Meet the Artists

Now that we've learned a bit about the sign painters involved with the Full Dollar project, let us now meet the artists. We sat down with each artist for a video interview which, along with samples of their work, will be posted right here on this blog over the course of next few weeks.

Here are the participating artists, with a brief description about their works:

• Sandow Birk has spent much of his life living and working in the Los Angeles area. Feeling that it is the most exciting place to be an artist, he often simultaneously critiques and celebrates the city in his work. He views his art as a means to communicate his conceptual ideas, which often re-define historical styles of painting and deal with contemporary American life.
• Martin Durazo is a Los Angeles native whose multimedia works explore the aesthetics of the elicit, often using found objects and putting them in a new context that deviates them from its intended use. His often controversial work can stimulate and stir up a range of emotions.
• Ruby Osorio was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she currently lives and works. Her intricate mixed media works invite the viewers to use their imagination and find themes that are often left ambiguous.
• Wayne Healy is a Chicano muralist from East L.A. who founded the mural team East Los Streetscapers in 1975 with his friend and fellow artist David Botello. Their site-specific works reflect the attitude that public art belongs to everyone. He continues to draw from his memories of a more rural East L.A. while simultaneously finding joy in practicing new media.
• Shizu Saldamando was born and raised in San Francisco's Mission district, currently living and working in Los Angeles. Her kitschy but politically conscious drawings explore the constantly shifting cultures in ordinary lives, from music icons to Quinceneras. She is also the founder of Monte Vista Projects, an art space in Highland Park.

Check back our blog often for updates on each of these artists.

Full Dollar Collection of Contemporary Art is an initiative that aims to reconsider the tradition of public art through a collaboration between artists, sign painters, and business owners.

The Full Dollar Collection of Contemporary Art is developed through a partnership between: