California is truly one of a kind. With a combination of Spanish, Mexican, Native American, and Anglo people, California developed an artistic culture distinct from the rest of the United States. But In Jay Ruby’s book, Bohemia in Southern California, he has curated a collection of essays that depict California’s rich Bohemian history and culture. But what is ‘’Bohemia”?
When I think of bohemia, I think of loose, paisley print pants, straw hats, board shorts, and surfboards. There’s also the song Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, which was very popular for still unknown reasons. Through my research I’ve also learned that there used to be a country called Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic. For today’s purpose, we’re going to circle back to my initial thought. Bohemia is a section of California beach culture. Ruby himself calls his definition an “attempt”- stating that a bohemian is someone involved in the arts who lives an unconventional life, usually in a community of like-minded persons. As LA became the hub for film in the United states, there was an influx of artistic people moving to the city. It wasn’t until the sixties that art other than renaissance pieces became popular and more accessible to the general public.
With this shift, we see the lower class begin to embody more of what we know now as Californian bohemian culture. A anti-capitalist, pro-nature approach to living life. Unsurprisingly, bohemian culture spread across the social classes, giving Southern California the laid back attitude it still has today. With the rise of bohemia came the hippie movement, a mix of people that were environmentalists and those that liked the aesthetic of poverty and drugs. As an artistic and alternative movement, it attracted people that wanted to live “unconventional” lives. It’s the unconventional aspect that makes Southern Californian Bohemia different than any other, as Los Angeles isn’t an urban city. Beachgoers and surfers, unaffectionately nicknamed “beach bums” in 1950, wanted to get away from the structure of regular working. As bohemian and beach culture intertwined, they became the prevalent Southern Californian culture to those outside the area.
Within the book, there’s a focus on six communities. Arroyo Seco, Edendale, Santa Barbara, Malibu/Topanga Beach, Venice, and Laurel Canyon. These communities are all in the greater Los Angeles area. As they are now, some of these communities aren’t quite as bohemian-artsy as they once were. They are very conventional, some being upper class neighborhoods, but they all still have that Southern Californian bohemian art in their core. Aside from Santa Barbara, each community has multiple essays, each focusing on a different aspect of bohemian history and culture.
This impressive and illustrated anthology features 12 different perspectives. The authors are Californians, scholars, artists, whose unique lives add a multidisciplinary approach to the study of Bohemian culture. And with its focus on specific communities and not Southern California as a whole, it’s clear that Ruby made this book as a love letter to the history of Southern Californian artistry. I highly recommend this book as an addition to the traditional California history and art books due to the level of detail and different perspectives.
ISBN: 1938537106
Paper / Pages: 262 / $22.95
2017
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