Sunland-Tujunga is getting its drab, lifeless building walls decorated. The murals have been coming for years now, but the “machine” always got them shut down before anyone could enjoy them. But that appears to be changing now with the help of Sonia Tatulian and her artist friends.
It was only a couple of years ago that Lito of Joselito’s Mexican restaurant commissioned muralist “CC” to paint a mural commemorating El Dio Del Muerto (the day of the dead) on the side of his building. It lasted three months before Lito was ordered to remove it. A large “Buffalo Society” mural was put on the old Arigoto building on Foothill back in 2015.
It lasted nearly three months before the graffiti busters painted over it. Jump ahead to 2016 and we have the Sunland Fight Club mural painted on the ordinary looking brick wall of the building. The machine nearly got it painted over, but with help of Tatulian and Arnie Abramyan it was saved and is still there. Then a mural was painted on Commerce Ave. depicting the “Tree of Life” and an Armenian theme. Once again, the machine attempted to have it removed. They failed because the Armenian community rose up and with their SunlandTujunga neighbors showed solidarity for community art. And now we have artists Nerses Avdyan, his daughter Jessica and fellow artist John Ponce doing a mural commemorating the life of James Dean on the side of his auto repair shop.
The face of SunlandTujunga is changing for the better.
The intense mural on the side of Joselito’s.
Community rallies in support of the SFC
The Tree of Life Mural on Commerce