Whether you’re already car-free or just car-free curious, seeing Diane Meyer’s new photo exhibit, Without a Car in the World (100 Car-less Angelinos Tell Stories of Living in Los Angeles ), is sure to be revelatory.
Without a Car pairs photo portraits of 100 L.A.-area residents (including me!) with brief quotes from their interviews about car-free living. Far from a simple hurrah for automobile-free living, the exhibit features interviews both from those who are proud of their car-free lifestyles to others who sound deeply unhappy about a car-less-ness that’s been imposed on them, whether due to financial concerns, disability, or other reasons.
In fact, the juxtapositions of these points of view are what makes Without a Car especially poignant. One Angeleno talks about how taking public transportation’s so much easier and convenient than people think it is. Another expounds on the difficulties of getting around by bus — how long it takes, how unreliable the system seems.
Without a Car shows a diverse group of Angelenos from all walks of life, and the simple, short quotes from the car-free people quite effectively expose and explore L.A.’s race and class issues, whether it’s a mother who rents a car because her daughter’s too embarrassed to show up to take a standardized test via the bus, or a girl who proudly rides her unicycle in Santa Monica.
What the exhibit makes clear is that going car-free’s an extremely individual experience — and that race and class play heavily into how pleasant that experience is going to be. It’s one thing to be a relatively lucky freelance writer who first moved to a nice part of Santa Monica where everything — including an Enterprise rental office — is within walking distance before getting rid of her car (that’s me — although I now have a car again). It’s quite another to be a teenager from a working class family living in a relatively dangerous part of L.A., who has no choice but to transfer on multiple buses to get to school and work before relying on a late night, infrequent bus line to get her back home.
The artist Diane Meyer, who’s an Assistant Professor of Photography at Loyola Marymount University, is herself car-free. See the exhibit — which also features previous Car Free Mondays interviewees Kristina Wong and Rosemary Brennan — at the 18th Street Arts Center, 1639 18th St., Santa Monica, before it closes on Dec. 11, 2009.
A number of public programs — including a discussion about walking in L.A. with DJ Waldie and a panel discussion on the future of transportation in L.A. are planned. Check the 18th Street Arts Center calendar for details, as dates and times of the events — including the panel I’m on, currently planned for Nov. 14 — will likely change.
Earlier: Car Free Mondays
The exhibit was fantastic–very moving. And it was great to finally meet you in person! :)
Comment by Rosemary — October 19, 2009 @ 8:38 pm
So no one walks or bikes in L.A., eh? What a neat way to show L.A. without using a car! I’ll post info on the exhibit on my Free Fun Guides site. And btw, the Free L.A. travel guide features the 18th Street Arts Center.
Comment by Troy Corley — October 19, 2009 @ 10:30 pm
I agree with Melba, except that – our mass transit service has severely degraded over the past few 3-5 years (bus service in particular) due to constant budget cuts and service reductions (as a sad example, service on line 704 Santa Monica Blvd Rapid has been cut to 20-30 minute headways, down from 5-10 minute headways… how pathetic!).
But,
over the long run (e.g. 15-20 years) our overall mass transit has definitely gotten better. We now have 4-5 metro-Rail lines, in addition to Metrolink. So, nowadays it’s definitely easier to get around without a car than it was 15 years ago.
Yes, sometimes it can be a challenge to live in Los Angeles car-free, but it’s an unusual and interesting experience, and that’s what I love about it! I live in Hollywood, and most of my projects and clients live in transit-accessible areas, thus taking the subway train, or a bus, is no problem at all.
I really hope one day subway will be built throughout the ENTIRE city (not just a couple of lines, so that more people can give-up driving!
Comment by Alek F — October 20, 2009 @ 8:16 am
I’m pleased to hear that Diane Meyer included low-income people who are not car-free by choice in her exhbibition. Too bad the exhibit is so far away from where most of them live, that they will never see it ! Take transit ? No way. The Westside elite delayed it by more than 20 years.
I was car-free by necessity for many years. Now I have a gas guzzling SUV and live in the far East L.A. suburbs and I’m a lot happier. I take transit to work Downtown, but car-free ? Never again !
Comment by Transit Planner — October 20, 2009 @ 9:54 am
i never drove a car until i got to L.A. I grew up in London, rode a motorcycle,bicycle took a train, moved to HongKong, no need for a car there, best public transportation system i’ve ever travelled on…effortless! Shanghai we used bicycles.
Then L.A. What a complacent,lazy, lard-ass, look-down-upon-the-poor city.
I’m back on a motorcycle. Travelling is exhilirating again’
Comment by michael — October 22, 2009 @ 5:47 pm
Alek F — I hope so too!
I find motorcycles scary, but at least most of them are more fuel efficient than cars!
Comment by Siel — November 2, 2009 @ 6:57 pm