Illegal street art is causing chaos in downtown L.A.
The spot chosen for their art: Oceanwide Plaza in the heart of Downtown LA. This massive complex, taking up more than one city block, was designed as a grand mixed-use project, giving locals over 500 luxurious apartments, a high-end hotel, various retail spaces, restaurants, and a private 2-acre park.
But the $1 billion project, started in 2015, met a roadblock in 2019 when the Chinese-funded contractor Oceanwide Holdings ran out of money. Ever since, the site has remained unfinished.
Rumors about the plaza's potential as an eye-catching space for graffiti artists had been spreading in the community. The security at the site was known to be lax, making it easier for artists to gain access to the towers and other buildings, even though it meant trespassing. (The Los Angeles City Attorney revealed that 23 individuals have faced criminal charges so far, including trespassing and holding vandalizing tools.)
"It was like a gift from the graffiti gods... a massive canvas right in the middle of the city," said artist ENDEM, representing himself and his graffiti crew NCT. "We thought, 'Let's do it right. Let's treat it like we're painting in front of the whole world.'"
Throughout history, graffiti has often served as protest art. Although its origins date back thousands of years, it's most commonly connected to the modern era of graffiti (from the 1960s and 70s), when it's been used as a way for creatives to question societal norms and inequalities, whether on the Berlin Wall in Germany or New York City subway cars. Whether made by anonymous artists or famous figures like Keith Haring or Banksy, graffiti has the power to change public perception.
Neither ENDEM nor any of the other artists involved imagined their spray paint on the Oceanwide towers would gain such attention.
ENDEM posted his artwork on Instagram on January 31st, and it quickly amassed tens of thousands of views: Bold letters in vibrant colors were plastered across the building's exterior, along with footage of the artist posing with spray paint cans above the cityscape. ENDEM's post, along with other social media visuals, sparked a trend. By mid-February, the number of tags and graffiti pieces across the site skyrocketed.
"It was like an open house, people coming and going," ENDEM recalled. "It was paradise. It was the streets but condensed."
The Oceanwide Plaza became a hotspot for artists to convey a message to the city and a call to action for policymakers who neglect these structures.
Roger Gastman, owner and founder of the LA-based arts organization Beyond the Streets, explained it to CNN, "The mission of graffiti is to challenge, educate, and redefine public perception of the medium." Known for its large-scale exhibitions, immersive educational programs, and partnerships, Beyond the Streets aims to showcase the diverse aspects of graffiti's use.
Gastman's fellow Angeleno, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, a nonpartisan public policy forum for civic participation and education, views the unfinished towers as a reflection of the social issues in Skid Row, the area where between 8,000 and 11,000 unhoused people live.
"You've got thousands of people displaced due to urban development," Hutchinson explained. "The homeless population is continuing to grow in LA, so you have this area that will never be completed, smack in the middle."
Hutchinson isn't a fan of the graffiti either. While many Los Angeles residents condemn the vandalism, he believes that both the unfinished site and the art are signs of a city in crisis.
"The problem is that you're talking about violating public space with no permission... it doesn't sit well with me," Hutchinson said. "And the public has to foot the bill for the cleanup."
Expenses borne by the taxpayer at the Oceanwide Plaza include security details from the LAPD and graffiti removal costs.
(Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore stated during a February City Council meeting, "Our deployment has been strained. We've brought in additional police officers on an overtime basis to increase patrols or station them at that location to prevent trespassing and other illegal activities.")
Local cleaning crews in the neighborhoods surrounding the Oceanwide development eradicate about 2,000 square feet of graffiti per week, with this number increasing lately.
"The people living and working here forget that we are a community," said Blair Besten, executive director of the Downtown Historic Core, an organization focused on enhancing the quality of life in the city's downtown areas. The Historic Core emphasizes street maintenance, garbage collection, and graffiti eradication.
"I don't think what they're doing is art," she argued regarding the Oceanwide taggers. "It's messy and hasty. They come in quickly and leave."
However, for Gastman, graffiti is a potent means of self-expression and a call-to-action - particularly for those facing personal, gang-related, or societal struggles. Graffiti culture can serve as an unexpected support system for those society has neglected, Gastman said. It offers a stage for individuals to share their views.
"We all know each other in the graffiti community. We share the same perspective - we're simply attempting to be seen," commented ENDEM.
During a period of addiction that led to rock bottom, graffiti became his lifeline, he shared.
"I was in the depths of my addiction, still trying to maintain sobriety, and needed an escape," he told CNN. "Graffiti offers a sense of connection. It's beyond me, it's collective, it's a community."
ENDEM believes that Oceanwide's charm is not visual. Instead, it stems from the emergence of a new generation of graffiti artists.
"They may be able to erase the graffiti on the buildings, but they can't erase the effect it has on Los Angeles or the world," he remarked.
As Gastman concluded, "Yes, it's vandalism. Yes, it's art. It's everything in between. This is a genuine culture. It isn't going anywhere."
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Source: edition.cnn.com
