Strange Animal
15 October – 10 December 2004
Organized by Giovanni Jance
in conjunction with Andrea Zittel and High Desert Test Sites
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
6522 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028
tel: 323.957.1777
fax: 323.957.9025
e: info [at] artleak.org
Exhibition opens Friday 15 October 7 – 9 pm
LOS ANGELES, October 2004 – In the experimental and social spirit of High Desert Test Sites – a series of experimental art sites located along a stretch of desert communities – past and present participants (not known for their collaborative efforts) of the HDTS have been provided a space in the city wherein a single parameter is set; that is, each participant must somehow interact or intervene in the making or presentation of another participant.
Like HDTS, and inspired by it, the exhibition Strange Animal provides a period of time and space that serves as a catalyst for people to gather in what amounts to an arbitrary place to discuss each other’s work in the process of putting it together.
Because participants are responsible for the fabrication and installation of their works, they inevitably end up helping each other, discussing and sometimes altering their projects. What is proposed versus what is manifest may not always equate. Strange Animal, like HDTS, is not as much place specific as much as it is social event specific.
HDTS may be thought of as a kind of computer with a variety of interfaces into which one can plug, play media, unplug, and depart. Sometimes the media are interactive, sometimes not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. With this in mind, we have invited twelve people to participate in the Los Angeles satellite of HDTS: Justin Beal, Jedediah Caesar, the cake society, Kate Costello, Shannon Ebner, Fabienne Lasserre and Christy Gast, Marie Lorenz, Matt Lorenz, Pentti Monkkonen, Jennifer Nocon, Jim Skuldt and Dick Slessig. This like generation of recent MFA graduates from across the country will together (and also separately) embark on an unscripted melding of performative installation and sculpture. All artifacts from the contributors’ participation become part of the event.
Also at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
15 October – 10 December 2004
A Morir (’til Death) by Miguel Angel Rios
Organized by Lauri Firstenberg
Related Events
23 & 24 October
High Desert Test Sites, organized by Andrea Zittel, provides alternative sites for experimental art in the Southern California desert. For information please see www.highdeserttestsites.com
5 November
Lecture by Bill Kelley Jr., independent writer, critic and Director of LatinArt.com,
on the Exhibitions Strange Animal and A Morir (’til Death)
20 November
Dick Slessig performance presented in conjunction with Strange Animal
10 December
Jennifer Nocon hosts the Strange Animal closing party
Upcoming at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
15 October
Lecture by artist Miguel Angel Rios
12 November
Catherine Lord reads from her new book entitled Summer of Her Baldness
3 December
Presentation by artist Enid Baxter Blader
Upcoming 2005 A Walk to Remember organized by Jens Hoffmann, featuring John Baldessari, Meg Cranston, Morgan Fisher, William Leavitt, Paul McCarthy, Allen Ruppersberg, and more.
Marking Time organized by Glenn Phillips
About Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
Uniquely positioned among commercial galleries and major art institutions, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions distinguishes itself by serving as a laboratory for artistic research and unfettered, positive creative expression, where artists-including newly-emerging and under-represented artists as well as more established artists-have the freedom and the opportunity to take risks. The organization originated in 1978 from a need for a Los Angeles venue that supports, exhibits, and advocates innovations in art-making. Since its inception, the organization has presented the work of over 5000 artists in over 3000 exhibitions, performances, screenings, and works of public art.
Admission to Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions is free with a recommended donation. Gallery hours are Wednesday – Sunday 12 – 6 pm, Friday 12 – 9 pm. Call 323.957.1777 for parking information, directions, and additional information. For more information about Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions and its programs please visit www.artleak.org.
Project support for Strange Animal comes from the University of Southern California. Support for Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions and its programs comes from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, California Community Foundation Arts Funding Initiative, City of Los Angeles, Cultural Affairs Department, J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, LLWW Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, The Norton Family Foundation, and the members of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions.