No Image Nation in LA

There is no art in our fair land of Los Angeles at the close of the year. Openings are neatly spaced around the holidays and the LA Times adds to our cultural desertion with hardly a line about visual arts. This is movie weather with the award season just around the corner so articles and features about movies and television offerings dominate.

            But there is a resistance movement. The meetings take place in studios and homes in groups of two or three or four couples. Subversion abounds in activities, conversation and food. Gift giving takes a stab at convention with handmade items and even books (!). Food is irreverently prepared in respect to traditional holiday offerings. A turkey or ham just won't do for these malcontents.

                Art is a lonely career. Remember the disappointment and confusion on your parent’s faces when you told them of your decision? Artists in need of companionship seek out other artists and the holidays are a bad time to be alone. I say fie to holiday mediocracies and mild expectations! Revel in your differentness with comrades-in-paintbrushes! What is needed in our media capitol of a city is our own public recognition and display!

Until then I hope all of us can enjoy our seasons meetings.

LA Dystopialand

Food, shelter, transportation. Necessities for life in Los Angeles. The problem is Ralph's, Vons, Safeway, even Jons does their darndest to suck the life out of the shopping experience as they maximize profits. The search for good produce rivals an old time safari for thrills and danger. That may be extreme, but the search for good veggies at a good price has led me to explore some interesting places.

Tops on my list is the Korean supermarket. You can find them all over LA these days but I like making the trek to Koreatown to enjoy the whole out of LA experience. The immersion is total once you enter one of these emporiums. Built to provide an immigrant community products and services from home they also provide a glimpse into crucial wants of the customers. Most of the products sold are available here in one form or another. Even Kimchees and noodle products are made here. It's the reassurance of home that these stores provide that is more significant.

Maybe the collar butts in Korea are more shouldery than what can be found here. The type of cut and its preparation is the important point. Food prepared like mom's mom used to make. Qualities from the old country that are worth celebrating- a validation for people far from where they grew up.

The fact that cucumbers need to be pickled before wearing that name is of little concern in the face of simply having cukes from home. The food grown and processed here does not taste like home. It gets close, but not exact. I've been to Korea and tried the cuisine- excellent, I must say. I have Korean food here nearly every other day, not just my wife's (an excellent cook) but from all possible sources. Also good, but just not the same. I went to Argentina in July and the food there (again excellent) was not the same as the food I grew up with. The point is that these markets- every ethnic community has their own- provide a connection, a reassurance that what they experienced during their impressionable times is still somewhere they can access. For some, a memory is enough. For others, it itches at them until they feel they have to do something, either visit the homeland and embrace it or separate themselves and negate the experience.

Mini water melon is the literal translation for the Korean spelling. These are not miniature melons made of water, but the Japanese translation is correct. Culture determines not just what we consume, but how we consume it. The significance of one fruit over another has layered meanings for some, for others, its just something to eat.

Jumbled spellings aside, The exotic grocery shopping experience can enlighten or just as easily benumb the participant. The strange foods with equally strange packaging, the frustratingly small portions, odd terminology- they all reveal an inherent need for connections.

Pot Plethora

This evening was the reception for Peter Shire's yearly holiday event at his studio. Good food, good company, and music in a space chock full of things, doodads and whatsits. Guests from all parts of the city joined local neighbors. Artists, art professionals and up and coming young artists mingled elbows and sampled Dutch vodka with the master of ceremonies in his crafty workshop.Peter presiding over his potpourri of portly petite pots:

I was happy to see Adam, Christina and Thu show up. A talented trio in their own right, I hope they comment on the experience.

This event continues tomorrow and Sunday. Their will be live music, a sober Santa and the opportunity to take holiday photos of your pet.

Clacton and Frinton are down from Santa Barbara with vintage fashions and retro Ts. Way chic.

And there's the ceramics to look over. These are Peter's EXP pieces (Echo Park Pottery), entertaining, unique, amusingly piquant with a refreshing aftertaste. These are incredible bargains for original work and they make (insert typical holiday sales quote) the the whole family will enjoy. Great gifts for art afficionados with developed taste.

I'll be there tomorrow, I'm not sure about Sunday.

Season's Meetings

It's always a treat to visit the artist in his natural environs. The opportunity to observe the creative process unhindered, interacting with crude tools and raw materials... This weekend will be a perfect opportunity to view the the artist's reaction when the lair is unmercilessly overrun by marauding holiday revelers.

In this case, Frank Romero will open his studio to any and all interested in viewing art, purchasing art, eating art... Saturday (the 6th) will be from 7:00 - Midnight, Sunday (the 7th) from Noon til 6:00 p.m. Frank, his wife Sharon, daughter Sonia will show off their wares and those of friends and aquaintences will also be available. Paintings, drawings, prints, jewelry will be present- most priced to sell just in time for the holidays. The true treasure to be found at this event is the atmosphere. The artists are in attendance in a casual setting, there is no hard-sell, just fun stuff in a fun space with great food and even better conversation.