“Rock ‘n’ Roll Billboards of The Sunset Strip” by photographer Robert Landau is a new outdoor public art installation in West Hollywood at the municipal parking lot at 8775 Sunset Boulevard – formerly Tower Records’ overflow lot. Presented by the City of West Hollywood through WeHo Arts, the project is part of “There’s Something Happening Here…On The Sunset Strip,” programming marking the 50th anniversary of the Sunset Strip riots.
Ten of Landau’s photographs – enlarged to 8’ high x 13’ wide – capture the era from 1967 to 1980 when truly larger-than-life record company billboards transformed the Strip into the world’s largest drive-through art gallery.
On Wed. April 26, Landau will present a talk and slideshow on the exhibition and his book of the same name (Angel City Press, www.rockandrollbillboards.com). The event will take place at the City of West Hollywood Public Meeting Room/City Council Chambers at 7:30PM. Admission is free; please RSVP at: http://bit.ly/BillboardsEvent
About “Rock ‘n Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip”: In the late 1960s, Landau was a kid with his first camera, living a block off the Strip. He noticed that the billboards, hand-finished by highly trained commercial painters, had a short life span, and would routinely be changed to advertise new albums and artists. He began shooting color transparencies of these one-of-a-kind pop culture urban artworks so he could have slide shows for friends who wouldn’t otherwise get to see them. Decades later, Landau rediscovered his Kodachromes , which ended up being the only extensive collection of photographs to document this remarkable Sunset Strip phenomenon. Inspired, he interviewed the artists, record producers, and designers who brought the billboards to life, lending fresh insight to the culture of the day.
