LA alternative arts organization, Carp, shows selections from its 1970s ephemera archives of contemporary art—mailers, letters, photos, and other documentation—from a cross-section of LAâ€s early performance and media arts. Artists include Chris Burden, Vito Acconci, Kim Jones, Alexis Smith, Richard Newton, and Bruce Nauman. Carp encouraged experimentation in non-traditional venues for art like television and print, sponsored LAâ€s first pop-up galleries, and organized a number of signficant public and private installations and actions. Carp was founded by Barbara Burden and Marilyn Nix in 1974, and was funded by NEA and private donors.
Carpâ€s mix of installation, performance, television, video, print magazine and street influenced many experimental art organizations that have followed. As part of Pacific Standard Time, this exhibit reflects an under-appreciated but growing-in-importance aspect of contemporary art—ephemera. It includes the early and experimental work of both well- and lesser-known LA artists in the 1970s.
After the Oct. 8 opening, the show will be open Saturdays Oct. 15, 22, 29 from 1 to 5 pm, and by appointment.