Now, there’s an incentive.

Honor Fraser still left a bad taste with me, so it may be awhile before I can make it back. Just have to weigh it against how much I want to see Kaws’ work in-person.

I could’ve done without being yelled and told the cops were coming to break it up though. I mean, is that really all you have to say to everyone who’ve been waiting for 3+ hours in line just to see the show?

Anyway, continued success to Kaws. It’s good to see his stuff gaining further recognition.

Here’s hoping his next gallery opening is somewhere else.

-Eddy

Thank you for sharing that with us. We are sorry to hear that you and some of the other fans who waited in line did not have the opportunity to see the show.

I was at the opening from 6-8pm and understand why the gallery did not allow more patrons in. A few minutes after the doors opened, all of the rooms were extremely crowded, especially the main room where the new series of works, the large day-glo chum, and KAWS heads were being exhibited. People getting extremely close to the work (without realizing it) was a common sight throughout the night – the staff had their hands full making sure that pieces weren’t being bumped into.

Based on your account, the communication could have been better. However, I don’t believe Honor Fraser expected such a massive line or for patrons to hang out for as long as they did. This was evidenced by the arrival of the police at around 8pm, wanting to look around inside to see exactly what was going on and why there was such a long line outside. In general, the local authorities are usually notified in advance by the gallery if they expect a major crowd so the opening/event doesn’t get shut down.

As a KAWS fan, I would encourage you to make the trip back to LA to see the work in person. It is truly a sight to behold as KAWS has really stepped his game up with his new pieces, all the while giving fans a taste of some classic work with the KURF and Chum pieces. You’ll also have the opportunity to see the three KAWSBOB pieces that weren’t on display at the opening.

-Stephen

Unfortunately, I never made it past the front entrance, b/c they handled the line outside very poorly.

Just as I got to the bottom of the stairs leading into the gallery, chaos ensued as a mob of fans gathered around the entrance.

I’d been in line since 5:30, standing right under the Venice street sign and it was about 8:30 when they turned everyone away, to put it politely. The street sign was at the corner of the block and people were still lining up behind me. The line moved very slowly, but there was still the hope of progress, even as another short line of ten or twenty had formed on the other side where VIPs and wannabe VIPs started entering. That’s where the chaos began.

Some people even walked right up to the entrance trying to get in and for some, it worked. I can only assume they were all friends of the artist/gallery, but when people just started cutting in line at the front, there was no one to manage the scene outside.

The long line of people I was standing with had no authority to tell apart VIPs from people cutting in line, so whoever walked up and didn’t get in just stood there and clogged the front. Even a homeless person got up there, while the gallery people inside treated us all as non-desirables. There was a bouncer at the door, but it looked like he was only there to do whatever the gallery employees told him to do. He treated everyone who came to the door the same, unless an employee quickly ushered someone special into the show, past all of us waiting in line.

Before I even got to the bottom of the stairs, I heard someone inside calling out for a group of two to be let in and that only made things worse overall, b/c it just made more people either get closer to hear what she said or they tried to squeeze their party of two or more into the show. It was close to 8:00pm by now.

A shouting match quickly took place between one of the gallery employees inside and some of the people trying to cut in line, who just walked up to the front. I remember she yelled something like, “FORM A SINGLE FILE LINE! NO ONE’S GETTING INSIDE UNLESS YOU FORM A SINGLE LINE!” That didn’t work either, b/c no one wanted to lose their spot at that point. You know it’s getting ugly when the people who represent the gallery are yelling at the fans waiting in line.

They finally managed to close the front door and we all just waited for something to happen. The people inside even started taking pictures of us outside, including some of the same people who were standing in line with me, not ten, twenty minutes ago. Of course, the people who got in the argument walked away by now, leaving the rest of us no closer to getting in.

By now, the gallery people inside all walked away from the door and at one point, I saw Kaws himself walk by. I’d like to think he had no idea there was still a long line of fans standing outside all unaware of the closed door. Some other “VIPs” would come to the front, trying to catch the attention of someone they knew inside, and then that person would wave their arms motioning for them to come around the back to get in.

Finally, all the guests inside were no longer visible and four bouncer-type guys and a few girls came to the front and announced that the cops had been called to disperse us and that we all had to back away from the front, so they could pull the metal gate down. At first, they had a little trouble even getting it to come down, but it finally gave way and slowly came crashing down to end the night.

No “Thanks for coming.” No apologies or explanation. Nothing. Just “we called the cops. Now leave.”
When I first stood under the street sign at 5:30, the guys in front of me walked the line to estimate there were about 70-something people in ahead of us. By the time I got to the entrance, the line looked like it still reached back to the street sign, so less than half the people standing in line got in.

I vented all of this to one of my friends on the east coast, who’s gone to more gallery openings, and he thinks they kept us all outside, so they could have this long line of fans outside to make them look good. It’s like a status symbol to see who’s got the longest line outside. He also thinks that way, b/c of the online photos from the night where the show inside didn’t look too crowded.

Personally, I’m guessing they just wanted everyone inside to feel comfortable casually viewing the show, which is subjective to any gallery. The big problem for me, which I don’t think is subjective, is how they treated everyone standing in line.

Unless you were near the front and saw how we were shut out, it’d be easy to think the show inside was packed with fans and they had to close their doors b/c the show was over. Everyone behind me probably thought that way too.

Whatever “Honor Fraser’s” reason, I hope they do a much better job next time managing their line. If they’d just communicated better or at the very least had someone standing outside the entrance, it would’ve gone a long way to preventing the scene outside the door. Cooler heads would’ve prevailed. I’m not a fan of the velvet rope policy, but even that on the front end of the line would’ve helped to keep everyone in place.

I drove up two hours from San Diego to see the show, so that’s two hours up there, three hours in line and two hours back, all to just catch a glimpse of Kaws and turned away as a nuisance.

Still a Kaws fan after all of this, but I won’t be making the trip out to see his show anytime soon.

-Eddy

KAWS had the opening of his solo show “Long Way Home” at Honor Fraser this week. As usual, it sounds like it was packed with stars and KAWS superfans. @bendunn said “4 deep line for two blocks @ KAWS opening”. The work includes…