LA Stories

LA Sunsets

LA Nights

     I enjoyed reading Ry Cooder, and the lecture that prompted me to do this work regarding Boyle Heights and the early years of LA. Anthony said it was an aura. Whatever it is about LA, I wanted to capture it as I have understood it from my time living there.

     Undoubtedly, LA is rich in culture and has a unique "aura". I love everything about it. The simple things that I miss today are seeing the sunsets and the warm summer nights. People often ask me if I like LA more then the Bay Area, but I can't choose. For me, the two are different worlds. What I really enjoyed the most about the discussion was the music and the images that were shown. It is nostalgic to talk about LA for me with people outside of LA. 

"Los Angeles is a maze of class distinctions. I live in the great barrio of East Los Angeles, overlooking Hollenbeck Park. My street is one of large, older homes and one small residence hotel, the Edmund, where I have a room with a balcony."

     I started my paintings with several things in mind, so they are a synthesis of several Ideas. First, I wanted to emphasize the aura of LA, and I felt that going back to the music of Los Tres Panchos were appropriate for this theme. Im not sure why, but their music resonates with the times that I was trying to show here in these paintings. I can see someone driving through a warm sunny road lined with palm trees listening to Perdida. 

     I titled the first panel LA Sunsets I saw many of them and the only thing missing on the telephone poles are a pair of Nikes. I wanted to think of these pieces depicting two sides of LA. I felt that the day and night create two separate identities. I labeled the second panel LA nights. I can't describe it with words, but for me, the day and night had two connotations. I felt that the headlights and the night time views of the LA river are things that people might find familiar.

     

     Anthony mentioned he might want to go further with this idea of LA, and unfortunately, by then I won't be a student here, but I honestly wish a course on LA culture was around during my time here at Cal.