"Black Market Sugar" Review

Stephen Doin' Work. Not many people wanted the fre drinks.
This made gallery director Stephen Crout very sad.

This past weekend “Black Market Sugar” opened at the ARTery in Costa Mesa. It was curated by a girl named Popnz. I’m sure that she had a proper name that wasn’t missing a vowel at one point, but you know these artsy types. They hate vowels.

The name and the initial inspiration behind “Black Market Sugar” originates from when America occupied Japan after World War 2. Back then sugar was carefully rationed and then stolen by American GI’s and sold on the black market. Hence, black market sugar. This idea that sugar was at one point so coveted that people would risk legal trouble to get it gave Popnz the idea to make a show that would bring some of that prestige back to sugar.

"Sugar Coated Contraband" by Glenn Arthur

In Spike Lee’s documentary Kobe Doin’ Work, Spike asks Kobe why in basketball teams don’t try to hide their play signals in other sports. Kobe’s response was that in basketball it doesn’t really matter what they run but how they execute it. The very same thing can be said about throwing an art show. The idea behind the show is interesting enough, but the show itself is more or less a bunch of paintings by LA artists with sugary goods in them. The sweets element is represented, but there isn’t really a sense that the sweets are presented in such a way to make them feel particularly special. For example, arguably the strongest piece (and also the one on most of the promotional material) is a painting called “Sugar Coated Contraband” by Glenn Arthur. It’s a crying girl holding cupcakes with grenades in them. Maybe I‘m just real dense, but I don‘t see how that painting is supposed to help bring back the prestige to sugar? I think this show would have been greatly benefited from having a piece, or few, that stuck to the theme hard and use them to establish the tone.

This is where the cool kids hang out. Outside and away from the
artwork.

On the other hand, the fact that nearly every piece (and there were around a couple dozen pieces too) had some sort of candy or baked good in it so that’s pretty commendable.

The opening was a lot of fun. There was a DJ, DJ Loaf, who spun some pretty good music. There were a bunch of trays offering up a variety of candy and baked goods, which was a really cool touch to tie the food into the theme of the show. I mean, it was a pretty obvious move but it still bears mention that it was there and pulled off with aplomb.

“Black Market Sugar” will be running until June 21st at the ARTery in Costa Mesa.