Skyler Courter and Laurajean Roxas

00:03 Hi, my name is Skyler courter. I'm 26 years old. Today is Thursday, March 26th, 2015 and we are on our way and I'm sitting with my best friend of 21 years. We've known each other since first grade.

00:16 I'm LJ Ross. I am also 26 today is also 2015 and we are at the Getty in La which is a very special place and I'm sitting with my best friend over 21 years. So our friendship turns 21 this year. It's a very important date is holding us. Our friendship is old enough to drink. So now we thought we should do we should celebrate that with this unique opportunity. So since we have been friends for 21 years Skyler, do you want to share how we met of one of our favorite stories to tell I have a very distinct memory of us in first grade we were and you can tell me this is wrong, but we were sitting during Story Time and Miss Ellen Jazzy Aries class first grade and you were sitting behind me then was very much been really really on but you just pulling my curls just a softy right there. She has like these fan

01:16 Plastic abundance of curls the sort of thing. We're Mean Girls they say they hide secrets in their I do I do I hide pens and Bobby panties. I have a lot of what and also keep in mind that like in first grade. It was not so much just like a lot of girls like it was very afro shaved and I wanted to loosen it up. Let some air in the head. Would you do two behind me and continuously pull my curls with the accompanying Boeing?

01:48 Boys, if your parent Lee did not learn self-control at this point in time, there is no I mean I don't I don't regret that because now we have to add you in the first grade. I was not pleased. Happy. I just want you and your ex 0 on you were able to escape that we started going to school together and first grade. We followed each other to the same High School.

02:18 I feel like we kind of grew apart a little bit in high school. We had overlapping friend circles, but not the same. It was really weird because I also I don't really feel like our friendship changed that much but we didn't hang out together at all. Like we had the same Kylie overlapping friends. We've been diagrams friends. We did enjoy a lot of Venn diagrams. There's a lot of them Dieter but it will also came from us having calculus parties. Yeah, it was hurt like really fun at the time but really embarrassing looking back at it. We have a lot of fun of those calculus parties ordering pizza for people came to them. We were really dirty or I was cleaning the nearest cleaner than gas occupies space Collective the art,

03:10 Do you really going to Latin you went to like I don't know why music and I wasn't in Latin. I just hung out with all the Latin kids could go to the zero. Latin class to get donuts actually studied Latin, but you like voluntarily went earlier to school to hang out with a lot in kids.

03:31 I'm really glad I found you and now that we're doing really well in high school friend circles, right? So there's a really traumatic experience for me sophomore year of high school when you all went with Doc Hansen are art history teacher and spent the summer traveling around Europe sing the best of Europe.

04:01 And I was the only one left behind that was really sad and it's funny because you feel like it's still to this day. We were like wait you didn't go because you never would have noticed that you were there like in 10 years later. Like I remember that time when that one time do you work there? So no 10 years later decades later tell me about how this amazing trip to Europe and seeing the best of Art in museums and architecture with Dog Led to use studying art history in college. So head for contacts at Doc Hansen was this Infamous teacher in high school, right? So going into Highschool I'd heard about him. It was like you have to take the stock off and the class that you weren't in it was kind of like

05:01 He's had his class called salvation is through the Arts and it was one of the best college for being an art history major at NYU like cells at the bar. So far and the class was I mean and you know all this but it was studying religion and like a history of religions from ancient times to Renaissance through their art to like eat a dictionary and Egyptians like religion and ancient Mesopotamia and incredible because it was just such an interesting lens to look at cultures and it was it was amazing and so wouldn't doc offered he was like, oh I'm going to grab this is something I do everyone who's in the class didn't think twice about it. We are kind of like which was my entire circle of friends all of them.

06:01 Oh, it was a full IB. Yeah, so we went to the school International Baccalaureate which was this like a p ische class and you had to answer you take pre IB classes sophomore year and this was one of them and if you weren't fully the I was partial IV and it actually ended up being kind of a really big issue later on yea if there is a certain select group of classes that only Ivy students could take such as philosophy or salvation history or theory of knowledge. And if you were only partial ID take any of those really wanted those. Why don't you remember why they restricted those I don't either but they kept me from hanging out with you guys for summer in Europe. Yeah. So so we I mean when he talked about and the class is really life-changing. I'm either way that he described are in the way that you were able to look at a culture through their art and through the religious art was

07:00 It was like changing. It was something that I never even thought about until when he proposed going to Europe. We're all like yeah, we're going with it the same when you're in Europe going to the museums in the same things. I did he present with it just like his class went on the road. So it wasn't like in some ways it was what was cool about it was in the mornings away with structure was on the morning to do like usually a city tour. So depending on whatever City we were and we would do a walking tour or we would go see something and then in the afternoon he gave us the time free and he would go to museums and go see his beer pieces of art without you guys. Would you title long as I'm standing offer and so a lot of the times, you know people who came to us to go to Europe would go off go do whatever.

07:48 But I was me and I was cleaning the nerves and it's a bunch of us though cuz that was why we went we went to go follow him like we went because he he was the art history expert in our eyes like we got to go to these museums that I probably would have had like have had the opportunity to go to and see things way that he saw them and you all these really different.

08:12 Versions of things in the way of perspectives of things like one of my favorite memories is him talking about the pantheon in Rome and it was it was it was incredible like the way in the past that he spoke with the way that was built and the way the light hits a certain statues in there. You can read about it, but having him explain it to you while you're standing in the space choosing to be there. It's it's not a classy required to take if it wasn't.

08:45 Summit you are being passed it on but you were there cuz you wanted to be there and he was excited to be there and he was excited like he's just visiting all the favorite things mean. He does this once twice every summer with different types of heads. And so these are his favorite most iconic spots. And what was cool also is like you get a sense of his favorite places in Europe to Doc is was a super mysterious character who ever had a serious so mysterious everyone was obsessed with him because he just he was so influential when he taught it hit you really hate you I don't have different relationships with people loved him and they hated him and couldn't understand him into to be on the road with him for 17 days or whatever. You find out o this is his favorite tomato soup and Austria like

09:45 I don't I don't remember where it was very clear that was advocating to him as the pantheon. Yeah, I mean, I love you a lot. And that was we really are our way through it. I mean in food, but you got to like live in Europe for an insane amount of time and study art and architecture there something you can eat that jealous me for the 17 day trip. Okay, I will give you that.

10:29 He was very quiet that summer Sarah. You know when you're young 17 days if that's a lifetime. Okay. I had a lifetime that pass so you're not a part of but I was home in Orange County by myself. I had one other person there and ended up dating him cuz there was nothing else to do but I did get a chance to hear after to take a dog to class. Yeah, which kind of makes up for it, but he taught contemporary art and architecture.

11:12 So after all the times that you guys had which is pretty funny because I've had a really kind of Patchwork art history education a really long time to get to modernism everything out of order. Have you really took everyone a long time because of modernism if you look at it in the eye some point.

11:36 Did Doc Scott's influence you to study architecture completely and it's probably.

11:42 I mean cuz it was presented contemporary art and architecture. So he taught both side by side whatever movement was happening in art. He would also have the accompanying architecture of that time or some sort of reaction to it. So I always thought of the two together.

12:00 Thanks a lot of sense. And we had another one of his trips where he just sort of offered to take students around La for the day on a Saturday. If we had nothing to do here was going to I don't know walk around LACMA and the Getty and go see Walt Disney Concert Hall just kind of threw that out there and I think there's maybe twelve of us that child and cars and followed him up here from from one County and wasn't all that long of a trip wasn't theater up like the 17 days. It seems like it was a big deal. I'll be driving around here. Especially just kind of I think I only had my license for a year so scary. Okay, so we know like for posterity sake you have to talk about the Getty tram cuz I know that the Getty sharp was doc. I know that was a huge turning point right in the most romantic moments of my life.

13:00 I am a romantic person. This is what comes of you and I reading entirely too much a side for my calculus parties and there's a whole Harry Potter story in there that will work in at some point really sound cool it I'll do it.

13:17 Usher that was the goal of the given up on that but for the Getty we hit the Getty late in the day so we've been trekking around La we went to the amoeba store. Oh, yeah that was into the amoeba store. It was on his iconic places in La that we should visit.

13:41 A little bit cool with me he does he know that man knows culture but we hit the Getty just a little after Sunset. So, you know, it's that visual image of standing on the balcony looking over LA and you have the blanket of city lights and there's the string of The Twelve of us. And of course the pole vaulter that I thought was super cute and he was a senior when he always move his desk out of the way so I could see the projector Andrew something. I don't remember his last name at this point, but he came on the trip. We had a good track program.

14:21 You're coming everyday reading with their calculus.

14:29 I just remembered cuz every every day he move his desk a little bit to the right so that I could have a clear view of the art that was being, you know projected that dog was talked about yet. There was such a hurry along the balcony looking at the lights of La for a long day treat sing around and

14:57 There's something about that scene in that moment and maybe for the first time recognizing that someone orchestrated that someone designed that that view didn't just happen. I wasn't testing on a Mountaintop someone made this balcony with this review. It was that whole experience and recognizing that that came out of someone's mind that

15:19 I mean that kind of it totally changed my direction you were like, I want to do this. I want I want to make that I wanted to make that experience for other people to stand in a space and have such an emotional reaction. Yeah, it does matter what emotion that is, but just to have that kind of Attunement because of the way of space was made that was so beautiful to me that I ended up running off to Europe and studying architecture. That's funny because I'm thinking about it. Your identity now to me is so intricately connected with art and architecture.

15:54 I can't remember what you were planning to do before that really exists for that moment on.

16:06 You never like I want to be a writer. I want to be an astronaut. I want to be a doctor or whatever. I have no concept of what your dream was before that.

16:17 Did you remembered I don't was it will it so I writer yeah, so I 50/50 on my application college applications half were two schools being part of their philosophy program and the other half were to architecture programs in some of those were not the same school. So it was just and I ended up accepted at an architecture school New York. So we both went to college in New York, but not near each other now and she only visited once and visited Loosely because you would text me in from Penn Station going ham hear you and then think of the next 20 minutes you want to hang. I did see that once granted. It was a site visit. Yeah, I know. County.

17:07 We we remedied that we also didn't move in together after I'd still remember that conversation where you texted me like. Hey, remember how he used to joke about after college living together differently.

17:25 Wait what how did this occur?

17:30 And I always like your version do it but I like this is this is this conversation but I remember really differently sitting in a chair waiting for one of my classes and it were you calling me and every you say, you're always used to joke and you were in Orange County that I'm never remember how we used to joke about like moving to do you want to do that and I went Are you seriously like yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay and I was sitting at totally remember you texting me. Oh my gosh, this is embarrassing years. We were together. I thought it was all your doing. I'm pretty sure it was yours.

18:10 Either way with awesome. It works really? Well. What was it 3 years together in Culver City 3 compartment nighty night nighty nights. We were just put on 90s matching items at Target matching Target and put on like he's over and do our nails and put on a lovely movie and you would cook dinner because you're the best thing ever and can make an amazing meal that is like forgery and setting for enter fridge like the opposite sides of a coin when it comes to Foodies. I am the foodie who will whip up whatever out of my pantry and the farmer's market and home, but I can find the coolest and best restaurants anywhere which is why if you put us together, we would be the perfect person perfect team in the world. Just going to handle.

19:08 Because I didn't like how we designed what we would be like if we were one human. We're smoosh together. I mean we clearly have to have your hair my hair but also your ass.

19:22 My hair you're as an it would be the best. Also, maybe someone else's height if we could steal something. I feel okay about her relatives shortness. Yes, we do wear a lot of feels we share heels, even though we don't live together we have clothes in common.

19:42 I was actually thinking about that. I meant to bring your tank top and your sweater. Oh, yeah, because now would have been a good time to give him back to you the other day. The long green cable knit sweaters.

20:02 That's why you would do so well in Amsterdam. They have the same sort of sweater Dame you have for people who appreciate you were just Amsterdam it like got to like run around to all the museums. I don't know what to ask her ask about the van Gogh Museum. That's the one I didn't get to you. Okay, you weren't answering for 2 weeks and you never made it to the bank arena halfway good good that I do regret not saying is actually the F train museum in The Hague that would have blown my mind having a baby on a train. So I I was in Amsterdam because I was being an international nanny for my brand new 5 month old nephew. And so I dragged him to all the art museums, but he actually has very strong opinions on art for a baby.

20:58 I don't know if you were told so the rijksmuseum which has to be probably one of my favorite museums I've ever been really was closed for 15 years while they were so they were they doing for 15 years worth it worth your soul my gosh. The exterior is just as beautiful sort of Cathedral with stained glass and I mean it's iconic of whatever style that is. Of course my architecture serving me well now is this beautiful clean modernist white Marvel like I imagine it has like this skin and then there's some sort of in-between and then this entirely different new Museum wearing the skin of the old description I've ever heard in my whole life.

21:49 It sounds creepy and go to ask your boyfriend poems.

22:07 I have to work before I become an architect or teacher because they probably don't want to skin up another building actually. Sorry, that would be entirely except. That's very true. But not making dog proud right now. But I brought Jones my nephew and I would wear him in like a Baby Bjorn and go see all the different exhibits and just worked our way through for the whole day and it was funny because

22:45 I mean there certain things you got really excited about and you do make noises or try and touch and for some reason it was the 16th to 17th century Dutch paintings know he was so loud, like embarrassingly loud. I had to apologize and kind of slowly remove him cuz he just started making and he doesn't quite make baby sounds like he sounds like a velociraptor, so he's roaring.

23:16 Dutch paintings, maybe you really love that. I just don't know what it was. Very strong feelings about these two boys or like Angry block really hard to tell

23:29 Velociraptor noise is a very difficult like to CERN happy ones versus the sad ones. I don't know the nuances of velociraptor language.

23:39 Why you shouldn't have lost her after like I mean, I've been meaning to get to it, but I'm still sitting up on Latin since I never really took it in high school.

23:47 Sorry, just in time for the movie perhaps. I don't know what it was and they're not even I mean we went to the stead Lake and he he loved like I have the picture of him. I had the series of because I was wearing him. It was kind of half of his head looking at art work. But someday I'd like to look your culture culture and you might not remember this but you had strong feeling he had very strong feelings about the naval scenes and it's funny because there was artwork of him all the things we saw I didn't really have strong feelings toward it one way or the other which is really surprised to see this is this is why you and I we trade on the art world because you and your Flemish painting.

24:47 I love it. So so what is it about Flemish painting that intrigues you so and ryles you're okay. So I won't confuse other Flemish work by pre-renaissance craziest to me about the whole thing like yes.

25:18 They weren't necessarily going for a lot of a lot of nativity scenes as a lot of biblical themes and all that but the detail on those paintings is astounded and not like oh, oh they were able to like paint hairs on a dog, but they were they were putting like reflections of the artists in pearls on their dresses. Nobody knows that what you would never know about. You see the pain in your like that's awesome another Madonna and child Street when you get really need more of those on this but like if you get up close in those paintings,

26:11 If you look at the pearls on the dress still be reflections of like the world outside or like the painter painting them or they'll be like you can see the Stitch lines in the road literally drives me crazy trying to think about how they did that to me and you can see me individually for a luxurious robes to show you all the opulence and wealth of the donors and a painting individual hairs on these fur robes.

26:46 Obsessive pre-renaissance Flemish painters

26:56 The pain is aren't big. You know what I mean? They're not. Well, hopefully not. I mean it would take a lifetime to complete I would assume you have the studio so, you know, but not that big are pretty medium size is is the official term is it art history major moves in architecture major we're doing really well quit size with her technical Acumen here.

27:29 You know what? I mean is of a tabernacle, but it's also not like pendant Vive.

27:41 This is why I love that detail. But this is what I also don't get this is what they were after they're like, yeah, but they're babies look like 45 year old men there like that is an issue that they didn't quite get to they probably could have said last time on the Pearl lunch ideas like that. They're like, yeah that 45 year old baby into it when you're talking about baby Jesus now baby Jesus looks like he just like rented out a minivan like it's really weird. They couldn't get babies. But you shall I say they got on so well, yeah, but they did give a fuck about reflecting the artist painting and the whole scenery behind him in the tiny little pearls.

28:37 Good job, Spanish Flemish painters hats off to you.

28:43 So it's wonderfully details to look at right to like find all the hidden. So is it the fact that it's all these little details that are like Hayden within this larger image pretty much. I mean, I just really liked what they really cared about. Like they were being commissioned to do all these Madonna and child, but then they were like a child and then hide a little

29:08 Hobbies really crazy details that show how awesome I am and I really like all the symbolism in it. It's like I Spy book every every Flemish painting is a picture of the Madonna in there or like there is like sun rays, like that's the Holy Spirit. I know that's what that supposed to mean. There's all these little hidden things in their did all of this start with dox class, or was it snow later on your own team leader, so not on my own and that wasn't this clever but so Dak and I was like, all right. Claus only covered up until Renaissance and I love it so much and I was like, I will I have to take Renaissance to contemporary. I'm going to do something. That's not a small chunk of time without one course, or was that more than one course? That's one course. It's like I mean either neither is ancient.

30:08 But so I took this one. I just I told me that I wasn't taking water history class to kind of round out that application just the basics. I took this class and it was amazing Professor who we all kind of fangirl Dover. I remember his last name of the first name is Dennis and every time would you like I Hate That Ass by me?

30:32 We're totally Tangled ever have was it his mind for the one of those just like I'm obsessed with the way you talk about the world my God, he wouldn't have you so dashing. All the kids are perfect Contemporary Art of the surname Pepe. Oh my God, we can go harder overpay than we did over that has and he was gorgeous the silver-haired fox curator Moma. I'm really not that surprised that there's a whole outcropping of gorgeous and why you are professors. So obsessed with it and like bruises whole world. We touched on salvage yard, but the main bread-and-butter was Renaissance because it's always Renaissance and Italian Renaissance, and there's a big truck.

31:21 Do afterwards as I take more our class like that and I took one specific one at all. It was what it was and it was hot by the schoolyard Department who was an 80 and oh my God is just it open my eyes. It was one whole class on just from a shark and because there's enough detail to cover there. You don't have to do Renaissance to contemporary ancient to Renaissance. Just just on the show. There's enough help me but now I love it. So in parts of us being put together and the perfect person it's so funny because you're pre-renaissance Flemish art and I'm like that alternate experiential super contemporary weird. Yeah, like live in the ocean.

32:17 I just means I occupy. Okay. So question for you that before you asked me.

32:32 Your free time you saw me about to ask that you're leaving. I need to come up with an answer for this.

32:40 Currently only currently I am obsessed with this avant-garde offer seen that we have here in La that you and I just went and saw and I feel like it cuz it combined so many different things. It's so special because they kind of takeover occupy currently occupied spaces like Invisible Cities dead at Union Station. So the stations in you so you have these offered dancers and singers, you know dodging commuters and putting on this whole experience that kind of it just grows to encapsulate the space. Yeah, and I think I really like that sort of taking over of not your space.

33:28 Beatrice Pace, I'm going to make it mine and make it art for this brief moment in life also.

33:37 Los Bukis

33:40 To what are you referring in a lot of things but when you like that's I don't own at all. I'm going to need it make it mine turn into a gallery and then disappear into the night.

33:57 Astounded that works out and I didn't get evicted. I would have lived on your couch with you before we went ahead. I was kind of expecting it. I'm very shocked doesn't have any either so my old apartment in Venice. I took over after my thesis and with a couple of friends just installed and built an art gallery for a night sold some artwork and had a very fancy the art show and then we tore it all down and it disappeared the day after and it was very scary because I was getting threats from the property management company that day telling me that I was trespassing. He knows the roof of my apartment building. So I thought your roof. Well, I mean we didn't have access to it as residence doesn't make it your roof. I have access to the street.

34:57 Cuz I really stopped people.

35:02 Yeah.

35:13 Would you guys do when you were a kid?

35:15 What are the athletes a Storyteller Italian? Yeah, so that was one of the things I always consider you.

35:24 The kind of upper echelon of storytellers in my life also because you wrote a book okay for clarification. No, no, no, no. No, we're just going to leave it at that you wrote a book and we're going to celebrate that because it's amazing but

35:41 Beaches we would exchange books. We would read we go to book openings together at midnight about some of those. I know I have the last Harry Potter. That's obviously one of my one of my favorite memories of all time and one of my favorite memories with you, but it's such an indelible part of our growing up growing up cuz I mean we were in when Harry Potter acrylic we actually grew up with Harry Potter. My birthday is 16 days and she has green eyes started taking longer to book. So we grew up a little ahead of him. But the final book came out our senior year we yeah, we got there was it like for your parents got there at like picked up our wristbands at 6 a.m. Or something from the bookstore?

36:41 We got mine at like 4 for the book to come out at midnight. Yeah, and then and we dress up if I didn't win the stupid costume contest and I still want to write to Bordertown tell them that that was inappropriate for them to restrict the costume contest to a certain age group is okay, and it was really amazing and a skirt you made out of ties stir on your own. I know I'm still impressed by that was really ugly. But I likes that we had an unspoken rule amongst all of our friends have as soon as you got the Harry Potter book at midnight had to stay up to read it and you turned off your cell phone early cell phones. That's absolutely what Grows Where My Favorite reading France is no one could ruin it for you. I read 11 hours straight and then I don't know if you remember this. I was working in Victoria Secret. I need to go to work the next day and I was seventy pages from the end bawling my eyes out and like I have to stop like I have to

37:41 I just learned about Snape and rhe moments. All right, all like tears balling get into work. I haven't slept of Jeff Redd for 11 hours. I working for like 4 and 1/2 hours of Ross is like reading in the break room, but like obviously gay people are talking about it cuz now it's out right now. It's out but no one has finished it because no one no one else dedicated 11 hours of sleep, but I did. Okay go home, like go home go finish that they let me out early. I finished the book. I sought for like an hour and then I mean to be passed out Job Fairs around dinner time, and my eyes are so swollen and puffy and

38:28 Throughout the whole thing. I think like rebook every midnight showing of movies. Yeah, it's just I mean, it's so weird me that like we became friends over hair-pulling and we're such a different people. We are vastly different people different people.

38:47 Who's so it's really awesome really amazing for me that we have these commonalities there. So entrenched and stories. I feel like that's what it is it storytelling Spike. I think that's the art commonality and the movies, Nala T. Yes. We're a little bit fucked up and we really like horror and like I don't know what that commonality is, but well those come from Trading back and forth. You still have my list and I do still have the years ago.

39:14 Don't like scary story little short stories would like the girl with the the ribbon around her neck and then her head off and they're pendant. There was a that like graphic. I would just like a black pen kind of doodle like a company. There is one per story. So one of my favorite memories was being invited to your sister's birthday party. I don't even know how old she was turning but we were probably young wearing Elementary School have been that makes me feel kind of bad. I don't think she was that maybe 7 so we decided to tell ghost story isn't some Skylar and I are parents never restricted what we ride which were on the fence about whether or not that was a good thing or bad grade and have been absolutely damage from that. I should not have been reading that if anything I made your sister cried telling ghost stories birthday.

40:14 Tell her I'm sorry about that. All right. Well, I got some last minute, but we can talk for 2 more hours. We can talk forever. This is kind of what we do, but

40:28 I love you. I love you so much. You're next 21 years of weird obsessions and like we're throwing knives from existence or where you are, but it's 20 21 years has passed and I'll have to do this again the next Renaissance on guys.