LA WeeklyBy Andra Lim
Four billboards featuring images high school students snapped with cellphones will go up at the north side of Los Angeles State Historic Park tomorrow.
As part of an eco-internship, 20 local students worked with UCLA's Center for Research in Engineering, Media and Performance (REMAP) — an organization that brings together technology and art — to take pictures of the park and transform them using software.
Here's what the final product looks like:
Credit: Eco-Interns
Credit: Eco-Interns
Credit: Eco-Interns
REMAP can also incorporate the media into the community-centered technology the center is in the process of developing, such as a tablet application, interactive playground equipment, and a digital mural, according to a project report.
The billboards mark the start of Earth Day Latino, a free public event at the state park where Angelenos can camp overnight, go geo-caching, and see a bicycle that powers a smoothie maker when in motion. The event runs from 10 a.m. this Saturday until 10 a.m. on Sunday.
“We want to re-incorporate the community more into this park,” said Linda Escalante, communications coordinator for the event. “It's a very different park from the other state parks — it's a very urban state park, it's all city on every edge.”
From the beginning, the park has been a site where nature and urban mix. The Spanish settlers built a community in the park area during the 1700s, between the Los Angeles River and what is now downtown's Olveras Street.
Now, billboards will go up that display the interaction between the environment, mobile technology, and students from eight city high schools. The billboards will be up for about a month, and here's where they'll be:
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