Watts Tow

ers

Ms. B

uchman

Spring, 2020

We can m

ake art for the com

munity and w

e can m

ake art about our com

munities.

Today, I would like to honor the city of

Los Angeles by sharing the w

ork of S

imon R

odia, who built the W

atts Towers

using found objects.

Click the button to read along!

Sim

on Rodia used unconventional

materials to create his tow

ers. Many

artists use things other than typical art supplies to create their w

ork. Do you

have anything in your home that w

ould be unusual to m

ake into an artwork?

The Watts Tow

ers is a both a treasure and a gift for the city of Los A

ngeles. If you could create a gift for our city, w

hat w

ould it be?

Project: You can make a gift for your

comm

unity or create art with

unconventional materials. O

r you can do both at the sam

e time!

I make art about m

y comm

unity out of unconventional m

aterials. A few years

ago, I had an art show and the title w

as The B

irds of Los Angeles.

I use vintage postage stam

ps from

around the w

orld that ended up in Los A

ngeles.

I pick the stamps

that have the right colors and

textures

I keep adding pieces bit by bit.

I stop when I am

happy. This is an

Allen's

Hum

mingbird.

They live all over Los A

ngeles.

I saw this

kingfisher at the LA R

iver.

I spotted this phainopepla in E

lysian Park.

Enjoy com

ing up with your ideas and

making your art, A

ngelenos!

California Visual A

rt Anchor S

tandard 2:O

rganize and develop artistic ideas and w

ork.

Vocabulary

found objectsunconventional m

aterialscom

munity