Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/38228
“...the arts play a significant role in neighborhood revitalization.” Photo: Elodie Deshayes ABOVE: Michael Davis' 100' tall hanging sculpture, a gigantic chandelier hangs above the escalator at Hollywood & Highland. required three major artworks to be showcased on site: a dramatic cascading piece in the esca- lator space, a Busby Berkley inspired etched granite floor at the entrance to the Kodak e- atre and the poignant Road to Hollywood with actual stories inlaid onto its Babylon Court. Meanwhile some sec- tions of the Boulevard were slow to revitalize, and in 2003 the Holly- wood Arts Council and Hollywood Beautification Team created the Holly- wood Night Gallery, por- traits of stars whose Walk of Fame stars adjacent to the storefront location which were painted on rolldown security doors installed following the civil unrest in 1992. With funding assistance from the CRA/LA and Hollywood Historic Trust, the project created a welcoming presence for strolling along the Boulevard at night. Most recently, the new W Hotel and Resi- dences at Hollywood and Vine include four proj- ects by Los Angeles artists that pay tribute to Hollywood’s glamour and allure: Christian Moeller’s expansive sculptural wall links the hotel and Hollywood Blvd. Above, Pae White’s monu- mental mobile consists of festive forms suspended between the buildings. Erwin Redl’s vast canopy of white LED lights soars overhead at the Argyle entrance and into the open motor court. On Vine, Jennifer Steinkamp’s series of digital columns depict a flower that reference a specific LEFT: On the floor of the grand rotunda adjacent to the Kodak Theatre, Pat Ward Williams' image was inspired by Busby Berkeley films. CENTER: Pae White's monumental mobile moves and shimmers between buildings at the W Hotel. BELOW: Eloy Torrez painted this addition to his "Portraits of Hollywood" mural on Hollywood High's auditorium at the request of Jimmy Kimmel, a close friend of the late John Ritter. star from the Walk of Fame such as the rose- buds associated with Orson Wells and his pro- duction “Citizen Kane”. According to Susan Gray, the CRA’s Cultural Arts Planner, “CRA/LA recognizes that the arts play a significant role in neighborhood revitaliza- tion. We are committed to attract and retain talented artists and arts organiza- tions and collaborate on urban design and rehabili- tation projects that pro- mote an identity for Hollywood as a popular, local, regional and international cultural destination.” If asked to identify which art form is most identified with Hollywood, it’s doubtful that any of these projects would be mentioned. Yet, each has become part of our Hollywood streetscape with more to follow in years to come. DH Erika Rotheberg's mosaic installation at Hollywood & Highland's Babylon Court. Photo: Elodie Deshayes SUMMER 2011 / DISCOVER HOLLYWOOD 49