Art Cult Film Comics

On Friday, I went to the Crazy 4 Cult opening at Gallery 1988 and Golden Apple Comics. The walls were covered with painted homages to Back to the Future, The Big Lebowski, A Clockwork Orange, Eraserhead, and the entire catalogues of Tim Burton and Kevin Smith (who hosted the show with Scott Mosier) by the likes of Shepard Fairey, PlasticGod, Misha, and my favorite, Matthew Bone, whose "The Problematic Blueberry Pie: Allegory of Gluttony" is pictured below. The show runs until September 12th at 7020 Melrose Ave at La Brea.

Matchmatic

Chainlink fence is ubiquitous and hideous- something needs to be done.
I saw this piece about Andy Uprock on PSFK and it reminded me of the memorial I saw at the La Brea on ramp for the 10 freeway (going East). Some of the styrofoam cups have been lost since I saw the first time I saw it.




And then I saw this Joep Verhoeven piece, Dermahersuan, in a book a few days ago:

Art Crimes: Does any of this Look Familiar?

This has all the elements of a great story: In 2006, the secretive William MV Kingsland (nee Melvyn Kohn) died and left no will. When the NY Public Administrator discovered 300+ paintings, drawings, and sculptures in his one bedroom apartment, Christie's and Stair Galleries were nominated to sort out the provenance and auction off the works. In the process, a mover stole two Picasso sketches that turned out to have been reported missing for the first time in 1967. In the course of research, Christies discovered many of the other pieces had been stolen from New York galleries in the 60's and 70's.

These are just a handful of paintings that caught my eye, from the top: Picasso's "Tete de femme", Ron Gorchov's "Study #1 in blue and orange" (I find it incredibly sexy), Odilon Reden's "Jeune fille et fleurs", Kenneth Rush's "Sweeny's mfg co below Brooklyn Bridge", and Henry Baskerville's "Still life with two glasses and lemon". Read the official FBI report and view the complete galleries.

Love the City you Live in

Love Me is a familiar tag in the Fairfax and Miracle Mile districts of Los Angeles. I saw the above on the back windows of Kenny's Barber Shop at 7914 Beverly Blvd, near Fairfax. I talked to Kenny and his wife for a while after I took the photo.
Kenny: "Do you like it?"
Me: "Well, yeah, I do. I like the romantic script and I like the message."
Kenny: "Every day they come with their badges and their stickers. My barber pole, in front, I can't keep clean. Pretty soon, the owner will repaint the whole building, but in two-three days, the kids will come back."

This is the front entrance of the auto body shop at on 3rd St and Detroit. The dumpster in the alley has been hit twice, in two different styles. The photos appear cut off, click to view the full image on Flickr.

Art Crimes: the Taking of Christ

On August 2nd, Reuters reported the theft of Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ from the Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odessa, Ukraine. Thieves broke in through a window and cut the painting from its frame during the night. Vitaly Abramov of the Odessa Museum of Art called it a cultural catastrophe and a national tragedy because, "There is so little art of such level in the former Soviet Union." Another version of the painting is on display in Dublin at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Drive-by Architecture: Western + 3rd

This frankenstein building makes me cringe a little. I try to ignore the glass block entrance and focus on the molding of the facade. It's a little gaudy, a little bordello, but it commands attention. Drive South on Western and make a right on 3rd to get the full view of 4357 W 3rd St at Western.



The fruit vendor outside:

Voyeur: Underwear Affair

All the windows were open and I was sitting in one, cushioned on a folded beach towel and smoking last night when they began to pour down the alley: runners in underpants. The Underwear Affair was a 10k run/walk to benefit cancers below the waist and I was perched right on the route. The finish line and after party were a few blocks away at the Tar Pits.
Alot of women chose to wear bras over tank tops and little shorts. There were, however, tons of body conscious guys in teams of pink and turquoise American Apparel briefs.
The most popular costume for men: Superman, for women: Wonder Woman.
More photos on Flickr.
Also- this is a great interview with Michael Chabon from the New Yorker podcast about superhero costumes.



I love the girl in the Fridays outfit, with 15 pieces of flair:


And the diva pose, I wish you could see the red faux fur booties he had made to cover his trainers:

Drive-by Architecture: Mansfield

I drive by this amazing duplex on the NW corner of Mansfield Ave and 3rd St and dream about living on the top floor in a rambling paneled apartment. I also love the garage and the pattern of the stained glass windows. 269 and 267 South Mansfield Ave. As always, there are more pictures on Flickr.