Chelsea Vogt -- Genius Loci: Essence of LA

This picture was taken atop the escalator of the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills. If you look closely, you can see the stem of a rainbow among the clouds in the distance. This picture (to me) emphasizes LA's essence because although some may perceive the city negatively, one can always find beauty amidst the glorious metropolis.

The Ahmanson Theatre located directly off of the 101 Freeway and the famous Figueroa St. features a multitude of broadway plays and musicals. The structure has been around for 40 years and has an ongoing fountain in the front of the plaza. This architectural structure illustrates one of the gems LA has to offer adjacent to a freeway onramp.

This mural off of Main St. in Venice captivates the reoccurring theme of graffitti art in LA. "Remember Who You Are" depicted on the wall further emphasizes the distinctiveness of Los Angeles as a whole.

As I was driving down a residential street in Santa Monica, I noticed the palm trees looked symmetrical and almost iconic. This picture was taken as the sun was setting and reminds me of my hometown in Huntington Beach. This photograph captures LA's essence in my perspective, because I found a little piece of home in the place I now consider my second home.

This picture was taken on Rose St. in Venice. I pulled over immediately because I saw an array of murals and graffiti on these walls and thought this is definitely a signature of Los Angeles.

-Chelsea Vogt

KOGI BBQ-- Food Truck Nation(s)

THROUGHOUT my 21 years of living I have always wondered how the infamous “taco trucks” tasted. It was this year where I had my first encounter with Kogi BBQ, a Korean BBQ and Mexican fusion of heavenly bliss. Taco Tuesday came around the corner and I had spotted the truck in the corner of my eye as I walked into my apartment complex. I decided not to go in and instead wait in the tremendously long line where I found people scrapping the bottoms of their wallets to purchase the delicatessen spare rib sliders featured on the menu. As I waited patiently in line, I got to thinking about all of trucks I had so frequently seen on streets in Venice; and now, the king of all food trucks was on my own street. As I scoured the menu I noted the different types of foods offered, tacos, sliders, burritos, sriracha lava cake, my mouth began to water. I placed my order 30 minutes later and scurried up to my dwelling to taste the highly acclaimed Kogi BBQ.

Food trucks always remind me of Los Angeles. My first experience with Kogi was most definitely not the last as it was at Collegefest last month. My love for the truck grows each time I spot it on a random street, Abbot Kinney or outside of my apartment on Saran Dr. in Playa Del Rey. Not only is Kogi a signature truck in the area, but also the Buttermilk Truck, KO Tacos, and The Flying Pig. All three trucks are local to Los Angeles and always roaming the hungry streets. Where else can you find a plethora of mobile eateries? As I visited the Kogi website, I noticed they have various different trucks amidst the Los Angeles area and Orange County. As a native to OC, I have never seen a food truck perched on any busy street or in any area. However, as I have become a local in LA, I have noticed many dispersed around the highly populated areas of Venice, Playa Del Rey, Hollywood, and Santa Monica. The concept of food trucks seems to be a growing entity. There are hundreds of genres and thousands of trucks catering to different areas of the region. I am always pleased when I find one conveniently located to wherever I may be because I know I will always be a sucker for those food trucks.

-Chelsea Vogt

-Photo credit: Guardian.co.uk

Misread City -- The Final Meditations

"I am interested in how the attention of the towers has affected the community and how members feel about their style and size. I want to see how the community feels about them and whether they take pride in the towers or rarely thinks about them at all."

The Watts Towers -- Jaide Garcia

images: watts towers, teikan; glendale, julian bleecker ralph bunche house, south los angeles, kansas sebastian: fashion district, oracio alvarado; watts, laurie avacado via flickr creative commons

~~~~~~~~~~

"As I recently have come to find out, Glendale used to be a city not very much liked by people not living in the city . Come to find out, Glendale used to be very racist and was home to the West Coast Nazi Headquarters. I find that to be completely shocking . . . however, I am sure that there are others who still have that perception of Glendale being [a] racist city. I am curious to find out about the history of the city and how the city started to change after a large number of people (Armenians) began to move to Glendale...I tis interesting that a city that was home to the racists is now a very diverse environment."

Talin Manooki -- the City of Glendale

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"For my final assignment, I want to speak to a classmate of mine who was born, raised and still lives in 'South Central' Los Angeles. His family's story represents the overall theme of the assignment, as his older brother has eared an doctoral degree from USC while his other brother is in prison. I find it interesting how different the two have turned out and it really suggests the dual atmosphere within the city. One brother fills the cliche that cannot be avoided, while the other has mode more of his circumstances. "

-- South Los Angeles -- Hailey Hannan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I would like to write about the L.A. Fashion District, off Maple and 11th Street, because I think that it can be misinterpreted. I have been coming here for years now and the first time I ever stepped foot there, I was really turned off by the culture and the location of the alley. I [plan] to ask people work the street carts or sell their goods to the public about the area. This will provide the sources for my reporting aspect of the essay. As for the reading and further information, I would like to incorporate the ideals fo gentrification and possibly graffiti into the story."

-- The Fashion District, Downtown -- Chelsea Vogt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My roommate, Sam, grew up in Kansas. Sam moved back to Los Angeles to attend LMU and work in the animation department. She has since received awards for her academic success as a black woman in her field . . . . being her roommate and her friend, I have been invited on a couple of occasions to join her family, lead by Aunt Alice....Alice is a quiet and stern woman whom everybody in the family respects and who has managed to do quite a bit to keep her family in Watts. Most of all the children go to magnet schools. Alice immigrated from Belize and Sam keeps a picture of the shack that Alice grew up in, in her dorm room on her desk to remind her of her family's struggles and her hope to visit their beginnings. I'm thinking a juxtaposition, demonstrating Watts can be an end in a successful story rather than an unfortunate beginning."

-- Watts -- Alex Deutsch

LA Weekly--Doyer Dog

T.G.I.F. Not only for obvious reasons, but also the day the LA Weekly is delivered to my apartment complex. When I first moved into the Spanish modeled studios, I took the grand tour and noticed right in the middle of my exploration, a newspaper stand full of LA Weekly manuscripts. Excited, I took my first copy up to my room and flipped frantically through the matte pages.

The first issue I read was about “Sex in THIS City” which was a clever title and was definitely an interesting array of stories. I learned many things I did not necessarily want to know about the city’s sex life as you can only imagine. Needless to say I started following LA Weekly on Twitter and have ever since been a fan.

The recent issue (April 8-14) focuses on a few different topics; traffic, the new “Doyer Dog”, and its feature story about Kevin Smith (former filmmaker).

To be honest, I found the article on the Doyer Dog more interesting than the story on Kevin Smith- a young crude filmmaker who somehow made it big in Hollywood. Whatever the case may be, the Doyer Dog now offered at the Dodger Stadium reminded me of the history of its existence and the area in which it was built upon.

As the article states, “The beloved Dodger Dog is getting a Mexi-themed hermano, the Doyer Dog”, I thought to myself, why? Of course the catchy nickname has stuck with the Dodgers for quite some time, but why at this moment is there a need to uplift the stadium’s Spanish roots? Then I finished reading the article and found that the new hot dog would be charged $12 for one pup. Ridiculous! So basically, Frank McCourt (owner and co-chairman of the LA Dodger’s and Dodger Stadium) wants to cash-in on its Spanish audience (yet again). However, this delicatessen does make the mouth water; it's loaded with chili, nacho cheese, chopped tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos. Personally, I think this would have been an interesting feature story; I would have liked to hear more about this development on behalf of Dodger Stadium and more about why the sudden interest in creating Spanish affiliated product. Until then, I guess I’ll just give in and try a Doyer Dog.

-Chelsea Vogt

-Photo credit hornpmshow.blogspot.com

From one city to the next -

THIS past weekend I traveled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. From one city of bright lights to another, I noticed many similarities when landing in Sin City. Apart from the dry weather and desert surroundings, Vegas resembles that of Los Angeles in many ways than meets the eyes. Immediately after exiting my terminal from the airport, the appearance of simulated landmarks and varying cultures mixed into one central strip. The traffic, alike with LA was unbearable; however, in Vegas, the only road you have to sit in traffic in is located on the strip, so the option of walking is more convinient as opposed to walking in LA. Arriving at my hotel, I immediately felt as though I was in Hollywood. The Cosmopolitan, a new hotel featured in Vegas resembles that of a Hollywood-esque scene: there are vibrant chandeliers cascading from the top of the rectangular shaped building with stores that you would see on Rodeo Drive lining the walls of the hallways.

The influence of other cultures, being remade and simulated through the establishment of such hotels as  :Paris" and "New York New York" also reminded me of the city of LA in that a similar appearance can be found all over the place in the western city. Walking among the crowded streets of the Las Vegas strip, I really got to thinking, Las Vegas alike with LA was a booster city at one point in time. The city has been fantasized and illustrated as some type of oasis in the middle of the desert. So, many people view Las Vegas as a destination; a place to commit unlawful acts and to experience some type of fulfillment by participating in the culture of the city. Sometimes, Los Angeles can be viewed in this same light. Not only did this strike me as interesting, but also with the rapid growth of Las Vegas, who is to say it won't be the next Los Angeles?

Only time will tell, but until then, Sin City will stand in the shadows of the brighter lit city, Los Angeles.

-Chelsea Vogt

L.A. - an icon

The color white, can it be considered a color at all? After all, white is merely a configuration of shades stimulated by the perception of light in the human eye. Often times, the shade of “white” crosses the mind when thinking of the city of Los Angeles. Bright lights, platinum blonde babes, and hazy skies- all things notoriously found in the alluring region of southern California. Needless to say the shade engulfs the city and manipulates the masses in the idea that “white is the new black”.

Roaming the streets of the stars, this iconic theme presents itself in a different type of instance. Hollywood. A distinctive type of social atmosphere and a signature thread holding together the unique quilt of Los Angeles. Walking down the strip, you can see the desperation in people’s faces. The eagerness to fit in, and the desire to be included; a blank and white gaze overcomes their appearance. At times, walking down the strip is like walking through a morgue- except these dead bodies are wandering around, aimlessly looking for a place to go where they will feel alive, only momentarily. Blankness, another feature of Los Angeles is a commonality when thinking of the iconic city.

The concept of living in a bubble also reiterates the appeal to LA. However, this bubble we all think surrounds us and protects us, is actually in fact a thick layer of smog encircling the area we call home. This white smoke that makes us sick and causes our world destruction is our oasis. Many of us have become immune to the constant allergies; however, the moment we step out of our “bubble” and into clear skies and clean air, we immediately wonder for a brief second why we continue to go back to the polluted place we cannot live without.

Why, if the bright lights and white skies are so bad for us, is LA so intriguing and desired to settle down in? Are we all that addicted to the idea of Los Angeles, or are we all living here to find something that has been idealized and force fed to us through the concept of “white being the new black”? It’s a funny concept to ponder because Los Angeles is like a drug, it has an appeal, a high, and a come down. It’s an addiction many of us try to fight, however, can never get passed the relapse. White. It’s all around us, and it makes our world go round. The shade perceived by our human eyes represents much more than a reflection of color, but also a way of living and a way of distinguishing real from imaginary. Except in this case our eyes are jaded, probably because we have been staring into the light for way too long.

-Chelsea Vogt

(Photo by ohsweetsunday.blogspot.com)

Our Oasis

THINKING of Los Angeles as a booster city is almost hard to believe; that people were led to the city on false pretenses for the purpose of creating a metropolis leaves me slightly confused. Through my understanding of Starting Points, many ideologies of LA are presented through the history of the great city. The concept of Los Angeles being attributed to as “the New Italy, the New Spain, and the New Athens” seems so cliché in that LA cannot have one cultural disposition, nor can it be defined in any such instance. In regards to that notion, it is a bizarre point to explore because in its early stages of life, the city was illustrated as the great civilizations of said European nations.

Having traveled to many places in Europe while predominantly living in the Southern California area, I have found that this reference to LA having any Mediterranean appeal is completely false and most likely did not emulate any of the aforementioned identities in any of its previous history. Los Angeles has its own culture; more than likely because it was established on an artificial reality. The allure to Los Angeles referred to within the article depicted the city as “the New Eden” which provokes the images of an oasis; a place where everything is perfect yet the irony of temptation and corruption insinuates more of the stereotypes of Los Angeles present today.

In one of the last passages within the text of Starting Points, it is said that since the booster era, over a century has passed and LA is still a destination of settlement and migration. This appeal of Los Angeles began over one hundred years ago, and is still highly present today. At what point in time will people no longer want to venture to the highly polluted city-at what point will people come to the region, see the overwhelming lifestyle, and want to turn back in hopes of finding a new place to call home? It seems as though Los Angeles will, literally, be the “New Rome”. The city will build on top of itself for years to come, and people will flock to the renowned city to live in the oasis and drink from the fountain of youth. Because LA is purely that- LA is a legend. Whether or not the legend is true, well, that’s for us to figure out on our own.

-Chelsea Vogt

photo via publicartinla.com