L.A. Skyscrapers Graffiti

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Oceanwide Plaza Graffiti
Oceanwide Plaza Graffiti

Located in downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Skyscrapers were designed by CallisonRKTL and developed by the international developer Oceanwide Holdings Company.[1] The Beijing-based developer, Oceanwide Holdings, started to build a massive tower plaza in Los Angeles but ran out of funds in 2019.[2] The building was left unfinished and unattended for nearly five years. During that period, there were no ongoing projects involving the building, and no efforts were made to complete the project. In late December of 2023, three taggers, Akua, Sour, and Castle, broke into the tallest building of Oceanside’s three towers and spray painted their names across its floor to ceiling windows.[3] Following the event, more members of Los Angeles’ graffiti community to participate in tagging the skyscraper.[4]

Overview[edit]

Soon after the first instance of graffiti back in late December of 2023, the number of graffiti artists tagging Oceanwide Plaza’s skyscrapers rose sharply in late January and early February of 2024.[5] On February 3, an artist named Endem and his NCT (Nightmares Come True) crew snuck past a security guard and ascended up 28 flights of stairs. Following the event, those same graffiti artists added their own signatures to Los Angeles’ skyscrapers (Oceanwide Plaza). Soon after the event, more taggers began to tag the building and within 24 hours, one full skyscraper had been covered in graffiti. By February 6, all three skyscrapers had been tagged and covered in graffiti. The building was tagged by taggers known within the Los Angeles community, and by taggers from different parts of the United States of America. Oceanwide Plaza’s Skyscrapers were spray painted with words and phrases like “Set the pace” and “Amen.”[6][7]

This event sparked political urgency in Los Angeles, leading the Los Angeles Police Department to allocate resources to safeguard property while ensuring public safety. The Los Angeles Police Department dedicated resources to deploying helicopters to keep watch and arrest numerous occupants. On February 9, the Los Angeles City Council voted to bill Oceanwide approximately $4 million for expenses including graffiti removal and barrier reinforcement. Concerns have began to arise as Oceanwide has filed for bankruptcy, potentially placing the financial responsibility on LA taxpayers if compliance is not met.[8]

History and influences[edit]

Modern graffiti first emerged in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia in the 1960s and 1970s. Initially not recognized as art, graffiti evolved as the movement gained momentum and resulted in tags becoming increasingly complex.[9] Many graffiti artists are known for using unorthodox methods of creating art such as cans of aerosol spray paint, wall paint, and graffiti markers. Street Art has also been called independent public art, post-graffiti, and guerrilla art. The latter term is suitable for the tagging of Oceanwide Plaza’s Skyscrapers.[10] The term guerrilla art describes graffiti that appears in unauthorized spaces, such as billboards and buildings where graffiti is not permitted.[11] Since the 1960s and 1970s, various structures such as bridges, subway cars, and buildings, including those at Oceanwide Plaza in Los Angeles, have been tagged with graffiti.

Present day[edit]

Rick Caruso, a 65-year-old billionaire developer and a former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, has voiced criticism towards the city's handling of graffiti, raising questions about the allocation of associated costs, with implications for taxpayers potentially being responsible.Caruso has criticized both the city of Los Angeles and the graffiti artists for their conduct in relation to Oceanwide Plaza’s skyscrapers.[12]

Recently, some residents of Los Angeles have begun to voice concerns that the project to have the skyscrapers cleaned will result in an extravagant expenditure of resources. Due to the announcement of the plan to initiate a project for the removal of the graffiti, many citizens and Los Angeles residents have expressed that since graffiti artists are finding more and more new ways to enter the site, it may not be worth the effort and money to clean the building. However apparent antagonisms already were between economic classes in Downtown Los Angeles, the unfolding events at Oceanwide Plaza have spelled them out more plainly.[13]

In mid-February an individual was spotted parachuting from the top of one of the skyscrapers. Footage of the incident attracted the attention of many residents, including Los Angeles’ Mayor Karen Bass, who has expressed concern over growing unrest in the city the safety of the citizens of Los Angeles. Mayor Karen Bass has expressed the desire to minimize the reliance on the city and police resources but believes it is necessary to prevent dangerous situations. [14]

'References[edit]

  1. ^ "Oceanwide Plaza". CallisonRTKL. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  2. ^ Abkenari, Leda (2024-04-10). "A graffiti 'takeover' roils downtown Los Angeles". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  3. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (2024-02-14). "L.A.'s Graffiti Tower Sparks Broadside From Rick Caruso As Mayor's Office Scrambles". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  4. ^ "L.A. joins ranks of cities with 'ghost towers' with graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza". Los Angeles Times. 2024-02-10. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  5. ^ "Taggers graffiti 27 stories of skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles". KTLA. 2024-02-01. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  6. ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Binswanger, Julia. "Graffiti Artists Tag 27 Floors of Abandoned Skyscraper in Los Angeles". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  7. ^ "Title: Inside the graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza building in downtown ..." www.google.com. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  8. ^ "Why Rick Caruso turned down the chance to buy the graffiti towers - KNX News On Demand". omny.fm. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  9. ^ Thompson, Margo. American Graffiti. New York: Parkstone International, 2009. Accessed April 12, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central.
  10. ^ "Street and Graffiti Art Movement Overview". The Art Story. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  11. ^ "Guerrilla Art and the Politics of Punitive Literacy". The Courtauld. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  12. ^ "Why Rick Caruso turned down the chance to buy the graffiti towers - KNX News On Demand". omny.fm. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  13. ^ ""The people of Los Angeles waited patiently for half a decade to make use of a useless site"". Dezeen. 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  14. ^ "Parachuter jumps off graffiti-covered high-rise in downtown LA, video shows". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-04-12.

Sources[edit]

  1. Ables, Kelsey. "Inside the graffiti-covered L.A. skyscrapers that drew global attention." Los Angeles Times, February 8, 2024. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/art/2024/02/08/los-angeles-graffiti-building/.
  2. Abramovitch, Seth. "L.A.’s Graffiti Tower Sparks Broadside From Rick Caruso As Mayor’s Office Scrambles." The Hollywood Reporter, February 14, 2024. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/local-news/l-a-s-graffiti-tower-caruso-bass-1235824655/.
  3. Binswanger, Julia. "Graffiti Artists Tag 27 Floors of Abandoned Skyscraper in Los Angeles." Los Angeles Times, February 8, 2024. Accessed April 7, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/graffiti-artists-tag-27-floors-of-an-empty-skyscraper-development-in-los-angeles-180983749/.
  4. CallisonRTKL. "Oceanwide Plaza." Accessed April 9, 2024. https://www.callisonrtkl.com/projects/oceanwide-plaza/.
  5. DuBose, Josh. "Taggers graffiti 27 stories of skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles." Los Angeles Times. January 31, 2024. Accessed April 7, Year. https://ktla.com/news/local-news/tagger-graffitis-27-stories-of-skyscraper-in-downtown-los-angeles/.
  6. Duncan, Alexandra. "Street and Graffiti Art Movement Overview and Analysis." TheArtStory.org. 2024. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/street-art/.
  7. Gleisser, Faye. "Guerrilla Art and the Politics of Punitive Literacy." Lecture, presented by Faye Gleisser, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art History, and Faculty Director of the Emerging Artist in Residency Program, Indiana University
  8. "KNX News On Demand: Why Rick Caruso turned down the chance to buy the graffiti towers." Published February 14, 2024, KNX News. April 11, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/graffiti-artists-tag-27-floors-of-an-empty-skyscraper-development-in-los-angeles-180983749/.
  9. Miranda, Carolina A. "L.A. joins ranks of cities with 'ghost towers' with graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza." Los Angeles Times. February 10, 2024. Accessed April 6, 2024. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/newsletter/2024-02-10/la-oceanwide-plaza-essential-arts-arts-culture.
  10. "Parachuter jumps off graffiti-covered high-rise in downtown LA, video shows." KABC, February 13, 2024. Accessed April 12, 2024. https://abc7.com/graffiti-building-los-angeles-skyscraper-towers-downtown-la/14419458/."Parachuter jumps off graffiti-covered high-rise in downtown LA, video shows." KABC, February 13, 2024. Accessed April 12, 2024. https://abc7.com/graffiti-building-los-angeles-skyscraper-towers-downtown-la/14419458/.
  11. Reiner-Roth, Shane. "Graffiti at Oceanwide Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles." March 11, 2024. Accessed April 12, 2024. https://www.dezeen.com/2024/03/11/oceanwide-plaza-graffiti-los-angeles-shane-reiner-roth-opinion/.
  12. Thompson, Margo. American Graffiti. New York: Parkstone International, 2009. Accessed April 12, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central.
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