D O A R T : The sign that once read Indoor Garden Organic Supercenter became a guerrilla message. Consider it an alternative gateway to the downtown Las Vegas Arts District. I will be taking an indefinite summer sabbatical to work on options that could lead to the next stage of Paint This Desert. During that time I will also be doing some art-making, catching up on reading, and write non art freelance essays. You may see some tinkering around the site, and I will still be chatting up on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also, proceeds from the sales of BUNKO based prints and other general swag will be stashed away into a PtD fund. Until then, here is a summer Link + Ink with art items leading into September. Photo PtD A MURAL OF MAYORS: In the arts district Mayor Carolyn Goodman, and former mayor Oscar Goodman, with ever-present martini, offer a gleeful toast to anyone wandering the alleys on a mural safari. Photo PtD BACK UP: In between haunts at DIsneyland and Melrose Avenue, There She Is Art and You Kill Me First have begun popping-up again in the 18b. They produce works that fall under what Dr. Rafael Schacter wrote in "Esto Es Graffiti" (2014); visual ornaments that "aim for parity which held elitism in contempt." And by being seen in public space without the support of galleries works like this "overturn the laws" of traditional art markets. Photo: UNLV Creative Services: Lonnie Timmons III / Courtesy of the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art LINK: In my preview of Andrew Schoultz's "In Process" at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art I wrote the installation will be an "ephemeral summer affair with art." Don't miss it. A bar has been raised for both venue and artist . . . Some Ink: "Welcome to Andrew Schoultz’s world. It’s a colorful, sometimes fantastical place, populated by prancing beasts breathing fire," says the Review-Journal . . .More Ink: "The installations depend on confident, single-stroke, uncorrected lines. In 'Spinning Eyes,' those lines deploy large-scale optical interference patterns that literally make our casual viewer dizzy! Centered in each pattern is the all-seeing eye, inspired by the orb atop the pyramid of the almighty dollar and looking in the direction of 24-hour surveillance." That's from Las Vegas Weekly. . . Summer Days: "In Process: Every Movement Counts" runs through September 15.
OPEN CALL FOR ART: Artists are also being invited by Settler + Nomads to submit work of any medium for Today is All We Have, the website's first digital exhibition. (The deadline is July 6). Curated by Holly Lay and Mikayla Whitmore, the selected digital images or videos will be presented as an online gallery in August 2018. UNLV TEASER: A group Latino/a/x show is now being planned for Fall at UNLV. It will be mounted at the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery and a reception will be on the night of UNLV College of Fine Arts Annual Art Walk on October 12. They are hashtag ready. #ArtWalkUNLV
BELLAGIO: Curated by Midori Nishizawa, "Primal Water" will feature twenty-eight Post-War and contemporary Japanese works in painting, sculpture, photography, site-specific installation, and film by artists referring to water as a way to explore themes that respond to the absence of resources. “Las Vegas, having prospered as an oasis in the desert, has a meaningful connection with this theme,” said Nishizawa in a release. "Primal Water" at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art runs from June 29 through October 21, 2018. ADD July 5: Carol Cling is clearing her desk with last writing-to-do list. The retiring arts writer reviews 'Primal Water' in '14 Japanese artists depict water in new Bellagio gallery' / On June 30, Cling said goodbye to her readers in 'RJ arts writer reflects on 34 years of Las Vegas culture in final column.' LOCAL HEADLINES: How arts are funded in Las Vegas . . . 8NewsNow catches up on public art struck by cars or that melted in the heat . . . Las Vegas art museum draws closer to reality . . . Has anything been resolved from that Clark County Rotunda art controversy? Not much. Photo courtesy of Geia de la Peña /NCCA @ National Commission for Culture and the Arts FAR FLUNG EXHIBITION NOTES: Gig Depio "Bring Home the Bacon" at NCCA Gallery, Intramuros, Manila. Curated by Egai Fernandez. It closes June 30 (above) . . . Tim Bavington "Blow-up" is now on view at Talley Dunn Gallery in Dallas, Texas. It closes July 28, 2018 (below) . . . At Monterey Museum of Art, UNLV MFA alum Lisa Rock is the FLUX in "Currents + FLUX." With Carol Henry. From June 22 – July 22, 2018 . . . At Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles, Sush Machida just ended a two-person exhibition with Jon Fox. It ran from May 1 through June 16. Screen grab / American Craft Council HARDEST WORKING FAV IN LOCAL ART BIZ: Justin Favela is the subject in the current 2018 issue of American Craft Council Magazine, and gets video to boot…With Emmanuel “Babelito” Ortega, Latinos Who Lunch was featured at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. . . June also saw Justin as the artist-in-residence at Space Gallery in Portland, Maine . . . On June 1st, 2018, he was awarded the Alan Turing LQTBIQ Award for International Artist while representing the U.S. at ARN Culture Business Pride Festival in the Canary Islands. FINAL NOTE: Of course, I am stoked to have works from my thesis exhibition be invited to be in Outside the Box 2 for the City of Las Vegas. Sometime I will reveal what is inside these boxes. Outside the Box runs through August 30.
0 Comments
This image from a craving on a Reno-Tahoe tree looks like a Picasso to Jean Earl. Photo PtD
FIELD NOTES: Jean Earl is an artist, who with Phillip Earl, have long been dedicated to showcasing the regional aesthetic of tree carvings (arborglyphs) by Reno-Tahoe area Basque sheepherders from the first half of the 20th century. Last week at Nevada State College, the current host of the traveling exhibition “Mountain Picassos: Basque Arborglyphs of the Great Basin”, Jean talked about scouting trees that were carved with images and messages. She also shared the rubbing process with muslin that now allows us to see the found images as displayed works. As Jean noted, when you find yourself with a few dogs and a lot of sheep there is free time. The sheepherders left behind images of animals, sayings, hobbies, and in the tradition of all artists, the nude female form. It has to be noted that one constant reference was no matter the state of dress each female wore high heels, said Jean with an impish smile. "Mountain Picassos" is presented as an intersection of art, culture and nature, but one can also say it is an early form of graffiti. Instead of paint, sharp objects were used to illustrate details in bark to leave evidence of existence. Since many of the trees with works are gone from the woods, what is on display at Nevada State College Gallery is an important document as well as insightful exhibition. ‘Mountain Picassos’ runs through July 6. Nevada State College Gallery Rogers Student Center Building. 1300 Nevada State Drive, Bldg. #300 Henderson , NV Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Download a map of the works by local artists that are installed around the campus to make a day of it. THE SENTENCE
Directed by Rudy Valdez Los Angeles Premiere at LALIFF 2018 By María Margarita López On opening night of LALIFF, director Rudy Valdez took the audience on an emotional journey. The first time filmmaker’s feature debut, “The Sentence,” is a deeply personal documentary about his sister, Cindy Shank, and the impact a 15-year prison sentence had on her family; husband Adam and their three daughters, four-year-old Autumn, two-year-old Ava, and newborn Annalis. The film begins with home movies that were made to record key moments so Cindy could see what she missed in her daughters’ lives while she was in federal prison. These moments turn into a story that resonates with thousands of families across the U.S. who are affected by “the girlfriend problem,” a term that refers to Reagan-era mandatory minimum sentencing laws that restricted the judge’s ability to use discretion in sentencing. These laws resulted in harsher sentences for women who were convicted of conspiracy and imprisoned for crimes committed by their boyfriends. Between 1980 and 2014, the United States realized a 700 percent increase in the number of women behind bars, according to the non-profit The Sentencing Project, some of the data the filmmaker found during rigorous research. The minimum sentence was 15 years. Cindy’s case was not unusual. For many women it did not matter to the courts if they’d turned their lives around. Cindy paid the price for her deceased ex-boyfriend’s crimes and the film takes her personal story and creates a window into broader issues including the effects of mass incarcerations, the prison industrial complex, and the hurdles involved in getting a sentence commuted. In the hands of Valdez, the doc also delivers a story of love. It is moving to see how daughters miss a mother, and the lengths a family goes to in order to maintain ties across time and distance. Director Valdez does not sugar coat difficult issues, but respects his subject’s willingness to participate. (No other director would have been able to achieve this level of trust from these subjects). His nieces’ raw emotions hit the audience with full force, as does the candor from the rest of his family. Valdez accomplishes much as a one-man crew, first starting to film with consumer-grade phones and cameras, then moving his way up to robust Canon equipment by the end of the decade. Valdez’ evolution as a filmmaker parallels his growth as an advocate for his sister’s clemency. He organically informs the audience of the laws, policies and technicalities underlying his argument this is unjust sentencing. Neither Cindy nor the film makes excuses for why she is serving time, but the facts presented in this emotional story, and watching those girls grow up without their mother, calls into question if $64 billion a year on the warehousing of inmates under these laws is money wisely spent. “The Sentence” will be released by HBO later this year. María Margarita López is film producer and co-founder of AjuuaEntertainment. She is based in Los Angeles. 'Moral Assault.' Photo: PtD.
FIELD NOTES: A new mural by street artist Izaac Zevalking, the social-political operative behind the brand Recycled Propaganda, continues his crafted commentary that uses pop-culture references. This one is loaded. Titled “Moral Assault,” the large-scale stencil work uses the Morton Salt logo, known in the canon of corporate marketing as the Umbrella Girl. Visible from the sidewalk on East Colorado just east of South Main Street, the icons of innocence are set against the blue field and repeated as a trio, so the stepping forward is now a synchronized march of defiance. The piece states protection from the elements is no longer hiding under an umbrella, but raising a fist in clenched protest. With the gesture of head facing down, the hand in the air kindles the moment when gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos wore black gloves. They raised their fists in a Black Power salute when the national anthem was played during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. What are the three salt girls protesting? That’s not clear. Is it something from the current White House that questions a moral choice via Tweet or policy action? The title also hints that sexual assault is the topic. It could be anything. During these times seeking something to speak out on is not hard. In this reign, it pours. Andrew Schoultz at the Barrick Museum of Art on the campus of UNLV.
Back in April, Andrew Schoultz used the concrete slopes of Winchester's skate park as mural space. The project, led by Alisha Kerlin and The Barrick Museum of Art, with support from Clark County’s public art initiative, was the first stage of two-part programming designed to engage Las Vegas with a guest artist known for a style that came out of California’s streets and now revered in galleries. Schoultz shifts indoors at The Barrick Museum of Art for a summer mix of easel paintings, installations, and interactive works. There will also be murals painted directly on walls that engage viewers in the same way as some of the Schoultz paintings do. They keep viewer's eyes moving through an abundance of color, spotting figures along the way. It is not far from a skater’s worldview of looking out for objects in physical space, committing a quick glance while moving on a piece of wood with wheels so your ride won’t be interrupted by striking an immovable object. The cross culture of skater and street art is not uncommon, but rarely fully realized as a shared experience with the meticulously craftsmanship by Schoultz, who is known for works that are concentric emblems that overlap and crash with each other. Curator Andres Guerrero will exhibit other forms of Schoultz’s visual language, some using simple shapes in complex forms, others playing with texture or fluorescent paint. But it will be the on-site installation that will have you retreat into the Barrick for an ephemeral summer affair with art. Andrew Schoultz "In Process: Every Movement Counts" Curated by Andres Guerrero June 2 to September 15, 2018 Opening Reception June 2 (5 p.m.) Barrick Museum of Art UNLV There is a new mural in the city.
It is at the West Las Vegas Cultural Center, a commission that began when police, staff from the center, and the city's cultural heads of state wondered if art would help curb negative activity. They went to the Arts Commission for the connections and funding. Together they picked the right artist: Andre Wilmore, also known as Dray, whose prolific portfolio of murals and gallery work bounce back and forth from figurative, pop-art, ethnic art, and graffiti. An open call for muralists was made in September, 2017, and Dray was awarded the commission and began working on it in March, 2018. The mural, titled "Building a Better Future", was unveiled on May 11. Dray is often known for an earth-tone palette and a style that, as Danielle Kelly once wrote, “suggests the influence of Picasso and Braque.” This new mural hits multiple layers of cubism beyond Pablo Picasso (1881-1983) and George Braque (1882-1963). It also carries the cubist manners of Spanish painter Juan Gris (1887-1927), who brought in graphic composition to the form. Like Gris, Dray pulls back the visual chaos without sacrificing movement or shape by tempering the complicated collage of cubism perspectives. That allows the mural to be playful by committing geometric shapes in the portraits and background. It gives the work a graphic simplicity up close, or when walking up to it from the parking lot. A sense of play is needed for the long-standing cultural and recreation site that serves the West Las Vegas neighborhood. Set on the long wall that extends the depth of the park, the mural is a centerpiece that reaches the middle of a long horizontal plane of cement block wall with synchronous perspectives divided by thrusts of color to give it an urban cadence. The mural also speaks to other art movements. At the beginning there is a figure painted with a hint of surrealism that breaks the flow of curves and angles. This is not out of context in the work informed by 20th century cubist masters. Painter Wifredo Lam (1902–1982) introduced a multicultural blend of Cuban, African and European forms that synchronized Cubism with the Surrealists. At the other end of the mural there is an image meant to be a powerful break from the mural’s makeup, an urgent call for the original mission of the piece. Two hands are bathed in red and blue light - not unlike rival gang colors - to show clenched unity. Influences aside, “Building a Better Future” is all Dray, all day. This public art does its civic chore not only by serving as a backdrop for the park, but also fulfills an underused duty of introducing references of art history, including links to ethnic ties, to young viewers. The mural’s title has additional meaning, too: a suggestion of how to think about the wall’s future. The wall has older murals that lead up to the new piece, which ends at a near halfway mark of the concrete wall. For now, the rest of the cement bricks are empty. Someday it could be completely covered Dray “Building A Better Future” West Las Vegas Cultural Center 947 W Lake Mead Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89106 HOCKEY FEVER: Las Vegas sculpture and showgirls add to the spirit of sport. Game 5 between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets is Sunday at Noon. SPEAKING OF PHOTOS: Photographer Mikayla Whitmore shot an ESPN photo essay that documented Vegas puck fans. The story headline, “Sorry Detroit, Las Vegas is the new Hockeytown,” caused a stir. Some in Detroit even took umbrage, even though at that level of editorial decision-making, headlines are not written by the reporter or photographer. . . Still: Whitmore stood by it, and said so on KNPR. "I know they have 50 plus years on us, but we're coming out of the gate swinging," she said. "And if they think they can do it better, prove it." MORE HOCKEY TRASH-TALK: Enjoy the last few days (or day) of the Twitter throw-down between Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and the Winnipeg Public Library. They stack book titles to diss each other's team. It has become an anti-love fest between the two new rival towns . . . They Started It: Winnipeg kicked the shins of other cities with a civilized tone since the playoffs began. "Things usually escalate as the series unfolds, but Las Vegas Clark-Country Library's first tweet — a picture of a book titled 'Hockey: How it Works' — was rather rude," reported CBC News. Monique Woroniak, the Canadian librarian behind the Tweets, was pleased. "We were happy that they went a little less polite right away because it's actually easier," said Woroniak to CBC, adding she "prefers to drop the gloves and pleasantries right off the hop." . . . Our Spokesperson: The Las Vegas smack-talker is Camille Cannon, who was recently featured on FOX 5. She's got game. RECALLING RIVALRIES: High-brow museums went low during recent Super Bowls. Using the hashtag #MuseumBowl the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Boston's Museum of Fine Artstraded barbs in 2018. Boston also challenged the High Museum of Art in 2017, throwing down some alternative art history with works from their collections. . . . Not to be an instigator . . .but: If there is a Game 6 or 7, the Barrick Museum of Art's rival could be the University of Winnipeg gallery. HOCKEY TOON TOWN: Juan Muniz, known for his recurring image of a child in bunny PJs, is getting attention for his cartoon take on Chance, the mascot of the Golden Knights. The visual comment on playoff victories was noticed by the team and Muniz's work had a cameo on the T-Mobile Arena video board. . . By The Way: It behooves me to remind the Golden Knights that the artist is also a muralist-for-hire. . . Add: Muniz posts he will painting live at DeRubeis Fine Art (inside Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood) from 1 to 5 p.m. on June 2. BREAK-AWAY LINKS: Matthew Couper work was selected for the 65th Blake Prize Exhibition at Casula Powerhouse Art Centre in Australia. It runs through July 1, 2018. . . .Couper sends word and congratulations to Tina Havelock Stevens who won the Blake Prize with her work "Giant Rock," an interdisciplinary piece filmed in the Mojave Desert. . . MORE: Couper is also being featured at the Nevada Arts Council’sOXS Gallery in Carson City through July 13. UNLV PART 1: “Nowadays, even the artist’s sincere need for personal expression seems so 20th century. How then, as a member of the 2018 UNLV Bachelor of Fine Arts cohort, do you make meaningful art? The six young artists exhibiting in the BFA Studio Art 2018 exhibition at Donna Beam Gallery suggest you do it with courage, know-how and … materials,” wrote Dawn-Michelle Baude for L.V. Weekly. UNLV PART 2: UNLV's welcome mat for the new Chair of Art, Marcus Civin, reached Artforum. UNLV PART 3: Laura Brennan, the final UNLV MFA Candidate (and serious hockey fan) announced her tintype, 'Silver Manipulation III," has been selected for The Image Flow's 3rd Annual Alternative Photography Juried Exhibition. It runs from July 14 through September 7 in Mill Valley, California . . . "Transience," Brennan's thesis exhibition, will have a reception on June 15. Photo: PtD CSN: You can support other young art colleagues by attending the CSN Coyotes Art Department 2018 Juried Student Exhibition It runs through June 23 in the Fine Arts Gallery and the Artspace Gallery. REMINDER: Andrew Schoultz's new installation "In Process: Every Movement Counts"opens June 2 at The Barrick. Previously: My take on the Schoultz skatepark design at Winchester. Added note: The top banner at the ABOUT page has a quick clip of the park in action. ALMOST BACK: Prolific and missed arts reporter, Kristen Peterson, who has taken up long form creative non-fiction, boots up her own website: TheBreadLoaf Motel.com Photo: James Stanford. MORE BREAK-AWAY LINKS: “Blue Angel: Between Heaven and Earth" opens May 24 from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Neon Museum’s Ne10 Studio. The exhibition will have the Blue Angel sign sculpture "reemerge for this temporary exhibition before undergoing restoration." . . . Lights: Fashion Show Las Vegas' “commitment to public art” comes with an light art installation, "Global Rainbow," by American artist Yvette Mattern. It can be seen from dusk to dawn for a limited-time, says the press release. . . . Another Sign: I am not sure if I am ready to call this public art, but a new welcome sign for downtown Las Vegas is coming. Photo: PtD
Andrew Schoultz on top of his world. Photo: PaintThisDesert Andrew Schoultz rode a Las Vegas skate park with his brush. He painted eyes and patterns on bright yellow bursts with broad red strokes, playing with the space like a skateboarder doing tricks on a rail. Schoultz adapted his style to other skate parks, and now Winchester has his signature look, a simpler read of his work. A graphic art version of his complex paintings, murals, and installations. A skateboarder himself, the Los Angeles-based artist works with the structure of skate parks designed to simulate random infiltration in public space, which brings street art back to a supportive subculture. The infrastructure also changes the idea of murals as art just on walls. It is also a visual form for sloping and horizontal surfaces. Often his art in public space or in galleries is a comment on globalization through relic references, such as illuminated manuscripts and ancient cartography. At Winchester, the use of bold line and form are simpler. In some spots they appear as if they were applied by skateboard wheels that were dipped in paint. That allows Schoultz to still tap into his style of fanciful narratives as a leave-behind. The untitled public art was coordinated by Clark County’s public art programming under the county’s arts plan and The Barrick Museum of Art. It’s the first stage of an exhibition that starts at Winchester before riding into The Barrick Museum of Art as an installation over the summer. It is all reflective of how street art and skaters share a long timeline. In the early 70s, when artists took to the streets to paint ideas, suburban pools were emptied to accommodate skaters. Skate park design is based on that drain and infiltration, which led to artists painting works that complimented color and movement that is physical and emotional. The new work at Winchester is part of that tradition. White patches shaped as bursts of energy were painted on bright yellow by a crew made up of project staff and volunteers from the Las Vegas art community. Using a rich red, Schoultz painted the major illustrations with gestural language. The main ramp has the lead single eye, a concrete cyclops, that watches over other eyes that gaze back. Rhythmic lines give each pupil, or the grey negative space, a vibration. Other spots look like an opening to an exposed yellow brick road with drops of grey and white. When painting the larger ramp, Schoultz sat on the slope, sunglasses cutting off glare, towel preventing his neck from matching the red paint. He worked the brush like a skater doing maneuvers, making the hard surface work with methodical play and pressure to control the flow: a movement across the surface. Skater and painter were as one. He guided others in the adding details, like the brick line patterns, or poles treated with red aerosol. The artist, county, and university successfully practiced an established institutional connection. In 2011, when The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles held their exhibition “Art in The Streets,” they noted the significance of street art to skateboarding aesthetic, including having pro skater Lance Mountain and artist Geoff McFetridge produce a skate ramp design. Just last month, artist-activist Ai Weiwei and street artist Shepard Fairey designed skateboards with political commentary. Though Schoultz does not shy away from a spray and counter spray of social commentary, the new design at Winchester is about adding color to space that compliments movement, a recreational version of an underground aesthetic.
Disclosure: My GA at UNLV was mainly at the Barrick Museum of Art, and a former contributor for Clark County’s public art programming. That said, I agree with the critique by Daniel, 16, who visited the park when it reopened April 21. In a positive affirmation of the skate park's new look the skateboarder said: “This is sick.”
Photo: Eugene Rolfe
FIELD NOTES: My MFA career at UNLV winds down with an invitation to the public to visit the artist’s studios, in my case a former classroom in the oldest building on campus, Grant Hall. The current MFA Candidates are across the street in GRA, a former Carl's Jr . . . As the pitch says the evening will be a way to see MFA's work in progress. For us short-timers it is a chance to hold a fire sale. ANOTHER PITCH: I planned to use the last few weeks to get final studio time in, so there may be non-Bunko stuff to see. Or you can pick up a BUNKO box for ten bucks. Some are spoken for. A few will be available.
ALSO: That evening will also be the closing reception for the talented Nanda Sharif-Pour’s MFA Midway Exhibition, “Alienation.” That will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. . . . Incoming Artists: There is exciting work by UNLV BFA students Amanda Keating, Clarice Cuda, Julie Meyers, Nicole Weber, Sarah Arnold and Ty Suksangasophon. They will talk about their work at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art Auditorium at 6 p.m. The exhibition and opening reception at Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery will be from 7:30 to 9 p.m. . . Last but not least: Laura Brennan's Thesis exhibition, "Transience," will be from June 8 - June 22. The reception will be June 15, 2018, at the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery. |
An Online Arts JournalExhibition:
February 2 – March 31, 2019 Artist Reception and Gallery Talk: Sunday, February 10, 2019, 4 p.m.–7 p.m. SPONSOR
Archives
February 2019
Categories |