The Gold Standard

Since moving to Los Angeles a lot has happened and by that I mean there have been changes for the better in the local cultural landscape. As a matter of fact the center of the (contemporary L.A.) art world has located itself a short distance from me. When one ventures out in L.A. it's always preceded by a mental calculation: what route do I take to make it worth it? So famous is that question that it's been parodied on SNL.

Alan Kupchick's opening at Hale Arts.

This is the work of Andrea Bowers (marker on found cardboard) at  Susan Vielmetter Gallery

Fortunately Culver City is just down the street from me and this past Saturday was an opening at Blum and Poe which is always a big deal, and an even bigger deal this night because it's Takashi Murakami. His current offering is called Arhat, (sanskrit for a being who has achieved a state of enlightenment). I immediately recognized the imagery in his mural sized paintings as Yūrei, which are Japanese ghosts. Interesting. Of the contemporary artist who essentially head factories that churn out works I think he's definitely one of the more interesting ones. He's established his formula yet I believe he's engaged. Look at those gorgeous surfaces!

Murakami Opening at Blum and Poe.

Murkami's huge paintings of ghosts.

Closer to home I have a neighbor, Marina Moevs, whose paintings I love. Her work always seem to be about the aftermath of a major disaster but they're so serene that the association is calmness rather than violent upheaval. Marina and I worked to get the city to grant our neighborhood, ( Jefferson Park), historic preservation overlay zone status (which we achieved!), so suffice to say Marina really does care about maintaining an environment of peace and stability. To round things out I've included a weird piece by film maker, David Lynch and the obsessive beaded installations of Liza Lou. 

Millions of gold beads by Liza Lou at L&M Arts.

Installed view, close up, and detail of Marina's work.

Illuminated sculpture by David Lynch at Kayne Griffin Corcoran Gallery

Enjoy and please give me your thoughts, will you? I always enjoy your comments.

iPhone 4 with my Mandala cover

iPhone 4 with my Mandala cover, a photo by scott_waterman on Flickr.

artistecase

Cyberspace

Cyberspace.

 Meet me in Cyberspace.  I'm always there!

 I guess we all are (always here) either by virtue of the content we post, blogging, emailing or just the foot prints we leave behind traipsing from one page to the next. They tell us all this activity lasts forever on some server somewhere. Forever.

I try to be thoughtful about what I post without being intimidated by eternity. What else can we do? Now, let's look at some pictures of a non-physical terrain created by computer systems, shall we?

 I created a number of installations for my paintings, not commissioned work, but work from my extensive collection. They've already been posted elsewhere, although, here on Blogger content gets picked up by Google searches so it really gets spread around and I've just got to spread more of me around cyberspace. What about you?

By the way I try to end these posts with a question not to be rhetorical but in the hope that you dear readers really will answer me, something, anything. I want your words not just your foot prints from Lodz, Lodzkie, Poland; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Chester-le-street, Durham, United Kingdom; Cheonan, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Korea, Republic of; Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt; and even Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I see all of you have visited me and you've all left your footprints. 

And from Alberta, Canada I received this nice note from one of my most ardent fans:

Dear Scott,
I hope that you will accept a sincere apology! Winters are long up here!
I truly enjoy your lovely creative spirit- you are virtuoso! Looking at your
work gives me great delight. I am not in any way a threat - and don't plan a blog- I do enlarge the pics to be able to enjoy and see. Thank you kindly with respect for access to enjoy your lovely works of art!
Sincerely, DB Edmonton- (Since your first mention of Edmonton- I began to prep a note to you - too long to publish here.) I read and reread your work like an enjoyable book! All the Best! Thank you, Scott!

I knew my fan in Edmonton only through her cyber footprint and there were so many! I mean really a lot! I chided her for not bother to write me since she obviously is so interested in my work. That's the back story and hence the content and tone of her comment. Thank you Edmonton!

I'll be your mirror.

February 2013

DSC04803, a photo by scott_waterman on Flickr.

Flickr: where my paintings live.

218_phone for Artistecase

218_phone, a photo by scott_waterman on Flickr.

Are you dreaming?

Other Voices Other Rooms

Other Voices, other rooms, you know, to expand your horizons.

Sam Durant's light box (2008) at the Hammer..

We've been having some absolutely gorgeous winter weather here in SoCal so I think we should get out for a little field trip, don't you? 

Portuguese Point: very near Steve Shriver's place.

Listen, I've got just the thing. Steve Shriver invited me down to his place on the Palos Verdes peninsula so let's motor. WOW, what a place! He lives and works in what was meant to be the caretakers' house for very ambitious estate that was never built. The whole setting, grounds and buildings is some kind of location scout's dream, it's all so cinematic. Steve has completely steeped himself in classical painting and the fine results speak for themselves. I especially like some recent work he's done with ink washes. 

Original elevations of what was meant to be the Villa where Steve Shriver lives and works.

Like me Steve is a hoarder of digital (reference)  imagery.

Egg and dart and so forth.

Ink wash rendering. See also the photo above.

Steve Shriver, artist and distant relative of Maria.

Ok, we've got to move on now.

Llyn Foulkes , the younger.

Early period Llyn Foulkes.

There's the Llyn Foulkes show at the Hammer Museum and I'm taking you to the opening. If you know your Hollywood by face you can fill me because I'm not that well versed. A Hammer opening is the kind of event that draws the artistically inclined smart set of the 'industry'. There's Harvey Weinstein on his way out and  I just brushed by Jack Black. But we're not here for them!

Slightly past early period Foulkes.

These were even larger than they look here. The Rock series.

Hairdids. Who wore it best?

The bloody heads series, and not in the British sense.

Dramatic installation: an entire room for one painting.

  

Mix media with mummified cat.

Later period Llyn Foulkes.

What the heck? That's Llyn Foulkes for ya.

  
Let's look at Llyn's work shall we? I've been a fan since the late 70s. When I first saw a Llyn Folkes painting I thought: here's the fresh American answer to Francis Bacon. I started with the bloody heads but the Hammer show fills in the earlier successes, the rocks for instance. And of course there's plenty of the later 3D work. Fascinating.

They always put something really interesting in The Vault.  Here it's Enrico David. What a nut!

Now one last thing before we leave the Hammer. We'll just duck into the Vault Gallery. Whoops, what the? It's all the work of one artist named Enrico David. A little disturbing, maybe, but playful and inventive. Another one to watch. What have you seen lately?