Sarah Morris, Creative Artists Agency (Los Angeles) (2005). Power relationships rendered in abstraction-- the perfect representation of Hollywood and the film industry honouring its best in tonight's 90th Annual Academy Awards. — Sarah Morris, *Creative Artists Agency (Los Angeles)* (2005). Power relationships rendered in abstraction-- the perfect representation of Hollywood and the film industry honouring its best in tonight's 90th Annual Academy Awards.

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

March 04, 2018

Tonight will be the 90th edition of the Academy Awards-- an event that was originally created by the Hollywood film moguls to honour each other and create legitimacy for a medium and an industry that was still very new and even suspect at the turn on the twentieth century. Indeed, one of the important themes that I explore with students in my film courses is the critical role that public relations and the vertical integration of the film industry played in reinforcing the perception of film as a kind of modern religion, complete with its screen Gods, ritualized ceremonies like the Oscars, and unquestioned practices related to film production, exhibition, and distribution.

My chosen artist this week, Sarah Morris, is a NY-based artist and filmmaker, and has made it part of her practice to examine the interrelated connections between the world of painting and the world of cinema. Her large scale abstract paintings reflect the networks of power in large-scale bureaucratic institutions, mirroring related structures in both the art world and the film industry. Her work Creative Artists Agency (Los Angeles) (2005) is described by MoMA in the following terms:

"Glossy, bright, and geometric, this painting is part of a series by Morris that is inspired by the city of Los Angeles. Its title refers to the powerful Creative Artists Agency, a talent agency that is a key player in the invisible Hollywood network of actors, directors, and producers who are also the subjects of the artist's video Los Angeles (2004). The hexagonal structures are a visually complex interpretation of the web-like, convoluted power relationships that dominate the entertainment industry. Morris charts these connections to create a flashy, hard surface that reflects a culture of superficiality."

In recent years, pressures have grown once again within Hollywood, as in many other powerful institutions (including the art world), to examine and openly question the most damaging and exclusionary practices of the film industry. This process, which in earlier episodes of Hollywood history brought about the dismantling of the big studio monopolies, the freeing up of actors from stringent contracts, and the recognition and promotion of women and minorities to the upper ranks of the industry, is mirrored in the choices played out at the Oscars-- wins, losses, and yes, snubs. It is a fascinating event and one that I watch almost exclusively for the unstated tensions, and I know I will be rooting for many important and path-breaking films, actors, and creatives to be honoured tonight. Enjoy the links, and enjoy the Oscars if you will be tuning in.

"How Artwork Gets into Movies"

artsy.net

"Art that Embraces the Incoherence of the Internet"

hyperallergic.com

"Damien Hirst’s Latest Conceptual Feat? Painting the Canvases Himself"

artsy.net

"So What If Art Selfies Are Narcissistic?"

canadianart.ca

"Facebook censors 30,000 year-old Venus of Willendorf as 'pornographic'"

artnewspaper.com

"These Trump Paintings Are a Highlight of the ADAA Fair"

vulture.com

"They Died Near the Border. Art Students Hope to Bring Them Back"

nytimes.com

"Mindfulness exercises ‘help students stay focused in class’"

timeshighereducation.com

"In Five Words, Designer Sums Up Evolution of Leading Tech Logos"

designtaxi.com

"Conserving Whaam!"

tate

A detail from artist Kim West's Only One Way Through building mural at 901 East 3rd Street in the Los Angeles Arts District. All images in post captured by Dorothy Barenscott. — A detail from artist Kim West's *Only One Way Through* building mural at 901 East 3rd Street in the Los Angeles Arts District. All images in post captured by Dorothy Barenscott.

Location| Los Angeles: Reflections on LA's Street Art Scene

March 01, 2018

Our guide, Hector Calderon (aka Shandu One), is a pioneering LA street artist and served as our guide on the 2.5 hour tour.

One of the highlights of my recent trip to Los Angeles was the opportunity to visit the LA Arts District, and more specifically, to be toured around the vibrant street art scene. Much like in New York, the city that gave birth to contemporary street art via a long and rich history of urban graffiti married to street and hip-hop culture, Los Angeles has played an important and influential role in shaping the visual vocabulary and emerging trends in today's vibrant global street art scene. In recent decades, social media and image sharing on the Internet have only accelerated the pace of experimentation, together with the involvement of a diverse and new cross section of the visual arts community.

I booked my tour through LA Art Tours after some research into the best options for knowledgeable guides. Reading through the reviews, I was immediately impressed that all of the tour guides are practicing artists working in the neighbourhood. When we arrived on the sunny Saturday morning of our tour, we met Hector, aka Shandu One, and learned that he had formed one of the original graffiti crews back in the 1980s, the LA Bomb Squad, and was among the pioneering graffiti and street artists of the Los Angeles scene. Today, he continues his practice inside and outside the studio while mentoring young street artists and educating the public about LA's street art history.

The LA Arts District lies to the east of the main commercial hub of downtown LA and is a neighbourhood undergoing profound transformation as a result of urban gentrification.

The LA Arts District is an area in downtown Los Angeles that lies to the east of the main commercial hub of the city. Traveling there, we were warned about the severe homelessness and tent cities that took up several city blocks on the streets bordering the district. Being from Vancouver, this was sadly not at all unfamiliar, but it was clear that a tide of gentrification was squeezing the city's poorer populations into a smaller space. The Arts District itself is an urban neighbourhood in transformation and has been populated by artists seeking cheaper rents and access to studio space for many years. It is also unusual in the landscape of LA as being a very walkable part of the city. Parking your car and moving on foot is not the norm, but the demand for city living, as Hector explained, has transformed the District in recent years as developers seek new projects in a heated real estate market.

Moving through the streets, back alleys, and other niches of the District, I was immediately struck by the diversity and experimentation of the street art that we saw. Listening to Hector, we learned about the give and take, and unspoken rules of conduct among the street artists working the area, and he pointed out many important nuances about the painting techniques and various approaches to style and content that were on display. While it would be impossible to definitively categorize all that was there, my art historian impulses kicked in and I was able to note some commonalities and reflect on the uniting features of the scene. For more information about the artists featured below, please see this useful guide provided by LA Art Tours, and in my image galleries below, simply click on any image to see up close in a shadow box.

COLOUR, LIGHT, FORMS

One of the first things I noted purely at the level of form was the predominance of a lighter and more neutral/cool colour palette on the walls. Being in hot and sunny Los Angeles, it makes sense that the contrast of cool/neutral would pop against the warmth of the sun and play well with the deep shadows that crept across surfaces over the course of a day. Also notable was the move away from purely figurative forms to experiments in abstraction, dripping, and repeated patterns. Many painters were clearly working with ideas taken from the studio, and Hector described how many of the artists worked with stencils, projectors, and other computer-aided designs to achieve their final effects. He also kept reminding us that much of what we saw was achieved using spray painting alone, or paint pouring and mixing, without the help of any brushes, and often painted in tight time frames.

Building Murals

Murals taking up entire buildings are another important feature of the LA scene. As ready-made canvases, the building owners in the area often work closely with artists to negotiate and approve many of the large-scale designs. Importantly, artists appear to pay close attention to the architectural elements of the built space (including how the sun will hit the facade at different points in the day) to render murals that are dynamic and experimental. I was struck by how clean and untagged many of these murals were, and we learned that there was an active effort to monitor and clean up the murals and/or come to agreements among local artists to allow individual projects to have their moment in the community.

Old School

While the predominance of cleaner and more accepted street art murals was the norm, it was great to see a diversity of old school graffiti and tagging culture represented everywhere in the District. Hector decoded almost every tag as we walked the tour, and provided context and background about the graffiti crews and other individuals who continued to work in the old school styles of the original LA street art scene. There are also areas known as painting gardens where crews practice and hone their techniques.

Works on the Ground

Art is everywhere in the District-- paint, stickers, wheatpasting, and markers are attached to every surface-- on the walls, on the street, on the poles, and on the ground. At many points along the tour, I was completely distracted by what I saw under my feet, and I do not think I have ever seen as much attention paid to the sidewalk as the walls in any city I have visited. Hector pointed out the evidence of conversations between artists, and how to read the various tags as they accumulated, especially on the ground works. This dimension of street art alone is worthy of separate study!

Social Media Presence

Another striking aspect was the use of Instagram account tags to effectively provide visual signatures of works. As a very effective social media strategy to both connect artists and also circulate and distribute imagery, I found myself looking up and following many of the artists we came across on the tour.

Political and social Activism

The history of LA's street art and graffiti scene has deep connections to, and intersects with, many social and political issues in the city. Today, concerns around gentrification, racism, homelessness, and income inequality in LA are exacerbated by Trump's presidency and the crack-down on illegal immigrants and the defunding of the arts. Everywhere we looked in the District, there were direct visual reference to the social and political tensions of the city, as well as artist activism on a global scale.

Signs of Gentrification

As I described at the begging of this post, the pressures of gentrification have started to transform the area we visited, and it was seen everywhere in major condominium and commercial development. When I asked Hector what percentage of the new buildings had to be put towards affordable housing, he shared with me that it was only 4%, and that much of that could not be used as the live/work space favoured by artists. As we walked, we also noted many of the new commercial art galleries in the area that sat alongside trendy new restaurants and bars. Hector told us how many of his friends were now represented by galleries and showing around the world, and how the LA street art scene was getting global attention. As it was a gorgeous sunny Saturday, we saw many people enjoying the patios and brunch spots popping up in the area. Bloggers also used the murals as backdrops for photo shoots (the painted wings on many buildings were especially popular), sending out images across social media. Interestingly enough, I also spotted two art projects in semi-public areas of an open art space by contemporary and well-known artists Pipilotti Rist and Paul McCarthy, demonstrating how fluidly the world of "high" and "low" art converge in the LA Art District.

Reflecting on my visit, I see how profoundly the image culture of the Internet and social media has changed the perception of street and graffiti art. Two years ago when I taught a special topics course on the topic, I encouraged students to utilize the Google Street Art Project to explore and research street art around the world. Later, when I lead a field school to New York, some of these same students were able to expand their knowledge while residing in Brooklyn and seeing the artists at work close up (some even making their own mural!). And while the pressures of gentrification challenge art communities like the one I visited in Los Angeles, the vibrancy and importance of the scene cannot be dismissed. As Hector told us, the attention paid to the art and artists in his community, along with the legitimacy it brings to their voices and concerns, is the most important win for the scene.

I took many photos like this of the painted sidewalks in the LA Arts District-- be sure to keep your eyes down as much as up when hunting for street art. Image: @dbarenscott Instragram

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

February 25, 2018

Writing this week's round up from Los Angeles, I am reflecting on a whirlwind of art activity that took me from one end of the city to the other. No doubt this is an urban locale focused around car travel, and for people who prefer to walk and stroll the city without much worry about parking and commuting times, I highly recommend staying in Downtown LA. As the CAA Conference was located at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, the decision to stick closer to the event made sense, but what I was not expecting was the vibrancy and livability of this part of the city, especially how accessible parts of downtown are by foot. In year's past, this was a part of LA that I seldom visited, choosing to stick closer to the UCLA or Getty area, or within reach of West Hollywood and/or Santa Monica. This time, however, I knew that I wanted to visit The Broad and MOCA, attend the conference, and tour the LA Arts District, and other parts of the city in a short 3-4 day period of time. As an urban place in transition, change in Downtown LA has come about (as in other cities like Brooklyn, or even my hometown Vancouver) from a mix of artist communities, new development, and the pressures of gentrification. This of course comes with many pros and cons for artists and residents alike, but the creative energy was palpable, and it was wonderful to discover new art spaces, restaurants, bars, and unique stores. I will be blogging in the weeks to come of my visit with some more reflections, but I have added a few links in the round-up signalling how the local LA art scene is being transformed. Signing off from sunny and breezy LA-- enjoy the links!

"The Story Behind This Year’s Winter Olympics Medal Design"

hyperallergic.com

"The Afrofuturistic Designs of ‘Black Panther’"

nytimes.com

"Artist Sues Kendrick Lamar, Alleging Black Panther Music Video Copied Her Work"

artsy.net

"How the Glitz and Excess of the 1980s Shaped Contemporary Art"

artsy.net

"What’s Behind the Art Market’s Turnaround"

wsj.com

"Frieze to launch a Los Angeles art fair at Paramount Studios in 2019"

latimes.com

"$50 Million for the Hammer Museum, and Fresh Energy for Arts Giving in L.A."

nytimes.com

"The New Museum’s ‘I Am More Woke Than You’ Triennial "

vulture.com

"Barbara Kruger: Part of the Discourse | Art21 "Extended Play" (VIDEO)"

art21

"Michael Alvarez "We’re Out Here" at Marlborough Contemporary (VIDEO)"

jameskalm

The iconic biker jacket is one of 111 items featured in the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Is Fashion Modern? This classic Allsaints Papin Leather Biker Jacket is from my own closet and a much loved staple in my wardrobe. — The iconic biker jacket is one of 111 items featured in the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition *Is Fashion Modern?* This classic Allsaints Papin Leather Biker Jacket is from my own closet and a much loved staple in my wardrobe.

Book Review| ITEMS: Is Fashion Modern?

February 21, 2018

What is it about fashion that makes the art world so nervous? No doubt the subject has been cast a peripheral role in the scholarship of visual arts and culture even as fashion remains one of the most intimate aesthetic expressions we all make. In the Museum of Modern Art’s recent exhibition Items: Is Fashion Modern? curators Paola Antonelli and Michelle Millar Fisher took up the challenge of organizing MoMA’s first exhibition on fashion in several decades. On its face, the idea of a big blockbuster show examining fashion seems very timely and even necessary for MoMA, especially as the popularity of the Metropolitan Museum’s annual costume gala and exhibition has continued to push the conversation around fashion as art into the public discourse. At the same time, the intersection of art and fashion in the practices of high profile artists such as Marina Abramovic, Takashi Murakami, Cindy Sherman, Vanessa Beecroft, and others has pushed the sometimes uncomfortable conversation around fashion’s role in the art world into academic circles. The topic has also come up a number of times in this blog, and I refer you to the list of further readings to explore at the end of this post.

Each of the 111 objects chosen for the exhibition represent a check-list of "garments that changed the world" in the modern era represented by the MoMA art collection.

“In the exhibition and in this catalogue, garments created for the benefit of the many such as the white t-shirt or the dashiki) coexist with rarefied fashion episodes for the delight of a few (Martin Margiela’s Tabi footwear series, for instance, or Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking). What they have in common is their influence on the world, whether direct and immediate, as evidenced by millions of purchases, or mediated and metabolized at first by institutional and financial elites. Thanks to the cross-pollination made possible by physical and cultural migrations, rampant appropriation, and the disseminating power of media both old and new, nowhere do high and low engage in so productive a conversation as in fashion.”

— Paola Antonelli

When I visited the exhibition last month in New York, I was immediately struck by how cleverly the show had resolved avoiding the typical narrative of exhibitions engaging fashion that focus on artist/designer careers, or thematic approaches that intersect moments in art and fashion history. Instead, in very typical and minimal MoMA style, audiences were greeted with a massive wall of simple black text on a white wall listing a 111 item "check-list of fashion." Walking through the exhibition, the items were presented and staged as art objects, yes, but firmly within the spaces of the great white cube, and there was the constant awareness of questioning how the item fit (or perhaps did not) in the overall scope of the museum. Antonelli, reflecting on the carefully plotted curatorial vision for the show in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, emphasizes the ways in which she wants to address the role of fashion as a conceptual question first and foremost, examining how fashion objects work within models and debates concerning modernism and the ethos of the avant-garde.

The catalogue itself is an important compendium to the exhibition and is presented almost as an encyclopedia, beginning with the introductory essay by Antonelli and then followed by individual entries of 500-1000 words for each of the 111 alphabetically ordered checklist items. Each entry is carefully and expertly written, offering context, analysis, and fantastic notes that can be followed up for further research. Importantly, the entries move beyond historical description and connect back to the question of modernism posed by the book and exhibition title. Interspersed throughout the entries are creative photo essays produced by five selected photographers who were asked to interpret and offer their own point of view in representing the items. These alone are worthy of reflection and further analysis not directly offered by the book's authors.

One of the objects that immediately captured my attention when I visited the show (see my photo gallery below), and is also well analyzed in the book, is the biker jacket. Associated with the subculture of motorcycle gangs, the punk movements of the 1970-80’s, along with the aura of rebellion popularized by screen legends like Marlon Brando, few items of fashion singularly express such subversive, anti-establishment, and outsider qualities. As the entry explains: “A biker jacket is a readymade exoskeleton, replete with instant meaning…Its mystique owes much to a history of provocative owners, but its appeal is equally indebted to its enigmatic design, in which streamlined sophistication is held in tension with chaotic symmetry” In the exhibition, the biker jacket was featured alongside the balaclava—a knitted head covering covering most of the face— Doc Martens, and head coverings/shawls, offering a fantastic and provocative juxtaposition of clothing that tends to be associated with violence, fear, concealment, and intimidation.

I purchased the catalogue as a sourcebook for a special topics course I will be teaching this fall at KPU looking at the intersection of art and fashion from an art historical perspective. In my own research, the subject of fashion has become increasingly important, especially as I move to consider how recent forces within the global art market have adopted elements of fashion, lifestyle, and subculture branding to extend and create new audiences for art. At the same time, the subject of fashion is a recurring topic in courses where I explore urban visual environments. In my Introduction to Visual Art, Urban, and Screen Culture course, for example, the exploration of case studies in street and graffiti art, along with hip-hop and punk culture, are informed by subcultures where fashion plays a critical and even guiding role. To be sure, there is a great deal to be gained in the study and instruction of fashion via an art historical and visual arts lens, and the MoMA book and exhibition have provided the perfect launching off point.

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

February 18, 2018

Half way into February and it is finally starting to feel like spring is around the corner. Later this week, I will get a preview of the warmer weather I am craving while visiting Los Angeles to take in CAA, my discipline's annual meeting (mostly of North American art historians, visual artists, and others working in the academic fields related to art) at the College Art Association. I have been attending and/or presenting my research at CAA for well over a decade, first as a nervous grad student trying to figure out my field, and now increasingly as a confident member of a profession that I both love and want to help shape. I encourage anyone interested in getting a peek into the workings of art history to attend if they have a chance (here is a look at this year's program), as it is open and welcome to the public. Some years ago, the conference organizers decided to anchor the conference in New York and then move it to other art cities every second year. This year-- lucky us-- we are back in La-La Land.

When I think of Los Angeles, I think, like many of you, of sunshine, palm trees, cars, and the dream factories of Hollywood. I also think of David Hockey. Last year while in London, I visited the David Hockney retrospective at Tate Britain (now at the Met in NYC) and was struck by the incredible size and scale of his famous California paintings. These were works produced during the 1960-70's, mostly staged in private homes, that have since come to define Los Angeles and its particular cultural identity. Hockney's paintings reveal the world of leisure, social isolation, urban sprawl, and manufactured utopias that place the swimming pool at the centre of the Southern California dream. It is such a completely different kind of urban experience than being in New York, yet I completely understand the lure of both places and spaces. I am planning on seeing some fantastic art in LA and hearing some great sessions while at the conference, and will look forward to reporting back more next week. Enjoy the links!