ON THE EDGE HAMMER EXHIBIT AIMS TO SHOW LIFE IN L.A. THROUGH THE EYES OF 15 ARTISTS.

Byline: Jim Farber

Staff Writer

'Eden's Edge: Fifteen L.A. Artists," on display at the Hammer Museum in Westwood through Sept. 2, is an attempt on the part of chief curator Gary Garrels to assemble an extensive multimedia group show that represents a chronicle of this moment in time as viewed from the vantage point of Los Angeles.

The impact of the show is as diverse as its artists. But according to Garrels, there are recurring themes that weave diversity into a tapestry.

"In a nutshell, all these artists have a tremendous interest in materials, craft, in handwork, in a kind of luxuriant, sensual physical presence," says Garrels.

"The work is highly imagistic with intense psychological overtones."

It also links the personal, political and cultural, inflected by what it means to be living and working in L.A.

"Each artist has been given their own space," Garrels explains, standing in front of an eye-popping, nightmarish, comic book painting by Lari Pittman.

"I wanted the exhibit to create a kind of mosaic, a ricocheting journey, which reflects the overall dynamic of being in L.A."

These connections that Garrels sees so clearly are, in fact, quite subtle. And while all of the artists in the exhibition live and work in Los Angeles, their imagery does not reflect that in any literal way.

In fact, in the entire show there is not one image that makes a direct visual reference to life in Los Angeles. There's no star culture, Hollywood iconography; no depictions of tangled traffic and freeway overpasses; no Valley girls or sons of the surf; no Rodeo Drive chic or spray-painted graffiti.

Picturing the pornographic

The one recurring theme that does seem very L.A. (though far from exclusively) are images related to pornography -- as an industry, lifestyle and subculture.

There are those in Los Angeles who are old enough to remember the puritanical brouhaha that erupted in 1966 when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibited Ed Kienholz's ersatz sculpture "Backseat Dodge '38," which depicted a plaster couple frozen "in flagrante delicto."

The exhibit so incensed one elected official, he reportedly proclaimed, "My wife knows art, but I know pornography!"

One thing "Eden's Edge" proves: We've come a long way, baby.

While there's nothing quite as erotically charged as "Backseat Dodge" in "Eden's Edge," sexual imagery (some of it quite disturbing) does abound, making it unsuitable for most children and anyone likely to be offended.

The most overt depictions are the large-scale, gauzy watercolors by Monica Majoli. This "Rubbermen Series" depicts hard-core homoerotic bondage and sadomasochistic activities, though in a somewhat surreal manner.

When asked specifically about the subject matter of these paintings, Garrels contended that though they are drawn from gay porn, they actually are romantic landscapes in which the bound and tortured figures (who hang suspended in chains) are striving to achieve a state of spiritual transcendence.

Less overt, though perhaps more disturbing, is the sadomasochistic imagery that dominates Pittman's "Untitled, 2006" with its bound, penetrated and tortured-unto-retching central figure.

In comparison, the eroticism that plays a central role in Jim Shaw's "Dream Object: Paperback Covers" is playful, as is his massive sculpture titled "Dream Object."

The darkly shadowed hallucinogenic paintings by Matt Green are festooned with decidedly phallic magic mushrooms, around which a bacchanalia of writhing figures frolic. More fetishistic than hallucinogenic is his painting "Our Idealized Invisibility," which features sexy young women prancing about in peek-a-boo bras and girdles.

"L.A. is associated with sexuality and a strong strand of sensuality," says Garrels, in defense of his choices.

The combination of materials and craft is a key element of the exhibition. And in some cases it takes on a level of bizarre obsession, as in the work of Torrance-born artist Rebecca Morales.

Her botanical studies on vellum (like pages from an illuminated medieval manuscript) combine a flair for meticulous detail a la Albrecht Durer, with elements of stitched applique, braided roots made from artificial hair and scarflike knitted strands.

Molding a masterpiece

But the wildest of Morales' pieces is an installation she created specifically for the exhibit. Tucked into a corner of her space, she has created a drippy grotto of fungus and mold from which a parade of lifelike slimy slugs slide.

Another meticulist is Ginny Bishton, who painstakingly constructs fantastic micro-mosaics from thousands of tiny punched-out photographic dots. In a similar vein, Mark Bradford collages thousands of cutouts to create large-scale canvases that resemble cities seen from space.

Equally crazed are the zillion pushpin creations by Elliot Hundley, with their strata upon strata of tiny photos to create hellish scenes reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch.

A more whimsical take on the Grim Reaper is Liz Craft's bronze "Death Rider (Virgo)." Freely referencing the Day of the Dead art of Mexico, it depicts a skeleton biker astride his hog with a disembodied partner riding behind.

The exhibition's most gentle paintings are a series of Day-Glo-bright, psychedelic landscapes by Sharon Ellis. Elegant in their execution, they seem so serene compared to the mad, mad, mad, mad world of painting, sculptures and video installations that swirl around them.

Ultimately, "Eden's Edge" may not represent a clearly defined statement about Los Angeles as an art subject. But with its diversity of individualistic imagery, techniques and craft, "Eden's Edge" does make a strong case for Los Angeles as a center of art production, where artists are pushing the envelope.

Jim Farber [phone], Ext. 416

[e-mail]

DEN'S EDGE: FIFTEEN L.A. ARTISTS

Where: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood.

When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Through Sept. 2.

Tickets: $5, $3 for seniors, free for students.

Information: [phone]. www.hammer.ucla.edu. NOTE: The show may not be suitable for children. Parental discretion is suggested.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Monica Majoli depicts homoerotic bondage and sadomasochistic activities in watercolors, above. Below, Rebecca Morales uses vellum in her work.

(3 -- color) This work by Lari Pittman is on display at "Eden's Edge: Fifteen L.A. artists," a new exhibit at the Hammer Museum that examines life in Los Angeles.