Dreaming in Meta

natashavc:

Two LA gangs, Burlington and 18th Street flank The Pico Union Housing Corporation in South Central. The property, though, is considered neutral ground because about three years ago, an employee got permission from the corporation to give the back wall of their parking lot to the local graffiti boys. On Saturdays and Sundays, he’d open the gates to them so they could paint somewhere safe. This still happens every weekend, the different crews are asked to donate a couple bucks and then they can paint until it gets dark. Now this mundane two story office building is ensconced in wild ass, neon street art and is better known to the neighborhood as the Graff Lab.

The kid who did the piece in this picture is 24 and actually went to school 3 mins from where I did even though he grew up in South Central (where he still lives). He was bused in and gave me a lot of shit for our 2002 basketball loss to Taft High school.

Flickr set here.