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Los
Angeles gets due raves for its weather, beaches, and nightlife,
but what about its museums? Film and record industries aside, the
City of Angels has long been considered a doormat for culture and
high art.
But
that's all changed over the past two decades. LA's art scene has
blossomed, and visitors have responded in kind. The change started
as Angelinos began a push to preserve their city's architectural
and cultural heritage in the early 1980s. Vibrant new galleries
and ambitious museums now draw deserved accolades, and plenty of
visitors.
The
1998 addition of the billion-dollar Getty Center in Brentwood, and
expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) along
the Miracle Mile upped the ante. Last year's Andy Warhol Retrospective
at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) set a record for attendance.
For
all the gains of the larger halls, what's truly made LA an artistic
destination place is the large number of smaller, eclectic museums
newly opened around town. Often, these smaller halls focus mostly
on Southern California, and many offer insight into LA history and
lineage.
Here
are three that detail particularly appropriate SoCal heritage:
Bright
Lights, Big City
In
1923, car mogul Earle Anthony set a colorful new standard for Los
Angeles: Returning from Paris with two custom signs for his dealership
at Wilshire and La Brea, he plugged them in, and blue and orange
letters lit up, heralding “Packard.” Thus the arrival
of neon signs to LA.
Neon, a gaseous chemical element that glows reddish-orange while
conducting electricity, proved to be a great tool for advertising.
By mixing neon with other gasses inside bendable glass tubes, crafters
were able to produce myriad colors and shapes. Soon signs were sprouting
around Los Angeles, and spreading nationwide.
The
1930s were neon's Golden Age, as glass dressed up storefronts and
movie marquees around the country. Los Angeles led the charge, especially
along Wilshire Boulevard, dubbed “the neon corridor” for
its many signs bedecking buildings. But World War II air raid fears
darkened the city, snuffing the era of neon.
By
the time the war ended, neon was considered passe. Advertising styles
had changed, as television began its ascent. Neglected and ignored,
LA’s neon signs continued to deteriorate at a rapid pace through
the 1970s.
Enter Lili Lakich. A New York-based neon artist in the late 70s,
Lakich joined with theater marquee restorer Richard Jenkins in 1981
to found the Museum of Neon Art (MONA).
For 20 years, MONA has been preserving neon artifacts and creating
space for contemporary neon artists. With a collection of the city’s
vintage neon signs (some saved from the wrecker), modern electric
art, hands-on workshops, and a rotating schedule of temporary neon
exhibits, MONA traces the history of 20th century Los Angeles in
light.
To further appreciate neon’s place in Los Angeles lore, hit
the road on one of MONA’s Neon Cruises. Climb aboard a double-decker,
open-topped bus and tour the Wilshire Historic District historic
neon signs and marquees of Hollywood, Wilshire Boulevard, and Chinatown.
Tours happen once monthly; reservations are suggested. Contact MONA
at (213) 489-9918 or at www.neonmona.org.
Cruisin'
USA
Southern
California and the automobile combined to indelibly imprint 20th
Century America. Though scientists are divided on its long-term
impact, car culture is lavishly praised at the Petersen
Automotive Museum, a repository of unique vehicles and
period rides.
Comfortably
housed in a former department store along Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle
Mile, Petersens can hold more than 150 rides from its collection
- of classic cars, race cars, celebrity and film vehicles, motorcycles
- at any time.
The
museum unfolds in a series of period streetscapes that relay the
rise of the auto in the Golden State: A 1911 America Underslung
stuck in Malibu mud; snappy attendants hard at work at a 1930s service
station; big-blocked hot rods lined up outside 1950s coffee shop.
The
20th-Century "road map" wall diaspora depicts how automobiles
and freeways impacted development in Southern California, and Los
Angeles in particular.
There's
also a motorcycle gallery, family discovery center, and Hollywood
Gallery of film and TV cars, piloted by the likes of Steve McQueen
and Roger Moore, Austin Powers, and Batman.
Petersens
opens Tues-Sun from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m, with adult tickets costing
$10 and parkign an additional $6.
If
You Build It...
When
a 6.3 earthquake struck nearby Long Beach, CA in March 1933, Simon
Rodea didn’t quit working. This, despite being perched dozens
of feet above ground, amid steel bars, concrete columns, and shards
of glass and pottery. He simply carried on, same as always, steadily
constructing his life's work: the folk art masterpiece, Watts
Towers.
Skying
above the flatlands of south central Los Angeles, Watts Towers is
a collection of 17 structures and spires, the tallest reaching 99.5
feet. With no helpers or blueprints, and just basic tools and limited
training, Rodea spent 33 years building the multistoried monument,
adding birdbaths, a gazebo, and mosaics of glass, tile, and found
objects.
Though
the towers withstood the Long Beach temblor, the 1994 Northridge
earthquake took its toll, shuttering the monument. An extensive
restoration ensued. Seven years later, Watts Towers reopened September
28, 2001 with a weekend of art and music. The annual Watts Towers
Jazz Festival celebrates the area's multiethnic heritage.
Born
of one man's vision, Watts Towers since has grown to symbolize a
community. The Watts Rodea moved to in the early 1920s was a thriving
working class neighborhood, but the postwar years saw the creepings
of blight. In 1965, deadly riots erupted. Though the legacy of civil
unrest still lingers, Watts Towers and its adjacent arts center
are celebrated as symbols of determination and hope.
Rodea
never knew of the Watts riots. In 1955, he suddenly deeded his towers
to a neighbor and relocated to Northern California, never to return.
He shunned recognition and interviews. Three weeks before the riots,
he passed away. During the riots, Watts Towers was left untouched.
For
more information, contact the Watts Towers Arts Center at (213)
847-9572 or visit www.lacvb.com.
Museum
of Neon Art
501 W. Olympic Blvd
213-489-9918
www.neonmona.org
Petersen
Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd
323-930-2277
www.petersen.org
Watts
Towers / Watts Towers Arts Center
1765 E 107th St
323-847-4646
323-485-1795
www.wattstowers.net
–
Jay Cooke is a San Francisco-based travel, food, and culture writer.
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