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WELCOME TO LOS ANGELES
SURF IS WHERE YOU FIND IT 2015 BOOK, 416 PAGES, 16. × 24.1 CM, HARDCOVER & JACKET,
ONE COLOR OFFSET PRINTED ON UNCOATED OFF-WHITE, CRISP WHITE, SEMI-GLOSS ART PAPER,
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ART DIRECTOR: SCOTT MASSEY, NOHAWK, CLIENT: PATAGONIA BOOKS, CREATIVE DIRECTOR: DMITRI SIEGEL
AUTHOR: GERRY LOPEZ PHOTOS: JEFF DIVINE, ART BREWER, STEVE WILKINGS & DANE EDMUNDS
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MASKS (IV) 2018 ARTIST BOOK, 160 PAGES, 15.2 × 22.9 CM, DIGITAL PRINT, WORDS: PAUL S. WINGERT CLIENT: LEISURE LABOR
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PETER MATTHEW BAUER “LIBERATION!” LP 2014 RECORD PACKAGING, CLIENT: MEXICAN SUMMER
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BEATS IN SPACE 15TH ANNIVERSARY MIX BY TIM SWEENEY 2014 RECORD PACKAGING, CLIENT: ABOVE BOARD RECORD
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SPI, SOCIETY FOR PERCEPTUAL INQUIRY 2019 POSTER, HANS HOLBEIN, JACQUES LACAN
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DISAPPEARING— CALIFORNIA C. 1970 2019 BOOK, 160 PAGES, 24.1 × 29.2 CM, FLEXI BINDING, FRENCH-FOLDED JACKET, MATTE COATED PAPER, DESIGN: LORRAINE WILD & XIAOQING WANG, CLIENT: MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH
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THE REST OF MY LIFE 2016 POSTER, SERIGRAPH, MACHINE PROJECT MYSTERY THEATER
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MR. AKITA 2015 MACHINE PROJECT POSTER, SERIGRAPH, PRINT: PAUL MORGAN
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SERVING TRADITIONAL ARMENIAN COFFEE, BURBANK
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SAD PEOPLE IN MODERNIST HOMES IN POPULAR FILMS 2019 MAGAZINE, EXAMINES THE FILMIC TROPE OF HOUSING UNHAPPY CHARACTERS INSIDE OF MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE, FEATURING SUNSET TYPEFACE (2020), PHOTOS ©: BRIAN GUIDO
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OM ACANTHUS 2006–ONGOING ORNAMENTAL MORPHOLOGIES, EXPLORATION OF THE MANY STYLES AND FORMS OF ORNAMENTS
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PORTLAND STAMP CO. LIMITED EDITION OF STAMP DESIGNES, COLLABORATION WITH IAN LYNAM
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GO WEST, YOUNG MAN PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY, EXPLORATION OF AMERICA’S EXPANSION WESTWARD, AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM, AND THE CONCEPT OF MANIFEST DESTINY, PHOTOS ©: DAVID HARTWELL
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FLOWER MAKING HAPPENING 2019 IN COLLABORATION WITH ATTENDEES TO THE OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN MFA GRAPHIC DESIGN ART BOOK FAIR, FLOWERS AND LETTER PRESSED CARDS
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TRINA: A DESIGN FICTION 2019 60-FRAME GRAPHIC STORY, DIGITALLYMANIPULATED ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHY COLLAGED WITH 2-D AND 3-D GRAPHICS, SELFPUBLISHED, STORY: ANNE BURDICK & JANET SARBANES, SOUND: CASEY ANDERSON
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SHARON LOCKHART: VENICE BIENNALE, POLISH PAVILION 2017 INSTALLATION DESIGN FOR THE POLISH PAVILION OF THE 57TH BIENNALE DI VENEZIA, FRANK ESCHER, RAVI GUNEWARDENA, SASHA PLOTNIKOVA, CLIENTS: SHARON LOCKHART; BARBARA PIWOWARSKA (CURATOR); ZACHĘTA POLISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, PHOTOS ©: BARTOSZ GORKA
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CORNERSTONE 2017 RICHARD NEUTRA’S ARCHITECTURE ACTS AS HOST TO AN INSTALLATION MADE OUT OF PINE PLANKS, LES FRÈRES CHAPUISAT, NEUTRA VDL STUDIO, AND RESIDENCES (VDL), PHOTOS ©: DAVID HARTWELL
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FONTNAMES ILLUS TRATED CALEB BOYLES DANIEL SULZBERG JIAQ I WANG ZACK ROSEBRUGH BIJOU KARMAN MARIA MENSHIKOVA KEVIN KIM FONTNAMES ILLUSTRATED
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NO QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS
10 × 10 BRAND NEW SCHOOL BUCK KAT CATMUR ELLA IN-FO.CO OOGIE LEE STILL ROOM STINK STUDIOS USE ALL FIVE YOURS TRULY CREATIVE
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173 1. Talking to people about living in L.A., we would presume you are friends with famous people, you are slim and fit, super laid-back, and supertan, you mostly talk about the freeways you had to take to get to where you are, you feel compulsion to define yourself in opposition to these supposed stereotypes while simultaneously kind of cherishing them? Wrong or right? Who are YOU as an Angelenx? ↘ Nico Casavecchia / Brand New School It takes about three weeks of winter to really get what New York is about. I think Los Angeles is an abstraction, and living here you face the challenge of describing it to outsiders. My wife says: “It’s not a place, it’s an amalgamation of small towns connected by highways, each one isolated from the rest.” Spending time in L.A. only adds to the confusion of what it really is. After a few years the archipelago of stereotypes slowly sinks in: The hipsters in the east, the glossy industry type in Hollywood, the Topanga hippie chic, the surfers in the west, the Downtown art crowd. Little by little the map lights up with tiny dots of meaning, but it’s impossible to encapsulate the whole experience. I want to think of myself as a free spirit, observing culture from afar. But who am I kidding? My existence overlaps with a multitude of those clichés. I drive a Prius, buy organic food and sometimes wear a beanie when the sun is out. The truth is that after almost three years of living here, I’m still in search of what kind of Angelenx stereotype I become. ↘ BUCK Yeah, L.A. is the best. I pretty much split my waking life between tanning sessions, mind-fulness work, and AA meetings. (I don’t have an alcohol problem but it’s a great way to network.) My life is way more chill since I went full Paleo and started taking side streets instead of the 2nd to the 5th to the 110th on my way to work. My life coach says I’m using this new commute as a way to avoid processing my breakup with Elijah Wood, but in reality I do it because I can get in mini-pilates sets at red lights. 10 × 10 → P 246–253
↘ Kat Catmur I am the kind of Angeleno that likes to be in the city as much as I like to be out of it. I love that I can escape to the beach, mountains, or desert on a whim. I don’t have famous friends, but my husband is a screenwriter, so we occasionally get to live a slice of the cliché life and go to glitzy parties. And, yes, everybody talks about the freeways.
Kat Catmur, Super Nova, illustration.
↘ ELLA Fit, tan, rich folks make up a very small percentage of the population. L.A. is a universe made of many millions of stars, planets, and enormous clouds of gas. We don’t sit in our cars because we live close to where we work: Glassell Park, Highland Park, Pasadena, Alhambra, SGV! That’s our constellation. ↘ Adam Michaels / Inventory Form & Content (IN-FO.CO) L.A. is a diverse, complex, vast place, incorporating everything from those kinds of aspects to their opposites, as well as just about anything in between. It’s precisely the range of conditions, and in turn, ways of living and working, that make L.A. a compelling place. ↘ Shannon Harvey / IN-FO.CO I don’t really think in terms of L.A. stereotypes—there’s so many different cultures here. L.A. allows for a lot of flexibility in terms of day to day life and activities. This degree of choice helps enable an increased sense of creativity for me.
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174 ↘ Oogie Lee I do cherish some of those stereotypes. I would say at various points in my life here in L.A., I resembled more than resented these presumptions. Like so many folks working in my field here in Los Angeles, I am a transplant from parts colder and less celebrated. I grew up in New Jersey and was lured to Los Angeles by the weather and lifestyle that I had seen on films and TV shows. At the young age of 18, I came to Los Angeles by myself to attend Otis-Parsons College (now known as Otis College of Art and Design). And for me, L.A. represented my personal freedom. A chance to be my own person. An opportunity to make a career and live in a place uncharted by those that I grew up with. It was something shiny and glamorous, but it took only a few short months before I realized how gritty and unforgiving L.A. could be. At the time, I lived in the school dormitory which was a former retirement apartment that overlooked MacArthur Park in the Rampart district. It was so pretty with its lined up palm trees, but the area also boasted the highest homicide rate in Los Angeles at the time. In those short four years of college that spanned from 1991–1995, I had witnessed citywide floods, a deadly wildfire in Griffith Park (where the famed Hollywood sign is situated), the Rodney King Riots, and the Northridge earthquake. It would have been enough to send me back to Jersey crying, but I was fortunate to have had enough amazing experiences in Los Angeles to make me want to set up my life here. I got to see that L.A. had so much more to offer than what originally drew me to it. My L.A. experience has been marked by many different milestones that has given me different perspectives with each change. I have been a visitor, a student, an intern, a freelancer, an employee, a husband, a home owner, a father, and business owner. I have lived in 5 different locations through those changes and each time, L.A. has been something different to me that was always as multifaceted. ↘ Jessica Fleischmann / Still Room Hah. Isn’t everybody famous these days? It’s called Instagram. I grew up here. It was a different time, maybe grew up with the city. The Westside of L.A. in the 70s / 80s embodied some of those stereotypes. We spent summer days at the beach, by the pool. We lived down the street from Hollywood types, actors, big time writers, producers, 10 × 10 → P 246–253
but we weren’t inside that world. As a kid I wasn’t aware of class and race. My family was more old-world European with non-mainstream culture—I’m an immigrant with immigrant parents who weren’t necessarily clued in to the social cues (South African mother, German Jewish father), so I also felt like an outsider. Since I became aware of race and class divides in my early twenties, I did graduate work in Latin American Studies and worked in cross cultural arts administration (before graphic design). I love the multiplicity of voices here. We should all speak three languages, minimum. Because of my father’s work, we were surrounded by super talented people you could call “famous:” Performers, conductors, composers, and by people who later became famous. As a kid I used to go with my architect mom to print out her drawings at Frank Gehry’s office long before he was a household name, we had some of his cardboard furniture (which the cats unfortunately used to sharpen their nails). Now I’ve been working with Gehry Partners on some branding and environmental graphic design projects. Backstage at the Music Center or the Hollywood Bowl, this was normal and the famous within our orbit were just super talented people who loved what they did and didn’t seem to care whether they were recognized or not. There was less of a star-obsessed machinery back then. So if I defined myself in line with them … I wanted to be as good at and as passionate about the work that I do. That was the high bar to live up to: Find what you love and do it. As far as being tan, etc., there’s just too much sun and most designers I know stay indoors and work all the time. ↘ Steven Olimpio / Stink Studios Sometimes I’m some of those things. I’m many other things too. In L.A., most of the stereotypes can be true—but there is just so much more than that. And yeah, a lot of those stereotypes can be looked at the other way. People are tan because the weather is unlike anywhere else in the world. I don’t have a problem with that. I try to drive as little as possible. L.A. is actually an amazing city for bicycling, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. ↘ Use All Five What we like about L.A. is yes, there are basic stereotypes (mostly around being laid back and trying to find the optimal Slanted 35—L.A.
175 route home), but if we think about it, there isn’t really a true L.A. stereotype either. The reason we feel that way is that people leave their homes and come here to create new versions of themselves, so they bring their original stereotypes and remix it in the city. The artist Robert Irwin said it best about L.A.: “You can pretty much live any way you want here. That’s why it’s such a great place to do art and to build your ideas about culture.” ↘ Babak Khoshnoud / Yours Truly Creative We’re suuuuuuper chill, with famous people.
2. What do you love about living and working in L.A.? ↘ Nico Casavecchia / Brand New School I love coming back to L.A. after working abroad. The city to me has this feeling of stasis, this eternal semi summer that feels so easy compared to the hustle everywhere else. I always try to define what people mean when they say L.A. is more laid back. Working hours and industry standards are the same here as everywhere else. For me, L.A. laid-backness is not quantifiable, it’s more a feeling created by the experience of being here, the weather, the low buildings that let you see the sky, or listening to music by yourself in the car while driving on a sunny day. ↘ BUCK L.A. is a city of transplants, people from all over the country and the world. With that cultural diversity comes a lot of great things, not least of which is the amazing variety of food! Here in BUCK’s L.A. office, we have folks coming from over two dozen different countries. It’s both inspiring and humbling to work every day with some of the best creatives in the world, and I think the draw of a city like L.A. is a big part of what makes that possible. ↘ Kat Catmur I get to live in the middle of a busy dazzling city, on a quiet dead end street full of palm trees and bougainvillea with an amazing view, and at night I can hear the howls of coyotes in the hills. I think that’s pretty great. I share a studio downtown with a bunch of talented designers / photographers / film makers and animators in a creaky old warehouse which I’m sure will fall down in the next earthquake. Perhaps it’s the contrast between the endless possibilities of glamour or disaster that makes L.A. such a unique place to live. 10 × 10 → P 246–253
↘ ELLA — Access to space, resources, materials— for artists it’s a dream. — In L.A. (versus say New York) if you need to disappear, just hop in the car. Within a couple of hours you can be in the desert, out at the coast, or up in the mountains. — The weather makes you feel free. In winter you don’t have to suit up if you want to walk down to the corner store. — We have fruit trees out our window, coyotes, cacti, and lizards. — The food is second to none: Huevos Charros, Tacos de Cameron, Ceviche de Pescado, Paletas, Banh Mi, Pho Ga, Xiao Long Bao, Shao Mai, Jade Noodles! — Family, friends, good students.
ELLA, Lauren Halsey, book cover, Hammer Museum (pub.), 2019. 149 pages.
↘ Shannon Harvey / IN-FO.CO During the day, we are constantly moving from inside to outside. Our studio in Silver Lake spans two buildings— a small modernist building designed by architect Gregory Ain in 1948 as his own office, and the lower level of a later, simpler glass box type building. To get between the two buildings we ascend three flights of public stairs running up a hill. I love the way this constant shift from indoors to outdoors makes me feel connected to the landscape. It’s also a great way to reset, process ideas, and get a little bit of exercise.
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190 favorite spots to hang out for its food and nightlife. I would also catch a Los Angeles Football Club game if you can. The LAFC is lesser known than the L.A. Lakers and L.A. Kings, but it is by far the best sporting event in the city and the folks that attend represent a great cross section of Los Angeles. For something a bit slower paced but no less incredible, I would visit one of the many farmers markets throughout the different Los Angeles neighborhoods. I particularly recommend the Harvest Market in my current town of residence Montrose. It is a short drive from downtown, but you can experience a neighborhood vibe that is relatively unchanged from an earlier era. For something more outdoorsy, jump on a boat out of Marina Del Rey or Redondo Beach for either a whale watching or fishing trip to see L.A. from the perspective of our treasured bay. ↘ Jessica Fleischmann / Still Room Look at a printed map to get the lay of the land. Find the in-between spaces. Engage with people on the streets. Ask for directions or recommendations for a café from real people. Talk to people. Don’t take selfies. Don’t worry about being cool. Spend an afternoon in Lemert Park, go to Art + Practice, go to the World Stage. Walk the fire road across from the Greek Theater in Griffith Park for expansive vistas across the city. Go to an L.A. Phil concert in Disney Concert Hall, but also go to a Monday Evening Concert across the street at the Colburn School. ↘ Steven Olimpio / Stink Studios Appreciate your neighborhood. It’ll make your life much more interesting, and you’ll have to drive less. You don’t have to go do things because someone wrote them up somewhere—walk into a random local joint, talk to someone, try the food. And definitely eat as many tacos as possible. ↘ Use All Five Best advice for those planning to live here: Find your job first and then find a place to live nearby. A long commute to work will kill you and weigh heavy on your impression of the city. If you’re visiting for a day or two, pick an area and explore it extensively. It’s impossible to see everything in this city on a short trip. People live here for a decade and still never visit Torrance, Artesia, etc. If you’re in downtown L.A. we recommend you stop by the Little Tokyo Galleria for amazing food, shopping, and activities. We are also 10 × 10 → P 246–253
big fans of the Far East Plaza in Chinatown, that houses LASA amazing Filipino food reimagined, as well as the super buzzy hour long wait for Howlin’ Ray’s, Chego, Baohaus etc.. There is a super sleek minimalist espresso bar called endorffeine. Don’t forget to stop by Now Serving a well curated selection of cook books and all things culinary. This plaza is for the hungry belly! ↘ Babak Khoshnoud / Yours Truly Creative Stops: Monte 52, Nersses Vanak, Chengdu Taste, Family Bookstore, Cactus Store in Echo Park, Gjelina take out.
Yours Truly Creative, PROMISES Baauer × Fetty Wap × Dubbel Dutch, LP cover, Adidas campaign.
Slanted 35—L.A.
191
HOLLY WOOD IS A VERB
ESSAYS ELLA GOLD SEAN ADAMS SHAWN GHASSEMITARI MR. KEEDY IAN LYNAM DENISE GONZALES CRISP & GAIL SWANLUND HRANT H. PAPAZIAN ROBO HYU OH LARS HARMSEN ESSAYS
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192
I am thinking about Los Angeles. I am thinking about water, I am thinking about driving, I am thinking about palm tree cell phone towers. I am thinking about billboards and sunsets. I am thinking about fantasy, I am thinking about celebrity, about health, wealth, spirit, and fame.
ELLA GOLD
L.A. FEELINGS
Los Angeles is a complicated city with a rich history. We have slapstick municipal politics on display at Yang Chow in Chinatown; we have slums and grottos and hills and valleys and an ailing tributary that barely sustains its own ecosystem. Boosterism, which is often credited for Los Angeles’ population surge at the turn of the nineteenth century, can be used as an analogy for the fantasy so widely touted here: enthusiastic and excessive support in any and all endeavors. This boosterism acts as invisible scaffolding for L.A. living; a facade holding up a facade, dreaming of a facade. And still, it somehow persists. But Los Angeles is also always on the verge of total collapse: either we will finally run out of water or that ever impending “big one” will cause a tidal wave and submerge our shores. L.A. offers a seemingly never-ending series of paradoxes that act as metonyms for the city itself, and those paradoxes end up defining Los Angeles’ identity. Fantasy is difficult. It’s a word loaded with criticality and psychoanalytic weight. Sigmund Freud described fantasy as a defense mechanism through which our unconscious desires are expressed. I would argue that fantasy also engenders hope: it enables us, its inhabitants, to consciously or unconsciously articulate our goals and expectations in the hopes of their realization. In Los Angeles, our visible reality is indeed the Edenic fantasy that is so deeply ingrained in our cultural imagination. The fantasy of American existence is manifest in Los Angeles, in technicolor, floating just above the psychedelic skyline. I write this in mid February—“the dead of winter”—and it’s 95 degrees outside. My sinuses tingle with the familiar flutter of (her majesty’s) Santa Ana winds (I would never speak ill of her). My sunny apartment is beginning to stink of sulfur, the scent ascending from the nearby L.A. river as an additional luxury for no extra cost. There is a layer of thick pink over the horizon, foreshadowing a toxic, cotton candy sunset. I AM THINKING ABOUT HOLLYWOOD Hollywood allows us to imagine that we have control over our own destinies, although that fantasy has already been established for us. We see projected in the movies an image of L.A. that is infinitely irresistible: a cult of newness on which the industry is founded; the sense of precarity so inextricably bound to any paradise; and a sparkling, sprawling landscape with breathtaking vistas and inexhaustible traffic. ESSAYS
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193 Thom Andersen’s Los Angeles Plays Itself argues that “Los Angeles is where the relation between reality and representation gets muddled.” We see its image on the silver screen; L.A. as its own character and caricature. We see celebrities walking down the street, in front of us in line getting groceries or coffee (stars, they’re just like us!) and we wonder whether we have just accidentally walked on screen or if they have walked off. Sometimes, we happen upon these sets unknowingly. Many times I have found myself walking through a facsimile of Los Angeles without knowing that it’s not the real thing; a Los Angeles dressed up to look like a cleaner, smarter, prettier, more L.A. version of itself. The magic of the movies is so well articulated that it’s hard to tell the difference between a film set and our own setting. Andersen argues that the visual identity of the city has been created by Hollywood. Los Angeles is a fantastical paradise. We don’t have water and can only seem to mass produce images, yet we came here to escape the banality of real life, of hard work. Herein lies a facsimile so apt, no one would know it was not a real, functioning city. We have all the trappings of production: beautiful scenery, a smog layer that is slowly killing us, and a large—albeit thin—population. But it’s all a facade: Los Angeles is a film set ready to tip over and be remade into a newer, better version of itself. And then there’s Jean Baudrillard, who when visiting Los Angeles, described this experience as the hyper real; deeming us (its inhabitants, creators, and admirers) unable to determine the difference between what is real and what is fiction. For him, the most profound example of this is Disneyland, a place that confuses film’s projective fantasy with our lived reality. But Baudrillard loved L.A., and America at large for that reason; for him, Los Angeles was the ideal postmodern city. This feeling of hyper reality enters into the Los Angeles landscape not only through Disneyland, but can also be found in many of our most expensive residential neighborhoods. Just one example is my own hometown: Venice of California, which was built by Abbott Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort meant to resemble its Italian namesake. But after twenty years of growing tourist industry, the western suburb found it could not sustain its numbers. By 1925, the town’s infrastructure had collapsed and the city attempted to resurrect it in Disneyland’s literal image. After falling into disrepair again by 1950, Venice became host to artists, gangs, and drug addicts until the millennium, at which time Los Angeles’ final attempt to clean up the decrepit beach town finally worked. Now, Venice is having a true renaissance, but this time it’s the Disneyland of the petit-bourgeois; streets lined with franchised boutiques and farm-totable food, the Venice of the twenty-first-century is not far from Kinney’s man-made paradise of 1905. But Los Angeles was built this way: with boosterism and utopian mythology proving that God created this second Eden just for us. This myth carries over to Los Angeles’ fascination with new-age phenomena, allowing us to extend and elongate the fantasy of the ideal life. In his scathing treatise, The Stars Down To Earth, Theodor Adorno engages the Los Angeles Times’ astrology section, “Thus far, the term ‘dream factory’ applied to the movies applies also to astrology … Much like cultural industry, astrology tends to do away with the distinction of fact and fiction: its content is often over realistic while suggesting attitudes which are based on an entirely irrational source, such as the advice to forbear entering into business ventures on some particular day.” The new-age mania that seems ever present in Los Angeles acts not only as our spiritual guidance, but provides an alternative fantasy on which we can prop up our hopes and desires. We allow our horoscopes to become self-fulfilling prophecies, obsessively referring to them as we enact our daily lives—so much so that they become our daily life. Adorno uses The L.A. Times Astrology column as a metaphor for Los Angeles at large: a populace teeming with unsubstantiated beliefs, its citizens literally running headless into their own destiny. In Los Angeles, astrology is on the Ella Gold—L.A. Feelings → P 248
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194 order of religion. Unlike the experience of living in any other place, Los Angeles is not just a home, but instead the reflexive setting for the movie of our lives. I want to be happy, I want to be healthy, I want to live for a long time, I want to be beautiful, I want to be rich, I want to be young. I know all of this is possible in L.A. because I read Raymond Chandler and I watched Valley of the Dolls and I have been to Disneyland and I, in a moment of impulsive mania, got my very own palm tree tattoo. I think of GT Dave, who miraculously cured his mother’s breast cancer with his magical mushroom elixir—which really doesn’t seem so far from Alice’s hallucinatory Wonderland. Los Angeles is a utopia so confident in its own brand that it doesn’t need to prove the fantasy; it exists purely as an imago, an idealized image of a place. A recent New York Times article exposed the new creative class in Los Angeles, attempting to put to rest the oft touted rivalry between the Grey Lady’s hometown and the City of Angels. The article described a moment of envy New Yorkers now encounter when scrolling through their Instagram feed: There seems to be a newly released “L.A. Filter” that allows a once-vapid wasteland to appear enchanting and welcoming. Even though Los Angeles has always been a hub for creativity, we are finally starting to get noticed as jobs dwindle and rents increase in other metropolitan cities. Jessica Rabbit, the paramour in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, flirts, “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.” This statement is an analogy for Los Angeles as a whole. The city that is often depicted as devoid of intellect, but replete with grandiose dreams can say the same thing. I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way. Los Angeles offers a projection of my hopes and dreams, through industry, culture, and the physical landscape. It makes me feel, and it makes me feel alive; not only because the sun sets pretty or the ocean is close at hand, but more importantly because now, more than ever, there is a feeling that one can do anything here, and these seemingly disparate components are all contributing factors. Los Angeles is a city full of fleeting gestures: freeways, signage, smog; health, wealth, fame; vistas and canyons and never-ending desert plains. Now I am thinking of Reyner Banham, Los Angeles’ greatest fan, who accurately described this city as an “Instant Paradise,” to which “you have to add water—and keep on adding it.”
ESSAYS
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Los Angeles is strange. It is often accused by others as ugly, the bastion of crazy, and a wasteland. And it is these things. Los Angeles is a city of endless strip malls, gas stations, fast-food restaurants, all illuminated with white and glaring light. But, there is something beautiful about this. To understand Los Angeles, one needs to embrace the strange, ugly, harsh, and disjointed. It is also a city built by and thriving, on myth. The entertainment industry raised it from a small town with orange groves.
SEAN ADAMS
LOS ANGELES IS STRANGE
Terminator 2, Judgment Day
Designers talk about the light in Los Angeles being the start of a design aesthetic. That intense light is responsible for my color palette. Some refer to it as bright and optimistic, others suggest, “garish and plebeian.” For years, my office had floor-toceiling windows facing west. The light streamed in all afternoon, creating a need for brighter and more saturated tones, while simultaneously providing me with a yearlong tan. Somehow the light greige and Chernobyl muddy green didn’t stand up to the fluorescent magenta in the glare. I also love the juxtaposition of architecture and Sean Adams—Los Angeles is Strange → P 246
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slanted video interviews 200+ figures of the design scene slanted.de/videos switzerland istanbul paris new york marrakech portugal warsaw helsinki athens
tokyo dubai prague rwanda los angeles
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THE BOT TOM LINE
APPENDIX HOT SPOTS PUBLICATIONS PLAYLIST CONTEMPORARY L.A. T YPEFACES INDEX COLOPHON
APPENDIX
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230 CalArts
Glendale
Hollywood
Northwest L.A.
Pasadena
Northeast L.A.
Beverly Hills
P A
C
I
Santa Monica F
Central L.A.
West L.A.
Downtown
Culver City
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Venice
C O
C
E A N
Hotel
Shopping
Books
Café / Tea
Take a look at
Park
Restaurant
Museum
Studio / Office
Sweet Treats
Gallery / Art Space
Education
Record Store
Architecture
Skatepark
Santa Monica SaMo is known for socially progressive politics, miles of beach front, and its famous pier. Stretched all the way to Malibu, the Oceanside Hollywood is a quiet place to live in that does not fully feel like what you’d expect of L.A.. Azulé Taqueria 1315 3rd St. Promenade azuletaqueria.com Lay back with agua frescas made fresh daily or maybe an ice cold beer, and then end sweet with a hot churro con chocolate. The Cove Skatepark 1401 Olympic Blvd. smgov.net Tucked inside the Memorial Park, 20,000 square feet of smooth, rideable concrete.
HOT SPOTS
Eames Foundation 203 Chautauqua Blvd. Established in order to preserve and protect the Eames House and provide educational experiences that celebrate Eames’ legacy. The Georgian Hotel 1415 Ocean Ave. georgianhotel.com An iconic place and your home for 1940’s old Hollywood glamour just steps from the Santa Monica Pier. Palisades Park Ocean Ave. smgov.net For stunning views of the ocean and Santa Monica Mountains, this bluff-top park along Santa Monica’s northern coast is the spot. It’s the classic image of L.A.’s coastline that lives in most people’s heads. Steer clear of
the tourist packed section by the pier and instead keep toward the Pacific Palisades-adjacent end. Record Surplus 12436 Santa Monica Blvd. recordsurplusla.com Founded in 1985, it’s one of the largest sellers of used vinyl records on the West Coast. Santa Monica Proper Hotel 700 Wilshire Blvd. properhotel.com Each of the spaces successfully optimizes the city’s abundant ocean breezes and natural light, offering a looser kind of luxury. Santa Monica Pier Downtown Santa Monica The center and focal point of Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica Pier is home to a whole
Slanted 35—L.A.
231 host of different attractions. Pacific Park is a traditional fair with a roller coaster and Ferris wheel, plus plenty of fairground games, an aquarium, and a classic carousel housed in the historic Looff Hippodrome. There are also regular outdoor music and film events hosted at the Pier, bringing a different, hipper crowd to the boardwalk. Santa Monica State Beach Downtown Santa Monica smgov.net Home of the world-famous Pier, and the biggest crowds can be found clustered around it. If you’re looking for a more relaxed vibe, stroll out as far as you can for quieter patches. There are bathrooms, bike paths, and paid parking positioned along almost the entire stretch of beach. Venice Bordered by Santa Monica to the north, this area came to life by investments of the tobacco magnate Abbot Kinney, who tried to create a Californian Venice in the beginning of the 20th century. Since Google and many more tech companies moved in, the area turned into a Silicon Beach. Rents are higher then ever, vegan restaurants, juice bars, and healthy living shops claimed the neighborhoods. Quite close to that lies the Otis College of Art and Design. Abbot Kinney Boulevard Abbot Kinney Blvd. abbotkinneyblvd.com A mile long strip of the latest fashion, art, and food just a few minutes away from the beach. AIR Venice 5 Rose Ave. airinvenice.com The AIR takes a historic, early 20thcentury building and turns it into a modern and fresh swish hotel with great amenities. It is all about the seriously lush views. El Primo Tacos 845 Lincoln Blvd. tacossupergallito.com If you come after 9 p.m. there’s most certainly going to be a line. Especially on the weekends or summer nights. University of California kids love this place! And it may be the nearest taco trunk to campus. Google LAX BIN1 340 Main St. The L.A. headquarters of Google, located in a famous Frank Gehry designed building with a giant binoculars sculpture on the front.
HOT SPOTS
Muscle Beach 1800 Ocean Front Walk musclebeachvenice.com When the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica disappeared in the 60s, this competing spot in Venice arose to fill the void. Since then, it’s morphed into a voyeuristic gym for chiseled bodybuilders, where curious on-lookers can watch their mucles grow from outside the fence of the postmodern, dumbbell-shaped build. Otis College of Art and Design 737 Washington Blvd. otis.edu A private art and design school close to Venice. Established in 1918, it’s the city’s first independent professional school of art. The Kinney Venice Beach 1001 Third St. 737 Washington Blvd. thekinneyvenicebeach.com A way to stay in a hotel while feeling like a L.A. local. Venice Beach Skatepark 1800 Ocean Front Walk laparks.org No ultimate skateparks list is complete without Venice Beach. Skating has gone on here for decades, home to giants such as Jay Adams and Tony Alva. In an ideal location—right at the beach. Venice Canals Historic District The historic district is noteworthy for its man-made canals built in 1905 by Abbot Kinney as part of his “Venice of America”-plan. It used to be three to four times bigger than it is today. Nevertheless it’s still fairly interesting. West Los Angeles Including Beverlywood, Century City and Westwood, West Los Angeles is made up of a set of very distinct neighborhoods,ranging from wealthy suburbs to prominent business centers to communities where you’ll find a mix of ethnicities that would make the United Nations proud Westwood, home of the main campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is—despite an increasing number of homeless people—still known as one of the safest neighborhoods in the city, albeit with some of the worst traffic. The other prominent economic center in the area is Century City, a small but dense collection of high-rises adjacent to Beverly Hills built around the headquarters of 20th Century Fox.
Armand Hammer Museum of Art 10899 Wilshire Blvd. hammer.ucla.edu It champions the art and artists who challenge us to see the world in a new light, to experience the unexpected, to ignite our imaginations, and inspire change. It understands that art not only has the power to transport us through aesthetics but can also provide significant insight into the biggest questions of our time. Diddy Riese 926 Broxton Ave. diddyriese.com They serve high quality cookies, brownies, and ice cream at more than reasonable prices. Espresso Profeta 1129 Glendon Ave. espressoprofetalosangeles. com Established in 2006, they pride themselves on delivering the best espresso possible—they’re good. Fowler Museum 308 Charles E Young Dr. N fowler.ucla.edu Located at the heart of UCLA’s campus, this internationally recognized museum primarily features works of art from Africa, Asia, and America. Fox Theater 961 Broxton Ave. Perhaps the most iconic image of Westwood since its construction in the 1930s. It reminds of a different era of cinema culture. Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden Charles E. Young Dr. E Home to one of the finest outdoor sculpture installations with objects from Rodin and Hans Arp. Hotel Angeleno 170 N Church Ln. hotelangeleno.com Amazing panoramic views from the Getty Museum and SaMo beaches all the way to Downtown. Hotel Bel-Air 701 Stone Canyon Rd. One of the nine luxury hotels by the Dorchester Collection. Culver City Though the neighborhood in the east of SaMo is just a little over five square miles, its architecture is extremely varied, ranging from Renaissance Revival–style historic buildings to experimental and unique office spaces.
Slanted 35—L.A.
236 Established in 1963, Hennessey + Ingalls offers the best selection of books on the visual arts: art, architecture, interior design, photography, graphic design, fashion, film, music, landscape, and gardening. They are pleased to count many of the area’s and the country’s leading architectural firms as clients, along with museums, collectors, art galleries, students, interior designers, graphic design firms, and schools.
Hennessey + Ingalls Art & Architecture Bookstore 300 S. Santa Fe Ave. Suite M Los Angeles, CA 90013 +1 213 437 2130 info@hennesseyingalls.com Monday–Sunday: 10 a.m.—8 p.m.
Conceived more than fifty years ago by renowned architectural historians Robert Winter and the late, great David Gebhard, this seminal vade mecum of Los Angeles architecture explores every rich potency of the often relentless, but sometimes relenting L.A. cityscape. Beyond an effort of exploration, the guide is an outfit of discovery. And it always has been. When tourists visit,architectural scholars land at LAX, or locals just want to know, they grab the same book: Gebhard and Winter’s An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles. An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles: Fully Revised 6th Edition / Robert Winter, David Gebhard / Angel City Press / 2018 / 15.2 × 21.6 cm
Mike Kelley has photographed architectural interiors and exteriors all over the world. Some of the world’s leading architects are making their mark on Los Angeles’s cityscape with exciting and innovative projects. Fifty of the most striking buildings are profiled in this book that features every type of architecture, houses, municipal structures, art museums, office buildings, performance spaces, and houses of worship. New Architecture Los Angeles / Mike Kelley / Prestel / 2019 / 23.5 × 28 cm
After the success of L.A. Woman and L.A. Portraits, the famous West Coast street photographer Estevan Oriol publishes the definitive collection of his best and most famous shots, This is Los Angeles. The anthology captures 20 years of his extraordinary photographic career. Oriol’s extensive portfolio represents the soul of Los Angeles: from the portraits of famous athletes, artists, celebrities, and musicians, to the counterculture of the Latino world of tattoos, vintage cars, and the dark reality of gangs. This is Los Angeles / Estevan Oriol / Drago / 2019 / 26 × 31 cm
From the first known photograph taken in Los Angeles to its most recent sweeping vistas, this photographic tribute to the City of Angels provides a fascinating journey through the city’s cultural, political, industrial, and sociological history. It traces the city’s development from the 1880s real estate boom, through the early days of Hollywood and the urban sprawl of the late 20th century, right up to the present day. With over 500 images, L.A. is shown emerging from a desert wasteland to become a vast palm-studded urban metropolis. Los Angeles: Portrait of a City / Jim Heimann, Kevin Starr, David L. Ulin / Taschen / 2019 / 26.7 × 34.9 cm
Graffiti written in storm drain tunnels, on neighborhood walls, and under bridges tells an underground and, until now, untold history of Los Angeles. Drawing on extensive research within the city’s urban landscape, Susan A. Phillips traces the hidden language of marginalized groups over the past century—from the early 20th century markings of hobos, soldiers, and Japanese internees to the later inscriptions of surfers, cholos, and punks. The City Beneath: A Century of Los Angeles Graffiti / Susan A. Phillips / Yale University Press / 2019 / 20.8 × 25.9 cm
From Boyle Heights to Malibu, Los Angeles is the most exciting food city in the United States. These 100 recipes from L.A.’s best chefs transport the California Dream to your table. Blessed by the abundance of sun, sea, and fertile agricultural land; vibrant Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and European communities; and talent in up-and-coming mavericks, celebrity chefs, and bold restaurateurs redefining hospitality, Los Angeles is having an unprecedented food moment. The L.A. Cookbook: Recipes from the Best Restaurants, Bakeries, and Bars in Los Angeles / Alison Clare Steingold / Rizzoli / 2018 / 20.3 × 26.7 cm
PUBLICATIONS → P 248
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237 Headline is an independent specialist in punk, garage, ska, hardcore thrash, and an import records store. The only punk store in Los Angeles! Started in 1995 by Jean Luc Gaudry (the French guy!).
Headline Records 7706 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 +1 323 655 2125 john@headlinerecords.com Monday–Sunday: 12 p.m.—8 p.m.
Scan the QR code or follow this link to turn on the music: bit.ly/2wLgJkJ
This band started around 2010. A great Spanish / English punk band! Generacion Suicida / Con La Muerte A Tu Lado / 2013
Probably the most known band in the world— The first four years is probably the most important release in the hardcore scene—specially the Nervous Breakdown single which was one of the first hardcore singles. Black Flag / The First Four Years / 1979 The Weirdos are the first punk band in Los Angeles.
The Weirdos / Weird World— Volume 1 / 1991
A great garage punk band— good mix between Teenage Head / 999. Black Mambas / Black Mambas / 2014
PLAYLIST → P 248
The BellRays sounds like Tina Turner meets MC5—sound raw, aggressive with a lot of soul! A must! The BellRays / LET IT BLAST / 1998
The first album from this iconic band! All their albums are a fuck off to the establishment! Dead Kennedys / Fresh Fruit For Rotten Vegetables / 1980
One of the biggest classic punk albums of all time!
The Adolescents / The Blue Album / 1981
Social Distortion is still one of those bands—no matter where they play, they still sell out all venues. This album is probably the most accessible and the most popular one. Social Distortion / White Light White Heat White Trash / 1996
Between many genres (punk, country etc.) but still one of the most classic albums in California. If you like Gun Club, you might like the band X Los Angeles album. Both are classics! Gun Club / Fire of Love / 1981
One of the best classic hardcore bands from Orange County.
Uniform Choice / Screaming for Change / 1986
Angry Samoans Discography? Because everything from this band is good. Even the last album! Angry Samoans / Discography / 1980–2006
The Dickies are still playing after 40+ years of punk rock. And they are still very good! Dickies / The Incredible Shrinking Dickies / 1979
Slanted 35—L.A.
238 Cahuenga by Greg Lindy Typelabel: Lux Typographic + Design URL: luxtypo.com Year of Release: 2018 Styles / Weights: 5 weights from Light to Extra Bold + Italics Language Support: Latin OpenType Features: Proportional Oldstyle, Tabular Oldstyle, Proportional Lining, Tabular Lining, Standard Ligatures, Discretionary Ligatures, All Caps, Small Caps, Capitals to Small Caps, Subscript, Ordinals, Fractions, Numerator, Denominator, Ornaments, Arrows, Slashed Zero Optimized for Web: Yes Testversion available: Yes About: Cahuenga embodies clarity in text and distinction in display by organically holding a tone and pitch that is sincere. The name is emblematic of many who make their way through the Hollywood area of Los Angeles via car. As in many parts, the driving route is convoluted to get from point A to point B. It seems that when in Hollywood, one usually ends up on Cahuenga Boulevard.
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239 Mabry by Benjamin Critton & Colophon Foundry Typelabel: Colophon Foundry URL: colophon-foundry.org Year of Release: 2018 Styles / Weights: 5 weights from Light to Black + Italics Language Support: Latin, Cyrillic, Greek OpenType Features: Proportional Oldstyle, Tabular Oldstyle, Proportional Lining, Tabular Lining, Standard Ligatures, Discretionary Ligatures, All Caps, Subscript, Ordinals, Fractions, Numerator, Denominator, Arrows, Stylistic Sets, Slashed Zero Optimized for Web: Yes Testversion available: Yes About: Originally commissioned in 2014 apparel company Nasty Gal, Mabry is the commercial iteration of the former NG Grotesque. With one foot amidst the idiosyncratic forms of the late 19th century grotesques, and the other among the rational maths of early 20th century geometric sans-serifs, Mabry posits itself as several things at once: contemporary and historic, rigorous and gestural, objective and subjective, cultivated and imprecise, refined and coarse.
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CONTEMPORARY L.A. TYPEFACES → P 246
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246 P 44–47, 240 abstractoffice.xyz + video interview
Benjamin Woodlock / Abstract Office, L.A., CA (US) Benjamin Woodlock is a designer and educator based in Los Angeles. In 2013 he launched Abstract Office, an independent foundry through which he has released four of his typefaces. He is an art director and designer at Elastic, a motion studio in Santa Monica, specializing in typography and branding. Benjamin teaches at Otis College of Art and Design and at California Institute of the Arts. He has a BA from Yale and a MFA from CalArts. P 130–133 anotherhuman.la @anotherhuman design
Leah Ring / Another Human, L.A., CA (US) Leah Ring is the multidisciplinary designer behind Another Human. Ring honed her aesthetic over the past decade working in high end interior design and founded her Los Angeles based studio in 2017. Drawing inspiration from sources ranging from the Memphis Group to outer space, her aesthetic is playful yet highly considered, often blurring the line between design and art.
P 56–59, 239 @benjamincritton + video interview
Benjamin Critton / Benjamin Critton Art Department, L.A., CA (US) Benjamin Critton is a designer, type designer, art director, and artist based in Los Angeles. Critton received a BA from Hamilton College in 2006 and an MFA from the Yale School of Art in 2011, after which he established Benjamin Critton Art Department, an art and design practice whose client-based collaborations and commissions are supplemented by initiatives in publishing, writing, editing, curation, and pedagogy.
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P 165 cutedirtydog.com
Caleb Boyles, L.A., CA (US) Caleb Boyles is a queer illustrator based out of Los Angeles, California. As a full-time freelance artist he spends his days working out of coffee shops and living rooms alongside his boyfriend and their bichon poodle named Milk. He has worked with clients such as Refinery29, Curbed, and The LGBT Center of New York.
P 172–190 brandnewschool. com
Nico Casavecchia / Brand New School, L.A., CA (US) Nico is an Argentine director with Brand New School. He is based in L.A.. His work has been showcased in Wired, by the BBC, in The New York Times, in Sundance, and at SXSW. His work has received awards from Cannes, D&AD, One Show, AICP, the Clios, and the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s smallest stop-motion film. The Verge has described his films as being done with “unusual confidence and sophistication.” P 172–190 buck.tv
BUCK, L.A., CA (US) BUCK is a design-driven creative company. They are an integrated collective of designers, artists, and storytellers, who believe in the power of collaboration— the special alchemy that only happens when working together toward a common purpose. From offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Sydney, BUCK works with a broad range of inspiring clients and partners in the advertising, broadcast, film, and entertainment industries.
P 134–137 kulakoff.com buck.tv + video interview
Mark Kulakoff / BUCK, L.A., CA (US) Mark Kulakoff is a design driven maker who works in the areas of illustration, 2D and 3D design, and animation. His work seeks to build meaningful form and storytelling for personal and applied arts. He currently works for BUCK L.A. as a Senior Art Director. Mark teaches Design and Motion Graphics for the University of Southern California and CalArts. In his free time he is a gardener and collector of aloes and euphorbias. P 195–197 burningsettlers cabin.com
Sean Adams / Burning Settlers Cabin, L.A., CA (US) Sean Adams is the Chair of the Undergraduate and Graduate Graphic Design Program at ArtCenter. Adams continues his design practice with The Office of Sean Adams. He is the only two term AIGA national president in the organization’s history. In 2014, Adams was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession. He currently is on the editorial board and writes for Design Observer. Previously, Adams was a founding partner of AdamsMorioka. P 172–190 katcatmur.com
Kat Catmur, L.A., CA (US) Kat Catmur is a British freelance graphic designer, illustrator on long-term loan to California. She finds poetic and thoughtful ways of designing work within the cultural sphere. Recent clients include the City of L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs, CalArts, and the BBC. Her book A Colorful Life: Gere Kavanaugh, designer co-written and designed with Louise Sandhaus was published in April 2019.
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247 P 26–29 counterspace.net posters.calarts.edu + video interview
Michael Worthington / Counterspace, L.A., CA (US) Michael Worthington teaches in the Graphic Design Program at the California Institute of the Arts, and was Co-director from 1998 through 2005 and from 2008 through 2015. His design studio Counterspace was formed in 2000 working primarily with cultural clients. In 2018 he set up MW Books to publish short run art and design publications. His second book Inside Out & Upside Down: Posters From CalArts 1980 to 2019 has been released in late 2019. P 172–190 ella-la.com
ELLA, L.A., CA (US) ELLA is a Los Angelesbased design studio. The team has worked with artists, cultural institutions, writers, architects, performers, educators, and other designers for over 15 years. In addition to design, all partners teach at Art Center College of Design. ELLA specializes in printed matter (mainly books) and design for exhibitions. Priorities of the studio include: representing multiple perspectives, translation, play, learning, disruption, and justice. P 245 emigre.com
Zuzana Licko / Emigre, Berkeley, CA (US) Zuzana Licko is the co-founder of Emigre, one of the first independent type foundries utilizing personal computer technology for the design and distribution of fonts. Licko’s early work was defined by her groundbreaking designs of modular and bitmap fonts. She has designed over 34 typeface families including such best sellers as Mrs. Eaves and Filosofia.
INDEX
P 98–101 eyelost.com @eyeone_sh + video interview
Raymundo T. Reynoso a.k.a. Eyeone, L.A., CA (US) Raymundo T. Reynoso a.k.a. Eyeone was born in Mexico City and immigrated to Los Angeles at the age of six. He received his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Design | Media Arts from the University of Califonia, Los Angeles (UCLA). His work is included in the collections of the Getty Research Institute and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and has been exhibited both nationally andabroad.
P 80–83
Ed Fella, L.A., CA (US) Edward Fella (born in Detroit, 1938) is an American graphic designer, artist and educator. He first worked in the commercial industry for 30 years. He then studied at the Center for Creative Studies (till 1985) and went to the CalArts where he graduated in 1987 and began teaching there. His hand design style has been described as American folk art typography and has influenced designers like Lorraine Wild, P. Scott Makela, Jeffrey Keedy, Elliott Earls, and Barry Deck. P 40–43 folderstudio.com
Jon Gacnik, Takumi Akin, Wesley Chou / Folder Studio, L.A., CA (US) Folder is a design studio focusing on visual identities, publications, websites, and other printed and digital matter for cultural and commercial clients. Founded in 2013 by Jon Gacnik, Takumi Akin, and Wesley Chou, the studio’s broad goals are to underline the defining qualities of content and make available the richness of archives.
P 60–65 forthandback.la
Nikolos Killian, Tanner Woodbury / Forth + Back, L.A., CA (US) Forth + Back is a multidisciplinary design studio based in East Los Angeles, CA, founded by Nikolos Killian and Tanner Woodbury. Together, they view their studio as a platform to break grounds in problems, both old and new. The studio aspires to stay curious and continually share their curiosities with others. Rock to the rhythm.
P 72–75, 241 jensgehlhaar.com + video interview
Jens Gehlhaar, L.A., CA (US) Jens Gehlhaar, born and raised in Germany, is a commercial artist living in Los Angeles who works in film, design, advertising, and music. He has directed commercials for Apple, Volkswagen, Emirates Airlines, and many other brands. He has designed identities and titles for MTV, VH1, and This American Life, and has drawn typefaces for TV Guide and two different Tom Cruise movies. He is currently a commercial director represented by Logan & Sons. P 198 / 199 shawngtari.com
Shawn Ghassemitari, L.A., CA (US) Shawn is a journalist and graphic designer based in Los Angeles. When he isn’t working alongside clients such as NIKE, Snapchat, and the NFL, he is collecting vintage football shirts and digging through endless Soundcloud mixes.
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254 SLANTED MAGAZINE TYPOGRAPHY & GRAPHIC DESIGN SPRING / SUMMER 2020 35 LOS ANGELES PUBLISHER Slanted Publishers Nebeniusstraße 10 76137 Karlsruhe Germany T +49 (0) 721 85148268 magazine@slanted.de slanted.de TEAM Editor in Chief (V.i.S.d.P.) Lars Harmsen Managing Editor Julia Kahl Co-Editor Ian Lynam Proofreading Julia Kahl, Bettina Nowak Art Direction Lars Harmsen Graphic Design Julia Kahl, Clara Weinreich Assistance Graphic Design Sebastian Schubmehl, Laura Nádvornik Video Editing Max Clausen SLANTED WEBLOG Editor in Chief (V.i.S.d.P.) Julia Kahl Editors slanted.de/publisher/profile-contact VIDEO Video interviews slanted.de/losangeles
ISSN 1867-6510 Frequency 2 × p. a. (Spring / Summer, Autumn / Winter) Copyright © Slanted, Karlsruhe, 2020 All rights reserved.
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PRODUCTION Printing Inside Stober GmbH, Druckerei und Verlag Eggenstein / Germany info@stober.de, stober.de Printing Cover Seismografics JK GmbH Unterschleißheim / Germany info@seismografics.de, seismografics.de Book Binding Josef Spinner Großbuchbinderei GmbH Ottersweier / Germany info@josef-spinner.de, josef-spinner.de Cardboard Cover PERGRAPHICA® Precious Purple, 250 g/sm Paper Inside PERGRAPHICA® High White Smooth, 120 g/sm PERGRAPHICA® Ivory Rough 1.5, 90 g/sm Manufactured by Mondi Group Vienna / Austria mymondi.net, mondigroup.com Spot Colors HKS Warenzeichenverband e. V. Stuttgart / Germany info@hks-farben.de, hks-farben.de HKS 15 N Fonts Value Serif Pro, 2012–2019 Designers: Colophon Foundry & Benjamin Critton Colophon Foundry / colophon-foundry.org
Safety Gothic / Reynaldo, 2018 Design: Benjamin Woodlock Label: Abstract Office / abstractoffice.xyz
Suisse Int’l / Neue, 2011 Design: Swiss Typefaces Design Team Label: Swiss Typefaces / swisstypefaces.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscribe to Slanted Magazine and support what we do. Magazines via subscriptions are at a reduced rate and get shipped for free within Germany directly at release. slanted.de/publisher/subscription Annual subscription 2 issues for € 32.– + shipping 2 year subscription 4 issues for € 62.– + shipping Student subscription 2 issues for € 26.– + shipping Gift subscription 2 issues wrapped as present for € 35.– + shipping Annual subscription incl. special editions 2 issues + 2 special editions for € 65.– + shipping 2 year subscription incl. special editions 4 issues + 4 special editions + free issue for € 125.– + shipping
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255 SALES AND DISTRIBUTION Slanted Magazine can be acquired online, in selected bookstores, concept stores, and galleries worldwide. You can also find it at stations and airports in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. If you own a shop and would like to stock Slanted Magazine, please get in touch with us. Contact Julia Kahl, T +49 (0) 721 85148268 julia.kahl@slanted.de Slanted Shop (best!) slanted.de/shop Stores (all over the world) slanted.de/publisher/distribution International distribution IPS Pressevertrieb GmbH / ips-d.de Distribution UK MMS London / mmslondon.co.uk Distribution US Small Changes / smallchanges.com ADVERTISING We offer a wide range of advertising possibilities online and in print. For advertising enquiries please get in touch with: Julia Kahl (advertising management / sales) +49 (0) 721 851 482 68, julia.kahl@slanted.de Bettina Nowak (advertising sales) +49 (0) 721 851 482 68, bettina.nowak@slanted.de slanted.de/publisher/advertising AWARDS (Selection of design awards for publications by Slanted) ADC of Europe 2010, 2008 ADC Germany 2019, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007 Annual Multimedia 2013, 2008 Berliner Type 2009 (Silver), 2008 (Bronze) DDC 2019 Designpreis der BRD 2009 (Silver) European Design Awards 2011, 2008 Faces of Design Awards 2009 iF communication design award 2007 German Design Award 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 Laus Awards 2009 Lead Awards 2008 (Weblog des Jahres), 2007 Lead Awards 2013 (Visual Leader / Silver) red dot communication design awards 2017, 2008 Type Directors Club NY, 2011, 2008, 2007 Tokyo Type Directors Club 2015, 2014 Werkbund Label 2012
GuneWardena, Raymundo T. Reynoso a.k.a. Eyeone, Jens Gehlhaar, Ella Gold, Green Dragon Office, Jamal Gunn Becker, Happening Studio, David Karwan, Mr. Keedy, Knowledge Design Lab, Lux Typographic + Design, MCKL, Kali Nikitas, Alex Pines, poly-mode, Brian Roettinger, SEEN, Gail Swanlund, TOLO Architecture, and Dameon Waggoner. This issue comes along with a limited special edition exclusively available at slanted.de/shop. It contains a glossy, neon-orange notebook by nuuna and a hot enamel pin. Make sure to grab yours! Thanks a lot to Silvia Stehle and Sabine Kochendörfer (nuuna by brandbook) for the great cooperation! Thanks to Max Clausen for editing and cutting the video interviews. We are very grateful for the support of Mondi Group, who have provided us with fantastic papers for this issue— special thanks go to Sandra Blach, who made this cooperation possible. The luminous, sustainable silkscreen of the cover is the work of Seismografics, experts in their field. Many thanks, Jakob Kaikkis and Luetfullah Cakir! A special thanks to our supporters out there on social media. You help a lot, sharing our work to the world, making Slanted a wonderful community of design interested people. More than ever, it is important to stick together. Thanks to Dicki, welcoming us and spending time with us during our first days in Irvine, south of L.A. Thanks to Björn who brought us in touch with Patty in Palm Springs. Patty, we love you! Thank you so much for introducing us to your wonderful friends, actor Udo Kier, gallerist Christian Hohmann (galeriehohmann.de) and author Robert Teitelbaum (thanks for offering us your book Hiding in Plain Sight). A very special thanks to Tom Barbereau (you make Lars and your mom very proud!) for his help on the interview with Udo Kier. Also to Sebastian Schubmehl for his unbridled enthusiasm even in times of illness. Most of all we would like to thank Ian Lynam. It was so good to be with you in L.A. and spend time with you. You are the best! Without you this issue would never have been possible. You brought us in touch with a lot of your friends, together we met amazing designers, teachers, heroes, nannies, cops, skunks, and others. Thanks for your generous work and tremendous enthusiasm. Your enduring friendship is invaluable to us. Thanks also to your wife Yuki! Last but not least: Thanks to our long term printing partners Thomas Appelius, Joachim Schweigert, and their team of Stober for the support and great printing!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This issue could not have been realized without the enthusiasm and support of the following people: Another Human, Caleb Boyles, Brand New School, Burning Settlers Cabin, Kat Catmur, ELLA, Emigre, Ed Fella, Folder Studio, Forth + Back, Shawn Ghassemitari, Denise Gonzales Crisp, David Hartwell, Headline Records, Hennessey + Ingalls, Inventory Form & Content, Bijou Karman, Udo Kier, Kevin Kim, LSD, Ian Lynam, Maria Menshikova, National Forest, nohawk, Hyu Oh, OH no Type Co., OOG Creative, Ara Oshagan, Hrant H. Papazian, Robo, Zack Rosebrugh, Justin Hunt Sloane, Some All None, Still Room, Stink Studios, Studio BLDG, Daniel Sulzberg, Use All Five, Jiaqi Wang, and Yours Truly Creative. Thank you to all the people who gave generously of their time during those inspiring interviews, especially Abstract Office, Benjamin Critton Art Department, BUCK, Counterspace, Escher
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DISCLAIMER The publisher assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of all information. Publisher and editor assume that material that was made available for publishing, is free of third party rights. Reproduction and storage require the permission of the publisher. Photos and texts are welcome, but there is no liability. Signed contributions do not necessarily represent the opinion of the publisher or the editor. The German National Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at dnb.d-nb.de.
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GOODBYE LOS ANGELES
256
LARS HARMSEN, ONE WORLD FLAG IAN LYNAM
LOS ANGELES, CA, US!
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slanted 35 typography & graphic design
spring / summer 2020 issn 1867-6510 at eur 22 ch chf 25 de eur 18 uk gbp 25 us usd 28 others eur 21 slanted.de