Fawn Gehweiler: Baby Lemonade
Tonight in Oakland, CA, Fawn Gehweiler's new solo art show titled Baby Lemonade opens at Down at Lulu's. The reception runs from 6 to 9pm, so hurry on over to 6603 Telegraph Ave. if you're in the area, and read on to find out more straight from the artist.
Fawn, known for her gorgeous mod girls and bright vintage color palette, describes the drive behind her most recent work to SG readers: "This series is based almost entirely on nostalgia and the innate desire to create and disappear into an alternate reality reminiscent of the hazy dreamscape of my youth."
Born into a family of dropouts, drifters and dreamers, I grew up in a series of vans and boats and teepees, Swiss Family Robinson treehouses, secret forts and hand built solar powered hideaways in the mountains of Hawaii. I was raised in a time warp of late 60s and early 70s hand me downs, very much informed by psychedelia, and spent my entire childhood throwing mud pie tea parties and playing with pet wild boars in an endless parade of pinafore smocks, gingham bloomers, bibbed dresses and sailor suits inherited quite significantly after their heyday from cousins more than 10 years my senior, and falling in love with the tattered felt dolls and long forgotten cartoon characters that accompanied them in their journeys over the sea and into my wardrobe. This series is a deeper exploration into that personal iconography, the accouterments of a childhood always present in my work but never explained that serve to create a patchwork of my visual identity, and an exploration into the time and landscape from which these objects were born, well before my time, but still loaded with so much personal significance and forever fueling my sense of wonder.
SG: Share a sneak preview of your show with us! Which is your favorite piece?
FG: My absolute favorite piece in the show was actually inspired by a super-cute mod Japanese drag queen from the 60's film that I'm most obsessed with right now: Funeral Parade of Roses! (Pictured Below)
The History of SF in Buildings
Get a free crash course with the American Institute of Architects on the evolution and definition of San Francisco architecture. The new Center for Architecture + Design is celebrating its inaugural show tonight titled Informing the Future of Bay Area Architecture. The reception runs from 5:30 - 7:30 at 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600.
For the lazy or the afar, check out the AIA's architecture podcasts, aka ArchCasts, and get to know the buildings around you.
[The exhibition] highlights important architectural works in San Francisco and Marin county over the last 125 years through the trends and technologies that made them possible, from adobe to glass.
One of the West Coast's only galleries devoted solely to the exploration of architecture and design, the AIA San Francisco Gallery specializes in exhibitions showcasing the best of Bay Area design talent, while also exploring issues of national and international concern. Each month, panel discussions explore the issues and themes presented within the current exhibition.
Crafty Bastards
City by city, holiday shopping is already meeting its crafty maker as the weather gets cooler. This Sunday, October 1st, Washington D.C. offers up one of the most exciting shows on the East coast, so clear off your schedule and check out Crafty Bastards.
Crafty Bastards is an outdoor artists' market sponsored by the Washington City Paper featuring a ton of handmade and unique artisan wares atypical of your average craft show. Check out the enormous vendor list, which also includes the full entertainment roster for the day.
All the info you'll need to attend is here.
Banksy Recap and the Elephant in the Room
Last week saw the opening of enigmatic UK graffiti artist Banksy's living installation in Los Angeles, Barely Legal, the epicenter of which was in a mysterious warehouse in L.A. The location was announced the day of the opening and the show was only up for three days making it a bona-fide Happening and a chance for L.A. to briefly see what Banksy has up his sleeve. The show received a slew of visitors as well as a slew of criticism aimed at "the elephant in the room": one of Banksy's pieces, quite literally a live, captive elephant painted to blend in with the wallpaper.
Photo Location: and more to the story
Way to be an ele-friend, Banksy. The artist was petitioned to remove the paint and th elephant Tai was scrubbed down for the remainder of the show as of Sunday.
Tongue-in-cheek, political and absurd, here are a few pieces and links to the respective blogs that captured them:
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Photo Location: "The red phone booth from Banksys show made a brief 'illegal' appearance on the streets of downtown
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See more aftermath in the Banksy Flickr group.
Kraftwork in Atlanta
Every first Thursday of the month from 7-10pm, Young Blood Gallery and Boutique in Atlanta, GA hosts an alternative artists' market called Kraftwork. According to the website, vendor space and attendance is free and space availability is on a first-come first-serve basis. Aspiring crafters in Atlanta and handmade enthusiasts, the next event is October 5th!
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Affair at the Jupiter Hotel
Swanky Portland, Oregon hotel the Jupiter is hosting a third annual art expo. Affair at the Jupiter Hotel invites art galleries and representatives from all over the country to take over a room of the hotel to install their works. Walls, windows, beds, bathtubs - every surface of each room gets covered with contemporary works by the participating curators' represented artists.
Affair runs September 29th - October 1st. The show is open to the public for $5 admission from 12-7pm on Saturday and Sunday; the ticket price is much more steep for serious collectors and art professionals. Opening party kicks off at 10pm on Friday night with a show by Stephen Malkmus. For a list of the participating galleries and to browse their collections online, click here; for more info about the full event, visit affair-jupiterhotel.com.
Frizzly Gur
This Saturday, September 23rd at Giant Robot SF, Rachell Sumpter will be sharing her paintings in a show titled Frizzly Gur. This is the second time GR and Rachell teamed up recently, as she has a wonderful article about her trip to meet the Sami people, a contemporary reindeer-herding Nordic tribe sharing striking similarity to the imagined characters and environments of her paintings, in the most recent issue of Giant Robot magazine. Those missing the show should surely pick up a copy.
Craftin' Outlaws in Ohio
Columbus, Ohio seems an unlikely location for an event called Craftin' Outlaws, but on Saturday, September 23rd, there it shall be. Featuring over 50 crafty vendors selling handmade art, gifts, apparel and more, the show will offer more than a handful in door prizes alone. Clamor is one of the sponsors for the event, so sample copies will be free to visitors, along with goodie bags and vendor discounts for the first 100 attendees. Columbus, Craftin' Outlaws is calling your name.
For more info, check out the Craftin' Outlaws website or myspace page. Those outside the ol' "Buckeye State" can shop online with many of the vendors from the show on their websites.
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Tiki Time at Roq La Rue
Tiki News curator Otto Von Stroheim and Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle have teamed up for Tiki Art Now! Volume 3, a survey of contemporary tiki art by "the genre's top artists" opening this Friday, Sept. 15th. The reception runs from 6-9pm with live music by Lushy at 7pm. The show features work by artists such as Shag, Tim Biskup, Bosko, Tiki Tony, Lisa Petrucci, Derek Yaniger and many more. The paintings in the show are fresh and often large scale retrographic interpretations of the classic central Pacific art style.
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What is Tiki?
The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Tiki as "a wooden or stone image of a Polynesian God."
While fans of Tiki Style might border on religious fanaticism in their love for all things Tiki and their obsession for collecting Tiki mugs and menus, the Tikis they worship are wholly American artistic creations.
In its heyday the decor, food and music used in Tiki bars was referred to as South Seas, Polynesian, or Exotica and later simply as Tiki. Today, the umbrella term Tiki is used to describe the entire gamut of Pan Polynesian arts that were applied in those restaurants and bars from the late 1930s to the mid 1970s. Book of Tiki author Sven Kirsten dubbed it "Polynesian Pop." I prefer to call it Tiki Style and recognize it as a bona fide art movement. Whatever you call it, it's back and it's getting bigger. - Otto Von Stroheim
Roq La Rue is located at 2312 2nd Ave (between Bell and Battery Sts) in Seattle. For more show info, click here, and for more on the latest and most thorough exploration of tiki art and culture, check out Tiki News.
Or, for a simulated experience, just click around the online gallery while sipping a Mai Tai.
Renegade Chicago, This Sept. 16
Chicagoans, brace yourselves. Renegade Craft Fair is the midwest's one-stop for handmade, unusual and DIY crafts and art, and is kicking off its fourth year running this September 16th and 17th. With over 180 vendors, the show will guarantee first-rate handmade by some of the best crafters, printmakers and artists from Chicago and beyond.
Psst! Out-of-towners, get your holiday shopping done early with website shopping enabled crafters c/o the 2006 Renegade vendor list.
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Visit the site for full details on attending the show this upcoming weekend; the fest takes place in Wicker Park off N. Damen Ave., from 11am - 6pm.
Dear To Me at Rowan Morrison
This Friday, September 1st, a show opens at Oakland's Rowan Morrison, a contemporary art gallery in Oakland, CA. Showing the photography of Jen Siska in a show titled Dear To Me, visit with the artist from 7-10pm at the reception. The artist self-describes her photography as an experiment between two natural light techniques: The first, mostly of landscapes, an attempt at recording environments with a kind of open-eyed wonder and honesty; the other, portraiture of "intriguing" people shot in simple, undirected sessions.
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The show runs through September 24th. Plan a visit or check out more of Jen's work.
Graffiti: The History of the Urban Phenomenon
There's only one more week to catch the Brooklyn Museum's survey on Graffiti. The exhibit is based historically on Brooklyn's reputation as a richly decorated borough, and curated using the donated collection of an early collector who recognized the impending transfer of graffiti in public places to "private [art] collections and galleries." Graffiti recognizes many of the early "name" artists who contributed and influenced what has become a bona fide art movement and the historical events that contributed to its popularity.
Forms of graffiti have been discovered on ancient Roman and Mayan architecture and like today were both illegal and a form of communication. Modern graffiti, which is associated with hip-hop culture and spans all racial and economic groups, began in the mid- to late 1960s; it made its way to New York City and quickly became a phenomenon. Urban youth used the sides of subway trains and buildings as their canvases, reclaiming sections of their neighborhoods by "tagging" them with stylized renditions of their names or the names of the groups they formed.
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One of the facets of the exhibit is a graffiti mural on which visitors to the museum are invited to leave their marks. The show closes September 3rd at the Brooklyn Museum.
Out-of-towners can doodle in the Brooklyn Museum Virtual Graffiti gallery and download the podcast interviews with contributing artists Crash and Ellis Gallagher.
Magic Lantern Poster Art
Magic Lantern is a series of thematic, experimental film events in Providence showing the work of independent filmmakers and animators. It is one example of a growing movement of film created and shown outside of the traditional theater format. For a little more of a glimpse into alternative and experimental cinema, possibly in your town, check out Flicker.
However, I'll leave the film commentary up to my fellow SG editor Chris_Gore; the reason why I'm drawing attention to this Rhode Island event is to showcase the amazing posters contributing filmmakers have created for the series. Browse the poster gallery online to see original works, screenprinted and sold at absurdly affordable prices ($12 ea + s/h) to fund future Magic Lantern events.
Photo Location: Artwork by Carrie Collier
Post Deux
This Saturday, August 19th, check out LA's Giant Robot GR2 Gallery for the second group Post-It show, Post Deux. Recruiting a cast of artists prone to doodling, curators Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson put together this show whose gimmick is $20 artwork on the sticky 3x3" paper squares typically revered by office managers and cubicle minions.
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The reception takes place from 6:30pm - 10pm on Saturday and the show closes September 13th with artwork sales likely to hit the Giant Robot website shortly after the opening.
The Self and the Shadow
SuicideGirl Roethke boasts such a range of creative talents, the more I learn about this wonder girl, the more I'm impressed. Her visual work spans mediums; from prints, photos, paintings, crafts and more, she does it all. And, in the true spirit of a renaissance crafter, she mixes together her skills to produce inventive results of her own design, such as her collection of sculptural dolls.
Folky with a twist of strange, contemporary sexual irony, her hand-sewn dolls are surreal, playful and works of art. Each doll stands out from the collection in its own way, bursting with originality. Of course, keeping with her compassionate beliefs, the dolls are made from recycled, salvaged and vegan materials.
This month, visitors and residents of Arizona will be lucky enough to catch an exhibit in Phoenix of her dolls at The Trunk Space in the showThe Self and the Shadow with artist Michele Bledsoe. The opening reception is August 18th at 6pm with a follow-up reception on September 1st.
If you won't be in Phoenix this month, you can still catch Roethke's work on her website, which includes a gallery of archived artwork and tutorials as well as her shop where you can pick up original work direct from the beauty/artist herself.
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Crafty Wonderland
Crafty Wonderland is Portland's monthly guerilla "art & craft extravaganza!" The show occurs on the second Sunday of every month at the awesome Doug Fir, a stunning bar/club/lounge any Portland visitors should make a point of checking out anyway. However, brimming with awesome, unique, DIY craft from about 40 vendors each month, plan your visit around Crafty Wonderland: the next show is on August 13th from 11-4pm.
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Check out the vendor list for a roster of current and past participants, with links to many individual shops online so you won't necessarily be missing out if you're missing out.
San Diego Punk Rock Craft Fair
This Saturday and Sunday, July 29th and 30th is the first ever San Diego Punk Rock Craft Fair. Aside from the many vendors gracing the event, there will also be bands, a zine demo, a henna tattoo demo, a dominatrix stand-up comic, the Derby Dolls, a wrestling show, burlesque show, door prizes, gift bags and more. The event will be held at UCSD's Che Cafe from 10am to 6pm.
It may be called a craft fair, but don't expect to find any crocheted doilies on hand. The Punk Rock Craft Fair has very little in common with the church bazaar atmosphere usually associated with craft sales. The Punk Rock Craft Fair, to be held this July 29th and 30th at the Che Collective on the UCSD campus, is a free two-day festival that combines raw musical performances, underground arts and crafts, and side-show like attractions to create a truly unique experience.
I'll be there on Saturday; hope to see you then. However, those missing out on the weekend of festivities can check out the vendor gallery to shop online.
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Tree Show II at GRSF
It's a little late for Arbor Day, but beginning this weekend and running for about a month is Giant Robot SF's second Tree Show. A curated cast of over 40 artists were asked to produce artwork honoring our leafy friends. A portion of proceeds will benefit Friends of the Urban Forest to keep San Francisco green.
Artists will include Corey Arnold, Robert Bellm, Gary Benzel, Bigfoot One, Calef Brown, Jeffrey Brown, Martin Cendreda, Catia Chien, David Choe, Josh Cochran, Allison Cole, Jen Corace, Evah Fan, Susie Ghahremani, Greenlady/HUGA, Jun Seo Hahm, Ryan Heshka, Kelly Lynn Jones, Megan Kelso, kozyndan, Jack Long, Jacob Magraw-Mickelson, Nikki McClure, Matt Moroz, Munkao, National Forest, Chris Neal, Saelee Oh, Beci Orpin, PCP, John Pham, Brian Ralph, Albert Reyes, Zach Rossman, Jay Ryan, Souther Salazar, Rachell Sumpter, Deth P. Sun, Daria Tessler, Kelly Tunstall, Megan Whitmarsh, and Andrew Jeffrey Wright.
The reception for the tree show is July 29th from 6:30-10pm at GRSF's new location at 618 Shrader St. in San Francisco. Check back at the GRSF website for more info and for artwork sales online.
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Crafty Like Ice Is Cold: Craftster Book Tour
Leah Kramer, founder of the revolutionary DIY website Craftster, had the brilliant idea to compile the kitschiest of retro crafts into a book. The full color how-to, The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts is "hilariously kitschy" as a coffee table book, but also genuinely triggers the feel-good impulse to make something cool or weird out of old junk lying around the house.
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Leah will be visiting west coast cities San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Portland this week on her book tour. Each event will be held at a brick-and-mortar shop or bookstore and will feature demos, surprise craft swaps and signings. Bring something blank to embellish Craftster-style (like a t-shirt) because the whole Craftster campaign is to "do something crafty" and dammit, Leah's going to see to it that you do!
Of course, for those missing out on the book tour or want to be more involved, be sure to show off your results of completed Craftster book projects in the forum.
Get Out Your Capes and Wizard Hats, It's Comic Con
This week kicks off San Diego's enormous comics convention, Comic Con. Beginning this Thursday, July 20th, comic, gaming, animation and anime enthusiasts, creators and fanatics congregate for anything and everything comics-related.
Some programming highlights this year include keynote speakers Dan Clowes (creator of Ghost World, Eightball), Shag, Ray Bradbury (author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles), and James Kochalka (Monkey vs. Robot) as well as some important contributing artists to ongoing titles and video games such as those published by Marvel and DC.
Aside from the hundreds of exhibitors, there will also be the annual Eisner Awards ceremony, art show, film festival, and something I personally find simultaneously disturbing and entertaining, The Masquerade. Download the PDF schedule for a full guide to programming at this year's Comic Con.
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The festivities run July 20th - 23rd with previews for super comics nerds only on July 19th here in San Diego at the SDCC. More info here (and maybe even here) as the fest unfolds.
