1968 Holtan Pictorial View of Los Angeles

A psychedelic tour-de-force, this 1968 pictorial view of Los Angeles by Gene Holtan presents an abstract conceptualization of the city.

A Closer Look

Oriented roughly towards the east, the view displays an imagined rather than actual Los Angeles, incorporating elements from the cityscape, including oil fields, Watts Towers, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the Griffith Observatory, and the Angel's Flight, a narrow-gauge funicular railway in Downtown Los Angeles. The tall tower at center is reminiscent of the city's magnificent Art Deco City Hall. A rocket towards the left in the foreground is likely a nod to the city's role in the aerospace industry. Running between, through, under, and over all these structures are highways, the arteries of Southern California, including two at right, which appear to show cars plunging off the road into the Pacific Ocean. Above the title, the sun, looking disconcerted a, has a clothespin on its nose, almost certainly a commentary on L.A.'s notorious air pollution.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by Gene Holtan, and it originally appeared in Los Angeles Magazine. This enlarged poster was printed by Picture Picker's, and distributed by Zen Jump, both of which appear to have left a minimal record aside from this poster. The view is only noted in institutional collections among the holdings of the Newberry Library.