L.A. That's right, City of Murals. Betchadidntknowthat. To be honest, the city hasn't done a good job protecting and inspiring street art. Philadelphia, on the other hand, has been promoting city murals for 27 years. Here in L.A., we need to grow up -- distinguish street art from tagging, and support the former. Lucky us, we have a major advocate in Judy Baca and her amazing group at SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center). SPARC is housed in the old Venice jail. Just a tad of irony here, given the misconception that street art is criminal. We're not talking about vandalism... so please, no lumping them in the same pot. Anyhoo, how excited was I to meet Judy, several of her team members, friends, and students this week? VERY. Judy is mentioned - and some of her art is featured - in our new film From Prada To Nada. Wilmer Valderrama, one of the film's stars, joined us to host an on-camera tour of SPARC. This place oozes creativity and inspiration. Come on L.A. -- shake off the misconceptions and support street art. There is no better city for this crown.
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| Student art |
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| Director, Angel Gracia, uses his get-out-of-jail-free card. |
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| A worthy manifesto |
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| Angel's out; Judy and Wilmer are in. |
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| Surely you know this man. He minded his own words. |
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| SPARCers |
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| Murals, murals, murals. |
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| Stories and planning |
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| Peaceful, dedicated, and watching over the classroom. |
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| Jail birds |
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| Judy and Wilmer |
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| See? He's not Muslim; he's Chicano! |
1 comment:
I would love to check out your favorite murals next time we're down.
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