“California 101 is a pop-up gallery,” says curator Nina Zak Laddon, “and I think one of the reasons artists were interested is because the idea of having art in a place that was void of it before is sort of exciting. Suddenly there’ll be 200 pieces of art hanging on this property.”
Laddon is referring to “CA 101: Interpreting life along the Pacific Coast,” which opens tomorrow in three interconnected locations at 1700 Pacific Coast Hwy, in Redondo Beach – essentially in and next to the Palos Verdes Inn, or the Plush Horse if you’re nostalgic for the so-called good old days.
“We have 105 artists from 41 different cities in Southern California,” Laddon continues, “from Santa Barbara down to San Diego. I suspect that the theme of the exhibition” – and she emphasizes the above-mentioned subtitle – “was appealing to artists living here. To artists who wanted me, as a curator, to clarify, I said it doesn’t have to be the ocean and it doesn’t have to be the 405. We want to know how living here in Southern California affects you when you walk into your studio, when you framed that shot as a photographer. How does that affect the art that you create?”
It’s not just photography and painting, is it?
“You’ll be surprised,” Laddon replies. “Every media you can think of. We have glass, we have wood, we have metal, we have pastel and oil and watercolor and fabric and found objects and mixed media. So the variety and the texture is going to be very good.”
As far as subject matter, it’s a fairly expansive theme and the possibilities do seem endless. Even so, there’s quite a bit of what one might expect, but the hope is that it will be presented in such a way as has rarely or never been seen before.
“We have, naturally, gotten a lot of beautiful California landscapes and coastal scenes,” Laddon says, “but we have received many, many works [depicting] urban scenes, harbors, the freeways.” Also, she adds, “lots of surf and seabirds and surfers.”
What did you receive that was special, that stood apart?
“Some of the photographs at night are really, really fantastic,” she replies, mentioning Mark Comon and Jerry Neill, and praising the latter’s shots of the Redondo Beach Esplanade at night. “These were a surprise, but when I looked at them I felt that they hit the spot – [just] what you’d expect from an artist, a different point of view.”
[scrollGallery id =430]Faces new and old
Of the three converted spaces that are serving as galleries, Laddon was hoping, at the time we spoke, that “Gallery 1704,” which fronts PCH, would hold abstract works. The “Lobby Gallery,” which also faces Hwy. 101, seems as if it will highlight “what is really the symbol of California – palm trees,” Laddon says. And I’ll be amazed, she assures me, “at how many ways you can photograph or paint a palm tree.”
Located further inside the motel is the “PVI Gallery,” a spacious, 72-foot-long room, which will apparently group art thematically and provide a bit of a meandering journey from one general subject to another.
Pop-up galleries, not necessarily outfitted to show art and host crowds of art lovers like you, present their own logistics long before the first cellophane-covered artwork arrives for installation. Think of the Redondo Beach Art Group’s conversion of the AES Plant or the former Red Onion in Redondo Beach or Flag Stop’s conversion of the Lexus facility in Torrance.
“There are going to be challenges for me as a curator,” Laddon says, “because I am not [exhibiting the work] in a gallery; I’m in a meeting room and a storefront, and in the meeting room there’s not a lot of wall space.” So out come the easels that we’ve seen in other local art shows, at the Women’s Building and at the Performing Arts Center, both in Redondo Beach. In short, ingenuity is a must, and the show has to look professional.
Although the artists hail from 41 cities, it shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that the majority of them are fairly local, nearly one-third from Redondo alone. But after that the geographical diversity is fairly impressive and the mix of names, both familiar and new, has always been Laddon’s goal. Besides, as much as we adore our pals in the art world, we don’t always need to see their work publicly to the exclusion of outside voices.
In order to tap into a wellspring of artists who have never before shown in the South Bay, Laddon and her exhibition director, Sandra Liljenwall, among others, contacted several gallerists and also sought emerging artists (so-called) who perhaps have just finished art school. “I’ve looked at over 400 images in the last few days,” Laddon says, and the implication is that a lot of decisions were still to be made.
Prospective artists were allowed to submit up to six images, with the average being maybe three or four. Very few people went to bat six times and failed to connect at least once: “I found out that if you look carefully at every submission,” Laddon says, “almost always there was something that I ended up liking.”
Laddon is grateful to everyone who helped out or sponsored the event, and especially to Legado, the company that made the use of the facilities possible.
Darren Embry, who is Legato’s communication director, says that his company didn’t want to miss this opportunity to work with the Redondo Beach Art Group and Friends of Redondo Beach Art. “This one was a real obvious choice for us once we got to know the arts groups and hear how much they care about Redondo Beach and maintaining and improving the quality of life for its residents – all goals our company shares.”
Laddon herself concurs, “And we hope that the City of Redondo Beach will really appreciate the effort of bringing so many people from other cities in California to visit in Redondo Beach, to see our lovely city and use the city’s resources and have dinner at a restaurant in the Village and see our beautiful harbor. We even have two submissions from New Mexico, so we’ll have tourists in Redondo Beach thanks to ‘California 101.’”
CA 101: Interpreting life along the Pacific Coast, curated by Nina Zak Laddon, opens with a reception tomorrow (Friday) from 7 to 9 p.m. at 1700 Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach. Gallery hours: Friday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Same schedule next weekend, August 3, 4, and 5.
