Sep
24
Both Rodia’s Watts Towers and Purifoy’s assemblage sculptures remind us of the power of arts — to heal and learn through the creative process and to take inspiration from the mighty symbolism of altering abandoned trash into transformative treasure.
Feb
04
Artbound Season 3, Episode 4 featuring my introduction and documentary inspired by my article Against the Elements: The Art & Science of Preserving the Watts Towers, will be premiering nationally on LinkTV (DIRECTV 375, DISH Network 9410) this week. The show will re-broadcast Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week: Tuesday, February 4th, 4:00 pm PST Wednesday, February 5th, 1:00 pm PST […]
Oct
18
Deemed outsider art, folk art, and other similarly nondescript and fluid labels, the Watts Towers do not necessarily fit the bill for a standard definition or understanding of art. But no matter what they are called, the Towers remain a cultural jewel of Los Angeles. And within the cracks and structure of these Towers lies an unfolding story and scientific mystery of sorts.
In 1921, Sabato Simon Rodia started with his home — he mosaicked the façade of his house, and some of the nearby walls. He used glass 7-Up bottles, sea glass, shells, broken plates, toys, tiles, rocks, and whatever else he could get his hands on.
And then he continued. By 1955 he had built seventeen structures, with three of those towers being most notable (the tallest at 99.5 feet high). Beginning with steel structural bases, Rodia enveloped these structural cage-like elements with concrete cement and imbued them with decorative knick-knacks and found treasures — all while free-climbing up and down the towers unprotected, without scaffolding or a harness. And with this, the Watts Towers were built.
