Art News

New Book by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp Examines the Los Angeles Art Scene and the 1960’s

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Rebels in Paradise: The Los Angeles Art Scene and the 1960s (Henry Holt and Company/on sale: July 19, 2011), by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, is the first definitive look at the rise of the Los Angeles art scene. In the 1960s, L.A. was the epicenter of cool. Sharing anecdotes from the artists and gallerists themselves, Rebels in Paradise reveals L.A.’s importance in the canon of art history. Freed from the European establishment and the pressures and expectations of New York, the artists in L.A. cultivated their own compelling aesthetic and style. This new era spawned countless innovations, including Andy Warhol’s famed Campbell’s Soup Can exhibition; the work of Ed Ruscha, David Hockney, Robert Irwin, and John Baldessari; the architecture of Frank Gehry; and even the music of the Beach Boys, the Doors, and countless others. As the contemporary art scene flourished, L.A. established itself as a hotbed for contemporary art. Today many of these artists