By Lonnie Burstein
Hewitt. Photos by Maurice Hewitt.
Opening Night: The Juror at the entry to the exhibition.
If you haven’t been to the Athenaeum
in La Jolla for a while, now is a good time to drop by. Their just-opened
juried exhibition, which received 900 submissions, is full of delights, and
Armando Pulido, the young juror who chose the 51 pieces on view, spent days
going through all the images. A writer and curatorial
assistant at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, founded by filmmaker
George Lucas to feature all forms of visual storytelling, Armando will be
working along with the team curating the museum’s grand opening in 2025. At the Atheneum, he was not just
interested in showing a variety of media and styles. He also focused on the
different emotional responses the artists were trying to evoke, and visitors
are invited to do the same as they walk through the exhibition. Awards were announced at the
July 19th opening, and the First Prize winner was Luis Alderete,
whose mixed-media tree “Welcome Home PAISANO” is the most eye-catching piece in the
main gallery. Alderate, born and based in Tijuana, is an architect and visual
artist whose work has been shown around the world. Armando particularly liked
the caged bird as an image of the piece’s theme.
“Welcome Home PAISANO” by Luis Alderete
It was great to walk around the
sculptures and admire them from different points of view.
Here’s the attractive
backside of “Melting Brick” by Yeba Kim, who works with ceramics and
textiles. Born in South Korea, she is currently a pursuing an MFA in Furniture
Design and Woodworking at SDSU School of Art and Design.
“Melting Brick” by Yeba Kim.
A colorful view of another side of the main gallery.
“Toreo de Tijuana” by Rodrigo Angel Jimenez, a bullfight portrayed in a style not usually seen in museums. The artist was raised on both sides of the border and has exhibited in both Mexico City and New York.
There was more to see on our
way to the Rotunda, where the exhibition continues.
We were struck by Lee
Puffer’s acrylic on canvas “Andromeda”- a powerful portrayal of the mythic
Greek princess who was chained to a rock by her parents as a sacrifice to
Poseidon but happily rescued by the hero Perseus. The multimedia artist, who
has exhibited widely, is also an educator, currently on the faculty at Palomar
College.
“Andromeda” by Lee Puffer
“The Ruler” by Evie Maher - a brilliant piece by a young, self-taught San Diego artist.
“Altar to the Sacred”- a striking black-and-white print by mixed media artist Gaby Espina.
We couldn’t just walk past “Seven Suns” by Wills
Howard, who besides being an artist is also a semiconductor engineer. When
Armando first saw and admired the image of this piece, he had no idea that it
was three-dimensional: a nice 3-D surprise for the juror.
“Seven Suns” by Wills Howard
“Ekstasis en Helio Kardia” - a contemporary take on transcendental painting by Francesca Isabella Towers, who combines art with her work in conflict resolution.
“Pattern Formation” - an inventive triptych by Annalise Neil, combining cyanotype, watercolor, and woven pine needles on Japanese paper mounted on wood panels.
At the end of our walk-through,
Armando Pulido
mentioned how much he had enjoyed working with the Atheneum’s installation team:
Executive Director Christie Mitchell, Jocelyn Saucedo Larson (Assistant
Director of Exhibitions), Andrew Alcasid (Exhibition Consultant),
and Adrian Diaz (Facility Assistant).
“It has really been a wonderful experience,” he said.
Here’s wishing all visitors to the exhibition a wonderful
experience too. And there’s time enough for several visits, since the show goes
on through September 28.
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library 1008 Wall Street, La Jolla, CA, 92037. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to
5:30 p.m.
Lonnie Burstein Hewitt is an award-winning
author/lyricist/playwright who has been writing about arts and lifestyles in
San Diego County for over a dozen years. You can reach her at hew2@sbcglobal.net
Fiber
in 3Dat The William D. Cannon Art Gallery in Carlsbad On view until November 30 Public Reception August 17 from 3-5 p.m.
We really enjoyed this upbeat exhibition of contemporary fiber works by over 27 national artists juried by Fiber Art Now but curated by Cannon Art Gallery Director Alyson Benford for this showing. On view were installations, wearables,
vessels, sculpture and floor and wall art. The space has been refigured which gives it a fresh, open look.
Fiber Arts Now is a quarterly magazine with Beth Smith as
the managing editor and exhibition director. (You may remember Beth from Oceanside Museum of Arts and the Vision Art Museum now the Vision Museum of Textile Arts) This selections for Fiber in
3D are from the juried exhibition inthe Spring 2024 issue. Each issue of the magazine includes featured artists
and an international juried artist section. They also
explore artists studios, various mediums and artist's business concerns.
Below you will just some examples of the items included with a few videos to give you an idea of the details and the space.
Susan Zimmerman, Passage - inspired by 1900 immigrants to Ellis Island
Hannah Demma, The Maker and Her Oddments- using past art works, cut and assembled during a daily meditation session.
Terri Shinn, Douglas Fir with Chicken of the Woods - mushroom growing on a tree stump
Saskia Jordá, As Above, So Below - 200 soft denim disks representing the night sky
Pamela Becker, The Edge of Night- "There is a moment at the end of every day when the light is still there but still fading quickly."
Judith Content, Lava Cakes (Ragamuffin series)
Cecilia Lusven, Lavastone - made from bicycle rubber inter tubes
Jayne Tucker, Kimono - made from over 3000 tea bags!
Amy Genser, Hear Me Out
Gail Bower-Geist, Goin” to Hell in a Handbasket - after the ancient custom of letting a guillotined head drop into a basket, notice the sharp edged and blood red color.
While you are at the show, have a go. Copy of magazine Fiber Art Now
Fiber
in 3D at The William D. Cannon Art Gallery
July 20 to Nov 30 Public Reception August 17 from 3-5 p.m.
1775 Dove Ln, Carlsbad, CA 92011
Gallery hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday: noon – 5 p.m. Wednesday:
noon – 7 p.m.
Alex Goodman, NCAN board and Oceanside Theater Company welcomed this impressive group of VIPs from the Arts and Culture community to the Brooks Theater for the June North County Arts Network Networking event. He announced the next play Footloose the Musical presented by OTC Youth Academy from July 12-21, 2024 at the theater and pointed out the exhibition: Abundant Color by the Sargent Art Group at theBrooks Theater Gallerycurated by Carole Naegle showing until July 28.
Alex Goodman, NCAN board and Director of the Oceanside Theater Company. Janice Davis, NCAN volunteer, in the background.
Patricia Frischer, San Diego Visual Arts Network, spoke next as NCAN's Interim Chair. She introduced the amazing Gerda Govine,who recited her poem specially created for NCAN. Here are just a few of the first words to inspire all of us but read the whole of her recitation, Be Present. :
Be present want arts professionals to create a different world
our story helps us breathe give us moments filled with action
let each of us take a second look focused on possibilities
Patricia Frischer, Interim NCAN board chair and founder/coordinator San Diego Visual Arts Network
North County Arts Network celebrates its
10th anniversary this year and with its new nonprofit status, is
ready to move forward. It will continue to build bridges not walls, believing
that coming together is what gives us power. The contact they make with the
community needs to be personal and meaningful. That is why most of those
attending were given a shout out.
There was a full strategic
plan presented but the two main goals continue to be civic advocacy and
promotion of the arts. The past projects of NCAN are good proof of this. AEP5 Economic Summit at
CCA, Escondido, campaigning to bring back the SD County Arts and Culture Commission,
Advisor to Arts and Economic Prosperity 6, Open Your Hearts to North County Arts and Participating in
ArtWalk Carlsbad.
NCAN board member Andrew Utt , NCAN board and ICA director, would say…San Diego
North County Arts. It’s not that Far! NCAN
would like to see a SD County Arts and Culture Tourist Board formed in the near future.
There was a call for those present to think about joining
the board of NCAN which has room for 7 more members and an endless number on
their advisory board. A reminder was given to list your events on the NCAN events
calendar.
Jim Gilliam, NCAN board and Chairman of the SD County Arts and Culture Commission
Jim Gilliam, Chairman of the SD County Arts and Culture Commission spoke
next with a brief report on the one-year-old commission. Their goals were knowledge, engagement, communication and capacity. They have decided to ask for
funding from the County Supervisors and Michael Angelo Camacho,Director of Government and Field Engagement at SD Art Matters stepped forward to request
signatures on a support
letterto this end. They are requesting two full time
employees plus $362K in project expenses.
Michael Angelo Camacho,Director of Government and Field Engagement at SD Art Matters
Jim then introduced Tracy Hudak,
the
Director of Field Engagement for CA for the Arts, who spoke to the group about the new AB 812 bill approved
Oct 11 by the governor and authored by Assembly Member Tasha Boerner from our local county District
#77. It allows cities and/or counties to
give up to 10% of its very low, low, or moderate-income housing to eligible
artists as long as they are within one-half mile from a CA state or locally designated
cultural district if certain income and occupation conditions are met.
Please note: local government for cities means municipal government, but for unincorporated cities that means the county government. The actual bill is from the state because the state determined that housing for artists is important as a fairness issue.
CA for the Arts was a sponsor for Bill AB812 and Tracy
explained more about it and answered lots of good questions…PLUS she is gathering those questions for a tool kit they are
preparing to help cities take advantage of this new bill. You can listen to discussionrecorded
by Ms. Hudak, but the following are some highlights. If you have trouble with this video below here is a link to the whole recorded discussion
Tracy Hudak, the Director of Field Engagement for CA for the Arts answers a question posed by Robert Parker, Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation. Ms. Hudak tested positive for COVID the day before the event but was able to attend by zoom.
First
a cultural district has to be designated. This could be spearheaded by a paid arts
administration if there is one, but otherwise,
a Cultural task force or the Arts Commission would have to take up this cause. You do this through a Community Development staff person. You need lots of data to back up your ask (like that from AEP6 or the new data gathering survey funded by SD Art Matters in the near future). It is always important to have an elected person championing your position. We also learned that the tax records (for those that pay taxes!) records codes for categories of income (for example: performing arts or commercial arts).
The
state is actually going to recognize more cultural districts next year (but
with no funding attached). We already have three in San Diego: Balboa Park, the Cultural District of Oceanside
and of Barrio Logan. But remember, it does not need to be a state designation.
The local government has to pass a local tenantpreference ordinance for
artists. This should apply to either existing affordable developments or future
developments and should note that a 10% set-aside for artists within a ½ mile of
a cultural district. It means finding out about and getting encoded in land use plans and affordable housing policies as well as Tenant preference and Inclusionary housing policies (so important in determining how many units are required to be for affordable housing). It is possibly but unlikely that artists are already mentioned so they need to be added to these policies, ideally not only currently but retroactively.
Also,
the local government and housing development property management would work
together to create an Artist Selection Committee. This is to help define who is
an artist. Hopefully that would include more than just an income criterion and
would include a diverse committee to validate the applicants. It would also consider artists who have "an engagement in and commitment to an artistic practice." This would include community based art.
One of the most interesting questions was posed by Dinah Poellnitz founder of the Hillstreet County Club. She asked how are elected official of cultural districts held accountable for the determination of who gets the affordable housing? Tracy suggested that an arts based forum of nominated candidates during an election could be powerful.
Once
this is in place, then artist would submit a housing application to the
property management company (private or public). Of course, the artists have to
meet income limits. Usually there is a
rating system so if the artist is also in another category (for example: veteran, handicapped,
racialized development victims) that might deserve an higher score in the lottery, of affordable housing. But artist on the state level are not recognized as a category that needs to be treated fairly.
Not
too many cities have managed all these steps yet, but hopefully the tool kits
will give examples and samples to help in the process. The tool kit will be pointing out that there are federal tax credits for 100% affordable housing units for artists.
What
this whole complicated process proves is the need for every city to have paid
arts administration that is professional and knowledgeable.
A few of the other guests at this event where capture by the lens of Nancy Heins-Glaser.
Naomi Nussbaum, NCAN board and Synergy Arts Foundation.
Luis Ituarte, artist and Brigid Parson, NCAN board and Oceanside Arts Commissioner Luis Ituarte will be exhibiting his artworks in the show Took a While curated by Roberto Rosique starting June 21 at the Centro Cultural Tijuana.
Bob Lehman, SD Museum Council , SD County Arts and Culture Commission
Felicia Shaw, SD Art Matters, SD County Arts and Culture Commission. Felicia also announced a county-wide data gathering project that will be funded by SD Art Matters.
NaimehTahna Woodwardfrom Encinitas Friends of the Arts
James Stone, Stone and Glass and Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum. We welcomed James' wife Carol Rogers, Escondido Public Arts Commissioner as well.
Lisa Laughbaum, Luminary Arts and Arts Outdoor
Cathy Haven, Escondido Art Association
BL Lane, artist in the Abundant Color by the Sargent Art Group
Nancy Heins-Glaser,
Fallbrook Art Association and our wonderful photographer
Please note: Board members Sharlene O’Keefe, Poway Art Center, Andrew Utt, ICA,Brenda Andrews, Fallbrook Art Center were not able to attend but sent their regrets. You can contact any board members if you are interested in joining the boards of NCAN.
If you want to dig deeper into arts advocacy, CA for the Arts is holding Wonky Wednesdays on June 12, July 10 and Aug 14 from noon to 1:30. You can join in at bit.ly/join-caforarts
Adrian Gomez Make a medal or trophy for someone that you think deserves one. Prompt by Scott Klinger (curator) Palomar College
A
Practical Guide to Modest Magic showing at the California Center for the Arts in
Escondido from June 1 – Aug17 is mounted in a
beautiful space. Curated by Scott Klinger, an artist,
filmmaker, and Associate Professor of Photography at Palomar College in San
Marcos, CA., this exhibition of college level students’ work is an ingenious idea. Klinger invited a number of art school teachers
to create prompts for a student assignment. From the results of those assignments,
a selection was made for this exhibition.
As a former art student (more than 50 years ago), I still
remember assignments, but we were never given this extent of freedom. My best
teacher instructed me to make art about something that I knew. But it was not
until graduate school, that we were actually challenges to make our own art. I
can see this assignment being the beginning of a whole series for some of these
students.
Tiffanie Peters Create an artwork using alchemy or magic to correct
a problem. Prompt by Larry Kline, Grossmont College
Helena Westra Create an artwork using alchemy or magic to correct a problem. Prompt by Larry Kline, Grossmont College
Agnes Lin and Sonja Cooper Create an artwork using alchemy or magic to correct a problem Prompt by Larry Kline, Grossmont College
Bella Marinos: "You come home after a long day. You want to sink into the womb of a warm bath. You try to clear your thoughts - unwind a little. Yet you find you are stuck in the checkout line of your local Target." Create your own interpretation of a modern version of purgatory. Prompt by Scott Richison, Palomar College
Audrey Gingras Pick a space. Within 24 hours total, build an installation, disassemble it, and leave the space as you found it. Prompt by Piero Golia, the Mountain School of Art
Jessica Baskett Create an art work to say "thank you" for something in your life for which you are grateful. Prompt by Tina Yapelli, San Diego State University
Michele Murphy Make an object for handing on the wall using at least 50% copper thread wire and smaller than a 12 inch cube. Prompt by Terri Hughes-Oelirch, San Diego City College
Audrey Gingras Make a piece of art for a child to engage with. Prompt by Scott Klinger (curator) Palomar College
Diana Sa and Jay Strickland Curate an exhibition in an unconventional space Prompt by Rokhsane Hovaida, Museum Director, California Center for the Arts, Escondido Music: No Man’s Land (Piano Trio No. 1) by Ezio Bosso
All EXHIBITING ARTISTS A Robbins Abby Manzo Adrian Gomez Agnes Lin Alexia Demiroska Alex Tomeo Audrey Gingras Augustino Gamboa Avery Novak Belen Torralba Bella Marinos Benito Osuna Bryan Woolf Carla Sophia Horta Cecilia Byron Fraher Chloe Hernandez Cielo Gonzalez Diana Sá Edward Rivas Ella Chan Elaine Zhao Emilie Dohner Erich Stein Esteban Gabriel Marin Eva Speiser Evan Fecko Evan Odom Grace Lin Haminshi Gupta Hannah Emerson Helena Westra Isabella Silva Jacob Faulkner Jaime Leynes Janine Avery Jaselle Colon Jay Strickland Jennifer Leslie Jessica Baskett Joaquin Stacey-Calle Josephine Behrend Juliet Gentry Kathryn Beck Lauren Lee Luke Gonzales Marlon Thompkins Marvin Flores Mary Bowman Max Padilla Michael Bell Michele Murphy Olivia Lucia Orion Lenz Patrick Li Preston McCallister Quinn Miller Romina Sandoval Ryan Castillo Ryan Hedrick Safa Salman Sajda Sims Sharon Castellanos Shiyoo Kim Sonja Cooper Sophie Coon Stephanie Orea Suchita Rathi Jhawar Taia Pappas Tiffanie Peters Todd Bradley Tristan Reynoso Valentina Azul William Ung Xixi Edelsbrunner Yali Alsberg
All educators who contributed to prompts found in the exhibition: Adrián Pereda Vidal, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Gosia Herc-Balaszek, University of California, San Diego Héctor Bazaca Lopez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California John McMurria, Palomar College Joshua Tonies, University of San Diego Larry Kline, Grossmont College Nick Aguayo, Pasadena City College Piero Golia, The Mountain School of Arts Russell Shaeffer, Palomar College Scott Richison, Palomar College Terri Hughes-Oelrich, San Diego City College Tina Yapelli, San Diego State University Yaron Hakim, University of Southern California, Otis College of Art and Design
