In 1971, the noted British architectural historian Reyner Banham wrote his seminal book on the city—Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. In 1972, Banham returned to Los Angeles with a BBC documentary crew to film a homage to the city with which he was so enthralled. Using Baede-Kar—a fictitious audio tour guide—Banham drove across Los Angeles meeting artists, filmmakers, and diner waitresses, enthusiastically extoling the qualities of the sprawling metropolis. In so doing, Banham, the auto-flanuer, part historian and part provocateur, created a new form of critic and an alternative model for studying the city.
During the 2016/17 academic year, the School of Architecture opens up its Wedge Gallery to explore and document the city. Taking the film Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles as a point of departure, the Wedge Gallery’s cycle Baeda-Kar will reexamine the history and speculate on the future of Los Angeles through a year of exhibitions, talks, and workshops involving students, faculty, and invited contributors.
Title: Drive In, Dive In
Exhibition: September 9, 6-8 p.m.
Title: A 5th Ecology
Exhibition: October 21, 6 p.m.
Title: Research Rear View
Exhibition: December 7, 6 p.m.
Where:
Wedge Gallery
Woodbury University – Burbank
7500 N. Glenoaks Boulevard
Burbank, Calif. 91504-7846
Wedge Gallery Director 2016-17:
Scrap Marshall, Adjunct Faculty – School of Architecture, Woodbury University
Residing in a sliver of the School of Architecture on the Woodbury campus, the Wedge Gallery is the exhibition venue for the Los Angeles location. The small gallery space presents multiple shows per semester, each fitting into an overarching theme. The space exhibits student work, giving students the opportunity to learn from their classmates’ drawings and models, as well as work by invited architects, artists, and faculty members. Exhibits usually include a workshop or discussion component to create a more robust exchange between the exhibitors and participants. Wedge Gallery is typically open while classes are in session, during the Fall and Spring semesters.