The Art Directors Guild's Gallery 800 (IATSE, Local 800) presents an exclusive exhibition featuring personal artwork of Scenic Artists as well as photographs and ephemera that show the everyday working life in scenic departments in film, television, opera and theater. The exhibit opens with a hosted reception on Saturday, June 17, 2017from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and features a book signing by Karen Maness, co-author of the book The The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop. Gallery 800 is located at 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in the North Hollywood Arts District. 
 
"Gallery 800 is proud to present a unique exhibition showcasing the rich history of Scenic Art," said curator Abra Brayman. We will be featuring original fine artwork by renowned Scenic Artists, accompanied by their fascinating photographs, stories, painted surfaces, techniques and tools. The show will offer a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of a multifaceted craft and its gifted creators.
 
The Scenic Artist exhibit also spotlights the publication of Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, a collaboration between the book's authors Karen L. Maness and Richard M. Isackes and the Art Directors Guild, which was published by Regan Arts, a Phaidon Global Company, in 2016. The Art Directors Guild Archives joined forces with the book's authors to compile a definitive behind-the-scenes history of Scenic Artists who crafted the iconic but now endangered art form of the Hollywood backdrop.
 
Gallery 800, located in the heart of the Noho Arts District, showcases Guild members' personal art in a series of shows throughout the year. These talented artists are leading art department professionals, who, through a combination of observation, passion and imagination, bring the writer's words and the director's vision to life in television and film. When not working as integral creative members of the entertainment community, they contribute to the fine art scene with their personal artwork. Since Gallery 800 opened its doors in March 2009, more than 600 ADG members have shown their artwork in the ongoing exhibitions.
 
Future Gallery 800 Future Exhibits Include (subject to change):
  • Little Bonfires (Aug. 19, 2017 - Oct. 7, 2017)
  • Art Unites 11 (Oct. 21, 2017 - Dec. 9, 2017)

The exhibit organizers are Abra Brayman, Curator; Michael Denering, Fine Arts Committee Chairman; Rosemarie Knopka, Archivist; Karen Maness, co-author of The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop; and Christian McGuire, Gallery 800 Staff Coordinator. Gallery 800 is open Thursday - Friday12:00 - 8:00 pmSaturday 2:00 - 8:00 pm; Sundays 12:00 - 6:00pm

About THE ART DIRECTORS GUILD
The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents 2,500 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers, Art Directors, Assistant Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Illustrators and Matte Artists; Set Designers and Model Makers; and Previs Artists. Established in 1937, the ADG's ongoing activities include a Film Society, an annual Awards Banquet, a creative/technology community (5D: The Future of Immersive Design), a bimonthly craft magazine (Perspective); and extensive technology-training programs, figure drawing and other creative workshops and year-round Gallery 800 art exhibitions. The Guild's Online Directory/Website Resource is at www.adg.org. Connect with the Art Directors Guild and #Gallery800 on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

About THE ART OF THE HOLLYWOOD BACKDROP
The definitive behind-the-scenes history of one of Hollywood's most closely guarded cinematic secrets finally revealed - painted backdrops and the scenic artists who brought them to the big screen. In almost every feature film of Hollywood's golden age, from The Wizard of Oz to North by Northwest to Cleopatra to The Sound of Music, painted backings have convinced moviegoers that what they are seeing - whether the fantastic roads of Oz, the presidents of Mount Rushmore, or ancient Egyptian kingdoms - is absolutely real. These backings are at once intended to transport the audience and yet remain unseen for what they really are. The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop reveals the hidden world and creators of these masterpieces, long-guarded as a special effects secret by the major studios such as MGM, Warner Brothers, Universal, Columbia, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount. In an effort to preserve the irreplaceable knowledge of scenic masters, Karen Maness and Richard Isackes, in collaboration with the Art Directors Guild, have compiled a definitive history of the craft, complete with interviews of the surviving artists. http://www.reganarts.com/