Off-Rampers Invade, Bitching Ensues


Well, shit boy damn. Get your waders on. It's the second Thursday of the month and the Downtown Art Walk has come to grace us with its almighty presence once again. It seemed like only yesterday I was fighting through a bunch of nescient West-Siders, trust fund hipsters, and the increasingly rare actual art lover (all potential downtown residents BTW) demanding free drinks and kibble from Costco snack platters. Of course, it's a pretty decent night to hang out with your neighbors and talk trash while bemoaning the impossible lines at some of our favorite places around Gallery Row as well.

For many Downtown Los Angeles residents, including myself, Art Walk comes with mixed emotions. I hate to be a hater, and pushing the paradoxical conundrum of that statement aside, I really do want to just sit back and enjoy this night. Unfortunately, Downtown Art Walk often has the capacity to bring out the bah-fucking-humbug in me.

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great things about Art Walk. In part, I really am glad that it's grown from its humble beginings to such a massive force. As more people have come in, the quality of the art has gone up ten-fold. It helps to keep some of our favorite downtown business owners in the green, and that's great. Also, with galleries doing more and more business, it helps cement the art community here, which has been getting pushed out of Downtown with increased rent and gentrification (granted, it's becoming more gallery, less artist oriented, but you get my point). More galleries have been moving in, and regardless of whether they're good galleries or not, I'll take them any day over a Gap, Starbucks, or CPK. Unfortunately, the bigger our Art Walk has become, the more like a USC frat party it's gotten, and the more yuppie Off-Rampers it brings into Downtown.

At it's root, the event really is all about the art, and how can I be pissed off at art? The fact of the matter is, I can't. I love art. Even if a lot of the art featured here is not that good, it's still art; and though some of the pieces are bad, our Art Walk has gotten loads better since its inception. Rarely now will I see the 1990s burning-man-inspired-techno-ertotic-art that was so prevalent in our not so distant past. In fact, last month I had the extreme pleasure to notice not only Ed Ruscha, Andre Masson, and Andy Warhol pieces up at the Marks on Paper exhibition at Pharmaka, but one of my all time favorite pieces of album art was up on display: Raymond Pettibone's artwork for Sonic Youth's Goo. Boi-oi-oing! (that was the sound my boner makes in case you were curious.)

Like I mentioned previously, the event is great for Downtown business as well. No question, for the businesses on Gallery Row and in the Old Bank District, this has got to be one of their most profitable days of the month. At the same time, for property owners, this is one big free advertisement for them to show off their buildings to the influx of Off-Rampers (kind of like the Downtown News (OH DAMN! BURN! IT HURTS IT HURTS!)) For example watch how the scaffolding around the Rowan Building comes down each second Thursday. I'm not sure if I want any more of the squeemishly sheltered, LA Live loving, 3rd Street Promenade walkers from what they term the "Best-Side" (see they switched that w out for a b... isn't that clever?) moving in down here with their Grove inspired ideals, but you win some you lose some, and I'll save my thoughts on the whole gentrification issue for another post.

All bah-humbuggery aside, you'll still find me in attendance. Even if I am wearing a scowl as I push through the crowds, I still believe in coming out and supporting the event... although, I'm not opposed to one friend's idea of some selective muggings to keep the Off-Ramp crowd at bay.

Downtown Art Walk runs 12noon-ish to 9PM-ish around the Gallery Row area.

EDIT: The scaffolding didn't come down around the Rowan today. I stand corrected.