[audiobook] Ted Kennedy: Scenes from an Epic Life by Boston Globe at Arts-Photography

Description

Los Angeles. A city that is synonymous with celebrity and mass-market culture; is also; according to David James; synonymous with social alienation and dispersal. In the communities of Los Angeles; artists; cultural institutions and activities exist in ways that are often concealed from sight; obscured by the powerful presence of Hollywood and its machinations. In this significant collection of original essays; "The Sons and Daughters of Los" reconstructs the city of Los Angeles with new cultural connections. Explored here are the communities that offer alternatives to the picture of L.A. as a conglomeration of studios and mass media. Each essay examines a particular piece of; or place in; Los Angeles cultural life: from the Beyond Baroque Poetry Foundation; the Womans Building; to Highways; and LACE; as well as the achievements of these grassroots initiatives. Also included is critical commentary on important artists; including Harry Gamboa; Jr.; and others whose work have done much to shape popular culture in L.A.The cumulative effect of reading this book is to see a very different city take shape; one whose cultural landscape is far more innovative and reflective of the diversity of the citys people than mainstream notions of it suggest. "The Sons and Daughters of Los" offers a substantive and complicated picture of the way culture plays itself it out on the smallest scale in one of the largest metropolises on earth contributing to a richer; more textured understanding of the vibrancy of urban life and art. Author note: David E. James is Professor in the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California. He is the author or editor of five books; including; most recently; "Power Misses: Essays Across (Un)Popular Culture".