Mohamed Ould Lambede

Mohamed Ould Lambede

I love working on my upcoming show at Art Produce, "Lucy, Darwin and Me". I did not yet really talk in this blog about the content of the show, but there is a page in my website.

This show makes me work on a series of drawings, on a mural, find solutions for all sorts of problems I never worked on before, like taking care of different techniques at the same time.

I went through a lot of old slides, it brought back beautiful memories from my teen years. The show is also a tribute to my father. This tribute is not nostalgic, but rather energetic and uplifting for me. I hope it will be the same for the viewers.

So the other day I was trying to remember the name of our guide, the Tuareg that helped us find the places my father wanted to go in the middle of nowhere, in the Saharan desert. I emailed my mother in Marseille and asked her, she did not remember either. She gave me the email of one of my father's colleague, another geologist, Bernard Simon.

And, magic of the internet, Bernard, whom I did not see since he was working with my father in Africa 30 years ago, answered to me in the following hour. Beautiful email. He attached a few interesting pictures that I never saw before. He told me he was actually writing about that period, when they were in Africa, and "free" he says. Now he is retired and sent me some "snowy kisses" from the cold mountains in France, where he lives.
So the name of our guide is Mohamed Ould Lambede.



Here are my father (with the hat) and Bernard Simon, they used to re-play some scenes of the spaghetti western when they were going in the desert.


My father (left) and Bernard Simon



Bernard Simon and the Renault 4CV, the first car my father had in Africa, before he used the Land Rover from the University. They went to the desert with that car. The nice thing is, when the car was stuck in the sand, it was not heavy to lift! But it got stuck often.

photos: courtesy B. Simon.

"Lucy, Darwin and Me"
Art Produce Gallery
Opening reception: December 12, 2009

Streets @ Project X: Art in Solana Beach, Nov 14

"Streets"
Greg Boudreau: Stencil Artist, Seattle
Robert Gruber: Photographer, Brooklyn
Daniel Thedell: Painter, San Diego

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 14, 6-10pm
Live music by the Pool Street Boyz
Video Projects on the new outdoor screen by Jeff Wiant
Silent Auction: Selected pieces will be available via silent auction.
Bids will be accepted until 9:30pm

Show runs November 10 – December 12, 2009
Gallery hours: M - F: 9 - 5; Sat 11 - 4
Project X: Art
320 South Cedros Ave
Suite 500
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 792-9685

Janis Goodman and Jessica McCambly @ JK Gallery, Los Angeles, Nov 7

Courtesy JK Gallery


Courtesy JK Gallery

PRESS RELEASE

For JK Gallery’s last exhibition of 2009, we’re proud to present a two-person show of works by Janis Goodman and Jessica McCambly. Both artists are interested in the expressive power of line and personal mark-making as well as the excitement of rhythm and movement found in nature.

Janis Goodman’s inspiration from the visceral experience of immersing herself within the landscape defines her as both an artist as well as simply a person. Goodman’s paintings and drawings remind viewers of the richness present in the lush, organic world often not contemplated by urbanites and of nature’s at times unexpected or unstable tendencies. Drawing from water, nests, marshes and earth, Goodman observes compelling movement, which in her imagery appears emotional and subjective (especially through her bold use of color), though also meticulously collected from the outside world.

Goodman has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally. Her work is included in many public collections such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, MS, and the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, OH. Goodman is a Professor of Fine Art at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington DC where she currently resides.

Jessica McCambly also represents the experiential nature of her physical surroundings through her art. She sees elegance in fleeting moments and in simple organic movements. Her current paintings specifically examine the “rhythmic instances of waves crashing on the beach,” reducing this phenomena visually to line and color on a blank field. Her poetic installations use this same imagery to create delicate movements across a wall. Documenting these moments first in 2006 in Puerto Rico, McCambly continues to make these observations on the beaches of Southern California where she now lives.

Receiving her MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of North Texas, School of Visual Arts in 2007, McCambly has been widely exhibited on the West Coast and in Texas since 2005. She was the Artist in Residence at Southside on Lamar in Dallas, Texas in 2007 – 2008 and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Studio Art and Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, CA.

JK gallery
Janis Goodman and Jessica McCambly
November 7 - December 19, 2009
Opening Reception for artists: Saturday November 7, 6-8pm

2632 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
jk@jkgallery.net

Spraygraphic / Black and White Photoshow / submissions

Swap Meet, San Diego, 2009

I took a break from the preparation of the show!
I sent some photos to Spraygraphic for their upcoming "Black and White Photoshow". I created a series from some of the latest photos I took. I do not take pictures in black and white (I took the last ones with my Minolta-Leica almost 20 years ago!). But I find very interesting to transform an image into a black and white one with Photoshop. I dramatized the light a lot and I like the result.

First I worked a series of cacti close-ups (photos I took in Arizona two years ago). Then I thought, wait a second, these photos are going to...Arizona, I guess they are kind of overwhelmed by the cacti scenery! So I decided to change the subject of my series.

I submitted 5 [11x17"] photos through email. Spraygraphic handles the printing - I hope it will be good! The prints will be donated to High schools and art School at the end of the show in February.

Spraygraphic's energy is great. The website is super full of information and sometimes not very easy to navigate, but I like to be part of that community. A few months ago I participated in a show where they asked for 4x4" pieces. A lot of artist participated, I saw some photos of the wall, it looked nice!


San Diego-Vancouver, 2009


Backyard, San Diego, 2009


Torrey Pines Beach, San Diego, 2009


Villefranche-Sur-Mer, France, 2009

Submission details: Spraygraphic / Black and White Photoshow

Dali's house in Port Lligat, Spain

Dali's house in Port Lligat, where he lived and painted
from 1930 to 1982

My mother sent me those pictures. She just came back from Spain where she visited Dali's house, 100 kilometers away from Barcelona. I went there in my childhood. My parents were fascinated by Dali's work.

The family often took trips to Spain in Fall or Spring, and although I do not remember Dali's house (I may have been too young), I remember my first strong encounter with paintings: I was 6 or 7, it was in Madrid, in the Museo Del Prado, I was mesmerized by Jerome Bosch, specially "The Garden of Earthly Delights". I was standing very close to the paintings and I could see all the amazing (and disturbing) details.

I also remember El Greco, I thought the gaze of the people in the paintings were following me while I was walking.

I remember the calm. Except in the museums and towns, it was very calm. The fishermen villages were not crowded, the beaches almost empty, like on these pictures.












The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueras


All photos: courtesy Denise Guieu

Dali's House in Port Lligat
Dali's Museum-Theatre in Figueras

Five weeks to go before the opening at Art Produce

I miss posting things on my blog! I am in the process of getting all the elements for the show at Art Produce Gallery together, and it seems that every moment I have is dedicated to that right now. It is a very interesting process but there are many things to do at the same time.

Kyle helped me a lot for the display case that I finally decided to build from a table we have. While looking and searching for the perfect display case, the solution was sitting on our porch. Well, the beginning of the solution, because then there are all the things that have to be done to make the table look like the display case I want. Several trips to Home Depot to find the right nails, the right wood, the right everything. And I still have a lot of work to finish it.

Then there are the objects. My friends Jean and Julia recently went to France, and while they were in Marseille, they met my mother who gave to them several precious objects that will be in the display case in the show. We could not send them through the mail and take the risk that they get lost. Also, we did not know what to put as the description of the content: "paleolithic tools, Mauritanian sand..." would have seem suspiscious. And plus it is forbidden to transport soil to the US. - although this sand is certainly completely free of any bacteria!
So there was this meeting between Julia, Jean and my mother. They did that for me, for the show here in San Diego.

Saturday night, just before Halloween, Jean gave brought me the objects. Sunday morning I unpacked them and showed them to Kyle and the children. They are here now: rocks, bifaces, stromatolites, and my father's hammer, the one he always had with him. Nice to have these objects here.

My mother called me to know if I've got them. Through email she sent me different short texts about the objects. Although I told her that my show will have more of a poetic approach rather than a scientific one, I think I will make good use of the texts. I have to say she is very excited about the project which makes me happy!

She sent me another series of beautiful slides through the mail, they arrived yesterday. I do not think I will use them at this point. I have already a lot of them. Getting scans from slides through ScanCafe is the cheapest way but it takes more than 4 weeks.

I finally finished mounting the series of inks on paper on wood panels. Long process. The paper is white, the handling is quite tricky. Still have to number them (there are nearly 100 of them, I do not know exactly how many I will use on the mural, I will have to decide on site). I took a picture of each of the inks, so I have to number both the inks and the photos, for archiving. The inks had to stay for at least two weeks under a heavy weight to be very flat and then I glued each of them carefully on the wood panels, finishing with a roll. And the result is very flat. I hope the contrast between the small inks on white paper on the dark paint of the mural will be interesting. On the tries I've made on Photoshop it is, so we'll see. I also like the opposition of the bold mural and the detailed drawings. I also, like at the San Diego Art Institute, used different depth for the wood panels, but I did not buy a lot of thick ones because, even on sale, they were quite expensive.

I am going to pick up the prints at Chrome tomorrow, I am very excited about this. Seven prints in total, for half the price. I found nice metal frames, on sale at Dick Blick.

I will have super small photos on the wall too (2x2"). I chose the photos of the plants and the desert within the million I have taken, ordered a few prints online, received them yesterday, glued them on foam core today. Then the cutting. They look nice, although it is very difficult to cut the foam core really straight and to get perfect squares.

Lynn Susholtz, the director of Art Produce, landed me 2 digital devices. In one I have a video, in the other one a slide show. I tried and tried to make the devices work properly: I wanted them to start directly on either the slide show or the video. It did not work. Finally I called Foci, and they told me to send the devices to L.A. and they would take care of them. And I did, I sent the devices plus my video and my photos. I was in touch with the nicest person there, who not only updated the software inside the devices, but did everything so that when I got them back, they were ready to hang - and it was a free service!
Now the devices work super nicely!

I had a credit on KodakGallery and I used it to print a booklet of photos from Africa. My idea is to print several of them and to display them on the table at Carpe Diem, the cafe next door to the gallery. In fact, people go through Carpe Diem to go to the gallery when the gallery is closed. I think it is a good idea to use that space too, I do not know yet how it will work and if it will work. But I like the idea that people can look at the booklet when they are having they coffee. Of course, I hope people will not take them away!

Because the show will open just before Christmas, I would like to have some t-shirts for sale. I designed several projects. My friend Claudia is working on the printing. Hopefully we will have a series to sell at the opening. We went together south of San Diego, almost to the Mexican border, to buy a few very nice t-shirts. If they have some success at the show, may be people could order some!

All of this takes time, including getting the things I need at a reasonable price!
I am enjoying learning in the process.

Meanwhile I still spend a lot of time with my family too. So these days I do not see a lot of shows, which is too bad, but I clearly cannot do everything!

I was happy to escape the other night to go to Art Produce for a talk about "United and Severed: That window of Time", the show installed at the gallery now. Although the theme of the show is rather haunting (based on the experiences of 3 women living with traumatic injuries), the way the artists talked about their project was uplifting and there were very good questions in the audience.

Working on my upcoming show @ Art Produce Gallery

I am working and working for that show! I could have make a series of new paintings. But after all, I have carte blanche. So why not trying something new for me? I am very excited to work with the space of the gallery. To do something which uses the transparency of the window, the length of the principal wall, the intimacy of the second room. For that show I sketched a lot, to see how the things I am thinking about will fit in the space.

I went to Art Produce between the shows and took a lot of photos, when the walls were bare. To think, to see. I am glad I am taking some risks for that show. I'll see how it goes. I am happy with the journey. If things are going like I think they should, it should be interesting. But many things could go wrong. Because there are many different medium to take care of.

Videos, drawings, photos, artifacts to bring from France, mural to paint on site, letters to apply on the window... There is a lot going on!

I will have to paint the whole mural in less than a week, and install everything else at the same time. I will have some helpers though! There will be not many things for sale. Things, like the letters and the mural, will disappear at the end of the show.

There will be a series of photos. I brought back from France some slides and then I asked my mother to send more. They arrived a few days ago. Nice memories.

I am still looking for the best ratio between price and quality that I can get for the prints. It will be quite expensive. I am pretty sure that I will ask Chrome Digital on Kettner blvd, they have a sale going on until the end of the month. Dennis is a really nice guy, I enjoyed talking with him the other day. I asked him to scan some slides (Lynn Susholtz, the director of the gallery, lends me a digital photo frame in which I will put a series of photos, I'll also use one for a video). Dennis asked me about the slides - the photos were taken in Africa in 1975. We talked about the wilderness. His trips into the wild take place in Alaska.

That was great to share that, in the middle of a morning where I was running from a place where I could possibly find a display case for the artifacts I want to have in the show, to another place where I was looking for nice but inexpensive frames...

I abandoned the idea to have the photos face-mounted with non-glare Plexiglas, it is way too expensive. But it is what I wanted. Because it is so beautiful and there is no need of a frame around, which I like very much.

I remember Sow's retrospective on the Pont des Arts in Paris!

Masai - mother and child - mixed media
courtesy "La Panse de L'Ours"


Masai - standing warrior, mixed media
courtesy "La Panse de L'Ours"

I just read that an ensemble of sculptures by Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow that were once shown on the Pont des Arts in Paris will be for sale at Christie's December 9. Proust's madeleine! Suddenly I was on the Pont des Arts again!

I was still living in Paris in May 1999. I remember the day I went to see the sculptures. I walked from my studio next to La Grande Halle de la Villette, in the XIX, to the Seine, taking my time, enjoying the walk, anticipating the joy to see Sow's work, one my favorite sculptors. I stayed a long time on that pedestrian bridge! Beautiful afternoon! Fantastic journey between Sioux, Peuls, Masai, Cheyennes, Zoulous... Unforgetable figures.
I took a lot of pictures but they are in France with a lot of other things I left there...

Tony Larson / New Paintings & Prints @ Project X: Art

New paintings & prints by Tony Larson
Opening reception: Saturday, October 10th, from 6 to 10pm
Show runs October 6 - November 7, 2009
Gallery hours: M - F: 9 - 5; Sat 11 - 4

Project X: Art
320 South Cedros Ave
Suite 500
Solana Beach, CA
tel (858) 792-9685

Notes from Paris: "Do free acts have a price?"