Lone Star Studios / 107 Lone Star Blvd.  Dec 10, 2011 – 6p-10p (one night only).

No Class: Three Emerging Artists, Post Academia – This show features the art of James Woodard, Nicolas Morales Erick Salazar.  For bio and show info, click here.

Inspire Art / 200 Queen Anne Court.  Dec 8, 2011 – 6p-8p (one night only).

Inspire Holiday Market – Form the event page: “You are invited to Inspire’s Holiday Market Reception Featuring Arts & Crafts Created by Local Artists”  Great gift ideas here for the art lover in your life.  Also an awesome way to show our support for the local arts community.

Radius Center / 106 Auditorium Circle.  Dec 9, 2011 – 5p-930p.

Gabriel Diego Delgado Exhibition – Curated by Joan Grona of Joan Grona Gallery.  Delgado’s work is simply amazing.  Keeping a primarily socio-political focus, his work involves ink illustrations, stencils, graffiti and combinations thereof.  For more info see the Radius Canter site, or the artists website.

High Wire Art Gallery / 326 W. Josephine.  Dec 9, 2011 – 6p-9p.

Kathrine DaLuz Maple exhibit.  9 new pieces of select work from this artist and several other artists.  This event also has pieces which are priced for the gift giving art lovers.  See the High Wire Arts site here.

Anarte Gallery / 7959 Broadway.  Dec 14, 2011 – 6p-9p.

Steven DaLuz “ Watchers” Art Exhibit.  Steven’s amazing encaustics work returns to figurative works in this series.  Some of the proceeds of this event will go to Arts SA.  Music by Harpist Stephanie Nash.  For info on this and other exhibits see the Anarte site.

My Examiner.com feed  -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World   -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

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Blue Star Arts Complex – First Friday

Holiday music courtesy of Boneshakers Bicycle Pub (featuring The Circle School & Blessed Sacrament Elementary, The Weetles).

Phillip King Exhibit “Four Decades with Colour” Dec 1- Feb 12, Main Gallery.  Sculptural and print work from the artist dated from the 60’s to today.  King has been a teacher throughout most of his life, including  posts at the Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy Schools.  He has also been a trustee of the Tate Gallery.  His work spans many different ‘styles’ of sculpture and serves as a brilliant dialogue about sculpture and art in general.

Philip John Evett Exhibit “Untitled” Dec 1-Feb 12, Middle Gallery and Gallery 4.  Also an educator for much of his career, Evett currently teaches at Trinity University.  Sensual and figurative sculpture.  Beautiful work, typically carved wood or cast bronze.  Click the link above for a great gallery of his work.

Harold Wood Exhibit “Levelland [Points of Scale]” Dec 1-Feb 12, Project Space.  Hard to give a short description of Harold Wood, or his studio/workshop/showroom/art gallery/complex ‘Harold J. Wood and Company LP’.  In essence they create environments.  Form furniture and paintings to some involvement in the complex computer driven equipment as well as old world traditional means of production.  They create an environment, without seeming to be ‘interior decorators’.  Instead there is nothing but art.  Go to the site and read the bio, it is amazing all by itself.

Also coming up soon at the Blue Star Arts Space: Blue Starry Night Holiday Sale.

The revised info for the event is now December 8^th, 2pm to 7pm.  There will be awesome work for sale here, fine art, decorative art, food and drink.

David Shelton Gallery

Also along the Friday artwalk trail will be Jane Lawrence at the David Shelton Gallery.  The samples available online of Lawrence’s work do this artist’s work no justice.  The illustrations I have seen are brilliant.  The architectural, figurative, formal and surrealistic abstractions involving the human form, machinery, insects and more are full of life.   Great gallery showing great work.

Luminaria 2012 – Update

The application to be involved is now available online.  Last year was amazing (see some images on Voices of Art Magazine) and as always, San Antonio will do it bigger and better this year.  There have been same changes, so go to the site and take a look if interested.

And because the internets need to be represented…

There has been some awesome work coming out of Flash Fiction coming out of the San Antonio Current.  The Flash Fiction section is run by Lyle Rosdahl who also is involved in the Postcard Fiction Collaborative, which is also something you should check out.

Check back frequently for updates and event info, reviews, interviews and other great San Antonio Art Events!

My Examiner.com feed  -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World   -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine   -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr  -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook  -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+  -  My profile.

LinkedIn  -  Professional profile and networking.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this artwork was that it was created by the collective, Okay Mountan.  Artist collectives are created for a number of reasons, but generally their intent is to alter the relationships of power in the art world.  Self-described “as an artist-run alternative gallery space,”  the artists embrace a post-modern approach to resistance that is presentational rather than confrontational.  The statement of this would be:  This is what we want to do, and we are doing it on our own.  This approach does not preclude participation in mainstream venues, because the aim is to maximize opportunity.
It is only within the context of the mainstream museum that the economic value of a commodity can be subverted.  Libby Black recreates high-end designer products from Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade and Hermes, among others.  This type of mimicry is not new, because look-alike reproductions of these products is a big business even though it is illegal.  These reproductions are meant to fool the eye, and the uninitiated usually don’t know the difference between the real item and the copy.  Because part of their value lies in their ability to signify the status of the individual who owns it, it is important for some to know the difference between real products and fake ones.
It is clear that Black’s reproductions are fake and not intended to be passed off as the real thing.  They are made of paper, exhibit a rather clumsy craftsmanship and are not useable.  This may lead you to think that these fetishistic creations might be the provenance of a mad woman.  There is more to this than meets the eye.  It is the sign value of the objects that is significant in this collection.  Within the context (the museum) that the artwork is presented, the logos come to signify an ongoing  ‘critique of consumption’  by well-known artists such as Barbara Kruger and Shepherd Fairey.  It is this association that signifies that the artist is making an important statement conceptually, and can be deemed a valuable art commodity.   The artwork’s monetary value is directly proportional to its worth as an art commodity.  Ultimately, the artwork garners status and value equal to or greater than the designer originals.
Similarly, Conrad Bakker simulates high-end, mass produced,  mid-century modern furniture.  The originals were designed by famous architects and designers from the Bauhaus School in Germany specifically for industrial production.  His wood and paint constructions look like they could be the original prototypes.   Bakker imagines a slight instance of resistance at some stage between completion of the design and mass production, implying that the object would have retained a higher social and artistic value than a mass produced item.  Bakker relies upon a Marxist axiom that commodification destroyed the social value of the handmade object–and he wants us to recognize this.
Bakker romantically re-imagines and  encourages an instance of resistance in his viewers as they contemplate how value is derived for a particular object.  He positions his furniture copy next to a painting of an advertisement for the real chair, posing the question:  Which has more value, this reproduction or a painting of the original?

The question is moot, however, because it is the sign value of these objects that determines their economic value.  The real question here is:  what is the value of an instance of resistance?  Does the artist effectively create a moment of  resistance that will lead the viewer to actively resist economic, political, and ideological domination?
Kiel Johnson exactly replicates the structure of musical instruments without trying to cover up the materials he makes them with.  Throughout his career, he has created copious quantities of sculptures with cardboard, tape and glue.  Johnson sets up a conflict between our way of knowing a familiar object such as a violin and the way we make sense of the violin that Johnson presents to us.  The object subverts socially agreed upon significations, requiring us to consider new ways to make sense of familiar objects.
Kaz  Oshira’s artwork was the most disconcerting and unsettling for me.  I was so put off by the aesthetics of the pieces that I simply was not interested in them at the time.  The one piece that totally flummoxed me was the white kitchen cabinets hanging on the wall.  I have learned that his pieces are actually paintings on stretched canvas.  Within the context of this essay, they now seem to be the most representative of the type of subversion I have discussed.  His kitchen cabinets tip the world’s axis.
It is specifically this re-framing of knowledge that lies at the heart of political art.  Political art seeks to re-tell the fictional narrative that supports our culture and what we know as the “real” world.  This real world is continually being re-framed by politicians, economists, business, and……artists.  The struggle lies in what version of the fictional narrative will be accepted at any given moment in time.   The history of art shows clearly how this re-framing occurs, and also how it becomes a part of the general fictional narrative of our times.

Linda Lewis is a writer/artist living in Edinburg TX.

Azaceta’s Oklahoma 4 is a large wall-mounted assemblage made from acrylic and enamel paint, photos, found objects, tape, plastic fencing, metal studs on wood.  On the wood support, the artist painted an explosive abstract pattern and included images of a severed leg and his own somber self-portrait. Metal scraps refer to the ruins of the destroyed building, while attachments include objects that could have been found in the rubble—such as shoes, stuffed animals, a toy car, and a baby doll. The wreckage is further alluded to in attached photos of old and broken mattresses and flowers. Throughout the composition, these various elements are tied together with caution tape, normally used by police officers to keep spectators away from a scene of violence or disaster.
Azaceta has commented on his emotional response to the fact that so many children were killed in the explosion.

According to the artist:

“I saw on television the devastation of the building, the killing of so many innocent people and children – a lot of children! Seeing  toys, tricycles, stuffed animals, etc., scattered all over the perimeter . . . that was like a loud scream emanating from the wreckage. That made me start making works of art reflecting this horrendous act, with the hope of silencing that pain and creating compassion and visual beauty to counter such an innocuous act of violence against humanity.”

As a youth in Cuba in the 1950s, Azaceta witnessed shootings and bombings firsthand during Fidel Castro’s overthrow of the government led by Fulgencio Batista. Since moving to the United States in the 1960s, he has addressed many social themes in his paintings and sculptures. Most notable are works devoted to raising awareness about the plight of the Cuban “boat people” (who in the late 1980s-early 1990s attempted to escape from Cuba on rafts), the AIDS crisis, gang violence, and Hurricane Katrina.
In Plum’s installation, the artist addresses ongoing problems at the Texas/Mexico border.  Specifically, she has responded to the sad statistics regarding the numbers of women and girls who have been killed or have disappeared in Juarez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso. Many of the victims were raped, mutilated, and tortured, and little has been done to provide protection for the women of Juarez or to bring the perpetrators to justice. To represent the victimized women, Plum created monumental-scale black brooms that are knotted in the middle as a symbol for the cutting off of female energy.  To either side of these hanging brooms, she has placed metates—domestic implements for grinding corn, with a cast-glass Virgin of Guadalupe inserted in their centers, thus giving the overall presentation the appearance of a memorial altar.
Plum believes in the shamanistic and healing potential of art.

Reflecting upon the creation of Solidaridad, she has commented:

“I have come to look at the Rio Grande as an open wound. As a bicultural artist, healer, and activist I see this as an opportunity to bring awareness to these horrible acts of violence, as well as a healing or limpia.”

In addressing some of today’s atrocities through creative endeavor, Azaceta and Plum join the many artists of note—Goya and Picasso, for example—who throughout history have contributed emotionally charged or poignantly poetic commentaries on the issues of their day.  In so doing, they demonstrate the enduring potential of an artwork to awaken the apathetic, to stimulate the mind for reflection and discourse, and to confront with grace the socially relevant problems of our time.

David S. Rubin is The Brown Foundation Curator of Contemporary Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

this was the place
the nurses put her
away from her body clogging
the hospital entrance and
where she waited, facing that wall,
away from the people
that looked at her
with their eyes
stuck on back of their skulls.

She cried and cleaned
her tears with her own long hair
full of oil and dirt.
her face looked up once
in a while to moan at God
and then down again to resist
her five month dead fetus from
eating away vigorously
her uterus and
her still living organs.

The fetus turned into rock
As the children ran around her
With recently bought paletas
As people talked in cell phones
As people laughed
And the Mexican flag
Waved back.

She was thrown outside
because they had no medicine for her
because she had no money
porque sin dinero los perros no bailan

because I do not have money right now
because she is from Veracruz
because she looks like a pata rajada
because I just passed by and did not see her
because she should of thought of it before.

She sang to her baby
in a light whisper
that the air and dust
took away without permission.
she felt the pull of
the earth and
she gave in
and soaked herself
with its bronze color
and rooted her legs,
and gave her hand
to death.

The rays cooked her body
into a perfect monument
that shined at people
as they passed by.
They stopped to look
to let their kids climb her
to take pictures
to draw her
to claim her
to name her Santa entre las Enbarazadas
to touch her for good luck
to put candles
and roses on her swollen feet
to turn her around
away from that dirty wall
she had not stop looking.

And she did not move when her
own people combed her hair and
clothed her with stars and
a silk gown and
when the sculptor came
she stood still while
he digged deep into her face
to carve her a smile.

Presidential hopeful Rick Perry, on top of his large cuts to the Commission for the Arts and other important programs from the Texas Budget, has been supporting and pushing for the goals of another group of political activists.  This seems to serve as a bit of foreshadowing to the possible future we may see under President Perry.

GOP Presidential Candidates Participate In Debate In Tampa - Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

The group is Citizens Against Government Waste.  They are the group that brought us this fear-mongering  video about government spending and the impending doom we all face.  The group, whose site describes their aim as being ‘to stop the runaway spending that is bankrupting America’ is one who only comes up in the national discourse when events like the release of the aforementioned video are released. CAGW, otherwise, are only seen and heard from by those who read political news and scour the internet daily looking for such information.

Gov. Perry sent out a letter with the goal of raising funds for the group (available here) and in it he lines up the traditional claims he usually gives us (jobs, jobs, jobs, why Texas is better than California, jobs) as well as a list of the major government programs/funding targets he thinks are within the sights of the CAGW and should be cut.  Among them are the following:

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (education, arts, culture and news)

The National Endowment for the Arts (self explanatory)

The National Endowment for the Humanities (education, art, history, programs and grants)

Now, as a disclaimer, it must be stated that there is plenty of wasteful spending in the government.  There is no argument against this fact.  It must also be said that one cannot support or condemn a group such as this offhand, just for who they support or are endorsed by.  They are a group who push for action on concerns they find important, like it or not.

But, as the title suggests, the problem here is Gov. Perry.  His own spending record has been under fire, as it should be.  If one brings up any particular subject in the political arena, especially money, one must be able to justify his/her position.  An itemized list would be a bit expansive here, but a quick search should be educational.  The focus here, being the arts, is that he again has started blasting the arts spending as being unnecessary, and in need of cutting.  Even though his own platform of previous years has been highly supportive of the arts, and art related programs, as crucial parts of building the economic structures and employment records he cherishes so much.  He now does a complete 180 and shoots those very same projects in the foot.

His local budget concerns, which also shouted down the arts programs, are a mirror to the national level budget cuts he wants to help push.  So, while at least he is consistent in his huge ‘flip flops’, he shows his true colors.  Those interested in the future of local as well as national level arts programs should be wary of Gov. Perry and his ascension.  It may be a huge mistake, choose wisely.

Networking

My Examiner.com feed -  San Antonio area art and events.

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Toe to Toe with the Border Patrol - Still from Video - Lee Basham

Filming down by the river is risky. Don’t do it. Nevertheless, documentary is the best resource we have when it comes to telling the truth about America’s deluded domestic war zone. I’ve been pursuing this endeavor for nine years, so I’ve learned nine ‘rules. Think Zombieland – descriptions of what to expect. Legal disclaimer: These ‘rules’  are merely my own, have no universal application whatsoever, and are based on my personal experience alone; I have no legal standing and offer no guarantees. In short: Don’t film on the Rio. Think Deliverance. But if you feel the need, it’ll go a little like this:

Rules for borderland documentarians:

1. You’re a drug dealer, coyote, or arms smuggler, until proven otherwise. The Border Patrol (BP) knows  that a $4,000 video camera is a tricky disguise. Very clever, that.

 

The first time I got detained, I told them I was making a documentary. They replied “That’s a slick trick,”  and that they didn’t appreciate being lied to. If I didn’t tell them about the drugs, they were going to tow my car to sector command and cut it up with chain saws. “Your cocaine? We’ll find it.” Moral of the story: stick to your story. Gently explain your project. Be good humored and patient, smile. Ask if you can film them. It’s part of the drill.

Entry, July 20th, 2006: Today I’m lucky; the Border Patrol agent who detains me is from McAllen, the town I live in. I tell him about the new Convention Center and he finally believes my ID isn’t fake. I ask if he doesn’t feel silly trying to catch the little kids sneaking over from Mexico to go to school. He says, “Yeah, it’s idiotic, but I love driving that road.”

2. Your kayak, canoe, or other flotation device will drive the BP batty. Think Apocalypse Now.’ You will be swooped down upon by armed helicopters,
closely filming you, while military-style ground forces are on their way. But having a boat is definitely worth it.

 

In Nuevo Laredo local entrepreneurs have discovered that cheap, plastic, kiddy-pools are perfect to ferry contraband across the Rio – the disposable cigarette lighter of smuggling. Abandoned pools line the banks west of town. But the canoe, now, that is probably the worst choice for smuggling: It’s big, turtle slow, expensive, takes two people to easily operate, and you can see everything that’s in there.  Get a canoe.

Kiddypool - Still from Video - Lee Basham

Entry, March 7th, 2011: About the dumbest thing we can do is put a $4,000 video camera in a 10 cent trash bag, toss it into a canoe, and head out on the Rio. So we do it. We leave, eager for the water, wary of the heat. The dashboard radio chatters about Muslim hordes, hordes of Mexicans. It’s AM 710, the best ‘hate radio’ in south Texas. It sets the mood: ‘unreal,’ for Susan. At the river the air is thick, sweet with springtime, the new greenery is luminescent, and the water, crystal clear. We put in and head upstream for the bend where trucks gather on the south side, waiting. As we paddle on, ‘picnickers’ pepper the south shore, lounging on blankets, waiting for darkness. We film, wave, they wave back, stand up, curiously studying us. At sundown, they will walk into the river and cross,  ‘just like taking a bus.’ At the river’s bend there’s the usual colony of vehicles. As we glide by we see a boat tied to shore, where a bunch of young guys surround beer coolers. Two older, serious looking middle-aged men with binoculars stand in the truck beds, glassing the north shore. “Birders, right?” she asks, wide-eyed. “Mebbeso,” I drawl, knowing these are businessmen waiting to move their loads. The cooler-guys race down to the water and dive in, dog-paddling like mad towards our canoe,  laughing and shouting something about “my woman.” Cuanto cuesta? Is that what they’re saying? We pretend not to paddle faster. Around the bend we find another colony. They’re birds, thousands. Swallows. They live in mud-hut cities, and here they cover a south-side dirt cliff and dart freely to the U.S. for grasshoppers to feed their babies.
At sunset everything gets busy. The witching hour. It’s the best time to be on the river. Up on the 30-foot bank of the north shore we see a tight group of silhouettes against the brown-orange sky line. Men and women with suitcases and trunks – Money mules. A dark speedboat appears out of the dim, racing at us. It turns into the bank where the people stand. They leap off the edge, tumble down the steep dirt cliff and struggle onto the boat. It’s amazing. They’re falling, running, and no one says a word. The boat roars, races past, and its wake nearly swamps us. To the south we hear splashing sounds. Like penguins diving into the sea for a meal, here come the replacements.

Now back to the rules:

3. The Border Patrol will find you, quickly.  They may approach for  your ID.  You will cheerfully offer it, if asked.  You will not dig into your pocket without being asked to.  Hands are Bad Things to Law Enforcement.  Hands draw weapons.  Keep your hands in sight. BP may accept or reject your ID.  Be happy with either.

They may cuff you. A little S&M. Enjoy. Don’t worry, ‘What goes on must come off.  You’ll probably be released soon. Again, be patient. Good humored. It’s part of the drill.

4. They will point M-4 assault rifles and 12 gauge combat shotguns at you. You will not act frightened or shocked, but continue in your breezy, chatty way (see rule # 8). You will ask them, “How can I Help?” And you will mean it.

The border isn’t being militarized, it is militarized. You are playing war correspondent. Accept this cheerfully. One plan: Read some of those macho-looking gun magazines they have at the grocery store. Yes, it’s bizarre, even repulsive, but learn about AR-15s, ‘Tactical’ shotguns and semi-automatic pistols. Know what each looks like. The Border Patrol is proud of their ‘Iron’. With a little knowledge, you can correctly compliment their weapons. Ironically, this sets a better tone. The BP are gun nuts. Gun nuts love gun nuts. Play the part.  Speaking of gun nuts: The smugglers are also a friendly lot. As they buzz by in their speedboats or roar by in their trucks, don’t look shocked. Wave, smile, and go on. And definitely don’t let them see you filming them. Leave them alone. They have a job to do.

5. Agents will chase you with vehicles  and  even helicopters. If you see a helicopter, speed up.  Being chased by a helicopter is fun. If it lands in front of your car, you WILL apply brakes fully. You’ll stop for  those flashy lights on their trucks, too.

Photo - Lee Basham

Entry, October 17th, 2010: They chase Jon and me with the helicopter again. We show up in a new vehicle – a jeep – and they freak out. If you really want to have fun, show up in a different vehicle. The blue and white chopper comes over the field at tree-top level and swoops right at our windshield. We spin around and decide to tear down a farm road. Jon is screaming with joy. I’m trying to keep the camera steady. Boom! Another huge bump. The jeep starts sliding sideways. We brake and shudder to a halt.  Jon reaches down and produces a beer can. He cracks it, “Going down in style!” I tell him toss it. He takes a swig and flings it. We gun it, the chopper’s chasing, 50 feet behind us, 20 feet above. Suddenly, the roar is everywhere. It flies right over the top of the jeep! It’s turning. It’s flying backwards! Right in front of the jeep! The speedo says 25 MPH. The pilot is gesturing wildly. He’s pulling farther in front of us, he’s landing on the road! Wow. Dust explodes everywhere. We hit the brakes, bail out cheering, thumbs up to the pilot! Nice! A BP truck is closing fast from behind. The pilot smiles at us, nods, waves and heads back into the sky. We compliment the agents on their Air Force. They calm down and give us the ‘Please be careful’ speech. Nice guys. We’re lucky,  we’ve indulged ourselves, but the video is shaky as hell. We try again at night on black top and it looks better – not as dramatic. The copter won’t come down as close, but the swinging spotlight is beautiful.

6. Agents will watch you from afar, sneak up on you and hide in the bushes, follow you, puzzle over  you. You will not try to avoid or interfere with this.

Yes, that sound over there in the bushes might be friends from the south – check for marijuana scent, Mexico has much more reasonable drug laws than we do. But it’s as likely to be The Man in Green, Mr. BP. Play peak-a-boo if you like, but keep it friendly, never too sneaky or aggressive. Your body armor is your smile. Always wear it.

7. The BP is where the action is. You will watch what they watch. You are Border Patrol Paparazzi.

 

Agents usually break-off their interrogation of you because something’s up, especially at sunset. See where they go, listen for the radio chatter; feel free to follow.

Entry, March 19th, 2011: We’re on the high Roma bluffs. Susan Harbage-Page is cheerful, chatty, amazed at the night view. She wants to drink a beer; I fetch some. I’ve been keeping my eye on the south shore, on the unmoving tiny red dot of a cigarette. He just stands there, cigarette after cigarette. I dub him ‘the smoker.’ The Rifleman up in the BP observation tower to our left is snoring. The long bridge over the river is lit by giant, gorgeous pink lights, hundreds of feet high. They cast amazing pink ellipses on the broad water below. Suddenly, the radio in the tower starts chattering excitedly – that gets my attention. The rifleman snores on. I look down at the river. “Aha!” I whisper to Susan, “Yes! From the south side! Boats! here they come!.”  Two inflatable rafts, stuffed with people and boxes, paddling across the pink pods of light. The camera swings on the tripod. I have them! Susan is hopping up and down. She starts blazing away with her new DSLR. The sight is gorgeous. The first raft reaches the United States. Suddenly there are male shouts from below our cliff. From the north shore, deep blue LED beams slice angrily through the brush, out onto the dark of the water. Women start screaming, we hear big branches breaking, men shouting, a child starts howling in pain, everyone’s panicking, people are running back into the river, the boat is pushing off, the second is turning midstream, people are dragging themselves back on board. The video camera is getting it all. Susan isn’t clicking away anymore. She’s motionless, astonishment on her face. Across the river the smoker doesn’t make a move. Then the red dot vanishes: Maybe tomorrow night, maybe later tonight?

8. Agents like polite, chatty, cooperative and friendly.  They like compliant.  These things keep  them happy.  You want happy machine-gun-carrying agents, not unhappy ones.  You will be all these things.

Yes, you will. No lawyer boy, OK? Not here, not now.

9. The agents will not harm you. Their concern is legitimate, their admonishments to ‘be careful,’ sincere. You will express your gratitude. You will be sincere. If at any time you get a bad feeling, you will leave. You will leave now.

Entry, April 10th, 2011: It’s blazing hot. We’re deep in the thicket, at the edge of a dune over-looking the river. Last week a van on the south-side panicked when we popped up over the dune. Jon had his telephoto. When they saw it they started running in all directions, freaked out, tossing all the product back in the van; they high tailed it out of there. I feel strangely nervous. Not comfortable. Something’s off. My eyes keep turning to the right. But I can name no reason. From the left a sweat-covered Agent suddenly appears in a cowboy hat. The Agent says somebody is sneaking up on us. I, the lone agent, and my friend, scan the brush intensely. We hear hushed, angry voices. On the right, there’s a metallic clicking sound? The agent looks at us, we look at him, and we all decide we need to leave. Immediately.

While I have the gravest reservations about the Federal policies the BP enforce, I suspect, along with a bit of luck and trust in the self, they’re the only reason I’m around to write this. If you need to film on the Rio, do it, there’s truth there, and the truth is, hey, it’s a lot of fun. But try to keep these rules in mind. And good luck. See you down by the river.

Borderlife, focusing on art and life at the river’s edge, is now in post-production. Our documentary is about the militarized border and how people adapt to it and subvert it. It’s the story of human creativity amid the economic, political and existential struggle created by the Department of Homeland Security’s response to the US/Mexican border.

Lee Basham is a professor of Philosophy at South Texas College, and an Independent cinematographer. His film, Joined at the River, received high recognition; the Omar Vasquez Case documentary is currently in production.

Rick Perry by Gage Skidmore

Now that Texas Governor Rick Perry has made his election intentions clear, his history with the art world should be re-iterated for those interested in government funding of the arts.

Governor Perry’s official website has a page related to the Arts in Texas, and the importance (if not outright necessity) of the arts in helping our economy.  The statement includes such well worded gems as;

“The Texas arts industry plays an important role in generating and sustaining this economic success. While legislative initiatives made to establish an inviting business climate are a vital component, the arts are responsible for creating a welcoming environment and high standard of living, which attract tourists and play a significant part in businesses’ decisions to relocate here. They contribute to and express our state’s intriguing culture and heritage. They personify and instill the unique pride common to all Texans, and help cultivate a way of life unlike any other place in the nation.”

And the classic;

“Such efforts to encourage development of creative industries are essential to making Texas the best place in the nation to live. It is in our state’s best interests to foster and support this thriving industry because of its capability to enrich our communities and stimulate economic development. The availability of cultural resources and opportunities helps attract jobs and companies to Texas, and bolsters the continued growth and prosperity of our state.”

These are awesome statements.  They embody some of the deeply felt convictions of artists (at least those who are involved in the business and commercial side of the arts) and the understanding that the work done by artists is of such importance that we need it not only to advance our economy but to even be a part of the culture in which we exist.  Governor Rick Perry shows us that he cares for our state and cultural and understands our needs.

The problem is, of course, that he really doesn’t.  At least not in the Arts.

At least not if we are to take his fiscal concerns and budgetary ‘suggestions’ as any indicator of his true concerns.

The above listed quotes were taken from his website and dated 2008.  In the current budget package proposed by the Office of the Governor (available here) Perry had a completely different view of the arts.  He lists the Commission for the Arts among the top items on the budget to ‘suspend’ until the Texas economy gets on its feet.  The suspension would ‘save’ over $5 million in the state budget.  If the arts are of such high importance in our state’s economic growth and prosperity, why would they be among the first to go?

Also on the chopping block is the suspension of the Texas Historical Commission, for around $4.6 million in savings.  The budget also states savings coming from the suspension of the Board of Professional Geoscientists, Board of Professional Land Surveyors, the consolidation of many Texas Agencies, surcharges on state employee spouses on state health insurance, healthcare cuts and more.  Read it here.

The numbers indicate (and on this Perry seems to be correct) that Texas has been the most successful state in terms of recent job creation.  We have the above listed agencies and commissions to thank for that, at least in part, and Perry points out how much we will save by giving these programs the ax.  What about the cost in job numbers?  What will a loss of $5 million in the arts industry do to the arts industry employment rate?

How about the $1 trillion cut from the Higher Education Base?  Saving $383 million due to ‘increased faculty productivity’ can easily be translated into fire some, make the remaining work harder.

All this is listed as a way to save money.  A ‘cut’ if you will, to help our ailing state economy.  Then the budget rolls on to tell us how much the state will spend on Homeland and Border Security.  Perry’s Budget calls for $40 million to go toward border security.  Perry boasts that his border security initiatives have reduced crime in the border area by 60%.  This was completely false, as the report was constructed along favorable lines drawn to assist in the numbers having a positive outlook.  For more on that report, and the details of it’s problem areas, see Politifact.

So the state can afford to give $40 million to a program that has not shown any provable positive numbers, while cutting a much smaller $5 million to The Commission for the Arts, which Perry’s office claims is of great importance.

All of this is coming from the man who’s office fought long and hard to get federal stimulus money, only to now (when it is politically viable) state that the very idea of federal stimulus is outrageous.

And Perry calls Social Security a ‘Ponzi Scheme’?

Joking aside, anyone interested in healthcare, border security, arts and education funding should visit Presidential hopeful Rick Perry’s official site and then download the budget and compare the sales pitch to the stats and make a decision for themselves.  It must be stated, in the spirit of honesty, that although there are some changes in the educational realm, there are actually some improvements as well.  And there are improvements in many issues dealt with in the budget, and there are huge holes that are of great concern.  Ultimately, these items may be beyond the reader’s concern politically and therefore not matter at all when choosing a candidate, and to each his own.

It is important, however, to state that no matter what one’s political slant, concerns, needs and wants, what is of the most importance is for us to be able choose candidates freely from the information available on them.  One would hope that that information was not only true, but honestly spoken, and not misleading or misrepresented in any way.

One would hope that our politicians, on all sides, could just be honest…

But until such time arrives, we need to dig for the truth, and then make decisions based on our findings.

(see part 2 in this series here)

Playlist for this article:

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

Kelli Ali/Dropz

Networking

My Examiner.com feed -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+ -  My profile.

LinkedIn -  Professional profile and networking.

The staff and volunteers at VOA have really put together a great set of informative, provocative, creative and in depth reviews and articles for the PAM issue, so it is not an issue you should miss.

• Blue Star Arts Complex
• Liberty Bar
• Art Inc.
• Twin Sisters
• SAMA (San Antonio Museum of Art)
• Witte Museum
• Herwecks Art Supply (Downtown San Antonio)
• REM Gallery
• The Bonham Exchange
• Bihl Haus Arts
• Bismark Studios
• The San Antonio School for Inquiry and Creativity
• G Gallery
• Station Museum
• Redbud Gallery
• Art Car Museum
• Audley Society Gallery

This list will be updated daily, as even more issues of the magazine are being sent out as I type this!  So check back soon, get yours before they are all gone!

Click here for a pdf download of the issue!  Read it, print it…share it!  Also, check out the archives page for a few old issues for available for pdf download.

The PAM Edition of VOA is filled to the brim with articles regarding any of the key political talking points and hot topic issues we all face on a daily basis, and a few that you probably didn’t even know you faced at all.

Businesses and galleries who are interested in getting a stack of issues for your establishment, please feel free to contact me (Allen Keckonen) at one of the below listed sites!

My Examiner.com feed -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+ -  My profile.

LinkedIn -  Professional profile and networking.

Rene Rodriguez: Sub-Trance Communication

Featured currently in the 106b Studio Space in the Blue Star Arts Complex is Rene Rodriguez and his show entitled Sub-Trance Communication.  A local San Antonio artist, Rodriguez is only one of the many up and coming artists to exhibit at the space in recent years.  The space, owned  by Artist/Professor Alba DeLeon and curated by DeLeon and artist Dustin Meredith, strives to bring in both student and self taught artists who deserve the spotlight and a chance at the crowd the Blue Star’s First Friday and First Thursday events bring in.  The artists (usually painters) who show in the gallery tend toward the abstract, at least in application of mediums, if not necessarily directly in the genre.  When there is an artist in 106b who is in a representational vein, they always have a knack for realism and detail while also exacting an amazing amount of control over the chaotic and ‘random’ nature of the abstract process.  Translation: realistic details and graphics alongside abstract beauty.  They also always have the personal control needed to stay within a deep concept or thematic presentation, rather than a collection of unrelated and uninvestigated ideas and works.  Rodriguez is no different.

Rodriguez presents us with several paintings, all on panels, of vehicle sound system speakers.  But not just speakers, he gives us the speakers as a physical means of producing sound.  The speakers, surrounded by clearly defined graphical elements (more on that later) and the occasional insect which, along with the repetition of the number ‘8’, is a recurring theme in his images.  The speakers are created in a realistic fashion.   Shining steel and muted felt float over the spray paint stenciled and splashed background.  We get a combination of washes, heavy brush strokes and stenciled half-tone-like spray paint.  The realistic elements, while forced from the panel by the abstract background, are locked into the concept of the series by the very same background.  Space taken by the abstract elements holds the items in an indescribably world, a trance-like void of brilliant colors and patterns.

The more graphical elements float in the void.  There are musical bars and notes on one panel, the repeated number eight (seemingly an icon used by the artist as a personal tag or emblem) and an immediately recognizable ‘speaker and sound waves’ icon seen on many operating systems, cell phones, websites, etc.  Again, these elements are afloat in the abstracted void of controlled chaos.

Two of the pieces stand out as being a different kind of work.  The panels, long horizontal pieces titles Equalizer 1 and Equalizer 2, embody the spirit of the project in a much stronger way.  The paintings contain no recognizable forms, no photorealistic speakers or insects.  No numbers.  There is only the visual experience of music.  There is, as the titles of the pieces suggest, the severely abstracted translation of an equalizer’s visual display.  Strong cubes and rectangles, bringing only a slight visual representation of the equalizer’s display and spray painted stencils of grids and dots.  Among the controlled elements is a dash of the uncontrollable.  There are spots of obvious chemical subtraction.  Perhaps paint thinner or a similar chemical was allowed onto the surface to do its work.  It was brought in to destroy.  To break the artist’s control.  This is an even greater connection to the trance concept.

On top of all of this was the sound.  At first, it seems as if a vehicle on the street outside was running its bass too loud and interrupting the exhibition.  But it never ended.  It just kept playing.  The bass, penetrating the walls and becoming not just sound, but a tactile experience, tingling the skin and ears.  The beats would change, the tones would fluctuate, and the music would continue.  The obvious ties between the speakers and the street-culture stencil roots are obvious, but the distortion and changes of perception are interesting enough to secure the show as an event worth seeing.  One is reminded of the recent UTSA Satellite Space show Ron Binks: Black Sites & Justin Boyd: Black Sounds which was playing with some of these same perceptual alterations (albeit a drastically different concept).  See the Glasstire article on the Binks/Boyd show.

My Examiner.com feed -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+ -  My profile.

LinkedIn -  Professional profile and networking.