Expo/Western Station
Ephemeral Views: A Visual Essay
Ronald J. Llanos, artist
Estimated completion 2010
Ronald Llanos is a collector of images. He sketches while people watching at a café or navigating the city. Often, these character drawings reappear in self-published ‘zines.’ For Western Station, Llanos proposes to develop a visual narrative that spans the two station platforms like the open pages of a book. From images of large open skies dotted with palm trees and billboards, women walking down the street together carrying shopping bags and pushing baby carriages, a man selling flowers from a pushcart, and teens walking home from school while speaking on cell phones, Llanos will create art panels that draw on the many characters who activate Los Angeles street life.
“You might call me a ‘visual journalist’ or an ‘urban realist.’ My images are inspired by people, and by places I travel to or frequent. I feel that if I search within myself for that which I find interesting about the places and people of those areas, I might be able to communicate with people across time.”