Straight Outta LA!

Posted by charleslebrigand on September 29, 2010 · Leave a Comment

I was in Los Angeles last week-end to attend the inauguration of my first group exhibition so I decided to land a bit before the event to pace up and down the streets of LA.

Here are some of the shots I’ve taken during this three days trip that took me to Huntington Beach to discover USA’s surf Mecca, Venice Beach to feel the unique bohemian energy of bongo-bangers, dreadlocked artists and skaters; Skid Row in downtown LA to capture el Mac and Retna’s latest collaboration with Estevan Oriol; West Hollywood and Echo Park to hunt some street art and visit Shepard Fairey’s show at Subliminal Projects. Finally, I took a night drive on famous Mulholland dr. on Santa Monica’s mountain to grasp the immensity of the city of Angels.

LA is so vast and spread out that a car is a necessity. And for me, driving is a radical change from my usual approach to, and perspective of, the streets. The city has a very rich urban scenery with abundance of murals and fascinating characters but at the same time, it is a very difficult place to shoot. By the time you slow down and park , the street scene or subject you wanted to capture has already vanished.

In this automobile kingdom, street art is also different from what I am used to in Brooklyn. Placement and visibility are key here as potential viewers are moving at 40 mph. The results are larger, simpler and more direct pieces located primarily on traffic control box at streets and boulevards intersections and huge murals displayed on store walls or hidden in back alleyways.