Two Different Worlds
Not really fitting in anywhere, has, paradoxically, allowed me to fit in everywhere. As a child and teenager I moved around from place to place so much that I had no sense of real belonging. As an adult I have had so many jobs and careers that when people ask me "what do you do?" (meaning what does it say on your business card...) I am always scrambling for an answer. Usually it's whatever I am currently getting a paycheck for. But as that is not happening at this moment in time, I'm having difficulty coming up with something. Maybe "Observer of Human Endeavour" would be a good title, as most of the things I am interested in (good or bad) have to do with what humans have produced. This pretty much covers art history, architecture, archaeology... and attending art gallery openings!
Not really fitting in anywhere, has, paradoxically, allowed me to fit in everywhere. As a child and teenager I moved around from place to place so much that I had no sense of real belonging. As an adult I have had so many jobs and careers that when people ask me "what do you do?" (meaning what does it say on your business card...) I am always scrambling for an answer. Usually it's whatever I am currently getting a paycheck for. But as that is not happening at this moment in time, I'm having difficulty coming up with something. Maybe "Observer of Human Endeavour" would be a good title, as most of the things I am interested in (good or bad) have to do with what humans have produced. This pretty much covers art history, architecture, archaeology... and attending art gallery openings! Last night was a satisfying example of the latter.
BG and I first attended the opening reception of "ZEROheroz! An exhibition by 8 women" at the Helms Building Washington Corridor. For me, the exhibit exuded fun and lightheartedness... maybe that was just the mood I was in. From the press release: the artists utilized "found objects and imagery to explore, expand and reinvent the elusive nature of creation and identity."
The gallery, as the name suggests, is a corridor between two streets, albeit a very wide one, with entrances to several businesses. Turning it into an exhibition hall is a wonderful use of an otherwise useless space. Although the show was well attended, there was plenty of room to move around and view the artwork.
We were at the exhibit by invitation of Cynthia Rogers, one of the "8 women" and a member of our Culver City Art Group. Her 3D collages are intriguing and you can make up your own stories about each piece.
Our second stop of the night was at Chris Anthony's "Venice" opening at the Corey Helford Gallery's special exhibition space on Comey Avenue. I am on the CHG mailing list and I have to admit, not every exhibit calls me to run on over and see it! But the moment I saw the invitation to this one, I knew I could not miss it.
This Venice is the Los Angeles, California version, not Venezia. I have a strong affinity with this erratic seaside town. Quite a few years ago I lived in an apartment right on the boardwalk. Probably one of the best times of my life in many ways, and one of the worst in others. But an indelible part of my life nevertheless.
This show evoked some of those long-ago memories. One of my favorite things was to jog on the beach at the edge of the water in the early morning fog. It was an eerie experience. Some days vision was down to a few inches. I could hear the surf getting ready to swallow me up, but I couldn't see it. Voices with no bodies wafted around me. The squelch of my footsteps in the sand was so loud I imagined myself running on a soggy drum. I thought about how easy it would be to be murdered right there and nobody would witness it... but the thought was almost beautiful, not scary at all...
You probably will not take this same experience with you when looking at the photos! But the images are so powerful they cannot be viewed without some emotional reaction. The relationship of the sky, the water and (in most cases) the lone human, creates a moment of perfect balance and harmony, while in that same moment there is the unease that the tide could suddenly suck that person down and wash them away. (When I originally saw the images online I assumed the human element was Photoshopped in, but not so, the subjects actually get wet.)
As I looked around at the people in attendance at the gallery it struck me how different this crowd was from the one we had just left. The first was kinda funky. This was hip and sophisticated. BG and I joked that we were special in that we could blend in with both worlds (or, who are we kidding, maybe we stick out like sore thumbs in both arenas!). But I would speculate that few people other than the two of us would have the interest to attend both venues that evening.
My suggestion: see 'em both!
(photo copyright roslyn m wilkins)
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