March 06, 2010 3:03 PM  (go back to main view)
Do Not Miss: Manifest Equality
Saying no to H8.
To miss "Manifest Equality," which closes at 6 p.m. Sunday, is to lose out on one of the most awe-inspiring experiences in L.A. this year.

Works by more than 170 artists take on the civil rights fight that continues to dog the land of the free, most specifically the situation in California where the honeymoon legalizing marriage between same-sex couples was quickly outlawed when Prop 8 passed in 2008.

During a week when much of this town's focus is on Team Hollywood's craft and what the marketing machines behind those works will reap at the Kodak Theater Sunday night, down the road on Vine, south of Sunset (that most storied spot of broken dreams), the most honest of collaborative art experiences fills a gaping storefront, most recently home to the discount chain Big Lots! (Exclamation the store's, not mine, thrilling as that graveyard to consumerism could be.)

In its wake, the high price of legislating love and marriage is considered through photography, paintings and multimedia assemblages, some of it presented on the fractured sections of a white-clapboard house by Jed Lind. A portrait of Abraham Lincoln there by Scotlund Haisley brings to mind a declaration by that most cherished of civil rights advocates: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Case in point why this cause is not limited to homosexuals. This is an equal rights, equal access issue. When we take into account there are fellow citizens who are regarded as a subclass because of some barbaric, anachronistic notions of what is right...well, it's nothing short of wrong. Exceptions are un-American, inhuman.
Unfortunately, even well-meaning supporters continue to frame this as a "gay" issue.

"Freedom of/from Choice" by Robbie Conal
Elaborating that thought is at the heart of Manifest Equality, according to founder Yosi Sergant, who sought to enlist artists who are straight and gay, and artwork that is as much about civil rights as it is about the LBGT community. The 33-year-old Yosi was part of the Manifest Hope movement and art shows in Denver and Washington D.C., which supported Barack Obama's presidential campaign. His enthusiasm got the better of him last fall when he was communications director at the National Endowment for the Arts, and after resigning, rather than sticking his head under a pillow, he decided to continue his activism through cultural engagement.
"We're All Searching for Someone to Sleep Next To" by Bettina Hubby

Yosi, along with event producer Apple Via and publicist Jennifer Gross, engaged collaborators Shepard Fairey, Aaron Rose and the creative crew at Commune Design (including Roman Alonso who designed the inevitably iconic logo), among many, many others, to stage this first Manifest Equality event.
There are some incredible pieces here, many which had already sold by opening night Wednesday.
But the real impact here is the sum of its parts. Why simply viewing the work on the (incomplete) online gallery is not enough. From the heart-shaped string installation outside to the heart-shaped shallow pool installation in a private room (both by the gifted Mike Murphy), it's all about being present.
All proceeds from sales of the artwork and the gems in the pop-up shop benefit Courage Campaign.
Go by day. Or hit tonight's closing night party, featuring performances by Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, Sea Wolf and Sam Sparro, as well as DJ sets by the Crystal Method. (Hit the ME site to rsvp). Entrance is free. Just don't miss it.
"It's Complicated" Mike Murphy (mirror, shallow water pool, light + audio)

One of the chalkboard walls in the activity workshop.
Photographs by Mike Rosenthal
A vintage film of a gay men dancing plays on this steampunk-style work.
Kelly Lynch
"Ghosts in America" by Mel Lim
Fitz & Tantrums on opening night. Worth checking out
Domesticity in Technicolor: "Behind Closed Doors" by J. Frede
Mrs. and Mrs. Yohanna Logan

Commune's Roman Alonso and pal
Andrew Neuheus and his print available at the on-site shop.
Amy Fleetwood and Apple Via
Ivan Ontiveros
Jessica DeRuiter, Mathew Swenson and Jed Lind
Michael Cioffoletti, Frank Helmer and David Ketterling
"Lady Justice" by El Mac, Retna and Kofie
"Manifest Equality," 1341 Vine Street, Hollywood. Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Closes Sunday, March 7 at 6 p.m. FREE.

Related Posts:
Crazy for Colombina(4 days ago - No Comments)
A Hint of Alberto Marani(10 days ago - 1 Comment)
Oh Mary!(14 days ago - 4 Comments)
Brick In reDesign(16 days ago - 4 Comments)
A Whif of Paris(18 days ago - 4 Comments)
Blog Comments (2):
Posted by affiliate on March 25, 2010 2:04 AM

beijing shenzhen
affiliate
merchant accounts
dropship
fulfillment
cali bar store
cali bar supplies
metro credit card
credit card machine
Gold Investment
Barbecue
Rich Forever
affiliate
discount china
bar Stool
bar Stool
bar Stool
bar stool
merchant cash advance
merchant accounts
Posted by cheap ugg on March 24, 2010 7:39 PM
sports-winfred
caroline-new
sports-woodrow
sports-wordsworth
cass-new
sports-wright
sports-wythe
cathine-new
sports-wallis
charlie-red
milky-cream
sports-winifred
sports-winn
celine-blue
janny-red
ofoto
Add a comment
Name
E-mail
snapshot of the moment
Love this photograph our good friend Armen Sansarian snapped of us ages ago. He just shared it with us yesterday, and we love the dreamy effect of the iPhone and candle light.
la vie en rose on le town
now reading

Rose
Her manuscript...
and
Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America by Peter Biskind

Andy

Mantuana: A Novel by the authors of Wu Ming
and
This last month's issues of The New Yorker since we were away.

Welcome to the A+R Store
Blanca Apodaca
The [Un]Observed Radio Magazine
LuxiRare
Philip Wood: Cultural Translations
The Barr Code
Sewing Rebellion
TreeHugger
NotCot
Dwell Magazine
Design Sponge
MocoLoco
Apartment Therapy
Dwell Magazine
Style.com
The Sartorialist
We Love You So
The Foodinista
  1. TOGEL HONGKONG