Los Angeles is often belittled as a cultural wasteland whose definition of art does not extend beyond the Hollywood blockbuster.
But, it’s days like the one I had yesterday where I realized what a bum rap my hometown so often receives.
Sunday was the Venice Art Walk. This annual event occurs every May in the city of Venice Beach–a suburb of Los Angeles. Venice has always marched to its own beat and has traditionally been home to numerous artists, actors and writers. Yesterday, 59 of these artists opened up their live-in studios for the Venice Art Walk. Although shuttle busses continually run between the studios, they are close enough together that one can easily visit all of them on a self-guided walk that is approximately four miles long (wine, cheese, and other snacks at many of the studios provide ample sustenance if you plan on doing so).
I’ve been on other studio walking tours before but what impressed me most about yesterday’s was that these were not struggling artists living in poverty. Real estate is not cheap in Venice anymore. Most of the featured artists live in rather amazing homes/studios. In fact, some times I found myself checking out and enjoying the hip architecture even more than the artwork featured within. This isn’t to say the artwork was bad–most of it was brilliant. In fact, I’m still considering purchasing a piece from a Johannesburg artist, Fortune Mduduzi Sithole, that has really sank its claws into my back and won’t let go.