When the Mountain Comes to You: The Artists of No Canyon Hills Are Taking On the Entire System — And They Might Win
Spider Bite Gap—as locals call the fire road that leads to the proposed site of a large, luxury home development in Tujunga, at the northern edge of Los Angeles—isn’t a place you would stumble upon accidentally. Officially named Verdugo Crestline Drive, it originates on a residential street and winds through several blocks before the pavement... More
Gilt Complex: A Return to Zanzabar, Artist Steven Arnold’s LA Wonderland
A sylph-like creature with a pink coiffure, bedecked in beads and crystals – the title character of Steven Arnold’s 1971 film Luminous Procuress – leads a pair of wide-eyed initiates on a vision quest. They encounter a carnivalesque human puppet show, diabolical priests, an orgy and the glitter-dusted, gender-busting performance troupe the Cockettes in their film debut. After screening at... More
The Secret Growing: On the New Spiritual Art Canon
IN OCTOBER 2022, I received an invitation to celebrate the Scorpio new moon eclipse with a group of creative women. The invitation was illustrated with a 1915 painting by the Swedish artist and mystic Hilma af Klint, The Dove, No. 14—a rainbow sphere with a white center against a black background, astrological glyphs in each corner.... More