by:
arik seidenglanz
written for the
LA TIMES
April 24 2024
In the thick, smog-laden skies of Los Angeles, where the architectural skyline tells a story deeper than its etched surfaces, lies a tale not just of buildings but of forgotten narratives and cultural hijacking. Here, amidst the cacophony of urban sprawl, my engagement with the narrative of Harwell Hamilton Harris and Jean Bangs persists—muted yet persistently echoing through the modernist facades.
Harris, a maestro of the understated, wove the fabric of functional beauty into the Californian landscape, yet his legacy lingers in the shadows, overshadowed by commercial giants with slicker narratives and shinier portfolios. Jean Bangs, a compatriot in our architectural symphony, shared the baton in crafting a magazine that was less a publication and more a manifesto of modernism. Yet, in a twist of fate or a deliberate turn of the capitalist wheel, this manifesto found its way into the hands of John Entenza, a name now synonymous with the Case Study Houses that dot the Hollywood hills like stars in the smog.
This transition from the educational to the commercial, from Harris and Bangs' thoughtful articulations to Entenza’s market-driven spectacle, reflects a broader cultural amnesia. It's where the depth of architectural discourse is diluted for mass consumption—served up on glossy magazine pages that cater more to advertisers than to aspirants of architectural truth.
I find myself amidst a cultural battleground, where the weapons are not bricks and mortar but narratives spun with the silk of eloquence yet armed with the sharpness of critique. Here in the dance of chaos and clarity, each of my sentences slices through the facade of architectural commercialism like a razor through silk.
Los Angeles, in its sprawling glory, becomes a microcosm of this battle—a field where the ghosts of architectural past vie for recognition against the backdrop of modernist spectacle. It’s not just about the buildings or their creators, but about the very soul of a city often sold to the highest bidder, where the depth of history is as easily overlooked as the homeless on Venice Beach.
This is the dual nature of my architectural discourse—both a critique and a victim of its own narcissism, reflecting a city caught between its image of itself and the reality it inhabits. Here, I navigate these troubled waters, not to mimic but to forge a path in the footsteps of giants, aware but not arrogant, always probing for deeper truths.
In laying out this landscape, I don’t just recount history; I unearth it, challenge it, and rewrite it. I’m not here to simplify but to complexify, to turn the architectural and cultural narrative of Los Angeles inside out—examining every brick for its story and every skyline for its lie. This is not just journalism; this is my crusade for truth—raw, unfiltered, and achingly beautiful—not just in its prose but in its relentless pursuit of authenticity.