Look Up: (#7)

Next time you are in the library community room, look up. Seriously, LOOK UP AT THAT AMAZING CEILING AND DRAMATIC PENDANT LAMP! (The flowers on the beams get me every single time. I just dare you not to sigh or smile when you see them.)

They don't make 'em like that anymore.

For more on the art and architecture of the South Pasadena Public Library, check out my column from last year at Patch. Coming soon: details on the history of the majestic library fig tree -- another great South Pas object begging for you to look up.

With this, I wrap up Look Up Week. It was fun taking a closer look at things above us. Several readers have wondered if I take requests for theme weeks. You bet! Just leave a comment or send me an email. (My email address is linked on the right side of the blog.) Just know that if you guys want a Craftsman week, I (and a whole lot of talented San Gabriel bloggers) have already pointed out what a challenge that can be...

Look Up: (#6)

When the world at eye level is too bleak and monochromatic, it helps me to look up at the sunset sky. Colors bloom and wither so quickly, if you're not paying attention you just might miss a moment of perfect, harmonious bliss. (Lucky for me, I captured it in the camera yesterday, just outside of OSH.)

I've been looking up this week -- literally and figuratively.

Look Up: (#5)

I don't need an excuse to look up at the beautiful details of the historical Baranger Studios building. It draws my eyes upward every time I pass by...

(For more details about the history and whimsy of this wonderful place, click here.)

This week is Look Up Week: join me as I point my camera above me.

Look Up: (#4)

We've all looked up to this South Pas landmark. But what many people don't know is that beneath this water tower, in a funky little house, lived one of the most influential contemporary artists of the 20th Century.

Many of us looked up to Mike Kelley, whose quiet, domestic years as a South Pasadena resident offered a sharp contrast to the messy complexity and downright punk aesthetic of his work. Most of us had no idea such a radical art legend lived in that little house under the water tower. I shot many pictures of the house, never knowing who the owner might be. (Not even with clues like this one.) Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight once described Kelley as “an avatar of the power and humanity inherent in recognizing the radical impurity of human experience. His art searches out dark and soiled places where defects, fault lines and inadequacies are obvious and routine, and where failure takes on the poignant, fragile, even heartbreaking beauty that accompanies any loss of self.”

Mike Kelley passed away last week at the age of 57. 57 years old is too damn young for anyone to leave this world -- especially someone as rambunctious, groundbreaking, complex and passionate as Mike Kelley.

As I look upward now, I wish him luck, love and wild inspiration on his next adventure. If the spirit world is in need of a good shaking up, Mike Kelley is just the right rebel angel for the job.

UPDATE: Please check out Pasadena Adjacent's moving post about Mike Kelley. Be sure to click on the videos -- including the one in the comments section.

This week is Look Up Week -- a chance to look at things above us.

Look Up: (#3)

At some point telephone poles will become as obsolete as Victrolas, dictophones and typewriters. Sure, it will be nice not having to worry about downed power lines in storms, but underground cables and wifi hubs just don't have the romance of these wonderful, old relics.

It's Look Up Week this week here at Glimpses! Join me as I point my camera toward the sky.

Look Up: (#2)

I've been taking pictures of the iconic Monterey Hills home for years, but this is the first time I snuck into the front yard and crouched on the ground to do it. Can you blame me? Builder C. S. Conners' gorgeous, soaring white angles look more like sculpture than architecture.

And guess what? If you've got a spare 1.5 million, the place can be yours. Recently listed, the house has a unique open floor plan, light-filled rooms offering magnificent views of the San Gabriels and even a pool. (You can find out more about the listing right here.)

It's Look Up Week this week at Glimpses: South Pas views from the ground up.

Look Up: (#1)

This week, I plan on sticking my nose in the air. Don't worry, I'm not trying to give attitude ... just altering my perspective a bit here at Glimpses.

Ever notice how different your surroundings appear when you study them from a different angle? Let's take a look at some familiar things from bottom to top. Hey, we've all got to find something to look up to!

Here, we see one of the new retro street lamps on Fair Oaks Avenue. Long-time readers know how I feel about the colossal mess that was the Fair Oaks construction project. The bulb-outs are idiotic, the asphalt/concrete/faux brick blend made uneven patchwork of a perfectly fine thoroughfare, the median planters impede traffic and the loss to our business district from months of gridlock is still being felt by local merchants.

And then, there's all that money that was spent on something that, in the end, turned out to be a city embarrassment rather than a city improvement.

But I will give credit where credit is due: the street lamps are really pretty. Especially with a milky blue sky as a backdrop.

Stick around with me for the rest of Look Up Week: a series of familiar things that tower above us.