For many people on the West Coast, the weekend is starting off on a somber note as multiple wildfires continue to ravage LA County. As my colleagues have reported throughout the week, fires along the Pacific Coast and in Pasadena and Altadena, and spreading to other parts of the greater Los Angeles area, have caused massive evacuations and at least 10 deaths. As horrific as the images are, they don’t communicate the overlap of cultural and natural losses in this unique part of the country. I’ve spent a third of my life in Southern California and
lived near the Getty Center for five years. I faced near evacuations, but never anything on this scale, and I can’t pretend to know what Angelenos are feeling right now. However, I know that it’s not just cultural heritage that’s in danger. Mountain lions and other already threatened wildlife make their homes in the canyons near the two Getty sites — as do people from a range of cultural milieus and economic strata, some of whom have lost not only their homes and belongings, but their local communities, in an almost inconceivable nightmare of populous urban and suburban areas being destroyed. Hyperallergic’s News team and LA-based contributor Matt Stromberg talked to impacted artists in Altadena, a gem of natural desert beauty just north of LA, and home to many working artists, and covered the loss of historic buildings in Pacific Palisades and the encroaching threat to the Getty Villa, which
houses thousands of ancient artifacts as well as J. Paul Getty’s gravesite. This past October, I drove a friend through Topanga Canyon to where it dead ends in Malibu and Palisades and we both marveled at the sublime beauty around us. As I write this, I hope that we can stop covering these losses soon and return to the vast reservoir of creativity and resilience in Southern California. — Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
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“I literally only have the clothes I’m wearing, but that’s the same story as thousands of others,” artist Amir Nikravan told Hyperallergic. | Valentina Di Liscia, Matt Stromberg, Maya Pontone, and Rhea Nayyar
Museums and galleries are shuttering as the deadly firestorm continues to burn through LA County. | Rhea Nayyar
The blaze impacted vegetation surrounding the structure but its staff and collection remained safe, a spokesperson said. | Valentina Di Liscia
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