American Apparel billboards as LA fashion fetish (and art)

Thomas Alleman photo

Photographer Thomas Alleman found that the ubiquitous billboards for American Apparel say something to him about street art and about Los Angeles. His series, “The American Apparel,” takes its name from the 1976 Lee Friedlander photo project, “The American Monument.”

"Mr. Alleman was inspired by Mr. Friedlander’s ability to depict 'the chaos he corrals through his lens,'” says a post at the New York Times photo blog, Lens. "Mr. Alleman hoped to communicate his own obsession with the seedy, worn-down, visually complex world of street life in Los Angeles."

“I’m a true believer,” he said. “I proselytize, and I want to show people that this is what it actually looks like here.”

More pics at Lens or at Alleman's website.