Shinpei Takeda & James E. Watts and Oceanside Unfiltered

by Patricia Frischer

Shinpei Takeda, James E. Watts, Zach Cordner

Oceanside Museum of Art

Shinpei Takeda: Limit of Your Safe Space until Sept 11
James E. Watts until July 17

Oceanside Unfiltered until May 29

 

Shinpei Takeda: Limit of Your Safe Space
Until Sept 11

Those familiar with Shinpei Takeda’s woven works know that he gives us a wonderful all encompassing experience of space, both airy and solid at the same time. Often there has been a underlaying message about the state of the world giving additional meaning to the works. The large art that greets you at the entrance to this exhibition with it grand scale and barbed wire interior speaks to those past works.

But in this show in which he explores both virtual and augmented reality, he reaches out to the community to ask, “How do you define your own safe space?”  Many of us consider our homes a safe space after more than 2 years of a global pandemic. We see Ukrainians in the daily news struggling for a sense of safety. But there are people who are not just affected by temporary crisis, but deal with displacement and combat long term.   He choose five people around the world who became collaborators in this process of defining safety and to do that he had to create a safe space for them to communicate.

For this project, communication took the active form of 2d and 3d object design. To show off the results, there is one virtual reality scene created where you don goggles.  There are also five more augmented realities that you access with your smart phone. And to make your feel comfortable and safe there are woven chair hammocks instead of benches for easy viewing. (Hint: to get out of the chair hammock, just back up until you are standing!). There is also a video presentation of the workshops he arranged.   

This exhibition is supposed to open conversations about what it means to feel safe from discrimination, criticism, harassment, and any other emotional or physical harm in society and in emerging virtual spaces. You need time to do this so allow plenty when you visit. 

Shinpei Takeda

Shinpei Takeda - detail

Shinpei Takeda - virtual reality

Shinpei Takeda - augmented reality

Shinpei Takeda

Shinpei Takeda - detail

View from front of gallery to the rear of gallery. Photo: Shinpei Takeda

James E. Watts

until July 17

The James Watts Institute for Artistic Behavior is the private domain/library/playhouse of an artist inspired by literature.  He attaches pieces of printed metal scrap  which have their own stories to wooden bases. So there are layers and layers of meaning in this almost life sized gathering of a variety of characters. There are jokes and unexpected juxtapositions plus hand carved stone additions that seems to add a bit of gravitas.  Beth Smith has included some of our favorite works in this mini-retrospective. The charming set of Perfect Day Quilts and flower vases are also available in the gift shop. 

 

James Watts - Flowers

James Watts - flowers

James Watts - Perfect Day Quilt

James Watts - detail

James Watts - Frankenstein

James Watts - Quosimoda, Esmealda, and Goat

James Watts - Don Quixote, Sancho Panza and horses

Oceanside Unfiltered 
until May 29

Zach Cordner has put together a great cross section of images of the underbelly of Oceanside which are fascinating and not as frightening as you might have expected.  Two of his own works are included but are not the usual celebrity images of his you might see in Rolling Stone magazine. The Jordan Verdin wall of homeless people is especially beautiful….yes, beautiful and you can see it at the sample video at the top of the page. A video in the exhibition by 2thabrain with its tattoos and jacked up muscle cars is worth the 9 plus minutes that it runs.  

Other local photographers include Dominic Cooley, Sergio Garcia, Robby Gogatz, Trevor J, Charlie Neuman, Jens Ochlich, Brookes Reeder, Cameron Reeder, JT Rhoades, Edna Navarrete, Adam Ruzzamenti, David Stoddard and Andres Ximenez.

Zach Cordner

Zach Cordner

A new shelf for the Museum Store

Allan Marrow

Allan Marrow - After the Fire, limited edition linocuts

The next exhibition at OMA is A Kind of Heaven from May 21 to August 21^st.