STREET WISE Opens At LAX November 1 For An Owl’s Eye View of Los Angeles!
Normally, late nights for Robbie Conal mean mobilizing a crew of guerrilla volunteers to poster the streets with his legendary political posters. But this time, in the nights before Halloween, Robbie Conal will take over Terminal 6 (United Airlines Departures lobby) at LAX to install his newest work–”STREET WISE”–a collaboration with his partner, producer Deborah Ross. The new pieces combine large-scale paintings of glittery owls (seemingly Robbie’s alter-egos) and the couple’s recent fascination with drone photography, creating stunning aerial images of some of Robbie’s favorite parts of LA as the backdrop for his paintings. The artworks give LAX travelers owls’-eye views of the City of Angels not many would otherwise get to see.
The exhibit opens on November 1st and runs until April 30, 2015.
Earlier this week, Robbie and Deborah spoke to Frances Anderton on KCRW’s DNA to talk about the new project. Listen to the broadcast below. The STREET WISE segment begins at 19:45.
Says curator Elizabeta Betinski:
“Fifteen years ago Robbie Conal, LA’s infamous guerrilla artist, promised his wife, designer extraordinaire, Deborah Ross, that he would paint her an owl. He finally got around to it but he could not paint just one—partly because owls are too cool to sit for just one portrait, partly because once Robbie saw over 200 photos that Deborah took of ecstatic sunsets lighting up LA, he began to see owls in every one of them. Soon enough, the magnificent birds were perching above Deborah’s shots of Culver City, stretching their wings over Silver Lake and Highland Park and hoo-hooing through Venice and Playa del Rey: every place where Deborah stopped to take in the beauty of LA’s sunsets, there was an owl to guard the moment. Robbie and Deborah then took this spontaneous collaboration a step further and invited their friend Todd Caranto to join in, take his GoPro drone for a spin above Los Angeles, and film our urban sprawl from an owl’s point of view—which, as it turns out, is nothing short of spectacular. The hope is that seeing our home and all its glory from such heights might just inspire us to take better care of it—and if that’s not enough (unlike owls, humans seem to need a little extra push to get wiser), the owls are there to remind us that we have a beautiful thing going on, here on Planet L.A. and that if we want to keep it, for ourselves and all the creatures we share it with, we’ve got to wise up.”
Part of the groundbreaking LAX arts program known as INFLUX, created in partnership by the L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs and Los Angeles World Airports, these works are designed to infuse the airport’s bustling terminals with cutting-edge and inspiring pop art.
More details coming! #streetwiselax
October 27, 2014 at 6:21 pm | Latest News, Robbie's Rants
