J. Michael Walker Visits "Telling L.A.'s Story"

THIS past Wednesday,  poet and visual artist, J. Michael Walker led us back in time: both through the lives of the saints as well as wandering back through his research and collecting process that provided the foundation for his project, "All the Saints of the City of the Angels."

If time had permitted,  I'd hoped he'd be able to talk  a little bit two other  city-rooted projects he's recently completed: An intricate map of the Metro Gold Line, that links downtown L.A. to Boyle Heights and into the San Gabriel Valley. As well as a portrait of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's young and dynamic conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. His website, however, provides a little window-in on these projects as well as information on past installations and public art commissions he's won.  You can wander around here to check it out.

And he wanted to thank you all for your good questions and your interest.  He enjoyed getting you all in a circle, thinking about the stories and the art.

-- L.G.

All the Saints of Los Angeles - J. Michael Walker

                                          
THEY float above us -- Santa Monica, St. Andrews, San Julian, Santa Fe, Saint Albans -- not the  saints themselves -- but their names.  A spirit roll call,  if you will, that un-scrolls across so many of the city street signs de-marking the criss-cross roads we traverse daily in our attempt to get from here to there and back again --  if lucky, unharmed.

Not so long ago, poet and visual artist, J. Michael Walker embarked on an ambitious project to weave together the city's history through the story of its "Saint" streets -- from wide, screaming boulevards to the afterthoughts of hidden cul-de-sacs -- 103 in all. "It was an exercise in storytelling," he says, "It was a challenge to come at this city's story in so many different ways."  The story bloomed -- in painting poetry and prose -- much of it informed by a reporter's-style technique, which required him to dig deep: interviewing, researching, reporting -- and simply hanging out.  

It was a way of understanding the city itself as well as explaining it to others, says Walker. All the Saints of the City of Angels, became a book and an extensive exhibit that was on display at the Gene Autry Museum in Griffith Park. But really, says Walker, the project lives on in his mind as a "loopy valentine to this amazing city of lost angels and sometimes saints."

Walker will be speaking to the class this week about this project and other projects in which L.A. has either been the muse or the subject over the last few years. Please take a look at his website to get a feel of the work and the artist's intentions.

(image: santa rosa de lima, by j. michael walker, via jmichaelwalker.com)