Virginia PelleyEight artists, six models, almost zero clothing. That's the formula for the un-formulaic second White Canvas Project, LA Jam, opening at IAm8Bit gallery tonight in Los Angeles.
Clothing company Supremebeing launched its collaborative White Canvas Project last year, in which street artists Mr. Jago, Will Barras, Bue the Warrior, SheOne and David Walker holed up in an old warehouse outside London for four days transforming walls, wood scraps, old military helmets and other discarded items into art. (Watch the video of the London CamJam here.)
After wandering into L.A.'s IAm8Bit gallery in Silver Lake, Supremebeing director David Newman met 8bit owner Amanda White, fell in love with the space, and another collaboration was born.
For the LA Jam, featuring Jim Mahfood aka Food One, Leba, Kophns One aka Koffinz, Memuco, DSC aka Death Spray Custom, David Walker and SheOne, the artists' unconventional canvases are living nude and nearly nude female bodies.
“The idea of the project is that anything can be a canvas,” says White, who conceived the idea of using live models in the show. When she started working with Newman on the LA Jam, she realized that her interest in doing more interactive, participatory exhibits at 8bit meshed perfectly with the concept behind of WCP.
Since arriving last weekend, the artists have worked nonstop painting hunks of metal and wood, junk dragged back from Silver Lake Salvage and a car graveyard in Sun Valley with spray paint provided by Montana Colors. The supply of junk ran out quickly, White says, so they had to scramble for more.
In addition to painting junk, of course, there were the models, all friends of White's who volunteered to be part of the project.
“I'm a total feminist; I support women and women's empowerment,” she says. “I came at this from that angle: that these women want to do this, and I can put them into an environment with some amazing artists.”
Supremebeing sells t-shirts commemorating the artists' work on each project during the opening. More paint “jams” are likely, but future locations are as yet undetermined.
“The next one could be anywhere, really,” White says. “It's just about finding the ideal space.”
SheOne will paint a model at the opening show, which starts at 7 p.m. at iam8bit, 2417 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 90026.
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