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Why did taggers mark a downtown Los Angeles high rise?

Taggers marked 27 floors of the Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles. The graffiti drew mixed reactions with some calling it vandalism and others saying the real problem is the vacant high rise.

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Downtown’s Oceanwide Plaza got a lot of love this week, after taggers marked 27 stories of the unfinished skyscraper.

That drew some mixed reactions online:
  • It’s a bad look for LA
  • Yeah but It’s also a billion-dollar eye-sore
Construction stalled in 2019 when its Beijing-based developer ran out of the funds to complete it.

We know tagging is illegal and, in California, can bring heavy fines or even incarceration, depending on the damages.

But clearly, that’s a part of the appeal: that it’s unauthorized. But what else makes tagging such a popular artform in LA?

They’re basically signatures, saying hey, look, I was here. And here. And also here.

Many consider them to be art and judge them by the quality of their line and lettering, which are developed for speed so, you know, you don’t get caught.

Location is a major clout-booster too. A wall is easy, but getting to those hard to reach places like a freeway overpass or… the Oceanwide Plaza… well that requires some skill… or recklessness.

And I’ll admit, it inspires some awe (Remember, it’s illegal and dangerous).

A street artist, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of prosecution, said the public upset over graffiti was “low-hanging fruit,” considering the more systemic issues that weigh on Los Angeles, like homelessness and corruption, which perhaps unintentionally makes Oceanwide Plaza a fitting canvas.

As Tom noted a few months back, 40 separate lawsuits have been filed by subcontractors and sub-subcontractors on the skyscrapers, who are still owed a total of over $100 million dollars.

The building, of course, was expected to be completed the year construction stopped in 2019, and it’s been abandoned since with no real timeline for completion.

Last March, China Oceanwide Holdings disclosed they had signed a letter of intent to sell to a “potential buyer.”

Until that fateful day, LAPD says the graffiti will be removed. Two men have already been arrested, cited and released.

Read more: Two arrested in connection with tagging graffiti-covered L.A. skyscraper across the street from Grammys venue


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