Los Angeles : Curating your City
A (not so definitive) list of Films, Books, Music, Artists, Designers and Places you should know for anyone who lives in L.A. or wants to.
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I am a transplant to Los Angeles, like most of the current residents of this city I came to California from the east. I am originally from Denver, Colorado a great town and great state but I am not here to extol to benefits of purple blue Mountains and high air living. Further more I am no fame seeker drawn here by the elusive entertainment industry. Rather I came to reside in Los Angeles through education. I came out West to attend The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA for graduate school in Media Design. Nearly 8 years have past since then and I feel I have been nestled into this cities loving bosom.
Upon acceptance to the Art Center MDP I was giving a 10x10 list of things I should know before attending school. This list was a way to see what the faculty thought was important and became a short hand test for how prepared you thought you were.
I believe places should have these same lists. Los Angeles is not for everyone however if you live here or are thinking about it here are some things you should know. (This list is by no means definitive)
This list will include
Films | Books | Music | Artists & Designs | Places
Lets Start with
Film
Comedies
“no one walks in LA”
1. LA Story — Steve Martin
2. The Big Lebowski — Jeff Bridges
3. Swingers — Vince Vaughn
4. Fletch — Chevy Chase
5. Friday — Ice Cube
6. Who Framed Rodger Rabbit — Bob Hoskins
7. Beverly Hills Cop I — Eddy Murphy
8. Fast times at Ridgemont High — Sean Penn
9. Clueless — Alicia Silverstone
10. Dragnet — Tom Hanks
Thriller / Drama
“are you trying to seduce me Mrs. Robinson”
1. The Graduate — Dustin Hoffman
2. Mulholland Drive — David Lynch
3. Chinatown — Jack Nicholson
4. Point Break — Keanu Reeves
5. LA Confidential — Kim Basinger
6. Crash — Sandra Bullock
7. Falling Down — Michael Douglas
8. Pulp Fiction — Quentin Tarantino
9. Collateral — Tom Cruise
10.Boogie Nights — Mark Wahlberg
Action
Los Angeles : Brabury Building
1. Blade Runner — Harrison Ford
2. Heat — Robert De Niro
3. Drive — Ryan Gosling
4. Die Hard — Bruce Willis
5. Boys in the hood — Cuba Gooding Jr
6. Terminator 2 — Arnold Schwarzenegger
7. To Live and Die in L.A — Willem Dafoe
8. Training Day — Denzel Washington
9. Rebel without a cause — James Dean
10. Speed — Keanu Reeves
Books
Unique page layout for House of Leaves
1. House of Leaves — Mark J. Danielewski
2. Post Office — Charles Bukowski
3. The Big Sleep — Raymond Chandler
4. The Tortilla Curtain — T.C. Boyle
5. Helter Skelter — Vincent Bugliosi
6. White Oleander — Janet Fitch
7. The City of Quartz : Excavating the future of Los Angeles — Mike Davis
8. Counter Intelligence — Johnathan Gold
9. 1984 — Ray Bradbury (dystopian LA)
10. The History of Forgetting — Norman Klein
Music
Song Reader : an album of sheet music
1. Beck — Hollywood
2. TuPac — South Central
3. Black Flag — Hermosa Beach
4. The Beach Boys — Hawthorne
5. Guns n Roses — Sunset Strip
6. NWA — Compton
7. Elliot Smith — Silverlake
8. Rage Against the Machine —Los Angeles
9. Randy Newman — Burbank
10.Van Halen —The Valley
Artists
“Diving the light “ Lincoln and Edmunds Buildings, Pomona College
1. James Turrell — Light Painting / Sculpture / Spaces
2. Miranda July — Performance / Film / Sculpture
3. David Hockney — Painting
4. Ed Ruscha — Painting
5. John Baldessari — Painting / Language
6. Betye Saar — Muralist / Painting
7. Alex Schaefer — Painting
8. Mike Kelley — Sculpture / Painting / Performance
9. Larry Bell — Sculpture
10.Llyn Foulkes — Painting / Sculpture / One man Band
Designers
Architects / Products / Graphic Design / fashion
Charles and Ray “Hanging Out”
1. Charles and Ray Eames — Product Design / Architecture
2. Richard Neutra — Architecture
3. Richard Meier — Architecture
4. Ed Fella — Graphic Design
5. Frank Gehry — Architecture
6. Ed Roth — Illustrator & Custom Cars
7. Rodarte (Laura & Kate Mulleavy) — Fashion
8. Simon Johnston — Graphic Design
9. Jules Shulman — Photography
10.David Carson — Graphic Design
Places
Museums / Bars / Spaces / Unique Spots
A modern day Wunderkammer — a cabinet of wonders
1. The Museum of Jurassic Technologies — Museum
2. The Dresden — Lounge Bar
3. The Bradbury Building — Cool Place
4. Tony’s on the Pier — Tiki Bar
5. The Oviatt Penthouse — Cool Place
6. The Center for Land Use Interpretation — Musuem
7. Griffith Observatory — Cool Place
8. Varnish — A Bar
9. The Edison — Bar / Entertainment
10.The LA Artist Brewery — Art Colony
This a starting place for Los Angeles. The best part is that this list is not etched in stone and is constantly changing. So go out and curate your own list! Leave comments on this list, disagree if you will, and help build a better list and share with those of us who care and pay attention to this crazy place.
