PLEASE NOTE: Balise is presently on hiatus but is planned for relaunch with new branding at an indefinite date in 2011!

Dear Readers, there is some great new content on the way! Although we have not published for several months, we are still writing! Stay tuned for some fresh reviews of artistically meritorious events and exhibitions in San Diego (and beyond), critiques, and theory soon! You will be kept posted here! Down the road we also plan to re-brand. Can't wait!

Dean Mozian: Coming of Age in a Zombie Apocalypse

What's your occupation?

I produce a webseries (I Am Not Infected - www.iamnotinfected.com) and work at an independent production company (Ambush Entertainment - www.ambushentertainment.com) assisting producers on feature films.

I find stories that I want to tell and get the right people together to make the vision a reality. Graphic design is also a hobby of mine. I really enjoy working with graphics both for web and motion graphics for video. Often times, whatever I happen to be working on at any given moment, will probably pass through my hands at some point or another in this more tangible manner.

I love laughing and I'm kind of a video game/tech nerd so really any joke about video games or a nod to them would definitely tip someone off that I had a creative hand in that particular project. I also LOVE food and eating. In a short series, I wrote a character who eats something crazy in all of his scenes.

You were recently screening the web series in Indianapolis last week, correct? What was that like?

Banker's Block Collective: The Tin Can Alehouse

Thursday's Banker's Block Collective, and the monthly Colour Palette, showcase the Tin Can Alehouse's dynamism as an art gallery, local music venue, and dance spot. Owner Kelsey Allyn Breunig, Sarah Yassine and Bryan Wingen give us the scoop on this week's poppin' promo party!

his Thursday night, Banker’s Hill will be spiffing up and greeting San Diegans for Banker’s Block Collective, a block party spanning four businesses and a slew of artists and djs. The Tin Can Alehouse, SRO Lounge, Broken Heart Tattoo and JG Color Studios will all hold event specials for the big night. “We think of Banker’s Hill as roughly between the area around Barrio Star on up to the area around Caliph,” says Jen Guerin, one of the founders of the event. Banker’s Hill, formally recognized between Upas, Date Street, the 5 freeway, and Little Italy, known originally for being an affluent residential neighborhood thus earning its name. It is currently turning into an independent commercial center comparable to the nearby uptown neighborhoods that, too, had for many years been considered up-and-coming.

Banker's Block Collective: A Visit To JG Color Studios

Artist/Interior Designer Jennifer Guerin and Artist Charles Page gear up to establish Banker's Hill as an artistic hot-spot with politically-charged work in LOVEKILL, for the inaugural run of the Banker's Block Collective.

nside JG Color Studios is a warm, ochre light flowing in from the gold-soaked streets of Banker’s Hill in the afternoon. The illuminated room, walls covered in panels of different finishes and colors to show JG’s interior wall surface options, is energetic and clearly in preparation of an exhibition installation. Canvases rest on ledges and on the floor. One waits for more work in an easel. A duct-taped form of a woman’s chest and arms sits at the foot of a large table where paintings with encaustic surface-work gleam in the late day sun. Jen Guerin, who launched Ox and Olive and was a contestant of HGTV’s Design Star program, hands me a Banker’s Block flyer. She and artist Charles Page have just returned from flyering the neighborhood. Banker’s Block, kicking off this Thursday, August 19th, will be a seasonal collective event, started by Guerin and Page, showcasing artistry and promoting the businesses in Banker’s Hill.

Interview: Amanda Marie Pangle

What is your occupation?

Artistically, I consider myself a painter, though I occasionally dabble in other mediums. To generalize, I suppose, I am a 2D artist, as long as it’s on paper or canvas. My occupation otherwise, I am a cashier at a Japanese grocery store, something that I hope will change in the near future.

What are your primary artistic mediums? Why do you use them? What do you express in your art? What visual language or reference imagery inspires you personally in your art? How would you characterize your aesthetic?

My primary artistic mediums are pencil, india ink, and watercolor. I use them because I like that they’re kind of earthy, but they also get some really vibrant hues but don’t look latex-y like acrylic, and I get to use a paint brush but still work quickly. I use pencil to lay everything down. I use india ink to make the colors pop, to give it a raw feel. I think femininity, all things woman are references that I frequently draw from and am inspired by, or nature. I would characterize my aesthetic as natural woman-ness.

Where did you grow up? How did that affect either the narrative in your art, the technique, the content, or all of the above?

Meeting "Buffy" franchise creators at Comic-Con!

As if Friday's "The Joss Whedon Experience" wasn't enough Whedon mania, Whedon also performed a Dark Horse signing for his Eisner/Diamond/GLAAD award-winning Buffy Season 8 comic book series, followed by a Jo Chen and Andy Owens signing on Sunday. IDW (love, love, love this comic book "house") has been releasing the Angel: After The Fall (and a slew of other subtitles, but basically a continuation of the Angel storyline beyond Season 5) and those have been phenomenal. Though I wouldn't characterize the recent appearance of Angel characters into Buffy's "Twilight" arc as a true cross-over of plot (YET), fans have been anxiously awaiting obvious signs of the fraternal Buffyverse twins series' disparate plots converging in a more obvious way. With L.A. having gone to hell and back, and Angel having esoteric knowledge about the universe... well, just how much does this feed into the new apocalypse in Buffy that appears to be catalyzed by, well, Buffy herself?

For those who haven't experienced Buffy Season 8's action-packed story (SPOILER ALERT), it picks up several years after the events on "Chosen" (the series television finale in which Buffy and Willow use the scythe's essence to harness slayer strength for all potential slayers all over the world, taking a vote from the potentials present for the final fight in Sunnydale, CA) and Angel (in the episode "Damaged," a psychologically disturbed girl awakens to slayer powers and, after being pursued by Angel Investigations, eventually goes into the custody of Andrew, who leads a slayer cell in Italy, where in the episode "The Girl In Question," Angel and Spike pursue "Buffy"). The comic explores Buffy and her team's efforts to collect the slayers and help train them to fight evil, but also shows how corrupt leadership and bureaucracy create cracks in the Slayers that can be taken advantage of by recently-out-of-the-supernatural-closet vampires who attempt to integrate with humans and give "full" disclosure of their existence. Recently, the series took many twists and revelations, bringing many of the franchise's most memorable heroes and villains back into the story in unexpected new alliances.



Read more about the Buffy creators we met, including Jane Espenson pitured above, and see photos of the meetings and the signed works, after the jump!

Event Review: Some Comic-Con Booth Highlights

＼（＾∀＾）メ（＾∀＾）ノ I HEART GUTS

(left) A happy pancreas!

At the I Heart Guts booth, I caught up with my friend Chuva, whose friend Wendy Miller conceived and illustrated the adorable hard-working body parts that smile sweetly, as if harvested from "a dissected Hello Kitty"!

There is something very moving about seeing our organs portrayed with sentience. I think it touches a part of our psyche to understand how our insides are our friends and can have personalities, and that all those parts work in concert to orchestrate our health and well-being!

More Comic-Con Days Favorites review (and PHOTOS, including signings!) after the jump!

FOX/FX, ABC, S.S. Wilson, Adrienne Wilkinson at Comic-Con

Day 3 and Day 4 of the Comic Con, most of the activity had transferred from Hall H to being primarily on the merchandise Exhibit Hall floor.

Master Amano at the "Shinjuku" panel.

In Room 8, I was able to meet a personal, and true, legend: Concept artist and illustrator Yoshitaka Amano. Many know him primarily due to his illustrations and concept art for the "Final Fantasy" franchise, and from "Vampire Hunter D." He was at the Con this year promoting his collaboration with Mink for the Dark Horse novel "Shinjuku." Mink shared his story of surprise, in that a mutual contact pitched Mink's intention for Amano to illustrate maybe just the cover or a few pages of the novel, and Amano shot back asking to illustrate the entire book. Many panel questioners gave credit to Master Amano for their own careers in illustration, and also asked him how they could buy even more merchandise. Amano said that before, he would post rare items on his site and do blitz sales for first comers, but that in the future he would like to perhaps create a stronger storefront. People, though, seem to forget that Amano himself is a fine artist, and merchandise does not really factor into the sales model of most artists, who otherwise sell original work. Mink, however, said there would plenty of Shinjuku merchandise!

More Comic-Con Days 3 and 4 review (and PHOTOS, including panels!) after the jump!

A walk from San Diego Cruise Port down Broadway, then Fifth to Convention Center.

Dear San Diegans,

Please enjoy my photos below (after the jump!) of our beautiful city in the summer.

- EmpyreanM

USA Networks, Showtime Networks Inc., Sailormoon! at Comic-Con

Yesterday kicked off the first day of Comic Con (minus Preview Night), San Diego's annual popular arts event. There was the usual: major networks and comic book companies promoting upcoming films (such as Salt, Red, and Tron: Legacy) and successful comics and television series, but Comic Con is bigger than ever, once again transforming the downtown cityscape into a pop wonderland. I sat in Ballroom 20 from USA Network panels to Showtime panels.

Some highlights were definitely the antics at the "Psych" panel (see the photo story below), and Willie Garson animatedly moderating the "White Collar" panel. Matt Bomer was charming, but not rakish -- rather, he was sweet, humble, and very relaxed for the "White Collar" panel. Bruce Campbell was slipping dollar bills to anyone who would stroke his ego, and being his usual lovable self for the "Burn Notice" panel, where a "Burn Notice" prequel film involving his character was unexpectedly announced by Jeff Wachtel, president of USA Networks, who admitted: "What the world needs right now is more Bruce Campbell!"

Tv's Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) of "Weeds" compared her character to Scarlett O'Hara, in that "She thinks she's gonna make up for [her parenting mishaps] later. Like, next month she'll take them on a family outing." As we all know, Scarlett had a tendency of putting off serious thoughts for tomorrow, often quipping: "I'll think about that later." Victoria Morrow revealed that she and the writing team saw grisly things during police-sanctioned tours of the Mexico-U.S. "no man's land" in east county San Diego, and when faced with the question of the Botwins experiencing a downward spiral in the upcoming season, said that the Botwins have been constantly in a downward spiral and that seeing them resolve the barrage of misfortune is the center of the show. Is it possible that the fan asking that question somehow distinguishes apart Agrestic as a stable period and Ren Mar/Tijuana as a beginning of a downward spiral? Feigning normalcy in Agrestic doesn't cover up the fact that the Botwins have been in a tornado upon Judah Botwin's death! This is a credit to Mary Louise Parker and the entire "Weeds" cast for making shit-hitting-the-fan look appealing to suburban television watchers! P.S. Victoria Morrow, when asked if Season 6 was the last season of "Weeds," said "No." :)

Also, Jennifer Carpenter clarified that though the "Dexter" audience is privy to Dexter's true nature, her character of Deb Morgan does not connect the dots to his serial killer tendency due to a lack of knowledge that the audience has to an advantage. "She's putting the puzzle together," Carpenter explained, "but it's not going to read 'My brother is a serial killer.'" She also said that, "Harry [Morgan] raised both of us," therefore Deb possesses aspects of Harry that Dexter possibly lacks, but both represent Harry's dual nature. The panel seemed impressed when a fan asked if the show would explore the reason the Dark Passenger can inhabit Dexter's host persona, suggesting a sentience in the Dark Passenger apart from Dexter's consciousness. That may border on United States of Tara material, and definitely a subtle nod to the book series' more esoteric content, but Executive Producer Sara Colleton (though explaining that since Season 1, the show has presented orignal material building from the immediately previous seasons and that the writers make a conscious effort to not read the books) still suggested that traces of that line of questioning will be present in Season 5.


The early morning line to get into the Exhibition Hall. I love the "True Blood" (Showtime) advertising overhead!

More Comic-Con Day 1 photos after the jump!

Exhibition Review: "VIVA LA REVOLUCION" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego // Public Commissions around metro San Diego

The really cool thing about hunting down the public commissions on the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego's site locations map is that, as you turn a blind corner or approach a building, you are, for the first time, consciously looking for art. All graffiti suddenly jumps out at you from wooden fences or dirty stucco. Familiar buildings now seem to contain secret scavenger hunt clues. You watch dark fuzziness from a distance turn into a vital piece of work from a famous street artist, or merely clarify into the shadows of tree boughs. Exiting MCASD's tour de force, "VIVA LA REVOLUCION," in their downtown Jacobs Building, map in hand, you find first the Vhils piece on a wall and smile with your newfound street art knowledge. But by the time you reach 16th, you are thinking about placement the way a street artist does.

To a San Diegan, our sleepy, small town "big city" is about familiarity: knowing where places are without paying real attention to hard directions. Knowing landmarks and cardinal directions, knowing general areas, not being able to direct a stranger somewhere--it's all part and parcel to the casual lifestyle we enjoy in this beautiful city by the sea. But thanks to "VIVA LA REVOLUCION," suddenly there are new landmarks throughout the metro area. A presence of famous art now available for free public consumption. And you hunt them, experiencing the city with an alert mind rather than the casual manner we do everything else here.



"VIVA LA REVOLUCION" is an enormous artistic gift to San Diego, and yet, San Diego makes it possible. We keep a rather pristine city, so street art is still relatively noticeable. We glance it on walls, and double-take. Usually we move on, not feeling we are supposed to be seeing anything relevant to ourselves. Street artists play on that filtration process. Context is immediate in "VIVA." Guest Curator Pedro Alonzo, drawing upon Shepard Fairey's favoritism of the important work of Basquiat and Keith Haring, informs us that these two artists adopted the "style and systems of the streets." The exhibition brings together 20 international artists from 10 countries, who appropriate cities' physical elements, icons and signage to create profound socially-conscious work in a lowbrow visual dynamism.

Slideshow: PRIDE San Diego 2010 // Parade

From Normal Street, west on University Ave., south on 6th, ending at Upas... a streaming rainbow representing "One World, One Heart, One Pride."



Please enjoy the slideshow of my photos below:

Shepard Fairey in San Diego // South Park

Populist artist Shepard Fairey drew a crowd (an "ad-hoc art community" were my original and much better MCASD-retweeted words) as he appeared to be initiating a mural on Wednesday, July 14th. The phase of work was unclear but the first positive-space elements (ornate gold Venetian-esque motifwork) were going up by early evening. Residents and a lot of the casual guests at the Holiday Matinee/Threadless pop-up craft event were browsing and photographing the very gracious Obey Giant team. Having seen "Exit Through The Gift Shop," I couldn't help but feel a little bothersome ogling, but remembered that at this point in his artistic career, Shepard Fairey is definitely used to it (granted, the cover of night seems to be his typical "installation" time).

Shepard Fairey (as part of a curatorial team interview for KPBS radio yesterday morning) discussed the positive aspect of transitioning his aesthetic into the gallery context, citing the consumption of the street-art visual language by graphic design as a good impetus for returning to the gallery as a means of critically engaging with a graphic style that has a tendency to be rendered meaningless by commercialism. I particularly liked his idea/solution dichotomist approach as I think that demonstrates the value of the creative industry, and his admitted mindfulness of an insider/outsider strategy to facilitate a transformation of intellectual engagement for an art world that dwells, in my opinion, in a gray relativism.

"Outsider street art was an absolute necessity to me," Fairey said. "I didn't want to pander to the art system."

- - - - -

More photos after the jump!

Event Review: "Anybody Can Be Cool... But Awesome Takes Practice." Holiday Matinee's Craft Night Pops Up In South Park

<<- click flyer to see official event details.

Holiday Matinee, the East Village-headquartered creativity blog, gave a much-needed shot to South Park this past Wednesday, July 14th, thanks to Station Tavern and the Whistle Stop hosting their pop-up shop event. Although there was merchandise, this was no vendor fair, but featured artists, a studio, and a non-prof. It was another really cool intervention (the other being Shepard Fairey's street art being erected for MCASD's Viva La Revolucion exhibition) on this sleepy little hamlet that calls Juniper and Fern its main streets and was known to most locals as a part of Golden Hill for a long time. Sure, the idyllic is at times punctuated by beloved 'booty basement's at the Whistle Stop, but this mostly serene neighborhood has emerged as an artsy favorite residential district in the past decade. As South Park, it is still growing into the San Diego consciousness, our disparate neighborhoods benefiting from scene experimentation.

This event, also a stop on Threadless' Everywhere tour (they'll be back for the Con!), had people designing tees whimsically with sharpies in Threadless' Airstream trailer (with Charlie's encouragement!), flicking the wheel spinner at Holiday Matinee and getting a neat online destination on a fortune scroll, and picking out a neighborhood tee at Sezio. Loulou Bijoux sold charming apple slice necklaces, while Yeller showed a selection of artist books (we bought 3!) and laid some great groundwork in promoting their hotly anticipated show "Where We Sleep" at Subtext Gallery. Josh Boston's art hung on the walls of Station Tavern, and left almost everyone with a great, pumped-up feeling. Not to put that energy to waste, most denizens only had to walk around the block to catch Obey Giant at work on their piece.

I had to bounce before Sleepwalking DJs (didn't wanna miss that) and Bob Nanna (of Chicago and Threadless) did their things at the Whistle Stop After-Party (remember that party as the Sleepwalking old school Party? maybe it was all an upgraded coincidence?), I was bummed to have missed my zoo-pal Frank Green play with Greg Gibson.

Holiday Matinee, I request that you strike again! More photos after the jump!

Interview: Teddi Rogers

What is your occupation?

I consider myself a working artist. I am also currently employed at the front desk of Pure, a yoga studio on the upper west side, and I am in search of employment as a figure model.

When you entered SMFA/Tufts, what did you consider your primary mediums? What did you consider your primary aesthetic?

When I entered SMFA/Tufts I was interested in pursuing a career in fashion design or in photography. I was specifically interested in fashion and ecological photography. The idea of working as a fine artist was completely absurd to me- out of the question. I was coming from a traditionally technical background regarding drawing and painting, but at the time I was completely in love with the instant gratification of the photographic process.

Your fingers go in a lot of pies, what gives you the guts to go after diverse mediums rather than to see them merely as interests?

Interview: Stefanie Caril Vermillion

What is your gay activist superhero lady name?

My gay activist superhero lady name is Miss Rainbow

Miss Rainbow, what are the mediums you have used in your activist-related artwork?

I have primarily used screen printing and had my work featured in a movement called Event Horizon which was a project used to alert the community about social issues.
http://www.event---horizon.com/about.html

What do you think is so powerful about a screen-print? Is it the fact that you can make so many reproductions at one time? How does that factor in to the whole "spreading awareness" thing?

I really love working with screen printing because like my primary photographic medium (pinhole) there is a rawness to it. You really have to get your hands dirty and connect with your project on not just an emotional level but a physical one. Of course, the mass distribution factor is appealing and important to me and is a big reason why I took the opportunity to speak out about my feelings on gay rights when this project was presented to me.

Exhibition Review: "The Colour Palette" presents Dylan Clausen and Bryan Wingen

Last night, July 2, 2010, the inaugural Colour Pallette kicked off in Banker's Hill's Tin Can Alehouse. The beloved neighborhood bar contributed its main wall to the art of event creators Bryan Wingen and Dylan Clausen. Bryan presented the "Stripe" photographic series, which presented a series of mixed straight-up, and unconventional, portraiture, of individuals (among them, two dogs!) wearing a found "ugly" sweater of red and white striped reminiscent of the American flag. He had each subject pose in front of an actual American flag (sans the stars), and both the sweater and the flag were mounted above a galley next to the bar. Meanwhile, Dylan presented a series of liquidic, atmospheric watercolors and inks, characterized by his trademark graphic-inspireed linework and muted primary pallette. The overall effect of the two series' side by side, with the Tin Can's lighting, is a soft scarlet glow emanating off the wall, drawing the some sixty guests to look closer, but to also keep a distance from the energetic aura of the bold works.

Interview: Stacie Maree Willoughby

House Boi celebrates its 3rd year, so I decided to update my Yelp. :)

http://www.houseboisandiego.com/

Happy Birthday House Boi!

Under a French Quarter balcony and the auspicious black and white striped entry awning lay the enormous windows of House Boi, occupying a New Orleans architectural revivalist building. The interior basks in the signature citrusy shade of permanent green light, and several vignetted sitting areas have clothing and merchandise carefully/casually laid out, showing its potential place in your home. Modern pieces of metal and resin commingle with earthy, wooden exotic furnishings. The entire feel evokes a sense of Western romance (buckles and leather goods), meets rocker (studded black jeans and wristbands), an aesthetic concept that is immediately upscale Californian cowboy, with metro-grooming but still deliciously scruffy, who also travels the world.

Between major Hillcrest streets Center and Richmond, tucked between CoShow realty and Cohabitat, and just down the block from Bite and Mama Testa’s, lies the year-old neighbour House Boi. House Boi has been a presence in the tri-community area (North Park, University Heights and Hillcrest) for three years, once occupying a place further up University Avenue at the foot of the hill near Georgia, and happily moving into its new home in 2009. Part of the move was an expansion of floor space, opening the door to more merchandise. House Boi now has, among its established brands, Hard 8, Gypsy 05, La Familia, True Honor, Fender & English Laundry and partnerships with many San Diego-, Phoenix-, LA- and San Francisco-based jewelry, accessory and visual artists.

A Special Message from DJ Marcel Hetu: San Diego Pride Discounts

Hello Balise Readers, DJ Marcel here, and I wanted to ask my friend Marcel to help me blast these ticket prices to all of the San Diegans participating in pride this year!

Pride is upon us with tons of different events in the works. I have the opportunity to offer discounted tickets to some of the events this year to friends of mine. Presale tickets are available at a discounted price for POPCICLE and SALVATION PRIDE at HOUSE.BOI (located next to Baja Betty’s). Presale tickets for T-DANCE ON THE BAY are available at OBELISK BOOKSTORE.

The following tickets are available for the next two weeks directly through me (I will hand deliver them for cash payment). I can offer these as an official party host (see: http://www.billhardtpresents.com/html/the_party_hosts.html). I do not profit from the sales of these tickets. I also will not charge a service charge. I will only have these for another week and many have already sold. Let me know if you want me to save some for you.

Marcel

Interview: Tom Patterson

Job: I'm an actor.

Weren't you just in Sarasota, FL? What for?

Yeah, I was down in Florida for about three months. Kate Alexander, who is the Associate Director for Florida Studio Theatre, in FST’s production of Shotgun , had cast me.

First I guess I should tell you a little bit about what was happening with the play. Shotgun is a new work by John Biguenet and was picked up by the National New Play Network.

The NNPN is a sort of alliance of regional theaters who develop new work, and FST was one of three member theaters to pick up Shotgun . All three get credit in a "rolling world premiere" which, in theory, is to help promote new plays. All of this is to say I owe everyone involved a great deal because it led to me getting a job.

Shotgun itself about two families in the months immediately following Hurricane Katrina, one black and one white.

When the play opens, my mom has died. My father and I are moving into half of a shotgun apartment, hence the play's title. From there, you can sort of imagine the crucible. You have five characters, are wounded and sort of lost, and most not entirely comfortable with one another.

Image to the right, below - Tom Patterson as "Eugene" (left) with William Peden as "Beau" in National New Play Network rolling world premiere of "Shotgun" at Florida Studio Theatre

The play is about New Orleans, clearly, but it’s also about people living with death, which is something we all have to do. That said, I'm proud that it can remind audience that New Orleans isn't recovered. It's in the process of recovering and has been abandoned by the government and the collective American conscious.

You went to Tisch. What a privilege!

Well, I went to Tisch because it was in New York and part of NYU. I really didn't look at it beyond that.

Heh. Tisch was five years ago. I went to the undergraduate drama program which... has a lot of faults. I liked some of my teachers. Vicki Hart and Per Brahe were very influential. As far as professional advantages there's a lot more schools that offer a better "in" as far as the industry is concerned.

I received some good training, but I felt the program, as a whole, is unfocused. I've been out for a little while, and while I think there are programs that might serve you by getting you in the room, ultimately its up to you to bring the goods. You can look up any alumni list and see there's people who work and people who don't. A program can be a boost, but it won't give you jobs. Man, school was a while ago. It's not really something that I think back on or try to reason out. When I auditioned, I think I came in with the idea that I'd be famous a year after graduation. Now, I want a Tony.

It's not that I don't look back, it's just that I don't think where I went to college has a massive influence in my current career or lack thereof. NYU didn't grant me a "launch" and I feel everything I have I've hustled for.

Coming Up: The Colour Palette @ Tin Can Alehouse

Be there! It's going to be hot. I have known Dylan forever and his watercolors are illustrative and charming. Also look out for their interviews here on Balise, coming soon! Look after the jump for a piece from each artist!

Exhibition Review: Josue Castro and Cynthia Colis of Jett Gallery

Images used are for educational purposes. Castro's work is from Josue Fine Arts blog, and Colis' work is from her Facebook page.

Starting Saturday evening on 12th of June, Josue Castro and Cynthia Colis, represented artists of the Jett Gallery in Little Italy, San Diego, rotated in some strong pieces for their HOBNOB event. Recurring mainstays of this gallery, Castro and Colis’ pieces are not presented as a group exhibition, and are to be considered apart from each other in theme and motif. Castro presents geometric forms referencing Zapotec cosmology, and Colis presents stylized portraiture, a stylized and more graphic evolution from her “Kisses” series which she attributes to her art journey with Joze Ciuha, in vivid colors and suggestive titling.

Exhibition Review: “NewAbstract Paintings” Victor Rodriguez at Scott White Contemporary Art

Connecting the Dots of Things

All images used for educational purposes only, the artwork of Victor Rodriguez shot by Jeff Lancaster for Jett Gallery. Image to the left is "NewAbstract (Universal)."

Theatrical, vivid, sensationalist... Rodriguez' work is to be viewed with the crawling eye of a paparazzo. The SWCA having been my first introduction to Victor Rodriguez, it was perhaps serendipitous that I spoke with Kathleen Crain, Assistant Director there. In the middle of raving about the work, I asked if there was an artist’s statement. Not that it is necessary, but I like hearing artists articulate their ideas most especially when I like the art. I said, “I feel like I am projecting into this my own artistic memories and context.” She responded that it is what the artist wanted people to do, to interpret the information in their own way. I considered that a direct invitation.

Cinema Review: “Babies”

This documentary chronicling human life from birth to walking for four children is an independent darling lately, and it merits that immediate classicality! A simple film with no twists and largely predictable, the strength of it is not drama, but its sense of wonderment. Primal nature is depicted with elegance and dignity. You might have a momentary social cringe when you see graphic scenes of defecation and urination, but somehow, knowing the film is an art documentary about “Babies” helps you walk into those scenes with sincere amazement for life at its most basic. Even at its most basic, life is immediately complex and a vast buffet of experiences for these children, and for us by proxy.

A rare achievement, it is

Finally finished... where is this heading?...

birdbath (desiccated chinoiserie), acrylic with silvery and golden dust, 2010 

Please note that the color, in particular the blue, has been altered slightly to compensate for the blowout of the flash on the metallic sheen.

"Dexter," "V," "The Little Mermaid," human emotions, domesticity.

"There are fewer things harder to bear than remorse. ...It's what separates us from the animals." - Trinity Killer, Dexter (“Road Kill”*)

When Trinity said that, naturally he didn’t really know what he was talking about. He was a cold-blooded serial killer, completely devoid of humanity. Not all killers are cold-blooded by design. But for Trinity, the ritual of the kill and what it stands for to him completely consumed the original emotional impetus that drove the first killings. The habit of murder is what makes a killer a serial killer. And though suffering and emptiness, two humanistic experiences, may lay the foundation--it is the desensitization to remorse that peels back the moral binding that would usually constrict a citizen. To liken this to the animals, though… is that a speciesist sentiment?

There is still a school of thought, unfortunately a prevalent one, which casts doubt on animals’ ability to feel

"We pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted." - Dalai Lama

Just had to blast this!

From Time Magazine's 10 Questions. His Holiness has a new book out, Toward a True Kinship of Faiths. The Dalai Lama will now take your questions ("10 Questions." 4)*

Excerpt:

Q: How can we teach our children not to be angry? - Robyn Rice, Grand Junction, COLO.

A: "Children always look to their parents. Parents should be more calm. You can teach children that you face a lot of problems but you must react to those problems with a calm mind and reason. I have always had this view about the modern education system: we pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted." - Dalai Lama

* "10 Questions." Time Magazine. 14 June 2010: 4-4

Cinema Review: "Exit Through The Gift Shop," a Banksy film.

by Marcel Reyes

Image used is the Mister Brainwash Madonna piece that was used as cover art for her Celebration greatest hits collection.

Though ostensibly to be about the work of Banksy and street art at large, "Exit Through The Gift Shop" is a film about fanatic emulation, obsession, and deconstruction. Very funny, and at times offensive to artists and art scholars, it makes a sharp incision into the contextualization of contemporary art. The film is mainly about the life and work of Thierry (pronounced Terry) Guetta, a floater of sorts whose deep emptiness due to tragic loss and general alienation causes him to latch on to whatever has the strongest flavor nearby. In this case, Thierry is immersed in the world of street artists, who take to his gung-ho enthusiasm and his knack for recording everything on camcorder (evolving into a fabrication in which Thierry is gathering material for a first-of-its-kind documentary about street art).

From under the wing of one street artist (Space Invader)

Exhibition Review: "Otto Dix @ Neue Galerie, NYC"

by Marcel Reyes

Image used is Dix's Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber, a highlighted work in this exhibition (used educationally for this review).

Though raw in content and at times appearance, Dix's work should not be taken as loose and expressive. It is tight and focused visually, and thematically the ouvre as a whole bottlenecks to passion and violence, portrayed with theatricality and grotesqueness.

This show presents Dix's work in dual experiences of appeal, first it presents the work as embittered political commentary about war and nationality, but it also connotes the celebrity of Dix himself, particularly in the resurgence of his more straightforward portraiture ("the golden Weimar years") in the dead-center of his 20th century career.

The Neue Galerie's Dix Show offers, as commemorative merchandise, Dix-inspired