Around the Clock: LA is Still a Donut City

2 Apr

Donut Beatnik

Even if you heard about the recent screening of Christian Marclay’s The Clock at LACMA, judging by my friend’s reactions, there’s a good chance you were still confused about the event. In a nutshell, Marclay put together a 24-hour montage of TV and film clips that depict clocks and the passage of time. When I stopped in at 8 pm, most clips included a clock or watch showing the exact time. It was quite the trip.

Coloring and eating donuts Around the Clock

While I believe that The Clock was Mar. 24′s most unique event, it was the 24 Hour Donut City companion event that got all of the attention. LA may be the film capital of the world, but Angelinos really go crazy for free donuts.

For Your A$$

Founded by Bettina Korek of For Your Art, “Around the Clock: 24 Hour Donut City” took place across the street from LACMA. For 24 hours, visitors could stop by for free donuts from many of LA’s top donut shops chosen by writer Krista Simmons. Selected shops included Nickel Diner, Stan’s, Fonuts, The Donut Man, Umamicatessan, and Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts. It was amusing seeing people sheepishly ask the guy working the door, “Soo… I heard something about free donuts?”

Come for the donuts, stay for the diabetes

Unfortunately the specialty donuts were only available for a short period of time every two hours, so I was stuck with a dry Krispy Kreme donut. Fortunately, there was more to the event than saving myself a drive to Glendora for an excellent Donut Man “Strawberry Donut.” Visitors were encouraged to color donuts and hang them on the gallery wall. It may seem silly, and a little silly fun is part of the point – but the coloring allowed Angelinos to interact with others and think critically about our city.

Get in my belly!

The front of the donut program asked the simple question, “Where’s Your Center?”

“Los Angeles has also been likened to a donut in a more spatial sense – a series of interconnected suburbs without a center. This ‘sprinkling of centers’ allows the city to boast multiple hubs of energy and culture, each with its own distinctive personality and flavor,” the program explained.

This is not a donut

“If L.A. is still a Donut City, it’s been recently jelly-filled. Downtown L.A. is now a center it was never meant to be, a pulsing, young hub of the city. In the same decade that New York’s millenials had to flee Manhattan for affordable rents in outer boroughs, our 20-somethings inherited L.A.’s over-speculated urban core, and in fact now make a lot of good doughnuts there – try the spirulina churro at Via Dulce in Little Tokyo for evidence. Note, too – that a churro is a doughnut extruded sideways, like Wilshire.” – Joe Day, 2012