L.A. Panorama Project: Why Nobody Walks in L.A.

— by Caroline on Crack

Western & Wilshire
I can see for miles and miles: Not from the exhibit but, rather, an equally cool site of panoramic shots.

The thing that bugged me about New Year’s 2000 in L.A. was there was no Times Square, no central area for Angelenos to converge on to celebrate the millenium together. The New Year’s TV specials showed shots of different cities celebrating: Paris’ Eiffel Tower, SF along the Waterfront, Sydney’s Opera House. Everyone gathered around/near these landmarks cheering, fireworks blazing ahead….and what was the shot of L.A.? The Hollywood sign! Who goes there?

But eventually I came to accept the fact: Los Angeles is a sprawl. No one walks in L.A. for that reason. No amount of freeways or metro lines will bring us closer together. I’m a 310, he’s a 213 and ::sigh:: never the twain shall meet. So when I heard about this photography exhibit at Design Within Reach, I was interested.

The L.A. Panorama Project is a collection of the favorite L.A. views of such famous Angelenos as David Hockney, Julius Schulman, Ed Ruscha, Elke Sommer and Angelika Taschen. For the past four years, German shutterbug Peter Loewy has captured the Los Angeles that people know and love, in its entirety in one sprawling panoramic shot. Here, you get everything from a shot of the bustling Farmer’s Market to the static Downtown skyline.

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Design Within Reach
8070 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 653-3923
Admission: Free
Exhibit runs thru November 3rd
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 27th 7-9pm
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