viewfromaloft

For Arts Sake

Andres Munar takes a quick look at his lines before a run through of "atTraction", now in rehearsal on Traction Ave in front of Cornerstone Theater and Blooms General Store.  Street closures for Traction, between East 3rd and Hewitt, will continue until August 9th.  Performances are August 7, 8, and 9th. view [AtTraction]

Picturing the Art Scene

Documentary photography has a mission to expose the world the shooter invades, but it falls short if the photographer is short of nerve, or worse, becomes so familiar with his surroundings the element of surprise turns complacent. Photographer Rick Mendoza stays close to the subject, yet makes himself distant by considering himself as a guest in another house or neighborhood. It takes his work past the casual observation of inelegant moments to being in the front row, ready to participate, but only until as he gets the next shot . . . or the next one.

Mendoza's photographs and snapshots taken at the Arts District former house of creative exploration, Bedlam, and the Downtown art scene in general opens August 1. Curator Lilli Muller hosts the opening reception.

"Viva Bedlam"
410 BOYD
(410 Boyd, c/o San Pedro)
Friday, August 1st
Opening Reception
6pm until the last snapshot is taken.

Tofu Festival Killed

The popular Los Angeles Tofu Festival will not be held due to lack of venue space, according to the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) website.  Back in 2006, organizers were fearful that the Little Tokyo parade of protein would not be the same without the large parking lot––now filled with condos. With no room to stage a concert, and booths forced to be crammed on the streets of Little Tokyo, the 2007 Tofu Festival simply did not have the same flare. LTSC agrees:

We’ve enjoyed delicious tofu dishes with you under the sun for the last twelve years and thank you for helping to make the LA Tofu Festival one of the top food festivals in Los Angeles. As redevelopment in Little Tokyo and Downtown Los Angeles continues to boom, venues for such a large scale event have become scarce

.

Pictured: Most popular Tofu festival poster ever, says LTSC.
R.I.P. from Sha in L.A.

Yup, felt it here too.

This loft is one massive concrete building and it rolled while I was on the phone with Eric, who felt it moments later. I'm guessing 5.4.

Add: I was wrong. 5.8

Add Add: 15 minutes later, LA35 is showing city council chambers in a "temporary recess." They are about to pick up where they left off.

Final Add: I win the guess-the-magnitude pool after all.  LAist links to the USGS report of the magnitude measuring at 5.4. More at Curbed.

Early Warning System: In the flatlands of Chino, a dairyman reports the "cows got skittish and grouped into a herd 20 seconds before the shaking." A Riverside contact reports that after the bump, bottles fall off the shelves at a Wal-Mart.  "It's the sign of the times. Everyone took out their cell phones as soon as the shaking stopped." 

VIA LA35: In between fast food permit discussions, Council member Bernard Parks reported to council that buses are on schedule. MTA subways are on "restricted speed".

Below: 33.955°N, 117.765°W seen from the air.

[view] from a loft . . .

. . . will be back soon.

Quick Notes

With three design projects in-house and some meetings, postings are slower than usual.

L.A. How it Once Was:  Billy Wilder's The Front Page uses Main Street in and around GilVille to portray Chicago. In the various chase scenes throughout the film, you can see cloting stores were galleries are now housed, the Barclay Hotel neon sign lit up, long gone cafes, and the Regent Theater. It becomes a drive-by documentation of Main, 5th and 4th streets circa 1974.

Photo Op: City Hall's reflection off LAPD's headquarters may become as iconic as the building. Captions will be as reflective.  L.A. Now does one today. Here's one from this past April.

South LA: LAT follows the study that says buying power in inner city neighborhoods is underestimated. Previous [Thumbs Up]

Speaking of South LA: It's a big jazz weekend for Central Ave.

Others Keeping the Word Out: The buzz over the Downtown Film Festival grows.[blogdowntown]  [Angelenic]

Mix Master: Lightz and Soundz of Exhibition @ g727 "revolve" around archiving DJ culture from East L.A. Panel 3 is dubbed  Breaking the Language Barrier, Mixing Music En Nuestra Lenguais is tonight,  Wednesday, July 23rd at 7pm. g727 is located at 727 South Spring Street.

Details, Details.

Soccer players waiting for the call: Are they in the first or second park to be opened Downtown in over 100 years.

OH YEA:  Militant Angeleno brings up a point I also noticed. The just opened Vista Hermosa Park was touted in a Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy press release as the "first new downtown park since 1895",  forgetting about the  Los Angeles State Historic Park (aka Cornfield site) north of Downtown.  . . ––  At blogdowntown, I buried the reference in a caption by quoting a speaker who said "Let's not wait another 100 years to open a new park Downtown." . . –– MA taps on Angelenic's shoulder as they used the first-park-in-downtown-since-1895 angle (since corrected).  The LAT hasn't changed it's mind.  The lede reads "In downtown Los Angeles on Saturday there were sights and smells and sounds of a milestone event the concrete urban core had not hosted in more than a century."

Cornerstone Theater Company Makes a Call for Community Artists

Preliminary set design for AtTraction courtesy Sara Clement and Cornerstone Theater Company.

Let's Put On A Show: Cornerstone Theater Company are now in rehearsals for at traction, a new play developed from interviews with Arts District residents living in and around Traction Ave. Written by Page Leong, the production continues Cornerstone's process of embedding themselves in a community, finding the stories, and casting locals to work with the Cornerstone ensemble. This time it's about the neighborhood they themselves are based in, and it will be staged on Traction Ave for three nights beginning August 7th.

And for the few readers who knew me two decades ago: Yes, I auditioned and landed a small part.

Scenic designer Sara Clement early design shows how Traction Ave and its buildings will becomes the stage, and early plans include to apply local art work to be part of the set narrative. According to scenic associate Ruthie Fisher, they hope to  "taking the facades on the street pop with color, art, and design" and they just made a call to artists living and working in the Arts District to volunteer their work.

CTC will be open to just about anything––3D installation, public work, poster art, fabric manipulators, fashion or jewelry and/or wearable art designers, and silk screen.  Any ideas offered may also inspire costumes or props.  And of course, any help with set painting and construction will be welcomed.

Fisher also writes they "have a potentially larger canvas and are receptive to ideas for a mural."

A mural? Hmmm.

Artists can contact Ruth Fisher at ruthiefisher @ gmail.com until July 25.

If you can't beat them -- join them.

I've always kidded Eric about his constant wins for best blog, even after I joined up more than a year ago. And when you consider the media attention downtown blogs get –- even this one – there is a credibility that goes beyond your basic pool of neighborhood blogs. Just as impressive, is EL Chavo's LAEastside, who in a few short months are on the media radar. Both have a different way of telling backstory of their chosen L.A. beat.

A secret is the emails are often more entertaining then some of the items posted, and no, they are not for public view. Congrats to Eric, and for El Chavo, keep up the good work.

'it's a pleasant pause'

This 1937 travelogue of Olvera St is as cheesy as an enchilada and fun to watch. Photographed in Kodak's VeriColor, it guides you, the traveler, through the heart of the city. While I got through the commentary that reflects that time's attitude toward Latinos and women witha smirk, the 2:34 mark has a disarming mark on the wall that may puzzle you. Take a look.

Still, as the narrator might say, "it's a souvenir" from the past. Those of you who take part in L.A. urban changes will be interested to see the plaza's circle former function as an actual street.