FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VIGNETTES: NATURE/ MAN /POLITICS
Art, Photography, Live Sculpture and Text
Matthew Betcher; Orotones, Mark Berry: Portraits, Buffalo Latham; Notes from the road.
November 3-30, 2007
Artist Reception: Saturday, November 3, 2007, 7-11 pm.
Mediterraneo Gallery: Art, Imports & Ambience
979 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena 91106
Director: Traci Vaccaro
626-585-0777
E-mail, marjorelleblue@yahoo.com
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-7pm; or by appointment
vi-gnette: n. (vin yet)
1. A short descriptive narrative.
2. A decorative design used on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter
By Matthew Betcher, Mark Berry and Buffalo Latham
Contributing works by John E. Miner, Virginia Val, Bobby Kitchen and Mike Green
Mark Berry - "Mondo Bizarro: Cult Icons, Masked Men, Mannequins and Freaks"
An international freelance photographer, designer and writer from the UK and LA Editor for Bizarre Magazine, Mark will be presenting a series of portraits of cult personalities such as TV horror host Vampira, experimental filmmaker Kenneth Anger, transsexual porn star Buck Angel and Santo, Mexico's hooded hero. Featuring alongside will be documentary images of LA's lucha libre scene and mannequin art inspired by the journalist's own publication, Naked - Magazine of the Weird and Wonderful.
Buffalo Latham - "Notes from the Road"
Reinvigorating the faded gonzo of journalism, Buffalo Latham is a rogue journalist writing for such publications as The Humanist Magazine, Beach Magazine, Closer magazine, Maxim magazine and a variety of East Coast and international newspapers. Having spent nearly a decade traveling throughout the entire continental United States, living out of a backpack Buffalo has compiled a wealth of material for his upcoming book, tentatively titled The Vagabond King. This is a future counter-cultural icon in the making. Buffalo will be displaying textual extracts, highlights, lowlights and insights of a life less ordinary.
Matthew Betcher - "Orotones"
For this series Mathew explores the sight where the city of Los Angeles was founded, the Los Angeles River. In this work, he uses a method of photography developed in the early teens and quite unheard of since. The orotone is a method where the photograph is prepared on a glass plate that is subsequently backed in gold. These large-scale gold-leafed plates adorn the jungle-like images from the Los Angeles River and question the schizophrenic ideals of what is considered "natural."
Virginia Val
A painter turned sculptor; Virginia creates likenesses of individuals from the neck up. For the opening reception of Vignettes she will be molding a bust on site throughout the evening.
Metal Sculptor Mike Green and photographer Bobby Kitchens add texture to Latham’s Notes from the Road with several pieces melded into Buffalo’s visual display. Traci Vaccaro’s collection of antiquities imported from around Africa and the Mediterranean make Mediterraneo "a relaxing, feel good space" and is why Mediterraneo is the best gallery in Los Angeles for hosting Vignettes.
