Greater Los Angeles, California, is home to thousands of murals, earning it the nickname "the mural capital of the world" or "the mural capital of America." [lower-alpha 1] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] The city's mural culture began and proliferated throughout the 20th century. [12] Murals in Los Angeles often reflect the social and political movements of their time and highlight cultural symbols representative of Southern California. [13] In particular, murals in Los Angeles have been influenced by the Chicano art movement and the culture of Los Angeles. [7] [13] Murals are considered a distinctive form of public art in Los Angeles, often associated with street art, billboards, and contemporary graffiti. [14] [15]
From 2002 to 2013, Los Angeles had a moratorium on the creation of new murals in the city, stemming from legal conflicts regarding large-scale commercial out-of-home advertising, primarily billboards. [16] [17] : 237 The ban was lifted with the passing of LA Ordinance No. 182706, known as the mural ordinance. [18] [19] Mural registration is administered through the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. [20] Because of the large number of murals throughout the city, numerous programs exist for their preservation and documentation, including the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, the Getty Conservation Institute, and others. [21] [22]
Many of the city's oldest murals have been lost, usually from weathering or the process of urban development. Among the earliest known murals from Los Angeles were featured in the central business district, including those of Einar Petersen in 1912 and a ceramic tile panel for a cafeteria, created in 1913. [12] [13]
In the early 1930s, most prominent Los Angeles murals were on commercial rather than civic buildings. [26] Notable exceptions to this trend include the political works of muralists David Alfaro Siqueiros and Myer Shaffer, often supported by artistic and cultural institutions in the city. [27]
Between 1933 and 1943, the United States government, as part of the New Deal, funded "federal art projects", a series of murals, paintings, and sculptures in and around public institutions. [28] [29] : 40 These funds supported the creation of hundreds of murals around Los Angeles. Many of the resultant works feature rural landscapes, scenes from regional history, and portrayals of immigration, especially influenced by Mexican muralism after the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). [28] [30] [31] Certain murals funded by the project were subsequently painted over, often because of their political overtones. [27] [32] For example, Myer Shaffer's The Social Aspects of Tuberculosis (1936) at the Los Angeles Tuberculosis Sanitarium, originally supported by the Federal Art Project, was covered completely by 1938 because of its Communist themes. [27] [33] Shaffer went on to document the growing number of murals blanketed by local authorities in the Jewish Community Press. [27]
Through the 1980s, commercial advertising on signage and billboards in Los Angeles was regulated by multiple government institutions, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), [34] often without clear distinctions between murals and other types of signs. [16] Numerous efforts to ban billboards in the city had been proposed and in 1984 Los Angeles City Council passed a law preventing the development of billboards within 600 feet of each other. [35] Some advertisers sought to present commercials works as murals, in order to take advantage of a rule exempting murals from restrictions on sign posting. [16] [36] In the 1990s, the Los Angeles city council faced lawsuits from advertisers, based on the claim that restrictions on commercial speech were an unfair exception to the First Amendment. [16] [36] [37] [38]
In 1999, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs was in the process of developing guidelines for the regulation of supergraphic signage, including advertising billboards. In June of the same year, Jackie Goldberg, city councilmember for Los Angeles City Council District 13, filed a motion to temporarily halt the placement of new billboards after an influx of new signs were erected to pre-empt forthcoming regulations. [39] : 130 An interim control ordinance (ICO 173562) prohibiting the issuance of building permits for any off-site signs was passed to combat the accelerated pace of sign development in Hollywood, signed in 2000 by Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan. [40] [41] An extension to ICO 173562 was instituted in 2001, initially presented by city councilmember Eric Garcetti, also of the 13th district. [39] : 75–77
In April 2002, LA Ordinance No. 174547 was passed, banning new "off-site signs" across the city. [42] [43]
"(I) Off-site signs. No off-site sign shall be allowed in any zone, except when off-site signs are specifically permitted pursuant to a legally adopted specific plan, supplemental use district or an approved development agreement. Further, that legally permitted existing signs shall not be altered or enlarged."
— LA Ordinance No. 174547 [42]
The definition of an off-site sign structure had recently been added to the municipal code after the implementation of a periodic sign inspection program. [lower-alpha 2] [45] : 2 Later, in May 2002, City Council adopted LA Ordinance No. 174552, approved by mayor James Hahn, creating the supplemental use district designation "SN" for sign districts. [46] [47] The establishment of sign districts would allow certain districts to have more flexible regulations regarding sign posting, with the intent of minimizing public advertising, the expansion of which being seen as a blight on the city. [46] [48] [49] A March 2003 amendment to the municipal code updated the definition of an off-site sign to:
Off-Site Sign. A sign which displays any message directing attention to a business, product, service, profession, commodity, activity, event, person, institution or any other commercial message, which is generally conducted, sold, manufactured, produced, offered or occurs elsewhere than on the premises where the sign is located.
Previously, in autumn 2002, three advertising companies had filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles on the grounds that the restrictions on off-site signs limited their freedom of expression. [51] [52] The companies were initially granted a preliminary injunction against the city, although it was vacated shortly thereafter by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in part based on the subsequent 2003 amendment. [51] [52]
In 2013, City Council and mayor Eric Garcetti passed LA Ordinance No. 182706, amending the city municipal code to allow for the creation and preservation of existing and new non-commercial murals. [18] [56] LA Ordinance No. 182825 the same year amended the Los Angeles administrative code, maintaining the general prohibition of murals on single family residences and accessory structures but excepting residences in city council districts 1, 9, and 14. [57] [58] [59] In 2017, Ordinance No. 185059 extended the exemption to Los Angeles City Council District 15 after being proposed by councilmember Joe Buscaino. [60] [61]
El Monte city council instituted a similar ban in the adjacent city in 1977. [62] [63] : 89 [64] The ban was later lifted and numerous mural projects have since been organized in the city. [65] [66] [67]
Since the original settlement of Los Angeles by the pobladores from New Spain (modern Mexico), the art and culture of the city have been heavily influenced by that of Mexico. [13] Multiple major waves of immigration have brought migrants to the region, including the Mexican–American War (1846-1848), the California Gold Rush (1848-1855), and the growth of agriculture in California in the early 20th century. [68] [69] [70] Some of the earliest known murals in Los Angeles come from Mexican refugees, including David Alfaro Siqueiros, known as one of the "Big Three" of Mexican muralism. [lower-alpha 3] [71] [72] Siqueiros's fresco mural América Tropical (1932), at El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument, is the only of his American murals found in its original location, although it was once painted over due to its controversial anti-imperialist message. [27] [73] [74] [75]
The Chicano movement and California labor movement, especially in the 1960s, were sources of inspiration for many murals in the region. [10] Labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta often appear prominently in murals, as does the Aztec eagle, a symbol featured in the logo of the United Farm Workers, an agricultural labor union. [76] : 40 Religious identity, predominantly Catholicism, has also been a major theme. [77] In the second half of the century, the Chicano street art movement spread throughout barrios and other neighborhoods in East Los Angeles. [78] [79] [80]
In 1974, muralist and activist Judy Baca organized a citywide mural program in Los Angeles. [80] [81] [82] The program resulted in the production of hundreds of murals across the city, including Baca's Great Wall of Los Angeles (1978) along the Tujunga Wash. [lower-alpha 4] [83] [84] [85] In 1976, with painter Christina Schlesinger and filmmaker Donna Deitch, Baca founded the Social and Public Art Resource Center, a community art center that sponsors the development and restoration of murals throughout the city. [10]
Many Los Angeles sports icons and teams are commemorated in murals, especially near their respective stadiums. Roadside murals have been commissioned for the Los Angeles Marathon multiple times, dating back to the original race in 1986. [86] Other major sports events represented in murals include the 1994 FIFA World Cup, [87] the Los Angeles Rams' 2022 victory in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium, [88] [89] the Los Angeles Lakers' multiple NBA championships, [90] [91] the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2020 World Series win, [92] [93] the Los Angeles Kings' two Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and 2014, [94] and the MLS Cups of the LA Galaxy. [95] [96] A number of murals also exist honoring significant Los Angeles baseball players, such as Jackie Robinson, [lower-alpha 5] [98] Sandy Koufax, [99] [100] Fernando Valenzuela, [101] and others. [102] [103]
Los Angeles has hosted the Summer Olympics twice, in 1932 and 1984. [lower-alpha 6] [104] [106] Prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Times art critic Arthur Millier recommended taking visiting attendees on a tour of the city's murals. [26] For the 1984 Summer Olympics, a series of ten murals were painted along the 110 and 101 freeways as part of the Olympic Arts Festival. [107] [108] [109] Beginning in 2007 after years of disrepair and tagging, Caltrans "hibernated" the murals, applying a coating and layer of gray paint to be removed later for restoration. [109] [110] [111] Efforts to restore many of the Olympic Festival freeway murals began in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Games. [110] [112] [113] [114]
Kobe Bryant was a highly-decorated basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships with the team. Throughout his career, murals were created acknowledging his accomplishments, including his career-high 81 point game in 2006 and retirement in 2016. [118] [119] Following his 2020 death in a helicopter crash, many tributes to Bryant were created around the city, frequently featuring his daughter Gianna, who was also killed in the crash. [120] [121] The prominence of these murals has led to their becoming a notable tourist attraction, resulting in maps and city guides documenting the collection of Kobe artwork. [122] [123] [124]
The documentary film Mur Murs (1981) by French filmmaker Agnès Varda explores murals across the city and shares imagery of Los Angeles murals with Varda's feature film from the same year, Documenteur . [125] [126] [127] The documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) directed by street artist Banksy tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a French street artist in Los Angeles. [128] [129]
Off-Site Sign Structure. A structure of any kind or character, erected, used or maintained for an off-site sign or signs, upon which any poster, bill, printing, painting, projected image or other advertisement may be placed.— LA Ordinance No. 174736 (2002) [44]
David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, he was one of the most famous of the "Mexican muralists".
Olvera Street, commonly known by its Spanish name Calle Olvera, is a historic pedestrian street in El Pueblo de Los Ángeles, the historic center of Los Angeles. The street is located off of the Plaza de Los Ángeles, the oldest plaza in California, which served as the center of the city life through the Spanish and Mexican eras into the early American era, following the Conquest of California.
The Great Wall of Los Angeles is a 1978 mural designed by Judith Baca and executed with the help of over 400 community youth and artists coordinated by the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC). The mural, on the concrete sides of the Tujunga Wash in the San Fernando Valley was Baca's first mural and SPARC's first public art project. Under the official title of The History of California, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Drive in Glendale to Chevy Chase Drive in La Cañada Flintridge.
Gronk, born Glugio Nicandro, is a Chicano painter, printmaker, and performance artist. His work is collected by museums around the country including the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Elsa Flores is a well known Chicana street artist. Her mother's name was Maria Valenzuela and she was originally from a small village called San Javier located in Sinaloa, Mexico. She is one of the best known members of the Chicano street art movement.
The Centro Cultural de la Raza is a non-profit organization with the specific mission to create, preserve, promote and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Native American and Latino art and culture. It is located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The cultural center supports and encourages the creative expression “of the indigenous cultures of the Americas.” It is currently a member of the American Alliance of Museums.
Judith Francisca Baca is an American artist, activist, and professor of Chicano studies, world arts, and cultures based at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the co-founder and artistic director of the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in Venice, California. Baca is the director of the mural project that created the Great Wall of Los Angeles, which was the largest known communal mural project in the world as of 2018.
Mexican muralism refers to the art project initially funded by the Mexican government in the immediate wake of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) to depict visions of Mexico's past, present, and future, transforming the walls of many public buildings into didactic scenes designed to reshape Mexicans' understanding of the nation's history. The murals, large artworks painted onto the walls themselves had social, political, and historical messages. Beginning in the 1920s, the muralist project was headed by a group of artists known as "The Big Three" or "The Three Greats". This group was composed of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Although not as prominent as the Big Three, women also created murals in Mexico. From the 1920s to the 1970s, murals with nationalistic, social and political messages were created in many public settings such as chapels, schools, government buildings, and much more. The popularity of the Mexican muralist project started a tradition which continues to this day in Mexico; a tradition that has had a significant impact in other parts of the Americas, including the United States, where it served as inspiration for the Chicano art movement.
The Chicano Art Movement represents groundbreaking movements by Mexican-American artists to establish a unique artistic identity in the United States. Much of the art and the artists creating Chicano Art were heavily influenced by Chicano Movement which began in the 1960s.
Willie F. Herrón III is an American Chicano muralist, performance artist and commercial artist. Herrón was also one of the founding members of ASCO, the East Los Angeles based Chicano artists collective .
Asco was an East Los Angeles based Chicano artist collective, active from 1972 to 1987. Asco adopted its name as a collective in 1973, making a direct reference to the word's significance in Spanish ("asco"), which is disgust or repulsion. Asco's work throughout 1970s and 1980s responded specifically to socioeconomic and political problems surrounding the Chicano community in the United States, as well the Vietnam War. Harry Gamboa Jr., Glugio "Gronk" Nicandro, Willie F. Herrón III and Patssi Valdez form the core members of the group.
Yreina Cervantez is an American artist and Chicana activist who is known for her multimedia painting, murals, and printmaking. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, and her work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Mexican Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum, and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.
Mur Murs is a 1981 documentary film directed by Agnès Varda. The film explores the murals of Los Angeles, California.
América Tropical is a 98-foot wide fresco mural created in 1932 by David Alfaro Siqueiros and other artists in Los Angeles, California, on a second-level exterior wall of the Italian Hall. It was painted over soon after its completion on an external wall of the Italian Hall on Olvera Street, in El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument of Downtown Los Angeles. It was restored and revealed to the public in 2012, 80 years to the day after its first unveiling.
La Memoria De Nuestra Tierra: California 1996 is a 10 ft x 30 ft rectangular mural, currently located in the University of Southern California's Graduate Student Lounge within the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. The mural was painted by artist Judy Baca in collaboration with students from the University's Roski School of Art and Design. This piece shows the Chicano history of Southern California through the depiction of various images inspired by the native history of the land and the more modern conflicts and issues Latinos have suffered.
Chicana art emerged as part of the Chicano Movement in the 1960s. It used art to express political and social resistance through different art mediums. Chicana artists explore and interrogate traditional Mexican-American values and embody feminist themes through different mediums such as murals, painting, and photography. The momentum created from the Chicano Movement spurred a Chicano Renaissance among Chicanas and Chicanos. Artists voiced their concerns about oppression and empowerment in all areas of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Chicana feminist artists and Anglo-feminist took a different approach in the way they collaborated and made their work during the 1970s. Chicana feminist artists utilized artistic collaborations and collectives that included men, while Anglo-feminist artists generally utilized women-only participants. Art has been used as a cultural reclamation process for Chicana and Chicano artists allowing them to be proud of their roots by combining art styles to illustrate their multi-cultured lives.
More than 600 murals depicting American professional basketball player Kobe Bryant have been painted in dozens of countries, including Croatia, Haiti, Uganda, and the United States. Many of these were created following Bryant's death in a helicopter crash in 2020.
Alessandra Moctezuma is a visual artist, educator and curator.
Jesus "Chuy" Campusano, was an American Chicano visual artist, and muralist. He was a well-known contributor to San Francisco's arts in the 1970s and 1980s; and was a co-founder of Galería de la Raza, a non-profit community focused gallery that featured Latino and Chicano artists and their allies.