A Fond Farewell to Mark Allen’s Machine Project

Machine Project’s Final Event: Wrap Party and Print Sale | Image from Instagram.

Machine Project, the alternative artist-run space founded by CalArts alum Mark Allen (Art MFA 99), is hosting its final event—a celebratory goodbye party and commemorative print sale—this Saturday (Jan. 13) from 2-9 pm. The print sale includes Machine Project’s entire catalog of limited-edition artist prints.

Over the last 15 years, Machine Project has been a place for a diverse and spirited community of artists to connect with each other and create thought-provoking work. The nonprofit organization has put on a number of highly memorable and oftentimes humorous performances and art installations.

In the fall of 2017, Machine Project put on an underwater art show at the Annenberg Community Beach House Pool, and most recently posted a “Speculative Email Generator” that predicts future events based on the organization’s past emails (Writer’s note: My speculative email foretold, “our night of undersea debauchery will continue with music by our favorite vertebrate swingers, Fol Chen, and a drawing machine assisted seance.” Sign me up!).

In a piece on Allen and Machine Project by Carolina A. Miranda for the Los Angeles Times, Allen simply stated that the time was right to move on and reminisced about his five favorite events:

Many of the space’s unusual, often humorous, installations, are gathered in the book “Machine Project: The Platinum Collection,” published last year by Prestel. But Allen took time last week to reminisce about five of his favorite events. As with many things Machine Project, they are a little weird — collectively involving a forest, a pig and a very large tongue.

Another one of Allen’s favorite pieces, Fiesta Perpetua, will be reprised on Saturday as CalArts faculty and alum Carmina Escobar takes to Echo Park Lake for an all-day performance as part of the REDCAT-organized Pacific Standard Time Festival: Live Art LA/LA.