Echo Park is the perfect place to have an art walk (preferably during the day, before the Tec-9 fire/stabbings erupt). It’s also a somewhat chaotic affair, strung throughout suburbs surrounding the local paddleboat haven/mini-tropical Watts: galleries in garages and lofts; museums in backyards, and hawkers peddling hand-crafted wares in front of their houses. Obviously it ain’t like walking into your local MOCA/MOMA, especially since the actual ‘museum’ is 2+ miles long and a good 15 degrees hotter.
And pleasantly disorienting: my accomplice and I got lost almost immediately; thank god those starving artists had child laborers to provide us with chalk drawing-maps and cotton candy!
Unlike the actual park, there are very few palm trees in these subdivisions, lending the ‘burbs an almost Midwestern milieu. If you’ve ever been to Chicago, it’s kind of like that — lots of closely-knit duplexes with live music in the backyard, hawkers peddling homemade wares as you ponder which kind of craft to buy. I really felt like I was back home in the D.C. area, where artsy-fartsy communes and backyard parties were commonplace. Some of the acts here were damn good. There was the Daft-Punk-y type band with silver linens on their heads, a couple houses down, the 90′s alt-rock band; babbling on corners, the occasional street musician.
Then there’s other Echo Park locales, like the Time Travel Mart. The joint sells a history of mustaches in a bag and even medieval chain-mail, adding to the charm. There’s a treasure -trove of novelty items at TTM — clearly this used to be a liquor store; the fridge that used to house the beer is now incubating dinosaur eggs. Mainly there’s artists who know their endeavors are destined to remain in the realm of pro-bono, and could really care less. Like the guy selling his drawings of Teddy Roosevelt riding dinosaurs, with all proceeds donated to the Hodgekins-Lymphoma Society.
I know it’s unfair to rank something so DIY as a neighborhood art walk alongside a museum or any kind of professional establishment. The point is, does it somewhat inspire the soul, at least a little? Or is it a half-assed effort among the masses to try and get noticed? The bottom line was that this was a homey community, packed with some extremely talented people, all trying their best to make it as artists, but in the end the art:walk ratio might have left a little to be desired. If you go next year, it might help to know that what you’re lacking in talent, you’ll be making up for in culture.
The good news is that Echo Park has the potential to be something big. I remember coming here a couple years ago and there was nothing much other than hipsters without the art — and maybe it’s the Chicago vibe this place is giving off, but the diversity of art here, and the talent behind it all, is what makes it so much fun. Good people making good things, and most of the time for a good cause? Plus you’ll burn some calories. Stop bitching already.
