The influence that the Beastie Boys have had on hip hop, rock n’ roll, and popular culture over the last few decades is undeniable. Whether loved or hated, they were recognized as leaders of a movement. When news broke that Adam “MCA” Yauch had lost his battle with cancer, we all mourned. The following weekend, an unmistakably somber cloud hung over the closing of Beastie Boy, Mike D’s curated exhibition, Transmission LA: AV Club at MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary.

The 17-day residency began loudly with a bustling evening schedule of live music performances kicked off by Santigold and had a successful run, with more than 30,000 people ultimately attending. But last weekend, visitors were quiet, pensive, seeking an answer of sorts from the exhibit to why a musical talent like Yauch had died so young and so full of talent.

The exhibit itself could be described as young. It relied heavily on contemporary musical influences, incorporating free evening performances from the likes of Santigold, DJ Z-Trip, Peanut Butter Wolf, and Diplo, and exhibited artists closely associated with the Los Angeles and New York music scenes.

Mike D’s curatorial choices were as deliberate as they were diverse; he seemed determined to assert that, as in his own music, committing to a single taste or style risks stagnancy. The exhibit included work by Mike Mills, perhaps best known for his work as a music video director, but at MOCA, appreciated for his work as a graphic artist, illustrations by Sage Vaughn, and multimedia and video art installations from the likes of Takashi Murata and Cory Arcangel. There was even a residency within a residency, curated by Lauren Meckler of Public Fiction–an art space located in Northeast LA.

The Geffen seemed to vibrate with musicality; they were all there, the artists and performers this contemporary AV Club–each one a part of an unspoken alliance against the tendency towards formal, hushed art galleries and marble museums and each living proof that young talent will carry on, even with the loss of one of their own.
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In her latest body of work, Dreamscapes, Adarsha creates a formless entity, sprawling masterpieces of sentiment and emotion, sometimes void of color or focus, sometimes incomprehensible. She dares the viewer to see a piece of her heart, a piece of her dreams, in their pure form. The dreamscape is an archaic state of expression: the place where one can feel free, to see, to be, and to dream.

Adarsha Benjamin: Dreamscapes
Rooftop Sessions @ Siren Studios
Thursday May 17, 2012
6:00-10:00pm
6063 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood CA 90028
rsvp@sirenstudios.com

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On April 7th, 2012, Cai Guo Qiang presented his Mystery Circle Explosion Project in downtown Los Angeles. 40,000 fireworks ignited simultaneously, creating a spectacular pyrotechnic display on the northern exterior wall of The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. In less than 3 seconds, a vivid and intense fireworks display lept forward towards the audience from the outlines of three crop circles in which they were carefully loaded. As the sparks died out, a giant smoke cloud rose into the air, flames smoldered into the charred imprint of burning crop circles and outline of an alien life form. The outdoor explosion project, titled Mystery Circle: Explosion Project for MOCA, Los Angeles, is the latest work in Cai’s Projects for Extraterrestrials series that began in 1989 and has since included more than 30 works. Transcending the gap between now and then, Cai’s work investigates the universal mystery of creation, stating “at this moment of destruction, you create something miraculously beautiful.”
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3:56 am, Milwood Ave. and Eye #1 (Flood) (diptych), 2012

This week, Alex Prager will debut new work from her series Compulsion along with a new short film, La Petite Mort, with accompanying film stills. True to it’s name, the exhibition will show in succession in three galleries worldwide. First to open on April 5th, is Yancey Richardson Gallery (NY), then April 7th opening at M+B Gallery (LA) and last but not least, April 12th at Michael Hoppen Contemporary (LDN).

MoMA curator Roxana Marcoci has described Prager’s work as “intentionally loaded,” saying “it reminds me of silent movies – there is something pregnant, about to happen, a mix of desire and angst.” Prager’s new series, Compulsion investigates the role of anonymous, yet distant spectators and the meaning derived from their multiple gazes. Taking cues from photographic and cinematic masters such as Weegee and Enrique Metinides, and films such as Metropolis and Un Chien Andalou, Prager creates a unique storyline for her characters by cropping, juxtaposing and removing them from their original context.
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Self-taught, celebrity photographer, Herb Ritts was known for bridging the gap between art and commerce. From an early age Ritts had an understanding of celebrity culture. He was born in Los Angeles and grew up living next door to Steve McQueen. The recent exhibition at The Getty in Los Angeles, features 87 photographs, many of celebrities, some never before published. Ritts, influenced by the Italian Masters as well as the pioneers of photography such as Halsman and Weston, revived old Hollywood glamour and brought it to the masses. Working with publications, such as Vogue, Rolling Stone and Interview, Ritts is best known for launching the careers of Madonna, Richard Gere, as well as Supermodels, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington. His photographs of male nudes pioneered the representation of the male figure within advertising and fashion. He captured a duality in his subjects; strong, yet vulnerable while sculpting the human form with light, shadow and texture. Ritts died in 2002, his legacy and work is survived by the Herb Ritts Foundation.

The exhibition at Getty runs through August 26th. For more information go to Getty.edu
The Getty Center
1200 Getty Center Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 440-7320
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In the late ’80’s, photographer Jim Herrington captured Bette Davis’ cigarette upon a visit to her Los Angeles apartment. The following is a piece written by Herrington capturing that experience.

Upon entering Bette Davis’ West Hollywood apartment, even the casual observer couldn’t help but notice the tiny white porcelain vases that seem to be on every horizontal surface, each sprouting a floret of cigarettes. Vantage filters – king size. Ms. Davis, 80 at the time, was as thin as a thread when I encountered her less than a year before she died, though impeccably dressed and with eyelids troweled peacock blue. She had already battled cancer and a stroke and I attribute to those unfortunate circumstances why she kept staring at me and crisply barking, “Who’s the young lady I haven’t met yet?”, which, like most of her verbal expulsions, was accompanied by a sharply exhaled column of smoke that seemed to be directed at some unseen evil force. I was a photo-assistant on this job, and after we had finished and Ms. Davis had retired to the confines of her sprawling apartment, we packed up and were leaving when I saw her freshly snubbed Vantage resting in the ashtray. I flicked it into a Kodak film box where it resided for 12 years until I pulled it out one day and took the photograph that you see here.

See more of Jim Herrington’s work here and follow him on twitter here

On Thursday March 29, 2012, Guy Hepner Contemporary will open James Georgopoulos’ latest body of work entitled Second Amendment from 7 – 10pm. The reception will be held at Hepner’s West Hollywood location on. Georgopoulos will be showing his latest, large scale, mixed media works of notorious guns and cameras from iconic film and television shows.

Georgopoulos continues to explore his interest in popular culture’s fascination with firearms and its attraction to the movie industry. Georgopoulos’ works are challenging the typical philosophical and political arguments on whether people should be allowed the right to possess weapons for defensive and/or recreational purposes. By displaying these objects in such a beloved manner; centered, surrounded by color and encased, is Georgopoulos sharing in society’s obsession with weapons and cinema? Regardless, in his latest body of work, Georgopoulos shows off his painstaking attention to detail and proficient skills in photography, printing, painting and resin work. Georgopoulos continues to do everything by hand without the assistance of an automated machine or teams of assistants. His seven by four foot, high-gloss, large scale transformations of iconic guns and cameras, allows the viewer the chance and the right to bear arms safely and responsibly.
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James Georgopoulos is the artist who shoots famous guns. However, rather then turning off the safety and pulling the trigger of each pistol, he snaps them with his camera. And then, when he’s got the perfect image of something like Tony Montana’s machine gun fromScarface, he applies a layer of resin to it – similar to the way a surfboard shaper would do once they’ve finished carving the foam. I drove out to James’ studio to this interview, which is on the tarmac of a small airport right outside of Los Angeles. So as helicopters and private planes flew overhead, we talked about bombs, guns and cameras.

The photographer Glen E. Friedman, who shot every picture of Black Flag, The Beastie Boys, and Run DMC that you’ve ever loved, once told me that he stopped photographing guns because he felt they were too powerful as images. But, James Georgopoulos is doing things differently. He’s not photographing guns together with their owners to glorify the lifestyles of gangs and hoodlums. Instead, he’s coming from a place of a film lover, who’s documenting the most important artifacts from all of our favorite action movies in a unique and original way. And believe it or not, even with the fact that he photographs guns from films that all of our girlfriends at one point or another have claimed to hate, women are actually his biggest collectors.
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This Thursday, March 8, 2012, Fahey/Klein Gallery presents a selection of new work from photographer Julie Blackmon’s ongoing series “Domestic Vacations.” Do not miss this exhibition and a chance to meet the artist. Shown above is Julie Blackmon’s Night Movie, 2011, 40 x 55 Archival Pigment Print, in an edition of 5

Fahey/Klein Gallery
148 North La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-2250
Thursday, March 8, 2012
7:00 – 9:00pm

Artist Chris Otcasek is set to exhibit his latest body of work at Gallery Brown, Saturday, March 3, 2012. Otcasek’s show, entitled Low Res, takes us on a journey through images we encounter on a daily basis; things like, donuts, shopping carts, a chair and a rear wing of a plane. However, unlike most of us, Otcasek has a gift. He sees these everyday images with an uncanny design aesthetic. In Low Res, Otcasek shows us how impressive he actually is; not because off his strong graphic approach or attention to detail in his almost four foot by four foot prints, but in his ability to do all of the above while looking through the lens, or screen, of an iPhone. Otcasek’s prints are so stunning that you will likely find yourself getting mad at him, simply because you will think that you could, or should, do the same with your iPhone. However, you will quickly get over your bitterness of the fact that Otcasek shot everything on his camera phone and realize that the work is actually damn good and really fun to be around. Maybe a few dentists in the crowd will stay upset at Otcasek when they realize their $10,000 Leica M9 purchase could have landed them three of his prints, and an iPhone.

Gallery Brown, is located at 140 South Orlando Avenue in Los Angeles. Low Res opens March 3, 2012 from 6:00 to 10:00pm and runs through April 15, 2012. A portion of the proceeds made from sales will benefit non-profit organization, The Art of Elysium.

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Rising art star, Gregory Siff who was featured in the last issue of LA Canvas completed his mural today in West Hollywood. Siff will have his first solo show of 2012 at Siren Studios on March 1st.

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Art Writer Daniel Rolnik with www.hurley.com swung by James studio on the runway strip at The Hawthorne Airport. Hurley is featuring some of LA’s best Artists and sent Daniel to chat with James about his Hollywood Arsenal collection. Keep your eyes out for Rolniks take on The Guns of Cinema. Visit his gallerist Guy Hepner Contemporary or www.guyhepner.com to check on his latest works.
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