Dan Adams: Time to Go

 

Creativity as a human attribute is relatively new as a concept starting after World War II. There was no IQ or SAT for creativity. DanAdams was a self-proclaimed formally untrained artist. But if creativity is making something original and if an artist is someone who thinks outside of the box, if the quality of creativity is judged by authenticity, then Dan Adams is the consummate artist. However, I mainly think about Dan and the life he led as work as play and play as work. There was seemingly no division.

Luckily, I have only been to a very few funerals. They are always going to be emotional roller coasters as we remember the good experiences and we regret lost future times. But we also learn more about the deceased as friends and family gather to rejoice a life.  We in the art world are especially lucky as the talent that infused our lives is on display, with singing and music and poetry as part of the tools of our trade.

Dan's love for Anna Zappoli Jenkins was a beacon and harbor for him. Her son gave full force to this during his memorial by quoting the famous song:

My funny valentine.
Sweet, funny valentine.
You make me smile
with my heart.

Your looks are laughable,
unphotographable,
yet you're my favorite work of art.

Is your figure less than Greek,
is your mouth a little weak,
when you open it to speak,
are you smart?

But don't change your hair for me,
not if you care for me.
Stay, little valentine, stay...

Each day is Valentine's Day.

Anna Zappoli Jenkins

Anna's son Pall Jenkins

Sarah Knapp

Pavel

Ted Washington

Chris Vannoy 

Philip Petrie

Jimmy Jazz

Michael Klam  

 

Dan and his dog picture by Majorie Pezzoli

Studio picture by Majorie Pezzoli

Chet Baker, one of Dan's favorites singing My Funny Valentine

New Spring Exhibitions

By Patricia Frischer with an assist from the SD Museum Council Lots of things conspired to keep me inside in March and April including nursing duties for my dear husband, lots of cold weather, an actual cold which is still plaguing me. So as a one time additional promotion from SDVAN, here is a preview of the May events. I am celebrating a big birthday in May and I hope to see some of these exhibitions if health  and pollen from May flowers permits. Happy Mother's Day to all of us who are mothers to the arts in San Diego.  Don't forget to check out our calendar of events for a large selections of workshop and our RAW column to read what's what in the arts including all the latest opportunities.   JP Wackenstedt, the 2023  Business of Art Scholarship recipient.  She will be exhibiting at the Mission Fed ArtWalk from April 29th & 30th, 2023 in Little Italy sponsored by SDVAN. More info: Sandi Cottrell The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library  in La Jolla is presenting  Marcos Ramírez ERRE Artist Talk on Tuesday, May 2. The artist will discuss his career, process, and recent projects, as well as his newest mural for Murals of La Jolla. ERRE was one of the first SD Art Prize recipients.  The reception begins at 5 PM, with the talk to follow at 6 PM. $20 nonmember, $15 member, $5 student.  More info: 858) 454-5872 Walk in Art, also known as First Thursdays in Hillcrest's Mural Alley on May 4, is held directly behind The Studio Door art gallery and studios. The gallery remains open until 9 PM while the festivities outside continue until 10 PM. Makers Arcade Spring Fair Mother’s Day Weekend at San Diego Made Factory on May 13-14 from 11 to 6 pm with 100 makers food, drink and music. The first 100 people to arrive each day will get a swag bag filled with handmade items! $6 online, $7 at the door. More info: Brittany Wiczek  619.817.5517 San Diego Public Library Art Gallery (330 Park Blvd. downtown) presents Good Natured opening on May 13th from 3 -5 pm and running until July 29th. This exhibition explores the laws of nature. Can we be both the problem and the solution? In North County, The San Dieguito Art Guild hosts their 26th annual Mother’s Day Weekend Art, Garden & Studio Tour. This is a self-guided, driving tour on Sat. May 13 / Sun. May14, from 10am to 4pm each day. Tickets are good for both days and homes may be re-visited. Tickets are $35 at the Off Track Gallery (937 South Coast Highway 101, Suite C-103, Encinitas), at OffTrackGallery.com, or at each home both days of the tour. For more info: SanDieguitoArtGuild.com, pr@sandieguitoartguild.com, 760-805-0434. The San Diego Watercolor Society proudly presents Climate of Change, juried by  Carolyn Dubuque. The water-based media exhibition runs April 30-May 27, 2023 at the Gallery in The ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station. The Opening Reception is Friday, May 5, 5-8pm with over 95 ready-to-hang original paintings plus refreshments and the fellowship of other art enthusiasts.  The paintings can also be viewed and purchased online.  SHELTER paintings by French artist Geoffroy Tobé at R.B. Stevenson Gallery in La Jolla opens on April 29. URPFLANZE painting by Donald Martiny at Madison Gallery in Solana Beach opens May 6. Wayfinding in Suspended Times paintings by Kathleen Kane-Murrell at Sparks Gallery downtown SD opening on May 7. Showing also their annual minis 2023 with over 60 works 12”×12” and under selling for $500 and under. The Glass Guild Art Glass show in Southern California is all about your local Art. You will see beautiful art representing many techniques, including blown, fused, torch, stained, cast, etched and mosaic art glass, all available and created by San Diego Glass Artists. May 13/14 from 10 am to 5 pm.  We love cross pollination in the arts. PHES Gallery  (in Carlsbad) invites you to the opening reception of Story Quilts May 21, 2 – 5 where you will have a chance to contribute ekphrastic poetry (poetry written in response to art). Submission accepted until June 11 and then prizes for poems awarded on June 25, 5-7. If you can’t get there, you can go online and then send poems to info@PHESgallery.com The Studio Door presents Works of Excellence a new exhibition of exceptional artists from across the county. Juried by local museum directors, Maria Mingalone - Executive Director of Oceanside Museum of Art and Megan Pogue - Executive Director of Timken Museum of Art as well as Sparks Gallery owner and curator Sonya Sparks. Reception May 20th.

SD Museum Council’s The Big Exchange gives members of participating organizations reciprocal FREE admission at more than 50 museums, historic sites, gardens, and more throughout San Diego County. It is coming May 1 – 18. Just use your museum membership card to visit more than 40 participating museums.  Here are some of the Museum Council's recommendations:

 

Opens May 13 San Diego Museum of Art Balboa Park Experience more than 100 works by two of the world’s most iconic modernists—American painter Georgia O’Keeffe and British sculptor Henry Moore. Opening May 13 at the San Diego Museum of Art, the groundbreaking exhibition O’Keeffe and Moore unites these artists for the first time and re-creates their studios with original contents of found objects, tools, and furnishings.  Learn more at a special symposium featuring an array of scholars on Friday, May 12 at 4 p.m. with in-person and virtual tickets available here. Get your in-person exhibition tickets here.   Fun Tip: Add some music to your experience with an Art of Elan concert inspired by O'Keeffe and Moore on Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. Get tickets here. Pictured: Georgia O’Keeffe, Ram’s Head, Blue Morning Glory, 1938.

 

 

Post-Columbian Futurism ICA San Diego/Central Balboa Park See how the De La Torre Brothers' exhibition 𝙋𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢 has transformed ICA San Diego/Central into the site of an epic battle for the future of humankind. The exhibition is free and open every Thursday through Sunday at noon to 5 p.m. Learn more here.

 

 

25 Million Stitches Mingei International Museum Balboa Park In this exhibition 25 Million Stitches, guest curator and fiber artist Jennifer Kim Sohn looks for a way to make the unfathomable figure of refugees around our world more tangible by marking a displaced person with panels of hand-sewn stitches.   Each panel is unique, some documenting personal narratives, others showing solidarity with the refugees. Kim Sohn and her passionate team of volunteers crowd-sourced 2,300 stitchers from all 50 states and 37 countries worldwide. Get ticket information here. Fun Tip: Every fourth Thursday, join the Mingei sewing circle. On April 25 at 5 p.m., be inspired by 25 Million Stitches to create your own embroidered work. Register here.

 

 

ICA San Diego/North Narsiso Martinez & Edra Soto  Encinitas Here's your chance to explore the work of two inspiring artists at ICA San Diego/North in Encinitas. Oaxaca-born Narsiso Martinez (shown above) presents Rethinking Essential, tapping into his experiences as a farmworker. The exhibition includes powerful multimedia installations and runs through June 4. Artist in Residence Edra Soto presents Graft, featuring site-specific installations. You can speak with the artist and even contribute to her current project (inspired by the all-black Puerto Rican flag) at various dates through May. Get more information and tickets here.

 

 

Una Storia Segreta New Americans Museum Arts District Liberty Station During World War II, Italian Americans were designated as "enemy aliens" and subjected to discriminatory treatment, including forced relocation, internment, and surveillance. At its new exhibition Una Storia Segreta, the New Americans Museum explores this period of fear and uncertainty through powerful photographs, documents, and personal stories. Tip: Be among the first to see this new exhibition at the opening wine reception on April 27 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Register for this FREE event here.

 

 

La Jolla Historical Society In Praise of the Torrey Pine Open through May 28 Rare Trees & Sacred Canyons: Torrey Pines - San Diego's Symbol of Preservation is now on view at the La Jolla Historical Society. The exhibition chronicles important events in the history of what is known today as Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. San Diego's coast is one of only two places in the world where the endangered pine grows in its natural habitat. Learn more here. Fun Tip: Take the Secret Garden Tour for a peek behind the garden gates of La Jolla's loveliest secluded gardens on May 20. Get tickets here.

 

 

Comic-Con Museum Cover Story & The Animation Academy Balboa Park The magical world of animation is now open at Comic-Con Museum with The Animation Academy: From Pencils to Pixels. The interactive exhibition allows visitors to create, experiment, and explore animation and storytelling from traditional hand-drawn cels to exciting breakthroughs in stop-motion and CGI.   You can also check out Cover Story featuring the 50-year history of Comic-Con International with illustrations by some of the most famous comic book artists. Get your tickets here.

Black Women Artists in the Marketplace

My attention was caught today with an email from Artsy about the market for women artists. It is a three part series including The Late Women Artists Garnering Art Market Attention reporting that last year auction sales in deceased women artists grew by 109%. We all think this is about time.

That led me to the second part and in The State of the Market for Women Artists’ Work we learn that $11 billion worth of artwork was sold at auction in 2022: $9.7 billion was male, only $1 billion was women. That is just 9.3%. No women were in the top 50 most expensive. Two were in the top 100 and 50 were in the top 500. Not so great. 

How about sales for women artists born after 1975 reported the The Ultra-Contemporary Women Artists at the Forefront of the Art Market. The real growth for these women was in 2020 where they went from about $49 million to $220 million that is a whopping 339%. The split between men and women in sales was 56.1% male vs. 43.6% female.  BUT if you look at artist born after 1985 the split reverses 63.8% for women to only 36% for men.

That is when I went further down the rabbit hole and saw that Black Women Artists Black like Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Jennifer Packer are in this mix. I found videos on both women, one from the Tate in London and one from The Whitney in New York which were both fascinating.  I have been wanting to respect both Black History Month and Women’s History Month in some way and I hope you find this a satisfying journey to enter both worlds at once. Both women are figurative artists which cements the view that the figure is back!

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Jennifer Packer

California Creative Corp in San Diego

 by Patricia Frischer

The California Creative Corp Program  was announced last year and is finally coming to San Diego County. It comes in two parts, the first directly for artists and a few months later for nonprofit organizations and governments units to regrant to artist. This funding was conceived as a help to the creative community much as the WPA was formed in 1935 to lift the country out of the Great Depression by reforming the financial system and restoring the economy.

Far South/Border North: Artists and Cultural Practitioners in Community (FSBN) was conceived by the City of San Diego for the SD county with its regional partners in Imperial county as a California Creative Corps arts program.  

FSBN provides funded through a $4.75 million California Creative Corps grant from the California Arts Council. This is to develop and implement media, outreach, and engagement campaigns that address one or more of the program’s goals.

1. public health to stop the spread of COVID-19 and associated diseases or health disparities
2. water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery
3. civic engagement, including election participation; and 4) social justice and community engagement.

Approximately 115 Artists will receive approximately $33,333 which includes $25,000 for artist/cultural practitioner fees and $8,333 for project costs. They will get mentorship through a Social Impact Hub established to provide technical assistance and other support services. The full guidelines will be coming soon and application portal will open on February 15, 2023. For nonprofit organizations and governments units to regrant to artist another portal opens May 2023. The actual program will run for two years from May 1,2023 to April 30, 2024

These public awareness campaigns are only for communities ranked in the lowest quartile of the California Healthy Places Index for San Diego and Imperial counties.

The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture has partnered with Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties, The San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition (the application administer), The San Diego Foundation, and five nonprofit social service and community development organizations.