How the civic upheaval of 1992 reshaped the creative lives of Los Angeles artists.
A youngster rides his bicycle past the Olabisi mural. (BOB CHAMBERLIN / LAT)
Watching the riots on TV inspired commercial artist David G. Brown to create a comic. (KIRK McCOY / LAT)
“My concept was to do this superhero, the L.A. Phoenix, who rose from the ashes of the riots to show young people there was a better way too solve conflicts,” Brown says. (KIRK McCOY / LAT)
Artist Robbie Conal created the poster of a flaming nightstick that hangs behind him. (KIRK McKOY / LAT)
Lula Washington says dancers’ response, “Check This Out,” scared many presenters. (KIRK McCOY / LAT)
Willie Robert Middlebrook says his feeling of being lost in America recurs in his work. (KIRK McKOY / LAT)
Seth Kaufman took himself out of the riot-artifact business in 1993. “I didn’t want to become ‘The Riot Guy.’ I exorcised what I needed to get out of me, and it was time to move along,” Kaufman says. “I came out of that year broke.” (KIRK McKOY / LAT)
Kaufman’s 1992 “Reach Out and Torch Someone”, left, and his new, untitled work, right. (KIRK McKOY / LAT)
David Diaz, in his home studio in 1995. Illustrations surrounding him are originals from the children’s book “Smoky Night.” (DAVE GATLEY / LAT)
