Focus on Urban Light and discuss the Cultural status.
Since its 2008 installation, Urban Light has been visited by many and widely photographed and shared on social media.  Director Ivan Reitman was one of the first filmmakers to incorporate the public artwork in a motion picture, using the location for a scene in his film No Strings Attached. Echoing Burden's own view, he called the artwork "an extraordinary beacon" that "lights up a desperate part of Wilshire that felt almost abandoned at night." Urban Light was featured in the Tori Amos video Maybe California and the film Valentine's Day. The work appeared in a Guinness commercial and in a Vanity Fair article featuring cast members of the television series Glee, as well as in numerous amateur photos posted online. LACMA itself has featured the work as part of its own promotional efforts, including a 3D public service announcement preceding the film Megamind. In 2014, the sculpture was used in a dance scene in VH1's Hit the Floor.The first known selfie taken at the sculpture was shot four days after the work opened and was posted to Flickr. The sculpture has its own hashtag: #urbanlight. While not rented out as a wedding site, Urban Light has been the setting for many vows.In November 2022, mass protesters were led in a performance by Mediseh Bathaie where they were tied to the lamp posts to honor the 40th day since Khodanur Lojei's death, he was killed during the 2022 Zahedan massacre (part of the Mahsa Amini protests).
No Strings Attached Vanity Fair 2022 Zahedan massacre Flickr Guinness Valentine's Day Ivan Reitman Tori Amos Glee sculpture Khodanur Lojei Mahsa Amini protests Megamind