Hunter Drohojowska-Philp: Art Historian

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp has been a staple of the L.A. art scene for more than two decades. She has been the art critic for the L.A. Weekly, the L.A. Examiner, and many others, as well as the author of Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe, considered by many to be the most definitive biography of the artist to date. Drohojowska-Philp is currently working on a book about the Los Angeles art scene in the 1960's and has conducted extensive interviews with artists, many of whom lived in Venice at the time.

The Ferus Group
"The Ferus Group was really a bubble. But when we look at it now, it seems like an extremely strong moment in our history, and one that can never exist again."

A Delightful Eccentricity
"These artists were trying to do something entirely new, something completely fresh. They didn't have any concept of an art market as it exists today. I think they were able to evolve because they didn't have someone looking over their shoulder."

Lifestyle
"All the artists talk about driving around with the top down and the radio playing as a form of pleasurable activity, which is almost inconceivable to us today."

On Ed Moses
"During the 1960s he moved to New York, but he felt he was more at home here. This is where he felt he could develop."

On Billy Al Bengston
"I think the prize was $35 if he won, which was enough for him to live on for weeks. So Billy and Al took up motorcycle racing as a way of making money."

On Ed Ruscha
"Ed was, from the beginning, an extraordinarily talented person, but he had to find his own way of working. He did it very quickly."

On John Baldessari
"John Baldessari wanted to react against the dominance of the Ferus artists."