Unknown in Babylon
Any time I get the feeling like I need a little anonymity, I head to LA for the day. There’s no way to be anonymous in your home town, everything is too familiar. LA is the best city to be anonymous in. It’s spread out and you go everywhere in your car, the ultimate individual, anonymous experience.
This year I went on Memorial Day. It was a cold and dreary morning and the marine layer stretched all the way up the coast. My journey was punctuated by the need to put my windshield wipers on as the fog turned to sprinkling rain. It took me less than two hours to get to downtown, which might be a personal record. The original impetus for my trip was a Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit there but since I had some time to kill, I parked in my favorite lot and walked over to The Last Bookstore.
The Last Bookstore is a must-see for anyone coming to this part of LA. Downtown LA is not a friendly place but it’s also not threatening. You get the sense that everyone is minding their own business. The gray sky beared down on me as I took in the old architecture. I walked through the jewelry district and eyed rows of gold chains in store windows as I passed. The Last Bookstore is housed in a huge building and you pass through an antechamber before opening up to the main floor. I wasn’t in the mood to buy anything so I just ducked around the rows. I admired the collection of wacky succulent planters in the record section as well as the biggest lava lamp I had ever seen. Upstairs I spent some time looking at artwork by David Fullarton. Illustrations on assemblaged papers with quotes and lists. I took some notes on my phone.
I headed back up to the Basquiat exhibit as it was almost my ticket time. I got hot as I hoofed it up the hill. May Gray is deceptively humid. I waited in line for the exhibit to open and thought about what I would see. Once inside I was underwhelmed by the Basquiat exhibit. I was hoping for more. The show was put on by his two sisters her are in charge of his estate. There were some great works on paper and a few recreations of his childhood home and studio. These were the parts I liked best. However, I feel like I didn’t get to learn anything new about Basquiat as an artist and the works on view felt thin. There was actually very little of Basquiat himself talking about his work and the story was told from his sisters’ point of view. Still I was impacted by the power of the work. I love the way Basquiat captured the feeling of life in the city through his use of lists and found objects. I liked some small non-sequitur writings like one that said “the conveyor belt of life”. I find his use of text and illustration compelling, everything unmodeled and truly two-dimensional. Some of the text feels like poetry and I found repetitions of the same phrases in much of his work, even over time. Basquiat is one of those new-money artists of New York in the 1980s when a huge, yuppie art market was opening up, infusing the art world with cash and many young, up and coming artists like Basquiat became superstars. Although there was some allusion to him as a “party animal” the exhibit did not discuss his inner demons or struggles with drug addiction. Although I enjoyed the work and the musical integration of the show, I found it to be overall surface level.
After leaving the show I decided to head over to Silverlake and hit up Spellbound Sky for some new crystals. It had been a long time since I bought anything at Spellbound Sky and I was looking for crystals that would help me break some negative thought patters. The dull sky had me feeling introspective as I picked through the piles of rocks to find one that felt good. I selected a tourmalined quartz, a snowflake obsidian, and a tiny piece of turquoise with an even smaller speck of pyrite, along with a cord cutting candle. Armed with new knowledge on how to utilize my new finds, I headed out into the street. I always end up in Silverlake when I come to LA and have seen the neighborhood change over the years. An Erewhon Market takes up a new space across from Spellbound Sky now. Oh no. I walked over and got an avocado toast at Tartine. I forgot about avocado toast. I don’t know what kind of Millennial I am. This avocado toast was probably the best I’ve ever had; a piece of buttered bread topped with bright green avocado mash that stood out in stark contrast to the dreary day. It was topped with salsa seca, a mix of nuts, seeds, and spices that offered a delightful, tangy sensation to the toast. Uninterested in staying longer in Silverlake, I headed out to an art store I wanted to check out in Highland Park.
This was a new neighborhood for me and I found that it felt very cute and trendy but also a little more off the beaten path. Way more kids and families around. I went to the Crush + Touch art store and browsed around the shelves. The main reason I came here was to explore there vast selection of hair clips. I selected a few and some stickers to purchase. They had an amazing selection of notebooks, sketchbooks, pens, and puzzles but I held back in all of these categories. I went down the street to a cafe to grab an afternoon-pick-me-up coffee and read and journal. I started writing about the habits I wanted to break with my new crystals and candle and I already felt lighter. After the cafe closed I went into a few more shops; a small grocery store with fun snacks and natural wine and a party supply store. I saw that Bob Baker’s Marionette Theater was on the street and made a mental note to return for a show someday. I finished my adventure in Highland Park with some vegan soft serve from Magpies.
It was around 4:30 and I wasn’t ready to go home quite yet but I had checked everything off of my list. I wondered what I should do and debated the idea of going to the Chateau Marmont for a drink. Despite being the LA history buff that I am, I had never had the guts to go to the Chateau Marmont’s hallowed ground. Could anyone just go there? I looked it up and it seemed so. I drove the 30 minutes in the opposite direction of home, back to Hollywood. I love the drive through Hollywood with it’s odd, meandering streets. I pulled up to the Chateau and asked the valet what I should do. “Park around the back it’s fine to park in the yellow zone”. I pulled around and easily found a spot. I cannot stress how easy it was to get around LA yesterday, but I always find that to be the case. I walked to the front and was guided up the stairs to the bar.
The maitre d sat me outside on a little couch. I got a look at the inside of the hotel which is very Old Hollywood, glamorous yet shabby. There are huge stains on the carpet. The outdoor garden was very charming with the sounds of a fountain. The sun came out briefly although it stayed cold and I spent time relaxing. I had a virgin Marmont Mule which was basically lemon juice and ginger beer and munched on some free olives and baguette. The vibe was decidedly relaxed and I felt like I was in a movie. I left before the dinner service began. The high walls around the property lend itself to the secretive feeling, the way that celebrities need to feel secure. It’s dripping in bougainvillea and the architecture is beautifully old world.
As I drove home I felt calm and peaceful in the way that only a solo day in LA can give you. That feeling of being a tiny dust mote floating in a big world. Whenever I need a little anonymity, I head up the 5 to Babylon.
