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.
Medium:
Ceramic tile, gold painted steel plate, on steel armature
County Department:
Parks and Recreation
Supervisorial District:
4
About the Artwork:
Water Henge: H20 = Life is five free standing sculptures that together tell the story of water in Cerritos and the Los Angeles Basin through text and images. The artwork is arranged in a circular pattern that encourages visitors to gather and learn. The largest sculpture, oriented true north, features a steel “sun” on top that casts a shadow onto the central sculpture during the spring and fall equinox. The tallest sculpture represents the ocean and the prehistoric life forms found under water millions of years ago. A text tile reads “If you were standing here 40 million years ago, you would be under 5,000 feet of ocean.” The second largest represents the period after the eastern mountain range pushed upward and the area became marshlands where dinosaurs once roamed. The third represents a time when the mountains continued to push upward drying the landscape creating a flat field ideal for migrating animals. The fourth represents the rain-shadow desert which had abundant plant life, including wild barley, oats and grapes as well as willow, oak and sycamore trees. The smallest sculpture features the four cardinal directions and a mirror image of the “sun” atop sculpture one.
About the Artist:
Kim Emerson describes the world as “a mosaic made up of various cultures, conditionings, environments, time and space each having their unique circumstance and yet bonded by the cement of life itself.” Emerson specializes in mosaic design and fabrication and in 2004 established Kim Emerson Mosaics, LLC. In 2005, she received recognition for her mosaic work at the Society of American Mosaic Artists annual conference. She was also awarded the Orchid Award presented for excellence in landscape design and public art for “Carley’s Magical Gardens” at the Children’s Hospital of San Diego. Emerson received her Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation of Architecture at the University of Oregon. She currently maintains a studio in San Diego, CA.
