New pieces exhibited at MCASD’s Jacobs Building starting January 23rd, 2011.

 

Digital still taken from MCASD.org. Used for educational purposes only.

n “Madame Curie,” Jennifer Steinkamp finds and beautifully amplifies the consonance between two of Marie Curie’s great passions—gardening and physics—in her eponymous immersive video installation experience. Twigs, branches, stems, stalks, and blossoms—of plants selected from Edie Curie’s horticultural writings in her biography of her mother, Marie—gyrate, bunching together and pulling apart, in a convincing fibrous ebb.

The nuances of Steinkamp’s sophisticated algorithm believably evoke the restrained, tentative tug of scapes and internodes grappling as they swish in wind. I followed a single stem across the screen to see where the loop restarts, but I was surprised at the excellence of the video’s loop. The masses of flowers ramble realistically and beautifully, yet after awhile one wonders: Are they being blown about, or kneaded by invisible hands, or are they growing?--Germinating in seed like a botanical homunculus, waiting to emerge?

Walking into the dark room, with its three large panels, and the projection’s varying scale The installation warps the room’s interior by pushing at the visual plane. Plants mound up and bulge from the wall, then contract and make small black clearings that drop the wall away, playing optically with the spatial boundaries of the room. It is a serene, meditative space, that evokes the stimulating peace Curie may have found spending countless hours nurturing growth and cultivating beauty.

Madame Curie’s two Noble Prizes and her longtime work developing theory of radioactivity, hardly needs immortalization. But Steinkamp’s tribute to Curie’s love of gardening is a commemoration of the powerful versatility of creativity.

oan Jonas’  “The Shape, The Scent, The Feel of Things” is an exploration of the Southwestern United States delves crudely into themes of cultural proximity and juxtaposition, parallelism, cross-exposure versus contamination. The folksy effect of the exhibition at times seems to ponder, what is the most direct way between a concept and its execution. Jonas desires to landscape an idea, letting disparate propositions take root and harmonize with the geography, in a similar fashion to the random settlements and their sprawl across the Southwest. The video/sound installation tucked around the corner of the exhibition space reveals the process of artistic creation, the video contextualizes the exhibition as a gallery of processes and visceral interpretation, asking the question: Can the rough but indulgent delivery easily elicit a cerebral response? The accomplished Joan Jonas, a noted performer, and a pioneer in video art, has a lovely, direct manner of doing things, reflected in this exhibition in which, much like her performances, the gratification being aspired for appears to be the immediate. Beyond "Can Do," it is a "Just Do It" attitude.

Raul Cordero’s exquisite linen oils, that together have been presented as the sliding-puzzle-esque “Hendrickje,” blending text and flourishes of polyester resin that either marry or marr the images are well done, striking, and polished. The collages explore the effect of additions to an image. Do they lose context by being pastiches? Is the deconstruction of Rembrandts’ “A Woman bathing in a Stream (Hendrickje Stoffels?),” which is the foundation for the work, anarchic? Does it have meaning beyond its own existence and aesthetic dynamism? It’s thrilling work.

I must give special recognition to a piece that references Filipino culture. Rita McBride’s 1990 sculpture “Toyota” returns to view at MCASD. The material and motif of rattan furniture, very popular throughout the Philippines, is exclusively used to construct the body of a Toyota. Although the actual car came first, the Toyota sculpture is so expertly crafted that it can be seen as a precursor to the eventual mechanical copy. The sculpture, and its technological counterpart, can be together be viewed as a triumph of Asian design and precision. It reveals the ingenuity and engineering prowess that is as much instinctive in a country still considered by the world to be developing as it is in a neighboring country much considered to have arrived.

Finally, in Matt Mullican’s “Untitled (Cosmology, History, Language, Arts” oil rubbings of contemporary glyphs suggests that science can appear essentially mystical. The artistic depiction of icons in this piece, in its print-block esque bleeds and muddling, strips the context of our daily symbols and what is left behind seems arcane and mysterious.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego // Jennifer Steinkamp // Joan Jonas // Raul Cordero

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?

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.

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.

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.