The Gallery: Ephemera

The word ephemora is derived from the Greek word ephemeros - meaning lasting for only a day. Therefore, the archiving of ephemora is by definition a contradiction. 1301PE's current exhibition of over forty years of posters designed by John Baldessari is an exemplary showcase of archived ephemora. It also poses an interesting question - how does something expendable turn into something expensive? - how does something valueless turn into something valuable?

Ephemera collage from The Ephemera Society of America

On Michele Behan's list of "The Top Ten Reasons to Profit from Ephemora (In a Tough Economy)", she states that paper collectables are perceived to hold their value better than paper dollars due to incendiary inflation which started in the 1970s. The worth of ephemera is related to many factors - its condition, its completeness if part of a set, etc.... However, the most important of these factors is the legacy of the event to which the material is tied. If the reputation of the event and associated persons increases over time, the worth of the ephemera will increase as well. Unfortunately, this is the one factor that is also far beyond individual control. Nevertheless, a keen eye and sense of history can give a person predictive powers. Either way, a return - even if it is minimal or only sentimental - is almost always guaranteed, as ephemera costs nothing to own and little to store.

Food/Wine: The Savory Pie

Almost all Americans are familiar with the sweet pies whether it is filled with cherries, pecans, or pumpkin purée. Plastica on 3rd St, a few blocks away from the gallery, recently hosted a pop-up pie shop. The pies were supplied by I Heart Pies, a husband and wife team who are currently taking online orders only. In addition to selling standard size pumpkin pies and apple crisps, I Heart Pies makes mini pies which are about as filling as a cupcake. One of their most celebrated mini pies is the Peanut Butter S'more Pie which was featured in LA Weekly's Best of Artisanal LA.

Pop-up pie shop at Plastica

Peanut Butter S'more mini pie from I Heart Pies

The S'more pie is decadent and toothsome, as one would expect. Significantly less Americans have experienced the equally diverse and delicious array of savory pies. However, I Heart Pies also has a variety of savory pies - filled with ratatouille, shredded pork, curried chicken, etc... - that also come in mini sizes.

Meat pies are a bit of a novelty in California, but in countries such as Britain, New Zealand or Australia meat pies near ubiquity. In New Zealand meat pies range from the dirt cheap to the gourmet. They are available at nearly all gas stations and convenience stores, making for a guilty yet dependable late night food stuff. There are many notable bakeries in New Zealand that sell meat pies, such as The Fridge in Kingsland. The Fridge has won many awards and their beef and Guinness pie is lauded all over the internet.

The Fridge in Kingsland with neon meat pie sign.

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.

Archive: Venice, California Part 1

1301PE has been spending some time at John Baldessari's new studio in Venice in preparation for the upcoming exhibition "Not Prints: Posters 1966-2010". For the exhibition the gallery will be covered wall-to-wall with over forty years of posters designed by the artist. These posters mirror the evolution of Baldessari's work which has become more colorful and dimensional over the years. Spending time in Venice, CA, a sub-city in Los Angeles, it is interesting to think about its history over the past 105 years.

Inside John Baldessari's Studio

Poster for John Baldessari "Not Prints: Posters 1966-2010."

Los Angeles: Blinky Palermo & William Eggleston at LACMA

This past Thursday exhibitions featuring work by Blinky Palermo & William Eggleston opened at LACMA. Although they are two independent exhibitions, the works in them operate similarly. This makes their sharing of BCAM's second floor a fruitful coupling. In a conversation a couple days before the opening Lynne Cooke, curator of the Blinky Palermo exhibition, and artist Mathias Poledna spent much time discussing the lightness of Palermo's work. Mathias noted that Gerhard Richter, a friend of Palermo's, was jealous of Palermo's light touch and skill with color. Lynne expanded on this, stating that although Palermo's work seems effortless he struggled and destroyed many paintings he felt to be beneath his standards. His work embodies the effort of looking effortless. This quality also exists in Eggleston's work. His photographs may appear as though they could be taken by anyone but very few people could take the same modest photograph and have it look as successful and effortless as Eggleston. Eggleston, like Palermo, is also a master of color. He was one of the first photographers to use color photography, earning him the title the 'Father of Color Photography.'

Palermo, To the People of New York City, 1976, 40 individual panels, acrylic on aluminum installed at Dia on 22nd St. NYC, 1987-88.

Abroad: Pae White at The Power Plant

This past weekend Pae White's exhibition Material Mutters opened at The Power Plant in Toronto. The exhibition focused primarily on White's tapestries, although it also included an impressive grid of White's Smoke Carvings and two video works. At the 2010 Whitney Biennial, White exhibited a large smoke tapestry but as this exhibition demonstrates, White's tapestries range greatly in terms of content and style. The smoke and foil tapestries are fairly straight forward in terms of imagery, but the viewer gets lost in all the intricacies. Others are highly collaged and manipulated, full of personal references as well as meta-references to other tapestries made by White.

The Power Plant's signature smoke stack.

30 Smoke Carvings

Some of White's more collaged tapestries

Abroad: Ryongyon Farm Rehabilitation Program

Ryongyon Farm is one of Dr. Pilju Kim Joo's agricultural rehabilitation programs in North Korea. Dr. Pilju is working with the North Korean government to build a farm that is sustainable. Ryongyon Farm aims to support not only sustainable crops but sustainable lives for its tenants. In addition to having a school for children, Ryongyon Farm supplies food and housing for its workers. The farm embodies the local food movement in many ways that are superior to many American businesses promoting a local food ethos.

cotton fields

Dr. Pilju Kim Joo