Art for Beginners: Crazy 4 Cult (Unlonely Los Angeles Edition)

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR (me!): Because there are so many wonderful things in LA that aren't in the Lonely Planet guide, I am starting a new section called UnLonely Los Angeles, for all things that SHOULD be in the book.

LA isn't exactly known as being the cultural capital of the world.  In fact, people tend to think that us Angelinos are vapid and only care about all things movies, movie stars and a smattering of red carpets, cocaine and our personal Coffee Bean/Starbucks preference.  Well, for those of you who are looking to ease yourself into the art world, your friend Kevin Smith has the answer.  Kev (as I call him, but never to his face, since I've never actually been in front of his face) is an absolute cinephile.  For those with you New Yorkers with higher class philias (or lower class if your philia involves feet or rubber) this means he is a film aficionado, specifically, he loves cult film (think Tarantino or bad 80s monster movies).  Apparently he also likes art and so decided to curate his own gallery devoted to the films in his DVD collection.

 The art is not only really cool and oozing like puss from a zombie with nostalgia, but it's priced to buy... and people do.

Whether you're a fan of 80s brat pack movies...

Or Point Break...

 There is something for you.

Now the bad news is that this is a limited run, a run which is over (sorry, it took me a while to post this), but considering this is the fourth annual Crazy 4 Cult, I think you can safely set your calendars for July 2011 to go check it out.

TIP: I'm guessing if you are into cult film, you might also be into comic books.  The gallery is attached like a bad habit to one of the biggest comic book stores in LA, The Golden Apple. Stop by!

Huntington Gardens 2: Heading Indoors

So I've already heard about some friends who have been so inspired by my last Huntington Gardens posting that they've planned dates to go (if you aren't one of those people, you should really become one).  I must say it's amazing for me to know that 1) people are actually reading my blog other than my family (who I'm not sure has read this since the first post) and my boyfriend (who is obligated) and 2) it's actually somewhat effective in inspiring people to find things in LA that they've never known about.

But enough with the self-aggrandizing.  Let's take this story inside...

Where were we?

The main house was grand, but unfortunately didn’t offer anything to touch (and I like to touch).

Next stop was the Library, where the books were really old.  But apparently not so old that they didn’t have comic books.

And of course, if we’re talking really old, check out this bible that was 500 years old.  It’s kind of a big deal. 

But still... everything was behind rope and glass and I wanted to use some senses other than my crappy sight that requires my nerdy (but Chanel chic) glasses. So, our next stop was the green house, which had the smelliest plant I had ever smelled.  It was so smelly, that after I took a whiff, I had to run to another better smelling plant and dig my nose into it just to get the previous smell out.

The moral being, be careful what you wish for.

And to satisfy my inner child, our last stop was at the children’s gardens.  Where I FINALLY was able to touch and play.

While we were busy playing, apparently the guards were busy closing up the gardens and somehow missed us.  In order to get out, we had to hop the gates, but luckily they were kids size and only took a little extra climbing.

TIP: The park is hundreds of acres and the park closes at 4:30, so to really take advantage of all the gardens and library has to offer, show up early in the day.

TIP:  For a little side trip, drive by the Gamble House.  It’s an architectural gem.  Even if you don’t get there in time to go inside, you can still walk around the grounds.