Portraits of Hope

PORTRAITS OF HOPE : “SHAPING L.A.”

By Lon Levin with Ed Massey

Little did I know the scope of their project involved wrapping Ed’s signature art style around the LA Convention Center. I was intriqued so I planned to meet with Ed at their temprorary headquarters in West Los Angeles.

A few months ago I checked in with Ed Massey, the well-known public artist that we profiled last summer. He told me he was working on an exciting project called “Shaping LA and I may want to take a look at what he and his partner, brother Bernie Massey were scheduled to do. How could I resist?

Inner city kids help paint the huge project

Go to www.portraitsofhope.org for more about Ed and BernieMassey’s Portraits of Hope Programs

The next time I saw Ed and Bernie the floor of the pavillion was covered with large half-painted sections of canvas. Bernie was conducting a seminar for some of the kids and adults who volunteered to paint and Ed was going over paint mixing and floor logistics with some of his volunteer staff members. Within minutes the helpers spread out across the floor with painting tools, small rollers and paint in plastic bowls. Each designed area had a paint color assigned to it. The room was buzzing with activity as music floated over the gathering. It was truly a paint party. One of the young women painted herself into a circle of unpainted canvas. Once she realized what she had done she started to laugh and dance to the music. Other painters hooted and hollered their approval. The atmosphere was joyous as the process played out.

I made several visits to the paint area over the next week or so until the work was finally done. The entire month was a productive house party and I didn’t see one person including mentally and physically challenged crew members who were not joyful about the part they played in creating such a monumental piece of art. It really hit home to me as an artist that it’s the process not the end product that is a joy to experience.

However, anyone who now passes Ed Massey’s art that hugs the convention center can’t help but smile when they experience the colorful joy and good feeling it inspires.