Neighborhoods

Post-millennial mime

Highland Park / December 6, 2015

5July 2015 – Yes, the neighborhood of Highland Park has changed. Little girls performing pantomimes, during a neighborhood art walk, would have bordered on ridiculous 10 years ago.

The girl’s mother allowed me to take the picture, wanted me to know that her daughter had recently become fascinated with the art form. They were busking – asking for donations. People quickly walked by as the act went on.

Here she just released a bird, and if you didn’t know any better, you would swear it was out of frame.

Broadway fancy

Downtown Los Angeles / December 5, 2015

Broadway fancy
June 2015 – Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. He was waiting for a bus and said, “Go ahead and take the picture, but I’m going to be moving in a few seconds so hurry.”

Demure

Highland Park / July 3, 2015

saintFor some reason no one wants to hang this up, so it rests on the chair designated for saints. Grandfather says, “No molestarla.”

Locksmith Shadrach

Alhambra / June 29, 2015

shadrachAlhambra, May 2015 – Film
Shadrach is surrounded by teeth. His modest locksmith business is surrounded by ethnic Chinese businesses – market, restaurants, herbalists – in Alhambra, California off of Valley Boulevard.

The teeth all belong to various keys.

Villa Sombrero

Highland Park / June 29, 2015

sombrero
Highland Park, May 2015 – Film
When I asked her for a picture she laughed, and continued laughing, until I held the camera up. Then she froze and became rigid. Her laugh abruptly cut off and then resumed after the picture was taken as though there were a skip on the record.

 

 

A Winter Quest For Fantasy

Highland Park / June 22, 2015

don
Highland Park, April 2015 – Afternoon represents warmth to Don, sitting under a tree next to the parking lot where the Chinese restaurant had to close due to health code violations. Don’s just about blind. He takes money and holds it close to his face to read the amount.  His excitement comes out in a hoarse holler, as though the money hurts his fingers. Don mentions that money gets you a ticket to Jack in the Box.

Says he wants to leave California for a score up in Kansas or Colorado. The location is always changing. Mentions money buried in a field or snug between two rocks somewhere far away.

Right Where you Ought to be

Pasadena / June 22, 2015

redPasadena May 2015 – Her eyes were smiling. I had a single shot left in a roll of film and I decided to walk Colorado Boulevard to get the last image. She was walking with another woman and a baby stroller down the street, and I waited next to this bright red wall (I think a seafood restaurant). I could have spent all day taking her picture.

Here lives the iconoclast

Highland Park / June 16, 2015

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Hermon, Los Angeles 2015

Homer Simpson was once a sacred cow. But the generation who ate/wore/quoted Simpson’s merchandise are now disillusioned adults. The gravitas associated with Homer and Bart is equal to an older generation’s reverence for Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny or Calvin & Hobbes. Those mascots of yesterday represented endless summers, smiling avatars of youth.

Inside this garage Homer is an act of vandalism and a work of art. To the owners it’s a headache. Those who grew up with The Simpsons will have countless hours of reference to the character. Saxamaphone is holy. To some children Homer Simpson was the one constant in their lives, perpetually syndicated, always reliable in his never-changing gags.

But here, sprayed on the walls, lives the iconoclast. The past generation did not worship money or God. It was D’oh. Always and forever D’oh. Homer is Dead. Long Live Homer.

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You’re Not An Airplane

El Sereno / June 11, 2015

classicMay 2015 Film – The harsh lights from the car wash seem to dull around the body of this car. Most of it seemed to be the pride that the owner bestowed on its armor. He wiped down its finish, just waiting for someone to pass by and strike up a conversation.

CicLAvia 2015 On Film – Pasadena, Part 2

Pasadena / June 10, 2015

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CicLAvia Pasadena – Everyone I asked for a picture said yes. People seemed in better spirits, more responsive to friends, family or a stranger on the street. I spoke with the nicest people who asked me, “Do you know what song this is?” And we just listened to their music blasting from boombox and cellphones tied to bicycles.

Several businesses along Colorado Boulevard offered free water. In fact businesses that opted to remain open for the day were all crowded, jostling with foot traffic and patrons willing to spend money. Occasionally a busy intersection would open up and a car would zip through, and now the automobile was foreign to the road and out of place.

CicLAvia 2015 on Film – Pasadena, Part 1 

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CicLAvia 2015 On Film – Pasadena, Part 2Read More »

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Chief

El Sereno / June 9, 2015

chiefChief the dog lives in El Sereno and is surrounded by brick, trees and cars. He’s usually animated, but after a long afternoon of chasing a stick or escaping from the yard he hams it up.