Art in the Streets @MOCALosangeles
April 24, 2011
I’m a huge fan of street art. My friend Matt introduced me to the beauty of graffiti and other urban art ages ago. We’d drive around town and look for new work. I actually think that’s how I ended up finding my loft in the Arts District six years ago. No one would come over here. It was pretty bare–except for the walls of the old buildings, which were decorated with spray paint. I fell in love with the industrial part of the city.
Shortly after I moved into my loft, I traveled to France, where I discovered one of my favorite street artists- Fafi. I used one of her pieces as the inspiration for my commercial design thesis.
I’m still so inspired by the work I see on the streets. Right now, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA as an exhibit completely devoted to Street Art. If you get a chance–you simply must check out this collection. It’s more of an experience than merely a trip to the museum.
See below for my experience in photos:
The Not-so-Secret “Secret” Thom Yorke Show..
October 3, 2009
Thom York is the new mayor of Los Angeles–according to one tweet from Tokyo. I don’t know if he’s the mayor of LA–but Thom Yorke is definitely the mayor of Twitterverse right now. And I’m excited twitter served as a medium to report the rare, intimate concert–since I wasn’t able to be there. Apparently the capacity of Echoplex is somewhere around 700.
Like I said in my last post–I have cool friends. One of my friends told me about the secret Thom Yorke show at the Echoplex last Sunday. He knew about this show before the Orpheum shows were even announced. I was determined to get in. As it got closer to the day of the show, (Thursday night) Yorke announced on his blog that tickets would be available on ticketweb.com at noon on Friday(the day of the show). So, Thursday night I set up an account on ticketweb.com, and practiced clicking super quickly on other events to guarantee my tickets to the Thom Yorke secret show.
I had four computers set up and at 11:59 am I started logging in–waiting for the site to let me buy tickets. I could not get through. Ticketweb was experiencing way more traffic than they could handle. Almost everyone in Los Angeles (and elsewhere) was trying to get the amazingly priced $20 tickets. (According to Yorke, this was a rehearsal for the Orpheum shows).
I got so frustrated, I tried using my iphone. That was the trick. I got right in–no waiting–no frozen computer screen. But, by the time I thought of using my phone, the tickets were sold out. I read on twitter that a lot of people got their tickets using their iphone. Another secret was not to be logged into ticketweb. A few scalpers got a hold of tickets and were charging upwards of $3500 for a pair!!!
I really wanted to see Yorke’s new band (Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of the members). And to see the lead singer of Radio Head at such an amazing event would have been surreal. When I saw Prince perform at the Skybar for a private People Magazine Emmy Party, it was pretty intimate, as well. Maybe 400 people were there (including me, some other reporters and a bunch of celebrities). That WAS cool–something I’ll never forget.
Apparently there were TONS of celebs at the Thom York Echoplex concert. So far, I’ve read- Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Spike Jonze, Dangermouse, Daft Punk, Kim Gordon, Zack De La Rocha and more…..
Here’s a set list from @suprefan
And, here’s a video from last night. Check youtube for more. So wish I was there…..
Below are some interesting tweets regarding the concert beginning 24 hours ago when the tickets were released on ticketweb.com all the way up until the time I started writing this blog. So much for a secret show. I love @KCRW, @LAWEEKLY and @thescenestar–but next time–let’s keep it a secret!!
Although I didn’t get to go to the concert, I’m glad some die-hard Thom Yorke fans got to enjoy the intimate performance. Yes, I love LA.
