LA excerpts 2009 LA 2019: CULTS, COLLECTIVES & COCOONING

Me You Us UNARIUS

The show at 18th Street Art Center in Santa Monica was a hit. Working with the friendly, creative people from Unarius was a creative high point for me.10 days in LA ended up being a perfect amount of time to set up and fine-tune the show. From Venice, Santa Monica to the valley and El Segundo, I surfed on a variety sofas, pull outs and relied on the kindness of locals. I think this was my fav visit to the west coast due to the work/vacation/family scenario. My birthday being peppered in the middle of the trip gave it core significance. I will miss conspiring with Ciara Ennis every Friday, (the brave curator and the fulcrum of the project ). I loved getting to know the Unarius of Science on a personnel and conceptual level to whom I owe a debt of creative momentum and financial support for the exhibition. 18th Street Art Complex exuded an ease and support that made the project come off without a hitch. Lastly I loved being apart of the larger creative project…as the only NY artist I was just thrilled to be included in Cults, Collectives and Cocooning west coast optimism.1500 photos later and a successful show in LA under my belt now I can start to push this show on the east coast.

The show in LA is gearing up so I thought I would get to spreading the word.
I am curating and collaborated with The Unarius Academy of Science to create a site specific installation.It will include a book library and promotional materials ,large scale banners used in Conclave of light, a 3 foot long UFO used in 1980's video and the 2 hr Arrival video from 1980.I will have work inspired by the Unarius on a opposite wall including large mixed media prints,a video remix loop from the Unarius Arrival Video, 4 self portraits called "I see a light" as well as 12T-shirt’s specially made for exhibition. The opening is in conjuction with 18th street Arts Center Art Night
http://www.18thstreet.org/artnight.html
It will be a busy fun filled event...I cant get over how many shows are happening at the same time.More on that later.



LA 2019: CULTS, COLLECTIVES & COCOONING:
Curated by Ciara Ennis
location:18th street Arts Center
1639 18th St., Santa Monica, CA 90404

Despite worldwide financial panic, ecological disasters and general global malaise, the exhibition LA 2019: CULTS, COLLECTIVES & COCOONING conjures a surprisingly positive image of what Los Angeles could be in the near future. Presenting an alternative to predictable doom-laden and futuristic scenarios—Blade Runner, Fahrenheit 451, Solvent Green—the exhibition instead suggests a future of collaborative and community based ventures that focus on the group rather than the individual experience. LA 2019: CULTS, COLLECTIVES & COCOONING pictures a future Los Angeles that rejects its anonymous sprawling suburbs in favor of a return to village life with all the allegiances and intimacy that entails. Neighborhoods become self-sustaining and self-governing entities that rely on home production and bartering—rotation of back-yard crops and fertilizing their vegetable gardens with the guano of yard raised chickens. Business is conducted between hamlets traveled to and from by bio-fueled vehicles, delivery tricycles, horses and donkeys.

Featuring objects, installations, photography and video works by emerging and established artists—Cathy Akers, Heather Cantrell, Fallen Fruit, Olga Koumoundouros, Nuttaphol Ma, Jason Middlebrook, Bede Murphy and Unarius, Machine Projects w/ Jim Fetterley, William Ransom, Stephanie Smith/WSAC Finishing School, and Joel Tauber —the exhibition explores real and fictional intentional communities; sustainable solutions for future living; and the power of the collective versus the individual.

Unarius approaches

The show in LA at 18th Street is hurtling closer every day. My collaboration with The Unarius is shaping up to be a one of kind event. Cults, Cocooning and Community will showcases 12 different arts groups and collaborations stressing a optimistic reimagining of the future…think “artful utopian extremism”

The Unarius are just the type of group I like: stubbornly original, creative and existing on the margins of society. This forum in LA will allow a new type of conversation relating to faith and the projections of ideas thru the platform of art. The Unarius created videos in the 1980's that bring deeply felt ideas and message that border on hallucination and ecstatic art making. This work and Unarius deserves a place in the greater art discourse.That is one of my goals with this collaboration.

My work in this show is based on the reflections gleamed from the Unarius archive and its golden period in the 1980’s. Art for this project emraces "factum" (fact and fiction) etempting to access my own ecstatic creation related to faith, UFO as devotional object and the transcendence of the self within group dynamic.I also think Ruth Norman is a very worthy subject on all accounts.

So far I have secured a 3 foot long UFO (used in the original 1980’s video) . My request for the 7 foot tall Tesla Tower and 1980’s felt and fabric marching Planet flags (33 flags in all) was sadly unattainable (the flags are in Ottawa , Canada and the Tesla Tower is to fragile and complicated to move). Being shown within the kiosk/book reading area will be the 2 hour Arrival video, 50 books and pamphlets and my Silkscreen T-shirts. Reproduction of devotee leaders and students of Unarius paintings will be on display. In a most exciting development the UFO Cadillac is being driven to the opening on May2nd. My 7 foot wall across form the kiosk will have Posters and Slogans ,Coptic imagery and books / pamphlets , self portraits as devotee and a Video re-mix of the arrival video.
The show will run for 2 months.

Its going to be good.

LAND rocks!

We have so many amazing collaboration happening at LAND.From animated movies with M. Wartella to weaving projects with Weaving Hand to Postcard project with Marshall Harmon and a interesting development with a store on Bond street.Spring has sprung at LAND.

Outsider Fair 2009

The Outsider Fair at 7 W 34th street was great fun and LAND made new contacts, new sales and introduced our newest artist Dean Millein to the collector circle. His foil sculpture Origami stopped people in there tracks while visiting the fair. Working with Fountain Gallery was a success. Jason and his crew are on there game and provide a wonderful service to the community and we have a good collaboration going on. I hope we can continue the booth coupling in the years to come. Celebrities seen : Lou Reed, Lucy Lui, and Eddie Falco. I suggested to Lucy Lui that Dean should do kids parties with his Foil creature skills. She smiled and agreed. Ive included some photos of the LAND booth and some others sights from Outsider 09.

LAND at the Outsider Fair 2009

LAND will be joining forces with Fountain House this year at the annual Outsider Fair. What ever your thoughts on the term Outsider , insider, cognitive diversity ,emersion arts or what have you, the work at this fair is often surprising and can teach the contemporary art world a thing or two (for those that have pilfered it without giving credit…Jonathan Meese, Dana Schutz , Justin Lieberman, Tal R and many many more!) Come see the real deal!