Literature, Nature, and Materiality

Valerie Constantino's gallery show in the Else Gallery at Sac State had many questions that were answered during her artist talk on Tuesday February 7. A deeper understanding of the materiality and literature involved are necessary to fully understand what Constantino was striving for Crossing Sublime: After Nature. Constantino explained that she finds great joy being in nature and interacting with wildlife. She's an avid reader and an amazing writer as well. She works with the materiality of textiles and emphasized the metaphoric visual language of textiles. She was highly influenced by Anni Albers of the Bauhaus. Albers talked about listening to the materials and work together with them to make art. Constantino said that it was like a marriage, there are compromises made and a sort of give and take relationship.

Constantino's poems modelling Sebald's format

Constantino believed in looking at one's self as a material being. Approaching the body of work with appropriation, she modeled the show after a book by W.G. Sebald that has three parts: two strangers, described as if known very personally and then one's self. The linearity of the narrative drove the project. When talking about her concept, she said, "That was always the anchor." She explained that the research was done prior to the proposal so all of the ideas were there so when it came to the execution, she was able to manage her time. She also funnily exclaimed, "I have absolutely no social life!"

After Anne Ryan 2 (left)
After Anne Ryan 3 (right)

One of the people Constantino chose was Anne Ryan who was an abstract expressionist and a writer. Ryan did collage so Constantino worked very similarly with her textiles to create a collage in her style. She resisted working large because smaller works are very internal and personal while larger works are very expansive.

The addition of audio added a more immersive experience.

Each chemical was represented by a colored dot
on the grid by the percentage it made up air.

The other person chosen was Valentina Tereshkova who was the first woman in space. Constantino discovered by chance that Tereshkova originally worked in textiles as well, sparking a bigger connection between the content and the medium. She talked about air like it was matter, contributing to the chemical composition of air in Constantino's square piece titled After Valentina Tereshkova 4. Tereshkova's voice recording of her in space reporting back, "It is I, Chaika (seagull)." Constantino portrayed that moment by sewing feathers that appear to be flying above the Earth in a very whimsical and magical manner. The addition of the audio also gave a very synesthetic experience and she exclaimed how exciting the discovery of the audio was for her. She explained that it was similar to air in that it is an unseen material that affects us.

Constantino's love of adventure and nature is highly
apparent in her work.

Crossing the Sublime

For the final part of Constantino's story, she utilized her love for adventure and nature in her textiles. She researched the undergrowth of trees and the spilling of light, relating both to the verticality of the piece with silk gauze titled Crossing the Sublime. Constantino chose silk gauze because she said that it almost does not exist. She explained that it was difficult to manipulate because it kept moving but it gave off a feeling of the sublime despite the introverted and quiet nature of the material.

Constantino (center) with me and a few classmates

Waiting for the talk to begin

Subconscious Wilderness

Lee, me, and Gonzalez

Subconscious Wilderness showed a series of drawings by Michelle Lee and Celina Gonzalez. Both artists focused on natural forms and added dark elements that sit. They approached the same subject matter in different ways and their personalities shone through. Their reception was on Thursday February 9 from 5:30-8 pm. February 10 was their last day.

Michelle Lee, Sarracenia Purpurea, Pen

Spores by Michelle Lee

Michelle Lee's work consistently had an upward and floaty feeling. One of the pieces of a tilandsia plant had a human like quality. The leaves wrapped around the body of the plant like the arms of a person hugging itself. The visual weight of her pieces had a well grounded bottom with larger forms anchoring the smaller forms that shrank as they moved up on the page. This is evident in her piece titled "Spores." There was a lot of movement in the line work, a smooth whiplash line similar to Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations from the Art Nouveau period. The lines within the work of Lee were a bit more graceful and smoke like compared to Beardsley. He also focused on the grotesque, decadent, and the exotic that is a very similar theme to Lee's work with cat skulls, mushrooms, and exotic plants and flowers.

All framed except one which was
the most intriguing because
it was easiest to see

Not Natural by Celina Gonzalez emphasized the usage
of strong directional brushstrokes and aggressive lines.

Celina Gonzalez's work has an outward movement from a central point. Whether it be something crawling out of or the leaves branching out from a central node, the key to her work is this central focal point. She has an edgy and grungy feel with her thick and aggressive strokes of ink. Compared to Lee's sweeping lines, Gonzalez's lines had a straight forwardness alongside the central composition that emphasizes one's own self. The glass on the framed images was very reflective and a bit distracting but it also allows for the viewer to see themselves within the piece.

Special shoutout to Mayra for taking this squad photo
(we realized at that moment that we were all matching)

Street Photography at Viewpoint

Photographs by LeClair on the left and Hernandez on the right, side by side to show different
approaches to street photography 

John Hernandez and Casey LeClair

Viewpoint Photographic Art Center on 2015 J St. Sacramento had a reception for photographers Grounded: The Street Photography of Casey LeClair and John Hernandez and Mark Coggins: Street Scenes Around the World. To show the different approaches to street photography, Hernandez worked in color while LeClair emphasized contrast in black and white. Coggins' approach to black and white street photography with his razor sharp narratives and more neutral contrast enhanced that sense of variety in not only the subject of street photography but in the varying qualities of black and white photography. Both exhibits are available until March 4.

LeClair worked in many different sizes,
experimenting with square format versus rectangular
and the effects each brings to the work

LeClair's work hangs like a mystery novel

Casey LeClair started his explanation of his work with the question, "What is street photography? I don't know." He explained about the spontaneity of street photography and how you only have one second to capture that moment. When asked about the usage of high contrast within his photographs, he explained that it leaves the viewer room to interpret and place oneself within the photo. He liked the feeling of not having complete ownership of the photo. In order to display these photos, he had help narrowing down from thousands of photos down to around thirty. This shows how in street photography as with photography in general, the more photographs that you take, the better chance you will capture that perfect moment. His photographs have that sense of mystery in which the people in the photos have barely visible facial features. Although the contrast is pushed so far within his photographs, LeClair maintains a wide variety of mid-tones in between, easing the harshness contrast gives to the immediate eye.

Untitled has an astounding repetition as well as
play on color. The person entering
the frame also gives the image an increased
sense of depth without the person being
overwhelmingly distracting.

Three smaller untitled works by Hernandez.
Each photograph has geometric elements and plays on color
that are dynamic and visually stimulating

John Hernandez was the only photographer who worked in color. When asked about not having a title, an artist would usually talk about leaving it up to the viewer but he was very honest and said that he was just too lazy to do so. His work speaks wonders with the brilliant hues he plays around with compositionally so titles are not really necessary to begin with. It's amazing how his work has this balance of color and shape with so much information and narrative. Patterning occurs in many of his photos. He said that street photography is something that he would always do despite the many other forms of photography that he works with. When asked about how he got to where he is in his career as a professional photographer, he enthusiastically went on about using film cameras until you know them inside and out. From there, once you understand how light works and really focus on harnessing color and composition then you can really experiment with framing the shot when it comes to street photography. Hernandez holds photography workshops at Viewpoint occasionally and invited everyone to attend. Information on upcoming events at Viewpoint can be found on their website
https://www.viewpointgallery.org/

Great turnout at Viewpoint's reception!

Mark Coggins' series in the back room titled Street Scenes Around the World included twenty two photos from many different countries and cities from rural areas to more urban cities. Street Scenes Around the World at Viewpoint was his first show. Although his photos are also black and white, they differed greatly from LeClair's. As an avid reader and writer, his subject matter had a great narrative and personality. Each image
was crystal clear with an interesting usage of light and shadow to create thin lines, creating a razor sharp edge to his photographs. A great diversity of textures and tones were captured as well with a large variety of grays. There existed a sense of life and captured motion like a true snapshot of someone's life. His compositions create commentaries about each situation with his witty titles. (photos of Coggin's work will be added later due to how crowded the gallery became)

John Hernandez is the older brother to OGfam's Jayson Hernandez
Here are three of the fam's finest representing in support

Follow TM Contemporary on Instagram

TM Contemporary Projects posts many different artists and galleries within the San Francisco Bay Area. They have a lot of really good events highlighted including artist talks and a wide variety of artists and galleries in the bay area. Check them out!

https://www.instagram.com/tm_contemporary/

ArtStreet

Artstreet took place from February 3 to February 25 at 300 1st Ave in Sacramento. I visited on February 4 at 11am. It was hosted by M5 Arts, the same creators of Art Hotel which took place last year. Artstreet was a space created for local artists that stepped away from normal gallery conventions. Breaking the barrier between art and the human experience, Artstreet was deep in the interactive qualities of art. Each piece expressed an all encompassing experience.

Part of the courtyard

When entering the courtyard of Artstreet large installation pieces stretch up to the sky. My favorite pieces were the giant wind chimes that rang out a pleasant sound when the I would swing the heavy pendulum. The vibrations of the pipes could clearly be seen without needing to look closely.

Being the first several people without an appointment, my friend and I made sure to sign up right away, securing the first time slot. I felt that with how interactive each piece was, that 45 minute time slot was not enough. However, they did give the option to sign up again for a second round.

We filed in with our group of thirty people into the warehouse. It was a little overwhelming at first, there was a lot to take in. Like I said, a lot of the pieces were interactive and had instructions to follow. One thing I really appreciated was the signage on every corner, embodying the street vibe.

Beautiful signage

My favorite piece was titled Safe Space by Rita Szuszkiewicz, Tony Showalter, David Wiley, and Gerald H. Thomas. The speckled blue green light was comforting, the space felt almost completely separate from the rest of the hustle and bustle of the excited guests wandering the "streets." The cubicle had four booth seats in each corner that were cushioned and had headphones. The serene chimes and soothing sounds that came to my ears gave me an otherworldly experience. A zen garden was placed in the center for meditation. Small chimes and a stone were hung directly above the garden, enhancing the symmetry of the space itself by being a central point in the overall design. I don't feel that the mural with flowers and birds was necessary for the participant to feel at ease but it was a very dreamlike image with the flat forms of animals and flowers.

What was even more interesting (and somewhat very irritating to me as an artist) was that there was a fashion blogger doing a photo session at Artstreet. Don't get me wrong I have a deep love and appreciation for fashion blogs but what had happened was she sat in the booth across from me, her cameraman carried a bright white light stick, disrupting the mood of the exhibit. She sat down, put the headphones on, posed for a few shots, and then quickly got up and left. Maybe it was because that was one of my favorite exhibits but it was upsetting that she didn't even take the time to listen, it was just used as a prop for her blog. This was someone's art that they took time thinking about and building upon for who knows how long, and those two didn't care enough to take the time to experience it. I don't mind the photo taking, just appreciate it if you are going to use it.

Safe Space

Enough with my rant, Artstreet overall had a mix of political and social statements with artwork commenting on the Women's March, homelessness, and the sexual harassment and raping of women. It covered a wide variety of ways to utilize space, creating environments that are fun or meditative like Safe Space. I have heard many people say Art Hotel was a better experience but I had a great time running around Artstreet. Hopefully it will come back again next year.

Selfie because my friend left me