SFist Interviews The Love Movement
LA's The Love Movement, an art collective whose members are recent Philadelphia transplants, are changing the world with love and art—not in a hippy way, but in a hip way. They are wise beyond their years but fresh and innocent at the same time. They recently bought a well in West Africa, and Integrity Fashions had a piece of their artwork printed on t-shirts to draw awareness to the genocide in Darfur. Add them on MySpace to be part of the love and to stay updated on their latest projects.
The Love Movement are having an art show called "Love Conquers All," a collaboration with the Love Bandits, on Saturday night at the fabulous Space Gallery. They will be giving away free art, and they invite you to come and "share the love."
Check out their inspiring answers after the cut—they know more about the San Francisco art scene than lots of us residents!
How is the art scene different in LA than Philadelphia?
In LA the art scene is a lot younger. We think of what is going on in LA now and compare it to the early 80's art and youth boom of NYC. NYC is so expensive now while LA is still very cheap to live and so many great artists come out here to work and enjoy the life. Philadelphia has some great galleries and artists though with Lineage Gallery and the Space 1026 people. And it would be great if all cities took after Philadelphia and had First Fridays where every gallery on the main gallery area opens there doors on the first Friday of the month and shows the art and has some beverages. It is a good way to get the older crowd to cross over to see what the younger kids are doing. The older crowd has the dough.
Tell us about some of your more notable projects.
We have a close friend in the Peace Corps in Benin in West Africa and we have sent out art supplies to the kids of the village and also purchased a well. For 600 dollars you can buy a Coach bag, or you can provide a community with water. Tough choice. Recently we have linked up with Ropeadope Records and will be doing live painting at their ALL GOOD music festival this summer.
How about some notable people you've met through the collective? All we do is meet great people through TLM, from all our people's on the largest networking tool of all time... myspace. To a great relationship with Beau and Mike of Project: Gallery in LA, Harlan Levey of No New Enemies in Brussels was a great host last year to us, and the tree hugging kids of HippyTree are close pals now.
And now for the standards...
Name The Love Movement
Introduce yourself in one sentence
A collective of artists, designers, architects, and teachers who use art as a tool to draw awareness to social issues facing our society, while aiming to do something more than complain.
Age and Occupation
A bunch of early twenty somethings who pay rent by doing something creative from 9 to 5.
Home Town
We all went to design school in Philadelphia and currently live in Los Angeles.
How long have you lived in the Bay Area and Where (city, neighborhood etc.) and WHY?
We love visiting the Bay Area and enjoy the compactness the city has, compared to LA where a bunch of spread out neighborhoods call themselves a city under the Los Angeles name.
Favorite place to spend time online (website/blog/RSS feeds)
Woostercollective.com and Fecalface.com are checked out every morning as well as music jazzernauts Ropeadope.com, but keep your eye out for Ragrobot.net bringing some funny fashion posts from SF and NYC.
Favorite local business
Support your local pub.
What I'm currently Reading
Beautiful Losers - Contemporary Art and Street Culture, kinda the bible to the young art scene.
Best Deal in San Francisco
2 Buck Chuck is the best deal anywhere.
Favorite mode of transportation
Old fashion two legs, crazy we can still get around with them.
Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Zion I, and keep your eyes out for Trackademicks.
Favorite Bay Area Stereotype, and whether or not you buy into it
South Park's Smug
Favorite local hangout
Whatever gallery has an opening and free or bring your own alcohol.
SF has the BEST
Openminded diverse people around
You've never lived in SF until
We earn some more money and are able to come up there and post up for longer than a week.
Favorite Bay area politician of past or present
Mayor Gavin Newsom seems like an alright dude and keeps the slick back hair look going strong.
Now that Mayor Gavin is single, who are you going to set him up with?
The Mayor and the Desparate Housewives' Teri Hatcher look like they could push the kids around the block on a stroller together.
You can tell someone is a local here IF?
They have a bike, are environmentally conscience, know how to drink, and love their baseball teams.
SF would be soooo much better if only
Warmer water and cheaper rent.
Best Burrito
Late nite veggie burritos, pick your poison in the Mission.
Best Restaurant
Cafe's in North Beach.
Best movie scene filmed in or about SF
Upper Playground's THE RUN=UP is one of the best art films we have seen in awhile documenting the best young artists around. Also Quality of Life was a great movie made in SF.
Favorite artist to come out of the bay area
Margaret Kilgallen
Favorite author to come out of the bay area
Dave Eggers
Place you always tell visitors to check out
Drive across the Golden Gate and go to the little town below and stumble around the marina down there, and get some of the best ice cream on the west coast.
Favorite Bridge in the area
The Golden Gate, how about the documentary coming out about the people who jump of the bridge to commit suicide, they saved something like 20 people while filming it.
You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
Get some beers from the liquor store, find an art opening, post up and talk to some really open-minded people, party, then get some food and throw the last penny in a wishing well.
I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist
Found freelance work, and got a place, but the casual encounters are always funny to check out when you need a good laugh.
I want all the SFists out there to know
Realize that it is not about you or me, it's about we. At the end of your days you will be gone and the world will still be here. Try to leave it better than you entered it. As our friend says live, laugh, and love. We think the artist Geoff Mcfetridge said "the secret to life is enjoying the passage of time", sorry if it's someone else's quote.
Tell us a San Francisco Story
The TLM Poet Mr. TV wrote us this the other week. It seems fitting.
"Captive from Within"
I am but a captive to your will
Harmless it may seem at first light
But as time grows
So do the chains around my soul
Unwillingly I push forward
With a glimpse of what once was
Foolish I am but a coward
That succumbs to your demands
Addicted to the sweet nectar
My feelings of resentment and betrayal
Are overcome by that hollowness
The temporary absence from my evils
Shamefully I must attest
To these ill-fitted means of release
For the world is but a dangerous place
When you are lost,
Within
Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview
What is the one thing you learned in your life that you would tell others? Our answer is to sit down and write a note to all the ones you love as if today was your last day. Realize that if it wasn't for those people you would not be where your are, never be content but never take anything for granted.
Who would you like to see interviewed in the future (+ contact info if you've got it): Even though the Jeremy Fish interviews are great we would maybe like to see something on Yo! What Happened to Peace, a great political art show curated by John Carr.
Special thanks to Micke Tong for helping us out in SF.