This week from The Cat’s Eye:

It was a Thursday afternoon, typically uneventful by any normal standard, other than the fact that I was on my way to interview one of the most talked about men in the LA underground art scene; Leonard Croskey. I entered the Thinkspace gallery in Silverlake somewhat unsettled. I had heard his name pop up all over the place, and as an artist I knew that at one point I would have to bare my work for his criticism. But today was not that day. Today was a day where Leonard Croskey ( just call him LC) would be exposing his world to me.

When you have heard a name tossed about like it was the inception of sliced bread, you can’t help but conjure up notions of grandeur. I was relieved to discover that L.C. was like any other guy. He just happens to be guy who runs one of the most innovative art collectives in the city; Cannibal Flower. I milled about for several minutes as he rolled a fresh coat of white paint on the gallery wall, breaking down the latest Cannibal Flower show. And then it was time...we sat down for a chat and I took a deep breath, pulled out my tape recorder and ...

C: OK
LC: Yeah you’re starting this thing...
C: I know.

We laugh, because after all, we are both artists and the formalities of the interview process is perhaps a thing we commonly view as somewhat ridiculous yet simultaneously necessary. Kind of like art and business, something which LC has spent the past seven years cultivating into the most pleasurable and constructive endeavor possible.

C: So explain to me who you are and what you do.

LC: So let’s start with basics. My name is Leonard Croskey but everybody calls me LC. I started the Cannibal Flower going on seven years now with Jean-Paul Garnier (he fumbles over the last name) I can never pronounce his last name because of the whole French thing, and Michelle Waterman. It started out as kind of this underground thing because at the time I was working on some fetish opera projects and I was working at a gallery. And I began to get frustrated with how the whole system worked.

C: Because why?

LC: I hate to say it, but no matter what if it involves money it’s a business. And sometimes it’s a store. It needs to be open and it needs to pick the right things to sell in order to survive. And I saw a lot of artists coming through who I thought were really good but they didn’t really fit into that gallery even though they loved that gallery. And it was like the school of hard knocks for myself and other artists, finding out that you can’t just show anywhere that you love. It’s a business and they have to pick the right things to show their flavor and to survive. So the thing was creating something that was an outlet for artists to show their work, celebrate art and show what’s happening in LA and create an art event with the theory of an opening.

There it was. He spilled it. That awful combination of business and art in a city like Los Angeles inevitably presents a challenge. How is it possible to keep the integrity of art for the artists while still allowing them to continue to create through the sales of work? If nothing else about this man stands out, his honesty and understanding of this dilemma is remarkable. And LC’s philosophy and background is unique, yet has the strength to persevere against this adversity.

LC: Most gallery openings are where you get the biggest crowd and make the most sales and the rest of the month is just people trickling through. And my thing is to capture that moment in one night that monet and to make it a little larger than life because this is L.A. and people in LA expect more bang for their buck. We live in that super video game, hyped up, fast paced type of city so you always have to think fresh and fly. You always have to keep them guessing because there are thousands of things for them to do. So my thing with Cannibal Flower is to feature over 100 artists per show. And a lot of people who are now big started out at Cannibal Flower which is the school of hard knocks, a friendly competition. You are in a show with a hundred other people and you only get to show one piece. My theory is that if you can’t wow ‘em with one, you can’t wow ‘em with ten.

A harsh theory indeed. Yet, somehow it made perfect sense. You have to have the raw talent. Leonard Crosky is not about marketing as a road to success. Make art, work, challenge yourself and bring it over and over again until you reach that point. Leonard Croskey is there to offer an opportunity. He runs the arena, brings the challengers , and says go for it. Now get up and go for it again. A pretty courageous approach in a city like Los Angeles.

LC: I come from a straight hip-hop culture. Ok you got rhymes, i got rhymes...bust it. And you gotta be on top of that and be good. You don’t have to win but be able to come out enough to say ‘I got skills’. I really bring a lot of my hip hop philosophy into the art game. Always be fresh and fly. Be aggressive and on top of your game. That’s what I force the artists to do.

C: There is a differentiation between running a business and being that wing to help lift someone to that point. So where do you draw the line for yourself?

LC: I really don’t draw the line. Thursdays is open to anyone. Come in and get an honest opinion from someone who is an artist and has curated multiple art shows in LA over the last seven years. When I’m looking at their work I point out both the good and the bad. I am here to help someone realize are they a painter or do they just paint?

Check out www.cannibalflower.com
And if you got the guts...drop by Thinkspace on a Thursday. It might just change your life.