The ISLANDS OF LA began on September 16, 2007 at 7:59 pm. The project began when the first sign was installed in front of Mayor Antonio Villaragossa’s office in south central Los Angeles in a neighborhood of South Los Angeles called Westmont at the corner of 83rd and S. Vermont, 90044. The mission of the project is to change the way we use public space by turning traffic islands into territories of art that generate interchanges.

This island is in Westmont, South LA, which was in one of the epicenters of the LA civil unrest in 1992. Was the entire city turned into a temporary, contentious, urban town gathering or was it meaningless mass violence? Did it have any lasting impact? The unrest can be viewed as an eruption of public expression, a spontaneous public sphere created by various minority groups acting in a chaotic yet directed way, like the weather. 51% arrested were Hispanic, 34% were black, 74% of damaged buildings were commercial. Civil unrest, riot? Reminds me of the response to hangings in France at the dawn of the French revolution, which in turn resulted in a shift in discipline and punishment. TODAY, locals say parking enforcement won’t ticket you in hopes of revitalization that includes nearby new construction.

On a side note, this area used to be called South Central L.A.  Officially, the name has changed in an attempt by the city to remove the stigma of poverty and violence associated with the name.