True to her real life Barbie doll persona, Hollywood icon Angelyne premiered her latest art exhibit– her first solo exhibit in 13 years– this weekend at the Burgundy Room bar’s adjacent gallery in Hollywood saturday night. The collection is yet another act of shameless self-promotion by the artist who clearly has no intention of apologizing for it, and her admirers wouldn’t have it any other way. Ever the provocateur, Angelyne’s aptly titled “Sex to God” exposition titillates, fascinates, and offends– words that have become synonymous with the artist since she made a name for herself as Hollywood’s billboard queen in the 80′s. Despite being likened to a toy, this full-size seasoned bombshell is the stuff the makers of Matel could only create in their naughtiest of fantasies. Angelyne’s gallery show frames these fantasies for the masses.
The Burgundy Room’s gallery on Cahuenga Blvd. was turned pink to house the collection, Angelyne’s color of choice as evident by her famous pink Corvette. All of the pieces in the collection are self portraits, all of which are as… shall we say creatively exaggerated as the artist herself. The best part of the exhibit, and these sentiments ring true of Angelyne herself, is how tongue-and-cheek the whole dog and pony show is. As a vapid and vile piece of pop culture farce, “Sex to God” has no reason to exist, and it is that reason alone that it does.
In a clever commentary on the cultural influx of self-indulgence, Angelyne took out her caboodle of colored pencils and glitter glue to write the end all chapter on shameless self love. A send-off to the notion that we are all somebody to somebody, even if that somebody is ourselves. Nestled in a glass case of Angelyne memorabilia is this notion incarnate– one of her most famous images in mini-poster form with a “To Angelyne…Love, Angelyne” love note scribbled at the bottom. It was about the only item under the Angelyne brand umbrella that wasn’t for sale to the public.
While the novelty wore out by the time we circled the gallery, we applaud the collection for being low brow art at its highest. We have every reason to believe that the exhibit will be a roaring success, what with all the admirers Angelyne’s accumulated over the years, but we are most excited to see the reaction by the tertiary patrons and passers-by who stumble into the gallery unaware of her contributions to the history of the town. In Hollywood, the saying goes that if they aren’t talking about you, you’re doing something wrong. So we toast to Angelyne’s new venture, and may the rumblings of dialogue begin!
Angelyne- Sex to God runs through September 21 at the Burgundy Room Gallery (Formerly the Peep Show Gallery),
1621 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, CA. 90028
