Urban Jacksonville

Famous Neo-Dada artist Robert Rauschenberg died Monday in Tampa, according to Jennifer Joy, his representative at PaceWildenstein gallery in New York.  The Associated Press ran the story today.

Rauschenberg was an American artist who came onto the scene in the 1950s transition from abstract expressionism to pop art.  Most known for his “combines,” combinations of non-traditional materials and objects from modern life, Rauschenberg also sculpted and choreographed.  In 1984, he won a Grammy Award for best album package for the Talking Heads album “Speaking in Tongues.”

Rauschenberg, along with Jasper Johns, is often cited as being a forerunner of American Pop Art.  By 1962, Rauschenberg was beginning to implement the silkscreen method for transferring photographs onto canvas much like Andy Warhol.  Rauschenberg was a supporter of the artists who exploited popular culture wholesale, such as Andy Warhol did with tomato soup cans and Roy Lichtenstein with comic books.

When asked about dying, Rauschenberg is quoted as saying, “I don’t ever want to go.  I don’t have a sense of great reality about the next world; my feet are too ugly to wear those golden slippers.  But I’m working on my fear of it.  And my fear is that something interesting will happen, and I’ll miss it.”

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to view some of Rauschenberg’s work at MOCA Jacksonville, which is a part of the museum’s permanent collection.  In my opinion, Rauschenberg is one of the greatest American artists that lived.  His influence on the American art movement in the 1950’s and 60’s is immeasurable.  His impact on the art world will be missed but never forgotten.

Thanks to Joey for letting me post this even though its relativity to UJ is not apparent.

MOCA Jacksonville is celebrating five years in downtown Jax on May 16, 2008. The party will feature Jacksonville’s most acclaimed pastry chefs in a pastry art competition to create the evening’s most outrageous contemporary sculptured cake.

The festivities begin at 8 p.m. and last until midnight. Guests will enjoy live entertainment, hors d’oeuvres, specialty cocktails and desserts by participating competitors, including:

Cakes by Patrice Drinkard
Choux Designer Cakes and Pastries
Cinotti’s Bakery
Edgewood Bakery
Etiquette of Chocolate
Kakes by Katie
Sheila’s Cakes & Specialty Treats
Stover’s Custom Cakes
Tasteful Creations
The Cake Shop of San Jose
The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island

Reservations for the birthday bash are required on or before May 9, 2008. Information about ticket prices can be found on the MOCA Jax site. I’ll be assisting Katie Dumphy of Tasteful Creations, so please say hello and grab a piece of cake!

The state of street art in Jacksonville goes beyond Urbismus. Here what some others are getting up to. This is by no means comprehensive, just what I could cover in a few hours on last weekend. Complete Street Art Update photoset.

Brooklyn

Five Points

Downtown

San Marco

Tags: graffiti, stencil, sticker, throwup

Jump to Art Walk links and best bets (updated 4:04pm!)

…are like peanut butter and jelly. They go great together between two pieces of bread, or two beers. My sister-in-law just returned home from 3 years in Chicago and this is going to be her first Art Walk. Ever! Luckily for her it’s going to be a good one. The weather is going to be in the high 70s tomorrow night and there’s no sign of rain in sight.

Two of the best Art Walk events will be re:CHARGE08 related. You’ll remember, prior to the best April Fools Day prank in the city, I posted on re:CHARGE08, an AIGA sponsored design conference here in Downtown Jacksonville.

re:CHARGE will be hosting events at two Art Walk venues. These shows will be free and open to the public. First is Circuits, a digital art show at the Burrito Gallery (map)

Circuits is twelve 20″ Apple iMacs, two 30″ Cinema Displays and two 12 foot projections. The large projection features examples from all the artists with full sound. Each of the smaller screens is dedicated to a single artist or collective and continually loops their work.

Artists include PES, We Work For Them, MOOVlab, ©ause Collective, Jeff Boortz, Eric Dyer, and others. Experience 16 moving screens of this fascinating emerging genre. Curated by Doug Grimmett, Primal Screen.

I saw Doug Grimmett speak at the last re:CHARGE and I am very excited to see any show he has curated. Check out the Primal Screen website for the quality of work you can expect at Circuits.

The next show I recommend is the “Get Out the Vote” poster show project at the Opaq Gallery above TSI. This is going to be the last time you can go to an Art Walk show at Opaq without sweating through your shirt, so you better get down there. The winning poster is pictured above.

Discover Design, paired local high school students interested in design with professionals from the local design community. Over the course of three months, the group met for six sessions at the Jacksonville Main Library to create original Get Out the Vote posters that focus on the 2008 Presidential Election.

Hmm, that sounds like a good idea for an art show.

Here are all your Art Walk related links and other best bets:
New Stuff
The Urban Core - Art Walk! Ahhhhhhh

Stuff you already read
The Art Center Presents - MOSAIC
Skull Bunny’s + UAW + Jax = Awesome!

In case you hadn’t heard, there is free parking during the Art Walk at the Downtown Garage on the Clay St. between Adams St. and Forsyth St. (Apr 2 from 5- 9pm)

Official Art Walk site
JaxScene: (SOME OF) ART WALK THIS WEDNESDAY
Nicky G’s Pizza has artist Tommy Armageddon
Jacksonville Confidential staff meeting at Burrito Gallery
Art Center Presents:One image of our city, 16 artists, 16 styles

Tags: art walk

AIGA Jacksonville and Font Bureau present re:CHARGE08, a 2.5 day conference designed to re-energize and inspire the creative monster living inside each of us through lectures, workshops, and social interaction with some of the design industry’s biggest talents.

re:CHARGE is two days of conference style activities, with some of graphic design’s biggest stars. It’s not often you see this type of talent come together in Jacksonville, much less experience it in such an intimate environment. Fresh from SXSW Interactive, which had over 5,000 attendees this year, it will be fun to experience such a high caliber event, without all the people.

I went to the last re:CHARGE, held at Flagler College in St. Augustine (the one before that was at UNF). My favorite thing about the last conference was interacting with the speakers. Meeting them, going out for drinks with them, etc. I’m happy AIGA Jacksonville decided to host the event Downtown, instead of a university. The conference should have a very cosmopolitan, urban feel to it.

re:CHARGE begins on Thursday with an opening roundtable “How Design Affects Small Business and Community”, but the real sessions begin on Friday and continue on Saturday. There are a total of 12 sessions, presented designers from around the country and around the city. This year’s line-up includes: Stephen Bucher, Juliet D’Ambrosio, Cyrus Highsmith, Sally Hogshead, Berwyn Hung, Jeff Matz, Debbie Millman, nGen Works, Matt Rollins, Christopher Simmons, Carl Smith, and Ann Willoughby.

I’m happy to say nGen Works, the company I work, for will have two sessions during the conference. One titled “Growing a Successful Creative Business” with Carl Smith and the other “Exploring The Creative Process” with Varick Rosete, Travis Schmeisser and possibly yours truly.

Pricing is a little steep unless you’re a design nerd, in which case the price is no object, or work is paying for it. If you want to check out the conference without breaking the bank, try the Keynote pricing which starts at $15 for student members and goes up to $40 for non-student/non-AIGA members.

If you don’t want to spend ANY money but still want to partake in this week’s most awesome downtown event there are two re:CHARGE related art shows you can check out at Art Walk. I’ll be posting more about both this this week. One is called Circuits and is at the Burrito Gallery. The other is student poster show at Opaq Gallery, above TSI. More on those later this week.

And if you made it this far, I have a super special announcement tomorrow. In true Urban Core style, you’ll want to come back tomorrow to read.

P.S. Love the 404 page.

Tags: aiga, conference, design, recharge

ART on a PEDESTAL opens this Friday March 28, from 6-9 in Springfield. The show will feature art from all over the country: Virginia, Missouri, New York, California, Oregon and Florida. This show will feature every artistic medium, including electronic. To be in the show the art had to go through a selection process of being shipped to New York and jugded.

Juror, Ethan Karp of the OK Harris Gallery in NYC selected each of the works that will be featured. In a press release issue by PIE, Karp says “If there is an overriding theme to this exhibition, beyond the initial concept of Art on a Pedestal, it would have to be Merit.”.

It is a great thing for Jacksonville that shows like this happen and a great thing for the Springfield community an exhibition of this quality, with participants from all over the country, can happen in an area that historically has been referred to as “blighted” in our city.

Urban Jacksonville prognosis for the show
People in suits, little old ladies, wine drinkers, high-brow art. I’m basing this on my past experiences of events and shows at Draper’s gallery. They have never been my thing. I’m friends with Jim, so I hate to say this, but I don’t think I will like this show very much.

I’ll walk up there for a bit to prove myself wrong, but I expect it to be much like the other shows. Don’t take this as me recommending not to go to the show, you should go. I just want you to know what to expect when you get there.

More about PIE Studio
Last fall, PIE studio grew out of a conversation with Jay Shoots and Karen Sadler and Jim Draper. The name comes from the concept of PROCESS INTENT EXHIBITION. This collaboration was started with no particular agenda and not really any idea other than an intent to let an organic artistic venue develop on its own.

piestudio.net
PIE studio
1827 N. Pearl St.
Jacksonville, Florida 32206

Tags: pie studio

Check out this unconventional art show on Saturday March 22nd in Avondale. Greg Mitchell, the host, wrote to tell me his is having an art show at his house in honor of completing the restoration of his historic bungalow on Herschel Street.

Attached is the flyer-its not the most professional looking piece you’ll have ever seen but I’m a carpenter not a graphic designer (I did a much better job on the house I swear).

Ha ha! That’s true Greg, although I like the airplane. What are you smoking in that house? Music? Here are the details:

3578 Herschel Street
BYOB Beer and Wine
Show up after 9:00pm

Tags: art show, avondale