East Bay Open Studios Preview Exhibition (review)

After reviewing the 7th Creativity and Cognition Conference [1], held in Berkeley in 2009, two thoughts kept reverberating in my mind. First, I thought about the many reviews I have written about art and events in the San Francisco Bay Area and wondered why I have never looked at the vibrant art produced here. I also thought quite a bit about Cathy Treadaway's paper, mentioned in that review, in which she outlined her approach to integrating newer technologies into her handcrafted art. To put these thoughts to rest, I decided to review the annual East Bay Pro Arts Exhibition (EBOS) this year. This two-weekend event highlights the work of over 400 artists located in the San Francisco Bay Area, many of whom open their studios to the public. While perhaps not as well known as other locally based projects (such as Burning Man, which has achieved global recognition), EBOS does offer a noteworthy mix of innovative art, groundbreaking museum and gallery exhibitions, live concerts and great food.

The focal point of the show is the Pro Arts gallery in downtown Oakland, where each artist can include a small example of his or her work. The resulting collage is remarkably strong and immediately highlights the talent in the community. Perhaps the most creative contribution in art, science and technology was by Raines Cohen. He mounted a large postcard for the exhibition inside a locked box. Just before the opening reception, he unlocked the box and placed inside an iPad that was running a video presentation of his work and photographs. Watching it throughout the opening reception made it become clear that the postcard was a clever placeholder, and the purpose of the locked box was to use it for the video invitation that he ran during the opening. Needless to say, the video was intended to entice people to visit his space. (I assume that the postcard was returned to the locked box after the opening reception.)

The purpose of the Pro Arts gallery space is to help art enthusiasts devise their visitation plan. I must admit that although I mapped out a plan from the gallery pieces, once I got going, I found it hard to stay on track. I was lured into spaces by posters on the street and comments from artists I met as I visited with them in their studios. Other visitors I encountered along the way also changed my course. I am not sure if I recommend this approach because I am certain I missed studios of interest. Still, I was glad I took advantage of those who tried to draw an audience to their space because I found some gems along the way.

The first day of the four-day event I traveled around with a colleague. We picked as one of our first stops a building where several prominent Bay Area artists (Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff, William Theophilus Brown and Paul Wonner) had had their studios in the 1950s. Together with David Park, who had a studio in downtown Berkeley, Bischoff and Diebenkorn founded the Bay Area Figurative style. Moreover, it was in this space, in the mid-1950s, that Diebenkorn created his famous "Berkeley Series" of abstract landscapes. We found a particularly robust studio there, Marty McCutcheon's space. It was set up as if it was a gallery exhibition of his work with a large sculpture/installation around the walls that was uniformly whitewashed (although with bits of unpainted colors showing through). The all-white artwork was put together with found and discarded objects (a chair, a television, old paint brushes, etc.) constructed in a flattened format resembling a synthetic cubist painting. While my companion saw shades of Diebenkorn in the asymmetrical geometry (suggesting some resonance with where the studio space was located), I thought more about Kurt Schwitters's Merzhaus. I was also reminded me of Louise Nevelson's unique assemblages...