Category: Photos

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Armsrock and Imminent Disaster: Refuge

Last night, Armsrock and Imminent Disaster opened Refuge, their two-person show at Thinkspace, and Seth and I went along to check it out. I’d been looking forward to this show for some time, and although the installation and overall presentation didn’t flow quite as well as I was expecting it to, I thought there were a number of fantastic individual pieces. I particularly liked Armsrock’s small drawings and large charcoal and graphite works on paper. It’s always so wonderful to see his work in person; the immense power of them doesn’t always come across online.

Across the room from Armsrock, I felt that Imminent Disaster’s piece, “Crossing The River”, needed a bit more breathing room than it was able to have in the gallery (it’s 96 x 108 x 120 in – gigantic!), while Seth admired her wall of smaller works.

My favorite part of the artists’ installation was their piece in the gallery’s front window – I like the minimal play with bright colors amidst their characteristic use of black and white.

Both Armsrock and Imminent Disaster are important voices in the street scene so I urge everyone in LA to visit Refuge while it’s on view, particularly because it’s Thinkspace’s last show in Silverlake before relocating to Culver City next month! They’re going to be on the same street (Washington Blvd) as us (Carmichael Gallery) soon!

– Elisa

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The Armory Show

When I was in New York last week prepping for Re-Creation II, I managed to slip out for a couple hours and run over to the Armory, which was only a few blocks away. I saw quite a few pieces that I liked, although there wasn’t too much by artists related to the street art scene. Highlights included the Barry McGee clusters at Roberts & Tilton and Ratio 3 (former above, latter below) and the fun Keith Haring at Galerie Michael Scultz. Overall, I felt the fair was a bit overwhelming in its size, but I still really enjoyed it. There was a great crowd, flow and energy – all very positive signs for the art market.

– Elisa

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Collaboration between Hrag Vartanian and Gaia

The germ of this particular collaborative project (full PDF of the essay here) between Hrag Vartanian and I, began a little under two years ago when someone on flickr called a fake New Yorker article to my attention that had been pasted up on N7th and Bedford in the epicenter of Williamsburg. Entitled “Canal Street Swoons”, the scathing feature was pasted abutting a piece that I had committed to the streets entitled Rachel and the Wolves. While the anonymous author was particularly trenchant in its tone regarding my and Elbowtoe’s work in comparison to Swoon, I was excited that my pieces had engendered such a vehement reaction within somebody that they wrote, designed and pasted their own essay on the street.

Often, artwork in the gallery space is contextualized and its full scope realized by a supplementary text that provides the insightful background material and motivation for the piece. These auxiliary words help to complete the work and neatly establish the piece as apart of a larger narrative. Alternatively, what is so intriguing about street art is that it exists within the space that it occupies more autonomously and mysteriously. There is no description of materials employed or sources referenced; there is rarely even an associated name or moniker present. Such a floating image without any support gives the work an enigmatic character that is intriguing but simultaneously opaque.

This collaboration attempts to bridge that gap between the viewer and the art’s broader situation by producing more points of access into the work. The adjacent text fills in the art historical gaps and suggests at the intention behind the seemingly ambiguous figure. Furthermore, it extends the physical conversation on the street by demonstrating another form of interaction with the environment. Personally, this is an exciting moment because I am hopeful that it will spur more street art criticism that will exist physically alongside its subject.

For a more extensive explanation of the piece, check out Hrag’s writeup on Hyperallergic. More photos after the jump

-Gaia

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D*face goes to Hollywood

Well the Oscars were Sunday night, and two good things came out of them: 1. Avatar didn’t win best picture, and 2. D*Face put some new statues in LA. D*Face made two 7-foot tall modified Oscars and put one outside of Mel’s Drive-In and the other in Runyon Canyon Park.

Personally, I think the giant Oscars are a bit much, but I love this regular-sized one. D*face aught to send them to all the actual Oscar winners.

These awesome photos of D*face’s studio are by Viktor Vauthier

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Mushrooms in Shoreditch

These mushrooms have been popping up in Shoreditch recently. No idea who is doing it. They look kind of odd, but I will give the artist or artists credit for awesome placement.

Photos by unusualimage

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Pics: Ellis and Lange in Times Square

David Ellis with his sculpture

The latest David Ellis / Roberto Lange trash sculpture has been placed in Times Square (thanks to Anonymous Gallery and Times Square Arts), and will be there through March 8th. Here are a few photos. Videos should be coming soon. That’s when the sculpture will really make sense, since it’s actually a sort of robotic music machine disguised as a pile of rubbish.

The only downside to this piece is that it has to be surrounded by that fence and a sign that reminds people that they are looking at a piece of art. I wish there was some way they could just leave the piece unmarked and film people’s reactions. Then again, these piles of trash retail for up to $50,000 so that might not be the most financially sound idea…