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Discovering Downtown by Nancy Lupo

by Nancy Lupo

Winners of the Downtown Artists Grant

Dangerous Curve

1020 East Fourth Place, Los Angeles, CA 90013

August 11, 2007 - September 8, 2007

From Hollywood take the I – 101 south, exit Los Angeles Street. Turn left at Fourth Street, right on Molino Street, then immediately left on Fourth Place.

The scene at the opening of the Annual Downtown Artists Grants Exhibition at Dangerous Curve was like a block party imported from Tarzana. Suddenly a fresh coat of paint and plastic lawn chairs spanned a well-lit stretch of sidewalk. The eight artists exhibiting inside were awarded Downtown Artist Project grants earlier this year.

The grant recipients, along with the work they produced, are evidence of the diversity of the art scene in Los Angeles. One of the artists goes by the name Bumdog and lives among the homeless. He writes essays as well as a theater and movie project both entitled, Sketches of Nothing by a Complete Nobody. Another, Jennifer Cunningham, has had a successful career painting watercolors of Los Angeles landmarks. Her grant project was to paint historic theaters on Broadway and then make postcards of the paintings.

The show has the look and feel of a community in the process of being developed and defined. The good thing is that it appears as if there is room for everyone from all directions. While the art scene in Los Angeles might seem like it is centered in Culver City, there is something to keep in mind that is fundamental: Los Angeles is spread out and there is no real center.

(*Images: Bumdog, Annual Downtown Artists Grants Exhibition, August 11-September 4, 2007 at Dangerous Curve, Courtesy of Bumdog and Dangerous Curve.)

Posted by Nancy Lupo on 8/20/07