Artwork Detail

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Exposition Park Welcomes the World

Artist: Goez Studios

Date: 1984

Medium: Acrylic on brick

Artwork Dimensions: 516 x 1584 in.

County Department: Public Social Services

Artwork Site: Probation Department Headquarters

Supervisorial District: 2

Location Status: Permanent

About the Artwork:

In preparation for the 1984 Olympic Games the Los Angeles Olympic Coordinating Committee (LAOOC) commissioned Exposition Park Welcomes the World on the side of the old Department of Public Social Services Building. Goez Studios painted the mural with 20 high school students (whose names are listed above the mural) under the Ernie Barnes Youth Art Project. Situated opposite Exposition Park, one of the main venues for the 1984 Olympics, the mural features “The Queen of Angels” as a representation of the City of Los Angeles. With her arms extended she symbolically welcomes all the countries of the world by embracing their flags above an image of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The artwork suffered severe damage during the Los Angeles riots of April 1992 and today is partially obscured by ivy as well as a portion of the mural was lost due to the construction of a building immediately adjacent to the old DPSS building.

About the Artist:

Founded in East Los Angeles in 1969 by José Luis Gonzalez, his brother Juan Gonzalez, and their friend David Botello, Goez Art Studio was originally a business that provided many artistic services including art restoration, advertisement design, custom furniture fabrication, and mural creation. In the 1970s Goez’s focus turned increasingly to murals and the Studio created many significant public artworks in the Los Angeles area. José Luis Gonzalez directed The Short Life of John Doe (La Vida Breve de Alfonso Fulano) mural project and Robert Arenivar (1931-1985) created the design. Robert Arenivar was born in Pittsburg, California but grew up in East Los Angeles and became a self-taught artist. When Goez formed, José Luis Gonzalez invited Arenivar to join the Studio. Arenivar quit his factory job and eventually became Goez’s head mural designer and illustrator.