The Billboard Art Project / Next stop: Duluth, MN

The Billboard Art Project is announcing six upcoming locations for ephemeral shows around the U.S.!
The next town is Duluth, MN.

Application due July 25, 2011
Images due August 1, 2011
Show dates Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 12 a.m. through Sunday, August 21st at 11:59 p.m.
Format Poster size poster aspect ratio
Duration Each image is up for 8 seconds
Type of show Consecutive Images
Location

photo Carly Quintus

So this time there is a photo of the location of the billboard, which I think is really great for the artists who want to work in relation with the space/environment.

An article about the project was published today in the Duluth News Tribune here. They chose a photo of one of my faux road signs to illustrate the article.

The Billboard Art Project
Upcoming towns [after Duluth, MN]:
Chicago, IL
Reading, PA
New Orleans, LA
Baton Rouge, LA
San Bernardino, CA

Hike in Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Another beautiful hike in the Redwood forest: the Meteor Trail loop (6 miles), starting at the park headquarters, then following the Skyline to the Sea Trail via the Maddock cabin site, then turning left on Meteor Trail, and left again on Middle Ridge Road, finally left on Dool trail and back to the park headquarters.
We saw only a few people on the trails, which is pretty amazing given the fact that this enchanting place is located so close to Silicon Valley.








Arriving on the Middle Ridge Road




From the "Ocean view" summit point -the ocean is quite far!



Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Two videos part of the installation "Defragmentation 66"

Defragmentation 66
66 South First Street, San Jose, CA.
On view from the sidewalk until August 28, 2011.
The videos are on every day from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm.

PhantomGalleries
408.271.5151
Phantom Galleries is produced by Two Fish Design, in partnership with the San Jose Downtown Association and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

A CD Face with the 4th Graders

Here are the few photos I have about the work in progress with the 4th graders' class. The duration of the session was slightly shorter than with the 2nd graders. Same material. In the photo above you can see that there was an interesting use of the colored tapes.











One student used the CD perpendicular to the piece of cardboard.


And here's one finished project.

See: A CD Face with the 2th Graders for more info about the project

A CD Face with the 2nd Graders

material: a piece of cardboard, scrapes of colored paper
from a previous project, buttons and wiggly eyes,
colored tapes, a used CD, stained craft sticks
and a sharpie fine point

This is the last project I did with the children at school, with both the 2nd and the 4th graders. With the 4th Graders, it was a day before school ended and I had no time to take pictures of their finished projects. So the photos here are about the 2nd Graders' projects.

This project is not inspired by an art piece like we did previously. It is the occasion to put together different materials and to experience with them.

This was a short session - one hour and a half - but it worked.
I explained to the children that the project was about making a face with a CD (the shinny side) and decorating the background. We talked about what the face could be. They proposed an animal, a self portrait, a friend, a monster, an alien.



I give them some printed circles on white paper to draw on the face before to trace it on the CD, just because we had only one CD per child. But they were not obliged to do it. They could directly trace what they wanted directly on the CD. And some children did.



They could use one, two or all the different materials available.

I told them that most likely, the answer of any of their questions that day would be "Yes!" - because they started to ask questions like: "Can I use ALL the different colored tapes?" "Can I use lots of wiggly eyes?", "Can I brake the wooden sticks and use pieces of them?", "Can I cover the cardboard with tape?"...
"YES!" :)

I enjoyed watching them experiencing with the materials and having a good time!

Museum School Art Auction @Jett Gallery, this Saturday from 5 to 9pm

Museum School Art Auction atJett Gallery
Saturday, June 18, 2011 from 5 - 9 pm
Contact: Phil • museumschoolphil@gmail.com

"A fun event that brings local and national artists together to help benefit the arts programming at the Museum School. Having raised an average of $12,000 at this event each year, the Museum School reaches out to local and national artists for donation of work to be auctioned off to local patrons and art lovers. We look forward to the support of Jett Gallery in the organizing of this exciting event."

Artists:
Perry Vasquez, Michele Guieu, Jessica McCambly, John Oliver Lewis, Nancy Creech, Lori Lipsman, Ernie Silva, Richard Gleaves, Roots Factory, Kathleen Mitchell, Rich Stewart, Sean Brannan, Rondi Vasquez, Nuvia Crisol Ruland, Alexander Jarman, Kurt Thompson, Heather Martin, Teddy Cruz, Neko, Chris Puzio, Andy Ralph, Jason Sherry, Anthony Levas, Lindy Ivey, Erin Pennell, James Ivey, Phil Beaumont, Josh Higgins, Paul Frank, Gilbert Neri, Siobhan Arnold, Ora Mae, Otis B., Dan Allen, Joey Vaiasuso, Matt Devine, Dutch Perry, Jorge Pina, Jen Jansen.



Territories Series / Connection #26
2011, 24"x24", acrylic on canvas

I donated a piece for the Museum School Art Auction. It is not something I am doing often. I like this cause. 100% of the proceeds benefit the Arts Programs of The Museum School. I made the piece specially for the auction, like I did last year.

Jett Gallery
989 W. Kalmia St.,
San Diego, CA 92101

"Alice" in the group show "Drawing Expanse" at Space 4 Art

Alice, installation of 9 drawings mounted on boards,
2011, 11x14" or 11"x7.5" each board

This is the Alice series, part of the show "Drawing Expanse" at Space 4 Art. I was finishing to work on the book "Alice in Wonderland" when I received the call for entries to participate to the show and I decided to submit two series of nine drawings.

Here's the statement I sent with the series:
My drawings are about interpreting a complex world using a spontaneous medium.
Economical / simple means and simple materials matter.
The process is about resisting the speed/experiencing slowness and loving “hands on” making.

In my practice, I am using a variety of medium (traditional and nontraditional) and drawings on paper is a thread through my work, using personal experience, words, signs, appropriating popular tales like Alice in Wonderland (Alice’s installation of drawings) or exploring current science topic like genetic manipulation (Biodiversity Series) . They usually go in series, and they are often mixed with other media (painted walls, video).



photo Lori Lipsman

I did not go to San Diego to see the show and I regret it. C'est la vie.

I worked on double pages or single pages, which, in the end represents half of the book. I may buy another book, to work the back of the pages! I did not decide yet.
I really enjoyed reading each page and deciding which words or full sentences to keep and whiten the rest with paint. Then, layer by layer, with acrylic and finally washed black ink, I created my version of Alice in Wonderland.



I did not want to frame the work, so I mounted each drawing on a wooden board, which is tricky because there is not much time to rectify a mistake (like a bubble!) when the medium starts to dry.

I wanted the viewer to have a direct contact with the work and because it is presented as a puzzle, I wanted the eye to go freely from one drawing to another. I'd love to have the opportunity to show the whole series one day.



I am excited to explore different paths (and these days I am going many paths: see The Billboard Project, Defragmentation, the videos). I am embracing the diversity in me! I do not want to be enclosed in a box. As long as I am true to myself, I can go anywhere, and I have the feeling that many artists these days are thinking the same way.
Vive la liberte!















Space 4 Art
325 15th Street (between J and K)
San Diego, CA
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday 10 am to 4 pm
Email: sdspace4art@gmail.com
Space4Art on Facebook
Phone: 619-269-7230

Drawing Expanse
Show Runs: June 11, 2011, to July 17, 2011

Moisés J. Nascimento and Tiffany Higgins' Open Studio: A World of Possibilities

I went to Berkeley last Saturday to Moises J. Nascimento and Tiffany's Higgins open studio. I saw some of their collaborative work online before and I was really interested to see more and to talk with them. A World of Possibilities, as they titled their show, is a combination of installations, videos and photos. Each piece works independently but all together they are a very coherent ensemble where poetry and social statement are intricately sewn together.

Moises and Tiffany are enthusiastic and passionate. I am fascinated by collaborative artwork and sometimes it just works: in their world, the music, the videos or still images, the sounds and the words just flow beautifully. And both of them have amazing voices that one can hear in the videos. Moises defines himself as a "Dreamer, Technologist and Visual Artist", and they are both poets.


Tiffany Higgins and friends (photo cafemoises)


Moises J. Nascimento


Soul's Distress, 2011, assemblage: digital photography, rubbish wood, stencil, old collage book.

The Ladder of Success

To climb the ladder of success
First, start with the clothes: undress
Before every door of every meeting
Kneel and bless the floors, the ceilings
Love the expanses, the limitless
You will need to give everything away
Touch the soul's distress
Success is coming apart
Begin your metamorphosis
Say yes, yes, yes
Trim excess. Return caress
Let love be limitless
Value the valueless
First, bless the comfortless
To climb the ladder of success

Tiffany Higgins


In the background: Four Elements, photo taken on the Big Island


What Happened to my Gold Fish?


Watching Tocaianga Teaser (part of Moises and Tiffany's ambitious and very promising documentary film in progress: Duas Americas (Through the Americas on a quest to build a shared dream)


The Hero Against the Wall: How an almost fortuitous encounter becomes a great video. Beautiful.

More photos of the opening by Moises here.

Drawing Expanse @ Space 4 Art in San Diego - opening this Saturday

Drawing by Louis Schmidt



I have an ensemble of 9 drawings selected in the show "Drawing Expanse", which opens at Space4Art in San Diego this Saturday, June 11.

From Space4Art
Curated and juried by local art experts, Karen McGuire and David White, the show is an overview of the expansive potential of drawing in contemporary art. Drawing continues to evolve as a medium, encompassing flat work, sculpture, performance, photography and video. From the most traditional to the most experimental, all forms of drawing share the common language of mark making, gesture, notation and line. “Drawing Expanse” will illuminate the ways in which drawing continues to influence art.

Artists
Albert Atrillo, Alexander Jackson, Barbara Simco, Chelsea Ramirez, Claire Zitzow, Emily Booth, Hollis Swan, Jon Gomez, K.V. Tomney, Kirsten Rae Simonsen, Lea Anderson, Louis Schmidt, May-ling Martinez, Melinda Barnadas, Michele Guieu, Nicole Aponte, Richard Keely and Anna O’Cain, Richard Allen Morris, Sandra Doore, Tim Conaway, Tom Driscoll

Reception: Saturday, June 11, 2011, from 6 to 10 pm.

The show runs from June 11 to July 17, 2011.

Space4Art
325 15th Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 269 7230

Defragmentation 66 @ 66 South First Street, San Jose

The installation "Defragmentation 66" will be on view through August from the sidewalk - unless the store is rented before then! The videos are on from 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM.



It is a completely different configuration than the installation I presented at Project X Art and it was really interesting to play with the elements in a different space. I added one layer in the background: the dark blue-anthracite, given the fact that the surface was smaller and the "defragmentation" effect needed to be reinforced.

Many times during the week of the installation (I could only worked in the mornings), I changed some details in the design of the two layers of colors in the background, to adjust the lines with the paintings. I would change a line, go outside, check it out, come back in and eventually change it again. It was like solving a puzzle.



It is a nice experience, and I thank the Phantom Galleries in San Jose for the opportunity to participate in this exciting program. It is good for the community, for the people who walk downtown to see art in otherwise empty places.

Because there is nobody inside the space, I need to go from time to time to check if everything works OK: the 3 video monitors work with timers.



Phantom Galleries
408.271.5151
Phantom Galleries is produced by Two Fish Design, in partnership with the
San Jose Downtown Association and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

Defragmentation: Rearranging Bits and Pieces of Memory" at Project X Art.