Residents’ Creations Deck the Streets

As holiday wreaths, reindeer and candy canes pop up on lampposts around Los Angeles, Santa Monica is rolling out its own brand of seasonal decorations.

More than 900 hand-painted banners created by local artists and students are being hung around the city in the third year of a controversial art project sponsored by Santa Monica’s Central Business District, which spent $60,000 this year on materials for the banners and accompanying garlands.

“It’s a very creative city,” said Robin Faulk, co-chair of the Central Business District. “We thought, why don’t we tap into that creativity instead of using anonymous decorations that can be found anywhere in the U.S.? It’s really a huge public art project.”

The images, which include dancing dreidels, Irish angels and interpretations of Chumash cave paintings, have sparked outrage in the past from some residents who objected to the nontraditional decorations.

But Laddie John Dill, the lead artist for the project, said the traditional bells that went up on city streets were “rather grim.” Creating the banners allowed local artists to express their individual holiday experiences, he said. Artists were instructed to paint images of what the season means to them.

“It really talks about their feelings about the holidays, rather than the standard Santa Clauses and Christmas bells, the generic decorations that go up everywhere else,” said Dill, whose students at the Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture produced many of the paintings.

Business leaders who sponsored the banner project said they were not discouraged by the controversy.

“It’s to be expected with the arts and it’s actually made us feel it created a dialogue,” Faulk said. “We certainly did want these pieces to be thought-provoking.”

This year, 200 banners were produced by local residents, and the project was extended to Santa Monica Pier. In addition, 60 pieces are being exhibited in three galleries around the city.

Artists said the project reflects Santa Monica’s character as a strong arts community. “You’re sitting in traffic, look up and there’s a painting instead of a candy cane,” Dill said. “Suddenly, traffic seems to move more smoothly--it’s like you’re in a big gallery.”