LA ART NEWS A R T S A N D C U LT U R E F O R A L L O F L O S A N G E L E S VOLUME 6 NO. 5
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AUGUST 2018
THIS BRUSH FOR HIRE NORM LAICH AT ICA LA
“This Brush for Hire: Norm Laich and Many Other Artists” requires an explanation. What the works by the noted contemporary artists in this eclectic assemblage have is common is Norm Laich. Norm Laich is the fabricator to art world stars. The exhibit features works by John Baldessari and Meg Cranston, who also curate; Mike Kelley and Arturo Herrera, who are represented by large-scale installations; as well as Ed Ruscha, Paul McCarthy, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, and more. And all of the art was fabricated by Mr. Laich over the course of three decades. A crucial piece of the exhibit is a short film, directed by Pauline Stella Sanchez, which introduces attendees to the broad role that Mr. Laich, trained as a sign painter, has played in contemporary art. In the film, artist Barbara Kruger speaks of Mr. Laich’s merging of skill sets—of his ability to make work visible coupled with an understanding of the wants and needs of artists and the artist subculture. “If you would have an Arturo Herrera, Park & Ride, 2018 example of all of these works that Norm had made for all of these different artists,” says artist Stephen Prina, “he would basically produce a survey of recent art.”
Meg Cranston, Fireplace 18, 2018. Mike Kelley, Proposal for the Decoration of an Island of Conference Rooms (With Copy Room) for and Advertising Agency Designed by Frank Gehry, 1991 (recreated 2018). Norm Laich, Never Die, 2015. Amanda Ross-Ho, A Very, Very Rough Proposal, 2015.
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NELASCAPES Northeast Los Angeles, popularly known as NELA, is an area rich in its artistic heritage and vibrant in its artistic present. A large exhibit of “NELAScapes,” coming to Avenue 50 Studio in Highland Park, demonstrates this artistry in both its excellence and its diversity. “Northeast Los Angeles is a community where the urban meets the rural, where flashy new restaurants are near rustic trails that lead to hilltop parks,” says NELAScapes curator Raoul De la Sota, “where meditation centers and bird sanctuaries overlook busy parkways and Gold Line trains. This is where historic houses and museums border the Arroyo Seco Wash. This is where the Arts and Crafts movement blossomed in southern California. NELA is where people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds gather to work, create and play in the ancestral home of the Chumash and Tonga native Americans.” Some of the NELAScape artists have been active in the community since as far back as the 1970s. A couple weren’t even born yet at that time. Their subject matter includes natural beauty, the built environment, and portraiture—ranging from the gritty to the sublime, from a frightened little girl trying to get to junior high to a poet looking for late-evening coffee. Mr. De la Sota’s own artistic take on NELA begins with views of the Arroyo Seco and its neighborhoods from his Highland Park windows and extends out from there. “I initiated my interest in demonstrating the enormity of the art talent residing in the area by curating the exhibit, ‘For the Love of the Arroyo,’ at the Southwest Museum in 2017,” says Mr. De la Sota. “It seems only natural that this second installment of my original interest would take place in the Avenue 50 Studio Gallery, a non profit community center. I proposed that it have an expanded vision of the arts, architecture, landscapes and people that make the area so historic. For that reason I chose artists that come from the general area and I also chose artists, both well-known and emerging, that employ a variety of subject matter, techniques and media.” NELAScapes will take up three full rooms of the Avenue Carol Colin, “Last Coffee House Closed — Poet on North Figueroa,” (Suzanne Lummis)
Sergio Teran, “Leaving the City”
Bonnie Lambert, “York at Figueroa, Highland Park”
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50 Studio complex. The artists are Judith Amdur, Raul Baltazar, Jessica Ceballos y Campbell, Lynn Coleman, Carol Colin, Raoul De la Sora, Lore Eckelberry, Kikki Eder, Sonya Fe, Gwen Freeman, Cidne Hart, Keven Hass, Peter Hess, Heather Hoggan, Kristen Johannesen, Bonnie Lambert, Ernesto Montaño, Karen Neubert, Michael Porter, Ramon Ramirez, Stuart Rapeport, Olivia Sanchez-Brown, Suzanne Siegel, Rod Smith, Violetta Sorcini, Sergio Teran, Gail Wenger, Bill Wheeler, Evelyn Winchester, Richard Willson, and Katsu Yokoyama. NELAScapes
August 11- September 1 Opening reception, during NELAart Second Saturday Gallery Night: August 11, 7-10 p.m. Avenue 50 Studio 131 North Avenue 50, Highland Park www.avenue50studio.org The exhibit will include a silent auction of 8x8 works in support of Avenue 50 Studio and its almost two decades of service to the NELA arts community NELAScapes is sponsored by a generous grant from Maximiliano Restaurant.
Cidne Hart, “Gold Line”
Ramon Ramirez, “If You Close Your Eyes You Can Hear Them Cry”
Peter Hess, ““Arroyo Forms 1”
Sonya Fe, “The black bridge”
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STAFF Publisher/ Creative Director Cathi Milligan Managing Editor Margaret Arnold Intern Vince Caldera Contributors: Margaret Arnold, Cornelius Peter, Brian Mallman, Amy Inouye, Stuart Rapeport, Cathi Milligan, Jennifer Hitchcock, Jeremy Kaplan, Florence the dog, Harvey Slater, Kristine Schomaker, Madame X, Larisa Code, Margaret Rozga, Tomas Benitez LA Art News is published monthly at the beginning of each month. LA Art News is available free of charge. No person may, without prior written permission from LA Art News, take more than one copy of each monthly issue. Additional copies of the current issue are available for $1, payable in advance, at LA Art News office. Only authorized LA Art News distributors may distribute the LA Art News. Copyright No news stories, illustrations, editorial matter or advertisements herein can be reproduced without written consent of copyright owner.
HALFWAY THRU SUMMER! I have a love/hate relationship with summer. Love the season...not as fond of the intense heat. I’ve given up on the ants. Just try to tempt them outside. But I love the long days, warm evenings, the beach, art walk. All that is good in Los Angeles. There’s music and art everywhere. And in that art and music, I see and hear resistance. I see and hear communities coming together in disgust over some of the actions of a few rogue idiots. But there appear to be more idiots everyday. What to do? How about in your art and music adventures out there this summer you find someone that may not have voted in the last election, have a discussion with them about the current state of affaires in the country, and encourage them to vote. There are so many good things that happen everyday. And then there’s Washington, DC. Vote.Fuck Trump. Thanks, Cathi Milligan Publisher, LA Art News
How to reach us LA Art News 5668 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042 323-387-9705 Contributions cathi@laartnews.com Calendar information margaretnelaart@gmail.com Sales - cathi@laartnews.com sign up for our newsletter at laartnews.com Where’s Monica?
continued from page 1 Mike Kelley, Proposal for the Decoration of an Island of Conference Rooms (With Copy Room) for an Advertising Agency Designed by Frank Gehry, 1991 (recreated 2018) (detail)
This Brush for Hire: Norm Laich & Many Other Artists Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Through September 2 Curated by Meg Cranston and John Baldessari 1717 East Seventh Street www.theicala.org
Norm Laich updates John Baldessari, A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation, 1966-68, for the show at ICA LA. From “This Brush for Hire: Norm Laich & Many Other Artists,” a film directed and produced by Pauline Stella Sanchez. Executive Producers John Baldessari & Meg Cranston.
John Baldessari, A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation, 1966-68 (Additional canvasses are added to document showings of the work since 1968.)
ATOMIC CAFE ROCKS LITTLE TOKYO The Atomic Cafe paid a return visit to Little Tokyo August 3. Visitors relived the experience of the diner turned late-night punk venue, opened by Minoru and Ito Matoba in 1946. The event even featured a DJ set by Atomic Nancy, playing the original 45s from the jukebox. The event kicked off two months of activity. Through September, the storefront at 341 East First Street will function as a community arts space. “Art @ 341 FSN” is a partnership among JACCC, LTSC +LAB and Sustainable Little Tokyo and is funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, ArtPlace America, and Surdna Foundation. It is part of a broader effort to recognize the treasure that East First Street is to the past, present and future of Little Tokyo. A schedule of events may be found at www.sustainablelittletokyo.org/341.
Atomic Nancy and the original Atomic Cafe 45s
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AUGUST 2018
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LA ART NEWS
GOVERNMENT NOTES
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SENATE RAISES ARTS AND HUMANITIES FUNDING The U.S. Senate voted August 1 to join the House of Representatives in not only rejecting a White House effort to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), but also to increase the agencies’ funding. The endowments are now slated to be funded at $155 million each for fiscal year 2019. This represents a $2 million increase in funding each. The next step is for members of both chambers to meet in conference to hammer out differences on broader budget issues. TIME CAPSULE DISCOVERED IN DOWNTOWN LA The LA County Arts Commission and the LA County Department of Public Works recently uncovered a time capsule buried at the base of the Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial flag pole in Downtown LA. Originally constructed in 1957 to commemorate the first raising of the American flag in Los Angeles by troops during the Mexican-American War, this monument was designed by architects Kazumi Adachiand Dike Nagano, and features artwork by artists Henry Kreis and Albert Stewart. At the time of its installation the Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial was reported to be the largest bas-relief military monument on the actual site it commemorates in the United States. In 2016 the Arts Commission and the Department of Public Works began a multi-year restoration of the artwork, and it is because of this restoration that the time capsule was discovered. “[At the time of the monument’s construction] There was a letter that stated that they wanted to do a Fort Moore Pioneer Monument (photo: Los Angeles County time capsule, and that there were these proposed items that they wanted to put in it,” said LA County Arts Commission) Arts Commission Civic Art Deputy Director of Collections Clare Haggarty. “So we were fairly sure that there might be a time capsule. But the fact that it really was there is very exciting.“ The capsule was opened under the guidance Conservator Donna Williams of Williams Art Conservation. It contained an array of photos and documents related to the fort, the memorial project, as well as life in Los Angeles circa 1957. One highlight from the capsule is a manuscript written by a May Belle Davis—who, according to the document, was a driving force behind the monument—that describes the idea and inspiration for the monument. “Everything is in amazing condition,” said Haggarty. “In the same condition they put it in the time capsule. Nothing’s deteriorated.” The Arts Commission hopes to digitize the contents of the capsule and make them available to the public. After which, the plan is to create a 2018 time capsule to be placed back at the base of the monument for future Angelenos to discover. PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS A group of 61 Democratic members of the U.S. Congress has introduced legislation to enhance protections for national monuments on public lands. The America’s Natural Treasures of Immeasurable Quality Unite, Inspire, and Together Improve the Economies of States (ANTIQUITIES) Act of 2018, introduced by Rep. Michelle Lujan of New Mexico, is the House companion to Senator Tom Udall’s (D-NM) ANTIQUITIES Act (S. 2354) and would preserve opportunities for hunting, tourism, scientific research, conservation, and cultural uses in our national monuments and protect them against any renewed efforts by the White House to sell or compromise them. The proposed legislation declares Congress’ support for the 51 national monuments designated by previous presidential administrations. It reiterates that existing law makes clear that presidential proclamations designating national monuments are valid and can only be reduced or diminished by an act of Congress; in other words, the President lacks the legal authority to do so. Among Los Angeles area co-sponsors of the act are Judy Chu, Grace Napolitano, Lucille Royal-Allard, Alan Lowenthal, Nanette Barragán, Jimmy Gomez, and Norma Torres. ARTS IN CORRECTIONS The California Arts Council has announced its latest round of contracts to new and existing Arts in Corrections coordinating organizations offering rehabilitative services to incarcerated individuals in California state prisons. Administered by the California Arts Council, Arts in Corrections programs are designed to prepare incarcerated individuals for success upon release, enhance rehabilitative goals, and improve the safety and environment of state prisons. The program is internationally recognized for its high-impact, innovative approach to addressing the state’s public safety needs and rehabilitative priorities through the arts. The arts programming reaches all 35 state adult correctional institutions, with such offerings as theater, guitar, dance, creative writing, and Native American beadwork. Los Angeles area service providers include Actors’ Gang, Fugitive Kind Theater, InsideOUT Writers, PEN America, and TheatreWorkers Project.
LAURA AGUILAR AND THE PLUSH PONY In a truck installed outside of the former site of The Plush Pony, an El Sereno Lesbian bar open between the 1960s and early 2000s, Women’s Center for Creative Work, in partnership with The Estate of Laura Aguilar, presented projections of the entirety of Ms. Aguilar’s photographic series, “Plush Pony” the evening of July 23. The series features 29 studio portraits of lesbian couples, groups and individuals that Ms. Aguilar photographed in the bar during the early 90s, at a time when there was little media representation of queer communities of color. The Plush Pony was a gathering space for primarily working-class, Chicana & Latinx lesbians.
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PLAY MUSIC ON THE PORCH DAY August 25
Play Music on the Porch Day—the international event born in Highland Park—returns August 25. In just its sixth year, the celebration has already spread to over 400 cities and towns in at least 45 countries. The concept is simple: just go outside a make music. Do it alone, with family, or make a party of it. Then share a bit of video or a photo to your social media and add #playmusicontheporchday. It’s a concept that transcends culture, language or economics. And it’s striking a chord around the world. It all began with an idea by Los Angeles artist Brian Mallman. By the second year there was participation from Mongolia. “For me, that really hit home,” said Mr. Mallman, “that this is incredible.” Some Play Music on the Porch participants are in major cities. But a great many are in small towns around the world. This year there will be music played on Caribbean steel drums, Italian hurdy-gurdies, Turkish ouds, and a Madagascar tube harp—as wells as lots of guitars, banjos, and probably some spoons. “It’s really cool how people just take the idea and run with it,” says Mr. Mallman. www.playmusicontheporchday.com
Brian, Dash, Cal and Monica prepare for Play Music on the Porch Day
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EMERGING ARTISTS AT MUNICIPAL ART GALLERY Juried Exhibition 2018, at the City of Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in Hollywood, is a group exhibition introducing a new generation of Los Angeles artists. Artists were selected from an open call for entries by a jury comprising Jonathan Griffin, art critic; Jamillah James, Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and Steven Nelson, Professor of African and African American Art History, UCLA. The 2018 edition of the juried exhibition builds on the legacy of this pioneering exhibition, which historically has provided a platform for emerging artists in Southern California since 1953. www.lamag.org Pictured: First Place winner Hannah Varamini makes paintings, drawings, installations, and videos that explore the construction of individual and nationalistic memory. Comprising of seaweed imported from Korea, “Colony Reprise” creates a space of the contemplation of histories of trauma on the Korean peninsula. Lindsay August-Salazar’s practice draws inspiration from neuroscience, philosophy and Labanotation (a system for describing human movement). Her seemingly abstract paintings are embedded with a series of glyphs, which represent an attempt to locate linguistic structures within a visual field outside of capitalistic and hegemonic codes. Her works were awarded second prize.
L.A. PLAYS BASEBALL “L.A. Baseball: From the Pacific Coast League to the Major Leagues,” edited by David Davis, uses a plethora of photographs from the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library to demonstrate the intimate relationship the City of Los Angeles has always had with the sport—from the evictions of Chavez Ravine to Nuns’ Day at Dodger Stadium, from The Aztecas of Pacoima to Fernando Valenzuela. Also included are short essays by L.A. Art News contributors Amy Inouye, Stuart Rapeport, and Tomas Benitez, among others. (Fun fact: Amy designed the labels for the Dodger Dog onion and relish dispensing machine.) The book may be ordered through Amazon.
AUGUST 2018
INTERNET-BASED SANGUINE GALLERY
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LAUNCHES IN CELEBRATION OF WOMEN ARTISTS AND ARTISTS OF COLOR The Sanguine Gallery is a new internet-based art gallery featuring Women Artists and Artists of Color. A partnership among arts administrator Thomas Canavan, art historian and curator Isabel Rojas-Williams, and noted artists Judithe Hernández and Patssi Valdez, Sanguine works with artists to create internet-based exhibitions and multimedia content to create more awareness of the artists’ work. Sanguine’s inaugural exhibition, “Patssi Valdez: Vases” features Ms. Valdez’ painted ceramic forms, including previously unseen new works. In addition to images, the Sanguine web site features essays and podcasts. Accompanying the Patssi Valdez exhibition is an essay by Art Historian Julia Fernandez. Sanguine Gallery may be found at www.sanguinegallery.com.
Isabel Rojas-Williams, Patssi Valdez, and Thomas Canavan at the launch of Sanguine Gallery
A HERITAGE DIALOGUE CAIRO—LOS ANGELES
A new and colorful mural on the side of the Highland Theatre on North Figueroa Street in Highland Park represents the culmination of a year-long collaboration between artists of Cairo, Egypt and Los Angeles, California. The mural depicts Women of Color from diverse backgrounds and celebrates varied forms of cultural heritage through community building. Believing that, “Preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage is a critical step towards reconstruction, reconciliation and rebuilding of civil society in atrisk communities,” Avenue 50 Studio of Highland Park and Athar Lina Initiative of Cairo brought three young female artists from each community together for “Through Walls: A Heritage Dialogue,” leading to the design and creation of a mural in each location. “Through Walls: A Heritage Dialogue” was one of six
new cultural heritage projects selected by the U.S. Department of State and World Learning, a nonprofit organization committed to empowering people through education and global exchange programs, to receive funding as part of the inaugural Communities Connecting Heritage (CCH) exchange program. CCH empowers youth to protect the cultural heritage of at-risk communities in the United States and around the world and educates participants in skills and knowledge relevant to their projects, covering topics like digital storytelling and the role of artists in communities. Los Angeles and Egyptian project artists are Nuria Oh, Grace Haynes, Valentina Zapata, Mai El Mostafa, Noura Ibrahim Slim, and Fajr Solomon. Additional project team members include Kathy Gallegos of Avenue 50 Studio, Program Administrative Lead; Miranda Ynez, Program Coordinator; Allegra Padilla, Operations Coordinator; Ehsan Abushadi of Athar Lina, Program Coordinator; and Aliaa elDardiry of Athar Lina, Co-Program Coordinator.
Patssi Valdez, “Vases,” at Sanguine Gallery (photo: Sanguine Gallery)
The “Through Walls” team is recognized by Congressman Jimmy Gomez’ office.
LA ART NEWS
REIMAGINING AMERICA
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At a time when social media is filled with political memes that may bring up issues, but do little to advance discourse, the exhibit “Reimagining America” represents a step forward. Presented by The Arroyo Arts Collective and ace/121 Gallery, and curated by Diane Williams, the artworks presented tell stories and seem to dialogue with one another and with viewers. Ms. Williams intentionally sought out artists who question the dominant discourse. “What is the scope of art, and how does it deal with everyday politics?” Ms. Williams asks with her selection of works. The pieces interpret how artists can reimagine America through art as active participation. While the artists deal head-on with many manners of physical and social violence, the experience of the exhibit is ultimately affirming. The take-away may be found in Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass’ painting in which 50s-era adult and child females have empty speech and thought balloons over their heads. The title: “It is Not Yet Written.” Artists: Erin E. Adams, A. Laura Brody, Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass, Rick Dallago, Karen Duckles, Gwen Freeman, Jeanie Frias, Kathi Flood, Peter Hess, Sandy Huse, Cathy Immordino, Leah Knecht, Gina M Fernandez, Randi Matushevitz, Mike McLain, Mike M. Mollett, Michael-René Prince, Samuelle Richardson, Kuniko Ruch, Sergio Teran, Amanda Thomas, Young Summers. Reimagining America Through September 8 Reception: Sunday, August 12, 2-5 p.m. Presented by The Arroyo Arts Collective and ace/121 Gallery Curated by Diane Williams ace/121 Gallery 121 North Kenwood Street, Glendale www.arroyoartscollective.org
Lauren Mendelsohn Bass, It Is Not Yet Written
Leah Knecht, Equal Justice (detail) Rick Dallago, Fiddle Dee Dee Mike McLain, American Heritage (Congenitally Conjoined)
Karen Duckles, American Daisies
Sandy Huse, Too Late
AUGUST 2018
Amanda Thomas, SMST: Single Mother Standard Time (detail)
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PRESERVING THE MOTHER ROAD HISTORIC ROUTE 66
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is seeking public support in an effort to get “The Mother Road,” iconic Route 66, declared a National Historic Trial. The trust sees such a designation as a vital step in preserving the famous highway as an evolving piece of Americana. “It’s the most culturally celebrated and internationally recognized stretch of highway in America,” the National Trust for Historic Preservation says of Route 66, “where generations of open road seekers got their kicks and experienced the quintessential road trip. But Route 66’s history runs much deeper than that. As our nation’s first all-paved U.S. Highway System connecting the Midwest to California, it was the “road to opportunity” for hundreds of thousands of Americans escaping the devastation of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. It also provided thousands of road crew jobs for workers unemployed during the Great Depression. Throughout World War II, critical troops, equipment, and supplies were transported on Route 66 to military bases across the country. And when the war ended, thousands of those troops traveled Route 66 back to their homes and families.” Along its way, from Illinois to California, Route 66 influenced tourism, architecture, menus, and the economic life of cities and towns across America—and the creation of a good deal of what we now know as Americana. National Historic Trails are designated by Congress in order to preserve significant aspects of the nation’s history. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act. From July 2 to August 3, a team of National Trust staff and volunteers took an Airstream trailer trip from Chicago to Santa Monica, visiting sites along historic Route 66 and collecting signatures on a petition to support the designation as a National Historic Trail. Locally, the team visited Clifton’s in Downtown Los Angeles and Mel’s Drive-In at the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica. The petition to support the designation as a National Historic Trail may be found on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s web site at www.savingplaces.org.
The “Preserve Route 66” team gets the word out
The National Trust for Historic Preservation “Preserve Route 66” tour arrives at Clifton’s in Downtown Los Angeles
Mel’s Drive-In in Santa Monica, the last stop on historic Route 66
LA ART NEWS
NELAart
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On the Secon Elysian Valley, art and eateri the updated l
Northeast Los Angeles Arts Organization, Inc.
August 11, 2018 - 7pm - 10pm
(Individual Gallery Hours May Vary. CHECK Gallery web sites for individual information. Just because a gallery is listed does not mean it’s open this month) 1. Avenue 50 Studio 131 No. Avenue 50 323. 258.1435 avenue50studio.org
20. Toros Pottery 4962 Eagle Rock Blvd 323.344.8330 torospottery.com
2. Bike Oven 3706 No Figueroa
21. Kinship Yoga/Wonder Inc. 5612 Figueroa St.
3. Namaste Highland Park 5118 York Blvd. www.namastehighlandpark.com
22. Tierra de la Culebra 240 S. Ave 57
4. Offbeat 6316 York Blvd www.offbeatbar.com 5.Twinkle Toes 5917 N Figueroa St (818) 395-3454 6. Future Studio 5558 N Figueroa St. 323 254-4565 futurestudiogallery.com 7. Collective Arts Incubator 1200 N. Ave 54 collectiveartsincubator.com 8. The Art Form Studio 5611 N Figueroa St. Suite 2 www.theartformstudio.com 9. Vapegoat 5054 York Blvd. 323.963.VAPE 10. ETA 5630 N. Figueroa St. 11. Adjunct Positions 5041 Coringa Dr. 12. Matters of Space 5005 York Blvd www.mattersifspace.com 323.743.3267 13. Mi Vida 5159 York Blvd. 14. Vintage Tattoo Art Parlor 5115 York Blvd. 15. Antigua Coffee House 3400 N. Figueroa St. www.antiguacoffeehouse.com 16. Align Gallery 5045 York Blvd. www.aligngallery.com 17. Leanna Lin’s Wonderland 5204 Eagle Rock Blvd. www.leannalinswonderland.com 18. The Rental Girl 4760 York Blvd. http://therentalgirl.com 19. Mindfulnest 5050 York Blvd. 323.999-7969
AUGUST 2018
23. Cactus Gallery @ Treeline Woodworks 3001 N. Coolidge Ave 24. Huron Substation 2640 Huron Street Los Angeles, CA 90065 25.Baldry Studios 401 Mt Washington Dr. 26. MAN Insurance Ave 50 Satellite 1270 N. Ave 50 323.256.3151 27. TAJ • ART 1492 Colorado Blvd. www.tajartinc.com 28. The Greyhound 570 N. Figueroa St. 29. Urchin 5006 1/2 York Blvd. 30. Arroyo Arts Collective @ Ave 50 Studio 131 North Avenue 50 arroyoartscollective.org 31. Living Room 5807 York Blvd. livingroomhome.com
39. Kindness and Mischief 5537 N. Figueroa St. www.kandmcoffee.com 40. Civil Coffee 5639 N. Figueroa St. 41. Possession Vintage 5119 York Blvd. www.possessionvintage.com 42. The Situation Room 2313 Norwalk Ave. 43. Bookshow 5503 Figueroa St. www.bookshow.com 44. Vroom Vroom Bitsy Boo 5031 B York Blvd. 45. Portico Collection 5019 York Blvd. 46. The “O” Mind Gallery 200 N. Ave 55 theomind.com 47. Apiary Gallery at The Hive Highland Park 5670 York Blvd. www.thehive.la 48. Rock Rose Gallery 4108 N. Figueroa St. 323.635.9125 rockrosegallery.com 49. Leader of the Pack 5110 York Blvd. www.leaderofthepackvintage.com 50. Pop Secret 5119 Eagle Rock Blvd.
32. Vapeology 3714 N. Figueroa St. 323.222.0744
51. Curve Line Space 3348 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90065
33. Pop-Hop 5002 York Blvd. www.thepophop.com
52. Green Design Studios 1260 N. Ave 50
34. Social Studies 5028.5 York Blvd. 35. Occidental College 6100 Campus oxy.edu 36. The Glass Studio 5668 York Blvd. www.theglassstudio.net 37. Earth Altar Studio 1615 Colorado Blvd earthaltarstudio.com 38. Highland Cafe 5010 York Blvd. 323.259.1000
53. Checker Hall 104 N. Ave 56 checkerhall.com
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nd Saturday of every month galleries, businesses, and artists in Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Glassell Park, Cypress Park, , and Lincoln Heights open their doors a little later in the evening and welcome visitors. Use this map for locations of ies, grab someone you love, get some dinner, and enjoy some art. Friend NELA Art Gallery Night on Facebook for last minute list.
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45 12 44 16
41 48 14 31 13
31 36 47
4 29 34 9 9 3 4 26 33 19 52 38
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Visit us at NELAart.org LA ART NEWS
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NELAART GALLERY NIGHT SECOND SATURDAY JULY 2018
Valentina Zapata, Through Walls: A Heritage Dialogue at Avenue 50 Studio Meike Legler, Flake Meike Legler, #goals Courtney + Kurt Pop Up Art Gallery
Desertgrinder, Lowbrow Art Group Show at Vapegoat
Pastey Whyte and Little Ricky, Buried Alive at Cactus Gallery
Andrea Bogdan, Take a Chance Dream Mobile and Life Path Dream Mobile, Buried Alive at Cactus Gallery
SHOP ART +
FUN GIFTS IN
EAGLE ROCK
& ONLINE! 5024 EAGLE ROCK BLVD, LOS ANGELES, CA 90041
LeannaLinsWonderland.com
MON - THUR: 12 -7PM FRI - SUN: 11AM -6PM
AUGUST 2018
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Gianni Arone, Faith Mind at Last Projects Anna, Viva la Frida at Mi Vida
Grace Lynne Haynes, Motherland Valentina Zapata, Todos Through Walls: A Heritage Dialogue at Avenue 50 Studio
Dubeejunk, Lowbrow Art Group Show at Vapegoat
Chantal Giddens, Leah Knecht, Renee Rusak Strouse, Blandine Saint-Oyant, Shaney Watters, and Patricia Woodland, Metamorphosis, Arroyo Arts Collective at Avenue 50 Studio
Elmer Guevara, Wrong Way The Wounds of War at Avenue 50 Studio
LA ART NEWS
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A PORTOBELLO BACON & FIG SUMMER HUG Shiitake bacon is a thing. But honestly, Portobellos make way better bacon, because they’re larger, meatier, and therefore able to stand up to the baconmaking and fig-wrapping process. This recipe is super simple, quick, and a great way to enjoy all those figs that are starting to ripen in your yard, or starting to pop up at the market. portobello bacon-wrapped figs with vegan yogurt 1 large Portobello mushroom 2 tbsp. olive oil 2 tsp. tamari or liquid aminos 1 tsp. melted coconut oil 1 tsp. liquid smoke 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper 1 tsp. raw honey 6-8 fresh figs ¼ cup Blode Kuh Pure yogurt or your favorite vegan yogurt First make the bacon. Preheat your oven to 350º F. Remove the stems from the mushrooms gently, and then cut the mushroom cap into thin strips. You should be able to get about 12-16 good strips per mushroom. Mix the olive oil, tamari, coconut oil, liquid smoke, salt, and pepper in a medium mixing bowl until well blended and emulsified. Place each mushroom strip in the marinade and cover both sides of each one. Place the strips on a glass baking dish or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and gently turn the strips over with a thin spatula. Return to oven and bake for about another 10-15 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked and starting to get a little bit chewy on the edges. Be careful not to overcook them. They may get to crispy and then you won’t be able to wrap them around the figs. So if they’re still soft in the middle but slightly brown on the edges, they’re probably just right. Remove from the pan. Let them cool off for about 10. They will crisp up a little but should still be a little chewy. Cut the figs in half in a way that you can place them on a plate without having them tip over. I cut mine horizontally and made a little cut on the top and bottom so they would sit easily. Take each fig and carefully wrap in a slice of Portobello bacon, with the seam of the bacon at the bottom. Finish it off with a drizzle of yogurt- the yogurt really rounds off the great flavors. Enjoy immediately, or store at room temperature for up to an hour.
Recipe brought to you by Harvey Slater Holistic Nutrition & Wellness: 600 S. Lake Ave. Pasadena, Ca. 323-527-7430 Learn more at harveyslater.com Get more healthy recipes like this one at thewholedishblog.com
AUGUST 2018
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CLASSES IN NELA
Besides being a haven for artists and creative types, Northeast Los Angeles is the home of a fine array of arts classes, especially the industrial arts, but not limited to them. Below is a list of some of the businesses in the area that have classes. Do check with the facility to verify times and prices of their classes. As we find more places we will bring that information to all of you. Adam’s Forge 2640 N. San Fernando Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90065 Adamsforge.org You may email Nancy with questions at blacksmithclasses@gmail.com Please check their web site for a listing of all of their classes and special events. Check out a Discovery class. The Glass Studio 5668 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042 323.387.9705 info@theglassstudio.net Check www.theglassstudio.com for a list of glasses ranging from glass blowing and torchwork to fusing and slumping and jewelry making.
Molten Metal Works 3617 San Fernando Rd Glendale, CA 91204 moltenmetalworks.net Please check their web site for a listing of all of their classes and special events. They’re in a new location next to Community Woodshop. Cool new space! Rock Rose Gallery 4108 N. Figueroa Street Highland Park, CA 90065 (323) 635-9125 www.rockrosegallery.com Visit: Rock Rose Gallery News, Instagram & Twitter Intermediate Ceramics Pottery Class 6 class sessions $240 Check web site for start date
Toros Pottery 4962 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041 323.344.8330
A Place to Bead 2566 Mission St San Marino, CA 91108 626.219.6633 aplace2bead.com
Blue Rooster Art Supply Company blueroosterartsupplies.com blue@blueroosterartsupplies.com 4661 Hollywood Blvd LA, CA 90027 (323) 302-5613
Find a variety of jewelry making classes, including stringing and wirework.
They offer a variety of art classes. Check their web site for more information about their classes and events. Ave 50 Studio 131 No. Avenue 50 323. 258.1435 avenue50studio.org Guitar Lessons. Salsa Lessons too! Check their web site for more information for this and other classes. Center for the Arts Eagle Rock 2225 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock, CA 90041 info@cfaer.org (323) 561-3044 www.cfaer.org
Bullseye Glass 143 Pasadena Ave. South Pasadena, CA bullseyeglass.com They offer a full range of kiln forming glass classes as well as regular free artist talks. Leanna Lin’s Wonderland 5024 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041 323.550.1332 leannalinswonderland.com Check Leanna’s web site for a current list of workshops and events.
Community Woodshop 3617 San Fernando Rd Glendale, CA 91204 626.808.3725 www.community woodshopla.com These guys offer a wonderful selection of classes from beginner to advanced, membership, and private lessons. Please check their web site for more information and a list of classes. Stained Glass Supplies 19 Backus Street Pasadena, CA 91107 626-219-6055 Classes are ongoing Barndall Art Park 4800 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027 323.644.6295 http://www.barnsdall.org Check they’re web site for upcoming classes. Los Angeles County Store 4333 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039 / 323-928-2781 Please check their web site for a listing of all of their classes and special events. Sugar Mynt Gallery 810 Meridian Ave. South Pasadena, CA 626.222.7257 sugarmynt.com Paint and Pinot Twice a month. Check their web site for more detail. Holy Grounds Coffee & tea 5371 Alhambra Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90032 323.222.8884 Check out their workshops!
Check out their web site for a wide variety of fun classes for all ages.
LA ART NEWS
20
NIGHT OF THE BROKEN STAR by TOMAS J. BENITEZ
Years from now the annuls of history will record that the Last American Civil War of 2018 was started by the wanton destruction of Donald Trump’s star on Hollywood Boulevard. It is perhaps the greatest incident of performance art I have seen since when somebody poured chocolate all over themselves live onstage. That was pretty good too. I don’t really think this naked vandalism was meant to be art or performance, although it is worth noting that the deplorable perpetrator is a guitarist, but in this day and age the arts and body politic have merged more and more every day, for at least as long as the farce in DC has gone on. But to attack something as sacred as the brass medallion embedded on historic Hollywood Boulevard, is as profound a provocation as the bombardment of Fort Sumter in South Carolina, 1861. Never mind that nowadays any yokel can get a star on Hollywood Boulevard with the help of a good press agent and $30,000. Even reality television hosts. From the moment the deed was done, this grand opera has escalated. Actually just the week before, comedian George Lopez released a video on social media that mimicked him urinating on the same desecrated star. The reaction from the Right was immediate, vociferous and righteous, echoed even from the hallowed halls of Congress, Lopez was condemned for his uncivil disobedience. I am sure there was some discussion about exploring ways to deport him. Too bad he isn’t a refugee child, then they could just lock him up without any due process. When Pick Axe Guy then followed up with his own performance, the Right was again apoplectic. Then a couple of guys dressed like Russian soldiers took their place the next day, standing guard over the remains of the star. A crowd assembled to mourn the site; or I think they were mourning, maybe they were just waiting for Russian hookers to visit and oh never mind. Since then there have been actual physical confrontations between the Left wing nuts who have flocked to the famous site to dance upon the unearthed remains, and the red, white and blue adorned Right wing patriots who have visited to express their patriotic grief. Imagine people fighting over something like this? Ah yes, this is how civil wars get started. Soon, the blood will flow.
WINE OF THE MONTH Larisa Code
Note: Create joy, one sip at a time. Featured Wine: 3-Day Weekend Vintage: 2016 Color: Light Red (cranberry color) Varieties: Grenache & Counoise (Californian Red Blend) Price: Under $15 Country: United States of America Region: Arroyo Grande Valley
Since the night of the broken star, catchy title for a poem, the social media world has been flooded with newly fashioned memes from visual artists and graphics arts wizards that have offered a replacement star designed with Trump’s name written out in Cyrillic letters, and either the hammer and sickle or the new Russian national symbol. I have a friend who is a randy piano player and lyricist, and with this writing is composing a song to lionize the event. She is kinda dragging her feet to see how it plays out, she may have to add a few more choruses before all the battling is done. And it is my hope that some Mexicanos will come up with the appropriate new corrido, a story song. The whole thing has become so surreal, overshadowing a few other news items, like the incarceration of children, the debacle of the American farmer, and the ruin of our international status, (except with the Russians). But this, this has been a momentous event. It has taken on its own narrative, both a comedy and a tragedy; perhaps worthy of an opera, a ballet? and maybe, yes, maybe, a new reality show? This is actually the second attack, in fact the guy that smashed the star the first time bailed out the guy who just did it again. The terrorism escalates. The war against art and culture rages on. Besides the recent usual ploys to defund the NEA in Congress, a GOP candidate for California Assembly has attacked the Cheech Marin Chicano Art collection at the Riverside Art Museum, questioning funding for a “stoner art museum.” I’m sure there will soon be a horde of torch bearing protestors rallying at the gates. Which also may prove to be convenient for the crowd of counterprotest art supporters, looking for a light. (Tomas Benitez was born and raised in front of a TV set in East L.A. His film SALSA: The Movie was produced in 1988. He has also written for Fred Roos, Starz Encore Films, CBS, and several other producers. In recent years he has written extensively about East Los Angeles including an ongoing, online saga about his home life, titled “The Gully”. Several of his stories about East L.A. and The Gully have been published by Blue Heron in an anthology of new American fiction, and he is editing two addition collections to be published in 2018. Tomas is the former Executive Director of Self Help Graphics & Art.)
A few more food ideas, 3-Day Weekend plus dark chocolate equals true love always, a bowl of seasonal berries with fresh whipped cream…a sip of wine, a bite, a sip, all of them together, whatever….heaven. Curtis, my dog, enjoys it with a side of liquid relaxation (m.jane and cbd to counteract fireworks) along with a dehydrated chicken breast chewy. He will smile consistently, even in slumber. If you are having an outdoor BBQ, you shouldn’t pair flowers…it is too hot, and they don’t like it. Create some great centerpieces with succulent cuttings and gravel—a little echeveria goes a long way. My friend recently scored one of my favorites, the Crooklyn soundtrack, on vinyl no less; just mellow enough to be in the background, but not too mellow to let the heat and wine put your guests to sleep. Besides that, my LA summer soundtrack always includes Roy Ayers (all the way from way back at The Burgundy Room with DJ Todd), my neighbor’s car alarm, my other neighbor’s big mouth and crickets. Here’s to you!
For those of you who love red wine, but crave a chilled beverage in this heat, (oh…this heat), I’ve got you covered. 3-Day Weekend is a red, best served chilled. And the chill really makes a difference. This wine is so light; you can sip it all day at a BBQ, without nodding off by the pool in a puddle of wine tinted drool. Not your best look….not my best look, but somehow, I suspect Scarlett Johansson would still look good. She really is adorable. This is a dry wine, a touch of black cherry (more prevalent if chilled), black pepper, reminiscent of some of Cote Du Rhone’s finer reds and a tiny bit of what some are calling ‘funk’…I don’t usually enjoy a wine with that description, (as enticing as it is to some), but it is just a tiny accent in the flavor, not a big presence. BBQ is a good theme for 3-Day Weekend for many reasons. If you are hosting, you will appreciate the price. If you are serving food, (assuming your friends actually eat at your parties, or eat at all, c’mon LA, you know what I’m talking about), you have plenty of options. Even though it is easy to sip this wine without food, it really shines with a meal; a buttery tomato based dahl would be very yummy. Care to go deeper, a little more fabulous? Well, I loved 3-Day Weekend with slow roasted pork, drizzled with a spicy apricot confit (switch it to berry for the season). Not up for that, no problem, you can easily match those flavors; pair it with a grilled burger, ketchup, relish and pickled jalapeños…it will do, and do well. Potato salad, cole-slaw, baked beans, they fit right in.
FIFA Cup at Potts Plumbing Supplyby Highland Park artist Stuart Rapeport
AUGUST 2018
21
AN UNEXPECTED VISIT AT 5AM By Jen Hitchcock
I rarely get up anywhere near 5AM, and definitely am never out of the house and in my car at the time the sun is only considering popping up over the horizon. This particular morning I had to be at my shop for a film shoot, so there I was, gliding along the 101, my existence confirmed only by a handful of other headlights cutting through the dark. Disquiet lurks in the edges of serenity at this hour. It feels like a mysterious breath of fresh air, while being suspended underwater in the depths of a dark lake. As I drove along in this weird vein of time, from those edges, Garth popped into my thoughts. Garth was the audio technology guy at the music publishing company I worked at for most of my adult life. He existed tucked in a room full of sound relics, in the back part of our office. There he sat, eight hours a day, tapping away with two fingers on either the only typewriter left in the office, or a computer wedged between reel to reel machines, stacks of double cassette decks and turntables. His job slowly fading to black around him, he sat in the waning years of his work, documenting and transferring decades and decades’ worth of audiotape and vinyl into what would become our digital library. Every day for close to twenty years, Garth would get on the road and head to the office by 5am to “avoid traffic”. He would pull into the parking garage and snooze in his van until the office opened at 9:30AM. I barely knew Garth. Yet here he was, a ghost sitting in my car, reminding me that least of all, this sliver of the day should be his. A montage of Garth flickered through my mind as I drove: He had a David Crosby mustache and pin straight shoulder length hair that hung down from the bald spot on his head like a thin curtain. He was a Veteran of the Vietnam War. He would walk by our cubicles, see us online on “All Music” or “Yahoo” and then grumble about how all everyone else did all day was play on our computers. He was one of the few people I let call me Jenny. His body was always tensed up and jittery-- almost as if he were physically resisting the years from dragging him further away from an era in time he understood. He came to the office dressed up as a Klingon one year for Halloween. For the record, I dressed as Lizzy Borden. He had square teeth and a smile that resembled Teddy Roosevelt’s. His jaw was always clenched except, I imagine, when he was brushing his teeth in the men’s room, which according to some of my co-workers was often. I pulled up to my store just as the sun was making its presence known. Garth faded into this soft yellow light. As I walked up to my shop door and began to unlock it, a few of the tech people from the film crew mingled on the sidewalk, surrounded by their equipment. And my day began.
BOOK SHOW EVENTS Wednesday July 11th 7pm doors Historia Storytelling Night “Independence” Suggested donation Friday July 13th 7pm Hello, We’re Still Alive Hosted by Matthew Sherling Words & Performance Free Saturday July 14th 7:30pm Release party for Shits Fucked Zine Free Tuesday July 17th 7pm sign up Comedy Open Mic Hosted by Sumukh Torgalkar Wednesday July 18th 8pm-9:30pm Angry Nasty Women Feminist writing group All women welcome. Five dollar donation Friday July 20th 8pm Friday Night Poetry: They’re Just Words Hosted by Ingrid Calderone Poetry open mic & featured poets Saturday July 21st 7pm Marnie Olson book signing Author of “Grateful” Free Thursday July 26th 8pm Laughterhouse 5 Stand-up Comedy Show! Suggested donation Friday July 27th 7pm-9:30pm Zine & Meet A social gathering for fanzine makers Bring your stuff to work on Hosted by Shits Fucked & Devil’s Claw Distro ONGOING EVENTS and WORKSHOPS COLLAGE & CRY Every 1st Tuesday of the month 7pm-9:30pm Collage art night five dollar donation
Madam X
EAT ART OPEN MIC every 1st Friday of the month 8pm sign ups Poetry and Prose open mic free
LA ART NEWS
22
ART HAPPENINGS AROUND LOS ANGELES PRESENTED BY SHOEBOX PR UPCOMING OPENING: Anatomy of a Group Show Opening Reception & 2nd Annual Film Fest McGinty’s Gallery at the End of the World 869 E Mariposa St, Altadena, 91001 Opening August 3rd 5-10pm To September 29th The Athenaeum’s 27th Annual Juried Exhibition Athenaeum Music & Arts Library 1008 Wall St, La Jolla, 92037 Opening August 3rd 630-830pm PAISANOS USA Studio C Gallery 128 E Main St, El Cajon, 92020-3910 Opening August 3rd 530-830pm TEN exhibit Vita Art Center 28 West Main Street, Ventura, 93001 Opening August 3rd 6-9pm Thaumaturgy Hibbleton Gallery 223 W Santa Fe Ave, Fullerton, California 92832 Opening August 3, 6-10pm 144 Space, Opening Reception Gestalt Project Space 3009 b Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, 90405 Opening August 4, 6-9pm Astrid and Bob Francis: Ooh La La! Fabrik Projects 2636 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, 90034 Opening August 4th 6-8pm Cathy Immordino - Pilgrimage of Heritage, Solo Exhibition California Center for Digital Arts 310 W 5th St, Santa Ana, 92701 Opening August 4th 5-9pm Chenhung Chen / I Ching in America 2.0 Opening reception Cristopher Cichocki - Divisions of Land and Sea Opening Event Dave Pressler | Idea to Object: Career Retrospective Opening Karen Hochman Brown - Elementals at MOAH Robert Nelson - Awakening at MOAH MOAH Lancaster 665 W. Lancaster BLVD Lancaster, 93534 Opening August 4, 2-6pm Collectivity opening at Durden and Ray Durden and Ray 1206 Maple Ave. #832, Los Angeles, 90015 Opening August 4, 7-10pm Danica Phelps: Many Drops Fill a Bucket Luis De Jesus Los Angeles 2685 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, 90034 Opening August 4th, 5-8pm Dream Sequence 1 & 2 Paintings by Todd Molinari SPACE Gallery & Records - Claremont 254 West Bonita Ave., Claremont, 91711 Opening August 4th 6pm Dylan Mira: Black Hole Notes on the Oriented Strand Board CSUF Grand Central Art Center 125 N Broadway, Santa Ana, 92701 August 4th, 7-10pm Exit Strategies Closing Party Women’s Center for Creative Work 2425 Glover Pl Los Angeles, 90031 Saturday August 4th 4-7pm Infinity Pod Light Installation RADIANT SPACE 1444 N Sierra Bonita Ave Los Angeles, 90046 Opening August 4th 12-3pm to September 22nd Intersecting At The Edge (Art Walk) Claremont Museum of Art 200 W. First St., Claremont, 91711 August 4th, 6-9pm Loss & Lucidity exhibition- curated by Diana Ali Santa Ana College, Santora Building 207 N. Broadway, Suite Q, Santa Ana, 92701 Opening August 4th 7-10pm To August 18th
Thinkspace Art Opening with Alex Garant, Yosuke Ueno + Tiktoy Thinkspace Projects 6009 Washington Blvd, Culver City, 90232 Opening August 4, 6-9pm Vibrant Matter: Artworks Refiguring Form Beacon Arts Building 808 N La Brea Ave, Inglewood, 90302 Opening August 4, 2-6pm Chelsea Dean at Shoebox Projects Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 August 5th 3-6pm Exchange: Artcore X SoLA South Bay Contemporary SOLA Gallery 3718 WEST SLAUSON AVENUE, Los Angeles, 90043 Opening August 5th 1-3pm Exchange: Artcore X SoLA LA Artcore Brewery Annex 650A South Avenue 21, Los Angeles, 90031 Opening August 5th 3-5pm Hawthorne Arts Complex - Open Studios Hawthorne Arts Complex 13040 Cerise Ave, Hawthorne, 90250 August 5th 2-6pm Hot Shop Back of 1133 N La Brea Ave August 5th 2-8pm Kim Abeles 3.9 in The Closet, Closing Reception Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 August 5th 3-6pm Mike Saijo: Spiritual Legacy of the Issei Pioneers Exhibition LA Artcore 120 Judge John Aiso St Ste A Los Angeles, 90012 Opening August 5th 12-3pm Open Studio/ Open House for artist Jacqueline Bell Johnson Jacqueline Bell Johnson 8194 Jadeite Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, 91730 August 5, 10-4pm Diverted Destruction 11 - Artist Talk The Loft at Liz’s 453 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 90036 August 8th, 7-9pm Permutations Art Meets Architecture at the Fine Arts Building 811 W 7th St, Los Angeles, 90017 Opening August 9, 6-8pm To October 7th HEAT/WAVE Noh / Wave 420 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, 90013 Opening August 10th 7-10pm Separation Tin Flats 1989 Blake Ave, Los Angeles, 90039 Opening August 10th 6-9pm CA Open Reception TAG Gallery 5458 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036 Opening August 11, 5-8pm To August 25th DTLA Long Beach Avenue Lofts 5th Annual Open Studios DTLA Long Beach Avenue Lofts 1250 Long Beach Avenue Los Angeles 90021 August 11th 1-9pm Flight of Fancy Show Opening Spring Arts Collective 453 S Spring St, Mezzanine, Los Angeles, 90013 Opening August 11, 7-10pm Fully Immersive “Yoni State of Mind” Art Installation de Plume 5564 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, 90028 Opening August 11th 6-10pm The Incongruous Body- Opening Reception American Museum of Ceramic Art / AMOCA 399 N Garey Ave, Pomona, 91767 Opening August 11th, 6-9pm
Remix: The Art of Music - opening reception Gabba Gallery 3126 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, 90057 Opening August 4th 7-11pm
Paradigm FOLD Gallery (above Last Bookstore) 453 S Spring St, # M7 Los Angeles August 11, 7-10pm
Sexy Beast and Artrates Japanese Artists opening August 4th The Hive Gallery and Studios 729 S Spring St, Los Angeles, 90014 Opening August 4th, 8-11pm
Satan’s Spa Day: Opening Reception Art Share-LA 801 E 4th Pl, Los Angeles, California 90013 Opening August 11, 7-10pm
AUGUST 2018
Steve Seleska, New Work at TAJ Art
TAJ • ART 1492 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, 90041 Opening August 11th 6-9pm The Usual Suspects ShockBoxx 636 Cypress Ave, Hermosa Beach, 90254 Opening August 11, 7-9pm About a Box - A ‘Shoebox’ Residency Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 August 12th 3-6pm Reimagining America ACE/121 Gallery 121 N. Kenwood, Glendale, 91206 Opening August 12th 2-5pm Dialectic of Being & Becoming 18th Street Arts Center/Highways Performance Space 1651 18th Street Santa Monica Opening August 18th 530-8pm Artist Talk with Joshua Hagler and Ignacio Valero Brand Library & Art Center 1601 W Mountain St, Glendale, 91201 August 23, 7-9pm ALT 66 Art Exhibition Millard Sheets Art Center 1101 W. McKinley Ave, Pomona, 91768 Opening August 25, 6-9pm Pam Douglas | Artifacts of Grace, Solo Exhibition TAG Gallery 5458 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036 Opening September 1st, 6-9pm Fall Open Bergamot 2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, 90404 September 8th 4-8pm BRAND 46 Works on Paper 46th Annual National Juried Exhibition Brand Library & Art Center 1601 W Mountain St, Glendale, 91201 Opening September 8th 7-930pm KINGS of SPEED Ascot Raceway 1957-1990 CSUN Art Galleries 18111 nordhoff st, Northridge, 91330 Opening September 8th 2-8pm The Revival Cactus Gallery 3001 N Coolidge Ave, Los Angeles, 90039 Opening September 8th 6-9pm The Shape of Sound CGU Art 251 E 10th St, Claremont, 91711 Opening September 9th 12-3pm HoldYou Foundation Auction and Gala The Loft at Liz’s 453 S La Brea Ave Los Angeles, 90036 September 15th 7-10pm J Michael Walker Solo Show The Situation Room 2313 Norwalk Ave, Los Angeles, 90041-2926 Opening September 15th 5-8pm Opening of On Fire: Transcendent Landscapes by Michael Scott The Autry 4700 Western Heritage Way - Griffith Park, Los Angeles Opening September 15th 10-5pm Artist Talk: Larry Bell in Conversation with Aram Moshayedi Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles 901 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, 90013 September 16th 3-5pm Frogtown Artwalk 2018 Frogtown Art Walk BLAKE Ave, Los Angeles, 90039 September 22, 4-10pm DesEscondido - No longer hidden California Center for the Arts, Escondido 340 N Escondido Blvd, Escondido, 92025 Opening September 28th Craft and Folk Art Museum, Opening Reception Craft and Folk Art Museum 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 90036 Opening October 6th 6-9pm
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THE ART OF INTERVIEWING by MARGARET ROZGA
Artists in various media – paint, clay, dance, words—need solitude to do their art, but then most of us seek an audience. Most of us create for others as well as for ourselves. Finding and building connections with others takes place most obviously at an exhibit or public reading. Engaging in conversation, whether formal or informal, at an exhibit opening or book launch is part of the process. Interviews offer additional opportunities to build an audience. For readers, including aspiring artists, an interview may deepen their understanding of both particular works and the artistic process. But not all interviews are created equal. Those interviewed want to control what they reveal; the interviewer seeks to offer readers new insights. Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winning novelist Ottessa Moshfegh says she is always wary of saying too much in an interview. “It takes a lot of self-censorship to get through an interview without revealing something I won’t later regret, or without expressing a harsh judgment that I had—because of my mood—but that I dispensed with as soon as I blurted it out.” I know the feeling. I’ve been on one or the other side of the microphone, serving up or fielding questions on their life and work or mine, on my activist and history-based poems and the life experiences that prompted those poems. As interviewer, I want a fresh conversation with relaxed and revealing answers. One poet I interviewed keeps a journal of quotes from her extensive reading. She answered most of my questions with one of those quotes as the major sole part of her answer. She has a good eye and ear so I admired the language skill in the quotes, but the answers left me hungry for her words. After all, she is a gifted word artist. As the interviewed, I want to steer the conversation onto significant issue-related matters. I don’t like talking about myself. My marriage to a Catholic priest known for his civil rights leadership, his death from brain cancer, and then my rearing three children as a single mom especially draw interest. How to keep focus on the current social justice and/ or poetry project without being defensive or exciting more curiosity proves sometimes to be a challenge. Some interviews take on an adversarial aspect, like a volley in a tennis match, where the persons on both sides of the net seek to upset each other. That approach may be necessary when the person interviewed excels in a combative style. Generally, however, I favor an interview conducted more like the skillful and well-aimed passing of the ball between and among soccer teammates moving toward the goal, not knowing exactly who or how
a goal will be scored. A fresh and unexpected approach to a question may inspire the person interviewed to approach an answer in a fresh way. I’m grateful that I’ve been questioned by skillful interviewers. Ty Phelps interviewing me for the newsletter of a gallery where I was a featured poet, wanted to know how and when I embarked on my poetic journey. He asked, “What is your origin story?” His choice of wording for the question suggested that my life began when I embarked on being a poet, and I’m intrigued by that thought. Reporter James Causey, wondering how the courtship between my husband and me developed, asked “Who made the first move?” I enjoyed the ease of his forthright but unexpected phrasing, and in that moment, I could pass the question back to him in an equally good-humored way that I could not have planned. “Hmm,” I said, “how about you just keep wondering about that?” Then we moved on to a more issue-related question. Given her twenty year career as a journalist, poet and artist Amy Alexander has abundant experience with interviews. She likes to “take a gentle approach and try to seek the person’s heart in the choices they make.” She knows some interviewers seek to “unmoor their sources,” but only twice was she unable to sympathize with a person she had to interview, and only in these cases, did she take a sharper approach. Most people, she’s found, come to an interview situation feeling some tension. They fidget and ramble, cross their arms in front of their bodies, and often will admit to being nervous. She offers these suggestions for turning a tennis match interview into a soccer team approach. “Get them to do something while talking to you. Put down the notebook. Sit, like a therapist, with a visibly open body.” At times, she asks persons being interviewed to show her something, or takes them back in time and gets them remembering. These suggestions could also be used by the person being interviewed who might bring a relevant object along to the interview or begin an answer with an anecdote from an earlier time. Thus Alexander’s suggestions can work for both the interviewer and the person interviewed to steer an interview in a more collaborative direction. A richly conversational interview helps build connections between artist and audience. Just as tennis and soccer fans enjoy deepening their knowledge of game strategies and identifying with players, readers of well-conducted interviews enjoy getting to know the artist’s goals, concerns, and processes. As an activist poet, I’m beginning to find this a welcome complement to my art. Margaret Rozga’s most recent book, Pestiferous Questions: A Life in Poems, looks at issues of women’s roles, western expansion, and race as they are woven through the life of politically active and well-connected Jessie Benton Frémont (1824-1902).
THE CITY OF GLENDALE 25TH ANNUAL CRUISE NIGHT July 21, 2018
On the Wall in Downtown Los Angeles
LA ART NEWS
“JONATHAN GOLD STOLE MY BIPEDS”
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A Dialogue Between Florence the Dog & Jeremy the Biped of READ Books Florence: I’m a good girl; Half-dog, half statistician. So, you know it’s 110% true when I declare that 99% of my loneliness & solitude is due to the bipedal scribblings of the late biped, Jonathan Gold. Jeremy: You are a very good girl, but your brain is the size of a peanut. Your numbers are dubious. F: Oh? Do you recall, pal, the first time you abandoned me in our home? ‘Twas a few days after you adopted me. You stood up on your hind legs, ambled off to work, & left me alone to howl in an isolated, unfamiliar dwelling. I taught you a tangible lesson that day. I showed you what happens when a dog… J: You peed all over my bed. Like a drunken race horse. The Great Deluge of 2012! F: Who’s the peanut brain now? J: We learned our lesson, Flo. After the flood, we took you wherever we went: daily to the bookstore; camping when we took vacations. The only time we ever left you alone was when we… F: When you went out to eat. The peanut remembers. My nightmare always commenced along the same lines: You’d unfold your newspaper on the table & shriek like a li’l ol’ school girl at a Shaun Cassidy concert: “Oooo. I wonder where Jonathan Gold is supping this week? Jonathan Gold’s my heroooo!” J: Shaun Cassidy? F: You didn’t think I knew what was going on? Whenever yuh cut out your precious restaurant review, all of yuhs tying your shoe laces like a buncha’ thumb show-offs, and then locking your bedroom doors? I could smell the newsprint! J: You don’t understand, girl. I know that you’re as clean as a new baby’s bottom. I know that your table manners are impeccable. But restaurants must adhere to public health laws. I don’t make the rules. I… F: You could have pretended to be blind, biped! I would’ve played my part as guide dog. All that food… J: I’m sorry. (Hangs head) I’m a bad boy. But let me explain. Remember how lonely you felt that first day when we left you alone in a strange house? This is how I felt when I arrived in L.A. in 1992. This place was a mystery to me. I too was isolated, afraid, lonesome. F: Why didn’t you just pee on L.A.’s bed? J: I couldn’t find it! I couldn’t find anything. I’d ask my co-workers where to find authentic Mexican or Thai food, and they’d send me to El Coyote & Tommy Tangs fer chrissake. I’d read eminent restaurant critics, and all they talked about were the sort of Beverly Hills type joints that I can’t even afford now as an affluent used bookstore proprietor, much less back then in my minimum wage days. I had no one to guide or advise me. Until I found Jonathan; my hungry angel with a golden pen. F: You knew no other bipeds with laudable food acumen? J: I had one great friend—crackhead named Lynn—who steered me to El Gran Burrito in East Hollywood (which eventually made it into Gold’s Counter Intelligence column). But Lynn was no Jonathan Gold. Gold was what them French call sui generis. Look it up when you grow a thumb. It’s French. His oeuvre was as complex & deep as a Nabokov novel, I tells yuh. If he had simply guided us to the best restaurants—and he did—that would have been sufficient. If he had merely written about food with the adroitness of a Hunter S. Thompson extolling drugs, that would have been sufficient. His ingenuity, girl, was manifest in his love, not only for the food he devoured, but for the cultures that produced the food, the neighborhoods that quartered the restaurants, and the cooks that created each meal. And he articulated his love. Get it? F: Uh. I like to smell your leftovers. J: I like to see you smell. But smells and tastes don’t get to the crux of what Jonathan Gold was about. Here’s the thing. In 1998, Debbie & I decided to buy a house. We were renting an apartment where we could walk to Yuca’s and order cochinita pibil, see? So, whenever we checked a home listing, there were essentially two considerations: (1) Can we afford it? (2) What Jonathan Gold restaurants are nearby? F: No shit, biped? J: No shit, dog. As the real estate agent walked us through the house we were destined to purchase, wife & I were calculating which was closer: Casa Bianca on Colorado, or Señor Fish on Figueroa? F: And those were both… J & F: (Embracing each other) Jonathan Gold restaurants! J: Listen, Flo, in a city like Los Angeles where everything is spread out, where one often lives life on freeways, or nowadays on computer screens, one needs a reason to exit a freeway at some unfamiliar post, to sever one’s self from the screen and meet new people, discover new cultures & neighborhoods. Jonathan Gold, by inspiring us to explore, spared Angelenos like me from an existence of relative isolation. F: And you will never again feel compelled to pee indignantly on anyone’s bed. J: Not even my own. Perhaps your brain is bigger than a peanut. F: Perhaps. Sounds to me like this Jonathan Gold character introduced ignorant bipeds like yourself to the city y’all live in. J: I am 99% sure that, thanks to 25 years of following his advice, I have seen and tasted110% of Los Angeles. But from here on out, we Angelenos are on our own. RIP: Agung, Chamika, Gerlach’s, Mandarin Deli, Romantic Steakhouse, Super Tortas, Yasmin, JG’s 101 Best Restaurants, Counter Intelligence, The Gold Standard & Jonathan Gold.
AUGUST 2018
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STANDING WITH AI WEIWEI
Internationally acclaimed Chinese artist and social critic Ai Weiwei has been posting videos on social media of his studio being torn down without warning. The move is concurrent with the destruction of art galleries and migrant housing on the part of Chinese officials. In 2011, when Ai Weiwei was arrested by the Chinese government and his whereabouts were not even known for a time, Northeast Los Angeles residents posted art in support of the artist at what was then a vacant lot at the busy corner of York Boulevard and Avenue 50. “The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.” -Ai Weiwei
“AIN’T I A WOMXN?” A Genders Promenade sponsored by Freeways, July 28, Los Angeles State Historic Park Pictured: Performance Artist Kristina Wong, about to be burned at the stake for running for office
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LA ART NEWS
26
LA GLOWS GOLD FOR JONATHAN GOLD
Landmarks across Los Angeles were lit up in gold July 28 in honor of Jonathan Gold. Mr. Gold was an esteemed food critic and a Pulitzer Prize winner, who changed the way we celebrate food to include the varied offerings of our City’s neighborhoods and cultures. He passed away in July, July 28 would have been his 58th birthday. “ He wasn’t just a food critic — he loved this city and its people and brought us closer together through the power of food.” —Mayor Eric Garcetti
Union Station Los Angeles City Hall
Royce Hall, UCLA, Mr. Gold’s alma mater (photo credit: Bryce Moyer/UCLA) The Broad (photo credit: The Broad)
AUGUST 2018
27
LA ART NEWS