Los Angeles’ historic outdoor mural, The Great Wall, is a testament to California’s history—and just so happens to be one of the largest murals in the world. The colorful mural already stretches across more than a half-mile along the L.A. River network on the Tujunga Wash, but is being expanded in the artistic plans to highlight more history of The Golden State.
The expansion of the L.A. landmark was inspired by artist Judy Baca, who began work with a team of artists inside the L.A. County Museum of Art last October in what was, in essence, a live exhibit where visitors could watch the artists in action. In the Resnick Pavilions, painters placed thousands of acrylic brush strokes on a huge roll of unwoven fabric for viewers to witness. Yet, despite the studio-style process, Baca shared how the experience took her out of her element.
“I must say that I was very skeptical about painting in a white box,” Baca told the crowd at a recent press event. “I don’t paint in white boxes. I paint in rivers, and I paint on freeways. I paint in places where it’s dangerous.”
While the team’s time at LACMA was not the same dangerous atmosphere Baca is used to, the artist shared that the process was a different kind of artistic danger because viewers could directly question the artists about the scenes being painted. The LACMA artistic showcase ended on July 21, but the artists’ work included scenes from the Chicano movement, the Watts Renaissance, and LGBTQ+ rights protests, ultimately covering 190 feet of additions.
The team of artists will continue painting at the Bergamot Station Art Center starting August 2, with a view to adding historic moments from around the 1970s, including Jimi Hendrix scenes and Woodstock.
“That will prove to be as interesting, and maybe a little even more controversial,” Baca said.
California’s Great Wall had already depicted scenes from prehistoric times to the 1950s, but the team of artists will be adding an additional 200 feet of art, finishing in 2027 (just in time for the Olympics), that feature significant moments in California’s history—specifically history of marginalized communities.
The first section of the expansion covers significant moments in the Chicano Movement, beginning with a depiction of major labor leaders in the Central Valley, including Phillip Vera Cruz, César Chávez, Dolores Huerta with her megaphone and poet-boxer Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales—influential figures in the farmworker rights movement.
Other striking artwork includes the East L.A. Walkouts of 1968, as students come out of their classrooms to protest prejudice in the education system, urging for Chicano history to be taught in schools. Police are painted arresting people, including young girls with brown berets—a moniker of the Chicano group modeled after the Black Panthers—to reflect women’s contributions to the movement.
Black history in the Golden State is also included in the expansion, with the Watts Uprising of 1965 in the next scene, where you’re transported to a public outcry followed by the traffic stop of Marquette and Ronald Frye that turned violent. An alley is engulfed in flames as police fight with the brothers and their mother.
Opposite of paintings of the Watts Towers, a trio of ferocious black panthers signify the community’s power during this time. Two women are painted with groceries from the Black Panther Party’s free food program as children eat and read books about colonization.
Baca and her team used creative freedom throughout the paintings to create a resonance with people who remember how the rebellion felt.
The Great Wall’s expansion is meant to bring the mural’s historical scenes up to the 21st century.
