[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]os Angeles based artist Ralph Ziman – aka Afrika 47 – has a new exhibit at The Rendon Gallery in the Arts District. L.A. Taco attended the opening of the exhibit called The Casspir Project, which features work inspired by Ziman's childhood in Johannesburg. Ziman's works draw from experiences growing up in post-Apartheid South Africa and "addresses human rights issues such as apartheid, the over-militarization of police, and state violence."
'The centerpiece of the exhibit is a massive Casspir military vehicle that Ziman has transformed into a work of art. During the Apartheid era, Casspirs were used weapons of terror, often used against civilians. Widely despised and feared, they became synonymous with violence, police intimidation, and institutional oppression. Post-Apartheid, many Casspirs were decommissioned, their hulls left to rust, a relic of the past better forgotten. Others were sold to the United States during the Iraq war years, and later, to local police forces.'
While the first taquero to win a Michelin star lands for one night only, Pioneer Chicken pops-up in the Valley, and bone marrow-and-wagyu paella arrives on the Westside.
There are running clubs across the city for activists, athletes, mothers, food lovers, different skill levels, and those seeking community, as well as a little company on the road.
The “graded response” model calls for police officers in regular uniforms to be deployed at protests before sending in heavily-armed officers in riot gear and specialized units such as SWAT, if needed.
