledge the artiste.

Not content to come up short, I decided there must be some information...some other way...some way to find out who created this piece. 

Turns out in 2001 this library was renamed to honor former Los Angeles Mayor, Richard Riordan, as the Richard Riordan Central Library, 630 West 5th Street.

This trail led me to understand that this piece I am referring to as "Clear Head" is actually part of a bigger sculptural installation (of which this piece is included) known as "Spine " created by Jud Fine in 1993.  The area on the Flower side of the library is known as Maguire Gardens.  The portion of "Spine" I am referring to in this blog post is known as the "Clear Fountain".


The spout of "Clear Fountain" is a generic female head made out of stainless steel. The well features incised images which are drawn from the female head's collar and from pictographs which represent female signs drawn from around the world. 

Bravo, Jud Fine.  Bravo. 

end of posting fine print:  all photos are copyright 2012 Lori J. Bjork, lbjork9999@yahoo.com