Signs of the Times in Art, Commerce

Art and commerce seem to keep company more often during these days of record-setting auctions, international art fairs and gallery growth spurts. The recent appearance of three new artist-made billboards unites the two antithetical entities once again.

Patrick Media Group, in collaboration with Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), has reproduced artworks by Daniel J. Martinez, Hilja Keading and Bob Zoell for 14-by-48-foot billboards that have been installed at busy thoroughfares throughout the city:

On the north side of Pico Boulevard near La Cienega Boulevard is Martinez’s “Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You.” Two ferocious dogs with gaping jaws look as if they are about to devour the hand of someone pouring gravy atop succulent slices of meat loaf.

On the west side of Western Avenue, near 6th Street, is Keading’s “Liposuction.” The name of the work is written, in candy cane-like letters, across twin photographs of a snow-covered peak and pine tree.

On the northwest corner of La Cienega and Century boulevards, is Zoell’s “It’s Not What You See But Rather That You See.” The artwork is composed of its title, spelled out in thin letters.

Obviously, these billboards don’t sell a product, like cigarettes or liquor. They are one-of-a-kind creations that convey each artist’s ideas. But art and advertising are inseparable in the conceptual pieces, said LACE Director Joy Silverman.

“They are about advertising, and that element has to play a role in the work,” Silverman said. “You can’t eliminate that context.

“There are tons of artists doing work that comments on media and advertising and how they affect our lives,” she added. “It’s a very important part of popular culture, particularly in L.A.”

Silverman was one of five local art community members to have chosen the three artists out of more than 200 who applied to take part in The ArtBulletin Program.

The billboards’ physical surroundings are an important part of their overall message as well, she said, noting the placement of Keading’s “Liposuction,” which the artist said “represents the consequences of artificiality and the promise of immediate gratification.”

“Right now Keading’s work is above a Winchell’s (Donuts), which I think is hilarious,” Silverman said.

All three billboards will remain where they are now through mid-February, said a Patrick Media spokeswoman; then they will be moved to other local sites for another two months.

AIDS RESEARCH: Three Southern California museums are selling elegantly designed whistles as part of a nationwide fund-raising campaign for AIDS research called “Blow the Whistle.”

The whistle, designed for use as a necklace or key ring, is available for $250 in sterling silver from the Museum of Contemporary Art on Grand Avenue, the Newport Harbor Art Museum and the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.

Forty percent of all proceeds from the whistle sales will benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), a research and education organization. The campaign is organized and sponsored by Artes Magnus, a New York-based publisher of limited edition fine art objects.

FINE ARTS DEAN: Lynn R. Matteson, interim dean of USC’s School of Fine Arts since May, has been named dean of the school.