Local artist uses street vendors to re-imagine LA monuments through augmented reality
LOS ANGELES - What if there were no physical limitations to memorialize a person, place, or thing; if a monument could be created with augmented reality as opposed to purely in the physical world? It’s a concept that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Snapchat explored in an initiative called Monumental Perspectives, which uses augmented reality to explore monuments and murals, representation, and history. Monumental Perspectives brings together artists and technologists to create virtual monuments that explore just some of the histories of Los Angeles communities in an effort to highlight perspectives from across the region.’
One of the artists, Ruben Ochoa, used the opportunity to pay tribute to street vendors.
The LA-based artist’s mother immigrated to California from Mexico, and made a living selling tortillas.
"She started selling by foot, by trunk of car, eventually, you know, door to door, eventually by van," Ochoa said. As a child, he watched as his mother and family developed relationships with other vendors, saying "we would build a connection, an affinity, respect for each other."
As he grew up and launched a successful career as an artist, Ochoa kept vendors and their plight close to his heart. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, he watched helplessly as they struggled to survive.
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"I would see a lot of vendors getting attacked and harassed, and I couldn't do anything about it," Ochoa said. "They were being ignored and being unseen during the pandemic. They weren't getting help [from] the government because a lot of them are undocumented. And so I wanted to do something, and for me, it was to pay tribute to what I consider the social fabric of LA, the street vendors," he said. "I want to combine selfie culture with advocacy."
Working with LACMA and Snap "Lens Creators," Ochoa created "¡Vendedores, Presente!" — a larger-than-life AR experience bringing the world of street vending to life through a child’s point of view.
"As a child, you look at these paleteros, you're just like, 'Oh my God, you're like, my hero - you're selling ice cream to me!' I wanted these things to have these feelings, to have these experiences. Larger than life moments, these large-scale sculptures, but through AR," Ochoa said
The finished result is a whimsical, magical realist experience of street vendors - paleteros flying around, fruiteros falling from the sky, a giant orange bouncing through the scene.
There are now 13 monuments throughout LA in the LACMA × Snapchat: Monumental Perspectives collection, each allowing artists to highlight the histories of local communities.
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"When you're in a world where you can basically situate a monument on the ground or in the air; you can make them fly, you could map it onto somebody's face — when you have that freedom and flexibility, there's…no rules," said Rita Gonzalez, Department Head of Contemporary Art at LACMA.
Gonzalez said the goal was to re-imagine traditional monuments, which aren’t commonplace in LA.
"We have things that are more associated with the landscape, with outdoors, with the kind of lifestyle of being in Southern California," Gonzalez said. "And so we approached artists and said, ‘If you could design your own monument, where would it be?’"
Other artists examined key historical moments, figures, and local legacies.
Ochoa is taking the project even further, turning his art into advocacy. He collaborated with Revolution Carts on LA’s first approved prepackaged tamalero cart; actively advocates for vendors rights; and raises money to help the next generation of street vendors. For more information and to donate, click or tap here.
¡Vendedores, Presente! can be experienced at MacArthur Park or from anywhere by downloading Snapchat.
More information on the Monumental Perspectives collection can be found on LACMA's website here.