I use walking as a device to make art. Los Angeles is a challenging place for me. Designed for moving around by car, walking is set aside as an activity for the poor or insane. As an artist, I want to become a mad wanderer exploring a city that I visit for the first time. I see walking as a creative form of inquiry which creates critical dialogue focused on unpopular urban developments. In the context of Los Angeles, I look at the Fashion District's gentrification.
For two weeks, I will be creating my own image of the city through marking my territory, seeking the marvelous in the banal, acting subversively, beating the social boundaries, drawing my own maps, and overall helping to make the urban landscapes more walk-friendly. To begin my research I have been invited by the collective "Crosswalks LA'' to paint white stripes on a road on Saturday, March 18. A simple but very symbolic action that aims to make the city a safer place for walkers.
This is my statement made before having set foot in Los Angeles.
Place: Los Angeles, US
Year: 2023
Month: March
Day 14th. Arriving to Los Angeles. Hosting at Lofts Piano [map]
Day 15th. Walking around Fashion District [map] and visiting Durden and Ray Gallery at Bendix Building [map]
Day 16th. Producing art works at home. Walking to The Broad [map]
Day 17th. Walking to Vermont Outlet True Value [map]
Day 18th. Walking to meet CrosswalksLA collective in a secret location in Beverly Blvd. Afternoon at Carlos Beltran´s place.
Day 19th. Watching El Clásico invited by Penya Blaugrana Los Angeles at Underdogs [map]
Day 20th. Walking to Walk of Fame and Melrose Avenue.
Day 21st. Resting
Day 22nd. Walking to McArthur Park. Meeting Black Lives Matter´s demonstration.
Day 23rd. Walking to The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) [map]
Day 24th. Fashion District's Opening at Durden and Ray
Day 25th. Visit to The Getty Center [map]. Opening at Museum Terrace [map]
Day 26th.
Day 27th. Walking from Santa Monica to Venice Beach. Dinner at In-N-Out Burger [map]
Day 28th. Leaving Los Angeles.
