On February 12th, in conjunction with Printed Matter’s 2016 LA Art Book Fair, ForYourArt and Goodreads presented EVERBOOKS: Artists and Writers Read from Their Favorite Books. As part of an ongoing project that will be hosted on Goodreads and published in a coming publication, artists and writers were asked to create handwritten lists of books they consider influential and timeless.
The event featured short readings by some of the participating artists and writers including, Eleanor Antin, James Gregory Atkinson, Lisa Anne Auerbach, John Baldessari, Mark Bradford, Meg Cranston, Janet Fitch, Alex Israel, William E. Jones, Miranda July, Adam Linder, Joseph Mosconi, Vanessa Place, Ana Prvački, Aram Saroyan, Barbara T. Smith, Jesse Stecklow, Mungo Thomson, Mary Weatherford, and Dena Yago, and was moderated by Hans Ulrich Obrist.
Through the participation of Goodreads, this event and its master list of books will reach a vast community of readers, many of whom may not regularly come into contact with the art world and contemporary artists. ForYourArt thus hopes to circulate what are often ephemeral and privately shared passions in order to provoke a diverse public towards creative action, and to bridge the distance that separates everyday life and artistic motivation.
A accompanying broadsheet was published with contributed lists, and books by the participants were available from ARTBOOK | D.A.P.
On August 14, 2105, ForYourArt and The City of West Hollywood—through its WeHoX Innovation and Technology Program—presented The Extreme Present: Los Angeles in the City of West Hollywood’s Council Chambers.
Bringing together writer and critic Shumon Basar, author Douglas Coupland, and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, the event explored the digital era in which we now live, which they call the “Extreme Present,” introduced in their new book The Age of Earthquakes. Artist and cellist Patrick Belaga welcomed the audience with a cello performance.
During the event, the hosts were joined by guests Miranda July and David Lynch, who discussed the neurological, social, cultural, and geological effects of the Extreme Present, as well as artist Amalia Ulman who elaborated on her contribution to the book.
This event is supported in part by the Institute of the 21st Century (i21c), a project of the Pasadena Arts Council’s Emerge Fiscal Sponsorship Program.
On the heels of the Hollywood awards shows, A Hollywood Walk of Art was the first free, self-guided, walkable art tour in the Hollywood Media District. The event featured special activities at partner spaces. along Highland Ave, La Brea Blvd., and Santa Monica Blvd. including: Blackman Cruz, Diane Rosenstein Fine Arts, Gavlak Gallery, Hannah Hoffman Gallery, JF Chen, Kohn Gallery, LAND, LA><ART, Redling Fine Art, Regen Projects, Steve Turner Contemporary, Joan Scheckel Film Lab, and Various Small Fires.
A Hollywood Walk of Art began with free donuts at Donut Time.
LA><ART inaugurated their Slanguage Studio with “Slanguage Juniors” and the “Slanguage Teen Art Council (S.T.A.C.).” “Slanguage Juniors” was a class for elementary and junior high school students, who learned basic artistic skills including drawing, design, composition, and printmaking. “Slanguage Teen Art Council (S.T.A.C.)” is a mentoring program by leading teaching artists for teens who learned about diverse jobs in the art field, engaged in discussions among themselves, and with art professionals, fundraising, and engagement in their community.
T Kelly Mason presented his reflections on the spatiotemporal dimension of sound in his work at LA><ART. Mason’s presentation, Hey? Did You See Where I Left My Mind Body Problem? was followed by a conversation with MOCA Senior Curator, Bennett Simpson.
Later in the afternoon, in the parking lot behind JF Chen, LA><ART sponsored the site specific performance Performing_NON_Conformity®, with Marcel Alcalå, curated by Chivas Clem. The one-hour performance featured a multi-media improvised happening with clowns and mimes working in conjunction with an original score.
The Women’s Center for Creative Work set up a lounge in the back garden at Free City, where they created a collaborative project where visitors imagined their utopic free city. Their “Site Specific Dispatch #2” an interview and printed broadsheet with Free City Founder Nina Garduno was available along with drinks and treats.
Additional events throughout the day included a Hollywood themed book sale presented by ARTBOOK | D.A.P. in the parking lot of James Perse, and an all day roving broadcast by KCHUNG.
During the art walk, Mud Hen Tavern offered sparkling wine and a cocktail to anyone who came in for lunch.
The event was initiated by Joan Scheckel and Benny Bohm, with thanks to the Maurice Marciano Family Foundation and JF Chen for support of Performing_NON_Conformity®.
Artist Books and Cookies: Hans Ulrich Obrist Felipe Ehrenberg Zine Signing
Conversations in Mexico (Fundación Alumnos47, 2015)
During the opening of Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Hans Ulrich Obrist previewed Conversations in Mexico (edited by Karen Marta and published by Fundación Alumnos47, Fall 2015), signing copies of his interview with Felipe Ehrenberg published as a stand-alone zine. Cookies from Gjusta were served.
Raymond Pettibon L.A. Rays x Freeway Eyewear x ForYourArt
Raymond Pettibon L.A. Rays x Freeway Eyewear x ForYourArt
Freeway Eyewear founder and Los Angeles-based artist Alex Israel and ForYourArt launched limited edition sunglasses created in collaboration with artist Raymond Pettibon, the third in the artist-designed series following Barbara Kruger and John Baldessari. Pettibon's work is universally known for its blending of high and low culture, taking points of departure from the Southern California punk-rock culture of the late 1970s and 1980s and the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic of album covers, comics, concert flyers, and fanzines. His iconic text "I thought California would be different," which first appeared in his 1989 serigraph by the same name, appears across the arm of the L.A. RAYS style sunglasses. Putting Pettibon's longing text on the arm of the sunglesses – L.A.'s ubiquitous accessory – highlights the darker side of the California Dream. The sunglasses will be available at retailers including Dover Street Market, Maxfield LA, Artspace, and via www.givegoodart.com, ForYourArt's roving gallery of gifts and limited edition art objects.
Raymond Pettibon L.A. Rays x Freeway Eyewear x ForYourArt Launch
Raymond Pettibon L.A. Rays x Freeway Eyewear x ForYourArt
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Freeway Eyewear founder and artist Alex Israel and ForYourArt launched limited edition sunglasses created in collaboration with artist Raymond Pettibon, the third in the artist-designed series following Barbara Kruger and John Baldessari. Pettibon’s work is universally known for its blending of high and low culture, taking points of departure from the Southern California punk-rock culture of the late 1970s and 1980s and the “do-it-yourself” aesthetic of album covers, comics, concert flyers, and fanzines. His iconic text “I thought California would be different,” which first appeared in his 1989 serigraph by the same name, appears across the arm of the L.A. RAYS style sunglasses. Putting Pettibon’s longing text on the arm of sunglasses–LA’s ubiquitous accessory–highlights the darker side of the California Dream. The sunglasses will be available at retailers including Dover Street Market, Maxfield LA, Artspace and via www.givegoodart.com, ForYourArt’s roving gallery of gifts and limited edition art objects.
Artist Books and Cookies: Special Edition with Hans Ulrich Obrist and Tauba Auerbach, Shannon Ebner, Felipe Ehrenberg, and Barbara T. Smith
In anticipation of Printed Matter's LA Art Book Fair, Hans Ulrich Obrist interviewed Tauba Auerbach, Shannon Ebner, Felipe Ehrenberg, and Barbara T. Smith about their bookmaking practices. Copies of Fundación Alumnos47's Felipe Ehrenberg zine were available at the end of the program, served with cookies from Sqirl.
Born in San Francisco, New York-based artist Tauba Auerbach has worked with various kinds of book production –from printed matter to sculpture – examining the structures and boundaries of perception, surface, logic, and language. In 2013 she established Diagonal Press, an artist press dedicated to making and presenting art in the form of largely DIY publications in open editions.
In her work, Los Angeles-based artist Shannon Ebner investigates the construction of and relationship between seeing and reading, often conflating the two. In her new artist book STRIKE (Mousse, 2014), Ebner translates what originated as a large installation of 18 broken palindromes comprised of over 500 photographic letters into the format of the book.
Seminal Mexican artist Felipe Ehrenberg is known for his drawing, painting, conceptual art performances, Mail art, and mimeograph, and as the publisher of the avant garde artist book press, Beau Geste.
Los Angeles-based artist Barbara T. Smith is recognized for her prolific self-published Xeroxed books, which document and explore her personal life by presenting a kind of material autobiography. She is also known for her performance work of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which was at the forefront of feminist, body, and performance art.
On the occasion of The Los Angeles Project, an exhibition of Los Angeles artists Aaron Curry, Alex Israel, Matthew Monahan, Sterling Ruby, Ryan Trecartin, and Kaari Upson at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. ForYourArt published a Guide to Los Angeles in Chinese and English. In the spirit of a 1986 piece in California Magazine, where legendary editor Harold Hayes asked people to act as personal guides, taking someone of their choice on an imaginary tour of their favorite haunts, ForYourArt asked the artists featured in The Los Angeles Project about their favorite places and ways to experience the city.
Also included, was an in interview with Jim Heimann–writer, historian, and TASCHEN Executive Editor and author of many books on Southern California, including Los Angeles: Portrait of a City–that provides a brief overview of the city's history, ambitions, narrative, and neighborhoods. Alongside a directory of museums, nonprofits, galleries and shopping in Los Angeles, were important figures and instagram feeds to follow to get a sense of the city before visiting.
The guide was printed and distributed at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art during the exhibition and will be available in Los Angeles during the Printed Matter LA Art Book Fair. Download the ForYourArt Guide to Los Angeles in Chinese and English.
Arts Familiarization Tour with Los Angeles Tourism
In July 2014 Los Angeles Tourism commissioned ForYourArt to organize an arts familiarization tour of Los Angeles, with a focus on contemporary art, for members of the Chinese press including Vogue China, Sanalian Life, and Bazaar Art. The trip included visits to the Hammer, LACMA and MOCA; interviews with their directors, behind the scenes visits and walkthroughs of galleries, and the soon-to-be-opened Broad Museum, a tour of downtown led by Jim Heimann, Hollywood and Culver City gallery districts, and stops at important cultural centers amongst shopping and restaurant highlights.
Press from this activity will be timed to coincide with the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art's The Los Angeles Project, featuring a special MAP ForYourArt of Los Angeles in Chinese.
"Instagram Mini-Marathon with Hans Ulrich Obrist" was a panel event held at the Million Dollar Theater on July 26th, during which invited artists and special guests discussed how Instagram has provided a space for sharing and exploring their own ideas and practices as well as those of others. Bettina Korek, Kevin McGarry and Hans Ulrich Obrist curated the event and the panel of guest speakers included boychild, Meg Cranston, Simon Castets, Michel Gaubert, Alex Israel, Niko Karamyan, Rachel Lord, Ryder Ripps, Kevin McGarry, Frances Stark and Jordan Wolfson.
Guest speakers presented photos from any Instagram feed they wished, to illustrate approaches and processes for using the app, and to share how it functions within their individual artistic practices. Other points of discussion centered around who to follow and whether Instagram is a personal, social, or artistic space.
The goal of the event was to see if these observations could facilitate an engaging discussion about the way in which Instagram functions as a single platform for different creative approaches and collapses the vast variety of impulses for and meanings of posts into one specifically undefined, unbounded space.
ForYourArt, Ooga Booga, and Mexico City-based Fundación Alumnos47 hosted the third iteration of Artists’ Books and Cookies, an event series devoted to artists’ books and encouraging the collection of and community around them. Artists and publishers were invited to submit books for inclusion with a particular focus on rare materials or unusual techniques. The two-day event featured the exhibition of artist-made books and conversations around independent artist publishing accompanied by cookies from SQIRL.
Saturday hosted a series of talks lead by Fundación Alumnos47, the Art Book Review with Nikki Darling, Brian Kennon and Monica Majoli, and John Tain in conversation with Lisa Ann Auerbach.
Sunday hosted Champagne in the morning from 11am-1pm, and free Espresso Chocolate Chip cookies provided by SQIRL.
This event also gave visitors the opportunity to see paintings by Alex Katz.
Learn about the first and second Artists’ Books and Cookies here and here.
ForYourArt co-hosted and helped New York Magazine to curate a self-guided experience for the Culver City Artist Tour, encouraging artist and audience participation including outreach to the Los Angeles community.
ForYourArt created a campaign to highlight various galleries, events and workshops that took place as part of the tour and featured the events on Plan ForYourArt, as well as across social media platforms.
April 25–27 ForYourArt presented Give Good Art, a roving gallery of gifts and limited edition art objects, at Paris Photo Los Angeles April 25–27, 2014. The booth featured Barbara Kruger L.A. Rays Sunglasses by Freeway Eyewear x ForYourArt, as well as artist Lisa Sitko's ceramic Banana Pipe sculptures, perfect for smoking, from the Banana Love Collection by Lisa. ForYourArt also invited fair visitors to pose and snap a selfie with cutouts of classic Paramount stars Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, James Dean and John Wayne modeling the sunglasses and pipes.
ForYourArt presents Give Good Art at Parachute Market
March 22–23 ForYourArt presented Give Good Art, a roving gallery of gifts and limited edition art objects, at Parachute Market March 22–23, 2014. In line with the market's theme "Let There be Light," the booth highlighted artist Lisa Sitko's ceramic
Banana Pipe
sculptures, perfect for smoking, from the Banana Love Collection by Lisa as well as Mary Weatherford's
Artists and special guests read and performed works from More Than You Wanted to Know About John Baldessari (eds. Meg Cranston and Hans Ulrich Obrist, JRP|Ringier), two new volumes of Baldessari's writings. Featuring previously unpublished texts, notes to students, course handouts, texts on other artists and portions of his notebooks, the volumes are an experiment in how a literary genre might encompass artists’ writings, having them stand alone in a book without images. The recital was a playful nod to John Baldessari sings LeWitt (1972), in which he sang Sol LeWitt's Thirty-Five Statements on Conceptual Art to the tune of popular songs. Following the recital, Baldessari signed books provided by from Art Catalogues. The event was presented by ForYourArt on the occasion of the Contemporary Artists' Book Conference at Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, January 30th-February 2nd, 2014.
View the Artists Read Baldessari poster here.
Read about the event on Artforum.com, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, Hyperallergic, Art Observed, and T Magazine.
ForYourArt is an independent organization in Los Angeles that serves as a platform to produce and distribute artists’ work. The weekly ForYourArt email has become the leading resource for information about art in Los Angeles.
With 2014 ahead, we wanted to share memorable ForYourArt moments from 2013 and wish you a Happy New Year. Click here for the archive of ForYourArt projects and here for activities at the 6020 Wilshire Blvd. space if you would like to learn more about what we do.
We thank our clients, partners and friends for their generous support and collaborations throughout the year.
Love, ForYourArt
“ForYourArt is special and unique because it is a neutral space.” -John Baldessari, 2013
JANUARY
The public art component of Arts Matter, kicked-off by Barbara Kruger in October, continued with the work of artist John Baldessari. His project titled Learn To Dream, Aprende A Soñar (For the LA Fund) launched January 8, 2013, appearing for four weeks on twelve buses along with 48 other media assets including billboards, bus shelters, and other types of outdoor media throughout Los Angeles.
FEBRUARY
ForYourArt co-published, with PictureBox, Ben Jones’ book Men’s Group: The Video on the occasion of Jones’ exhibition at MOCA Pacific Design Center.
Just in time for the holiday of love, artist Lisa Sitko created a limited edition collection, The Banana Love Collection by Lisa. An ongoing collaboration with ForYourArt, Sitko plays with the fertility symbol of the banana in relation to everyday objects – in a fruitful way.
ForYourArt presented In the Good Name of the Company, an exhibition of works produced by or with the Colby Poster Printing Company and curated by Jan Tumlir, with Christopher Michlig and Brian Roettinger.
MARCH
ForYourArt along with Saving the Season presented Seriously Go: Cookies and Crochet on the occasion of Fritz Haeg's Domestic Integrities Part A03: Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum. A Band of Outsiders/Saving the Season cookie by AMMO was available throughout the day. Check out KCHUNG’s live broadcast of the event.
APRIL
Otis College of Art & Design and ForYourArt presented Practicing in Public, an exhibition of the Otis MFA Public Practice graduates’ work, where FYA founder Bettina Korek was visiting faculty for the semester. The Graduate Public Practice program is lead by Suzanne Lacy. Read Sue Bell Yank’s essay written on the occasion here.
In conjunction with the 24-hour screening of Christian Marclay’s The Clock at LACMA, ForYourArt presented the second 24-hour durational performance installation with Los Angeles-based artist Dawn Kasper, Around the Clock: DONUTS & CLOCKS with Dawn Kasper By ForYourArt. The event also featured artist-made donuts, karaoke, and an open call exhibition of 100 clocks for the entire 24-hour period.
MAY
ForYourArt hosted a presentation of Mixografia‘s latest collaboration with John Baldessari, Crowds, along with previous collaborative works, including A B C Art (Low Relief): A/Ant, Etc. (Keyboard), 2009. Over the past 18 years Baldessari has utilized the Mixografia printing technique to play with notions of texture, color and subject, first in his 2-dimentional deployment of a common table lamp and, later, emphasizing volume through paper relief and 3-dimensional sculpture.
JUNE
ForYourArt co-hosted with Ooga Booga and Foundacion Alumnos47,the second iteration of Artists’ Books and Cookies, an event series devoted to artists’ books and encouraging the collection of and community around Biblioteca Alumnos47 in Mexico City, Mexico. The event took place at Ooga Booga #2, 356 S. Mission Road and featured an exhibition of artists’ books drawn from an open call. Artists and publishers were invited to submit books for inclusion with a particular focus on Los Angeles artists and those working with rare materials or unusual techniques. In addition to the exhibition, participating artists had the opportunity to meet with curators from Mexico City and Los Angeles to discuss their work.
ForYourArt hosted UCI MFA 2013 presented by the Department of Art at UC Irvine. The graduates created a compilation of their solo thesis exhibitions, presenting nine portholes into contemporary interdisciplinary practice. The work exhibited included political and poetic abstractions, theatrical video installations, critical monuments, and documentation of performance. An opening reception was held for the artists on June 29.
ForYourArt presented temporary installations by Ben Jones and Ruben Ochoa to celebrate the fifth incarnation of CicLAvia, an event that temporarily removes cars from L.A. streets, for people to walk, skate, play and ride a bike.
JULY
ForYourArt hosted Sleeper Hits: Brand Bookshop, a beer and books event at Tavern on Brand in Glendale with free beer and second-hand book giveaway. Independent booksellers from three of our favorite bookstores for art books were invited to pick sleeper hits from Brand Bookshop. Selected by Dagny Corcoran, Lee Kaplan, and Wendy Yao, the books were given away to the first 99 people who came to the event. Thanks to Hello, Glendale.
AUGUST
ForYourArt hosted Photo Op: art to pose with, an interactive exhibition reflecting FYA’s spirit of encouraging engagement and play, while offering photo opportunities. Artworks were presented to be picked up, put on, stood with, framed and (in all cases) pictured with. The artists involved embraced the camera and made art geared towards it. Including works by Akina Cox, Michael Decker, Joel Kyack, Alex Miller, Lisa Sitko, Amy Von Harrington and organized by Miller. View photos from the exhibition here.
SEPTEMBER
ForYourArt co-published In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Printing Company with PictureBox. Edited by Christopher Michlig, Brian Roettinger, Jan Tumlir, this book documents the print shop’s history and one of its final projects: a series of editioned posters by artists including Ruscha, Kathryn Andrews, Scott Benzel, Peter Coffin, Daniel Eatock, Eve Fowler, Jacob Kassay, Allen Ruppersberg, Andy Spade and Craig Stecyk. The Los Angeles–based Colby Poster Printing Company's fluorescent posters have been disseminated on every high-traffic surface in the city, and their collection of over 150 wood and metal typefaces--usually bold and sans serif--are an integral part of the Los Angeles’ visual aesthetic. A family-owned and operated union print shop since 1948, the Colby Poster Printing Company closed its doors forever on December 31, 2012. Printed in four neon-spot colors, this book is a unique tribute to Colby.
ForYourArt also co-presented the second installation of In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Printing Company in New York with ARTBOOK | DAP and PictureBox . This was the New York Art Book Fair’s first satellite exhibition, hosted by See.Me Gallery in Long Island City, NY. The exhibition contained more than 200 posters spanning 40 years, including work by Kathryn Andrews, Peter Coffin, Eve Fowler and Allen Ruppersberg. Organized by Jan Tumlir, Brian Roettinger and Christopher Michlig.
OCTOBER
Hans-Ulrich Obrist - 24 Hours in LA - The Artist's Studio - MOCAtv
The curator Hans Ulrich Obrist is known first for his pace, and perhaps secondly for his enthusiasm. Since his 1991 "Kitchen Show," a group exhibition he put together in his kitchen, Obrist has spent two decades mounting site-sensitive shows the world over and is rightfully credited with turning curatorial practice into an art form in its own right. Here, MOCAtv keeps up with Obrist and ForYourArt's Bettina Korek on a 24-hour, art-star studded tour of Los Angeles -- he visits with Fritz Haeg, Paul McCarthy, Sam Falls, John Baldessari, Frank Gehry, 89 Plus, and more. Hosting salons at daybreak and studio visits until dusk, Obrist is our breakneck interlocutor, our eager sponge, and the keeper of contemporary art history.
NOVEMBER
Give Good Art Give Good Art is a roving gallery of gifts and limited edition art objects presented by ForYourArt. The first edition of Give Good Art featured exclusive ForYourArt collaborations with Barbara Kruger, Matt Merkel Hess, Freeway Eyewear, Otherwild Goods & Services, and Lisa Sitko alongside editions that benefit national arts organizations including the Art Production Fund, Hammer Museum, LACMA, LA><ART and Santa Monica Museum of Art as well as gift ideas selected from ForYourArt’s favorite sources. Reflecting ForYourArt’s spirit of patronage, the curation of goods signals the constantly evolving relationship between commerce and art, and the role of commerce as an access point to art and a vehicle to support it.
Give Good Art was installed at 1027 Westwood Blvd. from November 1-24, 2013 as part of the Hammer Museum’s Arts ReSTORE LA: Westwood urban renewal project. Arts ReSTORE LA: Westwood is part of the Goldhirsh Foundation’s citywide LA2050 initiative.
DECEMBER
Freeway Eyewear and ForYourArt released limited edition sunglasses created in collaboration with artist Barbara Kruger. Kruger’s work is universally known for its bold, eye-catching design, and philosophical themes. Her iconic text Your gaze hits the side of my face appears across the arm of the L.A. RAYS style sunglasses by Freeway. This phrase first appeared in her 1981 artwork next to the profile of an anonymous classical bust. Presented on sunglasses, the wearer transforms into both a voyeur and an object; a play on themes of looking, power, and the gaze. The Kruger L.A. RAYS are available in four styles.
Barbara Kruger Sunglasses, Freeway Eyewear x ForYourArt
Freeway Eyewear and ForYourArt collaborated to produce limited edition Barbara Kruger Sunglasses. Kruger's iconic text Your gaze hits the side of my face appears across the arm of the L.A. RAYS style sunglasses by Freeway. This phrase first appeared in her 1981 artwork next to the profile of an anonymous classical bust. Presented on sunglasses, the wearer transforms into both a voyeur and an object; a play on themes of looking, power, and the gaze.
The sunglasses were produced in four colors, Black, Red, Tortoise Shell with Red, and Black with Red. They were included as part of the Give Good Art store as well as online and carried by museums, galleries and retailers, such as Maxfield and the LACMA Store. A reception was held at Maxfield to celebrate the launch of the glasses.
Barbara Kruger Sunglasses by Freeway and ForYourArt were featured in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, ArtInfo and Women's Wear Daily.
