Cirque du so DEAD

It's all about Halloween right now and all the local magazines are featuring freaky imagery. My favorite is the Seven issue with 'Cirque du so DEAD' makeup art by Nick Lujan. The hair is by Marshall Vanierland and the model is Kimberley Yori. Photography by Jana Cruder and Retouching by Haoyuan Ren.

Post-Op Lollipop Remix EP Release Party

Candy Warpop have just released a remix EP 'Post-Op Lollipop' featuring some great local electronic music producers and deejays. The collage artwork for the cover is by yours truly with design by Corlene Byrd. Artifice hosted the release party with a performance by the band as they've never been seen before...

Zap! 4

The 4th Zap! project centers on the Cambridge neighborhood. Eight artists were chosen by Metro Arts to transform the bland utility boxes in the area. The boxes shown here are by (left to right) Zak Ostrowski, Peter Mengert and Shan Michael Evans. Channel 8 documented the project, interviewing the artists working in the streets - seen here is Jevijoe Vitug in action.
Patrick Gaffey from Clark County Parks and Recreation, implemented the first Zap! project in 2005 as a way to financially support local artists, cut back on tagging, and encourage community pride. The idea seems to be working well, with the artists enjoying lots of support from locals while they worked.

Winchester Cultural Center

Delivering artwork to the Winchester Cultural Center on McLeod Drive.

Currently showing at the Barrick Museum...

UNLV's Marjorie Barrick Museum is currently hosting a benefit show and auction to assist with their financial survival in the face of recent budget cuts. The artworks have been donated by well-known Las Vegas artists and can be purchased via a silent auction at the closing reception on November 9th.
Also showing is 'Let Them Eat Cake', a group exhibition on a popular theme, which opened with cupcakes provided by the Retro Bakery, Mad Hatter Cupcakes and Caked Las Vegas. Comic book lovers will enjoy 'Seduction of the Innocent: A visual exploration of comic book censorship through the decades' which is linked to the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, and the permanent exhibits of Mesoamerican ceramics and Mexican dance masks shouldn't be missed.

"about the thing and the thing itself" at Pop Up Art House

The Pop Up Art House is a pristine new gallery space in Henderson which has a spacious light interior ideal for showcasing sculptural works and installations.
The current show About the thing and the thing itself curated by Matthew Marchand, is an installation by Californian artists Cathy Fairbanks and Laura Bowles Faw, who collaborate under the name ap-art-ment. The collection of curious objects, video, photography and drawings are designed to encourage viewers to question every-day presumptions of the familiar.
Visitors are invited to a picnic at the gallery on Saturday October 22 at 1pm (just look for the boat parked out front) and the ap-art-ment show can be viewed through to November 12.

Age of Chivalry festival

This year the Age of Chivalry Renaissance Fair was held at Silver Bowl Park in perfect fall weather. The sports fields were transformed with colorful tents, castles, and jousting arenas. Most attendees had made the effort to dress in Renaissance-style costumes and there was plenty of entertainment available, including camel and horse riding, archery and snake handling. There were also plenty of opportunities for drinking and feasting....

a freaky First Friday...

With Halloween and Dia de los Muertos looming, October's First Friday event was suitably gothic. There were cupcake-eating zombies and snake-draped fortune tellers outside Theatre 7 where the PollyGrind underground film festival is underway this weekend. The upcoming Life in Death festival was also represented and local creative venues displayed their decorated Halloween pumpkins.
Blackbird Studios featured a zombie exhibition, and 222 Imperial put on '10,000 Skeletons'. Joel from 222 worked with photo bang bang to create a horror set where visitors could be photographed enacting their own scarey scenarios and around the corner on Main St, the Las Vegas Suspension Syndicate demonstrated the art of body suspension.
With First Friday hours now extended to midnight and the street festival around Casino Center again underway, the crowds were out in force enjoying the stands of art and crafts, food, and live performance such as local pop-punk band Air Drifter.

Meeting artists at Preview Thursday...

The first thursday of each month, aka Preview Thursday, is definitely the best opportunity to meet the artists exhibiting in Arts District galleries.
The Enchanted Florist has created an autumnal installation in the Attachment Room at Trifecta Gallery where viewers are invited to enjoy a multi-sensory experience.
Heather Hermann, aka Calliopie is showing 'Luminous Body' at Sin City Gallery, featuring works in a variety of mediums which hark back to a more romantic era. Calliopie, along with Domsky Glass will be hosting 'Steampunk Your Junk' at the gallery each Thursday evening in October where everyone is invited to bring along industrial-style junk and incorporate it into artworks.
Photographer Jana Cruder is exhibiting poster images from her 'Faces' project at Space Gallery, across from the Arts Factory. After three years in the Arts District, this will be Space Gallery's last show, so it's fitting that it is dedicated to the great diversity of people who have visited over that time.
The Contemporary Arts Center has invited Chicago-based artist Scott Carter (photographed here with Matt) to deconstruct the gallery space. Carving shapes from the walls, Carter has created an installation of sculptural objects alongside wall-mounted strata built up over time by plaster and paint.

a mecca for tribute bands...

The Fremont St Experience is a great place for some free entertainment, especially people-watching. The very diverse crowd can be just as entertaining as the paid performers, particularly when they're dancing in front of the three permanent stages.
There are live bands performing every evening, and tribute bands reign supreme. Seen here are two of the best, recreating AC/DC and Black Sabbath.
On the same night we also saw Marilyn, Elvis, Snoop Dog, a gold-painted military guy and a colorful flock of feather-plumed showgirls.