Watts Towers Bibliography by Bud Goldstone

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Watts Towers Bibliography by Bud Goldstone December 2, 199'; H C i Q - r V O X T - T T l O l l w CA J- W y iiixJ Ci A. y You will find a copy (enclosed) of a W a t t s T o w e r s b i b l i o g r a p h y I h a v e compiled. How might it be used, published, or what? Call me, Hope ybu are well. i/j^i ^ B u d G o l d s t o n e ( 3 1 0 ) 2 7 1 - 9 7 11 BIBLIOGRAPHY T H E W A T T S T O W E R S O F S I M O N R O D I A compiled by N.J. Bud Goldstone NOVEMBER 1994 References include books, magazines, newspapers, movies, television shows or plays, and unpublished manuscripts. 258 South Rexford Drive Beverly Hills, California 90212 ( 3 1 0 ) 2 7 1 - 9 7 1 1 Copyright 1994 Do not copy without permission B I B L I O G R A P H Y - T H E W A T T S T O W E R S O F S I M O N R O D I A compiled by N.J. Bud Goldstone October 199A BOOKS ^ The Watts Towers of Los Angeles, Leon Whiteson/Marvin Rand- photographs. (Oakville, Ontario, Canada: Mosaic Press, 1989). The Wonderful Towers of Watts, Patricia Zelver & Frane Lessac-drawings. (N.Y., N.Y.:Tambourine Books, 199A) Something Nice to See, T.R. Gardner 11 & P. Hamlin-(Santa Barbara, CA:Knoll, 199A) Babitz, Eve. Eve's Hollsrwood (Los Angeles: Delacorte Press, 1972) +Banham, Rehner. Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. (New York: Harper and Row, 1971). Pages 129-132. Bishop, Robert Charles. American Folk Sculpture. (New York: E.P.Button Co., 197A). +1'eter Boswell & Philip Brookman. Forty Years of California Assemblage. (Los Angeles: Wight Art Gallery, 1989). p 65 - 75. Bowron, Fletcher. Los Angeles and Its Environs in the Twentieth Century. (Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie Press, 1976). +Bronowski, J. The Ascent of Man. (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 197A). Pages 118-121. Bryan, Robert. Go Build Me a Tower. (Ojai, CA: Topa Topa Enterprises Ltd., '73) Calistro, Paddy & Betty Goodwin. L.A. Inside Out. (New York, NY; Viking Studio Books, 1992). Page 226. w Cardinal, Roger. Outsider Art. (Praeger, 1972). Conot, Robert. Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness. (New York: Bantam Books, 1967). Pages 206-207. Davenport, William. Art Treasures of the West. (Menlo Park, CA: Lane Magazine & B o o k C o . , 1 9 6 6 ) . Davidson, James Dale. An Eccentric Guide to the United States. (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Publishing Company, 1977). Pages AA0-AA7. 4'- Friedman, Martin. "Simon Rodia". Naives and Visionaries. (New York: E.P. Button & Co., Inc., 197A. Pages 21-23. o. G J Greenfield, Verni. Making Do or Making Art: A Study of American Recycling. (Ann Arbor: UMl Research Press, 1986). Horwitz, Elinor & Joshua. Contemporary American Folk Artists. (Philadelphia: Lippencott, 1975). Jackson, William. "At the Grave of Simon Rodia" in Noel Alvin Gardiner, ed. Streaks of Light. (California: New Dawn Publications, 1974). + see page 20. BIBLIOGRAPHY- THE WATTS TOWERS OF SIMON RODIA Page 2 BOOKS MATERIAL RELATED TO RODIA OR THE TOWERS continued Jones, Barbara. Follies and Grottos. (London: Constable 1949, revised 1974). "Concentric towers or cones of spirals so beautiful., that it .. be held superior to all but the finest work of the eighteenth century .... Rodia is a genius". Kalish, Richard A. The Psychology of Human Behavior. (Belmont, CA: Unknown, 1966). Includes photographs of the Towers as examples of "healthy creativity". Krasne, Lucille and Patty Zeitlin. Castle in My City. (San Carlos, CA: Golden Gate Junior Books, 1968). ? ^ - Lancaster, Clay. Follies: Architectural Follies in America. (Rutland, VT: C.E. Tuttle Co., 1960). Laporte, Paul M. The Man, The Work. (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum, c. 1962). Exhibition catalogue. 7^-Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Simon Rodia's Watts Towers. (Los Angeles: LACMA, 1965). Laughlin, Clarence John. "A Pleasure Dome in Los Angeles" in John Hadfield, ed. The Saturday Book. (London: Hutchinson Co., 1967). Pgs 104-115. Madian, Jon. Beautiful Junk: A Story of the Watts Towers. (Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1968). Fictionalized account of relationship Rodia may have had with neighborhood children. Ray, Mary Ellen Bell. The City of Watts, 1907 to 1926. (Los Angeles: Rising Publishing, 1985). Pages 1, 63-65. Rice, Dorothy. Los Angeles With Love. (Los Angeles: Glen House Communications, 1984). Page 79-^1 _ _ Rodman, Selden. "The Artist Nobody Knows" in New World Writing No. 2A,/Artists in Tune with Their World. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982) pages 151-157. also (New York: New American Library of World Literature, 1952). Rodia is called "Radilla". Rolle, Andrew. The Immigrant Upraised: Italian Adventures and Colonists in an Expanding America. (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1968). Pages 285-287. The Italian American: Troubled Roots. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. or The Free Press, 1980). Excerpt on Rodia. Pages 34-39. Rosen, Seymour. In Celebration of Ourselves. (San Francisco: California Living Book, 1979). Also title of exhibit at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art December 3, 1976 to January 23, 1977. + See page 20. BIBLIOGRAPHY- THE WATTS TOWERS OF SIMON RODIA Page 3 MATERIAL RELATED TO RODIA OR THE TOWERS continued Seewerker, Joseph. Nuestro Pueblo: Los Angeles City of Romance. (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Co., 19A0). Item on "Classtowers and Demon Rum." + Seitz, William C. The Art of Assemblage. (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1 9 6 1 ) . P a g e s 7 2 - 8 0 . Smith, Jack. The Big Orange. (Pasadena, CA: Ward Richie Press, 1976). P121-126. Starr, Kevin. Material Dreams: Southern California Through the 1920s". (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990). p 225-230. Thevoz, Michel. Art Brut. (New York: Rizzoli, 1976). Page 28-31. Young, Joseph. Course in Making Mosaics. (New York: Reinhold Pub. Co., 1957). N e w s p a p e r & M a g a z i n e A r t i c l e s MAGAZINES "A Dream in Steel". Now 69. (March 1969). "American Heritage". Newsweek. (April 1, 1963). American Institute of Architects, So. Calif. Chapter. Bulletin. (May 5, 1957). American Institute of Graphic Arts. Design & Printing of the Year. (//83, 1963). Angeles Magazine. (June 1990). Pages 90-99 Architectural Digest. Profiles 12 color pictures. (1982). Architecture. (August 1985); (October 1985); (December 1985). "Art Croups fight to save L.A. Towers: Bizarre Structure in Suburban Watts". Architectural Forum. Ill (July 1959). Pages 9-11. Aversa, Rudy. "Primitive Sculpture: A Tribute to America" California Living. (June 5, 1977). Pages 16-18,31. Banham, Reyner. "The Spec Builders on Trial—Towards a Pop Architecture". Architectural Review. (July 1962). Page AA. Barr, Alfred, Jr. "Homage to Sam". ArtForum. (July 20, 1965). Pages 18-22. Barry, L. "Legacy of Simon Rodia". Popular Photography. 59 (Oct 1966). Page 3A. Bauman, Richard. "Simon Rodia: The Original Recycler". Class. Vol. VI, No. 2. (October 1978) Pages 51-5A. + See page 20. BIBLIOGRAPHY- THE WATTS TOWERS OF SIMON RODIA Page h MAGAZINES Ben-Torim, Grace. "A Line on Our Friends". The Municipal Guardian 1 (Nov 1961). Berman, Avis. "American Treasures: Watts Towers, An obstinate mix of persis tence, refuse and vision". Modern Maturity. (Apr-May 1989). Billiter, Bill. "Simon Rodia's Incredible Towers". Art News. (Apr 1979). P 92-5 Boles, D.D. "What To Do With The Watts Towers?". Progressive Architecture. (Jul 1985) ^ Bryan, Robert S. "Sam Rodia and the Children of Watts". Westways. August 1967. Pages 3-6. Old photo of Sam, "cl9A6-7", others by S. Rosen cl961-2. Burgess, Michele. "The Miraculous Towers of Simon Rodia". Sky. (Jun 1981). P88-93. Cannon, Terry. "A Man and His Towers". Follies. (Nov. 1975). pi, 9. "Cat and a Ball on a Waterfall". Catalog. Oakland Museum 3/22- 8/3/86 Chase-Marshall, Janet. "The Fight to Save the Watts Towers". US. (June 13, 1978). Pages 32-33. "Civilization Wins a Round". Architectural Forum. 118 (April 1963). Page 81. Colin, Thomas J. "Preserving the National Register". Historic Preservation. (March/April 1981). Pages 6A-65. Conrads, Ulrich. "Phantatiche architektur Unterstomungen in er architecktur des 20 jahrhunderts". Zodiac. (1959) Pages 117-137. Conti, Giorgio. "Beauty in Our City". Vita Nova. The Quarterly Journal of the Patrons of Italian Culture. (June 1965). Pages 11-12. Craven, John, "les Tours de Watts". Connaissance des Arts. 170 (Avril 1966). P a g e s 11 0 - 11 3 . ^ Crease, Robert and Charles Mann. "The Transformed Trash of Untrained Artists". Smithsonian. (August 1983). Pages 82-91. Cunliffe, H.J. "Report to the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners on Wind Forces as applied to Framed Towers". Journal of the Structural Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Papers No. 1707-1712 (July 1958). "Death of an Enigma". Architectural Forum. (September 1965). Page 19. de Nees, Robert. "Los Angeles". National Geographic. 122 (1962) Page A83. "Die Turm von Watts". Werk. 55 (March 1968). Pages 192-193. Donovan, Earl. "But is it Art?". Westways. (October 1959). BIBLIOGRAPHY- THE WATTS TOWERS OF SIMON RODIA Page 5 M A G A Z I N E S c o n t i n u e d "Don't Forget the Story of Simon Rodia". Look Magazine. (June 28, 1966). Page 5A. Photos show the Towers at night, lit by outside lights. "Dream Towers". When Magazine. (March 19A7). Pages 12-lA, 23. Edelstein, Eleanor. "The Watts Towers". Coastlines 6 (Sept. 196A). Page 52ff. "Fantasy in Steel, Concrete and Broken Bottles". Arts and Architecture.
Recommended publications
  • California State Parks
    1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 Pelican SB Designated Wildlife/Nature Viewing Designated Wildlife/Nature Viewing Visit Historical/Cultural Sites Visit Historical/Cultural Sites Smith River Off Highway Vehicle Use Off Highway Vehicle Use Equestrian Camp Site(s) Non-Motorized Boating Equestrian Camp Site(s) Non-Motorized Boating ( Tolowa Dunes SP C Educational Programs Educational Programs Wind Surfing/Surfing Wind Surfing/Surfing lo RV Sites w/Hookups RV Sites w/Hookups Gasquet 199 s Marina/Boat Ramp Motorized Boating Marina/Boat Ramp Motorized Boating A 101 ed Horseback Riding Horseback Riding Lake Earl RV Dump Station Mountain Biking RV Dump Station Mountain Biking r i S v e n m i t h R i Rustic Cabins Rustic Cabins w Visitor Center Food Service Visitor Center Food Service Camp Site(s) Snow Sports Camp Site(s) Geocaching Snow Sports Crescent City i Picnic Area Camp Store Geocaching Picnic Area Camp Store Jedediah Smith Redwoods n Restrooms RV Access Swimming Restrooms RV Access Swimming t Hilt S r e Seiad ShowersMuseum ShowersMuseum e r California Lodging California Lodging SP v ) l Klamath Iron Fishing Fishing F i i Horse Beach Hiking Beach Hiking o a Valley Gate r R r River k T Happy Creek Res. Copco Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP h r t i t e s Lake State Parks State Parks · S m Camp v e 96 i r Hornbrook R C h c Meiss Dorris PARKS FACILITIES ACTIVITIES PARKS FACILITIES ACTIVITIES t i Scott Bar f OREGON i Requa a Lake Tulelake c Admiral William Standley SRA, G2 • • (707) 247-3318 Indian Grinding Rock SHP, K7 • • • • • • • • • • • (209) 296-7488 Klamath m a P Lower CALIFORNIA Redwood K l a Yreka 5 Tule Ahjumawi Lava Springs SP, D7 • • • • • • • • • (530) 335-2777 Jack London SHP, J2 • • • • • • • • • • • • (707) 938-5216 l K Sc Macdoel Klamath a o tt Montague Lake A I m R National iv Lake Albany SMR, K3 • • • • • • (888) 327-2757 Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP, A2 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (707) 458-3018 e S Mount a r Park h I4 E2 t 3 Newell Anderson Marsh SHP, • • • • • • (707) 994-0688 John B.
    [Show full text]
  • State Park System Statistical Report with at Least the Scope of the Last One in the Series, Published Eleven Years Earlier
    Statistical Reyort 2016/17 Fiscal Year Planning, Recreation and Support Section Marketing and Business Development Office California State Parks P.O. Box 942896 Sacramento, California 94296-0001 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 - SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS ............................................................ 5 Number of Units and Properties ......................................................................... 5 Acreage, DPR-Owned ........................................................................................ 5 Acreage, Other ................................................................................................... 5 Total Acreage ..................................................................................................... 5 Waterfront Feet ................................................................................................... 6 Individual Camp Sites ......................................................................................... 6 Group Camp Sites .............................................................................................. 6 Non-Camping Overnight Facilities ...................................................................... 7 Individual Picnic Sites ......................................................................................... 7 Group Picnic Sites .............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pre-Consolidation Communities of Los Angeles, 1862-1932
    LOS ANGELES CITYWIDE HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT Context: Pre-Consolidation Communities of Los Angeles, 1862-1932 Prepared for: City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning Office of Historic Resources July 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE 1 CONTRIBUTOR 1 INTRODUCTION 1 THEME: WILMINGTON, 1862-1909 4 THEME: SAN PEDRO, 1882-1909 30 THEME: HOLLYWOOD, 1887-1910 56 THEME: SAWTELLE, 1896-1918 82 THEME: EAGLE ROCK, 1886-1923 108 THEME: HYDE PARK, 1887-1923 135 THEME: VENICE, 1901-1925 150 THEME: WATTS, 1902-1926 179 THEME: BARNES CITY, 1919-1926 202 THEME: TUJUNGA, 1888-1932 206 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPY 232 SurveyLA Citywide Historic Context Statement Pre-consolidation Communities of Los Angeles, 1862-1932 PREFACE This historic context is a component of Los Angeles’ citywide historic context statement and provides guidance to field surveyors in identifying and evaluating potential historic resources relating to Pre- Consolidation Communities of Los Angeles. Refer to www.HistoricPlacesLA.org for information on designated resources associated with this context as well as those identified through SurveyLA and other surveys. CONTRIBUTOR Daniel Prosser is a historian and preservation architect. He holds an M.Arch. from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University. Before retiring, Prosser was the Historic Sites Architect for the Kansas State Historical Society. INTRODUCTION The “Pre-Consolidation Communities of Los Angeles” context examines those communities that were at one time independent, self-governing cities. These include (presented here as themes): Wilmington, San Pedro, Hollywood, Sawtelle, Eagle Rock, Hyde Park, Venice, Watts, Barnes City, and Tujunga. This context traces the history of each of these cities (up to the point of consolidation with the City of Los Angeles), identifying important individuals and patterns of settlement and development, and then links the events and individuals to extant historic resources (individual resources and historic districts).
    [Show full text]
  • Forging Our Future
    Reconnecting with the Past, Forging Our Future L to R: Ambassador T. Henry Shimanouchi, Irene Hirano, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, and Henry Ota at the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Japanese American National Museum’s Historic Building, held July 20–21, 1990. THE THEME OF THE Japanese American than ever before. Such an awakening was one of National Museum’s 2017 Gala Dinner, the goals for the museum when it was founded. Reconnecting with the Past, Forging Our Future, captures the duality faced by all organizations The Japanese American World War II experience is that are rooted in history even as they must secure varied, with still many more aspects to be examined, their own future. In honoring JANM’s founding as the museum has helped to reveal. In sum, 75 president Bruce Kaji, JANM’s inaugural executive years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed director and president/CEO Irene Hirano Inouye, Executive Order 9066, the first falling legal domino and Densho founding executive director and for- that triggered a cascade of collapsing civil liberties mer member of JANM’s Board of Governors Tom that landed without compassion on thousands of Ikeda, the museum recognizes the contributions innocent people of Japanese ancestry. The litany of that enabled this institution to make Japanese indignities—including the loss of homes and busi- American history relevant for each new generation. nesses, incarceration without due process, and false accusations of treason and espionage—was endured Much has been accomplished so far. After 25 with a silent dignity that was culturally both pro- years of organizing groundbreaking exhibitions, tective and restrictive for those who lived through insightful public programs, stimulating documen- it.
    [Show full text]
  • 2016-17 Approved Field Trip List
    APPROVED FIELD TRIPS AND FEE SCHEDULE FOR THE 2016/2017 SCHOOL YEAR The following field trips are approved by the Board of Trustees with payment of fees as indicated and with transportation by bus provided. Any trip not found on this list must be approved separately by the Board of Trustees. *New field trips added for the 2016/2017 school year. FIELD TRIP APPROX. FEE Adult Day Health Care Center Free Albertsons Free Alex Theater Varies with performance AM/PM Sierra Minimart Free Antelope Valley Indian Museum Free Aquarium of the Pacific $6/person 10 or more Autry National Center, The Free Bagel Boyz Free Baja Fresh Mexican Grill Free Barnes and Noble Bookstore Free Barnsdale Arts Park Free Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Free Beaches: ------ L.A. County Beaches Free Malibu Lagoon State Beach $225 or $325 Santa Monica Free Ventura Free Beverly Hills Courthouse No information Bob Baker Marionette Theater, The $10/person Boy's and Girl's Club - Newhall/Canyon Country Free Cabrillo Marine Museum ** Free California Poppy Reserve Free California Science Center $25 Self guided booking fee, add $4.75 per person to add IMAX Caltech Beckman Auditorium Varies with performance Canyon Country Library Free Canyon Theater Guild Call per trip Carl's Jr. Free Caruso's Deli Free Castaic Lake Water Agency Free (Each teacher, student and chaperone need to sign Release of Liability For Educational Program form.) Catalina Island - NEEDS BOARD APPROVAL No information CBS Studio Center Free 7/27/16 ML Channel Island Free Children’s Hunger Fund Free Chili's Restaurant Free Chipotle Restaurant Free Chuck E.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs: Finding Aid
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf2p30028s No online items Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Watts. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Photo Archives 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © August 1999 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Historical Society of Southern photCL 400 volume 2 & volume 3 1 California Collection -- Charles Puck Collection of Negatives a... Overview of the Collection Title: Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs Dates (inclusive): 1864-1963 Bulk dates: 1920s-1950s Collection Number: photCL 400 volume 2 & volume 3 Creator: Puck, Charles, 1882-1968 Extent: 11,400 photographs in 42 boxes (30.29 linear feet) Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: The Puck Collection consists of more than 11,000 photographs and negatives both taken and collected by Los Angeles resident and local history enthusiast Charles Puck (1882-1968), which he donated to the Historical Society of Southern California over more than twenty years in the mid-20th century. The photographs date from 1864 to 1963 (bulk 1920s-1950s) and depict buildings, monuments, civic happenings, modes of transportation, flora and fauna, and anything else that captured his particular interests. Puck compiled several scrapbooks on topics such as adobes and buildings of Los Angeles, illustrating them with his photographs and annotating them with historical anecdotes and personal recollections.
    [Show full text]
  • Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month 2014 CELEBRATION
    AsiAn And PacifiC islander American HeritAge montH 2014 CeLeBrATION Los AngeLes City CounCiL Los AngeLes City CounCiL CuLtural AffAirs Commission Eric Garcetti Herb J. Wesson, Jr., District 10 Eric Paquette Mayor President President City of Los Angeles Gilbert Cedillo, District 1 Richard Montoya Doane Liu Paul Krekorian, District 2 Vice President Deputy Mayor Mari Edelman City Services Bob Blumenfeld, District 3 Tom LaBonge, District 4 Javier Gonzalez Mike Feuer Los Angeles City Attorney Paul Koretz, District 5 Charmaine Jefferson Nury Martinez, District 6 Sonia Molina Ron Galperin Los Angeles City Controller Felipe Fuentes, District 7 Bernard C. Parks, District 8 City of Los AngeLes Curren D. Price, District 9 depArtment of CuLtural AffAirs Mike Bonin, District 11 Matthew Rudnick Mitchell Englander, District 12 Interim General Manager Mitch O’Farrell, District 13 Will Caperton y Montoya Jose Huizar, District 14 Director of Marketing and Joe Buscaino, District 15 Development calendAr produCtion Will Caperton y Montoya Editor and Art Director Martica Caraballo Stork Assistant Editor view events And Artwork onLine At: laheritAgemontH.org print & interactive calendAr design CuLturela.org Terese Harris Antrese Palacios Cover: Ann Le, Family Portrait, C-Print, 2011 Dear Friends, It is my sincere pleasure to lead our city in celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. The contributions of our Asian and Pacific Islander American residents in the arts, academia, business, government, and the nonprofit sectors are immense and well-worth recognizing year-round. Across our great city, which is home to so many diverse communities, we welcome the celebration of Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, and I encourage you to experience L.A.’s rich Asian and Pacific Islander American cultures by participating in their traditions and customs.
    [Show full text]
  • The Watts Towers from Eyesore to Icon: Race and the Spaces of Outsider Art
    The Watts Towers from Eyesore to Icon: Race and the Spaces of Outsider Art By Emma R. Silverman A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of Art and the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Julia Bryan-Wilson, Chair Professor Margaretta M. Lovell Professor Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby Professor Charles L. Briggs Summer 2018 Abstract The Watts Towers from Eyesore to Icon: Race and the Spaces of Outsider Art by Emma R. Silverman Doctor of Philosophy in History of Art and the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality University of California, Berkeley Professor Julia Bryan-Wilson, Chair Starting around 1921, Sabato (Sam) Rodia (1879–1965) began to build an unusual environment in his backyard in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Although he had no formal training in art or architecture, Rodia used concrete-covered steel embellished with intricate mosaics of tile, shell, and glass to create a series of elaborate sculptures, including three central towers that rise nearly one hundred feet in height. For over three decades Rodia’s creation received scant public recognition, and in 1954 Rodia left Los Angeles, never to return. The story of how a single individual worked alone to create such a monumental structure is awe-inspiring; however, the life the site took on after Rodia’s departure is equally remarkable. In the postwar period California’s perceived provinciality relegated it to the fringes of the New York-centered art world.
    [Show full text]
  • The Towers of Simon Rod!A Page 1 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form (Rev
    NFS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Towers of Simon Rod!a Page 1 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form 1. NAME OF PROPERTY Historic Name: The Towers of Simon Rodia Other Name/Site Number: The Watts Towers 2. LOCATION Street & Number: 1765 East 107th Street Not for publication:___ City/Town: Los Angeles Vicinity:___ State: CA County: Los Angeles Code: CA 037 Zip Code: 90002 3. CLASSIFICATION Ownership of Property Category of Property Private:__ Building(s):__ Public-local: X District:__ Public-State: X Site:__ Public-Federal: Structure: X Object:__ Number of Resources within Property Contributing Noncontributing ____ buildings ____ sites 11 ____ structures ____ objects 11 ____ Total Number of Contributing Resources Previously Listed in the National Register: 11 Name of related multiple property listing: NFS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Towers of Simon Rodia Page 2 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form 4. STATE/FEDERAL AGENCY CERTIFICATION As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this ___ nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property ___ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria.
    [Show full text]
  • Exhibition: Noah Purifoy: Junk Dada on View: June 7–September 27, 2015 Location: BCAM
    Exhibition: Noah Purifoy: Junk Dada On View: June 7–September 27, 2015 Location: BCAM Image captions on page 4 (Los Angeles—February 3, 2015) The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents Noah Purifoy: Junk Dada, the first monographic exhibition dedicated to California-based artist Noah Purifoy since his passing in 2004. Co-curated by Franklin Sirmans, Terri and Michael Smooke Department Head and Curator of Contemporary Art at LACMA, and Independent Curator Yael Lipschutz, Noah Purifoy: Junk Dada examines the work of a seminal American artist who is still little known. Purifoy, a founding director of the Watts Towers Arts Center in Los Angeles, created an early body of sculpture constructed out of charred debris from the 1965 Watts rebellion. The resulting exhibition focusing on the riots, 66 Signs of Neon (1966), traveled to nine venues between 1966 and 1969. In line with his fascination with the street and its objects, Purifoy’s 66 Signs of Neon evoked a Duchampian approach to the fire-ravaged alleys of post-riot Watts with a peculiarly American spirit of making use of the material at hand. This strategy profoundly impacted artists such as John Outterbridge, Maren Hassinger, David Hammons, and Senga Nengudi, then emerging in Los Angeles and beyond. Purifoy dedicated himself to the found object and to using art as a tool for social change in the 20 years that followed the rebellion, after which he relocated to California’s Mojave Desert, where he spent his final 15 years creating large-scale installations. “At the core of Purifoy’s lexicon is the desire to work with or find beauty in what has been discarded—to give new life to an object by changing its context, transforming it from junk to artwork,” says Sirmans.
    [Show full text]
  • Column: Where Would You Take a Visitor to Los Angeles?
    Column: Where would you take a visitor to Los Angeles? latimes.com/california/story/2019-07-20/where-would-you-take-a-visitor-to-los-angeles July 20, 2019 Today, I’m offering you a job. The pay is no good, but the schedule is your own, and all you have to do is pretend you’re a tour guide. Friends or relatives are coming to Los Angeles for the first time. They want to see the Hollywood sign, check out the beach scene in Santa Monica or Venice, and visit the Getty or the Broad. All the usual stuff. But they also want to get past that, and have an authentic experience or two before getting back on the plane. So where will you take them? Advertisement 1/7 I wondered about this two weeks ago on a trip to Rome, where massive crowds of tourists at the Colosseum, the Forum, St. Peter’s and the Trevi Fountain made me want to stray off course and find the city only locals know. Where would I advise someone visiting my city to do that? I realize, of course, that you can live in Los Angeles for years and not know half its secrets or even begin to understand this necklace of disparate cities and neighborhoods strung together with asphalt. But we all have found a few of our own sanctuaries. A view of the Griffith Observatory, with downtown Los Angeles sparkling in the background. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) I asked some people around town to let me in on their secrets.
    [Show full text]
  • North Glendale Historic Context
    NORTH GLENDALE HISTORIC CONTEXT City of Glendale, California North Glendale Community Plan City of Glendale,CA. i Appendix A: North Glendale Historic Context Adopted November 29, 2011 CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA City Council Laura Friedman, Mayor Rafi Manoukian Ara Najarian Frank Quintero David Weaver Planning Commission Greg Astorian Stephanie Landregan Chang Lee Hank Sheets Erik Yesayan Historic Preservation Commission Michael Morgan Desiree Shier Caroline Tufenkian Lorna Vartanian Arlene Vidor Adopted by City Council on November 29, 2011 by Resolution 11‐230 ii North Glendale Community Plan City of Glendale,CA Appendix A: North Glendale Historic Context Adopted November 29, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction ………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter 2 North Glendale: Layers of History …………………………. 3 2.1 Land ............................................................. 3 2.2 People ......................................................... 5 2.3 Events .......................................................... 13 2.4 Neighborhoods ............................................. 17 2.4.1 Annexations ................................. 17 2.4.2 Montrose ..................................... 23 2.4.3 Highway Highlands ……………………. 26 2.4.4 Verdugo City ................................ 27 2.4.5 Mountain Oaks ............................ 28 2.4.6 Sparr Heights ............................... 29 2.4.7 Montecito Park ............................ 30 2.4.8 Crescenta Highlands...................... 31 2.4.9 Foothill Boulevard .......................
    [Show full text]