Platinum Palladium on Arches Platine Paper. 11x15 inch (image size)
“It's a place where they've taken a desert and turned it into their dreams. I've seen a lot of L.A. and I think it's also a place of secrets: secret houses, secret lives, secret pleasures. And no one is looking to the outside for verification that what they're doing is all right.” — “LA Story,” written by Steve Martin
“Pico, in a certain sense, was where I learned to eat. I also saw my first punk-rock show on Pico, was shot at, fell in love, bowled a 164, witnessed a knife fight, took cello lessons, raised chickens, ate Oki Dogs and heard X, Ice Cube, Hole and Willie Dixon perform (though not together) on Pico.” — Jonathan Gold
“Los Angeles is a young city, but it has always had its own cuisine, based on the quality of its produce, the ease of its style, the pleasantness of being able to barbecue outside in your shirtsleeves almost every day of the year.
The vaqueros ate like that in California’s early days, and so did the Midwesterners when they settled here at the beginning of the last century. The Sunset Magazine, men-grilling paradigm of the 1950s was a continuation of the aesthetic. When it is 72 degrees outside and the surf is up and Vin Scully is on the radio, who has the patience for casseroles or stews?” — Johnathan Gold
Walking around LA with its uneven sidewalks, converted garages and palm trees that dot the sky like tethered balloons, has always been fascinating to me. I was born here and left for a while to the city's complete opposite — Santa Fe, New Mexico. Even in the serene alpine-smelling town, I was entranced with LA for its architecture, power lines and freeways that sensually dissect the land. People create their dreams here in little hovels and neighborhoods. Anything seems possible. So this is a series that will always be ongoing. Very self-indulgent of me. I carry around a small Olympus XA, a ’70s pocket rangefinder meant for journalists. I walk the streets looking for these secret places that cannot be seen from the car.