On one street corner in Beverly Hills, are three unique public works of art–all very different, put together by its artists and sculptors with diverse mediums–with totally different perspectives and points of view.

At the intersection of Burton Way and North Rexford Drive, as pictured above, you’ll encounter this 10’ high, red mixture of painted and twisted steel, entitled “Sisyphus,” In classical mythology, Sisyphus was a cruel king who was condemned and subsequently forced to roll an enormous boulder to the top of a steep hill. Of course, such as fate goes, every time that Sisyphus was able to push the boulder near the top of the mountain, it would roll back down, and Sisyphus would have to start over. And over, and over.

The sculptor of this whimsical and complicated piece of sculpture is, Alexander Liberman. The artist Liberman, also worked for over 30 years in various art positions at the famed publication, Vogue, and actually did not start creating sculpture until he was late into his 40’s.

Looking to the right of Liberman’s maze of red steel, is this visually stunning sculpture, entitled the “Spiral of Life” by artist Baile Oakes.

Crafted entirely out of redwood this sculpture brings life to wood, but in the end, it will eventually return back to earth. Oakes’ stated artistic dream and mission is to "use visual language to help bring our culture to a fuller understanding of our place within the living systems of the Earth." He is a participating artist in the GreenMuseum.org, an online museum dedicated to environmental art.

Lastly, around the corner on the left is home to “Home” by sculptor and artist, Charles Arnoldi. Made of cast bronze, with its tactile and façade resembling finger like painting on the outside, it evokes a feeling of a familiar habitat, because of its wide berth beckoning its viewers to enter its cavernous opening.

As seen from these pictures, it was another great day in Southern California, and although right now we don’t technically have a fall season in full or any “swing,” a few trees do have leaves that have changed colors, and there is some crispness in the air.

Although Los Angeles is famous for its “Hills;” Beverly, Hollywood, Holmby, etc., there are other parts of our City of Angeles that tell other stories. One such place is Ramona Gardens– the oldest public housing project in Los Angeles. Originally built in 1941 with four 2 story buildings, it now encompasses large interlocking streets of similar styled sections of colored townhouse style homes.

For many who call East Los Angeles home, they are proud of their area, and I’ll say for the record that it has a natural and warm charm, both in its residents and its deep ingrained culture of hospitality. While this may seem at odds with the notorious gangs and gang-banging culture that has manifested, I remind my viewers that La Costa Nostra was born in the beautiful mountains and island of Sicily—point being is that one has nothing to do with another, or can be separated in how one views and understands modern day urban areas.

Spending several hours walking around the home turf of the Big Hazards street gang, better known as Ramona Gardens, I didn’t feel in danger. People greeted me, said “Hello,”, and asked about my camera. I smiled back and greeted them in return and told them how beautiful the murals are, and that’s why I was there.

You might be asking yourself, how murals could that be an important part of a community. Ramona Gardens is one the first places public murals became part of a neighborhoods culture and literally and figuratively came to life as a force for its residents. Starting in 1973, and completed in 1977, the majority of the murals were created, envisioned, and painted by the residents of Ramona Gardens with the help of the Mechicano Arts Center.

These amazing murals tell the story of a people; their culture, their beliefs, their thoughts, and their dreams. Each mural celebrates the human spirit.

Community arts basically are just the spiritual uplifting of the people, the masses of people that are downtrodden right now. The minority communities are spiritually dead and I think our main goal is to awaken them spiritually to the point where they can become politically conscious of their environment and what’s happening to them and their lifestyle and hopefully to stimulate them to do something about their condition. I think basically that’s what community arts is. It’s a tool for social change. It’s a tool for community development, which is social change. I can’t see any other reason for community arts.  Quote by Victor Franco founder of the Mechicano Arts Center

Although Ramona Gardens has seen its share of violence, it’s currently home to hundreds of people, many of its homes are replete with rose gardens, clotheslines, children playing, and hopes for the future. It has a community feel to it that I haven’t felt in any other community I’ve recently walked through. It’s a paradox—the violence and danger and the natural warmth of a neighborhood and its people.

Today, the community arts program is alive and well in Ramona Gardens. Pictured above, a new mural, entitled “Art Heals,” was dedicated to all of the mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives and daughters of Ramona Gardens, where public art is thriving. Located at the Ramona Gardens Recreation Center, “Art Heals” was painted by renowned local artists, Joseph Montalvo, Raul Gonzalez and Ricardo Estrada, with the help of community members.

Being a resident here, it’s unfortunately a common experience to notice that many building, points and objects of interest, and public murals have been “tagged.,” Tagging is the public act of signing a wall with a “signature,” often done by gang members.

According to “Boxer,” a gentleman I met while taking these photos, the community teaches those inclined to “tag,” and people like myself, what the murals mean, why they are there, and the important message they send. A shout out to Boxer because at Ramona Gardens, even though most of these murals have been around for decades, most have never been tagged.

In addition, Boxer, who has lived in the area for over 40 years, was involved in the 70s mural project, and he has kept in touch with many of his fellow artists involved. So, if an issue comes up with one of the murals, the artist is contacted and will sacrifice his or her time to fix and update the mural.

Often times, the solution for tagged murals is to just paint over them, but this means the muralist has no chance to reclaim his or her work. Given the chance, most artists want to restore their art.

For me, walking around this neighborhood was seeing a small town in the big city. And that’s what makes living in and Travelin’ Local in Los Angeles unique—one moment we’re exposed to one ethnicity and unique aspect of a community, when down the block there’s a whole different vibe and cultural infrastructure. If you’re interested in walking a similar path, here’s the map and additional photos so you’ll get an idea of where to go:

And that’s what makes Los Angeles a world-class and exciting city to live in.

The downtown central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library has several important walls. They’re not ordinary walls, but were visually, artistically, and architecturally created, to express a wide-range of thought, wisdom, and philosophy. The famous poet, Robert Frost is well known for his oft repeated and well-proven quote that:

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”

At the Mark Taper Auditorium, written thoughts, when encapsulated into an emotion, are further brought to “life” via architecture and design on walls, window frames, and fences by various artist’s quotes and musings on life.

In this case, the walls do, indeed talk to us:

"A hole is to dig, a book is to look at."

“There is no friend more obliging than a book” by Alfonso Reyes

"The more that you read, the more things you’ll know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go." by Dr. Seuss

Life’s immortal and axiomatic truisms are as simple as that. On these various photos, the artist, Ries Niemi, used quotations about books and knowledge, which were selected by him and local librarians for these installations. They’re inscribed into 9 different languages that are frequently spoken here, in the great melting pot of Los Angeles.

Entitled “Literate Fence” and measuring approximately 100 feet long and 9 feet tall, this combination of thought, architecture, and books, connects the 1927 Bertram Goodhue era Los Angeles Central Library, with its 1993 addition by the architectural firm led by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer.

Whenever one gate closes another opens. When and how, we’re frequently left to find out unexpectedly.

After a lot of time and work, Travelin’ Local has formed a California non-profit corporation– Mapping Los Angeles Public Art, aka “MLAPA.” In addition, we’ve submitted our application to the IRS for our 501c (3) tax exempt status designation.

Because the stated mission of MLAPA is to initiate, compile, and complete a fully digitized, documented, cataloged, indexed, and photographed virtual map of all of the Public Art located throughout Los Angeles County and its surrounding areas, I’ll be featuring all of the future public art posts in excerpt format here on Travelin’ Local, with a link to MLAPA. From that point, you’ll be able to click the link to finish the story.

Our envisioned cultural catalog, has never been attempted, nor has anybody or entity ever come close in our project’s depth, breadth, coverage, and use of technology, photography, and other planned knowledge management systems to create a visual and written compendium of all of our Public Art. To be sure, it’s an important educational, artistic, and historic reference of our city’s physical surroundings.

In today’s foundational MLAPA story, we’re featuring the Home Savings of America building.

Located at the corner of Figueroa and 7^th streets, is a one-building public art tour de force. I could have easily spent an hour there just looking at the myriad and meticulous details, colors, and shapes that adorn and define this structure. With that as the backdrop, let’s discover the Home Savings of America building together.

When the Home Savings of America building was originally built in 1988, $450,000 of the building’s costs were dedicated to public art. That equaled to 1% of its total construction and development budget.

As pictured above, the building’s façade hosts two mosaic tile murals by Joyce Kozloff. To balance and maintain its indigenous theme with its architecture, the two forty-foot-high by ten-foot wide Italian glass murals, on the building’s exterior, feature 16th Century decorative artifices, and are a derivative from the chateaux gardens at Villandry and Chenonceaux in the Loire Valley. Rounded lunettes at the top of each illustrate Ms. Kozloff’s vision of Los Angeles– one depicts two angels and the other, a festoon of oranges.

These large sculptured glass windows by the celebrated New York artist, Patsy Norvell, were installed on the ground floor. Ms. Norvell’s glass panels are spectacular architectural ensemble pieces in which their intricately carved leaf and vine motifs create richly luminescent effects. Its named "Glass Passage," as each window is covered with an arch detailed in gold leaf.

Above, the ceiling at the Metro Rail portal, at Seventh and Figueroa, was painted by Los Angeles artist Terry Schoonhoven. It features a large panel surrounded by five smaller panels, that generously provide viewers with a tipped perspective of the sky, and Los Angeles’ urban scene. Mr. Schoonhoven’s work is entitled "City Above."

For a detailed up close look at this extraordinary building, Travelin’ Local has prepared a slideshow presenting its aesthetic details. To be able to walk one city block, and see this much public art and architectural beauty–steeped in both modern and past history– gives true meaning and defines Los Angeles as being truly one of the great cities of the world.

Art on the Outside” is a program sponsored by the City of West Hollywood’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission.

For drivers, pedestrians, and residents, along Santa Monica Blvd–between Doheny Dr. and N. Almont Dr– Peter Shire’s art exhibits are to be both seen and experienced.

Indeed, the first time I passed by them I had to stop. To be sure, WeHo’s denizens and others who regularly travel on Santa Monica Blvd are used to them; but especially for those who are not, I felt compelled to share a bit of what we in LA can enjoy anytime we want.

Although initially the exhibit was to run until November 2008–however it will probably be extended until January of 2010. To give you an idea of the sculptures scope and sizes–they range from 12 feet to 20 feet in height.

Of course, each one has already been mapped in Travelin’ Local’s Mapping Los Angeles Public Art Map:

View Mapping LA Public Art (MLAPA) in a larger map

The artist, Peter Shire, is well known for his ceramic teapots and fanciful, geometric sculptures. His work is featured at museums worldwide, including LACMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His public sculptures can also be seen locally at Elysian Park, the Academy Village Housing Project in North Hollywood, the Ramada Plaza in West Hollywood, and the Wilshire/Vermont Metro Station.

So the next time you’re Travelin’ Local on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, be sure to check out and appreciate these creative and colorful sculptures because they won’t be around forever.

Simply put, if you’re riding a bike to a specific location and intend to stay or stop there for any period of time, having a bike rack for your bicycle is a necessity. Most bike racks are plain steel, twisted metal, or perhaps consist of a parking meter, a light pole, or anything that’s fixed for you to be able to lock your bicycle onto.

However, it doesn’t have to be like that at all; indeed the emerging trends are creative, flexible, and work to secure your bike while being artistically, and neighborhood friendly.

Sponsored in 1994-1995, by the Los Angeles City Department of Transportation, “The Bike Stops Here” project was funded with an $18,000 Cultural Trust Fund grant from the Community Redevelopment Agency. With the direct involvement of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), ten uniquely designed bike racks were installed in downtown Los Angeles.

So the next time you’re riding your bike downtown, try looking for an artistic bike rack, instead of the everyday ho-hum norm:

I’ve included a map so you can easily find them:

View Artistic Bike Racks in Los Angeles in a larger map

Although there are new bike racks planned for East Hollywood, they’re not installed yet.

If you know about or have seen any unique bike racks in and around LA, please feel free to share them with us so we can feature them in one of our stories.

Join Travelin’ Local’s new Facebook group and upload your photos. Be sure to include your blog and/or web address so I can provide you with proper attribution.

Cause after all is said and done, Los Angeles is the second largest city in the nation; and we comprise and represent various neighborhoods and people from all walks of life, ethnic groups, and our cultural landscape literally changes block by block.

So join our project by submitting all the bike racks you can find in your neighborhood while Travelin’ Local, because living here is about having fun and then sharing it with your friends at the same time.

Figueroa Courtyard in Downtown Los Angeles, at the corner of 3^rd and Figueroa, is a unique 5 acre walkway and courtyard. If you want to relax, immerse yourself in the sounds of a running fountain, and enjoy its unique and fascinating public art sculptures and installations, this is where it’s at.

Sometimes, when Travelin’ Local, I’m amazed at the treasures that can be found just by happening to be at the right time at the right time, or just looking around, which is how I landed smack-dab in the middle of Figueroa Courtyard.

Upon entering the courtyard, and barely visible in this shot, are the waterfalls that stand guard above each side of the sidewalk flowing down from its two sided concrete entrance mount. The molded spheres of different sizes and textures add a three-dimension to the landscape. Here’s a closer shot:

What I found most amazing about this location, was that each time I turned a corner, a new discovery crossed my path:

These whimsical and colorful outdoor installations and sculptures were completed by the artist, Ronald Hines. The well-placed and thought-provoking pieces added a degree and kind of aesthetic that’s rare when you just sit on a park bench, or traverse from or to the office structures. Blending with the landscape, they were aptly appropriate and seemed quite natural, despite their unusual design and structure; perhaps that was the objective of the artist and it certainly accomplishes his goal. I would return in a heartbeat to just sit on one of its park bench’s to enjoy the courtyard and public art. Even though it was very hot the day I was there–the temperature was at least 10 degree cooler inside the courtyard’s landscaped setting.

As I continued my unexpected journey and walk through the courtyard, I found this unique water arrangement:

With its crisscrossing paths of colored tiles, rock formation, round rock spheres, and its rotating fountain streaks of water, its especially appealing for both the eye and mind, as its relaxing sounds of water falling removes you—albeit temporarily—from feeling like you’re still in the big city.

Looking beyond the fountain, the next entry point to enter is the portion of the shaded walkway, with its festivity of plants, trees, and grass:

Continuing along the winding sidewalk, you’ll walk by the perpendicular peppered colored tile designs that gently invite you to move closer toward the area, to the three additional outdoor sculptures by Ronald Hines. His aesthetic is soothing yet allows you to feel itss physical experience, while the various metals, materials, color combination’s, content, and ideas appeal to the psyche. For what is art, but to see what the artist intends for you to see and to ponder?

When you’re ready to leave, the city welcomes you with open arms, ready for our next public art adventure.

With a different location initially in mind, I discovered something totally unque while Travelin’ Local. Now, I have a great excuse to go back to my original destination, so another Figueroa Street story is not far off.