January 10-16, 2008
By Alfred Lee
Billboard Impressionism
Peter Schulberg’s latest art exhibit started with a thump. “I just thought someone had killed himself,” says the owner of Eco-LogicalART Gallery. Sitting in his studio one day, he’d heard the sound of something slamming to the ground outside. “I ran out to the sidewalk, and there were these four guys standing around this bundled-up trash – vinyl. I said, ‘What do you do with it?’ And they said, ‘We usually throw them out.’ I didn’t know what I was going to do with it at that point, but it seemed like an awful lot of material.”
The material was from a billboard directly above his gallery – a gallery that just so happens to specialize in recycled art. Schulberg snatched up as much of the stuff as he could, put out a call for artists and painters to work with the material, and cobbled together a small exhibit titled Off the Wall.
In the few years since, this germ of an idea has blossomed into bigger and bigger shows, and the latest, ReVisions, is Schulberg’s most ambitious yet. On Saturday, a dozen 14 x 48-foot pieces by some 25 artists will go up on actual billboards across the city, the space donated by display companies Van Wagner and CBS Outdoor. It’s estimated the art will be viewed a total of 40 million times, and Schulberg boasts that more Angelenos will see ReVisions in an hour than will go to any L.A. museum all week.
“They’re pushing a shopping cart or driving a truck or looking out the window of the bus, and all of a sudden they look up, and there’s something about that moment, that connection,” he explains. “Particularly for L.A., it’s an amazing concept to be able to have these serendipitous moments with people that are total strangers to you.”
Schulberg plans to take the concept to other cities around the country, and he’s brought the process even more into the public sphere by holding street fairs and other events so that people can watch while the paintings are created. But he doesn’t feel the need to simplify art for mass consumption.
“People are seeing it in 15 or 20 second bursts,” he says. “Somebody’s passing this thing every day – by the 20th or 25th day, they might start to see that image in the background … . That relationship, that experience, will deepen as the month goes on. That’s something that billboards rarely do, is engage you over time.”
–Alfred Lee
ReVisions. Opening reception Sat. 6 p.m.-11 p.m. Free. Eco-LogicalART, 4829 W. Pico Blvd., L.A., (310) 525-0676. Eco-logicalart.org.
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THIS WEEK IN THE CITY
THURSDAY 10
THE FEMALE FOCUS
The Egyptian Theatre’s third annual “Focus on Female Directors” shorts program may be its most wide-ranging yet. This year, the series has thrown works by more established up-and-comers – The Namesake’s Mira Nair, Little Miss Sunshine’s Valerie Faris – into the mix with new faces like the Filmmaker Magazine-anointed Sophie Barthes and Student Academy Award winner Sarah Wickliffe. The result is an assortment of shorts starring migrant workers, female wrestlers, and cubist heroines. 7:30 p.m. $10; $8 students. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-3456. Americancinematheque.com.
FRIDAY 11
GENDER AGENDA
The emphasis on women storytellers moves from Hollywood silver screen to cabaret club tonight, when M Bar hosts WordTheatre’s “The Women: Stories by Some of L.A.’s Finest Writers.” Actors including Amanda Seyfried and Dinah Lenney will perform works by the likes of Aimee Bender and Mary Otis (8 p.m.; $20; 1253 N. Vine St., Hollywood; info: 310-915-5150 or Wordtheatre.com). Saturday’s “‘New Writing’ by Women” at the Huntington Library isn’t merely a generic title: Writers will read and discuss “new” writing that is both multidisciplinary and multicultural, and addresses nontraditional subject matter (10 a.m.-noon; free; 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, 626-405-2100 or Huntington.org).
SATURDAY 12
ON THE GRILL
A few days of rain had Angelenos holing up like writers on strike – which says plenty about how much we take clear skies for granted. This morning, Charles Perry talks about one of the happy byproducts of SoCal weather: the backyard barbecue. The Los Angeles Times food critic presents “How L.A. Invented the Backyard Barbecue” at the L.A. Public Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium. Let’s hope he imparts a recipe or two. 10:30 a.m. Free. Los Angeles Public Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 530 W. Fifth St., downtown L.A., (213) 228-7202.
SUNDAY 13
HANGAR HANGINGS
Most photographers don’t dream of having their work displayed in an airport hangar some day. But, luckily for its featured artists, photo l.a. dreams big. The largest exhibition of its kind moves to Barker Hangar for its 17th annual edition, now ready to take on a crowd of 10,000 souls eager to see the camera work submitted by more than 70 galleries worldwide. Fri.-Sat. noon-8 p.m.; Sun. noon-6 p.m. $20 one-day pass; $30 three-day pass. Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport, 3021 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. Info: (323) 932-5846 or Artfairsinc.com.
MONDAY 14
IT’S A RIOT
It’s dance and performance art by the people, for the people, at Anatomy Riot. The monthly series, curated by choreographer Meg Wolfe, brings local artists on stage in front of a casual (and reasonable-price-paying) crowd. Catch Me Bird offers a sneak preview excerpt from “SILK,” set to premiere at the Ford Amphitheatre in September; Sohini Ray presents the acrobatic dance-drum piece “Pung-cholom”; and Mitsu Salmon performs “Typewriter,” a solo piece about a librarian. 8 p.m. $7. The Open Space, 209 S. Garey St., downtown L.A. Myspace.com/anatomyriot.
TUESDAY 15
WHAMMIN’ THE CITY
Dan Deacon is quite likely the most divisive figure from last year for the Hype Machine/Pitchfork crowd. Some heralded his 2007 album, Spiderman of the Rings, for ingeniously wrapping sheer bliss in a blanket of electronic noise; others had a hard time seeing songs built around a loop of Woody Woodpecker’s laugh as anything other than repetitive crap. Judge for yourself tonight, when the Baltimore electronic music composer shares a bill with Health and Abe Vigoda. 8 p.m. $12. El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (323) 936-6400. Theelrey.com.
WEDNESDAY 16
HE TALK PRETTY
Some authors don’t add much to their work when reading it aloud; on the other hand, David Sedaris’s comic timing and wry delivery have long helped him sell out theaters of all sizes. Plus, his appearances on Letterman’s show have vaulted him to literary rock-star status. The humorist and radio staple has a still-untitled new book coming out in June; hear him workshop the new material in his “Black Box Readings” for frequent partner UCLA Live. Tue.-Jan. 18 at 8 p.m.; Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. $50; $20 UCLA students. Macgowan Little Theater, UCLA, Westwood, (310) 825-2501. Uclalive.org.
Photo courtesy Paul Kopeikin Gallery
Published: 01/09/2008
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