finearttrekkinLosAngeles

VS. Opening Reception at LAAA/Gallery 825 in Los Angeles Juried by Michele Urton opened to a packed gallery. Photojournal by Ginger Van Hook

2012-01-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

VS.

Exhibition dates:
January 14 to February 3, 2012
Reception:
Saturday, January 14, 6 to 9p

Juror:
Michele Urton, Gemini G.E.L.

Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) announced the return of VS., a special collaborative group exhibition opening at Gallery 825 on January 14, 2012.
All artist participants for this exhibition were randomly paired with a fellow emerging artist and tasked with creating a new collaborative artwork. This collaborative construct can lead to new methodologies and outcomes as artists learn to negotiate and collaborate with a partner with different skill sets and work habits.
LAAA Executive Director Peter Mays enthusiastically welcomes this second iteration of VS.: "Our initial VS. exhibition from a few years ago produced a powerful contemporary commentary on the inherent perils and joys of the collaborative process."
Juried by Gemini G.E.L.'s Michele Urton, VS. opened on Saturday, January 14, 2012, and runs through February 3, 2012.

Valerie Wilcox. Photo by Ginger Van Hook

Michael Giancristiano, Valerie Wilcox and Yoichi Yakamura attend VS. at LAAA/ Gallery 825.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2012

Nancy Kaye and Mei Xian Qiu with Artist

Luke and Ginger Van Hook. Photo by Michael Giancristiano 2012

Marjan K. Vayghan, Anne Hieronymus, Keiko Inoh, and Katrina McElroy, Four Solo Exhibitions at Gallery 825 in Los Angeles, California. PhotoJournal by Ginger Van Hook

2011-05-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Marjan K. Vayghan presents her artwork at Gallery 825.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

Anne Hieronymus poses beside her artwork installation presented at Gallery 825.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

Katrina McElroy presents her exhibition Exophoric at Gallery 825.
Additionally, Katrina is in a scientific exhibition called Measure for Measure
that will be opening at Harvard soon which also
utilizes these similar themes of images within circles capturing emotional details.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook© 2011

Keiko Inoh explores the visual nuances of shadows and power structures
within the dark room at Gallery 825.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

Anne Hieronymus Bloom and Blight

Marjan Vayghan Falling Up, with the Cage

Katrina McElroy Exophoric

Keiko Inoh Shadow

On May 7, 2011, Los Angeles Art Association presented four solo exhibitions by Anne Hieronymus, Keiko Inoh, Katrina McElroy, and Marjan K. Vayghan at Gallery 825.

The drawings and sculpture in Anne Hieronymus' Bloom and Blight are inspired by both the idea of the cycle of formation, continuance, decline and disintegration, and the use of that cycle as a process to create the work. This ancient cosmology used across cultures to explain everything from biological lifecycles to software releases, gives form to what the viewer already knows and experiences. The full presentation consists of found and collected objects, party decorations, used wood, wire and drawings using broken down and rearranged text .

Katrina McElroy's 360 degree installation, Exophoric, continues her metaphoric exploration and examination of visceral emotion. In linguistics, an exophoric reference alludes to something outside the text or dialogue, which is understood based on context or mutual knowledge. In this photo-based installation, McElroy plays with this concept visually by manipulating and rearranging hundreds of video stills thus denying the viewer a linear narrative and instead presenting them with an abstracted pattern. The individual micro-expressions as well as the overall composition are clues, however it is shared human experience that becomes the basis for further interpretation and meaning.

Keiko Inoh's installation Shadow is the artist's compelling expression of ideas through seemingly simple projections of cut-paper constructions. This cut-paper-projection becomes like a negative of a photograph and the shadow projected on the wall becomes a picture. The audience can witness a "camera- less" photograph of uncanny sophistication.

Marjan Vayghan's multi-media, cross cultural installation falling up, with the cage potently represents the women of Iran, who have been slowly and silently fighting and protesting for their rights. A powerful visualization of Vayghan's arrest in Tehran, Iran, during the political uprising in the Summer of 2009. Vayghan's work converges on personal memory, familial intimacy and transnational political consciousness. In particular Vayghan addresses politics & processes of "misinformation," & draws diverse communities together to consider these misidentifications collectively within the various settings she stages. She employs the arena of "community" in her art to create solidarity and cross cultural understanding. Vayghan's art challenges oppression, considers interconnectivity & envisions beyond borders.

Reception: Saturday, May 7, 2011 from 6-9pm

Admission: Free

Where: Gallery 825 - 825 N. La Cienega Boulevard, LA 90069

Exhibitions continue at Gallery 825 through June 3, 2011.

For more information visit www.laaa.org or call 310.652.8272.

LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS COMES TO USC! PhotoJournal by Ginger E. Van Hook

2011-05-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

Author Enilde Ginger Ingels-Van Hook displays her books at the Los Angeles Times
Festival of Books, held on the USC main Campus on April 30, 2011
The author of the novel
The Kingdom of Nuts and Bolts, Enilde Van Hook first released this book
for sale at the LA Times Festival of books in 2008.
Participating in author signings in
The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society booth 970
Author, Artist, Photographer and Writer
known as Ginger E. Van Hook
works as a photojournalist specializing in documenting the Fine Arts
in local communities in Los Angeles, California.
Photo Courtesy of Tony Todaro, President of G.L.A.W.S.,
known for writers mentoring writers as
The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, one
of the oldest writing societies in California.

Ginger Van Hook introduced her lastest creation, a visual poetry book titled
"The Poetry of Art" documenting the story and journey of Ginger and Luke Van Hook
becoming artists in Los Angeles as well as documenting
the artists they've met along the way.
"The Poetry of Art" is not yet available to the public.
The publication date of this book will be announced.
One Sample copy was introduced for previews
at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at
the University of Southern California (USC) main campus.
Enilde Ginger Ingels-Van Hook is a graduate
of the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism at USC.

Authors Ginger E. Van Hook, Paul Michel, Sara Beacham and Christian Amougou
present their written works at the
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held at the USC main campus
April 30, 2011. Photo courtesy of Tony Todaro, President of GLAWS
The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, LA, CA 2011

(Left to right) Authors Ace Antonio Hall, Leslie Ann Moore and
the organization's president, Tony Todaro are responsible for
bringing the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society to the
LA Times Festival of Books on the USC Campus,
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

Author of "In My Eyes", Ace Antonio Hall and
Leslie Ann Moore, author of "Griffin's Daughter" Trilogy of books
participate in leadership activities related
to writers mentoring writers by leading critique groups.
Additionally Ace Antonio Hall is the Vice President of GLAWS

Author Sarah Beach participates in the LA Times Festival of Books on the USC Campus.

Siri Kaur! Los Angeles Artist Emerges in Photographic Realm. 2011. PhotoJournal by Ginger Van Hook

2011-03-02T02:36:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles Artist Siri Kaur emerges as a photographer and educator
sporting three art shows simultaneously to break-in the 2011 New Year.
Siri Kaur poses in the window of the Garboushian Gallery in Beverly Hills
where her show "Half of the Whole" opened on January15th, 2011.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

Siri Kaur is a special and rare artist emerging in Los Angeles in 2011 in a city where the competition is as fierce as it is bountiful. Siri Kaur does not fear competition. She thrives in it. What makes her special to me is that I know her personally and have gotten the opportunity to work with her in a collaborative venture called the "SEE THRU" Exhibition. We worked together in a group of a dozen or more artists who collaborated with a scientist from Cal Tech in Pasadena named Shinsuke Shimojo. For the "See Thru" exhibition, Siri worked on "The New Zodiac" which revealed the way humans see the world using the eye tracking software in the Shimojo Laboratory at Cal Tech.
But that was way back in the summer of 2010. By New Year's 2011, Siri had hit the ground running and she wasn't looking back. I mentioned that Siri Kaur does not fear competition; neither does she fear exploring the scenes of the aurora borealis in the dead of winter in Canada, alone. Yes. She went off on her own, leaving her husband and family at home while she determined to go and explore an image of a memory that had once exhilarated her imagination and peaked her curiosity. OK, so Siri is way taller than me and she has a great deal of confidence that she may have earned on the way to growing up, learning poise, leadership and artistic persuasions not blessed upon us mere mortals who are almost five feet tall, like me. But Siri has these qualities and much much more. She is a formidable talent that deserves recognition for her ability to faithfully immerse herself in photography, education, science and art. Add to that her spunky personality, her effervescent joy for taking pictures and her eloquent manner in which she communicates her passion to her students and you get a dynamic bundle of skill and audacity. I just had to learn more about her which is what prompted me to write a story in "Fine Art Trekkin Los Angeles". And when that was not enough for me to capture what I could see with my own eyes, (but could not describe in text), I made a little documentary video so you could see what I see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JLEuCdOoA4

I see that Siri Kaur is an important artist who is making relevant art in the realm of photography. I see that she cares about her students and that she has an abundance of energy with which to contribute to her world, her society, and her genre. Keep your eyes focused for more enticing photographic surprises from this young artist and you will learn that while she's in the darkroom...stars are shining in her honor.

SIRI KAUR received her MFA from CalArts, her MA in Italian Studies and BA in Comparative Literature from Smith College. Her photographs have been exhibited in numerous group shows, including 401 Projects in New York, Hayworth Gallery in Los Angeles, the Torrance Museum of Art, and the UCLA Wight Biennial. Kaur's work is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery in D.C. and the University of Maine. She lives and works in Los Angeles, where she is currently a visiting lecturer at Otis College of Art and Design.

During the month of January 2011, Siri Kaur was exhibiting in three simultaneous art shows around Los Angeles County; Culver City, Beverly Hills and Glendale. I invite you to learn more about Siri Kaur by watching the video on YouTube or reading this blog which highlights some of her accomplishments. Siri Kaur is a member of Los Angeles Art Association/LAAA and where she often exhibits in Gallery 825 on La Cienega in Los Angeles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JLEuCdOoA4

Siri Kaur exhibiting "The New Zodiac" for the "See Thru" Exhibition at Gallery 825
in Los Angeles, California 2010
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2010

The New ZodiacGrid of Politicians (Untitled Politician #1-6), Grid of Bunnies (Untitled Bunny #1-6) Siri Kaur collaboration with Romann Weber and Daw-an Wu13 x 19’’ Pigment Prints, 2010. Edition of 5.

"Sing me to sleep"

Angles Gallery

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 8, 2011 6-8pm

Saturday, January 8th - Saturday, February 12th, 2011

2754 S. La Cienega Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90034

Curated by Soo Kim, "Sing me to sleep" is made up of artwork by Linda

Burnham, Phil Chang, Richard Choi, Morgan Cuppet-Michelsen, Christa

Garcia, Alex Hartley, Siri Kaur, Tania Kovats, Tracy Powell, and Mark

Wyse.

Poised beside her experimental photograph "Black Hole", Siri Kaur explains
the origin of the photograph and how she created it.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

"More than or Equal to Half of the Whole" (with Kate Johnson)

Garboushian Gallery

Opening Reception: January 15, 2011, 6-9pm

January 15- February 11, 2011

427 North Camden Drive, Beverly Hills CA 90210

Entrance to the Brand Library grounds where the opening of
Curious Silence opened with Siri Kaur as one of the participants in 2011.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©

"Curious Silence"

at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 15, 2011 6-9pm

January 15 – February 25, 2011

1601 West Mountain Street Glendale,

California 91201 t:818-548-2051

Curated by Renée Martin and Heather Rasmussen.

Artists Bijoux Altamirano,Jennifer Bastian,

Bridget Carron, Siri Kaur, Renée Martin,

JuliaPaull, Heather Rasmussen,

Fay Ray and Carly Steward.

http://www.brandlibrary.org/brand_gallery_schedule.asp

Photographic Work by Siri Kaur submitted from her originals:

Pleiades by Siri Kaur

Untitled "Double" by Siri Kaur

Black Hole by Siri Kaur

Aurora by Siri Kaur

Clouds by Siri Kaur

Pleiades and Untitled "Double" by Siri Kaur

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SIRI KAUR PLEASE VISIT HER WEBSITE:

www.sirikaur.com

Los Angeles Art Association & ANACAFÉ, Guatemala's National Coffee Organization, proudly present "Hecho a Mano" juried by Idurre Alonso, Curator Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) Los Angeles Art Association & ANACAFÉ, Guatemala's National Coffee Organization, proudly present "Hecho a Mano" juried by Idurre Alonso, Curator Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) Hecho a Mano LAAA & ANACAFE

2011-01-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

Michael Giancristiano

Work by Steve Fujimoto

Patricia Yossen

Ching Ching Cheng

Gwen Samuels and Melissa Pugash

Work by Patricia Yossen

Los Angeles Art Association & ANACAFÉ, Guatemala's National Coffee Organization, proudly present "Hecho a Mano" juried by Idurre Alonso, Curator Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)

Hecho a Mano (Made by Hand) is a special collaborative exhibition featuring contemporary artwork created by Greater Los Angeles-area emerging artists exploring issues of quality workmanship and cultural heritage. Also included are selections from ANACAFÉ's 50th Anniversary exhibition titled Inspired by Coffee that débuted at the International Coffee Organization's World Coffee Conference in February 2010. The collection showcases images of Guatemala's coffee-growing regions by photographers from Belgium, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, France and the U.S. along with panoramic views captured by Anglo-American photographer Eadweard Muybridge in 1875. Idurre Alonso, Spanish art historian and curator at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) juried the exhibition.

F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc., makers of Don Francisco's Coffees Family Reserve are proud to be the Platinum sponsor of this multi-media, cross-cultural exhibition presented by ANACAFÉ, the 90,000-member national coffee board of Guatemala and LAAA.The exhibition is presented with the support of Bunn-O-Matic Corporation and InterAmerican Coffee, Inc., and will be on display at Gallery 825 until February 11, 2011. Hecho a Mano will be presented in conjunction with Los Angeles Arts Month.

Featured artists include:

Ruben Acosta, Santiago Albert, Ange Bourda, Moisés Castillo, Ching Ching Cheng, YaYa Chou, Mitchell Denburg, Fulvio Eccardi, Brad Fielder, Steven Fujimoto, Libby L. Gerber, Michael Giancristiano, Naohiko Hoshino, Koji Iijima, Wim Kempenaers, Jim Keville, Laura Larson, Martha Martínez, Juan Carlos Menéndez, Eadweard Muybridge, José Domingo Noriega, Raksha Parekh, Patrick Quinn, Gwen Samuels, Heather Scholl, Susan M. Sironi, Agostino Someliani, Byron Wolfe and Patricia Yossen.

Reception: 7-9pm, Saturday January 15, 2011

Admission: Free

Location: Gallery 825

825 N. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Show runs through February 11, 2011.

For information call 310.652.8272 or e-mail gallery825@laaa.org

Top images by Jim Keville, Steven Fujimoto and Ching Ching Cheng

Los Angeles ART MONTH is launched Downtown as Artists and Leaders gain recognition for transforming the art scene! Story and Photojournal by Ginger Van Hook

2011-01-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

A member of the LA ART MONTH Steering Committee since it's inception three years ago, Peter Mays described today's event as an important milestone in the transformation of the Los Angeles Art Scene. Mays stated that Gayle Garner Roski and Kim Martindale are two of the prominent artists and business leaders who are credited with coming up with the idea to incorporate all the arts in the celebration, including a variety of visual arts, sculpture, film and adding the musical arts, plus the magical Cirque du Soleil acrobatics performers and theatrical actors as well. The January 5, 2011 launching of LA ART MONTH involved a steering committee of approximately 20 members of the Los Angeles Art Community plus encouraging remarks and support from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LA Council District 4's Tom LaBonge. In addition to various art publications booths and vendors, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs had an important presence in a booth near the stage where they were Featuring special performances by: David Hidalgo & Louie Perez of Los Lobos, Theatrical selections by About Productions and performances by Cirque du Soleil, including an appearance by cast from Zumanity.

LA Art Month Steering Committee member and

Executive Director of Los Angeles Art Association and Gallery 825

together with LAAA/G825 Program Manager Nancy Kaye

help kick off Los Angeles Art Month in Downtown Los Angeles

at the Music Center Plaza on January 5, 2011.

LAAA member artists featured during this event included

Ching-Ching Cheng, Tm Gratkowski and Joe Davidson.

Yoichi Kawamura also an LAAA artist member
stopped by to support fellow LAAA "featured artist" member
Ching-Ching Cheng

during the celebration of LA Arts Month in Downtown Los Angeles

on January 5, 2011.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

Camera artwork created by "featured artist"

Ching-Ching Cheng.

LAAA "Featured artist" member Tm Gratkowski took a moment to pose beside his collage art for the launching of LA ARTS MONTH held at the Music Center Plaza on Jan 5, 2011.

LAAA member "Featured Artist" Joe Davidson created artwork while the celebrated launch of
Los Angeles Art Month was in progress and the audience enjoyed the performances by
David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

LA Inc., Cirque Du Soleil and Experience LA contribute their part

to the revitalization of the ARTS in DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.

In front of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion,

the audience was enthralled with the young artist on stage

who performed complicated choreography of arial acrobatics representing

Cirque du Soleil.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

One of the largest noon audiences ever in Los Angeles

celebrated the arts as they enjoyed a very flexible arial routine

by a performer from Cirque du Soleil.
Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2011

Creative and extraordinarilly flexible, the Performer from Cirque du Soleil

captivated her audience during the LA ARTS MONTH kick off festivities.

LA Council District 4's Tom LaBonge thanked Cirque du Soleil's artist

for her wonderful performance during the launching of

LA ARTS MONTH at the Downtown Music Center Plaza

on Grand Street in Los Angeles, California.

In a brief exuberant speech between performances, Tom LaBonge

stated the latest acronym for Los Angeles means "LOVE ARTS!"

Performing to standing room audiences in Downtown's Music Center Plaza in Los Angeles,

David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos perform a melody of their popular songs!

Music Center Plaza

135 N. Grand Ave.

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles City and County officials as well as the

cultural arts leaders and movers and shakers of the

LA art world celebrated Los Angeles Arts Month,

an opportunity for Angelenos and visitors alike to

discover the rich cultural fabric of our city.

A Featured special performance by David Hidalgo

& Louie Perez of Los Lobos with theatrical

selections by About Productions also made the celebration an event to remember!

For more info, visit

http://www.experiencela.com/calendar/event/35493

The Getty Underground Reveals Secrets August 9, 2010

2010-11-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Dos Tres 2010

Getty Underground

Secrets from the belly of the GETTY!

By Ginger Van Hook 9.5.10

Don Oliver Scott III is not a common name nor anyone who you might know presently, but DOS TRES, the artist is certainly someone you should know, if you ever plan to visit the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, in particular, The Getty Underground, that is if you are lucky enough to see the likes of the secrets in this basement.

By day it seems, you’ll find Don Scott, wearing a red tie and a navy blue uniform blazer with the generic gray pants, humbly making his rounds on the grounds of the GETTY Museum as a security guard whom you wouldn’t want to mess with; being that he guards the old fashioned way, the Old Wild - Wild West way. But after dark and way into the night a new character emerges. Here in this photo, decked out in his Monday best, sporting a black Stetson Cowboy Hat equipped with silver rim and emblem, a navy blue and light blue western shirt with silver cufflinks and a bold silver belt buckle, you find, DOS TRES, as he puts up his dukes in front of a drawing he created over the course of three years, where he has been guarding the art work in the Rotunda of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.

DOS TRES sketched an image of the visiting exhibition by Tim Hawkinson and not only made a tribute to the successful California artist, but memorialized the vision that affected him for merely a brief time. “Artists affect each other in unpredictable ways” DOS TRES said as he explained the color choices he made to sketch his rendition of “Uber Organ”.

“I thought the pencil colors should have looked brighter, but the colors are soft and subtle-I’m OK with that now. I was so taken by the enormous influence of the balloons and the pipes weaving in and out of the space, that I felt the need to capture it so I could tell other people I had witnessed this!” (This work took him three years because at first he made the sketches in sections one section at a time, on a pad and went home to assemble the image. He would return the next day to complete and match another section, then refine that and give the design its color. At one point, he suffered from the inability to move his hands from a mysterious nervous system ailment and it was a struggle, if not therapy, just to complete the shadings of the colors onto the paper.)

For those who may be unfamiliar with the San Francisco born artist Tim Hawkinson’s work, here is a photo of the prolific artist who has been wowing audiences for years. The significance of the UberSketch that was created by Dos Tres is that it is a work of art that is inspired by another artist. In and of itself, the UberSketch references Tim Hawkinson's artwork and thus points audiences in the direction of Hawkinson's work for more research, more study and more awareness of the artists in our California community. At the same time, this style of work done by Dos Tres also reflects well upon his drawing skills.

Tim Hawkinson American Artist, 2000 

Woven polyethylene, nylon net, cardboard tubing, and various mechanical components

EX.2007.4.1 Andrea Nasher Collection (The J. Paul Getty Trust©)

Tim Hawkinson’s work moved DOS (as he’s often casually referred) to bring in a sketchpad and come in to work on his days off just to capture the intense beauty of the sculpture that wrapped around the Rotunda of the Getty Museum. The Getty Museum attracts visitors, admirers, artists and scholars from all over the world, and this one artist known as DOS TRES, aka Don Scott III who presently lives and works in the Inglewood Artist Community, was so dedicated to existing amidst great art, that he was totally pleased to accept a position at the Getty Museum in the Security Department. And this year, after a great number of obstacles presented themselves he overcame all to be able to exhibit his drawing in the halls of The Getty Underground, a most privileged and prestigious honor to hang in the belly of the “Getty”. Every two years, the Getty Museum throws an exclusive party for the employees and staff to showcase the works of the talented pool of artists that serve the public, scholars and vacationers alike everyday.

Scanned Image of
THE UBERSKETCH
Provided by by Don Scott III

This image which DOS TRES was seeking to capture of a spectacular exhibit, the “UberOrgan”, comes close to re-inventing the essence of the original space as witnessed by a man looking at great art, day after day, noting the nuances of the light from the sun beaming across the glass in the Rotunda, from early to mid-morning. Visual art depends on lights and shadows to develop the profoundness of the image as it comes across in real time, which is how DOS expressed the experience with the lightness or brightness of a color pencil. Additionally, you will notice the careful exactitude by which he revealed the presence of a female security guard in the scene, noting the green leaves of the trees in the windows, the musical notes undulating across the walls and out into space, the shadows of the balloons on the tiles of the floor and so subtly the name of the exhibition on one of the columns. “Uberorgan Tim Hawkinson” while on the other column, his own signature “DOS TRES”. And in text scrawled at the bottom of the sketch, one finds references to standard security lingo: “SECURITY ‘MARY ONE-NINE ADAM’ ALLA STEPANOVA ON POST : 0700 HOURS : 08/05/07 : GETTY CENTER ROTUNDA : LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA ARTIST : DOS TRES (MARY SIX-TWO DON SCOTT 3”. This is perhaps the quaintest of the details as it reveals a moment in time, frozen by the call of a radio voice-over, reporting a location, a time, a date and apparently that all is well at the time.

Detail of UberSketch by Dos Tres, provided by artist.

The exactitude depicted in this sketch reaches the levels of excellence of a professional so I set up an interview to discuss this work with DOS TRES and I asked him what his influences had been growing up and where he’d amassed these intricate detail skills. He answered that he’d attended U.C. Berkeley in the late 60’s and early 70’s and that he’d originally studied architecture. A chance class with a ceramics art teacher awakened his desire to follow the arts, despite the teacher’s warning against it telling him ‘never be an artist; it’s an impossible way to make a living’.
But the calling to be an artist started at a much younger age for DOS TRES as he recounted his story to me about the man he looked up to as his first mentor and inspiration, Jim Scott, a San Francisco artist. DOS was born in Oakland, California and in Sonoma County where he still retreats from time to time to do ranch work and paint the beloved rustic barns and rural scenery of the region. His biggest influence from childhood was his uncle Jim Scott who he states is the truest Renaissance man of this era. His uncle is a sculptor, weaver, photographer, writer, musician, botanist, and painter who was educated at Art Institute and right after returning from World War II, started dressing windows like MACY’s and then proceeded to painting enormous backdrops for big San Francisco convention halls. Uncle Jim became very successful early on and went traveling to foreign lands and took photographs and made paintings of the places he visited. Growing up, DOS stated that in his parent’s home, there were always new paintings or artwork that had been created by his uncle, his father’s brother. Both of his parents appreciated the arts and his dad is a prolific stamp collector and publisher; one of his catalogues of which DOS had sitting atop the drawing table beside his cup of color pencils.

DOS TRES developed his art style during a unique period in our American history. His formative years were spent admiring art in museums, galleries, symphonies and psychedelic rock concerts during the politically charged era of the 1960’s. This was when scientists were immersed in travels to the moon, Martin Luther King was giving civil rights speeches, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan were singing together and the military draft was in place. DOS got one of those draft notices, but was in San Francisco during the peace movement. He was against the Vietnam War, as were millions of other Americans, but as it was, the arts may have been what saved him ultimately from having to step into the line of fire. He had dropped out of Berkeley to take on a drafting job and had been hired by a private contractor to draw architectural plans for Army, Navy and Air Force installations around the Bay Area. When facing the Judge on the eve of imprisonment and heavy fines for refusing the draft, all was given credit and he was sentenced by the Court to continue working on the military drawings. Thus, I surmised, was the power of the art skills DOS TRES possessed.

“It is a very poor student who doesn’t ultimately surpass his master” DOS TRES, humbly quotes Da Vinci when he first began speaking about his uncle Jim; he told of how he admires his uncle’s discipline which he earned as a young marine, and the volumes of work put out by one man whom DOS holds up as the highest artistic benchmark. He feels he could never measure up to the DEDICATION and INTEGRITY of his uncle, that he’s still working to achieve that kind of prolific prowess and authenticity. However, as an outside observer I feel, if measured in detail, DOS TRES, has perhaps achieved as a life work, with one drawing, the emotion, imagery and imagination, capturing the work of another artist that stopped him in his tracks…Tim Hawkinson should be pleased he has this admirer re-invoke life into the memory of his installation work …the impressive, UBER ORGAN.

Detail of the UberSketch by Dos Tres, displayed

at the Getty Underground Exhibition August 9, 2010

Photo by Ginger Van Hook

Artist Dos Tres pictured with Artist Luke Van Hook.

Fine Art Trekkin in Los Angeles;

Photo by Ginger Van Hook. 8.09.10

For the artists interested in further research about Tim Hawkinson, please read below:

Tim Hawkinson was born in San Francisco, California in 1960. A graduate of San Jose State University, he later earned his MFA at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1989. Hawkinson is renowned for creating complex sculptural systems through surprisingly simple means. His installation “Überorgan”—a stadium-size, fully automated bagpipe—was pieced together from bits of electrical hardware and several miles of inflated plastic sheeting.

The source of inspiration for many of Hawkinson’s pieces has been the re-imagining of his own body and what it means to make a self-portrait of this new or fictionalized body. In 1997 the artist created an exacting, two-inch tall skeleton of a bird from his own fingernail parings, and later made a feather and egg from his own hair. Believable even at a close distance, these works reveal Hawkinson’s attention to detail as well as his obsession with life, death, and the passage of time. Hawkinson has participated in numerous exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including the Venice Biennale (1999), the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, (2000), the Power Plant in Toronto, Canada (2000), the Whitney Biennial (2002), and the 2003 Corcoran Biennial in Washington, D.C. Tim Hawkinson resides in Los Angeles with his wife.

For additional biographic & bibliographic information:
PaceWildenstein, New York | Ace Gallery, Los Angeles

Solo exhibitions
▪ Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. February 11 – May 29, 2005.[1]
▪ Los Angeles County Museum of Art. June 26 – September 5, 2005.[2]
▪ Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia. 2008
[edit]
References
1. ^ http://www.whitney.org/www/exhibition/feat_hawk.jsp
2. ^ http://www.lacma.org/art/ExhibPast2005.aspx
Lawrence Rinder. 2005, Tim Hawkinson (Whitney Museum of American Art)
Tim Hawkinson on the Art21 blog
What Is Überorgan? Überorgan is an enormous contemporary sculpture by Los Angeles-based artist Tim Hawkinson. It exemplifies Hawkinson's characteristic use of the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary, combining and recomposing common industrial materials and found musical phrases into a multisensory sculptural experience.   Überorgan changes with every installation, and at the Getty Center it playfully interacts with its setting, the modernist rotunda designed by architect Richard Meier.  The musical score for Überorgan consists of a 250-foot-long scroll. Black dots and dashes encode the notes of traditional hymns, pop songs, and improvisational tunes. The notes are deciphered by light-sensitive switches in its player and scrambled to create an endless variety of compositions.   Überorgan performs for five minutes every hour on the hour throughout the run of the exhibition.  

In Zoopsia: New Works by Tim Hawkinson (March 6–September 9, 2007), an exhibition of new works commissioned for display at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Tim Hawkinson creates a surprising menagerie of zoological forms using common household and industrial items and reconfigured images of his own body. Zoopsia reveals Hawkinson's characteristic strategies of fragmentation, translation, and metaphor as applied to a range of creatures past and present.   The word zoopsia means "visual hallucination of animals." While Hawkinson's ideas do not literally derive from hallucinations, as the exhibition title suggests, they do often begin with an alternate interpretation or enhanced misreading of objects and materials from the everyday world.  Zoopsia: New Works by Tim Hawkinson and the presentation of Überorgan mark the inauguration of a more regular engagement with contemporary art through commissioned projects and exhibitions at the J. Paul Getty Museum.  

MORE SECRETS REVEALED FROM
THE GETTY UNDERGROUND:
Photojournal by Ginger Van Hook © 2010

Fine Art Trekkin through Los Angeles,

Ginger and Luke Van Hook explored the

secrets of the Getty Underground on August 09, 2010.

Thoughts on the adventures through the Getty by Ginger Van Hook

We took the shuttle bus instead of the tram, because the tram didn't oprate on a Monday and we were the guests of Don Scott III, who is one of the security guards there. It was basically a work party for Don, who is our neighbor. Don drew a significantly gorgeous piece of artwork and he was quite excited about exhibiting it. The artwork was exhibited in the basement of the Getty, appropriate because it is where "Security Forces" work. I took almost two hundred digital photos and folks were really kind and helpful and nice about letting me take their pictures. I made friends with the bartender and a man on stilts.

I was feeling very privileged to be invited to attend a celebration of art produced by artists who are attracted to work at the Getty Center...if only for the LOVE OF ART. Many of the art pieces were created by volunteers who are artists, others like Don work in a specific department of the museum.

I think it is very cool that the Getty Museum recognizes the talents of its individual employees and volunteers. Every two years they have an art exhibition for their internal staff and thus this celebration gives them the recognition throughout the community for their talents and mostly it is about appreciation of their workforce.

To be hanging at the Getty, even if one is underground in the basement/vault, is a unique privilege and honor as there really were only a few artists lucky enough to get space on the wall! As for the artists, even a small space on a wall, especially on a Getty wall is like getting a gold nugget...a tremendous opportunity! The Getty Underground is a massive architectural monument and although it is open to the public everyday, it contains enormous secrets. Standing underground in this privileged space made me think of mysteries and discoveries; the feelings were like those of a child, wandering into the attic of a grandparent's home to find the treasure of its family's past...so too, we as invited guests, were greeted with the treasures of our modern society with the delightful views of how drawing, painting, film, video, sculpture, and mosaic elements have evolved in our cities, specifically Los Angeles.

Special thanks to Don Scott, the staff at The Getty, and Tim Hawkinson for his elaborate installation that inspired new work that reflects attractively upon our Los Angeles art culture.

2010-06-21T12:06:00.001-07:00

Ginger Van Hook and Luke Van Hook Collaboration

Photographer and Painter work together to create new images.

CalTech/Gallery 825-LAAA

SEE-THROUGH- An Investigation of Photography, Perception and Brain Science

May 25, 2010

The Ghost of my Sister Else (23" x 42")

Traditional Darkroom Photography, Negative Sandwich

Artists: Ginger Van Hook, Luke Van Hook, Luis Ingels, (photographer and Dad)

Original negative image taken in 1965 by Luis Ingels,

Power lines image taken in 2010 and merged in the darkroom by

Ginger Van Hook and Luke Van Hook.

Location: SouthGate, California. Southern & Dudlext street across from SouthGate Park.

Photograph image of Original Power Towers that we lived under as a family

between 1964-1966

My work in photography investigates how to make the invisible, visible.

Electromagnetic Fields are an invisible force on our planet that is created from the generation of electricity through high voltage power lines just to cite a particular example. So too, this force exists in smaller quantities in microwave ovens, TV’s, computers and electrical appliances. At first this type of radiation was not well understood, nor how it affected the human psyche, the brain or the body. I began investigating the issue of High Voltage Power Lines at first because of its unique visual relationship to me. In 1964-1966 when my family arrived in Los Angeles from Argentina, we lived in Southgate, California and we rented an apartment about a few feet from a row of high voltage power lines. I always thought these enormous power structures were beautiful; an elegant testament to man’s ambition to conquer the night.

Later, I found new reasons to investigate the issue as I began to learn of the powerful electromagnetic fields that were associated with this technology. The issue is also personal as my sister had developed Leukemia and died in 1975, but no known cause was ever attributed to her death. When I learned of the connection between High Voltage Power Lines and childhood Leukemia I started investigating this issue with even deeper conviction, photographing Power Towers between California and up into Oregon.

The question of how electromagnetic fields affects the brain, the body and the psyche are the subject of now a lifelong study looking for my own personal answers. I seek to demonstrate to the public, the art world and to my family that an invisible force is still active, even when it cannot be seen or perceived by the human eye. Just as I had worked in the radio business for 15 years and learned sound waves were able to be captured and heard on a receiver to broadcast music, so too, I wish to explore the visual impact of electromagnetic radiation as it applies to the perception of the public mind, the brain, the body and the psyche.

I believe my work would be of particular interest to Prof. Shinsuke Shimojo of Caltech because I too seek the connections between hidden links in my photographic work. I too study the associations to my childhood memories, how the public perceives these issues and the emotional states that are a result of invisible forces in our environment.

In my work I also wish to acknowledge the collaboration with my husband and Gallery 825 --Los Angeles Art Association Member, fine arts painter, Luke Van Hook with his assistance on road trips, support with equipment and creative consultation through several states to obtain the extensive collections of Power Tower and Power Lines photographs as well as the generosity of my father, inventor, Luis Ingels for allowing me the use of our childhood negatives for me to cut up and create images of double exposed negative sandwiches resulting in powerful views of High Voltage Power Lines seen through the lens of my childhood memories. My work involves darkroom techniques with double negatives sandwiched together like the work of Jerry Uelsmann including double and triple exposures as well as digital imagery created on the computer.

I have an Masters in Fine Arts in writing and photography from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications/Journalism from The Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism at the University of Southern California. Luke Van Hook has a Bachelor's degree from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles in Fine Arts Painting. The focus of Luke Van Hook's current work is the exploration of the circle in all its diverse manifestations. Luke Van Hook mixes all his own paints to create unique color combinations on canvases and panels. His work may be viewed on his website: www.lukevanhook.com

(Scientists from the Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai announced the results of their research that finally explains just how EMF radiation causes childhood leukemia. Xiaoming Shen and his colleagues determined that the distribution of leukemia among children living under high voltage power lines or transformers is not random; rather, it affects children carrying a certain genetic variant, that is, the ability to repair DNA breaks vastly more often. This simple sounding finding has huge implications. Researchers have long thought that EMF radiation caused DNA breaks, but could not figure out how. Shena’s research points to a different mechanism; the EMF radiation doesn’t cause the breaks, but inhibits DNA repair, particularly in children that have a weakened repair mechanism to begin with.)

http://spectrum.ieee.org/techtalk/semiconductors/devices/powerlin_radiation_and_children posted by Tekla Perry//Tuesday, December 16, 2008.

Strolling Through Power Lines (39.5" x 25.5")

Traditional Darkroom Photography, Negative Sandwich, Triple Exposures

Artists: Ginger Van Hook, Luke Van Hook and Luis Ingels, photographer (and Dad)

Bridge Over Troubled Power (A Tiny Voice From the Grave) (27" x 41")

Traditional Darkroom Photography, Negative Sandwich

Artists: Ginger Van Hook, Luke Van Hook, Luis Ingels photographer (and Dad)

Exposed to Power (22" x 40")

Traditional Darkroom Photography, Negative Sandwich

Artists: Ginger Van Hook, Luke Van Hook, Luis Ingels, photographer (and Dad)

In the original image taken in 1965, there is my mother Martha Ingels, my father Luis Ingels,

and my middle sister Else Ingels depicting the family celebrating Else's first birthday.

Else was born in 1964 and died of Leukemia in 1975.

Southgate, California. Southern & Dudlext streets, across from SouthGate Park.1965.

The images of powerlines in the background are taken in Los Angeles, California

over the downtown freeways in 2003 and this final image was created in the darkroom using two negatives in April 2010.

Los Angeles Art Association Gallery 825 Open Show 2009 Exhibition

2009-12-18T02:49:00.000-08:00

Luke Van Hook, Tmothy Gratkowski, R.Matt,

Shizuko Greenblatt and Michael Giancristiano are

some of the heavy hitters in Los Angeles art circles as the

LAAA exhibition reception drew an enormous crowd

for the 2009 Open Show, despite the rainy weather that Saturday!

Gallery 825/LAAA, Los Angeles, California December 12, 2009

Photo by Ginger Van Hook

On December 12, 2009, Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) presented the 2009 Open Show, LAAA's signature survey exhibition of emerging Southern California artists of all media. The 2009 Open Show is juried by Apsara
DiQuinzio, Assistant Curator, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Distinct by design, LAAA's annual Open Show has developed into one of the most potent survey exhibitions on the West Coast. The opening reception was from 6-9pm on December 12, 2009 and runs through January 8, 2010 at LAAA's Gallery 825.

Featured artists include:
Lillian Abel, Ruben Acosta, Robin Adsit, Fegie Barkan, Lisa Bartleson, Catherine Bennaton, Jeff Berman, Steve Burtch, David Chappell, Ching Ching Cheng, Lisa Deutsch, Babak Emanuel, James Erwin, Melanie Florio, Steven Fujimoto, Alisa Gabrielle, Gina Galileo, Libby Gerber, Helen Geisler, Michael Giancristiano, Tm Gratkowski, Jenny Hager, Lydia Moon Hee Kim, Danny Heller, Liza Hennessey Botkin, Anne Hieronymus, Velda Ishizaki, Flora Kao, Kyung Ja Kim, Eva Kolosvary Stupler, Alan Kupchick, R. Dean Larson, R. Matt, Katherine McNamara, Barbara Nathanson, Janice Nowinski, Saule Piktys, Bryan Schnelle, Cory Sewelson, Sharron Shayne, Susan Sironi, Patrick Slattery, Tree Stokes, Jamie Sweetman, Lacey Terrell, Luke Van Hook, Michael Verbenec, Bendow, Karl West and Marco Zamora.

Reception: 6-9pm, Saturday December 12, 2009
Admission: Free
Where: Gallery 825
825 N. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90069

The Open Show runs through January 8, 2010.

For information call 310.652.8272 or e-mail gallery825@laaa.org

2009-09-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, California

LOS ANGELES ART ASSOCIATION and GALLERY 825 PRESENTS

SHIZUKO GREENBLATT "GROWTH OF CIVILIZATION"

solo show

opens at Gallery 825 September 11, 2009

825 N. LaCienega Blvd., Los Angeles, California

Fine Art Trekkin through Los Angeles,

Ginger and Luke Van Hook met

Shizuko Greenblatt.

In an interview 9.8.09 Sizuko explained the meaning of her exhibit. She told that in Japan, the colors for celebration are Red and White. The white represents purity and all that is sacred whereas the red stands for the energy, the happiness and the passion of the people. The red and white fans represent a wish for a bright future, the tree in the center depicts the branches reaching for the sky and the logs with branches painted black represent the obstacles one must overcome to achieve this happiness. In an expression of IKEBANA, Shizuko explained that the word means the enhancement of nature or a flower. In this case, the exhibition is titled "Growth of Civilization" and she has created all three of the elements necessary to achieve success.

In three parts, her exhibit encompasses

I. Overcoming

II. Reaching for the Sky

III. Infiinte Growth

Having met and worked with Shizuko for about a year now, Luke and I wish her success in her endeavors to achieve artistic recognition for her inspiring work. Shizuko allowed me to photograph her installation process and in these photos you'll witness as she develops the scene as skillfully as a theatre manager staging a show. Shizuko embodies a very positive spirit of inspiration and uniqueness in her work, drawing upon her personal culture and her experiences as an interior designer and artist. The show opens tonight at 6:00pm! Put it on your 'A' list of shows to see this month as it runs through October 9th!