An Art-ful Adventure

Second Street Jazz

The Brewery ArtWalk is a treasure trove of beauty and creativity

by Dale Youngman

The Los Angeles Brewery Arts Complex is the largest live/work artist colony in the world, with over 300 art studios located in about 14 Buiildings on nearly 24 acres

The Los Angeles Brewery Arts Complex is the largest live/work artist colony in the world, with over 300 art studios located in about 14 buildings on nearly 23 acres. It has an interesting and diverse history, with one building, the  “Edison Electric Steam Power Plant”, being the first power plant built west of the Mississippi in 1902. The front of the building still bears an old faded sign, “Edison Power Company”, which was later registered as a Historic Cultural Los Angeles City Landmark. It’s last incarnation as the Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewing Company is what gave the complex it’s current name, when it was converted into an artists colony in 1982 by Carlson Industries, following the passing of the “Artist-in-Residence Code.” It is this unique and charming community that intrigues and attracts thousand of Angelenos twice a year for the semi-annual Brewery ArtWalk, coming up on April 16 and 17th.

With approximately 135 art studios open on that weekend, it is a treasure trove of beauty and creativity, with such diverse art as a 30 foot double-headed illuminated dragon, (by sculptor/welder/visionary Sean Sobczak) to fantasy couture-wear made of sporks, ( by fashion design team Psycho Girlfriends) giant movie props, (Bruce Gray) pet urns (Alex in Welderland) and primitive-pop steel wall sculpture (by Rick Robinson). Unique processes in traditional mediums can be found in mysterious illuminated negatives of flora and fauna called photograms by Christine Caldwell, who manages and shows at the Translight Photography Center, and in the eye-popping 3-D black-light painted art by Debi Cable of Velvet Touch Painting.

The diversity of this creative community makes the two-day event necessary, for it is difficult to see it in a single outing. Attended by nearly 7000 art-lovers, collectors, interior designers, set decorators, curators, and moms pushing strollers, there is truly something for everyone. All disciplines and price-points are represented - one can find small oil paintings for under a hundred dollars, or for several thousand. Fine art photography, screen prints, sculpture, fashion design, decorative home accessories, jewelry, lamps, painted carpet and more await the adventurous shopper. Bring cash or your checkbook, as most artists do not accept credit cards, but some are willing to make payment plans.

I spoke to a few long-term residents, all of whom had been there more than a decade.

Michael Salerno, a 12 -year resident, lives in the old “fermenting building”, with sloped floors and a cork-insulated ceiling. He has watched as the ArtWalk has grown from a mere 25 serious and accomplished artists who made a “qualifiable living” selling their work just on those two weekends, to now, a broader range of artists, from beginners to masters. His own history includes steady sales to regular collectors, as he has been showing his colorful, highly textural abstract work for over 30 years, in galleries and museums on both coasts as well as internationally. He has been one of the longest-standing volunteers on the ArtWalk committee, even designing T-shirts for commemorative occasions.

Ted Meyer is another fixture of the Brewery, and tells how ArtWalk once likely saved his life. A client (an emergency room doctor) came to pick up her purchase a few days after the event. He showed her his leg, as it was causing him great pain. It turned out to be infected, and the doctor urged him to go the hospital. But as he was unable to drive, she returned at the end of her day, bringing tools and medication, and operated on him in his studio on his sterilized work table.

Ted’s work has a unique focus, due to a personal history involving his health. 

Born with a rare genetic disorder that caused him to have multiple hospitalizations  as a child, much of his work has focused on the body and illness, with contorted, disjointed or skeletal images - and scars - being important elements. In addition to being a painter and photographer, he has also written and illustrated several books, is a former teacher, and now organizes art exhibits at hospitals that teach medical students how to be better caregivers.

The topic of a recent CBS-TV profile, his well-known series “Scarred for Life” is a life-long project, currently with more than 60 prints in the collection. The focus of the work - his subject’s scars- are covered with paint, printed, then hand- detailed with care. The exhibit has traveled to museums across the country.  He travels with it, talking to patients, medical students and doctors about the work and how it helps to heal his subjects. Ted is now collaborating on a new series “Exploding Tattoos” with girlfriend Anna Stump, a fine artist with a talent for large figurative nudes. This new series is painted live with models, and explores tattoo art as body fixation, and the dynamic imagery often borrowed from other cultures.

One of the most famous of all Brewery artists, Andre Miripolsky says not that much has changed in his 16 years there, except for an increase of volume in artists and attendees. Yes, he sells art every time, but more than that, what has come out of it for him have also been lasting relationships, some of which have led to major commissions. He also maintains that if it were not for the helpfulness of his neighbors, he might not have been able to complete some the incredible things he has done. “If I don’t know how to do something, there is always someone around who can show me,” he says. This has put him “in a Brewery State of Mind” - being enamored with this creative community, the collaborations, and the camaraderie that he still feels after all these years.

His commissions have been quite grand, with some stemming from walk-ins that occurred at ArtWalks over the years. Some of his more interesting projects have included costumes for Elton John and Bette Midler, scenery for “the Tonight Show”, a campaign with Absolut Vodka (including Absolut Miripolski billboards) a court mural for the UCLA basketball team, a new museum faÁade for the Museum of Monterey, and a large commission for  LA’s Central City Association. 

His iconic Pop style of work has brought him projects from Mattel (“Art Barbie”) and MTV, but he still finds time to create new work for gallery shows and the ArtWalk crowd. You may have recently seen one of his six electronic billboards, featuring his “Viva LA” design, sponsored by CBS Outdoor as a public service announcement. His famous “Fear No Art “ button has been sold in over 300 museums, with LACMA’s gift store selling it continuously since 1985. That’s some art everyone can afford, and you buy it direct from Andre himself, in his home studio this month!

 

The Brewery ArtWalk at 2100 North Main Street LA 90031 is a free all-ages event, Saturday & Sunday April 16 & 17th from 11 AM -6 PM with free (but limited) parking in lots across the street. Artist studio suite numbers are all listed on the map - make sure you pick one up as you enter. Food and beverages for sale all day through Barbara’s Restaurant, a Brewery institution. More details at BreweryArtWalk.com

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