Monday was when our trip switched (quickly) into high gear. It started off with me sending a text that said “Hey, I’m not gonna make it,” to Alex, who organized our 6 AM Graphic Design Urban Running Subcommittee meeting … but then I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I rallied and ran. Here’s the proof (I’m the white / blue / pink shoe):
After we ran, I hit up the free (read: haunted) hotel breakfast for some waffles before we headed out to walk to the Los Angeles Arts District. Along the way, we saw a LOT of street art, which instantly became my favorite part of the city.
The layers and layers of art, graffiti, trash, and other substances that come together to create a unique, lived-in aesthetic — and that was by far my favorite part of LA. So much color everywhere. It’s definitely different from the grey surfaces we’re used to here in Iowa.
I enjoyed the layers so much that I created a video exploring this concept. I used vintage footage from the Prelinger Archives (which was tagged as LA, but I am thinking it’s actually Detroit). I used footage from a video about the golden age of the city (1950s?), footage about the drug use in the city (1960s), and various videos I captured while I was there.
All that is solid will melt into the air. from Calee Himes on Vimeo.
When we made it to the arts district, we met up with Matthew Manos and his crew at Very Nice for a walking workshop. I won’t tell you too much about that because we did one of Matthew’s methods, and I’m not sure how much we are allowed to share. We walked all over the arts district and ended up eating lunch at Würstkuche, where I had a veggie smoked apple sage dog and a beer for lunch.
After lunch, we were free for a couple of hours to roam. I ended up hanging out with the other grad student on the trip (Maggie) and we found this cute little ice cream shop in the district. I was floored to see a shop that was playing vinyl, I soon realized that is normal fare for LA. Pictured is Earl Grey ice cream (obviously cold, not hot. Sorry, Captain Picard).
I ate my ice cream while walking around capturing more of the beautiful layers all over the city. We were in Los Angeles long enough to witness street art going up, and the same art being painted over later in the week. Below is a snap of one of my trip buddies (Ray) chatting with a street artist as she finishes pasting / painting the electric box across the street from our group. She had just started putting it up 10-15 minutes before. It was amazing to mee how fast these people worked.
This piece was up when we got to LA … but was painted over by the time we left.
“Como La Flor” is the title of a Selena song that I really like, so I snapped this sidewalk graffiti.
I saw a lot of Fonzie around DTLA and the arts district. Not sure what that was about, but I caught it on film regardless.
I loved the layering on this dumpster so much that I shot it on two separate occasions. Even the dumpsters had major art game.
Maggie totally blended in with the scenery. We had a rad afternoon together running around and capturing all the pretty art, talking about guys, 90s music, and generally cool stuff.
I was pumped to see this AI Weiwei mural because this is a picture of something that kickstarted my thesis. This is an image of the artist and his sunflower seeds. Basically, he used sweatshop labor to produce thousands (millions even) of these tiny, porcelain sunflower seeds to prove a point about how our society works today. I was hugely interested in this and decided to test the idea of handmade-turned-sweatshop by making as many bags as I could and then giving them away for free.
Monday was also when I decided to start taking “senior photos” of the other students on this trip. I was hoping to get everybody, but didn’t come close. There were a LOT of people on this trip. This is Barb, who is a former student of my buddy Julian. She was also a member of our 6 AM Graphic Design Urban Running Subcommittee
I noticed this art explosion while running in the morning and had to capture it. This looks like something I might have created … (I didn’t).
I ended the evening by heading back to Little Tokyo with the faculty and one of the other students (Jacob, who does amazing animation / video work — check him out!). I decided from this point forward that I was going to stalk Alex and Ryan (official faculty) for meals because they pick good places to eat. Look at this sushi!
Monday was a really great day, and I was exhausted by the end of it. I think I went to bed at 9:30 when I got back from sushi. But that ended up being the *only* time I went to bed early that week.
I’m still in love with this city … and that trip. I leave a part of myself in a lot of the places I visit, and I definitely left a part of my heart in LA. I might have to go back and get it (perhaps the haunted hotel stole it).
//
