High Beams #1

Saturday, September 5, 2020, 8-10pm
Maple Street Plaza: 401 E. 12th Street, Los Angeles

A curated collection of Bendix Building art spaces will create a drive-through art show on the parking lot across from the building on Sept. 5, 2020. The one-night-only outdoor exhibition on the parking lot roof at 401 E. 12th St. will allow people to physically see art from the safety and comfort of their cars.  

“Since the pandemic began, each of our spaces has been able to show art only in a limited fashion, if at all, and few people have been able to participate. We have missed our huge Bendix Building opening nights where we saw all our friends,” said Carl Baratta, one of the organizers.

“A couple of us were masked up helping Dani Dodge move in July and we started throwing around ideas of getting everyone together again by holding an open-air show that would be safe even for the most COVID-vulnerable among us,” Baratta said. “Over Bloody Marys, we came up with High Beams, a lighthearted, fun way of creating a post-apocalyptic car-centric show in a parking lot that embraces Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” 

Other artists from the Bendix Building quickly joined in on the effort.  

Many well known Los Angeles artists have contributed to the exhibition. Among the art that will be shown are a collection of more than two dozen lawn ornaments, lighted sculptures, furniture covered in plush animal toy fur, unscripted performance art, videos and art that recreates the idea of the traffic cone. 

The rooftop exhibition will be the culmination of a day of virtual programming created by the  participating spaces including events, gallery walk throughs, and artist talks. Guests can visit the directory on the HighBeams.Art website throughout the day of the exhibition to view virtual programming that represents the work and artists being shown at each physical location.

After seeing work from Bendix Building galleries online, guests will be invited to drive to Los Angeles’ Fashion District and see art in person - through their car windows - at the parking lot across from the Bendix Building. Guests will be guided through the exhibition as they enter the parking structure, drive through the exhibit, and then depart.

This will be the first of a series of ongoing alternative exhibitions organized by a curatorial group of Bendix Building artists that includes Carl Baratta, Katya Usvitsky (TSALA); Debra Broz, Emily Blythe Jones (MVP); Molly Schulman (MVP and Maiden LA); Dani Dodge, Alanna Marcelletti, Sean Noyce, Max Presneill (Durden and Ray).