“Asco Torn Apart” • May 2023

los angeles times

In late-April 2023, I was approached to create this piece about the East Los Angeles experimental art group, Asco. For the aesthetic of this artwork, I wanted to go with a xerox/black & white style that felt evocative of the era when Asco were active. The brief also called for a "lo-fi, punk zine vibe," a request I am always happy to oblige! This was a project TOTALLY up my alley and I was excited to work on, the only kicker was the deadline for this was a week turnaround! So I had to get moving, quick.

I started by sketching out a few different ideas. I didn't know what the hedline was going to be at the time, so I focused on other aspects: color, vibe, texture, placement, etc to give me and LA Times Art Director An Amolette, a place to start bouncing ideas. As you can see from my notes, many of these ideas ended up in the final design!

Once we had sketch version mapped out, I printed out various archival photos of each Asco member that the LA Times photo editor provided me. I then cut/tore them out, crumpled and slightly water-damaged/stained them using salt water and black tea and left them out in the sun for a bit to give them a weathered look.

Every piece of this artwork was a tactile element that was scanned, manipulated and arranged in Photoshop. The Calendar section header was cut out from a past issue of the Times. The spray painted "Asco" and drop cap were done by me on a canvas and then scanned in.

Lastly, the textures and patterns you see throughout the artwork were sourced from various items/books that mom had at her house. I wanted to have some of these elements because they are authentic pieces that worked with the tone/vibe of the artwork and also cuz my mom grew up in East L.A. in the '70s and was familiar with Asco and their impact on art and LA. Thanks, Mom!