Rubbernecking, 2024

7x20’ Digital collage on vinyl

Accident Investigation Sites (AISs) are designated areas alongside freeways where vehicles involved in accidents can pull over, assess damages, and be towed from. They are most commonly located directly after an exit ramp. AISs provide a covered fence, keeping vehicles out of view of passing drivers, thus reducing rubbernecking and traffic congestion. This AIS fence on the 10 freeway in Los Angeles is only partially covered, meaning that drivers who pull over to this site are fully visible from the freeway.

In an effort to increase the effectiveness of AISs, a portion of the fence located after the eastbound Venice/La Cienega exit has been covered with a vinyl sign that features digitally altered images of the environment behind the fence, acting as camouflage to drivers passing by, thus reducing traffic.

City of Los Angeles Property, 2023

119x90ft land drawing

This drawing is located in Lone Pine, California, just down the road from the start of the Los Angeles Aqueduct; a 233 mile long watercourse that takes water from Mono Lake and the Owens River. It has supplied Los Angeles with 48% of its water needs in the last five years. The drawing is 119 feet long, 90 feet wide, and was drawn by raking dirt. Because Los Angeles owns the water in the aqueduct and the land surrounding the aqueduct, this drawing is on Los Angeles property despite being 215 miles away from Los Angeles.

Documentary by Jake Wolfert:

Incorrect Reproduction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, 2023

Continuous flow of water through the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades in Sylmar, CA. Accompanied by a video of the 2013 Los Angeles Aqueduct centennial reenactment filmed by Santa Clarita Valley public television.
Video link

Untitled (Conversation starter), 2023
72x80” Acrylic on polyester
Site specific work created for the Untitled Gallery at UCLA

The glass walls in this room are actually doors. They were intended to be opened, creating a breezeway that would house large sculptures and act as a symbolic gateway into the UCLA campus through the arts. However, due to faulty sliding hardware, the doors became stuck in place, thus becoming walls. In order to make use of the enclosed space, Untitled Cafe was opened. The coffee shop was in operation from 2008-2020, its closure was due to the fact that UCLA didn’t make enough money from it to justify keeping it staffed. The space sat empty for over a year until departments could agree on how to share it. It has since become the Untitled Gallery.

Because of the acoustic reflections from the glass walls and the emptiness of the space, this gallery suffers from severe echoes, making it difficult to hear what is being said about the art which it houses. In an effort to reduce the echoes, sound dampening blankets have been installed throughout the gallery. In an effort to encourage conversation about the art, the sound dampening blankets have been painted with adjectives taken from reviews of Untitled Cafe, which is still listed as open on Google despite being closed for three years.


References:  
Perlman, Hirsch. “Lecture #4.” Advanced Sculpture: Monuments, Commemoration, and Protest, 13 April 2023, University of California, Los Angeles. Lecture.

Evans, Ben. Interview. Conducted by Jakob Longcob. 30 May 2023.

I could be just like you, 2023

12x18” Photograph drawing