City of Arts & 4 Closure

(clip from KCET.org) 2008

Fast Forward - Retro

After high school, I was fortunate to spend the years 1978 to 1993 in New York City and surrounding provinces -- moving all the time between new apartments art galleries among friends on subway trains transported through the beats of gospel, jazz, reggae, rap -- and the cultural presence now known as hip hop. Arriving from Motown, I have to admit that Harlem, Brooklyn, the boogie down Bronx, Queens, and (ok) Staten Island's dress, slang, and expressive forms were to new to me -- even queer. Afterall, what was all this braggadocio posturing, graffiti vandalism, and spinning around on the head out in the public space? And most of all, who were these no-name, non-Marvin Gaye crooners rockin' the mike? Ohmygod, wassup? It was funky though. Run DMC, LL, Slick, Lyte, mixed in with some New Jack Swing. Downtown had punk. Uptown had the makings of a form that still lays sway on kids of the kids of the kids of the rap revolution.  This month UC Riverside's Sweeney Art Gallery features a po-mo reflection on the legacy of Hip Hop iconography in Uncovered: A Pageant of Hip Hop Masters. This living exhibit at the interstices of performance and painting allows participants to integrate themselves into a new conception of visual memory. The project is the brainchild of Rickerby Hinds, professor of theater at UCR -- local Hip Hop-theater innovator and advocate.  Some of the albums being considered for the living tableaux include Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Run-DMC and LL Cool J. Check out a clip > here <  July 23 - August 1 at UCR SAG  www.artsblock.ucr.edu

Nocturnal Desert

Joshua Tree Photographic Excursion 2009 weekend actually began in Palms Springs with a conversation between Colin Westerbeck, director of UCR/CMP, and photo collector David Knaus at his home, sharing a diverse collection of desert photographs from around the world.  After a provocative presentation highlighting formal concerns, the assembled group made its way to Twentynine Palms for a workshop on night photography led by photojournalist Carlos Puma.  Participants were able to train their lenses on a brilliant full moon shone over Joshua Tree during the entire three days. Finally, in between forays into the park to snap pictures, photographers gathered at the Tumbleweed Gallery in Morongo Valley for a local photo show.

The final exhibit of classically styled landscapes and abstract floral renderings opened June 1st and will run thru August 30th. Photographers represented in Joshua Tree 2009 include: Alma Lopez, Ami Flori, Andrea Price, Angelique Galvan, Anthony Rosales, Barbara May, Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein, Bruce Miller, CR Stecyk, Carlos Garcia, Carlos Puma, Corinne Cardenas, D’Arcy Curwen, Debera LaFave, Diane Calder, Doug Buckley, Michael J. Elderman, Eszter Delgado-Betz, Geno Lopez, Geoff, Shaw, Isabel Delgado, Jacalyn Lopez Garcia, Jason Ejercito, Jim Belsley, Jose Beruvides, Julia Buckley, Julian Cuevas, Justin Kenward, Katelin Johnson, Laura Araujo, Mary Maurry, Mateo Delgado-Betz, Memo Cuevas, Pat May, Peter Krumbein, Rex Bruce, Reggie Woolery, Rhoda Lewis, Susanne Melanie Berry, and Thom Cameron.

For info on other UC Riverside ARTSblock events see: www.artsblock.ucr.edu

Socal + Global

This year's MyGlobalVillage High School Summer Session  has over 60 youth registered for the six weeks of workshops, field trips, and screenings. There are also 12 college students who have come forward to serve as facilitators and production interns. Some of the old and new documentaries to be screened are Underground Undergrads: Undocumented Immigrants Speak Out (US), My Country, My Country (Iraq), Al Otra Lado (Mexico), Born into Brothels (India), Life and Debt (Jamaica), Rize (US), Afghan Star (Afghanistan), Firaaq (India), Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (US), and a compilation of videos from around the world under the title Youth Producing Change. 

MGV, developed by the Digital Studio Program @ UCR ARTSblock, is an interactive educational summer program in which participants screen award-winning documentaries each week focused on social issues affecting young people around the world, co-sponsored by Human Rights Watch Film Festival High School Program. After discussion of documentaries, student create a media-related response, either for the web, the street or the classroom.  For more info, email: digitalstudioinfo@ucr.edu or check our website: www.artsblock.ucr.edu

Commercial Modern

Last week, I made it out to the Getty Museum to take in a conversation on the future of museums (rather than the future of art) featuring a fantastic keynote by Ivan Gaskell who holds the title Margaret S. Winthrop Curator of Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts in the Harvard Art Museum, and Senior Lecturer on History. During lunch, I ran across the work of photographer Paul Outerbridge.  Aside from his images' striking resemblance to modernist paintings, Outerbridge's is credited with developing a multi-step color process, which gave his work the "aura of the new" both in his commercial work and art photography. In the exhibition, the lines blur between these two impulses. 

To develop interest in Outerbridge, the Getty is organizing a course around the exhibition. The course is titled "Paul Outerbridge: An American Photo Modernist," where curator and photography scholar Graham Howe will look deeper at his work. The course will include a lecture on Outerbridge, plus dedicated tours and discussion of the exhibition Paul Outerbridge: Command Performance, which presents over 100 photographs from all periods of his career. For tickets or detailed information on this event you can call 310/440.7300 

If you make it to the Getty, see the show its paired with, Jo Ann Callis: Woman Twirling, for a comparison of modern and post-modern approaches to figures and grounds. Admission to the Getty is always free. Admission for the course Paul Outerbridge: An American Photo Modernist is $20. Parking is $10.  J. Paul Getty Trust 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 403 Los Angeles, CA 90049.