Miscelaneous May

After five months of blogging, I’ve come to realize the importance of editing. That’s why many of my photos and ideas for blog posts didn’t actually make it onto ModernAlice. Even still, I wanted to share with you some of the exciting things that I’ve been up to this month. So here’s a compilation of random photos from the past month.

My adorable pooch, Cassie, blending in with the stuffed animals

Making a rainbow at Prom

A recycled owl…how’s that for nature

Architectural paintings at the art show

More recycling with bottle cap furniture

Fun with the Wizard of Oz

Satirical art at its best

Having a blast with my friends at Grad Night where we, the graduating seniors, got to have Disneyland all to ourselves until the wee hours of the morning

My youngest sister having the time of her life climbing the pile of bean bags at my other sister’s outdoor movie party

The perfect tutu that would make any little girl’s dreams come true

Adorable vintage shop on Abbot Kinney filled with vintage treasures

Playful architecture on Abbot Kinney

Awesome cork chair…I want one of these in my home one day

ChakWave juices that blend herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables to appeal to the seven main chakra energy points

Nobuhiro Sato’s concrete mansion planter that experiments with the ideas of architecture to create lifestyle design accessories

Incredible brick and mortar street art on Abbot Kinney

Unique DIY succulent arrangements and terrariums at The Juicy Leaf

Adorable puppy bowls that would make any spoonful of soup or ice cream even better

Cute wooden bears with absolutely no purpose other than to make you smile

Draw Me A House: A Book of Colouring in, Ideas and Architectural Inspiration

Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony with my mom for Mother’s Day

 So lovely readers, what exciting things have you done this month? What do you have planned for next month’s summer fun?

It’s an Artshow…it’s a Circus…It’s Mr. Brainwash

Yesterday I went to see the one day extension of Thierry Guetta’s Art Show 2011 in West Hollywood. The show had originally been open in LA from December 25-19, but because of it’s tremendous success they brought it back for one more day, so I lucked out!

The street artist, better known by the name Mr. Brainwash gained both fame and criticism from the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Here is a contribution by one of the local artists who came in October

Here's a piece made by another volunteer artist

He bought the 80,000 square foot abandoned warehouse on the corner or Romaine and La Brea. After extensive repairs on the old industrial building, Mr. Brainwash opened the space up in early October to any artists who wanted to contribute to the show, hence emphasizing the grassroots nature of the street art movement that is taking the world by storm. Talented street artists throughout LA had the opportunity to work among their peers and display their art without fear of legal action.

Mr. Brainwash’s main talent is is tremendous enthusiasm and great desire to entertain people. He wanted Art Show 2011 to be a joyous, interactive event put on purely for the enjoyment of viewers, not to sell art. He gave away thousands of posters, signed autographs, encouraged people to take stuffed animals, and had a local band preform hourly. This brought some of the focus away from the art itself and transformed it into a more experiential event.

Here are people lining up inside the show to get copies of the free posters

Here are the free stuffed animals that he encouraged people to take home with them

The four viewable floors were filled with large scale sculptures, graffiti, and art-ified everyday objects.  True to his “pop art meets street art” theme, he featured many famous figures and logos in his work. Local artists of the Seventh Letter crew spray painted all of the stairways, further attesting to Guetta’s desire to encourage various artists to collaborate in his Populism-driven show.

Here is Mr. Brainwash making some guerilla art

While I was there with Goose, Guetta locked himself on one of the balconies, while he proceeded to climb onto a billboard and add his own spontaneous addition to a billboard. He also had Street Drum Corps. perform every hour within one of the spray painted alcoves. Guetta seemed to genuinely be enjoying himself as he videotaped the drummers, signed autographs, and posed for pictures.

Here is the live drumming show

The controversial artist, who some would even argue is not an artist at all, is certainly a gifted entertainer who knows how to attract crowds and give them something worth talking about. I can’t thank Goose enough for sacrificing his Sunday football schedule to come check out this art show with me. Although the art itself appeared rather uninspired and mass-produced, it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and made me even more thankful to live in this amazing city, where there’s always something new to see!

 

Here's the postcard that Mr. Brainwash autographed for me while he walked around the show.