Culture of Los Angeles
Boosters such as Dorothy Buffum Chandler and other philanthropists raised funds for the establishment of art museums, music centers and theaters.
[citation needed] Los Angeles is strongly influenced by Mexican American culture due to California formerly being part of Mexico and, previously, the Spanish Empire.
Old industries have declined, including farming, oil, military and aircraft, but tourism, entertainment and high-tech remain strong.
Architects such as Richard Neutra, Jack Charney, Pierre Koenig, John Lautner and Frank Lloyd Wright all have important works in the city.
In recognition of this heritage, the recently built Metropolitan Transit Authority building incorporates subtle Art Deco characteristics.
[citation needed] The plein air movement of impressionistic landscape painting found early adherents in the Los Angeles area.
Public Art in the downtown area of Los Angeles during the 1970s was characterized by large abstract sculptures such as Herbert Bayer's Double Ascension (1973), and Alexander Calder's Four Arches (1973)[14] installed with the commercial redevelopment of Bunker Hill.
In 1989 the City passed an ordinance requiring developers to contribute one percent of the cost of construction of new buildings to a public art fund.
A local exponent of pop art was Ed Ruscha, some of whose work was representational, others consisted of simple slogans or mottoes which were usually humorous, being so far out of the context where such statements would normally appear.
An example of this is Nice Hot Vegetables Larry Bell, for example, explored the interaction of a sculpture to its environment, demonstrating that the boundaries are usually not entirely clear.
David Hockney, an English immigrant, produced figurative paintings set in idyllic Southern California locales, such as swimming pools in the bright sunlight, belonging to modernist houses.
It was during this period that the contemporary arts scene in Los Angeles began to command the attention of collectors and museum directors internationally.
The growth of Los Angeles as an art capital was first comprehensively documented in a series of exhibitions partially funded and spearheaded by the Getty, but held at all major museums during the Fall of 2011.
"The exhibitions, and the events that accompanied them as part of "Pacific Standard Time" demonstrated the pivotal role played by Southern California in national and international artistic movements since the middle of the 20th century.
Art institutions from Santa Barbara to San Diego are joining together to create programs that highlighted the region's vibrant artistic scene.
"[1] Culver City's La Cienega Boulevard features one of the highest concentrations of fine art galleries and studios in Southern California.
The trendy bohemian neighborhoods of Silver Lake and Los Feliz are home to numerous smaller galleries, showcasing local or underground art.
[citation needed] Los Angeles is the home of the Cobb Salad, invented in the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, the French-Dip sandwich, originated early in the 20th century by either Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet or Phillippe's—both of which still exist downtown, the ice blended coffee drink by Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Original Tommy's Hamburger.
Japanese food in particular is a staple of Los Angeles' haute cuisine scene with places like Urasawa in Beverly Hills, Nobu in Malibu and Koi in Hollywood.
Although film production in Los Angeles remains the most important center for the medium, Hollywood has become more international, thus it faces increasing competition, however, from other parts of the United States and from the Canadian cities of Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario as well as numerous other countries around the world such as Romania and Australasia that provide Hollywood with lower production costs.
[citation needed] Los Angeles had a vibrant African-American musical community even when it was relatively small: a number of musical artists congregated around Central Avenue, and the community produced a number of great talents, including Charles Mingus, Buddy Collette, Gerald Wilson, and others in the 1930s and 1940s before disappearing in the 1950s.
Much hard rock has come out of Los Angeles, including legendary hard rockers Van Halen from nearby Pasadena, "hair bands" like Mötley Crüe, Ratt, W.A.S.P., and Guns N' Roses, thrash metal acts like Megadeth, Metallica (who later relocated to San Francisco) and Slayer (from Huntington Park), and also 1990s rock bands such as Jane's Addiction, Korn, The Offspring, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In the 1990s and early 21st century, Los Angeles' contribution to rock music continued with acclaimed artists such as Beck, Sublime of Long Beach, Tool, System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, Crazy Town, No Doubt, Linkin Park, The Calling, Incubus, Hoobastank, Lifehouse, Eve 6, Sugar Ray, Deftones, Papa Roach, Alien Ant Farm, In This Moment, Avenged Sevenfold, AFI, Saosin, and Thirty Seconds to Mars.
In addition, the gangsta rap of N.W.A, and later the solo careers of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg, among related acts, reestablished Los Angeles (particularly the communities of Long Beach and Compton) as a center of African-American musical development and G-funk as one of hip-hop's major living styles.
The 2000s saw a further flourishing of the Los Angeles rock scene with acclaimed acts such as Maroon 5 and a resurgence in West Coast hip hop in the form of rappers such as The Game.
The pop singers such as Belinda Carlisle, Paula Abdul, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Fergie, Hilary Duff, Ashlee Simpson, Jesse McCartney, Aly & AJ, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Colbie Caillat, Sara Bareilles, Katy Perry, Kesha, and Ariana Grande also anchored their singing careers in Los Angeles area as well.
The Music Center consists of the new Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Ahmanson Theatre, and the Mark Taper Forum.
[citation needed] The demands of scoring thousands of hours of soundtracks for TV and movies also provides work for composers and classically trained musicians, bands, orchestras, and symphonies.
Below is a list of many ethnic enclaves present in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where their cultures contribute to the cosmopolitan nature of the city.
