Not So Banal Heights

In search of artistic dialog in SF?  Then visit Cortland Avenue.  James Orlando's work at 301 Bocana and a recent talk at Bernal Bubbles by Susanne Cockrell & Ted Purves served up meaty questions and interesting dialog.  Not the talking kind with Orlando's artwork though but the kind that comes from thoughts and desires for creative objects or ideas. Orlando makes pieces that identify directly at times with work made by other artists or references a personal theme or feeling.  Emulating pieces that are unattainable because of price and hanging them with paintings of dream scenes create a tone of pure romantic love - the old school kind.  Anyone who has bought art within their budget but also wished they had something out of reach will understand the earnestness of this show.  Most of it is arrayed with paintings and sculptural art objects that verge on romantic readymades.

Sculptural pieces mimic Kathryn Spence's monumental mud bears and fabric birds, "street artist" Barry McGee and in one case a tracing of a Picasso gravure.  References to them are parts of a game of surrealist free association, like a local band covering another local band's song, or just plain adoration.  While Orlando might be riffing on the ideas of art he himself appreciates it is done with the restaged oddness of Joseph Cornell.  The emulation and appreciation is sweet sort of.  As Cornell's art was received by movie stars of his era with awkward aprehension so to here.   Orlando's earnest presentation creates tension thanks to an imperceptibly thin sheen of creepy.

You pick this up reading the placards as well as ideas for work that is described but not presented.  These do not appear in the show and are suggested in concept like Ed Kienholz concept art: Deliberately suggesting its inappropriateness in paragraph form on the wall the viewer is invited to consider a piece involving folding a dead friend's clothes (not shown out of respect for the dead but discussed) and a stretched canvas turned to the wall with text on the back board suggesting a hidden masterpiece acquired for the artist's collection - the price kills the idea though ($450) ... or does it?  Thinking about it some more, you don't really know if the price is for the work or how much you have to pay to take a chance and see if you are getting a well known work of art.  Keinholz used to sell drawings with the price of the work on it.  The initially the lowest price works with the price prominently displayed were the most valuable.  Juxtapoz-type artist Ron English acquired a Keith Harring dog print once and after painting a Tyranasaurus Rex dinosaur in the middle of it using his own color-shape overlap style reduced the value of the work by half.

Orlando reasserts that a collector's participation in the artistic process is as significant as the artists activities which he expresses are ignored in practice.  Marcel Duchamp's ideas about what makes an object art are well documented and discussed but in the context of Orlando's world he expresses that some artists are too invested in the commodity of art experience - He doesn't illustrate this polemically but discusses it interpersonally. 

For example one piece on the floor includes picture frames, some empty, some with images that are filed in a milk crate wrapped with bungee cords ornamented with spray paint cans and empty pocket-size liquor bottles. The placard with this work reveals that some of these items might have been gifts to artists presented awkwardly but to express appreciation of their work. (possibly McGee (???) since the picture frames are similar to those he amalgamated into a mural at SFMOMA a while back.

In the other room paintings suggest a more autobiographical inward look alluding to a mother's diamond ring and teddy bear figures.  With a little time and investigation this show becomes a winner.

Preceding a special night reception at 301 Bocana another in a series of artist lectures was held at Bernal Bubbles laundromat Saturday October 6th. The talk focused on the public art of Susanne Cockrell and Ted Purves who collaborated creating "The Temescal Amity Works" after having a child.  Cockrell works as a professor in the First Year Program at CCA and Purves at JFK in Oakland. 

The two gave a half hour talk and slide show on community gardens and distribution of fruit between residents' back yards using a cart constructed by arts handyman Andrew Bigler and art students.  The actions of the piece seem to smack of a non-profit funding racket.  While Cockrell & Purves assert they are interested in creating community distribution cooperatives that are intended to encourage others in the community to continue after they leave the scene can they let it go?  The website says they have closed the storefront but like the mob it seems it could pull them back in.

Towards the end of the talk an audience member asked in so many words what part of what they were doing was the pure art.  The answer was not particularly clear but public art is a tricky business.  Recently someone related a story to me about how one of the hearts of San Francisco was defaced in SF Union Square.  Personally I can't stand the Hearts of SF but speaking more broadly from that bit of disclosure if you create public art you sort of need to walk away from it so people can complete the art process.   Culture influences the creation of art fairly easier than an artist can do the reverse - you take that chance against all odds. 

The menacing questions persist: Can using community gardens and barter relationships as art media bear ironic fruit?  Does this action demonstrate that progressive political economies are not worthwhile incubators for great or good art?  To create even more successful works of this type in the future in other places it might be worth it see how this one crashes and burns or grows and thrives.  Without more information another action risks being formulaic copy.

So while this is an opportunity to take some time off one thing is for sure.  The hiatus will take longer than the time it takes to make Persimmon Pudding. 

Bernal Bubbles is located at 397 Cortland Avenue in Bernal Heights
301 Bocana Gallery is located at the corner of Cortland and Bocana
The Temescal Amity works are documented online here http://www.amityworks.org/