This year, 2012, marked a gorgeous update to the Venice Art Walk, as the AUCTION portion of the event was now hosted in Google’s bright headquarters on Main Street. And as soon as you walked around to the back of the building where the entrance to the exhibition was, [read more...]]]>

This year, 2012, marked a gorgeous update to the Venice Art Walk, as the AUCTION portion of the event was now hosted in Google’s bright headquarters on Main Street. And as soon as you walked around to the back of the building where the entrance to the exhibition was, you got to see Aaron Axelrod painting a magnificent canvass while listening to the sounds of a rad DJ. Then, once inside, you walked past a hallway and two gigantic rooms full of beautiful pieces — in fact, possibly the most beautiful pieces to have ever been featured in the auction since it’s inception many years ago. Prints and originals by artists as diverse and talented as Robbie Conal, Gregory Siff, Allie Pohl, Jon Bernad, Jules Muck, and Isabelle Alford-Lago were up for grabs with the money going directly to the Venice Family Clinic. And as if that wasn’t enough, a brilliant sculpture garden topped it all off featuring Alex Andre’s portable version of METAMORPHOSIS — an interactive sculpture that blends two friend’s faces into one. The team who organized the artwork for the auction deserves a huge round of applause and although it wasn’t a competition this weekend between the Venice Art Walk and the Beverly Hills Art Walk [which were going on at the same time], I can safely say. without-a-doubt, that the Venice Art Walk not only won, but lapped it’s opposition several times.

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VENICE ART WALK – http://theveniceartwalk.org/

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On the second day of the Los Angeles Music Video Festival, three directors were invited to pitch their ideas to a band in front of a live audience. They each had three minutes to talk and all of them had uniquely different concepts for the song. The first pitch [read more...]]]>

On the second day of the Los Angeles Music Video Festival, three directors were invited to pitch their ideas to a band in front of a live audience. They each had three minutes to talk and all of them had uniquely different concepts for the song. The first pitch by Mat Stone [not the South Park creator] involved animated cat .gifs and fedoras, which was followed by a directorial team who wanted to produce a short involving old people in a retirement home. However, the last contestant really blew everyone out of the water by presenting his hilarious storyboards that involved a girl getting into a stranger’s car and then eventually finding herself in a spaceship. The band, Seventeen Evergreen, chose the winner at the end of the night and without surprise it went to the last presenter.

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LOS ANGELES MUSIC VIDEO FESTIVAL – http://lamvf.com/

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At the end of the 90′s there was a really weird film named JAWBREAKER about a couple of girls who kidnap one of their friends and gag her with a giant hard candy of the same name. Unfortunately, the girl dies and then then a technicolor adventure to try [read more...]]]>

At the end of the 90′s there was a really weird film named JAWBREAKER about a couple of girls who kidnap one of their friends and gag her with a giant hard candy of the same name. Unfortunately, the girl dies and then then a technicolor adventure to try and cover it up ensues. Anyways, I was instantly reminded of the film when the artist at SEE LINE GALLERY’s April/May exhibit included a jawbreaker gag hanging off of one of her sculptures. And since the whole show has to do with innocence, sex, and play I figured it must’ve been a reference to the cult classic. The rest of the show includes photocopies of hands, mirrors facing the ceiling, and even sand on the floor.

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 SEE LINE GALLERY – http://seelinegallery.com/

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JAUS is a beautiful artist-run gallery located on a residential street in West LA. And for their last exhibit, co-owner Chris Tallon curated a group of 6 like-minded artists whose actions were based more on impulse then rationality. The work was on display for two months and all sat [read more...]]]>

JAUS is a beautiful artist-run gallery located on a residential street in West LA. And for their last exhibit, co-owner Chris Tallon curated a group of 6 like-minded artists whose actions were based more on impulse then rationality. The work was on display for two months and all sat nicely with each other in the space. Also, while some of the artists were in the midst of their MFA’s, others had long since graduated. So, it was all about the work itself rather than the artists’ pedigrees.

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JAUS - http://www.jausart.com

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Over 30 artists came together to auction off their work in an effort to help David Castleman pay his medical bills due to a recent bout with Cancer. And they all brought their A-game with them. So, a diverse array of original art lined the walls of the Keystone [read more...]]]>

Over 30 artists came together to auction off their work in an effort to help David Castleman pay his medical bills due to a recent bout with Cancer. And they all brought their A-game with them. So, a diverse array of original art lined the walls of the Keystone Fine Art Studios — ranging from metal sculptures to a hand-painted drum head for the band GWAR. There were even a couple of micro-installation pieces you could bid on silently, including an incredible peephole into outer space. Thank you to Mary Mathe for letting us know about this wonderful exhibit and if you’d like to donate to the cause, please click the link below.

David Yow

Bob Gorman

Mary Mathe

Itaru De La Vega

Michael Uhlenkott

Matt Jones

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DAVID CASTLEMAN CANCER FUND - http://www.giveforward.com/helpsupportdavidcastlemancancersurvival

KEYSTONE FINE ART STUDIO - http://keystoneartspace.com

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DRKRM knows what’s up when it comes to incredible photography exhibits. I mean, there seriously hasn’t ever been a bad or uninteresting piece in any one of their shows. And Steven Rubin’s VACTIONLAND is no exception to that statement. The photographer showcased a body of work he took while [read more...]]]>

DRKRM knows what’s up when it comes to incredible photography exhibits. I mean, there seriously hasn’t ever been a bad or uninteresting piece in any one of their shows. And Steven Rubin’s VACTIONLAND is no exception to that statement. The photographer showcased a body of work he took while hitchhiking around Maine in the early 1980s. Where, through his lens, he managed to capture blue collar life in a most elegant way. So, I highly suggest you check out the link below to read Steven’s artistic statement about his journey while taking the photographs. And I think what draws me to his work more than anything is that he’s able to make his subjects look so glamorous, even though you can see that they’ve led extremely rough lives by the lines in their faces and their leathered hands.

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 DRKRM – http://drkrm.com/

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THE SMELL is the best place to see underground and experimental music in Los Angeles. And their show on May 5th, PYSCHO DE MAYO!!!, only further proved that point.

By the time we arrived at the venue, the second to last ensemble was already midway through their set. They [read more...]]]>

THE SMELL is the best place to see underground and experimental music in Los Angeles. And their show on May 5th, PYSCHO DE MAYO!!!, only further proved that point.

By the time we arrived at the venue, the second to last ensemble was already midway through their set. They were three performers standing onstage wearing gas-masks with a ballistic piece of glass in front of them and a camera pointed towards it. The group created a sound that reminded me of what monsters would tickle and howl if they were real. And I kept wondering what the gas masks were all about, when all of a sudden one of the musicians whipped out a fire extinguisher and sprayed it to the beat of their soundscape surrounding the room.

My mind was already blown by that point and then they blew it up again when they unleashed industrial spools of bubble wrap into the audience. The crowd raced towards the plastic and basked in the glory of popping each one while one of the members onstage literally played his jacket as a musical instrument.

They ended their set by taking what was either a giant radish or potato and smashing it into a little cup that was mic’d. When the music came to a full stop they handed the vegetable to an audience member, who gleefully took a giant bite out of it and then handed it to his friend who did the same. I mean, I don’t think you see shit like that at the Hollywood Bowl. Viva La Smell.

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 THE SMELL – http://www.thesmell.org/

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Trace Mendoza’s multi-piece painting at ART CUBE in Laguna Beach is a stunner. He’s incorporated everything from traditional painting techniques to modern wheat-pasting in his panels, which brings a fresh feeling to the spirit of contemporary art.  The work, titled ”Save the Monsters from the Children”, is actually Mendoza’s reinterpretation [read more...]]]>

Trace Mendoza’s multi-piece painting at ART CUBE in Laguna Beach is a stunner. He’s incorporated everything from traditional painting techniques to modern wheat-pasting in his panels, which brings a fresh feeling to the spirit of contemporary art.  The work, titled ”Save the Monsters from the Children”, is actually Mendoza’s reinterpretation of a chair that’s made up of scrap furniture parts. And you can check out his meaning behind the painting on his website that he also updates with pages from his sketchbook. It’s because of art like this, that the hour plus drive to Laguna Beach from Los Angeles is well worth the traffic. Especially, now that ART CUBE has their eye on progressive emerging talent like Mendoza.

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 TRACE MENDOZA – http://WWW.TRACEMENDOZA.COM/

ART CUBE – http://www.artcubegallery.com/

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Every year, BRITWEEK puts on a celebration of British contributions to California. The event spans across multiple fields, from fine dining to fine art.  And so, Cod Save The Queen, a delicious fish n’ chips truck made an appearance at the special BRITWEEK opening of Marine Contemporary’s exhibit On The Horizon: [read more...]]]>

Every year, BRITWEEK puts on a celebration of British contributions to California. The event spans across multiple fields, from fine dining to fine art.  And so, Cod Save The Queen, a delicious fish n’ chips truck made an appearance at the special BRITWEEK opening of Marine Contemporary’s exhibit On The Horizon: New Generation British Painters. The work in the show however, was definitely way more tasty than the fries and cloudy lemonades, and if you tasted how yummy the food was, you know that’s saying a lot!!!

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 MARINE CONTEMPORARY: http://www.marinecontemporary.com

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L.A. HandPrints is a project initiated by students in the MFA Arts Journalism program at USC to showcase the history and future of printmaking in the city of angels. And to celebrate their launch, they curated an exhibit of prints at Home Room Gallery. The artists in the show [read more...]]]>

L.A. HandPrints is a project initiated by students in the MFA Arts Journalism program at USC to showcase the history and future of printmaking in the city of angels. And to celebrate their launch, they curated an exhibit of prints at Home Room Gallery. The artists in the show utilized everything from screens to woodblocks in order to make their work. Plus, attendees could vote on their favorite piece, which would be given out at a demonstration they were doing later on in the week. If you’d like to get involved with their organization, or even submit your work, please check the link below.

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L.A. HandPrints:  http://lahandprints.org/

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