A relaxing night has been long overdue for me. I always think that I'm going to have one, but my mind starts racing with all the things I have to do and it never happens. An ideal night would be in front of the television watching one of the many DVDs I've bought for a night like that. It's quite a laundry list of titles, by the way. Last night, I attempted relaxation and realized that I didn't want to watch any of those movies I had. So I went to Second Spin in search of yet another one. I was unsuccessful and ended up buying music instead. Yes, you are seeing R. Kelly's 12 Play album. Blame it on nostalgia. Also picked up were John Legend and Robin Thicke's new ones. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for R&B. Oh and BEP's "Bridging the Gap" also known as tracks pre-Fergie. Second Spin is close to Borders and I've been looking for Swindle's Icon issue since it was released, so I checked up on it. They didn't have it, and thus settled for Juxtapoz. They published an amazing spread on African art - a world that I knew nothing about. They profiled around 20 artists originating from different parts of the continent. Those featured shared a commonality; they struggle with concepts of identity and discovery and use art to portray the battle. Photographs depict the harsh reality of Africa's political and social paradigms, paintings express the imagery of assimilation, oppression, immigration, and the art installations celebrate African culture, from traditional weaving to modern craft making. It was all pretty moving and much better than being a couch potato.
I've been writing more in my posts lately... Last January, the team went to the Merry Karnowsky gallery to check out Shepard Fairey's exhibit called "Imperfect Union". In true Shepard fashion, the exhibit was impressive. It was so impressive that I bought his book called 'E Pluribus Venom', meaning 'out of many, poison', that featured the work I saw at the gallery. It was slated to release in March, but Gingko Press decided to screw up everyone's reading schedule. Then late last week, I was notified that it was on its way. Last night, it was delivered.
Last weekend, we visited the Downtown LA neighborhood to check out Futura's Strategic Synchronicity show happening at the Phantom Gallery. Exhibiting over 35 pieces of his newest work (the art was 5 weeks old at the most), the New York based artist was--as always--pioneering. The reason why I've always followed his work is because he's diverted from the norm. While most 'bombers' focus on lettering and some graphic pieces here and there, his approach is much more abstract. At Strategic Synchronicity it was obvious with the combination of dripping paint, fine aerosol strokes, and airbrushes. Though the classic image of the pointman was there, the new images took the cake.
In June, I posted about the Mr. Brainwash art show that went off in Hollywood for a brief weekend. The Chicharon Adventures team and I went for the opening but we weren't part of the lucky 200 to go home with a free signed print. Until Mr. Brainwash welcomed the waiting crowd and offered to create more prints; it would just take some time. Last week we were informed that it was ready for pick up. So we hit up Hollywood, and to our surprise, new pieces were installed.
Two photo exhibits going on in LA: For the first time in the West Coast, photographs by the influential Andy Warhol are on exhibit at The Michael Kohn Gallery. Over 200 black and white photos--taken in the last 11 years of his life--are on display, each providing insight into the creative process of one of the 20th Century's most important artists. It goes on til August 22.