Robert Vargas was always interested in painting community.
Vargas’ art can be seen throughout Los Angeles. It’s impossible to miss his giant murals of famous Dodgers Shohei Ohtani in Little Tokyo and Fernando Valenzuela in his home neighborhood of Boyle Heights.
Despite being a huge Dodgers fan, he was far more interested in the diversity those two players represent in a city like L.A.
Born in Boyle Heights, Vargas is a fifth-generation Angeleno. Though he’s traveled the world, painting murals in Japan and New York, it’s Los Angeles where he discovered his ability to shape a city’s history through art.
“[Los Angeles] is home,” said Vargas. “I feel maybe a little bit more parental about the image I put up here, because it is my community. I’m always preaching about advocating for the world community. But [Los Angeles] is home.”
That’s why when Janet Lee of Fair Oaks Burger in Altadena approached Vargas, to see if he was interested in painting a mural on the side of her restaurant, he immediately agreed.
“Altadena is a neighbor of my neighborhood,” said Vargas. “I was inspired by what Janet and her sister [Christy Lee] are doing here at Fair Oaks Burger, and what Food for Health is doing weekly here, providing fresh produce.”
Fair Oaks Burger, owned by sisters Janet and Christy Lee, has been a neighborhood mainstay in Altadena for the past 30 years.
As one of the few establishments that survived the Eaton fire, the sisters felt a responsibility to the community.
Since March, Fair Oaks Burger’s parking lot has been the site of a free, weekly farmer’s market, providing fresh produce to Altadena residents.
Despite needing to temporarily close due to water shut-offs and ashes from the fire, the restaurant has also hosted a variety of other events, including free food distributions, clothing drives, and rallies. Fair Oaks Burger is set to re-open to the public on Saturday, June 14.
Vargas arrived early to the site early Wednesday morning, despite the fog and light rain, dressed in paint-splattered black clothing. He took the time to talk to each person who showed up, including Altadena residents, members of the press, and Fair Oaks Burger staff. He says those conversations are part of informing his artistic process.
“I really want to mirror the communities in which the murals live in,” said Vargas, who doesn’t come in with a fixed idea of what he’s going to paint. “This [mural] is going to be driven by the people. This is more about the everyday heroes that are here.”
Jennifer Mariscal, an Altadena resident of 35 years, approached Vargas to tell him about her Eaton fire story. Vargas said that it’s conversations like these that serve a vehicle for a much bigger story to tell with his mural.
After returning with his paint and paintbrushes, Vargas crossed the street and stooped on the ledge of a building, taking a moment to observe his canvas. At that point in the afternoon, more had showed up to see Vargas paint his mural in real time, including the actor Edward James Olmos. Some showed up sporting Dodgers merchandise. He invited each one to tell him about Altadena.
Sybil Curry and her daughter, Amber, who are working on a documentary on Altadena’s artistic communities, suggested a child holding a flower. Others emphasized the city’s creative and nature-filled characteristics. Some Altadena residents pointed to the neighbors who assisted each other when the fire reached their homes.
While some artists might prefer a more solitary, undisturbed environment when painting, Vargas is the opposite. As an artist whose work is displayed publicly, he seeks to engage with the community as a way of brainstorming. If the city is his canvas, the people are his paintbrushes, giving life to the mural one stroke at a time.
The mural will be unveiled to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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