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Art of Darknessby Christopher Miles
La Luz took life as the twisted brainchild of Billy Shire, a collector who, depending upon one's perspective, bears a striking resemblance to either a dissipated Jesus or a sweet Satan. In 1971, Shire partnered with his mother and opened the Soap Plant in L.A.'s Silverlake district, an amalgam of herbal products, curios, candles, and jewelry. The store became a local institution, as well as a launching pad for Shire's ever expanding ventures, such as Zulu, Wacko, and, eventually, La Luz, an offshoot of the appreciation for esoterica and masked wrestlers Shire gained while traversing Mexico with his brother, Peter Shire. After transplanting the Soap Plant and its offshoots to Melrose Avenue,
Embrace the light, but don't shortchange your darkside, either.
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Those contemplating a stroll on the sinister side this witching season should point their pitchforks toward La Luz de Jesus, the edgy gallery on the edge of Hollywood. Its name translates as "The Light of Jesus," but don't be decieved. Celebrating a dozen years in business this month, this bazaar of the bizarre has become a mecca for collectors of art and artifacts from outside the mainstream.
where he spent nearly a decade colonizing storefronts in the hip strip between La Brea and Fairfax, Shire recently consolidated his kingdom under the roof of a former post office on Hollywood Boulevard. Its new locale affords the master all the space needed to satiate hoarders of collectible toys, offbeat postcards, religious relics, gag gifts, horror props, animal skulls, and retro kitsch, as well as two rooms for Shire's ongoing program of La Luz exhibitions, ranging from goofy to strange to blasphemous to macabre. Ironically, "The Light of Jesus" has proven itself a steady beacon for artists dealing in darkness: Joe Coleman, Manuel Ocampo, and Robert Williams garnered some of their earliest exposure at the gallery, which has also served as a showcase for the artsy sides of punk diva Lydia Lunch and Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. Demons, devils, and death run amok at La Luz, scurrying in and out of paintings and sculptures by the likes of Christian Clayton, Calef Brown, Stacy Lande, Anna Sea, Rob Clayton, and Al Farrow.
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