The Bill Rosendahl Memorial Lifeguard Tower

Marston + Brunt Art Studio commissioned by Grant Turck

The Bill Rosendahl Memorial Lifeguard Tower

June 1, 2017

Mural on ready-made lifeguard tower
Paint and wood

This lifeguard tower is a powerful symbol of gay acceptance and pride dedicated to the first openly gay man elected to the LA City Council, Bill Rosendahl. The rainbow-painted upon it is symbolic for the rainbow flag which represents the growing LGBT movement which has a strong local following. It was revealed in 2017 as a part of the first Venice Pride Celebration.

A wooden hut elevated by five feet of wooden beams. The entirety of it, including the supporting beams, is painted with six big stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet from top to bottom respectively. Located on the beach at the end of Brooks Ave.

Paige Hunt

Brooke Perry

Sapir Bernshtein

Ertugrul Emiroglu

Alexandria Hunter

The Bill Rosenthal Memorial Lifeguard Tower was commissioned by the newly formed Venice Pride organization. Two Venice locals, Grant Turck, and Daniel Samakow started the non-profit in only a month after the closing of local gay bar Roosterfish in order to preserve Venice's colorful gay history. Bill Rosendahl was the first openly gay person to win a City Council seat. Sadly he passed away in March 2016. The location at the end of Brooks Avenue was inspired by a 1927 article in The Lesbian Tide which marked the location as "Gay Beach" or "Chi Chi Beach". More complex designs were considered but the simple colors were chosen for their striking visual effect and meaning within the LGBT community. Finally, after a change.org petition and support from County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, instead of repainting the lifeguard tower to it's original blue, in September 2018 the Pride Lifeguard Tower was officially dedicated to Bill Rosendahl and named the Bill Rosenthal Memorial Tower. Today, the only permanent pride landmark in Los Angeles, it stands as a reminder of gay history, culture, and goodwill.

This piece fits into the coursework we are covering because it is a clear example of a physical work of art that makes a statement about culture and context. Throughout the course, we have studied not only the medium used to create these works but how to analyze them to understand what they mean, and with a clear representation of the LGBT flag in this work, the meaning is quickly apparent. After taking this course and learning about works of the past, it's easier to see pieces like this and relate it to modern ideas and issues facing our society with our newly formed appreciation of art and visual language.

The lifeguard tower and its prominent representation of the pride flag is reminiscent of protest art such as Robert Arneson’s Portrait of George. Both pieces were designed for giving a voice to the LGTBQ+ community. George Moscone was the first openly gay mayor of San Francisco and was assassinated out of hate. But he lives on as a martyr in this bust and in the hearts of the people of San Francisco. The LA County legislature dedicated the lifeguard tower to Los Angeles first openly gay person on the Los Angeles City Council, Bill Rosendahl. He also passed away 2 years ago. This brings on an element of mortality and how gay people must die in order to be honored by their communities.

Sarcophagus of the Spouses and the Venice Pride Lifeguard Tower share themes of mortality. For example, both Venice Pride Lifeguard Tower and Sarcophagus of the Spouses share the meaning of love to one another, even post-mortem. The Etruscan woman, who held an important role in the society, is represented right next to her husband's side, in the same height and body ratio and in the same pose, representing equality. They are both smiling, which contrasts to Venice Pride Lifeguard Tower as they both represent love and happiness. Researchers also say that ”It is 1.14 m high by 1.9 m wide, and is made of terracotta which was once brightly painted.” When we compare this information to the Lifeguard Tower which is also painted in order to represent joy, happiness, and love. We can say that it is a mutual similarity that both of the art pieces share.

This piece also relates to the themes of power that we discussed with such pieces as the Ara Pacis Augustea. While Ara Pacis celebrates Emporer Augustus and the peace he ushered in, the Pride Tower celebrates Bill Rosenthal and the relative peace and acceptance surrounding the LGBT community since his election. The Ara Pacis uses images from mythological figures to celebrate and glorify its dedicatee; the Pride Tower makes a simpler, bolder stylistic choice in order to be more readable from far down the peace. The Pride Tower asserts the newfound power of the LGBT community in recent years by marking the territory of "Gay Beach" for all to proudly view.

Sources

https://www.venicepaparazzi.com/recent-events-covered/pridetower/

https://www.change.org/p/l-a-county-board-of-supervisors-save-the-venice-pride-flag-lifeguard-tower?recruiter=54854210&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_content=fb_share_post_copy_6%3Areal_control

https://argonautnews.com/a-resurgence-of-pride/

https://marstonandbruntartstudio.com/murals

https://www.laweekly.com/news/venice-beach-rainbow-lifeguard-tower-is-saved-8616962 (Links to an external site.)

https://lalgbtcenter.org/about-the-center/press-releases/los-angeles-lgbt-center-responds-to-death-of-former-los-angeles-city-councilman-bill-rosendahl (Links to an external site.)

https://marstonandbruntartstudio.com/ (Links to an external site.)