Los Angeles has a few areas which are synonymous with street art and graffiti-- Melrose and Fairfax, the Arts District, the Venice walls, etc. but part of what makes this city a true art lover's paradise is that public art pops up just about everywhere you look. A unique area of the city which has a vibe all its own, both artistic and otherwise, is Laurel Canyon, and it's also a surprisingly vibrant place for street art.
Famed as a 70's singer-songwriter paradise, the area's home prices have risen to astronomical levels, but there are still artists, hippies, and weirdos hiding out in those canyons and hanging on to the dream. The best street art in this area is site specific and captures the feeling of being in a place that is both urban and natural, a canyon made by millions of years of water but decorated by hundreds of years of humanity. The street art of Laurel Canyon is often subtle, sometimes self-referential, and tends towards the decorative. If there is one theme that seems to unite the work of artists working the streets of the canyon, it's love.
Street artists working in Laurel Canyon include some famous names, some up-and-comers, and some local heads who don't regularly venture south of Hollywood Boulevard. The eclectic mix of styles, media, and participants make for an interesting scene that is simultaneously isolated from and deeply connected to Los Angeles' broader graffiti movement.
In the canyon you'll find graffiti, posters, stencils, stickers, tags, land art, installations, sculpture, and more-- but you have to slow down and look for it, it won't jump off a billboard and scream for your attention. The exception there would be art added to to street signs, but even then you might not notice the first time you speed by. Given the dearth of actual walls in the area, street furniture in the area are the main target of vandals and artists. Here's an extensive tour of Laurel Canyon's street art by photographer Tom Andrews of some recent street art in and around Laurel Canyon...
