The Future of Art in Los Angeles
WHERE: Flower Pepper Gallery
WHEN: March 15th, 2014
"The Season of Spring" was a massive art show I had curated and I really wanted to do something special during its run. So, instead of a closing reception, I had the idea of doing a panel discussion with people I felt were integral to LA's art scene: a critic, collector, professor, editor, and blogger.
My role was to get all of the speakers on board to do the talk and then moderate it once it began. I also had a performance artist, David Fisk Whitaker, doing a subtle piece throughout the whole event. He wore a name tag and introduced himself to people. It was subtle, but effective. And then at the end of the talk, I opened it up for audience member's questions.
The panel took place on my birthday and two artists had made me amazing gifts that I wore. Hollis Hart created a cardboard bow-tie and Malcolm Stuart designed an incredible airbrushed T-shirt with my portrait on it.
I remember the gallery was filled with people, who were excited to hear about what the panelists wanted to talk about. Especially, since the theme of the talk was "The future of art in Los Angeles".
My favorite part of the discussion was when Marlene Picard, the collector, said that artists are the bravest people she knows. It was so inspiring to me, and I know many others too, and I still wish to this day that it was recorded so I could play it back.
When the talk was over, the owner of Flower Pepper Gallery got us all pizza, and we were able to keep talking. A friend who I hadn't seen since High School had just started a blog named Magic Powers DIY and she took amazing photos of the event, which you can see in the link below.
