A trippy, psychedelic makeover for a 99 Cents Only store
The 99 Cents Only chain may be gone. But a new art exhibit at one of the former stores is keeping its legacy alive in the most eccentric way possible. LAist’s Kevin Tidmarsh explains.
The 99 Cents Only chain may be gone, but a new art exhibit at its former store at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue is keeping its legacy alive in the most eccentric way possible.
From shopping carts suspended upside down to video art at the checkout counters to paintings and graffiti in every nook and cranny, this is not the same 99 Cents Only store where you used to buy your cleaning supplies.
The curators behind 99CENT, which is on display through the end of this weekend, have filled the space with artwork and L.A. artifacts for a free exhibition. So I had to check it out:
Many of the involved artists used practically every square inch of parts of the store.
The artists on display at 99CENT work across mediums.
Art and graffiti were both on full display at 99CENT.
Many of the works of art look like regular street signs … until you look a little closer.
Presumably, this fruit wasn’t bought at the 99 Cents Only store, which closed last year.
Many different art styles were on display at 99CENT.
The exhibit makes creative use of space, including hanging things from the ceiling.
Despite this sign, the inside of the store was covered in graffiti, though some staff members could be seen cleaning up graffiti on the outside.
Many of the items on display were carefully crafted. The $9.99 sticker may not be accurate pricing.
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What you can see
As soon as you walk in, you’re treated to a complete reimagining of the 99 Cents Only store. This former site of the modern big-box discount chain has been infused with a healthy dose of the West Coast art styles that sprung up from places like the Mission District, Haight-Ashbury and Venice.
One of many sections of the repurposed store that showcases objects, graffiti and artworks.
Artists whose work was on display used all kinds of mediums. In this case, mirrors and wheelchairs.
All the original shelving is there, but nearly every nook and cranny has been filled with art.
Even the store’s freezers were fair game to show off art at 99CENT.
The inside of the store’s freezer, which was repurposed as a gallery space.
But look close and you’ll see cheeky nods to the 99 Cents Only store of yore. Much of the old shelving and signage is still there, even if slightly rearranged. On some shelves, hygiene supplies sit side by side with artworks and found objects.
Some parts of 99CENT even loosely resemble the former store.
Though this is an artists’ flea market, these works of art presumably would cost more than 99 cents to buy.
Many books on display this week, like this one, probably never went for sale at the original 99 Cents Only stores.
These curated vintage shirts presumably were also not for sale at the original 99 Cents Only store.
Some old shopping carts have been converted into suspended sculptures. In between songs, the loudspeakers play what I’m pretty sure are authentic 99 Cents Only in-store announcements in English and Spanish.
One major auditory difference — and I can confirm this as a former 99 Cents store shopper — the music on the store’s PA system is much more lo-fi and homespun than the radio pop the old store used to have on.
In the background, behind the hanging shopping cart, you can see the entrance to an improvised structure in aisle 11.
Inside the improvised structure in Aisle 11.
Since this is a self-described “artist flea market of sorts,” many of the artists have also scrawled their phone numbers and Venmo usernames near their works, and walking through different stations at the store really does feel like walking through different stations of a carefully curated swap meet or flea market.
Many works of art coexisted with produce and groceries, like this work held down by two Grey Poupon bottles.
Even for works that aren’t on sale, most paintings and sculptures I saw identify the artist, though it’s admittedly a little more haphazard than most galleries I’ve been to.
About the curators
Representatives for the gallery The Hole, which curated this exhibit, said that the works in the store pull from its “West Coast network of artists and outsiders.”
These paintings share wall space with this sculpture made of repurposed blue jean fabric.
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Kevin Tidmarsh
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LAist.com
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One artist in particular takes the spotlight: The walls are covered by paintings by the San Francisco-based street artist Barry McGee and works from his personal collection — people who parked in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s garages in the early 2000s may remember his now-lost murals. All told, the curators say over 100 artists were represented.
With so many artists on display, very little space in the former store goes unused.
How to visit
You can see “99CENT” for yourself at the former 99 Cents Only store at 6121 Wilshire Blvd., a stone’s throw away from LACMA.
The exhibition is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sunday.