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Old Posted Nov 18, 2006, 7:14 PM
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dktshb dktshb is offline
Environmental Sabotage
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: San Francisco/ Los Angeles/ Tahoe
Posts: 5,048
Quote:
Originally Posted by edluva
Say what one will about LA's skyline "for its size", but while chicago has a huge skyline, downtown, whatever, or while it may feel more "city-like", one look at these panos and I'm reminded of how Chicago feels rather smallish in comparison. LA does not tempt a summary of its totality via it's downtown, it's best art museum, its urbanism, its architecture, or any other singular, readily concievable, easily measurable testament to man's technical ingenuity and will. It takes a lot more than that with LA. LA may not be as grandiose as Paris, NY, London, or SF, but it's much grander within the human psyche. As often as I feel the urge to just cut and leave sometimes, something draws me back. LAs the consummation of all my fascination with the human condition - through LA, I understand cities to be extensions of our collective spirit the way art is a reflection of the artist's soul. In my mind, LA is a manifestation far greater than its physical aesthetic. Yes, every city should avoid becoming hollywood in favor of ballet, theatre, and other "real arts". Yes, every city must build great parks, bridges, and museums, fight global franchise establishments, and all that other romantic stuff. Everybody talks about how LA has no center, how it sprawls too much to be a real city (as seen in these panos), how it's suburban, how it lacks "sense of place", of how NY doesn't. LA is a place in mind. If Chicago is the modernist city archetype, LA is the postmodern world in which we realize the value of archetypes.

goodnight.
I agree, it's almost like LA really takes ahold of your subconscious ... there is that "feeling" about it that's almost spiritual yet not tangible to describe.
Whenever I find myself fed up with some of its "imperfections" the thought of leaving runs through my head, but that thought is immediately followed by a gut panic attack feeling because for me, there is no other place that has more of a "sense of place" than LA.
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