L.A. Based Artist Dianna Cohen Continues Her 'Greening of Fine Art' With Wearable Artworks Made From Recycled Plastic Bags to be Worn by Alt-Rock Duo The Ditty Bops at Their July 28 Show at Henry Fonda Theater

       By: Dianna Cohen
Posted: 2007-07-30 09:07:48
Los Angeles-based multi-media visual artist, painter and curator Dianna Cohen is best known for her two-dimensional and three-dimensional works using recycled plastic bags, ranging from small hanging pieces to room-sized installations. Most recently, she applied her creations to surfboards via the acclaimed group show FLOW -- fine lines on water (which she also curated), presented in L.A., Laguna Beach and Pacific Grove, CA last year, and currently at Santa Barbara's East/West Gallery.

Cohen has also expanded her use of recycled plastic bags into making wearable art pieces. The meticulous hand-sewing of the materials -- employed in all her works -- is perfectly suited to these creations, and alt-rock/pop duo The Ditty Bops will wear Cohen's conscious couture at their July 28 concert at L.A.'s Henry Fonda Theater. The show's part of the eco-activist act's summer FARM Tour, raising money for Farm Aid and other local farm support organizations.

Wearable art by Dianna will also adorn Ed Begley's wife, actress Rachelle Carson, on an episode of Begley's environmentally-themed show Living With Ed. Begley and Carson visited Cohen's L.A. studio in May to shoot a segment airing this fall (date TBD), spotlighting Dianna's long-term "green" tradition in art-making and sustainable living. Carson was so taken with the bag couture that she intends to also wear it at upcoming green carpet events.

Begley said, "Dianna's work is, in my opinion, the highest form of art ... it makes us think about how ubiquitous these bags have become, and how we must seriously consider where they end up. She reminds us that if we're not using recycled materials, we're not really recycling. Her work is not only beautiful in how it appears, but in what it says, something we should all aspire to." Cohen will also be seen on TV this fall in an episode of the nationally syndicated network show EcoZone Project starring Daisy Fuentes. The segment was shot at Patrick Warburton's Southern California home, where she created art with his children using recycled plastic bags.

In a recent interview with Art Ltd., Cohen said, "The Greening of Art describes the growing movement towards an ecological consciousness in Artworks and the Art-making process, expressed in terms of content, materials, process, perspectives, communication and presentation. Artists have a responsibility to create and participate in the current dialog ... including art & culture, justice, human rights, ecology, renewable resources & sustainability, corporatization, urbanization, moving back to the land, food sources, farming, politics, ecosystems and the world & planet at large ... if we don't raise these ideas, talk about these concepts through our media and ask questions, who will?

Cohen has long been ahead of the curve with her prescient greening of fine art, and her acclaimed work will be shown at upcoming exhibitions including the group shows Do It Now: Live Green at the Ben Maltz Gallery at L.A.'s Otis College of Art, Aug. 25-Oct. 20, and the Oct. 4 L.A. Icons show & awards at Universal Globe Theatre at Universal Studios Hollywood. A solo show, "CYCLE," at Venice's innovative epOxybOx space opens Sept. 28.

Dianna Cohen's work is known and shown worldwide, and in 2006 was featured in the Raw/Materials exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, CA. In 2004 and 2005, Cohen had five solo exhibits including shows at the gallery Art Affairs in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the Sutton Gallery in Melbourne, Australia and Frank Pictures in Santa Monica, CA. She also contributed to the group exhibition The New York Yankees & The American Dream at the Bronx Museum, New York and the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida.

For more information, log onto http://www.diannacohen.com
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