I matter

by Patricia Frischer

I am a busy person. I don’t like to waste time or effort. I am also a person worried about funding cuts for the arts. So I gamely signed petitions, wrote emails, and even made the occasional call to help those trying to save the status quo for the NEA, CAC, SD Commission for Arts and Culture and the City of Chula Vista City when asked. But I was truly surprised when I learned that these efforts really helped. What I did not know is that there is a formula that converts every contact into a ratio. So each email might, for example, represents 10,000 voters in the state. That makes a big difference to me. I like knowing that my time and effort is not wasted and that these seemingly small acts are relevant and can result in changes.

The City of San Diego passed the 2018 budget. It reduced the cuts to San Diego’s arts and culture funding from 31% to 3.5%. While less than ideal, this much smaller budget cut is great news for keeping most programs intact and minimizing job loss. This news comes from Rise Up for the Arts.

PLUS: the Chula Vista City Council voted unanimously to support a budget compromise that keeps the city's Cultural Arts program, and other important city programs, intact. The council’s action averts the potential layoff of 10 – 15 city employees, and other cutbacks, that would have eliminated the positions of the Cultural Arts Program Manager, the Marketing and Communications Manager, an Economic Development Specialist, two Code Enforcement officers and more. Thanks to Patricia Aguilar, Chula Vista Councilperson for this great update.

PLUS, PLUS: Grants totaling $15,032,837 have been awarded to various nonprofit organizations statewide this year by the California Arts Council. A total of 1,076 grantees will receive state grant funding for their work spanning the Arts Council's 15 unique program categories, benefiting California's students, veterans, arts educators, at-risk youth, formerly incarcerated individuals, underserved populations, and communities at large.

PLUS, PLUS, PLUS: it appears that the NEA and Public Broadcasting will not now be cut if the congress holds strong on these matters.  

At the American for the Arts Conference held in San Francisco this month, there were many wonderful sessions and they are all available via their YouTube page. I liked the presentation during Art and Politics in the Trump era by Sofia Klatzker,  Executive Director of Arts for LA in charge of art advocacy in Los Angeles.  I found her to do list for local action very concrete. She advocates for each community to declare an arts day, arts week and then arts month. Get out and do candidate surveys and post them online and then hold candidate forums in association with the league of women’s voters. Work to make non-profit art sites into polling places and add a performance or exhibition on the day. Do briefings about what is occurring and build local coalitions to mobilize when needed. And most importantly activate the youth. She has an 8 month training session that culminates with an advocacy project of their choice. And there is a program where volunteers actually walk young voters to the polls with slogans like “I matter”.

Finally, we are seeing many artist that are being activist i.e. artivist. Don’t Shut Up curated by Linda Litteral produced by FIG  (founder Anna Stump) is at City Gallery AH314, San Diego City College  (1508 C Street, SD 92101)  with an opening reception on July 8 from 5 to 8 pm and a panel discussion July 13 from 6 to 8 pm, and an artist talk on July 20 on 5 to 8 pm. Female-led art and activism  focused on raising women’s voices on an assortment of issues is featured. This exhibition includes an activist quilt featuring 40 blocks from all over the United States including San Diego. The opening reception will also feature a political postcard writing station by Lori Lipsman and spoken word performance by poet Stacy Dyson. This event runs until July 26.

WONDERSPACES: MAKING EXTRAORDINARY ACCESSIBLE

by Patricia Frischer 

Wonderspace is a new model to help artist who do installation and virtual reality art. It is setting up its tent in San Diego from June 2 to July 30. Tickets are $16 to $24 and this is a blast.  Two marines came up with this idea Jason Shin and Patrick Charles and they were able to raise the money and had no trouble getting the artists from all over the world to join in. This project is planned to go on tour and will generate income from tickets sales for the artists included. 

We are happy to report that Adam Belt (a SD Art Prize recipient) is one of the artists included.  You will see interactive, multi-media astonishments that will thrill the whole family.  Please note: event is at Civita Park, Mission Valley at Russell Parkway near the Art Institute of California. Aren't we lucky in San Diego to be the first stop on this innovative tour. 

Pulse Portal - DAVIS MCCARTY 

An Arc de Triomphe for Wonderspaces so let all that enter know the they are entering a memorable experience of sights and sounds.   This dichroic acrylic sculputure was shown at Burning Man in 2016

Not Myself Today – PARTNERS FOR MENTAL HEALTH

A doctor says, “Take two and call me in the morning.” A Wonderspace syou take one of these mood buttons, see all the displays, then hopefully discuss how you feel. Looking at Not Myself Today, you can also judge the general mood of those who have seen this interactive art work. This is an initiative of Partners for Mental Health, a Canadian charity that’s catalyzing a social movement to transform the way we think, act  and support mental health and people with mental illness.  

Sweet Spot -SHAWN CAUSEY AND MARK DANIELL 

Cross that thin red line and let these lines in space draw you in. You need to come up close and get personal with this work. It appears a blur from a distance, and in photos it looks static. But it is the spaces between these chromatic lines that make the magic as you eyes see through and merge together was is right in front of you. It is one of those impressive visual experiences that you can not have unless you come to Wonderspaces and see it in person. This is 3700 thin multicolor nylon cords, in a total of 19 miles of material the took 80 volunteers 1000 hours to construct.

The Last Word - ILLEGAL ART 

Literally, they are asking you to write down the last word that you might have spoken to someone, but were never able to utter. Get it off your chest.  Before or after you share your inner most thoughts, you can read some of the intimate things that others have deposited into this public confessional. This is truly interactive community based art. The Last Word was already installed at four different locations throughout the fall of 2009 in New York City.

ADA - Analog interactive installation - KARINA SMIGLA-BOBINSKI
Become child-like and enjoy the sheer pleasure of bouncing a huge ball and seeing it recoil off the walls. The difference is that this clear ball is spiked with charcoal markers that leave scuffs marks on the walls. So not only do you have the pleasure of playing but also you get the forbidden sense of making the pristine walls of an art gallery very dirty. Karina Smigla-Bobinski fromMunich, Germany was inspired by Ada Lovelace, a pioneer of computer science.

A Religious Experience - ADAM BELT

From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
AWAKE ! for Morning in the Bowl of Night

Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:

San Diego artist, Adam Belt, had re-created in an enlarged form his constellation filled ceiling which has been enhanced by a haze machine and a bright light from above to create shafts of everlasting light. For you it might be sacred or supernatural, infinite or illuminating. He has added two reliquaries, both brought to light by natural light stored in batteries. In the first, Cloudbreak, a light shines through condensation that changes every day depending on temperature and air pressure. The second, Light Rays, contains individual rays of light.

Blooms: Strobe Animated Sculptures Invented by John Edmark from John Edmark on Vimeo.

Blooms - JOHN EDMARK

We all like to see things where we can’t believe our own eyes. This certainly is one of those displays. Is it done with mirrors and strobe lighting?  I am not exactly sure, but that is the mystery of this work which constantly changes structure. The artist states his goals to, “… amplify our awareness of the sometimes tenuous relationship between facts and perception.” I guess I call that magic, and what a pleasure to the eye.  

Come Together – Michael Murphy

A set of miscellaneous color cylinders that almost look like bobbins of thread hanging from thin rods are in a pleasant enough grouping as you approach this work. But when you stand in just the right place these three dimensional pixels become a human fist.

raw OAHS from Matthew Matthew on Vimeo.

On a Human Scale – MATTHEW MATTHEW 

Every key on the piano at the front of the exhibit energizes a picture of a human face singing a note. The artist states that this is, “a fully playable instrument of humanity. “ If you are a talented musician you might produce a recognizable sound. We just banged happily away trying to match the key to which image was lighting up and  moving.

Sonar - PHILIPP MAAS

This virtual reality experience comes complete with eye and ear gear and takes you on a space journey through caves and caverns with a pretty scary ending. But the most impressive part was how this filmmaker gives subtle hints of where to look, north, east, south and west to take in the experience. Although each journey would be the same, you get to choose what to see so you might want to allow time to view this more than once.

NONOTAK STUDIO - DAYDREAM V.2 from NONOTAK STUDIO on Vimeo.

Daydream v2 - NONOTAK STUDIO

I have to admit that this one made me dizzy and so I could not stay long in this moving op art  black and white hypnotic trance making environment

Neon Tunnel - KITSCH NITSCH

Make sure you see this when the black curtain in front and back is installed. Being in total darkness would expand the topsy turvey tunnel affect.

Rainbow Museum – DANIELLE STRLE

A set of moving and stationary lights cast colorful shadows on the wall which are especially vivid if you stand up close to the wall. 

Other works that will be in the exhibition but not ready for this preview include: Silhouettes - GENE KOGAN, Connnected Heartbeats -PANN V, Show It 2 Me – TITMOUSE,  Transition - JOOST JORDENS AND MIKE VON ROTZ and Sweepers Clock - MAARTEN BAAS where the hour and minute hands are formed by two men sweeping garbage, clockwise, filmed in real time. 

SDVAN project SD Art Prize at the Athenaeum

by Patricia Frischer

The San Diego Visual Arts Network ipresents the artists recipients of the  San Diego Art Prize 2016 in an exhibition Displacement | Replacement.  The established artist Irma Sofia Poeter with emerging artist Shinpei Takeda,  and established artist Richard Keely with emerging artist William Feeney  will being showing at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library from May 13 to  June 10, 2017, Art Notes by Melinda Chiment, executive director, The AJA Project, Norma Iglesias-Prieto, Professor at San Diego State University and Researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Jim Ruland, writer, Neil Kendricks, artist and filmmaker are available in the 2016 SD Art Prize Catalog.
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library 1008 Wall St. La Jolla, 92037
More info:press@ljathenaeum.org 858.454.5872


The SD Art Prize is an award for excellence and for this particular prize, we choose two emerging artists and ask them to choose two established artists to join them in an exhibition. Sometimes the work relates, sometimes the artists even collaborate with each other. Walking into this exhibition was an extravagance of individual riches. 

This year William Feeney and Richard Keely clicked and although they did not show the products of that collaboration yet, we have been told it is forthcoming. Keely says that the combination of Feeney's expert skills intrigue him as his work has been more of the rough and ready type of construction. The three works of Keely's below utilize concrete as a medium as he is exploring an architecture's material on his way to a residency in Japan. The works are all about a contained space, an intriguing pocket of air that is imagined more than seen. In fact, you struggle to see inside these works at all. That creates a mystery. I particularly like these works as they let my imagination work overtime. 

Richard Keely

Richard Keely

Richard Keely

This series of Keely's works relates more to Shinpei Takeda's piece below. He describes it as the rib on the hull of a boat. The structure of thousands of strands does seem to contain a space, but it is high up and appears to be an enclosed work.  But this work also displaces the air in the room, like a boat displaces the water it occupies. The letters on the outside seem to need to be deciphered. They are perhaps a cry for help and a clue to further meaning.

Shinpei Takeda

Shinpei Takeda - a small metal model reminiscent  of some of some of his other large stranded works.

Shinpei choose Irma Sofia Poeter and these two artists both use soft fabric materials, but their themes are quite different. In this very large work below, Poeter started with a sort of ink blot fold to create a balanced duplicate side to side. She populated this with a rich embroidered menagerie and sequined patches. This creates a tree of life that is a delight and represents a positive ecology that is flourishing. You can see evidence of this in the smiling  picture of health of her family celebrating at the opening. This detailed art work needs to be seen to be appreciated. The works by the three men in the show use muted colors, but Poeter jolts us awake with this pop of color and joy. 

Irma Sofia Poeter

Irma Sofia Poeter

I was immediately drawn to what I thought was a hairy fish by William Feeney.  I am always attracted to his work and enriched by talking to him about it. This is a hand carved wooden female sperm whale. You can see the fearsome teeth of this predator but look more closely and from profile and then from underneath you see human female breasts. Then what you thought was some sort of hair, are actually harpoons scaled to size. Feeney was inspired by the Moby Dick tale. He titled this work 2016 and says it represents the political will of women, fiercely swimming forward no matter has much it is attacked. I take off my pink pussy hat to William Feeney. 

William Feeney

William Feeney

William Feeney -  the self amplified  voice of  a self serving speaker

Cultural Districts: OMA and Barrio Logan plus Passport to the Silk Road

by Patricia Frischer

The California Arts Council has chosen semi-finalist for the California Cultural Districts pilot program throughout the state. Three areas in SD made it including Oceanside, Barrio Logan and Balboa Park. 

I attended the presentation in Oceanside at the Oceanside Museum of Art and the chair of the commission for art Ann Worth put on a very impressive package showcasing the area's arts. Maria Mingalone spoke elegantly about the communities need for one unified factor that this designation could supply. Oceanside is a diverse city where 14% of the population lives below the poverty level. It has an excellent transportation system, wonderful cultural assets. But most important it offers opportunities for growth because of empty building, under used parking lots and a pier that could be activated for the arts. It is important for the community to stay authentic and real and not a theme park version of culture. The CAC representative asked searching questions to access the local situation and did a tour of the proposed district.  

Maria Mingalone

Ann Worth

CAC accessors

Later that week I did my own little walk about in Barrio Logan with Marla Mossman the photography famous for documenting the Silk Road in her Peace Caravan project.  I was impressed as ever with the wonderful murals and wall art. Hopefully a Cultural District designation will help contain the fear that the area will become gentrified. It would be progress if American Mexicans and Mexican American can live in harmony in Barrio Logan, and this might start if  muralist, taggers, scripters and panel painters can fine some common respect. 

While in Barrio Logan,  I was lucky to be at the first of Ted Washington's new speaker series held at La Bodega. Palabra is every second and fourth Thursday from 7 to 8:30. His first guest was Jim Ruland, designer and author who also has a local shop Godondrina. Jim is one of the writers and nominators for the San Diego Art Prize 2016 and 2017 New Contemporaries. His reading was charming, funny and sexy, just like his shoes!

Marla Mossman's photos were shown Passport to the Silk Road held by the Encinitas Friends of the Arts at the Community Center. This is one of a series put on by the charming and inspirational leader Naimeh Tahna. 

Marla making  a short presentation

Reuse Recreate Reimagine, Second Time Around: The Hubcap as Art at CCAE

By Patricia Frischer

Larry and Debby Kline, the Alchemist and his Junks. 

This is the third time I have seen the oversized "The Alchemist and his Junks" by Larry and Debbie Kline and this time he is given a proper home and space to breath in the exhibition Reuse Recreate Reimagine from April 8  and extended to May 28 at California Center for the Arts Museum (340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025 Gallery hours: Thurs – Sat: 10AM – 5PM Sun: 1PM – 5PM) 

The show not only includes work by Cheryl Nickel, Betty Guttin and features Federico Uribe, and old friend but newly minted artist Mark Title, it is also paired with Second Time Around: The Hubcap as Art. This collection of re-imagined hubcaps is a choice of the best from Landfillart.Inc a project out of Philadelphia but includes a selection of our own David Avolos's work. 

No recycled themed show would be complete without work from students and Sherri LaPorte did a great job of helping students make fused glass medallions which became the center star of their hand painted hubcaps. A corridor of these proved that the sum is greater than the parts. 

But it was the work on the Student Gallery Wall, a space dedicated to showcasing the work of Escondido’s students, where I found the most delight in the cardboard portraits. This is only a small taste of the work in these exhibitions. 

CCAE is one of the very best spaces to show in Southern California and you still have time to support the museum which has struggled to stay open. Now under the leadership again of Leah Goodwin, it is looking it's best again. We understand Larry and Debby Kline stepped in when a curator dropped out for the Reuse Recreate Reimagine and they did a stunning job of pulling together an exciting group of artists in this museum level exhibition. 

It was wonderful to see all the junks surrounding the Alchemist including stunning drawings and beautiful sculptures in this installation by Larry and Debby Kline. (SD Art Prize recipient).

Roberto Salas took rubber soled shoes and made them into stamps like lino blocks and then appears to have walked them into wall paper.

Roberto Salas 

Roberto Salas 

This was the first time I have seen so much of the work of Cheryl Nickel's all in one place. She has been working with leftover medical devices and this re-imagined wheel chairs, as a rickshaw with crutches is glamorous and clever. 

Taking a portable pottie  and elevating it to a honored sedan chair could be suitable for the emperor with no clothes. Thanks for the laugh, Cheryl Nickel.

A test tube delight from Cheryl Nickel

More test tubes and crutches from Cheryl Nickel to light up our lives. 

Becky Guttin has been working with recycled materials since she used stale tortillas from her husband's factory. 

Close up of Becky Guttin's  giant bracelet and earrings

Mark Title uses glass and light in his inaugural museum exhibition. 

My favorite Uribe is this one made of telephone wire

Uribe made of all used books

Uribe with colored pencils cut into various lengths. 

Mustang Sally by Kevin Carson called out to me in the Hubcap part of the exhibitions. 

The best of the painted hubcaps has to be this self portrait by Robert Beck

Susan van Blanken with her glass mosaics transformed and hide the hubcap. Maybe not showing off the recycledness of the show but so pretty and so well done. 

David Avolos was the highlight of the Hubcap show, really elevating  and intergrating the hubcaps into the compositions. 

Hubcaps like punctuation  marks on the wall. 

close up of one of my favorites by student Jade Vanderwarker age 12

Recycled cardboard portraits: Julian Pena age 13

Leslie Hernandez age 14

Ana Valdez age 14

Oscar Cornajo age 12

Brianna Reyes age 13

 My last choice is a mother's day gift of art for all my readers from Angel Palmer. 

Angel Palmer is 18 and in grade 12. He did not a portrait not just of himself but of a women like his mom. He said, "She cared, pushed me to do my best and never gave up."