Graphic artist and photographer Gordon Holden is pretty damn awesome (his website tells us to "eat more candy"—what's not to love?). Here, he shares his current obsessions with OC and gives us an exclusive preview of his new bedroom-poster series Coming of Age, part of Paul Loya Gallery's group show, California Dreaming, opening this weekend in LA.
This is what Gordon had to say about the series:
"Everyone, at one point in their life, has been a fan of pop music. It also tends to have a strange influence on shaping your identity as a young person (probably out of convenience). But, eventually, there is always a shift in taste and choice. I'm not sure if this has to do with maturity or intelligence. Whatever the phenomena may be, it has a likelihood to hold your fascination, because finding something that speaks to you can be sort of an adventure.
Coming of Age was conceived out of the blue, when I came across my old CD collection. Of course, those were a big thing when they were relevant. I saw them, and each shiny plastic case became a time capsule for instances in the past when I was sitting in geography class, passing folded white lined paper notes along to the blondie in the back of the room. But, as long as the nostalgia lasted, my more formulated tastes kicked in and rejected the notion of what once was, with sort of a louder, faster, and slightly out-of-tune guitar solo.
The certain musical acts that I chose to split down the middle had to do with a sense of compatibility in imagery or commercialized aesthetic, as well as a comparison in genre orientation. Justin Bieber and Kurt Cobain's sweet hairdos and personas. The Ramones, a punk-rock guy group, and the Spice Girls, a poppy, girl-power group. They are all different compositions over the decades, but really, the same act."
California Dreaming runs from July 12 through August 23
Paul Loya Gallery
2677 S La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA&
This is what Gordon had to say about the series:
"Everyone, at one point in their life, has been a fan of pop music. It also tends to have a strange influence on shaping your identity as a young person (probably out of convenience). But, eventually, there is always a shift in taste and choice. I'm not sure if this has to do with maturity or intelligence. Whatever the phenomena may be, it has a likelihood to hold your fascination, because finding something that speaks to you can be sort of an adventure.
Coming of Age was conceived out of the blue, when I came across my old CD collection. Of course, those were a big thing when they were relevant. I saw them, and each shiny plastic case became a time capsule for instances in the past when I was sitting in geography class, passing folded white lined paper notes along to the blondie in the back of the room. But, as long as the nostalgia lasted, my more formulated tastes kicked in and rejected the notion of what once was, with sort of a louder, faster, and slightly out-of-tune guitar solo.
The certain musical acts that I chose to split down the middle had to do with a sense of compatibility in imagery or commercialized aesthetic, as well as a comparison in genre orientation. Justin Bieber and Kurt Cobain's sweet hairdos and personas. The Ramones, a punk-rock guy group, and the Spice Girls, a poppy, girl-power group. They are all different compositions over the decades, but really, the same act."
Gordon's Obsessions:
to know: information
to eat: hot lobster roll
to drink: Kevita lemon ginger
to play: ebay
to hear: this noise
to read: horoscopes
to wear: patrik ervell jeans
to watch: "the young ones"
to love: beach cams
California Dreaming runs from July 12 through August 23
Paul Loya Gallery
2677 S La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA&