What is the Graff Lab? After reading multiple articles and negativity surrounding the term "graffiti", I had to search for some positive aspects behind what some people call their art form. The interesting thing about art is that it hesitates to have one definition. It can be what you call it.
After researching a few areas around Los Angeles I found the Graff Lab. The lab is a lot next to the facility: Pico Union Housing, which is an area for low income controlled rent apartment buildings across the way from the Staples Center in downtown L.A. The clash of two worlds is astonishing because literally two blocks down the street is the center where the Lakers play and the downtown skyline is close enough to make out details of business windows.
I met the founder, Ricardo Guerrero, a pleasant man with an outspoken manner. He said he opened the Graff Lab to keep the kids of the neighborhood out of trouble - out of jail. When he first opened the lab, he said the gangsters of the neighborhood would come, hang-out, drink beer and leave their trash. Since then, he worked on kicking them out making the lot a safe haven for kids to come and express their creativity.
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| Ricardo Guerrero Los Angeles Times picture |
In November 2010, the Los Angeles Times wrote an article on Guerrero entitled: "Former graffiti painters find an outlet for their art."
The Graff Lab is open only on the weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 1038 West Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015.
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