Kelly Slater's Apolitical Process

There was a real fun art opening last night in Venice when Kelly Slater brought his vision of an artistic journey through the 2016 election to the Folding Table Gallery on Main Street. Apolitical Process was curated by PM Tenore and features the work of Kevin Ancell, Todd Glaser, and Bruce Reynolds. All the pieces reflect what's going on in the current mess of getting a new President elected, and aim to expose the truths, dangers, hypocrisy and misinformation, according to the writing on the wall.

The place was jam packed and the crowd was spilling out on to the street on a balmy evening. The bar was open, and everyone was enjoying it as they checked out all the great work. Every last piece was awesome, and meant to provoke discussion and promote the questioning of the powers that be (also on the wall). Right on.

It was all very impressive, and no punches were pulled when it came to skewering those that deserve it. Like Ben Carson. About Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (It's Not Uncle Tom) 2016,  Reynolds captioned with "How a black neurosurgeon who has supported a presidential candidate, who is running a campaign that has courted white nationalism with dogwhistle politics. All coming on the heels  of the first black man to become President Of The United States." With Carson's face on rice boxes. It would be funny if weren't so sad and true.

There were a lot of guns on the walls, which is automatically heavy, especially considering all the shooting of innocent people going on these days. It's hard to even think about ... but we have to. We have to make sense of it somehow in order to STOP. IT.

Reynolds had a bunch of great sculptures, and an obvious intelligence and wit, as seen in his cuckoo clock piece, making a statement even with the material chosen - cuckoo.

One of my favorite Reynolds pieces was Bye Bye Miss American Pie, 2016. Its caption read "This piece represents American Democracy under attack and being stripped of its dignity by this political cycle. AMEN. It's based on the Esquire magazine cover that featured Muhammad Ali after he was stripped of his title for draft evasion - when really he should have been applauded. It's powerful stuff.

Todd Glaser had some gorgeous, silvery photographs, one featuring Slater, who was in the house having a great time with friends and fans alike.

The crowd was heavy on the surfers, of course, and everywhere you looked there was another friend, another local, all there to support both Slater and his very profound vision.

Kevin Ancell painted an entire quiver of Slater's boards in the black and white patterns of an Orca, which Slater asked for after being extra moved by the documentary Blackfish. Names of friends who have passed away were etched into the boards, giving a patina of sadness to the beauty of the memorial.

All the heavy subject matter couldn't put a damper on the spirits of the party goers, however, as everyone was having a grand old time, that got even more fun when the band struck up, with Slater fronting them on vocals. It appears that there is very little that this super man cannot do. Geez.

The band was cranking, turning the energy up even higher in perhaps one of the best reactions to all of the madness that one can have ... as Emma Goldman famously said, "If I can't dance, I don't want your revolution."

Thanks to all involved for a great, thought-provoking, rocker of a night!

Apolitical Process is on now through October 9, 2016. You want to see this show.

Folding Table Gallery
210 San Juan Avenue (corner of Main Street)
Venice

Kevin Ancell: Nos Vemos En Venecia!

There was a great art opening in Venice last night, and you could tell it was great before you even stepped inside. The overflow crowd spilled out into the street, where an impromptu street party just naturally happened. It was a celebration for the art of Kevin Ancell, another Dogtown legend.

Upon squeezing into the great space on Main Street, I thought it was a group show at first, so diverse were the styles and materials used. But nope, it was all Ancell, and it was all fantastic.

Right inside the door was a memorial to the old P.O.P., complete with burning candles illuminating the painted surfboard that probably surfed that pier.

I was especially taken by the oils that could fit right into the Sistine Chapel, but upon closer examination it was guys with surfboards, when Jesus Heals The Kooks (2014). Classic.

From traditional oils to a whole different medium, with shelves of ceramic busts of a woman who nearly turned Ancell into dust (per the book accompanying the show) in his Love Is A Dog From Hell (2015). Deep.

Ancell himself accepted congratulations as he milled through the crowd dressed in all white, with a Hawai'ian ti leaf lei around his neck as the man being honored. The accolades were well-deserved, of course, as one piece was cooler than the next.

Like Porn (2015), a depiction of Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, with the image created out of the word "Porn" written over and over with graphite on paper. Creative and cutting and patient and wow.

There was a great oil painting of a homeless man pushing his cart down Abbot Kinney from the past to the future, in Moses Seeking Pharaoh (2015), a strong commentary on what has happened to the former West Washington Boulevard. It's powerful stuff.

Carrying on with powerful, there was a replica of an atom bomb, Kaboom: Nobody Ride For Free (2015), that one could actually ride up and down, in Ancell's homage to Dr. Strangelove. This proved to be a very popular attraction, as partiers took turns climbing aboard the bomb. Kaboom!

A chandelier of female busts lit the proceedings, and let you know that Ancell is one of those artists that sees the art in everything, and refuses to be limited by any one style or material. I dig that.

There was so much going on in the masterful Madonna (2013) that I'm probably going to go back and look at it some more when there isn't such a big crowd trying to see it. Featuring the homeless, gang members, graffiti and the cops all being watched over by glowing angels and the Madonna, it really is something to behold.

It was stiflingly hot in the gallery, so we inched our way back to the door where it was rumored that House beer was on ice. I never found that, but instead found that the party outside had grown even bigger, food trucks had arrived, as had a lot more revelers. Party without a permit!

A big old Dogtown reunion was in full effect ... legendary skaters, surfers, and artists of that legendary era all joined together again for a photo to celebrate one of their own. People were tearing it up on the roof and in the street, all the way into the fact that things were as they should be in Venice.

As C.R. Stecyk III wrote for the show's book, "The area has always been an entrepot for alternative culture, a haven for eccentrics, outcasts, outlaws and geniuses who if they weren't truly mad, they were at least excited." Truth. And last night, everyone was excited.

Kevin Ancell: Nos Vemos En Venecia runs now through October 15th at 1320 Main Street, Venice.

Nos Vemos En Venicia! See you in Venice!