Spend a day with Huell Howser ... Pacific Standard Time: LA's art history with Judy Chicago and De Wain Valentine's monolith ... young birder uses public transit ... Thos Guides remembered, and they're not even dead ...
Chas Solomon: 'Pacific Standard Time' omits UPA animation studio
The six-month art extravaganza known as “Pacific Standard Time" is undoubtedly a strong effort to ensure L.A.'s place in art history. But Off-Ramp animation critic Charles Solomon says there's a glaring omission among the scores of events and exhibits: the groundbreaking work of animation studio United Productions of America (UPA).
UPA, which produced Gerald McBoing-Boing and Mr. Magoo, modernized the look of cartoons by utilizing a trademark contemporary graphic style. Breaking away from the accepted style of Disney and Warner Bros., UPA profoundly altered the course of American and world animation.
UPA was organized in 1945 by three Disney veterans: Steve Bosustow, Zack Schwartz and Dave Hilberman. These young visionaries along with the artists who joined them had extensive art training, a strong interest in contemporary graphic arts, and decidedly liberal politics. They dismissed the dominant strains of American animation as “Disney cute” and “Warner Brothers funny.”
Instead of the 19th century illustrators and Academic draftsmen who inspired the look of Disney films, the UPA artists looked to Matisse, Cezanne, Klee, Modigliani, Miro, Picasso and the sophisticated “New Yorker” cartoonists. They sought to infuse their work with a spontaneity comparable to the jazz they listened to.
But hard-edged two-dimensional figures like Gerald McBoing-Boing couldn't move in three dimensions like a rounded, Disney character. The UPA artists had to re-think their approach to animation, deciding to emphasize strong poses and stylized movement.
Critics of Warner Bros. and MGM cartoons hailed the work of UPA as high art. In 1955, MOMA held an exhibit of UPA’s work, which went on to win all 3 nominess for Animated Short in 1956. This record was never matched, even by Disney.
As a result of UPA’s accolades, Disney, Warner Bros. and MGM began experimenting with more advanced design and stylized movement. Today, Samurai Jack, Phineas and Ferb, and even the Simpsons reflect the influence of UPA. Their impact can be seen in the 2009 Oscar-nominated Irish feature “The Secret of Kells” as well as the “Backson” sequence in Disney’s recent Winnie the Pooh film.
UPA operated on a modest scale, producing short cartoons, industrial films, commercials, a single television program and one feature. The studio rose to unprecedented artistic prominence then fell into shambles within a period of 15 years.
UPA’s Toluca Lake headquarters was torn down decades ago. Animators and animation fans alike lament the fact that UPA films are not available on DVD, leaving a significant gap in the animation history of Los Angeles and the world.
Pacific Standard Time: Getty shows Valentine's big idea
It looks like one of the alien monoliths from "2001: A Space Odyssey." It's a 12' x 8', almost 2-ton, polyester resin sculpture made by De Wain Valentine in the 1970s. It encapsulates what "Pacific Standard Time" is all about: it's a groundbreaking piece, made here, and is a bear to take care of.
The Getty Conservation Institute’s Tom Learner says that Valentine’s piece was created in the mid-70s – after Valentine formulated his own brand of polyester resin.
“What’s special about De Wain’s pieces,” Learner says, “is that before, these resins could only be used to cast in quite small volumes. He wanted to go very, very large scale, so he had to invent a new resin.”
Learner says the “Pacific Standard Time” exhibition serves many purposes. Valentine’s gallery, for example, tells the story of how the piece was made, the invention of the new resin and the conservation complications.
“What we hope isn’t lost is … the fact that you can stare at this piece at different times of the day and it looks completely different,” says Learner. “As you walk around it, you will see different reflections and transparencies. You start to pick up on the surface itself.”
Sometimes the surface looks flat and perfect, at other times its ridges and imperfections are visible, he says. While some of those imperfections are due to regular wear and tear, much of the surface change occurs because of the resin itself.
“The resin actually keeps moving with age,” says Learner. “We think it’s fairly flat originally, but as it ages, these ridges develop on its surface.”
The exhibition faced a bit of conflict with the artist regarding the restoration of the piece, which could have easily been accomplished through sanding and re-polishing. But the institute decided not to.
“It’s really beautiful and very authentic that we’re not artificially taking it back to the 1970s feel,” says Learner.
He says that leaving the piece in its original state opens the debate of conservation and raises awareness of restorations' difficult dilemmas.
“Once you’ve done it [restoration], that’s it,” says Learner. “You’ve lost the original surface forever and you can’t put it back.”
Valentine’s gallery will be featured in the West Pavilion of the Getty until March 11.
Huell Howser's retiring: An Off-Ramp remembrance
11/27/2012 Update from John Rabe: Huell Howser is reportedly retiring, without a big announcement. There's a nice collection of videos and appreciations on LA Observed, and I'm reposting our long segment with him, from the glorious day he let us tag along as he taped a whole show around a single food item. Huell, we love you and you'll be missed.
When we explain Off-Ramp to people, they often say, "Oh, it's like Huell Howser, but on the radio!" We take it as a compliment, and were delighted when Huell, whose home base is KCET public television, asked Off-Ramp to spend the day with him.
The impetus for the Huell Howser/Off-Ramp tour of L.A. was National Donut Day, a celebration of what might be L.A.'s favorite food. We started at the Salvation Army's kitchen at the VA campus in West L.A., where they made donuts the way the Doughboys liked them in World War I — cakey and substantial. Then, it was off to India's Sweets and Spices in Glendale for some vada, which is a delicious savory donut. Finally, to East L.A. for churros, one of the most delicious confections in the world ... when they're hot.
Here's what I learned about Huell:
• Huell is truly curious about everything, but what he likes is to learn, meaning he's not sitting at his home in the high desert, or his place in Palm Springs, or his pad in L.A. reading more about donuts right now and trying out recipes. He's off to the next thing.
• Huell is very sensitive about his accent. He says, rightly, that it's ridiculous to think someone doing shows about California shouldn't have a Tennessee accent, when the whole idea of California is that it's a wonderful melting pot of cultures. "Should I have a Filipino accent? An Armenian accent?" He also says that Southerners are the last allowable target of jokes, and he's probably right about that, too.
• Huell loves his fans but he does not like taking photos with them when those photos are going to wind up on Facebook among a million other photos. Photos are a reflex now, and what takes one minute for one of his fans equals easily half-an-hour a day (or more) for Huell when he's out in public.
• Huell thinks much of TV is too fussy, and that over-elaborate production is taking the spontaneity out of it. He uses 99 percent of what his cameraman, Cameron Mitchell, shoots. He sets up the shots ahead of time, lets the subject know roughly what he'll be asking, then bulls forward with simple intros and transitions. (I personally think there's a middle ground, which is what you hear in Off-Ramp. We do plenty of post-production, but only when needed.) It accomplishes two things: Stuff happens in his segments, and people feel at ease to discuss things and tell stories because the set-up and interview is simple; and Huell is able to cover an enormous amount of ground. Go to his Web site and check out the stuff they've done in 20 years, and you'll find yourself saying, "That's amazing."
Yes, it’s easy to make fun of his accent and his boundless enthusiasm, and the way he talks to his cameraman. But over 20 years of California’s Gold and all the spinoffs, he’s has given voice to thousands of California citizens and has been the conduit for teaching volumes of California history. And for that, Huell Howser truly is California’s gold.
Now, to see how Huell plays on commercial TV, check out this video of an extended gag played on a local Sacramento reporter who did Huell Howser imitations. I love how Huell just takes over the set when he ultimately joins the show in progress.
— John Rabe
Checking out local fauna with a 15-year-old birding expert
For most kids, summer means going to camp, taking a vacation or hanging out at the beach. But for 15-year-old Jose Luis Sandoval of Wilmington, summer is for the birds, literally: Jose spends his summers scoping out Los Angeles' top birding destinations, and he does it all using public transit. Off-Ramp producer Kevin Ferguson met up with him just outside KPCC headquarters in Pasadena to begin the long hike to Ken Malloy's Regional Harbor Park in Wilmington.
Pacific Standard Time artist Judy Chicago looks back on 'The Dinner Party'
Pacific Standard Time reviews art from 1945 to 1980. Towards the end of that period, L.A.-based artist Judy Chicago created "The Dinner Party," a massive installation that honors 1,038 real and mythical women for their contribution to human civilization using symbolic place settings atop a ceremonial banquet table.
The feminist work follows a timeline starting from prehistory with the Greek Primordial Goddess through the development of the Roman Empire to early Christianity and the Reformation and concluding with the American Revolution and the Women’s Revolution marked by Susan B. Anthony and Georgia O’Keefe.
The piece was executed between 1974 and 1979 with the help of hundreds of volunteers working in a studio space; now know as the 18th Street Art Center in Santa Monica. During that time buzz about the work being created there spurred visits from curious souls, including Joan Mondale, ceramicist and wife of then Vice President Walter Mondale. “This building was just a beehive of activity,” said Chicago.
Chicago’s absolute dedication to her work and no-nonsense attitude were out of touch with the expectations of women in that time. “A lot of these women were brought up to stop their work whenever anyone needed anything or wanted anything,” she said. But Chicago risked everything, including her marriage and finances, to complete “The Dinner Party.”
When the exhibition opened on March 14, 1979 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 5,000 people were in attendance. “Nothing would’ve prepared me or us for the reception,” Chicago said, “People were coming up to me and giving me gifts and putting flowers around my neck and telling me that seeing ‘The Dinner Party’ had changed their lives.”
Chicago’s installation has been featured in 16 exhibitions and is currently a long-term installation at the Brooklyn Museum.
89-year old Hal David sings his songwriting hits at the Grammy Museum
UPDATE: Hal David died Saturday, September 1, 2012. He was 91.
A few weeks ago, the Grammy Museum at LA Live unveiled its new Songwriters Hall of Fame gallery, which celebrates the men and women who wrote the soundtrack of our lives. To mark the occasion, they brought in some of the most famous living songwriters to sing and explain their hits. The event was MC'd by songwriter Paul Williams.
Through a special collaboration with the Grammy Museum, Off-Ramp presents excerpts from that concert, starting with the dean of American pop songwriters, Hal David, Burt Bacharach's longtime collaborator on hits like "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again."
The legendary team, in younger years. Bacharach (L) is now 82, and David is 89.
Mac Davis: Easy to be Humble*
When the Grammy Museum hosted a group of songwriters to inaugurate its new Songwriters Hall of Fame Gallery, bringing in Hal "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" David, Ashford and Simpson ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), Paul "Love Boat" Williams, and Lamont "How Sweet It Is" Dozier, Mac Davis said he felt like mudflaps on a Cadillac.
Pshaw. With songs like "In The Ghetto" and "Memories," Davis is right up there with the greats, and courtesy of The Grammy Museum at LA Live, you can hear the performance he gave that night.
By the way, Mac Davis's gorgeous wife Lise is a huge KPCC and Off-Ramp fan.
* A reference to Mac Davis' 1978 hit.