dayoutlast is a record of my direct engagement with mostly contemporary art, mostly Los Angelean.

As this blog has evolved since its 2010 inception, so has my perspective. What I once perceived as central within the investigation was what was central, literally, within the photographic frame that I shared here. While still an important consideration, such thinking has also given way to more peripheral considerations, ones also accompanied occasionally by text (written manifestation of thought) and the oscillations between them. What's missing here are larger unknowns surrounding issues of presentation and representation; the amount of time and space it actually takes to accomplish such first-hand observations; and the quandaries between documentation and interpretation.

Despite my attempt to communicate here with image and text what is essential in some respect about the artwork, neither representation should ever be considered a substitution for the primary viewing experience. Of course, occasionally there are exceptions.

Most of the time, these posts are merely remnants---residual fragments---from my last day out.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Lita Albuquerque and Michael McMillen in "Eclipse" @ Williamson Gallery, Art Center College of Design


Note the words floating over the top of the waves like ungrounded subtitles, subtle yet markedly present in the viewing context as well as emphasizing themes of light and dark over longer periods of time, this time of a more personal kind. So, personal time and infinite time are considered somewhere between waves of light and shadow, word and phenomena, object and space, sculpture and video, and so on...


Lita Albuquerque
Eclipse, 2017
Looping Video
TRT: 11 min, 56 sec

Object: gold-plated bronze









Michael McMillen
Burn, 2017
Mixed Media





As opposed to waves of light and word washing endlessly over a viewer, an acute focus of light-wave reveals the power to transform that which gives light metaphorically (knowledge via books) and the obvious play with forest (paper books) and hearth (the heat and heart of life). 

Thus, there are a moments in time when the positions of objects/constellations are such that the power of presence and absence can be felt and understood in terms of both art and relevant life experience. Hence, an astronomical eclipse motivates an exhibition about such matters, and certain works underscore the value of a shifting, visual experience, one that accommodates various layers and perceptions of time.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Ruth Root @ 356 S Mission Rd



Untitled, 2017
Fabric, Plexiglas and enamel paint
59.5 x 66 inches








Untitled, 2017
Fabric, Plexiglas, enamel paint and spray paint
93.25 56.5 inches

Saturday, September 16, 2017

"Summer Selections" @ Louis Stern Fine Arts


Louise Belcourt
Mound #17, 2012-2014
oil on canvas
42 x 52 inches










Louise Belcourt
HedgeLand Painting #19, 2010
oil on canvas
57 x 67 inches








Norman Zammitt
Red, Green, Blue, 1975
acrylic on canvas board
16 x 12 inches




Doug Ohlson
Blind Spot, 2005
acrylic on canvas
60 x 62 inches






Doug Ohlson
Hi Moon, 2006
acrylic on canvas
66 x 60 inches






Doug Ohlson
Seton, 1988
acrylic on canvas
72 x 60 inches






Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe
Untitled, 1981
42 x 28 inches





Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe
1818 Glendale Boulevard, 2016
oil on linen
29 1/2 x 32 1 1/2 inches


"Unpacking: The Marciano Collection" @ The Marciano Foundation








Sterling Ruby
BC (3442), 2011
Collage, paint, bleach and fabric on stretcher





Christopher Wool
Untitled, 2012
Silkscreen on linen






Albert Oehlen
Untitled (Baum 3), 2014
Oil on disband







Wade Guyton
Untitled, 2007
Epson UltraChrome inkjet on linen





Wade Guyton
Untitled, 2009
Epson UltraChrome inkjet on linen




Carol Bove
Peel's foe, not a set animal, laminates a tone of sleep, 2013
Brass and concrete












Damian Ortega
Building #4, 2009
Unique structure, eroded bricks, and metallic internal support






Oscar Tuazon


Another False Wall, 2013
Plaster, cement, clay, and steel




Playboy Papecrate, 2012/2013
Concrete, paper, wood




Bleach, 2013
Plaster, blue paint, and steel




There were numerous directions to go in terms of how to look at this inaugural show in such a highly codified space, a building steeped in, well,  building history and mystery, one that houses a private collection of art works that we are asked to consider in terms of process (therefore time) and archaeological status (which is to say artifact of a particular time).  Perhaps a bit redundant, it still seemed worth considering time as a series of moves and as static moments. As luck would have it, my own preferences seemed to align nicely with this agenda. As such, the images I share are the works I found most interesting according to such criteria as well as less tangible aspects of looking and liking. mysteries to be sure.
  
Much could also be made of props, architecture and quests for freedom. cf. the opening image of this post and the few that follow (elements of the building symbolizing its former purpose).  As one scrolls through this post from the beginning, it is worth noting a thread between them, that the form and transitions between works has a kind of seamlessness which may underscore said themes and purposes and also suture art and architecture in interesting ways: modularity and materials.

At times, the architectural fixtures were potently more interesting, and yet heightened by the collection of viewable works.  Such symbioses may be worthwhile had such intent been magnified purposefully or had there not have been so many works pressed together into typical arrangements/associations.  It seems cliche to even mention how sprawling group shows must often be disclaimed by such complications. Had this show taken a different route with fewer works and deeper connections, not only would the viewer have had a chance to absorb the consequences of process and archaeology, but also to view works independently as each artist intended. On the other hand, such issues of history and time are known to be (necessarily) messy, and the secrets of modern societies and art institutions are to be paralleled as typical and similar to the ancient ones that spawned them.