A covert group of artists, an underground drainage tunnel covered in graffiti, a cross section of about 200 art enthusiasts and a hatchet welding thug looking to cause trouble.
All this shaped an underground art show on Sept. 13, where 20 aspiring artists showed off their work.
The art show was illegal because the artists loitered and defaced city property with graffiti.
Spectators were instructed to meet at an undisclosed location near the 101 freeway. After walking to a chain link fence and stepping through to the other side, they were led down to two huge drainage tunnels.
“This is a gorilla art show. These people don’t even need a legitimate venue to do it. They can do it any where, art happens anywhere,” said one spectator that did not want his identity revealed.
By nightfall, all of the artists had set up their work on the walls of the tunnels and crowds of people began to pour into admire the art. Artist Dave Cooley’s paintings were both surrealistic and abstract with bright, rich colors and lots of creative texture. He had no problem revealing his name and said that he gets his inspiration from “life and imagination.”
The energy in the tunnels was high and the excitement could be seen on every face. Artist David Naylor was new to this experience.
“I’ve never been in an art show before, but this one is very original,” Naylor said.
Suddenly the mood of the people changed. One of the artist’s paintings had been spray painted over with the letters “RIP” and partially burned by a young man with a shaved head, resting a rusty hatchet on his shoulder.
The man continued to intimidate people who would walk near him. When asked to leave, he became more aggressive until one brave guy snatched the hatchet out of the man’s hand before he could hurt anyone. He was released with the hatchet shortly after and agreed to leave without further trouble.
“It was inspiring,” The Gorilla Collective said about the incident. “People looked out for each other, worked together, tried diplomacy and when that didn’t work, were brave enough to risk themselves to protect those folks who had come to the show to have a good time.”
Overall the illegal underground art show was a great success. It will stand as a prime example of what a group of passionate, motivated, and creative people can achieve.
For more information on the Gorilla Collective email them at [email protected]