06/14/2012

L.A. Artists Bring Back Mural Culture

"Levi Ponce wants art to pop from the plain brick walls of businesses that line busy Van Nuys Boulevard.

On those walls, he envisions the faces of community heroes, bold images that define the present struggles of the neighborhood, and scenes of proud moments in the history of a people.

'I want to bring art to people who are underexposed to it,' said Ponce, 24, an animation artist and muralist. 'I want to make Pacoima a prominent voice in the arts.'

For the last several months, Ponce and a handful of other muralists and graffiti artists from the Northeast Valley have infused the community with public artwork.

On the side of a travel agency near 13403 Van Nuys Blvd., Ponce painted a hulking portrait of Danny Trejo, a Pacoima native who transformed himself from drug addict and thief to actor (star of Machete) and community activist. Just a few blocks north, Ponce used his brushes to paint Frida Kahlo's portrait alongside Huaraches y Quesadillas Chayito restaurant.

His recent works and those of others in Pacoima are part of a wider trend across Los Angeles. Just a few years ago, the legally sanctioned murals that were painted along freeway soundwalls, in housing developments, and on government buildings began to get tagged and were fading. Now, a new generation of street artists are no longer waiting for commissions or permission. And, some say, the work is more broadly respected and accepted.

'I think what's happening in the Northeast Valley is what's happening in the rest of L.A,' said Stefano Bloch, a lecturer within the urban planning studies at California State University, Northridge.

Bloch's doctoral dissertation examined the history of Los Angeles' muralists, from the Mexican movement on.

Once, graffiti gave the impression that a neighborhood was in decline, Bloch said. But over time, the impression of what constitutes a safe, desirable neighborhood has changed."

Los Angeles Daily News 06/10/2012