Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Docking the Art Dockuments is my project to dock for posterity by publishing the story of the drive-by art gallery, the Art Dock 1981-1986. The story of the Art Dock in Downtown Los Angeles will be an illustrated full color self-published book about the outlaw Art Community in Downtown Los Angeles in the 1980s, when living in industrial lofts was illegal. The Dockuments record the art and artists in a period of great change in Los Angeles, when Downtown LA exploded as an art scene of street art, performance art, installations, alternative galleries, and high interest in free living. These tales are a powerful evocation of the art and artists of that time, and an insightful yet humorous depiction of the rapid growth, quick decline, and current circumstances of the Downtown LA art community. It is story that can have broad appeal to readers beyond those interested in American art, artists, and how they live. This is a great story full of intrigue, death, and strange behavior, which will capture the imagination of any reader.
"Still Among the Living" installation in the Art Dock by Neal Taylor
Each Art Dockument is a description of a show in the Art Dock, the world's first drive-by gallery, a gallery conceived for the auto life style of Los Angeles. The drive-by gallery's story unfolds in a preamble that describes how the gallery came about, a tongue in cheek manifesto about the "will call" nature of art, and through 33 art shows installed in the Art Dock, a loading dock in the Citizens Warehouse, an old pre-1890 Pickle Factory homesteaded by artists. Each Art Dockument describes the installation and what was happening in the Downtown Art Scene, from the struggles of artists to legalize their studios, the invasion of building inspectors, the fights and controversies over the installed art, the deaths of several artists – one murdered in his loft -- the building of MOCA, the use of art during the 1984 Olympics to testify to Los Angeles' claim to be a world cultural center, and finally the fading of the avant-garde community as developers claimed the mantle of loft living for others.
Large Drawing in the Art Dock, by Jeff Long, oil stick
This illustrated book may be the first of its kind, a longer story where color images are fully integrated into the text and not placed in the middle of the book as a separate color insert, which is the method used by almost all publishers for books that aren't art monographs or anthologies. Print on demand and the digital printing machines have just recently allowed longer books to be printed in full color. Publishing this way is still not inexpensive, but it has become possible if only a small mark-up is planned. I am planning a small mark-up for this book that will make it affordable to most book buyers.
"Cat Columns in Shaky Town" installation by Andrea Ayers & Carl Davis
After publication of the work, I plan an aggressive internet campaign to garner interviews about the book, reviews of the book, and awards.
Budget
Editing $1,900.00
Book design and one-sheet $3,600.00
Printing and publication $4,000.00
Electronic book $600.00
Website development $1,500.00
Awards programs $1,000.00
Internet exposure program $8,900.00 (not included in project budget, but all funds above $12,600.00 will be used to offset this expense)
"Means to a Natural Order" installation in the Art Dock by Neal Taylor
Rewards
The four Art Dock installation images are offered as a reward. See Reward #12 for details.
Gary Lloyd by Ed Glendinning
These are two of the four artist photographs by Ed Glendinning from the Art Dockuments that are being offered as a reward.
Jeff Kaisershot by Ed Glendinning
The other two artists are Pamela Burgess and Neal Taylor. See video and reward #15 for detailed information.
Three original Art Dock Flyers are being offered as a reward. See Reward #12 for details.
Flyer for Carla Pagliaro's Exhibition in the Art Dock
This image is Carla Pagliaro's Corsage. The other flyers are of Jeff Long's and Andrea Ayers'/Carl Davis' installations.
A suite of Art Dock Loft Sketches from the Art Dockuments printed on archival paper and signed by the author/artist is offered as a reward. Here is one of those sketches. See award #9 for details.
A suite of four diary page sketches from the Art Dockuments, printed on archival paper and signed by the author/artist, are offered as a reward. Here is one of those pages. See Award #9 for details.
Daily Diary Page Drawing by Carl Davis
Original drawings are being offered as a reward. The original drawings can be found on the website:
www.carltondavisart.com and here is one, a colored pencil portrait featured in the Art Dockuments, of the 11 offered as rewards. See Rewards #14, #16, & #17 for details. The reward will tell you which drawings are available on the website.
Three original giant oil stick drawings are offered as rewards. See Reward #18 for details. Here is one of those drawings.
Other
This project and the author are featured in the documentary film "OF TWO MINDS" which recently received funding from its Kickstarter campaign.
www.oftwomindsmovie.com