La Jolla Film Festival, selection by Patricia Frischer

La Jolla Fashion Film Festival  is three days only Thurs/Fri/Sat. July 26 & 28 th, 8 - 10 pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art ( 700 Prospect Street, La Jolla 92037) La Jolla Fashion Film Festival Tickets range from $32-$112.50. There are lots of events connected with this during the day as well as after parites.  See all events. More info: Fred Sweet

Some but not all of the films in the La Jolla Film Festival are commercials for designer houses like Chanel or Dior. Glamorous models, fabulous locations and big budgets generally give glossy results. Some of the directors however, choose this venue to show their more arty videos. More than half of the directors were present on the opening night to introduce their films and that was one of the most charming parts of the evening. Although the theater was not packed, the participants party and network together for the whole festival and this support, validation and chance to make new contacts seems to make this a very worthwhile experience for them.We take our hats off to Fred Sweet for organizing this impressive festival now an established date on our art calendars.

There was only one film that I found questionable: Marie Schuller, Visiting Hour.  It was billed as a homage  but I found it exploitive of an older women so I am not giving a link to it here. The festival has a total of about 60 videos in all. Here is my selection from the opening night.  

Justin Anderson, Fleurs du Mal – the most shocking of the films because of the Hitchcock beginning

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Stephaniedi Gusto, Miracle and Moonlight – lovely floating figures and a powdered paint fight.

Yoshimichi Tamura, Planktoon Reflection - humorous animation of a mirror image fighting it’s owner

Miguel Font Bisier, Aeterna – most imaginative use of special techniques and potent images of a man burning with love

Charlie Wan, Bloom – head and neck completely covered with diamonds and then reverse engineered

Kaelen Ohm, Heaven – charming story of ones dreams making one’s life larger.

SDVAN RAW for July 2012

Here is a sample of our RAW July 2012 which is posted every month on the SDVAN site. If you like this make sure you are signed up on our Mailing list to get a monthly reminder to check it out!

Gossip is what you say about the objects of flattery when they aren't present. P. J. O'Rourke

The Art of Sound in San Diego included interactive sonic sculpture and installations, stage performances and pop up gallery performances, listening stations and video installation. Presented by Open Arts Collective at Space 4 Art Sat. August 25, 6-9 pm. (325 15th St, SD 92101)More info: Cara Mia Ciasulli  619.309.8537

There will be a special presentation at the next SDVAN Monthly Meeting Tuesday, August 14, 10 am to noon: Putting on Successful Art Events by Patricia Frischer. If you want to put on better events: Learn the role of passion and charm and how to become inclusive not exclusive. Find out what your events should provide the artist, the community and you, the organizer. Learn how to identify trends, match make promotion ideas, negotiate with venues and in kind donors, work with volunteers and create time lines and standard operating procedures. To RSVP and for an agenda. patricia@sdvisualarts.net .  

We hope to see you at San Diego Art Prize 2012 at Art San Diego Contemporary Art FairBooth #C19 Sept 6-9, 2012 Arline Fischwith emerging artist Vincent Robles and Jeffery Laudenslagerwith emerging artist Deanne Sabeck (Balboa Park Activity Center, 2145 Park Boulevard, San Diego 92101) More info: Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148

Sat. August 25 from 6 to 9 we hope to see many of you at Luminous Passage: Works in Glass and Light exhibition featuring Deanne Sabeckand Michelle Kurtis Cole at the L Street Gallery at the Omni ( 628 L Street, SD 92101) More info: Kay Colvin 760.492.2876

Remember to reserve you seats on the free bus on Oct 5 to Entijuanarte 2012at Cecut, Tijuana. There is a limit of 50. The event runs October 5 th-7 th, 2012.   For more info: administrativo@fundacionentijuanarte.org RSVP for the bus to Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148 

Thanks go Naomi Nussbaum and the SD Botanic Gardens for hosting us at the opening of the Sculpture in the Garden reception in memory of Dennis Paul Batt. It was a glorious day and a stellar group of local sculptors including Alber and Luna de Mattius, Matt Devine, Dan Peragine, Jeffery Laudenslager, Aoma Robinson, Madelynne Engle, Cheryl Tall, Charles Bronson, Ben Lavendar, Fritzie Urquhart and Becky Guttin…all friends of SDVAN. But there were many more to admire including two that sold that day by Victoria Johnson. This is a wonderful place to take children this summer. Don’t miss it.

We were also hosted by Vicki Leon at the Bernardo Winery for a performance at The Vine (Mojalet Dance Place for the Arts.) Vicki was showing the last of three Quilts of Life happenings before her exhibition in October at Noel Baza. We got to see the interaction of the dancers with her dichromatic etched glass discs. This work in progress is funded by the SD Foundation. Bernardo Winery (founded 1889!) has a whole collection of fun galleries and shops and holds an art walk once a month and Mojalet has a performance every weekend in the summer. We were so pleased to see such a wonderful resource hidden away in a neighborhood in Rancho Bernardo.

Brandie Maddalena is busy building CarouShellat Nottingham Center fro the Artsin San Marcos. The center houses outstanding artists from a variety of media, including glass, wood, and ceramics. Caroushell is a fabulous sculpture destined for the Burning Man Festival from the San Diego region.

Quint Contemporary Art (QCA) is announcing a summer series of short exhibitions. A large portion of the gallery will be under renovation and so they will be using a portion of the space to introduce new artists, and showcase artists of the gallery. On August 10 th and continuing through August 25 th works on paper by artist Kim MacConnel , (SD Art Prize) spanning ten years from 1973 to 1982. These gouaches on paper are studies of MacConnel's large-scale fabric paintings and large scale paintings and are stand-alone as exquisite examples of MacConnel's interest in pattern and design.

The SD Foundation has now published its Greater San Diego Vision which weaves together aspiration and inspiration and calls for innovation and collaboration. This is the 48 th vision exercise for the city in the last 100 years. What makes this vision different is that 30,000 people in the community contributed their ideas and preferences to the vision. The San Diego Foundation Malin Burnham Center for Civic Engagement will steward the Vision and help move the region forward by convening stakeholders, informing decisions, engaging people, and impacting our evolution. They are on their way to raising $5M for this endeavor asking $100,000 from 50 donors. The SD Foundation has current assets of $600M and had $55M in donation in 2011. Forty-two million dollars went out in grants last year. The Arts and Culture division of the Foundation has three main initiatives right now: Creativity in the Classroom , Creative Catalyst Fund: Individual Artist Fellowship Program, and the Business of the Arts Program . We were delighted to see that one of the seven goals of the Vision includes neighborhoods that are safe, vibrant and convenient centers of Community Life, Arts and Culture. Not only that but one of the Big Ideas is to create and integrate Arts Districts (like the I.D.E. A planned by David Malmuth.) We are grateful to Felicia Shaw and a large group of volunteers for making sure that Arts and Culture has a high priority in the vision.

 

Art & Science Collaborations Inc. (ASCI) serving the international art-sci-tech field for 24-years is featuring Kaz Maslanka in their November issue for his NYC installation project, A Spectrum of Jewels. Kaz is on the committee for the DNA of Creativity project and heads one of the teams, Poly Aesthetic Mapping.

John Eger helps us again to see the value of art spaces in cities in his latest article, Downtown Cultural Districts are the New Incubators of Creativity , published in the Huffington Post. Linda M. Sokol on behalf of Victoria Hamilton (City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture) is trying to arrange an ArtPlace Grant Prep Meeting in order to make a more successful application for funds in San Diego. Date July 30 place TBD.

It is changed it name, changed from first to second Friday and not always been every month, but now we understand from Perry Meyer Fine Art that Kettner Nights is now going to be the SECOND Friday of EVERY month.

Robin Przybysz has launched her new accessory line with a video made by Gerrit Greve at his studio in Cardiff by the Sea. This was a collection started with the support of the Art Meets Fashion project in 2011.

Larry and Debby Kline have launched a Kickstarter fund to finance a book about their art My Dinner with the Klines which describes art they have made while dining out together. We love the ketchup portrait and the straw and napkin sculptures. You might have seen some of these a few years ago at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.

OPPORTUNITIES (click to see a list of all current opportunities listed on SDVAN)  

Girl Scouts San Diego seeks a muralist (female preferably) to lead approximately 15 Girl Scouts in grades 6-8 to create a 10’ x 5’ portable mural to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting through a series of eight workshops. The Finished painting will be exhibited throughout San Diego County, including at the Chula Vista Public Library. . Honorarium of $4,000 upon project completion (Friday, October 5, 2012.) Applications due by Friday, July 27. See the full listing on SDVAN. For more info: Kathleen Stoughton 619.610.0813.

The Bonita Museum & Cultural Center is now taking submissions for our annual Juried Photography and Digital Arts Exhibition. Our theme is San Diego - show us how you see our city, what changes you've experienced, and what you love about it. Three awards will be given: 1st place $200; 2nd place $100; and 3rd place $50. Reception and awards given August 11, 2012, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Submissions accepted through July 27, 2012. For more info: Julie Gaybonitamuseum@sbcglobal.net. 

Stephen Burns is keeping the San Diego Photoshop User up to date wit the new Adobe Connect for those who cannot make it in person to the meetings and demonstrations. Attendance & membership is free. For the directions page to get location/map details just click on the "Directions" link to the left of www.sdphotoshopusers.com.

ARTS seek two teachers.A Reason To Survive is seeking a teaching artist for the Fred and Finch Youth Center in Spring Valley to work Thursdays, 12:30 -- 2:30, plus 2 hours prep and post starting ASAP for a ten-week workshop for youth with intellectual disabilities and mental health diagnoses, ages 14 – 21 years old. They are also looking another experienced, energetic and talented artist to teach a four week workshop for youth, ages 7- 12, whose families are enlisted in the military. The sessions August 7, August 14, August 21 and August 28, are 3 hours per day will be held at the San Diego Armed Services YMCA and will be 2 hours each. .Submit resume and cover letter to Ashleigh Starke, Director of Programs 619.297.2787 

MUSEUMS

We love to see these sorts of collaboration to build the reputation of the visual arts in San Diego. From Sept 16, to February 10, 2013, MCASD will partner with the San Diego Museum of Art and the Timken Museum of Art to bring together the finest American works from their permanent collections presented in a groundbreaking collaborative exhibition entitled Behold, America!: Art of the United States from Three San Diego Museums. There are three main sections, Figures, Forms, and Frontiers, with each venue showing works from all three collections.

The San Diego Museum of Art Featuring artists such as Otto Dix, George Grosz, Emil Nolde, Gabrielle Münter, Egon Schiele, and Vasily Kandinsky, The Human Beast presents the key figures in the rise of German Expressionism. The exhibition highlights the recent bequest of 48 German Expressionist works from the estate of Vance E. Kondon and Elisabeth Giesberger and features 9 paintings on loan from the Museo Thyssen Bornemisza, in addition to many works long in the permanent collection. July 21 through November 11. T he Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries, is a major exhibition now showing at the museum and it depicts event for the first time contemporary to its time instead of allegories. It shows the battles and sieges of that time. We loved the Drone project which was part of the Summer Salon series featured every Friday night throughout the summer. This Salon projects is about conflict and its depiction in art, in this case a drone container was re-purposed as a room. It was originally displayed in front of the General Atomics (the producer of the drones in SD) and amusingly, as it was being hauled away was mistaken for the theft of an actual drone. The name of the Salon Series this month is Beyond the Banner which reveres not only to banner of war, but advertising banner like those at the top of our website pages. Agitprop is the Series Co-Curator.   

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Get ready to roll out the red carpet for Monte Carlo On Screen, the Museum's 36 th annual gala on Saturday, September 8 at 6:30 PM at the La Jolla location. Monte Carlo is one of San Diego's highly anticipated fundraisers. MCASD will be magically transformed into a cinematic wonderland. At the MCASD Downtown ( Jacobs Building) from August 9, January 20, 2013as part of MCASD’s ongoing Cerca series, this mixed media installation and performance by sound artist Margaret Noble charts a psychological path through San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood, where the artist grew up. Combining references to the neighborhood’s early Victorian years and motifs drawn from 1980s urban pop culture, 44th and Landis takes the form of an intricate sculptural environment made up of hundreds of cut paper dolls and other forms. 

Oceanside Museum of Art as part of their Artists@WORK will feature Anna Stump and Ted Meyer on Aug 9 6 -9 pm working to create an installation on the theme Exploring Tattoo. The Zen Brush Painting demonstration by Rosemary KimBal is Thurs. Sept 13, 6-9 pm 760.435.3720. While there catch the Facing West/Looking East exhibition that begins on Sat Aug 11 from 5 to 7 pm. ( 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside, 92054).More info: Danielle Susalla Deery 

Museum of Photographic Arts You can go see the The Jazz Loft Project: W. Eugene Smith in NYC, 1957-1965 exhibition and have a three course meal with a whole bottle of wine for only about $80 per couple at the Prado every Thursday night until Sept 27.

TRANSITIONS

 

We are sad to report the passing of Richard Seubert. He was always cheerful and so enthusiastic about his role in the Hats Off to Life project. He was one of the models and a hat was made for him depicting his life by Rosemary KimBal and an excellent photo taken of him in full glory by Erika Johnson. The photo is still on view at Fairwinds Ivey Ranch. Our condolences go to his family. May he rest in peace. 

TIDBITS

The food truck fever spreading across cities of the United States and beyond has infiltrated the contemporary art scene: One 25-foot-long rented truck in Boston is serving up culture instead of sandwiches through White Walls Boston, a mobile art initiative to make art accessible across the city.

As Sotheby's step out of it auction role into a selling role they are partnering with Josh Baer, art critic, private advisor and author of Baer Faxt, on a unique selling exhibition called "Not Californian" from 6 - 30 September 2012. The show will highlight important works by eight Californian artists from the 1970s and 1980s who gained immense international appeal: Mike Kelley, Chris Burden, Bruce Nauman, Paul McCarthy, Charles Ray, John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha and Raymond Pettibon. For more information or if you are interested in consigning, 212.606.7254 Miety.Heiden@sothebys.com

Just like the SDMA, there are now no artists left on the board of MOCA in Los Angeles. Jim Wilsterman forwarded this article from the Los Angles Times . John Baldessari, Catherine Opie and Barbara Kruger all resigned from the board of trustees and the last to go was Ed Ruscha. Like SDMA, the LA MOCA was started by artists and over the years, their role has been marginalized. The last straw was the firing of the firing of longtime chief curator Paul Schimmel by the life trustee Eli Broad who “rescued” the museum from financial troubles but now is seen to hold too much power.

Public Artists, Private Work, Cannon Gallery Carlsbad

Public Artists, Private Work Since the City of Carlsbad established the Cultural Arts Department in 1985, a number of artists have been featured in the City’s Art in Public Places Program. This show is a rare opportunity to see the private studio work of Carlsbad’s Public Art artists. Public artists include TJ Dixon and James Nelson, Kim Emerson, Raul Guerrero, Paul Hobson, James Hubbell, Ron Juncal, Christopher Lee, Anna O’Cain and Richard Keely, Alber de Matteis, Phillipp Sholtz Rittermann, Michael Stutz, Sylvia Tidwell, Jim Wilsterman and others. July 15 to Sept 16, Reception July 14 from 5 to 7 pm. Cannon Art Gallery Carlsbad City Library complex 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad, 92011. More info: Colleen Finnegan 760.434.2900

This show curated by Karen McGuire is well displayed and of so much interest to those who want a better look into the private work of public artists. 

The first thing you see when you enter this show is the stunning figure head by Michael Stutz. I am familiar with this work, but very taken with the additional drawing made by Stutz that were included below. The lines in these drawings seemed more personal and intimate and connected to his hand than the polished feeling I get from the sculptures.

Overview Update July 16, 2012 NUI & Summer Salon Series

NUI: Natural User Interface

NUI pronounced newie) is the way the user interacts with any machine application in the most natural way. We are all now used to tapping, swiping and talking into our smart phones. We heard a presentation with demonstrations by Rodney Guzman co-found and chief architect of the local  InterKnowlogy (founded in 1999 in Carlsbad) at Mintz Levin hosted by CommNexas.  They are working on hand free interface. Think about a surgeon who can’t touch anything during an operation or he will pass on germs;   a mechanic working on an oily car engine who doesn’t want his computer contaminated; or a window shopper who can move her hands outside the store and get more information about that glorious red dress she fancies.  The real challenge seems to be to make a hand recognition program so sensitive it can turn a dial by virtually gripping it.

Why is this important to all app producers? Today’s users don’t want to read instruction.  Intuition has to play a huge part in the process of the interface. Think about double clicking as an example. Clicking once gave one set of actions, clicking twice another set. But that is learned and actually counter-intuitive except to programmers. One click, one gesture, one voice is all that should be necessary.

 When designing the SD View Art Now (SDVAN) App as part of the DNA of Creativity, San Diego Visual Arts Network are certainly keeping this in mind. We want an app that allows you to enter with one tap and immediately get information about all the visual arts events around you at any given moment. We need simple options to change the date or change the view from map to street view. And in phase two of our project we want some element of augmented reality that might let you create a video review of the event. We want that experience to be easy and apparent with no long explanation needed. So we are spending the time to plan this carefully before we have the code developer even start the work.

This area of technology is changing so rapidly and it is heartening that one of the companies that is creating advancements in right here in San Diego.

The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries, is a major exhibition now showing at the The San Diego Museum of Art and it depicts event for the first time contemporary to its time instead of allegories. It shows the battles and sieges of that time.  We loved the Drone project which was part of the Summer Salon series featured every Friday night throughout the summer. This Salon projects is about conflict and its depiction in art, in this case a drone container was re-purposed as a room. It was originally displayed in front of the General Atomics (the producer of the drones in SD) and amusingly, as it was being hauled away was mistaken for the theft of an actual drone. The name of the Salon Series this month is Beyond the Banner which reveres not only to banner of war, but advertising banner like those at the top of our website pages.  Agitprop is the Series Co-Curator.

TED Speak: Introducing SDVAN View Art Now App

By Patricia Frischer

The New Yorker Magazine printed an article Listen and Learn (July 9 &16, 2012) by Nathan Heller about TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) video presentations. If you are like me you have watched a number of these and they are almost always wonderfully produced. I often asked myself how these people from all walks of life were able to be so entertaining, dedicated and passionate about their subjects. I recommend you read the article for a full description, but one small paragraph gave me some good clues. I decided to try this formula out in introducing our new San Diego View Art Now (SDVAN) App.

1. Opening of Direct address: As part of the DNA of Creativity project, we are going forward with a new asset for the San Diego Visual Arts Network, which is a logical outgrowth of our service to over 2000 visual art resources for the SD community. Our events calendar has listed over 7000 events since our inception in 2003 and we are now planning to create a smart phone app that will give users who are pin pointed by GPS a view on their phone map of events occurring in a radius around them.
   
   
2. Narrative of personal stake: I arrived in SD in 1996 from London, went to the MoCASD and asked for the visual arts guide to the city. They laughed and shrugged at the same time. No guide existed. As I discovered the richness of the visual art scene in SD, I saw no reason not to share that information. Six years later we launched SDVAN with a resource directory and events calendar. Now, to take advantage of on the go needs, we are developing the smart phone app, which will access the data from our events calendar. We also wanted to have the fun and stay on the cutting edge by adding an AR (augmented reality) component to the app. AR is using the camera function of the phone to give an additional layer of information for the viewer.
   
   
3. Research Summary: We used technology specially commission as 10 years in the internet world is 50 years in other industries and there was no standard software existing at that time for the design we used. Now researching how to make an app means understanding our PHP data bases, commissioning software developers and graphic designers. Our research into AR is just beginning and you can read a past A+ Augmented Reality Summary. We will be creating a dedicated website for San Diego View Art Now (SD VAN) which will be compatible for smart phones and has the web application on the home page, plus more information about our team, history, how to list your events, lesson plans, and special launch events for the app.
   
   
4. Précis of potential application: Imagine you are out drinking with friends after work and you have the evening stretching before you. Call up SDVAN on your phone by clicking the icon and up pops all the events near you. Want to find something on the way home, click to view by location. Planning a future rendezvous, click to locate events by date. And in phase two of this app you may be able to see lost graffiti after it has been painted out, or locate a map to entire open studio event, maybe even see a secret layer of a painting not visible with the human eye alone.
   
   
5. Revelation to drive it home: The New Yorker is already supplying an app for all of its cultural events. I just did a Google search for Visual Arts Apps and SDVAN appeared on the first page right after the Wikipedia definition of fine art. Other cities will have this technology soon, but just as SD Visual Arts Network was cutting edge when it began, we can be on the fore front of this technology for our community, build audience for visual arts events and get one step closer to re-branding San Diego as one of the world’s most innovative regions.

Patricia's Exhibiton update for July

Thanks go Naomi Nussbaum and the SD Botanic Gardens for hosting us at the opening of the Sculpture in the Garden reception in memory of Dennis Paul Batt. It was a glorious day and a stellar group of local sculptors including Alber and Luna de Mattius, Matt Devine, Dan Peragine, Jeffery Laudenslager, Amos Robinson, Madelynne Engle, Cheryl Tall, Charles Bronson, Ben Lavender, Fritzie Urquhart and Becky Guttin…all friends of SDVAN. But there were many more to admire including two that sold that day by Victoria Johnson. This is a wonderful place to take children this summer. Don’t miss it.

We were also entertained by Vicki Leon at the Bernardo Winery for a performance at The Vine (Mojalet Dance Place for the Arts.)  Vicki was showing the last of three Quilts of Life happenings before her exhibition in October at Noel Baza. We got to see the interaction of the dancers with her dichromatic etched glass discs. This work in progress is funded by the SD Foundation.  Bernardo Winery (founded 1889!) has a whole collection of fun galleries and shops and holds an art walk once a month and Mojalet has a performance every weekend in the summer. We were so pleased to see such a wonderful resource hidden away in a neighborhood in Rancho Bernardo.

We are going to the Old Globe to see Divine Rivalry describes as a painting competition between Leonardo de Vinci and Michelangelo organized by Machiavelli.(until Aug 5)  If you can’t make that, check out Kettner Nights. And the in August we are going to RED which is about the life of Rothko at the Mark Taper Forum in LA.

Here is a special request that just came in:

Girl Scouts San Diego seeks a muralist (female preferably) to lead approximately 15 Girl Scouts in grades 6-8 to create a 10’ x 5’ portable mural to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting through a series of eight workshops. The Finished painting will be exhibited throughout San Diego County, including at the Chula Vista Public Library. . Honorarium of $4,000 upon project completion (Friday, October 5, 2012.) Applications due by Friday, July 27. See the full listing on SDVAN. For more info: Kathleen Stoughton 619.610.0813.

Don’t forget:

 La Jolla Fashion Film Festival  Thurs/Fri/Sat. July 26 & 28th, 8 - 10 pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art (700 Prospect Street, La Jolla 92037) $32-$112.50 See all events. More info: Fred Sweet

The Art Of Photography 2012 Judged by Julian Cox, Curator of Photography at the de Young Museum, San Francisco. Deadline extended to July 16 More info: Steven Churchill: 619.825.5575