Samy’s Camera on Fairfax has a new look

Artist Ed Massey’s artwork, “Polychrome,” adorns Samy’s Camera in Fairfax

Samy’s Camera on Fairfax is the flagship for the 6-store operation that is recognized throughout California and the U.S. for its photographic, video, and electronic equipment used by everyone from students to dedicated amateurs to top professionals. Samy’s Fairfax building shares the busy neighborhood with the LA County Museum of Art, The Peterson Automotive Museum, The Grove, and is just down the hill from the Sunset Strip. Now the heavily visited area has a new cultural addition.

Massey’s sizeable colorfest is a frenetic and richly hued tarpaulin with crisscrossing paths, passages, canals, and connecting spaces throughout its entirety. The facade now looks like the colorful inner workings of an organism and makes the outer building seem alive. For decades the giant facade was solid white. Samy Kamienwicz, the namesake for Samy’s Camera, emphasizes that “I am delighted to bring such great colors and art to the Samy’s site and believe it is a great addition to the neighborhood and this part of LA.” The idea to transform the facade into an artwork came about indirectly thanks to a lunch meeting organized by film editor Sandy Solowitz intended to introduce Samy to photographer Felix Massey. The three of them ate and talked photography and cinematography. Sandy invited Ed to join them and at the end of lunch Samy had an idea and turned to Ed and said,” Ed, why don’t you do artwork on my Fairfax Building wall.” An idea was borne.

The large scale of the wall, the iconic setting, and the centrality of Samy’s Camera in the neighborhood and to photography and film made the idea very appealing to Ed who is the artist and visionary for many high profile social impact and public art initiatives in LA and nationally including “The Spheres at MacArthur Park,” which re-imagined the lake at the historic park culminating in a landmark floating art exhibition in central LA; “Garden in Transit,” which transformed the New York City taxi fleet into a giant moving canvas taking advantage of the vertical Manhattan vistas; and the “Summer of Color” project, which turned all 156 Los Angeles County lifeguard towers from Malibu to Palos Verdes into works of art that involved thousands of children and adults in hospitals, schools, and social service programs. http://www.edmassey.com.

For over 40 years, Samy’s Camera has been the leader in sales of high-quality imaging products and the ultimate resource for the professional and amateur photographer. It just got a lot easier to see.

To find out more about Samy’s Camera go to http://www.samys.com.