cacti

 James Peterson

November 3, 2018 - April 23, 2021

Median at Santa Monica Blvd. and Doheny Drive

The sculpture installation cacti, by artist James Petersen, mimics and honors the cactus as resilient, native Californian models of self-sustainability. The artist took visual cues from the Barrel, Yucca, Agave, Nopales, Organ Pipe and Saguaro Cacti. The transparent materials that include dichroic film and tinted resin will combine with sunlight to create twinkling reflective treasures.

About the artist: James Peterson gauges the success of his work by its interactivity and responsiveness of the people who experience it. Peterson is a Michigan native with a BFA from Kendall College of Art & Design. He has always been curious about the relationship between organic matter and man-made objects. A fearless explorer of new materials and experimental processes, Peterson has fully embraced computer-aided fabrication, a tool that has expanded, informed and reinvigorated his practice. His work has been featured at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood; at Burning Man; at the Coachella Valley Art & Music Festival; at Art Basel both in Switzerland and Miami; at Kunst Raum in Switzerland, and many other public art installations around the world. In addition to his own design and fabrication company, Art & Contraptions, Peterson is an educator at SCI-ARC (Southern California School of Architecture) specializing in materials and applications. Peterson lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

About the curator: Peter Mays, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) and its exhibition space at Gallery 825 (825 N. La Cienega Blvd), has curated exhibitions throughout Southern California for various arts, educational and civic agencies. Since joining LAAA in June 2005, Mays has implemented cultural exchanges with Korea, Germany and China, initiated collaborative installations with Tim Hawkinson and Lita Albuquerque, and increased LAAA's career development programs for emerging artists.

A reception for the artist was held on November 3, 2018.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

QUESTIONS: contact Rebecca Ehemann, Arts Manager (Acting) at (323) 848-6846 or rehemann@weho.org. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, please call, TTY: (323) 848-6496. To learn more information about the City of West Hollywood and its arts programs visit www.weho.org/arts.

The City of West Hollywood's Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including: Art on the Outside (temporary public art), City Poet Laureate, Drag Queen Story Hour, Free Theatre in the Parks, Grants, Holiday Programming, Human Rights Speaker Series, Library Exhibits, National Poetry Month, One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival, Summer Sounds + Winter Sounds, Urban Art (permanent public art), and WeHo Reads.