In 1969, photographer Robert Landau turned his camera on the stretch of Sunset Boulevard known as the Strip. The 16-year-old's subjects of choice weren't busking hippies or flashy cars. He had his lens trained above eye level, on the aerial likenesses of John, Paul, George and Ringo, plastered on billboards overhead. Scroll down for a slideshow.
In "Rock N' Roll Billboards Of The Sunset Strip," out this month through Angel City Press, the series the Los Angeles native shot as a teenager now has a second life. Landau's photographs paint a panoramic picture of the skies of 1970s L.A., when pop iconography loomed large.
In a recent interview with the OC Register, Landau describes the "missing art form" as a compelling mix of beauty, transience, and plays on human psychology. From a draped Yes advertisement that took a page from the Christo handbook, to a teaser billboard with a slowly disassembling wall of bricks revealing an ad for Pink Floyd's "The Wall" -- the campaigns foreshadowed the social media treasure hunts bands stage today.
Click through the slideshow below for a selection of Landau's shots, and let us know what you think in the comments section. Do you wish our skies still doubled as galleries?
