LOOK INTO MY OWL

If you are in or traveling to California this month you will be pleased to hear that “Skateboard” has been extended through August 29th at the California Heritage Museum.

The museum has pulled together more that 275 skateboards from some of the most impressive collections available. The exhibit houses skates, scooters and modern boards tracing the development of the technology through the decades.

The California Heritage Museum is located in Santa Monica, the birthplace of contemporary skateboarding. It was here, in Dogtown that the sport of short shorts and banana boards matured into the physical and visual expression that is now cherished internationally.

SKATEBOARD: Evolution & Art in California
14 November 2009 – 29 August 2010
California Heritage Museum
Santa Monica, CA

“Surviving the End of Your World” is the first Los Angeles solo exhibition from Chad Person. The multimedia effort currently fills the Mark Moore Gallery and continues through the middle of August.

Chad Person, The Mayor Rests, vinyl, steel, electronics & mixed media, 2008.

The economic downturn has left most of the country feeling a little flat. A large inflated sign of power slumped in the corner might not make anything better but it can’t hurt. In trying times, change occurs and we’ll need to be ready. For his part, the artist has constructed an “apocalypse bunker” in New Mexico and has been appearing in the gallery from there via live video feed.

Chad Person, Improvised Double Barrel Shotgun, wood, steel pipe and fittings, glue and twine, 2010.

“Surviving the End of Your World,” is a display of repurposed goods. The halted commercial backdrop to these pieces exclaims a transformation of value and a new sense of what may constitute as raw material.

Chad Person, Twelvepack, US currency on canvas, 2010.

Chad Person
Surviving the End of Your World
10 July – 13 August 2010
Mark Moore Gallery
Santa Monica, CA

On Tuesday, June 22, Dread Scott performed “Money to Burn” in New York City’s financial district. The project was made possible, in part, by the Franklin Furnace Fund.

Dread Scott, Money to Burn, still from video, 2010.

The artist meandered among the midday money manipulators bellowing “Money to Burn!” The repeated outcry was presented generally as a statement and then to individuals in the form of a question. Scott burned several of his own bills and then those from interested bystanders. The crowd soon attracted the attention of police and they began also to gather around the performance. Eventually, the law swooped in and put an end to the interaction issuing the performer a citation for disorderly conduct.

Dread Scott, Money to Burn, still from video, 2010.

The action raised a lot of questions that offer no simple answers. It is interesting to note, however, that it is very easy to land a court date in this country. Here is video of the interplay as released by Dread Scott.