June 25th, 2007

Rendition at Scion Space

By Jessica Rae Cortez

 Rendition (An Exhibition of Los Angeles Visual Culture) offers work by featured artists: Asylm, Cab, Cache, Jorger, Kozem, Klee, Luna One, Mear, Panic, Passenger, Patrick Martinez, Skypager, Vyal, Yem and is curated by EyeOne.

 Taking in the large art-scale of CAB, it is easy to see how his art offers hope; his tagging is reminiscent of the graffiti seen through the windows of an Amtrak train-ride headed south, yet contrary to this is his controlled skill and fine art of a train. It is his emblematic signature, a dichotomous love affair of what goes on behind and beyond the train tracks.

 Passenger creates alongside CAB. However, the train seats and railways are more photogenic on their displayed canvas. What Passenger emits through his showcase are more than mere glimpses of still life- his art strikes at the heart, literally. Six frames of broken glass behind grayish prints of six Latinos depict them holding their own beeping hearts. Only their hearts are cut from the prints, revealing nothing but broken emotion. Stand too close and you’ll feel a heart murmur come on. 

 Martinez is alone in his renditions. Not only are they most life-like, they display strife and action. Viewing them should be like watching a drama un-fold, only you get to decide the means to the end.

 EyeOne, the curator of Rendition, encompasses three walls. Be sure to walk throughout Scion Space, they have artwork behind the receptionist’s office as well. As with EyeOne, missing out on two works of crows on wire might be more devastating than the toxic sprays and the Hollywood lights on his canvas combined.

 As a whole, Rendition offers Chicano history, immigration imagery, political demands, those silenced field workers, revelatory third-eyes, tagging, thug-life, guns, pigs, chickens and plenty of wide-mouthed screams. If there were to be a common theme to Rendition it would be to showcase the social implications of Hispanic people assimilating (or not) into their L.A. life- not only how it has gone wrong, but how it went right, and what needs to be done to offer a tangible peace. And yet the point is made, by the multiple colors shown here, that African Americans and every other minority are in the same boat.

 Scion Installation L.A. is a non-profit space that allows artists breathing room to delve into their creative endeavors, and is dedicated to showing ‘independent artistic expression’. The Scion Space hosts events for the art-inclined and offers work by urban artists both in the micro and macro.

 The gallery is located at 3521 Helms Avenue (at National) in Culver City, CA 90232. The exhibition is running from now until June 30th, 2007. Still located in the Culver City Arts District, Scion Space has recently moved to a new 4500 square foot location.

www.scion.com/space/