Portfolio Gallery Production Spring 2009

(For Idie Adams)

INTRO

    This semester in gallery production I wrote my first artist resume, made serious commentary on multiple art installations, curated my first art show, made my first art show flyer, made business cards, and had my first on-campus art installation. In addition to the class I regularly attended art shows and the first Saturday art walks.

 SHOWS I ATTENDED

 Most recently I visited the Butte College student art show where I had tweo pieces on display.

 

I got a merit award for this one.

 

Also visited the student show at Chico State. I had this to say about it. 

The 54^th annual juried student art show at Chico State.

After being told to remove my back-pack I asked why I had to take it off, which prompted a discussion between the student running the door and her friend, which lasted during my twenty minutes in the gallery. The two girls traded stories about the stupid questions they get asked on a daily basis and pretty much how stupid everyone else is compared to them. Upon receiving permission to take photos, I slowly made my way around the perimeter of the square room, photographing and studying each piece. I paid attention to my initial reaction then tried to explain that reaction to myself while still staring at the work. Paying attention was difficult because the most entertaining thing going on in the room was the two girls talking about everyone else.

I was kind of shocked to see such a small quantity of work on display, especially when contrasted with the large display of student work up at Butte College's Coyote Art Gallery. In fact, only 16 pieces made it past Joseph Del Pesco, the guest juror and curator from New York's Artist Space. I felt the large room put a lot of pressure on the remaining 16 works to be extraordinary. My immediate reaction to the room as a whole was not very enthusiastic; the light was dim, too much empty space, and there was the typical sterile art gallery feeling.

The very first piece I noticed upon entering the gallery was a large painting of a nude woman by Lisa Rosenstreich. The painting would of stood out anywhere in the gallery with its vivid color and almost life size figure of a nude woman, and I imagine it was placed where it was to catch the eyes of passer-bys. The painting is untitled, giving no clues to the identity of the woman depicted and giving no coercion to the viewer about what they should experience. The woman in the painting is standing, facing the viewer, her weight shifted to her left, and her head leaning further to the left. Her casual and relaxed mood is exemplified by the blue and white background. Her gaze is fixed at something behind the viewer; I got the feeling that she didn't even notice me standing there watching her, and her stare suggested that perhaps there was someone behind me, watching me. Her elbows are cocked out behind her, her palms flat against her back, and her arms almost disappear. She looks to be in her 40's, but its hard to be sure because the brush strokes that comprise her are thick blocks of overlapping skin toned oil paint.

The next piece I observed was Trevor Lalaguna's “room to breathe.” The piece was an electric air pump attached to a bag, that according to the corresponding photos, inflates around a users head, giving them room to breath. I thought the invention was funny and clever. The air pump was plugged in at the gallery and I couldn't help but push the power button to see it in action. As soon as I turned it on the motor made a horrendous noise and I quickly turned it back off, feeling the glares of the gossipy girls slice through me. The awful sound made the contraption even more useless, especially for being marketed as something that provides personal, peaceful space. I thought it was funny because of the ridiculousness, I see products just as insane on store shelves and in advertisements all the time. To me the piece was a statement about consumerism and urban life as well as commenting on technology that sells the concept of the personal; like cell phones, iPod's, and video games, which people use to escape into their own little bubble.

The grand prize in my mind goes to the installation by Dave Strock for his hand blown glass replicas of a styrofoam cup and plate, plastic spoon, water and gatorade bottle. His work was displayed in a trash can on top a pedestal in the gallery's center. At first I wondered why the trash can was in the middle of the room, then I saw the name tag signaling there was something artistic about it. This work was screaming to be touched because touch was the only sense that could validate its claim of being glass. I tapped my finger against the styrofoam cup and heard the distinct reverb of what could only be glass. I wanted to touch the spoon and water bottle badly, but before I could the voice of the gallery girl stopped me by saying “um, actually, I'm gonna have to ask you not to touch those.” Damn. My only complaint about the work was how it was displayed; the gallery environment kills something as amazing as this, it deserves to be in a real trash can, or better yet, mixed in with real trash on the ground somewhere. If I had discovered this art by myself outside the gallery context, it would of enhanced it a thousand times.

Another piece I really liked was an untitled digital photograph by Greyson Collins. The photo is of some unidentifiable object covered in some black liquid substance that is dripping off. The object is surrounded by white and is contained by white matte and is framed by a very thin black metal frame. The object that is dripping the black liquid looks like it could an internal organ or vegetable. The photograph was very mysterious, and that's what made it so good for me; not knowing. There was a strong organic feeling from the object and a very synthetic feeling from the black stuff; it was beautiful and disgusting. I saw reference to cancer, oil, and decay. 

I visited Empire Coffee for the first Satuday Art Walk in May.

 

I curated A show for Weston Thompson at the Naked Lounge for the month of April. See my photos and read my review here.

 

 I did the First Saturday art walk in March.

I wrote this about one of the exhibits.

Through The Window Of Society

I went to an art show called “Through the Eyes of Society.” A show featuring a dozen recently finished works by Chico artist Micah Black. Mixed media on canvas and wood, t-shirts, and stencils were on display in the brick walled law office that has been dubbed the “Secret Gallery.” The gallery gets its name from its incognito location and inconspicuous appearance, but it is known for having fabulous shows.

I walked in and was greeted by two things; a large red canvas to my left and a stench in my nose. The building is rented out for various functions and has the scent of cheap alcohol and sorority girls wafting up from its ancient wood floors. The room itself looked nearly bare; a feeling intensified by the tall brick walls, which were flecked few and far between with paintings.

The first painting caught my attention with its color; the bright red held my gaze for a moment then let me wander through it. The painting was nearly solid red except for a white Japanese style ghost and the black repeating screen print of a man holding a sign that read “free me.” The ghost is streaking from left to right and his gaze is fixed upward at a hand that is catching its empty thoughts. What made the piece more enjoyable for me was the screen print of the man with the sign in the background. The man is another Chico artist and friend, Max Infeld and the “free me” sign was one of his performance pieces. It was nice to see the symbiotic artistic relationship culminate into something so visually exciting.

All of Micah's pieces shared a strong Japanese style and a similarity to another Chico artist, David Sutherland. Micah's Japanese influence comes almost certainly from his long time Japanese girlfriend and the David Sutherland look reflects their long time friend ship.

Micah's art seems almost simplistic at first glance, but after a few minutes of studying the ostensibly basic images, they seem to snap to life and every shape has its own story.

 

I wrote this about another exhibit.

Nick Lee @ Empire Coffee

Last Saturday night I wandered into Empire Coffee for a Mexican hot chocolate and a gander at Nick Lee's new paintings. Empire Coffee resides in an old Empire Builder train car sitting on a small stretch of track in the parking lot of the Chico Art Center and the Greyhound bus station. 24 original screen prints on canvas were crammed in the narrow slots between the train cars windows and anywhere else they could fit. In the 45 minutes I was there several paintings fell down due to shoddy installation with cheap Velcro adhesive strips.

Nick Lee is a fairly new addition to Chico. He is the owner of the “Under western Eyes” bookstore and the “Half Assed Art Gallery” West 8^th Ave. Nick looks and smells like some sort of retro hobo and it's no surprise to learn that he's an artist. He boasts his ability to churn out one piece of art after another, which is a turn off for me, but his prices are cheap enough to make a patron out of anyone.

There seems to be a theme of randomness in Nick's work, inspired possibly by the plethora of books he's read. An image of Buddha or a penguin centered on the canvas and muted tones of red and brown smeared haphazardly around the edges accompanied by text. The pieces look sloppy and at the same time make reference to something I'm too ignorant to grasp. I want desperately to understand the hidden meaning and wit, but instead I appreciate it for what it is; an image of a tree with the words “just give up” written beneath it.

My favorite piece was an image of some sort of pot-bellied elephant triceratops in a wide stance with the text “drinking vegetables” above and below the beast. A wide pinkish brush stroke creates a border around the animal and text, which reveals every bristle in the brush as well as the speed and sloppiness with which is was painted. I bought it.

I also did the first Saturday art walk in February.

 HOURS

 I never missed a class and in addition completed over 50 hours of work outside of class. The 50 hours was accumulated over the artwalks mentioned above, distributing flyers (in the rain) for the "Making Marks" show at the Coyote Gallery, making and hanging labels for the "African Market" exhibit at the Coyote Gallery, designing the African Market flyer, and creating the banners for the student art show.

 flyer

banner

RESUME

 

Kyle DelMar

1101 fake st. Chico, CA (530) cat-poop jesus.is.a.cracker@gmail.com

Exhibitions

2008

September. Solo: “Abandoned” @ Empire Coffee. Chico, CA

May. Group: “Chikoko Store” @ Crux. Chico, CA

April. Group: “Commonpath.org Secret Art Show” @ Secret Gallery. Chico, CA

 

2007

January-March. Solo: “Kyle Delmar Black and White Photography” @ Cafe Coda. Chico, CA

2006

November. Solo: “Kyle Delmar Black and White Photography” @ Crux. Chico, CA

2005

March. Group: “Sound and Vision” @ Moxies Cafe. Chico, CA

2003

January. Group: “Clever Monkey Artists Collective” @ Senator Theater. Chico, CA

Awards

2008

“Best Photographer on the Planet” 5^th Anniversary Award Ceremony. Crux. Chico, CA

Publications

2007-Present

Chico Natural Foods Monthly “Health E Newsletter”

2005-Present

Synthesis Weekly. Freelance/Scene Reports

Events/Weddings

2008

October. Chikoko Runway Fashion “Jinxed” @ Lost on Main. Chico, CA

August. Wedding “Steam Punk” SLO, CA

May. Chikoko Runway Fashion “Undercover” @ Elks Lodge. Chico, CA

2007

October. Chikoko Runway Fashion “Freak” @ Elks Lodge. Chico, CA

May. Chikoko Runway Fashion “Junk” @ 1078 Gallery. Chico, CA

Community

2007-Present

Vice President of Commonpath.org. Bringing local art and music to the Internet box

Assistant

2002-2005

Photography assistant for Rudy Giscombe and Rhonda Bunch for weddings

Experience

35mm, medium, and large format black and white developing and printing. Custom matting and framing. Adobe Photoshop. I am literate. I can cook an egg better than my mother.

Bands I've Shot

Blackbird Raum, Peach Colored Jug Smugglers, The Shankers, The Chop Tops, Aubrey Debauchery and The Puke Boots, Imaad Wasif, Monotonix, Mathematicians, Pre, Mae Shi, Old Time Relijun, Seve vs Evan, Rykarda Parasol, Candy Apple, Pat Hull, The Shimmies, Planchate, Red Giant, The Voodoo Organist, Mammoth Torta, Lebanon, John Steadler, Phiona Carousel, Purple Dragons, Nudity, The Severance Package, The Sleaze Tax, West by Swan, Uni and Her Ukulele, Petrol Masses, The Blacks, Peachcake, Biggs Roller, Bear Hunter, The Sprockettes, Becky Sagers, Sleazy Earl Ray and the Two Drink Minimum, 57 Octaves Below, Strike Him Centurion, La Fin Du Monde, The Makai, The Fucking Ocean.

Collections

Christine Fulton, Max Infeld, Weston Thomson, David Sutherland, Quinn, Christina Moore,

Summer Maroste, Sage Barrett.

Education

Ongoing.

 

Misc. Projects

Crux Parts, Free Custom Signs, Petting Cats.

 

 

  ARTIST STATEMENT looking through the lens of a camera is like watching a movie; everything becomes safe to stare at becauseit's supposed to stared at. Without a camera I find myself staring at the ground and forgetting that life existoutside me too. I try to capture reality as sharp and crisp as possible because life is blurry, and I find myself ignoringit often, so it's important to have a record of existence that's in focus. The image I have titled "the fat black cat yawn" is an example of the detail that exists in places we don't often get to observe for more than a few seconds.Undiscovered worlds are hidden in between the seconds and I want to capture and explore them. "One less nail to clip" is a parodyof a Chinese performance artist, Sheng Qi, who cut off his left pinky and buried it in a flower pot before moving to Europe.Qi wanted to leave a piece of himself in his country, but could not live there with the shame he felt over the Tiananmen squaremassacre. Qi photographs his mutilated hand against a red backdrop holding small photographs of his life in China. My image is ofmy left hand missing the thumb, I am holding a photo in my palm of myself as a young boy giving a double thumbs up. The phototakes two very distant moments in time and flattens them into a reverse palm reading. My pastimes are photography,laughing, andblasphemy, which is how I came up with "religion and war: American breakfast." This photo is a comment on the frightening morning news, consumption of concepts, and the violent tendencies of dogmatic beliefs. I can't believe you read this far. thanks.  SHOWS in addition to curating Weston's show I also had a small show on display in one of Butte College's glass display cases. The show was a raging success, 800 people came to the reception, the cops were called, a riot ensued, and there was lots of free snacks.  Very fun class. Made some friends. the end.