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/

Author, Ursula K. LeGuin once said, “There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.” In the modern world, technology has progressed far beyond the wheel, and aspects of storytelling have also evolved by making use of advanced technology. For writer, director, producer, and all-round filmmaker extraordinaire, Christopher Coppola, technology and storytelling complement each other like PB & J. A member of the famously talented Coppola family, Christopher has been using cutting edge technology to impart meaningful stories on film for years. I was thrilled to be able to chat with Coppola to discuss his current ventures.

DigiVangelist is more than just Coppola’s new show on the ReelzChannel. THE DigiVangelist is Christopher Coppola, himself. The name was given to him by journalist, Xeni Jardin. While directing a movie called The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park, Coppola experimented with not only HD and different temperatures, but also every-day, consumer equipment. More important to the director than technology, however, was the actual story. Hence, he became the DigiVangelist—a digital, movie master with a message. Coppola’s message with his new show is simple: “Whatever Hollywood is doing, you can do.” But, in doing so, when utilizing advancements in technology to create indie movies, Christopher says not to lose sight of that ever important, age-old tradition of the story. “Communicate from the heart, to the heart… Say things honestly,” he reminds us. DigiVangelist is making strides in spreading these messages by seeking out lay people and giving them the technology to document their own stories. Christopher travels the world with technology tools in tow, meets various, everyday people, and teaches them how to use the equipment. In one episode, Coppola travels to Italy and gives a camcorder to an Italian man on a golf-cart-like vehicle. After learning how to use the camera, the man travels through the village and captures life as he knows it. In another episode, Christopher works with middle school kids, giving them two cameras to shoot a short film for a 3D film festival. The kids meet with specialists who teach them the techniques of shooting in 3D. Even though they’re young, Coppola treats the young filmmakers as equals, essentially giving them a great deal of responsibility. Yet, he jokes with them and brings a lighthearted, humorous quality to the show, making it entertaining, inspirational, and educational to watch. And I must not be the only one who thinks so—the ReelzChannel ordered another eight episodes after the original four aired.

Perhaps, DigiVangelist is proving successful because it documents a truly exciting time in history—Coppola calls it a technology “evolution,” because technology is constantly being reinvented and improved. Christopher explains to me that when Hollywood was first created around 1911, everything was experimental because film was never used before. There was no such thing as a close up shot until someone played around with a camera and invented it. The only people who were able to take part in the film world back then were those who were directly involved with the Industry. Today, anyone who has access to a cell phone with a camera can take part in movie making…at least in some fashion. The digital age makes Hollywood less inclusive, especially since outlets like YouTube and Facebook allow everyone to showcase their pieces to a worldwide audience. The DigiVangelist says he’s hopeful for a “Digital Renaissance” but also stresses the importance of not letting technology get the best of us by allowing it to rule our lives. Coppola reminds us that it’s important to remember and appreciate the old school of filmmaking as well. The new school and old school “have to work together,” he says. “One needs the other.” In this way, it’s possible to use the easily-accessible tools of modern technology in order tell age-old stories that celebrate humanity. Going into the holiday season, this seems a poignant lesson to keep in mind, whether we’re unwrapping the latest technology toy or sharing a tale or two around the dinner table.

And speaking of technology toys, I wonder how it is The DigiVangelist keeps up with the ever changing abundance of products on the market. Instead of a technology “geek,” the filmmaker considers himself a regular guy with a love of technologic gadgets and gizmos. He usually hears about the latest devices through word of mouth, or sometimes a specific company will approach Coppola and ask if he will use or show a particular product on television. What’s great about DigiVangelist is that for technologically deficient people like me, product functions and their instructions for use are described. After a couple of episodes, a technologically challenged person could easily learn the basics of how to operate various pieces of equipment.

I delve further to ask how Coppola goes about finding people and locations to film. The DigiVangelist says sometimes it’s spur of the moment, on the fly. Other times, he finds his subjects through PAH—Project Accessible Hollywood. PAH is a festival that Coppola started, which has similar aims as the show itself: “Through a variety of free contests, [PAH invites] local participants to create their own short digital films with cameras and video-enabled mobile phones that are provided by the Festival.” While DigiVangelist sometimes features people who already have an interest in filmmaking, most of the time, those who appear are completely uninvolved in the Industry. Coppola and his sidekick producer, Nicolas Paine, will often do research to find their next target. In one case, the duo wanted to find out where the largest HD screen in the world was located? Their search brought them to the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium where they filmed a segment that included Coppola talking and joking with some of the players in the locker room. The show definitely has its humorous moments.

Funny AND inspirational, DigiVangelist is imparting both technological wisdom and storytelling insight to aspiring filmmakers and laypeople alike. Coppola’s advice to those wishing to be the next big filmmaker is to “constantly be shooting” and to “do it your way.” Essentially, don’t try to imitate what you’ve learned in a textbook; instead develop your own unique voice and eye. With sophisticated technology available to the masses, anyone can get in on the Hollywood action. After all, as Coppola says in the opening of DigiVangelist: “You’re a star.” Christopher Coppola is a true star for showing the world the wonders of technology, storytelling, and the relatively modern art form of filmmaking. His work as The DigiVangelist will be one of his legacies, as it serves to remind us all that passing stories from generation to generation holds together the very fabric of our society.

DigiVangelist airs on the ReelzChannel every Sat. at 12:30pm ET / 9:30am PT

http://www.reelzchannel.com/show/115/digivangelist

http://www.crcoppolaproductions.com/

http://www.facebook.com/ChristopherRCoppola

http://www.pahnation.org/

Famed for her pencils, Mercedes Helnwein colors her future in oil pastel. Her exhibition, Temptation to Be Good, is now on view at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles until December 11.

“It’s a title that makes me think of a Midwestern girl being taken advantage of by Jesus and the Devil,” says Mercedes Helnwein of her series, Temptation to Be Good, which finally turns on the on-and-off romance with oil pastels.

Pencils play coconspirators, as they did in last year’s East of Eden, but Mercedes also appoints dominion to each instrument, allowing the pastels to govern the grace of their own pages, and the pencils to remain in office and draft that cryptic comedy of errors. All parties prevail — particularly the artist — who destroys disinterest by adapting.

“I had done one pencil drawing too many, and thankfully found a box of Sennelier oil pastels in a drawer,” the artist recalls. “It was a pretty dramatic day in the studio and thankfully nobody was around for me to physically attack. After I ripped up my drawing and found the box of oil pastels, I pulled out a huge roll of paper an artist friend of mine had given me a couple years ago. I taped it to the wall and started drawing the outlines to a huge face. I had to do something totally different in order for me to survive that day.”

Survival accomplished, the artist continues her overachievement — publishing her first novel, The Potential Hazards of Hester Day (2008) before the age of 30 and architecting art of increasing incredibility. Her shows sell internationally and famously as Damien Hirst purchased her collection, Whistling Past the Graveyard (2008), earlier this year.

Temptation to Be Good inherits qualities of East of Eden (2009) — criminal coteries (“Easy Company”), antipodal emotions (“Jim and Summer”) — but yet is an independent sibling, not erecting the full-bodied postures of East. It may floor the damsel (“Missouri II”), classic in Mercedes’ art, but it is all grown up in personality.

Know their gaze and know the women — not as many sidelong glances as before and not as much anxiety, but more dreaming and more meditation. In The Book of Disquiet (2005), Mercedes used color pencils for finely etched faces, hushed in dark tones of shadow and hair. Temptation tears apart tradition with oil pastels, the palette vibrant and the dimensions titanic at around 45” x 60.” Deem them deities — these women — and in their countenance, read their folklore and cosmic quest, for the grandeur makes this possible.

Art is a beautiful thing. Art is even more beautiful when its sales benefit a good cause. For Andres Miguel Espana, Executive Director of Global Art Exhibit, art and good causes go hand and hand. Espana’s non-profit organization teams up with generous, talented artists in order “to help end poverty though increasing access to primary education and educational material in underdeveloped regions of Tibet T.A.R China, Cambodia, Thailand and Southern India.”

I first learned about the efforts of Global Art Exhibit this past Saturday when I visited Qusco Gallery and Bistro on Santa Monica Blvd. I was invited to Qusco by artist Brooke Harker, whose paintings were on display there as part of Global Art Exhibit. Harker donated one-hundred percent of sales from two of the paintings and ten percent of every other painting sold to help benefit children in a Tibetan school and orphanage. This seems to be a cause close to Harker’s heart, as she has a great deal of personal experience working with children. After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Theatre Performance and Creative Drama/Theatre in Education, Harker went on to work with children around the world, and now in LA, teaching yoga and creative drama. Interestingly enough, Brooke’s paintings seem to capture a sense of childlike play that she hopes will not only inspire children but encourage adults to find the children within themselves. In the collection on display at Qusco, entitled “Quilted Cities,” Brooke uses a variety of different colors arranged in quilt like patches. The artist says the paintings are “like [her] own little puzzles to solve” as she tries “to figure out what shades work together.” Brooke Harker is undoubtedly an imaginative and compassionate artist whose talents are not unnoticed. In fact, two of her paintings, “Winter City” and “Orange City Squares” are currently being featured on Season 8 of Hell’s Kitchen on FOX.

Luckily, with artists like Harker, and innovative organizers like Espana, Global Art Exhibit is changing lives across the world. Since 2003, Global Art Exhibit has worked with community-based organizations to “provide food, clothing, and school supplies to children in need.” What’s more, the organization is staffed solely by volunteers. With Espana at the helm, Global Art Exhibit has done amazing works of charity including partnering with a schoolhouse in rural, southern India to provide education, food, and emergency assistance to hundreds of children; constructing a nursery and community center for children in Thailand who are political refugees from Burma; and working with an orphanage in Cambodia to secure “food, school supplies, toys, clothing, bedding and a new classroom complete with a black board and library.”

I’m glad I was able to share in a night of not only creative artwork, but amazing stories and inspirations of hope. Art for the purpose of not only enjoyment, but humanitarianism? Now that is something truly beautiful.

WHAT: Brooke Harker’s “Quilted Cities,” a benefit for Global Art Exhibit
WHERE: Qusco Gallery and Bistro, 11633 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
WHEN: November 20, 2010
WEBSITES: http://www.brookeharker.com and http://www.globalartexhibit.org