Exploring the people, places & culture of greater LA
With its many museums and art galleries, the Miracle Mile and surrounding mid-Wilshire neighborhood is one of several important centers of LA’s vibrant art scene. Home to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Architecture+Design Museum, and the Craft and Folk Art Museum, as well as numerous galleries, visitors to this part of the city can easily spend several days exploring the area’s wealth of art venues.
Tour companies that take you to conventional, well known LA area destinations such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, 3rd Street Promenade and Universal City, just to name a few, are a dime a dozen. While there is nothing wrong with any of those attractions and I enjoy visiting them myself, there is so much more to greater Los Angeles than those popular sites. You just have to know where to look and who to spend some time with to gain a more nuanced appreciation for the city and its environs.
In 1987 the Los Angeles Conservancy began its program called Last Remaining Seats to focus attention on the movie palaces located in downtown Los Angeles’ Broadway Historic Theatre District. Now in its 25th season, the Conservancy’s highly successful series of classic films and live entertainment in historic theatres is back with an outstanding slate of films.
If you missed the last de LaB event, which was held at LACE in Hollywood, now is your chance to head south (but still east of La Brea) and join the group for another special event. This weekend, they’ve planned a visit with (fer) studio, the architects behind Father’s Office in Culver City and Zen Zoo in Hollywood. (fer) studio is currently working on a revitalization plan for Inglewood’s underutilized Market Street. The master plan centers on a proposed MTA stop and explores the possibility of an urban agriculture zone, adaptive re-use zoning, and a green belt and water reservoir.
Intertwining dance and architecture has been a hallmark of LA based Heidi Duckler’s choreography for several decades. A nationally recognized pioneer of site-specific dance, her company has produced more than 60 site-specific works in a wide range of locations, including Laundromats, LA City Hall and the Los Angeles River, just to name a few.
If you haven’t noticed by now, I am very interested in architecture, urban design and city planning. I get excited investigating how the built environment changes over time and impacts the people who live in neighborhoods and cities. I love meeting architects who are working to transform or re-imagine existing buildings and the urban fabric, as well as design entirely new structures that can elevate and inspire our daily existence and connect us more fully with the world around us. I also appreciate experiencing how design can influence the way I interact with others around me and with the environment itself.
Late last year I had the pleasure of speaking with Jason Cohn about his latest film project called Eames: The Architect and the Painter, which is set to air in Fall 2011 on the PBS show American Masters. A condensed version of the second half of our conversation is published below. If you missed the first half, which was published on February 15th, you can find it here.
I’ve known Jason for over 30 years and have followed his career with a lot of interest. When I started Curating Los Angeles (CLA) last Fall, I knew I would interview him at some point about his work, since as you’ll learn below, he is as fascinated by Los Angeles as I am and appreciates the many ways that the city has nurtured creative energies and impulses in a wide variety of fields.
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