The Face Maker
by Paul Chaderjian AIM Magazine 1998 "If you are alert to the Creative, you will meet with good fortune now.” --from “I Ching - Book of Changes” It’s a sunny spring afternoon in Los Angeles. Melrose Avenue is bustling with traffic. On the sidewalks, young people mill around posing for the invisible camera; they are the walking ads for C.K., Dockers and Levi’s. A group of conservatively dressed Gen X’ers, in white shirts and ties, slurp smoothies and eat vegetarian sandwiches at a juice bar; a roaring Harley whizzes by calling attention to itself. It’s all for show, here- all for the ego. It’s not only about being looked at and looking, but it’s also about being a somebody in a sea of bodies. Melrose has always attracted the hippest and coolest of visitors and residents; after all, millions watch the FOX drama named after this place. But unlike those who are trying to keep up with a beat set by Wall Street and Madison Avenue, a young Armenian, a Buddhist, is marching to ...