Sundown Salon #28:YOUNG ONES

JUNE 18TH, 2006(Father’s Day) 2:00–6:00 pm

ORGANIZED WITH: Joyce Campbell and Iris Regn

PROJECTS BY PARENTS: Joyce Campbell, Jo Anna Granovetter, Katrin Jurati, Soo Kim and Michael Worthington, Rebecca Niederlander, Laura Purdy, Durfee| Regn, Adrian Rivas, Diana Sieradski, Nick Taggart and Laura Cooper, Jane Tsong

SPECIAL BOOK PROJECT: Mark A. Rodriguez

local kids 1-6 years old gathered for an afternoon of salon events & projects. it was an opportunity to reconsider art, performance and entertainment for children. it gave kids and parents a chance to network and make playdates! we wanted to consider some sophisticated, personal and site-specific alternatives to the television, dvds, mass-produced toys that most children grow up with today. as a social event this also put kids in touch with new friends, peers & parents.

PROJECTS

alphabet zine and kazoo hunt > ryan callis > i am in the process of reading and digesting 'lipstick traces', by greil marcus, i am kicking around the idea of the "politics of boredom" so highlighted in the book, and how hopefully, by instilling an ethic of do it yourself imaginative and creative play and play things that i can responsibly keep my daughter uninterested (or at least less interested) in the branding and consumption, and thus suffication of imagination, that entertainment driven industries perpetuate. so i am going to make an edition of an alphabet 'zine with fun words and illustrations of the 26 letters of the alphabet, and a kazoo hunt in the beautiful back yard. > i am an mfa candidate @ cgu, artist, explorer, lover, father.

labor of love archive > joyce campbell > i will be collecting and displaying objects or collections of objects that you or someone close to you has made or gathered for a child ( your child, or for you as a child). i'm interested in excess, labor, repetition, elaborate attention to detail , "projects", objects that (re)direct your creativity etc.

i used to be a dinosaur and other stories > jo anna granovetter > For The Young Ones I have created a three-part piece. The first part consists of a large pile of pillow like stuffed animals based on flat screen televisions that the children can run, jump, and ransack in any way they wish. The second part consists of a single large stuffed animal that the children can sit on and listen to stories. The third part consists of a creation station where the children can put together their own pillow/television friends. > My work is an exploration into the physiological/emotional connections between people and objects, specifically dealing with issues of comfort, love, and attachment. My current work is particularly centered on the television set and the idea of television as companion.

fighter-plane breastfeeding nook > katrin jurati >

me as you > soo kim and michael worthington > Kids’ faces are photographed, printed onto card, and cut out to make masks to wear and exchange with others. The image is sized to match the child’s head, and he or she can decorate their mask, leave them alone, or swap identities disguising themselves as someone else. > Soo Kim and Michael Worthington are parents of 2 1/2 year old Chaerim. Soo is an artist and teaches at Otis. Michael is a graphic designer and teaches at Calarts.

tree mobiles > rebecca niederlander > by foregrounding and thus elevating to protagonist modeled natural elements (trees, rocks, leaves) which are usually exist only as mise-en-scene, my work reflects a sincere attachment to the overlooked. for the young ones salon i will make two copper wire tree mobiles; believing that mobiles (and flora for that matter) have an terrific indeterminate quality and lack of manageability that remind her of my glorious eight month old daughter.

tiny architecture 2006 > laura purdy > The four-screen video installation explores the space between breastfeeding, mid-century architecture, and the two female forces on either side of the glass house: Mother and Mother Nature. > Laura Purdy is a film and video artist and mother of two living in Los Angeles.

homefield > durfee|regn > small houses made of wood and rubberized plastic are placed around the grounds to be discovered and examined by roving children visitors. Each house can be engaged with at two scales - either at the projected dimensions of imaginary play (take away play people and animals are provided) or as full scale objects that provide some sort of function (like a stool) or effect (like a kaleidoscope). > Iris Anna Regn and Tim Durfee are the doting parents of the 3 3/4 year old Milla Durfee. Iris and Tim are also partners in Durfee | Regn, an interdisciplinary architecture studio in downtown Los Angeles.

mud people > adrian rivas > pools of mud for kids to play in...

idea art for kids > mark a. rodriguez > is a lesson planner providing a set of interesting and engaging projects to help kids interact with some current working methods of contemporary artists. The plans are based on works made by performance, project-based, interventionist, and conceptual artists who have been working in the field of fine art for the past 40 years. Some of the lessons are adapted projects from previous artists while others were generated from my interest in developing art education that draws parallels with contemporary art trends and practice. Idea Art For Kids is the first installment of many lesson planners to come. > Mark A. Rodriguez is a freelance teacher, artist, and archivist who has recently moved to the Los Angeles area.

growing toy > diana sieradski > this project began when my friends started having babies. i wanted to create a child's toy that grew with the child, transforming itself differently with each stage of interaction from infant to youngster. > i am a mother, a teacher, a designer and an artist.

playhouse > nick taggart and laura cooper >

tree harps > jane tsong > trees in the sundown gardens will be strung with wire and played like harps

thanks to the l.a. forum for art and architecture for providing refreshments!