USA Projects

“Encounter” is a site-specific sculptural installation of three life-size ceramic sculptures of homeless men and women in various postures of sitting and/or lying on the sidewalk.  The artwork will be displayed on the streets of downtown Los Angeles, dispersed throughout the skid row area. In order to experience the artwork the viewer will be confronted with having to walk the streets in what is probably an uncomfortable, forbidding and unfamiliar area of the city.  Living near skid row and witnessing daily the conditions of the homeless forced me to confront it with my artwork.  Your donations will support the creation, transportation and installation of the sculptures.  Any funds raised beyond the $8000 minimum goal will be used toward the creation of additional sculptures.  Fifty percent of the sale of any of the sculptures will be donated to organizations working for the homeless.

The initial concept for “Encounter” came about during a solo exhibition of paintings in 2008.  The Gallery Director and I discussed ways to bring the homeless to the gallery in order to see the artwork that they had inspired.  We ultimately came to the conclusion that while this was well intentioned it was also missing the point, and that what really needed to happen was to move the artwork out of the gallery and onto the streets.

Once the sculptures are installed viewers will have to take a long walk, bus rides or bike ride in order to see all of the pieces, leading them through different pockets of skid row.  The placement of the artwork will initiate for the viewer encounters with the neighborhood and community that has inspired my artwork for the last ten years.  At the same time, the exhibition provides those who live and work in and around the skid row area an art-viewing event that they normally do not have the opportunity to experience.  The artwork will serve as a catalyst for community interaction and cultural understanding, bringing disparate populations of the city of Los Angeles together. I hope that the artwork will invite visitors to the neighborhood, possibly sparking a few into action to help bring about a small measure of progressive social change for a segment of our population that is in desperate need.  I also hope that this project will let those who live on the streets know that they possess meaningful social value and that they have much to contribute.