Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (Part 1)

PART 1: RODIA'S SHIP

By Public Art in Public Places

Public Art in Public Places

Watts Towers (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

"I had in mind to do something big." - Simon Rodia

At a height of 99.5 feet, the Watts Towers are a striking example of 20th century American folk art sculpture and mosaic. They are one of the most prominent landmarks in the United States, and with the site's other structures, sculptures and mosaics they have served as a beacon of cultural arts and activism in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles for more than half a century. 

Sabato (Simon) Rodia (1952) by Sanford RothPublic Art in Public Places

"Outsider Art"

Working alone over a period of 30 years and without formal arts or architectural training, Rodia's mammoth effort is also notable as "outsider art" or "art brut," as well as "naïve art."  

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Jean Dubuffet on “art brut”:
"Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses – where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere.”

Watts Towers (hand tool imprints) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

As evidence of his hand-made work, Rodia included in his mosaic panels the imprints of his basic tools: hammers, chissels, and files, accompanied by horseshoes (a sign of good luck).

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (Cactus Garden) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Sculptural features like the "Cactus Garden" illustrate another facet of Rodia's artistic novelty.

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Rodia's Ship

Rodia's driving concept for the 17 metal and concrete towers was to symbolize a masted ship, pointing east toward his homeland of Italy.  Higher and more complex towers-as-masts followed his first at the forefront, the "ship's bow."   A "sail" spans two towers, and a "ship's wheel" is built into a tower framework.

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (Ship's Sail) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (Ship's Wheel) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (1921/1954)Public Art in Public Places

This multi-tiered "Ship Bench" sculpture is one of Rodia's earliest pieces.

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (tower detail) (1921-1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Every Surface a Canvas

Rodia's work is famous for the decorative use of "found objects" applied to the mortar-covered towers, spires, archways, gazebo, and numerous features and panels.  Fragments of ceramic, pottery, glass, sea shells and rocks are common. Much of the ceramic and pottery material came from damaged ware discarded by nearby factories where he occasionally worked.  Unfortunately, many unique pieces that originally topped the spires, such as tea pots and bowls, are gone.  His street-side mosaic panels, however, are largely intact.

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (house entrance) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Rodia made much use of "bottle green" glass from 7-up, Canada Dry and Bubble Up soda bottles, and cobalt blue glass from Milk of Magnesia medicine bottles.

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (glass insulator) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

This spire is one of the few still retaining its "cap" - an early 20th century glass electrical insulator.

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (1923 date) (1921/1954)Public Art in Public Places

A crowned spire, with Rodia's second date of 1923, illustrates the unique decorative effect of his use of white sea shells.

Watts Towers (mosaic panel) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Ceramic mosaic panels along the site's boundary also include inset sections and incised patterns.

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (mosaic) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (mosaic) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Sabato (Simon) Rodia (photograph) (1953) by Lucien den ArendPublic Art in Public Places

Structural Integrity

Rodia had no formal engineering training, yet he achieved structurally stable towers based on his own ideas and experience.  Beginning with a 14-inch mortar/concrete foundation, he built conical columns of structural steel rebar wrapped in wire mesh and covered with a unique mortar or concrete.  Public safety concerns about the towers' structural stability eventually arose, and the City of Los Angeles required proof of structural stability to avoid having the towers razed.  

Watts Towers / Nuestro Pueblo (crowned tower) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

Structural Integrity - The Stress Test

Public safety concerns were satisfied in 1959 when the Watts Towers successfully passed an engineering stress test, designed by aerospace engineer Norman J. "Bud" Goldstone.  The test placed a 10,000-pound load on the tallest tower, equivalent to 70 mile-an-hour winds.  At full load, the tower's horizontal deflection was no more than 1 1/4 inches, at which point the the cable snapped and the crowd of concerned observers cheered.

Watts Towers (entrance) (1921/1954) by Sabato (Simon) RodiaPublic Art in Public Places

From "Ship" to "Pueblo":  Part 2

Just as Rodia's Towers are lauded as architectural and engineering marvels, so has the Nuestro Pueblo place itself, on the ground, both astonished and charmed the world.   Part 2 of WATTS TOWERS / NUESTRO PUEBLO presents "Nuestro Pueblo" as the social place Rodia intended it to be, full of sculptural and decorative beauty and whimsy.

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