Around Art Walk: September, 2008

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Swatches of irony unfolded at the September Art Walk as Downtown provided content for several galleries. A developer became a gallerist, one homeless activist group continued its fight via a show featuring art and poetry, while another was featured in shows at two different venues.

The first cooler Art Walk of the fall brought what was perhaps a calmer crowd, but numbers were still very high.

At 4th and Spring, the works on display were those owned by staff at Gilmore Associates. The show, “Art and Artifacts,” was a ranging collection of works, with a heavy tint toward pieces featuring Downtown. In the center of the space was an installation of pencil sharpeners, surrounded by a white picket fence, anchored the center of The Continental. One person was seen surveying it thoughtfully, pausing, then slowly looked toward his partner to say, “It’s a 9/11 thing.” Art, it seems, is entirely what one chooses to make it.

Advocacy group LACAN continued their fight by hosting an art exhibit in their own gallery. Artists shared time with the mission statement of activists.

Meanwhile, Pharamaka curated two show made of works from Skid Row’s artists. One was offered at their 5th and Main gallery, the other at the New LATC. Here, the artworks and artists with messages of isolation, abuse, and hope, were the focus. The artists featured in “Outside the Inside, Outside”, Pharamaka’s collaboration with the Lamp Community Art Project, had a lot to say through their works.

As usual these days, September’s Art Walk offered more than one person could take in. For now, here are some scenes from a full night.