I think I’ve started every single one of these recap posts with “This day was my FAVORITE day of the LA trip.” Honestly, I can’t decide. We did so many things during the week that it’s hard to pick my favorite.
Thursday began with breakfast with Lyndsey and Barb at the Bronzed Aussie, just a few blocks away. They had been talking about seeing it, and I wanted to go because I know somebody from Australia and love the meat pies and brekkie food. Glad that I went because not only were the meat pies excellent, but I finally got to have a real flat white (not whatever Starbucks is peddling). AND I got to see (and feel) some real Aussie money. I’m a design geek (duh), and Australian money is gorgeous and smartly designed.
After breakfast, we hit the streets and started walking to Chinatown to hit up Studio Unlisted. I lagged behind because I was busy capturing all the street art …
We made it to Chinatown (and I managed not to get lost!). Studio Unlisted is run by two guys my age with punk rock values and great design aesthetics. I really enjoyed hanging out with them for the afternoon. Also, the art on their walls (most of which they designed) has been pinned to my Design Porn board for ages.
[ photo by Alex. Amber and Jacob chatting with the guys from Studio Unlisted. Also, Alex from S/U is totally Julian’s doppelgänger… but it might just be the shirt.]
We ate lunch at Pok Pok in Chinatown after visiting with S/U. Some of the undergrads had never had thai food before, so I took it upon myself to split some good food with somebody who was willing to try something new. Also, this was when the boys I was hanging out with decided to take shots of the chile fish sauce (go figure), and of course, I had to one-up them, so I doused my food with it. Bad decision.
[ photo by Alex ]
Also, I just remembered that while we were eating lunch a cop ran from one end of the building to the other … slowly. Like a low-speed chase. We didn’t know what was happening until it was over, and we joked that a low-speed Chinatown chase would make a really great Law and Order plot. It turned out that the trashcan outside had started on fire (CA drought).
After lunch, we headed to the Ooga Booga, which was a pretty hip little art/music/book store. I managed not to spend any money, but that was because I was already carrying too much stuff and the thought of carrying anything else made my head want to expode.
Although, I did pick up a pair of shades from a street vendor, but my other pair kept falling apart, so I think the purchase was justified.
We had some down time, so I coerced Derrick into letting me take his senior photos. This one is hilarious.
After our Chinatown adventure, we walked to a couple of art museums.
First, we checked out The Broad (we had to wait in line because tickets were sold out). This is the first time I’ve seen a Warhol up close. I will say that even though I’m not hugely into Warhol, his art is much better in person than in prints. There are nuances that you don’t notice in reproductions. I tried to show that in this image below. You can see the texture of each layer peeking through in the field of green.
Um, also … this … by Jeff Koons. I tried to get a photo of me with it, but the lighting made it impossible.
Swoon.
There’s a Basquait / Haring room at The Broad. I just watched Basquiat (because Bowie plays Warhol) and was looking forward to seeing some of his art in person. I almost cried when I saw this piece up close and personal (it’s HUGE).
I love the colors and the primal aesthetic. So good.
This is part of a massive collection of broken plates put together with auto-body-filler and paint. Weird, but so cool. Love me some texture.
This painting is called Ziggy Stargast, and obviously, is based on Bowie. I really enjoy the color scheme and the layers.
Here’s a photo of the outside of the building. Good stuff.
After we hit The Broad, we went to the MoCA, but they were charging admission for another 20 minutes, so we went to Grand Park again to wait it out. I checked on the little library where I’d left my Bowie tape, and saw this note in its place. I don’t know if the person who left the note took the Bowie tape, but I’m going to assume that because I think this note was meant for me to find. It so perfectly encapsulates everything I’ve learned through my grad school experience.
We ended up at the MoCA, and I spent most of my time hanging out in this great exhibit called Factory of the Sun by Hito Steryel . It’s a video installation that is about a video-game-like world in which people dance to gain energy from the sun. It encapsulates some current issues (immigration, racism, our technological immersion). I could watch this a few more times.
[ last two photos by Alex ]
We walked back to the hostel and split up to take Ubers to Echo Park to check out this cool art exhibit called What Does a UFO Smell Like? Artists compiled research about the smells people reported when being abducted by aliens and created an immersive exhibit that involved 50s interior decor and actual smells. The visuals were really cool.
After the art exhibit, I went to dinner with the seniors and broke my 5-day vegetarian streak with a burger. The burger was meh, but I had a gin, elderberry, and lavender cocktail that was on point. Which reminds me: something weird that I love about drinking a real drink (hard liquor, Mad Men style) is how cool you look when you’re doing work while doing it (or at least in my mind anyway). One of the undergrads brought his laptop with him because he is overly ambitious and was applying for jobs on the trip. I (obviously) offered to help him out by proofing his materials before he sent them in. I ended up doing this, drink in hand, at dinner and felt a little like I was in Mad Men (you know, minus the computer).
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and I went to bed early. But then some people texted (see: previously mentioned FOMO) and I ended up at the bar until late. This is definitely something I’ve never done, and I had so much fun doing it. When I find the video of my SnapStory from this day, I’ll edit and add because it’s funny.
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