CONTINUED
Jennifer Lima
PHOTO LA THREE
Part Three of Jennifer Lima’s Behind the Scene’ report from Photo LA
On Day 3 of the photography extravaganza, I smartened up a bit and parked my car in the free parking area a few blocks from the Santa Monica Civic Center instead of paying the $8 parking fee at the center. Now I know $8 may not be much, but add it up to four days of parking at that rate and it does seem like a pretty big waste, especially in today’s economy. The economy is not something you’d ever think would be mentioned in art review, but given that state of ours, the art world is very aware and it shows.
Not only is this year’s exhibition of Photo LA 1/3 of its usual size, but many of the photographs on display are much smaller too. Someone browsing through the photos in our booth noted that a “few years ago it was all about the huge photographs on your wall” and now, most artists are downsizing their work. To that comment, a woman pointed out to him that “along with the photos, peoples’ wallets have shrunken too.” It just goes to show the weight of our economic issues and that everyone is feeling the heat.
On this particular Saturday, people seemed relieved to be able to remove themselves from the outside world and just get lost in all the art. Today, unlike the previous days, there were much more families out and about at the show. Large families too, with as many as three children, walking around with the most sincere look of aw on their faces. To say that today was crowed would be a serious understatement.
Much to my surprise, there were even dogs at the show. I was unaware that some pets had such a strong interest in photography, or were even allowed to attend. One woman, I found, had hidden her very black dog in her oversized purse, I had to pause for a moment when I encountered them in the restroom. I paused, not because of the dog itself, but because it looked so much like a black cat that I had to take a closer look. She then informed me that, apparently, she gets that all the time. Especially when she walks her and people stop to ask “Why are you walking your cat?”
While these art shows are ultimately all about community and giving back to the people, they are also about making sales. Every artist, every gallery, comes in with a quota. A specific amount of money they aim to make. Sometimes, they just want to break even and make whatever they paid for the space, but most of the time they are there to make much more. I found it amusing how people from one booth love to scurry to another just to ask, “So how much have you sold?” Not that it’s a competition so to speak, but it does get competitive.
One art installation that seemed to get a lot of attention all day was a three piece series of chromogenic prints displayed by Pan American Art Projects. The installation, by artist Alex Guofeng Cao, consisted of a James Dean photo made entirely of Elvis images, a Princess Diana photo made of Princess Grace images and the ever so popular 9ft Marilyn Monroe photo made of the Mona Lisa. The Monroe, getting more praise it seemed than any, had a beauty about it that just drew people in. By the end of the day, I lost count of how many people posed for a photo next to it.
I almost forget where I was, until I saw an older man with this washed-out rock star kind of look admiring the chromogenic installation with his much younger girlfriend. To me, he seemed to be leaning into the photograph a bit too close when he suddenly stepped back, did a quick over the shoulder look around and pulled out a pair of glasses from his hip leather jacket. He quickly put them on, looked at the artwork once again, at a normal distance, and slipped them back into hiding. Reminding me once again that this was so Hollywood.
From:
Photos from The Eye Gallery, Alex Guofeng Cao, Angie Smith & Daniela Edburg
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