Homeless Find Expression in Their Art

Francisco Chavez sees the Los Angeles riots as a struggle between the haves and have-nots. In his vision, a mass of unclothed poor men reach through a sheet of fire toward a party of affluent Angelenos who drink and cavort under a gaudy city skyline. Between them stands a phalanx of threatening police.

It is a vision that remained inside Chavez’s head until he was given brush and easel by a charitable workshop that encourages the homeless to express their raw emotions through art.

This week, the visions of those artists are on display in the City Hall rotunda in a weeklong exhibition that provides a unique artistic view of the Los Angeles riots.

“Healing L.A. Through the Arts” features about 20 works by artists from Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Most of the pieces were painted by homeless Latino immigrants from Mexico and Central America at Jovenes Inc., a charitable agency that operates out of a Sunset Boulevard storefront near downtown, providing food, clothing, shelter and inspiration.

“I’ve been drawing all my life, but art is expensive,” Chavez said at the exhibit’s opening. “It’s hard to keep up with because it’s so expensive.”

Because the workshop picks up the costs of supplies, Chavez, 23, has managed to resume painting. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he developed his talents on his own as a child. He wants to pursue art full time but has been unable to while fending for himself on the streets.

“There are no flowers here. This is raw and angry,” said Father Richard Estrada, Jovenes’ director. “It is powerful. It is what they see, what they live on the streets.”

Through art, Estrada said, his homeless artists can express some of their anger and frustration and channel those emotions in a positive way.

“Homeless men and women need to be included, not excluded, from the rebuild effort,” Estrada said. “We welcome the disenfranchised, the homeless to come here and express themselves through art.”

About a year ago, the small agency scraped together private funds to set up a one-room studio complete with easels, paints and brushes. Since the riots, the city of Los Angeles has promised another $3,000 from the Los Angeles Arts Recovery Fund.

For the exhibit, the artists selected the best works from nearly 500 paintings done by homeless artists. The art ranges from Chavez’s symbolism to the more abstract works of Mario Flores, 27, who depicts the riots through the abstract face of a god looking down at the world with displeasure.

“It’s difficult for many of us to understand what it’s like to be homeless and unwelcome,” Councilman Mike Hernandez said. “But when you look at images displayed here today, you can get some insight about what some of these kids are going through.”

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Estrada said many of the homeless who arrive from Latin America end up living in deplorable conditions.

“We ignore their plight,” he said. “We need to recognize they exist, that they need to eat, have a roof over their heads, clothing and medical attention.”

Estrada said he hopes corporations and banks will display the works in their lobbies. He plans to hold an auction of some paintings to help support the program.

“The studio tries to offer an alternative to the problems. . . ,” he said, “the graffiti and panhandling. We try to build self-esteem.”