David P. Earle

Emily Joyce

A PLAIN VIEW is the most recent chapter in Jason Lee's ongoing photographic exploration of rural America that began more than a decade ago with large format Polaroid films on the back roads of California. This lavishly produced lay-flat softbound book is comprised of one hundred and eleven color images made throughout Texas over the course of twenty-five days between January and April of 2017 using expired Kodak 4 x 5 color films and a Graflex Speed Graphic view camera. It is accompanied by a text by Will Gillham, the Head of Publications at The Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth. Says the author "Having relocated to Texas from California in 2015, I felt it important to explore my adopted state more extensively than I had in the past as a visiting photographer. A PLAIN VIEW is the result of that exploration".

Please join us Saturday, May 26th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM at Arcana as we host a very special conversation between Jason Lee and Aline Smithson of Lenscratch.com followed by a book signing. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a copy of A PLAIN VIEW signed by Mr. Lee, please place your order here or call us at 310-458-1499.

Please join us on Saturday, May 19th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to celebrate the beautiful new Atelier Éditions publication International Signal Code Alphabet by Corita Kent. We will be hosting a discussion and book signing with Dr. Ray Smith, Director of the Corita Art Center, and artist, curator, and Kent scholar, Aaron Rose.

"Radical American artist, educator and once-devout Catholic nun, Sister Mary Corita Kent’s provocative imagery has entranced audiences for over four decades. Originally completed in 1968, Kent’s International Signal Code Alphabet encompasses a series of twenty-six kaleidoscopic serigraphs integrating scripture, typography, image, icon, and the maritime flags of the International Code of Signals. As 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of both the series’ completion, and the centennial of Kent’s birth, this celebratory publication reproduces this engaging body of work for the very first time in a monographic, fine art  format". It features an introduction by Corita Art Center Director, Dr. Ray Smith along with a foreword authored by noted Kent scholar, artist, and curator Aaron Rose.

International Signal Code Alphabet will be available for purchase at the event as well as some special Corita Kent merch straight from the Corita Art Center! If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a copy signed by Dr. Smith and Mr. Rose, please place your order here or call us at 310-458-1499.

Between 1974 and 1975, American photographer John Divola – then in his mid twenties and without a studio of his own – traveled across Los Angeles in search of dilapidated properties in which to make photographs. Armed with a camera, spray paint, string, and cardboard, the artist would produce one of his most significant photographic projects entitled "Vandalism". To produce this visceral black and white series of images Divola vandalized vacant homes with abstract constellations of graffiti-like marks, ritualistic configurations of string hooked to pins, and torn arrangements of card, before photographing the results. The project vigorously merged the documentary approach of forensic photography with staged interventions echoing sculpture, performance, and installation art. Serving as a conceptual sabotaging of the delineations between such documentary and artistic practices at a time when the ‘truthfulness’ of photography was being called into question, "Vandalism" helped to establish Divola’s highly distinctive photographic language.

Please join us Saturday, May 12th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM for a conversation between John Divola and The Getty Museum Department of Photographs curator Amanda Maddox followed by a book signing of his stunning new MACK publication. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a copy signed by Mr. Divola, please place your order here or call us at 310-458-1499.

Please join us Thursday, May 3rd between 6:00 and 8:00 PM to celebrate the West Coast launch of Creative Director Alexander McWhirter's brand new Fashion journal, Public. The beautifully designed, large-format first issue features five portfolios photographed by Glen Luchford, Nadine Fraczkowski, Vivien Solari, Benjamin Lennox, and Greta Ilieva along with images by McWhirter and Alice Neale.

Notes the publisher: "The obvious is all around us. It is a void in which everything has been fine-tuned to such an extent that indistinctiveness prevails. 'Cool' has become inoffensive and predictable, and taste is easy to place a pulse on. Issue 1 of Public breaks this pattern of democratized cool, bringing together a body of work that covers a unique perspective on subjects in life."

Originally from London, Alexander McWhirter began his career in New York as the Art Director at V Magazine before founding McWhirter Studio. His projects focus on working closely with distinctive collaborators to present a narrative that observes human interaction, be that with our environment or with each other. The story is woven together with elements from art and fashion, the resulting idea is unmistakable and inclusive to all. He has collaborated with Visionaire, Suzanne Geiss Gallery, Cultural Traffic, and most recently Calvin Klein, where he worked closely with Raf Simons and Pieter Mulier on 2017 campaigns for Calvin Klein Jeans, Underwear, and the 205W39NYC RTW Collection Book.

Come meet Alexander McWhirter and contributor Glen Luchford who will be in attendance for a rare weeknight event here at Arcana this coming Thursday between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. Issue 1 of Public is limited to a mere two-hundred and fifty copies, and will soon be gone for good. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a copy signed by both, please place your order here, or call us at 310-458-1499.

Jessica Antola’s first monograph entitled Circadian Landscape is a vibrant journey through Sub-Saharan Africa. Traveling mostly by car, she captures the distinctive style and beauty of everyday life in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Togo. Her striking portraits, landscapes, and vignettes offer an intimate view of life lived in rural villages, big cities and along the remote roadways between the two. Men dressed head to toe in elaborate African wax textiles share a motorcycle; ancestral spirits bridge earthly and supernatural worlds in masked dances; the rich red soil dusts the lush tropical jungle; a girl in an over-sized straw hat steers her boat with a boldly patterned patchwork sail; and a gold jewelry-clad Kumasi King performs a warrior dance. Antola is captivated by how people around the world express themselves in relation to their environments, and her images reflect the astonishing variety of ways people create and define themselves daily through dress and ritual, work and play.

Come to Arcana this Saturday between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to meet photographer Jessica Antola and celebrate the publication the drop-dead-gorgeous Circadian Landscape. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy, please place your order here, or call us at 310-458-1499.

Saturday, April 21st, 4:00 - 6:00 PM 

JESSICA ANTOLA: CIRCADIAN LANDSCAPE

Thursday, May 3rd, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

PUBLIC, Issue 1 launch celebration

Saturday, May 19th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

INTERNATIONAL SIGNAL CODE ALPHABET BY CORITA KENT

Saturday, May 26th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

JASON LEE: A PLAIN VIEW

Sunday, June 3rd, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

CURATORIAL HUB Exhibition

Watch this space for details or sign up for our emailing list here.

GO! THIS WEEKEND!: The Los Angeles 'Zine and Art Book Bazaar.  It's a grassroots, local, and independent event; "an experiment with fellow artists in the  community. It's about taking a bunch of interesting beautiful things, merging them together for a weekend, and sharing that experience with the public." Called a "weirder, more radical alternative" to the Printed Matter Art Book Fair (which is on hiatus this year), we encourage you to go forth and revel in the home-grown fun. You can find details at lazaabb.com. 

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