Made In Los Angeles

In the 1960s, a group of Los Angeles artists fashioned a body of work that has come to be known as the “LA Look” or West Coast Minimalism. Its distinct aesthetic is characterized by clean lines, simple shapes, and pristine reflective or translucent surfaces, and often by the use of bright, seductive colors. While the role of materials and processes in the advent of these truly indigenous Los Angeles art forms has often been commented on, it has never been studied in depth — until now. Made in Los Angeles focuses on four pioneers of West Coast Minimalism — Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, and John McCracken — whose working methods, often borrowed from other industries, featured the use of synthetic paints and resins as well as industrial processes to create objects that are both painting and sculpture. Bell, for example, coated plate glass with films of material that alter the way the light is absorbed, reflected, and transmitted, while Kauffman employed a process usually reserved for commercial signs for his work. McCracken coated plywood with fiberglass then spray painted it with countless layers of automotive paints, and Irwin spray-painted discs of hammered aluminum or vacuum-formed plastics. The detailed study of each artist’s work is presented in the context of the emergence of modern art in Los Angeles, the burgeoning mid-twentieth-century gallery scene, and the light-infused LA cityscape. Initially undertaken as part of the Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A.1945–1980 initiative, this volume combines technical art history and scientific analysis to investigate conservation issues associated with the work of these artists, which are often emblematic of issues in the conservation of contemporary art in general.

Made in L.A. 2020: a version brings together an intergenerational and interdisciplinary mix of artists, each of whom is contributing to L.A.'s vibrant art scene. Since its inception in 2012, the Hammer Museum's Made in L.A. biennial has brought together local artists from a wide range of discipline. Under the direction of co-curators Myriam Ben Salah and Lauren Mackler, the 2020 iteration will be no exception. The Hammer's Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi, who has previously served with Performa and The Kitchen in New York, will assist in the organization of the 2020 biennial in the role of assistant curator for performance. Drawing inspiration from historical artist magazines, this book is not documentation of the artists' work, but rather serves as an additional venue for the exhibition. It includes images of the artists' studios, art made specifically for the pages of the book, as well as essays and conversations between artists and curators that weave together the conceptual through-lines of the show. This book is published in two different covers. Published with the Hammer Museum

Readers in Los Angeles are thirsty for stories that bring their city to life. This anthology features a diverse range of voices and genres. Like the City of Angels in which these stories were born, nothing is off-limits. Each story in this volume will forever change the way you look at this iconic metropolis.

At once informative and entertaining, inspiring and challenging, My Los Angeles provides a deep understanding of urban development and change over the past forty years in Los Angeles and other city regions of the world. Once the least dense American metropolis, Los Angeles is now the countryÕs densest urbanized area and one of the most culturally heterogeneous cities in the world. Soja takes us through this urban metamorphosis, analyzing urban restructuring, deindustrialization and reindustrialization, the globalization of capital and labor, and the formation of an information-intensive New Economy. By examining his own evolving interpretations of Los Angeles and the debates on the so-called Los Angeles School of urban studies, Soja argues that a radical shift is taking place in the nature of the urbanization process, from the familiar metropolitan model to regional urbanization. By looking at such concepts as new regionalism, the spatial turn, the end of the metropolis era, the urbanization of suburbia, the global spread of industrial urbanism, and the transformative urban-industrialization of China, Soja offers a unique and remarkable perspective on critical urban and regional studies.

Hidden behind massive 120-year-old gates a few blocks south of downtown Los Angeles is Chester Place, the oldest gated community in the city. Created as an enclave of the wealthy and powerful in 1899, the remarkably intact stately mansions of this historic neighborhood were once home to the movers and shakers of politics, industry, and entertainment. Beside century-old palm trees, the former mansion of oil-industry pioneer Edward Doheny stands as the centerpiece of the neighborhood at No. 8 Chester Place, which was purchased in 1901. His family dominated the neighborhood for the next 57 years. Located side by side with St. James Park in what is today called the West Adams District at the northern extents of University Park, containing the University of Southern California, Chester Place has been home to the campus of Mount St. Mary's College for a generation.

Bringing together the work of 60 artists from in and around Los Angeles--many of them emerging or under-recognized--this collection of paintings, sculpture, installations, and stills from video and performance art offers a snapshot of the current trends and practices coming out of one of the world's most active and energetic art communities. The book features 52 visual artists and 8 performance artists, each in double-page spreads, while an essay with contributions from the exhibition's 5 curators highlights the challenges and rewards of mounting such an extensive project. This groundbreaking exhibition takes place simultaneously at multiple Los Angeles locations: the Hammer Museum, LA>