Three Magic Words

“Tell me what this looks like,” he said, handing me a small tchotcke: two flat ends connected by thin tubes.  I say, “I don’t know, a laptop stand?”  He shakes his head. “Salt and pepper shaker.”

Huh.  An artifact from his past life as an industrial designer, not to be confused with his other past lives, including creative director for a magazine, music producer, DJ, and creative director for a large fashion company.  In person, you quickly gain the impression that whatever Desire Obtain Cherish sets his mind to, he doesn’t fuck around.  That’s why I reached out to him: in a community where any hipster can slap up clip-art stickers and call themselves a street artist, Desire Obtain Cherish doesn’t fuck around.

DOC’s experience in marketing shines through with his sophisticated appreciation for branding.  You’ve probably noticed one of the 17,000 stickers around LA pitching his core artistic message in stark block letters, reminding one of the “glasses” scene in the Roddy Piper classic They Live (which Desire claims to have never seen.)  Yet despite his assumed ubiquity, DOC is not nearly as prolific as his peers, only releasing a new street piece every few months.

But when he does, it’s damn impressive.  Anyone who can pull off a billboard job instantly deserves to be included in any discussions of local talent (even though Desire claims they’re “not that hard.”)  DOC’s main talents lie in installation/mixed-media pieces, many of which we saw at the Melrose & Fairfax show last May.  But those were just a taste of what’s about to come.

For his first solo show, opening to the public this Friday, Desire brings out the big guns: down at his studio, I saw between 40-50 pieces in various stages of completion.  Brilliant, eye-catching pieces exploring themes like copyright infringement, self-delusion, and a stunning series on celebrity overdoses.  LAB ART, the recently-opened, cavernous gallery (the country’s biggest dedicated to street art) will host the can’t-miss event.  Pretty soon, everyone will be talking about this cat.  Get in on the hype early.

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•WHAT: Inaugural solo show of Desire Obtain Cherish
•WHERE: LAB ART, 217 S. La Brea Ave, 90036
•WHEN: Friday, August 19th - September 15th
•$$$: FREE

Uncasing Nomadé's Artifacts

You’d walk right past it without a second glance, but like all best secret headquarters, it’s hiding in plain sight.  Red paint bleeds down the front of the studio entrance, and the block-lettered name stencilled up top confirms I’m in the right place: I’ve found the Nomadé Batcave.

In contrast to their cold, defiant avatars, the men (ladies? androids?) of the mask prove to be excellent hosts.  They apologize repeatedly for the mess, but I don’t notice it; I’m too busy staring at their new pieces.  The Nomadé have perfected their future-retro, Greco-Roman iconography, and their latest cuttings include gorgeous wood panel mounts (a fitting medium for them) featuring meticulously chaotic compositions, and striking art deco reinterpretations of their classic tableaux.  While we can’t show you pictures yet, you’ll get to see (and snag) them yourself at “Recent Artifacts”, the collective’s inaugural solo show kicking off this Saturday.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Nomadé at Hold Up Art, having shared the space at last year’s Marxist Glue show with fellow luminaries like Shark Toof, Eddie Colla, and Skullphone.  This time, however, the Paste-Up Phalanx has the Little Tokyo gallery all to themselves, and the uninitiated cannot pass up this opportunity to pass this show by.

We’ve made no secret that we’re big Nomadé fans at IntrepidLA; even the laptop on which I’m writing this article proudly bears one of their stickers.  Why?  Perhaps the very title, Recent Artifacts, sums it up: many cultural snobs turn their noses at Los Angeles for lacking in history, when in fact our town’s brief existence has been consistently colorful, energetic, and tumultuous.  Marrying bold, classical imagery with decaying urban landscapes, Nomadé’s portfolio reflects the spirit of their adopted city: a vibrant, cosmopolitan metropolis intimately aware of its own mortality.

Based on our conversation, wherein discussions were held of moving beyond ink on canvas into new mediums, the next step in Nomadé’s artistic evolution, and their most exciting work, is still ahead.  For now, “Recent Artifacts” shall be a tribute to their great accomplishments thus far.  We have no doubt that opening night will be a blast.

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•WHAT: The Nomadé’s world-premiere solo showcase, “Recent Artifacts”
•WHERE: Hold Up Art, 358 E. 2nd St., LA 90012
•WHEN: Opens Saturday, July 23rd from 7:00 -- 11:00 PM; runs through August 18th
•$$$: FREE!

Bringing Art From the Hood to H'Wood

Attentive readers will notice we’re quite fond of this whole “creative vandalism” trip, and so, apparently, is everyone in this crazy city.  From the sentimental, indie spirit of the Ann Gibney project to the old school legends like Sheperd Fairey still keeping it real, you’ll find more street artists in LA than pretty blondes at a 90210 casting call (that show’s still on, right?)  The title of this subculture’s latest showcase doubles as a declaration: “What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles.”

This show is the brainchild of Greg Linton, whose website Melrose & Fairfax earned its reputation as the biggest street art blog in LA (and by extension, one of the biggest in the world.)  No one is as familiar with local talent, and the M+F show gives them the red-carpet treatment at the recently-christened Maximillian Gallery at the Sunset Marquis.  Each artist’s journey to this show is different: no doubt you’ve seen 2wenty’s iconic “Facebook cigarettes” stickers invading every street corner.  DeeKay may be better known under her stage name “Kylie Ireland” (do *not* click that at work.  Or do, I’m not a cop.) but let’s keep that a secret from nine-year old upstart Bod Bod.  And last week, Hollywood fans were gifted with Desire Obtain Cherish’s most recent bid for the throne of billboard bombing.

This impressive rogues' gallery also includes Free Humanity, Alec Monopoly, Smog City, Bankrupt Slut, Snyder, Gregory Siff, KH no. 7, Smear, CYRCLE. & DD$, Leba, and Homo Riot.  With an opening reception this Saturday, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a crash course on the new hotness making our fair streets nice and purty.

UPDATE 5/29/11: Check out our pictures from the opening reception: http://on.fb.me/kdTe7v

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• WHAT: “What Graffiti is to New York...” street art show
• WHERE: 1200 Alta Loma Road, Los Angeles, 90069
• WHEN: Opening Reception Sat, May 28th 6-9 PM; runs through June 30th
• $$$: FREE!

If Only More Hipsters Designed Book Covers

With a collection curated by Rob Jones and the good folks at OMGPosters, Gallery 1988's latest exhibit, Required Reading, introduces prints from over 40 artists, organized around the theme of reimagined covers of classic books.

You'll have to come to the show to see all the pieces, but the sneak peeks released include Delicious Design League's childrens' book version of Origin of the Species, two gothtastic takes on Lovecraft and Milton by Florian Bertmer, and a breathtaking Moby Dick centerpiece from Ken Taylor.  The opening reception drops this Friday at 7:00 PM, but lines are expected to start at 5:00, and if you're even casually interested, do note the organizers plan to sell out most of their limited-run prints in the first night.  Then you can stare at a fake poster of a public domain novel while reading it on your Kindle, or as the publishing industry calls it, "flipping a triple bird."

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• WHAT: Limited-run lit-chic posters at Required Reading
  
• WHERE: Gallery 1988 @ 7020 Melrose Ave.
• WHEN: Opening Reception Friday, April 15th from 7:00 - 10:00 PM, runs through April 30th
• $$$: Free

Floatin' on 'dem Paste Fumes

Consider yourselves the fortunate few, Intrepidiños: we're at Ground Zero of a god-damned, bona-fide artistic revolution.  In the last five years, LA has transformed into the street art capital of the United States.  The reasons behind this are debatable; I theorize that the combination of  our decentralized population, attuned to ending our nights as early as 1:30 AM, and police force with far better things to worry about, affords these vampiric, guerilla Warhols ample quiet time -- and plenty of space -- to assemble their tableaux.

And yes, the Dark Knight of Bristol himself graced our streets with his presence this year, but it's important to recognize our homegrown heroes, in which we have an embarassment of riches.  Recently-opened gallery New Puppy LA highlights this city's finest talent in their new exhibition, Sniffin' Glue 2011: on display you'll find the anarchic flair of ABCNT, the timeless Eastern elegance of Cryptik, Eddie Colla's mid-apocalyptic urban landscapes, and (my personal favorite) Nomadé's legions of paint-blooded Romans that could crush Gerard Butler's army of fancyboys in their sleep.

On April 16th, the exhibition opens to the public -- the same day as MOCA's Art in the Streets retrospective.  I'll be there, mingling with the families and tourists, but I won't see you there.  No, you'll be at New Puppy, where the real art is.  And you'll buy something, like I did: this gritty masterpiece, entitled "The Fall of the Los Angeles Empire."  I'll assume that title's ironic, because as far as I'm concerned we're on the cutting edge.

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• WHAT: LA's finest new voices at Sniffin' Glue 2011
  
• WHERE: New Puppy LA @ 2808 Elm St, LA 90065
• WHEN: Official launch on April 16th, 7 PM - 2 AM
•  $$$: FREE