Invisible L.A.

I love anything retro, and many things silly, if they are well done. So the other night, when Anne, my adventure buddy, told me about Charles Phoenix’s Retro Holiday Slideshow from the 50’s and 60’s, I was so excited! Especially since I had never been to the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, certainly a cinematic landmark in our Mecca of film.

A little back story before the film portion of this post: Charles Phoenix grew up in the L.A. area and always had a love for things kitsch-y. One day, several years back, he was rooting around in a thrift shop when he came across a small blue box of slides marked “our trip across country 1957” and in that fateful moment, his life came into sharper focus (pun intended). What began as a casual collection (ok, an obsessed collection), soon turned into an passion shared with the world at large through these slide-show-cum-commentary presentations. Charles has been asked to present these glimpses into American history in the innocent years all around the U.S. and in Europe. I think it says on his website that he now has over 500,000 slides that he has collected from thrift shops, estate sales, flea markets and the like. His audience members often give him their family slides when they come to the show. They are amazing because of their momentary look into the living rooms and front yards of regular people, and I have to say my favorite of all was a slide of a home-fashioned styrofoam and tinfoil tree on a raft, listing to the left, in someone’s swimming pool.

Wikipedia has a great definition of kitsch (and here’s part of it):

Kitsch is a German term that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. The term is also used more loosely in referring to any art that is pretentious or in bad taste, and also commercially produced items that are considered trite or crass.

Because the word was brought into use as a response to a large amount of art in the 19th century where the aesthetic of art work was confused with a sense of exaggerated sentimentality or , kitsch is most closely associated with art that is sentimental; however, it can be used to refer to any type of art that is deficient for similar reasons—whether it tries to appear sentimental, glamorous, theatrical, or creative, kitsch is said to be a gesture imitative of the superficial appearances of art. It is often said that kitsch relies on merely repeating convention and formula, lacking the sense of creativity and originality displayed in genuine art.

Though kitsch and kitschy may be terms used to criticize, the term is sometimes used as a compliment as well, with some finding kitschy artwork to be enjoyable for its “retro” value or unintentional, ironic humor or garishness. [my emphasis]

Well, Charles’ performance piece (those words don’t do it justice, I promise!) was certainly ‘enjoyable for it’s retro value and ironic humor’, no doubt, but it really was also surprisingly touching and screamingly funny (I laughed so hard that tears were pouring down my face) and smart at the same time. Charles is a true chronicler of what he calls ‘Americana’: the cultural mores of the American 1950’s and 1960’s. In fact, he has a book by that name: God Bless Americana.

If you’re a fan of retro (which I am!!!!), check out his great website CharlesPhoenix.com and don’t forget to sign up for his “Slide of the Week“, where he sends out one of his retro postcards (plus commentary) every week via email.

Also, Charles will be presenting his slide show several more times during December at the Egyptian, it’s well worth the trip to Hollywood!

Charles Phoenix Retro Holiday Slideshow

Here are a couple of video treats for you! Charles showing us how to make the famous ‘Astro Weenie Christmas Tree’—wow!

I’m sorry, I am experiencing technical difficulties, so please come see the video in my ‘Christmas Hacks’ post on my other blog, It’s Not About Your Stuff. (photo courtesy of sheer incompetence)

And here, dear new readers, is the first ever of my fabulous hand-crafted cellphone videos! This one is called

A night in Hollywood

(still in the working stages. You have to have the free and friendly Quicktime Player installed on your computer, and I didn’t realize that if I held the camera sideways, I wouldn’t be able to flip it like a photo, so forgive me!)