I. Let’s Get Lost – An Overview
As the entertainment capitol of the world, Los Angeles has captured the
imagination of millions and lured thousands more with the promise of fame
and fortune. But there is another Los Angeles – a city of dashed hopes and
broken dreams overshadowed by the klieg lights of Hollywood. It is the
city of Raymond Chandler, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Wells and other icono-
clasts who saw a place infinitely more complex than a collection of studio
sets, tinsel, and glitter.
Acclaimed photographer Jim McHugh has artfully recorded this now faded
Los Angeles in Let’s Get Lost – a traveling photographic exhibit of beautiful
photographic prints that evoke the heady days of the 1930s and 1940s.
The Deco-Moderne apartment buildings and hotels, studios and historic
landmarks that all make up Let’s Get Lost tell of those who came with
dreams of stardom and fame; sometimes achieved, often not. The fading
glamour of these architectural dowagers recalls a vanished moment in time
when Hollywood’s stars were larger-than-life.
Let’s Get Lost also features programmatic architecture that gives Los Angeles
such a unique flavor. Iconic images of Randy’s Donuts, The Dog & Cat
Hospital, and Felix Chevrolet bring to life a city built on a naive idealism
that characterized the times.
Art critic for The New York Times, Joseph Giovannini, wrote the following
of McHugh’s work:
“He sees through his lens darkly and evocatively, capturing a noir Los An-
geles saturated with light, and dawn, and it monumentalizes LA by treating
buildings, even signs that create a city of stature... His eye chooses to see a
more heroic Los Angeles, when the buildings and the signs were the larger-
than-life stars of a city... when Wilshire Boulevard was a mile of miracles.”
Let’s Get Lost, however, is far more than a journey to the “forgotten side”
of Hollywood: it is a record of places torn down in the name of progress.
The famed Coconut Grove, Perino’s Super Club; the arabesque lines of the
exotic Beverly Theater; the Ambassador Hotel, home to the city’s transient
population of well-heeled fortune seekers – these are just a few of the places
McHugh’s lens has recorded that no longer exist.
And so, Let’s Get Lost is far more than a vivid account of a colorful time
past. In many cases McHugh’s photographs are the final images preserving
that which has been lost by a city marching to modernity. Los Angeles has
captured the imagination of millions because it is the entertainment capital
of the world. Let’s Get Lost will enchant thousands more with its portrayal
of a city.
II. The Importance of Let’s Get Lost
Let’s Get Lost is an important exhibit for a number of reasons:
• Let’s Get Lost is an ideal ambassador for the city, creating additional
excitement and interest in this great metropolis. The world’s appetite
for things Los Angeles has never diminished.
• Let’s Get Lost alerts residents and tourists to architectural gems and
places of significance that are often overlooked. Hidden gems hidden
amidst the city’s skyscrapers and other places of significance that once
defined the city will once again be introduced to a new generation.
• Let’s Get Lost chronicles a side of Los Angeles often ignored by the mass
media. It provides a rich, full cultural picture of a city whose stereotypical
portrayal is often overly simplistic and one-dimensional.
• Let’s Get Lost preserves that which has been lost architecturally as Los
Angeles has grown. Many of the landmark buildings McHugh has
photographed no longer exist; it is truly a window into the past and
can serve as a guide for future preservation efforts.
III. Audience for Let’s Get Lost
Hollywood is the best-known brand in the world. Let’s Get Lost capitalizes
on this peerless brand position, and as such, it will appeal to an extraordi-
narily wide audience.
• Individuals enamored with the mystique of Hollywood
• Tourists and residents
• Film buffs, historians, conservationists, and other individuals interested
in Los Angeles’ history
• Aficionados of fine art and photography
• Museum goers
IV. Potential Exhibition Halls
Jim McHugh created Let’s Get Lost not just for art aficionados, but also for
a wide spectrum of audiences. As part of this philosophy, McHugh intends
to exhibit Let’s Get Lost at highly trafficked locations where people of all
socio-economic backgrounds can enjoy the photographs.
Additionally, McHugh intentionally created an atmosphere for the exhibit
that was welcoming and friendly – a dramatic departure from gallery ex-
hibits that often intimidate all but the moneyed set.
Here are some of the locations where McHugh is considering exhibiting
Let’s Get Lost:
• The Sony Center, New York City
• The Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, California
• ArcLight Cinemas, Los Angeles, California
• The Horse Hospital, Bloomsbury, London, England.
• The British Film Theater, South Bank, London, England
• Cannes Film Festival
• Rome Film Festival
• Danish Architecture Centre Copenhagen, Denmark
McHugh’s work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y. The
Walker Art Center, The Polaroid Collection, the Santa Monica Museum of
Art, the James Corcoran Gallery in Los Angeles, and the National Portrait
Gallery, London.
V. A Unique Opportunity for Sponsorship
Sponsorship of Let’s Get Lost will bring numerous tangible benefits to
participating corporations.
• Sponsors will be associated with Hollywood, the world’s best-known
brand and enjoy significantly enhanced cachet. As such, Let’s Get Lost
is an ideal vehicle for any manufacturer of a high-end product.
• Corporations with a significant presence in Los Angeles will enjoy good-
will and increased visibility. They will be seen as champions and protectors
of the city’s architectural wealth and colorful history of the city.
• Companies involved in the hospitality industry can leverage Let’s Get Lost
to generate interest in tourism to Los Angeles.
Let’s Get Lost embodies powerful brand values like glamour, romance, and
creativity. Sponsors of the exhibit will be perceived as sharing these quali-
ties, as supporters of the arts, and custodians of Los Angeles’ rich cultural
heritage.
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