Leveled: An Interactive Experiment in Art

The Museum Staff says goodbye to Leveled.  We had so much fun with you and will miss you tons!  Thank you to Marisol, Ingram, Doris and Wes.  You are all so talented, we can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

Love,

The Center Museum Team

Channeling Mondrian

Has your Mom ever told you your birth story? My Mom never shies away from the subject. I think she just likes to make me feel guilty. The birth story I love the most is the one my co-workers tell me regarding how I got hired here at the Center Museum. It has all the fun, feel-good elements—minus the gory details. Here’s a peek at one of the reason I got hired: my vintage, Mondrian inspired shoes! Beth, the Museum Coordinator, got me a ring to match for Christmas. It’s been the highlight of my holiday season.

Also, look out for photos of Security Guard Joe’s car that we will be painting soon, inspired by this photo below. His 1990 Geo Metro will never look better!

PS. I want to be this lady!

x Carissa

Here and There, Back and Forth by Patricia Patterson

(Painting that was cut out from the Athenaeum wall), 1993

Casein on plaster

Courtesy the artist and Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA

It’s the first day of my favorite time of year, Museum Turnaround.  That’s our internal speak for ‘take the art down and put up new art’.  The Museum is alive with action, noise, energy and anticipation… and I get to wear jeans and sneakers.  One thing we are doing a little differently this time around is keeping our windows un-papered.  Normally we bring out the butcher paper and cover our windows so that no one can see in and we keep the exhibition a secret until opening night.  Well times are a changin and in lieu of our new engagement mission we will be keeping the windows uncovered for all those who walk by to peek in and watch a little of the installation process.  If you are in the neighborhood come by and press your nose against the glass.   

In advance I would like to thank the crew.  You all have a lot of work ahead of you, and as always I am sure you will pull it off with flying colors!

Tara
Art Ninja

Notes from the Front Desk: Our Inner Psychologies Regarding Ms. Augustine Greane

Here are my two cents on Wes Bruce and Ms. Augustine Greane; because I know you’re just dying to hear what I have to say!  Sitting up at the front desk, day in and day out, observing patrons and their interactions with Wes’ fort has been interesting, especially watching the difference of opinions. The majority of which range from positive to OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC! Most days people come out of the curtains with a smile and a kind word or two to say about the space, while others come out streaming tears of joy!

There are also some that have breached the barrier between the fort’s sacred dwellings and the rest of the world, and felt feelings of fear, sadness, and for some, just plain confusion. While the feelings of fear often come from small children who haven’t made peace with the dark yet, there have been adults that have explained that it made them feel joyless.

A piece can mean so many things to different people.  It represents not only the feelings of the artist, but it serves to harbor the personal projections of its viewers. While there are many very whimsical child-like elements to the fort, there is also a very somber, subdued, mysterious, yet strangely familiar quality within the space. A quality that makes us smile while at the same time wanting to shed a tear.  And that’s all one can really say about The Secrets Surrounding the Mysterious Life of Ms. Augustine Greane, no matter what emotion it summons from you, you’re sure to be entertained. Come see it (and me!) before it’s gone, December 31^st. 

xx Carissa

PS. I hope you guys liked the music vid above. Here is more from A New Normal Music. Enjoy.

These are a Few of my Favorite Things. . .

Can you hear Julie Andrews now? The holidays are upon us, and we all know that it is better to give than to receive. Or, in my case, it’s the other way around. Well, whichever way you’re leaning this season there is plenty in the museum store you can buy for me or for the other loved ones in your family, or heck, pick something up for yourself why don’tcha! Here are a few of my favorite things:

Clover and Folly Jewelry: I already have a few of April Cromer pieces, but the ones I haven’t snatched up yet are just begging to be bought. I love her cutesy, unique, and innovative style.

Bottlehood Creations: I’m just obsessed with this color blue.

Vintage Patterned Plastic Totes: All of this rain is making me miss summer weather. Can’t wait till the sun decides to crash the party so I can bring this baby along with me to the beach.

Hand Painted Sugar Skulls: Perfect for that wacky friend of yours who enjoys getting their Dia de los Muertos on every day of the year. . Oh, wait. That’s me!!

Sezio T’s: Local art and culture buffs, Sezio, brought some awesome, one-of-a-kind, artist shirts into the store. They’re selling like crazy, and for good reason. Help the hipster in your life get happy, buy them a Sezio T!

 x Carissa

Wes Bruce on Sezio

Visit Sezio to read their latest article on Wes Bruce.

Video clip - An Installation by Wes Bruce, Ms. Augustine Greane

An Installation By Wes Bruce from Bryan Bangerter on Vimeo.

Above Wes and others talk about Ms. Augustine Greane.  Touching as always.

Tara

San Diego Art Project

Over the past three months our bathroom hallway has been covered with chalkboard paint so that you could write to us about what shade of green you think you are?  Here are a few things that were up on the walls last week. 

Patricia Patterson, Just Another Thursday

For months Now Olivia [Our Museum Director] and Mary [our Museum Registrar] have been working on curating the upcoming exhibition, Patricia Patterson: Here and There Back and Forth.  Every Thursday at 9:30 a.m. they meet at Patterson’s house to discuss and work on the exhibition.  To give you all a peek into this process and Patterson’s home, I snuck into last Thursday’s meeting to take some pictures of Patricia’s house and Studio.  It is an amazing place, every artist should be envious of her studio.  Above are some pictures of my visit; below is a brief statement on the exhibition to wet your appetites. 

Patricia Patterson: Here and There Back and Forth

Opening date: February 12, 2011

This exhibition will attempt to summarize a lifetime of artist Patricia Patterson’s work.  Patterson, a nationally recognized and locally based artist and University of California, San Diego professor emeritus, creates theatrical installations and sumptuously painted snapshots that provide a visual account of facets of domestic and outdoor life on Inishmore (one of the Aran Islands located off the western coast of Ireland) and her home in Southern California. 

Born and raised on the East Coast, Patterson studied at Parsons School of Design in New York before embarking on an adventure that would steer the course of her artistic career. At the age of nineteen she read J. M. Synge’s The Aran Islands, and soon found herself on the island of Inishmore. Patterson was instantly captivated by the island, and set plans to return a year later after finishing her degree at Parsons. Upon her return to Inishmore, she spent the next two years immersing herself in an “ever changing spectacle” of land, sky, water, and language. Patterson found a craggy, rugged terrain and difficult living conditions that provided a sharp contrast to the warm and generous character of the people she met. Since this original visit, Patterson has returned to the island a dozen times for extended sojourns. These experiences serve as the origin to a life’s work that offers a series of individual glimpses into the lives of others like scenes from a film that define a set of characters and places of daily life—an everyday theatre.  At the core, Patterson makes art about “ordinary things,” a subject matter that is, as she puts it, “…tricky…Using domestic material is risky; it can seem too sentimental, too intimate.”

Artist in Residence Week Wrap-up

Artist in Residence week has now come to a close. It was invigorating to have all the artists back in the Museum galleries activating the space once again. In response to all your changes each artist has come back to their artworks and altered or added to them in order to create their ‘finished’ piece. As expected the artists surprised us with great happenings during this process and have left the galleries and hallways with more stirring work for everyone to enjoy. I would like to thank the artists for working with us on this project.  Above are a few pictures of the changes.  The show will be up until December 31, 2010 so get in here and see the changes yourself before then.
Keep your eyes peeled; there are still a few changes to come in Marisol Rendon’s installation, Esperanto.

Concert and Crash, A Huge Hit!

Last weekend [Friday Nov 12^th, 2010] the Center Museum had its first ever sleepover in the Museum.  This event included a concert with music by Meg & Bryan and Joel P. West with violinist Kelly Bennett [see image], a gourmet dinner designed and prepared by our very own Chef Justin Robinson and a fun adult friendly sleepover.  Above are some pictures of the night.  Thank you everyone who helped make this possible it was an amazing evening and we hope to do it again in the future!

Leveled - Art Events in San Diego

This day has been nuts.  We rarely have two TV camera crews come through the Museum in one day, but today was the day!  Kelly Bennett came through representing NBC to take footage of Leveled and interview our artists.  The clips from this footage along with Bennett’s piece on our show will air on NBC this Friday, November 12^th around 4:30 p.m.

In addition we just finished up shooting with FOX news about Concert and Crash and Ms. Augustine Greane.  This footage will air tonight at 10 p.m.

Art Event, San Diego

If you love the sounds composed by Joel P. West and the Tree Ring in Wes Bruce’s current Art installation at the Center Museum you won’t want to miss their next show on November 4^th at Sushi Art.  Also performing that evening will be The Vision of a Dying World.  Follow this link to Sezio’s website for more information.

http://sezio.org/news/Four-Day-Weekend.aspx

San Diego Art Event

Alternative Painting November 6, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Work with artist Ingram Ober to create alternative paintings using anything but a stuffy old paintbrush.  Come bearing items you would like to drag through paint and onto the canvas.  We will also have a few odd painting instruments in supply for you.  Be ready to create, have fun and get messy! Below are some pictures of things that might be fun to bring.

$10 Members, $13 non-members

As part of the Center’s Student Ticket Initiative, we are offering 5 FREE tickets to any college students that want to attend Almost Edible Art.  These tickets are first come first serve.

To reserve tickets call (760) 893-4100

Wes Bruce - Concert and Crash

Concert and Crash, November 12th 6:00 p.m. …

Join Artist Wes Bruce, Museum Director Olivia Luther and me for an adventurous night in the Museum.  Concert goers will hear the sonic qualities of musicians Joel P. West & the Tree Ring while amerced within Bruce’s Ms. Augustine Greane Fort structure. Those who wish to ‘crash’ with us will dine in the museum galleries, savoring tastes inspired by Bruce’s artwork and intimately experience the work by spending the night alongside friends and found objects within Bruce’s incredible installation.  I will even serve you coffee and bagels in the morning from our great deli across the street.

Get your tickets now!  There are a limited number of tickets for this special event. Tickets are first come first serve.

To reserve tickets call (760) 893-4120

Concert, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Tickets $10 Members, $15 non-members

Concert, Dinner and Museum Sleep Over, 6:00 p.m.Nov. 12th – 10:00 a.m. Nov. 13th

Tickets $50 Members, $55 non-members

Art Contest, San Diego

If you haven’t yet submitted your drawing for Marisol Rendon’s Mouth Watering Contest you only have a few weeks left!  The last day to enter the drawing contest is November 7^th.  Here are some images of drawings we have received so far. 

The selected drawings will be projected onto Rendon’s plate sculpture in her current installation, Esperanto, as well as be printed on t-shirts to be sold in the Museum.  Proceeds from the sale go to Feed the Children Organization.

Dia de los Muertos … Come if You’re Living

Monday November 1, 2010

6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Join us for the Center’s 15^th annual Day of the Dead Celebration!  This FREE event is a wonderful combination of energy and emotion while we morn those we have lost and acknowledge our own mortality.  The Museum’s Sculpture court be transformed by Eloy Tarcisio’s installation, Muerte de Todod Ofrenda de Participacion (Death Comes to Everyone, a Participatory Offering.)  Bring photos and keepsakes to decorate your own grave plot for someone or something you have lost.

The Center’s Education Studio’s will hold a plethora of art projects where you can decorate your own sugar skull, make papel picado [tissue paper flags to honor the dead], create your own paper skull masks and much more! In addition artists Daniel Martinez, Flor Kendall and Tomasito Wold will run creative workshops. 

To top it off there will be performances by Ballet Folklorico Tierra Caliente and a reading by author John Phillip Santos in the Center Theatre.  To fill your belly and quench your thirst enjoy complementary refreshments of Pan Dulce and Mexican Hot Chocolate.  The Museum will be open free for this event from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

More Letters to Ms. Augustine Greane

Here is another touching letter written by one of you to Ms.  Augustine Greane.

“My name is Kaylee Renee Patton

I live in a world where imagination is

Dead. My heart aches for those without

The mind to see the wonders of the world

Ad I see them.  But they can’t and so

They live there unaware of what

They are missing.  But I know. And I

Live.  And I see”

                        -Kaylee Renee Patton

And another one …

Fantastic Forts - Fantastic Fun

Those that attended Fantastic Forts this past Saturday explored Wes Burce’s installation, Ms. Augustine Greane, discussed the imagination of fort building with Wes and built what became a brightly colored fort constructed of flags, blankets, sheets, pillows, rope, yarn, and paper behind the Museum in our very own Grape Day Park.  I would like to thank Brian, Wes and his friends, Max, Emi and Jason who made this event possible!  Since the event sold out and because it was such a fantastic day we have decided to open a second Fantastic Forts date!Second Fantastic Forts Date When: December 4, 2010, Noon-3:00 p.m.Where: Center Museum Call (760) 839-4120 to purchase your tickets now. See below for a handful of pictures of the event.

Off the Wall - Saturday October 30, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Off the Wall - Saturday October 30, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Jump into action with artists Doris Bittar, Diane Gage and Jonathan Glasier as they explore Arabic, Aztec and Chinese culture through the art of pattern, poetry, music and dance.  Also performing will be Zaytouna Dance Troupe, Muevete Dance Studio and Silk Road Dancers.

$7 Members, $10 non-members

As part of the Center’s Student Ticket Initiative, we are offering 5 FREE tickets to any college students that want to attend Almost Edible Art.  These tickets are first come first serve.

To reserve tickets call (760) 893-4100

Dream up, design and create your fantasy fort with artist, Wes Bruce.

Fantastic Forts - Saturday October 9, 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Recommended for ages 5-10                                                                     This special event gives kids and young at heart adults the chance to work alongside artist Wes Bruce to build their very own fort.  It will be a day of imagination, scavenger hunts, story telling and fort building.  Guests should bring a bag lunch.

$10 Members, $15, non-members

Prices include the admission for one child and one parent

Each additional adult or child without parent is $7/ Members and $10/ non-members

As part of the Center’s Student Ticket Initiative, we are offering 5 FREE tickets to any college students that want to attend Almost Edible Art.  These tickets are first come first serve.

To reserve tickets call (760) 893-4100

Feedback

Stephanie Weaver, Experienceology

It is not often that our Museum staff has the pleasure of discussing our exhibitions and receiving feedback on them from other Museum professionals and artists.  Thanks to SDEEG , a lovely group of people who took time out of their busy day and weathered horrid traffic to come to us, we got to do this yesterday.  Sometimes one gets so close to something that it becomes hard to see it.  My painting teachers always told me ‘Make a few marks and then take a step back to observe what those colors and strokes did to the rest of the painting.’ Curating is not so different from this method.  Yesterday Olivia and I were given a chance to step back and look at what the Museum has created and how it appears to the public.

We received amazing feedback on the strengths of the show and on things that could be improved upon in the future.  Since this meeting my mind has not stopped spinning around all the aspects and ideas we can update in the exhibition as well as points I will keep in mind when approaching our next interactive exhibition which will open in August of 2011 [that is not as far away as it seems at first glance].  This has also inspired me to tackle some of the things I would like to change about this blog.  Until now setting up a section for reader comments and questions has proven a technical issue [as I am slowly becoming technically savvy].  With this said I am now on a mission to figure out how to let you comment and leave your mark on the blog.  For now if you have any questions or feedback please email me at tsmith@ci.escondido.ca.us and I will post all appropriate questions and write responses to you.

‘Touched, unsettled, and awash in troubling/sweet nostalgia after visiting the Wes Bruce installation at California Center for the Arts in Escondido. Experience it before Dec. 31. BEAUTIFUL.’ - Erica Kelly

On A Mission

In concentrating on the success and needs of each day: getting up, showering, feeding yourself, getting to work on time, brewing coffee, checking your emails, getting your tasks done and sometimes just keeping your sanity while you trudge through all of the above, we can loose sight of the big picture.  - Who are we?  What do we want to be?  What do we want to achieve in this life?   This morning the Museum staff, headed and prompted by our Director, Olivia Luther, sat down and brain stormed about where the Museum is today and where it can be in the future.  What do we want the Museum we work for to achieve!  It was an extremely successful morning of big ideas, energy and forward thinking.  Here are some images of us brainstorming...

If it Moves… It May Eventually Break

Well, I may have cursed myself when I said, ‘Luckily so far nothing major or drastic has happened’.  Much to our chagrin, the tricycle from The Green Century is temporarily off Museum grounds being repaired.  Many of you who have visited over the past month rode your hearts out and put the tricycle into the bike hospital!  The good news is, this means you are coming in, interacting and giving it your all.  The down side is, it will take a few days for Ingram to mend the tricycle, but it will be back this weekend, at the latest Tuesday.  Until then, the shopping cart is still working so come by and give us all you’ve got. 

Thus far your paintings in The Green Century have been spectacular.  The closer we get to Artist in Residence Week [November 9 – 14^th 2010] the more I’m looking forward to what Ingram and the other three artists are going to do in response to your many Leveled actions.  See below for some great images of Ingram and the Center team welding the tricycle.

This Week in Art – Last Blog on Earth

I highly recommend using Kinsee Morlan’s blog, Last Blog on Earth, as a resource on what is going on in the San Diego art scene.  I check this weekly and always find things I am interested in, random and small or large and happening.  You will find out about art organizations, small alternative spaces, new upcoming artists as well as learn more about those that have been around the block.  But remember don’t just read the blog… go see the shows!

Check out the latest article on Leveled in the San Diego Union Tribune

Interactive installation takes visitors to a new ‘Leveled’
San Diego Union Tribune
As the youngster rode in circles under the watchful eyes of his parents, Serena and Jason Piniol, at the California Center for the Arts Escondido Museum, …

Your Inner Child

Within The Secrets Surrounding the Life and Psychology of Ms. Augustine Greane there are hidden two-typewriters.  Every day patrons visit the Museum and type to Wes and Ms. Augustine Greane about their inner most thoughts.  At the end of each day the Museum guards [David, Joe, Danielle or Alex] collect these notes and hand them to me.  I put them in a file to keep them safe until I next see Wes.  These notes are some of the most beautiful things I have ever read.  With Wes’ permission I will start posting some of these notes on this blog to hopefully remind you that everyone misses their inner child and is capable of being as vulnerable as we all sometimes feel.  [I will type these exactly as they appear with spelling errors and letters missing.  A lot of these errors are due to the use of a typewriter by those of us who are not born in the typewriter age.  The mistakes are just further examples of the authors unguarded-self shining through.]
a placeto escpe
my heart is almost allways sadi feel
that choking feeling in my throght but
i cnt explainhow i feel. life is meant to
be livedwith passion but it seems mine
has slipped away.here is a place where
my thoughts can be themselves abn not
have to be explainedhhere is a place ive
been looking forthat my heart has been
aching fornow for a moment i cn feel
againbecause i have been able to letsome
emotion out a place to escapea place to breath        
-Anonymous
Dear Ms. Greane,
It,s been so long. I,ve been tossed about on
the shore of an unfamiliar country.What a relief
to be home againinside your menory - sharing
yourhopes and dreams, rekindling my own.
You live on in our hearts. You are thespark
that encourages us to discoverand wonder
and create. Thank you for this respite
fromignoring a childhood dream.                
-Anonymous

So I haven’t yet….

 

Blogged about the public’s interaction with the art and how it’s going.  So here goes…

As always when you let people touch things, some of those things break.  This is an issue the Museum anticipated and as expected some breakage has happened.  Luckily so far nothing major or drastic has happened and we have dealt with things as they have come. 

With that said so many things that we could not predict have begun to happen.  To not be able to predict the public’s interaction and start to see it unravel has been the most exciting part of this curatorial process so far.  In Ober’s, The Green Century, I expected the public’s paintings to closely mirror those created by Ober; this is not the case at all!  The paintings done by you guys look like wild green Pollock’s as opposed to controlled spirograph drawings. 

In Wes Bruce’s installation, The Secrets Surrounding the Life and psychology of Ms. Augustine Greane, you have been captivated, spending copious amounts of time disappearing into its many secreted rooms.  When inside the structure people change, become more comfortable, more childlike and open.  I have taken part in story telling sessions and conversations that would never have transpired outside of the forts walls.  In addition it has come to my attention that Wes hid and tucked away so many secret treasures in the fort that I do not know about and am now eagerly searching to find them. 

What have you found so far?

Ober Fever

Hot commodity, Ingram Ober who is currently showing The Green Century at our Museum and was in Here Not There at MCA La Jolla this Summer is in yet another show.  Let’s rephrase that, is another show.   Ingram Ober’s solo show, Vantasy opened last night at Southwestern College Art Gallery.  Support the arts and enjoy this interesting exhibition inspired by 70’s van art and customized van culture.
Vantasy - August 31 - September 22
SWC Art Gallery

Meditative Motions and Furry Fruit

Some of our Museum programs are fast, paced packed with high energy hustle and bustle.  As a driven and competitive person running around solving problems and watching the commotion, I enjoy these programs very much.  With that said I often forget to slow down and enjoy things that do not include instant gratification or neon lights.  This past Saturday not only did I get to revel in rediscovering my quiet side while being taught how to make soft sculpture by Marisol Rendon, but I also met a handful of wonderful artistic women in the process.  To the plethora of Amy’s, Constance, Marisol, Beth and Olivia, thank you for coming, it was a great Saturday!  I have a sneaking suspicion my small Hobbit hole apartment will slowly be filled with little felt sculptures of funny things.  Here are some images of our fruit and vegetable making day.

Don’t miss Almost Edible Art - This Saturday, August 28, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

 

Join us for Leveled’s first special event!  Participants will delight in communal creation with exhibition artist Marisol Rendon.  Learn how to stuff and sew fabric fruit and vegetable sculptures, all of which may be taken home with you at the end of the day.  This workshop reflects Rendon’s current installation, Esperanto, on view at the Center Museum as part of the current exhibition, Leveled: An Interactive Experiment in Art.
 Tickets: $18.00 for Members, $25.00 for non-members.
As part of the Center’s Student Ticket Initiative, we are offering 4 FREE tickets to any college students that want to attend Almost Edible Art.  These tickets are first come first serve.
To reserve tickets call (760) 839-4100

Leveled, Opening Night

 

Can we say a busy whirl wind of creativity!  There were playful, imaginative and fun filled people bursting from every seam.  I can’t say enough how lucky I feel to have worked with the four artists in the show and how grateful I am to our prep crew.   In addition none of this would have even happened if not for our Museum Director Olivia Luther and President Vicky Basehore, who supported and approved my wacky idea.  I can’t thank you enough.  And to all 600 of you who came, thank you, it was sublime watching the interaction begin!  I can’t wait to see what the next few months hold in store for us.  So for all of you that missed it, or all of you that went and want to relive it again here are some photos of Leveled’s opening night.

North County Times

 

Check out the latest article written about Leveled in the North County Times.
Museum’s new ‘Leveled’ exhibit invites visitors to touch

Leveled’s opening is just around the corner…

 

Come join us for Leveled’s opening night this Saturday, August 14, 2010.