The art of making
Something interesting is always happening at the Echo Park arts collective, founded by Mark Allen. Lots of arts organizations talk about blurring the line between audience and artist, but Machine Project really does it. Exhibits in the gallery space on Alvarado Street are linked to themed events and hands-on workshops. Take artist Josh Beckman’s Sea Nymph. A realistic replica of a masted wooden ship was constructed to look as if it was half sunk in the gallery floor. Throughout the seven-week exhibit, Machine Project brought in different artists and experts to host nautical-themed events around the shipwreck: a lecture on how not to get lost at sea, a knot-tying workshop, a Moby Dick puppet show, a jellyfish crochet class, and many more.
Machine Project also offers rotating classes that have included welding, sewing and patternmaking, and special-effects makeup (including techniques for creating blisters, boils, and open wounds at Halloween time). Workshops are open to all; members receive discounts.
Info
Address 1200 North Alvarado, Los Angeles, CA 90026, +1 213.483.8761, www.machineproject.com, machine@machineproject.com | Getting there Metered street parking | Hours Unofficially open most days 11am–6pm & usually an hour before evening events; check website for schedule.| Tip Burrito King at Sunset and Alvarado (2109 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026) was lionized in the Tom Waits song “Emotional Weather Report” as the classy joint where he takes himself out on a date. Cheap eats.
Machine Project moves beyond its gallery too. The collective famously took over LACMA in 2008 and invigorated exhibits and halls by incorporating performance art and humor. Strolling minstrels in the Art of Americas building serenaded visitors enjoying chair massages. Opera singers belted out live elevator music; drum soloists with an entire kit provided percussion in the elevator bank next door. Kinetic sculptures walked the courtyard. Machine Project did something similar in 2014, with the Pasadena Gamble House. Poetry readings were held in closets, nighttime tours were led by flashlight, and workshops reflected the Arts and Crafts tradition endemic of the Gamble House, such as an Art Nouveau embroidery tutorial, a natural plant preservation and perfumery class, and a séance to boot. The best part is that these experiences don’t happen without the audience participating as co-artist.
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