Artwork Detail

In 1977, the Community Development Commission’s (CDC) headquarters was located at 4800 Cesar Chavez Avenue, directly across from a then new CDC planned housing development site. Because the CDC headquarters was open to the public to solicit feedback and community involvement, the CDC wanted a mural for this building that reflected the ideals of quality housing for all. Artist David Lopez won the commission to paint the mural and he created an oil on canvas artwork that depicted architects in the early stages of surveying the development’s land, while the site’s future is signified by a family sheltered by a rainbow. Lopez intended this highly realistic mural to symbolize how quality housing contributes to family unity and strength. The mural’s figures are modeled on David Lopez’s own family and friends and he also included an image of his nearby Our Virgin of Guadalupe mural (which is now next to the CDC building, facing Mednik Avenue).

A native of East Los Angeles, David Lopez attended the Art Center College of Design and majored in illustration before pursuing a career in the film industry. Lopez worked as a production painter, scenic artist, and background animation artist for Batman, Lethal Weapon, and several Michael Jackson commercials. He has also worked with Robert Arenivar on a painting for the Pentagon of the Hispanic Medal of Honor winner and on a mural in an East Los Angeles bar that has been destroyed. Lopez currently lives in Saugus, California.