Public art, by its definition, is only public when located in an open public space. Increasingly, corporate plazas patrolled by security guards are what often pass for public space and private organizations determine what hours of what days the public are allowed to view "public art" which in many cases could be considered "plop art," the sort of … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Public Sculpture, Monuments, and Memorials in Los Angeles
Month: May 2016
Greater Streets — Valley Boulevard
Valley Boulevard is the main thoroughfare of the San Gabriel Valley, what Wilshire is to Midtown, Crenshaw is to South Los Angeles’s Westside, and Ventura is to the San Fernando Valley. Speaking of which, it’s about the only time “Valley” is used to refer not to the San Fernando one, but the San Gabriel. It’s … Continue reading Greater Streets — Valley Boulevard
Pan-Asian Metropolis — Asian Statuary in Los Angeles
Even though I'm more "no money" than "new money," I share the latter's collective love of statuary. When wondering through the city or suburbs I'm pleased by the presence of garden gnomes or bodhisattva or fast food mascots. Nothing churches up a home like a yard full of tiny replicas of Michelangelo's David. This being Asian Pacific … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Asian Statuary in Los Angeles
No Enclave — Exploring Tongan Los Angeles
As of the 2010 census, there were 57,183 Tongans living in the US, making them the fourth largest Pacific Islander group after Hawaiians, Samoans, and Chamorros. 22,893 Tongans then lived in California, with 6,489 calling the Inland Empire, Orange, or Los Angeles County home. In Los Angeles, the communities of Carson, Hawthorne, Ingelwood, Long Beach, Lennox, … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Tongan Los Angeles
Pan-Asian Metropolis — Los Angeles’s Asian Temples
Most of the world’s major religions — and many minor — were born in Asia. The Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Bahá’í, Druze, Samaritanism, and Bábism), were all born in West Asia; Iranian religions include Zoroastrianism, Yazdânism, Ætsæg Din, Ahl-e Haqq, Mandaeism, and Manichaeism; South Asia gave birth to the Dharmic religions of Hinduism, Jainism, … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Los Angeles’s Asian Temples
Mini-Mallism — Los Angeles’s Asian Malls
I assume that for most Americans, thoughts of the mall evoke the 1980s or an earlier era, when certain classes of young teenagers longed to spend their free time eating at places like Sbarro or Orange Julius, shopping at Banana Republic or the Limited, watching Hollywood blockbusters at the multiplex, and feeding tokens to machines at … Continue reading Mini-Mallism — Los Angeles’s Asian Malls
Pan-Asian Metropolis — Asian-American Murals in Los Angeles
The landscape of Los Angeles is full of murals. Occupying as they do public rather than private space, their creators have to assume at their creation that their existence is temporary. They’re rarely respected by artless taggers and once sufficiently damaged, graffiti removers usually obliterate them with their own artless paint jobs. Increasing they’re annihilated … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Asian-American Murals in Los Angeles
No Enclave — Exploring Laotian Los Angeles
California has by far the largest population of Laotian-Americans of any state, 58,424 as of 2010. There are large communities in both northern and southern California, with roughly 7,120 living in the Los Angeles area. There they maintain a relatively discreet profile, reflected mostly by the presence of a handful of restaurants either specializing in … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Laotian Los Angeles
Swinging Doors — Asian Bars of Los Angeles
I've heard Vietnamese and Koreans friends talk about how much Koreans and Vietnamese drink. More than once have I found myself drinking more than I should, egged on by Thai friends, Filipino family, and in one case a Japanese salaryman. No one drinks like Europeans, though, and European nations predictably occupy the top ten rankings of alcohol consumption … Continue reading Swinging Doors — Asian Bars of Los Angeles
Pan-Asian Metropolis — Southern California Night Markets
One of the great things about traveling is seeing things in other countries that it would be nice to have at home, things like arts funding, betel nut beauties, caning, compulsory voting, developed cycling infrastructure, elevenses, free state colleges, green roofs, gun control, pub culture, universal healthcare, pot cafés, salted licorice, and trains that travel faster than mobility … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Southern California Night Markets
Eric Brightwell 