Artwork Detail
Oak Doors
Artist: Guajardo, Ruben
Object Date: 1987
Medium: Oak
Department(s): Public Library
Supervisorial District: 5
About the Artwork:
About the Artist:
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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.
In 1985 Ruben Guajardo began working on the doors for the La Verne Library which ended up taking three years and more than 950 hours of labor. Funded by the artist, SOLVE (Save Old La Verne Environment Committee) and Friends of the La Verne Library, the doors are intracately carved from oak. The wood for this project came from a 500-year old landmark oak tree at La Verne Heights School removed by city authorities when it become a safety hazard. Guajardo salvaged the tree; which was significant to him because he grew up in the La Verne area and climbed the oak tree as a child. Guajardo designed the doors as an homage to his parents, Jess and Sara Guajardo, and as a gift to the citizens of La Verne. In 2012, 27 years later, Guajardo presented the library with a carved wooded light fixture to compliment the door.
Ruben Guajardo is a woodworker who was raised and currently resides in La Verne, California. He received an art degree from California State University, Fullerton but views himself more as a puzzlemaker than an artist. Guajardo works for the General Telephone Company and pursues woodworking in his spare time with the intention of elevating furniture design and construction to an art form. He has produced works for famous clients like singer Kenny Loggins and exhibited pieces at the Smithsonian Institution and the Federal Reserve, Washington D.C.