Small galleries speak up on the
East Side
By Hope
Urban-reprinted with kind permission from
Glue
On Echo Park
Avenue is a mural Aaron Donovan painted in homage to a man across the street
who has bunnies, chickens and a ponyand at one time, a cowin his sprawling
yard just steps from Sunset Boulevard. Entitled Chicken Corner, the huge,
colorful mural announces a new presence in the neighborhood: a triple-threat
response to the often snobby West Side art world. The opening of three new
galleries this year, all dedicated to providing a venue to emerging artist
who have been shunned by the more conservative art machine, promise to
transform this vibrant working-class community with artistic energy.
Artist/Millies
waiter Aaron Donovan and Pac Bell operator/Spaceland doorgirl Patricia
Castillo saw a needan unpretentious place where artist could showand a
spacea turn of the century storefront in need of restoration.
One sold 64 Galaxie station wagon and countless tips later,
Delirium Tremens was born. To settle an argument on
the name, Donovan and Castillo chose one by a blind opening of the
dictionary (a method used by countless bands in the same neighborhood). And
yet Delirium Tremensthe formal name for the DTs, or the shakes and
hallucinatory visions drunks suffer upon withdrawalsfits perfectly with the
duos vision of aesthetic provocation.
I really
like art that people love or hatenothing lukewarm, says Donovan, whose hard
luck getting his own show led him to open his own space. I was taking my
slides around, kind of frightened, and the galleries
were so pretentious. Theyd glance at the slides, look
you over, look at their watch, and boom! Youre outta there. An ArtCenter
College of Design graduate, Donovan realized that many of his former
schoolmates were likely undergoing the same experience.
He finally
got a break last May when Ojala Fine Art, located next to the DTs space,
opened its doors and gave him a show.
Theres a lot of
talent, but no venues, says Jesus Sanchez, the proprietor of Ojala. Sensing
a wealth of untapped talent in Echo Park, Silver Lake and Chinatown, Sanchez
is committed to showing work for those communities. And so is Fototeka, a
photography gallery that is set to open nearby before the end of the year.
We want to bring
people in, not be a snobby presence, says Robin Blackman, one of three
people launching Fototeka. As for Delirium Tremens niche in this mini art
zone, the concept is to explore the fine line between illustration and fine
art. Think brain damage, Donovan suggests.
Septembers DTs show features the psycho-sexual paintings of Van Arno,
strange detailed illustrations by Jason Krauss, burlesque-inspired paintings
by Stacy Lande and character illustrations by John Parra. In October, a
one-man shoe is scheduled for Winston Smith of Dead Kennedys album-cover
fame.
Delirium
Tremens Fine Art, 1553 Echo Park Avenue, 323-250-5011
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