MOCA Friends, Supporters Paint the Town Red at Annual Splash

What do you get when you combine contemporary art with a group of young, hip professionals?

Artsomething.

That’s what one guest dubbed the crowd at the third annual MOCA Grand Splash, the yearly fund-raiser of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Contemporaries, a support group dedicated to the arts, as well as having a good time.

Outdoor Buffet

This very social bunch met at the Temporary Contemporary downtown for an outdoor buffet dinner and dance in the museum’s courtyard, with the skyline of downtown serving as a most appropriate backdrop. Guests could escape the frivolity by wandering through the museum.

The evening’s theme, “Paint the Town Red,” was taken seriously by party planners and the 600 or so guests who attended Saturday.

Artist Red Grooms designed T-shirts for the event ($15 or $50 signed), caterers The Entertainment Company did some red-themed foods (licorice, red hots, red jellybeans, strawberry crepes), and the edict of “red hot” attire was interpreted in various ways.

Invitation designer Marc Freidland of Artafax painted gold and black dots on his red cravat. “Do you like this jacket?” he asked, pointing to his red corduroy coat with black satin lapels. “It comes from JC Penney.”

Photographer Jenny Gummersall’s red paint-splashed dress was courtesy of her husband, artist Greg Gummersall. “It’s a former bridesmaid dress,” she explained. “So you can wear bridesmaid dresses again. He painted this while I was wearing it--it’s his first moving canvas.”

There were red suspenders, red bow ties and cummerbunds with tuxedos, a red fez, red floral chintz ruffled gowns and red hair bows. Even Contemporaries president Mindi Horwitch had dyed her hair red.

While DJ Billy the Kid spun tunes from vintage (pre-plastic surgery) Michael Jackson to swing to Tone Loc, some artists were taking advantage of a chance to be creative.

Everett Lewis and Joe Santa Romano created painted wood cut-outs with chalkboards and provided chalk to draw-your-own masterpiece.

Laurie Pincus and Joan de Bruin were at work painting a head on a body; the face, complete with furrowed brow, was dubbed “Mayor Bradley.”

On the other side of the courtyard, Sean Haley and friends were putting the finishing touches on an interpretation of a movie director at work behind the camera. Haley had written “Rob Lowe” off to the side.

What gave him the inspiration for that?

“Ohhhhh, I don’t know,” he said, grinning.

Happening Happens

The Contemporaries’ Peter Wendel had conceived the idea for the art stations. “I said they should have some kind of an ‘art happening,’ ” he explained. “And so they said, ‘Great, why don’t you do it? ‘ “

Also on hand for the evening were artists Robert Graham, Ed Moses, Eric Orr; designer Michele Lamy and husband, film maker Richard Newton; Elyse and Stanley Grinstein and event co-chairs Debbie Dresner and Claudia Berman;

The Contemporaries expect to net $30,000 to $40,000 from the $100-per-person benefit.