The Art Department Crafts A Moment of Fleeting Joy in LA With ‘Dandelions’ (The NoPro Review)
A wish comes true in the unlikeliest of places
Being an adult complicates things.
When we were kids the world, even in the worst times, was magical. Simple things had power: face-up pennies were good luck, sidewalk cracks were active threats to our parents, and dandelions granted the power to make wishes come true.
While we change, these traces of folk magick remain, hidden in the haze of memories clouded by electricity bills and insurance premiums.
Dandelions, by the Los Angeles Art collective The Art Department, offers visitors the chance to get back in touch with that primal power. Yet instead of shying away from the complexities of adult life, the piece uses its industrial setting to transform the simplest of things — wishing on a dandelion — into an elaborate process that at once satirizes our bureaucratic society and stretches out the simple process of making a wish into a delightful meditation.
It’s easy to throw around words like “whimsical” when talking about ephemeral, experiential art, and yet no other word suffices when it comes to this one.
The pull will be strong to Instagram the hell out of your path, which re-wilds and transforms a piece of mothballed civic infrastructure, but let yourself be carried away by the sights, smells, and the smartly crafted interactions fully before snapping that pic. I know I wish I had. (Taking pics is part of the job. I’ll put mine up on social after the project closes. You’ll want to see this for yourself if you can.)
With this piece — which is popping up for free this weekend and then disappearing on the wind — The Art Department accomplishes what so many commercial “Instagram Palaces” seek to do but often fall far short of. The collective has created a highly photographic experience that has a real soul. Some of that may come from the focus on the process of the experience as opposed to the selfie-palaces’ need to create moments so people can be seen to be having fun. It’s the difference between a first-person and a third-person experience. Being seen here is an option, not the point.
Instead the sights you’ll see!
The installation doesn’t take long to move through, but there’s beautiful moments around almost every corner, and a whole world is built out of the design aesthetic and the playfully grounded performances of the cast. While there’s no story per-se, Dandelions just wouldn’t be the same without the performers.
While it’s a truism that the impact of experiential art of any stripe is colored by the current condition of the participant, Dandelions functions like a kind of spiritual chiropractor: realigning one’s sensibilities by presenting the familiar in a strange (but still familiar?!?) context.
This latest work from the team behind the Griffith Park TeaHouse and Petal Drop is a more than welcome reminder that everyday magick is just a wish away.
Dandelions has appeared at 6700 Garfield Ave. in Bell Gardens. It will run, Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. — 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 12, from 1–6:30 p.m.. Reservations are sold out, but walk-ups available on first-come, first-served basis; 14+. Check the listing for details about dress code.
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