Site Visit: Our Lady Of Angels

I had the opportunity to walk through Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral with the artist J. Michael Walker, whose installation "All the Saints of the City of the Angels" is on view, ending April 12.
I had seen the art at the Autry Museum last year and now at Our Lady Michael has assembled them in a series of chapels with themes such as "The Chapel Of Poverty, Humility and Dignity" and "The Chapel Of Accepting The Other".

Says J. Michael Walker: "Back in spring 2000 I was thumbing through the index of the Thomas Guide, a book of Los Angeles street maps, when it struck me how many streets there are named for saints - in this city named for a saint (Our Lady of the Angels). I decided to track the histories of all these streets, and the stories of all these saints, to see how they might connect - and what their moments of convergence might say about our cultural heritage. The result, in over one hundred paintings and dozens of stories, poems, and songs, is my meditation on, and tribute to, Los Angeles."

Needless to say, the show is great and once again gives great insight the the city of Los Angeles.

J Michael Walker, below

Saints Of The City

There is an amazing show at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park: "All The Saints Of The City Of The Angels".
Says the show bio:
"Los Angeles is home to 103 streets named for saints, hearkening back to the time when Spanish settlers bestowed upon new territories the names of saints to invoke their protection. Thanks to land developers and urban planners who continued the tradition, the saints still live among us. They walk our streets, ride the Metro, and shoot hoops in neighborhood recreation centers. Their presence provides counterpoint to the popular image of L.A. as a city of conflict, hedonism, and simmering rage."
The artist J Michael Walker noticed a lot of streets in LA named after saints. The show is a result of that inquiry. It took him 7 years and is a great way to look at the city.
"By connecting the stories of the saints with the people and places of L.A., Walker illuminates the many facets of Los Angeles' multicultural heritage, from a troubled past including forced Native labor and greedy land developers to a contemporary landscape of economic chasms and newly built cultural bridges."
HIGHLY recommended.