Columnists
Meet the minds who make Artbound great. Our columnists span the 11 counties of Southern and Central California. They are authors, writers, artists, curators, rebels, dreamers, musicians, academics, poets and more. The common thread? Love of art and the words to make it come to life.
Filmmakers Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari are creating haunting portraits of California residents in a series of web videos called "California Is a Place."
Disco music was a space of reconciliation for many black homosexuals who experienced the Christian church as a site of violence and alienation.
The writer meditates on Alexandra Grant's "Fôret Interieure/Interior Forest" and introduces an original work of fiction around the central theme of the exhibition, the "perfect other."
The Cixous Reading Group, a newly formed collaboration of Los Angeles-based artists and writers, is a kind of pop-up seminar, trying to reframe what it means to be a feminist today.
the wulf. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting experimental music and arts in L.A.'s Arts District.
It is a little-known fact that some of the silver and chemicals to produce the films that made Hollywood the global center of the movie industry were extracted from the Owens Valley.
The EMP festival explores L.A.'s long and vibrant musical history by tracking down those lesser known and more carefully protected pockets that changed and altered the musical landscape.
Public Matters performs extended, life as art "residencies" in and with communities; they disrupt the participant-observer paradigm by becoming participant-stakeholders.
The selection of ten members of the L.A. Phil's Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) for the Discover Dudamel Orchestra proves that that the social activism side of YOLA -- the part that says music has the power to transform lives -- is working.
"ITSOFOMO: In the Shadow of Forward Motion" is considered one of the most intense works of art produced during the years that the AIDS crisis cut through the art world.
Four Trisha Brown site-specific performances, including "Man Walking" and "Roof Piece," were performed around Los Angeles this past weekend.
Can you bring a work to an audience instead of an audience to the work? Using a 1961 Oasis trailer, Heidi Duckler is taking advantage of the sprawling seismic mobile climate of L.A. to connect private and public space through performance.
Public Matters' Market Makeovers green the food desert -- one corner store at a time.
The "Liminal Camera," housed in a traveling shipping container, is both a one-of-a-kind camera and serves as its own photo processing center and storage facility.
Brian Bress dismantles the distinctions between drawing, painting, video, and object through his fusion of language, image, the non-sequitur, and the meaningful.
The Los Angeles Conservancy leads tours of Venice's more eclectic buildings to advocate for the preservation of historic L.A. structures.
Lauren Bon's "Liminal Camera," comprised of a repurposed shipping container mounted on the back of a truck, captures the dessicated Owens Lake in large-scale photographs.
New York artist Michael Smith inserts his two recurring characters -- Mike and Baby Ikki -- into particular scenarios, either real or constructed, in ways that can be seen as responses to broader issues in contemporary society.
After participating in the Incendiary Traces visit to the 29 Palms Marine Base, writer David Buuck contributes an excerpt from a novel about role players in a military training scenario.
Thank You for Coming is a restaurant that is also an artist residency space that encompasses the worlds of sustainable farming, cooperative living, community-based activism, fine art, and design.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Art and Archive Collection houses precious works of art and artifacts that were gifted over the span of 150 years.
The towns in the eastern side of the Coachella Valley have long utilized romanticized portrayals of the Middle East to shape views of their own desert backyard.
Arts for LA presents a nonpartisan candidate survey which seeks to initiate public dialogue about the role arts and culture play in building communities.
How does modern war mark the California landscape? A single day's photographic record produced on the Southern California coast offers one compelling answer.
David Taylor set out to photograph each of the 276 obelisks installed by the International Boundary Commission following the Mexican/American War.
Synthpop band, Fol Chen, performs experiments that involve inviting non-band members and non-musicians into their music-making process.
Paul Rodriguez is a migratory visual artist producing a colorful, natural array of work utilizing different mediums to a beautifully arresting effect.
The Watts Village Theater Company, the only arts organization that regularly produces live theater in Watts, speaks to the greater L.A. and U.S. community through themes shaped by the Watts experience.
Incendiary Traces led a recent draw-in at the 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center where participants used drawing as a tool for connecting the SoCal landscape to foreign battle zones.
Artist Adam Silverman discusses the inspiration behind his creation of new pots and sculptures that are currently on view at the Edward Cella Gallery through December 29.
Since arriving in L.A. in the 1930s, William Reagh captured a sense of the city's humanity during its most vigorous years of growth and urban renewal.
Melrose Avenue has served as a center for local graffiti artists, including MEAR ONE, AXIS, DYTCH, and LYNK, since the 1980s.
Artist Wangechi Mutu's recent work is inspired by Kenyan folk tales and her reflection on the exile and alienation brought about by her unresolved visa status.
A selection of polaroids by Andy Warhol are on display at The Luckman Gallery. The exhibition emphasizes the labor involved in the production of the artist's work.
The Glendale Narrows, the three mile soft bottom stretch of the L.A. River, is subject to conflicting agendas from river advocates, private enterprise, and government agencies.
For more than half a century, the Colby Poster Printing Company located in the Pico-Union neighborhood has been churning out the posters seen across Southern California.
Spaces In-Between is a community led project intended to advance broader participation in public discourse.
"Crossfader Playlist" features a sampler of the blog posts, essays, and digital riffs of Tijuana writer Rafa Saavedra. The third installment of an excerpt from Josh Kun and Fiamma Montezemolo's upcoming anthology, Tijuana Dreaming: Art and Life at the Global Border.
Despite OCMA's credentials, many have been hesitant to hear the region's voice in the modern and contemporary art conversation. The museum wants to change that with its 50th anniversary capstone showcase.
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"We Are Talking Pyramids", a public art project, gave young artists the opportunity to work with leaders in many contemporary art fields, opening up their worlds to art forms they had never before encountered.
Art historian Jason Weems examines three mid-century constructions understood as staples of the California landscape: Disneyland, Lakewood, and the aerospace industry.
In the face of budget cuts to arts education in the LAUSD, Abe Flores of Arts for L.A. argues that advocacy for arts education is advocacy for a complete 21st century education.
Crafted meticulously from paper and mixed media, Tomczyk's chair sculptures tease the mind.
Ruth Wallach examines hand-drawn sketches of mid-20th century Modern architecture in Southern California, an art form preserved in the archives of the Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library at USC.
SOC(i)AL: Art + People investigates the precarity of workers in our current economy, the relationship of the university to activism, manifestations of art in politics, and the future of Occupy.
Artists Michelle Dizon and Gina Osterloh both create works based on their Filipino heritage. Artbound explores the nexus of their art, in this poetic rumination on identity, environment, and water.
Operating in its own little niche, the sm(ART) Studio was founded to blend art, crafting, and sustainability to support the therapeutic programs of a San Luis Obispo County nonprofit.
Georgia Jeffries tells the story behind a family heirloom: a handsome weapon that was once in the possession of Tiburcio Vasquez, an infamous California bandito.
KUSC Interactive creates digital platforms, stories, and experiences for web, mobile, and other forms of interactive media.
Alexandra Grant speaks with French writer Hélène Cixous to discuss how her book, "Philippines," was the genesis of Grant's exhibition "Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest."
To trace the trajectory of Southern California art, Artbound is creating a collective timeline comprised of the decisive events that shaped artists' creative development. Today we talk to Los Angeles artist David Weidman.
Artist Steve Rowell assembles a video piece documenting Johnston Island's past. Located 800 miles west of Hawaii, the site was transformed after numerous high altitude nuclear test launches during the 1960s and 70s.
Los Angeles is currently home to a rare constellation of origami projects; one could say that we are experiencing an "origami moment."
A brief history of rockabilly in Los Angeles, a full-fledged regional phenomenon with thousands of aficionados ranging from casual observers to diehard fanatics -- and many are Latinos.
Feedback is a traveling site-specific performance project by the Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre.
To trace the trajectory of Southern California art, Artbound is creating a collective timeline comprised of the decisive events that shaped artists' creative development. Today, we talk to Los Angeles artist Cristian "SMEAR" Gheorghiu.
The botanical illustrations in the Huntington's "When They Were Wild" exhibition function as a probe into what is real, what is fictional, and what lies somewhere in between.
Richard Jackson has produced work that pushes the boundaries of painting since the 1960s.
To trace the trajectory of Southern California art, Artbound is creating a collective timeline comprised of the decisive events that shaped artists' creative development. Today we talk to Los Angeles artist Sandow Birk.
The Mt. Wilson observatory will host an experimental art show with photographs, two-dimensional art, and performances and concerts all exploring the relation between man and the universe.
Susanna Newbury examines the history of the U.S./Mexico border and its geopolitical importance to the United States.
Regine Basha examines the role of dissonance in Iraqi Jewish folk songs and its validation of her otherness in a culture where she is often misunderstood.
Tanya Aguiñiga explores "performance crafting," bringing the intimate activity of plein air weaving into the public, thus activating spaces and encouraging contemplation of people's interaction with natural and urban environments.
Noah Purifoy spent the final years of his life in Joshua Tree creating the monumental "Outdoor Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Sculpture" made from tons of discarded materials.
S.A. Griffin's got a bomb...but it's not filled with what you would expect. Take a tour with "The Poetry Bomb" as his 'disruption' bursts in Venice.
L.A. based artist Jessica Rath speaks about what the fruit has to teach us about current food debates, diversity, and our relationship to nature and art.
This week, we take Weekender to Santa Barbara County.
18th Street Arts Center Artist in Residence Leander Djønne's work reflects his interest in the socio-economic power struggles that occur in industrial cities.
Willie Herrón III, the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles' official restorer, and his assistant Melody Betancourt, are working on one of the city's prized possessions: Frank Romero's "Going to the Olympics."
We talk to Mark Allen of Machine Project for the first iteration of our new column "Incubators," which seeks to illuminate the interconnected ecosystem of artistic production often obscured by the high visibility of commercial galleries and large museums.
Tijuana has quietly become an epicenter of avant-garde music in Mexico, with some of the world's most influential music makers eyeing what's happening there.
The annual "Art About Agriculture" exhibit examines Ventura's agrarian heritage and the significance of agriculture today.
In the new exhibition "Being Here," Inland Empire artists are able to express their emotive inspiration about this underrepresented land just east of L.A.
San Luis Obispo shelters a small enclave of artists and architects who have collaborated on designing their homes for artistic expression and production.
At LACMA, Stephen Prina displays 28 hot pink plywood replicas of built-ins that legendary architect R.M.Schindler originally designed for two custom homes in L.A.
Multi-Platform L.A. artist CRAOLA is generally associated with Pop Surrealism and Street Art, but he finds both terms equally problematic -- being both too broad and too specific at once.
In his new novel, Rob Roberge continues to mine all that is beautiful and painful in his life as a writer.
In downtown San Diego, a series of recycled and modified steel containers create a temporary structure where art and public culture is presented, produced and embodied. Military drones become muses for local artists.
Balanchine Festival 2013, hosted by the Los Angeles Ballet, celebrates the work of George Balanchine, one of the greatest choreographic masters of all time.
An exhibition rich in humor and optimism, "Where Are the Tipis? Changing Perceptions About Indians" dispels stereotypes long-used by the media.
David Adey is the type of artist whose complex ideas and concepts are often too time-consuming or expensive for him to actually bring to life -- but for his big solo show next year, Adey is going bigger and more complex than he's ever gone before.
In Palm Springs, the financing of preservation projects is still borne primarily by private investors - individuals wise enough to see how an investment in integrity can also turn a profit.
Corbett Barklie discusses the shortfalls of traditional arts gatherings and the value of alternative convenings like L.A. Ladies Arm Wrestling.
Artbound caught up with guitarist Paul Lacques to chat about the band's SoCal sound and the culture that inspired it.
SOCAL SOCIAL: Art + People is a free, public series of roundtable discussions and weekend events that explores socially engaged art in Southern California from East to West.
Laguna Beach artist Jorg Dubin has spent 35 years as a professional artist, designer and art director, but questions about human psychology still keep him up at night.
San Francisco photojournalist Candacy Taylor followed her interest in the social dynamics of traditional female work roles to Twentynine Palms and never looked back. Salons and diners are her subjects of choice.
Incendiary Traces led a recent draw-in at the 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center where participants used drawing as a tool for connecting the Southern California landscape to foreign battle zones.
Elementary schools in "the Southeast" area of San Diego have implemented innovative arts integration programs that have begun to energize schools in neighborhoods that were once left behind.
The dozen owners of wacky Volkswagen bugs that are part of the sprawling VW Classic in Irvine this weekend probably wouldn't be there if not for Adolf Hitler. The world's most beloved car was shaped in no small fashion by one of the world's most atrocious human beings ever.
A collection of Southern California artists are addressing climate change through art.
Traditional visual effects specialists have shifted their creative focus from movies into other realms as pre-digital make-up and costuming decline.
After violence desolated the city center of Tijuana starting in 2007, artists and musicians began to reimagine the function of this area, known as "El Centro" -- the historic tourist district that stretches about 10 blocks along Avenida Revolucion -- by opening small independent, largely self-funded art galleries and spaces.
Frances Anderton examines the role of guns in American culture since Samuel Colt pioneered the assembly line production of firearms in the early 19th century.
In her photographic work, Barbara Parmet addresses the degree to which witnessing remains the fundamental constitutive human act.
"Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest" is a project by L.A.-based artist Alexandra Grant encompassing a series of public drawing sessions, reading groups, artist collaborations and an installation at 18th Street Arts Center.
For Joshua Tree-based musician Jimmy King, the blues is a mission to find meaning, a discovery of what matters, and an embrace of what's real.
Photographer and Santa Barbara native Morgan Maassen's career in the surf editorial world is on a meteoric rise.
Mexicali Rose is a creative space exhibiting the work of Mexicali artists, visual art, film initiatives and live musical performances.
In recent years, San Diego has seen an efflorescence of private homes re-imagined as galleries, music venues, and experimental project spaces.
The Pacific Conservatory of the Arts is a professional resident theater company and a two-year vocational program.
Artists Mark Farina and Matthew Horne converted a radio telescope to absorb the sun's rays, transforming the waves into audible sounds, high-pitched blips to Yoko-esque wails to white noise like the ocean. It's sun music for desert lands.
Critical response to Ed Ruscha's series of mass-produced, ubiquitous artist photobooks has been hostile, but many artists have been inspired by his photobook designs and content for decades.
"Area 51: A Sound Installation" by Venzha Christ is a new site-specific, sound installation at UCR ARTSblock's Culver Center of the Arts.
Midcentury-modern architecture is back in fashion, but what draws the 20- and 30-somethings? Danny Heller, who paints Palm Springs chic in almost photorealistic fashion, explains the attraction.
At Coachella, L.A. artists continue to dominate the festival's art arena.
Bill Kelley Jr., the curator in residence at 18th Street Arts Center, discusses the future of art institutions in Los Angeles.
Artist RISK has created a vibrant mural called "Ye Sun" on a wall facing L.A.'s Skid Row to bring art to this blighted corner of downtown.
Artist Cristian "Smear" Gheorghiu shares several moments in the history of Southern California that have shaped his development as an artist.
Disco music was a space of reconciliation for many black homosexuals who experienced the Christian c
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In her photographic work, Barbara Parmet addresses the degree to which witnessing remains the fundam
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Noah Purifoy spent the final years of his life in Joshua Tree creating the monumental "Outdoor Deser
…
After violence desolated the city center of Tijuana starting in 2007, artists and musicians began to
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Architecture/ Design
California becomes an international export by redefining the concept of city and home.
Community Arts
Through workshops, education and placed based projects, art is the connective tissue of a community.
Cultural Politics
Funding bubbles, cultural deserts and the politics of access to the arts in the 21st century.
Film & Media Arts
At the shadow of the entertainment industry, video artists and underground filmmakers take a stand.
Literature
Noir, sunshine and dystopia create a multi-ethnic narrative that is read, watched and admired around the globe.
Multi-Disciplinary
Multi-hyphenate works that combine disciplines, remix dogmas, and reinvent the wheel.
Music
A dialogue between cultures, the music of our state serves up the California dream like no other artform.
Visual Arts
Breaking away from the European and New York vanguard, California reinvents the art world.
