Oceanwide Plaza graffiti: eyesore or artform?

After tagging 30 floors of the abandoned Oceanwide Plaza, Angelenos are now paragliding off its roof into the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, alarming city officials.

The Oceanwide Plaza was slated to be one of the most luxurious building developments in Downtown L.A. However, developer Oceanwide Holdings deserted the over one billion dollar project after filing for bankruptcy in 2019, and two weeks ago graffiti artists claimed its windows as their new canvases. Spray painters broke into the complex late at night to tag the building windows with phrases like “set the pace,” “amen” and “forever.” Nearly 30 floors have been tagged by various graffiti artists and the vandalism has yet to cease.

Now, videos are circulating on social media of paragliders jumping off the building near Crypto Stadium.

The L.A. City Council recently voted to secure the site, restore the sidewalks and remove all graffiti if the property owners fail to respond by Saturday. Councilmember Kevin de León also introduced a motion Tuesday seeking to allocate $3.8 million to secure the abandoned skyscraper.

LAPD and Mayor Karen Bass view the graffiti as dangerous acts of vandalism, trespassing, burglary and other crimes. According to the LAPD, 12 arrests were made on Sunday at the Oceanwide Plaza. This followed the arrest of four individuals on February 6 who were found in the building and booked for trespassing.

In addition to the recent arrests, Bass told reporters she’s extremely concerned about the dangers the taggers are facing.

“I guarantee you tragedy will take place there if that place is not boarded up quickly,” Bass told NBC Los Angeles. “New fences will be put up, but it’ll take a few days. The owner should reimburse the city for every dime.”

Because Oceanwide Plaza has been abandoned for roughly five years, many L.A. locals have viewed the unfinished development as an eyesore. Stefano Bloch, former L.A. graffiti artist and current University of Arizona professor, believes that graffiti is a subcultural art form.

He said the taggers have little to no concern for the potential repercussions of their art. Instead, they prioritize their self-expression.

“I think I speak for most graffiti writers when I say graffiti writers don’t want a relationship with the city, and the minute the city makes something even tacitly legal, graffiti writers will just walk the other way and go write on other walls,” Bloch said. “So graffiti writers don’t wait for the city’s approval. Graffiti writers are bolder than that; they kind of take what they want. And in this case, they’re taking the towers for their own use.”

Bloch said many of these artists are willing to risk potential legal trouble to express themselves.

“It’s members of a transgressive, illicit subculture taking it upon themselves, without any exchange of money and writing their names on a building that’s been abandoned by people with power and money,” Bloch said. “The motivation is recognition, notoriety, fame, adventure, all of the most basic aspects of what it means to be a human.”

Some students said they respect graffiti as an art form but do not fully approve of the taggers’ actions.

“In school, some people say it’s [graffiti] the ultimate kind of expression of art because it’s putting anything that you want in the public eye,” said design major Mateo Garcia. “It allows the culture of L.A. to actually be seen. Not everything is super pretty and pristine.”

Garcia also said he appreciates the artists’ willingness to accept risk in the pursuit of self-expression.

“It’s so cool that different artists came together to create so much graffiti in such a short amount of time,” said Janette Fu, a business administration and journalism double major. “It’s really dangerous for them to climb the building and spray paint without any sort of net to catch them if they fall. These artists are really committed to their craft.”

Fu also raised concerns about this art form’s negative effects.

“Graffiti is a valid, but illegal, form of art,” Fu said. “It’s a different way to express yourself… However, there can be a better way to incorporate graffiti into the world. Illegally spray painting walls can hurt businesses and can also hurt the environment by emitting volatile organic compounds.”

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