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Tribute to Bettie Page

June 16, 2012, 9:46 am
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A recent event at Beauty Bar - A Tribute to Bettie Page - was presided over by the original Bettie Page, 'Queen of Pin-Ups' on the giant outdoor screen. The event featured fashion from Devyn Shannon, Mindy Jay and Mina Kahn, with burlesque performances from Sue Nami Saki, Marta Tigris Lavin and Ivana Blaize.
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Ken and Barbie's Sneak Preview

June 19, 2012, 7:50 am
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In 2010, photographer Jana Cruder exhibited a series of works at Brett Wesley Gallery titled 'What Lies Beneath' exploring femininity and the lasting cultural impact of Barbie dolls. Her follow up to this popular series brings Ken into the picture, with a focus on 'Career Barbie' and 'Domestic Ken'.
Shot in Palm Springs, CA, the images combine humor with a highly stylized retro aesthetic. Beneath the surface of perfect coiffures, pristine pools and immaculate designer interiors, Cruder is exploring some grittier issues of gender and beauty.
Also on display were images from the Something to Remember project, a philanthropic portrait series for families supporting loved ones with cancer.
'Sneak Preview' was hosted by Barneys New York Las Vegas, and the full series will be exhibited at Brett Wesley Gallery later in the year.
Image at top 'Morning Coffee' courtesy Jana Cruder.
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Upcoming London Biennale satellite event

June 22, 2012, 7:11 am
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The sign reading 'Nothing' caught my eye on a road trip through Arizona and I added this ghostly tarantula-riding death-bride from one of my earlier collages. This image features in the current Citylife article on 10 emerging Las Vegas artists.
Three of these artists - Jevijoe Vitug, Brent Holmes and myself will also be taking part in the 2nd Nevada satellite event of the London Biennale. The theme this year is the rainbow, and the color allocated to me is blue. The image below gives a little taste of the performance piece I will be creating in collaboration with Las Vegas fashion designer and event producer Mina Kahn.
The London Biennale performances will take place at Pop Up Art House on Saturday 21st July and the documentation exhibition will be held at the Contemporary Arts Center from 6th - 29th September.
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Carnevale at The Palazzo

June 26, 2012, 2:01 pm
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Carnevale at The Palazzo features art, music, wine and food. Seen here is a chalk work in progress by artist Melanie Stimmell who holds the title of 'Master Street Painter' in Italy and Germany.
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Pink Pelvis featuring Kalani Kokonuts...

June 29, 2012, 5:22 pm
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What a way to kick off the weekend - each Friday evening at Artifice -
"Pink Pelvis is your neighborhood, ghetto-fabulous, mash-up, cover band featuring Kalani Kokonuts - the gorgeous, international Showgirl of Burlesque! www.pinkpelvis.com"
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Shoes 4 Shoes

July 2, 2012, 8:49 am
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Las Vegas artist Jevijoe Vitug organized a 'Shoes 4 Shoes' event in conjunction with 5th Wall Gallery. People were invited to donate lace-up shoes for an upcoming installation in exchange for a shoe-sized artwork of their choice contributed by the following artists: Jevijoe Vitug
Eric Vozzola, Spencer Haley , Hillary Price, Matthew Couper, JK Russ, Brent Holmes, Daniel Oshima, Benton Corder, Beatrice Hernandez, Tom Kubik, Karla Varela, Lupe Varela, Daniel King, Eri King, Maggie Leon, Kristy Totten , Adam Burke and more...
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Independence Day

July 6, 2012, 11:03 am
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I enjoyed this Weekly Yelp which was none too complimentary about some traditional British food...
Happy Fourth of July! Just think: if it weren't for our fisty founding fathers, mealtime would be all spotted dick and jellied eels. Along with independence comes good taste...
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as seen on recent gallery and First Friday rounds...

July 10, 2012, 10:59 am
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Preview Thursday is still the best opportunity to meet exhibiting artists and view the work. Sin City Gallery hosted a Q&A session with Los Angeles photographer Steve Diet Goedde who has based his new series around girlfriend and muse Yee, who also attended the opening. Known for his erotic and fetish work, Diet Goedde also photographs street scenes, with a book on Paris soon to be published. Image top right shows Steve Diet Goedde with visiting models wearing Mina Kahn designs.
The Contemporary Arts Center is showing 'The Garden of Forking Paths' - an installation by three Philadelphia artists, Katie Baldwin, Nichola Kinch and Katie Murken. The show is titled after the Jorge Luis Borges short story, but the artists have used materials rather than words to explore the concept of diverging paths. And in the CAC's window space, local artist Joseph Watson is showing a multi-panel city scape titled 'Theatrical Occurrences'.
Artist Michael Barrett projected his digital graffiti work 'Trigger Happy' beside Boulder Plaza, Jska Priebe premiered 'Stellar: The Women of Science Fiction' at 303 North Studio inside the Arts Factory, and Blackbird Studios presented 'Atomic 51', a group show looking at the impact of the Atomic Age on Las Vegas, complete with an eerie recreation of a 'test site house".
And I finally got to see Rory Devine and Carter Potter's show 'CA/NV/NY' which just ended at the award-winning Pop Up Art House in Henderson. Although Devine's works immediately caught the eye, Potter's were more of a slow burn, revealing a whole lot more with close inspection...
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Vegas StrEATS July

July 16, 2012, 6:37 am
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I hadn't made it along in a while and I found that the Vegas StrEATS festival had expanded into the street. Always a good array of food trucks and stalls - and this time there was also the 'Shark Tank'. Punters could pay to throw a ball at a target, which if hit, would drop the bikini-clad girl into the tank. Someone should compile a list of "Very Strange Ways to Earn a Living in Las Vegas".
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London Biennale in Las Vegas... tomorrow night...

July 20, 2012, 12:25 pm
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I'm honored to be involved in this international event. There is a great line-up of artists in Rainbow, the Nevada satellite performance event. It runs from 7-9pm tomorrow night (21 Sept) at Pop Up Art House. More information can be found on the website, along with a location map. Entry is free.
For those of you not in Las Vegas, we also have a great film crew who will be documenting the event for the online archive and upcoming show in September at the Contemporary Arts Center.
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London Biennale in Nevada - the event

July 25, 2012, 9:17 am
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It was a pretty full-on night so I only got a few photos from the Rainbow performance event - but more can be seen on London Biennale in Nevada's facebook page. The venue was Pop Up Art House and the USA Lounge and environs in Henderson.
Seen here is Matthew Couper performing Polemical Alchemy watched by roving performers from Eri King's Orange Assembly. Jesalyn Lethal poses by the trailer home in Desert City Bird Life, my collaborative piece with MzMina Kahn. And below is Jevijoe Vitug performing Survival #2 and Noelle Garcia's Chuck Moccs Workshop.
Documentary film coming soon - will keep you posted...
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ARTrageous Vegas

July 30, 2012, 6:56 pm
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Here is a little taste of the LGBT Community Center fundraiser ARTrageous Vegas 2012. There was an exhibition, an interactive art installation, body painting, an avant-garde fashion show and more....
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Tears for Fears

August 6, 2012, 8:10 am
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Tears for Fears play Las Vegas on a Hot August Night. The stage was outdoors at Sunset Station with conditions that Roland Orzabal described as being 'sauna-like' under the bright lights. I for one, though, enjoyed the springy green grass underfoot, and the spectacular lighting was a great backdrop for the sumptuous synthetic pop of the 80's legends.
Opening for the band was British-born singer Carina Round, who also provided back-up vocals.
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Lush

August 12, 2012, 6:36 am
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Chris Bauder has created a smart and sexy show at Brett Wesley Gallery. Many of the sculptural pieces in Lush reference body parts and the glossy latex paint surfaces look good enough to lick.
A Las Vegas native, Bauder received his MFA from UNLV and is a recent Nevada Arts Council Fellowship Recipient.
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JJAMZ at the Hardrock Cafe

August 16, 2012, 8:28 am
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LA band JJAMZ playing at the Hardrock Cafe on the Strip as part of their recent tour. Each band member already had an established career when they first joined forces: Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley), James Valentine (Maroon 5) Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), solo artist Michael Runion and Berg (The Like) and formed JJAMZ, named after their first initials. They've been described as 'the West Coast Blondie' and are building a strong following ... and just last night they performed live on late night tv show Jimmy Kimmel.
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Red Kross play Double Down Saloon

August 22, 2012, 10:33 am
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Supported by Seattle band Night Beats (top left), Red Kross played the Double Down Saloonaka 'a clubhouse for the lunatic fringe' (as stated on the venue website). The venue has real character, and although it's not that far from the Strip geographically, it wouldn't show up on any of the mainstream tourist maps.
The crowd was fortified by event sponsors Sailor Jerry, but was still fairly restrained as Vegas crowds often are. Red Kross, however put on a high energy performance, and showed that after 34 years playing their own unique brand of punk rock n' roll, they're not planning on slowing down anytime soon.

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Off the Strip New Genres Festival 2012 - this coming weekend...

August 27, 2012, 12:23 pm
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I've been posting a little less often recently as I've been working to bring together the video and performance events for the Off the Strip New Genres Festival 2012. The main program takes place at the Contemporary Arts Center on Sept 1 and 2, with satellite events at Multiplexer and 5th Wall Gallery in Emergency Arts and The Mini-Market in North Las Vegas.
Performing artists featured are Artist Michael Barrett, Justin Favela, Amanda Haymond, Aaron Nemec, Daniel Oshima, Miguel Rodriguez and Lou Lou Roxy.
Video artists include Candy Warpop with director Ryen McPherson, Austin Dickson, Julia Holden, Jenessa Kenway, Kid Meets Cougar with directors Mike and Jerry Thompson, Slawomir J Milewskiand Ronnie van Hout.
The festival will provide opportunities for Q&A with participating artists including attending UK-based experimental film maker Slawomir J. Milewski and artist/musician Aaron Nemec from Indiana.

Image above from The Ecstasy of St Agnes by Slawomir J. Milewski.
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Off the Strip 2012 ... the event ...

September 3, 2012, 7:04 pm
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In the Shadow of the Strip

"The Contemporary Arts Center’s Off the Strip New Genres Festival exists in the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip’s seductive glamour and addictive charms.

The city of Las Vegas is a nucleus of entertainment, risk and romance.It is known for its wedding chapels and since 1911, it’s liberal divorce laws - in other words, the full spectrum of relationships.

Beyond the Strip, Las Vegas is a vast, sprawling city, which most tourists visiting Las Vegas have little concept of. And beyond the city itself, is the Mojave Desert – a vast, inhospitable expanse that many city dwellers never visit.

Nevada in many ways is still the Wild West. It can be a tough place to survive in, let alone thrive in, but the city permits the possibility of fun along the way.

The artists in the Off the Strip festival, whether local, national, or international; have all created works that reflect the glamor, the grunge, the struggles and intricate relationships that are the foundation of Las Vegas and its burgeoning art scene."

- from my Introduction to Off the Strip 2012.

Co-ordinating an entire festival program has been an interesting - and sometimes challenging - experience, but I couldn't have done it without the skills of Demecina Gray, Contemporary Arts Center Gallery Assistant, and the great crew of dedicated volunteers. And most importantly, all the participating performers and video artists who made this such a memorable event.
At the festival opening party on Friday night at Emergency Arts. Multiplexer launched the Intercept 5:7 video program and 5th Wall Gallery featured Jevijoe Vitug's now-titled installation, along with the Nuclear Weapons Testing Legacy: A Tale of Two Cultures project.
And shown here at the weekend events at the CAC are performing artists Miguel Rodriguez, Artist Michael Barrett, Lou Lou Roxy, Amanda Haymond, Aaron Nemec, visiting Polish film maker Slawomir J. Milewski, and Justin Favela at the satellite venue The Mini Market.

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Less Popular Music

September 9, 2012, 10:22 pm
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Indiana-based artist Aaron Nemec performed in the Off the Strip New Genres Festival 2012 on Sunday, and his show Less Popular Music opened on Preview Thursday at the Contemporary Arts Center.
Nemec received his MFA in the Electronic and Time-based art program at Purdue University in 2011. His projects explore the complex listener-performer relationship in pop music culture. Works in Less Popular Music include 'Solo Faces' - a video montage of facial expressions made while playing guitar solos, and 'Bass Rally III' - a radio transmission of bass tones, broadcast from the CAC window. Passing cars can pick up the signal on 101.3 FM.


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some shows seen recently...

September 15, 2012, 10:42 pm
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The London Biennale in Nevada exhibition opened at the Contemporary Arts Center, showing works by the individual artists and the documentary of the July performance event by film maker Jakob McCarthy. Documentary DVDs and the catalog of the event are available at the CAC.
Blackbird Studios are featuring great shows from Enrique Nevarez, Joel Spencer and Eva Steil. And around the corner on Imperial, Photo Bang Bang showcase the photography which has earned them an enviable reputation.
Last, but definitely not least, Matthew Couper's one-night preview 'Skins & Teeth" at Alios gallery space, along with the publication launch of the catalog Thirty-Three.
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