Art at the Rendon // Stories: One Weekend

Posted on by Diversions LA

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This coming weekend, Art at the Rendon/Stories comes to the vacant hotel in DTLA that was home to an innovative series of art installations last June.

Activating the site November 9th through 11th, director Ralph Ziman and creative director Maria Greenshields-Ziman are offering an immersive experience that will turn the hotel into a stage and screen, exploring a fictionalized version of the building’s history.

The pair started brainstorming the idea in September, and found the large-scale installation a vast undertaking.

The most satisfying aspect of the project, Ziman says is “Definitely the innovative aspect of working with a group of like-minded people. From the performers to the production crew, we are blown away by the passion and enthusiasm Art at the Rendon has generated with Stories. Because of the organic nature of the collaboration, each person brings something new and exciting to the table, wholeheartedly investing their unique set of skills, imagination, and creativity. We planted a seed and it grew,” he enthuses.

Ziman adds “Putting on a public event is complicated, because there are so many elements. Each production issue that we solved seems to bring up another. Cindy Schwartzstein from Cartwheel Art has been at the helm of production logistics and without her we couldn’t do any of this. She and her team don’t ever seem to sleep.”

Schwartzstein curated and produced Art at the Rendon’s inaugural event, Hidden Rooms, and continues to direct The Rendon’s art programming. Other integral collaborators include production designer Jennifer A. Davis, cinematographer Stevie George, and media producer Nolan Silverstein.

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According to Greenshields-Ziman,  the exhibit’s inspiration was the character and history of the building, which served as the main catalyst. “We want to show glimpses into the lives of the people we imagined might have lived there. We wanted to activate the building from the inside and from outside. In addition to the scenarios within the walls of the hotel, there will also be projection mapping on the exterior. The mapping will combine a human analogue element with more surreal elements.”

The pair most want readers to explore the building in a “voyeuristic way, peeking into the lives of the inhabitants – characters – in each room. We want them to wonder:  How did this person get here? Where did they come from? Why are they acting the way they do? What will happen to them when I leave the room? We want to fire the audience’s curiosity.”

Ziman says the installation builds on the previous Art at the Rendon experience, Hidden Rooms, held in June. “The two events are similar in that they are both collaborative and immersive, with the rooms of the hotel and the dive bar as the main focus. Hidden Rooms was interactive and all about communication, in that the artists hung out and met with the patrons to talk about their work. Stories is mostly non-interactive. The guests are voyeurs, walking through the hotel.”

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Above, Hidden Rooms

Greenshields-Ziman notes “They can enter the threshold of each room but no further than a few feet. The performers carry on in the rooms as if they were at home in their own spaces, without interacting with anyone outside the performance. The audience and performers will have time to meet, have a drink, and converse in the bar after each show.”

The audience can move freely through two floors of the hotel, experiencing each room. Opera singer Rachel Staples Guettler will also perform live at the event.

Downstairs, the hotel’s corner dive bar, Licha’s Bar and Grill, is reimagined as a 1920s speakeasy with libations by Angel City Brewery, Infuse Spirits and Pali Wine. There will also be live music by The Vignes Rooftop Revival. All are based in the Arts District.

“Art at The Rendon seeks to bring communities together to celebrate the arts and the spirit of the district. Stories, like Hidden Rooms, is a fundraiser for local arts organizations. We brought together all sorts of local performers and creatives—including actors, musicians, and filmmakers, and we’ve had many DTLA Arts District businesses join us as community partners. It’s exciting to see so many coming together in a way that benefits the community, because that’s what Art at the Rendon is all about,” Ziman explains. 

STORIES continues Art at The Rendon’s commitment to the local arts community.  100% of proceeds benefit local arts organizations Inner-City Arts and Cornerstone Theater Company.

Don’t miss. Tickets available via Eventbrite, here. 
ART AT THE RENDON // STORIES
Friday, November 9 (7 – 10 pm)
Saturday, November 10 (7 – 10 pm)
Sunday, November 11 (6 – 9 pm)

The Rendon
2055 E. 7th Street
Downtown Los Angeles Arts District

 

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The Perfect Place to Bend an Elbow: Elbow Room

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Looking for a place to relax, quaff a delicious drink or cold brew, and eat something simple but beautifully made? Then bend an elbow at the Elbow Room.

There are flat screen TVs, sports, an open front room, a view into the kitchen, and a patio in back. The bar is white marble, and reminiscent of a bar top you’d see at a Paris cafe, or an iconic hangout in New York City that’s been around for years. That’s no accident: the bar has purposely gone for a look that’s more east coast than west:  a local’s spot that even calls itself #TheNewLocals.

Hash tag all you want: it’s a fun, friendly spot with attentive bartenders and a chef who knows his way around a pizza.

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We enjoyed an entire afternoon trying drinks such as the Frose – essentially an adult slurpee with rose wine and finely crushed ice, or what the menu terms “God’s gift to your mouth.”  We were indulging on a hot day in Hollywood, and have to agree the tag line is pretty accurate.

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My partner tried the Tropic Thunder, mescal, pineapple honey, simple syrup and basil oil.  Sweet without being cloying and strong without being overpowering: it was a hit, too.

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The Big Texan made with bourbon, grapefuit juice and simple syrup was my choice, a lovely mix that had just the right citrus edge.

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Spice lovers will absolutely enjoy the Angry Ginger,  japapeno-infused vodka exudes hot, but is tempered well with strawberries, agave and ginger beer. For those in search of a lighter drink, the Aperol Spritz might be the key,  aperol, club soda, and an orange twist.

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Bartender Justin Paul couldn’t have done better: great choices to taste, fast and friendly service,  and clearly a great fan of other guests, too.

Beer-lovers can find choices on draft and in bottles and cans.

So what did we eat with our drinks? — do note that the reverse could apply; while the look of Elbow Room is comfortable bar with food, it could easily be described as a gastropub with exceptional drinks.

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Possibly my favorite item on the menu were the Veggie Balls. Quinoa “meatballs” with goat cheese in a perfectly balanced marinara. We could’ve definitely consumed more than one bowl of these “bites.”

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The Argula salad was a terrific mix of arugula, pine nuts, diced tomato, and a lemon vinaigrette topped with shaved Romano. Prosciutto is a standard part of the dish that we opted out of, either way its a wonderful mix of flavors and freshness.

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The Lee-siana Shrimp – named for Elbow Room co-owner Lee Walker – is succulent shrimp sautted in Lousiana Lemon Rosemary Butter. Not entirely sure where the Lousiana monnicker comes from, but origin is beside the point – it’s great.

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Elbow Room may be best known for their pizza – we had the perfectly crisp thin crust cheese –  but there are plenty of other pies to choose from, whether it’s the OG cheesy pepperoni or the Caicio Pepe, a wonderfully gooey mix of ricotta, Bechamel, mozzarella cheese, black pepper, topped with romano cheese. There is a gluten-free cheese pizza, too.

Best of all, you can order pizzas whole or by the slice, the latter being a great option if you’re stopping in for a quick drink and snack after work or catching a film.

While we were delighted with our choices, you don’t have to follow our lead. Try garlic fries, paninis – a.k.a. “Sandies” such as the A Train made with marinated chicken, red onion, feta, arugula, sundried tomatoes, pesto spread and aioli – which looked appealing on another diner’s table; or go for the rich  truffle mac n’ cheese, roasted shishito peppers, a selection of flatbreads, or smoked mozzarella. 

And if you have any room left, go for the Peanut Butter Pie a desert that morphs a must-be-shared combination of peanut butter cups, crushed peanuts, and peanut butter on an oreo crust.

And if you’re looking for an excuse to stop on by, a generous happy hour happens 7 days a week with specials like $4 select beers, $7 well drinks, and $8 specialty cocktails, or winning combos like an $8 Peroni with a slice, or a $10 Mule or Aperol Spritz with a slice.

In short, if you’re a Hollywood local – or you just want to feel like one – get your elbows ready.

 

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1634 Cahuenga Blvd.
(323) 645-7119

Dine in/take out/delivery options

  • Genie Davis; photos: Jack Burke, supplemental evening shots provided by Elbow Room

 

Nature/Nurture at MASH Gallery

Posted on by Diversions LA

 

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Curated by Andi Campognone, Nature Worship, at DTLA’s MASH Gallery through the 10th of November is a beautiful and enigmatic exhibition that is also innately accessible. It’s loveliness and grace are captivating; each of the artists has created resonant images of nature the remind us of the wonder of a forest, the perfectness of a flower or tree, and the fragility of our environment. It is a truly Californian show, in its palette, its light, its evocation of natural images that seem rooted in our wonderful and seemingly vast array of natural gifts, from Joshua Tree to mountain, from desert to sea, from forest to rock.

Artists include Kim Abeles, China Adams, Kelly Berg, Kimberly Brooks, Rebecca Campbell, Terry Cervantes, Samantha Fields, Sant Khalsa, Laurie Lipton, Haleh Mashian, Catherine Ruane, Allison Schulnick, and Lisa Schulte.

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Some works are precise, perfect, magical depictions such as Lisa Schulte’s gorgeous sculpture “Singularity of Light,” which literally and figuratively glows its depiction of Queen Palm seed pods or Catherine Ruane’s “Dance Me to the Edge,” a series that is both intimate and universal, a fragrant memory, a circle of sky, a seed, a winged insect.

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Others are more eliptical but no less wonderful, such as Haleh Mashian’s large-scale Crayola-like rainbow trees in “Natural Rhythms,”  below.

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Others look to the potential loss of beauty, and even depict loss itself in a way that evokes wonder, as with Laurie Lipton’s riveting “Personal Effects,” which gives us a literal wave of waste, bottles and cans, while perched in the middle of it, a young girl is busy with her phone. 

And still others give us a glimpse of humans in nature, and how it may succor and surround us, as with Rebecca Campbell’s “Night Watch.”

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This is a lush and passionate show, full of beauty and sorrow, hope and loss. It would be your loss if you miss seeing it in person: go downtown this weekend and enter a special landscape indeed.

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  • Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis; installation photo above courtesy of MASH Gallery

Specter of Documentation at Durden and Ray

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Curated by Jenny Hager, Jennifer Celio, and Valerie Wilcox, Specter of Documentation – closing November 3rd at Durden and Ray – is the perfect show for today’s news cycle, and tomorrow’s memories.

Edgy and fascinating, the show features artists Sydney Croskery, Dani Dodge, Marielle Farnan, Ed Gomez, Claudia Parducci, Sabine Pearlman, Liza Ryan, Curtis Stage, Joe Wolek, Steven Wolkoff, and Tim Youd.

In a wide range of mediums, the artists take on the idea of documentation, of gathering and recording,  of saving and analyzing. In combination with this, the show deals with an unnamed phantom, a specter that haunts, or perhaps shifts a ghostly light onto the inner soul behind the prosaic.

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From the serene oil on panel visual postcards of nature by Croskery to her oil work of a jujjjyfruits box to the haunting devastation of Parducci’s charcoal on canvas “OK City,” there is much to dive into here.

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Surface viewing barely scratches the meaning of each image, which seem to be inhabited by an almost unearthly, biting, deeply felt knowledge the artists each seek to impart.

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There is the intricate shredded acrylic paint strip mosaic sculpture of Wolkoff’s “50 Girls I didn’t call” paired viscerally and sardonically with his “65 women who Charles Manson didn’t kill,” the perfect distillation of the recent Supreme Court nominee debacle.

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Woleck’s video sculpture “In the Foothills of Appalachia (Lipstick on a Pig)” offers a mysterious glimpse of a life we haven’t led, yet one that feels oddly prescient and familiar.

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Farnan’s photographic works shot in Forest Lawn cemetery edge on the surreal.

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Dodge’s striking installation “Khartoum” intricately sews stories clipped from the Los Angeles Times to velvet and polyfil, crafting a stunning horse’s head that evokes the iconic horse’s head depicted in The Godfather. Red thread binds the head, neck, and crumpled blanket to the ceiling as if with sinews torn from flesh or ribbons of blood. The horse’s eye has a pupil that reveals the orange-faced image of Donald Trump, the ultimate thug.

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Gomez’ mixed media sculpture “20th Century” reminds the viewer of Calder, a kite, a frozen field of kinetic energy all in one; modern, fragile, spooky.

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Curators and artists, above

You want to see this show for so many reasons: it’s this day, this age, this year, this time; it will stay with you like a fragment of a mirror embedded in your skin and heart. And it’s a beautiful, strange, mysterious show: you learn from it without needing to understand; it reveals and compels with a silent power.

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Addendum: When in Rome…Durden and Ray just opened Los Angeles Is, Once Again  at the Gallery of Art, Temple University Rome. That exhibition is curated by Camilla Boemio and features Durden and Ray artists Dani Dodge, Ed Gomez, Sean Noyce, Max Presneill, Ty Pownall, Curtis Stage, Alison Woods, Gul Cagin, Roni Feldman, and Joe Davidson. If you’re aheaded abroad, that exhibition runs through November 22nd. The opening event included performance art by Sean Noyce and Katya Usvitsky.

Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis (Rome photo provided by Durden and Ray)