MISAPPROPRIATION, described as a “pop-up group show,” consisted of
work from four different artists. After checking out the screwdrivers
in the back patio—as in the refreshing beverage, not hand tool—and the
orange flavored candies (Studio Orange was keeping with a theme
fitting to its name), I’m ready to check out some art. One of the
first pieces to catch my attention is a large painting of a woman from
the torso up, but completely covering where her face should be is a
black circle with the words “Your Face Here.” The painting is part of
a series that artist Sonja Schenk calls “Defaced Portraits.” It aims
to explore the, “phenomena of people who photograph, then black out
the faces of their subject, sometimes adding a message.” The artist
says she finds this disturbing and questions the function of the
photographs. Seeing the pieces hanging on the wall does make you
wonder, what’s the point of taking someone’s portrait only to render
it indistinguishable? I guess, thanks to the impersonal world of the
internet, where these photos were found, we will never know the answer
to this question since both the photographer and subject remain
anonymous.

The next series of paintings do in fact show faces, and a whole lot
more. One painting in particular shows a topless woman, sitting up in
bed between two gentleman drinking beer and smoking. The painting is
part of a whole series of paintings which are based on photographs
that artist Brendan Lott finds on anonymous “peer-to-peer file sharing
networks.”  Lott then takes the photo files and sends them to Dafen
Art—A Chinese company of professional artists who create lifelike
paintings based on photographs. Lott’s art definitely incorporates
modern day techniques and processes that could only be created with
the help of the wonderful world of the internet.

After checking out Annie Seaton’s mixed media pieces which use cut
out photos of surfer dudes and shades of blue paint which the artist
masterfully makes to look like moving water and waves, I enter a
second room in the studio. Here I find the work of Ray Beldner. I wear
contacts, but looking at Beldner’s work I have to wonder: did I
remember to put my contacts in today? There on the wall, are several,
small, square paintings of different faces that look faintly familiar
but are hard to make out as they are blurry and fuzzy.  As it turns
out, each painting is a different celebrity, politician, musician or
other well known public person. It became a game amongst us art
patrons to figure out the name belonging to each distorted face. Who
knew art could be so much fun?

Leaving Studio Orange after seeing the works in MISAPPROPRIATION left
me thinking one thing—never put your photograph online. Although this
art was beautiful and unique and intriguing, because of the world of
online, anonymous photo sharing, it’s sort of creepy to realize that
the subjects in the paintings have no idea that their image is being
used and displayed for people they don’t even know. Still, for those
of us who caught MISAPPROPRIATION at Studio Orange, these online
photographs provided some amazing art to enjoy.

WHAT: MISAPPROPRIATION, a pop-up group show
WHERE: Studio Orange, 8526 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
WHEN: Jan 23-30

http://misappropriationart.blogspot.com/

I fell three feet and into a puddle of grape-flavored Juicy Juice. Not too much juice, it was probably just from one carton. But this was no ordinary puddle; there was something different about it. I knew that because it told me.

“Hey you! I’m no ordinary puddle!” it said.

“Don’t shout at me! What kind of lady do you think I am?” I sputtered as I rolled over. I just don’t have time for this crap. Last week, for instance, a nasty old ice cube from my soda bit me on the lip.

“You? A lady?” the purple puddle said with a raspy voice. “No kind of lady I know of falls backwards out of windows. Your skirt was over your head.”

Asshole. I scrambled to my feet and walked away. When I turned over my right shoulder to give it the evil eye, I realized it was moving towards me. This crazy ass puddle was following me! I strained my eyes to be sure. It couldn’t be a mirage; I was in the middle of a city. This puddle just snaked its way across the pavement, retracing my footsteps. I started to walk a bit faster. Fast walking turned into speed walking which quickly turned into running. This morning’s banana bread from Mme Bisous was slowing me down, giving me a runner’s stitch.

Do I look behind or don’t I? I raised my hands because that’s what Mr. Cordon from gym class said to do when you get cramps. But shit, he didn’t have a puddle chasing him. I could feel it behind me. Its edges started to wet the backs of my ankles. But then I remembered, like a flash, the story on the news about a man who survived a shark attack by facing and hitting it with his paddle. So, I turned around in one quick, sharp movement and faced the puddle straight on with my hands clenched tight. It stopped dead in its tracks. I was shocked. It actually worked. We stood there, frozen, staring at each other.

“I can’t believe you turned around,” it said, glistening and shimmering in the sunlight.

“The way I see it, you and I have two options,” I shouted. “Number one- we fight, or two- you get the holy hell out of here!” I shouted even louder than the first time, although it came out quite wobbly. I was feeling proud and strong and lion-hearted. But right then, right when I was on top of the world, I saw myself in its shimmering and glistening. It distracted me terribly. It was at this moment of complete distraction that the puddle of purple Juicy Juice slipped away with my reflection still on it. I never considered that a puddle would rob me of my own reflection. Deflated and reflectionless, I walked back home. Now I avoid puddles entirely, shadows too, because you can never be too sure. There’s just too much risk.