JOSE RAMIREZ

A Short History of Los Angeles
Mural
2019

A Short History of Los Angeles is a large-scale artwork by artist Jose Ramirez. Ramirez’s densely packed Los Angeles cityscape unearths the hidden histories and natural foundations of our community.

The modern L.A. skyline towers above an underground scene of old Los Angeles - Longhorns, oil towers, citrus farms, and Cenozoic mammals wander alongside migrants, fences, rivers, and oak trees.

Ramirez’s image questions what exactly grounds (and is erased by) the built world and calls us to acknowledge the symbiosis of the natural and urban. It is also a call to remember the evolution of Los Angeles, and the complex social and political forces that shape our everyday environs.