Eliza Geddes’ Surface Works opens this Saturday, December 1 and will run through January 4, 2008. This exhibit presents a combination of Geddes’ new mixed media sculptures, and wall hangings - in addition to several paintings.

Make sure to stop by the Opening Reception this Saturday, December 1, from 6-9 pm. You know the address: 1903 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Park anywhere. Stay late.

We just stumbled upon this excellent resource for Southern California’s never ending list of Art Walks, Open Studios, & Art Festivals from Digital Consciousness.  They have the rest of 2007 & much of 2008 already pegged out; thanks to their tidy efforts of compiling such a wide range of large scale art events in our area.

[link] 

This is the first in a two part list of holiday-related shows, and when we say holiday-related, we really mean geared towards Christmas gift giving.  The following shops & galleries are offering affordable [typically in the $30-$200 range] art, typically by locals.  More to come soon [for affordable art from Found, please visit our Buy section or make an appointment to see our upstairs viewing room].

[note: Bizarre Bazaar is cancelled this year — emoticon sad]

• Black Maria - Skip the Mall [ongoing]
• Tree Trimmings II: The Ornament Show at JFlynn Gallery
• Holiday Craft & Print Fair at Self-Help Graphics [11/25]
• Winter Wanderland at truXtop Gallery [11/30]
• Wishful Thinking at project: gallery [1/1]
• jFerrari is selling paintings at $100 apiece. Contact Jazmin [jazmin@jferrarigallery.com]

Echo Park’s always interesting Echo Curio completes the Tri-Force of its first Triannual Exhibit this December.  There is an OPEN CALL for submissions, and anything you bring will be shown.  The dropoff takes place Tuesday, December 4th from 7-10pm, and the reception is Friday, Decmeber 7th from 8 to midnight.  Questions?  Email echocurio@gmail.com.

Sculptor Robert Graham isn’t afraid of nudity or puns, as his exhibit ‘Body of Work’ which opens tonight USC’s Fisher Gallery no doubt affirms.  Graham originally earned big deal status before the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles when he was commissioned to create sculptures outside the Coliseum’s gates, which stand, incidentally, within walking distance from Fisher.

Graham’s epic and instantly classic pieces have been commissioned in many cities around the world as permanent outdoor art for years now.  He’s what you’d call a local heavy.

The reception is tonight from 6-8pm, and the show will stand until mid-February.

[link]

I found this guide to vaulting to the forefront of the ever-so-hot Chinese art scene from that’s Bejing.

4 simple Communist Commandments:

1. Shamelessly steal other people’s ideas, claim them for your own
2. Create your own controversy
3. Exploit American culture for quick attention
4. Do anything to get a location in the art landscape

And the unwritten rule, be Chinese.

[link]

Roving artcreants Phantom Galleries return with dueling venues downtown, featuring work by undergraduates from USC’s Roski School of Fine Arts, as the young artists tackle issues of betweenness, being caught betwixt work completed and work not yet conceived. Reception today.

November 8 - November 25
Reception: Thursday, November 8 3:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Santa Fe Lofts & Pacific Electric Lofts

Participating Artists: Alexis Demetriades, Amanda Alfieri, Amanda Koosed, Anna Aladadyan, Arthur Loftis, Brittany Burns, Caren Idy, Charlice Lin, Liza Epps, Elizabeth Presley, Faye Xu, Gennia Cui, Germaine Chang, Jaqueline Dubbins, Jessica Druxman, Kassandra Sideropoulos, Kathleen Meek, Laura Black, Lei Hung, Lindsey Westervelt, Madeline Cole, Mia Impellizzeri, Monica Najera, Nicole Landa, Peter Bobbs, Samantha Mahony, Sara Pine, and Tanya Bernard

Event Info / Phantom Galleries LA

As part of PAPER magazine’s annual LA romp, Phyllis Diller will be exhibiting some new paintings alongside Henny Garfunkel’s ‘Signed Polaroids’ tomorrow from 12-6pm at PAPER’s Cultural Storefront - 233 S. La Brea @ 3rd St., Hollywood.  They are also holding several other interesting events throughout the week, but this, surely, must be the highlight.

PAPERMAG’s Los Angeles Project 2007 site

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of attending Waiting for Godot [presented by the Classical Theatre of Harlem and Creative Time] in the Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans. The turnout was gigantic and unfortunately droves of people had to be turned away.

The performance was free, and the people at Creative Time created a ‘Shadow Fund,’ matching the production budget dollar-for dollar, giving local organizations ‘rebuilding support in the neighborhoods where the play is presented.’ After hustling my way to a ticket, I entered the abandoned, overgrown lawn where a gumbo reception was taking place. Soon after, The Big 9 Social Aid and Pleasure Club led the scores of locals to the staging area, complete with a traditional second line.

What followed was an accessible, humorous, stirring rendition of the Beckett classic. The entire casT [Wendell Pierce, J Kyle Manzay, T. Ryder Smith, & Mark McLaughlin] was stellar. The [non-existent…physically] stage was set outdoors, most likely where a building stood several years ago. The levee loomed in the background, framed by oak trees.  An occasional boat or train could be heard moaning in the distance, and the night air became gradually cooler as the desperation of the characters mounted.

Outside of the punning poignancy of the concept of the play [the characters are waiting in vain for a person, friend, deity, savior that isn’t coming or maybe doesn’t even exist — like so many stranded Gulf Coast residents during Katrina], the play was enthusiastically attended and was ultimately commissioned unselfishly by an outside artists’ organization with dueling creative and philanthropic goals.

The play will be staged this coming weekend [November 9 & 10] in the Gentilly area.  Please visit creativetime.org for more.

Some photos I took