Engraved in Memory is a public art project commission for Metro Los Angeles for the new Expo Line light rail. Through a series of eight of linoleum cut prints that were then translated to hand cut porcelain panels, I connect the seemingly ordinary and unassuming intersection of La Cienega and Jefferson Boulevard in Los Angeles into the larger scope of California history by reclaiming and rediscovering past events that occurred locally that shaped the neighborhood into what it looks like today and defined the City of Los Angeles. This project is the story of how a space becomes place and a direct response to the claim that many people who visit Los Angeles from elsewhere make; that we have no history. When visitors walk through the station platform, the panels are arranged in chronological order so that they are either walking forward or going back in time. The elevated platform provides a stunning view of the surrounding area and sets the stage for the story that is being told through the panels. **NOTE: I have the original linoleum cuts, digital print outs of the images and a sample of the material available for display in the show. Previous / Next image (1 of 1) {image12}{image 13} Each image began as a relief print carved out of linoleum and then printed using a printing press. The imagery that was selected for each of the panels is informed by exhaustive research into events that occurred locally. The resulting research was inspiring and surprising in the way that the history unfolded. I was able to connect the space where the station was to reside to significant events in the city's history. Next, the image was taken and turned into a high resolution scan that was taken by the talented ceramicists at Mosaika in Montreal, Quebec where it was made into porcelain panels using a technique developed by their workshop that had been used only once before. They take slabs of fresh porcelain clay and spray a layer of black pigment and then transfer the design directly onto it. While the clay is still fresh, they take tools and carve out the pieces. As they remove the material, the white porcelain underneath is exposed and it creates a low relief sculpture. The end result is very similar to the material from which the linoleum relief print was originially made. Previous / Next image (1 of 1) The series begins with a panel dedicated to Los Angeles' first people, the Tongva. It depicts life in a Tongva settlement. Apart from activity related to sustenance, depicted on the edges of the panel, I focus on more mundane activity. The city of Los Angeles was founded and built over the Tongva village of Yang'na. They settled during the summer months near the ocean and collected and dried shellfish and fish for the winter months. During winter they would move inland away from the ocean to harvest acorns. There were numerous settlements throughout the Los Angeles basin, enough in fact, to create a haze from cooking fires. This haze was noted by Cabrillo in his diary as he viewed the Los Angeles basin from a looking glass on his ship in 1542 and became the first description of smog in the basin. The next panel is a depiction of the Portolá Expedition of 1769, the first Spanish overland expedition through California. The panel depicts a column of soldiers led by a standard bearer which would lead the expedition as they enforce colonial Spain's claim to the territory of Alta California. Following the standard bearer is Gaspar de Portolá in a helmet accompanied by soldados de cuera carrying lances. The expedition's diarist, Father Juan Crespi, depicted riding a mule in the middle, makes a description of the land that was to be the site where the city of Los Angeles would later be founded in his diary. Almost hidden in the horses are the "volunteer" porters, who were men from local indigenous villages that were coerced to carry the expeditions supplies on foot. The path that the expediton took is an old trail that was used by the Tongva that is today the 10 freeway. The Californio period is depicted in the following panel. La Cienega Boulevard was named after the rancho that existed in that area, Rancho Las Cienegas, translated from Spanish Las Cienegas means swamps or springs. The Californios are the original vaqueros of the West predating the popular Texas cowboy by almost a whole century. They created a culture that was neither Mexican nor Spanish and but was rooted in both pastoral traditions. They owned huge expanses of land and became wealthy by raising cattle for the hide trade. The site of the station is surrounded by the boundaries of four different rancherias; Paso de la tijera, Rincon de los bueyes, Ballona, and Las cienegas. The landscape lent itself for the semiannual rodeo in which they would gather cattle for branding or to collect the hides. The owner of Rancho Las Cienegas was Francisco Avila, one of the wealthiest men in California at the time. His adobe home is now the oldest existing residence in Los Angeles and is found at Olvera Street. Next is the early film industry in Southern California. Ballona Creek was the site of many Western "Cowboy and Injun" movies, in particular Tom Mix movies. As people from the eastern part of the United States moved West, their imaginations were captivated by the idea of the "buckaroo" and the wild Indian. This was reflected in the popularity of early black and white Westerns, most of which were produced by the early film studios in Culver City. In 1932, Los Angeles hosted athletes from around the world as they participated in the Olympic Summer games. An innovation that originated during these Olupmpics was the concept of the Olympic Village, a series of bungalows that were built to house the athletes while they stayed in Los Angeles. The Olympic Village would be hastily built in what is today Kenneth Hahn park. The buildings would be dismantled as quickly as they were built. I was able to only find two photographs, one of the main enterance and another a postcard of the village itself. The only surviving bungalow housed the Mexican athletes that competed in the games. Today, it houses a small shop in Olvera Street and if you look by the entrance there is a tile plaque that gives this fact. The two athletes depicted in the panel are Gustavo Huet Bobadilla who won silver in the 50 meter rifle prone competition and the other is Francisco Cabañas Prado who won the silver medal in highly contested decision in mens flyweight boxing. Los Angeles for some time used to rely on a system of reservoirs for its potable water. After the Baldwin Hills Reservoir disaster of 1963, the city began to change that. A crack developed on the side of the dam very quickly began to deteriorate the retaining wall. Since the deterioration was gradual, KTLA managed to send a news helicopter with a camera to capture the scene. It became the first live televised disaster in the history of television and the destruction of homes changed the neighborhood. The dam released 250 million gallons of water that destroyed over 250 homes and killed five people. The site of the dam still exists in Kenneth Hahn Park. The next panel is a tryptch and it offers a vision of different facets of what the surrounding neighborhood is like. From right to left, there is the Village Green condominium complex, which was an ambitious project when it was built in the "garden style" in 1942 and continues to be a unique housing alternative. Next to that is Kenneth Hahn Park complete with oil pumps that line the south side of La Cienega Boulevard and the new gallery row on Washington Boulevard. Over time, these too will become images that will become part of the areas history as the neighborhood changes and goes through its own evolution. The last panel is a panoramic overview of the area with landmark buildings. Cutting through the middle is Ballona Creek and to the left are the Baldwin Hills and a part of the Village Green housing complex.
