LA / VICE / Scion
Photo by Rennie Ellis, Sharpies, Melbourne 1973
I drove into not-so-sexy Culver City, CA recently to check out the photo exhibition sponsored by Scion for the infamous magazine VICE. Those of you who are familiar with the publication know the types of photos they showcase – the avant garde, the party, the graphic, basically everything fun in the world.
Because VICE is globally distributed and present, the exhibition really had a lot to offer from around the world. Australian Rennie Ellis (1940-2003) was the cover for the show, with his photo Sharpies (Aussi for gangs of punk loving 70’s dudes that favored cardigans in group colors), set in Melbourne in 1973, as the face of the posters and ads.
From Japan:
One of the noted Japanese photographers whose work is present is Yoshiki Saitoh. He utilizes a style of “borderless”, gender bending photography. His subjects are people in the scene of Japanese underground and the most notable part of this is the blindfolded series in which sexuality is obscured.
Photo by Yoshiki Saitoh
Then there is Jin Ohashi, a young man whose interest in photography was spurred on by his father’s attempted suicide.
Photo by Jin Ohashi
Last, but not least is Kawori Inbe, who incorporates cultural elements into her work (including school girl uniforms, yum).
Photo by Kawori Inbe
The nice and wholesome part of this show is not only the free posters they have of Inbe’s and Ellis’ work, but the fact that all proceeds go directly to the artist. It’s consumerism for a great cause (keeping artists alive) and makes me say ‘kudos’ to VICE and Scion for not being money grubbing by taking commission.
Coolest thing there in my opinion: the one non-photographic piece of stencil art by Blek le Rat. Full scale human size, this dude came around before Banksy in 1981 in France with guerilla art.
Design by Blek le Rat
If you happen to be in LA and wanna check it out the address is:
3521 Helms Ave., Culver City, CA 90232.
Hours: Wed-Sat 11am-6pm
310 815 8840
It ends this Saturday, July 26th so hurry the fuck up if you wanna check it.
If you are in the Brooklyn area, lucky for you! The 2008 Photo Show runs from August 1st-31st at their gallery:
99 N 10th St, between Berry and Wythe, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Metro: Bedford (L)
Hours: Tue-Fri 3-7pm, Sat 12-6pm (Closed Sundays and Mondays)
