What we're getting into.

Groove 11 is mounting a salon series called What Matters Now, with an Opening Reception on August 18, 6-8 p.m. in our San Rafael office. What Matters Now is an exploration of ideas that inspire thinking in new directions, and touches on a wide variety of issues from the environment to human rights, community to healthcare, among others. The series is also a chance to support dialog amongst artists, business, and the larger creative community.

Seven local artists are participating in our first show,. We spoke with each one about their work. Our next interview is with Manon Bogerd-Wada.

Dead Forest

Rolling

The theme of the show is What Matters Now. In what way did that strike a chord with you?

A year ago, I was questioning, “What do you leave behind when you depart?” …an inquiry I found myself pondering over quite often and which I later asked of people in my community. With the responses, I constructed a “community poem” that weaves the words of 85 people together and also archives each individual response. We leave the future behind in every step we imprint, which is inherited by the generations to follow. Now matters. Just as I remind the children I work with about the Golden Rule, being mindful and respectful of each other, the small things we do in the intricately woven web we exist within matters deeply. I have a tendency to think of where we are going, the blink of time we are in right now, and how our collective future matters – a vibrant one. Realizing our dreams in life dimensions throughout the stages of our existence elevates us. We exude a shade of brightness from the inside out when we are aligned with our paths and touching our dreams. In this way, we grow and also inspire others to their own vibrancy. This growth serves to illuminate our own well-being, our community, and surroundings. In these critical times, and as an artist, I find it is necessary that we remember to dream free and out loud in reality.

What interests you as an artist?

I am interested in the line between art and non-art, in pushing boundaries, and exploring new intersections. Reconsidering space and recreating our environment through art is a main interest for my work currently. Through my art, I aspire to touch people’s lives in a real way by connecting to everyday experiences and also in a playful way with thoughtful, creative concepts that spark other people’s minds. I am interested in exploring and making a seamless intersection of community, art, and environment. In bridging together these elements, I find we can demonstrate an ability to nurture the environment and ourselves by utilizing art for social change and justice.

Coming from a family of artists, I have inherited a legacy of art that I will continue to develop and through this vehicle, engage others. My community arts approach is linked to my art education practice. Teaching is a means for me to pass down and share something I treasure deeply, which is embedded in my value to make art accessible to all people. The specific traits of art that I work to expose to others, in the community and gallery space, are in its ability to empower through envisioning, reveal insight to our multifaceted existence, and to both transport and inspire new worlds.

What inspires you?

My environment and what I find along the way on my journey is often a source of inspiration. Elements of my surroundings find their way into my work, metaphorically or literally. The Reclaimed Landscape Keepsake pieces exhibited in What Matters Now aim to highlight items that are discarded daily and to reverse their state of being disposable into something of value worth keeping. This collage series of keepsakes is made from items I would normally throw away– such as napkins, food wrappers, bags, and coasters – but which I instead collected over a few months’ time. I am recreating nature from trash as my (art) form of recycling. My passion to reuse and recycle comes from an acute awareness of what is constantly being left behind. My use of coasters began when I was backpacking in Europe a couple of years ago. The coasters were abundant in cafes, restaurants, and bars, and they were something I kept as a memento of the time spent in a location.

I have a tendency to draw and write on whatever is around me, and also in my journal that I almost always have at hand. Journals or sketchbooks are their own places – this is where I brainstorm and record an internal journey. This space is important for my creative process. Traveling, or the act of being in motion, is another ripe space. I often find inspiration when in a moving vehicle, particularly on trains, when walking in the city streets, or in nature. Movement in space allows my thoughts to flow freely and make connections that I may not discover when focused too intently. Dreams have also been a strong source of inspiration. My gravitation to rooftops started from recurring dreams I had in which I always ended up on a roof. Now it is my (waking) dream to create community art rooftop gardens. This idea has manifested in part in my HEARTH Community Art Garden Project.

What new projects are you working on now?

Beginning this year, I am the coordinator and teaching artist of HEARTH Community Art Garden Project. HEARTH is a model of my pedagogy as a holistic practice. The vision of this project is to expose to young minds the possibilities of a sustainable future living in harmony with nature and the urban landscape, with each other and our community at large.

In HEARTH Project’s recent residency at Oakland’s Lincoln Elementary School, the students envisioned and designed dream houses with roof gardens. This began with drafting out ideas through drawing that were developed into clay sculptural planters. We took fieldtrips to study the natural and urban landscapes around the school to better understand the neighborhood and incorporate its traits into our designs. The students worked alongside one another to form a closeness of community, and together their dream house planters created a small-scale village with rooftop gardens. The sculptures will continue to serve as a garden that grows food and promotes healthy living at the school.

Each student kept their own smaller, planter-house at the end of the project, bringing their miniature dream houses into their own home. Currently, I am in production making larger, planter-buildings with the students’ designs for the school. The recent residency of HEARTH was in partnership with Lincoln Elementary in Oakland, sponsored by the non-profit organization ArtSeed, and was funded by Open Circle Foundation.

Is your work currently on exhibit anywhere else?

The tree cemetery has been traveling these past few months. They permanently live at the Thoreau Center for Sustainability in the Presidio of San Francisco. Just recently they took a trip to Modern Eden Gallery in North Beach for The Garden Show. The tree forest will be returning to the Thoreau Center after What Matters Now.

At CCA Center for Art and Public Life in Oakland, CA, there is an installation of paintings from a community art project I co-taught with Lilli Lanier at the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Center a few years ago, which was made possible by the Center for Art and Public Life.

What upcoming shows do you have?

Towards the end of August, I will be installing the miniature rooftop garden villages of HEARTH Project on the campus of Lincoln Elementary in Oakland, and in the edible garden of Laney College. These living art villages will be there permanently and their rooftop gardens will grow and change throughout the year, as used by these communities.

For more information on Manon, and to see more of her work, visit her website. And come to Groove 11 on August 18 for the Opening Reception for What Matters Now.

Groove 11 is mounting a salon series called What Matters Now, with an Opening Reception on August 18, 6-8 p.m. in our San Rafael office. What Matters Now is an exploration of ideas that inspire thinking in new directions, and touches on a wide variety of issues from the environment to human rights, community to healthcare, among others. The series is also a chance to support dialog amongst artists, business, and the larger creative community.

Seven artists are participating in our first show,. We spoke with each one about their work. Our next interview is with Pamela Belknap.

from Childhood Memories/Tub series

from Childhood Memories/Water series

The theme of the show is What Matters Now. In what way did that strike a chord with you?

The title is about the present moment, and I like to consider how that relates to a memory.

What interests you as an artist?

Memories, obviously. But also stories, and having a beginner’s mind, which I think as an artist is very important to have. I’m also interested in paying attention to what is right around me, everyday objects, and even simple text in its many forms.

I saw two shows this summer with the work of John Baldessari and Joseph Beuys and I’m studying their work.

John Baldessari has been called “the big daddy of California conceptual art.”  His text and images intrigue me. He questions the very nature of communication, a subject that grows more complex with every technological advance. To quote him: “I am interested in what gets us to stop and look, as opposed to simply consuming images passively.”

It has been said of Joseph Beuys that he approached every aspect of life creatively with a sense of inventiveness and ritual. He approached both his life and his art as one endeavor. I’m interested in that approach; making one’s own life and preoccupations the material of one’s art.

What inspires you?

Uniqueness in everyday life, wherever it may appear. I’m also inspired by impermanence.

What new projects are you working on now?

One of my next projects will be about impermanence using flowers and naming them as individuals. I will be using the flower as a way of studying the life span of the human being.

What upcoming shows do you have?

I’m submitting work to Photo Alliance’s Night/Light: Bay Area Photographers Take Aim After Dark. The exhibition is this September. Also, I periodically show at the SFMOMA Artist Gallery.

For more information on Pamela, and to see more of her work, visit her website. And come to Groove 11 on August 18 for the Opening Reception for What Matters Now.

Groove 11 is mounting a salon series called What Matters Now, with an Opening Reception on August 18, 6-8 p.m. in our San Rafael office. What Matters Now is an exploration of ideas that inspire thinking in new directions, and touches on a wide variety of issues from the environment to human rights, community to healthcare, among others. The series is also a chance to support dialog amongst artists, business, and the larger creative community.

Seven artists are participating in our first show,. We spoke with each one about their work. Our next interview is with Rebecca Wallace.

Bon voyage

Untitled

The theme of the show is What Matters Now. In what way did that strike a chord with you?

I think there are a lot of things that matter now. We are more aware globally than we have ever been before. In a way this is great because people are becoming more conscious, but perhaps more conscious of their importance within their own communities, realizing how we are all interconnected.

I am really inspired by people who are thinking in terms of community, supporting local businesses, local farms. I am inspired by people who are finding ways to become self- sustainable, and looking outside large cooperate models for ways to live in terms of buying products and foods. There are also a lot of scary things happening in terms of our environment changing, and I think it can feel very overwhelming. It is important to keep things in perspective.

Perhaps we are starting to witness a change in perspective. Everything is interconnected. How we behave in our personal relationships is not independent of how we interact with the world. So much in the world is uncertain, but how we treat one another, how much we are grateful for what we have, these things remain in our own power. For me the relationships I maintain with people are the most important. We can become further removed from our relationships through technology, work, computers, stress, and in the end these things hold no weight. What is lasting is how you impact another person’s life through your actions.

What interests you as an artist?

I am interested in themes of longing and desire, attempts and failure. These are themes I incorporate throughout my work. The images I create are perhaps an attempt to recover something that has been lost. I am very interested in the idea of temporality and the fleeting present. These paintings are of landscapes that are fractured or fragmented. I use aspects of mediation, such as the camera or TV screen, as a way to discuss the viewer’s relationship to space, and to emphasize the ideas of looking and separation. The act of painting a landscape alone brings about a level of separation of subject and viewer, but there are several acknowledgments of removal within my paintings. I don’t think of mediation as a negative thing but rather inherent to our everyday experience, and for me it is interesting to use contemporary signifiers to reinvestigate the long-standing relationship between painting and landscape.

What inspires you?

Epic themes, music, reading, my fiancé, traveling. I like to listen to music and go driving, and usually the things I see or hear will start to inspire images I know I want to turn into drawings or paintings. What I love about music is that it has the power to generate a feeling within you, and great art also has the same potential. Lots of times just observing how light moves and changes the colors of its surroundings inspires me. And also sometimes my greatest disappointments and losses end up influencing and inspiring my work.

What new projects are you working on now?

I am currently working on some charcoal drawings that involve the theme of transition and change and incorporate water, film and photography as subject matter.

Is your work currently on exhibit anywhere else?

I have several paintings featured in the current issue of New American Paintings #87.

What upcoming shows do you have?

I am currently applying for several residencies, and working on a new body of work to show in the near future.

For more information on Rebecca, and to see more of her work, visit her website. And come to Groove 11 on August 18 for the Opening Reception for What Matters Now.

Groove 11 is mounting a salon series called What Matters Now, with an Opening Reception on August 18, 6-8 p.m. in our San Rafael office. What Matters Now is an exploration of ideas that inspire thinking in new directions, and touches on a wide variety of issues from the environment to human rights, community to healthcare, among others. The series is also a chance to support dialog amongst artists, business, and the larger creative community.

Seven artists are participating in our first show,. We spoke with each one about their work. Our next interview is with Michael ten Pas.

Photography by Michael ten Pas

Photography by Michael ten Pas

The theme of the show is What Matters Now. In what way did that strike a chord with you?

For me, what matters now is connecting with the physical landscape around me. Today, so much life is spent in motion and in virtual spaces that our immediate surroundings are made insignificant due to our fleeting experience with them. For example, the suburban landscapes in the photographs I have in this show, are places designed to get you in and out quickly so you can get to the next place – whatever that is. While I can’t break out of the fast pace of everyday life all of the time, photography allows me to do so some of the time. It is this experience that puts me in a unique situation to learn something about the world around me that I would not have learned otherwise.

With that, I will share an artist statement that goes with the series of photographs I have in the show:

Somehow Familiar

I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of America’s fastest growing regions. After I moved away from my hometown, I made these photographs during my trips back to visit friends and family. Most of them were taken within a ten-minute car ride from my childhood home. Because of the population growth, the old places I had remembered received new faces and the unoccupied space became filled with new things: strip malls, rows of houses, parks and other elements of the vernacular suburban landscape. The photographs are about the development and construction that took place in the time I was away. They are about being home, but not recognizing home.

What interests you as an artist?

The main thing that interests me as an artist is humor. A sense of humor is a powerful thing, so it is important to use it. I find that it doesn’t exclude you from forming an opinion about the world around you, but at the same time, it opens you up to see things from different perspectives.

What inspires you?

Photographically speaking, the work of Luigi Ghirri and Kenneth Josephson I find inspiring. It is smart, witty, and deeply invested in looking very closely. Their work, made in the “pre-Photoshop days” of the 1960s through 1980s, has an optical illusion quality to it while referring to things from everyday life. When it comes to their photographs, a quick glance doesn’t do it justice, which is the case with everything in the world around us.

What new projects are you working on now?

Right now, I’m in the middle of a “just-photograph-everything” stage. I don’t usually start with a  specific project in mind. The real project is editing. After spending some time making thousands of pictures of whatever captures my interest, certain meanings and ideas emerge from my photographic responses to the world. During the editing stage, I ask myself, “What am I learning from the photographs?” Then I present the work in a way that communicates the answer to that question.

Is your work currently on exhibit anywhere else?

I just closed a show July 30 called Glimpses in Time 2010 at the Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland, CA.

What upcoming shows do you have?

Present Tense – Photo Center Northwest; Seattle, WA (August 6 – September 17)

Art of Photography – Lyceum Theatre Gallery; San Diego, CA (August 28 – November 7)

For more information on Michael, and to see more of his work, visit his website. And come to Groove 11 on August 18 for the Opening Reception for What Matters Now.

Groove 11 is mounting a salon series called What Matters Now, with an Opening Reception on August 18, 6-8 p.m. in our San Rafael office. What Matters Now is an exploration of ideas that inspire thinking in new directions, and touches on a wide variety of issues from the environment to human rights, community to healthcare, among others. The series is also a chance to support dialog amongst artists, business, and the larger creative community.

Seven local artists are participating in our first show,. We spoke with each one about their work. Our next interview is with Anna Ludwig.

Grass

People's Park – Detail

Lake Mattamuskeet No. 1

The theme of the show is What Matters Now. In what way did that strike a chord with you?

What matters now is history and the specificity of a particular place, as opposed to the nowhere space of the digital world.

What interests you as an artist?

The idea that history leaves a trace or a stain on the place in which it occurs.

The work of Wangechi Mutu, Luc Tuymans, Ann Hamilton, Ana Mendieta and Mika Rottenberg. The writing of Rebecca Solnit, James Berger and J.B. Jackson.

What inspires you?

Researching politically significant landscapes. Unexpected beauty. “Wait” was inspired by the suspense invoked by the fog around Mount Tamalpais. “He Eats Pigeons” grew out of a bizarre encounter while visiting a friend living in Hawaii.

What new projects are you working on now?

I am working on a large indoor mural for the new Capoeira Mandinga academy in Oakland. As a practicing capoeirista, I am excited to work on this project that I hope will honor the roots of capoeira while addressing some of the changes in this incredibly adaptable art form, which used subversive body dialogue to resist the brutal oppression of slavery in Brazil and has grown to be a worldwide celebration of Brazilian culture and a community-building tool.

Is your work currently on exhibit anywhere else?

“A Baker’s Dozen for the Goose Tower.” TUMULT. Vordingborg, Denmark. Group exhibition – collaboration with Mark Dion.

What upcoming shows do you have?

“100 Under 1,000” Group exhibition at Lee Hansley Gallery, Raleigh North Carolina. November 2010 – January 2011.

I’m also organizing a group exhibition with some other San Francisco and Oakland artists.

For more information on Anna, and to see more of her work, visit her website.

And come to Groove 11 on August 18 for the Opening Reception for What Matters Now.

Groove 11 is mounting a salon series called What Matters Now, with an Opening Reception on August 18 at 6 p.m. in our San Rafael office. What Matters Now is an exploration of ideas that inspire thinking in new directions, and touches on a wide variety of issues from the environment to human rights, community to healthcare, among others. The series is also a chance to support dialog amongst artists, business, and the larger creative community.

Seven artists are participating in our first show. We spoke with each one about their work. Our second interview is with Eric Zeigler.

The theme of the show is What Matters Now. In what way did that strike a chord with you?

I tend to make my better pictures when I am photographing things that matter deeply to me, and photography is a medium that is bound to time, and I thought after reading the title that it was a perfect way of describing the importance my photographs have for me.

What interests you as an artist?

I am interested in documenting a state of feeling through photography. When I work, I try to translate, as clearly as possible, the sensations and emotions that are captivating me when I walk through the world, which is my working method.

What inspires you?

I am inspired mostly by music and photography that has unnamable qualities.  There are no specific artists that do this necessarily; it is more of a qualification for pulling my interest. The intrigue of not knowing exactly why something is fantastic, even after having the skills to understand it, keeps me photographing, because I know there is always possibility out there.

What new projects are you working on now?

I’m toying with pictures that deal with loss, time, and change right now.  It’s a murky explanation I know, but I like to keep it that way.

Is your work currently on exhibit anywhere else?

Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland has two of my pieces on display.

What upcoming shows do you have?

I will have work in a landscapes show at Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco in November.

For more information on Eric, and to see more of his work, visit his website.

And come to Groove 11 on August 18 for the Opening Reception for What Matters Now.

A few days ago, the Groovers strapped on our tool belts, brought out the ladder and the level, and hung all the fantastic art work that has been arriving in our offices over the past few weeks. We could hardly believe it, but it was already time to install the premiere show of What Matters Now. A couple of the artists stopped by to help out, so it didn’t take us nearly as long as we thought it might. The only challenge we really had was not disturbing Sean with all our hammering, because he was on a client call for most of the installation. Guess that’s a good enough excuse to get out of hanging.

Here are a few snapshots of our motley crew hard at work. The art has already transformed our office, and judging from everyone’s reaction to it I’m afraid the only way our artists will be getting their work back is by prying it from our cold, dead fingers. Only two weeks til the show!

Rick hangs a photograph from Eric Zeigler.

Rainey and Chris work with a sculpture from Manon Wada.

Groove 11 is mounting a salon series called What Matters Now, with an Opening Reception on August 18 at 6 p.m. in our San Rafael office. What Matters Now is an exploration of ideas that inspire thinking in new directions, and touches on a wide variety of issues from the environment to human rights, community to healthcare, among others. The series is also a chance to support dialog amongst artists, business, and the larger creative community.

Seven local artists are participating in our first show,. We spoke with each one about their work. Our first interview is with Kira Elischer.

The theme of the show is What Matters Now. In what way did that strike a chord with you?

The condition of our current political, economical and ecological status in America is more distracting and upsetting than ever. People today are so overwhelmed we forget what core values are, how to live healthy and happy lives amongst our current struggle. I think what matters now is prioritizing our families, our beliefs, and living sustainably with the earth. This I have observed in the Caribbean culture on an intimate level.

What interests you as an artist?

As a photographer my area of interest lies in Caribbean culture, architecture, landscape and botanicals.

What inspires you?

I am fascinated with bright colors, dynamic compositions, and deteriorating, weathered structures interacting with wild nature such as plants and the elements of weather. I am also inspired by the people I meet on my journeys, their family and way of life.

What new projects are you working on now?

I just relocated to the Monterey Peninsula and am hoping to become more involved with the agricultural community, specifically sustainable organic farmers. I would like to start photojournaling the practices of sustainable organic verses non-organic farming, and the long-term effects on the land. I am also going to volunteer with an organization called Green for All, based out of Oakland, which is doing outreach education to Monterey County high schools, documentation, education photography and such.

Is your work currently on exhibit anywhere else?

I just took down two shows in Oakland and after the move is settled I hope to do some shows in Monterey.

For more information on Kira, and to see more of her work, visit her website.

And come to Groove 11 on August 18 for the Opening Reception for What Matters Now.

Recently, Groove’s AD in New York, Sally Camm, was in our San Rafael office for business. Being a former sommelier, Sally never likes to miss an opportunity to share her wine knowledge. So she conducted a tasting in the conference room. The chosen vintage, Red Zinfandel [is there any other kind?] — very appropriate considering our ongoing work with Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda.

We had to taste four different zins. Somehow, we got through it. Along the way, Sally taught us about the history of zinfandel, how it ended up in California, what makes it a uniquely interesting wine, its flavor profile, and Rosenblum’s huge role in saving this incredible varietal.

Just another tough day in the Groove offices. Thank you, Sally, for imparting some of your impressive knowledge and for not being stingy on the pours.

Humor is a funny thing: literally and figuratively. We
just finished a video for Cisco's Physical Security team and it's one of
those (too) rare times when everyone walks away satisfied with the
final product. But directing a video with comedy is always tricky. The
message is the most important thing so we can't trample or overshadow
the content. But we also want to engage the audience, and hope they
forward the link to a colleague or two.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps6712/improve_campus_safety.html