29 JAN 2007 - Bloomberg Press — By Michael Janofsky
On a recent Saturday, the staccato red lines that first appeared on the wall-size canvas had grown into yellow starbursts painted by a second artist.
Nearby, a third fashioned a blimp, and a fourth dismantled it with splotches of blue, suggesting an explosion.
A fifth painter incorporated all of that into a huge nude woman.
Since then, that canvas and six others at Pharmaka Art, a nonprofit storefront gallery in downtown Los Angeles, have changed and changed again in a new art-in-the-making show called ``L.A. Ethos,'' which runs through Feb. 28.
Organizers have invited more than 200 local artists to participate as a way to argue that their efforts contribute as much to the city's growing artistic prominence as do its acclaimed museums, nearly 300 galleries and wealthy private collectors -- such as Eli Broad, Barbra Streisand and Steve Martin.
``The sheer volume of artists who live and work in this city is growing,'' said Timothy Isham, an organizer of the show and a contributing painter. ``With our artists and galleries, we are filling in with a factor of density that reflects the notion Los Angeles is more a center of art than ever before.''
In that spirit, the Pharmaka project, which is open to public viewing, builds on an exhibition last year at the Pompidou Center in Paris: ``Los Angeles 1955-1985, the Birth of an Artistic Capital.'' It featured works by such renowned locals as Ed Kienholz, Ed Ruscha, David Hockney and John Baldessari in order to chronicle art in Southern California made during a time the art world focused on New York.
The Pompidou show fueled a widening recognition that Los Angeles art was stepping up in prestige. Yet even before the exhibition, Shane Guffogg and a handful of other Los Angeles artists began to wonder if this surge of attention might also spotlight the ethnically diverse artists whose works fill smaller spaces throughout Southern California.
Could these artists represent an emerging style, a new ``ism,'' poised for discovery, interpretation and financial reward?
The result was a series of shows in local galleries that examined how works by Los Angeles artists might be influenced by their physical surroundings. The Pharmaka exhibition is the latest installment.
``How do you find the ethos of Los Angeles?'' Guffogg said as several artists worked around him in a space that was once a restaurant and shoe store.
Guffogg is quick to caution that the final conglomerated works might not provide any clear definition of L.A style. ``Ethos'' artists are encouraged to respect the contributions of others, but are free to alter or obliterate them. On the other hand, any artist can return to restore work that another amended. After an early patch of colorful smears disappeared under a blanket of another painter's gesso, a third artist painted a rainbow of shapes on top of that.
``We had two camps when we began thinking about this,'' said John Scane, one of the organizers. ``One said we can't control art, so there should be no guidelines. The other said it shouldn't be about who makes the last mark. We couldn't resolve it.''
Guffogg said he worries about a ``Darwinian finish,'' that someone would appear in the final minutes with whitewash and a roller. To prevent that, he said, organizers might move up the painting deadline to an unannounced time.
As a further safeguard, organizers are taking daily pictures of each canvas to capture as many contributions as possible, with plans to publish a book and CD that track the project. That way, no one will miss the large, Monet-like empty bedroom Bob Rossoff painted on a canvas before another painter added a huge pair of cartoonish eyes staring at it from the side.
Rossoff had predicted his placid scene would not escape alteration, certain that another artist would paint someone onto the bed.
``Or maybe a goat,'' said another artist, Vonn Sumner. ``You never know.''
More than a week later, the bed was still empty, but the whole room had turned to an underwater scene.
These days, such is the nature of contemporary art in Los Angeles. Or not.
``L.A. Ethos'' is at 101 W. Fifth St., at Main Street, Los Angeles, through Feb. 28. Information: +1-213-689-7799 or http://www.pharmaka-art.org .
(Michael Janofsky is a reporter for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Janofsky in Los Angeles at mjanofsky@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 29, 2007 00:04 EST
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