FABRIC8 - GALERIA DE LA RAZA

GUERRERO - DE YOUNG MUSEUM

07.14.12, Part III

(with assistance from Larissa Archer, Clare Coppel and RWM)



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Fabric8 Gallery: Tight But Loose - New Works by Brian Barneclo.

Review by RWM: Great and stylish work. One can get lost in the past. Fun and jazzy.

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Galeria de la Raza: Beautiful Trash, The Lost Library - Adrian Arias.

Comment by AB: The year is 2086. A huge plastic trash island has made its way across the ocean to the coast of California. The plot line is that Adrian Arias looks back on history and forward to the future by sifting through this plastic calamity, and in so doing, assembling all manner of discards that we've thrown away. His sculptural books, perhaps portending events to come, are particularly engaging. Check it out.

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Guerrero Gallery: Summer Slam - Thom Lessner & William Emmert; Zones - Jon Bocksel.

Comment by AB: In the main gallery, William Emmert continues to demonstrate that can make ersatz anything. Knock-offs here include a ladder, stretcher bars, shipping containers, even screws in the wall-- all genuine fakes-- and believable ones too. Black on black stitched felt text works and art inspired by professional wrestling round out the docket. Also in the main gallery, Thom Lesser's in-your-face urban culture art homages 80s kitsch, music and pop icons of the era. In the rear gallery, Jon Bocksel's off-kilter signage is sourced from day-to-day life, news stories, and miscellaneous inconsequential events. Fun show; check it out.

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de Young Museum: Paris Is Burning - ArtPoint's Annual Bastille Day Party.

Review and images by Larissa Archer: Though it seems to have a slightly smaller turn-out than the recent Masked Ball put on in conjunction with the De Young's Masters of Venice show, ArtPoint's "Paris is Burning" Bastille Day Party has much going for it. For instance, no matter how much one loved the Venetian Masters' paintings, leaving the party to go view the exhibit felt like... well... leaving the party. Jean Paul Gaultier's designs, however, and the bizarrely enchanting uncanny valley talking mannequins, as well as the club lighting of the exhibition halls, feels like an extension of, rather than a break from, the festivities.

While we don't have the elaborate flower cocktails or the variety of savory hors d'oeuvres of the Masked Ball, the desserts make up for it: Fluffy meringues, blue-and-white striped shortbread (like Gaultier's signature sailor shirt, geddit?), feather-light eclairs, but most spectacularly, "Pain Couture" sculptures by Michel Suas and Miyuki Togi, dyed dough molded into some of Gaultier's most famous bustiers and his Bustier dress. A lot of the music played tonight is undancable (except interpretively) but there are some charming burlesque and can-can acts to entertain people between awkward attempts to dance to all-strings Beatles covers.

One popular and original addition is quick-sketch portraits drawn in the style of fashion sketches (invariably flattering no matter the outfit portrayed) by a couple of artists using Samsung's Galaxy Note app, which they have hooked up to screens that show the audience what they're drawing on the pads (slightly larger than iphones) as they draw it. One of them takes an extended break, during which time emerging artist Janice Chuang steps in (light blue dress below) and makes an impromptu sketch of yours truly.

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