Melt Gallery and Otis across LA present: Prodigal Reality

For Immediate Release:
Show Title: Prodigal Reality
Where:       Melt Gallery inside Meltdown Comics
October 4th – October 30th, 2008
Opening reception: October 4th, 2008, 7PM -11PM
7522 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
1.323.851.7223
www.meltcomics.com

About the Show:
Prodigal Reality is a show of art works by alumni of The Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles and is one of a series of citywide events marking the 90th anniversary of the school. Prodigal Reality is curated by renowned Low Brow artist Anthony Ausgang, and artist Hazel Mandujano who chose Otis alumni that use the graphic language of comic books and cartoons in their work. Meltdown Comics, a world famous comic book store, is hosting the Prodigal Reality exhibition and will have the artists’ comic books and other merchandise for sale in the main store.

About the artists:
Andrew Brandou’s (graduated in ’90) paintings remind us that cute animals can hide evil intention while Bob Dob’s (’01) characters show us our “shadow side” and lets us in on our own dirty secrets. Gideon Boomer (’06) allows humans to play in a world that belongs to the animals as Mia Araujo (’07) concentrates on the complexities of worlds built around women. Mark Dean Veca (’85) takes Dr. Seuss as his starting point for a freeform abstraction of planet Earth and Hazel Mandujano (’03) writes and draws and self publishes her own comics and has founded the company Cakemountain. Anthony Ausgang’s (’83) paintings of psychedelic cats are on a vacation from reality so that David Magdaleno’s (’03) characters can ponder existential questions as they populate a sparse planet.

About Otis College of Art and Design:
Otis prepares diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, their skill, and their vision. Otis began in 1918, when Los Angeles Times founder Harrison Gray Otis bequeathed his MacArthur Park property for Los Angeles’ first public art college. Today, Otis has expanded to include four campuses. Its five-acre Elaine and Bram Goldsmith campus is centrally situated on Los Angeles’ Westside, one mile from the Pacific Ocean. The campus is not only close to galleries, museums, and artists’ studios, but also surrounded by a variety of film, digital imaging, and toy companies. The Bronya and Andy Galef Center for Fine Arts, a dynamic presence on the campus, houses the fine arts department as well as the Maltz and Bolsky Galleries and Graduate Writing. Kathleen Ahmanson Hall was designed by architect Eliot Noyes in 1963 to house an IBM research center. It now serves the interactive product design, toy design, digital media, communication arts, architecture/landscape/interiors, foundation, and liberal arts and sciences departments. Its “punch card” design embodies the perfect bond between design and technology and the future. The Fashion Design Department occupies an entire floor of the California Market Center in the heart of downtown L.A.’s garment district. Graduate Studios in the adjacent beach community of El Segundo house the Graduate Fine Arts and Graduate Graphic Design Programs. Graduate Public Practice studios are at Santa Monica’s 18th St Arts Center.

About Meltdown Comics and Melt Gallery:
Meltdown Comics, was little more than the hope of two fans who took a risk and used their personal collection of comic books and Spider-Man memorabilia to open their own store. Now one of the most respected comic book stores in the world, it has become a must-see pop culture destination for some and a valuable research spot for others

Melt Gallery, located within Meltdown Comics, is a key component in the cultural sphere of Los Angeles. Melt Gallery exhibits local and international established and emerging artists working in the mediums of graphic novel/comic art, designer toys, graffiti/aerosol painting, photography, illustration, and digital artwork.