1301PE: Archive: Venice, CA Part Two

Venice Part Two 1951-Present

Venice's forlorn condition in the 50s made it an attractive home for many of the early beat poets. Poets like Tony Scibella hung around the Gas House and Venice West Cafe.

Feel of rain in the face
moonjuice/
partial to poets
the lady’s tears

-Tony Scibella

Gas House on Ocean Front Walk

Venice West Cafe

In the 60s, the Venice art scene replaced the 50s Beat scene. Artists involved include Ed Moses, Ed Ruscha, and Billy Al Bengston, dubbed 'The Venice Boys.' According to the website 'Virtual Venice,' Andy Warhol was lured to Venice by Dennis Hopper, and had his first US show in 1962 at the Ferus Gallery which though on La Cienega, had its origins in Venice. In early 60s, hung out with Gavin Lambert who wrote 2 books that concerned Venice. In 1978 Warhol had a show "Torsos" at the Ace Gallery. Owner Doug Chrismas said "When we got to the gallery, the entire street was a solid block of people." To help protect Warhol, he had bodyguards from Gold’s Gym. After the opening, they partied at Hal’s on the beach.

The Venice Boys and more (1959): John Altoon, Craig Kauffman, Allen Lynch, Ed Kienholz, Ed Moses, Robert Irwin, Billy Al Bengston

Wallace Berman exhibition at Ferus Gallery in 1957 before the gallery moved to La Cienaga.

One of Warhol's 1977 Torsos exhibited at Ace Gallery

Vija Celmins lived in Venice in the 70s and 80s. She was teaching at CalArts at the time where she was a huge influence on many artists, including Lari Pittman.

Drawing by Vija Celmins

By the 80s Venice was no longer a bohemian epicenter and it was more downtrodden than ever. Violence between Venice gangs that had been around since the 60s reached a new height. Throughout the 1960s gang membership increased and Venice gangmembers began playing an active role in the California prison system through Mexican Mafia membership. One of these gangs, the Venice 13 had taken over the drug trade as unemployment and racial tensions escalated. The Venice 13 started out selling drugs to hippies and eventually, as crack cocaine arrived, sold drugs to high-income residents who came to Oakwood from affluent areas. In the 1990s Oakwood exploded when a war broke out between Venice 13, the Venice Shoreline Crips (VSLC) and the Culver City gang. As ordered by the Mexican Mafia, Venice 13 was to maintain control of Oakwood's drug trade and eventually a peace treaty formed between Venice 13 and the Crips. The 1990s brought on a series of revitalization as white homeowners began purchasing property and renovating old houses, causing the City of Los Angeles to combat the gang problem although V13 still remains active.

Today, evidence of gentrification can be found all over Venice. Nevertheless, many Venice strongholds such as Capri, Hal's, and Abbott's Habbit remain popular with Venice residents despite new venues like Intelligencia and Rockenwagner. Baldessari moved to Venice ten years ago after having to leave his old studio was on Main Street in Santa Monica. Although the slummy days of Venice are long gone, Venice retains a kind of youthful vitality even with the affluence of its newest denizens.