Murals Add Color and Character to Los Angeles

november 15, 2013

A Los Angeles mural painting.

Welcome to American Mosaic from VOA Learning English.

I’m ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­June Simms.

On the show today, we play new music from country star Keith Urban.

We also roll down some old train tracks in Missouri.

But first, we go to the west coast to look at some big art in the city of Los Angeles.

LA Murals

The city of Los Angeles, California is famous for its murals – artwork covering the sides of buildings and bridges over busy roads. Katherine Cole tells us how the murals add color and character to the city.

Many drivers pass by a huge mural of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra every day as they go to and from work. It is easily seen from a major freeway near the city center. The massive work includes images of the orchestra’s violin, oboe and viola players.

Kent Twitchell created the painting in 1991. He has also made many others in the city. A piece painted in 1971 remains on the wall of a house a short distance from the center of Los Angeles.

“I decided to paint my favorite actor, Steve McQueen. I didn’t fancy myself as being some heavy-duty modernist artist. I just painted what felt good to me.”