Tag Archives: christian frock

News, The Eve Of...

10/4: The Eve Of… as Survival Strategies at Open City/Art City

The making of The Eve Of…, in diagrammatic and GIF forms.

The Making of The Eve Of... Self-Initiated Residency and Exhibition.

The Making of The Eve Of… Self-Initiated Residency and Exhibition.

Here’s a tiny teaser of a detailed diagram on the making of The Eve Of…; along with a narrated video, it’ll be presented this Saturday at Open City/Art City at YBCA. I’ll be there in spirit, but not in person. It’s too bad, as my other panelists, assembled by the formidable Christian L. Frock, are fantastic artists for whom I have tons of respect.

SOS ARTISTS: Strategies of Survival

Curated and Moderated by Christian L. Frock, Independent Writer, Curator and Educator
This interactive session will present strategies for developing self-made public opportunities for artists at all stages of development, with an emphasis on what is possible through autonomy and collaboration. In addition to the live event, documents relevant to the discussion will be available to freely view and share online at www.invisiblevenue.com

Participants:

  • Christian L. Frock, writer and curator, Invisible Venue: On creating public platforms through unconventional organizational partnerships
  • Jonn Herschend, artist and co-publisher, The Thing: On recent high profile commercial projects and creating equitable corporate collaborations with integrity
  • Ernest Jolly, artist and co-curator, ArtComplex, Oakland: On ArtComplex’s experimental exhibition model and creating opportunities within transitional real estate
  • Favianna Rodriguez, artist and activist, on producing multiples and direct studio sales to raise funds to advance larger projects
  • Stephanie Syjuco, artist and John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Visual Arts Fellow: On self-publishing her successful Guggenheim application, and transparency as a mode of working amidst competition
  • Christine Wong Yap, artist: On the development of her self-initiated New York residency and solo exhibition, and building new models of production in public spaces

More info at opencityartcity.tumblr.com.

—

That’s the brains of the thing. Here’s the behind-the-scenes braun:

The Eve Of... installation and deinstallation.

The Eve Of… installation and deinstallation.

Standard
Citizenship, Meta-Practice

Intersection for the Arts as We Knew It

San Francisco’s relentless economics cuts close to the bone, dismantling Intersection for the Arts.

I had the honor of exhibiting at San Francisco non-profit art organization Intersection for the Arts in 2004 and 2012.

Backlit curator Kevin Chen speaks at the opening of "In Other Words," 2012. my Positive Signs drawings are on the wall behind him.

Backlit curator Kevin Chen speaks at the opening of “In Other Words,” 2012. My Positive Signs drawings are on the wall behind him.

 

In particular, curator Kevin Chen has been a major ally to me (he’s the “k” that kicks off this sequence of artistic advancements on Works Make Work). Moreover, he’s been a thoughtful, dedicated contributor towards keeping SF’s art programming current, diverse, and critical. (Here’s a great 2008 SFGate profile that captures his essence, i.e., “Placid, soft-spoken, with a low, late-night-radio kind of voice, Chen brings to his work a combination of sangfroid and compulsive work ethic.”) He’s worked countless late nights personally installing exhibitions; his work as a curator has really been curator/exhibitions manager/installer/art handler/framer. He could also be found delivering erudite introductions to Intersection’s jazz performances, and donating his time and expertise to classes and likeminded arts nonprofits. He’s a practicing artist, drawing detailed graphite drawings inspired by San Francisco’s skyline.

I came away from my first exhibition at Intersection’s Valencia Street location impressed with the staff’s commitment to excellence and inquiry despite a shoestring budget.

They’ve stayed afloat amidst recessions and busts, but they won’t survive San Francisco’s current climate intact. They’ve laid off curators including Kevin, and will suspend programming. See Christian L. Frock’s “San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts Suspends Programs, Lays Off Curators” on KQED Arts (May 22, 2014) for more info. For many artists, this is another painful, irrevocable loss in the art community, as documented in Frock’s “Priced Out” series.

Since I moved away in 2010, people ask if I’ll return to the Bay Area. Its clearly hostile conditions, and the tolls they’re taking on the arts community, do not beckon.

What is to be done? Perhaps, as MA implored,

Everyone, go to galleries, museums, performances, and any and all cultural events!!! Invest in your local cultural institutions before they are gone…. please!

Standard