Articles from February 2013

Yes, the costumes (Anna Karenina), the make-up and hairstyling (or unstyling) on Les Miserables and the production design (Lincoln) were all spectacular, but the visual design story of last night’s Oscars was the one that got short shrift: the special effects by Rhythm and Hues for Life of Pi. Ask anyone who loves that movie why they do, and the first thing out of their mouth is the …

Palm Springs’ Modernism Week, now in its 12th year and being referred to by some as the “Coachella for Architecture,” has grown into a 10-day week. KCRW’s “beat architect” Jason Groman — who also happens to be a nephew of Palm Springs living legend Donald Wexler — revved up his 1964 Chrysler Newport and arrived for the opening last week. He reports on his experience …

Where do newly affluent Chinese want to live? In buildings modeled on the White House, Austrian villages and English towns. Bianca Bosker, Qingyun Ma and Marissa Gluck discuss copycat culture in China, from cell phones to cities; plus, Jason Groman and Barbara Bestor on nostalgia for Palm Springs Modernism and a new attitude in architectural photography.

Copycat Architecture in Contemporary China
The term “contemporary Chinese architecture” conjures up imagery of hyper-modern steel-and-glass showpieces like the CCTV building …

Last year the Getty shed its image as an aloof castle on the hill by bringing together 60+ LA Art museums and institutions in a region-wide celebration of the Southland’s artistic heritage. This year it is doing something similar for LA’s architecture, sponsoring eleven exhibits in a project the Getty calls Pacific Standard Time Presents Modern Architecture in L.A. Danielle Rago tells us more about PSTP, …

You know you’re on the Eastside when. . . “The hipster in the skinny jeans and ironic mustache falls off his fixie bike and spills his bag of kale and heirloom lentils.” This, from Nathan Korman of Venice, was one of many witty responses to our Eastside Westside Throwdown that aired on WWLA , was covered on Which Way LA’s blog, and took on a life of …

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton set the architecture world atwitter when she invoked Frank Gehry’s work as a new model for international relations: “We need a new architecture for this new world, more Frank Gehry than formal Greek. . . some of his work at first might appear haphazard, but in fact, it’s highly intentional and sophisticated. . . Where once a few strong …