On February 2, 2024 (local time), at least 27 floors of an unfinished high-rise in downtown Los Angeles, California were covered in graffiti spray-painted by graffiti. /Getty Images/AFP Yonhap News
Los Angeles, USA, where the Grammy Awards ceremony was held, was hot last weekend, not over the Grammy Awards but over the graffiti on the skyscrapers. This was because in an unprecedented event, the 27th floor of an unfinished high-rise in downtown Los Angeles was covered in graffiti spray-painted by graffiti. When colorful graffiti with various phrases was painted on the windows of a high-rise building that had been abandoned for several years as construction work was halted, the police were dispatched, the media reported it, and even tourists began to flock. This building was a large-scale residential-commercial mixed-use development project that Chinese capital Oceanwide Holdings invested $1 billion in 2015 to build more than 500 luxury condominiums and a 5-star hotel in three towers reaching up to 55 floors. closed due to lack of funds after 2019. Construction is said to have been halted and has been abandoned until now.
It is still unclear exactly why graffiti artists decided to trespass into this abandoned multi-storey building and decorate almost the entire building with graffiti. However, given that this building is directly across the street from the Crypto.com Arena, where the Grammy Awards ceremony took place last Sunday, and that the action took place just days before the awards ceremony, one can only guess they are trying to attract media attention. In fact, this building that was decorated with the graffiti that they created got attention not only from the American media but also from major news agencies and European media. Furthermore, there was even debate as to whether their actions were “vandalism” or “street art.”
Some see the graffiti as a new attempt to humanize a neglected space and a sign of protest against a failed project that has had a negative impact on the city, while others express safety concerns and call the building part of of the city’s architecture. Some argue that this should be protected. However, many people say their actions are not criminal acts, but rather artistic acts that have revived an ugly building.
Police said more than a dozen people were involved in the incident. All but two fled before police arrived, police said, adding that two men were arrested for trespassing and later released. One local media even reported that dozens of street artists took part in the project.
The police have ordered the owner of the building to remove the graffiti, but it is still unclear who will pay the cost.
On February 2, 2024, at least 27 floors of an unfinished high-rise in downtown Los Angeles, California were covered in spray-painted graffiti by graffiti artists. / Getty Images / AFP Yonhap News On February 2, 2024, at least 27 floors of an unfinished high-rise in downtown Los Angeles, California were covered in spray-painted graffiti by graffiti artists. Construction on the $1 billion Oceanwide Plaza luxury real estate development project was halted in 2019, with the Chinese developer unable to complete the three-tower project due to lack of funds. The project is located across from Crypto.com Arena, where the Grammy Awards will be held on February 4th. /Getty Images/AFP Yonhap News
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