Rome Apple photo by: NOA SHAW

LADY ART

Saturday, January 10th 2008.

Todd Goldman's wannabe wish-he-was Andy Warhol gallery "Pop Factory" had the feeling of a nightclub, with beautiful Los Angeles locals and hipsters galore, spewing out of the front door and sprawling across the grass lawn outside. There was even a guest list ran by THE man to know if you ever plan on getting into one of the Hollywood hotspots, Andrew Brin. Inside, featured artist Rome Apple, who finds fascination in the macabre, fantasy and taboo, displayed her work entitled "Lady Art."

"The series came out of the fact that I will never forget that everything I have ever felt (fear, fascination, awe, trust, love, repulsion, shock, guilt, soul sickness) I felt the strongest and most undiluted as a child," said Apple. "I would go back and forth between a world of playing with plastic toys and discovering that death existed. I learned about abandonment, greed, cruelty, abuse, religion, and murder while playing with these dolls. Back then it meant so much more when I wasn't jaded. It was so new and shocking. I would have the toys play out scenes in which they were not meant for, and started longing to only know about their intended purposes."

It's amazing how art has the ability to lift people above shallow celebrity life even when it's dark. You can't help but smile walking into the Pop Factory, watching the overzealous crowd bounce between the open bar, the lustrous sounds of DJ Adam 12 and the grassy front lawn to smoke the occasional cigarette and socialize with one of the rock stars in attendance.

"The innocent, decadent child rests her case on the phallus of celebrity," said legendary actor Michael Des Barres.

Also in attendance were Billy Duffy, Fonzworth Bentley, and David Faustino. Billy Morrison of "The Cult" and "Camp Freddy" purchased the "Hot Pink Pollock," Steve Jones from the "Sex Pistols" purchased "Vicious Price," and "Helter Skelter" was gifted to entrepreneur Paul Allen. "Fisher Christ" and "My First Heartbreak" were also sold.

Mr. Goldman's work was also on display, though seemed rather rushed compared to the detail of Apple's work. The two adjoining rooms that displayed the contradicting art was the best view from outside. To the right was the dark and grimacing artwork done by Apple, and to the left was the bright and distasteful, have-to-use-a-projector done by Goldman. It was the spectrum of what art should, and shouldn't be.

"Rome's work reveals much of the artist herself – it reflects a childlike, playful quality set against a dark, irreverent sense of humor and irony. It's disarming in its approach, but disturbingly subversive just below the surface," said Jennifer Morrison.

When Rome Apple is not locked in the dungeon of her Beverly Hills home, she is also a working actress under the name Rome Shadanloo.