After slipping unscathed through Skidrow's Tent City and the thousand or so homeless living on the sidewalks; we paid a late night visit to the Art District. The gutters were surreally clean; devoid of refuse.
This area is prime for urban nocturne painting with 20th Century Art Deco Buildings, and bridges, spanning the L.A. River, 19th century brownstone warehouses lit with minimal light, and facades constructed out of stacks of shipping palates.
We came across this mural painted by famed photographic muralist "JR",( a Parisian who doesn't quite know what his initials stand for).
In researching this Mural, it was one of three he painted as part of the Los Angeles Freewalls project. I was surprised to see that another soul had come along and defaced the face. They re-configured JR's mural, giving it a more clown, less frown-like expression.
The "Tagger" in question has turned a phot0-realistic portrait of a character, into a his own graphic arts project. The Mural now looks like something out of the Beatles movie, "Yellow Submarine", or an elucidation (hallucination), from a 1960's Peter Max Bed Spread I had as a child. These murals added spice to an urban jungle that's wild.
Either way, this mural is now more foreboding; yet is still strangely attractive to ponder upon. The cubist-like face stares at you as you await the signal's change from red to green.
It is not the oddest thing I've ever seen...
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