This week in LA art reviews, two contemporary painters challenge our perception of commonplace images
Oct 21, 2020 • View in browser
Los Angeles
This week in LA art reviews, two contemporary painters challenge our perception of commonplace images: Amir H. Fallah expands what we might think of as a “portrait” and Linda Stark lends serious attention to the heart symbol. 
Presidential political advertisements in the US have a long, fascinating (and at times disturbing) history. Artists Antoni Muntadas and Marshall Reeves have been compiling 70 years’ worth of them into a feature film. Don’t miss the premiere via the Getty Museum’s website this Friday, and I encourage you to read Matt Stromberg’s longer feature on how LA art spaces are gearingup for the election. 
Many of you might have been noticing the Armenian flags around town — signs of protest against the escalating war in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Last week, a collective of performers showed up at the Broad Museum, and other downtown locations, wearing robes printed with images of rifles in an effort to raise awareness about this largely ignored war. Editor in Chief Hrag Vartanian writes an illuminating article on the topic. 
Wishing you all a lovely rest of your week 🌼
– Elisa Wouk Almino, Senior Editor
LA’s Art Spaces Are Focusing on the Election
SPARC Digital Mural Lab, “We Vote” Brooklyn Voter Turnout 2020 (photo courtesy Alchemy)
SPARC Digital Mural Lab, “We Vote” Brooklyn Voter Turnout 2020 (photo courtesy Alchemy)
LA-area cultural institutions have organized several projects around the upcoming election. One of them is artist Aram Han Sifuentes’s “Official Unofficial Voting Station,” now online at the Skirball Cultural Center, which aims to give voice to the millions of Americans who cannot legally vote.
With her project, Sifuentes hopes to question the US’s exclusionary voting system:
“People talk about voting as if it’s the answer. It’s so important, I’m not discrediting it, but it’s also important to question the system of voting as well, a discriminatory and racist system.”
Latest Reviews
How Do You Paint Portraiture Without a Portrait?
How Do You Paint Portraiture Without a Portrait?
By negating the figure, Amir H. Fallah expands the limits of portraiture to make space for multiple interpretations.
Caroline Ellen Liou
A Painter’s Sincere Affection for the Heart Ideogram
A Painter’s Sincere Affection for the Heart Ideogram
Linda Stark lends serious attention to the heart symbol, which, like most symbols associated with women and femininity, is easily dismissed and oft-overlooked.
Jennifer Remenchik
A Discussion About "Unrecognized Labor"
Black Women Performers Discuss “Unrecognized Labor”
Black Women Performers Discuss “Unrecognized Labor”
Gabrielle Civil, mayfield brooks, and Jasmine Nyende respond to Nikita Gale’s installation PRIVATE DANCER at the California African American Museum.
Elisa Wouk Almino | October 22, 5–6:30pm (PDT)
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From the Store
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