Art + Community = Blog Post Four

Art and community are a common theme that go back decades, if not centuries. It's easy to form a mutualistic relationship between the two as they can easily build off of each other and develop to make each other stronger. Examples of this are make in New York with Thelonius Monk at San Juan Hill and in a current day Leimert Park in Los Angeles. The Film, “Leimert Park” and Robin Kelly’s, “Thelonious Monk” are golden examples of communities that worked together through hardships of violence, poverty and racial segregation to form a community that was greater than the single problems they faced and were able to create a musical background that projected them into a more cohesive unit.

San Juan Hill became a community hub for Thelonius Monk as he was able to perform for countless races and classes. He was surrounded by tremendous art and culture, and his artistic abilities were able to fully thrive in this expanded and diverse community. The Columbus Hill Community center was an epicenter where Monk was able to stage his performances and relatively commit as his basecamp. These opportunities in New York allow him to grow into the performer and artist that he later became as he was able to be influenced by numerous artists in the great New York area.

Leimert Park became significant for slightly different reasons. While it was still an artistic hub much like that of San Juan Hill. The people of Leimert Park became significant because they were able to rise up together against the segregation of the era and the outlying community. Even as the Race Wars worked their ways through the neighborhood, the people of the community decided that it was important to stand together to protect the artistic endeavors that they had accomplished so that it wouldn't be ruined by the misguided hatred of the wars. Dick's Coffee Shop became a place where people could come together and not have to worry about the terrors that lie outside of the neighborhood. People would stay up until very late hours, just listening to music or playing chess outside on the tables. This was a group of people that meshed together to create their own ideals of community and to tread the way for other neighborhoods to come.

The communities of San Juan Hill and Leimert Park were brought back to their full potential through the recreation of a strong art system and a community that worked to bring back everything the artistic community had to offer. While the styles slightly differed, with San Juan hill holding a "for profit" mojo and Leimert Park playing for the betterment of the genre and the self-fulfillment of the artist and the community, it was definitely an indicator of forward progress. Despite the distracting and dangerous outer communities that worked around these two neighborhoods, the people of San Juan Hill and Leimert Park were able to come together to symbiotically create a artistic mecca.

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