by Elizabeth Manson
photos by Bona Hong

On Saturday, June 5th, if you whispered the words “public art party” to the right person, you got a free cupcake. True story.

In honor of ForYourArt’s Public Art Party in Beverly Hills, Sprinkles was giving out free red velvet cupcakes to those in the know. And you were going to need that sugar rush if you wanted to explore this expansive art-fest to enjoy the public art of Beverly Hills, like Roxy Paine’s Erratic (also known as that giant steel boulder on Santa Monica), up close.

The other prominent public art display worth exploring was Yayoi Kusama’s Hymn of Life: Tulips, her first public art piece in the U.S., which features vibrantly colorful flowers that are reminiscent of those plants in Super Mario that kill you—this, of course, being a great compliment. Also, if you parked yourself near these tulips, as I did, and waited until 1:00, you could have your face (or other body part) painted in glitter. I rocked a polka-dotted dragonfly on my arm for the rest of the day (and most of the next day, too—that stuff did not want to come off).

In addition to the outdoor public art, which included performances by the UCLA Brazilian Music Ensemble and bodycity, there were nearby indoor art exhibits to peruse. The Paley Center for Media was showing their photo exhibition The Black List by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. The exhibit featured up-close and intimate photographs of famous African Americans like Angela Davis and Lawrence Fishburne. The photographs were moving and elicited exclamations from onlookers including “Oh, I love her,” “He’s the best” and “I didn’t know Slash was black.” A learning experience, to be sure.

The pièce de résistance of the art tour, however, was the Nancy Rubin’s exhibition Skins, Structures, Landmasses at the Gagosian. The first room contained large paper sculptures (some measuring as large as 134” x 379”) layered with graphite. Yes, you read that right; huge pieces of paper completely filled in with drawn-on graphite. I couldn’t help but be amazed at the time this project took, and the carpal tunnel Rubin must have suffered. And if I weren’t already dumbstruck enough, the next room in the gallery contained two enormous sculptures made entirely of discarded boats. Canoes and paddle boats hung from the ceiling to the floor in an intricate web. Truly, the exhibit in its entirety must be seen to be believed (and you can until July 9th).

In all, it was a successful day of art. I just hope they give out more cupcakes next year.

Quick View:
WHAT: Public Art Party
WHERE: Santa Monica Blvd (Between N. Bedford Dr. and N. Rexford Dr.)
WHEN: June 5, 12-6 PM
WEBSITE: http://publicartparty.com/