Business & Tech

Echo Park Storefront Pulled Back for Art Project

The Echo Park tastemakers Machine Project have moved an Alvarado Street storefront back about 20 feet to create a "storefront plaza" in an exploration of public and private space.

Seems like construction started a couple months ago.

But now the fruits of the latest "happening" at on Alvarado Street are on full display.

Holly Myers writes in the Los Angeles Times about "Storefront Plaza."

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Artist Nate Page has essentially pulled the group's storefront about 20 feet back from the always busy street outside, creating an enclosed cubicle and a narrow outdoor hall.

Here's part of what Myers had to say:

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The effect isn’t as radical as one might expect, though it carries a number of compelling implications. Rather than drawing the street into the gallery, blurring the line between public and private, it seems to carve out a separate enclave, technically public but functionally — or at least psychologically — private.

The effect of the change, in other words, is less likely to be felt by any passerby than it is those familiar enough with the nature of Machine to step up into the enclave on their own accord. It feels, indeed, less like a plaza than a stage — and from certain angles even a fishbowl.

Programming is planned in the space over the next few months. So check it out yourself.

And tell us what you think.


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