Painting by Mary Heilmann “Blood on the Tracks” 2005
Today I mapped out about 4 different exhibits I wanted to get to, and they weren’t necessarily that far from each other (Westwood, Hollywood, and Santa Monica); but we got going too late, and had to return to Pasadena too early to be able to fit in more than one of them, especially considering LA traffic (1 hour to get there; 1.5 hours to get back; how do people stand it out there?).
The first (and last) place we made it to was the Armand Hammer Museum, which I am now officially declaring to be my favorite museum in LA. Every show we’ve seen there has been fantastic. OK, well, that may not apply if you’re primarily interested in viewing only Impressionist works or art from previous centuries. But for me and Terry, the shows at the A.H. tickle our art-appreciation bits the most.
One of the art exhibits I really wanted to see while in LA, based on my pre-trip research, was the “Cut: Makings of Removal” exhibit at the Vincent Price Museum at East Los Angeles College.
It did not disappoint. In fact, I was quite blown away. All of the work is created with paper cut by the hand of the artist. The variety of work was delightfully surprising.
What had really drawn me to the exhibit was an installation of hanging paper by Chris Natrop. Delicate vines of cut white paper hung from the ceiling in a small space of maybe 8’x8′ and gave one the sensation of entering a magical paper garden.
Artist Adam Fowler assembled what seemed to be dozens of thin layers of geometrically cut out circular shapes in this piece and another, much larger piece.
These “plastic” chairs may look like a crazy stack of actual chairs, but they are in fact photographs of chairs attached to foam core and then arranged, by Dana Maiden.
I stepped around this beautiful work by Deb Whistler.
Desi Minchillo had at least two large works of tiny cut paper bits assembled into thought-provoking pieces. This one is called “Embattled Icons and Faded Ideals.”
Artist Jane South had several large pieces, such as this one, that reminded me of the infrastructure under amusement park rides.
The works of Justin Pearce combined cosmic drawings, like tattoos, on the bodies of cut-out figures.
I have to say the work of Leigh Salgado was probably my favorite. These huge pieces hang away from the wall a bit and are very intricately cut — yes, Virginia, everything there that looks like a hole in lace is indeed a hole, hand-cut by the artist. The subtle coloration is scrumptious, and the way the light shining through the holes creates shadows on the wall behind makes for an even more complex and compelling image.
“Church Lady’s Rapturous Veiled Hat” by Leigh Salgado
“Mirror, Mirror” by Leigh Salgado
These three pieces by Noriko Ambe will probably end up affecting my work the most. I really love the stratification she creates through the layers of cuts in the paper and the book.
Teresa Redden had three tiny pieces — one cube, one cylinder, and one cone, created from itty bitty teensy tiny circles of cut paper interwoven together like chainmail. I really do not see how she did it unless she has hands the size of a fairie’s. Quite remarkable, and the photos I took do not do these pieces justice. At all!
This was another amazing work, by Yuken Teruya, made from a shopping bag. The artist cut and folded inward the tree shapes from the bag.
Here’s a shot of the top of the bag:
There was actually a lot more gorgeous and amazing work at that show. Terry and I were both quite impressed with all the work and thrilled that we were able to see it.
