LA, AMERICANA, GROVE

here are some links to articles that pertain to the reading. this is what i think of when i think of malls. i especially recommend the laweekly article.
i also have been rereading umberto eco's 'travels in hyperreality,' because i think the ersatz nature of the mall and the amusement park environment have so much in common. i don't know whether/how this will manifest in work, but the hyperreality notion is certainly significant.
the grove and the americana are simulacra, in that they strive to emulate an american town that does not and has never existed. as the nytimes article notes: only the money isn't pretend...
i will likely be writing about these spaces for the book.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-hm-erskine3-2008jul03,0,4566804.column

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/fashion/24CRITIC.html?scp=18&sq=americana%20glendale&st=cse

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/09/28/style/t/index.html#pageName=28mall

http://www.laweekly.com/2008-10-16/news/down-and-out-at-the-americana/1