Through the Looking Glass at El Camino College Art Gallery
Tonight is the reception for Through the Looking Glass at El Camino College Art Gallery. I previewed the show
during an early phase of its installation, so all of my images are only teasers. There’s some really nice works in the show, but I saw everything way to early to even really have an idea of the final layout or placement, but here’s some teaser stuff. The full Flickr set of images from this show is here.
above - title unknown, Adonna Khare - I’m really into this body of work. I’m always a sucker for fantastic animals of all types, so it naturally appeals to me. There’s a whole series of these pieces in the show, and they all remind me of lazy afternoon reading of books like Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials or other books that contained illustrations of literary creatures.
above - title unknown, Christopher Schneberger - This piece is also part of a series of works, a faux-documentation titled A Case of Levitation: The Story of Frances Naylor. The photos document the brief period in 1921 when Frances Naylor, a thirteen year old double amputee, leaped from her bed and found herself able to levitate, as if she were walking. Although the piece shown above illustrates the idea best at this size, I really like this image of Frances being measured the best. There’s something mathematically titillating about measuring someone who’s theoretically not of fixed height. I don’t know why, I find my self drawn into the narrative. For the full detail on the narrative behind this piece, view the full size version of the label here.
above - title unknown - Stuart Rapeport - I originally encountered these dogs some time ago in Stuart’s studio behind Future Studio Gallery in Highland Park, on my way to the back yard to view the Frankensteinian body of Chicken Boy. Supposedly, they’re going to be arranged in a “dogpile configuration”. I’m hoping they’ve kept the red wall as a background, it really seems to work with these guys.
above - Pirkko de Bar, El Camino Art Gallery installer, bronze sculptor, bicycle rider, cardamom bread baker. This is my shout out to Pirkko, who’s one of the most inspiring people I know. Not only is she a super tight bronze sculptor, she’s the oldest bicycle commuter I know. I don’t know how old she is exactly, but I’ve heard that her sister is in her 90’s and teaches scuba diving back in Finland, above the Arctic Circle. Next time I see a teenage intern look nervous getting on a ladder or holding a roller, I’m gonna drag out this photo and give them a kick in the pants.
Through the Looking Glass
Lucy Baker Holdmann, Raoul De la Sota, Daniel Du Plessis, Rosie Getz, Usula Kammer-Fox, Adonna Khare, Stuart Rapeport, Sonia Romero, Christopher Schneberger, Elena Mary Siff, Robin Valle
March 26 - April 26
Opening Reception - Thursday, March 29 @ 7 PM
