BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT
PAMELA LITTKY: THE VILLA BONITA
Portrait of a Legendary Apartment Complex and its Residents In the Heart of Hollywood
WITH TEXTS BY CAMERON CROWE AND PAMELA LITTKY
KEHRER / SEPTEMBER 13, 2016
“I’ve always been fascinated by the old Hollywood apartment buildings. There is something incredibly compelling about these long-standing, self-contained communities; strangers, all living under one roof, in a notoriously transient city. The Villa Bonita is the story of a city told through one building, surveying all of the tenants in this historic apartment tower in the center of Hollywood.” – Pamela Littky
Like many apartment buildings in Hollywood, the Villa Bonita was built during the film industry’s first heyday spanning the 1920s to the 1930s. Commissioned by Cecil B. DeMille, one of the founding fathers of American cinema, the iconic apartment tower provided accommodations for DeMille’s vast casts and crews, including such Hollywood legends as Errol Flynn. Over the past nine decades, hundreds of aspiring actors, writers, musicians, filmmakers, directors, among other hopefuls, have taken up residence at the Villa Bonita, some just passing through, others staying on for decades.
In the absence of traditionally scaled, walkable neighborhoods, Los Angeles has long created community within the confines of apartment complexes. Over a period of one year, the Los Angeles based photographer Pamela Littky gained access to photograph all of the current residents of the Villa Bonita, which in 2009 was declared a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. Her beautiful, nuanced portraits of this diverse community located in the heart of Hollywood, are brought together in Littky’s second monograph, The Villa Bonita (Kehrer Verlag, September 13, 2016).
The book includes an essay by the renowned American film director Cameron Crowe who tells the touching story of a resident he befriended at an apartment complex he lived in when he first came to Los Angeles at a young age. He was a kick boxer named Lowell who died too young, and the inspiration for the male lead in Crowe's 1989 American romantic comedy-drama Say Anything about an aspiring kick boxer named Lloyd played by John Cusack.
Apartment 1A, Judith, Model, 3 months at the Villa Bonita (lives with Travis, Aspiring Rapper) Apartment 2A, Josh, Bartender/Photographer, 7 years
Young and old, employed and between gigs, dreamers and those whose dreams left long ago, are captured by Littky’s keen, compassionate eye and attention to detail. She brings us into intimate distance of her subjects, creating a collective portrait that reflects the transient nature of the city and its many inhabitants who come here to make it big in the entertainment industry. Those residents who have been at the Villa Bonita for decades reconcile themselves to the increasingly diverse group who all live under the same roof.
Apartment 3B, Grant, Writer, 7 months; Brittany, Family Therapist, 7 months
Littky's photographs are accompanied by her texts that provide snapshots of the backgrounds of the residents.
Josh, a bartender/photographer, (top of page, right) moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and landed at the Villa Bonita a few years after that. “One of my favorite things in the world is Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion,” he says. “I don’t know why I love that ride so much. But for some reason, the Villa Bonita has that same smell, that vibe, that history. I can’t really describe what it is about it. There’s just character to it.”
Frances (next page, top right) doesn’t remember exactly when she moved into the Villa Bonita but she knows she has been there longer than anyone else. Originally from Brooklyn, she found work in Los Angeles as a receptionist, actress and dance instructor. She remembers the time Jane Mansfield walked into the dance studio. “She comes in, and she was gorgeous.”
Apartment 5A, Paul, Landscape Designer, 26 years Apartment 1B, Frances, Former Dance Instructor, 43 years
Cameron Crowe’s essay sums up The Villa Bonita perfectly. “Pamela Littky and her soulful camera found a relationship with everybody in the building … it’s all remarkably personal, like all the best art usually is, like inspiring moments spent with friends you never expected to meet. After the last image, you’ll already start to miss them. Indeed, she’s captured the great and elusive elixir we all seek. Community.”
Bios of Contributors:
Los Angeles based photographer Pamela Littky has been producing iconic images of high profile personalities for over ten years. In between shoots of world-famous actors and musicians for top commercial and editorial clients, Littky pursues personal projects that show a decidedly less glamorous but completely compelling side of American culture. Her work has been shown in various exhibitions around the country, including in Los Angeles and New York City. Her first monograph Vacancy, about the communities in two small towns located at opposite sides of the Mojave Desert, was published by Kehrer to critical acclaim in 2014. For more information about Pamela Littky, go to: http://pamelalittky.com.
Cameron Crowe is an American director (Vanilla Sky and Jerry Maguire, among others), producer, screenwriter and journalist. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes. The film Almost Famous (2000) was the culmination of a ten-year journey to put Cameron’s experiences working for Rolling Stone on film.
Book Specifications:
ISBN 978-3-86828-685-4 Hardcover 11 x 12 inches, 144 pages 85 color illustrations US$ 50.00 /£ 32.00/ Euro 39,90 Designed by Lawrence Azerrad and Pamela Littky
Media Contact for Pamela Littky: Andrea Smith Tel: 646-220-5950 Email: [email protected]
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