The continuing adventures of our Events Editor, Erwin Recinos, who checks out all of LA's best underground/graffiti/contemporary art shows and happenings with multiple cameras around his neck. Here he presents to you a journey through Los Angeles' art scene during the first two weeks of August 2014.
Picture Me Rolling: San Pedro ~ August 2nd
The infamous NinjaGraffiti hosted an art show at Bad Fish Clothing in San Pedro. Aware, Fear, Thanks, Fishe, Cat Cult and many others took over 6th Street for an amazing night celebrating both trains and skateboarding culture. Blackbook signings, sticker trades, and raffles were going on all night. The crowd was a mix of some of the top artists, train aficionados, and skaters in Southern California.
All Visual LA Slideshow (AVLA): Contact Photo Lab ~ August 7th
Contact Photo Lab is located at the Brewery off Main Street in Lincoln Heights. Contact is a photo lab that offers custom post-production, darkroom, and digital services. On this night they hosted a slideshow of promising young photographers from the Los Angeles area. Also hanging on the wall throughout the studio were impressive large format prinst by photographer Bruce W. Talamon.
Las Amazonas: El Segundo Museum of Art (ESMOA) ~ August 11th
The El Segundo Museum of Art (ESMoA) opened their 3 month long exhibit SCRATCH, featuring artwork from LA's most influential graffiti and tattoo artists who are featured in the famed Getty Graffiti Black Book. Through the summer ESMoA has been holding workshops and speaking engagements centered around the work that is on display. I was able to attend Las Amazonas, a dialogue and meet with some of the leading women in graffiti. The artists spoke about feminism in graffiti and how they carved their niche in a male dominated culture.
My Life @LA: Shop Mi Vida ~ August 11th
NELA Artwalk is held every second Saturday of the month and I went to Shop Mi Vida for the opening of My Life @LA featuring artist SER. With new works on canvas featuring his signature @LA symbol and drips in various colorways. Also on hand were hats, t-shirts and hand made bags all crafted with his distinctive logo that pays homage to the city of angels. Keep up with SeratLA on Instagram.
Prime: GCS Clothing Pomona ~ August 11th
GCS Clothing in Pomona hosted the opening of PRIME featuring the works of master calligrapher Jose “Prime” Reza. During this opening a t-shirt and skate deck by LA based clothing company Smog City Clothing was released. The featured photo above is a photo of Prime signing a black book with unique straight edge calligraphy pen. Keep up with Prime and any upcoming projects via Instagram.
Graffiti Party Fundraiser: Graff Lab ~ August 9th & 10th
Urban art sanctuary The Graff Lab in Pico Union with graffiti artist Frame DTK and Pico Union Housing Corp. hosted FUCK CANCER, a graffiti fundraiser for Lupita Garcia and Family, as she fights her 5th battle with cancer. Artists donated time and talents to help with the fundraising weekend. Live music and food helped create a fun and engaging atmosphere, all for a great cause.