Thursday, August 14, 2014

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - The Arts District - Part 1

It started with Bestia.

http://bestiala.com/index.php

and the lofts kept popping and the arts district  kept changing with beautiful old buildings transforming into cool-gritty-interesting film shooting-residential-coffee drinking places.

Now there is Urban Radish

http://www.urban-radish.com

where you can park an electric car, buy delicious prepared food, or cook for yourself. They have a great wine selection, and places to sit outdoors and stare at the Biscuit building http://www.biscuitcompanylofts.com all lit up at night.

Zinc Cafe http://www.zinccafe.com the Orange County group is now open on Matteo with a lovely outdoor patio that feels like the south of France. Food, full bar, shop and events to help the locals.

Next door, San Francisco's Blue Bottle Coffee http://www.bluebottlecoffee.com recently opened grinding the beans and serving up an extra special Joe. I wonder what can they do to make it better, but they do.

The Lucky Brand building lights up this side of the Arts District for some drive by eye candy, along with film locations, the flea market, graffiti everywhere, Urth Cafe http://www.urthcaffe.com a few left over clothing manufacturers and Church and State http://churchandstatebistro.com in the Biscuit Building.




















Part 1.

This part of the #artsdistrict on the south side of 4th Street has upscale eating and a gritty liveliness that has bloomed and is growing.

All the neighborhoods that make up Los Angeles are growing. Thankfully that means restoration in downtown, although it is worrisome to long time residents. See the Los Angeles Times recent article below.

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-arts-district-20140730-story.html#page=1

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Art - Storm King Art Center

In New York?

Just an hour and a half drive from Manhattan, set in 500 acres of the Hudson Valley is the lovely Storm King Art Center.

More than 100 sculptures and installations are sited across fields, hills and woodlands including, among dozens of others, Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Claes Oldenburg, David Smith, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Goldsworthy's STORM KING WALL, built 1997-98, the reason for my trip.

Walk meadows, climb museum hill, picnic on Johnny Swing's NICKEL COUCH, marvel though Maya Lin's STORM KING WAVEFIELD, as you breathe sky, sing green, wave a piece of sleep where you watched your grandmother cook, and taste the colour of the remembrance of your own dream.  I've been waiting years to get there.

Yes, there are lots of photos, more than usual, but it's a HUGE place.




















British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy's stone wall rings the trees as they stand. Andy Goldsworthy, OBE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy





The wall submerges and comes up the other side.






http://www.stormking.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy