WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Well, I guess we never get tired of exploring love and sex.This year's What's Love 5; Behind Closed Doors had its fits and starts but I'd have to say turned out to be the best yet from my view.
What started out as a whim a few years ago with a couple of artist friends has now turned into an incredible event of exploring and celebrating love and sex on Valentines.
Finding and involving new artists every year is the fun part.
Putting it all together is the challenge.
When you have a team of passionate, creative and freakin crazy people it makes for an interesting experience.
Working with over 20 artists....It is a fine and sacred dance to pull this off.
We wanted to raise the level of art exhibited this year so we hand picked artists from a list that many people contributed to.Lyon Hill first came to mind as well as Micheala Pillar Brown and Dre and Sammy Lopez
Billy Guest was a definite returning talent along with Molly Harrell and Shannon Purvis
This year I met Dre and Sammy Lopez of Piensa Art Company, researched their work and knew they would be awesome in the show.
We asked Dre to come up with the art for the public relations and although his work pushes the comfort edge for me sometimes - that's what we wanted. His work seems to always display a certain amount of violence that I find disturbing yet intriguing.
His design for the event plays off of a Norman Rockwell type scenario with a twist.
We asked him to remove the blood from the man's lip to pull back a little....which he did.
I never heard a negative comment about the illustration but I'm sure it provoked some viewers in a way What's Love never had previously. Regardless - we thought it was pretty cool.
Over several months we worked with the artists on new ideas, logistics and process.
The installations again this year proved to be real crowd pleasers.
Body Rites created a beautiful installation in which a previous favorite, What's Love artist Shannon Purvis received a lovely new pin up on her thigh from Sketch.
I actually purchased one of Franklin McKenzies drawings - one of my favorites - Deviled Eggs.Billy Guess came up with the idea of creating silhouettes to cover the windows and several people including Sammy Lopez, Lyon and Nicoli jumped in to create designs and cut them out.
I became really excited when Micheala Pillar Brown began discussing her installation that would include some nudes of not your conventional "sexy' types. A woman in her eighties, a woman that was pretty large and some photos that make statements about gay black men and the church and either white women that go for black men or black men that go after white women....
My favorite "Troopers Marching Towards Johnson" was sort of a personal whack up the side my head. The blond barbie clenched in the teeth of the nude supine black man with toy soldiers battling south was a reality check of perhaps how some black women feel towards white women with black men....
Course that is just my reaction and interpretation of the image. It could be more of a statement of black men somehow succumbing to or maybe even conquering, manipulating... white women, a practice that I suppose has only been accepted in the past few decades? Regardless - I think her work is amazing and appreciate the bold statements she made.
In the past I've experienced first hand black women's disdain of me being with a black guy. It does not however prevent me from making natural and normal connections with men of any color, race or ethnicity. If loving you is wrong - I don't wanna be right kind of thing.
Behind Closed Doors.
Billy Guess returned with his doors and collaborated with Molly Harrell to create an installation that proved to be a popular photo op.
Amanda Ladymon and crew created a VERY LARGE vagina......
Christian Thee painted erotic and provocative male nudes.
Jenna Sach had beautiful black and white photos AND we proclaimed her MVP of the event. She totally jumped in and worked tirelessly to help with set up.
Eye Candy, an animated film by returning artist Betsy Newman welcomed guests into the space while Claude Buckley brought his humor and lovely drawings enriching a wall from toe to ceiling. (no apologies Claude!)
Bohumila created stunning dresses of copper wiring and other materials worn by equally stunning models.
Whitney Lejune brought in a last minute piece that we all adored and wanted to take home with us and Nikolai presented a colorful palette of paintings that finished out the big wall.
Incredible cut outs created by Lyon Hill became the backdrop for the stage.
Mathew John's images filled the back wall with a sexy twosome.Sammy Lopez collaborated with R. Chambers LeHeup to create a painting duo that made you go - awwwwe when you read the prose and gazed at the images. It brought a real sweet yet melancholy presence to the show.
I met with Dre Lopez about his piece over a drink one night and when he described it as a woman that was abused - I thought - ok - this should be interesting. He is a tremendous and talented illustrator and I was awed by his drawing. His work gave me chills not always in a good way but the message struck a chord while the details in his drawing were elegant and perfect.
Patrick and Sarah showed their film Merry Go Round upstairs and Shane Silman's one act plays Men Seeking Women had standing room only audiences.
Sherade Duvall presented a film and although I shot and edited a piece as well I didn't have time to finish it and it did not show.
Unbound returned this year with a big burlesque number and TribeSk knocked it out of the park with their acrobatic and crowd pleasing moves.
Perfect music was spun by Chris Wenner that had the night ending in a dance party where everyone was smiling.This years event's proceeds went to The Nickelodeon Theatre's capitol campaign and we were THRILLED to partner with them. They were fun to work with and were very appreciative of the work our team did on their behalf.
I don't know what love has to do with it except that I truly loved working with all these peeps...all the volunteers and especially:
Whitney, Rachel, Molly, Billy and thanks to Tom Chinn at 701 for all his support!
