Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Artist’s Mentor: The Hyde Gallery

by Joe Nalven

Nb. The artist quotes below are by Don Harrison.

Grossmont College's Hyde Gallery is showing work by mentors and their students - who are mentors in their own right.

The drawing and print exhibition includes works by Manny Farber, Patricia Patterson, William Mosley, Leslie Nemour and Jim Randall.




Manny Farber / No Film



The Artist’s Mentor
November 12 – December 12, 2013

Grossmont College - Hyde Art Gallery
8800 Grossmont College Dr.
El Cajon, CA 92020-1799

Gallery Hours
Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Legal Holidays CLOSED



What do students say about their mentors?

Leslie Nemour recounted: “Patricia [Patterson] really encouraged me.  I learned from her that it was okay to use things from your own life, every day experiences.  She also pushed me to take painting classes with Manny.  I was so scared of him—he was such an important figure, such a big voice, I didn’t think he would be interested in anything I did.  But then I started studying with Manny, and took graduate classes in film criticism, and I think Manny showed me how film was like painting.”





Both Jim Randall and Bill Mosley offered their perspectives about being influenced by Patterson and Farber.

Mosley saw Patterson's interest in the familiar as a way to frame his work: "Instead of working with ‘bigisms,’ you could work with personal sensibilities—your own life—and they encouraged us to do this. You did images of your experiences in the world and your families.”

Jim Randall recalls his sitting in one of Farber's film classes.  “We were in a pitched arena so he had to put on a show.  There were 200 people in his class and his showmanship matched up to the scene." And about the influence on his art-making: "Before, I was making things that were much more recognizable – the same material, the same source material, but I wasn’t happy with it,” he said. “So I decided to zoom in as if it were a movie and get more atmosphere into the painting.”

The exhibit is more than an exercise in film, more than a series of images; it is also about memories of those who went before and who remind us of who we've become  – as artists.





Sunday, November 24, 2013

New Art at the SD Airport: Flying HIght

The Art Program at the International Airport is directed by Constance White. Ms. White has brought  energy, elegance and excellence to our city. The airport is a pride and joy and the best introduction any visitor could have to our county. 

I was  lucky enough to get a guided tour of the new additions to the west of terminal two. One of the most impressive installations is that of Jim Campbell called The Journey. It stretches down the length of the gates and the lights flow and glow.




I was struck by the intense detail of construction in every direction. There was such attention given to each aspect of this impressive project.










 

The food court is especially attractive, with multiple option from local sources but all unified in design aethetic. The giant chandelier set the tones for fine dining instead of speed eating.



The new art gallery is a true jewel in the crown for artist who are also represented by a large number of changing exhibition throughout the airport. Next year the theme for the shows will be featuring art and science combination in keeping with our own DNA of Creativity project. . In visiting a few other airports during this holiday season, it is very apparent how shining and new our own is in comparison. Even the restrooms are exciting and have a true stamp of life in our fair city with ever changing video vistas. And still to come are two special rooms - one a media installation and a meditation room, plus a few more surprises yet to be revealed.

Painting by Leslie Nemour. in the new art gallery

View on the way into the men's loo

Thursday, November 21, 2013

The Complete Frida Kahlo’ Exhibit By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt

Art, Culture and Controversy: ‘The Complete Frida Kahlo’ Exhibit
reprinted from the La Jolla Light



Co-Curator Hans-Jürgen Gehrke poses with ‘The Two Fridas’ at ‘The Complete Frida Kahlo’ exhibit on view at NTC Liberty Station through Jan. 19, 2014.

All photos: Maurice Hewitt


If you go
■ What: ‘The Complete Frida Kahlo’ art exhibit
■ Where: NTC Liberty Station, Barracks 3, 2765 Truxtun Road, Point Loma
■ Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; through Jan. 19
■ Tickets: $14.50-$16.50
■ Website: thecompletefrida.com
■ Tips: Allow two hours for viewing; you can get tickets at the door. If you like audio tours, this one’s worth the extra $5, or borrow or buy the $2 catalog with the same information.
By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt
The word “icon” is much overused these days, but it certainly applies to the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), a cultural icon whose fearlessly personal self-portraits have made her face known around the world.
She’s currently on view in Reno (“Her Photos”) and in Paris (“Art in Fusion”), side by side with her husband, painter/muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957).
Now, at NTC Liberty Station, there’s “The Complete Frida Kahlo: Her Paintings. Her Life. Her Story.” It’s a special exhibition of replicas of 123 of her paintings and more than 500 pieces of her clothing, jewelry and furniture, plus dozens of photographs documenting the 47 years of her pain-passion-politics-and-painting-filled life.
Curated by the owners of The Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund in Baden-Baden, Germany, and presented by Global Entertainment Properties in Los Angeles, the exhibit promises Frida-fans a total-immersion experience, and offers a two-story display of full-scale, licensed reproductions, hand-painted by a quartet of unidentified Chinese artists commissioned by a multi-national couple who are Frida-fans themselves.

A visitor gets up close and personal with Frida.

How it all began
Hans-Jürgen Gehrke and Mariella C. Remund founded their Kunstmuseum in the town where Kahlo’s German-born father was raised, as a tribute to the Mexican painter whose work they loved.
Gehrke’s field is business organization and marketing. Dr. Remund, the museum’s chief curator, has lived and worked in China since 2003, has a background in “strategic management, branding and neuro-marketing,” and became experienced in “materials science” during her years as a high-level executive for Dow Chemical in Germany.
Both enamored with Mexican culture, they amassed an extensive collection of photos of Frida’s work, and visited the Blue House, where she was born, lived and died, many times.
In 2008, they managed to get a license from the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust to make replicas of Frida’s paintings, which enabled them to create their Kahlo-centered Kunstmuseum. (See “About Replicas” on next page)
“Baden-Baden is too small for Frida,” said Gehrke, as he walked through the exhibit. “We want to share her with a bigger community now.”
Last year, he and Remund began a “strategic partnership” with Global Entertainment Properties, a company that has produced touring exhibitions of “Star Trek” and “Titanic.” They commissioned a new set of replicas, put their own set in storage, shut down their museum, and shipped their collection of Frida artifacts to San Diego for The Complete Frida’s North American premiere.
“Most museum exhibits are very left-brain,” Gehrke said. “We want our exhibit to touch your right brain, your emotions, your heart. We want you to see the whole story of Frida, her cultural environment, the people in her life, the furniture she’d have had.”

The painted rendition of Frida’s bed.
Controversy
Some members of San Diego’s art community have protested that ads for “The Complete Frida” fail to emphasize that Kahlo’s actual paintings are not on display.
Alessandra Moctezuma, gallery director and Professor of Fine Art at Mesa College, had this to say: “What would Frida, who was a communist, think of corporate interests commercializing her work, Chinese craftsmen paid who knows how little to replicate her paintings?
“Can you imagine a complete Dali or a complete Picasso exhibit that was all of replicas made by Chinese craftsmen?
“As someone who teaches Museum Studies and about standards and the importance of authenticating a work and knowing its provenance, I just can’t promote this presentation of fakes.”
My Frida Kahlo ‘Experience’
My husband and I saw the exhibit on Nov. 2, the Mexican Day of the Dead, an appropriate time for a Frida Kahlo experience. I admired the look of the show, and the range of it, the re-creation of Frida’s rooms, the haunting music of “La Llorona.”
I saw pictures I’d never seen before, including a striking one of Frida’s imagined birth, which happens to be owned by pop star Madonna. I learned that from the catalog, whose informative anecdotes I enjoyed. But I felt something missing in the paintings. You can replicate an artist’s colors and technique, but not her soul.

An attentive visitor at the exhibit.
Other visitors to the exhibit, locals and tourists, didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m so excited to see this, and it’s all so beautifully laid out,” said Alita Hetland, of Mission Valley. Her friend, Janet Millian, who came down from Costa Mesa for “Frida,” echoed the enthusiasm. “You can really feel her presence here,” she said.
Another enthusiastic visitor was Leonor Webb, originally from Mexico. “I studied visual arts at UCSD, and I’ve always been interested in Frida’s work,” she said. “I even have two dogs named Frida and Diego! And it’s nice to get to see all these things in one place.”
The Oxford Dictionary defines art as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Is “The Complete Frida” an authentically artful experience? See it and judge for yourself.
About Replicas
■ A replica is the repetition of the original work either made by the artist or, after the artist’s death, authorized by the holders of the artists’ rights.
■ A replica must represent 100 percent of the original. Replicas have a legal connotation (it is authorized) and a quality connotation (it is a faithful repetition of the original).
■ Frida Kahlo painted her life; her paintings are like an autobiography on canvas. To understand her life, it is essential to be able to see all of her paintings. However, some of her originals are not allowed to leave Mexico, and some are privately owned, scattered around the world, and never loaned for exhibitions.
■ ‘The Complete Frida Kahlo’ exhibition shows all of her paintings for which there is documentation in color. It allows visitors to follow her entire life, from the very beginning as a hobby-painter to her last works before she died. This is only possible with replicas.
■ Four Chinese artists with outstanding technical and creative skills replicated Frida Kahlo’s work in 2008-2009. The curators would have loved to have the replicas made in Mexico, but they worked and lived in Beijing, so they selected artists there.
— Excerpted from thecompletefrida.com

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Library Dances: Lux Boreal meets Trolley Dances

by Joe Nalven

I am a fan of the dance in unusual spaces. And I was captivated again by the Trolley Dances and Lux Boreal.  

Trolley Dances is a Jean Isaacs concept and an outgrowth of her work at the San Diego Dance Theater

Lux Boreal is a melding of the ideas and work of Ángel Arámbula and Henry Torres along with dancers and choreographers Briselda Lopez, Azalea Lopez, Raul Navarro, and other dancer/teachers.

Together, Trolley Dances and Lux Boreal alternated dances at found spaces at the Chula Vista Public Library. 

I am always experimenting with my cameras, my Photoshop and whatever else that tunnels into the reality I happen to be viewing. On this occasion, I took my digital IR camera (converted Nikon D50 - outdated, but quite functional) and my Samsung ST200F point and shoot. This particular point and shoot has a wonderful app that 'paints' the image shortly after the picture is snapped.

If I were to do a series, I probably would pick from dances such as these. These are no polite moments that await the photographer with tripod; they are, instead, bubbly moments with a watchful audience inside the 'stage' on which the dancers perform - one is nearly inside the action rather than viewing it on a distant stage. 
Joe Nalven/IR photo: Trolley Dance #1 / Chula Vista Library 11-17-2913
The next dance performance by the San Diego Dance Theater will be at the Mandell Weiss Theatre at UCSD  January 17-19, 2014.

Joe Nalven/Point and Shoot App photo: Trolley Dance #1 / Chula Vista Library 11-17-2913
Of all the dances on this day, I was most intrigued by the Lux Boreal dancers being captured (in my interpretation) in the weaving of the Fates (Moirai), perhaps with Clotho as the spinner of this tale. The Library space with square cubicles held the 'newborn' that were slowly drawn out. Only one, apparently, escaped his fate.
Joe Nalven/IR photo [1]: Lux Boreal #4 / Chula Vista Library 11-17-2913


Joe Nalven/Point and Shoot App photo: Lux Boreal #4 / Chula Vista Library 11-17-2913

Joe Nalven/IR photo [2]: Lux Boreal #4 / Chula Vista Library 11-17-2913
I left the first dance by Lux Boreal for last. It was puzzling. Set against a stone and red pillar courtyard, a solitary figure told a story. I'm not sure what the story was, but then, I was taking photos (imagery). 

Joe Nalven/Point and Shoot App photo [warming up]: Lux Boreal #4 / Chula Vista Library 11-17-291
Joe Nalven/Point and Shoot App photo [1]: Lux Boreal #4 / Chula Vista Library 11-17-291
Try viewing one of several YouTube videos about Lux Boreal by Henry Torres: Danza en la Plaza Rio  or 4x4 TJ Nights/Nocturna de Danza or on Pulse TV

You can next catch Lux Boreal at its Year-end performance at:  
CENTRO ESTATAL DE LAS ARTES TIJUANA.

Lux Boreal will perform with the students of the Dance and Scenic Production Center of Baja California.

Friday 6th December 2013 



Sunday, November 17, 2013

Conversations on Beauty, Cannon Invitational, Ceramics at the Garden, Glass Workshop with Ilanit Shalev, Art of Photography



By Patricia Frischer

After a busy week at the Art SD fair, there was lots of art to see around the rest of the county.  Here is just a sampling for the week of Nov 11 

Ilan-Lael Foundation’s Conversations on Beauty: San Diego…Where The Arts Belong is a panel discussion with Hugh Davies, Daniel Foster, Patricia Frischer, April Game, James Hubbell, Peter Jensen on Tue. Nov. 12th from 5:30 - 7:00pm at the Mingei International Museum (Plaza de Panama, Balboa Park,1439 El Prado, SD 92101) More info: Marianne Gerdes

A lively discussion with a pro position (April) and con position (Hugh) on a County Art Council.. A pro position (Daniel) on a shift to community as central to museum policy and a defense position (Hugh) of art at the highest level. I took a stand for embracing the unknown future and risk taking. James and his pure message of Art as a means to make the interior of each of us visible was the stabilizing force. Peter kept us all on task. Click here to see the entire Conversation on Beauty: San Diego...What the Arts Belong video 



Peter, Patricia, James, Daniel, Hugh, April




Cannon Art Gallery 2013 Invitational with Cheryl Tall, Allison Renshaw, Julia San Roman,Catherin Colaw, Linda Kardoff Sat. Nov 16, 5 -7 pm (1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad, 02011) More info: Jillian Buccola

This show was a super choice by Karen McGuire which happens to be all women, and is a very strong showing by each of these artists who were all picked from the annual juried exhibition.  Allision Renshaw showed especially lively recent work. We saw angelic work from Cheryl Tall which is quite an accomplishment using this heavy ceramic medium. The intriguing photographic figures in landscape by Catherin Colaw and atmospheric rendering by Julia San Roiman were continuations of series we have seem previously. LInda Kardoff's illustrative works seem suitable for giant children's books with their lush colors and narrative stories.

Cheryl Tall

Catherin Colaw

Allison Renshaw

Linda Kardoff

Julia San Roman



April Hernandez: State of Mind Thursday, November 14th, Glorious Gardens(495 Leucadia Boulevard, Encinitas 92024) More info: 888.493-7472 press@agloriousgarden.com

We are seeing many new small galleries and alternative showing spaces springing up all over town and it is great to feel the energy of this push from young artist. Perhaps they are frustrated not to have showing opportunities, but this is manifesting in a surge of small venues where artist are being inventive and owners are programming to help them bring a crowd. Glorious Gardens is getting a hand from Melissa Sager formerly of Susan Street Fine Art. This tiny space just off Freeway 5 on Leucadia is planning a whole series of workshops and exhibitions.

a charming little cubist pot to grow an air plant

Beautifully crafted geometric design which we know and love from this artist


Fused Glass Workshop with Ilanit Shalev, Wedn. Nov 13, 2013 in the Music Room on the first floor of the LFJCC Center for Jewish Culture

Ilanit Shalev (New Contemporaries 6) has held a series of workshop with the JCC to help these lovely Jewish patrons make plates and menorahs, along with a variety of other objects.

 
Ilanit Shalev starting her workshop

Ms. Rubinowitz making her plate below


glass glued only at this stage
The writers samples


glued works goi into pizza boxes to be transported for firing



The Art of Photography Show with Judge: Julia Dolan, Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum. Show until Oct-Nov 17 San Diego Art Institute (Balboa Park, SD 92101) More info: Steven Churchill 619.825.5575

The show in its second year at the San Diego Art Institute was of a very high quality with entrants from 85 countries. Dr. Dolan selected 201 compelling works for exhibition. There were over 1,200 people at the Opening Reception Gala on October 12th.




  • Arthur Ollman - Director of the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Anne Lyden - Associate Curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum
  • Natasha Egan - Associate Director and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography
  • Neal Benezra - Director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
  • Charlotte Cotton - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Hugh Davies - Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
  • Tim Wride - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Carol McCusker - Curator of Photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Julian Cox - Founding Curator of Photography and Chief Curator at the Fine Arts Museums
    of San Francisco
  • - See more at: http://www.artofphotographyshow.com/index.html#sthash.WBYInESt.dpuf



  • Arthur Ollman - Director of the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Anne Lyden - Associate Curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum
  • Natasha Egan - Associate Director and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography
  • Neal Benezra - Director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
  • Charlotte Cotton - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Hugh Davies - Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
  • Tim Wride - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Carol McCusker - Curator of Photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Julian Cox - Founding Curator of Photography and Chief Curator at the Fine Arts Museums
    of San Francisco
  • - See more at: http://www.artofphotographyshow.com/index.html#sthash.WBYInESt.dpuf
    Previous Jurors
    Arthur Ollman - Director of the Museum of Photographic Arts
    Anne Lyden - Associate Curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum
    Natasha Egan - Associate Director and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography
    Neal Benezra - Director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
    Charlotte Cotton - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
    Hugh Davies - Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
    Tim Wride - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
    Carol McCusker - Curator of Photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts
    Julian Cox - Founding Curator of Photography and Chief Curator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco




  • Arthur Ollman - Director of the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Anne Lyden - Associate Curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum
  • Natasha Egan - Associate Director and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography
  • Neal Benezra - Director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
  • Charlotte Cotton - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Hugh Davies - Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
  • Tim Wride - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Carol McCusker - Curator of Photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Julian Cox - Founding Curator of Photography and Chief Curator at the Fine Arts Museums
    of San Francisco
  • - See more at: http://www.artofphotographyshow.com/index.html#sthash.WBYInESt.dpuf





  • Arthur Ollman - Director of the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Anne Lyden - Associate Curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum
  • Natasha Egan - Associate Director and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography
  • Neal Benezra - Director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
  • Charlotte Cotton - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Hugh Davies - Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
  • Tim Wride - Director of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Carol McCusker - Curator of Photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts
  • Julian Cox - Founding Curator of Photography and Chief Curator at the Fine Arts Museums
    of San Francisco
  • - See more at: http://www.artofphotographyshow.com/index.html#sthash.EEuUebzH.dpuf
    "Soma"
    Jason Olive
    $400 Honorarium

    "I Am... No. 12"
    Ryoko Suzuki

    "In the Asylum, Shkodra, Albania, 1992"
    William Foley

    "Untitled"
    John Carleton
    $400 Honorarium

    "Golfing sisters in the Ladies Locker Room Royal Mid Surrey April 2010"
    Anita Corbin