Cal State Long Beach student Chase Wood sold one of his original paintings for $1,500 at a local low-cost exposure event. Project Ethos, the organizer of a quarterly art gallery and live fashion show provided for emerging artists, at its fourth annual event June 5 at the Vanguard in Hollywood.
The show is now known for its cutting-edge designers, artists and music.
Jason Peskin, co-founder of Project Ethos, believes that his company is the next generation in revealing artistry to the media by combining fashion, music and art, and bridging the gap between the “indie” world and the industry.
Younger designers must overcome the lack of exposure. Project Ethos allows designers to create their own success stories. For example, the band LMFAO, known for their single “I’m in Miami Bitch,” was featured in the Nordstrom line “Totalitee Apparel” in March 2007.
Project Ethos’ show, titled “Lift Off,” included live acrobats and trapeze artists to complete the space theme. The acrobats twirled their light-up batons as they swayed on swings coming from the ceiling and preformed on the main stage.
“It’s a really positive experience,” said Shawna Francisco, a CSULB journalism major and Project Ethos media relations intern. The after-party continued until 4 a.m., allowing spectators more time to purchase the art and clothing shown throughout the night.
The event featured six clothing designers, 10 visual artists, three disc jockey sets and two live bands. One of these visual artists, Wood, said he worked on three paintings for four months and that it paid off.
“Art is another way to communicate and express yourself visually,” Wood said. “I definitely recommend Project Ethos for young individuals who want to get recognized as artists.”
He calls his paintings in “The Work Force Collection” “optical art,” which is concerned with the interaction between understanding and seeing.
Optical art gives the impression that a painting is moving through a technique using visual shapes and lines. The interaction among colors results in the illusion of movement. The retina then receives and processes the light.
“I’m inspired by my work being different from other artists. It’s not stuff you see everyday,” Wood said.
Wood’s pieces come with a price tag of at least $1,000 each.
“Project Ethos helped me to pursue my career,” Wood said. “I got to show my work to the public and to [art] curators. I’m really glad I did it.”
Wood uses a combination of colors and shapes blended together to make a one-of-a-kind piece of art with canvas and oil, according to CSULB student Stephanie Billett.
“His paintings are very unique. It was the only artwork that sold,” said Kiersty Tarantino, who attended the event. Philip Thorer, a former CSULB student, was one of the buyers.
“This company has so much potential,” Francisco said. “The low-cost exposure for these artists is a great opportunity for talent to be publicized.”
At the conclusion of every event, Project Ethos begins to plan its next showcase.
“[More than] 200 people applied to be participants in the next showcase,” Francisco said. Of the applicants, about 20 are selected.
For more information about the event, visit www.projectethos.com.