This weekend, I am in Las Vegas for some family stuff. For once, our visit has coincided with the city's First Fridays gallery night, during which a normally super-sketch neighborhood becomes a welcoming stretch with open doors for art patrons. We decided to check it out while we had the chance, since our impromptu gallery visits here have always resulted in a disappointed "Oh, they're closed. Again. Or still. Or for good."
The first stop was an old, two-story factory building that has been converted into a maze of mini-galleries. There must be close to 50 vendors in this building alone, and it was completely crawling with the usual gallery mix of older bluebloods and super-casual younkers. (Hey, I've always wanted to use the word "younker," which was always an example given at the start of every Illinois Test of Basic Skills we took through elementary school.) It reminded me of being in Lincoln, Nebraska on their gallery night... they have a similar building that serves as a strong starting point for strollers.
Although 95% of the art in the arts center was bad (yes, I said it), there were a few standouts, and I was especially impressed with how populated the place was. I did shrink a little when I passed a nine-year-old girl, then immediately passed a naked woman (surely serving as a "live painting" despite her body having only a few brushstrokes on it), but overall, I thought to myself, Good for you, Las Vegans. You do like art, and not just the Leroy Neimans on display at the Wynn.
We continued on to a contemporary gallery that had the strange combination of lower-floor exhibit of poorly executed new artists and upper-floor collection of very expensive, well-known works by famous artists (Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, David LaChapelle, etc.). The same street was blocked off, with vendors and small spaces showing varied works throughout. It was a little bit carnival, and our party joked about how City of Lost Children it was when we saw all the young kids trying so hard to be artsy. Even if they were a little amusing, I was glad to know that the creative kids in the area have a place to meet up and together pretend to be weirder than they are.
Upon passing the hot chocolate and ice cream stands, rosary vendors, and a guy who was having too much "performance art" fun with a bullhorn, we came across a tiny house that has been converted to a gallery for tattoo artists to show their non-skin work. I know I seem like I'm so culturally sophisticated and have been around the (art) block, but it's funny that I feel most at home in a casual place that shows art by tattooists. I am interested in tattooing (don't have any), but I think it's more about having a clear vision of someone's creative talent, craftsmanship, and concepts, which is not as easy to figure out in a gallery full of canvas covered in metallic puff-paint flowers and hearts. (Is the artist being ironic? Is she pulling a Picasso and messing with everyone after having mastered realism?)
The bulk of what we saw was not my taste, but the variety was broad: We saw acrylics, watercolors, oils, wood, digital (if you want to call that art, blah!), photography, and sculpture. We also saw tons of people having a good time on what is surely an oasis in the desert that is the Las Vegas arts scene, and I hope it can sustain itself and nurture some great artists. In the meantime, I'll be more committed to taking advantage of the vastly superior downtown LA gallery circuit... as well as eternally grateful that it doesn't showcase a tragic 15-year-old stand-up comedian like its Mojave sister. (Oh, yes.)
The first stop was an old, two-story factory building that has been converted into a maze of mini-galleries. There must be close to 50 vendors in this building alone, and it was completely crawling with the usual gallery mix of older bluebloods and super-casual younkers. (Hey, I've always wanted to use the word "younker," which was always an example given at the start of every Illinois Test of Basic Skills we took through elementary school.) It reminded me of being in Lincoln, Nebraska on their gallery night... they have a similar building that serves as a strong starting point for strollers.
Although 95% of the art in the arts center was bad (yes, I said it), there were a few standouts, and I was especially impressed with how populated the place was. I did shrink a little when I passed a nine-year-old girl, then immediately passed a naked woman (surely serving as a "live painting" despite her body having only a few brushstrokes on it), but overall, I thought to myself, Good for you, Las Vegans. You do like art, and not just the Leroy Neimans on display at the Wynn.
We continued on to a contemporary gallery that had the strange combination of lower-floor exhibit of poorly executed new artists and upper-floor collection of very expensive, well-known works by famous artists (Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, David LaChapelle, etc.). The same street was blocked off, with vendors and small spaces showing varied works throughout. It was a little bit carnival, and our party joked about how City of Lost Children it was when we saw all the young kids trying so hard to be artsy. Even if they were a little amusing, I was glad to know that the creative kids in the area have a place to meet up and together pretend to be weirder than they are.
Upon passing the hot chocolate and ice cream stands, rosary vendors, and a guy who was having too much "performance art" fun with a bullhorn, we came across a tiny house that has been converted to a gallery for tattoo artists to show their non-skin work. I know I seem like I'm so culturally sophisticated and have been around the (art) block, but it's funny that I feel most at home in a casual place that shows art by tattooists. I am interested in tattooing (don't have any), but I think it's more about having a clear vision of someone's creative talent, craftsmanship, and concepts, which is not as easy to figure out in a gallery full of canvas covered in metallic puff-paint flowers and hearts. (Is the artist being ironic? Is she pulling a Picasso and messing with everyone after having mastered realism?)
The bulk of what we saw was not my taste, but the variety was broad: We saw acrylics, watercolors, oils, wood, digital (if you want to call that art, blah!), photography, and sculpture. We also saw tons of people having a good time on what is surely an oasis in the desert that is the Las Vegas arts scene, and I hope it can sustain itself and nurture some great artists. In the meantime, I'll be more committed to taking advantage of the vastly superior downtown LA gallery circuit... as well as eternally grateful that it doesn't showcase a tragic 15-year-old stand-up comedian like its Mojave sister. (Oh, yes.)
