The Thirteenth Sign and Masks Of God at Petra Gallerie May 28 UPDATE

By April MacIntyre May 13, 2011, 21:44 GMT

On May 28th, 2011, John Felix\'s Petra Gallerie is producing Snakebite Cortez and Joshua Ortega\'s new exhibit that remixes the best of pop culture, fine art, and narrative storytelling into an utterly compelling show of creativity and groundbreaking work.

Los Angeles based Petra Gallerie has a special night planned on May 28, as two artistic visions collide and collaborate in an interactive evening of the interpretations of the mysteries of faith, worship and the allure of the flesh play out side-by-side.

UPDATE - Petra Gallerie announces an association with the HRA Studios and Foundation. A non-profit organization built around music and media education
for children who do not have the resources to learn. Support the HRA Foundation at www.hrastudios.com

Chef Jacquelyn Sowards has a special menu that will blow your mind with exotic flavors and aromas. Sierra Nevada Beer is sponsoring the night so make sure you have a designated driver.

On May 28th, 2011, John Felix's Petra Gallerie is producing Snakebite Cortez and Joshua Ortega's new exhibit that remixes the best of pop culture, fine art, and narrative storytelling into an utterly compelling show of creativity and groundbreaking work.

Petra Gallerie owner, producer John Felix

Imagine if the world of superheroes was turned on its head, where the iconic heroes of different cultures and countries were found everywhere?  Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, the exhibit titled, "The Thirteenth Sign" will feature original masks designed by a talented array of artists, all accompanied by an original, unique story that tells of its origins, who had worn it and its meaning.

Cortez tells Monsters and Critics: "What started as an exercise to collaborate with writer, Joshua Ortega,  turned into this movement that by spoken concept alone gets people's interest and sometimes invokes peoples spirit. There's nothing more loaded then the word, God. People react. In one way or another they react. The when I tell them the concept, working with 20 artists in both a production and fine art capacity...well, now they're engaged.  When I tell them its gonna have performance art and live music and spontaneous art combustion, they look at me sideways, and then I tell them we have two spaces and what I just described is only in one of them. Then I tell them about Mel and David's installment..."

"This event has much of the same intent as 'Draw Bitch', but more on a spiritual level. There will be prose and other information tied to each mask. So bring your smart phones and we're gonna show you how dumb they are," says Cortez. "Our exclusivity is unique in the sense that we are inclusive. We believe the art is nothing without you and your perception of it and participation with it. Art is fluid and takes many shapes, forms, faces or masks....Be the hero!"

Also exhibiting in Petra Gallerie that night is Emmy Award-winning makeup artist Melanie Mills' recreation of her first art installation that was on display during Concept Fashion Los Angeles Week.

Her "Hollywood Retro: Glitter, Glamour and Ink" is a living diorama, where Geisha styled models' tattoo body ink is painstakingly hand-glitterized in three dimensional bursts of color, and are set inside a mid-century Hollywood boudoir produced by Mills. The complementary photo art of David Alley will adorn the walls of Petra Gallerie and shall remain on display for three weeks after the night's installation.

THE ARTISTS:

Snakebite Cortez

A transmedia artist who has worked in the fields of animation, fashion design, graphic novels, video games and more, Cortez has created an unforgettable artistic style.  His work was nominated for an Eisner award, and he has worked with DreamWorks and Von Dutch. Cortez was part of the creative team on an MTV award-winning video, the Grammy Awards, and his work was recognized by the Museum of Television and Radio.

Joshua Ortega

A writer whose work spans a wide spectrum of popular culture, Ortega has written screenplays, graphic novels, video games and the critically acclaimed novel ((Frequencies)). Ortega wrote the bestselling 'Gears of War 2' for Xbox, and has also worked on other iconic properties such as Spider-Man, Batman, Star Wars, and Star Trek.

Digger T. Mesch

With over 20 years of experience in the arts and entertainment industry, Digger T. Mesch has a long and creative arts history and experience as a filmmaker. The founder of Art Asylum, Dig Deep Entertainment and the creator of Mini-Mates, Mesch worked with LucasFilm, Warner Brothers, Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne.

Melanie Mills

Photo by David Alley

Emmy Award-winning makeup artist Melanie Mills served as the Head Makeup Artist for ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars" for five years, creating the trademark looks for its celebrity contestants and professional dancers.  Mills is also a makeup artist on Nickelodeon’s "Victorious" and "iCarly."  Her previous work includes "Talkshow with Spike Feresten," "Skating with the Stars," "Celebrity Circus," "Gordon Ramsay's Cook Along," "The Office," "Reno 911," "Six Feet Under," and the "Osbournes: Reloaded" while her film work includes "Gridiron Gang" and "Lockdown." Mills also has a new line of makeup selling worldwide, GLEAM Body Radiance, (www.gleambymelaniemills.com). 

Other artists in the show include:
John Felix, Joe Allard, Robert Warner, Ross Arbuckle, Eldon Asp, Dino J. Bortoli, Gabriel Garcia, Trevor Goring, Sameerah Hathaway, It'sa, David Alley, Gary Montalbano, Axel Ortiz, William O' Neill, Jan Utstein, James Lareau, Brock Potter, Gustavo "Django" Vasquez, Marilyn Hammer and DJ Azmyth.

Special performance art by: OLU

PETRA GALLERIE 1151 S. ROBERTSON BLVD. SORO, L.A., CA 90035 310.247.0252 WWW.PETRAGALLERIE.COM STREET AND ALLEY STRUCTURE PARKING
MAIN EVENT MAY 28 8PM-2AM
21 AND OVER
EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH JUNE 17TH

Teaser 2

FACEBOOK

Melanie Mills' art installation:

The Thirteenth Sign and Masks of God Teaser 3 from SNAKEBITE on Vimeo.