Mia Doi Todd, Frohawk Two Feathers and Om'Mas Keith Sing Vote Yes On Prop 37

It's voting time! I got my absentee ballot yesterday and am hanging chads as I write this post. When I got to Prop 37, I wasn't sure what to do. Lots of commercials on TV were telling me to vote no, but then I saw that my good friend the amazing Frohawk Two Feathers recorded a public message for all Californians. Let's take a look together, shall we?

Election day, November 6, 2012 is fast approaching, and Californians have the opportunity to pass this very important law. 

Proposition 37 would require food sold in supermarkets to be labeled if it contains genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Studies have shown links between GMOs and cancer, allergies, and organ toxicity. 

Monsanto and other GMO and pesticide firms have contributed nearly $35 million to oppose Proposition 37. 

All of Europe, Russia, India, Japan and China require labeling of genetically engineered food, and so should we. We are what we eat, and we have the right to know what we are eating! 

For more information on Proposition 37, visit: www.carighttoknow.org 

Performed by Mia Doi Todd, Frohawk Two Feathers and Om'Mas Keith Produced by Om'Mas Keith and Mia Doi Todd

There you have it! Vote Yes On Prop. 37! Thanks Mia, Frohawk and Om'Mas!

Venice Art Walk and Auctions hosted by Google

A long day of work at the gallery. Lots of good things are afoot including this!

Taylor De Cordoba artists Kimberly Brooks, Frohawk Two Feathers, Kyle Field and Claire Oswalt are participating in this year's Venice Art Walk and Auction, taking place May 19 and 20.

Kimberly Brooks | Mom's Friends Study, 2008 | Gouache on paper | 8" x 11"


Kyle Field | A Place in the Park, 2008 | Ink and watercolor on paper | 7 x 8.75 inches


Claire Oswalt | Doubled Over, 2009 | Graphite, paper, wood | 26''x36''x13''


Frohawk Two Feathers | Tales of Heroism, Part I (God Help The Enemy), 2006 | Xerographic transfer print on wood | 7.5" x 8"

This year the auction is being hosted by Google and includes artist studio tours, gourmet food trucks and live music. Tickets to the event can be purchased on their website.

Don’t miss the all NEW Venice Art Walk & Auctions hosted by Google Los Angeles. Enjoy our curated silent art auction, live music, taste bud tingling food trucks, family art activities and exclusive Art & Architecture tours at Venice’s largest community celebration! In 1979... as Venice Family Clinic struggled to provide health care services to Venice’s working poor, artists in the community conceived of a simple but unique idea to raise funds. Many of these artists were patients of the Clinic and decided to open their studios for a ticketed tour to raise much-needed funds and keep the Clinic open. The Venice Art Walk was born. Venice Art Walk & Auctions brings thousands of community members together to celebrate Venice Family Clinic. Artists open their studios, architects open their homes, and as many as 400 artists donate their work to ensure that neighbors in need have access to health care. All proceeds from the event directly fund Venice Family Clinic health care services. We couldn’t do it without YOU!

Echo Park Craft Fair

 I stopped by the Echo Park Craft Fair this past Sunday to see friends and take an opportunity to relax in the sunshine.




Everyone was in good spirits, quesadillas and hibiscus tea were enjoyed by all, and the craftiest craftspeople of Echo Park were busily hawking their wares.

 

Quesadillas by Alejandra, who you can find at Sunset and Echo Park most anytime.




Kathryn Bentley, who made my wedding ring!


Britt Browne, the goddess of Indigo, spreading the blues.


Original works of art by Marian










Hostess Rachel Craven shows off her beautiful linens




Beatrice Valenzuela & her zapatos mexicanos




Bea's husband makes these silver, brass and bronze objects that are kinda awesome.




Husband & wife fashion designers Momoko Suzuki and Alexander Yamaguchi


Momo's line is called Black Crane. Alex's line is his name. His shirts are the most comfortable I've ever worn. I haven't tried on Momo's clothes.


Bananas ripening behind the scenes.


Not for sale.

Must See Art This Weekend: Charlene Liu ~ Everywhere Close To Me

It's a little after midnight, and I've just finished photographing this amazing new body of work by Charlene Liu. The way she manipulates paper cannot be understood in jpegs. You'll have to use your own eyes to appreciate what's going on in these works. The show opens this saturday at Taylor De Cordoba.

Taylor De Cordoba is proud to present Everywhere Close To Me, Charlene Liu’s third exhibition at Taylor De Cordoba. The exhibition will run from April 14 – May 19, 2012 with an opening reception for the artist on Saturday, April 14th from 6 – 8PM.

In her new body of works on paper and panel, Liu manipulates the medium of paper itself to create a series of beautiful yet unsettling abstractions. Along with acrylic airbrush, handmade paper is Liu’s material of choice and she uses delicately pigmented papers to build her collaged works. Armed with an overtly feminine palette of pinks, peaches, mints and violets, the work oscillates between extreme beauty and the saccharin. Through a process of forming paper pulp into shapes and painting with pigmented pulp, Liu cultivates chance and embraces a stylistic looseness that playfully mines painterly traditions.

Drawing from the everyday of her domestic interior and backyard landscape, as well as, chinoiserie and decorative art objects, Liu repeatedly recasts and collides motifs until their specificity collapses and a new world emerges. Clustered plum blossoms lie tangled in a chain link fence as loose abstract marks float through a celestial backdrop. Swooping and drifting the imagery can’t be contained, pushing through entangling lines and the confines of the rectangle. In the larger works, she subverts by piling up delicate motifs and details until they become dominating, even grotesque.

The combined elements create a pictorial space confounding ideas of ornamentation and desire, high and low forms, figure and ground. Repeatedly, Liu walks the line between celebration and critique, as she moves gracefully from imagery to abstraction. The result is a stunning series of imagined landscapes.

Liu lives and works in Eugene, OR where she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon. Born in Taiwan in 1975, Liu received an MFA from Columbia University in 2003 and a BA from Brandeis University in 1997. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with recent solo exhibitions at Taylor De Cordoba Gallery (Los Angeles), Elizabeth Leach Gallery (Portland, OR), and Shaheen Modern & Contemporary (Cleveland, OH). Her work has been reviewed in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and Flash Art International among others and is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the New Museum (New York), and the Progressive Art Collection (Cleveland, OH).

Taylor De Cordoba 2660 S. La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034 (310) 559-9156

Ciclavia 2012 art exhibition: Some Assembly Required

Some Assembly Required looks like a fun activity to take in during next week's Ciclavia. I'll be bringing out the Shopping Cart Rickshaw once again to bring mirth and merriment to 2 wheeled Angelenos.



CicLAvia Bike Ride with Chad and the Rickshaw thru Downtown L.A. from Alex de Cordoba on Vimeo.

Inspired by Ciclovía, the original, weekly street closure event in Bogotá, Colombia, CicLAvia opens LA streets to pedestrians and bicyclists, creating a temporary web of public space on which residents of Los Angeles can walk, bike, socialize, celebrate and learn more about their own city. On 4/15/12, 10 miles of roadways will temporarily close to car traffic and open for recreational purposes. From Boyle Heights to Downtown, MacArthur Park to East Hollywood, El Pueblo/Olvera Street, and South LA, CicLAvia encourages Angelenos to not only make active use of their streets, but to rediscover the roadways and neighborhoods that too often go unnoticed in a car. Help open LA’s streets… take part in the fourth CicLAvia on April 15, 2012.

Perfection Perfected

How does one improve on perfection? Just ask Sherry & Miguel of Marvimon. Last week they opened their newly refurbished event space in Chinatown.

 

I'll never forget the first time I crossed the threshold of Marvimon, leaving behind Los Angeles and entering a magical land. As you prepare to leave grungy downtown L.A., the antique rug gives you a hint of what's behind the door.



Here you can see what Marvimon does best: elegant entertaining for large groups, state of the art multimedia & an ambiance limited only by your imagination.



Hollyflora, the best floral artisans in Los Angeles, know the ins and outs of Marvimon. This piece here brings the natural essence of a field of wildflowers into the mix, a perfect accent for this golden brick wall.



The muted grey/blue color of this wall makes everything POP



More flower porn...



The reclusive Lord Nelson holds court at the margarita bar.



Back to reality, if you're too imbibed to drive home, the train station is a five minute walk down the street.

Laugh Factory, 2011

Morning walks in Los Angeles always provide a taste of the random.

Double Rainbow over Los Angeles

Thanks @gabbat for the heads up on this double rainbow explosion over Los Angeles just now! I quick scamper up a soaked hillside offered a spendid view of the majesty of Iris & Sun Ra!

Kyle Field and his Waxing Marks at Taylor De Cordoba

Last night, I met Heather at the gallery to finish installing and lighting Kyle Field's latest solo show, Waxing Marks. I have to say, it's one of the cleanest shows we've ever installed, and it's Kyle's best work yet. Ten jewels sparkle on the walls like little worlds full of wonder. He even made a video promo for the show which I was so stoked to put on YouTube!

It's really an honor to work with such talented artists like Kyle. He has such a great spirit and his creativity is contagious! I'm literally stopping myself from hopping on my bike, tuning Little Wings on my iPod and riding to Baja California in search of some tasty waves, warm sun and desolate pueblos to photograph.

Waxing Marks opens with a reception from 6-8pm this Saturday November 6th at Taylor De Cordoba.

2660 S La Cienega
Los Angeles

Marketing and Feasting on a Hot Hollywood Sunday

Jennifer Steinkamp is killing it with this public art piece next to the Hollywood Farmers Market!



What a perfectly hot summer day in Hollywood today! Oh wait, it's fall! At least the farmers know what season it is.















I stumbled into the Feast of San Gennaro on my way back to the market for greens.



and found this lovely Italian princess smiling at me!



I can't decide which end I like better...



or which color!



I'd love to run thru all 6 gears of this baby!



Fiat is opening a showroom near Staples center later this year. Watch out!



Fiat, if you're reading this, I am available to be a Los Angeles blogger for you guys. I gladly 'borrow' a 500 and drive it all over town showing off the car online and in person. Think about it....