The Dark Lining is a collection of seven video installations created by the artist and filmmaker between 1999 and the present. The highlight of the exhibit is the final room of the gallery where two very large video collages are projected on opposite walls and in 3D.  Evolution (Megaplex) is a new work depicting the history of mankind and the 2008 Civilization (Megaplex) takes you on a trip through the afterlife. Both use images from hundreds of film clips and are a feast for the eyes. You might find yourself analyzing the symbolism, thinking about the history of the universe and discussing all things religious and apocalyptic. Whatever the case, I bet you’ll end up playing the same game my friends and I did, which is trying to name every last movie that provided the featured images.

The Dark Lining by Marco Brambilla runs through August 20, 2011 at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, which is located in Bergamot Station at 2525 Michigan Avenue in Santa Monica. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11am to 6pm. Suggested donation is $5, parking is free.

Meet Evan Cook, the Monrovia Association of Fine Art’s Student Artist of the Year.  I have to admit the funnest part of being in MAFA is to find young talent and help recognize them and foster their interest in creating art.  Watching Evan grow into his art the last few years has been fun and certainly he has grown tremendously under the mentoring of his teacher at MHS, Sal Perez, and his employer Lisa Barrios of the Paint n Play Art Studio and Gallery.  At Paint n Play Evan both shows his work and gives lessons on the potters wheel and ceramics.

More about him in the Fine Art Trekkin’ Monrovia blog post by Ginger Van Hook.  (She also made this interview video with Evan).

Evan will receive his award at tonight’s Acknowledge the Arts event.  This event is MAFA’s fund raiser for the year.  Also receiving awards tonight is Clarence Shaw – Renaissance Award, Doug Gordon – Heart in the Arts Award.  Clarence is a City Council Member that supports programs that help bring art to the community and schools.  Doug Gordon receives his award for all he does to keep MAFA up and running during the course of the year, especially his long hours in keeping our web site up and running.

If you have any interest in attending you can save yourself a few bucks by purchasing your tickets in advance at the MAFA web site.  They cost $35 in advance or $50 at the door.  That includes munchies, beer, wine and “artinis”.

Details: Acknowledge the Arts, 7-10PM Krikorian Theater, 410 S Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia CA 91016

Disclosure…if you have forgotten I serve as Veep and am on the board of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts.

Experience a live visual music sensation on Friday, April 22nd courtesy of The USC School of Cinematic Arts and Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative for FREE! Rhythms+Visions-Expanded+Live! is an exciting outdoor event with performances spanning animation, experimental documentary, social commentary and abstract visual music. UK audiovisual collective D-Fuse and Los Angeles artist Scott Pagano will perform live. Additionally, giant 3-D stereoscopic animations will be projected onto the building facade, interacting with the audience and the architecture. 3-D glasses will be provided.

Rhythms+Visions-Expanded+Live! is this Friday, April 22nd from 7:30-11pm at the USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex. Admission is Free. A lively panel discussion will follow the performances. Facebook event page here.

Image from the DubLab

So what are you doing after the upcoming Grilled Cheese Invitational? Why you’re heading downtown to party at the Natural History Museum, duh!

This Saturday, Cinefamily and Cinespia are hosting a FREE ADMISSION museum-wide party at the Natural History Museum, presented as the closing event to the “Art In The Streets” film retrospective. First, they’re showing Cave of Forgotten Dreams directed by Werner Herzog at 5:30pm. (the film-rsvp list is already closed, but there will be some seats held for the standby line) Also, the Herzog Q&A will be projected live in the Museum’s Whale Room at approximately 7PM, for those who are unable to get into the screening. Once the movie is over, then the party starts!

At 8PM, the doors open and guests are invited to wander the Museum’s exhibit halls for FREE! There will be live bands, DJs spinning, food trucks, cash bar & an art installation by Mastodon Mesa.

Live Music Schedule

On the Fin Whale Passage stage:
Live performances by Nite Jewel, Islands, White Magic and Matt Baldwin starting at 8:30pm.

In the African Mammal Hall:
DJs Dntel (aka Jimmy Tamborello of The Postal Service), David Holmes and Carlos Nino will spin records starting at 5pm.

In the Gems & Mineral Hall:
DJ collective Dublab will also host a second set of live performances starting at 5pm.

This whole event is generously sponsored by: First Fridays at The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, in association with History Films, Sundance Selects, Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, Dublab

cave of forgotten dreams: herzog premiere & museum-wide party
Saturday, April 23rd
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA, 90007
5:00-11:00pm
Admission: FREE

At The Cheese store of Silver Lake. I know how he feels…

You’ll enjoy your evening of lovely fire dancers, disturbing clowns, stunning aerialists, music and burlesque, chez bLA and Goldenvoice (thanks guys!).

To win: Tell me, in the comments, which sideshow attraction you would be if you had to be in a traveling circus. Would you be the bearded lady? The giant? The knife thrower? The fortune-teller? Let a girl know! We’ll randomly pick one lucky winner to go.

You can buy tickets here.

Photo by Brion Topolski.

Lisa Barrios helps customer with making baby's first foot print in clay.

Lisa Barrio’s owner of Paint “n” Play Studio and Gallery in Monrovia is just the kind of small business typified by the article done this morning by Julia. “PnP” as it is affectionately referred to here in Monrovia, is a small business centered on art you create yourself. It is much more than a small business, it is also a gathering point for many in the community for a variety of reasons, chief which is the personal touch you get from Lisa when you do business with her.

Small Business Saturday is a big deal here in Old Town Monrovia and for Lisa as well. She has a special deal in place for Saturday only, $5 of any Holiday item you purchase, or make including the treasured by many “legacy prints”. (Get a coupon HERE).

According to Barrios she is happy to see Small Business Saturday getting attention for many reasons.

“It is the small business that gives most back to the community it serves. They are the first ones asked to help by non-profits and charities for donations as they know a small business has a heart and doesn’t have the red tape and ‘rig-a-ma-role hoops’ to jump through that a large corporation does”.

A legacy print is a hand print in clay done of a loved ones hand (or foot in the case of infants) into unfired clay then it is fired,  painted and decorated with the help of the PnP staff. These treasures are permanent and can be passed down for generations to come.

Completed "Legacy Prints"

Details: Paint “n”Play 2 Art Studio and Gallery, 418 S Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia CA 91016 626/256-4848  Web Site HERE

For those of you who haven’t seen his work the opening image is one of his taken of the city during a wild fire in Griffith Park.  His subject matter ranges from the grand skylines to the simple folk that inhabit downtown.  Each image in my not so humble opinion is enough to stop you in your tracks and draw you in.  He works in both traditional imagery as well as High Dynamic Range so you will see quite a range of super real to the surreal in his work.  You can get a better sample of his work at his web site HERE.

DEETS: Opening Reception Nov 12, 2010.  Additional reception Nov 27 and Dec 11, 6-9PM.  Indigo Gallery, 558 W. 2nd Street, Pomona CA.  MAP HERE.

Click the image to embiggen.  Image courtesy of Dave Bullock and used with his permission.

Traffic and parking can be tough at this event. According to artist Ginger Van Hook this year the city, thanks to Mayor Daniel Tabor, is providing two buses per day to bring people over to all of the studios.

The following is an alphabetical list of participating artists for the 2010 Inglewood Open Studios Tour:  Elliot Agnew, Alex Becerra, Kavin Buck, Ericka Chapman, Anne Cheek La Rose, Claire Cregan, Noelle Cross, W. Don Flores, Edward Ewell, Renée A. Fox, Todd Gray, Holly Harrie, Paul Harrie, Ken Hurbert, Michelle Johnson, Andrew Karl, Sharon Levy, Michael Massenburg, Elizabeth Mauceli, Gale McCall, Daniel Mendel-Black, Chris Mercier, Julia Montgomery, Kenneth Ober, Kour Pour, , Joan Robey, Kyungmi Shin, Dustin Shuler, Stanley Smith, Johnathan Stofenmacher, Cindy Suriyani, Holly Tempo, Corey Thering, Albert Valdez, Ginger Van Hook, Luke Van Hook, MonaLisa Whitaker, Joey Wolf.

click to embiggen

Thanks to artist Ginger Van Hook for the tip on this weekends event and providing me with the  graphics used in this post.

2009 Snap to Grid Show at LACDA

The Art Walk lives.  The gallery’s open their doors and host opening night receptions in conjunction with the Downtown LA Art Walks.   One of the do not miss openings is the “Snap to Grid” at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA).

What makes this show different is that it is not a “juried” show, rather it takes all submissions and gives you a wonderful snapshot of the depth and breadth of digital art and digital photography as it stands today.  I love the unstructured format.  I absolutely am amazed at how some images can just stop you in your tracks and keep you there mesmerized.  From the LACDA press release”

Every year for 50 years the L.A. Municipal Gallery has held its “Open Call” exhibit where any artist can show up with their art and an entry fee (to benefit gallery programs) and the piece is shown. The Los Angeles Center For Digital Art decided to launch an international experiment of the same nature where the artists upload images that are printed and hung by the gallery. The hundreds of works are displayed in a grid like installation (reminiscent of postcard art shows of the 1980′s) where every work submitted is exhibited.

The usual (less than democratic) selection process where only the precious few are chosen is turned on its head in a curatorial anarchy where everyone gets to participate and the viewer is literally left to be the judge. The show represents a snapshot of a current moment in art history when digital imaging has reached the hands of the many, an age where culture belongs to the “mobblogers” around the globe. From Thailand to Texas, amateur to academic, beautiful to banal and beyond the monumental quantity and variety of “Snap to Grid” becomes an aesthetic experience where each individual piece adds to an agglomerate effect that has a life of its own.

Based on the crowds at last months Art Walk I’d suggest you arrive early as parking is at a premium and pretty much disappeared by 7PM. If you are mass transit enabled that is likely your better option for getting downtown for the Art Walk and the LACDA Snap to Grid reception.

Details: November 11-December 4, 2010. Opening Reception Thursday November 11 , 7-9pm (in conjunction with the Downtown Art Walk)
Los Angeles Center for Digital Art 107 West Fifth Street Los Angeles, CA 90013