nicole pager | ChinaShop

Art/Design Hidden Treasures: LA’s “Underground” Art

November 10, 2010 - 11:28 am

I’ve lived in Los Angeles for over three years and never had the urge to step onto the Metro until this past Saturday. I’m not a fan of public transportation. Something about cramming into a tiny train car underground and being smashed up against random strangers just doesn’t sit right with me. That was of course until I learned that under the city of Los Angeles resides not only the metro system but also an entire community of art. The first Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday of every month, residents of Los Angeles are given the opportunity to meet at designated stations for a complimentary two-hour tour of the Metro Art Program’s featured station exhibits. The program was founded in 1989 as a means to incorporate art into the Los Angeles transit system with the purpose of beautifying transportation stations and engaging riders with a cultural background of the city. To date, the program has commissioned over 300 artists for various station projects. Each station has its own unique imagery, which ties in the local neighborhood aesthetics with the theme of transportation as a whole.

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Art/Design Greg Gorman: A Distinct Vision

by Nicole Pajer and Zoetica Ebb

November 9, 2010 - 12:07 pm

If you like celebrities and you like photography, then you’ll love the work of Greg Gorman. For those who aren’t familiar with this iconic cameraman, Greg Gorman is widely celebrated as an American portrait photographer with an ability to capture celebrities in an honest and sensual light. Greg is known for his black and white photos that uncover the bona fide personality of Hollywood’s most celebrated talent, which has led him to be featured in magazines such as GQ, Interview, Life, Vogue, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The London Times, Detour, and Harper’s Bazaar. He has shot movie posters for box office superstars like “Lash of the Mohicans,” “Field of Dreams,” and “Dances with Wolves,” and has also provided additions to advertising campaigns for giants like Reebok and Maybelline.

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Gallery Los Angeles The Barbie Sponsored “Warholian” at Royal T

by Nicole Pajer

September 29, 2010 - 10:37 am

Royal/T has shifted themes and turned its focus to all things Andy Warhol. The popular Culver City cosplay café kicked off “The Warholian” on Thursday with a glitzy party sponsored by Barbie. Festivities commenced with a Barbie pink carpet at 6:00pm graced by celebs such as Nic Novicki (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) and CSI’s Catherine Willows.

Herds of SoCal-ers lined up at the door to view popular Andy Warhol pieces like Skull (Green), Electric Chair, Barbie, and Black Marilyn in addition to pieces from Jim Hodges, Yan Pei-ming, Takashi Murakami, Sean Landers, Damien Hirst, Adam McEwen, and many other Warhol-inspired artists also in the exhibit curated by Eric C. Shiner, the Milton Fine Curator of Art at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Food was catered by Ludo Lefebvre and the Grilled Cheese Truck, who had a special Warholian menu with selections like Ate Elvises, made with a banana puree, peanut butter, Nutella and apple wood bacon. DJ Diabetic, Emcee Insulin, and DJ David J entertained the crowd as guess sipped on glasses of Dom Perignon’s limited edition, ‘A Tribute to Warhol’ Vintage 2002 champagne.

Royal/T’s gift shop transformed into a Barbie paradise offering t-shirts, headbands, dangly Barbie earrings, and other pink accessories. There was a selection of Andy Warhol inspired magnets, prints, and household necessities such as the Andy glasses shaped USB port for sale. The Lisa Perry pop-up shop sold Warhol dresses, giant hamburger stools, giant ketchup and coke bottles, giant ice cream cones, and a plethora of kooky goodies.

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Featured Gallery Los Angeles Royal/T Serves so Much More Than Tea

by Nicole Pajer and Dustin Downing

September 23, 2010 - 10:22 am

Thursday night I trekked over to Culver City for a typical evening out. I watched celebrated former Katsuya Chef Kenny Yamada perform magic tricks behind the bar while simultaneously assembling sushi towers for a fabulous pre-fixe 9-course menu. I listened to the tunes of infamous LA party boy BJ Panda Bear spinning from a stylish lounge. I walked around and admired mystical pieces of a rotating collection of art, currently titled Never-ending Story: Fairytale, Fantasy, Obsession. I shopped for authentic Japanese goodies and found things like Hello Kitty dolls that were the last few remaining in a limited edition collection and learned about the craze behind Korean Pullip dolls. I admired oddities such as ice cream cone hairpieces and cupcake rings. I discovered intriguing gift shop gems such as cocaine and heroine salt and pepper shakers. I watched an entire wait staff of bubbly Japanese women wearing traditional maid outfits bounce around and fulfill patrons’ dining orders…all in one place, Royal/T.

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Gallery Music Scissor Sisters do Amoeba

by Nicole Pajer

September 13, 2010 - 12:30 pm

It’s not often that you stand in front of a stage at a concert and listen to a store employee take the mic and point to the nearest emergency exits, as was the case at Wednesday’s Amoeba Records Scissor Sisters in-store. Listening to this airline safety type declaration go down, I couldn’t help but wonder if this had anything specifically to do with the fan base of the 5-piece glam rockers otherwise known as the Scissor Sisters. I realized I probably wasn’t far off in my assumptions after squeezing myself amongst the crowd and making conversation with a few of the more hardcore fans. Exhibit A stood next to me and consisted of 3 beyond die-hards who arrived at the in-store around noon, a solid 6 hours before start time, each holding a giant pair of home constructed and fully operational corkboard scissors. After the audience was successfully laden with anticipation, Jake Shears, Babydaddy, Ana Matronic, Del Marquis, Randy Real, a keyboard player, and a duo of back-up singers took the stage to perform an array of songs, including hits from the new release Night Walk.

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