Paris Photo LA just wrapped at the Paramount Studios backlot. It ran from May 1 – 3, 2015, and included 80 galleries and art book dealers from 17 countries world – wide. Paris Photo LA is the US edition of the world’s most celebrated art fair for works created in the photographic medium. Paramount Studios was the ideal setting to explore how artist have been, and continue to use photography and moving images in their work, during the 20th and 21st centuries.
That aside… who doesn’t love going onto the studio backlot, the glamours birth place of Hollywoods Golden Era. After 20 years of living here, it’s still so exciting to walk through the sound stages, rich in television and film history, marveling at the continued ‘magic in the making’. In the late 1990’s I would go to weekly tapings of client Sharon Lawrence’s TV sitcom Fired Up on Stage 29 or Stage 30. It’s so exciting to be a part of someone’s entourage, and of course it’s great for business! At one point I was doing the hair of nearly a dozen people from the production side of the show, as well as the stars cuts and colors who was graciously singing my praises to everyone.
Therefore, I suppose nostalgia was the real motivating factor for me to attend the Paris Photo LA exhibit. I’m more drawn to paintings than photography. That said, I certainly had some wow moments during the exhibit. My absolute favorite pieces were the copper photogravure printing plates at the Bruce Kapson Gallery. There were nearly a dozen of them, priced in the tens of thousands of dollars range each. Breathtaking in their detail, they were created by Edward S. Curtis from 1900 – 1914 for The North American Indian series. Even the text on the copper plates was etched in reverse. I only wish my little iphone were able to truly capture the rich detail of the plates. (Follow this link to learn more about the gallery and see the images created by the plates)
Conceptually, the idea of turning vacant storefronts on the New York and Chicago Backlots into actual art galleries, is beyond brilliant. People were sitting on the perches of the steps, eating dishes from the food trucks, while milling from ‘gallery to gallery’ as if we were all extra’s in some sort of blockbuster film. It had the truest sense of community with just a tinge of excitement… because what better place to see actual celebrities than the Paramount Studio backlot. (Yes I saw one but we won’t name names – cough cough Desperately Seeking Susan #Not Madonna)
I hope you’ll be able to attend next years Paris Photo LA. And in the mean time, please enjoy one of my favorite clips from Fired up: a musical dream sequence that has Ms. Lawrence singing and dancing her way into our hearts.
