Cannibal Flower Show

Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I traveled downtown to the LA Firehouse to check out the Cannibal Flower Show. Sadly, the event has nothing to do with cannibals or flowers, but what it lacks in flesh eating flora it makes up for with crazy local art of all forms! The Cannibal Flower Show is a portable venue art exhibit that occurs once a month. It started in 2000, when a couple of artists solved the problem of dealing with conventional art gallery politics (slides, pitching, jumping through flaming hoops) by using alternative, transient spaces to showcase the underground art and music of the city. In 2006, they opened a walk-in permanent location, Thinkspace Gallery, which is now located on Sunset Junction.

We arrived before the event started, but they were kind of enough to let us in early (admission was eight dollars). The featured artist of the exhibit was Eric Montoya. His art makes your eyes do the equivalent to squats and lunges; seeing things in things is how I naively describe it. More specifically, seeing hidden faces in flowers and nature. It is pretty incredible. There was one painting of his at the exhibit that I was unable to see anything beyond the nature, making me wonder if it was done purposely to mess with the observer’s brain or if there was something there, but my eyes are just unable to perceive. Please look at a few of his pieces that have obvious hidden faces in them, like Introduction or Wistful, and then take a look at Carpe Diem and tell me whether I am:

a) Blind as a bat! It’s so obviously right there!

b) Super right! There is nothing there! (or we both need to see an eye doctor)

We left before the music started playing, because we are sometimes a boring couple. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed because apparently the event turns out to be a raucous party. Maybe next month!

Cannibal Flower Show
Los Angeles, California
(310) 397-2244
theirspace