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The Arts Intel Report

Day Jobs

Julia Scher, Security by Julia Uniforms, 1998.

Mar 6 – July 21, 2024
328 Lomita, Stanford, CA 94305, United States

In the 1960s, when Larry Bell was an emerging artist hanging out with Ed Ruscha, Robert Irwin, and Ed Moses in Venice Beach, he had a day job at a commercial framing store. One day at work, Bell watched light reflect off the glass in a metal frame and was fascinated. A longtime painter, he pivoted to the medium of glass and became a pioneer of the West Coast Light and Space movement. While day jobs are often cast as distractions that keep artists from their true work, a new exhibition at the Cantor Arts Center frames these jobs as hidden sources of inspiration. The show features more than 90 works by 36 artists, both emerging and celebrated. All have held full-time or part-time jobs. Think lawyer, dishwasher, hair stylist, etc. —Jensen Davis

Photo: © Jörg von Bruchhausen/courtesy of the artist