Sarah Zucker’s electrifying artwork is plastered across LA. You may have seen her mural
The Kicks celebrating Route 66 at
8120 Santa Monica Blvd, or her animated billboard hanging at 8410 W. Sunset Boulevard. Or, perhaps you saw her win
“Jeopardy!” in season 30, or followed her
Demand Equality for Tumblr Creatrs movement. Either way, the Current Sea LA and Yo Meryl cofounder does it all and is the perfect example of how women are dominating in 2018.
Zucker considers herself a multi-disciplinary artist, working in new media and the dramatic arts. This led her to creating her curatorial platform, The Current Sea. From 2014-2016, The Current Sea hosted Prism Pipe, a visually immersive monthly music event at the now-closed Pehrspace in Echo Park. What started out as collaborative studio is now an online platform where Zucker showcases art and media that resonates with her.
“I run the account as a stream of consciousness, with each post responding to the previous post in some way,” Zucker told Citizine. “And I gravitate toward pieces that tug at the veil of reality, or use grotesqueness as a counterpoint to the sterility of online experience.”
Originally from Canton, Ohio, Zucker appreciates LA as a creative environment and for it’s tight knit communities that expand across a large and diverse city. “I started these projects in Los Angeles because it's a fertile landscape for this mode of self-employment, and there's a rich ecosystem of creative businesses that makes space for my small studio to thrive.”
We had to know where Zucker gets her artistic inspiration in Los Angeles. Luckily, she told us.
Velveteria: The Museum of Velvet Art
Chinatown, $
Sarah Zucker: Velveteria is the coolest little museum in LA, with a huge collection of velvet paintings and other kitsch art objects. The proprietors have all kinds of fun stories, and this is a great place to stew in a mixture of high and low culture. The appropriately themed collection of paintings in the bathroom is my favorite part.
Garden Of Oz
Beachwood Canyon, Free
SZ: This is a private garden that's only open to the public on Thursday mornings, but it’s worth going by even just to peek through the gate. The artist, Gail Cottman, created "The Wizard of Oz" themed mosaics on all of her concrete planters, replete with thrones and hidden treasures. As a lover of colorful mosaic, psychedelia and Classic Hollywood, this creation fills me with glee.
Spellbound Sky
Silver Lake, $$
SZ: I love stopping into this crystal shop for its disco fabulous decor and rampant celebration of divas. The owners, Mark and Martin, are full of witchy wisdom and never fail to delight.
Society of St. Vincent de Paul Los Angeles Thrift Store
Lincoln Heights, $
SZ: I'm a thrift store junkie, as I'm always on the lookout for treasures I can use in my art or in my home, and love to imagine the stories behind the things people donate. This place is the motherlode, and is best to explore when you can dedicate an entire afternoon. I developed a penchant for photographing thrift store finds in 2011, and this place is rife with the strange and unusual. Aside from the odd knick-knacks and cheap vintage clothes, it's also a great place to get second-hand furniture.
Earthbar
West Hollywood, $$
SZ: This is one of the OG juice bars (not to be confused with the new franchised locations that have popped up), and it continues to offer not only the best potions in town, but some of the best people-watching as well. You get a really fascinating slice of Los Angeles here, and perhaps more interesting than the celebrities is the way people interact with (or often completely ignore) the celebrities. The staff is really amazing too, and are a great resource if you have any questions about the latest homeopathic/new age trends.
Kicks of Route 66 Mural by YoMeryl
West Hollywood, Free
SZ: Nothing inspires quite like seeing your own creation covering a city block! The City of West Hollywood commissioned us to make this banner mural to beautify a long-standing construction fence and commemorate the 90th anniversary of Route 66, which becomes Santa Monica Boulevard when it reaches Los Angeles. We installed this the day after the presidential election, and every time I go past it, I remember how charged that day was, and how grateful we were to have something positive to focus on.
Coaxial Arts Foundation
Downtown, $
SZ: This is a great venue for the video art/new media community, and they put on low-cost shows every week and host interesting artist residencies. It's inspiring to see this venue going strong and serve as an epicenter for experimental video in LA!
Shojin
Little Tokyo, $$$
SZ: Oh, what this restaurant can do with plants. Honestly, this is my favorite restaurant in town (and, oddly enough, the first restaurant I ever went to in LA before I moved here). The food is so out of this world, which is even more remarkable considering it's all vegan. It's in a totally unassuming storefront in the Little Tokyo galleria, which is its own treat to peruse while you're in the area.
Ozzie Dots
Los Feliz, $$
SZ: Love the selection at this vintage store, which has a nice mix of everyday attire and costumery. You can get lots of character ideas here, and the prices are reasonable. It's located on Hollywood Boulevard next to Soap Plant / Wacko, which is also well worth perusing for trinkets and such. The Goodwill up the street is also a nice size, and I really like going through the aisles of obsolete technology there (I've actually picked up a VCR and some old VHS tapes there that I use in my analog video work)
La Poubelle Bistro & Bar
Franklin Village, $$
SZ: This is my favorite neighborhood haunt, as I absolutely love the Parisian-style sidewalk seating on the ever-fascinating Franklin Strip. They have great happy hour specials on beer and cocktails, and they do a flash-fried brussel sprout that's to die for. Great place to meet friends and get in some people-watching.
Velveteria: The Museum of Velvet Art courtesy of @ashleeannn
Society of St. Vincent de Paul Los Angeles Thrift Store courtesy of @stellarstarlight
Kicks of Route 66 Mural by YoMeryl courtesy of @yomeryl