A contemporary, sometimes historical, art, social, political, blog in and around the art world and its artists. Poetry, litterature, commentary, images, music, books, life... Et aussi, un peu de la culture Française et ses artistes contemporains. A place to come to read, relax and contribute your ideas and projects.
juillet 02, 2009
St. Jude Project: Can Cancer Art Show
from the press release
Saturday, July 11th, The Nesian Ohana, seventyNINE co., and Nesian's Can Cancer Foundation presents the St. Jude Project: Can Cancer Art Show- San Diego located at The Luce Loft (1037 J St. San Diego, CA 92101) on the corner of 10th & J from 6pm-midnight.
Join the Ohana in a night of art, culture, music entertainment, food and drinks as we hold a silent auction and raffles all for the fight against cancer. Come down and check out the art of:
Jenny Larsen
GrandLarsen
Dark Vomit
Mark Jesinoski
David Russell Talbott
Kevin Peterson
Chris Ganan
Bre Custodio
Paul Brogden
Taylor Johnson
Bret Barrett
Nilo Jones
Janelle Carter
and the debut of a VERY special artist.
Along with music guests: Kontious and the Ko-op
Dj Chris Cutz
& Dj Cnerio
Food will be provided by the asian fusion taste of Ono's Cafe- Island Style Bistro.
Support is GREATLY needed! If you know of anyone who would also be interested in attending this great event, please forward this to them as well. Each donation package comes with a gift bag and raffle tickets, quantity depends on the package purchased.
Lux Art Institute 2009-2010 Artist-in-Residence Season
from the press release
Lux Art Institute Announces 2009-2010 Artist-in-Residence Season
Lux Art Institute, San Diego’s interactive art destination, announced today the artists who will participate in Lux’s third Artist-in-Residence season, which begins this September.
A significant contemporary art venue in San Diego County where visitors can “see art happen,” Lux is one of the first museum facilities in the United States to establish an innovative artist-in-residence program that focuses on the living artist and the creative process.
“We are thrilled with the artist line-up for the 2009-2010 season,” said Lux Director Reesey Shaw. “Lux is bringing a fresh and exciting pool of talent here, a group of inspiring artists that work in a variety of media, from marble to charcoal to metal. We hope the public will visit often throughout the new season to explore, experience and see great new art for themselves.”
"Though Russe (Beate Russe - president of the museum's board of directors) believes that museums are there partly to educate and challenge their audience, this show reached too far, too fast, in her estimation, for a museum with a populist, even a parochial, bent in its programming." - Robert Pincus, from his review Oceanside's conceptual exhibit risky but worthy
photo courtesy: Brian Goeltzenleuchter
How do you know when art reaches too far? Do you try to slow it down, dumb it down, make it accessible to everyone: bite-size sugar-coated morsels for easy digestion and contemplation? Russe's commentary surely raises the hackles on all of us who smell institutional dogma and knee-jerk conclusions. But then beyond partly educating and challenging its audience, what do museums do exactly? And what about those infallible artists: are they not partially responsible for the pétrin Russe finds herself in? Of course they are. The question then becomes, who is responsible for an artwork's content and its subsequent showing after it leaves the studio? The simplistic response would be the artist is responsible for content and the museum for putting the work up on the wall. If that division of labor truly exists, then Russe has no reason to complain. So what is she questioning?
I think, despite Russe's gibberish commentary and the apparent backlash the show has accrued, some of the problem might lie within the show's formal structure and less to do with the artist and his ideas. I have a smidgen of doubt, as incredulous as her remark may seem, that it isn't a matter of Goeltzenleuchter's work being too advanced for the public, but the intangibility of an idea put on display that simultaneously positions itself as an art form laden with art historical precedents - as Pincus clearly points out in his review (a movement that many may be unfamiliar with including Russe), appears to also point an accusatory finger in her direction (clearly tongue-in-cheek), propounds some type of scientific experiment and data to back it up, but might fail in convincing the audience that what they are viewing is relevent and can be meaningful to them. Russe's criticism in an oblique way then, might be questioning what types of art should be made for the museum. What Russe doesn't understand is that art like museums, have limits in their capacity to communicate everything to everyone. It doesn't make the adventure any less exciting for trying, but the art must somehow signal a larger purpose beyond its exhibition when in a public domain (as opposed to a much more private domain such as a gallery). How that manifests itself either didactically or pragmatically with a clear intent, is the key I believe, to a show's successful reading by the public.
May-Ling Martinez: Measured Resistance - Luis De Jesus Seminal Projects
from the press release
MAY-LING MARTINEZ: MEASURED RESISTANCE
JUNE 27 - AUGUST 1, 2009
ARTIST'S RECEPTION: FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 6 - 8 PM
Luis De Jesus Seminal Projects is very pleased to announce MAY-LING MARTINEZ's debut solo exhibition, titled Measured Resistance, on view from June 27 through August 1, 2009. An artist's reception will be held on Friday, June 26, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
MAY-LING MARTINEZ's new sculpture and works on paper serve as a metaphor for an innate desire to understand and control our surroundings under difficult circumstances. The works in Measured Resistance engage in the larger domain of relations--among ideas, objects, and the human heart--in order to gain a deeper insight into existential issues, such as the need for security and balance. Intrigued by human behavior and thought process, MARTINEZ investigates the paradoxical idea of maintaining control and stability under chaos. At the same time, she explores the idea that reason and logic, as prescribed by science and engineering, can function as a solace to an unstable reality framed by the infallibility of perception and personal subjectivity.
30th Street is becoming regarded as the "Restaurant Row" of San Diego because of the hip, community-minded, and innovative restaurants that have put down their roots in the last few years, but it has also long been a center of a vibrant and thriving community of artists. Sea Rocket has a lot of respect for this active, creative community and will be showing a rotation of local artists.
On view now at:
Sea Rocket Bistro
3382 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104
619.255.7049 http://searocketbistro.com/
For Immediate Release: Trade Show, California – Turkey
Summer, Fall 2009
First exhibition:
Garage Gallery, July 1-30, 2009
Opening: July 3, 7-9 pm
4141 Alabama St., San Diego
619.297.6032
"Trade Show" is a traveling exhibition of approximately 100 small artworks from Californian artists and 100 from Turkish artists. The artists will trade the works among themselves, exchanging ideas of “what we value” between cultures. All artworks address the following questions: “What do I value? What would I trade?” Specifications: All artworks are 15cm x 15cm (6" x 6") and are two-dimensional in nature: drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, collage, fabric, mixed media, etc.
California:
The works will be exhibited in San Diego and other Southern Californian venues.
Turkey:
The works will be exhibited in Ankara, Eskisehir, and in Istanbul during the 11th Istanbul Biennial as a parallel exhibition. http://www.iksv.org/bienal/english/
Curators:
Anna Stump amstump@gmail.com
3047 University, Studio 206
San Diego, CA 92104
USA
Melike Tascioglu meliketascioglu@gmail.com
Anadolu Universitesi
Guzel Sanatlar Fakultesi
26470 Eskisehir
Turkey
On June 18, the supremely talented filmmaker and photographer Shirin Neshat appeared at MCA San Diego to present her feature-length film/work-in-progress Women without Men.
The film, based on Shahrnush Parsipur’s magic realist novel, is set in 1953 Iran during a period of national political turmoil, and uses the deaths of three Iranian women to explore a host of social issues involving personal and political freedom.
During the post-performance conversation, Neshat and film curator Neil Kendricks spoke extensively about the work's prescience given current events in Iran. What neither of them knew was that two days later, on June 20, Neda Agha-Soltan would lose her life and become an instant world symbol of the current political turmoil.
As a result, Neshat's film — which is six years in the making — has been given the semiotic equivalent of a spin dry set on "hot". It will be interesting to see how this work-in-progress resolves now that life has told its story.
On view from May 16th until June 20th at the Athenaeum in La Jolla is a fine show of artists' books juried by Stanley Strauss, Curator Emeritus, Artists' Books Collection, Cerritos Library.
With 33 pieces on view, a few were definitely standouts. The variety and inventiveness of artists' books are what make the genre worth viewing. If it looks like something that could be purchased at Barnes & Noble, it may have achieved technical expertise but it is isn't art.
Sibyl Rubottom - "Fore Edge"
Sibyl Rubottom's "Fore Edge" has the makings of a book, yet, it sits with this packed, solid blankness of a minimalist master engaged in a formal display. The piece is only one inch deep so the shallowness of it feels surprising and clever. No content needed here, just the book elements need be seen.
Philly Joe Swendoza, the Ambassador of Cool and everything Art in San Diego, is the co-host of Art Rocks! Internet Radio. He's starting a new segment on the program entitled "Raging Art Bull". It is an opportunity to cut the crap and speak out on a number of topics that concern San Diego's larger and multidisciplinary artistic community. Members from this community will be invited to come on the show and address for example, the role of non-profit art organizations today - who do they benefit? The organization itself? The artist? And what about galleries, who do they help? Or any number of questions and answers the listening public might have and are interested in expressing. Swendoza talks about the new show in the link below. Take a listen, this just might the place to make an impact and be heard. No bull.
The current show at Quint is billed as an exhibition of San Diego's 50 top-tier contemporary artists, which immediately begs the usual question “1: Why X and not Y?”. Here there be dragons, so let's instead home in on "top-tier" and see how it holds up. Eleanor Antin, David Avalos, Robert Irwin, James Luna: they're not on the list, which effectively toasts “top-tier”. Nobody’s perfect — let’s hope they were invited.
Once past that, writing about a 50-artist group show is not unlike seeing one: disorienting, especially in where to start. The best way to make sense of it all is to frame the event not as an art show, but rather as a diverse (and crowded) ecosystem within which the players adopt various strategies to survive and thrive.
Sign of the Times Part II or if you prefer - "Controlled Spin"
from the LA Times, Christopher Knight, Culture Monster, and Modern Art Notes (image is not from original article) Additional byline Kevin Freitas
Monogram - Robert Rauschenberg
Here is some Breaking News that has gone south but only appears to have reached as far as Los Angeles. Why isn't the UT or Reader all over this? Alas, of those things (principally art) going south or at least a little farther east to the Strip, you must read Tyler Green's (Modern Art Notes) scoop and interview with MCASD's Hugh Davies (the concerned Institution's Director) and his response to the debate over collection-to-casino rentals. Or what Christopher Knight called "pimping out" masterpieces from the MCASD's collection. The first part of Tyler Green's article begins here.
I ask, is it a matter of a little extra spare change or a spare tire to loan? You decide.
Finally, speaking of extras I was thrilled to see Larry Baza (a very dear man indeed) of Noel-Baza Gallery complete his jury duty service at the SDAI Museum of the Living Artist this month, but dismayed to see that he had given a Juror's Award to one of his gallery artists. If you follow the blog, you know my position on what the art critic John Canaday refers to as a "sympathetic interest", candidates inducted into the fold by their close proximity to the one doing the selecting. I've spoken about this very same issue before. Recall that this year's San Diego Art Prize was hotly contested by a few (or just me) for its relational politics and rule-bending selection process.
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" If a critic writes criticism and no one is around to read it, does it matter? I wonder.
.. and on the cover of this weeks CityBeat with an interview by arts writer Katherine Sweetman of Lui Velazquez fame (Tijuana) on the inside. Our sincere congratulations go out to Michele along with many more wishes for a long and prosperous career and continued success. Find an excerpt of Sweetman's article with a link to the full story below.
Lust for life
Paris expat Michele Guieu paints away the world’s troubles
By Katherine Sweetman
"C'est la vie" is one of those French phrases that has slipped into U.S. vernacular. The literal translation, “Such is life” or “That’s life,” just sounds sexier in French. It sounds even richer when spoken by someone French.
“‘C’est la vie’ is the title of my exhibition,” Michele Guieu explains in her beautiful accent. “You know, it’s like when something bad happens, but you remain positive.”
It would be easy to say Guieu’s art (see it at www.micheleguieu.blogspot.com) is inspired by such a sentiment on life, but it’s also inspired in a very literal sense. Yes, she’s a painter, but her works are based on imagery from her digital photography. more
“C’est la Vie”
San Diego Art Institute
June 5 – July 12
Opening reception: Friday, June 12, from 6 to 8.
1439 El Prado (Balboa Park)
San Diego CA 92101
619.236.0011
Debbie Wells: dwells@mola-sdai.org
Allison Wiese, Woods (non-installation photo used in show announcement)
Conceptually, Wiese's wired networks of altered appropriated paintings are much richer than the work she's shown previously in San Diego. In particular, their use of archetypal semantic primitives — wiring, blinking red LEDs, traditional landscape paintings — goes a long way towards dispensing with the need for any supporting text (a tell-tale signature of weak conceptual work).
The LEDs multi-function gloriously: blinking red points of light are ubiquitous symbols of caution, most commonly signaling the threat of protection via car alarm, but also (thanks to Hollywood movie conventions) equally well-known for signaling the threat of imminent destruction via terrorist device.
These double readings interact with both the image and object properties of the appropriated landscape paintings, evoking with sheer mathematical elegance issues of art commoditization and avant-garde backlash, global urbanization and anti-globalization, society and environment, and various combinations thereof.
In short, the work is extremely strong, as are the shelves of small abstract mountain sculptures in the gallery's front room. But the show itself — and by "show" I mean not just the display of the objects but their categorization as collections of salable art — suffers from a serious flaw: certain key formal elements of the works as displayed turn out not to be intrinsic parts of the artwork, but rather extraneous elements intended to serve as display supports for the work.
Art of Framing is featuring artist Sarah Tink, aka S.Tink, a self-taught, up-and-coming artist born and raised in San Diego. S.Tink is the owner of Tinks Creative Cakes (www.tinkscreativecakes.com) and although painting and drawing are her passion, the art of cake decorating keeps her creative juices flowing. The Go Solo Art Show will feature both old and new works, showcasing her growth as an artist. She has a fun, comical style of painting, using bold color and whimsical characters with a candy like appeal...Art so good you will want to eat it.
S.Tinks art will be featured in the gallery through June 20th.
The opening is from 6-10pm Saturday, June 6th in conjunction with Art Around Adams.
“Color Odyssey”
June 6th, 2009 from 12 – 6 pm in conjunction with Art Around Adams Street Fair
Edgeware Gallery is proud to announce the debut of “Color Odyssey”, an exhibit featuring 35 collages from the artist Dr. Frank Leo Vicino. It is the gallery's first showing of an artist without autism.
Vicino’s collages range from abstracts to landscapes to portraits, with the universal component being their dazzling color. Comparing his pieces to a play, Vicino comments, “On my stage, the main actors are color, texture, and composition, with color in the lead role”. The supporting role of composition also adds an intriguing unpredictable/random element in the form of upside-down letters and word fragments which show up on many of the small magazine pieces which are laboriously pieced together to create each collage, a process Vicino calls “Mosiac Collage”.
Edgeware Gallery is the newest art gallery in the Kensington district, and has the distinction of featuring both disabled and non-disabled artists. Its resident artist is Mark Rimland, son of Gloria Rimland, and the late Dr. Bernard Rimland. Mark Rimland is an adult artist with autism, and Dr. Rimland was the founder of the adjacent Autism Research Institute, a fixture in Kensington since 1967.
Proceeds from the sale of artwork from the Edgeware Gallery fund research to develop and to validate effective treatment for people on the autism spectrum.
"The soul, reaching,throwing out for love.
As the spider, from some little promontory, throwing out filament after filament, tirelessly out of itself, that one at least may catch and form a link, a bridge, a connection..." --Walt Whitman
Description:
On June the 6th, 2009 we are opening the garage to a give and take system of exchange for the community at large. If you have a service, joke, poem, hair cut to offer or an object, please bring to garage; in turn you may take something/service of value away.
Give Some, Take Some Event
Saturday, June 6, 2009
12:00pm - 8:00pm
Garage Gallery
4141 Alabama Street, #4
San Diego, CA
Those arriving with nothing to offer, may not participate with the exchange. Notice, if items are not claimed in the course of "give and take" prior owner will reclaim items. This exhibit is based on the idea of relational aesthetics; by using the method of the 'gift' to bridge communities. Please note that is a practice of giving up things and not a practice of getting rid of unwanted clutter.
You can give:
Services:
Make sure to write on your business card or small sheet of paper what that service is, with your contact information. Services can be anything from one hour of discussion about anything to jokes, poems, plumbing, free compliments, free advice, whatever. Your service(s) will be pinned up on the gallery wall for those to retrieve. After offering the service, you are free to pick out one for your own to experience.
Objects:
On the tables will be objects that are given. This can be anything, including art, books, clothes, supplies, whatever!
Satellite Ensemble II: An Event of Creative Transience
from the press release
May 30, 2009
Agitprop Gallery, 3:00-5:00 pm; 2837 University Avenue
Lui Velazquez, 4:00-9:00 pm; Calle Jose Maria Larroque #273, 2do Piso, Int. 6, Colonia Federal, Tijuana, Baja CA
Trolley Rides Every 30 Minutes to Tijuana
Bring Passport and $5 for Transportation
There are many spaces between neighborhoods in San Diego and Tijuana that resonate with stories from the personal to the universal. The everyday occurrences such as a daily commute are often dwarfed by stories that reach the world news about wall extension, immigrant rights restriction, drug cartels, or viral infection. However what is lasting though perhaps not spectacular and rarely news worthy, is the mundane, daily ritual completed by thousands.
29 May > 28 June 2009
Opening Reception 28 May 6:00 > 8.30pm
Selected work by the graduating Master of Visual Arts students from the University of California, San Diego's Department of Visual Arts
Robert Becraft, Susannah Bielak, Micha Cárdenas, Matthew Coors, James Enos, Kael Greco, Nico Herbst, Esteban Martinez, Gretchen Mercedes, Clare Parry, Omar Pimienta, Yvonne Venegas, Julia Westerbeke
The University Art Gallery is delighted to present its annual exhibition of work by the completing class 2009-2010 of Masters of Visual Arts students, from the Department of Visual Arts, at the University of California, San Diego. The exhibition of these thirteen emerging artists reflects the culmination of their time spent at UCSD and ranges from painting and sculpture to video, photography and installation.
Distinction is pleased to announce that we have managed to remain in business in Escondido for 5 years!!!
Please help us celebrate this massive milestone with a very special anniversary featuring "The Journal Entries of Changing Tides": a solo show featuring new works by Andy Haynes. The opening reception with the artist and live music by The Band of Goodmen, Wiens Family Cellars wine, and Karl Strauss beer will be on Saturday June 13th from 6 - 11pm. Haynes is a personal gallery favorite and it is a true honor to hold his first solo exhibition.
For Artist Andy Haynes, creating visual art is an expressive outlet for internal emotions and energy. In essence, his art is a concentration of painting and drawing, focusing thematically around self-healing and contemporary moral issues. These issues portray both the dark as well as the beautiful sides of youth in the fast-paced society of modern America.
Gallery to Andy: Do you have a title picked out for your show?
"I am calling this body of work "The Journal Entries of Changing Tides." Since I began these pieces, I have been thinking a lot about what I would title the show....so after months of ups and downs, changes in techniques, and style, I began to develop a title. A lot of this work deals with the ocean. I think I just need to get back to it. So I have referenced it's theme throughout the series. That's where I came up with the "Changing Tides." Plus it portrays a great metaphor as to how my life has been these past 8 months (I think a lot of people may feel the same about their own lives). The "journal Entries" touches on how I approached my canvases throughout the body of work. As you can see there are a lot of small pieces. So, in order to pay the bills and all of that jazz, one needs to do some work here and there. From October through February, I took on a construction job under my father and worked 6 days a week for Habitat for Humanity. After I got home from work I would strive to complete one small painting a day. Somewhat like journal entries of what was running through my head each day. It seemed to work well for me. So there's the tip of the iceberg of what this series deals with."
Also on display will be over 50 artists in "The Alley" and over 100 works in the "Sub 1K Lounge". New works are added throughout the building every month. In addition most of our 14 studios will be open (and several are available for rent).
"The Journal Entries of Changing Tides." will be on display from June 13th to July 4th.
Distinction is a 7000 square foot building which houses a gallery and 14 artist studios ranging in size from 150 to 800 square feet. The Gallery features contemporary and cutting edge art work with a soft focus on Urban Surrealism. Distinction exhibits work by emerging and internationally acclaimed artists and is located at: 317 East Grand Avenue, Escondido, CA 92025.
A wide variety of art books and toys are now available for purchase. Custom framing is also available. This reception is made possible in part by Scion.
Coming in July "Mind Machine" curated by studio artist Roel Jovellanos
"Becoming Dragon", the controversial art project by Micha Cárdenas which questions the possibilities of Species Change Surgery and the limits of merging the virtual and physical body, will be part of two exhibitions opening in Los Angeles and San Diego on May 28th and 29th. The project consisted of a 365 hour performance in Second Life, using a Head Mounted Display, motion capture and a stereoscopic projection and coincided with Cardenas' real life hormone replacement therapy. The project has been the subject of more than one controversy since it took place.
Micha Cárdenas - Photo by Elle Mehrmand
WHAT: "Becoming Dragon" opens in Los Angeles and San Diego, questions limits of gender and the virtual.
WHERE: Compactspace Gallery, 105 East 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014 and the University Art Gallery, UCSD
WHEN: Thursday, May 28th from 6 - 8:30pm University Art Gallery
Friday, May 29th from 6 - 10pm at Compactspace Gallery Los Angeles
On Thursday, May 28th: the University Art Gallery on the campus of UC San Diego will be opening the show MFA 2009, highlighting the work of MFA graduating MFA candidates including Cárdenas and many others. The show will include a 25 minute video of "Becoming Dragon" as well as a number of digital prints from the virtual point of view of the performance.More information about the show is at http://va-grad.ucsd.edu/~drupal/node/903
On Friday, May 29th: Compactspace in Los Angeles will be holding an artists' reception for the show "The Dark Tower", which includes photo documentation of "Becoming Dragon". The show also features the work of a other UCSD MFA artists and was curated by Cauleen Smith. More details about the show are at http://www.compactspace.com/
After a tip from a friend that there was a "For Rent" sign prominently displayed in the window of 4Walls Gallery — located in the thriving arts district of North Park and specifically on Ray Street — I had to see for myself. Wow. "Another one bites the dust" to quote everyone's favorite rock band Queen. The comings and goings of galleries and artist-run studios on Ray Street is apparently nothing new or very surprising if you talk to some of the locals that have been around San Diego's arts scene watching it puff up its chest only to see it deflate a few years later. What is surprising is there's been a rash of gallery closings and downsizings voir replacements that have hit Ray Street in the last year or so.
Andre Rushing, Rubber Rose, and Spacecraft are some of the spaces that come to mind, and now it seems 4Walls is also sounding the gong. 4Walls is of particular interest, a strange mix of architectural offices in the back and vanity gallery in front that was recently managed by its director who has since mysteriously vanished — gone it seems from the face of this Earth. The downside to his disappearance is that he put on some of the most interesting and compelling contemporary exhibits in town, with a cast of heavy hitters the likes of Les LeVeque and local talent such as Steve Gibson and Kimberly Tomney. I guess there is no upside to his vanishing act — he left only a shell of the gallery's once innovative programming, stopping it as abruptly as it began. I remain puzzled to this day.
GARAGES is a one-night exhibit of art, performance, spoken word, and experiments in five garage spaces in the Bankers Hill neighborhood of San Diego.
Artists
Tom McDermott
M.A.G.N.U.S. & THOR
Kelly Schnorr
The Illuminauts
Kevin Oberbauer
DJ Unwell
Chris Warr
Nathan Gulick
The San Diego Poetry Slam Team
James Gielow
and more...
For more information contact the curators Erica Overskei and Alexander Jarman.
Envisioned as an interactive collage, the installation is a giant pop-up book which tells a story you can walk through and contribute to. The idea is to physically, metaphorically, and cognitively “Map the Hood” of North Park and City Heights with all our various collaborating partners, including architecture students, professional artists, children, teens, and community members.
Stone Paper Scissors, Eveoke Dance Theatre, TranscenDance Youth Arts Project, North Park Main Street, and the Cultural Worker have collaborated to create Art @ the Core: Building Community, with the goal of increasing access, engagement, and participation in the civic process through community cultural development.
The work of San Diego’s top-tier contemporary artists hasn’t been seen in the same place at the same time since 1985, when the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art presented “A San Diego Exhibition: Forty-Two Emerging Artists.”
— Quint Gallery promotional copy
Quint's low profile among the non-cognoscenti should prevent a recurrence of the grand community stink that was raised over that museum show: irate artists, impromptu salons des refusés, and coverage of the controversy in the local family paper.
SD-Art Prize: Not since the Bush administration have we seen more white males over 40 giving unregulated opportunities to their cronies. …and for some reason people think San Diego is conservative?
"…Baldessari, at a time when he certainly didn’t need to do it to support himself, took up a post at UCLA, which he only recently ended. “I think it’s selfish,” he says of a teaching career that is in fact defined by generations of artists who count him as a generous mentor and a major influence. “I get a lot out of talking to young artists. You know, they’ll be the first to tell you you’re full of… you know, they’re not your peers, and they’re the future, so it’s interesting just to hear what they’re thinking about. And what I give back is that, I think, I’m pretty adept at helping students to get to where they want to go faster."
Event: The Infinity Lab presents "Nine Transient Things"
Opening Date & Time: Saturday, May 2, 2009 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Place: Voz Alta Project, 1754 National Avenue, Barrio Logan, CA 92113
The Infinity Lab gets extravagant in their new exhibit, "Nine Transient Things." After reflecting upon the recent avant-garde art terms "un-monumental" and "Altermodernism," the infinitists take low-tech to the next level by creating nine 3' square drawings of their performance gear using only Crayola® crayons as materials. In the tradition of the late 10th-century Byzantine religious works, the subject matter could be considered The Infinity Icons or The Infinity Relics, but instead the doctors irreverently add whimsical intonations to the latest contemporary art aesthetics by calling them: "Nine Transient Things".
During the opening and closing receptions, DJ Dan Camacho will mix soundscapes on three turntables. Also on display is a top-secret installation of a new "Blue Chip [artist] Special."
I'm organizing an exhibition of 100 artists from Southern California (and further) and 100 artists from Turkey. I'd like to invite you to participate.
Trade Show, California - Turkey asks each artist to consider the following questions:
What do I value? What would I trade?
Artworks will be traded between the Turks and Americans.
All artworks must be two-dimensional media, 6" x 6". Please see attached info sheet for more details.
Exhibitions venues for Summer and Fall 2009 include gallery spaces in San Diego, Los Angeles, Ankara, Eskisehir, and Istanbul as a parallel show to the 11th International Istanbul Biennial.
"A rose is a rose is a rose" - Kim MacConnel and emerging artist Brian Dick
by Kevin Freitas
from the SDVAN website
DISCOMBOBULATED: KIM MacCONNEL and emerging artist BRIAN DICK
Opening Reception
Saturday, April 25th, 7:00 - 9:00pm
Exhibition runs April 25th - July 20th, 2009
L Street Gallery
628 L Street (Across from the Omni Hotel)
San Diego, CA 92101
DISCOMBOBULATED featuring works by Kim MacConnel and Brian Dick is the first exhibition of the 2009 San Diego Art Prize. The SD Art Prize, now in its third year, is given annually to established artists and emerging artist who have exhibited outstanding achievement in the field of Visual Arts.
The SD Art Prize is dedicated to the idea that the visual arts are a necessary and rewarding ingredient of any world-class city and a building block of the lifestyle of its residents. Conceived to promote and encourage dialogue, reflection and social interaction about San Diego’s artistic and cultural life.
Presented by:
San Diego Visual Arts Network (www.sdvan.net)
SanDiegoArtist.com (www.sandiegoartist.com)
L Street Fine Art / at the Omni Hotel (www.lstreetfineart.com )
For more info: 619.645.6593 Gallery Hours: Tues - Sat. 10-5pm
What's in a name was my other choice of a title for this seemingly much-anticipated two person show at L Street Fine Art. However, with the title of the show already chosen, DISCOMBOBULATED, it might make you wonder if its selection wasn't a bit prophetic considering the ballyhoo overheard (principally by its defenders) in favor of its curatorial debut so to speak. I clearly have a different opinion and have expressed this openly and freely. But legitimacy is a very difficult thing to claim at this moment: the burden of proof lies with both MacConnel and Dick and myself amongst others, to put on a "good" show and to have a fair assessment of its outcome regardless of its headliners. Though there might be some speculation and confusion already as to what is going to be allegedly exhibited — earlier works by MacConnel from the 90's and recently-seen photos by Dick vs. entirely new productions — we'll just have to sit tight and see for ourselves. I'm hoping for the sake of everyone involved that it rises to the occasion.
Established artist Richard Allen Morris (76) has chosen emerging artist Tom Driscoll (64) as the 2009 San Diego Art Prize recipient. This concludes this year's Art Prize winners with none of the emerging artists nominated to this effect - and recently seen in New Contemporaries II - having been selected.
Jason Sherry & Neil Kendricks: In Conversation, April 18 @ Seminal Projects
by Richard Gleaves
I picked this because it's the most beautiful clip in the world. And I think you'll enjoy it. How it relates to my work is something about being a low-budget director, and you just have an idea that you have to do that means nothing to the entire movie — that's totally ridiculous — but you have to do it.
— Jason Sherry
He's sort of this archaeologist in terms of pop culture and movies.
— Neil Kendricks
Sherry's work is described in the gallery press release as "audio-mechanical sculptures and photo/print collages," but a more elegant way to conceptualize the work is as "image and non-image collage."
Image collage is in essence technically trivial: scissors, glue, and a magazine suffice. But non-image collage — a turntable with a bicycle; a pump organ with a pile of magazines; a hair dryer with ... an image collage! — takes mechanical genius, and Sherry's got it.
A worthwhile reference point here is Tim Hawkinson, who deploys similar levels of genius toward the very different goal of realizing Rube Goldberg. Hawkinson celebrates mechanism, while Sherry works to achieve a seamless whole: the collage ideal.
Update: 4/24
Michele Guieu has posted video of the full conversation.
When one has the desire to embark upon a life project embodied in art, the initial questions are:
Why do I want to work?
With whom do I want to share a direct dialog?
And which pieces would I like to put together in the same space to make a coherent art statement?
Orlando Díaz
(4) Artists
We have shared a myriad of daily-lived experiences: personal, generational, and contextual questions and insights. In a place like Mexico City we experimented with artistic resistance, growing up in the moment where an artistic scene was forming. Over time, we saw museums, schools, galleries, and collections emerge from the labored efforts of contemporary artists born and raised in the “city”.
thru April 25th, 2009
619.384.7989
Pincus review: here
... to sound art, which though technically not music can't help being so, given how music reigns as the supreme art form of electronic-age humanity.
Drawing from a national call for submissions, Garage Gallery (aka Larry Caveney) recently curated a high-quality one-hour set which played straight through in the darkened BYO chair garage space.
The eight works presented hit various points on the sound-to-music spectrum, depending on one's ears: the musicians in attendance said they heard everything as music.
That the musicians were there is due to the cryptic sagacity of CityBeat, which chose to list Garage's art show announcement as a music event. Wise move: the musicians were stoked, and said they'd be back.
Garage needs to consider doing this annually; otherwise, aside from the occasional Céleste Boursier-Mougenot or wind chime, the closest we get to sound art is SoundWalk, and that's up in Long Beach.
An Installation by Marisol Rendón Opening reception: April 18 / 6 to 9pm
(a North Park Nights / San Diego Art Prize satellite exhibit)
Exhibit on view April 18 - May 3, 2009
Marisol Rendón pursues an interest in the metaphorical and quasi-spiritual existence of the objects around us. She was born in 1975 in Manizales, Colombia. She began her BA in the School of Arts at the Caldas University, where, after her graduation, she worked as a professor for four years. In 1999 she acquired the title of Specialist in Semiotics and Hermeneutics of Art, offered by the National University of Colombia. In 2001 she traveled to United States to earn her MFA in the Masters of Fine Arts program at Claremont Graduate University, California, where she focused her studio practice in installations as one of the new genres of art.
Black Womanhood: Images, Icons, and Ideologies of the African Body
by Marilyn Mitchell
Black Womanhood: Images, Icons, and Ideologies of the African Body is now showing a SDMA until April 26th. If you haven't seen it, you are missing a bold and diverse group of works well worth several hours of contemplation.
The exhibit, curated by Barbara Thompson, includes contemporary black female art, postcards from the end of the 19th Century, and traditional African sculptures. The focus is on the female body and the stark differences of perception and interpretation by Africans, Western Colonial photographers and contemporary female artists.
The exhibits opens with a gigantic self portrait photograph of Renee Cox titled "Baby Back", 2001. Clearly a re-imagined take on Ingres' Odalisque of 1814, Cox's portrait holds a whip and has none of the 'come hither' attitude of Ingres' painting. She looks more like someone who is in total control and will dominate even an anonymous viewer. Hung on a deep red wall, it's a striking image.
The postcards were meant to titillate western viewers with the semi-nude examples of women from Africa and the Middle East. Seeing them today makes me cringe at the thought of how the buyers of the cards were meant to feel vastly superior to those portrayed.
If you are not familiar with African sculpture, it's worth noting that most African sculpture was made with a spiritual purpose and may have been used in a religious ceremony. The sculptures are from Sierra Leone, Gabon, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, The Republic of Congo, Tanzania and others. The exhibit shows some delightful pieces but does not give us the context of the objects displayed. They serve as an interesting counterpoint to the contemporary works but honestly are not likely to be antecedents to the contemporary pieces.
Alison Saar has two pieces on display, a wonderful woodcut "Topsy" (2002) which shows a woman's head with bottles on her hair. The image is explained as containing her dreams. Very cool.
Her other piece is a large reclining nude sculpture "Cache" (2006) made of ceiling tin, wood and wire. The piece is meant to "evoke the burden of Saar's own racially mixed ancestry" but for me it evoked tension wound so tightly it becomes a crushing weight. The stiffness of the figure and the blank expression of the face creates a feeling of burden but one would never know it comes from her ancestry. Knowing her mastery of sculpture, this piece feels surprisingly lifeless, yet it is also very beautiful.
Included in the programming for the exhibit were several story telling sessions by the Black Storytellers Association. Their lively performance Saturday, April 11th left me chanting their phrase, "I am not my hair. I am not my skin. I am not your expectations. I am my self. I am the soul that lives within." How true, how true.
Art @ the Core is a community movement in North Park and City Heights that utilizes art as a catalyzing force for positive change. Our goal is to increase access, engagement and participation in the civic process through cultural development. www.artcoresd.org
Art @ the Core through Poetry!
April is National Poetry Month, so our monthly community gathering will be focused on making poetry together in creative ways! Join us this Saturday, April 11th, to participate in this fun, community building activity and to hear from our Leadership Teams about their experiences and progress in gathering voices from the neighborhoods of City Heights and North Park.
2:00-5:00pm
At the City Heights studio of transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project.
4634 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92105
‘Creative Fix’ Invites Artists to Play an Active Role in Politics
‘Creative Fix’ Invites Artists to Play an Active Role in Politics
April 16 and 17
Marcuse Gallery
noon to 4:30 p.m.
Visual Arts Facility, University of California
San Diego, CA
May 2
Agitprop
3 to 6 p.m.
2837 University Avenue (entrance on Utah)
North Park, San Diego, CA
May 30
compactspace
3 to 7 p.m.
105 E 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA
La Jolla, California — In her upcoming project, “Creative Fix,” Sheryl Oring asks artists what they would do to fix the country if they could do anything at all. Oring, 43, is a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts candidate at the University of California, San Diego. She is calling artists to the university’s Marcuse Gallery on April 16 & 17, Agitprop in San Diego on May 2, and compactspace in Los Angeles on May 30, to discuss their creative solutions for our country. Oring will make one-minute videos of their answers and post them on YouTube. By doing so, Oring hopes to bring artists into the contemporary political debate. Artists of all types – writers, musicians, visual artists, architects etc. – are invited to participate.
“Creative Fix” is currently California-based and has the potential to expand to an international scale as viewers respond to the videos posted on Oring’sYouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/iwishtosay. The final shape of the participatory project depends on the creativity of respondents.
4141 Alabama Street, #4
San Diego, CA
619.297.6032 deepseal2@aol.com
This exhibit will happen in pitch darkness. Artists who are exploring the dimensions of sound/art; in the manner of John Cage. Please bring own chair. Performance will start and door will be closed during the sound pieces. An intermission will take place between for 1/2 hour.
Artists:
Timothy Gaewsky
Seth Cluett - www.onelonelypixel.org/bio.html
Mark Eden
Robert Fraher
Amy E. Day
Tania Kupczak
Neil Matthiessen
Travis Janssen
DRAWN IN – Historic and Contemporary Drawings and Works on Paper
Robert Nelson - "The Great Manipulator"
On view April 7th – May 23rd, 2009
DRAWN IN – Historic and Contemporary Drawings and Works on Paper
NOEL-BAZA FINE ART celebrates the Beginning of Spring with a diverse show of drawings and works on paper by local and international artists both historic and contemporary.
The show will include work by: Marianela de la Hoz, Hugo Crosthwaite, Linda Saphan, Ramon Miranda Medrano, Beto Martinez, Lynn Susholtz, Robert Nelson, Louanne Davis, Helene Wilder, Gunther Gerzso, Francisco Zuniga, Ethel Greene, K. V. Tomney, Jean Tinguely, Mark Kostabi, Picasso, Marisol Rendon and Antoni Tapies.
The Rising Son: A Mixed-Media Installation / Jesse Hensel / The Andrews Gallery
Due to the overwhelmingly positive reactions we have received from the community, The Andrews Gallery has extended the dates of its current exhibit The Rising Son: A Mixed-Media Installation by Jesse Hensel into April. We are happy to announce a second event with this show in conjunction with a live performance by The Frontier Brothers on Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 7:00pm. Please visit our website and blog for more information, pictures, news, directions and more. Please don't hesitate to call me with any questions or comments. Our events are free and open to the public, and we are trying to promote the arts in San Diego by engaging the community in a stimulating environment. Thank you very much.
Fifty MFA candidates open their studios and invite the public to view their work. The artists will be present to discuss their practice. The event includes performances, film screenings, and symposia.
UCSD Open Studios is free and open to the public. For more information visit ucsdopenstudios.com.
Institutional Wellbeing: An Olfactory Plan for Oceanside Museum of Art
Institutional Wellbeing: An Olfactory Plan for Oceanside Museum of Art is a site-specific installation created by conceptual artist Brian Goeltzenleuchter that explores the perception of fragrance as an art media for interior environments. It playfully exploits the language of corporate aesthetics as well as new age healing to create and brand a scent for the museum using the latest in scent engineering technology. The exhibition will be on view through August 9, 2009.
Curatorial Statement
Institutional Wellbeing questions intersections between art, science, commodity and entertainment. Through various personas: artist, new age healer, corporate president and motivational speaker, Brian Goeltzenleuchter scrutinizes the role museums play in a world driven by image-based advertising and consumer capitalism.
If you haven't noticed, we're making a few changes to the blog. Now's the time to shoot me any suggestions you might have. For example, things you want to see more of - or less, ideas for articles, areas we're not covering, or just more of the same. Let me know. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks.
"Faite comme d'habitude" or the Culture of Me Me Me New Contemporaries II - Part IV - FINAL
by Kevin Freitas
"Flotsam and Jetsam" - Marisol Rendón
A little inside information is necessary. I chose the title “Faite comme d’habitude or the Culture of Me Me Me” for this essay as a direct reference to the usual suspects and typically unsurprising decisions that are made within the art world - San Diego included. This involves friends, colleagues, and golden opportunities that are not as far reaching as they seem or should be. “Faite comme d’habitude” roughly translates into “Do as you always do” and is taken from the French artist Ben, a colloquial junkie of sorts who would fill entire gallery spaces with these non-sensical expressions that contained a deeper meaning about society and its suspect practices. The culture of "Me Me Me" is an obvious reference to Brian Dick’s recent exhibit of the same name at Luis de Jesus Seminal Projects a few months back.
"Faite comme d'habitude" or the Culture of Me Me Me New Contemporaries II - Part III
by Kevin Freitas
Daniel Ruanova - "FUCK OFF" (painting), "Untitled" from the FUCK OFF project (sculpture)
The San Diego Art Prize now into its third year has taken no one by surprise. The lack of enthusiasm may not be the organizer’s fault as much as how it is felt in the work of the 13 artists dubbed “emerging”. New Contemporaries II is the sequel to last year’s New Contemporaries exhibit which was held in the now defunct Simayspace Gallery downtown. In comparing the two exhibits, NC1 is far better and not for the quality of the work shown but for the dark horses that ran in it. Lael Corbin was one of those contenders, his much deserved win of the coveted Art Prize made it that much sweeter for us to savor.
"Faite comme d'habitude" or the Culture of Me Me Me New Contemporaries II - Part II
Dear Kim MacConnel,
I hope you don’t mind if I address you as Kim. I feel like I know you already so please allow me to do away with any pleasantries and formal servitudes. Discarding obligations and formality, rules and regulations if you will, seems oddly appropriate in writing this letter to you. It might be that we have something in common, something interdit. Ironically, breaking the rules has never been my forte. I’m too conservative, too scared generally. Maybe I lack a spine. Authority still impresses me. You impress me with your long artistic career, your days of “P & D” and subsequent successes. But this is not why I’m writing to you today. No, not in the least.
Well, here goes nothing. I’m sorry but you blew it Kim. Please excuse my frankness but you didn’t do the right thing. You threw away the one chance to prove to all of us you were different from the rest of the art world’s artists of unwavering and sometimes unflattering complacency. “Faite comme d’habitude” the French artist Ben used to say. And indeed you did. All you had to do was choose one artist, just one, from the 13 artists selected for this year’s San Diego Art Prize. Was it really that difficult a decision to make? So difficult a decision that you turned a blind eye on a group of artists, who like you, fell gleefully into the arms of the temptress of creativity with abandon and passion? Was it really that important to do the contrary for the love of God and Country and your art?
Were they not worthy of your jaundiced eye?
You were once a young artist, full of vim and vigor ready to conquer the world. At some point in your career, you were also emerging no? And how about now, did you grow up all alone without any recognition or hope? I don’t think so. But perhaps, the spoils of success came with a price. One that renders us callous, blind like moles, living in the darkness of our all too familiar surroundings that we no longer see the work we make, the good or evil we wage, or the opportunities we were given and lost. So Kim, without regard, without just a little compassion, without - c’mon a little love - and without your eyes to guide you, you felt about the room for the one thing that you knew the best – yourself, and couldn’t find the things that are much more important: desire, curiosity, passion, interest, camaraderie, trust, and 13 artists waiting in the wings.
Yes I know Brian Dick is a fine choice you’ll say. But an easy choice I reply, last year’s contender, but nonetheless a fine artist. I agree. But this is not the point. Even if we are given a magic wand to change the world, we do not change it to suit our liking. Having been given the “get out of jail” card as an option – just in case – shouldn’t I believe, have emboldened someone like you to use it. At least, any reasonable person would not have done so, given that they accepted to play the game with the intent of picking this year’s best player, or in this case the best artist from a group selected by the very same group of committees that selected you. Did you know I was one of those members? I regret but I did not choose you.
What now? What do you say to these artists who believed they had a chance to show with someone of your caliber? Who in good faith entered into this show with high expectations and quality work only to be snubbed? I pray your colleague; Richard Allen Morris, will not make the same error. How do you explain that you found nothing of interest in the show? If the work did not suit your needs, if at all possible, seems a rather weak excuse. I would strongly encourage you to explain why you made the choice you did with all the respect and courage you can muster. In doing so, you will have honored these artists as they have honored you, and given them back the dignity they deserve. It’s a tough spot you find yourself in; you can’t argue that there was a lack of artistic incompatibility/sensibility within the group with what you do, since there was plenty to choose from and as varied and diverse as your own work with lots of it frighteningly compatible, so I can only imagine there is another reason. There must be something else. It really isn’t about finding the best, the new or the emerging now is it? Of course not. Your reluctance justified or not, endangers the credibility and the integrity of the Art Prize, its members, supporters, selection process, volunteers and most importantly, its artists as well as the validity of your selection of Dick. It is a loophole that should be sewn shut forever.
Am I overreaching, assuming too much, am I unjust? Are my claims unfounded, unwarranted – yes, no, maybe – what difference does it make? You could have made a difference though had you wanted to. I’m sure come April, spring showers and all, your exhibit with Brian will be just fine. Will it make a difference, change the status quo, stop us from watching our full bellies rise and fall, will your show upset the apple cart – who knows. I hope so. But I have to wonder Kim, from one newly acquainted friend to another, imagine the difference you could have made in the lives of those 13 artists. Think about it. There really is no good reason for what you did.
Snapshots - Changing Perspectives in the San Diego Art Scene - New Video!
Video by Lynn Susholtz, montage by Katherine Sweetman
For those of you who may have missed last Saturday's panel discussion, here's one of 12 video's covering the evening's entire talk. Many thanks to Lynn Susholtz for the video and Katherine Sweetman for getting it all online. So go make some popcorn, find a confortable chair, sit back, relax, and enjoy. Did I mention you might even learn something about the San Diego art scene? It does exist you know. Find all the videos here.
"Faite comme d'habitude" or the Culture of Me Me Me New Contemporaries II - Part 1
by Kevin Freitas
Snapshots Panel Discussion (lft. to rt.) Philly Joe Swendoza, Robert Pincus, Katherine Sweetman, Patricia Frischer, David White - Art Produce Gallery, Sat. February 21, 2009 - photo: courtesy SDVAN - click for larger image
With standing room only and new faces crowding into the back of Lynn Susholtz's studio (director of Art Produce Gallery North Park), all ears were tuned in to listen to a panel discussion led by Katherine Sweetman (arts writer and Director, Lui Velazquez Gallery, Tijuana). The Panel members included Philly Joe Swendoza (Art Rocks! radio), Robert Pincus (San Diego Union Tribune), Patricia Frischer (San Diego Visual Arts Network), and David White (Director, Agitprop Gallery North Park). The theme: offer a broader perspective on the San Diego art scene from the points of view of several of its actors. The idea grew out of a discussion with Philly Joe Swendoza, David White, and myself and later included an ongoing discussion with Robert Pincus. It germinated from a response left by White on Art as Authority, questioning the semantics and selection process of a recent exhibition entitled Movers and Shakers organized by the San Diego Visual Arts Network.
It seemed obvious that if we wanted to address some of these issues and enlarge the discussion beyond a few individuals, we needed the help of Patricia Frischer as well as Robert Pincus, to put White's comments into a larger context but also to address San Diego's developing artistic community. This led to a series of 5 questions for the panel and audience members to contemplate and answer. And while these questions do not directly respond to a specific concern, they allowed for a very diverse and enriching commentary by all who attended.
1) - In your opinion what are the problems with the San Diego Art Scene?
2) - Why do we stay in San Diego?
3) - How do we get more/better/diverse art coverage from the media? What should the arts be asking of our writers?
4) - What sells in SD? How does market affect what is made here?
5) - What can we do to make the art scene better?
Patricia Frischer has written her own responses to these questions on her new A+ Art Blog. Check it out and be so kind as to leave a comment.
In other news, Kim MacConnel has chosen emerging artist Brian Dick as his exhibiting partner for a two-person exposition at L Street Gallery on April 25th, 2009. Dick is one of two artists selected as recipients of this year's San Diego Art Prize. The second artist recipient of the Art Prize will be chosen by Richard Allen Morris - and will be announced. I hope Morris does not make the same error by choosing outside the 13 nominated artists.
Dick was selected from last year's "New Contemporaries" exhibit and was recently seen exhibiting in a solo show at Luis De Jesus Seminal Projects.
Emerging Artists nominated for the 2009 SD Art Prize
David Adey, Tania Alcala, Michele Guieu, Keikichi Honna, Omar Pimienta, Daniel Ruanova, Marisol Rendon, Tara Smith, Matt Stallings, K.V. Tomney, Jen Trute, Gustabo Velasquez, Yuransky
NOMINATING COMMITTEE 2009
SD Art Prize Artists 2007-08: Lael Corbin, Allison Weise, Pamela Jaegar, Eleanor Antin, Marcos Ramiriz (Erre), Roman de Slavo Art Notes Contributors 2007-08: Alice Diamond, Kevin Freitas, Mark Murphy, Betti-Sue Hertz, Lucia Sanroman, Erika Torri, Doug Simay, Larry Poteet SD Art Prize honorary Chairpersons 2007-08: Vivian Lim and Joe Wong, Patti and Coop Cooprider, Cap and Julie Pinney SD Art Prize Committee: Patricia Frischer, Ann Berchtold
Noel-Baza Fine Art
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 – Sat. March 21, 2009
Public opening Kettner Night, Friday, March 13, 6 to 9 pm
2165 India Street - San Diego, CA 92101
Gallery Hours: 11-6 Tuesday-Thursday, 11-8 Friday and Sat. closed Sun, Mon
Info: Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148
or noel-baza@cox.net
619.876.4160
Garage Sale:
Sat. January 31st 7am-2pm
Sun. February 1st 7am-2pm
Recap: Sat. February 7th 6-9pm
Agitprop
2837 University Ave.
San Diego, California
92104
619.384.7989
Participants:
Joy Boe
Judith Pedroza
Eddie Miramontes
Josh Bellfy
Joe Yorty
David White
The organizing structure behind ‘Garage Sale’ is that of a group of individuals who all have an interest in objects with histories. Some of us are attracted to the seductive qualities of these objects for use in daily life, others for use in art practice, and some in both. The concept of this event began as conversation between Joy and myself as a way to fundraise for the space. This conversation grew to include other people and eventually it was decided that a ‘garage sale’ fits the informality of the space better than other economic and/or commercial forms that could engage the neighborhood. It was also an interesting way to approach ‘everyday objects’ in relationship to ‘art objects’. What is the difference? Is there a difference?
Cannon Art Gallery Juried Biennial 2009 - Carlsbad
by Kevin Freitas
Annuals when referring to plants, typically start from seed and grow to maturity, flower, than produce more seeds in the space of one year. Biennials on the other hand, take two growing seasons to complete the same task. Can we draw an analogy between plants, artists and their longevity? Do the artists in the exhibit need another year to bloom? - Perhaps. The Cannon Art Gallery’s 2009 Juried Biennial on view through February 7 might give us some answers. The word Biennial with its origins dating from the 16th century has, other than describing plant growth and a myriad of other every 2-year events, infiltrated the Contemporary art world’s vernacular for decades. Used to denote such prestigious events as the Venice Biennial, the Whitney Biennial and a host of other contemporary art fairs, it appears every major city across the globe has one. This years Cannon Biennial in Carlsbad is its ninth.
Life is full of surprises. Sometimes it is that last drop of rain that causes the levee to break, the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back, the stare down in the bar that ends up in a fight. And while they may not all have the best of outcomes, there is a brief moment of elation as the adrenelin kicks in before the reality sets up like the concrete around your feet. But damn, for a brief moment, anything is possible. Words are like that too. Bukowski once said, "it takes a lot of desperation, dissastisfaction, and disillusion to write a few good poems," perhaps it takes a few good words to cut through the murky waters, to express one's opinion that ends up being the opinion of many others who simply couldn't shake those very same words from their mouths. Take Mark Murphy for example.
He gave us a reply to an apparently innocent request, a demand you yourself may have received, which became a catalyst for a series of responses clearly outlining a need, the constraints of satisfying it, and a possible solution. Murphy's insight is electrifying. Since the exchange was made public via email to several individuals, artists and the like, and after a brief discussion with Murphy, I decided to post the responses for one specific reason: "to build a stronger arts community in San Diego" through dialogue, clarity, and purposefulness. Kevin Freitas
by Mark Murphy with permission
Question: CityBeat
Hey guys and gals,
We're looking for a cover image for Feb. 11, which will sorta be our
Valentine's Day cover. We're doing a story on people with nerdy
passions, so it doesn't have to be a piece with hearts and flowers, but
we're looking for something, anything that might work with that kind of
theme.
Oh, and again, we're not looking for anyone to do a new piece; this
would be something you already have laying around.
Thanks!
Answer: Mark Murphy
Just a polite heads up :
Hello : I think the idea of artworks laying around by passionate artists is
inappropriate : straight up, there is a lot of value that you folks take
advantage of in regards to receiving artwork that has little or no pay : and
I know you will combat me with the concept of "exposure," but honestly san
diego does not purchase original artwork as a community in droves : this is
a tough community where galleries and artists can mutually thrive :
Politely, I encourage more thoughtful calls to action, community based
inspiration and a true love for what you are trying to convey and move
beyond the atypical cattle call : essentially, MORE celebration of the arts
as a integral partner with your publication is fair and essential to
building a stronger arts community in san diego :
When I heard Ray at Night was being thrown to the cars, I thought maybe this was it. But by all accounts the show went off as big as ever: party, crowds, even art.
I hate Ray: for its circus carny atmosphere, for the way it denies contemplation its place in art, and for that supremely cheesy shop that shows that same tasteful oil of that same giant orange on that same damned wall for month after month after month after month after month.
I love Ray too, for the great art I've seen there (most in galleries long gone or off Broadway).
Gustaf Roothis Ray, so I hate and love him too. And all of it — hate, love, absurd laughter, and sincere gratitude — is neatly encapsulated in the above video, wherein Rooth accepts his Academy award for Largest And Longest Art Event.
Mad props to you sir, in all your unspeakable glory. Continue!
Time flies when you're having fun they say, so I must be having a lot because its been six months since the last Art Tapout came to town - it seems like yesterday. I want to thank David White, owner/director of Agitprop Gallery in North Park, for having initiated the second round of Art Tapouts and the artists who graciously participated. I want to thank everyone who came as well, there were several new faces attending and a renewed interest in bringing a dialogue about art and artists to what they create. The idea is simple: one critic and several artists go head to head in a metaphorical cage fight and discussion about art "LIVE" which is then opened up eventually for questions, comments and insights from the public. I'm consistently surprised by the interest and passionate voices the public brings to these events, proving once again that art is important to everyone's life.
Below you'll find several video's taken of the Tapout by Michele Guieu, one of this year's San Diego Art Prize emerging artist nominees. Finally, keep an eye out for Art Tapout events coming soon to a gallery near you!
"HOLY COW BATMAN, ART TAPOUT IS ON AGAIN!" and "SOMETHING is HAPPENING"
by Kevin Freitas
Oh yeah it's on again! Agitprop, David White, and Art as Authority are throwin' down this coming Saturday, December 6. One critic, four artists, one mystery artist, and one referee - in the cage for a "LIVE" critique! If you attended the first TAPOUT, you know what's waiting for you. If you missed it, please come out and join us! We guarantee a good time and a lively discussion OR at least, opinions that you can take back home with you for free - just like kittens.
And don't forget " SOMETHING is HAPPENING", a 3-day event that focuses on the dynamics of sensation and the nature of gatherings. Rather than experiencing a single, formal presentation, audiences can freely gather and disband at a collection of different sites in the San Diego area including the UC campus, the Salk Institute, Torrey Pines State Reserve, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. At these meeting points, audiences are immersed in sensory and atmospheric experiences through which concepts are not only elaborated but enacted. A full listing of dates, times and performances can be found below and further information here. Please attend.
I was contacted by N Art Magazine last week, a virtual art magazine of sorts that is part blog and part television crew that covers the arts scene from "Southern California, to Los Angeles to Northern Mexico, Arizona and all points West." Their stated mission is: "To promote and foster appreciation of the arts in the area" and goes on to say, "N Art Magazine is created by artists for artists and those passionate about the arts. We showcase individual artists as well as explore the region's art happenings in an effort to enrich our varied culture." Excellent!, exactly what San Diego needs more of.
There always is a certain amount of serendipity in these types of encounters, which are for the most part, opportunities to be heard and showcased. I was fortunate enough to be interviewed about Art as Authority, while inside Luis de Jesus' Seminal Projects Gallery, when San Diego artist David Adey (and recent San Diego Art Prize nominee) still had his work on view. David also had the chance to be interviewed about the work, and I must say, came off like a pro before the camera. I won't say how many takes it took to get through mine!
There was also the opportunity to speak about the Exquisite Corpse dinner organized in support of the San Diego Visual Art Network. An original idea by Escondido artist and sculptor, Dave Ghirladucci, who contacted San diego artist Michele Guieu - a San Diego Art Prize nominee this year as well, and who later contacted me to join them. What a night! A six course meal, 6 performances, plenty of wine and good conversation, a live chicken, and plenty of DADA antics and absurd moments. Dave's son Alex, our silent Maitre d, insured that there was never a dull moment for our unsuspecting guests of twelve patrons.
N Art Magazine will be televising all this and more, this coming Sunday November 30 at 4pm on KGTV Channel 10 San Diego. Here is what else is in store for you from N Art Magazine:
The third episode of N Art Magazine is a cornucopia of visual and conversational delights. We've taken the ordinary elements of the holiday table and found artists whose work reflects them. Join us as we visit with acclaimed sculptor Boban, who creates dynamic figures out of silver spoons, ceramic artist Jake Allee, mixed media artist (and guest co-host) Simon Loli, glass artists from the Escondido Municipal Gallery, Art as Authority art critic and blogger Kevin Freitas, visual artist David Adey, a DADA inspired dinner, new Gallery Walk artists and a few surprises. You can enjoy this sumptuous feast with no calories on KGTV, Channel 10, on Sunday, November 30 at 4 p.m. For more information, contact Lisa Bebi at 619.916.9040 www.nartmagazine.com
"Alfred E. Raider"
spray paint, marker on canvas - 60" x 60"
If you didn't get the opportunity to see KAI ONE's show at Art Produce Gallery last month, well, you simply missed out on something really really good! KAI as you know, is a regular contributor to Art as Authority, and brings us the latest dispatches from the world of graffiti as he sees and experiences it. This time, KAI had the place of honor he so deserves by putting on one of the most impressive installations - in the round - that I've seen in quite some time. If you would like to have a taste, artwork from the exhibit can be viewed and purchased here. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments. Thanks!
"No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth." - John Heywood
And I'm not. I'm just sayin' despite the re-writes, the emails and the stress and uncertainty of whether or not a review will be published, can make art criticism a real bitch to do. It's not easy, at least for me. 350 words good or bad and an excellent artist like David Adey doesn't go very far, just a handful of short paragraphs to cut my teeth on. But it isn't about me, it's about bringing to the public's attention the work of a very fine artist. Sometimes, I think we forget what sort of cause and effect a review not published can have on an individual artist, writer, gallery and public, which it is destined to help promote and instruct. While I am sad that a review may not be printed, it is felt to a much larger degree, especially here in San Diego where arts coverage is next to nil, by the artist whose work slips by un-noticed and un-read. The stakes are higher here, given that there is so little, it actually ends up hurting the arts community it is supposed to be supporting. (We end up covering the arts I believe, not out of any real moral or societal compunction, but out of laziness)
I applaud the recent initiative by CityBeat to feature local artists on the front cover of their weekly paper. But while I am grateful for the opportunity to have my reviews published and beautiful covers to look at, I recognize the necessity for more arts coverage by more diverse writers, and implore CityBeat and the Reader to expand their output.
Please find below the review of David Adey's exhibit, I've got a river of life flowing out of me, published in today's CityBeat, and on view until November 20th at Luis de Jesus Seminal Projects.
click for larger image
PUZZLED PIECES
The art critic Peter Plagens has referred to a lot of artwork these days as “postart,” fabricated by “postartists” who create works “post-” - after - the known art-history lineage without ever referencing the masters or the movements that have brought them to where they are today.
from: Patrick Anderson, Assistant Professor Department of Communication
World-renowned musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson will be visiting our campus, and has agreed to appear at a public roundtable with UCSD faculty from the Departments of Anthropology, Communication, Critical Gender Studies, Ethnic Studies, Theatre & Dance, and Visual Arts. Laurie's performance of her new work, HOMELAND, will happen at Mandeville Center, 8pm on Monday; the roundtable will be at 9AM on Tuesday in the LOFT space of the new Price Center East. The Tuesday event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; student tickets for Monday's performance are $10 at can be purchased through ArtPower.
A group showing of work by the selected artists, entitled "New Contemporaries II", will be on view at
Noel-Baza Fine Art
Thurs, February 19, 2009 – Sat. March 21, 2009
Public opening Kettner Night, Friday, March 13, 6 to 9 pm
2165 India Street - San Diego, CA 92101
Gallery Hours: 11-6 Tuesday-Thursday, 11-8 Friday and Sat. closed Sun, Mon
Info: Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148 or noel-baza@cox.net - 619.876.416
More information can also be found here.
And in case you have forgotten, the goals of the SD ART PRIZE, as presented by the San Diego Visual Arts Network, are to:
* Recognize and celebrate existing visual art accomplishments by spotlighting local artists.
* Create an exciting event that facilitates cross-pollination between cultural organizations and strengthens and invigorates the San Diego Visual Art Scene.
* Broaden the audience of the visual arts in San Diego by gaining national attention to the competition through a dedicated media campaign.
* Promote the vision of the future role that the visual arts will play in the San Diego community as lively, thriving, positive and empowering.
* Expand the infrastructure of spokespeople/art celebrities who can bring awareness to San Diego and perform as role models for our student artists.
I've got my favorites picked out already, but you never really know do you... KF
Final Week! "Urban Detritus" by KAI ONE at Art Produce Gallery
by Kevin Freitas
Dance Performance by transcenDANCE Saturday, Oct. 11 @ 7:30pm and 8:30pm. In conjunction with Art Produce Gallery, Art @ the Core, North Park Nights and Art as Authority. Come share in the festivities as the North Park Nights (NPN) arts organization kicks-off its opening night events with exhibits, performances, music and dance. Updates coming soon at North Park Nights.
A recent article appeared in last week's CityBeat, written by the Arts Editor Kinsee Morlan, that began with a catchy and somewhat exagerated title, Fight! Fight! Ray at Night! Gustaf Rooth (pictured) owner of Planet Rooth Gallery, Lea Caughlan and Carly Delso-Saavedra, owners of The Rubber Rose, were interviewed about future Ray at Night events and its broadening into a larger entity called North Park Nights. Differences of opinion, separatist visions maybe, but hardly fighting words; it does however, demonstrate the need for a larger debate about the state of the arts in general, including North Park and the rest of San Diego's artist community. As much as the word change is being carried as a flag of progressive rebooting of the nation's economy and politics, removing what positive connotations it had, the word itself in its essence, has the power artists need to make a difference. An event itself, is empty and meaningless until you put a standard of quality and vital content into it. I believe it is high time to start expressing some of those expectations.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
Fight! Fight! Ray at Night!
Changes ahead for North Park’s monthly art walk aren’t making everyone happy
By Kinsee Morlan
North Park’s Ray Street has always been stuck somewhere between a booming arts district and a shell of an arts district. During Ray at Night, the monthly art walk focused on Ray Street, the block comes alive as hordes of culture seekers flood the place, red wine in hand, ready to feast their eyes. more...
A Response to "Movers and Shakers" or One More Reason Not to Be a Young Artist in San Diego
David White, owner/director of the Agitprop Gallery in North Park, speaks out about the current exposition "Movers and Shakers" currently on view at Art Expressions Gallery. He asked if I would publish it and I agreed. David's gallery is one of the "newer" galleries to dot the diversifying cultural landscape in North Park, and is important to its (North Park) survival and continuation as a viable arts district. I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with him and Agitprop, in organizing the "TAPOUT" live critique several months ago. This is his first essay. And while David's opinions are of course his own, we should be able to find an element of truth in anyone's or any one voice, given that we're listening. The rest is up to you the reader to decide and act. Kevin Freitas
A work of agitprop by David White
A metaphor for artists opportunities in San Diego. Tim Hawkinson "Bird"
To be a young artist that is in some small way trying to engage in cultural exchange/discourse within an art historical, culturally contemporary context in the city of San Diego can be discouraging and, at times, soul-crushing. The initial reason that comes to mind is that of the cost of living.
I went to the “Movers and Shakers” opening Friday night at Art Expressions Gallery, located off of Morena Blvd. in some rather remote light-industrial building complex. If success can be gaged by the amount of people who show up at a reception, then “Movers and Shakers” was extremely successful. ‘Twas elbow to elbow. I’m guessing, but there might have been a certain amount of star-struck curiosity in the air by the attendees, desiring as it were to get a glimpse of who’s who. Credit is due to Patricia Frischer and the rest of the organizing committee, who were able to turn out such a large crowd, given the difficulties of a last minute venue change.
Eleanor Antin's show at the San Diego Museum of Art is currently the best in town, and maybe the best in the country.
Her large-scale staged photographs thoroughly master the vocabulary of classical painting — symbolism, allegory, posture, eye gaze — then redeploy it to address contemporary social and conceptual issues.
For instance, The Tragic Performance uses posture and gaze — and crucially the line of a shadow — to systematically enumerate the roles defined by the nexus of artwork, artist, and audience. How does one respond to Angels in America when HIV-positive? Or in love with someone who is? Or a connoisseur of theatre? Or a Kushner fan? Or a critic? The answers are all here, carefully encoded in a single image.
A curious omission in the show is its failure to include the image The Last Day in the photo series The Last Days of Pompeii. This series is Antin's historical remapping of the classic cautionary tale onto the carefree lifestyle of Southern California wealth, with the image in question depicting the apocalyptic aftermath.
The Last Days of Pompeii was shot at a home in the wealthy San Diego community of Rancho Santa Fe. Six years later wildfires burned through San Diego, destroying hundreds of homes in the region, including many in Rancho Santa Fe.
The following is an overview of 40 Movers and Shakers answers to, and our commentary on, the following question: "What is your vision for the visual arts in San Diego?" We've broken down the most popular responses under eight general headings. It should be noted that this isn't an exhaustive list of the Movers and Shakers who live and work in San Diego, and you'll certainly know of someone who was left out, though not intentionally. There was a certain amount of serendipity involved in the publication of this survey, as Patricia and I later discovered, we we're both concocting our own private versions secretly. Patricia, as one of the Movers and Shakers committee members, along with Patricia Smith - Debbie Linn - Denise Bonaimo - Mireille Des Rosiers - Dennis Paul Batt - Rosemary KimBal - Kaarin Vaughn, is represented in this exhibit of portraiture along with myself. I have over the past year or so, been involved in other projects organized by Patricia, and hope to continue to do so.
Thus, in the spirit of collaboration, and as something San Diegans wanted to see more of, we decided to put our collective minds where are collective hearts are and make those visions a reality. Acknowledging that they exist, helps us obtain them that much quicker. Kevin Freitas
It turns out we got more than we bargained for when we asked forty Movers and Shakers, “What is your vision for the visual arts in San Diego?” They gave a pretty precise view of their particular aspirations, seen by us as a larger reflection on what exists here already and what is ultimately needed.
NEW VENUE: Art Expressions Gallery
2645 Financial Court, Suite C, San Diego, CA 92117
Reception: Friday, Sept 5, 2008 from 7 to 9 pm
Show continues until Oct 4, 2008
Collectors Cocktails, How to Commission Art date TBD
Exhibition hours: Monday - Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-5pm
Info: Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148 or Patricia Smith 858.270.7577 Please note: the Movers & Shakers exhibit will no longer be held at the Patrick Moore Gallery.
An International group art show supporting Barack Obama for President sponsored by: The Art of Framing Gallery in Normal Heights.
Make a difference and participate now!
Opening: Friday, September 5 and Saturday, September 6, 2008
5:00-11:00 PM
3333 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
619.563.9770
$10 general public
First 500 people each night will receive a free "Yes We Can" bracelet
50% of the show's proceeds will be donated to the DNC's Victory Fund
Work by Michele Guieu
Because we have been inspired by Barack Obama's message of change and unity, we are hosting "Obama '08: Art For Change;" an art show featuring 50 artists from across the United States. As a group that values creative expression and supports free speech and thought, the art community has a unique opportunity to participate in Obama's grassroots campaign by not only supporting a candidate with a strong arts platform, but also by being able to contribute to the Victory Fund from the sale of their artwork. Here are a few of Obama's positions on Arts and Culture: Reinvest in Arts Education, which would include: Expanding Public/Private Partnerships Between Schools and Arts Organizations, Creating an Artist Corps, and Publicly Championing the Importance of Arts Education; Supporting Increased Funding for the NEA; and Ensuring Tax Fairness for Artists. For more on his Arts and Culture Platform visit: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/additional/#arts
Continue reading...
"Urban Detritus is a visual love poem to millions of nameless dilapidated buildings and cold steel freight trains. It pays homage to a society which has been destroyed right under your nose. If you would have stopped to smell the buff paint you might have been able to catch one last glimpse of beauty. Grit your teeth and pick up the sad debris from the crumbling worlds of art history and raw vandalism. Urban Detritus is pigment on surface, it’s non-archival, and it doesn’t give two shits about your dirty money. It’s the aesthetics of erosion." KAI ONE
Property is theft.
Property is liberty.
Property is impossible.
--Pierre Joseph Proudhon
Patrick Moore Gallery and SD Visual Arts Network present
Movers & Shakers: Who's Who in the San Diego Visual Arts World
Reception Fri, Sept 5 from 7 to 9 pm
Show continues until Oct 4
Collectors Cocktails, How to Commission Art Fri, Sept 19 from 5 to 6 pm. Plus reception Kettner Nights from 6 to 8 pm
Patrick Moore Gallery
2400 Kettner Blvd #103 San Diego, CA 92101
Hours 11a-6p Tuesday - Saturday
More info: Mary Brooks 619.756.6483 or
Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148
I was recently asked the following question: What is your vision of the future of the visual arts for San Diego? This is how I answered:
That San Diego becomes another pole or axis in the larger national and international wild world of art. That its public and tourist profile goes beyond a city for sea sex and sun, the Padres, Midway, ComicCon, and the Gaslamp. That there is more to San Diego than the weather and Cow Parade 2009. That the artists and individuals who have been working behind the scenes, come out and take the scene. How? By sharing what they've discovered with their peers. That a few select museums here rid themselves of anything remotely "bureaucratic" in exchange for independent thinking and a caliber of exhibitions that could rival the Pompidou - since we are afterall, talking about visions. And in turn, we would gladly exchange these past and present conditions FOR a future where artists want to establish their careers here first, L.A. and the rest of the world second, a responsive and informed public, support by artists for artists, card carrying collectors with ID that states "I belong, I buy art, do you?", the building of an international cultural center for exhibitions, dance, music and theater. And finally, San Diego becomes the west coast Miami/Basel in the international art fair arena. But more importantly, artists who make their home and art in San Diego, with all their unbridled freedom to create, must have the opportunity to do so through greener economic and collaborative pastures.
My response after several rewrites is nothing spectacular in itself, but is less critical than it had begun. I now regret not submitting the “original” version since within the same day, I received the following email from Carly and Lea, proprietors of the Rubber Rose Sexuality Boutique and Rubber Rose Gallery, located on Ray St. Why the regret, read this and remember what I said about “greener economic” possibilities:
Who: Zuriel Waters & Chris Warr 2-man show What: Sculpture, painting and installation Where: Agitprop gallery in Northpark, 2837 University Avenue (Utah and University behind Glenn's Market facing the KFC) When: Saturday August 9th from 7-10 pm 619.384.7989
The fruits of our almost two year collaboration and friendship come to harvest in this tightly packed exploration of personal yet symbiotic ideas.
The following is an annotated version of the July 31 issue of Night & Day, the weekly online arts section of the San Diego Union-Tribune. All text but the article category headings has been redacted.
POP MUSIC (lead article)
POP MUSIC
ON STAGE
AT THE MOVIES
AT THE MOVIES
NORTH COUNTY NIGHT & DAY (music)
NORTH COUNTY NIGHT & DAY (music)
EARTHLY MUSICAL MUSINGS BY GEORGE VARGA
POP MUSIC
POP MUSIC
POP MUSIC
ALBUM REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
EVENTOS LATINOS (art, music)
OUT GOING (circus)
DINING GUIDE
In his book Beyond the Brillo Box, the critic Arthur Danto introduces the notion of comedies of similarity to describe the phenomenon of art critics grossly misreading radical artworks in their attempts to shoehorn them into known categories of art. As an example, Danto cites Hilton Kramer's critical dismissal of Eva Hesse's sculpture Metronomic Irregularity II as a derivative attempt to translate Jackson Pollock's drip paintings into a three-dimensional medium.
Which brings us to Larry Caveney's painted sculptures, now on display at the Expressive Arts Institute in Point Loma. There's no question that Caveney's work is formally rooted in Hesse's pioneering painting/sculpture hybrids, and little question that the work strongly evokes 3-D Pollocks.
Still Strong - One more week for Art Tapout @ the Agitprop
by Kevin Freitas
Sandra Doore and Kevin Freitas in the ring
One week left to view an epic battle between critic and 5 artists, captured masterfully on video by David White (MC and referee on that fateful night). Get ready to re-live the experience while in the cage with the artwork and videos of the performance, through July13th at Agitprop Gallery, North Park. Please call the gallery at 619.384.7989 for opening hours or an appointment. Do it now!
Marcel Duchamp; Isamu Noguchi; Robert Smithson; Robert Gober
none
Critical keywords
allude; blurring; fine line; gift; homage; metaphysical; passion for subtlety; slyly
depress; direct confrontation; elusive; inspire; maturity; poetic seductiveness; surprises
92 words (17%) of review devoted to artwork and show originally written about on 17 Feb 2008.
Second review created by appending introductory paragraph to first review. Paragraph includes promise to write third review, presumably derived from first two.
My current review of Lael Corbin's exhibit entitled Remodel, installed and on view through July 5th at Luis De Jesus Seminal Projects in Little Italy (San Diego), appeared in this week's CityBeat. Lael you might recall, is one of this year's San Diego Art Prize winners, who had a two-person show with Roman De Salvo, a few months back at L Street Gallery downtown. This is Lael's first major solo show and he has managed to completely overtake and reconstruct De Jesus' gallery - much to De Jesus' delight I might add - that leaves us impressed by its sheer execution, but lacks maybe, a tad bit of inspiration and passion, a little soul as they say. No worries here though, Lael still remains on top, and is well on his way to an impressive career. This fact, I have been convinced of for long a long time now. You can read the rest of the review below. Look for an expanded review right here on the blog - coming soon.
Lael Corbin - front of Luis De Jesus Seminal Projects
Art in review
Lael Corbin remodels his art
By Kevin Freitas
Luis De Jesus Seminal Projects Gallery is under renovation and San Diego artist Lael Corbin is heading up the project. His exhibition features a floor plan, ... More
July is heating up with a series of gallery events that you'll probably won't want to miss!
Garage Gallery
On July the 5th (4141 Alabama Street, S.D.) at 7pm, the Garage will host an exhibition of drawing from across the country. These artists are pushing the form into some very interesting areas. The aritists are:
Tony Bradley, DeDe Harter, Richard Reyes, Janet Marie, Alex Rheault, Maura Vazakas, Karen Akamine, Jodie Hays, Sean Smuda
Local San Diego artist Michele Guieu was there, were you? Michele graciously video taped the first three rounds of "Art Tapout," held at Agitprop Gallery in North Park. I thank Michele for her support and interest and all the artists who participated: Sandra Doore, Chris Warr, Zuri Waters, Joe Yorty, and Claire Zitzow. I also thank David White, Director of Agitprop, for his collaboration and organization of this spectacular event, and all of you who attended the opening night ceremonies. Thanks goes to Richard Gleaves (fellow Art as Authority contributor), for the additional video footage already posted here on the blog. The exhibit of the artworks discussed, along with complete video coverage of all five rounds, will be up and on view at Agitprop Gallery through July 13th. Won't you please stop by. Kevin Freitas
There seems to be a slow rolling boil brewing in the underbelly of the San Diego art community, as the heat of past and present critical observations (made) by (me) of what is going on in that enclave, and specifically, about one individual's endeavor, is turned up. Or, it's at least deemed important enough to mention, in a current UT Street blog entry by Erin Glass.
I appreciate the tongue-in-cheek ribbing made in Erin's commentary, and while I would agree that 99% of the viral commentary was insulting and off topic, the review I wrote was not. Honest, truthful sure it was, corrosive, hardly, unless you want to see the word "disappointing" enter the Urban Dictionary.
Anyway, that review in CityBeat may have been the impetus behind a larger endeavor, being performed tomorrow night in collaboration with Agitprop Gallery in Northpark, with David White (Agitprop's director), myself, and the following artists who graciously agreed to participate: Sandra Doore, Chris Warr, Zuri Waters, Joe Yorty, and Claire Zitzow. This event, a "LIVE" critique of the work of these artists, will kick-off at 7pm. Sandra Doore will also be pulling a double shift that evening, exhibiting works that she and gallery director, Lynn Susholtz of Art Produce Gallery, curated together entitled Push Pull.
You can read the UT blog below:
LIFE IMITATES INTERNET: Artists and critic cage fight
by Erin Glass
Since you probably have a life we're guessing you missed the Great Opinion War that occurred in the depths of the online comments section of a City Beat art review by Kevin Freitas last February.
I have a show here on the west side on Friday night. I'm showing for the first time in LA in a long time (well over a year). I'm exhibiting with 2 of my friends, John Michael Gill and Jeremy Szuder, at a brand new gallery my friend opened called C.A.V.E.
The work is a series I've been working on for 7 years called Junk Mail Jamming. I've been drawing on junk mail and sending it back to the folks that sent it, ever since 9/11. I was struck by a piece of junk mail I received in December of 2001; it was red, white, and blue and had a bald eagle with the text 'Urgent! Open Imediately!' on the front. I opened it, and apparently Adelphia, thought it was urgent and patriotic for me to get their cable service because of the nation's tragedy. At that moment, I decided I would get revenge on the people that send me junk mail instead of just complaining about it. I figured I would waste as much of their money and time as they had mine. This "junked" mail went back as a robotic bald eagle with the phrase 'Good patriots buy first and ask questions later!' and for one moment, I felt like the hero-of-all that hate junk mail. I've continued this tradition for years, and now feel it's time to show it to the public.
The originals are sent back 'postage paid' to the offending parties, and so I've laid out a book of 50 of the best, and will be publishing them in a book (Pre-Orders available for first limited run of 200).
I also have 32 of the pieces on display as one-of-a-kind framed prints, including some other random stuff.
Friday the 13th, 2008. 6-10pm
507 Rose Ave. Venice, CA
For more info call 310.428.6387
Seth Augustine, Kate Barclay, Cathy de la Cruz, Deanna Erdmann, Kate Hoffman, Scott Horsley, Sara Hunsucker, Derek Lomas, Jennifer Medlin, Elyse Montague, Adam Moyer, Owen Mundy, Kelly Pendergrast, Iana Quesnell, Katherine Sweetman, Nina Waisman, Kate Wall, Felipe Zuñiga
6 June > 6 July 2008
The University Art Gallery is delighted to present its annual exhibition of work by the graduating Masters of Fine Art students from the Department of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego. The work of these eighteen emerging artists ranges from interactive media, sculpture, film/video, photography to installation and reflects the culmination of their time spent at UCSD.
Adriene Jenik, MFA graduate program faculty advisor said:
“As a whole, the work of our recent Masters in Fine Art graduates reflects the impulses, obsessions and networks of exchange at play in contemporary art today. The work also reflects the overarching commitment within the Visual Arts Department to fostering art making and art discourse in a truly inter-media environment. At University of California San Diego, it is understood that art emerges from an often messy tangle of ideas, material engagement, intellectual research, and conversation.”
Every Saturday (7, 14, 21, 28 June and 5 July) at 2pm artists exhibiting in the show will lead guided tours through the gallery, providing a unique opportunity to further understand the work exhibited as well as provide insight into the unique experience of being a post-graduate student at UCSD. Please RSVP to uag@ucsd.edu if you would like to attend one of these talks, as space is limited.
The University Art Gallery is open Tuesday -Saturday, 11am -5pm.
For further information please ring 858.534.2107 or email uag@ucsd.edu.
UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO
MANDEVILLE CENTER
9500 GILMAN DRIVE
La Jolla, CA Tuesday > Saturday / 11am > 5pm
TEL 858.534.2107
FAX 858.822.3548 uag@ucsd.edu Free Admission
San Diego home boy Andy Howell is at it again, this time, with a huge spread in this month's (June) Juxtapoz. Let's face it, the guy deserves it! Go give him some huge props the next time you see him on the street, and in the meantime, buy the magazine at your local newstand. Congrats Andy!
Gray's current show (at Garage Gallery in North Park) consists of 18 paintings on wood panel.
The older works — which make up the majority of the show — derive formally from the 1950's-style geometric abstraction of period jazz album covers and Saul Bass film titles.
As such they are well-made and have retro appeal, but then things get interesting: the paint handling foregoes 50's modern flatness for the patchy quality of do-it-yourself faux-antique finishing, while the colors themselves are escapees from the 80's designer era. In a word the works are asynchronous.
In addition to these works, the show includes a handful of recent paintings which diverge from the earlier work in two ways.
First, their formal complexity is greatly simplified, leaving behind the 50's residue in favor of a pure timeless abstraction.
Second and crucially, Gray introduces black to his palette — flat black — while retaining the faux finish in the rest of the colors. The resulting dual contrast — between black and non-black, flat and faux — makes these works pop.
"Art Tapout" - a live studio critique in front of the public!
When:
June 14th @ 7pm in conjunction with the second saturday festivities of Ray at Night. Where:
Agitprop Gallery
2837 University Avenue (behind Glenn's Market on Utah) - North Park
San Diego, CA
619.384.7989 agitprop.events@gmail.com
Artists in the cage:
Sandra Doore
Chris Warr
Zuri Waters
Joe Yorty
Claire Zitzow
The Challenger and Art Critic for the evening:
Kevin Freitas
Your Referee:
David White
What:
Did you ever wonder how artists are chosen to exhibit their works in a gallery? Did you ever wonder how an art critic determines what is good or bad art? Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the "closed doors" of our cultural institutions? Well folks, this live performance and critique is just for you! Inspired from the popular sport of cage fighting, 5 San Diego artists will go head to to head with a local art critic Kevin Freitas - one at at time, until only the Victor is left standing or someone taps out. Each artist will present a series of artworks to the public and the critic, for an "open mike" discussion on the artistic merits, significance and the importance of the work displayed. There will be no blood spilled, no punches thrown, only the eloquent footwork of aesthetic discourse and stinging repartée. The outcome of the match, will be determined by its only referee of the night, David White, Director of Agitprop Gallery.
The public is of course invited to witness this fine event and even participate in the ensuing dialogue, offering their own brand of commentary, insight, arguments, and witticisms (no fruits or vegetables will be allowed during the start of the performance). Seating is limited, so do come early. The performance will begin promptly, once the cage has been closed and secured. All work selected will remain on view to the public through July 13th, 2008 in the gallery. I'll see you at the fights!
I thought it apropos to have Edwin Decker, writer, performance artist, and homme extrordinaire, honor the virtual pages of Art as Authority - which he so graciously accepted to do - notably, for his award winning performance at the California Center for the Arts Escondido Performance Slam, and his text spoken that night, which can be found in its entirety below.
I am one of the very few who do not yet fully grasp the breadth of this man's talent, having just met him briefly that fateful night - well, actually we just smiled at each other as I mumbled a few congratulatory words to him, but, I was nonetheless impressed. Being impressed is not good enough however, so having an ulterior motivation is helpful, not necessary, but it makes me look clever.
I wanted to post Ed's piece for its humorous and satirical take on the "Innocence is Questionable" exhibit at the CCA, but also because it conveniently fell inline with my own sentiments - and I mean exactly. Besides, if you don't show up for the party that was planned and given in your honor - uh, that would be the artists in the exhibit - you never hear what good was said about you. It is unfortunate for them but great for Ed, and wonderful for us. Thanks Ed, stop by anytime.
by Edwin Decker
HE name of this exhibit is, “Innocence is Questionable,” about which, the brochure says, “Ultimately, what each of these artists question is whether or not the folly of the world is the responsibility of man?”
It’s a synopsis which makes me wonder, how does a great artist illustrate the subjects he or she finds “questionable”?
I look at these paintings and I see the man-made uglies of this urban life made beautiful: The mall escalator, the casino, the toilet in the desert, even the depiction of Best Buy, so bounteous, and blue, and expansive that it becomes a planet unto itself; making me instantly understand that I need another flat screen TV – you know – for the bathroom.
Inside the Wave: Six San Diego/Tijuana artists construct social art - A Review
Patricia Frischer, is founder of the San Diego Art Prize along with Ann Berchtold and Joan Seifried, and is also the force behind San Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN) - an online métropole of artist resources and arts info unique to San Diego. A long time supporter of Art as Authority, Patricia, is debuting on our pages for the first time in a gesture of cultural cross pollination and collaborative exchange, with a review of "Inside the Wave: Six San Diego/Tijuana artists construct social art" on view at the San Diego Museum of Art. We welcome Patricia, and hope you will too. Enjoy! Kevin Freitas
by Patricia Frischer
The *particle group*
The San Diego Museum of Art exhibition Inside the Wave was named by its curator Betti-Sue Hertz for its insider view of a new wave of artists not shown at the museum before. I attended the lecture/panel discussion where they all made presentations including a live Skype hook up with Adriene Jenik from Singapore. Brian Dick, Allison Wiese, Zlatan Vukosavljevic and Nina Waisman from the *particle group* and Bulbo presenting Tijuaneado Anonimos were the other five presenters.
Simayspace @ the Academy
The Art Academy of San Diego
840 G Street
San Diego, CA 92101
619.231.3900
COPY features installation work and collages by San Diego artists Richard Gleaves and Joey Burns, drawings by French artist Hervé Crespel and by Indiana/Chicago artist Tom Torluemke, and a mural by Arizona graffitist KAI1.
(sculpture pictured above) El Anatsui - "Earth Growing Roots" Collection of Nancy and Dave Gill
Courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Well, miracles can happen it seems, and having El Anatsui's work on exhibit here in San Diego is, it appears, one of those times. I saw a larger show of his work in the Fowler Museum at UCLA last year, and have been a devoted fan ever since. El Anatsui is originally from Ghana and is currently Professor of Sculpture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
"Earth Growing Roots" was organized by Tina Yapelli, director of the University Art Gallery at San Diego State. This show, much smaller in scale than its counterpart in UCLA, only contains seven works, modest in size, with the exception of an untitled work measuring 123 x 195 inches. Yapelli writes, in a small exhibit brochure (for those of you unfamiliar with El Anatsui's pieces), "Using copper wire, El Anatsui joins together foil bottleneck wrappers and metal bottle caps - refuse from empty liquor containers - to create colorful, fabric-like wall sculptures that juxtapose the social, political and cultural history of Africa with the stylistic and conceptual idioms of Western art practice... They (also) refer to the traditional woven kente cloth and stamped adinkra symbols of Ghana, the reductive imagery of geometric abstract painting, the pressing ecological issues of consumerism and waste, and the historical and ongoing impacts of the global marketplace."
I'm not so sure, that one or any, artwork, can possibly make so many claims, but even so, these smaller pieces appear to be more formally "self-conscious" and structurized, moving from the traditional motif to the more stylized, literal, and graphic. For example, a work like "Bleeding Takari," riddled with square holes of red metal, pours out brightly colored hemoglobin ribbons, down to the metal fabrics edge and beyond, as they appear to cling and drip onto the polished gallery floors.
Still, this exhibit is stunning in it's presentation and will likely leave you asking for more. It should not be missed; hurry though, it's only on view until May 7th.
"Noyer le Poisson" & The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization*
by Kevin Freitas
OR is Innocence is Questionable, questionable? Thoughts on "artspeak" and the presumed innocence of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
"WHY is so much curatorial writing so dreadful?... My first assumption is that there's a generation of curators who went to college and grad school in the 1980s and '90s, when the congested language of Deconstruction, Critical Studies and so on still seemed important, intrepid and even a little glamorous."
--Richard Lacayo, critic, TIME magazine. The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization, April 1, 2008.
"Turgid"
Main Entry: tur·gid
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin turgidus, from turgēre to be swollen
Date: 1620
1: being in a state of distension : swollen, tumid [turgid limbs]; especially : exhibiting turgor
2: excessively embellished in style or language : bombastic, pompous [turgid prose]
--Merriam-Webster
"Noyer le poisson" (lit. "to drown the fish")
French slang
1: to cloud or dilute, blend. hide truth [fish tale]
Egyptian; Lisht North - Gold, beryl - ca. 1981–1640 B.C., The Metropolitan Museum of Art
"Ancient Egyptians called fish amulets like this nekhau and gave them to young girls to wear as a charm against drowning."
FACT #1: I've been hesitant to tresspass upon an exhibit, that, I am simultaneously involved in as public spectator (art critic, if you will) and unpaid participant, insomuch as my participation is not related to the show's organization, but its support.
FACT #2: I haven't picked up a copy of TIME magazine in over 10 years. I stopped reading TIME - I never read the whole magazine anyway, just the art reviews - when Robert Hughes left his outpost as the magazine's art critic. Born in Australia, Hughes, among other professional and literary activities inbetween, moved to New York in 1970 to become TIME magazine's leading and most influential critic of the arts. He is an obvious hero of mine, a major influence, and a consistent inspiration to this day. I still recall, screening The Shock of the New on VHS, in the University's (UCD) lecture hall during a class entitled, Art Since 1945.
FACT #3: Ignorance is bliss, and so, I have not read anything by TIME magazine's (new?) critic Richard Lacayo, until now. I'm going to start though, if his recent article, The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization, and the quote referenced above, are any indication of the commentary I'll be viewing.
Performance Slam - SD Art Prize California Center for the Arts, Escondido
SD Art PRIZE: Recognition of Excellence in the Visual Art
Performance Slam multi-genre Invitational, April 20 from 5 to 7 pm in support of the exhibition, Innocence is Questionable
Featuring 2006/2007 SD Art Prize Artists:
Raul Guerrero and emerging artist Yvonne Venegas
Jean Lowe and emerging Artist Iana Quesnell
Ernest Silva and emerging Artist May-ling Martinez
Performers: Art criticism - Kevin Freitas, Art as Authority
Dance - Sara Plaisted, Urban Tribal Dance
Instrumental - Zuriel Waters
Poetry - Jaysen Waller
Performance art - Ted Washington, Pruitt Igoe
Satire - Ed Decker
Theater - Marilyn Klisser and Aura Thielen, Emerge Art Center
Stage Manager - Mercedes Casey
Critical COPY or A Critic Critiques a Critic This is how I roll.
by Kevin Freitas
The COPY exhibit currently on view at the Simayspace Gallery downtown got some copy, today, in the form of a nice article and review of the show, by San Diego Union Tribune's art critic, Robert Pincus. The long hours of planning, ideas and physical work that went into the organization of this exhibition, paid off. I'm grateful.
This show of course, couldn't have been possible without the help, good faith and excellent work provided by the artists who participated. I take this opportunity to thank all those who helped in the planning and execution of this event (and if you think this is sounding like an acceptance speech for an Academy Award, you would be right - I'm elated.)
Thanks to the artists: Richard Gleaves, KAI1, Joey Burns, Tom Torluemke, Herve Crespel and Bret Barrett; gratitude for Doug Simay at Simayspace Gallery and the Art Academy of San Diego for the invitation and letting me be the "first;" Mark over at BodyMarks Tattoo on El Cajon Blvd. for playing a major role in the performance; Patricia Frischer for being a sounding board to last minute ideas; Elliott Linwood for curatorial advice at a crucial moment; and finally, Robert Pincus from the San Diego Union Tribune.
Freitas follows the rabbit down the hole
Curator strives for an 'Alice in Wonderland' feel to exhibit at Simayspace
By Robert L. Pincus
ART CRITIC
March 30, 2008
Kevin Freitas has placed a big desk in the current exhibition he's curated for Simayspace downtown. It even has his nameplate on it, with his title (art critic) in French ... more
Last Call - Julien Colombier and "90 Grammes" @ Art Produce Gallery
BEFORE
AFTER
Last chance to see Julien Colombier's "90 Grammes" exhibit at Art Produce Gallery in North Park. Show ends Sunday, April 6. Please stop by, and afterwards, have a coffee in the newly opened Caffe Carpe Diem right next door. You won't regret it.
The Wonderhaus and Voice 171 (formally Voice 1156)
To hear Monica Hoover tell it, she needs your help and now!
It's unlikely that there is someone left in San Diego who doesn't know who Monica is - artist, lifestyle photographer, "creative activist" and co-founder of Voice 1156. I've known Monica for about a year now after reviewing one of her solo shows at the Rubber Rose Gallery on Ray St. That show, like everything else Monica does was/is perfection. She is un-relenting in her pursuit of bringing artists together, showcasing their works and bringing the public into the fold through exposure, dialogue and education. She is tireless and dedicated to the Arts in general and to the larger artistic community here in San Diego. This is where she wants to be, this is where she wants to stay and she's asking you for your help to achieve that goal.
Monica is in the process of re-locating and re-establishing Voice 1156 in its future location within the Wonderhaus or former Wonder Bread factory, built in 1924 and located in the Ballpark District of downtown San Diego. She has this to say,
"The opposition we are up against is the city, and the laws and regulations the city represents and enforces. I am confident we will get what we need, but it will speed things up a great deal if we show the California and San Diego community supports VOICE as well. We need to show the city that a venue like VOICE is wanted and needed in San Diego."
For those of you who are not familiar with Voice and what they do, here is a brief Mission Statement:
VOICE is a mixed use art and culture facility. Offering art shows changing monthly paralleled with a music venue featuring live music performances. The space will also include a small retail store that sells art related merchandise and a café that will dual as a full kitchen to be utilized for catering special events. The motto of VOICE is “Practice Creative Activism”. Gauging from our experience at our previous facility VOICE 1156, our current goal is to take our grass roots origins to a more mature, professional level by creating financially stability to support our establishment. Additionally we are in the process of setting up a non-profit “YOUTH VOICE” - that focuses on sharing art education to youth through tours, lectures and workshops. VOICE’s intent is to be the leader in the urban, young and progressive arts movement in the emerging downtown San Diego scene. It's not that the lack of people in San Diego – creative individuals and creative patrons, it's the lack of proper facilities. Voice’s intention is to be a part of the contributing leaders whom want to change our San Diego’s scene and reputation.
Monica asks, "It would be AMAZING - if you could print out the 'Signatures for VOICE' sheet - have people sign it - and mail mail it back to me. Monica Hoover P.O. BOX 1017 Jamul, CA 91935"
Won't you please help Monica and all of us who are committed to a vibrant and dynamic arts community in San Diego? Become a Creative Activist and take responsibility for the future of the Arts, you'll be glad that you did. Further information and the "Signatures for VOICE sheet" can be be found below.
Can't say I didn't warn you but I did, and now we have a perfect case (several) of what a lot of us have been preaching these past several months - consistency, integrity, vision and how to put on a good show. March has turned out to be an excellent and exciting month in North Park, particularly on that hallowed art ground we call Ray St. I believe one should lead by example, especially when it comes to exhibiting in the art world. Lead they have and remarkably well, both Spacecraft and 4 Walls have exhibits ranging in style and temperament with rock solid performances. At Spacecraft Matt Wedel is showing some large scale glazed ceramic sculptures of quirky and delightfully charming Polar Bears embracing or dancing, and colorful singular slices of flowering plants clinging to angular stacked boulders. The photographer Bill Dane and the mixed-media artist Kimberly Tomney round out a beautiful and compelling show of works at 4 Walls. Bill Dane, for those of you like myself who are learning about him for the first time, is a longtime Bay Area photographer who has received critical acclaim during his long career and who has also received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts each twice. Impressive for work rich in metaphor that combines straight non-manipulated photos of juxtaposed layers of "common" everyday life - bus stops, billboards, window panes, advertising etc. - mixed in with the folk who inhabit that environment, reflected and shadowed oftentimes by the artist's own shadow in a domino effect of us as viewer/voyeur, the artist, and then the subject (photographed). They are stunningly simple and beautiful.
Kimberly's amalgam aluminum and pen & ink drawings on paper of suburban swimming pools have that definite Southern Californian feel to them, reminiscent of Edward Ruscha's black & white photos of the same subject in "Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass" and they even retain the same dead-pan humor and irony of his images. What sets Kimberly's drawings apart is the elegance, simplicity of line and form, and the almost religious atmosphere she creates and worships upon such a banal luxury.
Finally, French artist Julien Colombier from Paris has orchestrated a spectacular installation of painted paper bags at the Art Produce Gallery. Derrik Chinn, online editor of the Nightlife & Visitors info at SignOnSanDiego.com, has written a nice little article about Julien's exhibit complete with several photos and a series of questions & answers for the artist. You can read an excerpt from the article below:
POP BOMB: Julien Colombier at ART Produce
Graffiti sprayed all over the sides of city trains, buses and walls. Entire sides of skyrises draped with advertisements. Digital billboards towering over the interstate. Urban decor has exploded with such an intensity that megalopolises such as Sao Paulo, Brazil (population: 10,886,518), are beginning to ban all forms of public advertisements. Imagine ...continue.
If this isn't enough to get you into Spring with a light heart and a head full of images, I can't help you then...
The present age … prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to the original, fancy to reality, the appearance to the essence … for in these days illusion only is sacred, truth profane. -- Ludwig Feuerbach
Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else. -- Tom Peters
An American in Paris? - but of course! A Frenchman in San Diego? - splendide!
Paris artist Julien Colombier stands in front of a graffiti mural by Arizona writer KAI1, freshly painted behind the Art Produce Gallery where Julien is having his first solo exhibit in the US. Both artists, KAI1 and Julien, blew into San Diego to participate in their respective expositions with great fanfare and success.
Julien's show entitled "90 Grammes" will be on view through April 6, 2008 at the Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92104. Please call 619.584.4448 for more information and gallery hours. Or check out the review of the show at SignOnSanDiego.com here for a taste of what awaits you.
KAI1 is participating in "COPY" which is also on view at the Simayspace Gallery located within the Art Academy of San Diego, and features local San Diego artists Joey Burns and Richard Gleaves along with Kevin Freitas, Herve Crespel, Bret Barrett and Tom Torluemke. The Academy is located at 840 G Street downtown San Diego. Call 619.231.3900 for more information and opening hours. Check 'em both out, you'll be glad you did!
Art Review of Bill Pierce's Endeavor exhibit - San Diego CityBeat
by Kevin Freitas
Andi Brandenburg - "Besos not Bombs"
I recently had the welcomed opportunity to give 350 words to CITYBEAT and saw them published today online and in hard copy. What was about? - a review of the current exhibition on display at Art Produce Gallery entitled "Endeavor," a group show of 15 San Diego artists under the collective umbrella of Bill Pierce and Radioactive Future. While I was generally disappointed in the range of work presented, I did find a handful of artists that have consistently "stepped-up" and produced works over the months that continue to innovate and delight. The above work by Andi Brandenburg does not. This may seem unfair but what I do know is this: we're all in this together. We all have our assigned role as artist, curator, gallery, critic, collector, public, museum et al. - as stereotypical and mundane as that might appear on the surface - which has a significant impact on how we go about demonstrating that responsibility. Some of you might be unaware of this added burden or are simply uninterested. This is certainly your right and choice.
I believe to a very large degree that the days of "art for art's sake" are finished - we no longer have the luxury or the time (or the money perhaps) to mess around in the studio and let the art mature and age with grace. Life, society, politics and the world in the 21st century are accelerating past us at an alarming rate which leaves no time for a craft that requires reflection and intuition. Too bad. So as much as I call for some changes in the how and why artists exhibit their works in San Diego, I would also ask them not to speed up the production of those works but to slow it down. Make it count. By making each and every work that you make count, not only are you building a stronger and more diverse community - definitely more exciting - you're also fulfilling the obligations and right to be an artist. Please don't take it lightly - an audience is out there watching and waiting.
You can read the full review here in this week's CITYBEAT.
The Critic at Large strikes again! This time, he picks San Diego's Top 10 (or so) artists of 2007 - Buyer beware!
"They say your walls should look no different than your work, but that is only a feeble prediction of the future. We know the ego is the true maker of history, and if it isn't, it should be no concern of yours." - Larry Rivers and Frank O'Hara, HOW TO PROCEED IN THE ARTS, 1955.
Plenty of prediction and predilection going on in the Art Rocks! studio that late December evening, one of the last of 2007. Does my criticism "sound" no different than the work I see, perhaps it is a feeble prediction of the San Diego art scene. But I don't believe so. The artists I spoke of are diverse (obviously) in style and content, intelligent, hard working, dedicated and committed to their craft, to their job as artist and to their art. I would even go as far to say that they are devoted to the audience(s) they exhibit their work before. As a viewer, one should never forget that it is also a privilege to view an artist's work as it is for the artist to make it. This also goes for what I call all the "lookers" and "non-buyers" out there whose civic duty (ok, a "viewers" responsibility) to support and buy - yes I said it - buy the artwork, if you it so moves you. There's no time like the present as they say and definitely never too late.
Finally, there might be some out there that believe I am "risking it all" (what I'm not exactly sure) by my appearance(s) on Art Rocks!, viewed by those same few that the show's content is less than fulfilling and while I am for the most part in agreement, it is a service to the art community and its players that is indeed talk - radio talk - but is much more valuable for being pro-active than non-active. I say let the cards fall where they may and let the listener, like the viewer, decide for themselves.
(curatorial statement, California Center for the Arts, Escondido for "Innocence is Questionable")
Conceived to promote and encourage dialogue, reflection, and social interaction about San Diego ’s artistic and cultural life, the exhibition, Innocence is Questionable, will celebrate the accomplishments of six renowned local artists: Jean Lowe, Ernest Silva, Raul Guererro, Iana Quesnell, May-Ling Martinez, and Yvonne Venegas, all recipients of the 2006/2007 San Diego Art Prize. By bringing awareness to the contemporary landscape and our place within it, each artist struggles with time and its impact on community, place, and the individual. By looking at historical precedents, mapping the physical environment and documenting the interconnectedness of all things, each artist explores one’s own history—how it’s constructed, where it begins and ends. Using the familiar, and sometimes the banal, to draw the viewer in, they make reference to the subtle complexities of an idealized image of the past in the face of the reality of the present. Ultimately, what each of these artists question is whether or not the folly of the world is the responsibility of man? California Center for the Arts, Escondido March 1 - May 31, 2008
Art Rocks! Bites: A Critic at Large dines and wines on art and avoids the snails.
"L'addition s'il vous plait Monsieur!"
Ah yes, fine dining and good wine at the Bleu Boheme restaurant (Kensington) the other night, having been invited by the Art Rocks! dynamic duo of talk show internet radio fame: Philly Joe Swendoza and Ally Bling Bling aka "The Fashion Pirate" and friend Joan Seifried, to test drive the restaurant's French cuisine and European charm. Except for the extremely small portions of fromage and charcuterie and a waitress much to eager to serve - a crash course in respectfully ignoring the client à la the bistro style in France could be of great use here - it was a pleasurable dining experience of food and conversation.
The Art Rocks! Bites portion of the one half hour live broadcast (worldwide) was conducted here in San Diego at the ws radio station under the auspices of Philly and Ally. Future bites or chewing will feature weekly culinary reviews of local and out of town eating establishments by Philly, Ally and their subsequent invited dinner guests, and later recorded as was our experience at the Bleu Boheme for future prosperity. Our largely unanimous "thumbs up" review can be heard by clicking on the link below. A link for our mobile podcasters is also available for download. Other than one or two extra "uhh's and err's" in my debut radio appearance and the annoying habit of "The Pirate" cutting me off in mid-sentence, I had a great time. I hope you'll have as much by taking a listen. KF
Christine Lee - "Shims: Thousands of Uses - Use #3" at Art Produce North Park
by Kevin Freitas
“Leave no stone unturned” – Euripides
“No good deed goes unpunished” – Clare Booth Luce (for Doug Simay)
What constitutes a good deed in art? Having the idea, being the artist, making the work, selling it, or a good crowd for the opening?
"Shims: Thousands of Uses - Use #3" (detail) - Christine Lee
Does a good deed in art mean that you were a success; the show was a success, tout était compris by the viewer or a viewer, the public, a friend, a lover, an art critic – you? Do good deeds in art or in life make up for all the bad things we’ve done or the bad art we’ve shown? Is there a bad deed that is never punished? Should artists be punished – and for what you ask? I say for all their good deeds, their artwork, their desire to create and fabricate images and objects out of thin air, and for their blasphemous cries of “this is art!” Or does this punishment for an artist come in the form of a show “missed” closed the weekend before you could get to it, or maybe a bad review or none at all? Is a good deed really enough to absolve you, me, and her from our daily responsibilities and moral and ethical – social – upbringing(s)? Isn’t it better for an artwork to be punished by the questions it leaves unanswered than to be complacent and all knowing?
One of the big surprises of the San Diego wildfires is the instant rise to international fame of Qualcomm Stadium as shelter, haven, and general beacon of humanity for tens of thousands of refugees. Photojournalists the world over descended on San Diego, and their collective photographer's eye discovered a little-known fact: Qualcomm Stadium is in fact a stunning and historically significant piece of mid-century modern architecture.
Tickled by the stadium's proto-Bilbao-esque forms, the photojournalists proceeded to invent a new genre of architectural disaster photography, equal parts Shulman and Salgado. The resulting images carry the story, and they look great.
The irony in this sequence of events is that ever since the city built the new Petco Park downtown, Qualcomm Stadium has been portrayed as a civic white elephant in need of extensive and architecturally fatal multi-use redevelopment. But now that the stadium has received (both in name and in image) an inestimable amount of solid gold international media exposure, any future efforts to bury the existing stadium beneath high-density housing and parking garages will likely be seen as the civic equivalent of tearing down the Statue of Liberty. It will make for interesting media coverage.
Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Robyn Beck (Agence France-Presse); Chris Park (Associated Press Photo); Stan Liu (Reuters); AP Photo.
Trolley Dances is authentic homegrown San Diego culture: an annual event of site-specific dances linked together by the city's light rail system.
Like San Diego's other indigenous art forms — surfing, sailing, scuba — Trolley Dances is site-specific in a larger sense by happening mostly outdoors, and in environments far less organized and more dynamic than the typical performance hall. As a result, Trolley Dance viewers seeking to optimize their esthetic experience are obliged to work hard at siting themselves, at the risk of just plain missing the show.
At this level of commitment one does not attend Trolley Dances so much as surf it: the crowds are thick, the sight lines few and shifty. You have to plot strategy, keep your eyes open, and stay light on your feet.
David Adey - "Atomic Particulars" Spacecraft Studio Lands in North Park - Part III
This concludes the review of David Adey's exhibit at Spacecraft Gallery - KF
"Pump" - David Adey
If you look around the incredible display of works by Adey in this his first solo exhibition, you might deduce that he likes to work in series. This makes a lot of sense of course given the stamina and patience he brings to each and every work, stubbornly(in my view) by methodically finishing and drawing out the last breath of each sculpture’s essence. What I do know in asking him directly, is that this working methodology is part and parcel responsible for the greater success of all of his works. Aside from the one “lamb” sculpture in the exhibition and the other two I spoke of which are not, there are two separate bodies of work (loosely) that employ the use of black drywall screws and craft punches – no less compelling I guarantee.
David Adey - "Atomic Particulars" Spacecraft Studio Lands in North Park - Part II
by Kevin Freitas
“A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.”
(Dr.) Victor Frankenstein
“I was benevolent, my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?”
Monster
"Lamb of Man" - David Adey
David Adey could be a modern day Dr. Frankenstein. He is very fond of the literary genius of Mary Shelley and I would imagine, fond of any work of genius whether it be in literature, art, music or relevant discipline if somehow he could break it down, dissect it, and put it back together into his own vision of order. The world according to Adey. He is not a dictator and this is not about power, it is about structure. Adey doesn’t give you much wiggle room when looking at his oeuvre; you’re almost always reacting to or against the very visceral content laid out before you. The work is emotionally charged and spiritually complex, it assaults the viewer’s sensibility by controlling the viewer’s intake of what is being looked at. It is sensual, deceiving, mischievous and humorous. It is also obsessive, maniac, and perfection at its core. It can also be process, repetition, manufacturing, design. It is Adey’s penance for having created so “many happy and excellent natures” that owe their being to him.
"To boldly go where no man has gone before" is indeed a lofty mission statement by which most of us know by now is the stuff of science fiction; much like the exuberant proclamations of the Administration’s equally enthusiastic “The Way Forward” or “Mission Accomplished”. The upside of the adventures of Capt. Kirk and the USS Enterprise is that their journey has never really ended, boldly moving forward exploring every nook and cranny of the universe. The downside of the political quagmire we find ourselves in today is that we are truly stuck, hardly advancing and sinking deeper.
A bit like the current art scene here in San Diego, wouldn’t you say? There’s the stuff that floats on the surface, bobbing for attention and then there’s the stuff that is already starting to decompose, shedding its superficiality and exposing its heart and soul. Not all bad art sinks and not all good art rises to the top, it takes a certain blend of ooze, time, permutation and quality of the ingredients – yes, the good art – to get a residue worth staining the knees of your pants as you dig down to pull up some of that primordial muck we call art. (All allusions to Peter Morgan’s recent expo at Spacecraft is intentional) But where do you know to dig? Call it Lady Luck, the environment, experience or just plain boredom, call it what you want but sometimes you needn’t drive from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida to find what you’re craving for. Sometimes it’s bubbling right up in your own backyard and sometimes it just lands there.
Take Emily Fierer and Christopher Puzio for example. They land in San Diego, stardate 2003, but it takes a meeting of the minds in Boston so to speak, via a voyage on their way here plus a long layover in Detroit to make it happen – that is to say, the building and opening of their design firm and gallery known as Spacecraft Studio in North Park. It is an interplanetary adventure that merits a closer look.
Saturday, July 11th, The Nesian Ohana, seventyNINE co., and Nesian's Can Cancer Foundation presents the St. Jude Project: Can Cancer Art Show- San Diego located at The Luce Loft (1037 J St. San Diego, CA 92101) on the corner of 10th & J from 6pm-midnight. 
Lux Art Institute Announces 2009-2010 Artist-in-Residence Season
Art of Framing is featuring artist Sarah Tink, aka S.Tink, a self-taught, up-and-coming artist born and raised in San Diego. S.Tink is the owner of Tinks Creative Cakes (
"The soul, reaching,throwing out for love.
Please help us celebrate this massive milestone with a very special anniversary featuring "The Journal Entries of Changing Tides": a solo show featuring new works by Andy Haynes. The opening reception with the artist and live music by The Band of Goodmen, Wiens Family Cellars wine, and Karl Strauss beer will be on Saturday June 13th from 6 - 11pm. Haynes is a personal gallery favorite and it is a true honor to hold his first solo exhibition.
Black Womanhood: Images, Icons, and Ideologies of the African Body is now showing a SDMA until April 26th. If you haven't seen it, you are missing a bold and diverse group of works well worth several hours of contemplation.
A recent article appeared in last week's CityBeat, written by the Arts Editor Kinsee Morlan, that began with a catchy and somewhat exagerated title, Fight! Fight! Ray at Night! Gustaf Rooth (pictured) owner of Planet Rooth Gallery, Lea Caughlan and Carly Delso-Saavedra, owners of The Rubber Rose, were interviewed about future Ray at Night events and its broadening into a larger entity called North Park Nights. Differences of opinion, separatist visions maybe, but hardly fighting words; it does however, demonstrate the need for a larger debate about the state of the arts in general, including North Park and the rest of San Diego's artist community. As much as the word change is being carried as a flag of progressive rebooting of the nation's economy and politics, removing what positive connotations it had, the word itself in its essence, has the power artists need to make a difference. An event itself, is empty and meaningless until you put a standard of quality and vital content into it. I believe it is high time to start expressing some of those expectations.
HE name of this exhibit is, “Innocence is Questionable,” about which, the brochure says, “Ultimately, what each of these artists question is whether or not the folly of the world is the responsibility of man?”
