Glasshaus building First Anniversary

Device Gallery, at the entrance of the building

Last Saturday night was the first anniversary of the Glasshaus. What a beautiful building! Located in Barrio Logan, it is a huge space divided in several artists studios of different sizes. The owners kept a large space where there is no studio in the middle so it feels very open. It was my first visit to the newly relocated Device Gallery, which I visited several times when it was in La Jolla. The space in Barrio Logan fits the works of the artists better, although the building is kind of isolated from other art venues right now.

I would love to work in a space like that. I reminds me of a warehouse I shared in the suburb of Paris for a few years with other artists. The really nice thing about that is to see other artist's work in progress, to discuss projects and share ideas, and to be able to have open studios.


Greg Brotherton
(creator and owner of Device Gallery with Amy Brotherton),
Electrolux Deathray, (Electrolux, steel, machined aluminum)


Pieces by Rich Muller (one of DeviceGallery's artist)


piece by Stephane Halleux (one of Device Gallery's artist)


The large passage between the studios
on the left:"Mercury 5000", by Greg Brotherton, 1998




At the bottom, right, the entrance of Michael Maas studio.
All the partly rusted doors are custom made.


View of Michael Maas studio.






views of different studios

Galsshaus Building
1815-B Main Street
San Diego, CA 92113

Device Gallery
619.278.8455
By appointment only

Andrews Arts: A New Website about Art in San Diego

"Based in Southern California, Andrews Arts is an interactive online forum designed to promote the Arts and Arts journalism, here and around the world. "
Categories: Blog, Happening, Review, Spotlight

Andrews Arts

David Adey: John Henry @ The Athenaeum

I went to see David Adey's solo show "John Henry" at the Athanaeum in La Jolla last Friday.

From Wikipedia: [John Henry is an American folk hero, notable for having raced against a steam powered hammer and won, only to die in victory with his hammer in his hand. He has been the subject of numerous songs, stories, plays, and novels.]


David Adey in the middle of his piece

One large piece consisting in two rows of hundreds of books going from one wall to another. Each row of books is sustained by two metallic rails on the side tightened by a number of devices. There is no glue between the books and nothing underneath them to sustain the row - except a few sawhorses which are able to rotate if touched (as David showed us). The installation of the piece is shown in an interesting and short accelerated video.



The piece is certainly heavy but seems to float effortlessly. Unfortunately, the piece is fenced by a wire. It is not possible to see it from close. "It could collapse" says Adey, "It is dangerous. When I was trying in my studio, it happened several times. Then you have a big pile of books on the floor and you have to do it all over again. But at the gallery, there will be someone there all the time watching. There will be no wire. You'll be able to walk underneath it."

I would like that. This is so bizarre not to walk "in" the piece. To have to stay away, like when one visits the Chateau de Versailles with the ropes everywhere to prevent any touching. It really puts a huge distance between the piece and the viewer.
So the piece is site-specific.


"The Postmodern Prometheus" Adey made in 2008.
(photo David Adey)

The idea of having a piece made of books came after Adey talked with the curator of one of the group show at the Athenaeum a year ago. Show in which Adey had "The Postmodern Prometheus".



"John Henry" will soon travel to Los Angeles and will be part of Adey's first show at the Luis de Jesus Los Angeles gallery in Bergamot station. There, the piece will be adapted to different measurements of the walls.

But what about the content of the piece? What will it mean to be in the gallery space after being shown in the space of the library it was made for?



Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
February 27, 2010 - April 3,
2010 1008 Wall Street
La Jolla, California

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)

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!

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

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

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