Back to Show
Artbound
Discount Stores and Drive-thrus: Marc Trujillo Paints North American Purgatory
Artbound's editorial team has reviewed and rated the most compelling weekly articles. After putting two articles up for a vote, the audience chose this article to be made into a short-format documentary.
Members-only wholesale clubs, discount retailers, fast-food eateries: It's the United States' commercial architecture and everyday activities associated with contemporary living that the San Fernando Valley-based artist is so interested in depicting. Through a months-long, multifaceted process, Trujillo creates detailed and vivid, visual records of "North American Purgatory" — the spaces and places prevalent in the built environment that are not designed to be enjoyed, that most people frequent but move past through.
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Related
Support Provided By

56:28
Giant Robot was a bimonthly magazine that profoundly affected Asian American pop culture.

56:43
WPA projects live on in L.A. Explores what effect a similar program might have today.

56:49
Six Latinx artists in L.A. work to secure their place in American art.

56:59
When Marcel Duchamp came to Pasadena in 1963, he sent ripples down L.A.'s art scene.

56:43
A self-published comic book made by brothers from Oxnard, Ca. makes comic book history.

53:45
An LGBTQ nightclub event in L.A. called “Mustache Mondays” was an incubator for today’s exciting artists.

56:55
The Autry Museum is working to recontextualize a large mural, dating from the 1980s.

56:34
Site-specific desert art about land ownership, water scarcity and overlooked histories.

56:39
“Sweet Land” recasts this nation's story through the eyes of immigrants and the Indigenous

55:39
Ceramist Helen Jean Taylor crafted timeless works and helped others find peace in clay.

54:35
A tribute to Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara, a Chicano music pioneer.

57:08
The Watts Towers Arts Center was born out of the resilience of 1960s Black L.A.