Clarity

Shining is not something Angelenos can help, nor ignore. We listen to what glistens. Sure, the L.A. sun can be oppressive, but it’s seductive — natural inspiration for us to stunt in the shade. It’s OK if you don’t know or care about the shine. We love that for you or whatever. It’s just that there’s something else happening when the light hits the shine just right. Those smiles with the cubics in the middle, the gold Jesuses picnicking atop the chest hair, the forever bracelets, the wood grain on the low low, the neon signs, the extravagant metallic giraffe sculptures grazing in the front yard — the extra calls us from another place. We accept the charges and open ourselves up to receive the blessing.

Shine is about being in sync with the universe. Or maybe it’s when you realize you’re exactly where you need to be. Los Angeles loves an epiphany. Realizations are the romantic language of L.A. We get great joy from talking from a point of purpose. Scooch your stool over a few inches the next time you’re at Johnny’s Pastrami, open your ears when you walk to the bathroom at LA Cha Cha Chá, and let the “Ah-hahs!” and various iterations of “then it hit me” speak to your soul. You’ll get into traffic, motivated, hoping to have a moment of clarity of your own.

And lo — Issue 10 is “Clarity.” This installment of Image is about brilliance, the kind that you will find here and only here. L.A. radiates in its own way, with its own distinct attitude, its own ambiance, flavor. So, in this issue we decided to look straight at the aura of everyday experience beaming back at us. Here, you’ll encounter some of our favorite past times — and meet the people keeping them alive.

You’ll learn how and why to fly a lowrider plaque. (And head over to the shop with founding member of Prophets car club Jesse Jaramillo to see what it takes to make one.) You’ll find out from world-class artist Maggi Simpkins what it takes to cut it as a jewelry designer in the Diamond District. You’ll understand how L.A.’s collaborator in chief Anwar Carrots brought the Fairfax sensibility to the streetwear game and beyond. You’ll book an appointment with l.a.Eyeworks, which has become, as Dave Schilling writes, “a clearinghouse for the creative elite and a symbol of queer culture in the ascendant.”

You’ll also learn … well, we won’t spoil it right now. But we threw in a few deep dives to the city’s most essential questions — what does L.A. smell like, really? Is there actually a correct jacket tailor-made for life in Los Angeles?

The answers are out there. Don’t let the glare or the artifice divert your eyes. See what happens when you look at the shine. You’ll realize there are infinite ways to do the damn thing.

Ian F. Blair
Editor in Chief