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| by Kiersten Essenpreis |
Today we did a little gallery-hopping around Los Angeles! The first stop was at the "Young Adult" Lit Art Show presented by Hello Giggles and Gallery 1988 Melrose. I enjoyed looking through the fun exhibit, which featured work created by female artists inspired by YA literature from the 80s and 90s.
Young adult books have inspired quite a few crafts and products, as a quick search through Etsy or Hot Topic will attest. It's more unusual to see fine art inspired by the genre, however, and even more unusual to see a dedicated public exhibition. Cheers to the founders of Hello Giggles (actress Zooey Deschanel among them) for their efforts to showcase this offbeat show.
Even though the definition of "young adult"was used pretty loosely here (Babysitters Club is textbook middle grade), even though I wish there had been more variety in the subjects (there was lots of Nancy Drew), and even though in some cases it was hard to guess the book that inspired the artwork (a little more context might've enriched the viewer's experience), it's still nice to see YA lit celebrated in this way.
A few pieces I especially liked:
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| by Kelly Vivanco |
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| by Kate Perdue |
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| by Danielle Murray |
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| by Jessica Deahl |
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| by Bec Winnel |
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| by Ann Sullivan |
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| by Nicole Gustaffson |
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| by Meg Hyland |
So a few years down the road, can we expect to see fine art inspired by Lauren Oliver, Laini Taylor, Suzanne Collins, and the like? I certainly hope so!
"Young Adult" runs through Saturday, February 23rd, 2013. Original artwork and prints may be purchased through Gallery 1988.
Bonus gallery photos: the fantastically rendered, humorous paintings of Scott Listfield, at Gallery 1988 Venice.
All photographs by Wendy Darling, except "Nancy Drew," which appears courtesy of Gallery 1988.
Source:
http://www.themidnightgarden.net/2013/02/YALitShow.html