“Car Culture” in honor of the Long Beach Toyota Grand Prix. Gallery will be open afternoons during the races. Pike 81 S. Pine Jennifer Celio Michael Kalish Zuhdi Sardar Lola Scarpitta Sal Scarpitta Curated by Liza Simone Artist Contact: jennifercelio.com michaelkalish.com zuhdisardar.com Lolascarpitta.com SalScarpitta.com THE POWER OF ICONS Michael Kalish understood the power of icons from the moment he started to use license plates as the basis of his visual language. In an interview with Sondra Farrell Bazrod he refers to the encounter with an unfamiliar North Dakota license plate while driving in Atlanta that fired his interest in them and awakened him to their function as “icons in themselves”. (Sondra Farrell Bazrod, ‘Custom Plates’, Los Angeles Times, November 23, 2003). Icons represent objects of veneration, either through the use of Image or Likeness. To have currency and status as an icon, the image or likeness has to be widely acknowledged in its society and culture. An image can be linked to other ideas by context (the number 2 on a license plate or the very license plate itself); likeness is the representation of something outside of the image (a painting of a mountain). The automobile license plate functions as either an image or a symbol in Kalish’s work. Symbols are images that either evoke or represent an idea or emotion beyond itself. The license plate is also a widely acknowledged object associated with one of America’s greatest love affairs, the automobile. They are used to make reference to widely diverse subjects (the home states of Presidents, baseball clubs, the automobile and regional identity). Kalish draws on images of national identity, sports, music and motion pictures, giving each of them individual iconic status. The image as an icon is further developed by his use of forms associated with either Renaissance art (the triptych Grimm Cubs, January 2004), or folk culture, used in a recent work Wavy Flag (August 2003) where the frame was built from century old barn wood. Kalish’s portraits also take the form of icons. In a series of ‘Sculptural Portraits’ he has concentrated on figures that conform to the popular idea of ‘Genius’, drawing on images of movie stars, musicians, and thinkers; Beethoven (March 2004) and Freud (June 2004) from ‘High’ culture, Elvis (March 2004) Hendrix (August 2002) and Marley (May 2004) from ‘Popular’ culture. By using either a source image or by taking a pose from a photograph, Kalish creates recognition by the image rather than the representation of the features. The images in this series that are taken from modern culture are all from a period between twenty and forty years ago, removing them from current reality but keeping them within the living memory of at least two generations of Americans. This process of temporal removal and cultural continuity initiates the process of making myths, an essential adjunct to the a-historical presence of an icon. THE PATRIOTIC AND POPULAR IMAGE , REFLECTING AN AMERICAN IDENTITY A fascination with popular culture and myth is also found in another of Kalish’s major themes, Americana and American popular culture. In several interviews, the artist remarks on his continuing attraction to Americana. Perhaps it is not surprising that the first work he ever sold was an image of the American Flag formed into the shape of the U.S.A. and that his image of Uncle Sam hangs on the wall of the United States Embassy in Moscow. He has made images of the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the American Presidents, all of which draw on immediately recognizable icons of American identity made even more powerful by the fact that they were all created with the immediacy of the license plate. The visual impact of both the medium and the symbols present the viewer with forceful images, which create ‘immediate’ signification. This process places great emphasis on the understanding of the image as a ‘received’ part of the culture, something to be accepted and celebrated, not analyzed; an image of cohesion rather than criticism. Even works with less overtly nationalistic symbolism support the idea of cultural and class inclusivity that exist at the heart of America’s own sense of national identity. The Baseball images in Kalish’s work reflect both his own involvement with the sport and its central role as an icon of American life. The triptych Grimm Cubs (January 2004), based on a 1932 photograph of fans of the Chicago Cubs, stresses the sense of popular identity with the game and at the same time lends the ephemeral image of celebration a solemn dignity by the use of the triptych form. THE ICON AS COMMERCIAL ENTITY Kalish’s icons do not exist in a material value-free culture. The acquisition and commercial power of his images are built into the structure of his creative process. It is worth noting that the artist purchased the rights to the original photograph that formed the basis for Grimm Cubs. By doing this

After teaching Barney to balance a biscuit on his muzzle in the spring, I started wondering if I could teach him to balance other stuff too... we tried some other things, cheese (he likes that a lot more than biscuits), my glasses, small books, he mastered all those things easily, albeit with a slightly bemused look on his face as to why we were playing this strange game (see below for some shots of things on his head!). I decided we needed more of a challenge... I settled on balls, which Barney values far more than food! It was tough for him to remain absolutely still whilst I balanced an amazingly tempting rubber ball on his rather narrow muzzle. It took a couple of days but after many treats, "good boys" and games of fetch, he composed himself and went from wriggling, cross-eyed and panting to calm and still as a statue. He gets lots and LOTS of praise for doing this trick, even if it's only for few seconds. Once given the release, he flips his head and snatches the ball out of the air :) We've now moved on to larger tennis balls, but I've yet to get a good shot of this! (This shot took ages to get, it's rather difficult to hold a dog's head at the right angle, balance a ball in exactly the right place, especially as Barney has a rather narrow nose, then let go, and grab and focus the camera before the dog tilts his head a fraction of an inch and unbalances the ball... This was as good as I got!!) Reached Explore #38