Artwork Detail

Starting in 2002 artist Daniel Dodd worked with the arts incubator Art Share and collaborated with high school students from Roosevelt High School and the surrounding Downtown Arts District to produce three ceramic tile murals. All three murals were gifts for the Department of Public Social Services parking garage (Art Share’s neighbor) at 813 East 4th Place. Their first mural depicted the city’s diversity by setting the skyline of Los Angeles above an image of the globe crisscrossed by LA’s freeways. Below the globe are the faces of four children of different ethnicities. Their second mural was inspired by Buddhist mandalas, symbolic of the cosmos and the desire for harmony. The final mural was inspired by ancient Aztec calendar. The artworks were developed and created during Art Share’s after school program. The program encourages the arts and community participation. Each artwork took several months to complete. The students studied architectural drawings, concepts, and methods of fabrication. The artworks were donated to the County by Art Share and the participants involved.

Daniel Dodd has been the Associate Director for Art Share since 2000. He studied painting and fine art at Syracuse University and has been a mosaic instructor for seven years. In addition to his work with students, he has participated in many mosaic community beautification projects in the Los Angeles area. His artwork can be seen at the Santa Monica Conservancy River Gardens Park, at the pedestrian footbridge at 53rd Street and Long Beach Avenue in Los Angeles, and at the Foothill Family Center in Pasadena.