Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Is it BEER or ART?

In Lilly Tomlin's solo show, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" her homeless shopping cart character, holds up a a can of Campbell's Soup and a painting of that same can on an Andy Warhol canvas.  As she looks back and worth at the two items she asks the audience, "Is it SOUP or ART?"  It is ultimately up to the audience to answer that question for themselves.  What is very clear is that her performance of this question is absolutely art.

If you know me you know that I am a big supporter of the arts.  I think art is the nourishment our soul needs to keep us from dying of reality. Art is the way our imagination speaks to the world.  Art is thought expressed in form.  To me any skill or craft that is taken to its ultimate expression becomes art.  Those who dedicate themselves to the achievement of this goal are artists.

There is something that happens when artists come together.  A synergy is created when people, who have dedicated so much of their time and passion to something as intangible as art, express themselves collectively.  The same passion is present whether the artist deals in oil, acrylic, music, dance, photography, sculpting and yes even ventriloquism. That very phenomonon is happening Saturday. 
The Art Walk and Night Market  happening Saturday, June 4, 2016 from 5pm to 10pm in Reseda is a place and time when artists of every discipline will assemble and share their talents. This time the walk includes beer artists as well.  There will be examples of this "new age old world art" at the Beer Garden during the Street Fair/ArtWalk on Sherman Way.  Beer has finally come of age with the introduction of "craft beers" and "micro brews". The pallets of new age beer drinkers have become as sophisticated as wine connoisseurs.  With the heightened  tastes of a new audience of consumers, the Beer Artist has appeared.

The idea behind this gathering of Artists is the brain child and production of 11:11 ACC.  11:11 A Creative Collective is a non- profit organization dedicated to the idea that art in LA is found in more places than just down town.  The  San Fernando Valley being much bigger in geography than down town, has its own squad of home grown artists. A Valley Boy like myself doesn't have to go "over the hill" to find a little food for my creative soul.  11:11ACC is making it as close as my own valley back yard.
In keeping with that mission the Beer Artist of The Art Walk and Night Market are all local SFV brewers. That's right... Art you can drink made right here in the artistic heart of Southern California.  So even if you do not understand why Andy Warhol thought a can of soup was art...you will probably understand why the beer from these valley Brew Artists is art.
Enjoy the art of the brew and browse art displays,  listen to music, buy your own original art from a local artist, have some food, watch some interactive performance art and see some of the antique commercial Art of the Valley from neon signs to classic cars. There will truly be something for every taste, artistically, emotionally and viscerally.
So, Saturday, come to the Reseda Art Walk. and Night Market.   Here is a map and list of the things going on:


So is it BEER or ART?  You tell me. I'll see you there, Saturday, June 4, 2016. 
As you were,
Jay

3 comments:

P. Grecian said...

Oh, Jay, were you not so far away I'd be there in a minute. Sounds lovely.

carl said...

enjoy the beer.or is it art?

carl said...

oh yes,before I forget.thanks for mentioning that line"is it soup or is it art?".i hadn't heard or seen it in decades.my ex-wife and I saw lily's play twice.the first in new york,and the second time,in los angeles,when we happened to be visiting there,and found out she apparently had moved the show there,unbeknownst to us at the time.thanks for clearing the cobwebs.