slipping
Believe not what you see. From so many different directions and from disparate sources, we are being told not to trust our own eyes. At live press conferences on streaming apps, on posts from the desks of pro athlete-led entertainment/production companies, on digital letterheads from former presidents, on projections cast on walls in Beverly Hills and on the city hall building downtown, on screens at Gen Z’s “hottest” club, on X, on links dropped in group chats, on all the newspapers fit to print in Los Angeles — everyone is speaking with such conviction. “Never mind what’s going down. Disregard the details. Everything is fine,” they say, ignoring the irony of the meme. Everything is fine, we think, looking around.
Many try to shrug off reality, but there’s something about the experience of cataclysm you can feel in your bones. The sense of unease is palpable. It overtakes you as you scroll through shadow-banned content and algorithmic recommendations for the girlies. The tingling sensation arises on strolls down the Walk of Fame after dinner on Selma or during a quick eastward glance at the smog layer on a morning hike to the helipad at Griffith Park. Physical responses are how the body keeps the score when the visual cues and prevailing wisdom don’t add up. Everything might appear as it always does. But your body is giving you a heads up: Something is not quite right.
Disquietude lends itself to the most imaginative forms of speculation. (“The end is here! Are you ready for it?”) But on the real, what you’re feeling is that we’re slipping — and we have been for some time. The signs of freefall are all around. The ’burbs of Los Angeles are not OK, as Paul Thomas Anderson and Greg Mottola remind us, despite the veneer of manicured lawns and covered Tessies. The inner-city blues still echo off glass boxes and jut down a hollowed-out Central Avenue. Out west, humidity makes the glacial chill of the Pacific … bearable?
The paradise we know is the subject of “Slipping.” Issue 23 is our very own anatomy of a fall. We haven’t watched the movie yet. But a little nudge in the right direction in moments of great drama never hurt anyone. To say nothing of the open letters, L.A. is full of artists who stare directly at the edge without looking away. Here, Claire Salinda remembers the many “beautiful lives, beautiful deaths” she has experienced while surfing. Jillian Steinhauer unpacks artist Maren Hassinger’s lifelong project of thinking about the human condition. And Yendry explores what style might look like after the end of history.
The world won’t end all at once. Rather, the grand finale is, as American Artist reminds us, “happening in multiple moments and an on-going thing that is being contended with.” We might feel like we’re slipping and falling and can’t get up, but pushing through the penultimate scene takes a little faith. What’s next? Get back on your feet so you can tear s— up.
Ian F. Blair
Editor in Chief
Image logo by Paul Um For The Times
But seriously ... are you happy?
Looking for proof of life amid the candy-coated anti-depressants of suburbia Read the story ?Advertisements for the end of the world
All great prophecies need a visionary storyteller who can sound the alarm: The clock is ticking, and it has been for quite some time Read the story ??Get your copy
Issue 23: slipping
Order nowIf nature is vanishing, what else is there to think about?
For nearly 50 years, artist Maren Hassinger has created indelible works that remind us: The environment is not a niche interest; it’s a life-or-death concern Read the story ?Liner notes for an elm tree in Silver Lake
Apocalyptic moments come and go. This lush and unexpected enclave is a reminder that the Earth will always be here, even after we’re gone Read the story ?Liner notes for the Citadel
Five miles south of downtown Los Angeles in the City of Commerce lies a behemoth at 5675 Telegraph Road that resembles Babylonian ruins. It looks as if it has already experienced the end times and been forgotten Read the story ?Liner notes for a tennis court in Baldwin Hills
Stepping inside those fences in Los Angeles was spiritual, an opportunity to reclaim an energy that was lost Read the story ?Liner notes for a front porch in West L.A.
After my daughter was born, I’d dream that we hadn’t left Los Angeles. I still do Read the story ?Liner notes for the Cabazon Outlets
If the apocalypse comes, no one will be spared its effects. We’ll all be mingling together, rummaging through boxes. Just like at the outlet mall Read the story ??Can AI-generated art help us understand the future Octavia Butler saw?
The iconic seer of Los Angeles describes a lot of her writing as cautionary tales. “Study for Estella Butler’s Apple Valley Autonomy” investigates a little-known formative event — and what it reveals about the nature of a transitional moment Read the story ?November is the long runway to the end. Begin on the right foot with these 8 items
From Bottega Veneta tinted shades to S’YTE T/W Gabardine pants, Coveted can help you get right for the grand finale Read the story ??12 L.A. happenings to get active in the right way in November
Loewe’s latest drop. Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival at Dodger Stadium. Exhibitions by Mario Ayala and Hugh Hayden. Here’s what to do this month Read the story ?Issue 22
Luxury
Where L.A. culture meets “luxury”Explore the issue
Issue 21
Image Makers
Meet the 2023 ‘Image Makers’ taking L.A. fashion globalExplore the issue
Issue 20
Discourse
Welcome to the New York-L.A. ‘Discourse’Explore the issue
Issue 19
Clearance
Architecture as art: Inside Image’s design issue ‘Clearance’Explore the issue
Issue 18
Mission
Presenting ‘Mission’: A travel issue without the travelExplore the issue
Issue 17
Offering
Image is giving…Spring. Inside L.A.’s latest trends, cultureExplore the issue
Issue 16
Interiority
Untold stories. Secret histories. A living archive of L.A.Explore the issue
Issue 15
Diaspora
Restaurants, fashion, art: Image explores L.A. food cultureExplore the issue
Issue 14
Elevation
Why is L.A. so tempted by and obsessed with beauty?Explore the issue
Issue 13
Image Makers
A new class of the city’s luminaries — designers, models, artists — show where clothing and style are going: to the rootExplore the issue
Issue 12
Commitment
Spirituality, faith, belief — Inside L.A. Woo Woo cultureExplore the issue
Issue 11
Renovation
What if we could redesign L.A. from the ground up?Explore the issue
Issue 10
Clarity
L.A. loves an epiphany. Enjoy this moment of “Clarity”Explore the issue
Issue 9
Function
Ain’t no party like an L.A. partyExplore the issue
Issue 8
Deserted
A journey to the end of the worldExplore the issue
Issue 7
Survival
In this installment, we imagine a sustainable future for the cityExplore the issue
Issue 6
Energy
Celebrate L.A. sports culture, with styleExplore the issue
Issue 5
Reverence
An exploration of how L.A. does beauty.Explore the issue
Issue 4
Image Makers
A celebration of the L.A. luminaries of style pushing fashion culture and streetwear forwardExplore the issue
Issue 3
Parents are cool!
A toast to the myriad ways in which L.A. parents practice the craft of care.Explore the issue
Issue 2
L.A. — We See You!
How to properly remove the blinders? A starting point is sustained looking.Explore the issue
Issue 1
Remembrance
True style, after all, is time travel.Explore the issue