A production crew has set up base camp twenty feet away from our office door. Crew members pace back and forth but they are obscured occasionally by my monitor which shields me from the office window. I can see them, but they can’t see me. They wear concealed earpieces like they’re part of a CIA operation speaking in code over shoddy radio frequencies, chain smoking cigarettes during their sparse breaks and trying to speak over private jets that are landing or taking off. By Monday they will be gone and a new crew will appear, unannounced.
While we report on current, contemporary art and culture around the world, Installation Magazine is divorced from reality in many ways. Everyday we report to the office and set out to make a great issue for the week. We didn’t notice if President Obama’s visit to Los Angeles for two weeks caused any major traffic delays because we weren’t driving. It was only until we got in our cars and turned on the radio that we were even aware a shooting had taken place at Santa Monica College. The hovering police and media choppers less than a mile away didn’t strike us as unusual. Police helicopters, luxury jets or twin engine planes all sound the same now. It’s all part of our daily soundtrack. Time stands still inside the sanctuary of the Installation office that was partially insulated only recently. It is only until we snap out of our hypnosis on Friday afternoon that we even realize what we have accomplished.
Say hello to Issue 13.
Emerge artist Jacob van Loon reveals photographic documentation of works from his series Syntax. Discover Samantha Keely Smith’s sweeping landscapes are infused with a sublime luminosity. We sat down with gallerist and art dealer Jack Rutberg and asked him to curate a small collection of works from his gallery’s permanent collection for this week’s Collect. Grimanesa Amorós corresponded with us while she is in China installing her large-scale light installations to celebrate the first edition of Art Basel Hong Kong. Learn about her surreal light sculptures in Evolve. Who says that Los Angeles is deprived of culture? Nicole Disson reflects on how she funded her movie Sleepover LA that was filmed at The Standard, Downtown LA. In Think Disson explores a new visual vernacular by infusing dance within a cinematic narrative.