Off the Wall at the Armory Center for the Arts
The good news about such as public-art controversies and folks saying that the arts should not be considered work and as such should not be considered part of any stimulus package -- though the fact is that 5.6 million Americans are employed in the arts, the ultimate small, entrepreneurial business -- is that it gets people talking about art.
March 14, you can stimulate that economy until the cows come home at Pasadena's Armory Center for the Arts benefit and art auction Off the Wall; beginning Feb. 20, you can preview the work at www.armoryarts.org, and from March 7 to March 13, you can preview the actual art before whipping out your checkbooks that Saturday night at 145 N. Raymond Ave. in Old Pas.
There will be hundreds of pieces on sale, created by everyone from the wildly famous -- a Laddie John Dill here, and Ed Ruscha there -- to local heroes who are also big-time nationally such as Helen Pashgian and R. Kenton Nelson -- to locals who are simply wonderful painters and assemblage artists, including Nancy Kyes, Gretel Stephens and Ben Sakoguchi.
Above, that's the Armory's Sally Bickerton holding a piece by Helen with Armory gallery director Jay Belloli off to the side.
Ticket info: sbickerton@armory.arts.org