Talk to the Snail

Even the Mother of All Downpours couldn’t stop me from heading to L.A.’s Central Library this afternoon to check out the brand new Bunker Hill by Leo Politi exhibit (so new, in fact, it doesn’t officially open until Saturday, 2/2.)

Caldecott Medal-winning artist Leo Politi is best remembered as a children’s book illustrator and author who called downtown Los Angeles and nearby Angelino Heights home for most of his 87 years (he died in 1996). Many of his books are centered in L.A.

Politi sketching “the Castle”. His version is above.

In 1964, Politi released Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, a collection of pencil and watercolor art of remaining homes in the Bunker Hill area. (Roughly thirty blocks in size, Bunker Hill was a section of downtown L.A. comprised of mainly 19th-century homes and buildings until urban renewal in the 1960s leveled the entire neighborhood). The city of L.A. now owns the book’s original art, which – along with some of Politi’s unpublished Bunker Hill work – is on display at the main library through June 16.

The artwork is gorgeous, of course, but I was very happy to see how large Politi worked. The art is huge, poster-sized. If you’re in the downtown L.A. area over the next five months, I encourage you to stop by the library and take in the Politi exhibit.

– Eric