September 21–November 13, 2009 Monday–Friday, 12:00–4:00pm

7+FIG Art Space View Map

Join us in this exploration of downtown through a map-based exhibit where you can contribute your ideas and visions about our shared city!

Did you know that the center of Downtown Los Angeles has shifted five times over the last hundred years? Or that there are ghost subway tunnels just below our feet? And vineyards and lima bean fields once made up much of the region (a relic being the San Antonio Winery)? Or that LA had the most efficient public transportation in the country until the 1950s?

Multiple layers of identity in LA’s downtown are waiting to be revealed. Which one(s) are yours? How does LA manifest in you?

For eight weeks, 7+FIG Art Space becomes a HABEAS LOUNGE headquarters for explorations of the dynamic pluralism found in downtown Los Angeles. The space will host a map-based exhibit and will be a place for you to share your ideas and visions about our city. During these two months, you will be a part of a growing repository of information based on your experiences of downtown–past, present and future.

The HABEAS LOUNGE is a built environment created by Los Angeles artist Linda Pollack, specially constructed to foster and animate civic dialogue. At its core, the LOUNGE is a communal seating arrangement, designed by architect Mark Gee. The original LOUNGE, built from steel, wood and upholstery, was created at the 18th Street Art Center of Santa Monica where it hosted an array of discussions and events addressing constitutional issues in anticipation of the 2008 presidential election. It has since traveled from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles, to midtown Manhattan, to the financial district of Manhattan, and most recently to Newark, New Jersey. In each edition, Linda creates a site-specific program addressing timely civic issues.

Topics of past LOUNGE series include urban planning, constitutional issues, the economy, and city history. This summer an edition of the LOUNGE was commissioned by the city of Wroclaw, Poland to host a program of constitutional discussions on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Eastern Europe’s political changes of 1989.

HABEAS LOUNGE: A PLURALISTIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES INVESTIGATION is literally constructed from the city of Los Angeles, creating a new level of site specificity. Local businesses donated their cardboard to sustainable architect Nina Marie Barbuto, who built this version of the LOUNGE.

The mapping investigation features a broad spectrum of geographical materials ranging from traditional and historic maps, to those inspired by the senses of smell, touch and emotion. The collection and workshops are orchestrated by map-wrangler Katie Bachler.

HABEAS LOUNGE headquarters has been specially designed by LA architect Ilaria Mazzoleni.