About Town
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Apr022011
Tourists hunt photo ops along the L.A. River
On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, two dozen photography enthusiasts trudge along the muddy banks of the L.A. River. Though not always known for its beauty, the river provides no shortage of photo ops as it churns with chocolate-brown water from the recent rains. As they pause to capture everything from ... More
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Mar132011
Artist reveals hidden world at the Huntington
John Frame’s characters are not meant to live under glass. The Southern California artist has created a world from wooden and found objects that seem to whisper to audience members as they step into the darkened gallery. His show “Three Fragments of a Lost Tale: Sculpture and Story by John ... More
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Mar072011
Old-time square-dancing comes around once again
In Los Angeles, old time music is generally what plays on the classic rock station. And then there’s very old time music. A local group of musicians and dancers is squaring up to reinvent the urban hoe-down in Los Angeles, complete with traditional American music, dance calling, and the do-si-do. ... More
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Feb272011
Highland Park gallery focuses on artistic community over celebrity
It's easy to overlook THIS gallery among Highland Park's Figueroa Street bodegas and bars. Nestled behind a nondescript storefront, THIS gallery is about the size of a small boutique shop and consists of one white-painted room. But for its diminutive size, it has generated quite a following: The gallery's walls ... More
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Feb202011
Chicken Boy: A Highland Park love story
When she first encountered him 30 years ago perched atop a restaurant downtown, Amy Inouye had little idea that she would become the eventual owner of the 22-foot-tall fiberglass statue of a man-fowl hybrid known affectionately as Chicken Boy. “I had moved here in the mid 1970s to go to ... More
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Feb122011
Silver Lake Chorus brings strangers together in harmony
Silver Lake resident Samantha Rader has long enjoyed singing. The clinical psychologist was hoping to find a local chorus to join. But when online searches for an Eastside glee club proved fruitless, she decided to start her own version: The Silver Lake Chorus. A year later, the chorus boasts about ... More
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Feb032011
The Velaslavasay Panorama brings pre-cinema culture back into the limelight
The Velaslavasay Panorama, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of pre-cinematic popular culture, added a new exhibit to its West Adams gallery-slash-theater last week. "The Grand Moving Mirror of California is a 'moving panorama' modeled on the painted tours shown to prospective California-bound Easterners during the Gold Rush, and based ... More
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Jan222011
Neon lights revived along West Hollywood's Route 66
A new outdoor exhibit featuring neon art of the Route 66 era seeks to portray the medium and its creations as indispensable to the artistic heritage and landscape of Los Angeles. The public exhibit, "On Route 66, Lights," combines four vintage neon art pieces from the collection of The Museum ... More
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Jan132011
LA shutterbugs take an analog approach to photography
Outside a storefront in West Hollywood, a crew of photographers – amateurs and professionals alike – fan out to capture the neighborhood on analog film. The group was part of a hands-on workshop devoted to the quirky Lomo cameras, which carry with them their own unpredictable aesthetic, spontaneous approach, and ... More
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Dec272010
The Nutcracker at Bob Baker Marionette Theater
Nestled in among the razorwire-capped industrial buildings just north of downtown, in a concrete building bearing his name, Bob Baker and his troupe of puppeteers are again bringing children's imaginations to life with their production of "The Nutcracker." This year's production, borrowing from a slew of unlikely musical and stylistic ... More
