Magic and Love in Rhythms of the City at the Rendon

Posted on by Diversions LA

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There are art experiences, there are music experiences, there are performances, installations, and walk- throughs. Sometimes, in a city as diverse and exciting artistically as Los Angeles, you get a mix of the visual and aural in one cool package, tied up with a metaphorical bow.

But it is a rare event to have something as haunting – the score is still in my head from Sunday’s performance – as lush, loving, and soul-stirring as Rhythms of the City at the Rendon Hotel in DTLA. On top of the beauty of the program, which included music, dance, and installation art, the event itself had a beautiful purpose – 100% of the proceeds from Rhythms of the City benefitted Play with Music, an LA-based nonprofit bringing music and tech education to underserved youth, connecting them to eight- week mentorship programs.

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The magic and love inherent in the experience shold draw you – fast, fast – to any future Art at the Rendon production.  Produced by Cindy Schwarzstein, participants hummed, danced, swayed, and stood in awe of the multi-room production.

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Composed by the extremely gifted Heitor Pereira, and directed by Ralph Ziman, with creative direction from Maria Greenshields-Ziman, and music direction from John Leftwich, attendees were invited onto both the second and third levels to watch the central starting point – repeating every 15 minutes – of the program.  This took place in an inner courtyard visible from both floors. Opera singers Anna Gregory and Rachel Staples Guettler, accompanied by rapper Jordan NliteN Tolbert performed the piece, from which harmonies, melodies, and reinterpretations spun out in all the rooms of the hotel. Guettler and Gregory’s dulcet vocals were like spun silk; Tolbert’s work was a rich, deeper counterpoint – the two styles merging into a seamless tapestry.

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Leaving the courtyard area and pausing fairly briefly in each room, we were able to take in each of the riffs and expansions of the central piece; my only disappointment was that there was no time left at the end of the captivating performance to go back and revisit some of our favorite rooms.

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That said, it’s also hard to play favorites. There were flaminco dancers, a gifted belly dancer, ballet, and jazz dance.

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Music was wide ranging in style and approach.

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There was African rhythm and rap; the alternative singing and guitar of Michelle Shocked (whose radio hits a few years back were favorites of mine); ipad techno, synthesizer, Native American sounds, Indian Raga, Hip Hop, the sounds of Peru, and even the use of Industrial and Found objects. 

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Shocked, above; Klezmer performers Ted Falcon Gypsy, below

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From a digiridoo to steel drum, to Klezmer, jazz, and electromagnetic field recordings of the sounds of the city, the audience would be hard put to not find “their” type of music, whether that meant music from their personal heritage, or just their favorite sounds and styles.

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Tom Freund, above; Marcus Lundqvist Trio, below

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Personal highlights included the sublime blues performed by Tom Freund; the vibrant rock of the Marcus Lundqvist Trio; the Rio Trio with Kleber Jorge Pimenta, Marco Dos Santos, and Rodrigo Galvao; and the riveting rhythm of Mexico performed by Elizabeth Sanchez Martinez, Claudia Lugue, and Geovanni Suarez. Elle Lewis played an ethereal solo flute; John Leftwich thundered his bass. Mike Dupree’s hip hop was passionate and compelling.

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Above, Elizabeth Sanchez Martinez, Claudia Lugue, and Geovanni Suarez

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Lewis on flute, above; Mike Dupree plays below

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The production was beautifully mixed, with speakers providing the central melody in each hallway.

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Several rooms had video monitors, others were hung with fabric, one was thatched with branches.

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The result was inspirational, exciting, and filled the admiring audience with longing to repeat the experience. Described as an immersive, collaborative performance, that is just the beginning. It’s kind of literally the stuff of dreams.

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If you haven’t supported Art at the Rendon before, be sure to do so whenever their next production comes around – this was my third “stay” at the old hotel; and each one gets better — more exciting, more profound.

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The evening ended with the chance to get two free glasses of beer, wine, or soda at the dark and cool speakeasy in the hotel’s basement, and mull over the musical magic.

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Visit www.artattherendon.com to find out more about past and upcoming events.

  • Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis

Dias de Los Muertes at Hollywood Forever: Art and Altars that Transcend This World

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Hollywood Forever’s Dias de Los Muertes event has become a true staple of LA life. The gorgeous, large-scale celebration features musical and dance performances on stage and on the grounds; sculptural installations; art installations, elaborate and witty costumes on visitors and participants, and moving, poignant, and sometimes amusing altars.

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Gotta catch ’em all.

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There were drummers, dancers, and multiple stages offering soft ballads and strong beats. And quiet, contemplative spaces honoring the departed.

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As a link between this life and the next, as a celebration, as an opening of the heart, mind, and soul to global cultures, the event is both lively and exciting. 

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Hollywood Forever was packed this year, as performers wove lush musical interludes and wild, mythical dances; attendees wrote messages to the departned on paper butterflies and tied them to a tree; and at another altar, attendees were encouraged to write the names of loved ones on colorful wooden sticks and plant them in sand.

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Thematically, this year, the festival’s 20th, was about the mariposa, or butterfly, specifically the orange and black monarch. It was a graceful, hopeful theme, one that resonated on a variety of different levels.

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The monarch butterfly winters in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Michoacán is also one of the two cultural heartlands in Mexico where the ancient traditions of Dia de los Muertos have been celebrated the longest and most vibrantly. The butterfly also represents the immigrants whose personal journeys echo the migrations of the butterflies between the U.S. and Mexico.

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Several of the altars offered moving commentary on the difficulty immigrants face entering this country.

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Inside the mausoleum, a bevy of terrific artists offered everything from carved wood to evocatively lit sculptures, paintings, and even stained glass. Arists included Eva Malhorta, Juan Solis, and Lore among many others.

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On the grounds, large scale artworks dotted the landscape.

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Taking place on Saturday the 2nd this year, this vibrant, transcendent cultural and spiritual event is as much an epitome of Los Angeles life as the pink and orange sunset pooling across the sky at twilight.

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As lights sparkled on altars, the sunset, the towering palms, skeleton sculptures floated in Hollywood Forever’s small lake…

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…sugar skulls and fairy lights glowed…

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and the cemetery’s resident peacocks settled into cages for the night.

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And one vibrant peacock-themed participant showed her plumage on the grounds.

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Missed it this year? Pay homage to your ancestors, your city’s culture, and the magic of Dias de Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever in 2020.

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  • Genie Davis; photos: Jack Burke; supplemental shots, Genie Davis

Rise Soars and Spins

Posted on by Diversions LA

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With live music, a lush sunset, and a desolate but lovely desert setting just outside Jean, Nev., the Rise Festival captivated from the moment the music began.

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Above, the Zack Gray band performs music that fit the site – a bit ethereal, a bit Coldplay-esque, the songs seemed perfectly timed to match the darkening of the sky. Other musical acts included Agina, Exes, and Ry X, taking the stage before the sun went down with lovely sets of their own.

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While the event describes itself as a music festival that also includes the release, at three timed intervals, of biodegradable lanterns, it is the lantern release itself that creates the true sense of magic, and draws the crowds. We attended Sunday night – the other two nights featured fireworks and a crowd of up to 10,000; Sunday was a smaller group of attendees – a little over half 10,000 – but nonetheless a truly spectacular release.

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The initial release was also a learning process: lighting the igniteable square in the center of the lantern and keeping the delicate paper that shapes it from also igniting while it inflates, is a two-person experience – even three; which makes it all the more delightful once mastering the technique is accomplished.

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Once dusk fell, and crowds gravitated away from the tasty collection of food trucks and craft brew purveyors…

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…once the sunset photos by the iconic “Rise” sign and colored moons and translucent colored columns were taken, attendees were asked to assist in lighting the rows of tiki torches laid out by sections — ticket holders were assigned to a section in  a circular grid from Northwest to Southeast.

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Following the torch lighting, and time to write any messages on the paper lanterns, there was a countdown to the actual lantern launch – and they were aloft. Some skittered too low, needed to be recaptured and reheated; others had first-time-mishaps as ours did; but in the end, they all went soaring into the sky, some seeming to pass in front of the moon.

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It was glorious. It was beyond worth the drive from LA into the desert. The visual spectacle, the sheer art of the event was terrific, but it was the spiritual element of release, fire, prayers and wishes and names on lanterns, the ephemeral nature of the lanterns as they transition to ash, sink, and fade into the desert sand that made the Rise Festival as special as it was.

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We saw participants of all ages – from children to the elderly, enjoying the event.

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Side note: the lanterns are biodegradeable, but even as we were leaving, the Rise Festival staff was waiting on horseback, foot, and cart to collect lantern detritus when the flames burnt out and gravity did its thing.

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Before it did, thousands looked up, enjoying the light, flight, and spiritual flames — Rise Festival is both a participatory performance art event and a meditative experience rolled into one.

  • Genie Davis; photos by Jack Burke

 

 

ArtBarLA is Just Where You Want to Be

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Welcome to ArtBarLA, the creative, comfortable, hip spot to quaff a craft beer or kombucha, experience some highly original and witty décor, and view LA-based artists’ work in a bright, contemporary space. It’s also the spot to hear live music and D.J.s or see performance art of all kinds.

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Warm, eclectic, and just plain fun, the idea of an art bar was the brain child of artist Lauren Mendelsohn Bass and L Croskey, a.k.a. LC, gallerist, artist, and D.J. Joined by partners Demetrios Mavromichalis and Pete Panos, the four have conceptualized and opened what Mendelsohn-Bass calls “a cool way for all kinds of artists to show the work they do.”

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Croskey is head preparatory and co-owner of Thinkspace in Culver City, and has long supported local artists in the most inclusive ways possible, Mendelsohn-Bass explains. “He did portfolio views and gallery shows under the name Cannibal Flower, and I was one of his artists. At one show, we were speaking about how I would like to do something interesting in LA for artists and for Cannibal Flower, and how I wanted to create a space where we could show any kind of art, a place for visual artists and performers. And he said, whatever you do, I’m on board.”

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After a six-month hunt to find space, Mendelsohn-Bass was about to give up when Mavromichalis told Croskey he’d just leased a bar in Mar Vista that had enough room for a gallery and stage. Mavromichalis owns the Mar Vista Restaurant and the Wood among other properties and knows the restaurant and bar business well. He, too, was on board to create a space for art.

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The advantage of being able to sell beer and hard kombucha – and likely coming soon,  wine – is, as Mendelsohn-Bass notes, a way to relieve the pressure to sell more art. “We can sell drinks whenever we are open, instead of having to provide them at an opening which costs the gallery space.”

Panos, who owns a mixed martial arts studio next to Art Bar LA also wanted in; his hyper-local support has assisted in the bar’s creation and operation.

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Above, left to right, Mavromichalis, Mendelsohn-Bass, Croskey, Panos

“LC and I are the most hands-on about creating the space, based on ideas we’ve been throwing around for a year that became part of the décor, like the fun house mirrors and the patchwork sofa design,” she explains. Croskey will handle booking gallery shows and performing talent; Mavromichalis handles the bar aspect, bringing in LA-based craft beers, and dealing with licensing, ordering, and staffing. Panos is also involved in staffing and many business aspects of the operation.

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As for Mendelsohn-Bass, “My role is kind of everything. I assist LC all around, and I contributed to décor down to the light bulbs selected by LC and I together.” She adds “People say this place looks like it was made for me, but the reason it does is because LC and I have had the same vision, and we really created what we set out to do.”

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Above, current exhibited work includes this piece from Robert Nelson; below, a variety of other works from the current exhibition

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New gallery shows will appear once a month, and for now, focus on group shows. “For now, our criteria is just good art. LC has many people who want to be a part of exhibiting here, who just want their work to be seen.” Upcoming is an exhibition titled Made You Look, opening October 6th.

Performing talent will include Saturday night D.J.-ing from LC, a burlesque show, live body painting, and a wide range of musical acts. The bar’s regular operating days are Thursday through Saturday for now; gallery openings are reserved for Sunday afternoons. Hours may be added in the days to come.

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The bar will also soon offer some small bites for purchase at the bar; for events like gallery openings, ArtBarLA will have food trailers set up beyond the patio space. On October 6th the trucks will focus on BBQ.

“The food and the beer and other beverages will all be from LA makers,” Mendelsohn-Bass attests. “There’s so much local talent here in all ways to draw from.”

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The bar is geared toward the art world, but it is also very much a part of the neighborhood itself, with local residents, artists, and nightlife-seekers all a part of a mix that ranges in age from 21 to 95, she reports.

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From the gorgeous murals Mendelsohn-Bass has painted on the walls, to bicycle bar stools, outdoor sculpture, and even the most fun bathroom signage you’ll ever see, this is a bar where you’ll definitely want everyone to know your name.

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ArtBarLA is open Thursday-Saturday 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., with more hours planned ahead. It is located at 12017 Venice Blvd. in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles – where else but LA?

  • Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis, Kristine Schomaker, Cheryl Henderson, and Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass