SDVAN - SMART Collector

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PATRICIA FRISCHER, the coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network, writes these occasional notes. These blogs are now available at this link where you can comment back.

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In this time of holiday cheer, I am glad to pop a cork or two and celebrate the season and all for which we are grateful. Our pop culture seems to be pop crazy this year with pop up shows popping up all over the county. I have no idea what the difference is between a trunk show and a pop up exhibition or even a visitor curated display. But in each case, I think the shows just appear without to much advance notice even if the same dedication goes into their planning. Here is a list of three self declared pops to pep you up this month.

Noel-Baza Fine Art is doing a pop up at Art Produce Gallery called Render and featuring Marianela de la Hoz Bhavna Mehta and Lynn Susholtz Reception: Sat, Dec 13th 6-9pm and showing until Jan 14, 2015 (3139 University Ave, SD 92104) More info: lynn@artproduce.org 619-584-4448

Eric Phleger is popping up in Del Mar Plaza (street level, suite 106) on December 5th from 5 until 8 pm. It will feature the black and white photography of Carolyn Guild. Work will also be available for viewing Dec 6th and 7 th. More info: 760.415.1787.

San Diego Center for Jewish Culture presents Pop Goes the Culture, The first of three pop-up style art gallery exhibits of original art designed to encourage appreciation of San Diego's artistic community and to introduce the topic of art collecting. Theme: Tikkun Olam - a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world". Wine Steals in Cardiff. Free! Refreshments will be provided. The evening is geared for 21 - 40 year olds but maybe those young at heart can join in. Dec 4 at 6:30 pm.

There are two main displays, one at the Spreckles Theater SD Fringe Festival Lobby and one on the third floor of the Ten Street Art Center. As I was attending a couple of productions at the Tenth Street, I concentrated more on this exhibition put together by Gailee Walker Wells the director of Theater Arts West. This fledgling theater company is exploring a permanent location in San Diego but they have already put on several independent productions. One of those at the Encinitas Library asked writers to take their inspiration from visual artists. So it is not too surprising that Kevin Charles Patterson found Gailee to help mount this first foray. She also produced Off Broadway On Broadway, a selection of scenes from their repertoire, for the Fringe this year.

Ed Coonce has experience in working with the community to create aspects of a larger work that he then composes and polishes. The results are unique to his style but still collaborative. David Cuzick takes line drawing in a new direction in some very original works. He is showing with Gabriele Bitter whose works are abstract and Noreen Ring who used mixed media to create little worlds of wonder. Those four artists made up this special exhibition for SD Fringe Festival

But the adjoining room at the Ten Street Gallery space was also packed with goodies as well. James E. Watts delights with his 3-d assemblages, Sean Brennan’s stripes and strangely intense especially considering their small size. Frances Love revels in lush color and Kelly Kincaid was a favorite of mine with the solo figure. Also in black and white were wood cut like faces by Brett Barnett.

Bonus play rave is for Ira Bauer-Spector and her/his performance of Miss M saves the Universe. Great voices, fun story and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Watch for other productions of the Breakthrough Workshop Theater

Deborah DeLisi and One Minute Mandalas at SDVAN sponsored Mission Federal ArtWalk

Deborah DeLisi presented her One-Minute Mandalas in the SDVAN sponsored Mission Federal ArtWalk participation booth on Sat/Sun, April 26/27 from 11am – 6 pm on India at Cedar. The weather was a challenge but the crowds were huge, friendly and happy. We are very grateful to Deborah and all the volunteers that helped her. Contact Deborah for more information on these workshops. Below you can read her report on the event in her own words, followed by an appreciation from Sandi Cottrell who is the managing director of the Art Walk organization.

Deborah DeLisi:

I estimate that during Mission Federal ArtWalk we inspired about 800-900 artists who stopped by the SDVAN booth to create a unique mandala. We were paid in priceless smiles, and I know at least one little girl who is going to decorate her bedroom with the mandalas she made. She is Taylor, the daughter of Angie from Mission Federal, who was on two local morning TV shows with me last week. Taylor made about 5-6 mandalas and so did her brother Cody. They were my best 'customers' and a delight.

During ArtWalk, I recognized some kids who came by BOTH days, and that was nice to see that they enjoyed it so much they wanted to do it again. What I love about this project is that EVERYONE SUCCEEDS at it. There are no mistakes, and everyone is amazed at what they can create, and the simplicity of the process. Seeing the reaction of the attendees as they unfolded their paper and watched their art develop was something of which I never tired.

One attendee was a grandpa who was looking for something to do when he watches his grandkids. He loved making his mandala, and can't wait to do it with his family. I had at least a dozen art teachers, school teachers and art enthusiasts who volunteered for after-school enrichment programs for kids. I spent a bit more time with them, going over the steps, telling them where to buy the stencils and bling, and why this is a great activity for kids. One teacher was so excited after making her mandala that she is going to have her class make them for Mother's Day gifts. One young girl is going to make the folded-paper mandalas with her friends at her birthday party. How fun! My booth helpers all said they had so much fun too.

I want to THANK each of my volunteers so very, very much for giving up their time, energy, and coming to Little Italy, to pitch in for non-stop art activities with kids of all ages. There were fewer breaks than I had hoped for, and any lunch breaks we had were later than I wanted them and shorter too. But my amazing volunteers rolled with it, and gave 1000% and I appreciate it so much. I'd like to personally thank: Destiny, Vicki, Olaf, Hector, Steve, Dani (Danielle), and Carmen. They were AMAZING, ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.

Sandi, thank you for responding to all my texts and calls when I needed things at the booth. My calls for help came fast and it was much appreciated and made things flow smoothly. I'd like Angie at Mission Federal to know that the sponsorship of ArtWalk created so much joy for others. I hope ALL the artists did well. I didn't get to walk around but what little I saw was inspiring.

Patricia, thank you for approaching me last year with the idea to lead this activity at the SDVAN booth this year. I had a blast. It reminded me how much I enjoy working with kids. I was 11 years old when I started a business I called "Art School". I wrote advertisements on pieces of paper and placed them in the mailboxes of parents on my street that had young kids. I didn't like babysitting, but I liked doing things with kids (it was more fun.) I charged $1 an hour per child, and I supplied all the materials. We sat around a picnic table in my basement and made things with popsicle sticks, paper plates, and other kid-friendly materials. Until this weekend, I forgot how much fun I had with "Art School".

Thank you for giving me the opportunity for such fun and joy during ArtWalk.

You can see the photos I took at our booth here on Facebook.

PS- there were plenty of leftover materials for many, many Art Reach projects.

Sandi Cottrell, Managing Director, ArtWalk San Diego to Deb DeLisi

The weekend got off to such a rocky start. Having said that…your area was AMAZING! I saw so many happy people walking away with their artwork, and you had it beautifully organized. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for making this happen. From the beginning you were so organized and professional, I can’t imagine a better project or more lovely person to lead the project. I greatly appreciate the countless hours you spent on this.

DNA of Creativity Introduction by Patricia Frischer, coordinator, San Diego Visual Arts Network

The DNA of Creativity was initiated in 2011 to put together teams of artists and scientists. We had very high goals. We hoped to make the complexities of art and science accessible while showcasing the aesthetics of both. We intended to enhance the viewing public’s perception of creativity and its role in our lives as thriving, positive, empowered and fun. We wanted to re-enforce the idea of San Diego as an Art and Science destination. Invigorating students of all ages to support the arts and sciences either as participants or beneficiaries was essential.

We had a stellar selection committee who chose the four grant recipients: Harvey Seifter - Art of Science Learning Director producing the nationwide Innovation Incubator. Ron Newby - Bronowski Art and Science Forum and Ruth West Research Associate, UCSD Research in Computing and the Arts and now Associate Professor and Director, xREZ lab at University of North Texas.

When you take on projects that take over three years to produce, you know you have to have a passion for the subject. My first reason for calling together teams, with both artists and scientists, was very simple and quite selfish. I am an artist and my husband Darwin Slindee is a physicist. I wanted to make sure we could spend time together. But my passion turned into my privilege. I have learned so much from the more than 50 participants that crossed the finish line and are showing, have shown and will continue to show the results of their investigations.

The Pezzoli family lost their daughter Alyssa last year in a terrible surfing tragedy. Her mother Marjorie who is part of the Sea Changes: Act team said, “It really hit me tonight why jellyfish will always be important to me...I was thinking about Alyssa, tears streaming down my face, I looked up at the lights, the distortion caused the sight of a jellyfish. They are an indicator of climate change and plastic pollution. The ocean and the beaches have always been playground of Alyssa's, that's why I want to protect them for all generations.”

This strong belief in the value of being connected is a theme that runs through all the teams. Jason Rogalsk, leader of the Urban Succession team, realized that his project to shine a light on urban wildlife by providing artist made homes for them was not just about the wild creatures living amongst us, it was about ecosystems. David Lipson thought that debris from gutters was probably toxic waste, but found that within Jeremy Gercke’s inventive Soil Blind sculpture it is a rich source of life.

Both projects go further than just using art to make people care or to illustrate scientific facts. They worked on the Inner-connectivity of art and science. As a result artists increasingly became more scientific, while the scientists embraced art. This is nowhere more clear than in the PolyAethestic Mapping: The Muses. The DNA of Creativity changed lives. Kaz Maslanka through hours and hours of team work discovered the muses which made his very abstract process of exploration of complex concept more accessible. He says, “ It was as if all I had done was throw a bucket of paint into the air and the muses just appeared.” Vicki Leon has embraced the muses which came out of the polyaesthetic system. She says that their influence has expanded her areas of focus and allowed her to call upon their creative inspiration to explore new territory.

Yes, there are challenges of managing large teams. Meetings over time helped members to gain respect for each other and eventually become friends. Groups had to be flexible in order to expand their ideas, Everyone learned new facts like how photographer’s strobe lights hurt live coral and ultimately how to make what was examined safe from direct human contact. Michelle Kurtis Cole’s experiments using glass instead of other coral as a substrate to regenerate coral could change the way the ocean is being helped to help itself.

Working together as a team with personal passion for the subject and some financial support had advantages. These included greater production rates, opportunities to work on a larger scale, gaining new audience and learning and using new techniques. Team members could learn as they go and were fearless once they trusted that they could make mistakes and still move forward. Jeremy Gerecke said he found, “…anartistic direction that incorporates more that pure aesthetics. Work that can have a life after being on display, it can be studied and have a life of its own.”

Notes on Aesthetics and Authenticity Symposium March 8/9, 2014
Presented by Constance White, Arts Program of SD International Airport
at the New Central Library

These are my personal notes on most of the presentations and panel held on Sat and Sunday. I missed some and I admit prejudices of my own interest are reflected in these notes. It should not serve nor pretend to be a summary of the symposium.

We were kindly welcomed by both Mel Katz, chair of the Library Commissioners and hugely responsible for the fabulous library where this symposium was held and Robert Gleason, Chair of the SD County Regional Airport Authority who funded the symposium Both agreed that the arts contributes to the quality of life in the city. The arts can make you feel safe and softening the hard edges of a cityscape.

Todd Gloria x-interim mayor and now city council president gave the key note speech. He started strongly with a statement about collaborations and how we need arts and culture to make a statement that differentiates our city from others. We are in competition worldwide and we are competing to WIN. This is about place making and the city as a brand. Balboa Park is unique and that is an anchor. North Park is the contemporary anchor as an ecodistrict.

We need our Innovation labs to generate ideas. Even the idea of the labs needs testing. Once ideas are pioneered they need to be replicated. SD will have a $38 million surplus, at least 1% of that should go from the Tax on Tourist for the arts under the agreement made last year in the Five Year Blueprint for the Arts. The difference between finest city in the America and greatest city is art. We need cutting edge projects from young and older organizations.

Community in put from creative people is essential. Gloria sees his job is to make neighborhoods better. That includes the point of entry to the USA from Mexico which should be a welcome mat and not a vewi of dumpsters.

County wide collaboration spearheaded by supervisor Dave Roberts. When young people start to want families they move to better neighborhood and then it is hard for the old neighborhood to improve. So the question is how do you give those budding families what they need to enrich the existing neighborhoods?

With the population growth expected (and this is just from new birth rates and not people moving to SD) we have to build up instead of out. Not all city council people are onboard with that yet, but they all know they are in competition and have to do something. We will have street cars again even if it takes years to happen.

Balboa Park Celebration is now under his supervision at least for the city funds. Mistakes were made for example no one ever asked what potential funders might have wanted for this celebration. It appears that they want us to looking forward, not backward. And the ideas should be those that are scaleable if they are funded. The Institutions of the park will have their own ideas and some money might be forthcoming to help them, but the question is how to have this celebration In the public spaces. Decisions will happen about this very soon. One question is how to frame to see the park in a new way?

He addressed education needs saying we must re-introduce the arts and harness the young who already have a strong service ethic. But they need to go beyond serving meals to homeless and try to solve the problem. The arts must spearhead specific action item solutions or ideas and must learn to speak the language of government and not confuse the public and politicians with art speak.

We describe our identity by claiming it, creating it or manufacturing it. It takes 12 years to establish an identity. Who, when, and where all have to be defined. Neighborhoods are shared space, Community is shared ideas.

Seyed Alavi stated that multileveled complex ideas have better chance of being relative now and in the future. Find the fundamentals that lie within and let the surface be contemporary. Audience needs to be encouraged to be curious. When they slow down they notice details of something that has been done on purpose. Aesthetics just means Perception. Instead of necessity being the mother of invention, it is aesthetic curiosity. The word aesthetics is just a placeholder. We need to bring together risk adverse and risk takers.

Question raised in this session included. When did art become separate from the public and need a bridge? Site specific resulted from that disconnect. Who should make decisions...policy makers or artists? Can they work together? When is an idea a program and when is it a project? If you are the artist asked to make an art work about a community in which they do not live, can it be authentic?

Airport artists – combined thoughts from Stuart Keeler, Jim Campbell, Norie Sato Po Shu Wang, Erik Carlson and the Merge Conceptual Design team.

Challenge drives the creative process. Controversy brings clarity. Art is made for the public and becomes part of the public domain. Let the public become involved in the work and then that becomes the art. Goals are fuzzy so hard to judge success. Public art can teach artists something that they may have not have gained otherwise. This is not art by committee. Instead, it is an opportunity to think out loud and with an audience of possible contributors. If a work is good it might end up defining the place, even if not site specific in the beginning.

Ms. Reese runs a arts program for students with hundred of collaboration to make sure art in available before, during and after school. She recommends you acknowledge abundance, cut red tape, build on what you have, find constraints, address barriers and deal breakers, and release failure. Relevant plus exciting equals engaged. Access plus quality equals equity. Middle school at 12 years become sponges, but they unfocused and can be a real challenge. Parents were one asset present in all categories. One of her most important messages was to listen to the stories of others and honor them.

Werc is the first new muralist at the airport and he used the letters SAN-just like the tagging used in graffiti art. These are temporary digital works.

Michelle Hyun - USCD curatorial fellowship used the gallery as anything but a place to show and/preserve art works. The space became a 24 hour study area, lab, performance stage, etc.

Stuart Keeler - Public art can take three forms: plop art that is preconceived and is just resident in the space, art which is fully integrated in the site and art which serves the public interest, Keeler described his life as a self appointed artist in residence. He promoted his book: Service Media. The message here was don’t wait to be asked, involve yourself.

Dan Springs continues to work with other libraries now that the New Downtown Library art is installed and to administer public art when funding is available.

Bennett Feji , principal of Peji Deign firm was an enthusiastic leader of the final exercise when tables worked to present new ideas for collaboration. It was another opportunity to network with the participants. Just as Ms. Reese urged us to do, we were given some time to listen to the stories of others and honor them

A conflict in scheduling prevented me from hearing presentation from Ed Abeyta,Judit Hersko, and Oscar Romo lead by Xavier Leonard from the Civic Innovation Lab

You can read about the Global Culture Districts Networkin a report on Re-imagining Cities by John Eger. In it he announces a meeting June 17-19 in Dallas, Texas, The New Cities Foundation expects to attract over a thousand leaders from cities around the world, most of whom will hear about creative place making, technology innovations, new transportation schemes, sustainability, financing and audience building.

There is now a gallery at the Library and we enjoyed seeing the works of Gail Roberts, Ernest Silva and Philpp Scholz Rittermann.

The SD Art Prize is entering its 8 th year and I thought it might be fun to hear a history of why we have an art prize in San Diego. The story starts in 1973 in London.

I arrived in England at that time, worked as a receptionist and then ran an art gallery in the west end. It was a time of miner’s strikes causing black outs and letter bombs from the IRA. I zigzagged my way to work in the west end to avoid mail boxes with suspicious letters hanging out of mail slots. We lit the gallery by candles every other day during electric shortages.

Old master still ruled at Sotheby’s and Christies and Bonhams was a tiny auction house but the oldest started in 1793 and is now merged with Phillips and they also bought the west coast Butterfields in 2002. Impressionist painting were on the rise but very few contemporary artist came up in auctions.

This was all to change when the first Tate Turner Prize was awarded in 1984 to Malcolm Morley, an English artist living in the United States. Receiving awards in the next four years were Howard Hodgkin 1985, Gilbert & George 1986, Richard Deacon1987 Richard Long, 1989. All four were nominated in the first year. It was a private award, but the shortlist was announced. It was controversial from the start.

The Tate now called Tate Britain, in 1988 was the just the Tate Museum. It housed all British made art only. The appointment of Tate Director, Nicholas Serota led to many changes such as the introduction of an annual re-hang and giving priority to modern and contemporary art. During this period the future of the Prize was uncertain. The Turner Prize was modified to have no published shortlist and a solo exhibition was awarded to the winner, Tony Cragg. But in 1990 there was no prize as there was no sponsorship for it and it only sprang back to life in 1991. All four short-listed artists got a show and the audience became more involved. The award ceremony started to be televised. The Notional Lottery system was set up and the arts benefited. Only smokeless coal could be used and the city started to clean all its buildings. The Tate expanded to become Tate Modern and now has several other campuses in the UK. The Tate Prize now rotates to other venues.

By 1995, the Turner Prize got more and more controversial and more and more attention. Damien Hirst presented his shark tank, Tracy Emin got drunk during the award ceremony, Chris Ofili's used balls of elephant dung to prop up his works. Modern Art prices at the auction house were on the rise. Charles Saachti had loaned work from his collection for the Sensation show and started his own private museum.

Archived A+ Art Blog

2013 Past A+Art Blog including
State of the Arts: The Rise of the Living Artist, 2013
New Art at the SD Airportt: Flying High
San Diego Incubator for Innovation
Arts Leaders Motivations
Politics and Art in San Diego
Art Eats Food
Alternative Materials Panel Discussion - Sparks Gallery
London Art Newsletter 2013
Maximal
San Diego: Identity Crisis or Identity Opportunity? March 2013
Palm Springs Art Fair, Feb, 2013
Corporate Collecting Book Review, Jan 2013

2012 Past A+Art Blog including
Art of Science, Science of Art
Holistic Education
San Diego Steps It Up
Art Spaces for Art Places
Curated Exhibitons/OMA New Director
TED Speak: Introducing SDVAN View Art Now App
Augmented Realty
Big Art Big Bucks
Three Things You Can Do to Help the Art World
United Councils of San Diego?
Thank you to Dennis Paul Batt
New Horizons in SD Art

2011 Past A+Art Blog including
Is La Jolla coming back as a center for the visual arts in San Diego?, Dec 2011
Audience Engagement, Nov 2011
London Part Two, Oct 2011
London Part One, Sept 2011
Drink, Mate, Art, Aug 2011
Too Brave to Fail, July 2011
Out and About In June, 2011
Putting our Tax dollars to Work
The Birthing of Art Meets Fashion
DNA of Creativity
Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair 2011 in under 2 minutes!

2010 Past A+Art Blog including
Best Tidbits for the Twelve MOnths of 2010
Katherine Sweetman has a home at SDVAN
Filling a Need
Collectors Take Note
Birthing Process
...And Three to Go
Willing to Fail
Life, Luck and Survival
Arting: are we consuming the right art?
Cliffnotes: One Month Condensed into One Week
Allison Renshaw Discovered
Dreams and Visions: MOvers and Shakers 2
State of the Arts 2010 - the Future of Art Publications

2009 Past A+ Art Blogs including
London and the Venice Biennial, 2009
Meet the Press
Beyond the Borders International Art (BTBIAF)
Interpersonal Theory of Art: Little & Large community phenomenon and the museum exhibition, Calder Jewelry at SDMA
Little and Large Launch
Little & Large Introduciton
The Recycling Buzz
Economic Realities for the arts in May 2009
Seven volunteer Inspried Visual Arts Projects
Snapshot – One women’s personal views on Changing Perspectives in the San Diego Art Scene: Notes from the panel discussion
The Economy and Affordable Live/Work Spaces
State of the Arts 2009

2008 Past A+ Art Blogs including
State of the Arts 2008
Hungry for Chinese Art?
Eat Your Art Out plus John Baldessari conversation with Hugh Davies
London Burning: A Damien Hirst Update
SD Flash Forward; Movers and Shakers Speak Out
Museum Trends: NY Times Cliff Notes
London Newsletter 2008
Art Collecting Clubs Part II
Artcentric Interiors
Poopielickles for All: attending Art Fairs in LA
Reading the Zines for Good Ideas, Feb 2008
Changing Power Base: State of the Arts 2008

2007 Past A+ Art Blogs including
Burnished by Fire: Stories of Firestorm, November 2007
The What and the How and the Wow, October, 2007
Careerist Artist, September, 2007
Non-Profit is not a Free Ride, July 2007
Crowd Control at Museums, June, 2007
May and It'sDarling Buds - May, 2007
Cruelty Free Art Zone - April, 2007
Critical Issues Facing the Arts, March, 2007 – The James Irvine Foundation, September 2006 summary
Letter from London Dec 2006 - Feb 2007
State of the Arts Jan 2007

2006 Past A+ Art Blogs
Crossover: How Artists Build Careers
Art and Wine Tour of Northern CA- October, 2006
Web Heaven- August, 2006 Advice on Websites for Artists
Vacation Art-July, 2006
Art Critic Revealed: Robert Pincus - June, 2006
Artistic Freedoms- May 2006
Art and Science, Progress and Mystery - April, 2006
Building Market Share - March, 2006
Glass to Go - February, 2006
Collectors on Show - January, 2006

PATRICIA FRISCHER, author of "The Artist and the Art of Marketing" has lectured extensively on marketing for artists. She is a trainer of artists’ agents, art dealers, consultant and collectors. Frischer has taken on the roles of gallerist, curator, writer, teacher, website coordinator and artist. Her many metamorphoses make her difficult to fit into any of the usual art world categories. She is a founding member and coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network, (www.SDVAN.net ) which funds the SD Art Prize, directory and events calendar and SmART Collector features. Her own artwork (www.DrawsCrowd.com ) has been shown internationally and her most recent one person show was at Oxford University.

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