Mar Vista residents protest against LADWP's efforts to remove beloved street art on utility poles

MAR VISTA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- For more than a decade, utility poles along the streets of Mar Vista have been decorated with dozens of pieces of metal artwork, sculpted by resident Lori Powers.

"I thought, what can I do with the skills I have to make a difference in the world," said Powers, who creates each piece of art at her Mar Vista home, and then uses a ladder and electric drill to attach the welded artwork to the wooden poles.

"What I do is go around the neighborhood and look for discarded items in the neighborhood, usually metal, and I bring them (home) and look at it and say, oh what can I make today?"

The whimsical pieces of artwork have brought countless smiles to faces young and old, all throughout the neighborhood.

"This is something that adds tremendous aesthetic value to our community," said Paul Von Blum. "I've seen these wonderful whimsical sculptures for years, I've had the privilege of teaching a long time at UCLA, and I teach about public art.

"People can see it and enjoy it as they go through their daily business. That's what public art is all about."

But people may not be seeing it much longer.

Citing state law, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is sending crews into the neighborhood to remove each and every piece of artwork, and return it to Powers.

"The DWP says there's a state law that says you can't affix anything to a telephone pole," said Powers. "Well, then why were they able to be here for ten years?"

But residents aren't giving up without a fight.

As LADWP work crews attempted to take down the artwork on Tuesday morning, a group of about two dozen residents attempted to peacefully interfere with the removal by standing next to the power poles.

"They stood underneath the poles," said Powers. "Because (LADWP) uses cherry pickers and bucket trucks, they can't be over a human when they do that. So, the humans got underneath it, they put their lives on the line for this art."

In a statement, the LADWP said the pieces of art present a public safety issue.

"We are very supportive of public art, but placement of items like the artwork on power poles is prohibited by the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates utility power poles.

"Structures like the ones hung on power poles in Mar Vista pose a threat to the safety of our crews and members of the public. Our crews need access to climb the poles unobstructed in order to conduct maintenance.

"We will continue to work with Council District 11, the artist and the community to collaborate on finding a suitable alternate location to display the installations. We appreciate everyone's input and willingness to work together to resolve this issue by keeping safety top of mind."