Lauren Halsey’s Funkytown

Lauren Halsey remembers the moment she fell in love with funk music. It was the early 2000s. She was a teen in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, downloading songs on her family computer. Once she put on her headphones, Halsey was transported into another world.

Funk is a style of dance music created by Black musicians in the 1960s. It celebrates Black freedom and community with imaginative storytelling and dreamy references to a utopian future. Emphasizing rhythm over harmony, funk musicians use repetition—especially of drum and bass beats—to keep their listeners dancing.

Funk music’s time-bending style shaped Halsey’s approach to art. “It just gave me the conceit to dream up my own worlds,” she says.

Lauren Halsey remembers falling in love with funk music. It was the early 2000s. She was a teen in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Halsey says that funk music helped her feel like she was in another world.

Funk is a style of dance music. It was developed by Black musicians in the 1960s. The lyrics tell stories about a dreamlike future. The musicians emphasize rhythm. Funk uses repetition of drum and bass beats to keep listeners dancing.

Funk music shaped Halsey’s art. “It just gave me [a way] to dream up my own worlds,” she says.

After high school, Halsey started studying architecture. Growing up in South Central, a historically Black neighborhood, Halsey paid close attention to the buildings, signs, and people who breathed life into the area. “There were all these boulevards and avenues and huge egos and attitudes and personalities and stories,” she says.

Halsey surrounded herself with creative friends, who often came over to her house to write and record music while she worked on her art. Around this time, she began making digital collages inspired by her neighborhood using Photoshop.

While Halsey developed collages like her 2015, South Central El Aye Hieroglyphic Fubu Architecture (Rendering I), above, she listened to funk. Her favorite band, Parliament-Funkadelic, often featured Egyptian symbols in their performances. Halsey also uses Egyptian imagery and calls her bright collages “Technicolor remixes of South Central.”

After high school, Halsey studied architecture. South Central, where she grew up, is a historically Black neighborhood. Halsey paid attention to the buildings, signs, and people that gave the area its personality.

Many of Halsey’s friends were creative. They came to her house to write music while she made art. Around this time, she began using Photoshop to make digital collages. They were inspired by her neighborhood.

Halsey listened to funk while she worked on her collages. Her favorite band, Parliament-Funkadelic, often referenced ancient Egypt. Halsey also uses Egyptian images in her work. The collage above is called South Central El Aye Hieroglyphic Fubu Architecture (Rendering I). Halsey made it in 2015.

Found objects and neighborhood references appear in Halsey’s 2024 emajendat, above. She calls this immersive installation a “funk garden.” 

Halsey frequently works with CDs, which perform multiple functions. In emajendat, they line the walls of the funk garden, unifying the space. They also hearken back to the mix CDs and funk music of Halsey’s youth in L.A. And, because CDs have iridescent surfaces, they create a rainbow effect like that of stained glass, creating glittering potential in the details of ordinary life that Halsey explores.

Halsey also documents her neighborhood with found objects. These include things like signs, flyers, menus, hair products, and more. Many of these appear in Halsey’s 2024 emajendat, above. She calls this a “funk garden.”

“I archive the neighborhoods that I live in: signage, mix CDs, party flyers, menus, incense and oils, hairstyles, local landmarks, heroes, and more,” the artist explains.

Halsey frequently uses CDs in her art. In emajendat, they line the walls. When Halsey was young, people made CDs for friends. Including them helps the artist celebrate her upbringing. Because CDs are shiny, they create a rainbow effect. This brings a dreamlike feeling to Halsey’s explorations of ordinary life.