The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. We fulfill our mission by providing services and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations; professional development opportunities; commissioning civic artworks and managing the County’s civic art collection; implementing countywide arts education initiatives; research and evaluation; career pathways in the creative economy; free community programs; and cross sector creative strategies that address civic issues. This work is framed by the County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and a longstanding commitment to fostering access to the arts.
These disks were created for a solo show of Dora De Larios’ work in 2000 at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles. One of the disks was also included in a 2018 retrospective exhibition of the artist at the Main Museum in downtown Los Angeles. De Larios was always drawn to the complete and strong simplicity of the circle as a form. She retold the story over and over again about her travels to Mexico City when she was very young (around 6 or 7) where she saw the giant Aztec stone calendar at the National Museum of Anthropology. She said when she saw it “I realized I was part of it, and it was part of me.” It affected her in a profoundly deep way, she knew at that moment she was an artist, connected to the past and the earth. The circle as a form was imprinted on her from that experience in Mexico. Dora had a keen eye for form from a design standpoint and repeatedly expressed love for circle as a complete form. It represented unity, the circle of life and completeness to her. This artwork complements the artwork in the lobby of the library, also by De Larios and created when the library first opened in 1978. The acquisition of the disks in 2018 commemorates the refurbishment and reopening of the library as well as the passing of Dora De Larios, a gifted and beloved Los Angeles County artist.
About the Artist:
Dora De Larios (1933-2018) lived in the Los Angeles area all her life. Born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, she spent her childhood living downtown near Temple Street. In 1957 she received a BFA from USC. The ethnic diversity of Los Angeles, as well as her extensive travels and study of world religions and ancient art at USC, led to the development of her pan-cultural style. De Larios’ public works include sculptures in Hawaii, New Jersey, Florida, Tahiti, Japan, and numerous cities in southern California. She has also created a ceramic dinner place setting for the White House. Since 1959 she has been featured in over 50 gallery shows and museum exhibitions including the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles and the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. She has taught ceramics at USC and UCLA.
