Art provoking thought

Some viewers might feel a little uneasy or even disturbed when they

see a few of the pieces in the new art installation at Brand Library

and Art Center.

“Tropico Redux” is the first mixed media exhibit of the newly

formed Tropico Artist Collective, a fine-art group out of Adams Hill

that aims to challenge its viewers through painting, photography,

sculpture and drawing with strong and sometimes controversial

statements.

“One of the goals of the gallery is to be thought provoking,” said

Alyssa Resnick, senior library supervisor, who helped curate the

show. “[The exhibit] does everything the gallery should do. It has

local artists, a variety of media, expressions and new work. That’s

what we strive for.”

Mary Rapazzo, an Adams Hill resident and exhibitor of six pieces

in the show, likes to convey a direct social, political or emotional

message through her work but also wants to leave some of the

artwork’s interpretation up to the viewer.

Her three-panel acrylic on peg-board called “See Nothing, Hear

Nothing, Say Nothing” was inspired by a conversation with her cousin

in Italy about the Mafia.

“He said, ‘Oh no. You don’t get involved. You see nothing. You

hear nothing. You say nothing,’” Rappazzo recalled.

Many people have that mentality all over the country or even

globally, she said. Like those who turn a blind eye to the Mafia,

people often pretend to ignore any number of social ills that pervade

society, she added.

The 10 members of Tropico Artist Collective came together out of

the need for creative networking, dialogue, critique and support,

said Adams Hill resident and member Eleana Del Rio, who owns Koplin

Del Rio Gallery in West Hollywood but is not a visual artist herself.

The members of the group bonded and will hone their technical skills

but also want to distinguish themselves as fine artists rather than

commercial artists, furthering their commentary on any variety of

issues through their artwork, Del Rio said.

“When we discovered there were other artists in our neighborhood,

we got excited,” Rappazzo said. “We can share and have collaboration.

It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Rappazzo has found fellow member Gary Freeman’s approach to his

art particularly inspiring and testament to the benefit of creative

collaboration between artists. In the exhibit, Freeman gets up close

and personal with his subjects, telling life stories through his

photographic portraits of men in drag.

“...He had the guts to go up to the person and photograph them and

ask them their personal history and he would hear interesting

stories,” Rappazzo said.

Tropico Artist Collective members want to focus on fine art and

eventually gain recognition beyond Glendale by attracting serious

artists who want to establish an expressive niche for themselves

through challenging bodies of work, Del Rio said.

The group -- which takes its name from the historic settlement of

Tropico that later became part of Glendale -- hopes to establish a

cutting edge fine arts scene vaguely similar to neighboring Silver

Lake and Echo Park art scenes. The group also gives tribute to one of

the area’s first artists, photographer Edward Weston, who set up a

studio in Tropico in the early 1900s and later became world famous

for his photographs of natural form, nudes and landscapes.

Tropico Artist Collective plans to eventually have a permanent

space to exhibit its art and perhaps show again at Brand Library and

Art Center, Del Rio said.

There will be a second artists’ reception at 7 p.m. Sept. 15.