In 1958, the Hollywood Walk of Fame was created as a tribute to artists working in the entertainment industry. The Hollywood Walk of Fame comprises of more than 2,500 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of terrazzo immortalized with names of entertainers. Hollywood Boulevard was the place to go.
By the 70’s, it was ‘on the turn’, a bit derelict but full of life and lots of street people. It was my birth as a street photographer. I began taking photos in 1973, spent most of 1974 and part of 1975 shooting what was happening on the ‘Walk of Fame.’ I took thousands of photos; many were published in ‘Zoom’, ‘Photo’, ‘Creative Camera’ and other magazines in the 1970’s. They were also exhibited in the both the United States and in Europe.
Among the images you will see a whole cast of characters posing excitedly (or reluctantly) for the camera. There were apathetic teenagers at the bus stop, suave fashionistas, a chef, and, rather controversially, two people dressed up as KKK members for Halloween. I got to see all of this humanity: people tripping down the street, hippies, hookers, drug addicts, and people dressed to the nines in the middle of the day—either left over from the night before or on their way to an audition.
I hadn’t looked at the pictures in years, until a curious reporter who had heard about my work, approached me and put some of my images online in 2013. I realized that people were still interested in the lively and sometimes seedy world of Los Angeles culture that I had captured: especially Hollywood Boulevard and street photography.
– Ave Pildas
