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."

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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?