What’s on the Show Today?

His runway shows were like performance art; his clothing and shoes were astonishing and sometimes bizarre , meshing a punk sensibility with sumptuousness, and gaving new meaning to the idea of beauty. That’ s …

His runway shows were like performance art; his clothing and shoes were astonishing and sometimes bizarre , meshing a punk sensibility with sumptuousness, and gaving new meaning to the idea of beauty. That’ s how Rose Apodaca describes Alexander McQueen, British fashion designer and impressario who died last week, by his own hand, at the age of 40. Rose Apodaca, an LA fashion and style maven and co-owner of A+ R design store on Abbot Kinney, is a guest on today’s show and sums up why the so-called “bad boy” was a hugely gifted man with a rare approach not only to crafting and designing but also to marketing his clothing. For example, even as he sold high-fashion, he initiated the live-streaming of his spectacular shows on the internet.

And speaking of the internet, it took another leap forward with the launch a couple weeks back of the iPad. Much has been said about this gizmo that is touted as an advance on ebooks. So on DnA we decided to take a look at books that remain strong competition for online reading: the coffeetable book, or book that is designed as an art object in itself. Both Taschen art director Josh Baker and Nook designer Robert Brunner have very interesting insights into the pros and cons of both technologies, but the conclusion is that books will continue to furnish a room for a long time to come.

And speaking of getting ones message out to millions, the last segment today looks at an effort to combat the corporate dominance of billboard space in Los Angeles. DnA had a very interesting discussion Kimberli Meyer of the MAK Center for Art and Architecture about why people care about the billboard creep in LA, and what constitutes art in a time when advertizing utilizes many of the visual tricks of conceptual art.

That’s all on DnA today.