Cars, Art and Fashion
Rodeo Drive: The Podcast
Rodeo Drive: The Podcast, that I help script, features stories about the makers and shakers behind the the three-block capital of high fashion. Needless to say, cars are part of that universe, as explored in Episode 6, dropping June 8, in advance of the Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance, on Father’s Day. Listeners will hear about AutoVault, the hidden collection of extraordinary
cars stored and restored by Scot Prescott, three stories underneath Rodeo Drive. Prescott (shown, above, with
his pet dogs) tours intrepid Field Correspondent Jason E.C. Wright around his padded garage and
recounts his journey from New Hampshir where he dreamed of becoming "king of car-washing" to custom car detailing. Every
car has a story, he says, like the 1934
Rolls-Royce stored there by a woman whose family has owned the car for
generations. “The family assigns people to take care of the car, because
this car is a family member. And she has been assigned to take care of
this car. She lives in California, so the car lives here.”
Also
on the show, Pari Ehsan, above, talks to Lindsay Brewer, who is racing in Indy
Pro 2000 and has a social media following of more than three million.
She opens up about how to beat the boys on the track, and be a serious
driver while maintaining a glamorous brand that is essential for
building sponsorship. She also previews her new line of unisex, 80s
skiwear-inspired clothing. “I race and I enjoy that,” Brewer tells host
“But I also can have the
full face of makeup and do my hair and look glamorous, because that's
what I like to do, too, it doesn’t have to be one or the other.”
Rodeo Drive: The Podcast, Episode 5, dropping May 25, considers high fashion and its cultural imprint. Host Pari Ehsan talks with Antwaun Sargent (above), curator and author of The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion, and
director at Gagosian. They discuss the dissolving of boundaries between
art and fashion today, about diversity and inclusion and how to do it
authentically, and about the amazing Virgil Abloh show that Sargent
collaborated on with the late great artistic director of Louis Vuitton's
menswear collection. Meanwhile, design researcher and art book
bibliophile Jason E.C. Wright checks out the boutiques on Rodeo Drive that have morphed into mini-museums.
Through June 18
The Harmonious World of James Hubbell
You may know the Sea Ranch Chapel and the Firebird stained glass panel at Findhorn. What about his bedroom for his four sons, above? These are just three of Hubbell's astonishing creations inspired by the materials and forms of Mother Nature, now on show in L.A. for the first time. The exhibition closes on June 18. Catch it before it goes. On June 11 at 3pm, the Society of Architectural Historians (Socal Chapter) hosts a guided tour, led by Jim's son Drew Hubbell. Get the scoop on growing up in a place that feels like Middle Earth. Tix available, here. Address: 8745 Washington Boulevard Culver City.
AIA/SF Housing+ Symposium
June 16/17, 9AM
For more on housing, I’ll join a panel of creative thinkers on June 16, for Day 1 of a 2-day, online symposium about Future Typologies for a Livable and Equitable San Francisco, hosted by AIA/SF. I’ll join a lineup of experts, MC'ed by Pedram Farashbandi, Principal at David Baker Architects (see their Edwina Benner Plaza above) and we will discuss both the policy and culture around housing in California. Expect to hear about the fixation on the single-family house and why and how to shake it. Sign up here.
All that Glitters is Gold
June 9
Since meeting at the University of Florida, Angie Brooks and Larry Scarpa
have spent a life together creating bold buildings that advance the
art, technology and social impact of architecture — while always
sprinkling on a little bit of the fairy dust, like the glitter stucco at
their newly opened Venice Community Housing, above. Now they’ve
garnered one of the highest national honors for their work: the AIA's
2022 Gold Medal. We’re marking the occasion with a reception and a
little light conversation at Helms Bakery District on June 9, at 6:30pm.
Having grown up in a family restaurant, Larry knows how to throw a
party. Join us by RSVP-ing, here.
Sly Satisfaction of Sogetsu Ikebana
June 11
On Saturday, June 11, at 2pm, at the design center at Helms Bakery District, architect Ravi Gunewardena
will talk about the history and practice of the Sogetsu School of
Ikebana, whose LA branch he now directs. A birthday gift of five lessons
birthed a passion for this floral art form that attracted him for its spatial qualities
and the "sly satisfaction of immediately realizing a work which would
then be dismantled." Ravi will give a demo alongside his latest
installation, which meshes a freeform metal structure (made of detritus
from a Helms showroom) with vases of cut flowers. Open and free to all.
While at Ravi’s workshop (or the Brooks Scarpa party), make sure to check out In Harmony With Nature, an exhibition of work by James Hubbell also at Helms. Address: 8745 Washington Boulevard Culver City. More details here.
Wasted Wins
Wasted, the series I co-produced and hosted for KCRW about creative ways in which Californians are designing their way out of humongous piles of waste, has won a 2022 Golden Mike award for "Best Feature News Series Reporting." Of course I’m pleased (and props to my co-creators Caleigh Wells and Sonya Geis) but more importantly, it validates my deepening interest in this topic. The research has spawned various offshoots including, most recently, a conversation at IIDA LA DesignConnect with Richard Ludt, fascinating interior demolition expert. I was shocked to hear him say that in the business of TI (Tenant Improvement), typically nothing, literally nothing, left by a past occupant is maintained when a new company leases a space, not even 100% perfect carpet tiles. This revelation, how to change TI expectations, and more was captured on Instagram Live, here.
Reaching for the Prize
May 26, 5pm
It's
a tough job but several people want to do it: be the Mayor of the City
of Los Angeles. On Thursday, May 26, at 5pm, AIA/LA will host a Q&A
with candidate Rick Caruso, shopping center magnate and former
Department of Water and Power Commissioner. Hear his vision for a great
city and his plans to address the challenges of housing, climate, and
racial equality. Bring your questions to this Zoom gathering that I'll
moderate. Info, here.
