Cardboard boxes, homelessness and shattered dreams are common images that come to mind when Los Angeles’ Skid Row is discussed, but behind the facade is a vibrant community of artists, talent and rich culture. On Jan. 27-28, the Los Angeles Poverty Department is producing its second annual Festival for All Skid Row Artists at Gladys Park. The festival started last year as a response to an LAPD report that studied art’s positive influence on downtown culture. The two-day festival will… Read more

Remember that one love story that involved an outsider with scissors as fingers and a beautiful young woman from suburbia? Well Tim Burton’s 1990 love story has found a new medium two decades later. The Oscar-nominated film, “Edward Scissorhands” is the point of focus at an art exhibition at Nucleus Gallery. The display, which originally sprouted from an online blog, celebrates the 20th year anniversary of the film. Artist Sebastian Mesnard created Scissorhands 20th, an online blog that features dozens… Read more

Hanging strips of a fax cartridge, a bloody map and a television displaying kinetic type can all be found in one place: CSUN’s Juried Art Student Exhibition. Showing at the main gallery of the Art Center, this annual exhibit features 88 artworks by CSUN students, selected by three judges from more than 350 submissions. According to Jim Sweeters, director of the Art Gallery, students from all concentrations and graduate levels were invited to participate. Kimberly Morris, Ashley Hagen and Jodi Bonassi… Read more

Puppetry, photography, quilting and silk screening are a few pieces on display at the first art show exclusively for CSUN faculty and staff. “Flipside: The After Hours Art of CSUN Faculty and Staff” will be at the West Gallery on campus until March 24. Michelle Giacopuzzi, art gallery exhibition coordinator, said the exhibit came about when one of the artists, Mark Armitaje, was interested in doing a show. Talin Saroukhanian, political science professor, said she was also interested in putting… Read more

Professor Harry Gamboa Jr.’s first masterpiece involved a couple cans of spray paint and a wall at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art which served as his canvas. In 1972, Gamboa and two other members of his art entourage, Asco (Spanish for nauseated), had asked a museum curator at LACMA why Chicano art was nonexistent in the museum and he told them Latinos did not partake in art but rather in gangs. The art group responded by tagging their… Read more

Assemblage art has made its way to the CSUN art gallery this fall semester in the exhibit “Outside.” “Outside” has been up since Oct. 23, and it features assemblage artists Esteban Bojorquez and Kai Bob Cheng. To work in assemblage means the artist takes recycled products that are normally thrown away and instead incorporates the materials into their art. “This is certainly one of our most dependent exhibitions that we’ve had in the gallery, and this is because you get… Read more

Los Angelenos who have a special place in their hearts for local artists can find an array of work at the “Artist’s Museum” showing at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). The temporary exhibit, which runs until Jan. 31, features artwork from 146 artists around Los Angeles. The more than 250 pieces are an amalgam of old and new creations. Both the Grand Avenue and the Geffen Contemporary locations are featuring the exhibit. This review only pertains to the Grand… Read more

The cultures of eating and art met at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Sunday, where visitors were treated to tasty exhibits about the different aspects of food. As odd as it was entertaining, “Let Them Eat LACMA” was eight hours of performances, contests, and displays from 50 different artists stationed all over the museum’s campus. It was a unique mix of involvement and information that explored the history, culture and pleasure of eating.  There was no shortage… Read more