Iconic La

The 12 buildings of Iconic LA, identifiable the world over, demonstrate the personality and power of Los Angeles as a major metropolis. Each of these buildings has played a role in the human drama- rife with intrigue, political struggle, tragedy, and triumph.

"Los Angeles is a city whose buildings define it, a city whose buildings are instantly recognizable. A bestseller in hardcover, Iconic L.A. has been completely updated and revised to include Case Study House #8, the famed steel-and- glass masterpiece designed by Charles and Ray Eames"--Provided by publisher.

‘A wonderful, fascinating, fun collection of memories and stories.' Shirley Bassey 'Dazzling from start to finish.' Joanna Lumley Dame Zandra Rhodes has spent her life rallying against what was expected of her, both as a designer and a woman. Often perceived as too bold for the mainstream, she fought for creativity and individuality, and continues to achieve both in everything she does. In this insightful memoir, Zandra shares her life story for the first time. Told through a variety of mementos collected over the years, it is a vibrant account filled with rockstars and royalty, of life-changing friendships and poignant reflections on her personal triumphs and tragedies, as well as the fears, sacrifices and pressures that come with being an era-defining designer. From a road trip to Rome with Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell, to opening her first London store thanks to a kind loan from Vanessa Redgrave while Joe Cocker sang With a Little Help From My Friends; from judging Andrew Logan's Alternative Miss World with David Hockney and Angie Bowie which was so packed that even David Bowie couldn't get in, to hanging out with Andy Warhol and Halston in New York's Studio 54; from friendships with legends such as Karl Lagerfeld and Diana Vreeland to designing for everyone from Freddie Mercury to Diana Ross, from Princess Diana to Barbra Streisand. Iconic gives the reader a sense of being right alongside Zandra through all the highs and lows of her extraordinary life. Capturing the rich and unexpected life of a British icon, this memoir explores what it is to defy the norm. ‘Zandra Rhodes has changed the course of fashion history.' Suzy Menkes, fashion journalist

Dingbat 2.0 is the first critical study of the most ubiquitous and mundane building type in Los Angeles: the dingbat apartment. Often dismissed as ugly and unremarkable, dingbat apartments have qualities that arguably make them innovative, iconoclastic, and distinctly "L.A." For more than half a century the idiosyncratic dingbat has been largely anonymous, occasionally fetishized and often misunderstood. Praised and vilified in equal measure, dingbat apartments were a critical enabler of Los Angeles' rapid postwar urban expansion. While these apartments are known for their variety of midcentury decorated facades, less explored is the way they have contributed to a consistency of urban density achieved by few other twentieth century cities. Dingbat 2.0 integrates essays and discussions by some of today's leading architects, urbanists and cultural critics with photographic series, typological analysis, and speculative designs from around the world to propose alternate futures for Los Angeles housing and to consider how qualities of the inarguably flawed housing type can foreground many crucial issues facing global metropolises today. Dingbat 2.0 gives an often-maligned Los Angeles building type its long overdue moment in the sun, not only advancing a sophisticated typology of dingbats, but also reimagining the potential of the dingbat for the twenty-first century--at a moment when the imperative to create livable and modest affordable housing is more pressing than ever. - Ken Bernstein, Principal City Planner, Los Angeles Department of City Planning and Office of Historic Resources This book is extremely valuable for designers, particularly when one considers that architects generate species of buildings. An in-depth study of this particularly indigenous species to Los Angeles allows architects to not only become familiar with the causes and effects of the dingbat, but also the many possibilities for its future morphologies. - Jimenez Lai, founder and creator of Bureau Spectacular One of the many brilliances of this great book is the telling comparison of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye--raised on its skinny pilotis to create an entirely ornamental void--and the dingbat--likewise lally column-upped in the air but usefully making room for cars beneath. Ever not quite modern, Corb pontificated about "machines for living" while never quite knowing what to do with their true enabler: the machine for leaving. The indelible dingbat is a sandwich of necessity and desire that bespeaks the throwaway (and getaway) modernity uniquely Made in L.A. -- Michael Sorkin, Architect, Urbanist and Author; Principal, Michael Sorkin Studio

Going far beyond basic historical information, this two-volume work examines the deep roots of Mexican culture and their meaning to modern Mexico. In this book, readers will find rich, in-depth treatments by renowned as well as up-and-coming scholars on the most iconic people, places, social movements, and cultural manifestations—including food, dress, film, and music—that have given shape and meaning to modern Mexico and its people. Presenting authoritative information written by scholars in a format that is easily accessible to general audiences, this book serves as a useful and thorough reference tool for all readers. This work combines extensive historical treatment accompanied by illuminating and fresh analysis that will appeal to readers of all levels, from those just exploring the concept of "Mexico" to those already familiar with Mexico and Latin America. Each entry functions as a portal into Mexican history, culture, and politics, while also showing how cultural phenomena have transformed over the years and continue to resonate into today.

Architectural details and stories about 13 of the most distinctive structures in LA. Foreword by Frank Gehry.

Iconicity has become a popular notion in contemporary linguistic research. This book is the first to present a synthesis of the vast amount of scholarship on linguistic iconicity which has been produced in the previous decades, ranging from iconicity in phonology and morpho-syntax to the role of iconicity in language change. An extensive analysis is provided of some basic but nonetheless fundamental questions relating to iconicity in language, including: what is a linguistic sign and how are linguistic signs different from signs in general? What is an iconic sign and how may iconicity be involved in language? How does iconicity pertain to the relation between language and cognition? This book offers a new and comprehensive theoretical framework for iconicity in language. It is argued that the linguistic sign is fundamentally arbitrary, but that iconicity may be involved on a secondary level, adding extra meaning to an utterance.

Based on an international exhibition curated by the authors, Beyond the Iconic presents revolutionary imagery - 139 contemporary images from 24 photographers whose work is preserved in the permanent collection of the renowned Carnavalet Museum in Paris. These artists reinterpret the city, capturing the day-to-day realities of everyone's favourite capital. They explore aspects of Paris that are rarely shown and collectively offer an alternative to the canonical representation of the City of Light.

Richly photographed and authentically local, LA Mexicano showcases LA’s famously rich and complex Mexican-food culture, including recipes; profiles of chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, and vendors; and neighborhood guides. Part cookbook, part food journalism, and part love song to LA, it's the definitive resource for home cooks, hungry Angelenos, and food-loving visitors. With a foreword by Taco USA's Gustavo Arellano.

Suburban life, complete with a mini van and threeoops four!kids, is mined for laughs by this Los Angeles Times columnist.