Peace and Love (1976)

Elliott Pinkney, South Los Angeles, Acrylic, 6’ x 3’

Located among LA’s famous Watts Towers, the mural’s central image is the head of an African American man. The lock, key, and open book around him point to the message that education is the way to unlock a person's mind and gain happiness. The Watts Towers are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics in the Watts neighborhood of LA. An example of outsider art, it was built solely by Sabato “Sam” Rodia, an Italian immigrant construction-tile worker over a period of 33 years from 1921 to 1954.

Photo: ©Robin Dunitz