Finish Fetish

Finish Fetish. Also known as the "L.A. Look" or "L.A. Minimalism," it is an art movement that emerged primarily in Los Angeles during the 1960s. Characterized by an obsessive attention to immaculate, industrial surfaces and a fascination with new synthetic materials, the work is deeply connected to the region's aerospace and surfboard manufacturing industries. The artists employed techniques of fabrication and finishing more common to hot rod and custom car shops than traditional art studios, creating sleek, geometric forms that often engage with light and perception.

Origins and development

The movement developed in the post-war economic boom of Southern California, where industries like aerospace engineering and plastics manufacturing flourished. Artists, many associated with the University of California, Los Angeles and the Chouinard Art Institute, were influenced by the clean, futuristic aesthetic of nearby Lockheed Corporation factories and the Venice surf and car culture. Key early exhibition spaces that supported this work included the Ferus Gallery, run by Walter Hopps and later Irving Blum, and the Pasadena Art Museum, which under directors like Walter Hopps presented pivotal shows. The movement paralleled but distinctly diverged from the more austere, object-oriented Minimalism being practiced in New York City by artists like Donald Judd and Robert Morris.

Characteristics and techniques

Hallmarks of the style include pristine, reflective, or translucent surfaces achieved through meticulous hand-finishing and industrial processes. Artists frequently used materials such as fiberglass, cast acrylic, polyester resin, and automotive paint to create objects with a flawless, machine-tooled appearance. Techniques like spray-painting, vacuum-forming, and meticulous sanding and buffing were adopted from custom automotive painting and boat building. The works often exploit optical effects, with highly polished surfaces that reflect their surroundings or translucent forms that capture and diffuse ambient light, creating an ethereal, perceptual experience for the viewer.

Notable artists and works

Larry Bell is renowned for his minimalist glass cubes coated with thin films of metallic particles, creating ghostly, reflective volumes. John McCracken created iconic, leaning monoliths or "planks" with a deeply polished polyester resin surface that mirrored the floor and wall. Peter Alexander produced luminous, wedge-shaped sculptures from translucent polyurethane resin, while Craig Kauffman created vacuum-formed wall reliefs in candy-colored acrylic. Other significant figures include De Wain Valentine, known for massive cast polyester resin discs, Helen Pashgian, who creates spheres and columns embedded with particles, Billy Al Bengston, who incorporated motorcycle painting techniques, and Ron Davis, who worked with shaped fiberglass canvases. James Turrell, though more associated with the Light and Space movement, shares a foundational interest in perceptual phenomena.

Relationship to other art movements

Finish Fetish is most directly linked to the Light and Space movement, with both groups exploring perceptual experience through material innovation, as seen in the work of Robert Irwin and Doug Wheeler. It is considered a distinct West Coast variant of Minimalism, sharing a formal reductivism but emphasizing sensual surface over pure geometry. Its roots also connect to the fetishized surfaces of Pop Art, particularly the work of Los Angeles-based Ed Ruscha. The movement's material focus further relates to Process Art, though with an end goal of perfection rather than documentation of action. Its legacy is evident in later movements like Neo-Geo and the polished aesthetic of many contemporary sculptors.

Critical reception and legacy

Initially, some East Coast critics dismissed the work as merely decorative or overly commercial, a product of Hollywood glamour rather than serious artistic inquiry. However, it gained significant recognition through major exhibitions at institutions like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Its influence is profound, presaging the later studio fabrication practices of artists like Jeff Koons and Anish Kapoor. The movement's emphasis on perceptual experience and industrial materials permanently expanded the vocabulary of sculpture and installation art, securing its place as a pivotal chapter in the history of American art and establishing Los Angeles as a major center for artistic innovation.

Category:American art movements Category:Contemporary art movements Category:Art movements in California Category:1960s in art Category:1970s in art