Chris Burden’s famous “Urban Light,” made from original Los Angeles street lamps, marks the unofficial entrance to the L.A. County Museum of Art. Unlike many sculptures that use pedestrian elements in unusual ways, this work is not eerie. Indeed, it is oddly cheerful.
Seeing it felt like a celebration of the good things cities have to offer, which serious people often overlook because it’s more artful to point out the bad.
In the foreground, morose poet Tomas Tranströmer manages to bring the mood down, however, with his poem “Two Cities.” Granted, he witnessed a war.
Together, the works become an unexpected reminder to enjoy it all while it lasts.
Read Los Angeles 2013
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