Paul Pescador, “The Founding of Los Angeles” (2018) (courtesy of the artist)
Since its founding 237 years ago by a group of 44 settlers known as Los Pobladores, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles — Los Angeles for short — has reinvented itself several times over. Originally home to the Chumash and Tongva people, Los Angeles was a territory of New Spain, then Mexico, and since 1848, part of the US. It has grown from a small pueblo to the nation’s second largest city, transformed by a late 19th-century oil boom, the ascendancy of Hollywood, and subsequent waves of migration — alongside political and social upheaval, the fragmentation of the city’s physical space, and the constant threat of natural disasters.
Paul Pescador explores various episodes of transformation and disruption throughout LA’s history in his latest film The Founding of Los Angeles. Structured around audio interviews with 45 artists, writers, and historians including Simone Forti, Alan Nakagawa, Norman Klein, Lynell George, and Harry Gamboa Jr., these stories range from the displacement of the residents of Chavez Ravine to make way for Dodger Stadium, to the replacement of native plants with citrus groves and fields for cattle grazing, to the Second Great Migration of African Americans to urban centers like Los Angeles after World War II. As with much of his work, Pescador uses everyday materials, found objects, and personal photographs to tell stories, juxtaposing them to present a subjective, collaged vision of history. The film will loop from 1pm to 7pm with start times at 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm.
When: Sunday, December 9, 12–7pm
Where: The Main Museum (114 W. 4th St., Los Angeles, California)
More info at the Main Museum.
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