“Viva Vampira- A Celebration of Gothic Femininity: Extended by Popular Demand”
By Vanessa Haney (August 02, 2012)
Jonny Coffin and Kat Von D were thrilled by the out pouring of support and interest in their Vampira exhibit which recently was extended by popular demand. On June 15 th 2012, Absolute Live Productions had the privilege to work with Jonny Coffin and Kat Von D on “Viva Vampira” the opening of an art gallery dedicated to the late horror hostess. The event was held at Kat Von D’s Wonderland and allowed guests a peek at the private and public life of the creator of the goth genre and style. Art lovers, fans, and novices alike were treated to Jonny Coffin, of Coffin Cases Inc’s, private collection of Vampira photographs, newspaper articles, and possessions; some of which had never been seen by the public. Jonny had participated in a documentary about the late actress’s life which was screening the following evening at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film documented Vampira’s rise to stardom and the demons that chased her along the way. He and the director of the film had poured through Maila Vampira Nurmi’s personal journals, newspaper articles and even had the opportunity to spend ample time interviewing the starlet before her death in 2008. The gallery and film are homage’s to the woman who paved the path for strong females to embrace the macabre. With the aid of Absolute Live Productions, Coffin and Von D were able to pull in crowds in the tens of thousands both in person and via the internet thus extending the exhibit’s showing through Halloween due to an out pouring of support and popularity.
“Viva Vampira” was a huge success for Absolute Live Productions and pulled in a record number of viewers. Absolute Live is a production company that specializes in live streaming and travels around the world broadcasting large events directly to the internet for public viewings. They offer packages as
well as singular items and crew for red carpets, high profile fights, concerts, healing seminars and the like. For this event the company provided three camera coverage of; the lines outside of the venue, floor interviews, celebrity and VIP interviews, along with general coverage of the art, historic items and crafted gifts around the museum. The Production Company also included a Teradek Bond with one of the camera packages which allowed them to travel around the floor of the gallery doing interviews with fans. The coverage was wirelessly fed from the Bond through a self created wifi hot spot to the TriCaster for streaming to the internet without inhibiting the paths of gallery patrons. It’s just one of the many fancy set-ups Absolute Live has at their disposal to make any event go off without a hitch. “Viva Vampira” was the company’s first job with Jonny Coffin, but he was more than impressed and after the event said of Absolute Live, “You’re awesome!!! Let’s do it again!!
Jonny Coffin, the founder of the gallery, is a sinister character you may recognize from some celebrity fashion shows hosted by lords of darkness Alice Cooper or Megadeath. If you don’t know him you definitely know his line of designer cases for guitars, bases and purses all in the shape of coffins. Celebrities like Slash and Jonny Depp have purchased versions of the coffin shaped containers for their priceless instruments. If you’re putting on a creepy event and are in need of a host, model, or ambiance Jonny Coffin can supply the ghouls: jonny@coffincase.com.
The back drop for Jonny Coffin’s Vampira exhibit was the fascinating and morbid Kat Von D’s Wonderland located next door to High Voltage Tattoo in West Hollywood, California. It’s a store and exhibition space dedicated to the bizarre and dark. The store is filled with clothing designed by Kat herself as well as handmade jewelry, purses, mysterious nick-nacks, and designer shoes that cater to the edgy and goth crowed. Much of the store contains items available for purchase and serves as an excellent venue for the Vampira exhibition as well as many other unique art showings. Prior to this exhibit Kat had housed a female driven art show that show cased new and known artists from the area. Wonderland has in house employees and curators that specialize in turning an art exhibit into a creative experience. If you are interested in holding your own showing or would like to rent the space contact info@wonderlandla.com.
“Viva Vampira” will be open through Halloween at Kat Von D’s Wonderland and has revolving exhibits, courtesy of Mr. Coffin, that frequently change to liven up the showing. There is no entry fee and the gallery is open every day from 12PM to 8PM. Stop by for a dark and delightful good time or visit the website http://www.wonderlandla.net/. For more information about Live Productions and how to set up your own internet stream visit https://absoluteliveproductions.com/ http://www.facebook.com/AbsoluteLiveProductions or call 818-842-7966.