Exploring the Rich Tapestry of Graffiti Art in LA

Art is not always confined to galleries and museums. In Los Angeles, art thrives in the vibrant streets, decorating otherwise bland concrete walls, transforming them into dynamic, living canvases. Among the many forms of street art, graffiti holds a special place, widely recognized for its spontaneity, audacious color schemes, and powerful socio-political statements. Los Angeles, often dubbed the ‘Graffiti Capital of the World,’ is a testament to this unique artistic expression.

Graffiti art has an intense presence in LA culture? — it is a quintessential visual representation of the city’s raw energies, vibrant spirit, and diverse cultures. From the barrios of East LA to the iconic Venice Beach Walls, graffiti in Los Angeles paints a vivid narrative of the city’s history, its struggles, and its victories.

Much of LA’s graffiti roots back to the mid-70s and early 80s. This era bore witness to the birth of the ‘West Coast Hip-Hop’ culture. Inspired by this wave, daring young artists began using graffiti as a tool of expression, often conveying their personal experiences of living in the city.

Artists such as Chaz Bojórquez, an early precursor of the LA graffiti scene, brought legitimacy and status to the art form. His work showcased the stylistic influence of East LA gang calligraphy, or Cholo writing, integrating it with Asian calligraphy he learned while studying in the Far East. Similar to Bojórquez, many early LA graffiti artists were heavily influenced by this amalgamation of local and foreign elements.

While the early graffiti scene was dominated often by male artists, women artists have since grown in prominence and esteem. Artists like Lady Pink, known as the “First Lady of Graffiti,” have challenged the norms, showcasing their talents and powerful voices in the male-dominated field. Her visionary graffiti has lent a more nuanced, diverse perspective to LA’s urban art landscape.

The influence of graffiti art is so widespread that it has even extended to unconventional spaces. In a rather unexpected melding of interests and disciplines, the incorporation of graffiti-inspired elements have been found in archaeology tours in the Middle East. These archaeological tours, when exploring ancient ruins, often interpret and explain the historical graffiti carved onto ancient stone walls and structures, resonating with LA’s modern graffiti’s storytelling essence.

Today, graffiti is recognized as an integral part of LA’s artistic and cultural identity, progressively shaking off the stigma of it being mere vandalism. There’s been a surge in artist commissions for public murals in a bid to revitalize local neighborhoods and attract tourism. Programs, such as the LA Mural Program and the Citywide Mural Program, have been implemented. These initiatives recognize graffiti’s potential as an urban renewal tool, fostering community engagement, beautifying city spaces, and promoting local artists.

Exploring the urban jungle of LA reveals the city’s heartbeat through its graffiti-laden structures. The art offers insights into the city’s historical socio-economic struggles, its multicultural fusion, and the rebels and pioneers who’ve left their marks on the city. In the end, the graffiti art scene in LA proves that art can indeed rise from the streets and command attention.

byAlma Abell

Central Park, just the name brings up images of horse-drawn carriages, bike tours, and children playing in the grassy park with footballs and Frisbees. However, if you are new to the Central Park scene, you may wonder just what goes on in the Central Park tours and what types of tours are offered. Keep that in mind as you find out what the many things are you can do in Central Park on your next vacation to New York.

Take a Bike Tour

Are you a fitness buff? Ride your bike at home whenever you can? Then you need to make sure that you schedule a bike tour when you are deciding which of the Central Park tours is the right tour for you and your family.

Take a Horse and Carriage Ride

In the mood for something romantic that just the two of you can do together. Take a horse and carriage ride through Central Park. This is the oldest Central Park tradition around and can make a humdrum night turn into something magical. If you are looking for something to do with the woman you love, this is just the ticket for a starry New York night.

Take a Walking Tour

There is nothing better than a walking tour of Central Park to not only get your exercise for the day but to get to know the history of the park as well. Make sure that you book your walking tour for the entire family, and you will have the time of your life.

These are just a few of the things that you can do in Central Park for Central Park tours. For more information, contact the guides at Must See Central Park today to book a tour for you and your family.

August, 2014 byAlma Abell

It has never been easy to be a jazz singer. This is certainly true of those first men and women who stepped on the stage. These were classic jazz artists but many people chose to forget their contribution and focused overwhelmingly on the band. To some authorities, jazz was the music not the singer. In fact, they questioned the existence of a jazz singer at all. The exception perhaps, being Al Jolson (1886-1950) in his movie “The Jazz Singer,” which took a different and dramatic version of Jazz, Blues and popular music to the movies in 1927.

Big Band Vocalists/Classic Jazz Artists

While Jolson remained the favorite of the American public, he was not the only jazz singer around. Time saw the rise of an entire flotilla of men and women during the Big Band Era which combined with the Swing Era. This was the period from the 1920s to the end of the Second World War. It saw the rise and fall of many major classic jazz artists including:

*Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)*Billie Holiday (1915-1959)*Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)*Helen Forrest (1917-1999)*Dean Martin (1917-1995)*Joe Williams (1918-1999)*Anita O’Day (1919-2006)*Nat King Cole (1919-1965)*Peggy Lee (1920-2002)*Kitty Kallen (1922 -)*Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990)*Doris Day (1924 -)*Mel Tormé (1925-1999)

Some are rarely mentioned in outside of jazz music circles these days. This includes Helen Forrest who was well known during her era as being the girl singer for three of the most famous and recognizable bands of the period: Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Harry James. Her performance and acceptance by all three big bands of the time earned her the appellation of “the voice of the name bands.”

These jazz artists worked hard at what they did. They toured for extended periods of time. Many became popular singers for the period, although some since have been downgraded to popular singers e.g. Nat King Cole, Doris Day and Dean Martin.

Death of an EraAfter World War Two Jazz evolved and the Bid Bands petered out. There were revivals but the focus in the music was on exploration of jazz tempos. The music became frantic at times and wandered off into the stratosphere with the works of Mikes Davis and John Coltrane. Classic jazz artists – both men and women also took new paths. Some explored the realms of popular music while others began to experiment with their voices in other ways.

While the ranks of jazz singers were on the decline during the 1970s and 1980s, they have since rebounded. Today, while only a few can consider themselves classic jazz artists, many follow in the old tradition. It may not be Big band or Swing, but they touch on it. Some, such as Sylvia Brooks and Diane Krall are worth noting for their repertoire that sometimes recalls the past glory of the classic jazz singers.

Sometimes titled “Jazz Noir” Sylvia Brooks takes to the stage with a torch in her voice. Like many of her contemporaries, Sylvia Brooks has learned well from the Classic Jazz Artists. She is now taking the old, and making it, subtly, her own. To learn more about Sylvia and her music, visit Sylviabrooks.net.