In the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Vermont-Slauson, Lew Harris and his sister Dianne have built The 10th Wonder of the World. The Wonder is a yard show of cast-off industrial materials painted in striking blacks and reds.

Dianne is responsible for the more intricate individual pieces, such as a counter-relief of Michael Jackson carved from waste acrylic.

When I arrive, Lew is sitting in a lawn chair out front talking with his neighbors. He tells me that the big art museums in town are building expensive buildings to house expensive sculptures, which is absurd since he'd give them sculptures for nothing. And he tells me matter-of-factly, "rich people don't make art."

I discuss this statement with Eileen when I meet back up with her later in the day. At this point in the trip, after going from Casa de Colores to Hollywood, it feels true. It's surely true from Lew's perspective, creating a huge steel sculptures for free in South Los Angeles while collectors enshrine pricey crap in the hills. Eileen thinks Lou's comment implies that wealthy people don't have the life experience necessary to create meaningful work, which might feel good to say but isn't true (she cites Frida Kahlo). And of course, it's equally naïve to approach folk art pretending it's all good.

There is obviously a problem with how money dictates our culture. Lew Harris can express that in a way that we are unable to.