Coming of Age in Venice
Some say Venice is stuck in a state of perpetual adolescence, a neighborhood more concerned with the here and now than anything else. The locals' relentless exploration of our world -- with little regard for the personal or professional consequences -- is what has come to define Venice, its people and character, since Abbot Kinney first designed his vision.
But that depiction isn't quite right. No, there's change in the air now, and I feel it it as I speak to the area's architects, designers, and cultural producers. There's now a sense of awareness, of who they are and what they represent. Perhaps it is that they are more self-conscious of the artistic gestures they produce.
And this new feeling is not specific to Venice alone, either. Venice is a microcosm of what you and I can see happening all over Los Angeles. The eyes of the world are on us, and not only because of Hollywood. We have ideas. And those ideas are laying the groundwork for the rest of the world.
So, what is Venice going to be when it grows up? What is this place, exactly?
