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Photography

Monday, November 12, 2007 – The Boxer

You have to love the sign at The Brig, 1515 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice.

It puts that old Simon and Garfunkel song in your head, the one about the boxer –

    I am just a poor boy, though my story is seldom told.
    I have squandered my resistance,
    For a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises.
    All lies and jest.
    Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

But then you open a bar in Venice –

    The Brig has a history and legend of its own. Once owned by boxer "Babe" Brandelli (his silhouette is on the sign outside), there is a historic M. C. Escher-like mural on the back wall (facing the parking lot) of "Babe", his wife and an artist painting Brandelli, his wife and an artist...
The Brig, 1515 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice

The Escher-like mural –
The Escher-like mural at The Brig, 1515 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice

Credit where credit is due –
The Escher-like mural at The Brig, 1515 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice

And a bit more –

    This former dive bar was known for its rough and tumble crowd and has been remodeled with only the pool table and mural remaining from the old days. No longer a dive bar The Brig's look is unique - futuristic, yet welcoming. The Brig features DJ's six nights a week, and a live jazz-funk band on Tuesdays (featuring some of Los Angeles' finest pro players - and you never know who'll sit in).

    According to GQ Magazine it's like "… a Brooklyn bar... with better looking women."

Or this –

    If you wanted to sum up the changes that have occurred on Abbot Kinney in the last couple of years, the Brig would be a good place to consider. For years, it was a classic dive bar. It was dingy. It wasn't particularly warm. It lacked charm. But it was a decent place to get a cheap beer and play a game of pool. Locals went there. Everyone else went to the bars on nearby Main Street or around Third Street Promenade.

    A couple of years ago, the Brig was transformed. Fortunately, the new owner kept the fabulous old sign outside of the original owner, boxer Babe Brandelli. There's also still a pool table, albeit one that has seen a bit less wear and tear than its predecessors. But other than that, the Brig is unrecognizable. It's slick. It's stylish. There are groovy metallic surfaces and security guards. There's a DJ booth. And on Friday and Saturday nights, the place is packed with girls in tight jeans and spaghetti strap tanks and guys in Abercrombie & Fitch.

See also the history of Boxing in Venice.

Bonus shots – experiments in the same color range –
Negative Print, Hollywood Palm Trees
Negative Print, Hollywood Palm Trees

If you wish to use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me. And should you choose to download any of these images and use them invoking the "fair use" provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, please provide credit, and, on the web, a link back this site.

Technical Note:

Most of these photographs were shot with a Nikon D70 - using lens (1) AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or (2) AF Nikkor 70-300mm telephoto, or after 5 June 2006, (3) AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor, 55-200 mm f/4-5.6G ED. They were modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0.  Earlier photography was done with a Sony Mavica digital still camera (MVC-FD-88) with built-in digital zoom.
[The Boxer]

All text and photos, unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - Alan M. Pavlik