iT'S STreeT arT THurSDay in eaST HoLLyWooD! with Malibu pic of the day - Thursday, October 22, 2015

Dear Street Art Lovers and Lovers of all Kinds,

If you're a student of East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, you may enjoy today's offering just a little more than other folk. We've got a beautiful street art depiction of Guan Yin (Kannon, Guan-eum, or Quan Am). This is rendered by a fairly renowned Southwest street artist named El Mac, or Miles MacGregor.

Artist "El Mac" Miles MacGregor, Guan Yin, paint on stucco (detail).

If all people in Buddhist devotional art all look the same to you, you know you're looking at the
Bodhisattva Guan Yin when you see a fairly tall hat on the person and he/she is usually holding a lotus flower. We've got both here, therefore a positive ID. His/Her Indian name is Avalokitesvara. If you were an early convert to Roman Catholicism in 17th century Japan, you probably made your Virgin Mary items look like this to avoid official persecution. He/She is very Virgin Mary-like don't you think?

Stepping back to get the  whole picture, here's as much as I could get (the white pickup is extra). This Guan Yin oversees a VERY busy DIY car wash joint. We Angeleno drivers need all the blessing we can get  from any religion.

If you're thinking this looks familiar on this blog, you probably remember this fellow I introduced to you around Easter time:

Artist "El Mac" Miles MacGregor, Buddha, paint on stucco.

Same artist, El Mac. I believe this icon is a traditional depiction of Siddhartha Gautama, another Buddha. When I first photographed this mural I was just hurriedly walking down the street and did NOT realize there was the companion Guan Yin. I realized he/she was there when I was crawling along in traffic. I went back to take pics and found even more murals on the walls of the associated gas station. Since those are by a different artist, I will show those to you NEXT week.

Today, let just just enjoy the serenity of these two enlightened beings who watch over one of the busiest parts of Hollywood, Western Avenue between Melrose and Sunset.

Here's a context shot for you.

If you live in L.A., you have seen El Mac's work all over the place. Just Google him and choose Images. You will find these and SO much more.



AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SEASCAPE:

And here's what the Malibu coast looked like this morning:

A beautiful morning here in the Bu. Unfortunately it is a bad traffic morning, a nasty crash on PCH has cars backed up quite a distance in both directions. At least drivers can enjoy the view.

I heard an interesting review of a Chinese martial arts movie The Assassin so I decided go see it on it's very short release in L.A. (only 7 days).

It's apparently a prize-winning film at Cannes, but dang if it isn't one of the slowest moving films that I've seen in a long time. There are many times that the camera will just hold silently on an actor who is just sitting still for about 10 seconds or more.

The storytelling is extremely minimal as is the dialogue. If you want a film that shows T'ang Dynasty costumes and settings much like you would look at book of paintings, it works pretty well--it's beautiful that way. But it's a bit beyond me as a filmgoer. I'd give you a summary of the plot, but it's so minimal, to do that would essentially spoil what little action there is.  True to the review I heard, the fight scenes (there aren't very many, and they're short) do not employ magic or acrobatics. They seem like fights that would actually would have happened. So it delivers on that account. If you want flashy Hong Kong martial arts cinema, pass on this one.

Anyway, that's all I have to report today.

Love,
Pops