The Love House
for Watts House
Project
for Watts House
Project
To learn more about the Love House and Watts House Project:
www.thelovenecklace.com
www.wattshouseproject.org
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-watts2-2008nov02,0,7393094.story
www.thelovenecklace.com
www.wattshouseproject.org
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-watts2-2008nov02,0,7393094.story
In the summer of 2008, Edgar Arceneaux, Director of Watts House Project
(WHP), invited artist Alexandra Grant to imagine a project for a house on
107th Street in Watts. WHP is an artist-driven, collaborative
redevelopment of the residential city block across the street from Watts
Towers in South Los Angeles. WHP is built on cooperation between
residents, artists, and architects to find creative solutions to everyday
problems facing the community. Grant’s response was the “Love House” –
a sculpture of the word “love” placed on the roof of the Cerant Family
home.
Grant’s initial proposal of an oversized Love sculpture atop the roof of the
Cerant home was meant to act as a “lightning rod” to attract attention and
resources to the project. To Grant’s surprise, the Cerants quickly warmed
to the project. In fact, Moneik Cerant once asked Grant, “How did you
know that there was so much love in the house?”
Included in the Love House design are a new bedroom and sleeping loft
(to accommodate the 6 children, 2 grandmothers and the parents living in
the three-bedroom house), a garden that has permeable ground-cover as
well as a fruits and vegetable gardens, a water-catchment system for rain,
and two new porches for outdoor living space. One of the new porches
will support a modified version of the Love sculpture.
The “Love” symbol is designed to represent the greater aims of Watts
House Project – that artists can place love (literally) on the homes of a low-
income community, using art as a conduit for social change.
In order to raise money and awareness for the Love House and Watts
House Project, Grant designed the Love Necklace. Below are Ayriana,
Alexandra, Moneik and Vonnie wearing their Love Necklaces:
(WHP), invited artist Alexandra Grant to imagine a project for a house on
107th Street in Watts. WHP is an artist-driven, collaborative
redevelopment of the residential city block across the street from Watts
Towers in South Los Angeles. WHP is built on cooperation between
residents, artists, and architects to find creative solutions to everyday
problems facing the community. Grant’s response was the “Love House” –
a sculpture of the word “love” placed on the roof of the Cerant Family
home.
Grant’s initial proposal of an oversized Love sculpture atop the roof of the
Cerant home was meant to act as a “lightning rod” to attract attention and
resources to the project. To Grant’s surprise, the Cerants quickly warmed
to the project. In fact, Moneik Cerant once asked Grant, “How did you
know that there was so much love in the house?”
Included in the Love House design are a new bedroom and sleeping loft
(to accommodate the 6 children, 2 grandmothers and the parents living in
the three-bedroom house), a garden that has permeable ground-cover as
well as a fruits and vegetable gardens, a water-catchment system for rain,
and two new porches for outdoor living space. One of the new porches
will support a modified version of the Love sculpture.
The “Love” symbol is designed to represent the greater aims of Watts
House Project – that artists can place love (literally) on the homes of a low-
income community, using art as a conduit for social change.
In order to raise money and awareness for the Love House and Watts
House Project, Grant designed the Love Necklace. Below are Ayriana,
Alexandra, Moneik and Vonnie wearing their Love Necklaces:
