The Year of the Ox
via flickr; Chinatown, Grant Street, San Francisco, serdir (at home) via flickr; New York Parade, Chinatown, mirsasha
via flickr /Artwork: designslinger]
I have a suggestion for you if you have no plans for the weekend, check and see if there
is a Chinese New Year Parade taking place in your area. (Really, it's the Lunar New Year Parade because the Chinese aren't the only people from East Asia who celebrate) LA, New York and Chicago, are holding their celebrations either Saturday or Sunday, though San Francisco is waiting till next weekend. The reason I'm encouraging you to attend is two-fold; first, the colors, costumes and craftsmanship on display are unlike any other parade you'll ever go to, and it is such a visual treat. Second, it will give you a chance to check out some of the architectural delights that can be found in ethnic Chinese neighborhoods around the country.
There is a certain kitsch factor in the architecture you find in most city's Chinatown
neighborhoods. After all, the buildings in these areas were usually built long before an immigrant Chinese community became established. So, while some of the details added to buildings to make them look "Chinese" are kind of slap-dash and cheesy, there are a few gems to be found in the visual messiness. It makes for a nice little quick study of how a community uses its cultural and architectural heritage to put a stamp on an existing built environment.
San Francisco probably has the most famous Chinatown in the country, and with its
entrance gate at Bush and Grant Streets, city street lights with Asian inspired lamps, a slew of Chinese character written signage, along with an architectural potpourri of Asian inspired influence - there is no mistaking where you are. In New York, you won't find that kind of presentational Chinatown, like you do in San Francisco, or on Chicago's Wentworth Avenue. But, even in New York, if you make it down to Mott and Hester Street on Sunday, you'll know you're in the right place.
And in final note to end the week - there has been a lot of Tweeting from LACMA about
Chirs Burden's Urban Light. The museum is holding a competition, open to the public, for submissions of photographs, videos or writings inspired by Burden's work. Click here for futher info. Happy the New Year!
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