Catherine Gudis directs the public history program at UC Riverside and is the author of Buyways: Billboards, Automobiles, and the American Cultural Landscape. Before participating in a panel on how people reinvent spaces, she talked whiskey and the aughts, billboards and espresso in the Zócalo green room.
Where would you like to travel to next?
I mean based on the [“Overdrive”] exhibition, throughout Los Angeles, clearly!
How do you react when you’re embarrassed?
My face turns red.
What word or phrase do you use most often?
Fantastic!
How do you like your coffee?
Black. Extra shot of espresso.
Do you have a favorite Southern California billboard?
My favorite billboards were those on the Sunset Strip that are gone. The Marlboro Man was my favorite billboard in L.A.; it was just decadent, and he was galloping across Sunset Boulevard.
What’s your greatest irrational fear?
Public humiliation.
What’s your best bar game?
Drinking many whiskeys.
What was the most important year of your life?
I’m going to say the most important decade started in 2000: marriage, kids, books.
How would you describe yourself in five words or less?
Enthusiastic, hopelessly curious, energetic, and sometimes at a loss for words.
Do you have any recurring dreams or nightmares?
Oh, the Gordian Knot. It’s the knot you can’t unravel.