LA Music Scene: The Sunset Strip To Add New Gibson Les Paul Guitar
Happy 96th Birthday to Les Paul!
THE SUNSET STRIP and Gibson Guitar have announced the addition of a new guitar to GuitarTown on The Sunset Strip, a public art project launched in August 2010 featuring more than 25 10-foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul model guitarsstrategically placed on the legendary Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Well-known Los Angeles street artists have collaborated for this one-of-a-kind piece.
The guitar will be on display as part of Maximillian Gallery and prominent art blog Melrose and Fairfax’s collaborative exhibit“What Graffiti is to New York–Street Art is to Los Angeles.”
The exhibit features work from Alec Monopoly, Free Humanity, Smog City, Bankrupt Slut, DeeKay, Bod Bod, 2wenty, Snyder, Gregory Siff, KH no. 7, Smear, Desire Obtain Cherish, CYRCLE. & DD$, Leba, and Homo Riot—a dream team lineup of the best street artists in Los Angeles and the world. The show features not only the best artists but the juiciest stories. Through these artists’ vision, we discover and gain a rare insiders’ look into the very heart of what is happening on the streets today. The show presents original, cutting-edge artworks from each of the artists, exclusive never-before-seen action photos from Melrose and Fairfax (http://melroseandfairfax.blogspot.com), unique sticker packs and Limited Edition Maximillian Gallery at Sunset Marquis embossed prints.
The collaborative art guitar was created by all of the participating artists and will be on display at the gallery during the exhibit,now through June 30. The guitar is part of Gibson GuitarTown on The Sunset Strip and will be auctioned for charity this fall. A video of the construction of the guitar can be seen here: http://maximilliangallery.com/video/street-artists-guitar-town-sunset.
“When I conceived of this street art exhibition it was really important to me to have a public art component and to bring the gallery into the streets,” says Maximillian Gallery Owner and Director Caradoc. “I am thrilled that The Sunset Strip and Gibson Guitar shared this vision and that the guitar, after being on display in the gallery, will go on display in a public space on The Sunset Strip.”
Los Angeles has set itself apart as the worldwide center for street art. L.A. has the busiest streets, the biggest name artists and the most local talent. It is widely recognized as the hottest spot for street art in the world. From Banksy’s latest visit, to the MOCA exhibition, and on every street corner and rooftop in between, the force of this movement is undeniable. In a similar manner to the way that New York is widely recognized as the home of graffiti, Los Angeles is currently experiencing the same definitive movement in the world of street art.
“Melrose and Fairfax has been curating the streets of Los Angeles for over a year,” noted Caradoc. “We are thrilled to be working with the top street artists in L.A. and some of the best in the world. These artists are doing some marvelous things. And it is really exciting for Los Angeles to be at the center of this ever-growing street art movement. We really look forward to working with Greg and the artists.”
Greg Linton, Publisher of Melrose and Fairfax, adds: “It is going to be epic. This is the show that will define the genre and solidify L.A.’s place in the street art scene to the rest of the world, and I am super excited to have Caradoc and Maximillian Gallery behind us.”
Gallery Information:
Open daily 1 p.m. – 8 p.m., and by appointment (Closed Mondays)
Located in the Sunset Marquis hotel
1200 Alta Loma Road
West Hollywood CA 90069
Tel: 310.881.6025
About Maximillian Gallery:
Maximillian Gallery at Sunset Marquis makes connections between those desiring meaningful, cutting edge art and emerging, contemporary artists and street artists. Maximillian Gallery provides sales and art licensing representation for talented fine artists, serving a wide array of creative intellectual property owners, including painters, sculptors, photographers, and illustrators, with new artists being added regularly. The gallery also features a collection of unique art gifts. www.maximilliangallery.com
About Melrose and Fairfax (http://melroseandfairfax.blogspot.com):
Melrose and Fairfax is a celebration of street art in Los Angeles and the most street of any street art site. It serves as an online gallery and is the second ranked street art blog in the world, which is remarkable considering Melrose and Fairfax only focuses on one city while the rest have a worldwide scope. To give its popularity a wider frame of reference, based on hits and web traffic, Melrose and Fairfax gets more activity than 99.8% of all websites in the entire world. The numbers really demonstrate how powerful L.A.’s grasp is over the street art world, and this show features Melrose and Fairfax’s hand picked ‘Best Of’ top artists on L.A.’s street art scene. http://melroseandfairfax.blogspot.com
About Gibson GuitarTown on The Sunset Strip:
GuitarTown is a public art project that features ten-foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul model guitars strategically placed on the legendary Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. The oversized Gibson guitar sculptures are created by local and nationally acclaimed visual artists and placed along the 1.6-mile Sunset Strip in front of the boulevard’s landmarks and businesses, including the Whisky A Go-Go, The Roxy Theatre and Sunset Marquis. Each guitar sculpture celebrates a musician, personality or artist unique to The Sunset Strip’s history and Gibson Guitar. The guitars will be auctioned for charity this fall. For more information, visitwww.gibson.com/sunset-strip or www.thesunsetstrip.com/guitartown.
About The Artists:
Alec Monopoly
Alec Monopoly is this generation’s pop art star. Alec launched his career on the rooftops of Los Angeles, and has now put up street art and hosted sold-out shows in Boston, NY, Miami, and London.
Free Humanity
Free Humanity explores the deeper things in life, and the meaning of humanity, through street art. Free’s art ‘bombing’ has been so successful that the LAPD bomb squad was called out to one of his installations.
Smog City
Smog City combines hard hitting graphic imagery with a campaign for cleaner air quality. Smog is one of L.A.’s top get-up artists, and the message behind the art makes for a powerful street presence.
Bankrupt Slut
Bankrupt Slut spreads rock n’ roll sluttiness all over L.A. Featuring strong sexually empowered women, and with over 30,000 pieces on the streets of L.A. this year alone, Bankrupt Slut’s presence has been nothing short of prolific.
DeeKay
A few months ago, DeeKay posted a piece of street art titled ‘I Have A Secret.’ With this piece, she made the announcement that this street artist was none other than world famous porn star Kylie Ireland. DeeKay’s street art features a mix of her sexy self interacting with images, more specifically signs, taken from her own personal photography. With her dive into street art, Kylie Ireland has shown that she is not only beautiful, but also a great artist.
Bod Bod
Bod Bod is the youngest street artist getting up on the streets of Los Angeles. He has a deep understanding and appreciation for art and the streets, which is especially impressive since he is only 9 years old. But even though he might be young, his impressive work on the streets speaks for itself, and BodBod has earned a name on the L.A. scene.
2wenty
2wenty’s ‘Facebook Social Cigarettes’ image has been a smash sensation. Everyone seems to identify with the addictive nature of social networks, and major mainstream networks have picked up on the image, garnering 2wenty impressive press, including an interview with Forbes.
Snyder
Snyder has developed a unique artistic aesthetic that is directly influenced by Jackson Pollock’s drip technique, Banksy’s stencils, Van Gogh’s palette and texture, Cezanne’s meticulous attention to composition, and Warhol’s iconography. And Snyder does some of the most amazing public interventions happening anywhere in the world.
Gregory Siff
Gregory Siff excels in the studio and the street. His artwork can be found in the collections of many top celebrities, and Gregory has recently been commissioned to paint big walls at The Standard and De La Barracuda.
KH no. 7
KH no. 7 is one of the few classically trained artists hitting the streets, and the results are very powerful. KH no. 7 is known for nostalgic imagery with a gritty twist.
Smear
Smear was such a prolific writer that the LAPD linked him to one of the biggest graffiti busts ever. And even though he hasn’t actively tagged in years, L.A.’s city attorneys are pressing a landmark case against Smear with an injunction against using his artist name. It is a true honor to have Smear, L.A.’s original ‘Outlaw Artist.’
Desire Obtain Cherish
Desire Obtain Cherish has been killing the streets of Los Angeles. Everything from billboard takeovers, to larger-than-life sized Oscar pastes, to art-walk interruptions, the quality of work is consistently breathtaking. Desire. Obtain. Cherish.
CYRCLE. & DD$
CYRCLE. & DD$ keep pushing the boundaries of street art. Bombing the streets and ‘blowing your mind’ with everything from Mr. Brainwash takeovers to 8-foot hand painted murals on unsanctioned walls, CYRCLE. & DD$ are bringing fine art to the streets.
Leba
Leba’s street art is diverse and impactful. From politically themed stencils to massive hand painted rooftops, to wheat pastes of fascinating Lady GaGa interpretations, Leba is one of the top visual and cognitive artists on the L.A. scene.
Homo Riot
Homo Riot is one of the most brazen and bold street artists anywhere in the world. Homo Riot is the street manifestation of the idea that homosexuality must be seen and acknowledged. Through the brazen use of sexually loaded imagery, Homo Riot has conquered L.A., and many other major cities, by storm.
