The Creative Graffiti Abatement Project was implemented by the Department of Arts and culture from 2013 to 2017 in four neighborhoods in south LA County. Civic artworks at two parks and two libraries in these neighborhoods were intended to increase community pride and ownership of public assets and ultimately lead to the reduction of graffiti vandalism at county properties. The project team made additional investments in community engagement as a crucial element for project success. The project was designed create new cultural assets that would meet the needs of each site and test a new model to ensure that artists were fully supported to meet the demands of the project. The project team also embraced evaluation as a component of the project design.
In addition to permanent art installations and temporary artist-led engagement programs at each site, the project team produced a documentary video chronicling the development of each artwork and an evaluation report of findings and lessons learned from all four project sites.
https://www.lacountyarts.org/civic-art-four-stories
Fausto Fernandez’s new artwork for the East Rancho Dominguez Community Center, Dominguez Field and the Famous Titans of Aviation, is a mixed media assemblage that uses paint, powder coated aluminum, reclaimed wood and corrugated metal. It was created through Fernandez’s research and conversations with the local community and project architects.
Fernandez was drawn to the history of the Dominguez family, the initial landowners of the area dating back to 1784. To learn more about this history and to connect with local residents, Fernandez and community engagement consultant, Sara Daleiden arranged a field trip and free tour of the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum. Only four miles from project site, the Dominguez Rancho is a California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For some, the field trip to the Rancho was their first.
During the tour they learned about important moments in the history of the community, including the 1910 Air Meet that happened at Dominguez Field and was the first major air show in the United States. Fernandez continued his conversations with the Community Center’s architects to understand their inspiration, which came from 1960s architecture. He learned that architecture from this time often incorporated wood and bold, colorful graphics.
In the artwork you will find that the mission style architecture of the Rancho is referenced in the shape of the wood and vibrant metal panels throughout. Modern interpretations of the façade and hot air balloons from the 1910 Air Meet are incorporated. A wing-like symbol, painted in the background, is a recurring image in Fernandez’s work.
Local youth from the Los Angeles Conservation Corps were mentored by the artist and helped to complete portions of the installation. The artwork is a part of a series of projects funded by a grant from the Los Angeles County Parks and Regional Open Space District that use arts-based solutions to promote the value of civic spaces and deter vandalism at County properties. The artist hopes that the artwork will achieve this goal by creating a new cultural landmark that dramatizes community history, progress and place.
Fausto Fernandez is a mixed media collage artist whose works include a variety of paintings, public art, and community engagement projects, through which he explores the relationship of nature and technology as they intersect with human behavior. To learn more about the artist, visit:
http://www.faustofernadez.com.
