Memorial Park
public art
The First Artists in Southern California: A Short Story, 2003
John Valadez, artist
Artist John Valadez, inspired by the environmental surroundings of the station has chosen to honor the indigenous artists from Southern California by presenting images based on ancient pictographs in his concept for the Memorial Park Station. His intent is to reinterpret these ancient designs using modern materials, such as laser cut aluminum, and thin steel, painted in semi-gloss colors. Displayed on one side of the station facing the park, the stencil like metal images create shadows against the back walls of the station. The chosen designs are mostly from Southern California coastal native communities, while the figurative elements are based on Southwestern imagery. These modern monumental images are highly stylized, with conflicting elements joined together as a whole, creating a visual sentence or lyric, which the public may interpret with each visit.
There are three and a half sections between columns. Each section is approximately 10 feet high by 30 feet in length. These sections are linked together creating an expanse over 105 feet long. The artist's intent in to celebrate the beauty of these early paintings and carvings and recognize the value of imagery and meaning from the earliest paintings in Southern California.
