LAist Interview: Marshall Astor

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Marshall Astor loves San Pedro something fierce. He is a working artist who not only manages programs at Angels Gate Cultural Center but also operates the Walled Cityart gallery in his spare time. He's organized a group show at the Brewery Projectcalled "Contemplating Apocalypse" that will debut on September 9, 2006 with a reception starting at 7 PM. Custom brewed malt liquor will be on hand and patrons will be encouraged to consume copious amounts so that they can truly understand the project. Marshall also contributes to "Life on the Edge," a blog about San Pedro.

In the meantime, Marshall shares his thoughts in this San Pedro-centric LAist Interview.

How long have you lived in **Los Angeles** county/San Pedro, and which neighborhood do you live in?
I was born in Torrance, but I grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes. I moved to San Pedro when I was seventeen and other than a year over in Redondo Beach and a few months living in San Francisco, I’ve lived here ever since. Now, I live on 1 st Street in San Pedro, between Gaffey and Pacific Streets, in a neighborhood that is mostly Latino.

Why do you live in San Pedro?
I ended up in Pedro after moving out at seventeen. There was a sofa bed with my name on it in Pedro. I fell in love with the people and the place and I’ve been unable to be away for long since then. I like living in a place that’s essentially an island. People look out for each other here.

Why did you start the Walled City gallery, what do you want to accomplish with it?
I started Walled City because of an unexpected opportunity (insert lame quote about change and opportunity being the same character in Chinese here). I was working for the Angels Gate Cultural Center, and I resigned my position in frustration with my emasculating Executive Director (I’ve since returned to Angels Gate, and am now given tremendous support by the new Director to perform my duties as the Program Manager there).
After going on a several month long road trip, I was bumming around, my days filled with endless games of Grand Theft Auto and other astoundingly productive activities. Some friends of mine had the space and were giving it up and it was too good of a deal not to start my own gallery with a studio for my personal work in back.

With Walled City I transferred over the curatorial approach that I developed for Gallery G at Angels Gate. My background is in working with installation artists or on site specific projects. I try to put artists in a position to go beyond their perceptions of the limits of their current work. I take great pleasure in working with artists who are learning and developing in their work.

I feel that I've accomplished a lot at Walled City. I opened an art gallery in a neighborhood that was rich in the arts, but poor in galleries. I've managed to create a space with a reputation for treating artists with respect, where they can realize experimental projects without being hamstringed by the gallery's fear of risk.

The next big project for Walled City is taking it on tour. I've been working with a tremendous group of artists and I want to create opportunities for their work to be seen outside of Los Angeles. One of the problems with being located in Pedro is that the Los Angeles art community is pretty conservative when it comes to visiting galleries that aren't either in the same old places or are served up with a garnish of hipster credibility. Although I've been able to provide artists the opportunity to make and exhibit work that other galleries wouldn't, I haven't been able to deliver the exposure that they deserve.

What is the San Pedro art scene like? What can you find there that you can't find anywhere else?
San Pedro is home to an inordinate number of artists per capita. It is also home to a tremendously art literate population. People here love the arts and the streets and bars are filled with opinions and theories. The number of people who live in Pedro but and work in art industry jobs are outside of Pedro is astronomical.

San Pedro really has few opportunities for young people though. I and many of the established artists have lamented a "Brain Drain" caused by the lack of opportunities for young people, especially artists. Although the town of San Pedro can be one of the most parochial places I've ever experienced, the arts community has always rejected that particular brand of elitism. Most of the established artists and arts professionals
that live here came from somewhere else.

What San Pedro offers to artists is distance from the LA scene. The artists working in San Pedro aren't interested in bending to-and-fro with the winds that drive the art scene in LA. Right now artists all over Los Angeles are producing some of the best work in the world, and San Pedro is definitely a part of that.

How has San Pedro changed over the last 5 years? What will it be like in the next 5 years.
The biggest change in Pedro over the last five years is the beginning of a major development cycle. San Pedro's been in economic decline since the late 60's. Right now I live across the street from a development project, own a gallery catty-corner from a development project and at Angels Gate, we're about to start master planning to develop the Cultural Center, as well as the park. Much of this investment is being driven by the embattled L.A. Waterfront project (formerly known as Bridge to Breakwater), a proposed $770 million dollar re-development of the whole of San Pedro's waterfront. None of this was in the cards five years ago. People are practically taking bets on the location of Downtown Pedro's first Starbucks.

Right now the community is really divided on how to go. There's a strange mix of hope and fear in San Pedro these days, and there are two extremist camps of uncompromising development opponents and development over-enthusiasts. The debate over a lot of the projects in town has been poisoned for those of us who don't fall into either of those camps. The future of San Pedro is being decided by two groups of self-interested,
white homeowners, while the rest of us have been relegated to the sidelines.

As to what will Pedro look like in 5 years? No one knows the answer to that. San Pedro has a history of economic half-assery and failure that has blunted the positive effects of both municipal and private investment in the past. Those of us in the business community are hoping that there's enough momentum in the current development cycle to overcome that history. On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if the economy collapsed again, bringing a rapid and sudden stop to everything. I have a nightmare where the mixed use development across from Walled City stands an unfinished ruin for 30 years.

Gentrification has already taken its toll on many of the arts businesses in Downtown, some opportunistic landlords have gotten ahead of themselves and forced their tenants out with excessive rents. Mind you - not one of the big developments has actually come online yet. We've had a problem with difficult landlords in Downtown Pedro for a long time, and it's the same folks who have been difficult who have been jacking up the rents. I don't really see Downtown as an "Arts District" in five years, which isn't a necessarily a bad thing.

What is your favorite LA/San Pedro landmark?
The Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach complex. It's as much a part of my landscape as the mountains or the ocean. The scale and scope of activity there is astounding. I don't think you can have any understanding of Los Angeles' relationship to the world until you wrap your head around our role as an international transit hub.

What's your favorite movie(s) or TV show(s) that are based in LA/San Pedro and why?
Way too many films to list here. I'm a sucker for the classics "The Big Sleep" and "Chinatown," "The Player," "The Big Lebowski." "Heat" is great. I love bad science fiction films, especially ones where the future of the film is now in the past. "Predator 2," which has several great shots of the Eastern Building, is a great LA "future that never was." I love "Wattstax."

The greatest LA TV show ever is "Quincy, M.E.," hands down. I love 1970's Los Angeles. Were we in a golden age then or does it just look like it on TV? I think for a lot of people it was the first time they saw an Asian person (Robert Ito as Dr. Sam Fujiyama) not playing a stereotypical/Star Trek role. It was a groundbreaking show that covered a lot of ground on social issues that are still relevant today. When I look at how race was addressed on TV in the 1970's and how it's addressed today, it makes me want to cry.

Best San Pedro/LA-themed book(s) and why?
Phillip K. Dick's Puttering About in a Small Land. One of his few non-science fiction novels, is a short book that seems to capture something elusive about living in post-war Los Angeles. He lived in Anaheim and his writing was very much inspired by the artificialities of the suburbs and Disneyland. Both Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
and A Scanner Darkly (which may possibly be the only two good books he wrote that have been envisioned in film) draw heavily on his experience of living in Southern California and are set in the Los Angeles Metro area.

As a Pedran, I have to give props to my favourite Bukowski collection -The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills.

What's the best place to walk in San Pedro?
I really like walking down Pacific Avenue, especially when I have an errand to do. I like to walk from market to market getting all of the things I need for dinner. Hoofing around at Sunken City or along the coast is nice too.

What is the "center" of LA/San Pedro to you?
I grew up in the South Bay, so that's the center of my Los Angeles universe. However, who says LA needs a center? Everything the human species has to offer is within easy driving distance in Los Angeles.

If you could live in any neighborhood or specific house in LA/San Pedro where/which would you choose?
I cannot imagine living far away from the Pacific. As to housing, my interests are pretty basic - maximum space at the lowest price. My dream home is a big ass Quonset hut with a soundproof BDSM basement.

People stereotype Los Angeles as a hard place to find personal connections and make friends. Do you agree with that assessment? Do *find it challenging to make new friends here?
Los Angelenos are experts at keeping a buffer between themselves and everyone else. It's easy to meet people in Los Angeles, but we seem to find too many excuses to keep us from growing close to each other.

I'm a bit of a loner by nature, so I'm not as affected/irritated by this as other people are. It does seem to put off newcomers to Los Angeles, though.

What is the/our city's greatest secret?
Nate and Al's has the finest corned beef and brisket this side of anywhere. Their Ruben is supreme.

What do you have to say to East Coast supremacists?
They can keep looking back to Europe, and I'll keep looking forward to Asia.

Where do you want to be when the Big One hits?
In a doorway, or under a desk, riding it out. Let's get it over with already.