The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. We fulfill our mission by providing services and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations; professional development opportunities; commissioning civic artworks and managing the County’s civic art collection; implementing countywide arts education initiatives; research and evaluation; career pathways in the creative economy; free community programs; and cross sector creative strategies that address civic issues. This work is framed by the County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and a longstanding commitment to fostering access to the arts.
Willowbrook is the result of many historical, cultural, economic, and infrastructural evolutions. These evolutions include early agricultural roots that afforded large, narrowly proportioned residential lots, the 105 freeway which permanently altered the firm boundary of the neighborhood, and the shifting cultural makeup of its residents. These evolutions and the distinctive ways that residents shape and support their community struck the artist, Rob Ley, as hallmarks to consider throughout the development of this large-scale artwork. The ideas supporting the evolution of the artwork elements began to coalesce around the resilience of the neighborhoods and people who live and work in the area. The phrase, “the strength of the individual can multiply and transform into the power of the many” had a particular resonance for the artist.
The artwork, Endless Miles, is a representation of the uniqueness of individual residents, as well as the groups and organizations that these individuals form in the community. Equally, the composition is inspired by the many people, doctors, and staff who work together as a large team to help serve the community. This piece offers a different experience for the viewer based on their vantage point to the artwork. When viewed from a distance, such as in a passing bus or automobile, the viewer may experience the artwork as a colorful sculpture, composed of individual elements that organize and form into larger groupings towards the upper and lower edges of the façade. Once the viewer approaches the piece, the smaller, unique elements of the composition become more apparent. Ley notes that, due to their variation in size, color and groupings, these individual elements take on the quality of brush strokes that one might observe when studying a painting in close proximity. Ley adds that the texture created from these separate brushstrokes is influenced by the lush vegetation found along the center boulevard of Wilmington Avenue.
About the Artist:
Rob Ley's projects engage innovative formal and material approaches to develop artworks and variable environments that respond to human perception. His studio has created commissioned works for various public agencies and private organizations including the Eskenazi Hospital (Indianapolis), Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL), and the Oregon Zoo (Portland). Ley has been awarded several notable awards and grants including the 2015 Americans for the Arts - Public Art Network Year in Review award.
Rob Ley currently teaches at the University of Southern California (USC). Ley has lectured and exhibited extensively on the topics of public art, design, technology and innovation for the public sphere. Rob holds a Master of Architecture from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
