I Dream of Falling

Geri Montano was born in Colorado. She is a multiracial contemporary artist emphasizing her Native American heritage; Dineh (Navajo) from her fathers lineage, French, Spanish and Comanche from her mothers.

Montano has been an artist all her life. She received her formal art education from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1997, graduating with a BFA in interdisciplinary arts which included drawing, painting and sculpture.

After graduating from SFAI she worked as a sculpture assistant and gave various mixed media art workshops. Montano has a strong interest in working with under-represented members of her community. She enjoys and believes in giving back to community as her part in making the world a better place. She is currently a visual art instructor for developmentally disabled adults.

Her work has been exhibited in many gallery group shows, including Diego Riviera Gallery, Workspace Ltd.  Gallery, Michelle O’ Connor Gallery, and most recently SOMArts Cultural Center.

Montano has participated in a variety of art practices including political street theater with Praxis Artists where she designed costumes and performed. The group formed in Seattle after the World Trade Organization citizen uprising.

She is currently creating provocative, mixed media drawing/collage works using acrylic ink, graphite pencil, and magazine cut-outs. The works will be used in a wall installation.

Her work is inspired by personal experiences relating to socio-political and feminist themes.

Montano’s work juxtaposes aesthetic qualities with subversive imagery, combining aesthetic, thematic and technical skills. Montano impresses emotional and powerful ideas on the viewer, never shying away from controversial or taboo subjects.

She was awarded a Creative Capacity grant. Grants such as these support her current project titled, “Traded Moons” an exhibition dealing with the topic of sex trafficking of Native American women and girls. She is creating this exhibition to give voice to the women and girls, and bring much needed public awareness and dialogue which are the first steps in catalyzing change.

When you buy a recording from an artist at a club you remember who you were with, what you wore, how much you danced, and how happy you were, each time you play the music. You relive the night over and again and again. That is why people who do not buy music at a store buy CDs from a band at a club. It is not about the music or the band. It is the night that they want to capture.

Artists set the stage with flowers, food, wine and music, and invite the public to participate as guests. These informal gatherings encourage social interaction, unlike the hushed formal atmosphere in most galleries and museums. Art events are special places, where people go to meet and mingle, to engage in conversations and share ideas.

People who need to look for a primarily red painting that goes perfectly with the red and green striped couch that sits in a beige room on a deep burgundy carpet, carry out those tasks elsewhere.

Informal encounters and memories of the good times are reflected in art that hangs on the wall, around the neck, or plays on the stereo. Living with art keeps the creative spirits alive.

M Eliza

Hi Eliza, I’m responding to your interview request. I hope this note finds you in good health and doing well…

Hi Henry, I read somewhere that your first live performance was at Beaux Arts. Who turned you onto it?
I’m not sure how I found out about Beaux Arts. It was a subterranean destination for the beat fringe.

About what years were you there?
I started going to Beaux Arts in 1966 and hung around there on and off until 1970.

What was your first impression?
It was as close to cool as I could find in the bay area. Counter culture all the way!

Which players impressed you, helped you find your style?
There were so many talented singer songwriters around back then. Their names escape me but I do remember Danny Finley. I remember Barry Sims, a guy named Tom, and a guy named Doug. the guy named Doug I think went on to be a dam tender in Roulet Park.

Who did you play with there?
I played with everyone in the back room where you hung out before you went on. That’s where I spent most of my time. When I went up to play on stage I played by myself.

When/where did you meet Richard Leps?
I met Richard Lepps at the White Springs Folk Festival. He was there with Michael doing their duo deal.

Did he ever make smoked mullet for you?
I’ve never had Richard’s smoked mullet but I have gone clamming with him and Buddy Klein down in Tera Cia Bay.

Who influenced your move to rock, or was it country rock?
8. I think like Steven Stills and Richie Furray from the Buffalo Springfield or Jesse Colin Young of the Youngbloods I was motivated in that direction with the advent of the album Highway 61, or Bringing It All Back Home.

I love southern humor, lyrics like “Everybody wants to get to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” What inspired your first hit? Ok your favorite song, whether or not it was a hit?
9. I’m inspired by some of the more subtle nuances of love, separation, death, and dreams.

What changes do you see coming up?
10. I’m still involved in my musical career on an everyday basis. I have visions of the future and I’m engaged in the efforts to bring that to life. It’s like looking at the world through a tube. You see a little scene very clearly and not much else.

I’ll give you a call Where do you live?

Henry

p.s. I’ve attached a song about growing up in the sixties. It’s called “The Line Between The Numbers”

Henry Paul site, Outlaws, Blackhawk

Virtual Hiking

Carol Selter has taken the virtual experience to the limit with her latest work, on display though December 31, at Gallery 16 on 3rd St. at Bryant in San Francisco. The next exhibit will be at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz.

Carol took the idea of a stay-at-home wilderness experience, her love for nature and passion for capturing it on film, and added some time, to construct a new vacation concept for busy people who can’t take the time to get away themselves.

Carol chose the park based on the kind of place the hiker wanted to be in: forest, desert, or grassland. On the designated morning, while the hiker was at work, Carol called from the site to share the moment. Armed with a map and camera, Carol took off on the journey, stopping to record photographic images along the path.

After the hike Carol produced a bound book of each hike, including the best photos out of the hundreds she shot in a bound edition. When the book was ready, Carol deliverd it to the hiker, and shot a photo of the hiker reading the book.

The Personal Hiking exhibit includes photographs of the hikers reading their books, specimens, maps, and the hardcover editions on folding chairs lined up against the walls. I asked Carol some questions about how she arrived at the idea of a personal hike, and how the show was designed around the concept:

1. How did you get the idea of producing a virtual personal experience? I was looking for a way to spend a lot of time hiking while still making artwork. This was the project I came up with.

2. Was the book an early element of the project? Yes, the book was part of the original idea.

3. How do you personalize the hike? By talking to the hiker about what they like to see and experience when out in nature. I photograph things I think they would be looking at and wanting to remember based on our conversations. For instance, some people look at little details and others like the big vista. Some look at flowers, some rocks, some the trail. Some look for birds, some like the water. I focus on whatever the hiker is interested in… and whatever is happening that day (such as rain in the desert, big blooming chamise at castle rock, a gorgeous sunset, leftover burned areas, etc.).

4. What is the most satisfying part of the experience for you? Being out on the trail channeling the hiker is exciting. I like observing all that is there; I like seeing the photographs and then shooting them. It’s kind of an altered state.  I also like choosing the photos for the book and making the book be what the hiker would have looked at.  I really like giving the book to the hiker because usually we’re both happy and excited. The oxytocin is flowing!

5. What generally seems to appeal to the hikers, or are they all different? Oh everyone is different. The thing we all share is the desire to experience the world of the grown rather than the made, to take a break from the drudgery of everyday things.

6. Do you feel like an actor, living out someone else’s experience, or are you more of a director, guiding them through it? Oh neither really. Definitely not a director. We’re both players in a game of imagination.

7. Any idea on where your next adventure will take you? No not yet

8. Do you have any shows scheduled after this one? The hiking show will come to Cabrillo College here in Santa Cruz county next fall or spring of 2010.

links:
http://www.artbusiness.com/1open/111408.html

http://www.sfweekly.com/events/carol-selter-the-personal-hiking-project-1232775/

http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/40128-carol-selter

http://www.gallery16.com

As an archivist how do you approach the task of looking through hundreds of hours of tapes? We had well over a thousand films of various running lengths to view, describe, arrange and transfer as part of the project. Everyday I loaded the films unto a Steenbeck 1901 flatbed film editor and get to work. I would view as many films as possible in a single day making notations regarding film subject, shooting location, individuals involved, types of scenes, whether the film was silent or had sound, whether it was in color or black and white, who created the film, etc.

Which is most important? quality, content or style? Or all they all taken under consideration? The mission of the Florida State Archives is to collect, preserve, and make available for research historically significant records relating to Florida. Therefore we took into consideration whether the film had some lasting historical value to researchers. We focused mostly upon content as I mentioned earlier. So we were watching for locations, important Floridians, noteworthy celebrities, significant historical events, things of that nature as we described and processed the films. Some films were of interest because of their production style. Several of the films were created by the Florida Development Commission which was responsible for exporting the “visit sunny beautiful Florida” theme throughout the country and the world. Many of their films were shot with a certain style that represents the way Florida was perceived by others outside the state. While many of these films aren’t necessarily historically significant they are utilized quite frequently by film producers to represent Florida to their viewers. (Read the rest of the story)

I was looking for Joe Krysiak, who founded Project Artaud, the first artist live/work community that was established in San Francisco that is still operating, and discovered Ed Summer’s Wikipedia file. Ed was kind enough to fill me in on the theater history of Buffalo New York and what he remembers of Joe from his early acting career, when he shared the stage with him. History is one of his passions.

History of Theater in Buffalo - The first theaters in Buffalo, New York were built well before the Civil War and a lot of them lasted well into the 20th Century. In the early 1900′s the city had over 60 millionaires, making it the richest city on the planet. Money came in waves, starting with the Eerie Canal built in 1820’s, it brought a huge amount of trade and traffic through the city. The second wave came from the steel mills erected along side the erie, steel mills were followed by flour mills. For a while, Buffalo was the largest producer of flour in the world. In 1900 the Niagra Power Project was constructed and Buffalo became the first city on earth wired for electricity.

All this money and power, built a lot of theaters for the wealthy patrons, and brought a lot of talent to the area…

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BIFF blog

Paving the Road to Stardom: Who is Glorinda Marie?

Many of you may already know her work as she has played in numerous films as both the lead and supporting actress.

Some people are just born to act, and those who are know it early on.
“I was 6 years old when I started acting. Then, I wrote, directed and of course, starred in my 8th grade play! My dad to this day says he can not take a ‘candid’ picture of me because I always know where the darn camera is. But, I would say I seriously pursued acting as a career since 1995. As a non union actor I played many roles in indie & corporate films, on stage, and also in local commercials. I joined SAG just recently, in March 2006!”…Read the whole story.

In addition to working on her acting career, Glorinda has been the leading effort behind SFindieclub. Through her efforts the group has grown to be one of the country’s largest organizations of film workers. Her spirit is contagious and her energy is boundless. She is very easy-going and helpful.

“Our mission is to network local filmmakers, crew & talent thereby creating more work in film for all of us! We hope to enhance the SF Bay Area into a hotbed of cinematic creations!” ~ Glorinda Marie
SF Indieclub Leader & Actress

Glorinda’s site

Glorida’s second is – SFindieclub, one of the largest online filmmaking communities in America. “…We are not a ‘political group’ nor are we here to censor any artists from self expression. On the contrary we deeply support your right to express your views through your filmmaking whether we agree or disagree with the content. SF indieclub is concerned with supporting you as a filmmaker. We have no censorship. We are interested in enhancing qaulity of film and filmmaking locally.

If people do not like what writers are creating, please by all means write and produce your own material – express your views! SF indieclub will support you, too. You are all creative individuals. It is easy to complain about other’s work. It is more challenging and honorable to create your own work. Thank goodness we are a free country who honors freedom of expression. SF indieclub honors this whole heartedly. We will defend your right to self expression to the end – whether we agree with your views or not!

Therefore, I want to gently remind our members that while it is wonderful to participate in heated debates occuring over content (this means you were moved by the aritst), Our true mission as a collective group is to enhance local filmmaking. It is best to offer constructive criticsm to each other on how to make the quality of your films superior. Our collective mission is to enhance local filmmaking and create more work for ourselves. Network, network, network!”

We welcome all serious filmmakers to join our networking community and share your film experience with us. If you want to join SF INDIECLUB:
You must register with yahoo groups. Sign into yahoo groups. and then join indieclub here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFindieclub

My role. I am writing a book about Beaux Arts, a coffeehouse in Florida that flourished for a long time. I have been the member of a few arts organizations, some more successful than others. I decided to write a book about Beaux Arts because no one else was, and I wanted to find out what made it work for so long and touch so many lives. I determined a major factor for longevity was a strong leader who mentored others and supported freedom of expression and ideas.Glorinda and SFindieclub are built on the same principals of keeping art free and flowing.

zrants

Dan Allison is a professed crime novelist who draws heavily from his past lives. Beaux Arts, being one of the more colorful places around, finds its way into his stories. I found Dan on-line, though a google search which turned up one of his characters reminiscing about an evening spent there.

I was very interested in talking to fellow writer inspired by my muse so I arranged to meet Dan for brunch at the 36th Street cafe on 36th Street in downtown St. Pete for brunch and a chat. We ordered the breakfast special and coffee. A sip of java was all it took to take him back to where it all began. His story poured out in a steady stream that would have made Karaoke proud.

Dan was in high school in 1969. “It was right off Park Boulevard but it always seemed difficult to find, even when it was there, I’m sure I couldn’t find it now that it’s not there.”

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