Volume 1. 2011
Vol. 01 | 1st Qua r t e r 2 0 1 1
Download free | TBA m a g . c o m
CONTRIBUTORS Editor’s Note: To Be Announced. Generally when you hear those three words it relays an air of uncertainty. As we launch TBA Magazine, the future of traditional media is exactly that – uncertain. The global economy is reeling, publications are going out of print, advertising dollars are drying up, the art world is trying to adjust and even as we went to press we had to remove a profile of a featured gallery as it closed its doors. However, like all periods of economic upheaval, change can become a motivating factor for growth and development. The people behind TBA feel strongly that this is the moment in time to grab the proverbial bull by the horns and do things a little bit differently. Yes, there is already a glut of contemporary art magazines, but to us it seems that so many try to be all things to all people. TBA expects to narrow the focus on the artists, galleries and insiders that make up the backbone of both contemporary art and pop culture. For our first issue we turn the spotlight on Los Angeles’ Culver City Arts District, one of the remaining hotbeds of contemporary art. We give you a guide to not just the neighborhood, but take you behind the curtain of four key galleries and profile some of their represented artists. We feature two refreshingly honest interviews with artists Liz McGrath and Seonna Hong as well as a profile on photographers Tatiana Wills and Roman Cho. Finally we turn the spotlight on European street artists turned international gallery darlings Conor Harrington and Alexandros Vasmoulakis to round out our first issue. Change is truly the only certainty - which is why whatever comes next will have To Be Announced.
Kai Benjamin Knox | EDITOR IN CHIEF
Rebecca Martin | CO MANAGING EDITOR & ART DIRECTOR
Rebecca Martin is a graphic designer working in Los Angeles whose interest in contemporary art led her to TBA magazine.
Julianne Tveten | CO MANAGING EDITOR Julianne Tveten is a contributing editor for multiple arts and culture news outlets. In addition to writing, she works for two Los Angeles-based non-profit organizations.
Adam Beneke | WRITER, WEB CONTENT MANAGER
Adam Beneke began working in architecture before drifting towards the art world. He currently does freelance design and publishes an art blog and zine called Twenty2wo.
Amanda Erlanson | WRITER Amanda Erlanson is a writer, art collector and editor of the art blog Erratic Phenomena.
Seonna Hong ‘Untitled’ mixed media on paper 7”x5”, 2009
FEATURES
Heroes & Villains TBA chats with photographers Roman Cho and Tatiana Wills and unmasks their ongoing collaborative project “Heroes & Villains.”
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Artist Liz McGrath graciously agreed to share some remarkably revealing insights into her artistic motivations and inspirations.
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We revisit the burgeoning of the Culver City Arts District and profile some of its notable galleries and artists.
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Our Spotlight focuses on Conor Harrington, Edwin Ushiro and Alexandros Vasmoulakis, three notable emerging artists with unique talents.
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TBA explores how music, rebellion and autonomy have shaped 30 years of Yoshitomo Nara’s work.
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Seonna Hong reflects on her artistic influences and chats about her works’ unique aesthetic and dreamlike environments.
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Liz McGrath
Walls | Culver City
Artist Spotlight
Exhibition Spotlight
Seonna Hong
HEROES and
VILLAINS
With every Hero or Villain that exists as part of our pop culture vocabulary, there too exists an alter ego, the respective man or woman behind the mask. TBA chats with photographers Roman Cho and Tatiana Wills and unmasks their ongoing collaborative project “Heroes & Villains.”
What is Heroes & Villains ? Roman: H&V is a collection of portraits photographed by
Tatiana Wills and myself of the contemporary artists in the urban art, Lowbrow/pop surrealism/new gallery, and altcomics genres. We have been working on this project for the past four years. The portraits have been shown publicly in gallery shows and the project will culminate in a photobook with texts and interviews written by Amanda Erlanson.
How did the idea for Heroes & Villains come about?
book artists. We were chatting about our new endeavors and started throwing out some names and ideas. We found far too many common threads in what we were each doing and realized that it was a natural thing to collaborate on. We both considered that many of the artists we were photographing were defining particular distinct genres that weren’t previously considered art by the establishment, but had a big influence on our culture and huge fan bases despite that fact. That dialog was the birth of the project.
How does the title relate to the subject matter/ theme of the book?
Tatiana: In 2004 Roman and I worked together on some commercial advertising projects and hit it off.
T: It holds several meanings and came about a couple of years after we began shooting.
R: Yeah, we had fun working together so when she left
R: The title alludes to several issues regarding the artists
to focus on her own work, she suggested a collaboration based on one of the shoots we worked on.
T: We kept in touch but it took some time to find just the
right thing that seemed worthwhile.
R: The original idea was to do a project based on a shoot we did for a job. That ultimately proved unfeasible as it involved lots of travel and our schedules were too busy to coordinate. T: Around Summer of ‘05 I was following around some street
artist friends in LA and shooting portraits of them here and there and Roman was considering a project shooting comic
we are photographing and the genre they are in - Issues such as the outlaw nature of urban art. There’s definitely the “good vs. bad” issue played out in the genre and the fluid role the artists play. Many artists are considered criminals by the public at large and by the law. At the same time, these same people are idolized by their fans. There’s a wink and a nod to the comic artists in the project. We noticed some artists really generate intense feeling from the audience and can be polarizing figures. Many of the fans we’ve come across have strong, passionate fervor for the artist they like and conversely intense dislike for artists they are not crazy about. This goes beyond the usual appreciation we see in the more “established” art scene. Finally, the scenes we are documenting are, relative to the mainstream art world,
Esao Andrews
Matt Groening
young up-and-coming. There is a sense of “us vs. them” that we are alluding to with the title.
What has been your favorite experience thus far in the creation of this book? T: Definitely the collaborative aspect. I feel it’s brought out the best in my work and I am a better photographer as a result. It’s also what makes this project unique and strong because Roman and I are constantly pushing each other out of our comfort zones, which makes better images in the end. R: Thanks, Tati. Ditto. Of course, the chance to meet all the talented artists and photographing them has been wonderful. Another thing we are happy about is the positive and favorable reaction we have been getting from the public. T: I must now point out that since, technically, it’s not a book just yet, my second favorite experience will be when the book is actually a book.
What has been the most challenging experience? R: Coordinating the busy schedules of three people for a photoshoot. The problem increases exponentially the more famous the subject and farther away from LA the subject lives. Maintaining consistent momentum over the course of the four years we’ve been doing this project. Funding. T: This project has been entirely self-funded. Hopefully that means we’re, like, so far ahead of the curve, man!
What are you trying to capture about the artists in their portraits? T: The honest personification of their art that is always bubbling under the surface.
How do you define your role as the photographer and how does that affect your approach when collaborating with the artists? T: I consider Roman and myself as artists photographing other artists, not simply photographers shooting subjects. Before every shoot we do quite a bit of research, hash out ideas, make sketches, then chat via phone or email if possible all together. The dynamic is different every time. Sometimes one of us
has a better rapport with an artist, so we try to identify that early on since it can affect the nuance of a shot, especially if the person is not used to being photographed.
How is the collaborative process approached on this project and what are some of the challenges and advantages? R: All the creative decisions are made jointly between Tatiana and myself. In the end, if one of us doesn’t like an idea, it doesn’t get done. T: I’d say Roman and I have very different approaches to our work that go well together. He’s more of a planner and I’m more spontaneous. He’s more technical and I’m more instinctual. He does awesome wide shots and I like a good closeup. R: During the photoshoot, we take turns photographing the subject. we place less importance on who pressed the button for a shot and more emphasis on whether we got “the shot.” People don’t really understand that and we often get the question, “so, who took this picture?” We always answer that WE took it. This confuses some but again the importance is in both of us creating the idea and the situation for the moment to occur rather than something pedestrian as who pressed the shutter. T: Yeah, the challenge throughout the project has always been trying to make people understand that we really don’t distinguish who pushed the button on a shot. There’s also a ton of work aside from taking a picture that a project of this scope entails. We divide it up between us relatively evenly based on what resources we have independently. The advantage is that we can help each other when one of us is busy with clients or life stuff when necessary and not lose momentum. Personally, the sense of accountability to someone other than myself helps me keep going when I’m feeling lazy or uninspired. Plus it’s all the rage to split the bill, right? R: Right. The great advantage is having two brains to make the decisions and to bounce ideas back and forth. Obviously, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages since we continue to work together and haven’t killed each other in the four years.
How much input from the artist is involved in the portrait and the ultimate selection of what will go in Heroes & Villains?
Seonna Hong
Jesse LeDoux
T: Naturally we are influenced and inspired by these artists and their work. One shoot can vary quite a bit from the next. We definitely come in knowing what we want and much of the time the artists understand they’re in good hands and leave it all up to us. Depending upon how much time we have, we explore as many ideas as time allows, some conceptual, some more straightforward. Sometimes an artist will arrive with a great idea or inspiring wardrobe and we go with that. We are always striving to create an image that is both iconic and enduring, presenting the personality or character of the person behind the work, as opposed to an artist next to their work, which is often how the public is used to seeing them photographed. Who makes it into the book depends largely upon whether Roman likes you or not. I don’t care about you either way, but if you feed me M&M’s I’ll make sure and give it some thought. R: What is it with you and M&Ms? The ultimate selection of who goes into the book is determined solely by Tatiana and myself.
You note on your website that the works of the artists featured in this book “are influencing our culture and are the basis of our visual vocabulary.” How do you hope to contribute to contemporary culture and our “visual vocabulary” with Heroes & Villains? R: Heroes & Villains is the only body of work as far as we are aware that features and portrays these popular group of artists in a consistently strong portraits. With H&V, we hope that when people think about these artists our portraits are what they think of in their minds. T: By presenting to the public some of the faces behind the imagery they see every day, I’m thinking it will put a bit of perspective on the scene as it’s rising up out of obscurity and continue the dialog Roman and I discussed when we started.
Sylvia Ji
‘Savoy’ wood, resin, cloth 42”x22”x22”, 2008
L I ZMCGRATH’S
P o i g n a n t M e n a gerie by Amanda Erlanson
Sculptor Liz McGrath is the official taxidermist of a bizarre fantasy world populated by mournful sideshow freaks, fierce patchwork scavengers and tattooed antelopes with high-tension power lines strung between their horns. After learning the tricks of the trade art directing for stop-motion animation, she began sculpting her gruesomely humorous creatures and dioramas, which have been a fixture in the pop surrealism scene for over a decade. When she takes a break from dreaming up her surreal, evocative bestiary, she fronts the band Miss Derringer. Although she was busy preparing for her action-packed schedule, Liz graciously agreed to share some remarkably revealing insights into her artistic motivations and inspirations. You grew up in Hollywood, a mohawked punk kid with a rebellious streak. From an early age, you were a selfdescribed “monster,” raging against the constrictions of a devout Catholic upbringing – your mother had considered becoming a nun, and your father once wanted to be a priest. Since your parents didn’t know what to do with you, you eventually wound up being incarcerated for a year at Victory Christian Academy, a fundamentalist gulag for wayward teens, which began with several weeks of imprisonment and privation in a closet while being brainwashed into “getting right with Jesus.” That seems like a pretty cataclysmic cocktail of influences. Do you think you could have become the artist you are now if not for the repression you experienced as a child? Wow, you did some homework! I think if I had the love and support of my parents or the people around me, I probably would have been able to really focus and develop my creativity. I think I might have achieved much more than I have now. I remember really wanting to be a fashion designer. I used to make all of my clothes and I remember people coming up to me and handing me business cards, wanting to put the stuff I made in their stores, and taking my photo – and this was in the ‘80s, when people used film! I was only 12, and
I had a little punk band and we had some fans. We’d play shows on the train tracks and I’d sell little things I made. But when I got out of the girls’ home, I lost whatever it was I had. That place shattered me. I went from being extremely strong, outgoing and creative to becoming incredibly insecure about myself and all my ideas. I had a hard time fitting back into society. I never finished seventh grade, and I worked three jobs at a time so I could get my own place. I was couch surfing, living on the streets, in and out of foster homes, juvenile hall, selling drugs. I eventually got a place with friends when I was 14, but I had some really hard times, trying to find myself again. I took fashion at the community college when I was 16, but whatever talent I had for it was gone. It wasn’t until I joined an all-Asian punk band that my life started to feel normal again, and I slowly got involved in more creative projects, but for a while there, I might have ended up the wife of a preacher man or a convict – or worse, a convicted preacher man! Tell me a little about your grandfather, who was a cartoonist. Was he the person who first encouraged you to make art? What sorts of things did you tend to draw when you were a kid?
He was actually my grandmother’s fourth husband, but the only one I really remember. He was a cartoonist for the Long Beach funnies. He’d have us sit on his lap and teach us to draw cartoons. My real grandfather was a pianist, and he had a traveling band called The Knickerbockers. I remember him being really mean! He lived across the street from Bruce Lee, but he died in his late forties. My aunt owned two Irish-style bars and restaurants. She was probably the first person to encourage me to do art. She’d have me and my sister tie perfect black bows for her restaurant flower arrangements. Black was her favorite color, and unlike my dad, she was into the occult. She’d have me paint signs, make flyers advertising new drink specials, decorate for all seasons. Whatever she needed, she’d have me try to make it first. When you were 12, your parents took you to Singapore, where your mother had family, with the intention of enrolling you in a convent school there. During that trip, they inadvertently imprinted you with a formative experience by visiting Tiger Balm Garden, a Chinese mythological theme park which features bizarre dioramas, including a bloody war between rabbits and rats and an underground tunnel displaying the gruesome tortures of the 10 Courts of Hell. Did you understand at the time how much of an impression it was making on your psyche? I didn’t remember the rabbits-and-rats war until I opened a book about Tiger Balm Garden and thought, “Wow, I must have seen that at some point in my life.” When I was a baby, I stayed in Singapore for a while, and my grandparents would push me through the park. So I’d like to think that it was at that time that the rats’ and rabbits’ bloody war was imprinted in my brain. I do remember the 10 Gates of Hell vividly! That diorama style has definitely popped up in my later works. We’re hoping to visit Singapore in the next year. I haven’t been back since I was 12, and we still have a lot of family there. Do you think your Chinese-Singaporean heritage has had a significant influence on your work? It’s the kind of influence that I never noticed was there, until I opened that book on Tiger Balm Garden and realized that it’s everywhere in my work. I used to think my influence was the Catholic Church, since we went there every Sunday – but right after, we’d go for dim sum and then to the Chinese market. Our house is filled with all sorts of Asian furniture, screens, artworks, symbols and carvings. My mom is from Singapore, so I guess I’m half-first generation. When I was
growing up, there were only a handful of Asians in our neighborhood. I was made fun of relentlessly. My parents had bought a very large house in Altadena on the GI Bill that they really couldn’t afford. They both worked relentlessly to make ends meet, so they didn’t really get what was going on in our lives. To make things worse, my mom dressed us in Chinese pajamas! I was always going home with notes safety-pinned to my shirt saying, “These are pajamas, for sleeping in” in big black letters – until my mom finally went to ask about the notes, wearing matching pajamas! I remember third grade being the worst. The kids started to throw dog poop at me. Sometimes they would pick me up by my arms and legs, and they’d drop me into piles of it. One time they made me eat it, because Chinese people ate dogs, so I had to be punished for it. They were so mean. I remember sneaking into my mom’s supply box and taking her medical tape to tape down the corner of my eyes, so I wouldn’t look Asian. I remember seeing the Sex Pistols on the news one day, and I was hooked. I looked everywhere for punk rock stuff. I made my own stuff when I couldn’t find it. I figured this way, when I got beat up it wasn’t because of my race, it was because of the way I dressed – and somehow, I guess because I had control over that, it didn’t feel so personal. It felt like I had choices, and choices felt like freedom. It also completely freaked out all the bullies, so they left me alone. Your father worked for the L.A. County Morgue, and you did a lot of punitive community service there under his watchful eye. How did it feel to be working in a morgue as a teenager? Do you think that proximity with the dead had an impact on your aesthetic development? I definitely think it did. I was fascinated with death. The bodies looked fake, compared to Hollywood movie props. I wasn’t super hands-on with the dead bodies, I mostly did filing. It was very interesting. My dad helped to organize the gift store at the morgue. When did you first realize that you had something unique to say with your vision of the world? I took some community college classes at Pasadena City College. I wanted to do fashion, but it just wasn’t quite working, so I took some art classes here and there and finally took a painting class taught by Mr. Takeuchi – he was great. I started to really make all the things I was feeling I remember making this hatbox you had to look into through a peephole and pull a string. I won’t say what was inside,
I was fascinated with death. The bodies looked fake, compared to Hollywood movie props. I wasn’t super handson with the dead bodies, I mostly did filing. It was very interesting.
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‘Urban Deer’ mixed media, tattoos by Morgan Slade 42”x22”x22”, 2007
‘Sugar Foot’ wood, resin, cloth, tar 43”x69”, 2001
but it was banned from being in the school gallery. I took rendering and silk screening, and one of my class projects was actually stolen from the school! I was doing really well – my teachers were going to submit me for a scholarship to Otis. Unfortunately, around this time I had a stalker, and my life kind of derailed for a few years. I wasn’t able to finish school or do anything. But after I got into the punk band, things started to come together. I was asked to work on music videos and such, and different odd art jobs, which eventually led to me showing my work in galleries. It seems as though you leapt headlong into stop-motion puppetry and miniature fabrication without any kind of preparation. What do you think music video director Fred Stuhr saw in you that indicated you would be such a talented sculptor? Did you go through a period of apprenticeship with him before you were actually making puppets? Tell me a little about the environment of Stuhr’s studio and what you learned there. Well, we basically met in a bar! I was passing out copies of my fanzine, and Fred picked one up. I asked him to contribute and he started coming out to the meetings, which were basically just a bunch of kids getting together, throwing around ideas and partying! I think he liked the energy! He had me come by the studio and I offered to help out, sweep floors or whatever. It was so exciting to see how everything was being made. When I was a kid, we’d make cars out of oatmeal boxes and popsicle sticks, and animation wasn’t much different – you just used what you had on hand. I think I got my first break when one of his art directors was found nodding off in the bathroom with a needle in his arm. I convinced Fred to let me finish all the props the art director was working on. I did it all for free and in just a few days. From there, he let me work on a lot of his projects. I learned so much from him and from all of the talented people he had working with him. It was such a rad environment. He was such a talented guy. When you were working in animation, you must have been exposed to a lot of experimental stop-motion films, such as the dark fantasies of the Brothers Quay, Jan Švankmajer and Władysław Starewicz. Do you consider any of the great stop-motion animators to have been an influence on your sculptural work? Definitely! I took some time off to work on an animation
project in 2010. I’ve been wanting to do something like that, but haven’t really had the heart to do it since Fred’s passing. But I think I’m going to try it out again. There’s so much new technology, I think it will be easier to work out what I want to do. Fingers crossed, that is – it has been over a decade! You’re a big admirer of the old mechanical automatons and fortune-teller machines that used to be found on carnival fairways. Have you ever considered looking into building some of your sculptures as clockwork automatons or windup machines? I have, indeed! I have a friend who works with animatronics. I was hoping to introduce that into my work some time ago, but we never seemed to be able to coordinate. I used to have things light up and move around, but it’s a little risky – if things break, you’re obligated to fix them forever! The gilded embellishments and postures of many of your sculptures remind me of early 20th-century carousel animals, which were hand-carved by old-world craftsmen. Throughout your work runs a strain of wistfulness for the days of gypsy wagons, organ-grinder’s monkeys and carnival sideshows. Where do you think this nostalgic streak comes from? Were you drawn to the imagery of the past even as a child? I always loved the coin-operated attractions at Disneyland. I haven’t been there in years, though. There was a great wax museum we always went to in Monterey. I love sparkly Americana things, old world things. You’ve lived in a loft in a decrepit downtown L.A. building for a long time – since before the developers drove out most of the living-dead homeless denizens of Skid Row. How has that environment helped to shape your work? I moved downtown because at the time, the rent was very inexpensive – at one point, I was trading my website skills for free rent. I don’t think I would have been able to grow as an artist if I didn’t have such a low overhead. I’m very lucky I’ve been able to support myself making art, but I think now I’m ready for some trees! I made a deal with my husband that we’ll stick around to make another record and tour with it, probably into 2011 – but then I’m out of here. I want to move somewhere exotic for a while. I’ve been in LA my whole life, and I’m ready for a change – plus I would really like to adopt some children, and it would be nice for them to be around trees and grass!
As you’ve progressed as an artist, it has grown increasingly evident that you’re worried about mankind’s destruction of natural habitat. In many of your recent sculptures, there is a sense of melancholy and regret – the animals have adapted to our dirty urban habits in surreal fashion, or have become eerie figureheads leading us forward into destruction. Are you convinced of our impending doom, or do you think there’s still some hope that we will come to our senses? I’m on the fence! When I’m working late at night, I think there’s still a part of me that’s terrified by the religious idea of the end of the world. But when I am in my right mind, of course I think there’s hope! I think we as a species will be able to evolve or adapt to new climate changes. A couple of years ago, you made the decision to stop working with the discarded leather scraps and old fur coats that you incorporated in your early work, and you now work solely with non-animal-based materials. You’ve described becoming emotionally overwhelmed by all the animal parts that began to accumulate around you. Tell me a little more about that feeling and that decision. It was easy to disconnect from a scrap of leather and not think about where it came from, but when I finally had to shop for hides of leather and fur, I found it really sad. I couldn’t believe how cheap it was – a whole rabbit’s skin was only $3. To think that their life was worth little more than a few dollars – it was more expensive to purchase good faux fur and leather. That made me really investigate where everything was coming from. So I don’t use it in my work anymore, and I don’t wear it. Plus, real fur and leather is not super archival. It requires some upkeep, or it can get too dry and fall apart – it was meant to keep the guts in animals! You have a very successful collaborative relationship with your husband, Morgan Slade. Once a tattoo artist, Morgan now paints many of the tattoo designs on your animals. He’s also a photographer, and has created compelling photographic tableaus with your creatures. On top of that, he is the lyricist for the band you lead, Miss Derringer. How did the two of you meet? Was it immediately evident that your respective talents would mesh together so neatly? We were introduced by his then-roommate and fellow artist Alex Gross – he was a teacher at Art Center, the school that Morgan went to. I thought Morgan was very cute! He played me some of the music he was working on, and I fell in love with it. We formed a kind of band and were
lucky enough to get picked up by Sympathy for the Record Industry. He’s an amazing artist and has been really supportive of everything I do. It can be difficult sometimes to be in a relationship with someone who is also creative, but it seems to really work out for us. Just one question for Morgan: In designing your tattoos for Liz’s creatures, do you take their cultural implications into account? For example, Russian prison tattoos are a venerable symbolic language by which a prisoner can infer the crimes, social rank and background of another convict. Are you building coded histories and meanings with your choice of tattoo iconography, or are your decisions mainly aesthetic? I definitely take the cultural implications and “hidden” meanings of the tattoos into account when designing them. For example, there were a couple of animals that Liz did that she wanted to be all Latino prison-style tattoos, whereas others are more in the traditional American vein, if the narrative that Liz has for the creature warrants it. I have done one or two with Russian criminal tattoos, and in those cases the source material is really loaded with symbolism. I try to give the animals tattoos that – if you understand their symbolic meanings – add to the overall meaning and background of the piece, although another thing that I like to do is to combine tattoos of one or more tradition to make a sort of hybrid, a new symbol that is based on the meanings that the source tattoos combined create. One of your influences is the work of painter sculptor Leonora Carrington. Now in her late 80s, Carrington is still working in Mexico, where she enjoys considerable success, despite having been largely excluded from the pantheon of artists that emerged from the surrealist era. Inspired by her close associations with Max Ernst, Frida Kahlo and Remedios Varo, she creates mysterious occult tableaus and bronzes featuring strange anthropomorphic creatures and imposing quasi-human entities. Her soft, playful, mystical take on surrealism could almost be a direct link between the surrealism of the past and the recent evolution of the early lowbrow aesthetic into a more feminine and evocative strain of pop surrealism. Tell me why you find Carrington’s work so intriguing. I discovered her work when I was in Mexico City a few years ago, and was so blown away. It’s like Edward Gorey in color! It was really a big inspiration for my watercolors. Your watercolors seem to be a bit more childlike and
I always loved the coin-operated attractions at Disneyland. I haven’t been there in years, though. There was a great wax museum we always went to in Monterey. I love sparkly Americana things, old world things.
‘Deer House’ mixed media 37”x20”x12”, 2008
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‘Schwein Haben’ resin, foam, wood 48”x36”18”, 2008
feminine than most of your sculptures. Do they come from a different emotional place than the rest of your work? I used to paint much more figuratively. I started out as a painter, but people gravitated more to the sculptural works. I’d like to one day get back into painting and such – the watercolors are more just for fun. I originally did them as designs for a friend’s company, and my gallery wanted me to do a show of them, so every now and then I’ll bring them out. Is there anything else that’s making a strong impact in your life and work right now? I think the environment is something I’d like to focus on more. I realize that artist materials are generally not environmentally friendly, and I want to find better things to use. I started using plastic bags and water bottles to build my armatures, and I’d like to move into working more with ceramics and paper, and recycled things. I used to want a whole line of vinyl toys, but that’s definitely not the goal now, and I know a lot of other artists who feel the same way. I want to take the next year to get back into hand-making little things for fun, and keep it simple. What’s on the horizon for you? I’m working on a line of porcelain creatures with a very talented artist, Miles Gavin. I’m going to start in on my animated music video for Miss Derringer, and also a fashion show with Jared Gold, and somewhere in there, I’m going to start making a ton of little handmade things for my website… and do another record and a new line of merch for Miss D, as well. Those are the plans for this year – I’d better get started now!
CULVE R C I T Y
WALLS CULVER CITY MAP
In this edition of Walls, we visit the burgeoning Culver CIty Arts District and profile some of its notable galleries and the artists they represent.
1. Cardwell Jimmerson 2. Corey Helford 3. Koplin Del Rio
Since Blum & Poe’s relocation to Culver City in 2003, more than 30 galleries have moved in to the now official, Culver CIty Arts District. Enticed by lots of empty spaces and low rent, the locale provided gallerists with a unique opportunity to revive an entire area and create a new community for visual art.
4. Kinkead Contemporary
What has emerged is one of the highest concentrations of fine art galleries in Southern California, both well and newly established, featuring a vast array of talented artists.
9. Blythe Projects
5. LeBasse Projects 6. Susanne Vielmetter 7. Thinkspace 8. Roberts & Tilton 10. Carmichael Gallery 11. Mark Moore Gallery
The primary area of the district is located along Washington Blvd. between Helms Avenue and Fairfax and La Cienega, between Venice and Washington Blvd.
12. Blum & Poe
With neighborhood restaurants, the Helms complex of designer furniture stores and nearby downtown Culver City, it is no wonder collectors are flocking to the Arts District.
15. Walter Maciel
13. Western Projects 14. Cherry and Martin 16. LAXART 17. Honor Fraser
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ROBERTS
A N D TILTON
Founded in 1999, Roberts & Tilton Gallery relocated to Culver City in October 2008. Representing emerging and mid-career established artists with international recognition, the gallery exhibits work of a socially and politically focused nature. The gallery often hosts beautifully colored works in the naturally lit kuntshalle space ideal for large scale and installation based artworks. Successful shows in the past have featured work from Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Kehinde Wiley and many talented others. For her show at Roberts & Tilton in October 2008, artist Ai Yamaguchi filled the space with a circular wooden room that had a mural on the interior. Often working on canvas wrapped panels that are shaped and smoothed, Yamaguchi exhibits expert craftsmanship. The near porcelain finish contributes a fragile feeling to her pale female figures on a white ground. They are often dressed in colorful, patterned kimonos, revealing the artist’s training in textile design at Joshibi University. On other pieces the characters are drawn fully nude with slender limbs and ink-black hair that further enhances the fragility. The flatness of the work also takes cues from Japanese prints of the Edo period as well as contemporary pop and anime culture. Piercing green eyes and sad facial expressions leave the viewer with a haunted feeling inspiring contemplation of the ethereal world in which these beautiful figures reside.
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AI YAMAGU C H I
‘Tachibana’ acrylic on cotton 29”x42”x4”, 2008. Images courtesy of Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA
‘Hana No Ani’ acrylic on cotton 21”x28.4”x2.6”, 2008
HONOR FRASER
GALLERY
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ROSSON CR O W
Images Courtesy of Honor Fraser Gallery
Images Courtesy of Honor Fraser Gallery
Culver City’s Honor Fraser gallery has proven a burgeoning influence on the Los Angeles contemporary art scene. Officially introduced in February 2006 in Venice, California, and now at its current location on Culver City’s bustling La Cienega Boulevard, the gallery specializes in emerging and mid-career talents on local, national, and international levels. Featured artists include Rosson Crow, Jeremy Blake, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Andre Ethier, Annie Lapin, Robert Lazzarini, and Erik Parker. A fantastical force in metropolitan art communities, Los-Angeles based Rosson Crow has established a bold presence on the gallery’s walls. Fascinated by vacant hotels, saloon bars, and lounges, Crow has built a career on mythologized spaces. The
artist’s work honors the extravagant architecture and décor of previous eras, all the while eschewing the presence of a single human. Crow’s paintings present lavish interiors conceivably populated mere hours, even minutes, ago, their ephemera invoking the nineteenth-century Impressionist ethos. While her thematic inspiration comes from a relatively demure movement, the prototypes of Crow’s vibrant aesthetics lie in Baroque and Rococo architecture, the flamboyant designs of Las Vegas casinos, and the cowboy culture of her home state of Texas. Finally, the artist appropriates this imagery with thin, vertical slashes of paint and jagged geometry to generate signs of decomposition, presenting a thorough depiction of the word “decadence.”
Images Courtesy of Honor Fraser Gallery
Images Courtesy of Honor Fraser Gallery
KINKEAD
CONTEMPORARY
Kinkead Contemporary is dedicated to introducing new and emerging artists through a series of solo and curated group shows. To expand opportunities for emerging artists the gallery has a residency program to help prepare artists for upcoming solo shows. The gallery was founded by art collector John Kinkead, a graduate of both The Art Institute of Chicago and Cranbrook Academy of Art. He is also a member of the MOCA Contemporaries and LACMA’s Print and Drawing Council. Kinkead Contemporary closed out the 2009 season with a solo show by artist Tracy Nakayama. Producing intimate ink drawings often with sepiatoned washes, the works draw heavily on 1970s erotic imagery for its camp and softcore aesthetics. While emphasizing the sexual innocence of the female gaze, Tracy’s work captures a specific moment that is meaningful on many different levels but is often sensationalized by critics. Exhibiting widely throughout the U.S., Japan and Europe Nakayama currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
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TRACY NAKAYA M A
‘Grounded’ ink on paper 26”x37”, 2009
‘International Feel’ ink on paper 31”x22”, 2010
‘Mauna Loa’ ink on paper 10”x7.75”, 2010
LeBASSE
P ROJECTS
LeBasse Projects is becoming a fixture in Culver City with its commitment to establishing and expanding the careers of a select group of domestic and international artists. The gallery holds regular shows at its Culver City location and after successful pop-up shows in New York and San Francisco has begun to expand its horizons. 2010 highlights include artists Yoskay Yamamoto, Morgan Slade, Nate Frizzell, Edwin Ushiro, Herakut, David Choong Lee and Melissa Haslam. Artist Yoskay Yamamoto is preparing for an upcoming show at LeBasse Projects, his third with the gallery. Yamamoto’s previous exhibitions have focused on his external struggles and experiences while ‘Familiar Strangers,’ his upcoming solo, is inspired by a detachment from one’s inner self and the rediscovery of one’s true nature. Yamamoto states, “I feel that I am always trying to fit in with others instead of finding or creating an environment that will naturally accept me as who I am. With the attempt and effort to fit in, I feel that we lose a sense of ourselves and become a familiar stranger within our own body.” After selling out his recent shows as well as a series of designer vinyl sculptures, contemporary art fans should expect the artist’s highly anticipated upcoming exhibition to catapult him even further into the art stratosphere.
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YOSKAY YAMAMO T O
‘Do You Mind if I Stay For a Bit’ mixed media 40”x30”, 2009
‘Screaming for the Sunrise’ mixed media and gold leaf 40”x60”, 2009
‘Nightmare of Daydreamer’ mixed media 24”x36”, 2008
‘Fall’ acyrlic on panel 24”x24”, 2010
‘Winter’ acrylic on panel 24”x24”, 2010
S P O T LIGHT Conor Harrington is a young painter from Cork, Ireland now living and working in London. At first look, his work is heavily influenced by graffiti culture with the use of aerosol, bold colors and encrypted writing. Underlying and cutting through the urban aesthetic are photorealistic renderings of soldiers from days gone by. The soldiers convey a sense of power and heroic proportion but Harrington describes them as reenactors. He relates the bravado more to today’s hip-hop culture of bragging and inflated egos than to the heroic acts done in battle. Opposing elements are a recurring theme as the work straddles the line between street and fine art, figure and abstract. The richly layered pieces have so much energy that they seem to change after each viewing, much like a city wall covered in graffiti. Harrington’s work continues to be exciting as each new show develops.
‘Masters of the Universe’ mural at New Art Gallery Walsall 26m x 5m, 2008
CONOR HARRINGT O N
Mural in abandoned monastery, FAME Festival, Italy, 2008
‘The Story of Us and Them’ oil and aerosol on canvas 183cm x 152cm, 2008
Mural on tower, FAME Festival, Italy 2009
‘The City That I’m Claiming’ oil and aerosol on canvas 183cm x 122cm, 2009
S P O T LIGHT Edwin Ushiro’s work resonates with the echoes of his boyhood in the “slow town” of Wailuku on the Hawaiian island of Maui. In his paintings, he recalls the sun-struck days of youth, when the world was fresh and magical, but also explores the eerie folklore indigenous to dark country roads and the boundless depths of the childhood imagination. While exploring the narrative tradition of “talk story” native to the islands, he interweaves the uncanny obake tales of his Japanese heritage. Working in assemblages of semi-transparent mixed media impressed behind clear vinyl, he melds his expressive drawing skills with both digital and organic painting techniques. The result is luminous and nostalgic, like a cherished memory burnished and worn fragile by the passage of time.
‘While Tides Guide You Back Home’ mixed media 30”x63”, 2008
EDWIN USH I R O
‘A Hug So Tight That Air Was Withheld’ mixed media 32”x21”, 2009
‘Rediscovery of the Infinite Stars Inside the Shell’ mixed media 21”x17”, 2009
‘Time Therefore Remained Idle Without Light Extruding Acceptance’ mixed media 64”x42”, 2009
‘I Drift Away Silently if not Lonely for One Who Ventures Through the Heavy Understanding that a Traveler Will Always Travel, and the Ones Who Travel Long Enough Will Realize that You Will End Up at the Point Where You Sarted Discovering’, 2009
S P O T LIGHT Alexandros Vasmoulakis is an artist of grand scale, regularly producing large street murals that are sometimes up to ten stories tall. The predominantly character based work has a unique style of black and white faces with wide eyes, often dynamic bodies and colorful clothing and surroundings. The strong graphic quality of the art stands out as well on the smaller scale of paper as Alexandros translates his work into the gallery setting. The Athens-based artist continues to expanded his horizons after his first US solo exhibition in March 2010.
‘She is Whispering My Name’ ink, acrylic, enamel on canvas 67”49”, 2010
ALEXANDROS VASMOULA K I S
‘Maria I Still Love You’ mural Athens, Greece, 2009
‘Hide From Your Little Brother’s Gun’ ink and acrylic on canvas 63”x55”, 2009
‘No Worries (part 3)’ ink and acrylic on paper 60”x42”, 2009
Untitled (Nobody’s Fool), watercolor on paper, 13x10” 1998
One of the most recognized representatives of Japan’s Neo Pop art movement, Yoshitomo Nara has developed a name based on his manga- and anime-informed depictions of children and animals. While their rotund faces, disproportionately sized eyes, and puerile pouts endear them to viewers, Nara’s figures speak of a profound personal history. In Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool, the artist’s most recent display of over one hundred paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramic pieces and three large-scale installations at New York’s Asia Society, Nara explores his own isolation, independence, and musical motivations to convey his most earnest concerns.
YOSHITOMO
NARA
‘Too Young To Die’ acrylic on cotton mounted on fiber reinforced plastics 70 3/4” , 2001
Nobody’s Fool comprises not only recent
creations, but also those produced by Nara as a fledgling artist in the 1980s. A majority of his early drawings and paintings reflects his feelings as a foreigner in Germany with little prowess for the native language. Searching for a nonverbal form of communication, Nara relied on a basic visual vocabulary, stripping his work of extraneous background material to highlight its focal points. Therein lay the birth of the artist’s familiar iconography—lone children and animals. The artist examines the child’s fear when left alone and the submissive obedience he witnesses in animals, combining the two to generate his signature content of loneliness and fragile innocence. In its section of drawings and paintings from the 1990s,
the exhibition emphasizes the youthful Zeitgeist of rebellion. Words are scrawled on drawings on paper, evoking anger, frustration, ambitions, and invincibility, forming a sort of diary to which the artist repeatedly returns. These ostensibly elementary pieces mirror Nara’s drawing process, in which he sketches on found paper scraps such as used envelopes and invitations. While these phrases range in tone, Nara’s calls to “Love, you’ve gotta love something” and “Pave your own dreams!” maintain the show’s glimmers of optimism. Paintings from this period perpetuate the rage and confusion embodied in the concurrent drawings. Each painting revolves around a common subject: a single child with a fixed gaze, harboring Individual frustration, anger, and confusion that defy articulation.
‘Remember Me’ acrylic on paper, 55” x 55 1/2”, 2005
One of the most consistent influences on Nara’s multidecade, multimedia work is the philosophy of music— originally the do-it-yourself, beginner-friendly ethos of the late-1970s punk rock movement, and later, the mellowed independence of American folk and soul music. In addition to the abstract nouns they portray, Nara’s earliest through most recent works allude to musicians and lyrics advocating for life on one’s own terms, while his installations mimic both the artist’s studio and concert venues. While pieces from the ‘80s to ‘90s exhibit an enraged alienation, Nara’s more recent imagery adopts a subdued, contemplative side of loneliness. His depictions of pensive children and nuanced background coloration are results of a marked change in musical tastes, interest in new audio-visual
relationships, and different set of personal experiences. The exhibition’s title derives directly from American singersongwriter Dan Penn’s1973 Southern soul album. Penn, who believes his reclusive tendencies strengthen his creativity and independence, embodies the individualism Nara reveres. Accordingly, Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool conjoins musical philosophy with the positive and negative components of autonomy, turning works of art into a living visual biography and bringing the viewer nearer than ever to Nara’s internal world.
‘Pale Mountain Dog’ acrylic on canvas, 50” x 80”, 2000
s e o n na HONG’s
‘The Corrective Effects of a Brushfire’ mixed media on paper 7”x7”, 2009
V I S C E R A L P L AY g r ound by Amanda Erlanson
Seonna Hong paints an internal landscape populated by little girls in pretty dresses who have been left to their own devices – to explore, strive, listen and learn. Though her sharply rendered figures with a vintage animation sensibility remain a constant, her dreamlike environments have evolved rapidly, from bleak, engulfing concrete cityscapes, to expressionistic forests and grasslands, to imposing geometric abstractions. A skilled figurative painter, Seonna took a detour into the world of animation in 1999 and emerged with an Emmy for My Life As a Teenage Robot and a unique aesthetic that proved ideal for expressing her introspections and perceptions. Though the demands for her talents from the world of animation and fine art are ongoing, she was kind enough to take a little time out for some personal reflection. Tell me a little about your experience of growing up in Southern California. I know there was an appreciation for aesthetics in your family – your father is an architect, your grandfather was a calligrapher, and your mother recognized and nurtured your artistic instincts when you were a girl. What sorts of things did you like to draw when you were young? Was there a moment in childhood that felt like an artistic blossoming or turning point? I drew lots and lots of girls. Girls in several outfit changes, costumes, disguises. Girls with several choices of hair-do. Girls before and after plastic surgery. I think the turning point for me was not the kind of drawings I would do, but the validation I started to get for it. I began to realize that art was something that gave me a lot of satisfaction – and after winning a couple grocery store coloring contests, something that could be a viable career choice. Seriously. It also served as a bridge with my peers... going from Strawberry Shortcake drawings for classmates in elementary school, to Glenn Danzig drawings for the football players in high school. Do you think there were particular illustrations or other images you saw at an early age that may have shaped your aesthetic?
Hello Kitty, for sure. You’ve attributed a lot of your artistic development to being “left to your own devices to entertain yourself” as a child – being allowed to be bored – and believe that these days, American children are so scheduled, occupied and indulged that there is little room in their lives for real boredom, which could limit their impulse toward creativity. The girls in your paintings exist independently, making their own entertainment from the tools at hand. It’s almost as if adults don’t exist in their world. Do you have a certain nostalgia for the peculiar obsessions and inventions of a solitary childhood? Ha! That’s a great way of putting it. “The peculiar obsessions and inventions of a solitary childhood...” Yes. I believe that those feelings are deeply entrenched in my core. That time before I could be fully independent felt like I was in a holding pattern... waiting for life to begin. It’s funny, because now, as an adult with more demands on my time and energy, I retreat to that place... that weird kind of purgatory... for solace and my true self. Many of your paintings contain ominous figures – ravens,
‘Coinciding Co-conspirators’ mixed media on paper 11”x16”, 2008
I think there is this version of ourselves that on the outside is an imprint of our true or actual selves, but not completely. At least that’s true for me.
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bears and horses – which the little girls interact with in different ways. I’ve read that these dark figures represent our “actual selves.” Could you tell me a little more about that? I think there is this version of ourselves that on the outside is an imprint of our true or actual selves, but not completely. At least that’s true for me. There are thoughts and feelings that reside in me that are only for those I feel close to... or my therapist... or mine alone. It’s not that I’m not an authentic person in my daily life, it’s that the most vulnerable sides of me are well-protected. Socialization, cultural influences and a healthy dose of fear make me hold my cards pretty close to my chest. I also believe that the way we see the world and ourselves in it is of our own making. That memory and experience, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. My favorite of your paintings is “This Weight is a Gift,” for the way its simplicity and subtle tones contrast with its dimensional audacity and emotional intensity. Is there a particular painting that stands out for you as an achievement, or has personal resonance that makes it especially meaningful? Thank you for remarking so thoughtfully on “This Weight is a Gift.” It means a lot that something with so much personal meaning can reach out and find meaning to someone else. My work over the years has taken an autobiographical turn, so they all have some personal resonance.
a “sense memory” with music, where I can associate a song or an album to a certain time in my life, to a certain person, to a certain heartbreak. It fills in that memory more than words on a page or a photograph can... it has a visceral impact. Hence the name of my last show. A play on words – “visceral” and “misery.” You were an artist long before you began painting backgrounds for animated shows like My Life As a Teenage Robot and Teacher’s Pet. How do you think your immersion in the animation world has changed your work? My work in animation has shaped my work and the way in which I work. The aesthetic has certainly influenced me, as well as my heavy lean on the narrative. My discipline has changed as a result of having to work in a production environment. I’m lucky, because I used to paint every day – now as an art director, the scope of my duties are a little wider – but it helped me figure things out with color theory... design... and as someone important once told me, it gave me a lot of “paint mileage.” I could then take all that new knowledge and experience and apply it to my personal work. It also afforded me greater compartmentalization of my work. There was the commercial world in which I could paint all the time, work collaboratively with other artists... and in so doing, learn to take my ego out of the equation. Then in my personal work, it could truly be personal.
In your recent show “Viscery Loves Company,” there is a recurring musical motif – in five of the paintings, the girls are either creating or listening to music. What does this theme signify for you?
As your style has evolved, you’ve achieved an intriguing juxtaposition of highly finished figures and textile patterns and raw, expressionistic environments. What inspired you to strike this difficult balance between background and foreground?
Music is a huge influence in my life. It provides the soundtrack for everything I do... intentional or not. I’ve developed sort of
The juxtaposition is probably from the slightly schizophrenic amount of artistic influences in my life. I started out
as a figurative oil painter when I left college... loving expressionistic and painterly environments and mixed color... moving on to animation, where stylized flatness and graphics came into the mix... and all along the way loving textiles, fashion, patterns and trying to figure out ways to incorporate that into my work, too. I’d put in my photography and ceramics too, if they were any good. A few years ago, your work caught Takashi Murakami’s attention, and he invited you to be the first American artist to show at his Kaikai Kiki Gallery in Tokyo. How has being associated with the Superflat movement changed your life as an artist? Meeting and working with Takashi Murakami has elevated the way I think about making art. Along with being hugely influential in contemporary art, he is a huge supporter of the arts and artists like me, and his generosity and support is awe-inspiring. His conversations with me challenged me to take a huge step in scope and scale with my work. You share a studio space in Eagle Rock with Souther Salazar, Megan Whitmarsh, Carlos Ramos, Mark Todd, Esther Pearl Watson and Martha Rich. How do you think interacting with other artists in the studio every day influences your approach to your work? Unfortunately, I don’t get to be in the studio every day with these wonderfully talented artists, but when I am, it’s a great environment to bounce ideas off each other, chat about our kids... music... food. Even when we’re working away and not talking, there’s a beautiful energy in the air... it’s hard to explain... but it’s hugely inspiring. I also get to work around a lot of amazing artists in animation, so I’m lucky to be around that all the time. In some ways, the girls in your recent paintings
remind me of outsider artist Henry Darger’s Vivian Girls – culture-coded emblems of innocence forced by the evils of the world into a fight for survival. While your girls aren’t warriors, they live independently in a perilous world, surrounded by mysterious forces which can be exciting and interesting, but sometimes leave them feeling overwhelmed or even frightened. Do you consider Darger to be an influence? I didn’t know of Darger’s work until a few years ago, but when I discovered it, I felt a kinship more than a source of influence. I would have liked to have known him or watched him work, and can imagine that I would be hugely inspired by that. His skewed idea of what girls looked like – with their penises – is relatable in what I was saying before... that our reality may not be reality at all, but a perception of it. If you could hang just one classic painting from history on the wall of your studio, what would it be? One of Francis Bacon’s triptychs. Hopes, dreams, plans for the future? I’m looking forward to making new work... and thinking deliberately and thoughtfully about where I want to show it next. I haven’t shown in Los Angeles in four years. I’d like to show here again soon.
‘Dreamless Sleep’ acrylic on nand dyed linen 36”x28”, 2009
‘Wolf Creek Lake’ mixed media on paint sample card 4”x7”, 2009
‘American Black Bear’ mixed media on paint sample card 4”x7”, 2009
‘Our Folded Feather Friends’ mixed media on paper 11”x16”, 2009
COMING | 2nd Quarter 2011
INTERVIEW | German Street Art duo Herakut
INTERVIEW | LA Based artist and rock star Morgan Slade
SPOTLIGHTS | San Francisco’s Superfrog Gallery and The Affordable Art Fairs
WALLS | New York’s Lower East Side
Vol. 01 | 1st Qua r t e r 2 0 1 1
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