The Standard

Shadowscene’s Ellei Johndro is a busy girl.  She’s one of LA’s best nightlife photographers, she’s runs a great blog, she’s got Facebook & Twitter down to an art, she has her own online shop, her youtube page is stocked with fun fresh content, and she’s recently released a 5 song EP (on Sonata Cantata) by her new band, “Biker Daughter”.   Whew, right?

Ellei is also a big friend of The Standard.  She’s held art exhibits at The Standard, Downtown LA and has just completed her second run as The Box artist at The Standard, Hollywood. We pinned her down for a few moment and quizzed her about her art and adventures:

(Man Made by Ellei Johndro - Photo: Melissa Manning of The Look Partnership)

Tells us about your inspiration for your piece in The Box at The Standard, Hollywood:   Working creatively outside of photography is always a bizarre process for me. I never really know what my installation or final product is going to look like until it just feels right. It sort of develops on its own. But I did have somewhat of an idea where I wanted this installation to end up and knew that overall it would be part of a larger piece I am working on. I’ve always been fascinated with the effects technology and its advancements have on society; the way things work or are made to work. Even people are ‘wired’ so to speak. We stop at red, go at green and now “like” things upon instinct. We end up spending a lot of energy creating or evolving into robotic versions of ourselves. Even our urgency to blog, tweet, verify our own existence strives to obtain a pace we are not yet built for. Damn, most people are even talking, writing and speaking in the first stages of human binary code…LOL. So, I wanted to create a space that illustrated antiquity with technology, a slow evolvement of a technological overtaking where something as simple as a habitat was being engulfed. That could have been scary, so I tried to make it a bit more playful…I figured a Robot’s Room would be nice. So I transformed The Box into a space to resemble a saturated habitat. A robot sanctuary. Rest up and plug yourself in.

(Man Made by Ellei Johndro - Photo: Melissa Manning of The Look Partnership

How do you feel about your art sharing space with a live model?   I love it; especially with this particular concept. It gives the installation the missing piece…a person. And if they’re sitting in there with an iPad, even better.  

Who are some of your favorite artists?   Pee Wee Herman, Andre Kertesz, Henri Cartier Bresson, Hennessy Youngman, David Lee Roth and Shel Silverstein

What inspires you? Ultimately, people inspire me. Either personal interactions or simple observations. People are the most interesting, crazy, surreal subject matter. That and their surroundings. 

What’s the best adventure you’ve ever had in your career as a photographer?  I’ve been on somewhat of a constant tour for the past two years, and touring even just the US is an adventure I encourage everyone to do. Even a cross country drive is beyond liberating. But looking back, the month I spent in Japan in 2008 was a redefinition of the word adventure. From scaling the slime covered walls of Womb for the Digitalism show, 18 hour flights, 5 hour train rides, exploring Osaka and Tokyo, and a new lesson errr, cultural challenge, in foreign foods…Japan takes the cake. 

Describe your perfect day in Los Angeles.  A perfect day in LA is a lazy day…lounging poolside, cocktails, sunshine and my favorite…tacos from Cactus.        

What’s up next for you?  I’m continuing to expand Shadowscene so a lot of focus is gearing up for events on both the west and east coast. And also, a lot more writing for my latest endeavor, Biker Daughter. Summer tours, art shows, shenanigans…all on the future horizon. Maybe some French lessons.

(Whole Wide World Wreckless Eric Cover by Biker Daughter)