Roamings of a Leo: Watts Towers and Latin American Art

On Sunday August 23rd, my friend Larry and I visited the Watts Towers and enjoyed the art exhibit at the cultural center and a guided tour around the towers. I learn something new each time I have visit the Watts Towers and further appreciate the creativity and drive of the creator Simon Rodia. The Towers are a collection of 17 interconnected structures in the Simon Rodia State Historic Park in the Watts community of Los Angeles. Rodia created the towers from 1921 to 1954. He then turned over the property to a neighbor and never returned. The artist was born in Italy and lived from 1879 to 1965.

The tallest tower is 99 feet tall. They are constructed of steel reinforced concrete with wire mesh embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile and glass. According to Wikipedia, they are decorated with found objects, including bottles, ceramic tiles, sea shells, figurines, mirrors, some brought to him by children from the neighborhood. He built them with no special equipment or predetermined design. He bent the scrap rebar using nearby railroad tracks as a make shift vise.

The Towers were built without permits and the city sought to tear down the structures. However, community members advocated to save them. The city gave up when the Towers were tested. Steel cables were attached to each Tower and a crane was used to exert lateral force. The crane was unable to topple or even shift the Towers and the crane experienced mechanical failure.

Here are some of my photos of the Towers and the exhibit:

This photo shows the detail of Simon's work and his SR initials.

The tallest tower.

The colored concrete floor.

Neighbors across the street have continued the artistic influence of Simon Rodia in decorating their homes and walls.

We also appreciated an art exhibit in the art center located next door to the Watts Towers. The current exhibit is "50 Years and I Still Can't Breathe," commemorating the anniversary of the 1965 Watts Riots. Here are a few photos:

"A few names of people of color who died during police custody 1999-2014"

"Evolution of The Market," 2009 by Toni Scott, collage on canvas.

"One Whit Paint Brush and a Pony Tail," 1989 by Noah Purifoy, 1917=2004, assemblage.

"Land of the Weeping Tree," 2015 by Kenneth Carnes, oil.

We drove to the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach and enjoyed their exhibits. The first exhibit was entitled "Miradas, Ancient Roots in Modern and Contemporary Mexican Art." The description states that Miradas examines work created by artists on both sides of the U.S. / Mesico border who documented the culture they observed...an examination of artists reveals common artistic tendencies that have developed since the end of the ten year Mexican revolution in 1920. Here are some of my favorites:

"Mountain with Snail," 1995 by Miguel Castro Lenero, Mexico, b. 1956, oil on canvas.

"The Prisoner," by Alfredo Ramos Martinez, Mexico, 1871-1946, tempera and charcoal on paper.

"Lemon Game," 2001 by Gabriel Orozco, Mexico, b 1962, color coupler print.

"Frido Kahlo in Manuel Alvarez Bravo's Studio, 1930, gelatin silver print.

"Motherly Love from the series Mexican Suite," 1968 by David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexico, 1896-1974, lithograph.

"Mountain Dancers from the series Mexican Suite," 1968 by David Alfaro Siqueiros, lithograph.

"Village Dance from the series Mexican Suite," 1968 by David Alfaro Siqueiros, lithograph.

Next is an exhibit "Korda / Revolutionary Photographs," by Cuban photographer Alberto Diaz Butierrez, better know as Korda (September 14, 1928, Havana, Cuba - May 25, 2001, Paris, France). He is know for his photo of Marxist Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, taken in Cuba, which is one of the most widely reproduced images in the world. Here are my photos of his photos:

"Fidel and Che Fishing," 1959, gelatin silver print.

"Testing a Sugar Cane Cutter 2," 1962

Fidel Castro

"Heroic Guerrilla Fighter," 1960. The description states: "By reflex, I snapped twice - one horizontal shot and one vertical. I didn't have enough time to take a third photo, as he stepped back discreetly into the second row. Back in my studio, I developed the film and made a few prints for 'Revolucion.' Because there was a head sowing over his shoulder in the vertical shot, I cropped the horizontal photo. The editor-in-chief chose to publish a photo of Fidel on the front page instead but I like the Che portrait so much I later made a bigger print, 11 by 14 inches, and hung it in my studio." Korda. In 1967, the image was used by Fidel as a monumental backdrop in Revolution Square announcing Che's death.

"Pablo Neruda," 1961

"Jean-Paul Sartre," 1960

"Che leaning on a Golf Club," 1959. The description states that this series was taken in 1961 when Fidel was reading an American newspaper story about President Eisenhower playing golf. This sparked an interest in Fidel, and he asked Che to accompany him to a golf course outside of Havana to play a round. Fidel had never played before, but Che was familiar with the game having worked as a caddy in Argentina.

"Fidel Playing Golf"

Below are photos of other art I admired:

"The Teacher - Fruits of School," 1932 by Diego Rivera, Mexico, 1886-1957, lithograph.

"Indigenous Snake Dance," 1952 by Jean Carlot, France, 1898-1979, lithograph.

"Tarascan Idol," 1931 by Jean Carlot, oil on canvas.

"The Scavenger," 1937 by Raul Anguiano, Mexico 1915-2006.

"The Space and The Dream," 1934 by Raul Anguiano, watercolor on paper.

"The Bulls and the Moon," 1957 by Raul Anguiano, oil on canvas.

"Grandmother," 1940 by Raul Anguiano, oil on canvas.

"The Call of Instinct," 1942, by Raul Anguiano, oil on canvas. In this painting, Anguiano shows his interest in Surrealism which he tied into imagery of dail life.