On May 11, 2008, Pecha Kucha (name derives from a Japanese term for the sound of conversation (“chit-chat”) hosted Femmes Fatales, a 20 sildes in 20 seconds for each slide to show off their work by accomplished women in the field of design, art and architecture. There were various ideas, approaches and works that quantify the diversity of women who are gaining an edge towards a specific subject towards society and the built environment. 20 women of different backgrounds challenges and embraces the notion that women can stir the kettle while the world is changing from sustainability, gender identity, feminine empowerment and theoretical musings.
A few individuals presented their slides with no explanation but the images evoke some soliloquy in their work. Another presenter, Christine Magar of Greenform, presented her slides in the role of sexual politics by using fruit (apple, pomegranate) to objectify as being a sexual organ, the reintroduction of the dysphoria of men’s objectivity to the female’s body part by renaming them with such candor (mangina, pentacunt). Pat Morton presented her slides in learning and to love the work of gay architects, most notably Charles Moore and Phillip Johnson, which she describes, their work as being Campy (adj. deliberately artificial, vulgar, or banal quality).
All in all, it’s good to see woman architects to share their ideas and to social network with other people in the audience in order to become an integral part of society. More and more women are playing roles in our society and government, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House), Gail Goldberg (Director of LA City Planning and Development) and Karen Bass (California’s Assembly Speaker). The act of women is as important to the failures of men.
Mangina (term used by Christine Magar)
Song of the Blog: Give’er by Peaches on the CD Impeach My Bush
The director of Los Angeles City Planning, Gail Goldberg, who came from the San Diego Planning Department in 2006 to revamp and reconstituted the planning department came to a panel discussion about the future of the San Fernando Valley at Woodbury University in Burbank to explain the audience that the planning department will do real planning and one of the aspects for having good planning is to have good design. The name of the symposium event is Shifting Focus: Architecture, Urbanism, & Development in the San Fernando Valley. She says in general that Los Angeles doesn’t have good planning, to say the least, any planning (which is true). Her intentions are to have the community be involve in the process and that designers, architects and urbanist will play an important role in all. The hope is to gain a valuable paradigm for other cities to follow and gain more insight in redeveloping and redesigning the suburban landscape, which the San Fernando Valley is a good case study.
She explains that neighborhood (commercial) corridors will transform itself into mix-use; higher density and pedestrian oriented streets while most of the inner residential neighborhoods will still keep their character. She mentions that 23 planners in the downtown region will reassign to the valley to refocus and address the issues relevant to each community.
Right now, she mentions there is a new community plan program (look under Plans & Ordinances) for the communities around LA to redevelop and revitalize where communities can be sustainable and vibrant. The communities being focus in the Valley are Sylmar, Granada Hills and Sunland / Tujunga areas.
The hope is that the new City Planning Department will play a major role in which how is the City of Los Angeles will shape and re-landscape itself into a world-class urban city where the residents will feel proud of their community. We wait and see how the process will evolve and how innovative designers, architects and planners are going to be involved. The possibility is endless.
Director of City Planning for the City of Los Angeles, Gail Goldberg, with her mission and vision statement for the department and for Los Angeles.
Song of the Blog: Do Want You Gotta Do by Nina Simone on the CD The Essential Nina Simone