IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ART! BUY ART OR DIE! I DON’T NEED YOUR STINKING COMMISSION! (well, on second thought…) Mantras oft repeated by the artists that live, eat and breathe the stuff. To show in a gallery. To splash onto the side of a building. To sell online. To display on the inside walls of offices in the Midwest, private country clubs on the Westside, downtown hotel lounges, or, better yet, in your own damn home. But, after suffering and slaving away at this art they call LIFE, he or she needs an outlet. A place where the beast in any of them can come out and play, and maybe pee on the floor if nobody is looking. And for that you need plenty of booze, broads and/or dudes, music, poetry, more booze, art, of course, but, most importantly, somebody to talk shop with, to rant and complain about the same crap with, to hold, stroke, listen, connect…
Once upon a time this Disney-fried three-ring circus of late called Downtown Los Angeles used to embrace such debaucherous faire, debased and bemused, reigning high and nigh throughout the sticky corners of the city, breathing hard and sweating badly; sex-drenched the alcohol-fueled speakeasies spilled well into the next morning chock full of funky music, beastly literature, live nude modeling, guests artists, acrobats on fire, midgets shooting from canons…and all brought to fruition by a lusty cast of a thousand freaks.
Hosts and venues though are long gone. “Bedlam”, “Higgins”, “Jungle Rush”, “The Landing Party”, Etc. They are sorely missed. At various openings and around camp fires and especially during bouts of tearful drunkeness a glass is raised, memories are exchanged, and myths are created…
Well, it’s 2017, kids……..So, fuck all that.
Into the fray then comes a man, a fellow artist, to change this maudlin atmosphere, not to return to those burning days of Rome, but, to put paint to canvas and create something new. His name? RICARDO GARCIA. A painter, a muralist, and a stamper {yeah, ‘stamper’, look it up, it’s a thing}. A man so fuckin’ cool he spells his first name with a double-R on social media: RRicardo!
A locally-based artist ten years now (by way of El Sereno and then Texas) who, like other young artists before him, live on the edge of the LA arts scene; down the street from a strip club, across the way from a homeless camp, and around the corner from a new Starbucks.
The man makes art, yes. He’s got a solo show coming up at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel this summer, but it’s the community of the artists, and those who appreciate the work, and to some extent partake in its sometimes hedonistic life style, that RRicardo digs……so, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado (and I thank you for your patience), may I present to you THE DOWNTOWN PLAY GROUND @ CAMPERS BAR. Located on the third tit of Downtown LA’s notorious skidrow area. Sketchy as fuck…..
I’ve prattled on here for far longer than my Editor G.C. wanted me to, so, let’s have RRicardo take the floor. Ok, Old Boy, impress me:
“This will be a home to all refugee Artists that understand the changes that are occurring in our city today, from over priced menus, to too much development with no soul, and underappreciated works of art by the people who put in the time to get it right. That’s all going to change now. D.T.P.G. has been created as a way to unite artists. To foster a space where artists can gather, meet and converse with other like-minded people, where artists can feel free and be treated with respect and dignity, a place where the artist is important and acknowledged for what he or she is doing in their art. A place where people can be free from their daily routine with no judgement, worries and fear of expressing themselves. A place where anyone can let go of their fears and tap into their creative expression without boundaries. An all-inclusive urban sanctuary for the artist and others alike.”
Goddamn. And that’s the name of that tune!
June 6, 2017
THE DOWNTOWN PLAYGROUND
@ Campers Bar
724 E. 7th St. LA, 90021
Group Live Art w/ Emmeric Konrad, Raul Baltazar, Rricardo Garcia DJ Murky Mark DJ Sex Funny Stuff (w/D.T.P.G co- producer Luis Polanco)
Bands: Wax Children & NK Riot
$1 Taco Truck
Buckets of Beers Avail.
7:30pm-2am
$5 cover