LA Nocturne: Artist Jeneleen Floyd Unveils Sensual New Work Inspired by Hollywood Noir
Artist Jeneleen Floyd Unveils Sensual New Work Inspired by Hollywood Noir
Anatomical drawings come to life and vintage pinups frolick with butterflies in today’s short LA Nocturne, created from the signature collages of Jeneleen Floyd. The animation is set to the backdrop of photographer Max Yavno and Lee Shippey’s 1950s tome The Los Angeles Book, found in a thrift store in Floyd's SoCal neighborhood of Echo Park. “I hadn't intended on using it for collages,” explains the artist, whose creations were recently displayed at the 2012 Santorini Biennale of Arts in Greece and feature in this month's “Kiss Me Deadly: Contemporary Neo-Noir from Los Angeles” at London's Paradise Row gallery. “When I started working on the concept for the show I instantly went and grabbed it from my shelf. I decided to use the book as the character itself.” The exhibition, curated by Texas-born art consultant Price Latimer Agah, examines representations of Tinseltown and its history through works from artists such as Jonah Freeman & Justin Lowe, Francesca Gabbiani, Mark Hagen and Glenn Kaino. “It has all the elements of a great neo-noir,” says Agah of today's video. “Symbolic allusions, a stark palette, foreboding music, femmes fatales, jarring editing and a dark mood of hopelessness and romanticism.” We quizzed Floyd on the lighter side of life in California and the Hollywood of her fantasies.
What classic L.A. film do you never tire of watching?
Jeneleen Floyd: Sunset Boulevard.
What femme fatale do you most admire?
JF: Jean Harlow—she was insanely confident on screen and a Kansas City native as well.
What era of Los Angeles would you most liked to have lived in?
JF: I would have loved to be here through the 20s and 40s, to see the city when the film industry first began.
What car do you dream of driving around the city?
JF: Flying through the hills in an Aston Martin would be suitable.
Which person dead or alive most embodies the L.A. spirit?
JF: Marilyn Monroe. She embodies all the glamour and tragedy that is Los Angeles. She completely reinvented herself from meager beginnings into one of the greatest legends. It’s a dangerous
transformation that seems to only happen in Hollywood.
"Kiss Me Deadly: A Group Show of Contemporary Neo-Noir from Los Angeles" runs from January 24 to March 9 2013, at Paradise Row in London.