I, wander.
Spiderman Crosses Paths with Elvis, Hollywood
I find the best work is done when you are lost, no idea where you are, no clue what time it is, and you stumble upon the unknown, the dangerous, the beautiful – hard-bitten, disintegrating shards of the streets. I keep a ready eye out for mood. Noir is not just for the night, you can find it anywhere, lurking in the most familiar places, waiting for you to put a frame around it.
Driver and His Parrot – Pasadena
I shoot mostly with mobile phones. Some say this devalues the art form and the craft. For once I can get behind Anne Leibovitz when she calls the iPhone, “the snapshot camera of today”. But I do not get hung up on technology itself as a form of liberation as it overwhelms and codifies our lives – art must continue to fight against the literal and take up arms against the reduction of existence to a set of data points. After all, why shouldn’t the crude and the ridiculous have the raw power to lead us to the sublime?
Crutch in Canal – Venice
A neighbor sprawled out on his back, sunbathing on a concrete parking lot. A crumbling apartment building plastered with hand-scrawled warnings. On a dirty street corner, an oversized stuffed dog left to unravel. The everyday is a bounty, punctuated by unexpected poetic fragments, voyeuristic threats and cosmic laughter, defiant against explanation.
The Sunbather – Silverlake
I came to Los Angeles a few years ago seeking reinvention. Yet, I discovered that while we all look to the sparkling mansions on the hills, hoping to be called and touched by their superficial glory, the streets have the real magic.”
Where to Find Dan
More Images From Jim Rooster’s Diary
Terrorism Against Armenians – Silverlake
Dirty Stuffed Animal – Filipino Town
Man Cradles Chihuahua, – Venice
Parking Eye – Los Feliz
Terrorism Against Armenians – Silverlake
Vagrant Downtown LA
