Culture of Los Angeles
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The culture of Los Angeles is rich with arts and ethnically diverse. The greater Los Angeles metro area has several notable art museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the J. Paul Getty Museum on the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the Pacific, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and the Hammer Museum. In the 1920s and 1930s Will Durant and Ariel Durant, Arnold Schoenberg and other intellectuals were the representatives of culture, in addition to the movie writers and directors.[citation needed] As the city flourished financially in the middle of the 20th century, culture followed. Boosters such as Dorothy Buffum Chandler and other philanthropists raised funds for the establishment of art museums, music centers and theaters. Today, the Southland cultural scene is as complex, sophisticated and varied as any in the world.[citation needed]
History
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The history of
Los Angeles had a strong economic base in farming, oil, tourism, real estate and movies. It grew rapidly with many suburban areas inside and outside the city limits. Its motion picture industry made the city world-famous, and World War II brought new industry, especially high-tech aircraft construction. Politically the city was moderately conservative, with a weak labor union sector.
Since the 1960s, growth has slowed—and traffic delays have become infamous. Los Angeles was a pioneer in freeway development as the public transit system deteriorated. New arrivals, especially from Mexico and Asia, have transformed the demographic base since the 1960s. Old industries have declined, including farming, oil, military and aircraft, but tourism, entertainment and high-tech remain strong. Over time, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the city's water security.[7][8][9]
The arts
Architecture
Los Angeles has many different types of architectural styles scattered throughout the city and nearby satellite cities. Los Angeles has a rich, diverse history of architectural works, having been known throughout professional architectural circles as a testbed for architecture. The
In downtown Los Angeles, there are several buildings constructed in the Art Deco style. In recognition of this heritage, the recently built Metropolitan Transit Authority building incorporates subtle Art Deco characteristics.[citation needed]
Modern architecture in the city ranges from the works of pioneering African-American architect
Visual arts in Los Angeles
The
In the 1960s,
Public art in Los Angeles
See List of public art in Los Angeles
The oldest known public artwork in Los Angeles is the 1900 sculpture of a United States soldier by architects S. M. Goddard and Kilpatrick (no known sculptor), part of the , located in Pershing Square.[11] The 1926 Central Library designed by Bertram Goodhue was an architectural masterpiece incorporating murals and sculptures throughout, notably four rotunda murals by Dean Cornwell depicting California history.[12]
Los Angeles is known for its murals, and many outdoor public art murals have been painted throughout the 20th century by early Mexican muralists Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the
Public Art in the downtown area of Los Angeles during the 1970s was characterized by large abstract sculptures such as Herbert Bayer's Double Ascension (1973), and Alexander Calder's Four Arches (1973)[13] installed with the commercial redevelopment of Bunker Hill. In 1989 the City passed an ordinance requiring developers to contribute one percent of the cost of construction of new buildings to a public art fund. The resulting funds for public art and public art programs in the 1990s, coupled with substantial subway and light rail transit in the 1990s, created public art installations in new rail stations and public spaces throughout the city and beyond.
Chris Burden's Urban Light (2008) in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wilshire Boulevard attracts hundreds of visitors daily, has been featured in several films as an iconic image of Los Angeles, and has become a tourist destination and popular public space.[14]
Art museums and galleries
See List of museums in Los Angeles
There are 841 museums and art galleries in
In 1943, a community-run arts association in Pasadena merged with the better funded Pasadena Art Institute and moved into what is now the home of the
Some of the most respected art museums in the world can be found in Los Angeles. They include the
venue.Art schools and colleges
Los Angeles County is home to three professional art colleges,
Cuisine
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
Los Angeles is the home of the
The strength of the city's scene is in "ethnic" dining and it is considered to be one of the most dynamic scenes in the world in terms of range and depth. The
Given its close proximity to Asia and constant flow of Asian immigrants,
Cinema
The
The area is home to many institutes that give awards annually for movie and television production such as the
Hollywood
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. This ethnically diverse, densely populated neighborhood is notable as the home of the U.S. film industry, including several of its historic studios, and its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the industry and the people in it.
Although film production in Los Angeles remains the most important center for the medium, Hollywood has become more international, thus it faces increasing competition, however, from other parts of the United States and from the Canadian cities of Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario as well as numerous other countries around the world such as Romania and Australasia that provide Hollywood with lower production costs. The phenomenon of entertainment companies running away to other locales in search of lower labor and production costs is known as "runaway production" although the trend shows signs of reversing due to the state's current Film & Television Tax Credit Program administered by the California Film Commission.
The motion picture and TV industries have helped create the image that defines Los Angeles across the world. Many tourists flock to see Hollywood-related landmarks such as the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Sign.
Literature & Comic Books
Los Angeles's literary history includes legendary authors like Raymond Chandler, whose hard-boiled detective stories were set in pre-war and immediate post-war L.A. Ross Macdonald carried on the Chandler tradition into the 1950s, and in the 1960s and 1970s blended it with themes of classical tragedy. Walter Mosley, James Ellroy and Joseph Hansen are among the local successors to Chandler. Nathanael West's book, The Day of the Locust, depicted a raw side to the Hollywood dream. Ray Bradbury wrote science fiction after moving to the city in 1934. Actress Carrie Fisher found success as a novelist. The best known local poet was Charles Bukowski, who mostly lived in Hollywood but in the later part of his life lived in San Pedro. Tens of thousands of screenplays have been written by L.A. city residents, and the movie business has attracted many authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Aldous Huxley, Tennessee Williams, Evelyn Waugh, and William Faulkner.
Los Angeles County boasts a plethora of independent bookstores[26] like Book Soup and Skylight Books, as well as a number of literary magazines like The Los Angeles Review, Slake, The Santa Monica Review, and Black Clock. Los Angeles has many public library branches, including the architecturally renowned Central Library. This city is also home to The Last Bookstore, which is the largest in California, and in West Coast Besides Powell's Books.
Fiction
Los Angeles has provided fertile territory for writers of fiction with crime fiction being a common genre for stories about the city. During the 20th century, fiction portraying the city has highlighted the complexity of the city and the discontinuities between its public image and the reality of living there. The size and scale of the city have also provided crime writers with a suitably complex city against which to set their stories. Works that explore life in the city include:
- James Robert Baker, "Fuel-Injected Dreams", 1986; "Boy Wonder", 1988
- Raymond Chandler,The Big Sleep, 1939
- Raymond Chandler,Farewell My Lovely, 1940
- Raymond Chandler,The Long Goodbye, 1953
- Joan Didion, Play it As it Lays, 1970
- Bret Easton Ellis, Less Than Zero, 1985
- James Ellroy, Black Dahlia, 1987
- James Ellroy, LA Confidential, 1990
- James Ellroy, White Jazz, 1992
- John Fante, Ask the Dust, 1939
- Roger L. Simon, The Moses Wine series, starting with The Big Fix, 1973
- Evelyn Waugh, The Loved One, 1947.
- Nathanael West, Day of the Locust, 1939.
- Michael Connelly, Harry Bosch Series, starting with The Black Echo, 1992–present
- Gerald Jay Goldberg, Heart Payments, 1982.
- Gerald Jay Goldberg, 126 Days of Continuous Sunshine, 1972.
- Charles Bukowski, Post Office, 1971.
- Nina Revoyr, Southland, 2003.
- Héctor Tobar, The Barbarian Nurseries, 2011.
- Mary Helen Ponce, Hoyt Street: A Autobiography, 2006.
- Chester Himes, "If He Hollers Let Him Go", 1945.
Music
Los Angeles is also one of the most important cities in the world for the recorded music industry. The landmark
Los Angeles had a vibrant African-American musical community even when it was relatively small: a number of musical artists congregated around
In the 1960s, the
In the heart of downtown Los Angeles is the Music Center of Los Angeles County. The Music Center consists of the new
The demands of scoring thousands of hours of soundtracks for TV and movies also provides work for composers and classically trained musicians, bands, orchestras, and symphonies.[citation needed]
Cultural enclaves
The Los Angeles metropolitan area is one of the most diverse urban areas in the world with hundreds of cultures represented in the region.
Ethnic enclaves
Below is a list of many ethnic enclaves present in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where their cultures contribute to the cosmopolitan nature of the city.
LGBTQ enclaves
Los Angeles is also home to a couple of gay villages centered around the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles.
Gay Village Name | Neighborhood |
---|---|
Gay Village | Silver Lake, Los Angeles |
Gay WeHo | West Hollywood, California |
See also
Further reading
- Mike Davis, City of Quartz, London, Verso, 1990
- Nancy Marmer, "Pop Art in California", Pop Art, ed. Lucy R. Lippard, Frederick A. Praeger, New York, 1966, pp. 149–151.
- Gloria Koenig, Iconic - Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings, Angel City Press, Santa Monica, 2006.
- Peter Plagens, Sunshine Muse: Contemporary Art on the West Coast, New York, Praeger Publishers, 1974.
- David L. Ulin, ed. (2002). Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology. ISBN 978-1-931082-27-3.
- Cécile Whiting (2008). Pop L.A.: Art and the City in the 1960s. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25634-7.
References
- ^ "The Overland Emigration". Los Angeles Star. Vol. 2, no. 12. 31 July 1852 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "News by the Goliah". Los Angeles Star. Vol. 4, no. 19. 21 September 1854 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "From the Texan Border". Los Angeles Star. Vol. X, no. 4. 2 June 1860 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Breckinridge to Visit California". Los Angeles Star. Vol. X, no. 12. 28 July 1860 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Overland Mail—Southern Route". Los Angeles Star. Vol. XII, no. 35. 3 January 1863 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "His Nose was Scratched". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 35, no. 58. 11 December 1890 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ Abramsky, Sasha (3 December 2021). "The Drought That May Never End". The Nation. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation". National Integrated Drought Information System. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ Boxall, Bettina; St. John, Paige (November 10, 2018). "California's most destructive wildfire should not have come as a surprise". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- ^ a b Scott Timberg (January 1, 2012), Galleries fostered L.A.'s postwar art scene Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "The Man behind the Rotunda Murals". Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ "Print this page Painted Decoration: Goodhue Building". Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ "Alexander Calder-Four Arches". Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ "LACMA Collection: Urban Light Chris Burden (United States, Massachusetts, Boston, 1946-2015)". Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- ^ a b "The Los Angeles Region". Loyola Marymount University. May 5, 2008. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- ^ "Overview". Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- ^ Boehm, Mike (March 16, 2009). "Getty slashes operating budget after severe investment losses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- ^ Mather, Kate (August 5, 2011). "Downtown L.A. Art Walk safety changes planned". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- ^ Boehm, Mike (2011-10-05). "La Plaza is an open and empty space downtown". Los Angeles Times.
- Good. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ Maria Yagoda,"This Is the Most Vegan-Friendly City in the World," Food and Wine 14 May 2018
- ^ "Dine LA Restaurant Week | October 6 - 20, 2023 | Discover Los Angeles". www.discoverlosangeles.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.
- ^ Hang, Kristie (2015-09-03). "Here's What to Eat at the Last 626 Night Market of the Year". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Hang, Kristie. "Get Pho Tacos And Burritos At This New Asian-Latin Fusion Joint". LAist. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Gossip Rags Aren't The Only Things We Read: In LA, Local Bookstores Make the A-List Archived 2011-09-10 at the Wayback Machine, LAist