Photo
courtesy
of
Rony
Armas
|
DOVER
OF
NOHO
|
“Schism
Vs.
It’s
A
Small
World
II”
opened
on
Thursday,
March
11th,
at
the
ever
eclectic
and
regal
Lankershim
Art
Gallery
in
Noho
(www.doversart.com),
located
at
5108
Lankershim
Blvd.,
on
the
LANKER-STRIP
(Lankershim
Boulevard
in
NoHo),
only
two
blocks
south
of
the
luxurious
Leonard
H.
Goldenson
Theatre
at
the
Academy
of
Arts
&
Sciences,
(http://www.emmys.com/events/lhgtheatre.php),
and
only
four
blocks
south
of
the
historic
and
majestic
El
Portal
(www.elportaltheatre.com).
This
event
opened
the
new
exhibition
of
masterpieces
created
by
members
of
the
Valley
(San
Fernando
Valley)
Artist’s
Guild.
(Art?
I
know,
pilgrim….this
IS
a
music
column….kindly
read
on.)
With
probably
the
highest
ceilings
and
most
square
footage
than
any
other
venue
of
its
kind
in
the
city,
the
Lankershim
Art
Gallery
(LAG)
in
Noho
is
the
largest
and
most
unique
institution
fully
dedicated
to
the
exhibition
of
new
art
in
Los
Angeles.
This
is
absolutely
because
of
the
two
people
who
run
everything
behind
the
scenes. (They will be presented later in the southern region of this
the
article,
y’all).
One
of
the
things
that
they
do
that
makes
LAG
so
different
and
special
is
bringing
in
live
music
performance
artists
to
entertain
at
the
premiere
receptions.
Many
art
gallery
openings
tend
to
be
arenas
for
dry,
stale,
staring
matches
between
people
who
are
trying
to
out-sophisticate
one
another,
in
between
sips
of
middle
grade
wine.
They
may,
perhaps,
for
example,
be
on
a
first
date
with
someone
from
the
next
cubicle
over
(or
beyond),
and
merely
using
the
event
as
a
diversion,
or
a
“smoke
screen”
(as
they
say
in
the
covert,
spy,
secret
agent,
Cody
Banks
world),
intended
to
disguise
their
real
mission
of
the
evening. The pressure involved in a delicate operation such as this
can
be
enough
to
drive
a
man/woman/person
(whatever
they
happen
to
be
at
the
moment)
to
drink.
Then,
on
top
of
all
of
this,
there
is
SILENCE.
DEAD
silence.
Pregnant
pauses. Paintings on walls that stand silent except for the sounds of
the
sipping
of
middle
grade
wine.
(Gulp.)
Library
whispered
exchanges
of
interpretations
of
art
pieces,
against
the
backdrop
of
graveyard
silence,
are
often
nothing
more
than
components
of
sparring
matches,
in
which
contestants
(date
participants)
compete
to
see
who
can
drop
the
most
names
of
famous
artists.
Their
feet
slowly
follow
the
walls
as
they
run
out
of
names. More silence.
Evidently
there
must
be
some
sort
of
consensus
out
there,
among
art
show
curators,
that
the
average
art
enthusiast
does
not
possess
the
wherewithal
to
operate
more
than
one
of
the
five
senses
at
a
time;
thus:
silent
art
galleries.
(To
blame
for
all
of
this,
there
is,
undoubtedly,
at
a
university
somewhere,
a
curator
curriculum
that
includes
courses
such
as
“Intimidation
of
Art
Buyer
101,”
and
“Introduction
To
‘I
Am
Cooler
Than
You
Will
Ever
Hope
To
Be’”).
That
is,
they
must
think
that
if
a
person
is
looking
at
a
painting,
they
cannot
listen
to
music
at
the
same
time.
But
not
all
curators,
ladies
and
gentlemen,
are
cut
from
the
same
cloth,
woven
from
the
same
loom
or
muraled
from
the
same
brush.
Dover
Abrams,
the
curator
of
the
Lankershim
Art
Gallery
for
the
past
five
years
is
like
no
other.
He
has
complete
faith
in
the
ability
of
his
following
of
art
fans
to
simultaneously
process
parallel
sensual
information
through
more
than
one
portal. (The growth of his faithful following by the hundreds of
attendees
at
the
monthly
openings
is
a
testimony
to
this
and
is
the
bedrock
of
the
NoHo
Art
Community).
But
beyond
the
fact
that
they
can
see
and
hear
at
the
same
time,
he
understands
and
respects
the
fact
that
wet
canvases
do
not
possess
the
exclusive
right
to
have
audience
with
lone
intelligent
beings,
but
rather,
that
dry
canvases,
too,
are
fully
able
to
participate
in
the
harboring
of
intelligent,
multiple-being
satellite
activity
within
its
aesthetic
gravitational
allure. (Dover is also a brilliant artist whose works are always on
display
and
available
for
purchase
at
the
Lankershim
Art
Gallery.
He
also
is
responsible
for
several
incredible
murals
that
grace
the
walls
of
some
of
NoHo’s
buildings.
Open
your
eyes
and
be
amazed.)
In
confirmation
of
this
respect
and
understanding,
Dover
secures
live
music
for
the
monthly
opening
receptions
at
the
Lankershim
Art
Gallery,
making
it
one
of
the
most
consistently
active
music
venues
in
NoHo.
Marvelous. (The opportunities provided by Mr. Abrams to performing
artists
through
these
shows
is
another
story
that
is
beyond
the
scope
of
this
article.)
The
LIVE
music
enhances
the
cultural
experience
and
creates
an
atmosphere
that
relieves
the
art
enthusiast
of
pressure
to
waste
saliva
and
breath
to
fill
silent
spaces
between
wine
sips.
People
feel
uninhibited
to
talk
to
each
other
about
the
art.
The
energy
that
is
generated
during
the
evening
is
always
stimulating
and
inspiring.
And,
since
Dover
typically
shows
multiple
artists,
as
opposed
to
a
single
artist
(LAG
is
HUGE/GRANDE
and
has
lots
of
/mucho
room!),
there
in
an
ever
present,
fixed
and
interesting
dynamic.
Constant,
exciting
interaction
between
the
artists
provides
a
free-spirited
tone
that
makes
them
very
accessible
and
approachable
for
comments
and
questions
from
the
attending
art
lovers. (It should also be noted that the quality of the art
displayed
within
the
walls
of
this
gallery
is
consistently
second
to
none.)
Lankershim
Art
Gallery
Events
are
a
lot
of
fun.
(A
stone
groove
and
gas.)
The
other
person
behind
the
scenes
at
the
Lankershim
Art
Gallery
who
is
responsible
for
making
|
