LET'S PUT ON A SHOW!
It's funny how things work out. Sometimes we do get a little help along the way.
I was struggling, wrestling deep into solving another piece of the current puzzle, when the illuminating answer appeared before me, not with a golden flash of heavenly light, but a common email.
The missive presented an invite to a show opening, one that answered many of the questions that I had been brawling with.
The show "We're Very Well Read, It's Well Known" just opened at the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles in DTLA with over 460 exhibiting artists for a five month run.
Each painting is six by nine inches, the size of the common paperback book. The artists were asked to create or reinterpret the cover of a tome that they hold in great esteem. Over 460 images that tell stories and lend great insight into the artist. This is their fave book.
The curator of the vast exhibition is Mat Gleason. The LA-based arts writer, columnist and gallerist is the creator of the Coagula arts IP. He knows everyone in the art world. His book "Most Art Sucks: Five Years of Coagula (Art Journal)" is legendary, as is Mat.
Gleason has done this quite a few times before. I would go so far as to say that Gleason has single-handedly made the LA arts more fun. He has hollered, "C'mon gang! Let's put on a show!"
Imagine the installation of over 460 paintings, long rows of same sized objects in a cavernous gallery space. Imagine the opening, with over 460 artists and their friends, families and fans.
Of the roster of artists, many are Blue Chip and very well-known. Most aren't. All have a favorite book. All conceived, designed, produced and delivered their art works on time. They are my contemporary heroes, these creators and producers.
This is what the Arts are really about. That is what I am struggling to condense into words. This event, in so many ways, is the why the arts are the only place I have ever wanted to call home.
Art Report Today .com
