PORTRAITS OF HOPE : “SHAPING L.A.” Little did I know the scope of their project involved wrapping Ed’s signature art style around the LA Convention Center. I was intriqued so I planned to meet with Ed at their temprorary headquarters in West Los Angeles.
A few months ago I checked in with Ed Massey, the well-known public artist that we profiled last summer. He told me he was working on an exciting project called “Shaping LA and I may want to take a look at what he and his partner, brother Bernie Massey were scheduled to do. How could I resist?
On a very rainy night rolls of primed canvas were trucked into the Westside Pavillion space that was donated to Bernie and Ed to complete their project. I arrived at the pavillion just as several supporters gathered to bring the rolls into the dry space. Young and old worked together to set this marvelous project in motion. I set my camera equiptment down and pitched in, and for the next hour roll after roll was brought in to the huge space and stored by the front counters that lined the entrance. After some further setting up the space was ready for the next step... the kids and adults who were going to play their part in this huge project. I spoke with Ed briefly at the end of the night and he was excited to get started. He laid out the timetable for me and invited me to come back the following week when the painting was going to start. I was pumped to see how he was going to orchestrate how to create a painting that was approximately 20 high by more than a thousand feet long!
