I completed the community engagement art project with trash I collected from my house over the past few weeks. I decided to focus on the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles and America. Statistically, roughly two-thirds of Americans live paycheck to paycheck (Gamm 2014). For some of these people, if an unfortunate turn of events takes place, for instance loosing their job, they may end up on the street, homeless. They may be unable to purchase essentials such as food for themselves and could begin to go hungry. To represent this dire situation, I created an art piece featuring a homeless woman made entirely out of different materials that were once a product filled with food but have since been emptied. In the piece, she is part of a homeless community using tents and clothes lines. This reality is on display for the public to see 24/7 on the sides of some Los Angeles streets or at on-ramps to freeways. Although my representation may seem extreme, this is the nature of their situation and must not be a topic that is avoided by those who can help.
     The intention of my art piece is to raise awareness about the frequency and severity of homelessness, particularly in Los Angeles. When constructing the homeless woman, I began by creating a structured and clean dress and then cut it until it looked sufficiently tattered. I wanted my piece to illustrate the fleeting nature of stability, as this woman, dressed in attire that could be a party dress, is now on the streets in what possibly was a quite sudden turn of events. The surrounding environment of the woman in my art piece was also intentional. I placed her on the side of the road in what appears to be a small community of people suffering through homelessness. I decided that this would be an effective way to portray my intentions, being that my concern addresses more than the lifestyle of homelessness and how it can become one’s reality in such a short period of time; my concerns are largely surrounding the severity and percentage of the population struggling through that potential situation. My goal was to demonstrate this through my art piece, as the featured character is a part of a homeless community mimicking the look of places like Skid Roe in Los Angeles. As pointed out in an article in “Marketplace” entitled “In Los Angeles, homeless camps are suddenly everywhere”. These places exist and are filled with people who have recently encountered a rough set of circumstances in their life. The article points out that the number of homeless in LA county rose 12% in the past two years with the population of homeless now reaching 44,000 (Tyler, 2015). Support from those who can provide it is what allows these people another chance at life by getting them back on their feet with a fighting chance.
    The intended audience for this piece was anyone who is able to help those in need. My goal was for the viewer to see my art and feel inspired to help this person all at once seemingly both similar and apart from themselves. There are so many different ways in which people can help support those who are suffering through homelessness. Organizations such as PATH, People Assisting The Homeless, house and feed homeless and work to get them back into jobs where they can support themselves. But even people who aren’t part of organizations can still help the homeless in whatever small ways they can. Whether one is giving a beggar money or food, donating clothing to a charity, or creating an art piece to inspire others, every act counts and impacts the life of someone in need.


Work Cited

Gamm, Scott. "Two-Thirds of Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck, A 1% Drop From Last Year." MainStreet. The Street Inc., 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

Tyler, Jeff. "In Los Angeles, Homeless Camps Are Suddenly Everywhere." Marketplace Wealth and Poverty. 28 May 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.