Book excerpt: Cerro Gordois a photographic study of Los Angeles, California, created over the span of a year. Inspired by depictions of the city in motion pictures of the 1970s and early 1980s, photographer and director David Black (born 1980), noted for his work with musicians such as Daft Punk, Cat Power and Kendrick Lamar, explores various noir themes that cut through Los Angeles’ sunshine veneer. Black’s photographs examine the complex existence between light and dark and its role in our modern mythologies, visually appraising Los Angeles’ archetypes and identity in popular culture and exposing the city’s paradoxical bent as a land of dreams and disillusionment. Cerro Gordois Black’s first monograph.