fuck fuck fuck. I thought tonight was the closing party for Deep River Gallery. Drove by around 8:45 p.m.

Nope, it was last night.

Fuck fuck fuck.

There is an extensive tribute to Deep River in Coagula Issue #56, in an interview with Daniel J. Martinez. It was a gallery based on the premise that a great exhibition is more important than commerce or connections. Rising rents are to blame, but this year was pretty much supposed to be the last. Still, I am pissed at myself for missing it. They had even thanked me on the announcement. And to think that i missed it for Star fucking Clone Wars that sucked.

Went to a party at Pierre & Gary Silva’s estate. They are a fetish photography duo I met through dave Naz. Many of the usual suspects were there. A good risque group. Fun. The artwalk on Saturday was okay, many people kept asking me if I would be attending the party afterwards, I’ve only been to 20 parties in the building they were having it in, so i was like, “No.” You get sick of seeing your neighbors drunk three times a week, why pay to see your neighbors and a bunch of yuppies all get drunk?

There is an open studio artwalk thingy today at the brewery Art Colony (where my gallery is located), so I am sitting here alone waiting for yuppies with stupid questions to come through.

Anyway, here is a totally bitchen WEBSITE to cure boredom. I am a native Californian, so I can legally use terms like totally bitchen.

Finally went and saw the new Star Wars. What a miserable mistake that was. The strength of the series has always been its overarching metaphor. I can recall a nun in 1977 discussing “The Force” as the Holy Spirit and Obi Wan Kenobi as an exiled Pope - just one example of the separation from the ordinary inherent in the film that abled so many people to relate to it.

But not any more…

This new one has so many clever pop culture references, on top of just awful acting, it is terribly sad. One of the most seductive things about this installment is the beautiful sweeping scapes and visual action sequences. Maybe George Lucas read some Dave Hickey essays: All eye candy, all the time, narrative, pace and sophistication be damned.

So I went through my mail and phone messages and email from when I was out of town. I was going to go to MOCA’s Free Jazz Thursday tonight, but just ended up doing some work.

In the last few weeks I have had many discussions about Thomas Kincaid (billed as the painter of light in malls throughout the land). What is weird is that people from all walks of life know him and despise him. They “get it” so to speak - get that he sucks, is a con, is talented in a narrow range of illustrative-technique and as a marketer of ambient illustration as cultured wallpaper to … well that is the point of disagreement - sold to the middle class? the rich? who is buying this crap?

A good cross section of ordinary people know of this artist but nobody has bought his work, even though it is readily available in retail outlets. And all of these people who roll their eyes at him are people who you would think go for that stuff.

Made it back from Vegas, there was a huge detour at th cajon pass - it added almost three hours to the trip.

The Liberace Museum charges a $12 admission.

If art is life and life is art, and if Vegas is an immersion in a hyper-realized art, then why do so many people involved in the art world roll their eyes at the mere mention of Las Vegas?

Could it be that their tenuous positions as keepers of the beacon of culture are predicated on an elitist structure around the objects of culture?

I’m tired, I lost my a$$, i’m going to bed. Good night.

The opening reception went well. A great crowd, good vibe, uh, no sales though.

Eh, whatever, the compliments on the show are fuel enough.

Highlight of the evening was showing Lucas Reiner’s daughter Livia all of the different ways to make a fart sound with my hands.

I am leaving for Las Vegas, so if anyone wants to break in to my gallery and steal art or my personal belongings (hey, every Smith’s album, 20 Miles Davis CD’s - that should tempt Jazzy Jennifer Faist enough), not to mention the vaunted Coagula Art Journal archives (boxes of crap I haven’t thrown out).

Okay, Salerno just called, gotta run. Between he and I, the ladies in the city of Las Vegas better… ah, why mythologize beyond reality, he’s gonna eat steak and watch a lot of t.v, I’m gonna gamble and look at art and probably update this journal. But this should definitely cure cabin fever.

Hung the show. Called Peter Shelton on his cell (he was in Arizona). The end result of our conversation: His piece in the show is priced at 9 grand. Feel free to come pay cash for it - I am leaving for Vegas on Sunday (whether or not any art sells). The show is hung. It opens tonight at 7 p.m., the Bar opens at 8, Michael Salerno is bartending. It goes until 11 p.m. or whenever I feel like locking the door.

UTOPIAN GRIDS
An experimental art exhibit at Coagula Gallery.
Opening reception is this Saturday, 7 - 11 p.m.

As an homage to Joseph Cornell (longtime resident of Utopia Parkway) in what
would have been his 99th year, 14 artists were given antique boxes of the
same size and proportions. The results will be on display at the Coagula
Gallery from June 22 thru August 24.

Artists: Lisa Adams, Lavialle Campbell, Michelle Fierro, Martin Gantman,
Ed Giardina, Mark Housley, Barbara Kerwin, Marion Lane,
Amitis Motevalli (in collaboration with Houman Mortazavi), Paul Paiement, Lucas Reiner, Peter Shelton, Adam Teraoka and Roy Thurston

COAGULA GALLERY (at the Brewery Art depot)
2100 N. Main St., Northeast Downtown L.A.
Golden State (5) Fwy, Main Street Offramp
Main & Avenue 21

Gallery is open on Saturdays, Noon - 5 p.m.
and by appointment

Recent Random Thoughts
If you are an artist and teach in one of the local art schools, you are engaged in discussing art, you are looked upon as a someone, as an authority. Without having an institution to supply a salary and a captive audience, I wonder whether there would be an art world. Everything outside of the academies is so disconnected. It is really slow out there.

Living in an art colony can sometimes provide the sense of community and vitality that make it worth continuing. I saw artist Llyn Foulkes at the local watering hole a few nights ago and he was ranting and raving in a way that is so awesome. Sometimes you just mention a subject and he goes off into a monologue of passionate intensity. He called Dennis Hopper “an opportunist of the highest order.” He knew Hopper back in the 60s. It was awesome. So refreshing.

Saw The Bourne Identity tonight. I never go to movies. This one is all about being an American in Europe with the American government trying to kill you. It was okay. The American gets the European girl in the end, so that is about as imperial and threatening as propaganda can get! The car chases were funny because they were all on European streets with Euro-Police cars, so there were no explosions or cars going into the river, just cars denting each other. Probably all that the European Stunt Union would allow.

I guess i should have posted this earlier. I am going to be on television tonight speaking on the artist Carlee Fernandez.
Want to watch it? It is on in Europe - In fact, it is probably on right now!

Here is Carlee’s email to me:

>> Just wanted to let you know that Friday June 21st at 7pm (European
>> continental) on Arte channel, Tracks show, our faces will be all over
>> Europe. How scary! I’ll get you a copy once I get the tape. Carlee

Fourteen artists are in this show. Roy Thurston just finished reinstalling his piece. Got a knock on the door. It was a neighbor, Lainie. In midsentence she says “Wow, that is an awesome lightbox,” and is all pointing to Roy’s piece.

One artist was supposed to be here at noon, assuming she is on her way. That will be thirteen. The other artist already warned me to save some wall space and expect some delays.

Not looking forward to making the phonecall to Peter Shelton, but gotta do it. I wouldn’t normally air my dirty laundry like this, but it was borderline insulting and I want to think the best, but in the artworld, you always have to be prepared to assume the worst about people.