Shelley LeopoldWhile you were sleeping, or maybe it was just us, Retna and El Mac threw up another masterpiece in Westlake. The mural has been complete for over a week now, but LA Weekly was there as the first sketches went down at MacArthur Park Primary Center, courtesy of Procter and Gamble.
This legal art wall, on the side of a mid-city arts magnet kindergarten and preschool, is not ostensibly branded but was commissioned by Pampers' using their community tag line, “Every baby is a little miracle to be celebrated, supported and protected,” in two of Retna's signature fonts. Surrounding the centerpiece mother and child by El Mac, are 10 roses, with names representing real children, chosen by P+G through public story submissions. Stealth advertising at its graffiti best.
5-year-old Sam says “I met a real artist today. A real one, not a fake one.”; Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Principal Deborah Henry was behind the project 100%, as the school program centers around drawing and painting and it has given the kids an opportunity to interact with the art and the artists first-hand. However, even at the students' young ages, she has had to field a number of precocious conversations about when it's appropriate to paint on a wall. Put simply, she says with a smile, “We say they have to ask first.”
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
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