This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Look! It's Lenin's Head on La Brea
Lenin's Head sculpture (Photo by Ana Bustilloz/LAist)
If you've been on La Brea in the Miracle Mile area since Sunday, you may have noticed an unusually large communist leader's head appear at the southeast corner at 4th Street. This is the Ace Museum, and that head belongs to Lenin--in art form, at least.
The Lenin sculpture, called "Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head," went up overnight Saturday, and is a work by the Gao Brothers, Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang, of China. It's part of an ongoing series of works that includes the "Headless Mao." The work was displayed in January 2010 in Vancouver, Canada, where it stirred up controversy.
Fairfax By Night gives us more details about the piece:
The artists have included several elements that show this controversial figure in a new light for the world of art. With a vivid chrome finish, the metal sculpture is constructed from horizontal sections that were purposefully staggered to make up this very thought provoking likeness of ruthless Russian dictator Vladimir Lenin. As such a well know person, the artists’ decision to give his face a chrome finish takes the focus away from Lenin, and to the sculpture’s context by allowing the reflections to highlight the immediate surroundings instead of Lenin in an appropriately demeaning fashion. The staggered sections represent his broken and destructive legacy that brought so much turmoil to Russia. Atop is a very playful inclusion of baby holding a balance stick on top of Lenin’s protruding head, as if walking a tight rope of his disastrous and risky Marxist ideals.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
