World-renowned fashion designer Hedi Slimane tweeted last night about a new post on his diary entry of photographs from the raging weekender that was Burgerama at the Observatory in SanTana. Slimane, who has designed for the house of Dior, and is currently a designer for the house of Saint Laurent, is based in Los Angeles. Besides designing his minimalist, loose-fitting clothing for the runway, Slimane has dabbled in photography since his teen years and continues to produce his own work for books and exhibitions.

Burger Records, who hosts Burgerama every year as well as dozens of fun shows in its shop in Fullerton, was reasonably stoked to be immortalized in Slimane's photo diary. The photos themselves are shown in Slimane's signature black and white style and capture audience members, bands, and several shots of the Burger Records store.

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Roberta Bayley

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John Sollom - Kisses For Kelly

On the first anniversary of Kelly Thomas' death, Fullerton residents and artists connected to the cause have grouped together to present "Art with an Agenda: An Exhibit Inspired by Kelly Thomas." The show, which opens on Friday, July 6, is a charity art exhibit at PÄS Gallery downtown, blocks from where Thomas was brutally beaten.

The exhibit will feature  original work of over 40 artists, including celebrities such as Cherie Currie of the Runaways and actress Susan Olsen. All the money raised from the show will go to the Kelly Thomas Memorial Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the homeless in Orange County, founded by Kelly's father Ron. We talk to organizer and co-curator Stephan Baxter about his motivation, and why this exhibit is so important for Fullerton.

OC Weekly: Why did you decide to organize Art With an Agenda: An Exhibit Inspired by  Kelly Thomas?

Stephan Baxter: I knew Kelly, I wanted justice served and I love art!

I wanted to introduce what I believe to be the best thing in Fullerton, the Art Walk, to what I know was the ugliest day in Fullerton's history, July 5th 2011, the day Kelly was tortured and beaten by up to six on-duty Fullerton officers.

I would often see musicians and artists I knew personally at the Kelly Thomas protests. Rikk Agnew who could be regarded as the father of OC punk rock and is one of the contributing artists, was at most protests, as was his brother Frank. Steve Soto, Jorge Disguster, Ricky Stauffer, Phil Genova, Julie McDonnell, all are old friends from the music scene, and all were involved early on.

We were demanding answers because we hated what these men in uniform did to a member of our community, and we were going to hold them, and all those who attempted to obstruct the truth from coming out, accountable.
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Kai

Much like rock stars and supermodels, hip hop and street art have a long history that spans decades. And never before has the relationship between street art and hip hop had more of a literal representation than with the soon-to-be-unveiled "Now Royalty" collection by Los Angeles-based street artist, Kai Aspire, which depicts some of hip hop's biggest names as medieval noblemen.

Kai first made an impact on the L.A. street art scene with his bold anti-smoking "Morons" mural back in 2009, which depicted what looked like a pack of Marlborough Red brand cigarettes, but with the word "Morons" where "Marlborough" should be. Needless to say, the piece sparked plenty of conversation, and ultimately inspired Kai's own father -- a smoker for many years -- to finally quit.

Since then, Kai's work has adorned the Melrose Corridor area of West Hollywood where he grew up, with each piece showboating a different social message -- everything from anti-drinking ("Abysmal Vodka" as a play on Absolute Vodka), anti-consumerism, and even an anti-technological douchiness piece ("Boundberry," a nod toward society's obsession with mobile communication).

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​"Material Matters" by Edith Abeyta
Feb. 2 to Mar. 9
Irvine Valley College Art Gallery
You walk through darkened glass doors into a dimly lit room that smells like old clothes. There are no racks, just metal wire strung across the room. Instead of the sound of hangers screeching, there's a peaceful silence. You're told you can have some clothes for free, but you have to wait a few weeks. This isn't like any Goodwill you've ever visited--because it's not. It's the Irvine Valley College Art Gallery.

Edith Abeyta's show "Material Matters" opened on February 2, giving everyone a break from the typical student and faculty shows. Abeyta took over the gallery, installing used clothing all across the space.

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Sama Wareh and her art piece 'Starts With One'

​As the now 11-month old uprising continues in Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the death toll continues to mount. The opposition stronghold Syrian city of Homs has faced continued shelling this week. Those who survive do so on dwindling food and water resources as a humanitarian crisis is growing. The Red Cross has tried to negotiate with the government for daily cease-fires in order to deliver aide in distressed areas. For local Syrian-American artist Sama Wareh, the harrowing situation in the country where many of her relatives live has motivated her to use her talents to help those in need.
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Art piece by José Lozano

​Valentine's Day is around the corner, but opportunities to woo your love interest or delve into your interest in love are already arriving. The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton and renowned Chicano artist José Lozano are hosting and presenting an evening of poetry and music inspired from the creative spirit of Latino culture.

Poets Gloria Enedina Alvarez, Sushu Foster, and Olga Garcia are the assembled wordsmiths for the homanje to the loved and the unloved.

Musical entertainment will feature Adriana Alvarez singing classic rancheras, the ballads of half-Hawaiian, half-Mexican vocalist Araianna Gouivea, who will also do spoken word pieces with a the accompaniment of a saxophone player, and last but not least, Latin Grammy-nominated La Santa Cecilia singer La Marisoul performing boleros in her passionate, inimitable voice.

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Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly

The Gromble were going to play, but didn't

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Nothing foretells the end of an event like a dozen cop cars lining up the street.

That's what happened Friday night to the first Culture Carnival, a celebration of local artists with musical selections from bands like The Spell, JUPILAR, The Gromble and Midnight Hour inside a nondescript warehouse in Santa Ana.

More than 300 people were expected to attend when just before the 7 p.m. start date, Santa Ana Police shut down the event. About a dozen officers lined up across the street from the warehouse with batons on hand.

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Vyron Turner (Courtesy PictureBox)

​Art book publishers PictureBox just released Golf Wang, a 196-page book documenting the rise of OFWGKTA through its members own photography, design and writing. Golf Wang gives readers an inside look into Odd Future's last few years as a group and their sudden rise in fame, from their early start in skate parks to selling out shows nationwide.

Family Books, one of our favorite independent book shops in California, is hosting an in-store signing and a photo exhibition tonight with Tyler and company.

If you're as impatient as we are to pick up a copy at the signing, you'll be happy to find a sneak preview of some of the photos you'll find in the book after the jump.

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