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. 6
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SEPTEMBER 2018
ALT 66
Traveling the Mother Road Through the County Fair “Route 66 is not only a tangible highway but a symbol of a shared heritage in American folklore.” —Fiona Baler and Margo Gutierrez, artists This year, the Los Angeles County Fair takes the Mother Road, historic Route 66, as its theme. It’s easy to expect that the grand annual celebration that has come to be associated with fried food items would revel in the kitsch aspects of Route 66 history. But, while the fantasy is not ignored, it is to be noted that the County Fair is also seeped in a fine arts history—its artistic director for 25 years was famed designer and muralist Millard Sheets, and today, the Millard Sheets Art Center at the Fairplex presents innovative exhibits that are not only of artistic quality, but also reflect the varied heritages of the center’s 85,000 annual visitors. This year’s Millard Sheets Art Center exhibit, “Alt 66,” makes a trip to the fair a worthwhile experience in and of itself. Fourteen installations are laid out along a makeshift highway. They reflect a time when the 2,448 miles of the Mother Road brought people and cultures to one another’s doorsteps. ALT 66, Millard Sheets Art Center at Fairplex Artist Scott Froschauer’s installation presents way signage stating, “You are here” alongside a directional pole listing the many roles Route 66 played through time, from “The Main Street of America” to “Escaping the Dust Bowl.” Route 66 changed the way we look at America. It influenced cuisine, entertainment, migration, and the economic life of countless cities and small towns. It gave us the joy of the open road. For “Alt 66,” artist Madeline Arnault sends the road through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, in a cross between the celebration of natural beauty and the story of human intrusion. Artist Marcus Pollitz gives us a 3D cartoon of a 1950s motel, where a desperate traveler tries to get some rest. Tania Alvarez presents a mural depicting the most popular food items from 15 Route 66 eateries, with super-sized results that both appetizing and haunting as they close in on the roadway Julia Bui and Lethia Cobbs, Rerouting 66 (detail)
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THE FRIENDLY SKIES “Welcome Aboard The Friendly Skies, The Art of High Altitude Travel” at Peekaboo Gallery in Pasadena evokes a unique period in time. Air travel had made the world accessible to Californians as never before. Television had made promotional images and slogans of air travel ubiquitous. There was vibrant color, glamour, and exotica aplenty. A generation later, air travel would become high security and low style. But for a time—it was fabulous. Arranged along a runway, “The Friendly Skies” features airline uniforms by top designers (Pucci, Edith Head), aircraft display models, and rare travel posters (A Peter Max poster for Pan Am promises quite a trip.). Monitors show promotional images from airlines, some still in business, most not. “The Friendly Skies” depicts a changing world. Mass media was becoming just a bit race-conscious, with an image of one woman of color per flight attendant grouping. However, every single passenger was still depicted as white. Female flight attendant uniforms moved from navy blue to eye-popping, with elements of sexuality and freedom of movement. Importantly, it was a time when everything became closer than it used to be. Every one of us could aspire to actually go to Hawaii one day—or Singapore, or Paris… And on the way: leg room, fine dining, passed hors d’oeuvres, martinis and champagne, cigarettes, and really cute flight attendants at the beckon call.
Airline Fashion Show
Welcome Aboard The Friendly Skies The Art of High Altitude Travel Peekaboo Gallery Through September 23 40 Mills Place, Old Town Pasadena www.peekaboogallery.com
Pan Am 1975-1980 Edith Head Stewardess Uniform 1950s Eastern Airline Flight Stairs Porcelain Sign Set
The Friendly Skies at Peekaboo Gallery continued on page 11
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LA ART NEWS
ALT 66
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traveler, while Claremont Heritage presents a realistic take on the Route 66 diner, complete with voices from the past. Seth Pringle celebrates the roadside stand, offering succulents amidst eye-grabbing signage and a photo-op, and Cat Chiu Philips evokes the outsider art of iconic roadside attractions using discarded materials. Phoebe Beasley salutes the Buick 225, for African Americans a sign “from the first sight that you had achieved success, beyond measure.” There was, along Route 66, however, another reality, one experienced by African American, Latinx, Native American and Dust Bowl citizens. The “Alt 66” installations do not shy away from the harsh realities of life on the open road for many, if not most, Americans. Julia Bui and Lethia Cobbs’ installation draws its inspiration from Victor H. Green’s “Negro Motorist Green Book,” an absolutely essential 1930s-60s Marcus Pollitz, Insomnia Motel on Route 66 travel guide for African Americans, listing places where they could safely buy gas, eat, and sleep. But the artists of “Alt 66” present Route 66 in a way that showcases people and cultures as real, not abstractions, with lives to be celebrated. Doug Pearsall depicts an African American family’s migration from the South to Los Angeles in the 1950s, showing challenges, but also sights and cultural interactions along the way. Fiona Baler and Margo Gutierrez show the juxtaposition of Chicano communities and white travelers passing through, using such elements as archival film and a deconstructed vehicle. Like the real Route 66, the “Alt 66” roadway ends near the Pacific Ocean, where dreams and reality often crash. Erin Adams’ large installation at the end of the gallery’s Mother Road includes “the souls around us who have also come here with a dream, sometimes we see them fall.” Erin Elizabeth Adams, Under the Same Sky (detail) Yet, Ms. Adams’ work is not strictly bleak. The souls tucked away in its corners trying to rest are surrounded by the incredible beauty of the ocean, the sunset, and even butterflies. The dream represented by Route 66 has not died, but continues to hover. Miriam Hellmann, meanwhile, brings the past and present together in “Are You Here,” joining the iconic Route 66 shield with a “You Are Here” emblem, depicting a moment in time poised on the next step of the journey. The power of Route 66 iconography and the endurance of the mystique are demonstrated by the Millard Sheets Art Center Team (Thomas Canavan, Yesenia Perez, Ana Karen Cortes, Isaac Bautista) via an installation of images of Route 66-themed restaurants in 43 countries. A highlight is finding a Route 66 Ramadan menu from Egypt. There are also images from Oman, Japan, Russia, Argentina, India, Zambia, and more. Time spent with this exhibit evokes just what Route 66 was—and what it continues to be—shaping the public consciousness, and introducing people to one another. “Alt 66” is curated by T h o m a s Canavan. Jurors were Irene Tsatsos of the Armory Center for the Arts, Rebecca Morse Miriam Hellmann, Are You Here of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Mat Gleason of Coagula Curatorial. Alt 66 Millard Sheets Art Center at Fairplex Through September 23 Included with Los Angeles County Fair admission www.fairplex.com
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I CAN’T WAIT TO VOTE!
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.
OK Kids, it’s time to get serious. As we watch, or not watch but know it’s happening, the Supreme Court nominee’s hearing this week the US can see exactly why the spineless Republicans stand down to their orange leader. It’s all about the judges. It’s always been about the judges. This is the part that is so insidious about the Republican party. They have been working for just this moment. They want control over our lives in ways we can’t go back to. Human rights are at stake. They are filling judgeships faster than they held back Obama’s choices. An election was stolen, making all of the appointments so far illegitimite. Thieves, liars, cheats, hypocrites, Republicans. So what do we do? Time to volunteer and get out the vote. Phone bank. Send letters and postcards. Give people rides on election day so they can vote. Talk to someone that hasn’t voted and get them to understand the importance of taking back the House and the Senate. It’s about human rights, and freedom, and art, and not hating (except #45), vote... 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?
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Erin Elizabeth Adams, Under the Same Sky (detail) Millard Sheets Art Center Team, International Rt 66 Route 66 themed restaurants from around
Seth Pringle, Succulent Osmosis featuring Happy Hour Ceramics
Scott Froschauer, Interstate NOW (detail)
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5th ANNUAL HIGHLAND PARK INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL October 4-7 Highland Theatre
The Highland Park Independent Film Festival (HPIFF), a Northeast Los Angeles based celebration of the art of film, has announced its program line up for 2018. In just five years, the HPIFF has become recognized for its screening of quality feature and short films. Although the festival is now receiving submissions from around the world, it has remained respectful of its Los Angeles roots and always includes programming focused on local subject matter at prices accessible to the local film-going public. And all attendees get to walk the red carpet! This year’s HPIFF showcase includes 3 Narrative Features, 3 Documentary Features and 41 Shorts. These 47 films include both World Premieres and Los Angeles Premieres. New in 2018 is a Film Fan Fest which will take place outside of the Highland Theater, featuring music, dancing, live painting by Highland Park artists, and an outreach component to engage the community and learn about what they would like to see on the screen. Opening night is Thursday, October 4, with the screening of the documentary “Mary Janes: The Women of Weed” directed by Windy Borman. The documentary follows female ‘ganjapreneurs’, called Puffragettes, as they navigate the highs and lows of the legal US cannabis industry. Red Carpet starts at 6:30 pm. The filmmakers will be present for a post-screening Q+A. Before the screening, HPIFF will present its 2018 Humanitarian Award to Josefina López. Ms. López is best known for authoring the play and co-authoring the 2002 Sundance Award Winning film “Real Women Have Curves.” Since starting her writing career at 17, Ms. López has had over 80 productions of her many plays throughout the country. She has been working as a professional screenwriter in Hollywood for almost 25 years with countless development deals and screenplay assignments and has worked with many established producers like Norman Lear (All In the Family) and Michael McDonald (American Crime) to bring Latinos to television. Born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico in 1969, Ms. López was five years old when she and her family migrated to the United States and settled in the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, has an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA’s School of Film & Television, and has a Diploma de Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris. She is the proprietor of Theater CASA 0101, which presents plays that shatter the myths and stereotypes of Women and Latinos, and Casa Fina Restaurant & Cantina. Her many accomplishments come despite having lived as an undocumented immigrant for 13 years before receiving Amnesty in 1987 and becoming a U.S. Citizen in 1995. She is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. October 4 will also feature an Annual Opening Night Gala to be held at the Ebell Club in Highland Park, with food, beverage, and conversation with filmmakers, sponsors, and guests. The Friday Night Film is “Bullitt County,” an action/thriller set in 1977 about four friends who reunite for a bachelor party and end up hunting for buried Prohibition money on Kentucky’s Bluegrass Bourbon Trail, only to become ripped apart by greed, corruption, and murder. The film is directed by David McCracken. In recognition of the community support the HPIFF has received over its five years, a Chills and Thrills shorts program, an award-winning feature film from Iran, “Disappearance, as well as the Highland Park homegrown film, “Awkward Silence,” will screen free on Friday, October 5. The HPIFF provides a plethora of opportunities for short film artists and fans. Closing HPIFF 2018 will be the shorts program, City of Angels, featuring a line up entirely by Los Angeles based directors. On Saturday, October 6, the shorts programs LatinX Voices, Sisterhood of Cinema, and All About #HLP will feature an eclectic array of performances from around the globe. Two powerful documentaries will. also screen on Saturday. “Blissful At Zero” follows the last days of Nicole Tupper and is an inspiring, thought-provoking examination of what it truly means to be alive. “Tales of the American” charts the rich history of Los Angeles’ Hotel American, which was built for Black Americans in 1905, adopted by Japanese before World War II, and taken over by artists in the 1980s. An Awards Brunch will be held on Sunday, October 7 at festival sponsor The York, 5018 York Boulevard, 11:30 am to 2:30 p.m. Awards will be given for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Short Film, Best Documentary Short, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Composition, Audience Choice, and Honorable Mentions. A complete list of films and times is available at www.hpifilmfest.com. 2018 Highland Park Independent Film Festival Sponsors include: Office of District 1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo, North Figueroa Association, Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, Office of Hilda Solis, Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance, Soquel Arts Collective, Egan Simon Architecture, The Greyhound, ETA, Checker Hall, Cornerstone, The York, The Offbeat A Bar On York, Kitchen Mouse, NELA Homes, Green Earth Collective, Organix, LA Art News, Simple DCP, Lonestars Entertainment, Icelandic Glacial Water and El Silencio Mezcal.
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FROGTOWN ARTWALK September 22
The Frogtown Artwalk returns for an 11th outing, September 22. Visitors may stroll the streets of Elysian Valley (aka Frogtown), or even along the Los Angeles River, stopping to visit the studios and galleries of the neighborhood’s many, many artists. Legendary River Catz artist Leo Limón will kick off the evening’s festivities by exhibiting a couple of new cats near the LA River bike path and stenciling others for the public to help complete. There will also be food, pop-up art exhibits, and live entertainment. The walk is truly neighborhood centric and celebrates a unique and arts-rich community alongside the river. Frogtown Artwalk September 22, 4-10 p.m. Car-free, bike and pedestrian friendly, pedi-cabs along the river. An evolving list of artists and more info is available at www.FrogtownArts.com Co-sponsored by Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell and the Elysian Valley Arts Collective
LA ART NEWS
MY FIGUEROA
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Eight years in the making, the “My Figueroa” project held its ribbon cutting August 30. My Figueroa is a large street-level project designed to help South Figueroa Street, from Downtown to Exposition Park, meet the needs of residents, pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, bus riders, and business owners, while providing connections among housing, culture, entertainment, and education venues. It broadens the definition of a transit corridor from just moving vehicles through as fast as possible to serving communities. The My Figueroa project area extends four miles from 7th Street to 41st Street and includes stretches 11th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Improvements are aimed at safety and efficiency. Elements include protected bike lanes, improved signal timing, bus platforms and shelters, high visibility crosswalks, wider sidewalks, ADA access ramps, landscaping, and signage. My Figueroa is managed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, with the strong support of Mayor Eric Garretti and Los Angeles City Councilmembers Curren Price and José Huizar. Over 14 design consultants were involved, as were 17 city, county and state government agencies. The Frank Ching of Metro, City Councilmember Curren Price, and project was paid for with Mayor Eric Garcetti celebrate the My Figueroa project a $20 million Proposition 1C grant, earmarked for improving infrastructure for new development in urban areas, with the goal of making streets, sidewalks and transit more accessible for residents of affordable housing. There are a number of affordable housing developments in various stages along the My Figueroa corridor. My Figueroa has led to a partnership through which hundreds of young YWCA Jobs Corps Center and affordable housing participants use the recreation facilities at USC. Many major Los Angeles destinations are located along the My Figueroa corridor—among them, LA Live, Staples Center, the LA Convention Center, USC, Mount Saint Mary’s, Los Angeles Trade Tech, and Exposition Park including the California Science Center, the Coliseum, Banc of California Stadium, the California African American Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the planned Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. There are also countless neighborhood restaurants and other businesses. At the ribbon cutting, Mayor Eric Garcetti pointed out that for some reason, Los Angeles tends to focus on its east-west corridors (may-be because they go to the ocean and the sunset). “But the north-south City Councilmembers Curren Price and José Huizar prepare to streets are the workhorses,” said the Mayor. explore the My Figueroa corridor by bicycle and Metro The ribbon cutting was not envisioned as closure. Consultants Deborah Murphy and Melani Smith spoke of the need to see the project in practice and tweak as necessary. Councilmember Price spoke of the need to pay attention to the smaller businesses corridors with neighborhood offerings that feed into the bigger corridors. And Councilmember Huizar envisioned the My Figueroa project as a prototype that can be replicated in other areas of the City. “My Fig is now the most comprehensive complete street,” said Councilmember Huizar. “It gets all of us thinking about what is possible.”
LOS ANGELES REMEMBERS ARETHA FRANKLIN Hundreds of Los Angeles residents gathered in and outside of the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Exposition Park the evening of August 30 to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin. The event was hosted by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and CAAM. Ms. Franklin had ties to Los Angeles. In 1972, she was joined by Rev. James Cleveland’s New Temple Missionary Baptist Church choir in South Los Angeles to record “Amazing Grace,” one of the all time best-selling gospel recordings. Twenty choir members and alumni who took part in that recording performed in the tribute at CAAM. “The Queen of Soul” was well-known for her extraordinary vocal talent. But the event at CAAM was a tribute to her social justice activism as well. Following in her father’s footsteps, she was, from an early age, a supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Later, she sang at the funerals of Dr. King and Rosa Parks, and at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. “Ain’t no movement worth a movement if it doesn’t have some songs,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “…She’s a historical figure. She’s a cultural icon.” Aretha Franklin passed away August 16 in Detroit.
Vroman’s Bookstore, Pasadena
SEPTEMBER 2018
Aretha Franklin Tribute at the California African American Museum on August 30, 2018. Photo: Aurelia Ventura / Board of Supervisors
MORE PEEKABOO continued from page 1
The Friendly Skies at Peekaboo Gallery
Rare 1969 Peter Max Boeing 747 Pan Am Psychedelic Silkscreen Poster Unknown (American Airlines) Stewardess Promo Art, 1950’s
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Braniff International Emilio Pucci 1974-1976 “Pucci V” Stewardess Uniform Ultra Hip TWA 1968 Go-Go Dalton Designed Stewardess Uniform with Jacket Braniff International Emilio Pucci 1974-1976 “Pucci V” Stewardess Uniform with Coat
1960s PAN AM Airline Massive DOUGLAS DC-8 Lighted Airport Display Model
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A DREAM IS THE SHADOW OF SOMETHING REAL JUDITHE HERNANDEZ AT MOLAA
“The connection of artists to their cultural identity should be a powerful source of imagery, historical memory, and intellectual impetus from which to create a lifetime of work. It has been for me.” —Judithe Hernández “Judithe Hernández, A Dream is the Shadow of Something Real,” at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), presents a large retrospective of works by one of Los Angeles’ most noted artists. Judithe Hernández (U.S. b. 1948). La Santa Desconocida de las serie Juárez Rooted in Northeast Los Angeles, Ms. Hernandez began her career as a member / The Unknown Saint from The Juarez Series, 2017. Pastel on paper, 30 x 88 of the collective Los Four, together with Beto de la Rocha, Carlos Almaraz, Gilbert inches. Courtesy of the artist. “Magu” Luján, and Frank Romero. As such, she was not only part of the defining genesis of Chicano art, but she also brought a keen awareness of women artists and their subject matter to Chicano art and to Los Angeles art in general. Her work has ranged from intimate studio pieces to large-scale murals. Her most recent works, The Juarez Series, document and reflect on the atrocities of the thousands of ongoing murders of women and girls in the Juarez-Texas border desert. The series is noteworthy not only because of the power of its imagery, but also because of variety of the renderings as the series continues, drawing on classical, modern, and indigenous sources. The exhibit includes a film highlighting the background and trajectory of Ms. Hernández’ work. The Judithe Hernández exhibition has been long-anticipated as it is MOLAA’s first exhibit by a Chicana and represents a shift on the part of the museum to a definition of Latin American art inclusive of the Southwestern United States. Judithe Hernández: A Dream is the Shadow of Something Real Museum of Latin American Art Curated by Edward Hayes Through February 17 www.molaa.org
Judithe Hernández (U.S. b. 1948). La virgen de la oscuridad / The Virgin of Darkness, 2010. Pastel on paper. 49 1⁄4 x 35 inches. Courtesy of the artist
SEPTEMBER 2018
Judithe Hernández (U.S. b. 1948). Les demoiselles d’barrio / Maidens of the Barrio, 2013. Pastel and mixed-media on canvas. Diptych; 60 x 80 inches. MOLAA Collection. In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Peter C. Hernández M.2016.004
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ENTRE TINTA Y LUCHA
45 Years of Self Help Graphics and Art Forty-five years ago, Self Help Graphics & Art was founded in a garage in East Los Angeles by Franciscan nun Sister Karen Boccalero and Chicano artists Carlos Bueno, Antonio Ibañez, and Frank Hernandez. It quickly became the heart of the Chicano Art movement in Los Angeles, and over the decades it has served as a venue for nurturing, creating and sharing the Chicano experience in a wide variety of art forms. At Self Help Graphics and Art, the arts became a tool in struggles for social justice. Of special note has been Self Help Graphics & Art’s print-making. “Entre Tinta Y Lucha,” at Cal State LA, presents a wide-ranging retrospective of that program. Although the exhibit is large, it must be viewed in the context that it is but a sampling of the hundreds and hundreds of prints that have been produced at Self Help over the decades.
Entre Tinta Y Lucha Cal State LA Fine Arts Gallery Through September 29 www.calstatela.edu
Yreina Cervantez, Danza Ocelotl, 1983
Patssi Valdez, L.A. T.J., 1987 Dalila Paola Mendez, Balam Huipil Remix, 2013
Dalila Paola Mendez, 2013/ Gronk, 1982/ Ester Hernandez, 1988/ Joey Terrill, 2008/ Alma Lopez, 2003/ Alfredo de Batuc, 1994/ Judy Baca, 2008
Favianna Rodriguez, Margarita, 2001
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.
September 8, 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
SEPTEMBER 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 32. Vapeology 3714 N. Figueroa St. 323.222.0744 33. Pop-Hop 5002 York Blvd. www.thepophop.com 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
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. 51. Curve Line Space 3348 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90065 52. Green Design Studios 1260 N. Ave 50 53. Checker Hall 104 N. Ave 56 checkerhall.com 54. Fahrenheit Ceramics 4102 North Figueroa St. fahrenheitceramics.com 55. Urchin 5006 1/2 York Blvd.
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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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4 29 34 9 9 3 4 26 33 19 52 38 55
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Visit us at NELAart.org LA ART NEWS
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NELAART GALLERY NIGHT SECOND SATURDAY AUGUST 2018
Steve Seleska at TAJ • ART
Kristen Johannesen, Flowering Jacaranda Tree NELAScapes at Avenue 50 Studio
Suzanne Siegel, Mount Washington’s Bird Streets Birds NELAScapes at Avenue 50 Studio Dog Days of Summer, organized by Dulce Stein for the Arroyo Arts Collective, at Avenue 50 Studio
Depth: A Life Drawing Session at The Artform Studio
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
Introductory Classes Our introductory classes are a fun and affordable way to experiment with glass fusing techniques and are offered in Portland, Bay Area, Santa Fe, New York and Los Angeles. Learn more at classes.bullseyeglass.com
Bullseye Glass Resource Center Los Angeles 143 Pasadena Ave, Suite B, South Pasadena 323.679.4263 bullseyeglass.com/losangeles
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Chase Roselli, Leaving Triptych Namaste Highland Park Dalila Paola Mendez Mario Gutierrez Summer Art Show 2018 at Align Gallery
Lore Eckelberry NELAScapes at Avenue 50 Studio Shandu One at Vapegoat Luis Garcia, Cruising Los Angeles’ Political Landscape Mi Vida
Judith Amdur Peter Hess NELAScapes at Avenue 50 Studio
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LIME & SEA SALTED WATERMELON & AVOCADO SALAD Summer is officially over, but watermelons and all sorts of summer foods are still abundantly available at the Farmers Market. This recipe is a great way to keep your summer flavors going, with a preparation that only takes a few minutes. It always amazes me how well different things go together. Lime, avocado, and watermelon make an awesome trio here, and there is no oil needed; making this recipe super nutrient dense-per calorie. Drizzle some avocado oil on top if you must, but it really isn’t necessary. About 2 heaping cups of watermelon, cut into cubes 2 avocados, cut into half with pit removed 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice 2 pinches sea salt A couple generous sprigs of watercress Optional avocado oil for drizzling Place the watermelon in a medium mixing bowl. Score the avocados criss cross and gently scoop them into the bowl with the watermelon. Add the lime juice and salt. Gently mix the salad, taking care not to smash the avocados too much. Spoon on to a plate or into a bowl, and top with fresh sprigs of watercress. Drizzle some avocado oil if you would like. Harvey Slater is a Holistic Nutritionist & Chef residing in Highland Park. Harvey practices nutrition at Harvey Slater Holistic Nutrition & Wellness, located in Pasadena. You can find more healthy recipes like this one on his recipe blog: thewholedishblog. com
LUIS BECERRA AT WOODBURY UNIVERSITY by Carol Colin
Luis Becerra is a Harry Tuttle of the art world. Harry Tuttle is a character in Brazil, Terry Gilliam’s dystopian film from 1985, a freelance heating engineer and rogue repairman, coming to the aid of desperate citizens bogged down in bureaucracy. Luis Becerra is a loner with a conscience. On a mission to fix things, he’s never idle, and rarely showing himself, he’s always flying under the radar. Luis Becerra’s sculpture is a silent howl about the military-industrial complex and our insidious corporate culture vs. the people. In a departure from figurative work that occupied years of his effort, five large recent wall works function as windows giving onto a drone’s-eye view of a crowded topographical map of discarded computers and other castoffs. Electronic minutiae are screwed into a patchwork landscape of circuit boards, electric outlets, phones, meters, dials, buttons, switches and dirty bundles of wires trailing uselessly toward the floor. I’m reminded of steampunk, without the love. Books are part of the picture, but screwed down with the rest, never again to be opened and read, their titles shouting Empire, Payoff, and Wrongful Death. Kon Tiki is in the mix, but the adventure is now mute. Becerra’s work is a dark warning: all this spent energy, and still the world is inundated with bombs, barbed wire, babies in cages. Luis Becerra’s work is on view in a two-man exhibit with Michael Gonzalez, who shows wall-mounted sculptural specimens suggesting natural forms or creatures from science fiction. Through September 29 at Nan Rae Gallery, Woodbury University, 7500 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank. Wed.: 12 – 7pm, Thurs. – Sat.: 12 – 5pm.
Luis Becerra, Where Boarders Clash, Nan Rae Gallery, Woodbury University
SEPTEMBER 2018
19
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 Check out their web site for a wide variety of fun classes for all ages.
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. Fahrenheit Ceramics 4200 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90042 323.576.2052 fahrenheitceramics.com
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!
Welcome to the neighborhood!
LA ART NEWS
20
FIRE AT THE BRAZILIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM BURNS A HOLE IN OUR CULTURE by Tomas J. Benitez
It is interesting to note that often when we begin the study of a civilization, we start with the arts and artifacts of that culture. In every major museum around the globe, there are ancient Greek urns, Roman statues, Egyptian relics, and in many cases, items that came from the era of the great Meso-American cultures of Mexico and Latin America. The works of Herodotus and Cicero, the Popul Vuh and the Book of the Dead are roadmaps to a time and people long gone, but what remains, what we experience first and foremost, is the art they left behind. Even with more modern and eclectic collections, we have discovered that the entre into understanding a culture or a people, along with language, is often through looking at what all they made for themselves, whether it be food, or clothing, or weapons, or homes, or indeed art and of course their literature. I am reminded of the old Japanese adage about the starving man who finds a yen on the road and buys himself a bowl of rice, but saves enough to buy himself a piece of art. When questioned he replies, “The food was to feed my stomach, but the art is to feed my soul.” The recent devastating fire that destroyed 200 years of research and thousands of years of archives and artifacts at the Brazilian National Museum is a loss that we will all feel for years. It’s likely that most of us have never given so much as a passing thought or barely noted the actual existence of such a collection in the Americas, but it is there that the Americas had a foothold, a link to the rest of the world in the study and preservation of culture. And it was a vital portal to the rest of the world to understand the cultures of the Americas. Along with the museums in Mexico, the Brazilian National Museum was a trove that marked the time and distance between here and there. Old World and New World. It was a very important institution and it was all but destroyed, ravaged by fire, and a victim of neglect. A cultural pawn in political posturing of the “elected” officials. (I use quotes because elections in Brazil mean something else to the rest of us.) But nonetheless, the Museum had to close down in 2015 due to budget cuts and was only recently given funds to support a long overdue renovation, including a vitally important and needed upgrade of the fire alarm system. It suffered serious damages from bad weather a few years ago that cost the museum Egyptian mummies and the bones of one of the rarest finds of a T-Rex in Latin America. But before the funding could be implemented, the fire came along and burned a hole in our common history. As of this writing museum officials have called on the public to help reconstruct the memory of the collection, lending photos and videos and other documents that will help restore a timeline and visual history of the museum legacy. In an age of cell phones with cameras, it is entirely possible the public will play a large roll in reviving the museum. But lost is the mural that was a survivor of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii, lost are the thousands of artifacts that documented birds and animals and herbs and other flora and fauna that identify Latin American culture and civilization. I expect the rest of the museum world will come to the aid soon, for the people of Latin America deserve a place for gathering their art and artifacts in their own homeland. Why concern ourselves with a museum so far away from Northeast LA? Because the enlightened people of the world understand the connection. It is why we stand in lines to see the Mona Lisa or Guernica, or visit the Pyramids. They are touchstones to the past, but also an object or artifact that unite us as human beings now. It’s why the Southwest Museum or the Lummis Home or Chicken Boy or local murals require advocacy, they are our mutual treasures, and we must value them with vigor. (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.)
America, land of the free? by Linda Kaye America, land of the free? Home of the unjust? Curtains pulled and borders closed Do we still belong? Is our status revoked? Are we still citizens of the United States? Have we changed the declaration of independence? Do we wipe out generations of immigrant existence?
Linda Kaye writes poetry and produces poetry events in the local NELA area. Linda recently produced a socially and politically inspired event at the border wall of Tecate, Mexico on the Jacumba, Ca. side of the US. That event was filmed for an upcoming documentary short ‘border poets’ to be released this year 2018. On Sunday Sept. 16th. 3pm at Beyond Baroque, in conjunction with Cathy Weiss’ art installation, Linda Kaye Poetry will host a special poetry event addressing the complex and layered meaning of “Home and Belonging”. www.lindakayepoetry.com Twitter/Instagram: lindakayepoetry
If forms of government become destructive do we have the right of the people to alter or abolish it? Don’t we have a right to freedom? A right to equality? Freedom from slavery? Freedom from torture or degrading treatment? A right to recognition as a person before the law? Or are we just dreaming. Who is watching the country’s store? We the people of the human race in order to form a more perfect humanitarian world demand justice and tranquility promoting general welfare securing the blessings of liberty and freedom to everyone regardless. E pluribus Unum
Madam X SEPTEMBER 2018
21
PERFECT AFTERNOON By Jen Hitchcock
You come by to steal me away from work. I need to be stolen or I would never leave. I close up the shop and tape a sign to the window. “Be back soon.” We get in my car and drive to a nearby neighborhood that we both adore. It is a rare day in Los Angeles. Blue-grey, the sky is a canvas of ash colored clouds with gilded sunlight edges. There is a hint of rain in the breeze that sneaks into our half rolled down windows as we look for parking. We find a spot near the juice place you love. I order the drink you recommend and fall in love. A lavender colored indulgence that tastes of health and floral elegance. After the juice place, we check out the bookstore and then wander in to a French café that buzzes with people of leisure and relaxed business meetings. We are seated at the perfect table in the front window. My latte is creamy, bitter perfection. Across from me you are a graceful soft light, a content feline holding a dewy glassed afternoon wine. We talk a bit and relax into the way time is dulcetly unfolding before us. It has started to drizzle outside. I go to the bathroom and when I come back you have slyly taken care of the check. This gesture moves me very much. No one had ever done that for me before. We walk back onto the street, and breathe deep. This neighborhood lives at the base of the Hollywood Hills, so the rain has made the air smell like clean concrete and crisp mineral rich river water. We head to the tiny movie theater a few blocks away stopping to window shop and make snarky comments about overpriced candles. At the box office, I get our tickets and we scoot through the tiny lobby and push the heavy old doors open to the theater. We are late, and it is very dark, so we stand in the back. When the screen flickers a candle’s amount of light, we move quickly and find two empty seats. I love the room. It is how I imagine an art-house film theater would be in Old Hollywood. Dark and intimate, with only slight decorative accents, and semi-plush wooden seats that creak when you put them down. The air is slightly musty smelling, similar to the scent of old books. Here, the outside world ceases to exist. The film is devastating and beautiful. It ends. We walk back to the street, surprised by the night. Everything is wet, shimmering. Our afternoon waning, we make a last ditch effort to keep it alive by popping into a vintage clothing store. I look around a bit, out of place and feel better watching you try on hats and flip through clothes. When we leave, we stand outside on the sidewalk for a minute. I say I should get back to the store. You tell me you are going to walk around a bit more on your own and then have your girlfriend pick you up. We hug, I head to my car and drive back to the shop. The rest of the evening moves pleasantly in the wake of a perfect afternoon.
JONATHAN GOLD TRIBUTE Hundreds of people gathered in Grand Park August 26, to celebrate the life of Jonathan Gold, the restaurant critic who changed the way we look at food—and, by extension, the way we look at Los Angeles. Pictured: Mr. Gold’s brother, Mark Gold, addresses the crowd. BOOK SHOW EVENTS Tuesday September 4th 7pm-9:30pm Collage & Cry Collage Art Night Five dollar donation Friday September 7th 8pm sign ups Eat Art Open Mic Poetry and Prose Open Mic Saturday September 8th 7pm Difficult To Name Reading Series Hosted by Ryan Sartor Tuesday September 11th 7:30 Writing workshop LA Poetry workshop culmination reading Wednesday September 12th 8pm-9:30 Angry Nasty Women Feminist Writing Group Five dollar donation Friday September 14th 7pm Three bisexual poets Alexis Rhone Fancher, Hanalena Fennel, Eric Howard Tuesday September 18th and Tuesday September 25th Comedy Open Mic 7pm sign up Hosted by Sumukh Torgalkar Wednesday September 19th 7pm doors Historia Storytelling Night “Anniversaries” Suggested donation Thursday September 20th 8pm Laughterhouse 5 Stand Up Comedy Show Friday September 21st 8pm Friday Night Poetry: They’re Just Words Hosted by Ingrid Calderone Poetry open mic & featured poets Friday September 22nd 8pm-9:30 ESP Workshop With Jenny Funkmeyer Twenty dollars Thursday September 27th 7pm Zine & Meet 8
New Original Works at the Redcat Drawing by Stuart Rapeport
Friday September 28th 7pm Hello We Are Still Alive Reading series Hosted by Matthew Sherling
LA ART NEWS
22
ART HAPPENINGS AROUND LOS ANGELES PRESENTED BY SHOEBOX PR UPCOMING OPENING:
Opening September 8th 7-10pm
Salomon Huerta - Fighters McNish Gallery - Oxnard College Art 4000 South Rose Avenue, Oxnard, 93033 Opening September 5th 2-5pm
Dean and Laura Larson | “The Council Gathers in Time” Solo Show Lori Pond | Bosch Redux, Solo Exhibition Lynne McDaniel. “Boom!, Solo Exhibition Opening Reception Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825 825 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood, 90069 Opening September 8th 6-9pm
That Layered Look: Artist Reception Tufenkian Fine Arts 216 S. Louise St., Glendale, 91205 September 5th 7-9pm Cannibal Flower presents ART GRIND 3 Venice Grind 12224 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, 90066 September 6th 6-10pm Mar Vista Art Walk: Science Mar Vista ArtWalk - Steppin into Art Venice Boulevard from Inglewood Av. to Beethoven St., Los Angeles September 6th 6-10pm Pulling in / Letting Go; New Works by Caryn Baumgartner. Schlüssel, a group exhibtion and magazine launch Micheal Stearns Studio at The Loft 401 S. Mesa St. San Pedro, 90731 Opening September 6th 6-9pm Ted Meyer exhibition: Scarred for Life, Every Scar Tells A Story Mesa College Art Gallery 7250 Mesa College Dr, D101, San Diego, 92111 Opening September 6th 5-7pm Bob Privitt Opening Reception Vita Art Center 28 West Main Street, Ventura, 93001 Opening September 7th 6-9pm Inner Realms Hibbleton Gallery 223 W Santa Fe Ave, Fullerton, 92832 Opening September 7th 6-10pm Protecting Innocence, Art opening Luz Art Los Angeles 8373 Melrose Ave LA September 7th 6pm 50/50 Fifty/Fifty; The Magic of Collaboration Group Show The Progress Gallery 300 S. Thomas St., Pomona, 91766 Opening September 8th 6-10pm A Matter of Public Record: Art in the Age of Surveillance Durden and Ray 1206 Maple Ave. #832, Los Angeles, 90015 Opening September 8th 7-10pm Alexander Iskin: Planet Topspin Track 16 1206 Maple Ave, #1005, Los Angeles, 90015 Opening September 8th 7-10pm An exhibition of what it means to portray the female persona LAUNCH LA 170 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 90036 Opening September 8th 6-9pm 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 Buckminster Fuller Edward Cella 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, 90034 Opening September 8th 5-8pm California Girls and Femme Fatale at the Hive September 8th The Hive Gallery and Studios 729 S Spring St, Los Angeles, 90014 Opening September 8th 8-11pm Cauliflower Ear: Works by Christian Ramirez Cacttus/ Creative Arts Coalition to Transform Urban Space 326 Elm Ave Long Beach 90802 September 8th 4-9pm Ceramic Sculpture: Adesina Cooper/Carolyn Laliberte/Tracey Weiss South Bay Contemporary SOLA Gallery 3718 WEST SLAUSON AVENUE, Los Angeles, 90043 Opening September 8th 3-6pm Chris Christion: A Context for Transcendence Eastside International / ESXLA 602 Moulton Ave, Los Angeles, 90031
SEPTEMBER 2018
Fall Open Bergamot 2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, 90404 September 8th 4-8pm Insect Mammal // Abel Alejandre & Paul Paiement Coagula Curatorial 974 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, 90012 September 8th 5-9pm JT Burke | “In Paradisum Cantavit” Mural Unveiling at Fabrik Fabrik Projects 2636 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, 90034 Unveiling September 8th 6-8pm Jeff Soto and Shana Nys Dambrot: Artist Talk MOAH Lancaster 665 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, 93534 September 8th 2-3pm KAREL APPEL, Out of Nature Blum & Poe 2727 S. LA CIENEGA BOULEVARD LA, 90034 Opening September 8th 6-8pm KINGS of SPEED Ascot Raceway 1957-1990 CSUN Art Galleries 18111 nordhoff st, Northridge, 91330 Opening September 8th 2-8pm Landscapes & Land Dwellers: Photos of Place by Rafael Cardenas LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes 501 N Main St, Los Angeles, 90012 September 8th 3-5pm Living in Our DNA Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center & Theatre 681 N. Venice Blvd, Venice, 90291 Opening September 8th 4-7pm Mike Habs / Olga Ponomarenko / Cantstopgoodboy / Nicholas Bonamy Gabba Gallery 3126 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, 90057 Opening September 8th 7-11pm Opening Night Celebration! Tieken Gallery, Los Angeles 961 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, 90012 Opening September 8th 6-10pm Patrick Martinez - Remembering to Forget Charlie James Gallery 969 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, 90012 September 8th 6-9pm RED Group Show 5522 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, 90019-3916 Opening September 8th 6-10pm The Revival Cactus Gallery 3001 N Coolidge Ave, Los Angeles, 90039 Opening September 8th 6-9pm SOEY MILK & LUKE CHUEH Corey Helford 571 S. Anderson St., Los Angeles, 90033 Opening September 8th 7-11pm Steve Seleska and Scott Froschauer | TAJ Art - NELA Art Night TAJ • ART 1492 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, 90041 September 8th 6-9pm Tomoo Gokita & Karel Appel Blum & Poe 2727 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, 90034 Opening September 8th 6-8pm What’s New DNJ Gallery 3015 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, 90405 Opening September 8th 6-8pm
7101 North Figueroa Unit E, Los Angeles, 90042 September 9th 12-8pm Four Women 410 S Spring St, Los Angeles, 90013-2002 Opening September 9th 2-6pm Julianna Balogh Christoper Brindzik LA Artcore at the Brewery 650A South Avenue 21 Los Angeles 90031 Opening September 9th, 3-5pm Rupture of Plane: Alan Shields + Mimbres Painted Pottery Hunter Shaw Fine Art 1300 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, 90026 Opening September 9, 2-6pm The Shape of Sound CGU Art 251 E 10th St, Claremont, 91711 Opening September 9th 12-3pm Erika Lizée | Gazing Into the Great Unknown Pierce College Art Gallery 6201 Winnetka Ave Woodland Hills, 91371 September 13th 6-8pm Permutations Art Meets Architecture 811 W 7th St, Los Angeles, 90017-3403 Opening September 13th 6-8pm Pointed Permanence: The Art of Tattoo opening reception GWC Art Gallery 15751 Gothard Street, Huntington Beach, 92647 Opening September 13th 5-8pm The Germs Art Exhibit in Downtown L.A. 5 Star Bar 267 S Main St, Los Angeles, 90012 Opening September 14th 8pm J Michael Walker - “Bodies Mapping Time” The Situation Room 2313 Norwalk Ave, Los Angeles, 90041-2926 Opening September 14th 6-9pm Chelle Barbour “You Is Pretty!” Band of Vices 5376 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, 90016 Opening September 15th 6-10pm Cosimo Cavallaro - ‘In Pieces’, at Jason Vass 1452 E 6th St, Los Angeles, 90021 Opening September 15th 6-9pm Elemental William Turner Gallery 2525 Michigan Avenue, Gallery E1, Santa Monica, 90404 Opening September 15th 530-8pm HoldYou Foundation Auction and Gala The Loft at Liz’s 453 S La Brea Ave Los Angeles, 90036 September 15th 7-10pm Jack Reilly: Eros, Love and Mythology BG Gallery 3009 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, 90405 Opening September 15th 6pm John Baldessari: BLAH Mixografia® 1419 E Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, 90011 Opening September 15th 4-7pm Kim Abeles Armory Center for the Arts 145 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, 91103 Opening September 15th 3-6pm Lari Pittman: Portraits of Textiles & Portraits of Humans Regen Projects 6750 Santa Monica Blvd LA 90038 Opening Saturday September 15th 6-8pm Memory of the Universe | Bayesian Poisoning Coaxial 1815 S Main St, Los Angeles, 90015 September 15th 8-11:59pm
Willard Hill The Good Luck Gallery 945 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, 90012 Opening September 8th 7-10pm
Opening of On Fire: Transcendent Landscapes by Michael Scott The Autry 4700 Western Heritage Way - Griffith Park, Los Angeles Opening September 15th 10-5pm
AN ART DEN ODD ARK Los Angeles
Sharon Ellis: Blue Hour
WINE OF THE MONTH
23
Larisa Code
Note: Create joy, one sip at a time. Featured Wine: Banyan Vintage: 2017 Color: White Varieties: Gerwurztraminer Price: Under $15 Country: United States of America Region: Monterey County Good Girl Dinette is closing. Rumor has it increased rent is the culprit…won’t be the first time. It certainly has been a trend. I remember being so excited when they opened; my friend Jackie B. told me about it and we rushed over to split a banh mi, salad and fries…it was wonderful. But now, they too are moving out, and it is such a bummer…you see, it is not just the worry and loss caused by gentrification that is getting to me, it is the dissipating community that hurts. In honor of Good Girl Dinette, I chose the food first and then selected the wine specifically for that meal…and yes, I wrote about Banyan before, but not this vintage. Banyan is made by Kenny Likitprakong, who was raised by winemakers. He developed this wine to specifically pair with Southeast Asian food. Via experience, he opted for mechanical picking of the grapes. The grapes are pressed and ‘cold settled’ for 72 hours prior to fermentation for 31 days at 54 degrees Fahrenheit in stainless steel. As Kenny is of Thai descent, perhaps he had an edge on the match making of his wine with S.E. Asian food, and, coincidentally, when I tasted it, I immediately wanted to pair it with Thai style fried chicken. And you should; it is good! But today and until October, you should pair it with Good Girl Dinette (which I did, and I am so glad that I did). Order the slow cooked pork banh mi with fries, and I recommend getting an order of their seasonal coleslaw—oh, their slaw is a force to be reckoned with. You can bring a bottle of Banyan with you, and if you forget, well, you can grab one at Highland Park Wine. This wine is a bit sweet, but not as sweet as an Austrian or German gerwurztraminer. It is more on the Riesling side of sweet. But that sweet, along with the acid, is exquisite with the pickled carrots, the perfect French bread, and the tender meat of the banh mi. That sweet and acid is wonderful with their spicy fries and cilantromaggi mayo. That acidic sweet is a great way to wash down a bite of that dreamy coleslaw. If you eat at the restaurant, you have little say over the choice music. The food pairing…done. For flowers, you can pick some roses from the garden of that sweet little lady out watering her yard. I am sure she would be happy to share as she is probably being evicted soon anyway. Note: what I have loved about Highland Park and what drew me in and kept me has always been the balance of artists, creatives, kookie people and old timers, my little niche. But now, I feel it is being buried under horizontal wood siding and an excruciatingly high cost of living. So, I am having a hard time saying good-bye, yet again, to another business I loved. I wish the best of luck to everyone at Good Girl Dinette. Mot, Hai, Ba, Yo!!!! continued from page 22 Christopher Grimes Gallery 916 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, 90401 Opening September 15th 4-6pm
Side To Side: Brent Broza ShockBoxx 636 Cypress Ave, Hermosa Beach, 90254 Opening September 15th 7-10pm Alice Marie Perrault | All the King’s Men Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 September 16th 3-6pm Artist Talk: Larry Bell in Conversation with Aram Moshayedi Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles 901 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, 90013 September 16th 3-5pm Ch, Ch, Ch Changes Rory Devine LSH Colab 778 North Virgil Ave., Los Angeles, 90029 Opening September 16th 4-6pm Fool’s Gold Noysky Projects 6727 7/8 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, 90028 Opening September 16th 3-6pm Kate Carvellas - Reliquary for an Assemblage Artist Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 September 16th 3-6pm La Reina de Los Angeles Sturt Haaga Gallery, Descanso Gardens
1418 Descanso Dr La Canada Flintridge 91011 Opening September 16th 5-7pm 16th Annual TarFest - Music and Art Festival La Brea Tar Pits and Museum 5801 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 90036 September 22nd 1-730pm Art by Wendy Vasta 4141 Garage Gallery 4141 Alabama Street, San Diego, 92104 Opening September 22nd 5-8pm Frogtown Artwalk 2018 Frogtown Art Walk BLAKE Ave, Los Angeles, 90039 September 22, 4-10pm Sewing Circle: Feminine Narratives Seaver Gallery, Marlborough School 250 Rossmore Avenue, LA, 90004 Opening September 22nd 5-8pm Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass | Sugar Coated Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 Opening September 23rd 3-6pm A Different 1% Cypress College Art Gallery 9200 Valley View St. Cypress 90630 Opening reception September 27th 6-8pm DesEscondido - No longer hidden California Center for the Arts, Escondido 340 N Escondido Blvd, Escondido, 92025 Opening September 28th
Here’s Looking at You, Kid - Opening Reception The Loft at Liz’s 453 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 90036 Opening September 29th 7-10pm ‘Life In This Ocean’ Annenberg Community Beach House 415 Pacific Coast Hwy, Santa Monica, 90402 Opening September 29th 2-4pm Open Studios : Arts Continuum 1947 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, 90021-2917 September 29th 3-8pm Craft and Folk Art Museum, Opening Reception Craft and Folk Art Museum 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 90036 Opening October 6th 6-9pm Brewery Artwalk and Open Studios - Fall 2018 Brewery Artwalk 2100 N Main St, Los Angeles, 90031 October 13th and 14th 11-6pm Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours // 17th Annual Hosted by Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours October 13th 14th 20th and 21st John Waiblinger | The Beauty of Men LACDA Los Angeles Center for Digital Art 104 E 4th St, Los Angeles, 90013 Opening October 13th 6-9pm
LA ART NEWS
“A Canicular Perspective”
24
Jeremy Kaplan of READ Books
The summer prior to opening READ Books, we spent a whole week in D.C. on what was called, back in the aughts, a “vacation.” We visited a Civil War battlefield, a Holocaust Museum, and ate Ethiopian food cooked by a lady who used to be the Clinton White House pastry chef. The reigning boss in D.C. was one of them Bushes. When we came back home to L.A., I returned to the classroom and soon developed a nervous eye twitch. Not a calm one. Nervous. Best and worst of times. When I tell people that I am a reformed teacher, people tell me that teaching is a thankless job. Either before or after telling me that, they thank me for having been a teacher, thus rendering their trenchant observation un-trenchant. Or trenchantless. They often assume that this alleged lack of gratitude, in addition to (a) the challenge of having been a Special Ed teacher; (b) teaching in inner city schools, & (c) receiving crappy pay, ultimately constituted the rational for my choosing to be a former teacher. My perspective is that (a) what kinda moron pursues an occupation devoid of challenges? (b) I’d sooner teach at an impaired school where my dubious talents make a difference, rather than a school where the kids are doing fine without my intervention; & (c) that was the biggest fucking paycheck I ever got! I’m not saying teachers don’t deserve more money. They do. But… that was the biggest fucking paycheck I have ever got. A decade of teaching led me to believe that (a) the clientele is generally unprepared & uninspired; (b) the clientele’s parents tend to be unprepared & uninvolved; (c) the practitioners are often unprepared & frustrated; & (d) the boneheads in charge are less interested (or versed) in the substance of education than the appearance thereof. If you can tell me the difference between what I just described and every other job in the world, then you write the book and I’ll sell it. I did not stop teaching because it’s an intolerable job. I stopped teaching because it’s a job, and those things are all intolerable. But I sure do miss the vacations. A bookstore owner experiences fewer eye twitches than a teacher, but fewer paid vacations. No paid vacation really, and less money to finance them. This summer we chose Berkeley as our 4-day destination, because (a) frequent flyer miles paid for it; (b) my friend Aaron’s Berkeley guest room is cheaper than a motel in, say, San Francisco. There is no (c). (d) All the above. Berkeley reminds one what a shopping district should be. A pithy walk down Telegraph or Shack presents the wayfarer with multiple music and bookstores, a seller of board games, a hat merchant, a fabric store, and peddlers peddling stuff that I didn’t know was either peddleable or stuff. The shops are neither trendy nor expensive. They are intelligently curated and patronized. There are people in these Berkeley shops. Shopping. I make no reference to the variety of restaurants in Berkeley, as this is one aspect where the Los Angeles retail experience is superior, due in large part to the blessed Jonathan Gold (please see August issue of LA ART NEWS). In part to augment the culinary aspect of our vacation, we took the BART to San Francisco, ate at old stalwart House of Nanking, and took a historical walking tour of Chinatown on which I encountered a strapping young fella donning a cap of the University of Iowa, my alma mater, atop his noggin. I asked him, you go to school there? No, but he is a devout Hawkeye fan (apparently, college football teams have devout fans for reasons other than being there). But my wife, he said, hales from Cedar Falls. His wife agreed. I been there, I said. And in order to prove it, I added: There’s a lake. I went in it. She nodded with the same sort of avidity her husband espoused for Hawkeye football. Yup! That’s Cedar Falls! There’s a lake you can go in. It then occurred to me that I recalled more about Cedar Falls. I persisted. The girl who took me to Cedar Falls, a Cedar Fallsian by birth, worked at a KFC in high school. This was in the ‘80s, mind you. The Cedar Fallsian standing in front of me, perhaps seeing where I was going with this, began to look about as if searching for her lost puppy. I shifted my narrative in the direction of her husband and my wife. I’ll give you two guesses who owned that KFC. He shrugged. After a brief moment of reflection, my wife, who in our years of intimacy has become well versed in all things clown & homicide, pointed a finger in the air & declared: John Wayne Fucking Gacy! I patted her on the back. Good girl. That was in Waterloo, the Cedar Fallsian objected. She was right. Waterloo is adjoined to Cedar Falls, I explained to my wife, kinda like Leopold & Loeb. Michelle Bachman was from Waterloo too. When running for president, she held a rally in Waterloo where she bragged about Waterloo being the home of John WAYNE. Wrong clown. So that didn’t go over too well. Waterloo was kinda her Waterloo. Which makes me wonder, I called out to the Iowans as they made a hasty retreat into a fortune cookie factory up ahead, which clown is a bigger embarrassment to Waterloo: M Bachman or JW Gacy? She did not answer. And how could she? She was from Cedar Falls. Outside of Chinatown, the variety once prevalent in SF appears to be in decline. The personalities once manifest in neighborhoods such as the Mission, Haight, and Tenderloin seem to be fusing into a thing that is, if not suspiciously blander in substance, likely more uniform in character. When I first frequented SF back in ’92 & ’93, my friends living there asked me why I’d live in a shithole like L.A. rather than a cool urban mecca like SF. And it was cool. Dive bars, used bookstores, ethnic neighborhoods, scary drug neighborhoods, street vendors, action. L.A., I argued, is part shithole, part paradise. Finding the parts that define my paradise was the liquor in the punchbowl that subdued the occasional turd. If the whole punchbowl is spiked with glorious liquor, it’s too easy, too uniform, there are no choices to make. Everybody cool goes to San Francisco, I told them. Y’all can have it. I’ll visit once a year. So, it comes as little surprise that SF has been inundated by cool people with money. L.A. I always figured, in its vastness, with all its hidden cavities, was largely impregnable to the charms of mass coolness that inevitably leads to cultural uniformity. Sometimes, now, I’m not so sure. With no alternative press extant to laud the efforts of independent practitioners of culture, and consumers drawn to the facile appeal of Amazon— shit, I have too many Facebook friends in L.A. (not real friends, perhaps, but still) who post photos of Amazon book purchases but never come to our store— our shopping districts continue to reflect what we are willing to put our money behind. I fear a future with little else but good restaurants and on-line stores. Compared to Berkeley, our commercial districts are bland, trendy & predictable. We cast our votes with every dollar we give to a corporation when business can be transacted with a neighbor. Aaron, my Berkeley host, suggested that we move up there and open a store, which sounds logical until you think about it, at which point it sounds about as logical to me as moving to SF in ’92, or seeking a more affluent school district to teach at circa 2000. What kinda moron seeks a life devoid of challenges? Why offer one’s talents, dubious though they may be, in a place where they already got what they need? Content & comfortable is no way to live. That’s what vacations are for.
SEPTEMBER 2018
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10th ANNUAL LOS ANGELES TANABATA FESTIVAL LITTLE TOKYO AUGUST 11-12, 2018
LA ART NEWS
PLAY MUSIC ON THE PORCH DAY
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Founded, 2013, Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA 2018: Celebrated in 675 cities, in 58 countries, on six continents. Pictured: The Highland Park After Party, featuring The Mexican Standoff, The Ultra 4, The Andersons, Mario Alcaraz, Jeff Boynton Circuit Bending, and (live from Zimbabwe!) Gwevedzi Afro Acoustic Band. Next Play Music on the Porch Day: August 31, 2019, World Wide.
SEPTEMBER 2018
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OAXACA IN L.A.: THE MURALS YES, BUT THE ARTISTS NO A set of popular Oaxacan murals is going to stay in Southern California permanently. Unfortunately, their creators cannot be here too. One of the most popular exhibits of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative of 2017 was “Visualizing Language: Oaxaca in L.A.”, a set of three large murals by the mural collective Tlacolulokos. The murals were exhibited in the Los Angeles Central Library’s rotunda for almost a year, where they represented cultural contrasts and cultural fusion related to the Oaxacan experience in Los Angeles, and where they presented a counterpoint to the library’s 1933 murals by Dean Cornwell depicting a pageant-like tableau of a white-centric past. Now, as the last of the PST: LA/LA shows draws to a close, the Library Foundation of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Public Library have announced that the murals will be donated to the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, where they will have a permanent home. “Thanks to the vision and work of The Library Foundation of Los Angeles the Tlacolulokos murals For the Price of Your Hometown, the Way of the Elders, and In Memory of the Forgotten, will become part of the recently created collection and repository of murals at MOLAA,” said Lourdes Ramos, President and CEO, Museum of Latin American Art. The murals will first journey to France before becoming part of the MOLAA collection. Tlakolulokos at the Los Angeles Central Meanwhile, the members of Tlacolulokos— Library in 2017 Dario Canúl and Cosijoesa Cernas— according to media accounts, had their visas Tlacolulokos at the Los Angeles Central Library taken away from them in San Francisco and were sent back to Oaxaca. The duo is based in Oaxaca, but have done a number of public art pieces in California. They are now denied entry to the United States.
ROBOTS AT MOAH The Robot Show, featuring solo exhibitions by Dave Pressler, Alex Kritselis, Jeff Soto, Robert Nelson, Cristopher Cichocki, Karen Hochman Brown, Chenhung Chen, and Patrick McGilligan, continues at The Lancaster Museum of Art and History through September 26. The exhibits present artificial intelligence interpreted through the lenses of pop culture, the natural environment, and spirituality. www.lancastermoah.org
Dave Pressler, Shut Up and Paint, 2018 Sculpting Foam, Resin, Armature Wire, Acrylic Paint
LA ART NEWS