viewfromaloft

April 2013 Posts

Take a photo of street art or a mural, and the photograph becomes a interesting form of collage. That's one of the topics in this month's round up of my posts at KCET.org.

Arts District As LA Weekly Topic

If I could pick somebody to do a story on the Arts District for LA Weekly, it would be Alissa Walker, also known as ‏@gelatobaby And so it shall be. It's her first cover story for the weekly, she tweeted, and it covers development and changes across the Alameda Curtain. Walker has penned "Downtown's Arts District Is One of L.A.'s Hottest Neighborhoods. Thank (or Blame) Tyler Stonebreaker" and "Downtown Arts District: 6 Things That Will Change the Neighborhood's Future".

Catherine Wagley wrote "How the Arts District Got Its Name" and more accurate than most accounts, though there is no mention of the Little Tokyo / Arts District connection that maneuvered the Artist In Residence ordinance during the 1980s. Wagley also wrote "5 Best Places to Eat in the Downtown Arts District."

Not much on the art history, or backstory of current creative trends.  Hopefully next time.

 

ADD LESS THAN 30 MINUTES LATER: The Arts District tribe is speaking up on Facebook. They may be restless.

Can't go wrong with these Downtown LA Cupcakes

 

By Helen Ly. VFaL contributor.

 

When I moved to downtown Los Angeles in 2004 to attend CSULA, a food court with pizza and Chinese food under hot lamps were a needed inexpensive lunch option, even if they came with flashbacks of high school cafeterias or hanging out at the Orange Julius at a local mall.

The flashback has ended, thanks to the renovated FIGat7th who  caught up with downtown. The food court now reflects downtown’s taste for trend and culinary preferences. Oleego by Park's BBQ revisted; The Melt specializes in fancy grilled cheese, and Mendocino Farms opened another outlet for artisan sandwiches inspired by “sustainable farming.”

 

Still waiting to open is The Flying Pig Café, a gourmet food truck putting down another brick and mortar homestead. Also planned is  Pazzo Gelato and City Tavern, says the website.

 

How business will be sustained remains to be seen, but one thing is certain; after lunch hour people will wait in a long line for Sprinkles Cupcakes.

Downtown Vid Pic: "Life Stinks"

 

Life Stinks (1991) Directed by Mel Brooks

The late Mark D. Schumaker and I shared notes on obscure downtown film locations. I recalled this scene and brought it up to him. It was no surprise he already knew about it. More so because the doorway is known by anyone who has entered Old Bank DVD.This Downtown Vid Pic is for Mark. His memorial is Saturday.

 

Memorial for Old Bank DVD Co-Founder Set for Saturday

Mark D. Schumacher via Facebook.

A memorial for Mark D. Schumaker will be held Saturday, April 27, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the old Farmers and Merchants Bank.  "In addition, as Mark would surely want, there will be post memorial events. Dress comfortably, and be prepared to go deep," wrote memorial organizers on Facebook

Arts District Project Greening Project I April 27

Arts District Project Greening Project, a recipient of a major Tree People Grant, are now looking for a few good tree huggers and planters. They are signing up new  volunteers to help plant trees on Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Those who signed up at last years outdoor love fest are already on the books, and only need to re-sign if contact information has changed. Huggers and planters will meet at Urban Radish.  LARABA

Books and Bikes

At the Los Angeles Book Festival, book lovers answered this sign's question. Photo by Ly.

By Helen Ly

If downtowners did Sunday right, it was a day of books and bikes under the sun. The 18^th Annual Los Angeles Times Book Festival pulled in bibliophiles from around Southern California, and many were greeted with the sight of cycling enthusiasts taking over the city streets for the sixth CicLAvia.

Later in the day, they got to know each other intimately when they shared crammed cars on the Expo Line.

At the book Festival, attendees got off Nooks and wandered the USC campus filled with musicians, poets, cooks, celebrities, and lectures.

Mural Revival Moving Forward

Frank Romero's "Going to the Olympics" looks brighter then ever.  [MCLA]

OBEY orgins. Now A Short Film.

OBEY THE GIANT - The Shepard Fairey Story from Julian Marshall on Vimeo.

“Obey the Giant" is the title of a 20-minute short that's "based on a true story." Have a look to see how Shepard Fairey's Andre the Giant "Obey" sticker campaign began. [LAT]

Anneberg Space for Photography to host lecture on iPhonography

By Helen Ly

A lesson from the storm was also about the use of consumer technology for photojournalism, a moment that has us reconsider the role of cellphone photographer.

And it supplied its own metaphor.

It was photojournalist Benjamin Lowy image of Hurricane Sandy that was featured on the cover of Time magazine, making it the first image from a phone equipped with a camera to be shown on the cover of a major publication.

That became a major benchmark in photojournalism and is the topic of "iPhonography: Innovation in Documentary Storytelling" with Lowy at the Annenberg Space for Photography on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

Then 33, Lowy was one of five photographers dispatched by Time to capture the storm with an iPhone and Instagram as an experiment, said Kira Pollack, Time’s director of photography, soon after the cover was published.

Early cellphone photography documented trivia moments, barely qualifying as aural-textual-visual. The cover move cell phone photography from being a consumer gadget to a storytelling device.  Lowy is one of the professionals who have used the technology seriously, especially when the urgency of incoming waves are part of the story.

Benjamin Lowy

iPhonography: Innovation in Documentary Storytelling

Thursday, April 18th, 2013 • 6:30-8:00pm

The Annenberg Space for Photography

2000 Avenue of the Stars

Century City, Los Angeles, California.