It’s not often that a major city gives a spotlight to a graffiti / Street Artist and issues a formal proclamation about it, but that is exactly what happened Saturday in Los Angeles. AskewOne, a native of one of LA’s sister cities, Auckland, New Zealand , was honored by the City as his new mural “Under the Influence” was unveiled as part of the LA Freewalls Project.
“It’s much more likely in this city that a graffiti artist will be arrested than be recognized for positive contributions to the community”, as LA Taco reports, but really when you consider the major inroads that the LA Freewalls Project has made into the dialogue around the value of Street Art in LA’s local politics, it can’t be entirely surprising. It probably helps that the image itself incorporates the American flag into the composition– sort of disarms that whole negative rant that some politicos use when lumping Street Artists together with other social scourges like drug addiction, domestic terrorism, and the Ice Capades, doesn’t it?
Askew One for LA Freewalls Project (photo © Todd Mazer)
“AskewOne is one of the world’s preeminent public artists, and one of the most accomplished contemporary graffiti writers,” says Daniel LaHoda, who spearheads LA Freewalls and who also hosted the inauguration of the new LALA gallery Saturday night with many of today’s best known Street Artist’s work on the walls. According to an official press release, the now famous LA mural moratorium will soon be lifted and “Kamilla Blanche, Senior Deputy for Arts and Culture, and the Director for Sister Cities, is excited about the possibilities to expand Los Angeles’ place as the national epicenter of public art.”
BSA is very pleased to be able to share with you these images of the new piece as shot by photographer Todd Mazer.
Askew One for LA Freewalls Project (photo © Todd Mazer)
Askew One for LA Freewalls Project (photo © Todd Mazer)
Askew One for LA Freewalls Project (photo © Todd Mazer)
Askew One for LA Freewalls Project (photo © Todd Mazer)
Askew One for LA Freewalls Project (photo © Todd Mazer)
To learn more about Los Angeles Sister Cities Program click here.
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Events of shock, heartache, wonder and euphoria. Inscribed nearly indelibly into our book of life, we return to them again and again as touchstones, trying to unpack them, redefine them, refine them, ...
Occasionally you hear someone comparing an empty, abandoned factory to a gallery where graffiti writers and Street Artists have sprayed their pieces directly on the walls instead of hanging them as c...
Barcelona-based muralist, fine artist, and experimenter Sixe Paredes is associated with his vibrant extractions with a geometric lightness. His stylized murals may have elements of nature, mythology,...
"The Language Of The Wall. Graffiti / Street Art" Pera Museum. Istanbul, Turkey No Street Artist is a prophet in his own land, to paraphrase the Latin "Nemo propheta in patria". To see a large show ...
For twelve days we're presenting twelve wishes for 2012 as told by an alternating roster of artists and BSA readers, in no particular order. Together, they are a tiny snapshot of the people wh...