THIS Visits Collage Artist Danger

Lifelong Redondo Beach, CA resident Danger is an artist who painstakingly creates hand-cut, hand-glued collage works. By working with existing materials including out-of-print books, magazines and other paper ephemera, Danger re-contextualizes the meanings of existing imagery, producing works that are both frightening and incredibly intricate.

Danger refuses to participate with the world around him and has a general disdain for humanity. That said, he is mildly obsessed with Lady Gaga and has a real fondness for Roxy Music and Ladytron.

Learn more about Danger and his unique world view straight from the artist himself in our THIS Visits with Danger, one of the gallery’s favorite artists.

Project Space Presents: “Now is Forever”

Project Space will host an opening reception for the exhibition “Now is Forever” featuring images from Ari Marcopoulos’ new book of the same name. Now is Forever is a travelogue of previously unpublished photographs from around the world. Premiering for the first time at Project Space will be “Moroso Crew”, a 60-minute cinema vérité documentary Marcopoulos shot in 1992 on illegal drag racing in Brooklyn and the Bronx. The exhibition also celebrates the launch of the Camera Bag collaboration between Incase and Ari Marcopoulos, available mid October.

Opening Reception: Thurs, Sept 23, 7pm – 10pm

Exhibition: Sept 23 – Oct 15
Project Space
603 North La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90036
+1-323-938-8818
Wednesday – Sunday
11am – 7pm

Not Drowning, Waving! Swimming With Sharks 2010 Grand Finale

The annual Swimming With Sharks summer pool parties atop the Standard Hotel in stunning downtown Los Angeles came to a rip roaring close on Saturday, September 4th. It is now definitely, definitely over. No more DJ battles. No more bikini clad funsters. No more epically corny Jello shots. No more awkward tattoos. No more gentle but firm bouncers. No more absurd games or awesome Incase prizes. No more lazy Saturdays slothing the day away atop the roof of one of LA’s most iconic hotels. Saddest of all, no more waffles in the downstairs diner after a dip in the pool. Sigh.

Why has it taken us so long to post this recap? Man, that is such a good question. Well, as you may recall, FYF Fest and SWSharks #8 happened on the same day about a mile apart from each other. And then there were the FYF Fest after parties to contend with all weekend. Total insanity. And then we jumped on a plane to Portland to help out at MFNW. And then…. Et cetera…. It’s been a busy end of summer.

Thanks again to Mahtab, James and Matt at MFG Productions for making SWSharks possible this summer. We couldn’t have lurked this hard without you. Moreover, thanks to everyone who came to the pool parties. If you’re into heavy bass, spastic splashing, and semi-bad behavior, we hope to see you again next season. Check the photos of the grand finale. Be safe, have fun. We’ll meet you at the escalators in the lobby.

FYF Fest 2010 Was Hot

After eight months of planning and hundreds of hours of heavy lifting, the 7th Annual FYF Fest finally happened this past Labor Day weekend at the LA State Historic Park. Was it hot outside? Terribly! Was it impossibly dusty? Yes! But that didn’t stop over 20,000 confirmed festival attendees from waiting in nearly 3-hour long lines to get in. How were the bands? Great! Festival standouts included Sleep, Big Freedia, Warpaint, Abe Vigoda, The Mountain Goats, Local Natives, OFF!, Unbroken, Cold Cave and Washed Out.

Did we gift piles of free cases for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS? It’s true, we did. Were people pumped? They were! A few times almost to the point of tears. (Just ask Incase industrial designer Tim Wall, he came down to survey the scene and instead got a crash course in learning just what it means to spend 12-hours gifting cases to thousands of wildly enthusiastic Incase lovers). He left a changed man. New insights, new memories, new tunes, new friends and new ideas. This is what community organized music & arts festivals are all about.

All jokes aside, we feel tremendously fortunate to work on FYF with our friends each year. It truly requires the efforts of our entire arts & music community to pull this thing off. To Phil and Sean at FYF Productions, Justin at Altamont Apparel, Chris at LA Record, Michael at Videothing.com, Alex at Stories Books & Cafe, and to Kevin and Andy at The Cha Cha Lounge… (among so many others), this festival couldn’t happen without the hard work and goodwill of every one of you. Thank you. And last but not least— to Michelle, Tamarra, Moses, Kelley, and Tim, thanks for braving such heat and lending your hands and ears to so many Incase fans this weekend. We look forward to sponsoring FYF Fest next year. Until then enjoy the FYF Fest 2010 photos on our Flickr stream.

The Past Goes Better with Memories!

We’ve got a big event announcement to make today. FYF Fest happens Saturday, September 4th at the LA State Historic Park.

If you love:

1. legendary punk rock + ethereal indie pop + sheer noise terror
2. stand-up comedy
3. food trucks
4. carnival games & raffles
5. vinyl records
6. lurking in the blazing hot sun at an indie rock festival
7. all of the above

… then you probably already plan on attending this weekend’s FYF Fest. For those of you not yet in the loop here’s the low down:

Nestled between Chinatown and Downtown LA, this all-day concert will feature more than 38 independent artists on three stages, 15 stand-up comedians, a traffic jam of local food trucks, and thousands of music lovers all coming out to laze the day away in LA’s newest state park and celebrate the arts. Bands not to miss: The Rapture, Sleep, The Mountain Goats, Man Man, Abe Vigoda, Cold Cave, Titus Andronicus, The Soft Pack, OFF!, Cults, and Big Freedia “Queen of New Orleans Bounce”. That’s just eleven of 38 artist. Wild.

So how does FYF do it? Good Question.

Every year the unstoppable “geniuses at work” Sean Carlson and Phil Hoelting somehow manage to add more massive stages, more spastic comedians, more fun contests, more general mayhem and more sweaty exhausted faces to their community-based music and arts festival. After four years of sponsoring the event we can only say it just gets weirder, bigger, and better with each passing year. We’re deeply proud of the way our friends have slowly grown FYF into one of the premier independent music festivals on the west coast. Truly a community event, FYF has more heart, guts, and good will than can possibly be explained in this short announcement.

We sincerely look forward to having you with us on Saturday. As always, you bring the water, sunscreen and howls of joy and we’ll supply the shade and free Snap Cases for your iPhone. This one’s gonna be amazing.

UPDATE: Thrasher Magazine is having a contest, you can win a VIP ticket package to this Saturday’s FYF Fest that includes 2 tickets, 2 Craig Steyck Incase cases, and 2 Altamont shirts.

Splashing and Spazzing Out with Wet Hot People

Man, it’s h-o-t outside. Like, real hot. Word from the weatherman says it isn’t gonna let up any time soon either. So here’s an idea: On Saturday, August 28th maybe you oughta slide into your swimming skivvies and saunter on down to the Standard Hotel in radiantly beautiful downtown Los Angeles.

But don’t forget to RSVP. A whole lotta overheated party people are gonna be all over that rsvp list like red on a sunburn if you don’t jump on it first. Seriously, rsvp and then go get in that pool. With a heat wave like this people are gonna be losing their minds. As always, you bring the sunscreen and we’ll bring the Incase Snap Cases for your iPhone 3GS.

MFG Productions & Incase Present:
Swimming With Sharks #7
The Standard, Downtown LA
Rooftop Pool Party
Saturday, August 28th
RSVP Required

Relax, Take a Load Off! Swimming With Sharks 6

Man, we’ve been busy over here. Music festivals, pool parties, photo shows, pizza fights, naps in cubicles, dinnering, coffee guzzles, block parties, dune buggies, recording studios, poison oak, lazy skateboarding, lazier bike rides, and—believe it or not—actual carpentry. This summer is a blur.

So how was Swimming With Sharks pool party # 6? Oh thanks, I’m so glad you asked! Per usual, it was ripping. Blazing sun? Check. Snap cases? Totally. Squealing? Definitely. Splashing? Of course. Dancing and DJs? Done and done! Please join us August 21st and September 4th for SWSharks # 7 & 8.

Janette, it was a pleasure…

Janette Beckman lit up the room last night as friends and fans from Los Angeles came out to Project Space to celebrate her show, Archive of Attitude. Despite the name, the only attitude to be found was in the photographs themselves, as Janette radiated nothing but charm and style.

The crowd included more than a few of the usual suspects, but overall, it was a more mature audience, since most hipsters were not yet born when most of these photos were taken. The attendees shared a common love of the punk era and classic hip-hop music with people taking turns posing with an oversized photo of Slick Rick and reminiscing of days gone by. A highlight for many was the appearance by Christopher “Kid” Reid of Kid ‘n Play.

This must-see exhibit will run through September 5th, so be sure to stop by Project Space to see it for yourself.

603 North La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90036
+1-323-938-8818
Wednesday – Sunday 11am – 7pm

Janette Beckman Show Opens This Friday

Just a friendly reminder that the Janette Beckman show: “Archive of Attitude” is opening this Friday at Project Space.

Janette Beckman’s photography exhibition marks the third artist installment at Project Space. Beckman culls works from her time in London during the punk era through the hip-hop decade in New York and Los Angeles. The show will feature artifacts and photographs of musicians, their fans and youth culture.

603 North La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90036
+1-323-938-8818
Wednesday – Sunday 11am – 7pm

Incase Collaborates with THIS Gallery Los Angeles

Today, we’re excited to announce our new partnership with THIS Los Angeles. From now until reality melts into the Pacific, Incase & THIS will be teaming up to create one of a kind hand-screened tote bags commemorating each of the gallery’s opening night events. Screened in limited editions of 100, these totes are made of natural 10 oz cotton canvas and are big enough to fit AT LEAST twenty of your favorite records. Think— nice, comfy, and fun. These jammers will be available free at every opening night to the first 100 art lovers/gallery lurkers to skip through the door.

So what is THIS Los Angeles? Located in Highland Park, THIS is owned and operated by six of our friends, (photographers Dan Monick, Aaron Farley, and Claire & Jeremy Weiss of Day 19 and graphic designers Justin Van Hoy and Luis Farfan). THIS functions as an art gallery, photography studio, production house, and makeshift live performance venue for the LA-based collective and their fellow artists from around the world.

Since the gallery’s launch earlier this spring, opening nights at THIS have fast become the most eagerly anticipated arts event in town, routinely bringing together hundreds of friends and artists. Here, established artists and emerging new talents, as well as musicians, skateboarders, photographers, punkers, lurkers, townies, newbies, writers, and filmmakers all come together to exchange ideas and revel in the spirit of a true and tangible arts community. (And the taco truck outside serves up the best grease bombs in town). We believe THIS Los Angeles has goodwill worth supporting, sharing and celebrating. Please join Incase & THIS on July 16th for opening night of the solo exhibit by artist John Hill, Jr.

THIS Gallery Los Angeles & Incase Present:
“Drawn” a solo exhibit by artist John Hill, Jr.
Opening Night: Friday, July 16, 2010
7PM-10PM
5906 N. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90042
*free opening night tote bags!