I refuse to confide and don’t like it when people write about art.
Balthus

At the risk of upsetting the dead Balthus, I have to say I’m glad that he was not part of the open studio event at the Santa Monica Fine Art Studios – he’d have certainly declined to talk to rubes like me about his work.

On June 13^th, he would have been in the minority as the Santa Monica Fine Art Studios opened its doors to the unwashed masses for a rare treat – a chance to grok art with its creators, over 30 of them to be exact, spanning a myriad of media from painting to mobiles to sculpture, and encompassing every style, from Impressionism to Superflat.

Being allowed into a working artist’s studio is a lot like going backstage at a concert – you get to geek out about your favorite artistic creations with the artists themselves while being exposed to the nuts and bolts of the usually intimate creative process. Plus, there are groupies. I think I saw one gentleman literally drooling at one of Ann Calfas’ masterful nudes, its powerful buttocks clearly triggering a Pavlovian response in the appreciative viewer.

SMFAS opened its doors in 1987, when 1834 Franklin St was one of several warehouse buildings that provided workspace to artists in the area. Tanja Rector, the SMFAS artistic director, primary lease holder, and an incredible artist in her own right, had a vision of a creative hub that provided artists with affordable studio space, accessible 24 hours a day. Today, SMFAS is home to over 30 artists, and while the rent has gone up since 1987 and the other artist warehouses have had to close their doors, Ms. Rector has managed to keep 1834 Franklin St an utterly accessible creative playground for her colleagues – a place where content is influenced not by curators or galleries, but by the creators themselves.

During the open house, visitors had an incredible opportunity not only to mingle with artists and talk about their work, but also bring home a little piece of their experience through the silent auction. The silent auction, another anomaly in the LA art world where breaking into art collecting seems daunting, not to mention pricey, features 8” x 8” pieces of wood which have been transformed by artists into mini-masterpieces that are representative of each artist’s work. With the bidding starting at $25, even unemployed Angelenos could forego a month without Starbucks in order to bring home an incredible original piece of art. The bidding was made even easier by the free wine and amazing music by Forth musicians – when you’re tipsy and grooving, money is suddenly revealed to be the silly paper that it is, far less important than the art you can trade it for.

Of course, Balthus is right to a degree – nothing beats looking at art, certainly not reading about it, so without further adieu, I present the slideshow of a small slice of real local talent as seen through this reporter’s eyes. May you grok in peace, and I hope to see you at the next SMFAS open house in the fall.