The Art Dockuments: Tales of the Art Dock: The Drive-by Gallery - Softcover

Carlton Davis is author, artist, and architect. He wrote for LA Architect and was their design critic. In 2009, He published a book entitled Bipolar Bare, which documents his 40 year struggle with Bipolar Disorder. For the past year Carl has been involved with writing the Art Dockuments, the story of the Art Dock, the drive-by art gallery. He had a writing residency at Montalvo in Saratoga, CA to work on the Art Dockuments, and was a writer in residence at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in Temecula, CA. Mr. Davis considers himself a draftsman, and sculptor, In his writing he often incorporates his drawings. In his architectural practice Carlton Davis designed the North Hollywood Subway Station for Los Angeles’ MTA Red Line, and the headquarters of the Los Angeles Mission for the homeless. He is known for incorporating artist’s work in his projects. Carlton Davis was a lecturer in Architecture at UCLA, Woodbury University, and an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming. He taught drawing at Otis Art Institute. Carl is a public speaker Bipolar Bare- My life's journey with Mental Illness 2009: A self-published book, which chronicles my history with Bipolar Disorder. The book was awarded as a winner in the memoir category by the Eric Hoffer Awards, Psychology Today: Carl Davis is an expert blogger. His latest blog “Mad Sisyphus, which looks at Bipolar Disorder comparison with Titian’s painting of Sisyphus was declared an essential read. Bipolarbarebook.com: Carl Davis writes blogs articles for this website every two weeks or so. Blog article titles include: Phycho-Doughnuts and The attack of the inanimate objects,. http://bipolarbarebook.com Coagula Art Journal: Carl contributed several articles to this magazine include a critique of Disney Hall, #18, $500 a Square foot, a critique of new loft housing #95 Downtown News, Los Angeles: Reporter, articles include: Disillusioned in the Loft District, January 1995 and Disney Hall June, 1995 LA Architect, Design Critic and Chairman 1988- 1994 In 1994, when Mr. Davis was Chairman, LA Architect was honored as the best chapter publication in the US by the AIA. Articles included: The Northridge Quake and Le Grand Louvre, May 1994 Spectacle Magazine, Article on the Eiffel Tower, 1984 Stroll Magazine, Article on the Art Dock, 1985 Uturn Magazine, Guest Editor and Writer, issue #4 on Artist Residency in Downtown Los Angeles 1984

Clarion Review 

 Four Stars  

Those whose downtown Los Angeles touchstone is Frank Gehry’s aluminum-clad, tornado-like  Disney Concert Hall may have trouble conjuring what the area was like thirty years before that  building starred in every new automobile ad on television. The Art Dockuments – Tales of the  Art Dock: The Drive-by Gallery, by Carlton Davis, is a fascinating tribute to a very different  Downtown scene and the scrappy artists who gentrified this rundown section of the city during  the first half of the 1980s. 

 Divided into four acts—titled “The Manifesto,” “The Community Gallery,” “The Art Olympics,” and “The Business of Art”—this survey covers every exhibition held from 1981 through 1986 in the eccentric gallery located in the loading dock of a former pickle factory. The book’s focus is as much on the lives and beliefs of the creators as it is on their art works. The colorful illustrations of each show provide a visual diary and, together with a photograph of the featured art framed in the loading dock’s square opening, effectively tie together the book’s thirty-five historical narratives.  

While The Art Dockuments is an entertaining choice for any reader craving a passionate account of art practiced as life—and faith—this handsomely packaged book will be most useful for aficionados of contemporary art, especially those interested in alternative ventures.