The Building (Photo – Alexander Oleynikov)
Though described as ‘an underground immersive experience’, Victory of The Surreal reaches up high. Literally.
By Toti O’Brien
The two-story building where this huge pop-up art show takes place looms vertical, weightless—stairs to heaven, space vessel just landed or about to take off. Eerie and playful, this peculiar gallery is located in North Hollywood, a few minutes from the 170 and the 134 freeways, not too far from Pasadena and, for sure, worth the ride.
The first happening of Victory of The Surreal was held in December. Circa three hundred and fifty people attended. The second event will occur for two consecutive Saturdays—February the 23rd, March the 2nd—from five afternoon until midnight. It will feature over twenty-five artists, performers, and more.
Peter Shpayer and Dim Borisov, two Los Angeles based curators and artists, have a history of organizing this type of events, locally and abroad—usually in impermanent structures only available for short amounts of time. The underlying philosophy is that of a ‘moving gallery’. Shpayer summarizes the key concept: “It is not the where. It’s the who”. ‘Who’ being, each time, an entire community of artists. Rather a variety of them, spanning an impressive gamut of media and styles, gathered in impromptu fellowship.
Victory of The Surreal (Photo – Alexander Oleynikov)
In this case though, the ‘where’ truly counts, as the building on Tujunga Boulevard is outstanding. It is ‘a see-through gallery’—like a dollhouse with its façade removed, like one of those calendars with small windows revealing each a surprise. The inside can be peeked at, guessed, anticipated from outside. In and out overlap, interact, mix and mingle with an awesome oneiric result. ‘The whole building,’ says Borisov, ‘function as an art object, redefining the idea of what a gallery should be. It’s a labyrinth of chambers made from the skeleton of the building’s mid construction. Guests are invited to roam from room to room, experiencing everything from art and music to virtual reality, open mic, poetry corner—a whole festival worth of events’.
‘It’s important,’ says Shpayer, ‘to give each artist a room’. Group shows usually include just a piece or two per participant—not enough to give the viewer a sense of the artist’s intent. An esthetic vision can’t be possibly expressed by a couple of works. More is needed. What the viewers enjoy here, is a number of ‘solo shows in a group’—an experience of a totally different quality.
Yet the absence of dividing walls creates permeability. Energy flows across, magnifying the impact of each body of works as it echoes, unavoidably, everything that surrounds it. Each room is like a river merging within a huge watershed, separating again in a delta. Each room is a flowerbed etched in the grounds of a magical garden, the air a symphony of smells. Each room is like a loop of a giant conk shell—sounds of waves in the background.
Victory of The Surreal in N. Hollywood (Photo – Alexander Oleynikov)
So the structure of the space itself invites interaction. Not only. Most of the work in view has an active component. Forty per cent of the artists live paint through the evening. Many rooms host installations work of an immersive type, involving multiple channels of perception. Some work, such as aerial silk spin art, implies audience participation—anyone is free to create her own masterpiece.
On the main stage—a room on the second floor—concerts and performances take place one after another, lasting about one hour each from five until eleven. They cover from Johnny Cash type of bands to spiritual singing, shadow theater and dance, open mic with piano and flute accompaniment, and a Zen tea ceremony.
Artist Brett Erskine has a work of Virtual Reality for the upcoming show, somehow epitomizing the essence of the entire experience. In his room, the guests will be exposed to music both as sound, and as vibration directly impacting their body—either lying on the floor, sitting in a swing, or wearing a special vest. Meanwhile, they will view a series of digital images simultaneously projected on ceiling and walls. The intended goal is to experience an ever-changing flow of perception—both relaxing, organic and exhilarating, surprising—different for each individual, to be enjoyed without preconceptions.
Although Erskine created a similar project for the previous event, the new piece will be a real premiere, as he is putting together visuals and sounds, projection, vibration, virtual vest, swing and floors, for the very first time.
Entrance to the gallery is free and so are the performances. There is parking on street. A donation beer and wine bar is out in the courtyard—wide and cozy—surrounding the building, to allow hanging around between dives into color and sound, shape and motion.
Be prepared for a thrilling Odyssey and a feast of discovery.
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