February 8 through March 29, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 8, 7-10PM
In “i Am a Camera,” an artist at last delivers an un-snarky, un-ironic take on iPhone culture. And who better to do it than John Rabe, host of 89.3-KPCC’s award-winning Off-Ramp, which unashamedly celbrates the LA we know and love.
“i Am a Camera,” includes a dozen new psychegraphic prints that continue Rabe’s joint fascination with Los Angeles and mobile photography.
“I’m not showing anything any Angeleno hasn’t seen before — a hustler in Silverlake, a cop on Opening Day, a celeb getting a star on the Walk of Fame, Walt Disney Concert Hall — I’m making picture of things we take for granted, showing you why we shouldn’t,” states Rabe. “And I’m not using some fancy camera, like Gary Leonard or Nick Ut. It’s just an old iPhone and a few apps.”
But Rabe’s works are much more. Along with documenting these everyday things, his pictures are about how we document ourselves today.
“Everybody is photographing everything,” Rabe continues. “Even Jonathan Gold takes photos of his food. So stop complaining about it; embrace it.”
And what we, as spectators, get to embrace is an honest Los Angeles experience:
News cameras and their viewfinders are part of the picture when Shotgun Tom Kelly and Janis Joplin get their stars on the Walk of Fame, and when Kris Kristofferson poses jauntily with his guitar, like it was 1973, not 2013.
Disney Hall, still magnetic and beguiling 10 years on, is the subject of the subject of Rabe’s pictures. There’s an almost anime silhouette of a street photographer documenting Frank Gehry’s stainless swoops. And in a genuine “How did he do that?” moment, reflected in the lens of a pro camera, you see Rabe’s pianist hands holding his iPhone, capturing an image the pro would never think to get.
A glamorous art show attendee looks naturally hotter when she forgets to pose and takes a mobile photo. It’s all the more intriguing because she’s looking through a sculpture that recalls the time portal in the Star Trek episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever.” Kirk would have thrown McCoy and Spock under the bus for her.
The artist’s works are issued as limited-edition prints of 5, sized from 16 x 22 inches to 20 x 20 inches. All works are mounted and framed.
John S. Rabe (b. 1966) earned his BA from Michigan State University in 1988 (he fondly enjoys pointing out how he was rightly rejected by Harvard). He lives and works in Los Angeles. Work by the artist is held in private and public collections both nationally and abroad. “i Am a Camera” is the artist’s third solo exhibit. The artist has been featured in several group shows including “TARFEST” (2012), Los Angeles; and “SPACELAND” (2012), Los Angeles, among others.
