Photographer Johnny Tergo would constantly see people he was inspired to photograph while he was driving the streets of Los Angeles. One day he had the idea to rigg up his Chevy Silverado truck with his camera gear and while driving, be able to click and shoot his unbeknownst subjects. He titled the project “Passenger Side Window.” [Read more...]
James Rieck has made a name for himself over the past years by drawing us in to explore his hyper-real portraits – images that at once seem like snapshots of real people and simultaneously make us questions our presumptions with their too perfect colors and tones. It’s like those moments after a convincing dream when you have to think: “did that really happen?” Now Rieck has released new works based on a recent uprooting from his long-time residence and studio in Baltimore, Maryland and his subsequent move to expansive and seemingly infinite Los Angeles, California. As he puts it, his new paintings are themed around “self-imposed dislocation.” [Read more...]
Los Angeles is perhaps most famous for two things: its prolific creation of movies, and its massive urban sprawl. The city is unique for having almost no geographic center, instead being spread between districts like Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley (which are city sized in their own right). Now Los Angeles’s A+D Architecture and Design Museum is asking the question “What if?” What if the area’s many proposed architectural projects from the past had been realized? Never Built explores ideas that were never to be, looking at futuristic projects ranging from ideas for massive public institutions, to cantilevered outdoor recreation spaces and extensive rail-based public transportation. It’s an exciting look at the future that could have been… one that is daring the City of Angels to dream big again. [Read more...]
Let’s face it, Los Angeles can be a less than clean city at times. Containing the largest population of people in the United States, this mass area of human traffic can have its effect on the environment and public art can be limited. It may be only a matter of time before that art piece may be tagged or tampered with. Yet as this metropolis continues to grow as a city that is inspirational for artists, one street artist has contributed her work into the cracks of the city that everyone either loves or hates. [Read more...]
Los Angeles is a city of colorful extremes: at once a exotic star filled architectural playground and sprawling urban jungle of low-slung suburbia. Taking her cues from the less opulent spots in the city, artist Ana Serrano has created a colorful, nearly life-sized version of the place she was born and raised… out of cardboard. Her large, room filling work, features the myriad storefronts you would find wandering the streets of LA, from nail salons, to liquor stores and sex shops, all with their signature hand-painted signage, sparse plant life and brilliant paint jobs. This isn’t the high end of the city, but it’s certainly full of life and character. [Read more...]
If there were one word to describe the area you live in, what would it be? New York based composer and visual artist R. Luke DuBois went to great lengths to get us the sometimes predictable, sometimes surprising answers. [Read more...]
For all that live in the LA basin, this informative animation will be far too familiar. Long distances between all the great things to do in the area, combined with quickly stopping traffic on freeways like the 405 and 5, create roads that are often at a standstill. Waze, in collaboration with Gray Area Foundation and artist Nik Hanselmann, created this animation of hazards and traffic as reported by Waze users. Beginning at 5pm and ending 24 hours later the data really begins to explode as people rush to work around 7am. It’s a sobering look at driving conditions in the City of Angels.
Waze is “a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road.” It’s available for most mobile devices.
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Tattoo artist Scott Campbell is a man of many, varied talents: recently he has been laser cutting tall stacks of dollar bills into delicate three dimensional carvings. His piles of currency feature many of the traditional tattoo symbols we are accustom to: skulls, religious art, guns, roses. Other pieces have adeptly cut script with sayings like “Thank you, Jesus” and “The Thrill is Gone.” Only adding to the raw nature of his work: it’s technically illegal to destroy or deface currency.
Looking for a locals bar in a popular city? Look no further than these maps, which plot the places locals and tourists frequent. Taking the images submitted to the Geotaggers World Atlas and placing them on the map colored based on the length that person has been in the city, these images give a good idea of where locals and tourists visit. It’s also a handy travel reference to see what quiet spots still exist in these popular places. [Read more...]
In case you haven’t heard, Point Break Live! is the most tubular, radical show in town… it tells the story of former college football star turned FBI agent, Johnny Utah, in pursuit of bank robbing, skydiving, bare hand fighting, adrenaline junkie, Zen Master Bodhi Sattva… almost like the 1991 movie Point Break… hm…
As if that wasn’t radical enough, at each show a member of the audience is picked to play the lead roll of Johnny Utah. The original film starred Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, and Gary Busey and as the clip below shows, Gary Busey made an out-of-the-audience guest appearance at the live show. It was a night to remember.
