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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Glashaus Building One Year Anniversary Party, Saturday, February 27



Saturday, February 27 - Open Studios form 6 to 9pm

Device Gallery

Studios of:

Greg Brotherton
(currently showing at Oceanside Museum)

Matt Devine

Michael James Armstrong

Michael Maas

and others



Michael Maas

Glashaus
1815 B Main Street
San Diego 92113

(in Barrio Logan, 1 block north of Cesar Chavez Parkway, a few blocks west of the 5 freeway)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Volunteering in my kids' classes



Woojae, 8, self-portrait, drawn with opposite hand
( left page)
and with the eyes shut (right page)


Volunteering in my kids' classes is something I am very interesting in doing. The school does not have the money to hire an art teacher, that's the way it is.


A few weeks ago we went on a field trip to the San Diego Museum of Art, we had a great time looking at some paintings with a knowledgeable docent. There were questions, we took our time, we only saw a handful of paintings. That was good. The theme was the portrait.


Back to school, and after a few weeks passed, I started a self-portrait project with the third graders. I bought a bunch of 4B pencils and a stack of drawing paper and a mirror for each child at 99 cents.
Nothing fancy, very simple material.


Milo, 8, self-portrait,
drawn with the left hand


Brittany, 8, self-portrait,
drawn with the eyes shut



Yahel, 8, self-portrait, drawn with the eyes shut

First thing first, we got rid of the erasers. We are here to practice. We need to practice, to see what we are doing and to see our progress. We keep all the drawings. There is no such thing as an ugly or a bad drawing.

I have an hour per week. The practice is important, the result is not. I want them to experiment. To see things differently, to find their own way. I do not show any example (I did not chose the timing for the visit at the SDMA, I would definitely have taken them to the museum AFTER we worked on a self-portrait). Once the project is completed, we will take some time to look at some portraits and to talk about them.


Woojae, 8, self-portrait, drawn with opposite hand ( left page)
and with the eyes shut
(right page)

If the children have questions, I am there to answer them, but I am not there to show "how to do it". We talk.
We took a long time to look at oneself in a mirror. To really look. What do we see? We listed everything. We talked about shapes, lines, proportions.


self-portrait, drawn with the eyes shut


What they worked on during the session:

- They draw their portrait in the air with one finger and their eyes shut. The children love it!


- Then they draw their portrait with the pencil with their eyes shut.

- they draw
their portrait with their opposite hand - usually our "normal" hand goes very fast and the brain cannot even tell new information about what it just saw: the hand draws what she knows how to draw! By changing hand, we give the brain the possibility to oblige the hand to actually draw some "new" information about what we just saw. The result may be strange looking but it certainly is fresh!

For each "exercise", they could make several drawings, depending on the time they were spending on each of them. But I asked them to try to slow down, to take as much time as possible.


self-portrait, drawn with the eyes shut

Breaking habits.

Looking at things a different way.

Taking the time.

Releasing the pressure.


It's already a lot if they can experience that!
I am grateful to have the opportunity to share that time with the children, they are great!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Red Light Notes



I take photos from my car (yes, at the red light!). I almost always have my camera ready next to me. Usually when I do not have it, I miss nice shots. Sometimes my camera is not ready and by the time I pull it out of my bag, the light turns green and I cannot take the picture.
There is something interesting in stopping behind a car with an interesting bumper sticker on it, just by chance. I don't know why but I do not photography them when I am walking in the street.







Hugo Crosthwaite @ San Diego Museum of Art and Noel Baza Fine Art


courtesy Van Cleve Fine Art

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brutal Beauty
February 27th, 2010

Dark Dreams
March 5th, 2010

Contact: Pierrette Van Cleve-Van Cleve Fine Art
619.510.4718
pvc@vcfineart.com


New York Artist Hugo Crosthwaite returns to create monumental On - Site Drawing and Exhibition Brutal Beauty for San Diego Museum of Art.


Hugo Crosthwaite returns to San Diego for two celebrated events: a San Diego Museum of Art exhibit of his drawings entitled Brutal Beauty and Dark Dreams, a twelve-year survey of his work at Noel-Baza Fine Art Gallery.


February 27 - July 18, 2010

BRUTAL BEAUTY: Drawings by Hugo Crosthwaite at The San Diego Museum of Art

Brutal Beauty features a cross section of eleven drawings lent by local collectors. As part of the Brutal Beauty exhibit, Crosthwaite will create a monumental drawing on site. Crosthwaite will tackle the wall without any pre-drawing or calculation. Instead he will improvise and let the drawing evolve organically. Once the drawing is complete, he will unravel the narrative by de-constructing it with white painted rectangular shapes. Painting in this instance being the death of the drawing.


Amy Galpin, San Diego Museum Project Curator for American Art said of Crosthwaite's art "His figures exude a brutal beauty: they are as awe-inspiring for their physical forms as they are for their dramatic sensibilities that suggest baroque, surreal, and film noir influences."


Visitors will be able to watch him work either in person and through a live feed video and follow him on Twitter and receive updates and information from his Facebook page.


February 24
Teen Art Café: Hugo Crosthwaite
6:00 - 8:00 p.m., James S. Copley Auditorium, Free
Hugo Crosthwaite will be on site drawing during the evening event - Teen Art Café Teen artists are invited to SDMA to celebrate an exciting exhibition of modern art works representing some of the 20th century's most influential artists.
For more information, please call or email Amy Briere, Coordinator, Educator and Student Programs at 619-696-1952 or teencafe@sdmart.org.


February 25
Exhibition Opening at Culture & Cocktails - Open to the Public
6:00 - 9:00 p.m. The DJ spins, exotic beverages flow and artworks dazzle at The San Diego Museum of Art's sundown series, Culture & Cocktails. Bring a friend, meet someone new, and experience art in a whole new way. For event information, email: culture@sdmart.org.
After Party with the Artist 9:00 p.m. - Tin Can Alehouse, 1863 5th Avenue, San Diego (619) 955-8525

March 14-3pm Artist Talk - Open to the public
Hugo Crosthwaite will speak about his on site drawing for SDMA and his past decade of work.

The San Diego Museum of Art
1450 El Prado in Balboa Park
San Diego, California 92101

619.232.7931

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Noon - 5:00 p.m.

Admission Prices: Museum members - Free
General Admission - $12.00; Senior and Military $9.00; Students $8.00; Youth (6-17) $4.50; Children 5 and under - Free

DARK DREAMS: Drawings by Hugo Crosthwaite at Noel-Baza Fine Art Gallery
San Diego, CA March 5 - March 20, 2010
Dark Dreams, a comprehensive 12 year survey of Hugo Crosthwaite's complex drawings, will open on March 5th at the Noel-Baza Fine Art, in Little Italy
Noel-Baza Fine Art Gallery in San Diego represents international artists who are making an impact on the contemporary art scene.

Noel-Baza Fine Art Gallery
2165 India Street
San Diego, CA 92101
619.876.4160

Hours of operation: Tuesday - Saturday Noon to 6:00pm


Pierrette Van Cleve
/ Agent for Hugo Crosthwaite 619.501.4718

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Jason Hackenwerth @ The New Children's Museum


Playing with Agartha


I love when "play" is associated with "art". I love to see my children happy when they go see the creatures made of thousands of balloons created by Jason Hackenwerth at the New Children's Museum or Tara Donovan's show at MCASD. I would like them to think that art is a beautiful component of their everyday life, not necessarily something super expensive and inaccessible.



What Hackenwerth did for the kids at the Museum is great. It is a gift, they can play with Agartha, they can also enjoy the other creatures suspended in the museum for a while, until they deflate. We missed the construction of the creatures, which was public.

Each month the museum highlights the work of a contemporary artist. Lot of them are local, some, like Hackenwerth do not work here. Artists participating in the current museum's program "AnimalArt": Roman de Salvo, Felipe Dulzaides, Sam Easterson, Jason Hackenwerth, Sun K. Kwak, Julio Morales, Marco Ramirez Erre, Ernest Silva, Mungo Thomson, Perry Vasquez and Allison Wiese.

These programs are not well-known outside of the circle of the parents/kids. But it is great that an institution like the New Children's Museum develops that type of relationship between contemporary art and the children. It is very much needed.

The membership for the whole family for one year is $85 ($75 if you bring 20 recyclable grocery plastic bags).
















The New Children's Museum
Jason Hackenwerth
200 West Island Avenue
San Diego, California 92101

Monday, 10am–4pm
Tuesday, 10am–4pm
Wednesday, CLOSED
Thursday, 10am–6pm
Friday, 10am–4pm
Saturday, 10am–4pm
Sunday, 12pm–4pm

Monday, February 22, 2010

Panel Discussion- A conversation: " Community Development in the Context of Art" at Art Produce


The discussion was on the occasion of the show: "The Future Imperfect of Cities,Landscapes and Dreams", an installation by Leslie Ryan, Philipp Bosshart, Deborah Forster & their students from New School of Architecture and Design.









Leslie Ryan, Gail Goldman and Lynn Susholtz

Panel Discussion- a conversation: " Community Development in the Context of Art" with Leslie Ryan, landscape architect and planner, Gail Goldman, public art planning and policy consultant, and Lynn Susholtz, artist.

Leslie Ryan about the installation: "This installation is the occasion for the students to bring their work out of the class and to share it with the community. There is a need for Utopian thinking, we need to build those castles in the air, to be more optimistic and more positive. Dreaming about the future and nurturing the dreams..."

Engaging and positive talk at Art Produce last Saturday. Lots of remarks and questions. One can feel the necessity for meaningful public art with the active participation of the community.




Example of what did Edi Rama, major of Tirana, Albania:
"People are calmed by beauty.





Talking about Beuys' project: 7000 oaks.

Beuys believed in democratic creativity, that everyone is an artist and can participate in the changing of the world.


The utility boxes (above) /
The Cow Parade
Don't we deserve better/different/site-specific? Can we apply cookie-cutter formulas for all the cities in the country/world? Do we want real creation or illustrations on a given "canvas" (a plastic cow, a utility box)?


Kurt Peschke - Red Ball (scroll down)

Maybe one interesting way to go is tho have ephemeral installations, like the Red Balls. It transforms the way people see the place they live in and make them see it differently. Gail Goldman talked about all the works with light going on right now in many different places, like in San Jose, CA.





Public art could be so many things, even a voice, like in the Murmur Project in Toronto for example.
In his project, Antony Gormley [commissioned for Trafalgar Square's "empty plinth"] proposed to members of the public to "be" the public art for one hour.
Read what Gormley thinks about public art here.

To make things change and to help the different commissions to think "out of the box" in our city, we certainly need, as artists, as citizens, to participate in the meetings where the decisions are made. A huge commitment. Because like Gail Goldman says, if you try to make things move it takes forever, the administrative path is very discouraging and when you never did it before it can be overwhelming.

And needless to say it again, we also badly need art teachers in our children's classes.

Art Produce Gallery

Friday, February 19, 2010

Let's go see Hackenwerth's Megamites at the New Children's Museum!


One of Jason Hackenwerth's creatures



I think I know where I am going with the children this Sunday! I cannot wait to see those creatures, they look fantastic in the videos and in the photos. Brightly colored, translucent, ephemeral, touchable, poetic and funny...We are lucky to have some of them created here in San Diego for a while!


The New Children's Museum
Jason Hackenwerth
200 West Island Avenue
San Diego, California 92101

Monday, 10am–4pm
Tuesday, 10am–4pm
Wednesday, CLOSED
Thursday, 10am–6pm
Friday, 10am–4pm
Saturday, 10am–4pm
Sunday, 12pm–4pm

"The New Children's Museum is a dynamic new model of a museum that celebrates children and the visual arts. An innovative combination of gallery, studio, and classroom spaces combine to make the museum the first of its kind—and unlike any other museum in the United States."

"Each month, NCM shines a light on one of the exhibition artists. Enjoy fun-filed events, special studio projects, and unique gallery games taking inspiration from the artist of the month. Learn more about Jason Hackenwerth and his works, Return of the Trilodon and Agartha."

The New Children's Museum's YouTube page
I had the pleasure to see that one of the videos I took at the museum of one of my children building a "house-purse" is one of their favorite videos!

The Andrews Gallery is moving to San Diego - First Show in the New Space! Tuesday, February 23, 8pm



Tuesday February 23, 2010
The Andrews Gallery
2400 Kettner Blvd #212

8:00 PM
Free, All Ages, & Open to the Public

"What joy to be hosting Seattle-based experimental cellist Derek Johnson along with Andrew Senna for our first performance in the new space. We will also be featuring some never-before-seen-in-San-Diego paintings by the tenacious Zack Hawkins as well as other gallery artists."
more info here

Again and Again @ Pigment / Saturday, February 20, from 6 to 10pm



Pigment
Jocelyn Duke and Amy Paul: Again and Again
3827 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 501-6318

Jocelyn Duke and Amy Paul just participated in the show "Women by Women" at the SDAD.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Last Two Years


San Diego Art Department,
closing reception of
Women by Women, February 13.

Talking to a friend who was asking me the other night how I was feeling after the show ended at Art Produce, I said that I was quite tired. I have been working very intensively during the last two years, since the preparation of my first solo show at the San Diego Art Institute, Here It's Peace (June 2008).

It has been amazing and exciting and
I do not regret participating in all these shows . I learned a lot, I had some very good opportunities to experiment in interesting spaces.

The one show I asked to participate in was Movers and Shakers II. I already knew I was having a show at Art Produce and I was interested in portraying Lynn Susholtz, who is an important figure in the art community in San Diego.





The marathon started with the solo show at the San Diego Art Institute, Here It's Peace (June 2008). All the paintings were created for the show.



Obama, 2008
acrylic on wood panel,
16"x16"
and 12"x12"

There was the show Obama 08 at Art of Framing Gallery (September - October 2009), for which I painted two pieces.



There's Plenty Of Time For Politics
2008, prints on paper, 40"x60" each

I participated in Left, Right and Center at OT Gallery: a group show of prints curated by Patrick Merrill (October - November).



Dada Dinner
- Curtains for the kitchen door


Dada dinner
Le Verbe Etre

3x[18"x18"],
mixed media on canvas


It continued with the Dada Dinner (October 25, 2009), part of the SDVAN project "Eat your Art out".




Then the group show at Noel-Baza Fine Art for the
San Diego Art Prize 2009 (February - March 2009), where I presented an ensemble of 6 paintings.


Lyn Susholtz,
2009, 6x[24"x24"],
acrylic and ink on canvas


The portrait of Lynn Susholtz for Movers and Shakers II at Arts Expression Gallery (painted in February - March 2009, exhibited in January 2010) took a few weeks to complete. I started with a series of photos I took of Lynn and several other photos taken the previous months, during openings or classes. I wanted to create a composite image of Lynn, the gallery, the events. I remember at that time my mother was visiting from France, I had a deadline with the portrait and I was working on it every day. My mother was talking to me in the garage, where I was painting. I felt bad not to go out with her more!


Piece of Her

2009, [18x18]x2

acrylic and spray paint on wooden panel


There was the show
Idol Worship at Art of Framing (March 2009). I decided to portray Britney Spears and I did it specially for the show. The piece is inspired by the song "Piece of Me" (Blackout, 2007).






Installation at the San Diego Art Institute:
paintings, mural
45 feet long, 8 feet high
The long wall was the same used for the show "Here it's Peace"

I created a large series of small paintings for my solo show C'est la Vie, at the San Diego Art Institute (June-July 2009). In this show I changed the scale of my work and used the wall as an integrated piece of the work.

I live Here

installation of 9 paintings,
9x[12"x12"]
acrylic on canvas

Because it was difficult to know exactly how many I would use in the show C'est la Vie, I painted more pieces than needed. From the series I did not use, I selected an ensemble of 9 paintings that became my piece for the show
Welcome Friends at Project X:Art (September 2009), a new gallery opening in Solana Beach.







For Lucy, Darwin and Me, at Art Produce (December 2009 - January 2010), I made a long series of inks on paper, and created the whole project specifically for the gallery (mural, decals, photos, video, events). I used all the space including the second room and the window, thinking about the view from the street, by day and by night.


Fatima (A Blanket for Michel)

The blanket is given to Fatima
for her son at the end of the show
2010, 50x60", woven blanket - cotton


For Women by Women at the San Diego Art Department (January - February 2010), I made a portrait of Fatima, experimenting a new medium for me, the woven blanket.


"Living Room with ghost and no TV" or "Watching the campfire"



For Vacancy 2, "One vacant apartment, One night, 15 artists" (February 5, 2010), I created a piece, mostly on site, specially for the room I was working in: the living room of the apartment. Made a video, selected and printed (personal) photos. I worked on site 3 days, the show was on for 4 hours.

I have two upcoming solos shows, one at the San Diego Art Institute in June 2010 and one at Project X: Art Gallery in Solana Beach. I am thinking about what I want to do, what I want to show.
I know both spaces, each of them will influence the way I will present my work.