One City One Pride: Into the Streets

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2016 One City One Pride Logo
The city of West Hollywood’s 40-day One City One Pride festival is a tribute to diversity that is itself wonderfully diverse in the wide variety of arts programming it offers.

2016 One City One Pride main poster image - artwork by Ricky Serrano

Continuing through June 30th are an exceptional range of over 90 events, exhibitions, performances, and interactive programming, all built around the 2016 festival theme of “Into the Streets,” which explores LGBTQ activism and history. The festival’s theme recalls an early rallying cry of LGBTQ rights groups “Out of the closet and into the streets.”

From theater to art exhibitions, concerts and conversations, there’s something for everyone to explore and enjoy as a part of the inclusive program.

Running through June 26th is Hollywood Fringe/One City One Pride. The City of West Hollywood is collaborating with The Hollywood Fringe Festival to present a full line-up of exciting LBGTQ-themed theatrical productions. Partnership shows include God’s Waiting Room, Life’s A Bitch and So Am I, The Gay Guide to Tinseltown, Sarah G’s Spot: The #1 Ballsy Woman, Snatched…Stories from Down There, Reclaimed Freedom: Fact or Fiction, Skin of Honey/Piel De Miel, and The Collection by Harold Pinter/Anniversary by Rachel Bonds. For dates, times, locations and prices, see http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/weho.

June 10 - LAAA Out There exhibit - Artwork by Julio Panisello

Lena Moross, Carmine after Degas

Opening June 10th from 6 to 9 p.m., and running through June 17th, Gallery 825 hosts the 9th annual Out There group exhibition. The subject asks artists to explore West Hollywood’s commitment to the LGBTQ community. Out There was juried by William Escalera and Francisco George, and features cutting edge mixed media, paintings, photography, and sculptural work by artists including Robyn Alatorre, Debi Cable, Kathy Curtis-Cahill, Bibi Davidson, Dwora Fried, Shelley Heffler, Tom Lasley, Shana Mabari, Lena Moross, Johnny Naked, Hung Viet Nguyen, Kenn Raaf, Osceola Refetoff, Cory Sewelson, Skye Amber Sweet, Scott A. Trimble, and Monica Wyatt, among many others. The gallery is located at 825 N. La Cienega, and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10-5. For more information, see http://www.gallery825.com/exhibitions.html

Photos: Joshua Barash City of West Hollywood Pride parade 2010 Santa Monica Blvd.
Photo: Joshua Barash

June 12th, starting at 10:45 a.m. is the renowned LA Pride Parade, and as a part of the parade itself, FATA – From the Archives to the Archives – Queer Signs of the Times 1965 – 2010. The pride parade is produced and presented by Christopher Street West, and runs from Crescent Heights to Robertson Boulevard along Santa Monica Boulevard. When watching the always-popular parade, don’t miss Queer Signs of the Times 1965-2016, a stellar art project that takes place within the parade, which includes 75 re-created protest signs taken to the streets in a mock protest rally. The re-created signs date back as far as 1965.

June 12 - Queer Signs of the Times - Historic Signs from 1965-2016 - Flyer - Artist Ruben Esparza

Mid-week, author Felice Picano talks about the strong gay presence in Hollywood during the 1930’s on June 15th at 7 p.m. Held at the West Hollywood City Council Chambers, located at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd, this free event also features a short reading excerpted from the novella “Wonder City of the West.” For more information, see http://bit.ly/GayHollywood30s

On Sunday June 19th from 4-8 p.m. the book launch for the ONE Archives exhibit running through July 10th takes place in Plummer Park’s Long Hall. The C*ck, Paper, Scissors Book Launch and Collage Workshop centers around the first catalog to examine queer collage practices in an historical context. It was published in collaboration with the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. Supporting this seminal achievement is a free collage workshop led by feminist artist Suzanne Wright. Long Hall is located at 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., where the exhibit is also displayed.

The last weekend of June serves up more strong OCOP events, including the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights’ Pride Play Reading Festival, two rehearsed reading programs featuring LGBTQ-themed plays. Six short pieces will be featured on Saturday; a single full-length project presented on Sunday. Both free programs will take place at the Plummer Park Community Center, Rooms 5/6, located at 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.

June 26 - 'I Stand Corrected' Film Screening and Summer Sounds concert with Jennifer Leitham - Photo courtesy of Jennifer Leitham

Both a film screening and Summer Sounds concert will also take place on Sunday the 26th. The screening of the film I Stand Corrected takes place at 2 p.m. in West Hollywood’s City Hall at 8300 Santa Monica Blvd. The film tells the story of Jennifer Leitham, who transitioned from being known as John Leitham during a 2001 concert tour with Doc Severinson. Leitham was recently chosen as one of LA Weekly’s most interesting people of 2016, and was featured in the Vanity Fair special edition Trans America issue. A Q&A with filmmaker Andrea Meyerson will be held following the film. At 4 p.m., Leitham will perform at the City of West Hollywood’s free Summer Sounds concert series outside in the City Hall Community Plaza. There’s no RSVP required, but more information can be found at http://bit.ly/SSJL2016

A Brief History of Drag exhibit 'Portrait of Anyone Who Shows Up In Drag, Los Angeles Edition, 2016' and artwork by Austin Young

Continuing through June 27th is “A Brief History of Drag,” a fascinating photography exhibition that chronicles both the Los Angeles and WeHo drag scenes from the late 1800s to the present. Installed on the second floor of the West Hollywood Library, this exhibition includes work by Austin Young, whose “Portrait of Anyone Who Shows Up In Drag, Los Angeles Edition, 2016,” a 7.5 x 7.5-foot composite photograph, features more than 100 people in drag. The exhibition is a collaboration between the City of West Hollywood WeHo Arts and One City One Pride with the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Advocate & Gochis Galleries, and CAP UCLA with assistance from the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives. See more at: http://www.weho.org/residents/drag-angeles-one-city-one-pride

June 4 - Art Out! West Hollywood City Poet Steven Reigns will host a 'Poet-tree' reading during Art Out! Photo of Steven Reigns by Tony Coelho

The Lesbian Speakers Series/WeHo Reads/One City One Pride will present Natalie Goldberg in conversation with West Hollywood City Poet Steven Reigns on the 30th anniversary of Natalie Goldberg’s classic Writing Down the Bones – Freeing the Writer Within. This free event will take place June 30th at 7 p.m. in the West Hollywood City Council Chambers at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. More information is available at: www.weho.org/wehoreads

For more information on all events and RSVP links, visit:
www.weho.org/pride
and
http://weho.org/home/showdocument?id=26443 (PDF format)

Artist Susan Lizotte

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Susan Lizotte’s studio is a trip around the world, from history known and unknown, through the surface and into layers of meaning, venturing from the abstract to the literal. Each piece, regardless of the style or the series she’s created, resonates with urgency and tells a story that’s nuanced in technique and narrative.

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Her Mercury series is about power, a potent riff on the seen, unseen, and the discovered and undiscovered since Columbus discovered the new world. With the god Mercury known as messenger, this series uses that capability to send a message about what you can’t see in this world, from political events to the darkness of the human heart. Above, the artist’s large scale “He Thought It Would Last.”

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Above: The Old Order

Her series, the artist says, “tackles misuse and abuse of power.” Starting from Columbus reaching the New World in 1492, touching on mercury as an element used by doctors of the time period to fight syphilis, and inspired by Mark F. Blaxill’s “The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine and a Manmade Epidemic,” Lizotte takes on poisoned subjects with grace and beauty.

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Above, “New Medievalism,” whose almost comical demons reveal what we fear and don’t fear in today’s global culture.

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Her more abstract works captivate in form. Working in aerosol and oil on canvas, she creates space and movement that is both translucent and oblique. The oils make sharp images. “The layers are all about the idea of what we see and don’t see,” she says.

She was inspired by Pascal Cotte. “He runs Lumiere Technology in Paris,” Lizotte explains. “He  contributed to the knowledge of the Mona Lisa due to his multi-spectral digitization, pealing back layers to see what we don’t see in the ultra violet and infrared spectrum.”

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We may see only a middle range of light wavelengths, but Lizotte seeks to lift up the rock on our cultural and emotional vision and expose and create a new inner dimension. Her spray paint creates a fuzzy but distinct feeling of depth. What do we see when we allow ourselves to fall inside her work?

Open your eyes and learn to see…Lizotte’s vision will pull you into history and the power for greater insight in one fell swoop.

 

 

 

 

Artists Rule at Durden and Ray: Reviews of Americanism and Yvette Gellis/Drea Cofield

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Above: Americanism, from March 2016

We’ve seen two fantastic shows at the Durden and Ray gallery space in DTLA recently – unfortunately, you may have missed them. Both shows ran for short periods of time, two weeks and one week respectively, making it essential to put this gallery on your radar and your must-see gallery list.

We’ll give you a look here and suggest that you check out the well-curated offerings presented and the artists who created them online.

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Above, Yvette Gellis

The most recent stand-out exhibition was the paired solo exhibition of Yvette Gellis and Drea Cofield curated by Susan Lizotte.

In the back room of the Durden and Ray space, Drea Cofield paints a post-impressionistic lush and magical world in warmly saturated colors. “It was observational work created in Long Island City,” Cofield relates. Created in water color and colored pencil, she calls her work here “American Summer paintings, the hot sun, the back yard with the bathing suit on, a lot of our culture comes out in that,” she says. These Edenic pieces are softly sensual

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In the main exhibition room, the work of Yvette Gellis, whose paintings reconstruct and redefine her place in the world, through lyrical abstract impressionism. “Most of my pieces are oil on mylar, the panels combine acrylic and oil to break up the paintings and bring them into the space. The mylar tends to transform the entire space,” Gellis explains.

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It’s a conversation in which you are always on guard, a metaphor for life and what’s happening geopolitically, where we are headed as people.” These recent works were inspired by the artist’s recent visit to Paris and her return right after the bombings there.

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Further back, Americanism, a powerful group show curated by Steven Wolkoff, ran for far-too-short a time March 26th, and featured an absolutely killer collection of artists focused on what exactly it means to be an American – and what is an American “ism.”

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Featuring images as interesting as they are fun “including cat memes, supersized sodas, bottomless military funding, and all the anti-establishment political candidates you can handle,” according to Wolkoff, exhibiting artists included:

Gavin Bunner
Don Edler
Raymie Ladavaia
Ben Jackel
Casey Kauffmann
Yoshie Sakai
Sonja Schenk
Ami Tallman
Drue Worrell

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Curator Steven Wolkoff left, with artist Gavin Bunner, right

Wolkoff says “The project started with a few artists who wanted to show the Americanism spirit as something to explore. They had the idea of components of American spirit which are manifest in politics right now. The ideas coalesced around that,” he says.

The prescient and timely topic – given today’s political scene and the upcoming California primary election – offered a strong and bracing look at who we are as a culture in this point in time.

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Gavin Bunner’s “Job Interview” features a delicately rendered job interview line, with hope and dejection both rampant in a piece that serves as a solemn yet amusing ode to the recession we have still not recovered from – unless one is part of a political or economic dynasty.

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“Even Superman cannot get a job,” Bunner points out. “There’s hope going into the inteview, rejection and disappointment coming out.” The piece was created with gloss and sharpie ink.

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rami with art

Raymie Ladevaia uses “the feline as a metaphor for the endurance and stamina, the power and energy of a cat’s bounce. It can start and stop, an action, a force of itself,” the artist relates.  His work was created using water color, crayon, and collage. “Lots of my work deals with feline energy and force. If you’re a cat person you understand.”

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Sonja Schenk’s “The End” is a plaster and styrofoam sculpture. “I considered what’s iconic about America, and I decided it was the car the road. It’s the end of that era, and our roads could be like the ruins of the Roman Empire or Native American Mounds. That was my inspiration.”

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Yoshie Sakai’s video work above shows Americans mindlessly eating junk food “Come One, Eat All;” while Ami Tallman’s “Local 215,” and other images below, are all about the desire for change.

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Below, the sculpture of Ben Jackal

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Below the work of Stacy Kaufman: smashed iPhones, hot dogs, Mickey Mouse, sex, and bombs.

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Find these artists! And keep an eye on Durden and Ray’s exhibition space, located at Durden and Ray 1950 S Santa Fe Ave Los Angeles, CA 90021

Lena Moross: For the Love of Carmine

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Born in St. Petersberg, Russia, artist Lena Moross is a true force in the Los Angeles art scene. With the characteristic vibrance she shows in so much of her lush work, she’s tackling a trenchant subject: what being transgender really means. In her upcoming solo exhibition, For the Love of Carmine, opening June 11th at MuzeuMM, Moross creates a social narrative.

Her beautifully colorful, finely detailed, impressionistic watercolor work is used here to create an immersive experience of what it’s like to grow up as a transgender male in the early post-war years. Her large-scale paintings demand repeat viewings: the very feminine, voluptuous curves and her emphasis on fluid strokes and shapes create a richly fertile landscape to explore what it’s like to be a woman inside a man’s body. A staged video is also included in the exhibit, which creates a deep dialog between the subject of her works here, Carmine, and the artist herself, as an untold narrative spills forth.

Lena Moross with Carmine, Carmine in Repose
Above, Carmine Messina with the artist, Lena Moross

The artist was captivated by the real Carmine Messina, whom she met on a Hollywood street corner three years ago. Tall, heavy-set, and middle-aged, Messina was heavily made up and dressed in a woman’s black coat, fishnet stockings, mid-calf boots and sporting a long, jet-black wig. Moross was struck by Carmine’s gentle demeanor and his obliviousness to the effect he was causing. The artist introduced herself and began a conversation that led to recorded conversations, videos, photographs, paintings, and sketches. Using these resources, she set about exploring, through her art, the ordeal of being transgender in the late 1940s, born into a middle class San Fernando Valley family.

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Her revealing, sensual paintings tell a long hidden story, one that exposes and gently honors what had been concealed and riddled with shame. While social change is slowly creating a space for transgendered people, their long hidden stories can be difficult to reveal and depict. Moross tells Messina’s story with dignity, humor, and a translucent grace, qualities which are representative of all of Moross’ recent work.

Her pieces have a dream-like, almost floating quality, their fluid lines and the incorporation of floral images and colors making her work as intense as it is delicate.

Lena Moross, Carmine after Degas

In this exhibition, Messina, clad in a simple aqua smock, poses in feminine grace, shy and almost transcending his girth; or Moross positions him nude, with a jubilant, blooming bouquet of red roses masking his genitalia.

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Whether raising a glass of ruby wine, reclining against the coiled cocoon of a red quilt, or performing opera in a yellow tunic, the figure that Moross captures is at once bulky and beautiful, poised and awkward, always fluid and feminine. She casts what it means to be a woman – that particular state of grace, longing, and sensuous shape, in a fresh light.

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Moross fuses male and female, form and the softest of function. You can almost feel the draped cloths, smell and touch the soft rose petals. It’s no surprise the Moross is skilled at this kind of fusion. Moving from Russia to the U.S., she studied classical art at the State Academy of Art in Russia. In America, she studied at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design as a student of Peter Lyashkov, earned her master’s at Cal-Arts, and was a student of John Baldessari and John Borofsky.

Her fine art skills and her wonderfully interpretive, fantastical bent have meshed just as surely and resiliently as her international heritage has fused with a strong, brash sense of American freedom.

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In For the Love of Carmine, Moross expresses freedom, repression, fantasy, joy, and a spirit that longs to break loose from its confines. A truly masterful solo show, by an artist who is taking flight with story and shape.

MuzeuMM
4817 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Opening reception June 11, 7-11pm

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Shoebox PR