Great Wall of Los Angeles

The Great Wall is located on Coldwater Canyon Avenue between Oxnard Street and Burbank Boulevard and the eastern edge of the Valley College campus in the San Fernando Valley community of Valley Glen. It is on the concrete sides of the Tujunga Wash, a tributary of the Los Angeles River. The mural is high, painted directly on concrete. With a length of 2,754 feet (840 m) (covering over 6 city blocks), it is credited as one of the longest murals in the world. ==Subject matter and style==

getting trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits, and the earliest evidence of Chumash settlement, labelled as 1,000 AD The Great Wall of Los Angeles depicts the history of California "as seen through the eyes of women and minorities" in many connected panels. Baca recalls that at the time, there was a lack of public art that represented the diverse heritage of Los Angeles. The first panels begin with prehistory and colonialism. The very first panel was designed by Christina Schlesinger and depicts native wildlife and the creation story of the indigenous Chumash. the Freedom Bus rides, the disappearance of Rosie the Riveter, deportations of Mexican Americans, the birth of rock and roll, and the development of suburbia. The subject matter of the Great Wall of Los Angeles doesn't shy away from uncomfortable aspects of current and past social practices. The design and composition of the wall are also considered major aspects of the art's appeal. ==History==

The possibility of creating the mural was first brought up in 1974 when Baca was contacted by the Army Corps of Engineers about a beautification project. The wall along the river was considered an eyesore, or in Baca's view, "a scar where the river once ran". The Great Wall of Los Angeles as an idea was more fully fleshed out in 1976 by Baca. With the additional help of the city, the Corps of Engineers, and SPARC, Baca was ready to start work by the summer of 1978. Baca felt that they were able to learn many useful skills, such as math, history, and art In the years 1981 and 1983, additional young people were hired through a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation. The community donated $20,000, which was collected in the span of two weeks, to help the artists complete their work. The Great Wall of Los Angeles was finished in 1984. == Refurbishing and expansion ==

Over time, the mural suffered environmental damage and required restoration. It was restored in 2011. Restoration of the mural included artists and some of the original youth from the project putting in 8- and 12-hour days to complete the work. Plans for a bridge and solar lighting to allow additional viewing of the mural has been proposed as of 2014. The project is estimated to cost around $1.3 million and will be funded by the county, the city, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the California Cultural Historical Endowment. and for the scenes from the '70s and '80s. SPARC plans for the mural to be a mile long when sections for the 1970s through the 1990s are complete. Hundreds of artists have been working on it and the mural will consist of other stories. Issues regarding minorities, and movements that are not as well-known will be depicted in the extended mural. == Comments by Baca ==

"Public art in America has taken a shift; it's basically becoming decorative. They've reduced the community process to censorship. The Great Wall, for example, could not be done today."—Judith Baca, 2000 "It's not just history, it's really about relationships—about connecting."—Judith Baca, 2004 "The people who have worked on this project gave much more than their time. They made a giant monument to interracial harmony."—Judith Baca, 2000 ==See also==