Art – Page 7 – Ted Mills

GUITAR WORK : Earning His Stripes – Local artist’s giant guitar graces the Sunset Strip

August 27, 2010June 11, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Local artist R. Nelson Parrish puts the finishing touches on his Sunset Strip-bound concept guitar. Parrish pulled 18-hour days to get it done. Instead of being in a gallery, the guitar will be out in the elements for a year, so one of Parrish's final coats was automobile clear-coat. — Local artist R. Nelson Parrish puts the finishing touches on his Sunset Strip-bound concept guitar. Parrish pulled 18-hour days to get it done. Instead of being in a gallery, the guitar will be out in the elements for a year, so one of Parrish’s final coats was automobile clear-coat.

Above the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip, a giant Gibson guitar stands, beckoning the crowd below to enter and hear rock music as loud as the guitar is tall, which is very tall indeed, at 10 feet. It’s a new, crazy sight on a road that is famous for its odd architecture and famous billboards, and its creator lives here in Santa Barbara.

R. Nelson Parrish doesn’t usually go for things guitar-shaped in his artwork, despite coming from a family with a background in Gibson guitars (his grandfather and uncle both played and owned them). His art since his 2005 MFA at UCSB has been about “totems,” long, multicolored boards of resin, paint and wood that combine the minimal aesthetic of John McCracken’s planks with a SoCal lifestyle of surfboards and skis. (It was the vision of them pitched upright in sand or snow that revealed their totem-like potential.) The work looks both familiar — the colors come straight out of sporting gear — and strange.

They Draw Horses, Don’t They? – Artists gather for a 24-hour marathon art session

July 23, 2010December 5, 2022 tedmills Leave a comment

Artists Keith Puccinelli, left, Penelope Gottlieb, top right, and Alejandro Casazi prepare for the drawing marathon earlier this summer. Thomas Kelsey/News-Press — Artists Keith Puccinelli, left, Penelope Gottlieb, top right, and Alejandro Casazi prepare for the drawing marathon earlier this summer.
Thomas Kelsey/News-Press

“4 a.m. is when it really starts to get to you,” says artist Saul Grey-Hildenbrand. “That’s when you really start questioning your sanity.”

Doing anything for 24 hours straight is pushing human limits, but there’s a special place for drawing, as a select group of Santa Barbara artists, who may want to know how to start a drawing business real soon, will find out this weekend when Contemporary Arts Forum hosts its first annual “From Dusk ’til Drawn” to raise money for CAF’s budget.

And speaking of A&L…UCSB Arts and Lectures announced its overflowing 2010-11 season this past week

July 2, 2010June 11, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Is it too early to be planning the fall and new year? Didn’t summer just start? If you’re Celesta Billeci and her longtime staff at UCSB Arts & Lectures, thinking years ahead is just part of the job. Long before this story, A&L signed off on a full calendar of events beginning in August and ending next May, with lots of room in between for surprises to happen. (And good surprises, too. This time last year, that surprise turned out to be Elvis Costello.)

“People always ask us, ‘What’s new?'” says Billeci. “But ‘what’s new’ is our modus operandi. We’re always adding new events. We want to keep it fresh and relevant. We don’t want to say this is it, and nothing more.”

Be Kind, Don’t Rewind – ‘Fast Forward’ at CAF offers primer in contemporary video art

June 25, 2010May 27, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

'HAPPY ENDINGS,' JEN DENKE — ‘HAPPY ENDINGS,’ JEN DENKE

As curator Annie Wharton likes to point out, video as an art form is just a little over 40 years old, a child compared to any other medium, save computer graphics. It’s a language she says that has grown dramatically considering that the first “portable” cameras weighed nearly 70 lbs. (the Sony CV-2000). As a young curator and maker of video art, she has been bringing her fascination with the art to galleries with video compilations, hoping to catch the rest of us up with the state of the art.

This Thursday, Wharton comes to Contemporary Arts Forum with “FAST-FORWARD: A Screening of Contemporary American Video Art,” a 50-minute show. Up and coming artists in the program include Susan Lee Chun, Jen DeNike, Spencer Douglass, Gustavo Hererra, Adriana Farmiga, Dan Finsel, Jesse Reding Fleming, Christy Gast, Alexa Gerrity, Aaron GM, Micol Hebron, Marc Horowitz, Jiae Hwang and more. In this brief interview conducted over e-mail, Wharton — who graduated from the University of Miami with a BFA in sculpture — lets us know what’s in store.

The Dawn (Again) of Nights – Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s big summer party returns

June 4, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

KCRW's DJ Jeremy Sole, below, will spin for SBMA's first (of two) "Nights" events of the summer. Artists and event attendees will also take part in several interactive activities on the theme of "Pairings," and choreographer Robin Bisio returns with three dancers, two musicians, vocalists and film vignettes for a work called "Centered Green." — KCRW’s DJ Jeremy Sole, below, will spin for SBMA’s first (of two) “Nights” events of the summer. Artists and event attendees will also take part in several interactive activities on the theme of “Pairings,” and choreographer Robin Bisio returns with three dancers, two musicians, vocalists and film vignettes for a work called “Centered Green.”

Yes, the sun keeps hiding behind the clouds, but summer is really here, and for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, that means the return of Nights. The early-to-late-evening party is one of downtown’s must-see and must-be-seen events, combining DJs, live music, art-making activities, cocktail bars and mucho opportunities to mingle.

In flusher economic times, Nights went off every third Thursday of the summer months. But that was a bit taxing on the museum and the staff, so last year, only three Nights were scheduled. This year, its seventh, Nights is down to two. But those two are going to be big.

SCENE ARTS : COLOR SPINNING : The crackling, psychedelic sculpture/performances of John Williams come to CAF

May 28, 2010May 26, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Above and below: John Williams performs "Record Projection" in 2009, with the help of record players, slides, Super-8 projectors and other mixed media. Courtesy photos — Above and below: John Williams performs “Record Projection” in 2009, with the help of record players, slides, Super-8 projectors and other mixed media.
Courtesy photos

Artist John Williams works in sound, light and color in a way that’s polar-opposite to the film composer who shares his name and makes Internet searching difficult. His work has vacillated between photography and sculpture since his days at CalArts, but all the while, his 2-D work has been trying to leap or peel itself off walls.

Still evolving after all these years, his “Record Projection” series comes to Contemporary Arts Forum this Thursday night as part of First Thursdays. The 45-minute piece is part-installation, part projection, part performance, part sound collision. It’s all Williams, though.

A Thing of Vision – 16 local collectors share their private works at CAF

May 21, 2010May 26, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Martin Eder's "Chasse aux Papillons," from the collection of Mike Healy and Tim Walsh. Photos Courtesy of CAF — Martin Eder’s “Chasse aux Papillons,” from the collection of Mike Healy and Tim Walsh.
Photos Courtesy of CAF

The idea for “Visionaries,” Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum’s new show opening tomorrow night, came from the various trips Miki Garcia and Valerie Velazquez have taken as part of their job. Not trips far afield or to other museums, but ventures closer to home, to the houses of the board members of CAF. While discussing business or making social calls, the two couldn’t help but witness the collections on display and how the members supported not just CAF, but the artists in the gallery and contemporary art as a whole.

“Seeing how people incorporate these pieces in their home is an art in itself,” Velazquez says.

Salon Style – Six artists open their homes this summer to patrons

May 21, 2010May 26, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Richard Kriegler's "What Dreams May Come." Kriegler will take part in the final salon series that will discuss how art and commerce intermingle. Kriegler hosts Justin Carroll, whose L.A. Design studio is behind the look of video game "Modern Warfare 2" and others. — Richard Kriegler’s “What Dreams May Come.” Kriegler will take part in the final salon series that will discuss how art and commerce intermingle. Kriegler hosts Justin Carroll, whose L.A. Design studio is behind the look of video game “Modern Warfare 2” and others.

The discourse about art can be boiled down to two questions: What do we like, and why do we like it? According to Nina Dunbar, executive director of the Santa Barbara Arts Fund, these are the fundamental ideas driving this summer’s salon series, which will offer a chance to see art in the context of six artists’ homes as well as a talk with the artists to meet, mingle, eat, drink and be merry.

“It puts (art) in a context where you can meet with others and learn more about art than you would reading a museum wall plaque,” she says.

Hidden Treasures – Two-hour tour offers exclusive look into the Mission art collection

April 30, 2010May 20, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

This statue of St. Michael (San Miguel) slaying a devil (or is it just a snake?) is about three feet tall and made of wood, gesso and polychrome. Courtesy photos — This statue of St. Michael (San Miguel) slaying a devil (or is it just a snake?) is about three feet tall and made of wood, gesso and polychrome.
Courtesy photos

When the Franciscans abandoned their missions in 1833 after the Mexican congress passed the secularization act, our own Mission Santa Barbara wound up as the repository of much of the artifacts. By that time, Tina Foss explains, our mission had lost some of its importance, and with the others looted, became an unintentional museum of a historical period. Nearly two centuries later, some of these treasures, along with popular pieces, will be open for viewing for a very brief time.

"Sunset Light" is an oil on canvas by well-known plein air artist Benjamin Brown, probably painted in the first quarter of the 20th century. — “Sunset Light” is an oil on canvas by well-known plein air artist Benjamin Brown, probably painted in the first quarter of the 20th century.

This statue of St Anthony of Padua is about 24" in height from the late 17th century, and made from wood, gesso and polychrome. This was the first statue to come to Mission Santa Barbara, arriving April 1, 1790. — This statue of St Anthony of Padua is about 24″ in height from the late 17th century, and made from wood, gesso and polychrome. This was the first statue to come to Mission Santa Barbara, arriving April 1, 1790.

This Risen Christ statue is made of wood, but is now devoid of gesso and polychrome (traces evident). Probable date is late 1600s. Recent research indicates an origin in a Jesuit mission or a "Reduccion" in Paraguay. — This Risen Christ statue is made of wood, but is now devoid of gesso and polychrome (traces evident). Probable date is late 1600s. Recent research indicates an origin in a Jesuit mission or a “Reduccion” in Paraguay.

The second annual Mission Art Tour will give two hours to see artworks that have long been in storage. Of the 56 pieces on display, half come from the Provincial Archive in Oakland and the other half from the mission’s storage and permanent collection. Objects include textiles, statues, paintings and religious artifacts like gold chalices. Many date back to the 17th century, and most need some sort of restoration.

Biggers than Most — The ever-expanding world of Sanford Biggers

March 12, 2010May 18, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Sanford Biggers, "Constellation," 2009, Steel, Plexiglas, LED\u@019s, Zoopoxy, cotton quilt, original printed cotton tile. Dimensions variable, Installation at Harvard University. Courtesy the Artist and Michael Klein Arts, New York, N.Y. — Sanford Biggers, “Constellation,” 2009, Steel, Plexiglas, LED\u@019s, Zoopoxy, cotton quilt, original printed cotton tile. Dimensions variable, Installation at Harvard University. Courtesy the Artist and Michael Klein Arts, New York, N.Y.

Sanford Biggers, "Smirk," 2009 Aluminum, plexiglas, LEDs, timer. 30 x 26.5 x 10.5 in. Ed. 3 + AP. Courtesy the Artist and Michael Klein Arts, New York, N.Y. — Sanford Biggers, “Smirk,” 2009 Aluminum, plexiglas, LEDs, timer. 30 x 26.5 x 10.5 in. Ed. 3 + AP. Courtesy the Artist and Michael Klein Arts, New York, N.Y.

Quiet and thoughtful in tone, multidisciplinary artist Sanford Biggers says a lot in his sit-down interview, but even more in his art. Large trees sprout from disco floors and through pianos. Huge mandalas quoting Buddhism double as floors for break-dancing competitions. This is what Biggers loves to do — take culturally loaded objects (lawn jockeys, Buddhas) and “bling” them out in a similar way.

His re-appropriations aren’t obscure, and the commonplace nature of many objects in his art provokes and amuses upon first sight. A chance to sample Biggers’ most recent work is happening this month, with a new exhibition already open at Contemporary Arts Forum, part of a series of events stretching into April that intend to introduce the artist to a larger audience.