You See LA: January 2023
Five things to see and do in Los Angeles, handpicked by Natasha Sandmeier
Natasha Sandmeier is an architect, author, and educator. She serves as an adjunct professor in UCLA’s Architecture and Urban Design Department where she leads the department’s postgraduate entertainment studio and, last summer, was named Executive Director of Los Angeles’s A+D Museum.
Lebbeus Woods, Ecologies, 1984-1990
Architects have always been preoccupied with building worlds. Rem Koolhaas has said that “every architect carries the utopian gene.” In looking at the work and extraordinary drawings of Lebbeus Woods, you might think that he was the exception—drawing worlds that, while beautiful, are raw, splintered, deeply unfamiliar, and many have called dystopian. The drawings, like a great piece of fiction, draw the reader in as a participant, completing the image with their own speculations about the world, and of its possibilities, igniting in the viewer our own utopian vision. A collection of Woods’ drawings is on show at the Friedman Brenda gallery through February 4.
Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artist’s Studio
Some of my earliest memories are of my mother laying out blocks of sewn-together fabrics as she figured out the general layout of whatever quilt she was making in that moment. My father and I would sometimes rearrange them when she wasn’t looking, into a version we preferred, but more often, just to see if she’d even notice.
After seeing Bridget Riley’s show in London in the summer of 1999, I asked my mother if she would consider making me a quilt similar to one of Riley’s paintings, in particular, Around (1963). This suggestion was unambiguously rejected—”too many different templates, and crucially, no corner alignment,” which, for a precise-corner-loving Swiss woman, was anathema. Say no more.
Then in 2001 I was told to expect a large package in the mail. I waited and waited but none ever came. In 2002 I was told again to expect a large package in the mail. This time, a few weeks later, I received a king size quilt—with a pattern riffing along the lines of Bridget Riley’s Study for ‘Movement in Squares’ (1961). This goes the long way around to recommend the upcoming Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artists Studio at the Hammer Museum. On view February 5 through May 28! That first package never did arrive - but I hope someone somewhere is snuggled up with my mother’s first Bridget Riley quilt.
Get Milk Tea with Boba
Until fairly recently, I was unwavering in my conviction that boba was the absolute worst idea of a “food,” akin to the sludge they serve in The Matrix. Sludge also made an appearance as a protein paste in Ridley Scott's 1979 film, Alien. In Star Trek, the signature dish is Gagh, which I imagine would make us all want to gag. The most treasured substance in Dune is Spice, which, it turns out, comes from the secretions of Sandworm larvae.
In the early days of my boba consumption, I approached it much the way I would sludge—with a “let’s just get it over with” attitude. It’s amazing, though, how your tastes change when your teenager says “Do you want to get a boba?” Because, it turns out, you’ll endure a lot just to have a moment with your teen.
Bon Bon Tea House in the valley is the absolute best place to get a boba. I recommend Oolong Milk Tea, 50% sweet with boba. Is it worth the drive though? If you want the full LA, Raynor Banham experience then yes. Ride the freeway and revel in the glory and freedom of being on the road and head up the 405. Alternatively, you can go to Teaspoon on Sawtelle.
Look Out
One of the absolute best things to do in Los Angeles is to get outside and see the city and landscapes from another vantage; whether from the top of a hill, or from the water looking back at land. Paddle boarding in the marina is meditative, social, and if you paddle hard enough (not required), it can even be a bit of a workout. If you launch at Mother’s Beach, make sure to look into the water as you set out—more often than not you’ll see hundreds of stingrays hanging out in the shallow water by the little dock. Keep your eyes peeled for Foggy, Frank Gehry’s boat, with its tall red mast.
For the oblique perspective, take a short 10-minute drive from UCLA over to the Upper Canyonback Trailhead accessed at the end of Mulholland on what’s called ‘Dirt Mulholland’. Or, drive further up the road if the gate is open to San Vicente Mountain Park for trails that snake out in all directions to take you to overlooks towards the valley and to the West side. If you head west and onto any of the off-shoot trails, you’ll soon feel like you’re the only person in the world. It’s one of the few places so close to the city where you can feel such total isolation. No phone signal, no buildings, no people.
Darya Restaurant
Next time you find yourself at Blick Art Materials stocking up on supplies, head a little further down the road and park in the lot behind the IHOP. Fred Fisher’s beautiful office is at the end of the block in the lovely former office building designed and originally occupied by Frederick E. Emmons and A. Quincy Jones. It’s a stunning little gem of a modernist building, finishing off a block that is remarkably, and indescribably plain. But in the middle of the block, you’ll find another gem, Darya Restaurant, a Persian restaurant that transports you away from Santa Monica Boulevard into the heart of the Persian community. Order the Juicy Chicken (it is very), and I recommend the cherry rice.
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