SD Fringe Festival Art Exhibition

Our banner in July, 2014 was in support of the new Visual Arts component of the SD Visual Fringe Festival. In most cities these festivals do include fine art but as San Diego is only in its second year, we were gratified to see them adding more visual arts this year. 

There are two main displays, one at the Spreckles Theater SD Fringe Festival Lobby and one on the third floor of the Ten Street Art Center. As I was attending a couple of productions at the Tenth Street, I concentrated more on this exhibition put together by Gailee Walker Wells the director of Theater Arts West. This fledgling theater company is exploring a permanent location in San Diego but they have already put on several independent productions. One of those at the Encinitas Library asked writers to take their inspiration from visual artists. So it is not too surprising that Kevin Charles Patterson found Gailee to help mount this first foray. She also produced Off Broadway On Broadway, a selection of scenes from their repertoire, for the Fringe this year.

Ed Coonce has experience in working with the community to create aspects of a larger work that he then composes and polishes. The results are unique to his style but still collaborative.  David Cuzick takes line drawing in a new direction in some very original works. He is showing with Gabriele Bitter whose works are abstract and Noreen Ring who used mixed media to create little worlds of wonder. Those four artists made up this special exhibition for SD Fringe Festival

Ed Coonce

Ed Cuzik

Gabriele Bitter

Noreen Ring

But the adjoining room at the Ten Street Gallery space was also packed with goodies as well. James E. Watts delights with his 3-d assemblages, Sean Brennan’s stripes and strangely intense especially considering their small size. Frances Love revels in lush color and Kelly Kincaid was a favorite of mine with the solo figure. Also in black and white were wood cut like faces by Brett Barnett.

James E. Watts

Sean Brennan

Frances Love

Kelly Kincaid

Brett Barnett

 

Bonus play rave is for Ira Bauer-Spector and her/his performance of Miss M saves the Universe. Great voices, fun story and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Watch for other productions of the Breakthrough Workshop Theater

Bonus exhibit this month was a display at the SD International Airport in the new part of Terminal 2 Gallery. A series of works by Judit Hersko were stunning displayed showing the evolution or maybe the ruination of a fan coral called Seven Days of Dissolution. Acrylic tanks are filled with black sea fans with Capiz shell sculptures of human hearts and lungs in a carbon dioxide. We are big fans of Jusit’s work and know she is also participating in the Innovation Incubator project This will be one of the last shows of Constance White who is moving on to a lofty position as City Art Administrator of Charlotte, North Carolina. We will miss her more than we can say but know that when you eventually ends up running the NEA she will have fond memories of her time in San Diego. 

Judit Hersko

Read more about the Fringe Art The San Diego Visual Fringe - Part of Successful Unjuried Festivals by Joe Nalven

Art for jurors, art for artists: Juror transparency vs. Gaming selection bias

By Joe Nalven and David Lenhert

Anecdotes abound that tell of prize winning images not getting into county fairs. Or about a juror’s selection truncating the broad vibrancy of contemporary art.

The frequent answer to the resulting selection is, ‘well, it’s the juror’s preference and that cannot be questioned.’

Enter the satirist.

Honoré Daumier, 1864 This Year, Venuses Again

But is it just the bourgeois audience of the 19th century that is being satirized? Why not the artist obsessed with content or the juror who picked what he or she thought would make for an unsual group (when in fact they may turn out to be the same)?

And let's not forget the experts (the painting is worth a close look).

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, Les experts,1837 (edited for this article)

Somehow the discussion – whether serious or satirical – seems incomplete, unsatisfactory and worthy of a closer look at juror bias in selecting art for an exhibition as well as how artists often react by way of anticipation. (There is also the problem of the competition being seen as a business scam. That issue is beyond the scope of this article.)

There are no good solutions to the issue of juror selection bias, nor the attempts by artists to game the system; a more open discussion might reduce the pretense and anxiety that participants experience.

Understanding Juror Bias

One might recall the sculptor who had his plinth (the base of the sculpture) accepted into a prestigious summer festival while the actual sculpture languished with the rejects. Somehow the sculpture and its plinth got separated and the jurors, not knowing of the accident, selected the (assumed) conceptually avant-garde plinth. The snobbery of the juror-knows-best attitude prevailed, but as we know, sometimes the Emperor (and the juror) does in fact have no clothes on. Instead of admitting to the silliness of picking art (the base), the venue quite naturally defended its selection.

The artist had a good laugh. (Artist laughs his head off at the RA, David Hensel and the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London 2006)

On the other side of the jurying process, a seasoned juror offers his perspective about figuring the end results of juried competitions:

“A friend of mine keeps paintings on the fireplace mantel in his studio that he has entered in several contests. On the backs side of the frames, he records the results from each submission. One painting was rejected from three competitions and won prizes in four others (including “Best of Show”), and the other paintings have similar track records. “I keep the paintings on display so I remind myself that art contests are based on completely subjective reviews,” he explains. That story is worth keeping in mind the next time your work is rejected from an art contest o[r] it wins the Best of Show award.” How Art Exhibition Jurors Make Decisions by M. Stephen Doherty

This juror suggests that some of the considerations for entering a juried competition are: seek advice from a teacher, not from one’s mother; enter the maximum number allowed and only the best (avoid mixing weaker pieces in); enter pieces that are unusual, not safe; enter pieces that can be easily understood; don’t push the limits of good taste, scale or presentation; don’t assume the juror will only pick the work that is in the juror’s own experience; consider entering into less competitive categories; and, of course, as stated above, don’t take the results too seriously.

While one can argue this advice, the larger point is that art jurying is subjective.

But subjectivity is really not the problem; after all, one goes to a doctor to get an opinion and, if one doesn’t care for that opinion, there is always a second doctor with a second opinion.

There is the assumption that a doctor’s subjectivity – with the informed opinion – rests on science as well as on craft. The art juror’s opinion? Craft is involved, yes; but is there any objectivity, any science, anything that can be turned into an app?

Doctors are now getting help from artificial intelligence apps; could the same apply to art jurors?  Artificial Intelligence Is Now Telling Doctors How to Treat You, Daniela Hernandes

One telling example about the inability of art judges to agree on the ‘goodness’ of an artwork is from a Royal Academy Art exhibit. 15 jurors picked work from among 13,000 visual and sculptural works. Not one artwork received a unanimous vote; decisions were made simply the tallying the most points. This is not to say the selected works weren’t ‘good’ or ‘strong’ or ‘worthy’ art, but simply that opinions are not grounded in a science of aesthetics (despite the many rules for composition, presentation, and the like. Perhaps, what counts is the novel way in which such rules are broken.)

Before suggesting an approach to fostering more juror responsibility in relation to selection bias, let’s consider some tests and reflections about juror bias.

Detecting Bias: Contextualized vs. Decontextualized Tests (Joe Nalven)

I recently gave a talk about art at the county fair versus art at a gallery. In preparation for the talk, I selected two images from the county fair photography exhibit and compared them with one from a popular photographer who has a series of galleries across the country and another from an art gallery in Berlin. One pair of images was contextualized (looking as if both were in a fine art gallery with a person standing next to the image and looking at it); the other pair of images were decontextualized – the images were stripped of framing and other clues about where the art was actually located.

In both cases, the more frequent response was the ‘wrong’ answer. Most persons questioned thought the county fair example was in a fine art gallery and the one in a fine art gallery was in the county fair exhibit. This response was the same regardless of whether the person had been a juror or was an artist or just a random person. (This was a pilot study and before any final conclusions, a fuller representative survey would be needed.)

The contextualized example had a few more individuals picking the ‘correct’ answer since they knew the size of the images that were allowed at the county fair.

The take-away from this survey was that all had an opinion of where they thought the art was exhibited. More often than not, the more iconic, the more brilliant and more ‘typical’ the image, the more the respondent thought the image was at the county fair. By contrast, the more offbeat and/or softer image was thought to be at a fine art gallery.

Those responses signify stereotypes or biases, part of our cultural baggage, whether we are artists, random folks or even jurors.

But, that’s only one survey – and a pilot study for that matter. How pervasive such stereotypes are and the extent to which they intrude on juror decisions for selecting art is still very much an open issue. What is important to recognize is that there is, in fact, an issue to be discussed, especially if one wants to go beyond the opaque thinking of ‘the juror decides what gets into the show, no questions asked.’

The better practice might well be to have jurors state their bias beforehand and to share their observations on what they selected to get into an exhibit. That kind of transparency might well lead into a broader, more robust, conversation about the variety of perspectives in viewing and, perhaps, understanding contemporary art. (Parenthetically, one might acknowledge the practice of having juror talks at the Art of Photography Shows, which were both helpful about the juror selecting some 100 images out 12,000 or so AND unhelpful when hearing about the narrow range of what was considered to be ‘good’ or ‘strong’ photography. One honest comment provided the exclamation point to juror bias – with words to the effect that ‘I don’t really know why I picked this image but it had a Heinz 57 bottle on the table and it recalled my own youth.’)

An alternative to transparency among art jurors is to game the art jurying system.

Gaming the System (David Lenhert)

David Lenhert provides a personal account of how he channels his art into different photographic frameworks (art shows, saleable to individual purchasers, stock photography, and photojournalistic). His example is intended to solicit the reflections of other artists and jurors in working towards a model to increase juror responsibility in minimizing selection bias and opening the juror’s mindset to the variation in contemporary art that often gets selected out.

Know Thy Categories:  For whom are you shooting?

I was recently asked: "What are your thoughts about what people like about photos that they buy? What seems to be the continual money makers even though they may be clichéd or just regular shots?"

You'd probably get a lot of different answers from different photographers. There are different schools of thought supported with real world results. For example, many would say ‘shoot local.’ People buy locally familiar images as well as visitors wanting to remember their trip. Good advice I think; but for me, I'm not really motivated or impressed by what is in my local area. My inspiration comes from traveling to other places and seeing new things.

That brings me to my world view on selling my photography (that is, my art): photographing what I love, regardless of how sellable it might be. There are buyers for every genre of art. If you like to take candid shots of locals in Costa Rica, then by all means do so. And, if you do it well, there'll be someone to buy it. 

As for my practical experience . . . I mostly like to shoot landscapes and nature. Next to that, I like to shoot travel and architecture. So, this is what I sell. If it's good, and it resonates with a buyer, it will sell. Actually, from monitoring other photographer's sales (at the same shows I'm selling at) I'd say that ‘resonates’ is even more important than how good it is. There is a connection with the potential buyer. A lot of my sales happened because my buyer visited that place and connected with my image (which was better than images they took, if they took any at all). Of course they also had to love that place in the first place.

So what makes it good and resonate? I find the image needs to be both familiar and Iconic. I know that sounds clichéd, but that's what sells. There's a reason that postcards seem to have the same kinds of images. They're iconic. I like iconic! That doesn't mean you can't try and also make it yours by changing a few things. All of this applies equally with nature and other kinds of images.

I've also discovered that although iconic sells well, it often doesn't win photo contests. Judges don't seem to care much about iconic or familiar. In fact, they're bored with the same old stuff, so they look for a completely different set of metrics, such as breaking ubiquitous art rules (the rule of thirds, for example). Something that makes it ‘novel.’ Novel sometimes sells, but it doesn't outsell familiar and iconic ─ at least not from what I've observed. Then there are stock (licensed images for specific uses) and photojournalistic (news related) images.

When I take my shots of something that really interests me I like to mix things up a little. I'll first shoot for art, then contest potential, then stock potential, and lastly blog or journalistic potential. I say 'potential' because I seldom get around to doing all of it, but I can go back later to an archive to pull from. This method forces me to view the subject in different ways. What's good for one use isn't necessarily good for the other. This also forces you to have a variety of images and avoid ‘similars’ which can become a licensing conflict or stock submission problem.

A short answer: Since I print images that represent familiar, iconic, landscape/nature, and representative of my best work, then a subset of that is what sells best for me. Which as it so happens, the more familiar and iconic it is, the better it sells. Kind of circular isn't it? Specifically, I seem to sell landscape and nature images of the southwest and Hawaii; but that is also what I like to shoot.

People like pretty images. I like pretty images too. They want to hang it on the walls of their home. If you were to buy art, what would you like to hang in your home? I ask it this way because a few other things will determine what actually sells. Will the colors go with their decor? Will the frame tie it all together?    

Two views of the falls: Iconic versus Artsy

Here are two versions of Multnomah Falls in Oregon. The first is a familiar one, an iconic view. This image is reminiscent of what many others have taken. This version will sell well, but unlikely to win any prizes in an art show. Perhaps this is the photographic version of the cliché that familiarity breeds contempt, that it is not unusual, but prosaic. 

David Lenhert / Multnomah Falls / The Iconic Look

Compare the familiar image above with one that is less so, and therefore less iconic. This second perspective lends itself being selected for art shows and contests. 

David Lenhert / Middle Earth / Third Place 

There are objective differences in point of view, what is shown and what is obscured. But we label one 'prosaic' (the familiar which becomes iconic) and the other more 'artful' (the more unusual).  Would these differences be the same in all cultures?  

A former director of a museum told an interesting story (to Nalven) - that he had taken a magnificent photograph of a walkway in Kyoto. When he showed it to his staff, several said they had taken the same photograph and proved it by bringing in their photographs of that walkway the following day. The conclusion is that the Japanese had arranged for a 'Kodak moment' for visitors, but simply didn't label the place as such; the individual was allowed his illusion that their photograph was unique and not the familiar shot.

Variations upon a theme
                                                             
Here are three images of the same place, taken from the same location. The most photo-realistic version was taken the preceding day. The following day, there was no wind and the reflections were better.    

The vertical shot (that is mostly reflection and breaks the Rule of Thirds) won 1st place last year (2013) at the SD Co. Fair in the Fall Color Scenic category. When I submitted it, I had a feeling it might appeal to the judges as it was a bit 'weird' looking. For contests, 'weird' can be a good thing.
          

David Lenhert / West Fork Reflections / First Place Fall Color Scenic

Two other images I submitted that year were, in my opinion, much better images. 

One of those won an Honorable Mention & Sponsor Award (Fall Reflections), the other one that year got no ribbon despite being one of my best sellers at art shows (Autumn Glow).

David Lenhert / Fall Reflections / Honorable Mention

David Lenhert / Autumn Glow / No prize, but artsy look

The important point is to recognize that photographic variations can be more than just another point of view - that the something more can be what appeals to a juror, to the tourist, to the commercial stock image. 

For a juror to say, 'I like what is unusual' or 'show me something different' should be something more than the end of a conversation about the juror selection; it should be the opening point in a larger conversation about the contours of contemporary photography from a multi-faceted perspective. 

The Nalven-Lenhert Model to Promote Juror Accountability

This suggestion is intended as a non-coercive model: 

•    Present a juror with 8 to 10 images that have been previously selected for the competition or institution that represent a range of styles and media. 

•    Have a conversation with the juror about why he or she would select that image. The idea is to foster a positive attitude to the range of contemporary art and that there is an expectation that the juror ought not to get lost in contemplating his or her own attitudes. 

•    Have the juror give a show-and-tell talk with images selected for the exhibit and,, if a themed exhibit, with specifics on how the juror saw key images illuminating the show concept. 

And what about the viewers?

Artists and jurors may live in a bubble, especially when one considers the pyramid with billionaire art collectors moving the needle on the commercial value of art.  Artists may aspire to be collected; jurors help weed out the less than fashionable. Museums pick the trophies.  The IRS gives tax donations for the imputed dollar worth of an art work.  

Wiley / Non-Sequitur / 2003

Does the world of art leave the average viewer perplexed and unsure about the role of art in society?  Is the average viewer left to retreat to the familiarity of the bargains at Target and Costco? 

Or would there be greater appreciation for contemporary art if jurors would engage in a more transparent conversation about why they pick this and that art for an exhibit and artists, by way of default, were not encouraged to game the jurying system? 

An Alternative and a Supplement

There are two obvious ways to alter the juror-artist dilemma described here (and likely other ways as well).

First, the Visual Fringe.  Here, the art show is unjuried. The artist places whatever he or she wants into the exhibit. This would rely on self-monitoring. This system draws on the popular success of The Fringe. 

Second, artists groups, such as the PhotoArtsGroup, can pursue a self-learning model with lightly curated exhibits. The PhotoArtsGroup has numerous art exhibits that have a variety of venues (Escondido Arts Partnership, the Wellness Center, etc.)  The absence of a juror, but rather meaningful dialogue among members who know each other, can be a meaningful supplement to an artist's growth while still acknowledging the opportunity's of a juried competition. 

Note:  Both authors are members of the PhotoArtsGroup.

Recommended reading:

Subjective art fails to unite show's hanging judges: Fifteen Royal Academy experts cannot reach unanimity on one work / David Lister

When Do You Stop Entering Juried Shows? Joanne Mattera

Crowd-Curated or Crowd-Juried? / Kevin Stayton, Brooklyn Museum of Art

Thoughts on Juried Exhibitions / Kirsten Hoving

Navigating the Art World: An Introduction / Artbusiness.com

Decisions & Dilemmas: Day in the Life of a Juror / Miriam Romais

Juried Shows for Artists, From the Inside Out / Matthew Daub

The San Diego Visual Fringe - Part of Successful Unjuried Festivals

By Joe Nalven

What’s real freedom like for art shows and for music, comedy, dance and theater performances? The first nominee would be the Fringe.

The Fringe began in 1947 in Edinburgh and has since become a World Fringe, including a San Diego Fringe.

So, what is the The Fringe?

“[It] is an unjuried festival – with no selection committee, and therefore any type of performance may participate. The Fringe has often showcased experimental works that might not be invited to a more conservative arts festival.”

Is it successful? 

The Edinburgh’s Fringe in 2011 had over 41 thousand performances and sold almost 1.9 million tickets in 258 venues over 25 days. There were about 21 thousand performers from 60 countries. And there were over 600 free shows.

But what does a Fringe Festival really mean?

“A Fringe is a grass roots Festival with freedom to celebrate and exchange. It’s a Fringe of a Festival or a Festival of Fringe Arts made possible by the people who take part. Developed organically across the globe, they are unique in style and form every time they open. A Fringe Festival exists to serve the participating artists and audiences through building awareness. They professionally umbrella an accessible development opportunity by administrating a programme of events and creating a platform and market place for new and established art forms. They are constituted through innovation and creative expression. The Fringe ethos is, ‘If you want to do it you can… Fringes offer an alternative!’” Holly Payton-Lombardo / World Fringe

Fringes Across the United States and there's San Diego's Fringe

San Diego Becomes a Fringe

Even San Diego’s famous and popular Comic Con pales in comparison to the Edinburgh Fringe. Neither the Con, nor the Fringe have the imprimatur of traditional museums, galleries and Broadway theaters. The Edinburgh Fringe points the way for many more Fringes to engage the public with a wilder sense of artmaking. Both traditional and fringe art can co-exist, and both should be applauded for rousing the public to reflect and appreciate the ways in which humans construct themselves. 

San Diego Visual Fringe / On First Avenue at the Corner of Broadway and First Avenue 

The San Diego Fringe is in its infancy – Year 2. But also the first year of Visual Fringe. It sees itself as linked to other San Diego festivals.

Here is how San Diego Fringe calls out to San Diego residents and visitors:

“11 Days of Eyeball Busting Shows!”

Following a successful debut in 2013, the Second Annual San Diego International Festival 2014 brings the beautiful, the bizarre and the unexpected to America’s Finest City. From July 3 through July 13, 2014 continues to make San Diego Theatre History by hosting over 35 World Premieres, 7 United States Premieres, 21 local premieres (ranging from seasoned international artists to young, aspiring new artists) and this year we are expanding our award-winning venture by introducing Visual Fringe and Family Fringe, to our Festival!

Live on the Fringe with San Diego Fringe 2014

• Experience Art without censorship

• Value artistic integrity as we do: by watching artists perform what they want, how they want while they receive 100% of their box office sales

• Watch what you want, when you want: Most shows run 45-60 minutes!

• Share your experiences with others (even your budget friendly buddies): Tickets are affordable (Art for Everyone!): $10 to free — A Festival PASS makes them even less!

Visual Fringe at the Spreckels Building 

Reminiscent of the variety one finds at a street fair, but with a modest beginning. The juxtaposition of art includes what one might find at most gallery exhibitions and then reaches into areas that are less common, perhaps overlooked with a snub of ‘that’s not fine art.’ Yes, coming back from Berlin, Germany and having seen some high end exhibits in San Diego, the boundaries between what is interesting, provocative – even ‘fine’ in ‘fine art’ – are not as clear as what one might think.

Meet the Artists at the San Diego Fringe

Eric Bjorkman might be expected to be more at home at Monsterpalooza or Days of the Dead with his heavy metal culture oriented leather gear. Bjorkman is a friendly face as one walks into the Visual Fringe venue. 

Eric Bjorkman with a leather accessory for heavy metal fans

Deron Cohen / Freed(rea)m, 2014, Oil on Masonite

Then there are the paintings of Deron Cohen. His comment is emblematic of the Fringe ethos:  "There is no 'wrong' way to dream. Freedom can be found within."

Alice Gerschler has a background in travel photography and entered her first art exhibit with intertidal photography (postprocessed in digital media).

Alice Gerschlet Intertidal Photography

Todd Cooper's large painting greeted visitors.

Todd Cooper

There were several other artists who hadn't yet set up. 

One of the interesting installations was set up in a back room with black lights, 3D glasses and a fascinating set of objects and configuations. The artists who made up The Ancient Gallery are Nigel Brookes, Iain Gunn, David Harrington and Mark Johnson.

The Ancient Gallery

Other artists I would have liked to have met had already hung their art.

Lynne Bolton

John Dunn

A great start to a visual fringe and much to look forward to in San Diego's Fringe Festival.

To read more about the SD Fringe Festival Art Exhibition click here for our A+Art Blog on the exhibition at the Tenth Street Theater

The San Diego Fringe runs from July 3 – July 13, 2014. 

VISUAL FRINGE HOURS
Fridays and Saturdays: 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Weekdays: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Puppet Masters: San Diego Puppet Guild marks its 20th anniversary by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt

Reposted from La Jolla Lighthttp://www.lajollalight.com/2014/06/26/puppet-masters-san-diego-puppet-guild-marks-its-20th-anniversary/

La Jolla puppeteer Mark Zweifach with Hondo. Photo Lonnie Burstein Hewitt

On a downtown rooftop June 14, friends and members of the San Diego Puppetry Guild came together to celebrate the organization’s 20th anniversary. Like the Guild itself, the crowd was small but enthusiastic, and the Tenth Avenue Arts Center rooftop was a fine place in the sun for adults and children to enjoy the afternoon activities, which included playing with an assortment of puppets or making one’s own, out of pool- noodle pieces and other odds and ends.
The Guild, which started out in 1957 as an informal group of local puppeteers, got its nonprofit status in 1994, and has been offering performances, workshops and exhibits in schools and art centers around the county ever since, with a special interest in bringing shows to underserved communities.

Supervisor Dave Roberts with San Diego Puppetry Guild President Lynne Jennings. Photo Anthony Rodriguez

Among the attendees at the event was County Supervisor Dave Roberts, a Puppetry Guild supporter, who presented a certificate, signed by all five supervisors, in honor of the Guild’s 20 years of service, along with a $2,000 Community Enhancement grant.
“This was a reaal wow for us!” said Lynne Jennings, president of the San Diego Puppetry Guild’s board of directors. “We’re going to use it to take our new anti-bullying show to schools that would otherwise never be able to afford one of our programs.”

Mary Johnson Powell with Camille the Camel, originally designed for the San Diego Zoo’s Education Dept. Photo Lonnie Burstein Hewitt

• Want to have face-to-face time with some of the puppet performers? Puppeteer Mindy Donner and others will be part of this year’s San Diego Fringe Festival (coming July 3-13), presenting “A Matinee with Miss Peg and other pieces,” 2 p.m. July 6 and July 13, as well as 12:30 p.m. July 12, at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center’s Cabaret Theatre, 930 10th Ave. No. 2, downtown San Diego. Tickets are $10. Look for La Jolla puppeteer Mark Zweifach in one of the “other pieces,” along with his new best friend, Hondo, who was one of the stars in last year’s Fringe Festival. For information, visit sdfringe.org
• For a real taste of what the Puppetry Guild can do, take the kids to the Welcome to Middle School Parade, 8:30- 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 8 in City Heights. You’ll see a grand and festive procession of giant puppets made by sixth- graders, with a little help from the pros at the Guild. For more about this or other upcoming events, e-mail sandiegopuppetry@gmail.com

PoSIBYL REDUX! Artist brings ‘Books, Prints, Collages & Then Some’ to Athenaeum in La Jolla by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt

Reprinted from the La Jolla Light

At Bay Park Press, Sibyl Rubottom shows off one of her illustrations from ‘The Second Quarter,’ a book of poems by her son, Otis Rubottom, printed especially for the opening of her show at La Jolla’s Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. (Lonnie Hewitt)

Artist Sibyl Rubottom was born a few blocks from the Hudson River in Manhattan, raised next to an estuary of the Long Island Sound in Mamaroneck, and got her first training in art at the Rhode Island School of Design, near Narragansett Bay.

Most of the major events in her life have been close to bodies of water — from the Connecticut pond on which she was married to the Ganges River in Rishikesh where she went to study yoga, and La Jolla’s Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, where she has been a teacher and artist-in-residence since the early 1990s.

So it’s not surprising that the main installation in her new show at the Athenaeum should be a cenote, her above-ground version of one of the deep and deeply strange, natural pools she swam in while exploring Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Inside the cenote, in the place of honor, is her latest artist’s book.

“I’ve done three big books about water,” she said. “One about La Jolla Cove, one about pool swimming, and now ‘Cenotes,’ which is being unveiled for the first time at the Athenaeum.”

Rubottom, co-founder of Bay Park Press, a small press known for its beautifully-crafted artists’ books, has another new book on display, her second collaboration with her firstborn son, poet Otis Rubottom.

“The Second Quarter” is a quartet of poems about his wife and young son; also on view is “The First Quarter,” which includes one poem dedicated to his father, and another to his mother, who designed and illustrated both books.

“They were a lot of work, but he’s worth it,” she said. “I wouldn’t do it if he wasn’t such a good poet.”

Rubottom had her first Athenaeum show, titled “1×1 and then some,” 24 years ago. REDUX, which means brought back or revived, brings back some of her favorite themes: water, astronomy, botanicals, typography and … elephants! Why elephants? “I like ’em!” she said.

The Book Arts Shrine at ‘SIBYL REDUX.’ Sibyl Rubottom

There are 36 pieces in “SIBYL REDUX,” including prints that illustrate dream states and collages that re-imagine Himalayan maps. The “Then Some” part of the show includes iPad drawings — Rubottom loves her iPad — and a wholly delightful Book Arts Shrine, her personalized, portable spin on the kinds of idiosyncratic collections that were popular from the 16th through late-19th centuries and known as “cabinets of curiosity.”

Originally, Rubottom wanted her own “cabinet” to carry samples of her books to her classes. It turned into a repository of books and objects she loves, a box of treasures, roughly 35"×14", that sits on a red wagon, with color wheels on its wheels. “It’s a traveling workspace I can bring from village to village, as the Tibetans do with prayer altars when on pilgrimages through the high Himalayas,” Rubottom said.

• IF YOU GO: “SIBYL REDUX: Books, Prints, Collages, & Then Some” is on view through July 26 at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Also showing are selected books from Bay Park Press and prints by Bay Park Press interns Leah Goren, Anthony Lukens and Morgan Miller III. (858) 454-5872. ljathenaeum.org