Organization We Love- West of Rome’s “Women in the City”

The intersection of North Moranga and East Sacramento Street in Altadena, CA may be a deserted cemetery corner, but for the past month, it has become an aesthetic site for LA-based artist Marnie Weber. Entitled “Eternity Forever”, the exhibition explores the concepts of horror and the grotesque in both collage and film by using the haunting surroundings of Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum. 

Weber is just one of the artists participating in “Women in the City,” the latest project of the public art organization, West of Rome. Based in Pasadena, California, West of Rome stages installations based on the geography and cultural surroundings of different areas in Los Angeles. As its mission states:

“These unorthodox exhibition sites are dictated by circumstance, time and the nature of each project, and for a designated period of time, become places of discovery for both the casual passer-by and the attentive art visitor.”

As part of West of Rome, “Women in the City” is an ongoing viral public art exhibition around the streets of LA. Conceived and curated by Emil Fontana, it features work by female artists in unconventional spaces. Past artists include Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Louise Lawler, and Jenny Holzer, all of whom have earned prominent reputations for the ways they re-imagine the display and distribution of visual art.

Another project currently “live” is Jennifer Bolande’s “Plywood Curtains,” which is comprised of all site-specific tromp l’oeil wood curtains installed in dilapidated storefronts in five neighborhoods of LA. These initially unassuming storefronts have, in response to the economic downturn, become popular sites for art exhibitions, as they provide not only a new function for the space itself, but also an accessible way to engage the public eye.

We admire “West of Rome” and WOMEN in the CITY’s mission to spread visual art to areas previously untouched by it, allowing for surprise encounters and discoveries. Yet we also appreciate their interactive web presence, which serves those who are keen to seek out the installations on their own.

Although we may have to fly across the country to take part in this artistic scavenger hunt (at least, Hannah will be this Christmas holiday!), we are nonetheless excited to learn that these artists are utilizing the diverse public spaces that characterize the city of Los Angeles.

Special thanks to Art Cart NYC™ contributor Rachel Low!