By Shirley Hawkins
Contributing Writer
LEIMERT PARK — The work of arts educator and independent filmmaker Ben Caldwell is being showcased at Art and Practice through March 8.
Caldwell grew up assisting his grandfather show movies at a small theater in New Mexico. Intently watching numerous movies and contemplating the stars at night that brightly shone over New Mexico sparked his growing imagination.
His passion for the visual arts led him to study film at UCLA and his move to Leimert Park — the epicenter for the African American art scene in Los Angeles — in 1984.
Caldwell created an independent studio for video production and experimentation that became known as the KAOS Network, a community arts center that provides training in digital and media arts, digital arts.
KAOS Network remains one of the few organizations of its kind in South Los Angeles that offers courses in website development, video production, animation, video teleconferencing, CD-ROM production and internet exploration.
At KAOS, young creatives experiment with ideas and boldly flex their creativity. The camaraderie at the cultural arts center allows Caldwell to craft a life focused around the power of fellowship, community and the use of art and media as a social force.
Caldwell, one of the original pioneers of the L.A. Rebellion Film Movement, shot and produced “Eyewitness: Reflections of Malcolm X & the O.A.A.U.”, (2006) which presents the Harlem reunion of ex-members of the Organization of Afro-American Unity; and “La Buena Vida (The Good Life)” (2008), filmed over the course of three years while Caldwell taught at the California Institute of the Arts. The film documents the cultural exchanges between a group of hip hop artists and musicians from Los Angeles and their counterparts in Havana, Cuba.
Art and Practice is located at 3401 W. 43rd Place. Viewing hours are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Information: (323) 337-6887.
Shirley Hawkins is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers. She can be reached at shirleyhawkins700@gmail.com.
