Project Description

In order to beautify what is often a community eyesore for the duration of the construction phase, Metro Art commissioned veteran mural artist Charles “Brother Boko” Freeman to design and paint an original mural on the large scale construction fences at the corner of 1st and Lorena Streets. The mural was a colorful celebration of education and history. It included images of the Native American Chumash, Tongva and Kumeyaay peoples. Additional images included Mother Earth, Mayan and Aztec cultural icons, and a girl who is discovering them through reading.

Artist Statement

“With the idea that if you know where you came from you’ll know where you are going, I wanted to create a work that was about site specificity and learning.”

About the Artist

CHARLES FREEMAN (b. 1951, Houston, TX; d. 2020, Muncie, Indiana), who also worked under the name BROTHER BOKO, was born and raised in New York. A self-taught artist, he is renowned for his mural work in Los Angeles created murals as part of a wide variety of public and private commissions including Los Angeles Unified School District, Social and Public Art Resource Center, Figueroa Medical Center and Magic Johnson Theater.