Cities with the Most Beautiful Graffiti: Art Without Boundaries – Los Angeles, USA
New York City is often considered the epicenter of graffiti culture in the USA, but Los Angeles also significantly contributes to this art form. Los Angeles emerged as a vibrant graffiti center in the 1980s, developing a unique identity in the 1990s. Unlike New York writers, who primarily used subway cars as their canvases, Los Angeles artists often chose buses and the expansive concrete walls lining the desolate L.A. river for self-expression.
At the dawn of the new millennium, Los Angeles street artists encountered a formidable challenge. In 2002, the city enacted a law prohibiting all signage on public buildings, barring those in designated sign districts. This ban extended to murals, sparking a decade-long debate on the distinction between a sign and art. The legislation provided advertisers with enough leeway to erect billboards in designated areas, but it largely excluded artists whose work was non-commercial. For ten years, even creating murals on private property was fraught with challenges due to the complex process of securing legal permission.
However, in 2013, the Los Angeles City Council rescinded the ten-year public mural ban, marking a victory for artists who contended that the law clashed with the city’s rich street art tradition.
Despite these advancements, graffiti remains unlawful in Los Angeles. Artists engaging in such practices risk felony or misdemeanor charges and fines. Nonetheless, the city offers legal platforms for graffiti and street art. One notable location for authorized street art is the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles. Nearby, visitors can also find one of the city’s oldest murals, “America Tropical.” This piece was commissioned by the city in 1932, was subsequently whitewashed, and then began reappearing in fragments in the late 1960s. The Getty Conservation Institute undertook the mural’s restoration, reopening it to the public in 2012.
