Billy has no idea what he’s done wrong. Just another confused statistic behind bars, sentenced to life...
“Once, without realizing it, they spent ten minutes conversing about two entirely separate topics. Alex was talking about S/M lifestyles, and Patrick was talking about living in New York, and they didn’t realize their error until Alex said, with an air of finality, ‘Well, it’s a lot to go through just for an orgasm.’
Originally created for Channel 101 by Danny Jelinek and Jason Whetzell.
by Elizabeth Manson
On August 7th, Downtown L.A.’s The Hive Gallery threw another shindig, and I, as a patron of the arts, made it my absolute duty to attend. This time, it was their third-annual “Bee-Rotica” show with “Erotrospective: The Best of Bluegirl.” Sounds pretty titillating, right?
As with all Hive events, there was a cover charge, but if you dressed in an erotic costume, admission was discounted. Like many events that require forethought and outfit-planning, I decided to just lazily ditch the idea, but there were plenty of people donning “erotic” outfits, or at least dressing according to what I assume was their particular definition of erotic. Who knows? Maybe for them it was just another Saturday.
The art certainly did not take a back seat to the colorful patrons. As always, The Hive has so many artists with new work that trying to explain it all would be exhausting for everybody, but I thought all of the featured artists were particularly intriguing this time around. The middle room, also known as “the room with the band,” featured “Erotrospective: The Best of Bluegirl” in which Heidi Calvert, the curator of Erotrospective, displayed her favorite erotic artwork and artists through different media. The front room showcased the Hive’s featured artists, like Cate Rangel, whose work, like the piece “Annie Come Home,” which depicts a girl in a wet tee-shirt walking down a lonely city street, fell more on the sensual side of erotic. Melody Duenas also showed off her work (and distributed free mini cupcakes) in the front room, and I was taken with the exquisitely detailed portrait “The Sight of the Deaf Boy.” I was most captivated, however, by featured artist Janet Kim, whose art nouveau-meets-pop art style in pieces like “The Rabbit’s Snare” and “Cornered” was highlighted by her unique method of painting with oils on antique mirrors.
The live entertainment more or less followed the theme this time as well. I caught glimpses of the interpretive burlesque show by La Fille, which involved the dancer smearing fake blood on herself in what I assume was part of some narrative I could not glean through my nonconsecutive peaks. I did get a good spot to view the band piEL, whose lead singer was completely naked except for intricate body paint. That alone would be an interesting show, but their music turned out to be pretty badass as well. Bonus.
Luckily, when the heat of so many bodies crammed into one place proves too much to handle, you can seek refuge in the cool, tobacco smoke-filled night air where there is always a small mob of smokers and loiterers bumming cigarettes and lights as they wax poetic about art. It’s all part of a wonderful artistic experience, really.
Make sure to check out Bee-Rotica while it’s around (until August 28th). You don’t have to wear an erotic costume this time, but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt.
Quick View:
WHAT: The Hive Gallery: Bee-Rotica and Erotrospective: The Best of Bluegirl
WHERE: The Hive Gallery, 729 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014
WHEN: August 7, 8 PM-12:30 AM
EXHIBITION DATES: August 7-28, 2010
WEBSITE: http://www.hivegallery.com
“Have you ever heard the joke about the Polish actress? She came to Hollywood and fucked the writer.”
Early on in Bret Easton Ellis’ “Imperial Bedrooms” (his long-awaited sequel to his debut “Less Than Zero”) this old Hollywood joke is shared between characters. Not because it’s funny, but because it offers a hint to the novel’s central theme: the Screenwriter’s Sexual Revenge. A theme that could have been used in so many effective ways to further the narrative Ellis set in place 25 years ago… but ultimately falls flat.
by Carolyn Blais
Unfortunately a photogram is not something you can eat. Nor is it like a telegram unless of course you count the fact that a photogram just may “speak” to you and relate a message. Well what exactly is a photogram you may ask? I was recently educated myself in this matter during the opening of the exhibition “Photograms: Uniquely Simple” at the DNJ Gallery this weekend. A photogram is a kind of photograph, except not really because no cameras or lenses are involved in its making. Instead, a photogram is made when an object or objects are placed “on top of a piece of paper or film coated with light sensitive materials” that are then exposed to film or light (DNJ Gallery Press Release). While the title of the exhibit may imply simplicity, photograms can in fact yield complex images that appear to have intricate designs. Read the whole story »
by Carolyn Blais
Oscar Wilde once said “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” For Wilde there were actually many things he considered to be the WORST things about life, but this quote in particular rings true in this town, in this day and age, in the entertainment industry specifically. I mean, with TMZ, the tabloids and paparazzi, not too mention The Emmy’s, The Golden Globes, and The Academy Awards—one thing is for certain—actors LOVE to be talked about and recognized. But with every good piece of press, there is that possibility that there can be bad press as well. Like anything in life, it’s just the way the cookie crumbles. So when a few weeks ago, I was instructed to pull a perfectly thoughtful and positive review of a play because the company practices “safe” theatre, I was and am bewildered. Read the whole story »
Wars are being waged, the economy is wavering like a drunk hobo about to pass out, the Gulf of Mexico is a cesspool of death, and yet we keep coming back for more. What is wrong with us? Is it the media’s fault? Are they to blame? Can we accuse them of force-feeding Lindsay Lohan to us even though we are obese and covered in our own vomit? Or maybe we like it. Maybe we enjoy the secret thrill of watching a once-cute child actress blossom into a buxom sex-symbol only to get bloated on whiskey and cocaine and her own radioactive ego, left to crash and burn like a kamikaze bisexual and flush what’s left of her toxic soul down a shit-stained toilet. Maybe… but then again maybe not.
by Elizabeth Manson
photos by Nicole DeVries
I always jump at the chance to go to the Hive because I know that they can put on a killer opening, and this night didn’t disappoint. On Saturday, July 3rd, The Hive Gallery hosted a group show featuring the work of Van Saro, Leyla Akdogan, L. Croskey, Jun Duras, Gaia Bracco, and Charles Swenson as well as their 26 resident artists. With so much art and the promise of live shows and burlesque dancers, how can you not have a good time? Read the whole story »
Marco Mannone
