Art and the LA River

The theme of this class is art, especially in how it pertains to Los Angeles. Prior to arriving at the clean up, I mainly thought about the LA River in the context of art as the project that we would be doing. We were told to pick up cool pieces of trash because we were going to make an art piece out of it. But once I arrived at the Bowtie Parcel, I was a little bit early, so I went into the River Truck / Museum (I forget what it was called). Basically, it was a little exhibit in an RV-type vehicle that told the history of the Los Angeles River and the plans for renovation. It was in this exhibit that I saw other ways that the river and FOLAR can be seen as art.

Firstly, the founding of FOLAR was sparked by performance art. The exhibit said that the three founders of FOLAR trespassed by cutting a hole in a chain-link fence and declared the river open to the public, and this performance art piece lead to the creation of FOLAR. In this way, art is a part of the history of FOLAR which determines the future of the river.

Secondly, one of the founders, Lewis MacAdams, is an artist himself through poetry. He sees the river restoration as a long-term art project, calling it "40 Year Art Work." This made me see the restoration and the river in new ways as well. Looking at the pictures of the future LA River, I see extravagant designs, futuristic architecture, playgrounds and bikepaths, beautiful green space, etc. The design plans themselves are like artwork, but once implemented, they will make the river its own piece of art. Cleaning and revitlizaing it will make the Los Angeles River into "Los Angeles art."

By going to the clean up and "greening up" the river as a class, we are artists in the "40 Year Art Work." We are the artists contributing to the masterpiece that will be the LA River.