3 posts tagged “democratic national convention”

Shepard Fairey, who wears another hat as DJ, later spun discs at the hot ticket Manifest Hope Gallery show and party in a residential neighborhood West of the convention area. The party attracted legions of young Obama supporters, including LA's own Eric Garcetti and scribe Joel Stein, to look at art in honor of the candidate and watch performers including comedienne Sarah Silverman. Pictures shown below are artwork made in honor of the candidate at the event. 

More to come...

Basketball-inspired graphics

Obama fashion

Sneakers for Change

An Obama portrait

HOPE

After Michele Obama dazzled the audience last night – yes, inside the convention hall, the atmosphere was electric – the convention has gotten going, though some are asking what exactly IS the theme beyond presenting the Obamas as an all-American family, albeit an extremely well-dressed one. Artist Robert Indiana believes in the Obama message of HOPE, and has created this reincarnation of his LOVE sculpture, now unveiled in front of the Pepsi Center. Proceeds go to the campaign.

CNN Grill

Although this has become the first convention overrun by bloggers -- 5000 credentialed in all -- the mighty broadcast media dominate, as you’ll see on this building that CNN has adopted for the duration. Tix to its grill are highly prized, as food at the DNC is either non-existent or inedible. Even though this was touted as a "green" convention, there is not a vegetable in sight.

Oxygen tent

Even though journos like to think of themselves as not susceptible to influence, each large white media tent has an area for weary scribes to take a break and be pampered by products from a local company. Our tent has vibrating massage chairs; another has this oxygen bar that adds cynicism-reducing aromatherapy oils to ones hit of O2. I think perhaps I need one to keep going . . . as Gary and I head off to the Pepsi Center for an evening of speeches including the much-anticipated one by Hillary Clinton. Make sure to listen to To The Point to get the post-mortem from Warren and guests.

Well here I am in Denver wearing my To The Point producer hat. I’m with Warren Olney and co-producer Gary Scott, and we’re here to air To The Point shows live from Denver all week. We hit the ground running and have not yet had time to check out the new David Adjaye or Daniel Libeskind-designed art museums, or even the Denver downtown with its brick and glass new condo and apartment towers like those that have sprung up in renewed downtowns all over the country. So far my horizons extend as far as the walls of our cubicle inside a large white tent that is located between the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field (where Obama will speak on Thursday night).

Air Conditioning Ducts by Gary Scott

We have the plum spot, as you see, underneath some extremely large air conditioning ducts (see artful picture taken by Gary), so loud it feels like we are working in the engine of a ship. We are surrounded by the big guns of print journalism: the New York Times, Reuters etc. Next to our tent is CNN which is flaunting its power by taking over an entire brick building and painting uplifting political slogans as well as its own logo on the sides. We are all in what is referred to as the Hard Security zone and to get in you have to run a gauntlet of security. So once in you stay in and hang out with the herds of journalist and delegates come to participate in what is at once a highly formulaic, marketing bonanza coupled with a genuinely exciting, culturally momentous event. You can feel the buzz of excitement in the air, even among normally jaded media types. And since we spend most of our time in LA, out of the orbit of the East Coast press and political establishment, it is rather fun to rub shoulders with politicos and talking heads at the parties and Pepsi Center. Among those seen so far: Anderson Cooper, Al Sharpton, Kweisi Mfume, Donna Brazile, Chuck Todd, the REAL Charlie Wilson and KCRW’s own Harry Shearer, who guest-presented at a Jambalaya concert-party for New Orleans last night.

For more on the convention, listen to our To The Point shows, and to see our new video vignettes by Gary and I (in our first experience as videographers, working without mikes, so excuse the lack of good sound) go to the home page, kcrw.com.

Meanwhile, don't forget to listen to DnA Tuesday. It was taped last week and looks at two theaters in LA, one new (the SMC Performing Arts Center), the other renewed, the Mark Taper Forum; as well as at the impact of digital design on the process and sensibility of design in film and more, today. kcrw.com/dna.