Top

arts

Stories

 

Venice Beach Biennial Preview: 'Art World' Artists Meet Boardwalk Vendors

Comments (0) By Catherine Wagley Thursday, Jul 12 2012
©2012 ARTHURE "ART" MOORE
One of Art Moore's Funky Pussy paintings

"I can smash it, burn it, repaint it," says Arthure "Art" Moore to two girls lingering beside one of the paintings he has arranged in his regular spot, on a relatively quiet stretch of the Venice Beach boardwalk. Quiet here just means "not chaotic," no street performers whizzing by, no pot shop across the way.

One of Art Moore's Funky Pussy paintings
©2012 ARTHURE "ART" MOORE
One of Art Moore's Funky Pussy paintings
Art Moore himself
PHOTO BY JANUARY PARKOS ARNALL
Art Moore himself

Related Content

More About

"Whatever you want, I can do it," Moore adds, but if the girls decide they do want the painting, one of Moore's "Funky Pussy" pictures of a wily cat with its middle finger extended, he'll likely suggest it's perfect the way it is.

Moore has other funky subjects: Funky Buddha giving the finger, Funky Frida giving the finger. "She's your very first anarchist," Moore says of painter Frida Kahlo. "What she really wanted to do was say 'fuck you' to all America."

In 2007, Hammer Museum curator Ali Subotnick had bought her first Funky Pussy painting, and later bought a painting by Moore, called Fuck It, in which a guy who's had a bad day plunges a fork into a toaster. She bought a few more Funky Pussy paintings as gifts before introducing herself to Moore and asking if he would be interested in working on a project with her.

Subotnick wanted to put on a Venice Beach Biennial. Its title would riff on the Venice Biennale, the famed art show held since 1895 along the canals in Venice, Italy, but this would be its own animal. Veteran vendors and contemporary "art-world" artists would coexist for a weekend, selling their art objects side by side and performing in the city Parks & Rec space and along the boardwalk.

Moore agreed to participate. For the last few months, a rendering of his Funky Pussy, a pink one with a particularly long middle finger, has been on banners, postcards, totes and the Hammer's home page. Moore also has acted as a liaison between museum and boardwalk artists and given the non-boardwalk artists tours to prep them for the biennial, scheduled for July 13-15 as part of the museum's larger "Made in L.A." project. Each morning of the biennial, they'll have to show up at 5 a.m. to claim a spot along with all the regular vendors. "You're not in your galleries anymore," he tells them. "You're in the trenches now."

The first time I meet Art Moore, who has unruly blond hair and paint splattered across his jeans and sandals, I ask him how long he's been a painter, and he acts confused. "I just don't know," he says. "A couple of weeks at least." He turns to his friend, artist Al Culbertson, who's packing up the adjoining spot. "How long have I been painting, Al?" Al, stone-faced, says, "Let me check," and looks at his watch.

The second time I meet Moore, he begins telling me about how, at age 28, he left his job as a general contractor in San Diego and moved up to Venice Beach, when a cop rolls up in his patrol car and summons Moore to the passenger's side window. After a few minutes of interrogation (what happened to that big painting you had earlier, the officer wants to know, and who is that you're talking to?), Moore returns while the officer writes him a citation. "He says he saw me with a beer 30 minutes ago," Moore explains. "He should be busting those guys selling the T-shirts" — only art objects handmade by the person selling them are allowed in the boardwalk's "free speech zone," but that law is hard to enforce. "It's just that I'm an easier target."

Moore has been on the boardwalk for more than 30 years, and for at least the first 20, he sold small ceramic items, like personalized casts of people's faces. Then about 12 years ago, a girlfriend of his — "Yes, I had a girlfriend," he jokes — inspired his "shock" project. "She said, 'Baby, it's my birthday, can I have a cat please?' " he remembers. "But she pissed me off, see? I said, 'Sure I'll give you a cat.' " He made her the first Funky Pussy. "She loved it. We even had sex that night. That's when I realized people want a shock."

After the cop car pulls away, three women walk by Moore's work. "Amazing," says one. "Phenomenal, cutting-edge," Moore replies, "and psychotic." They leave and Moore observes, "There are so many better artists than me, but people aren't really buying the painting. They're buying the energy."

Curator Subotnick loves that energy, the feeling of irreverent independence that hangs over the whole boardwalk. She has since she was 17, studying for a semester at UCLA, going down to Venice Beach every day to shop for jewelry and hair wraps while working on her tan. "It's eclectic. You can get anything there, and these artists make whatever art they want," she says. "Any other place, this wouldn't still exist."

She moved to Venice in 2006, when she began working at the Hammer. She had just co-curated the Berlin Biennial and friends joked that a "Venice Beach Biennial" should be her next project. But when she wandered down to the boardwalk and imagined the artists she knew interspersed with those already there, it didn't seem like such a joke.

1 | 2 | All | Next Page >>

Related Content

Check out this week's featured ad for Services
More Ads >>
 
My Voice Nation Help
5 comments
  Livefyre
Newest | Oldest
Loretta Ayeroff
Loretta Ayeroff

VBB artist Loretta Ayeroff checking in.....Having just vended my b+w photographs of the Venice Boardwalk, 1973, in spaces 131, 144 and 141, I must offer the outpouring of nostalgia people shared about earlier, quiet times. Older and newer members of the Venice community told stories of days spent on the beach with Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison; what the boardwalk felt like without vendors and only a handful of performers; grandparents, like mine, who took "summer rooms" in the small beachfront hotels; and positively identifying the building in my photographs as Westminster Ave. at the Boardwalk, albeit with the parking lot filled in. Overall, the crowds expressed a longing to return the boardwalk to those calmer, more peaceful times. I myself watched a metamorphosis, including my own, from Friday's opening nervousness ("Will the Boardwalk Artists tolerate us?") to achieving mutual respect, congeniality and in some cases - friendship, by Sunday. After all, most of us, working by hand, share the same dreams and goals of art production and expression, we can't fault each other by our circumstances. Hammer Curator, Ali Subotnick, must have slept well last night (didn't we all?) having brought to fruition her gigantic dream of the Venice Beach Biennial - I call her "Tenacious A" having watched as she put out "This is MY space" fires at 7:30 AM while delivering, via bicycle, delicious and appreciated baked goods, to her Hammer artists. We were covered with tents, clothed in VBB T-shirts, and discounted for boardwalk food by our pink wristbands. THAT alone took a lot of effort! Claire de Dobay Rifelj, the amazing VBB Coordinator, and her team of dedicated Volunteers fulfilled all of our requests with smiles and efficiency! And, the sales rush on Sunday, lined our pockets, as well. What not to like, beyond the '60s vortex we were sucked into? Congratulations Hammer people, and to liaison Arthure Moore, for successfully producing this grand experiment - the question of "can we all just get along" has been, in part, answered. It's a hard life when you choose to set-up on the Venice Boardwalk. Three days of getting up before dawn, staking out your small space and setting up your artwork products within strict guidelines and rules, dealing with keeping yourself fed and hydrated (whatever your beverage of choice is) is all I could handle. There could be no fourth day for me. Originally I thought the Boardwalk Artists would learn from us, the "Hammer Artists" about archival presentation (ha!) wall labels (ha!) artist's statements and gallery books with reviews in them (ha!) all of which graced my overly precious space on Friday. But on Saturday morning, I joined the boardwalk style, slashed my prices, changed my signage, opened my print boxes for hands-on searching, put away my guest-list page, made everything clearer and easier for the art-hungry public. Actually, I felt a few VBB artists also transformed their spaces to conform with boardwalk merchandising! So, from my POV, on many levels, it was I, who learned from Them, not the other way around. It would be interesting to get the Boardwalk Artist's opinions on our efforts…after awhile, some type of follow-up interaction. Now, to recuperate, and get back to "normal" life, whatever that was before VBB…

Feminismisfun
Feminismisfun

I wish Catherine Wagley would cover art shows in the Bay Area.

LAart Guy
LAart Guy

What fun! I went and had a great time! Subotnic is brilliant! Some of the artists looked rather uncomfortable, dealing with the Venice Beach Boardwalk crowd, but not Alexis Smith. I bought a $30 signed/numbered work from her, that Margo Leavin would've charge me a grand for. Her and her husband, Scott Grieger are successful LA artists, that live in Venice; she looked, and acted very comfortable at her table (even distributing her friends gay and lesbian stickers). I loved Eve Fowler's poster's, which were held down from the wind, with these great, machine nut shaped weights, which she got from her neighbor artist, Matthias Merkel Hess. I couldn't pass up on a ceramic sculpture of a large nut (as in bolt and nut) for only $5. I may have to return to get one of his "case study house" ceramic incense holder, or one of his sunglasses. Next to Matthias was Mark X Farina, with a great, and witty selection of original word art works on paper. The sculptures of Jihad terrorists, at the kiosk staffed by Chelsea Beck, Kurt Mueller, with Jose Claustro were well executed, and very amusing and engaging, attracting a pretty good crowd. I cant wait to go back tomorrow to see Jedidiah Caesar, the Liz Craft, Weed Couch, I cant believe I missed Kruger, Meadows, and Grotjahn. There's also a search for chromed objects, like sage, Hackie sack, t-shirt, orange, potato spiral, and a bird made by Ry Rocklen, who has distributed these items among other vendors. How lucky to be able to see Larry Bell's studio, in the former Ardvark's clothing store, next to the old LA Louvre building, on Market St.. This is such a great event, by bringing the artwork, normally shrouded in the silent halls of museums, to the boisterous, sunny beach; it's like bringing wild zoo animals, to the museum! Thank you Ali Subotnik, and the Hammer for this great experience.

Michael Angelo Philms
Michael Angelo Philms

With the help of cinematographer Niles Harrison, I put this little film together to help both Arthure Moore and the Hammer promote the Venice Beach Biennial, Art lives in the alley behind my house. Sadly Art got mugged on Thursday, he's pretty messed up but still trudging through with a smile (now crooked). https://vimeo.com/45513209 He's an amazing cat (pun intended), hope he get's a lot of love and support this weekend. Great article, thank you! Michael Angelo

fishouttawater
fishouttawater

This is a great idea. Art with an attitude. Perhaps some of the upper crust of LA's art scene could learn a little something from these cutting-edge artists who defy conformity. Isn't that what art proposes to be?

 

Now Trending

VOICE Daily Deals

Slideshows»

More Music Stories >
Los Angeles Event Tickets
©2013 LA Weekly, LP, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places Los Angeles

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city