Department of Public Social Services
| Artist: | Goez Art Studio |
| Title | Exposition Park Welcomes the World Bienvenidos a La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles de Porciuncula |
| Date: | 1984 |
| District: | Second Supervisorial District |
| Location: | 3965 South Vermont Ave |
| Department: | Public Social Services |
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In preparation for the 1984 Olympic Games, the Los Angeles Olympic Coordinating Committee (LAOOC) commissioned Exposition Park Welcomes the World on the side of the old Department of Public Social Services Building. This 43' h x 132' w mural facing Leighton Avenue was created by the artists of Goez Studio in addition to 20 high school students (whose names are listed above the mural) as part of the Ernie Barnes Youth Art Project.
Situated opposite Exposition Park, one of the main venues for the 1984 Olympics, the mural depicts "The Queen of Angels" as a representation of the City of Los Angeles. With her arms extended she embraces the flags and symbolically welcomes all the countries of the world above an image of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Exposition Park Welcomes the World suffered severe damage during the civil unrest of April 1992 and today is partially obscured by the encroachment of an ivy plant. A portion of the mural has also been destroyed due to the construction of a building immediately adjacent to the old DPSS building.
See Goez Art Studio, Ofrenda Maya I and Goez Art Studio, The Short Life of John Doe (La Vida Breve de Alfonso Fulano)
About the Artists: Founded in East Los Angeles in 1969 by José Luis Gonzalez, his brother Juan Gonzalez, and their friend David Botello, Goez Art Studio was originally a business that provided many artistic services including art restoration, advertisement design, custom furniture fabrication, and mural creation. In the 1970s Goez’s focus turned increasingly to murals and the Studio created many significant public artworks in the Los Angeles area.
Robert Arenivar (1931-1985) created the design for Exposition Park Welcomes the World while José-Luis Gonzalez and Bernie Granados, Jr. supervised the production of the mural Robert Arenivar was born in Pittsburg, California but grew up in East Los Angeles and became a self-taught artist. When Goez formed, José Luis Gonzalez invited Arenivar to join the Studio. Arenivar quit his factory job and eventually became Goez’s head mural designer and illustrator.Part Apache and Zacatec, Bernie Granados, Jr. incorporates his Native American heritage in his murals, paintings, sculptures, and wood carvings. Granados has worked in the film industry for many years in addition to an illustrious teaching career at the University of California, Irvine and the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts. He is also committed to providing educational opportunities in the arts for Native American youth.