It’s official: 2012 not only maked the biggest NBFF yet, it also marked cARTel’s official move into its new space right in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles! Hundreds joined us as we celebrate original art created specifically for this year’s films as well as a party to celebrate our new DTLA home.
For the first time in NBFF history, we commissioned artists to create original pieces inspired by one of our selected films- be it a poster, painting, or even sculpture. This year’s Gallery Party featured the resulting one-of-a-kind artwork, but also served as a screening space for some of the honorable mentions, as well as serving as the grand opening of cARTel’s new Downtown LA home. Hundreds joined us as we kick-off a new festival and new beginnings in our new space.
Artist Bios
Myriad Slits teaches art and theatre to children by day and is a starving artist by night. She is the founding member of Purgatory Collective, the creator of the annual Morton Salt Childrens Religious Revival (which is going into its sixth year), and a songwriter for ModPods. She likes to get her hands dirty and her brain sweaty. In the past, Myriad has painted life-size pornographic monsters installed in old offices, played connect the dots with gum spots throughout the dirty city, curated performance pieces in laundromats, created a fort out of emotional ephemera for cARTel's Fort, and hand-sewn monstrous feats such as a twenty foot long cape and a circus tent out of bed sheets. She is very grateful to cARTel for this opportunity.
Noah Silverstein tries to reserve his work to LIVE-INTERACTIVE MURALS, and is honored to be working alongside these exceptional artists. You may recognize some of his work from other cARTel events, including Brokechella, Fort, and Family Forest. To learn more about Noah Silverstein go to his website at noahsilverstein.com.
Lulu Winkler is a visual artist from Seattle, Washington who started her career designing and silk-screening posters and T-shirts for bands in Seattle and Bellingham. She studied in England at Oxford Brookes University and received a BA in History of Art. Winkler’s work is influenced by a variety of themes ranging from pop-culture to the urban and natural landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Now residing in Los Angeles, Winkler is currently working as a freelance designer and illustrator and executing all of her creative projects with passion and enthusiasm.
Dana Bean is an illustrative painter and collage artist living in Los Angeles. Her work has been exhibited in multiple group shows at galleries including cARTel's Brokechella, Black Maria, Echo Curio, Dalessio, ADM and Zero-Point. Local bands such as Novi Split and Lyra have published her images as poster and CD cover art. Dana's designs are currently gaining popularity on Zazzle.com, where she is a selected member of the ArtsProjekt Global Creative Network.
Dorsa Amir was born in sunny Tehran, Iran. She graduated with a degree in Biological Anthropology from UCLA. She likes vintage typography, Louis Theroux documentaries, and meowing at cats until they meow back.
Danny Crook: Legos laid the foundation of an only child-hood spent Ghostbusting and maladjusting to suburban sprawling. I lost everything once. It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I have earned a second chance and my art is my honest attempt not to waste it. Above all else, I really just want to let you know that it's all going to be ok.
Marissa Perry was born and raised in the City of Angels but lives and breathes in Purgatory. She floats about in limbo, grasping onto anything creative - but it seems as though her true calling keeps slipping through her fingers. She's worked with children, artists, and architects - all have tried her patience. Marissa is the happiest when she's using her hands, her heart, and her mind to affect the world around her. Whether it be with pen, pencil, paint - or carving soap, stitching fabric, and burning wood for that matter - she's consumed by art and craft. Perhaps she should finally sign that deal with the devil to become a huge art star.
Amanda Wallace is a Los Angeles based artist. Her interdisciplinary body of work includes mixed media installations, live muraling, performance art, film, theater, and music. Amanda has become an integrated contributor to the Los Angeles independent art scene, and her work as an artist and performer has received critical acclaim from notable publications such as the LA Times and LA Weekly. Amanda especially enjoys the quirks and oddities of living, and aims to explore their beauty through colorful, varied mediums.
Michaela McEttrick is a Los Angeles based artist whose paintings are inspired by her fascination with society's bad manners. Her work is greatly influenced by a mixture of eavesdropping and existentialism. She is currently studying Digital Media at Otis College of Art and Design. Her art can be found on her tumblr page.
Analia Zalazar was born in Entre Rios, Argentina. He graduated from the National Art School Prilidiano Pueyrredon in Buenos Aires. His exhibitions have included Fragil (2012) at the Dacil Art Gallery in Buenos Aires; Silk Road (2008) at the Indie Collective Gallery in Los Angeles; Naturaleza (2004) at the General San Martin Cultural Center in Buenos Aires; Analia Zalazar (2000) at Del Infinito Art Gallery in Buenos Aires; Oro (1999) at Giesso Reich-Stac Art Space in Buenos Aires; and Analia Zalazar (1998) at Juana de Arco Art Space in Buenos Aires.
Jeff Perkins was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, where he spent much of his youth acting in high school theatre, performing with the ComedySportz high school league, and staving off heat stroke. He graduated with a B.A. in History from UC Santa Cruz and subsequently relocated to Los Angeles, where he has performed with improv and sketch comedy groups including Lord Dynamite, Spontaneous Productions, ScripTease, the Tète Offended, and the L.A. Connection Comedy Theatre. He recently appeared as Karl Messer in the mockumentary feature Thanks For Dying. He also likes to draw.
Frank Rozasy: I have been an artist my whole life. My earliest memories are drawing from books. The art I create is part of my essence and passions, including: the female form, jazz, Marilyn, nostalgic, subjects related to the beach and ocean, landscapes, and fantasy. I experiment a lot using oil paints, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, digital cameras, printers and computers. My art has been described as "physiologically penetrating."
Joel Harris: It was on a journey on The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, where I understood clearly that I am an artist. Seeking clarity in my life, I had quit my job, sold everything I owned, and traveled to France and Spain to volunteer on organic farms. While there I hiked 350 miles across Northern Spain along this ancient pilgrimage route. I had time to think about my life without distractions and I realized how much I loved art. I had been drawing since I was a child and always loved looking at art, learning about art, and using my imagination. It gives me a feeling of freedom when I am involved in creativity.
Delmy Roquel: Thoughts are made tangible through art. A thought that no longer gets lost with time because now it is a snapshot of what one envisions. How do you interpret your thoughts? How do you interpret mine? Through a strong emotion which triggers a memory represented in one of these shapes or in one of these colors? Art is a powerful tool and in my case it is the tool that I most frequently use to communicate with others.
Seshu Kiran: I draw inspiration not just from the visual reality around, but also the recollections of different experiences, travels, stories I heard, people, books those I read, movies I had watched. Different subjects inspire me and so are different media. I had worked on pencil, charcoal, oil pastels, soft and hard pastels, gauche and watercolors apart from my love for acrylics. My works are represented by galleries in Dubai, Abudhabi, Qatar, Oman and Bangalore. Realism searches for forms. Surrealism extrapolates the forms. Abstractionism surpasses forms and goes in dynamic search of meanings. But for me realism remained a constant pursuit. It is not just about representing forms, but a mood, unity and meaning that I can create.
