High rise buildings in Los Angeles, across from Crypto.com Arena, have become a hot spot for graffiti, allowing artists to leave their mark. These buildings are not only a waste of space and money, but they also give insight to the motivations behind the city’s government and their outlook on graffiti. These high rises, meant to be luxury penthouses, have been left unfinished and abandoned for the past five years. Despite the waste of money put into construction, they are an eyesore for the inhabitants of Los Angeles, specifically downtown.
Many famous graffiti artists saw this open space as the perfect place to leave their mark. With the minimal amount of security, the city is almost asking for artists to come and decorate. These artists are putting in real work by having to carry their supplies up nearly fifty flights of stairs just to reach a high enough floor. There is about an 18 inch ledge surrounding each floor where the artist must stand on to tag their name. Famous artists like Sek are facing extreme risks in order to display their work. Despite being at extreme heights, being on a tiny ledge, and withstanding wind, these artists are at risk of being arrested and/or being fined. In the city of Los Angeles, graffiti is seen as vandalism and artists are at risk of being thrown in jail. All of these risks seem worth it when the overall goal is to leave their tag to express themselves, push their personal limits, and experience an insane adrenaline rush.
These artists see this abandoned space as ugly and unnecessary, and are attempting to beautify the city by adding color. Although many inhabitants of Los Angeles are in support of graffiti on abandoned spaces, the city government does not agree. The city wasted millions of dollars in trying to remove the art off of these buildings. To them, this issue may seem important; but to numerous others, this money would be better spent attempting to help the other serious concerns throughout the city, specifically the homeless crisis and the underprivileged school systems. With over 75,000 homeless needing a place to live, the city would rather spend money removing graffiti than turning these abandoned buildings into spaces to house the homeless. Similarly, many public schools throughout the area are extremely underfunded; another area in which that money should have been allocated. Despite there being severe issues throughout the city that actually affect its inhabitants, money is being wasted on removing artwork that, despite the city’s best efforts, is continuously being put up.
Los Angeles is an amazing city where dreams are born and goals manifest into reality. It is a hot spot for creative works, being a designated place for artists to come and live out their dreams. Despite the wide ranging problems the county faces, Los Angeles is a destination in which the entertainment industry flourishes, museums are on nearly every corner (with over 100 museums in just LA county), and people feel safe to truly express themselves. Most would think any type of art, including graffiti, is admired and accepted; but to the city, that is not the case. The question still remains, are these works acts of vandalism and a crime or are they truly art for inhabitants to enjoy while exposing the city’s governments underlying corrupt motivations?
