The self-guided tour will feature 10 properties ranging from nearly century old bungalows to mid-century cottages to Spanish colonial compounds. Most of these dwellings continue to serve as home to individuals involved in artistic fields, including dance, tile making and the entertainment industry.

One of the properties featured on the tour was built by Maynard L. Parker, a prolific photographs whose images were a frequent sight in home décor pages of the Los Angeles Times and other national publications from the 1940s through the early 1970s. Parker’s photos, which are housed at the Huntington Library, ranged from typical Southern California tract homes to interiors designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The 1940s era home was built out of garage kits that Parker, an Elysian Heights resident who died in 1976, customized with mid-century finishes and styling.

Tour Tickets & Details

The self-guided tour will be held on Sunday, November 12 from 11 am to 4 pm. The tour starts at Williams Hall, 2000 Stadium Way near Dodger Stadium. Tour visitors will pick up tickets, a program and map at Williams Hall before touring the homes in any order they want.

Fototeka Gallery will present during the month of February “Love Hurts,” a solo exhibit of the recent works of photo-collage artist Carlos Batts. The artist’s photo-manipulations, lush and brimming with imagery and texture and a wide range of emotion, are hand-produced, using traditional collage-making techniques, mixing painting, photography and film. Batts, who is African-American, draws upon a multi-layered set of influences, from early African art and Cubism to the work of the African-American artist Romaire Bearden as well as from comic books, horror movies and porn.

What emerges is an abstract, complex style, grafting peculiar shapes and forms across a seemingly liquid surface — one that uses light and color to push the envelope of photography in a non-digital way. Twenty-six years old, Batts has worked in the fields of erotica and fashion, often using the imagery of bondage and sexual fetish, pushing it into the realm of aesthetics. The artist takes subject matter that is inherently out of context, removes it once gain, and places it in a new context of light and texture and the human search for connection. The resulting works bring emotion and dimension to a range of subject matter associated with the lack of it.

Collage works in “Love Hurts” include “Anti-Hero,” which explores a terrain of loneliness.  A series of images — nudes, a man’s face, foliage that resembles fire, bodies that call to mind flames, bones and desiccated plant-life, written words, washes of color — are placed somewhat uneasily side-by-side, in three rows; they share space and ask questions. “Queen Misery” shows a young woman, in heavy makeup and a crown; she is in motion, the image out of focus.  Superimposed is the image of a woman’s upper torso, her breasts and neck covered in heavy chains; this image is still and taken at further distance. Washes of color not literally related to the scene, and the intrusion of shape from the edges of the composition, provide a context that opens “Queen Misery” to their eyes and minds. Batts is credited with the acclaimed series “Hammer Will Fall”; “This Is Why I Hate Myself”; and “Anti-Hero: Alter Egos and Tales of the Superlibido.”

His work has been exhibited in gallery shows in the artist’s native Baltimore, New York City, Michigan, Los Angeles and San Diego. It has been featured in magazines such as DC/Vertigo Comics, Rap Pages and Taboo and on CD covers for bands that include The Dwarves, Radical Noise, Jakkpot, Iron Boss, Fury of Five, Daybreak, Thrall and numerous others.

This Master Plan will outline the needs and interests of both sides. The current head of the DWP, S. David Freeman, agreed that planning for the future would be a good idea. Community meetings in the coming months will explore various options and come to a consensus on how both the community and DWP would benefit.

1. The first workshop was held on March 27th. The goal was to introduce the concept of a Master Plan and give the community a chance to express their concerns and desires. Over 2000 invitations were sent out. The mailing list was compile from neighborhood organizations and the results of a title search for addresses near the reservoir. Also, flyers were posted in local businesses and banners hung up on the reservoir fence and at Ivanhoe Elementary School. Approximately 150 people attended the workshop.

2. The second workshop was held on May 20th. The goal was to present some ideas that came from the first workshop and get more suggestions and ideas. In an effort reach as many people as possible, over 20,000 invitations were sent out. The address list was compiled from DWP billing records. As before, flyers were also distributed and banners were hung up. Approximately 240 people attended this workshop.

3. A third workshop was held on July 24th. The goal was to clarify some of the findings in the first two workshops. Over 150 people attended the third Silver Lake Master Plan workshop at John Marshall High School on Saturday, July 24th. The Master Plan team setup large display boards with photographs and drawings highlighting various ideas and proposals that were developed from the first workshop and, based on input from the second workshop, refined for presentation in the third workshop. Since many participants in the second workshop said they did not have time to adequately review the proposals before the presentation or were confused by some of the ideas and concepts being presented, the third workshop was structured so that attendees would be able to view the proposals and concepts between 8:30 and 10:30 AM before the formal presentation. By the time Mia Lehrer and her team started the formal presentation at 10:30, many of the participants had taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the various proposals and ideas with members of the Master Plan team, SLRA and CSSLR Board members, and their neighbors. This was a great chance to have an in-depth discussion about the Master Plan.

4. A final meeting was originally planned for November, 1999, where the Master Plan team was going to present the Master Plan the community the community. That meeting was rescheduled to either late January or February 2000 to give the project team more time to organize the community input, consult with city officials and to insure that elected officials will be at the final meeting. Please check the community calendar for more news.

All seniors purchasing books at Skylight will receive a discount on any Tuesday before 4 pm. They love special orders and will locate that hard to find book you have been trying to lay your hands on. They also offer a Frequent Buyer Program. Skylight is open every day (except Thanksgiving and Christmas).

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