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All the Saints of the City of the Angels: Seeking the Soul of L.A. On Its Streets

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In the first decade of the 21st century, Los Angeles is a city of change and turmoil, a caldron of roiling political and cultural innovation, realization and challenge, an evolving giant not yet fully confident of its strengths, and still very insecure about its weaknesses.

The character and face of the City continue to evolve, becoming at once more modern and more ancient, constant change giving rise to fears and conflicts, as its people search for a degree of harmony and commonality that can bridge so many differences, and which can bring some sense of alignment to the suspicious dissonances which inevitably arise from the clash of time and cultures which are today's Los Angeles.

In his book, "All the Saints of the City of the Angels: Seeking the Soul of L.A. On Its Streets", artist and writer J Michael Walker has captured an essential part of the cultural tide washing against the Southern California shore - his portraits of modern Los Angeles painted in political, spiritual and historical hues vividly illustrate the complex and dynamic organism that is contemporary Los Angeles.

Walker's work, a result of what must be a lifetime of exploration and research on the subject, weaves the modern realities of gang violence, homelessness and poverty into the complicated heritage of Los Angeles, producing a rich and detailed tapestry which depicts the history and aspirations of a rapidly changing international city. More importantly, Walker's work connects a diverse assemblage of those who have only Los Angeles in common, and promotes among them thoughtful and passionate discussion about many of the most serious and challenging issues currently confronting this extremely dynamic and always evolving community.

This is a work rich in visual and literary teaching - bringing life to a simpler time, while forcing us to look and understand both where we have been and where we, as a community, are going. Walker's drawings and paintings of life in today's L.A. are created over a detailed, compelling and poetic historical narrative of each subject, the art and narrative in combination presenting wonderfully insightful commentary about life in today's Los Angeles.

"All The Saints of the City of The Angels" will take you to places that no one person can ever really go in LA - through environments so diverse and yet so similar, each easily distinguishable by its peculiar physical characteristics, yet also timelessly related through the journeys of those whose physical and figurative sagas are written on the pathways, streets and boulevards of the City of the Angels.

Starting from the premise that "The history of a place resides in its names," bilingual Los Angeles artist Michael Walker looks thoughtfully and paints colorfully about the 86 streets in the City of the Angels that carry the names of saints. Part stories of forgotten saints; part histories of unusual byways, this probing catalog from Walker's exhibition at the Autry National Center asks questions about L.A.'s ethnic past with a hopeful eye to the future. Long known as a painter with a passionate interest in Southern California's diversity, Walker's remarkable piece shows him to be a poet, an historian, and a designer with a sense of whimsy as well. Whether one was able to view Walker's saints at the Autry or not, this beautiful work is a collector's item for anyone interested in L.A.'s ethic soul.

Pasadena chooses a book about another city every year (This year the book is about Easter Island) and they have lectures and events involving it. This should be the next selection since Los Angeles is often a foreign city for people living in Pasadena -- and it's beautifully illustrated and fascinating. Terrific trivia and non-trivia too!!!

Great book! I leave it on the coffee table and people always pick it up and can't put it down!