“The average American consumes a whopping 34GB of data and 100,000 words of information per day.” Holy overload Batman! Thankfully, some of that information I shot in Detroit Rock City was pretty easy on the eyes.
Photos by Dustin Downing
“Graffiti and graffito are from the Italian word graffiato (“scratched“)”
As I travel this diverse landscape of ours I oft notice the “gifts” given by the unknown artists of the streets. I say this with a light tone as I know not all are in it for the progression of their respectful specialties(tagging, stencil, aerosol,etc.). Often there is undue property damage and defacing, but there will be no judging here. I hope to use “scRatched” as a way for you to tour the same “galleries” I am afforded in my travels. Enjoy.
I have utmost admiration for any artist, who understands that the creation of the piece itself, most likely assures it’s eventual destruction.
Words and photos by Dustin Downing
The Heidelberg Project was created in 1986 by artist Tyree Guyton and his grandfather Sam Mackey as a form of political protest to the deteriorating Detroit neighborhoods of his youth. It is comprised of numerous decrepit houses adorned with stuffed animals, brightly colored dots, and strange number patterns. The main goal was to develop the city’s first indoor/outdoor museum, creative center, and neighborhood gathering space.
(Yes, that’s Bjork!)
Does anyone remember Michael Alig? Oh, come on, you must: legendary club promoter? Leader of the infamous “Club Kids”? Inspiration for the movie Party Monster? Currently imprisoned due to murdering, injecting with Drano, & dismembering Andre “Angel” Melendez, resident drug dealer at The Limelight?
As much as I love to explore new cities, for me no trip is complete without a thorough investigation of the best places to shop. I can’t help it — it’s just how I am. I do judge a city partially on its materialistic merits.
The indie streetwear business can be fickle. In Chicago alone, many boutiques that focus on carrying super exclusive kicks and Ts have come and gone lately. But a few have held strong, including Jugrnaut—the only shop of its kind standing in Chicago’s downtown, loop area.
Around Halloween, the inhabitants of all those cozily, carefully-shrouded McMansions in Beverly Hills turn their eyes to the scariest thing in town: The Witch House, which looks like something like a cross between the Gingerbread House in Hansel and Gretel, and a hobbit home in Rivendell. It was built in the 1920s for a bunch of silent, and presumably creepy, films — hey, it was used in the Alicia Silverstone movie Clueless! — before finally being relocated to Beverly Hills. Unfortunately it’s not something open to public view, so the best you can hope for is a drive-by, or, for the particularly brave, a nosy peek through the windows.
Venice Beach is still one of those quintessential California playgrounds, built on old tobacco money, complete with giant sandbox. Walking down Ocean Front Walk on a scorching afternoon, you can expect to be greeted by a cavalcade of street performers, colorful vagrants, fragrant proponents of legalized marijuana and, of course, shiny tanned bodies on display. Venice wouldn’t be Venice without Muscle Beach – an open air fitness arena where the buff and the beautiful can tone to perfection, while the hordes of tourists look on, thoughtfully chewing away at $1 pizza slices [sold nearby].
Fall has come to LA. Sort of. While we’re trying to shake the September gloom that visits SoCal every year there are plenty of delicious benefits to be reaped. Take the Farmers’ Market on Fairfax, for instance. Whether you plan to sticking to your raw/vegan/liquid diet or aim to search and destroy an assortment of baked delights under the season’s hazy sunshine, this is the place to be. Tons of international restaurants and a maze or produce are sure to offer something you can’t live without – last week I fell victim to an incredible batch of guacamole, cherries and a large jar of caramel sauce. Mmm.Visitors can sit down for a meal or browse the isles – shiny vegetables piled high, stacks of home-made chocolate-covered everything, spices and teas are just some of the treats available. The official Farmer’s Market event takes place on Fridays and Saturdays, but the restaurants are open daily. Resistance is futile.
Words and photos by Zoetica Ebb
At the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, the Santa Monica pier stretches into the ocean. Though open daily, on weekends it overflows with humans and their young – mesmerized by shiny arcades, slightly overpriced restaurants and hobos trying to escape kamikaze flocks of shit-shooting seagulls. Smells of cheeseburgers, sea and teenage love mingle with radiating smiles of green plastic lizards exhibiting themselves on the side, price tags on their tails. A roller-coaster full of children roars through the air. The first and only solar powered Ferris Wheel towers above it all. The sun dips its lower end into the ocean, street performers and fishermen smile into the pink rays enveloping the beach before the onset of night.
