Artistic Tucson

The 2009 Arizona Biennial is up at the Tucson Museum of Art through September 26th. As usual this is a show not to be missed due to its eclectic mix of styles, subject matter and materials. I have been attending biennials for as long as I can remember, and in fact am represented in the show this time, the first time since 1995. As with any juried show, the viewer will agree and disagree with some selections, as well as some omissions given the depth and breadth of Arizona talent in the arts. The show presents an interesting mix of mediums with: 2 video works, 18 paintings, 10 photographs, 5 sculptures, 9 mixed media works, 1 installation and 3 prints. This, all from 44 artists who all are currently residing in Arizona.

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I’m just back from Cleveland Ohio, where I was attending an Historic Theatres conference. I was struck by their downtown, and its success in respect to our local situation. While it was a long time coming, the entire success can be traced to a singular action – the restoration of the theatres at Playhouse Square. The square is made up of a number of historic theatres including the Ohio, the Palace, the Hanna and the State which have all been restored or rehabilitated by a private non-profit entity. When this project started, downtown Cleveland was a wreck – now it is not. The holdings of the Playhouse Square Foundation now include a hotel, office buildings and parking facilities as well as a unique partnership in the IDEA center with Cleveland’s public TV and radio entities.

The restored theatres have led to increased office rentals, street traffic and new retail opportunities for downtown. I saw public art, pedestrians, busy shops and restaurants, new mass transit solutions and a sense of civic pride. Of course Tucson is not Cleveland, nor is it any other city, but I think we can learn a little from them. It has been said that every successful downtown revitalization has an historic theatre as a central component (Richard Moe – National Trust for HIstoric Preservation) and here we are in Tucson with TWO restored historic theatres. 

How do we leverage these properties to greater overall success? Public support (not just cash), as well as insuring that multiple voices and decision makers are at the table for key discussions is a good place to start. We cannot continue to chase away key community members who are valued stake holders with experience. Government cannot always lead, and should not be in charge of our cultural resources if we are to become a world class arts community.

A long, long time ago….Downtown used to be a hotbed of arts activity. As a 20+ year downtown veteran, I remember. I was even a part of the buzz for awhile as a staff member of the Tucson Arts District Partnership – the group tasked with downtown revitalization through the arts. Established in the mid to late 1980’s, after a feasibility study said that’s what we should do, the arts district burst onto the scene with a signature event – Downtown Saturday Night. Wildly successful in bringing the community to our urban core, it sadly ran its course and became a shadow of itself after a few years, but it was pretty amazing at its zenith. Thousands of Tucsonans walking the sidewalks (and spilling onto the street) to experience galleries, cafe’s, shops and performances of both art and music. New art spaces opening up in vacant storefronts (phantom galleries), the sight of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra performing in the Ronstadt Transit Center, artists in residence interacting with the public to create murals and other works of art.

Downtown Saturday Night was just one program of the partnership (Managed aptly by staff member Claudia Jesperson) and became our community arts showcase. Other TADPI programs included; Artists in Residence, Thursday Night Art Walks, the Art 30 publication, Phantom Galleries, Art studios, an Artspace loan program, Warehouse District master planning, the Phantom Sculpture program and on and on.

What happened to all of this good stuff?

Times change, with the illusion of free easy Rio Nuevo cash, and, the creation of the Business Improvement District (Tucson Downtown Alliance), a lot of additional cooks entered the kitchen. TADPI’s original, long serving Executive Director Sarah Clements moved on, and so did many other staffers (Mary Glenn, Mary Ellen Wooten, Myself – to start the Fox Theatre project) and an era ended. Are we better off now? Those who remember the glory days may not think so, but I think this era laid the groundwork for what came next. No doubt in fits and starts, but this activity did get a segment of the community comfortable with coming back downtown. The decline of the seedy bars (Manhattan, etc.) and rise of hip galleries (Dinnerware, Central Arts, Berta Wright, etc.) and eateries – R.I.P Cafe Magritte – along with retail like the Arts District Bookstore were the needed transition elements. I hope we see this type of success again soon, and if not let’s remember what we had – a small urban success led in part by a noble organization, thanks TADPI!

In these trying times, most of our local non-profit arts organizations could use a hand. Everyone from downtown non-profit artspaces (Dinnerware gallery for one) to the “major’s” are looking to stretch their funds a bit. With the collapse of endowments (for those lucky enough to have them) and the decrease in discretionary income, many fine arts organizations are barely hanging on. While it is easy to forget that the arts are a vital part of our lives, we will miss them in greatly if they cease to exist during these trying times. From their economic impact on the community, to the richness they bring to our lives, the arts are an important element in our daily lives. Please take the time to think how you may support one of the following arts organizations either by attending an event, mailing a check, or even by volunteering to help during this rough time. I have listed the websites of many groups below, but this is not a complete list – please support your favorite, or poke around and find a few to try to help.

azopera.org

arizonatheatrecompany.org

tucsonsymphony.org

tucsonmuseumofart.org

moca-tucson.org

dinnerwarearts.com

ballettucson.org

foxtucsontheatre.org

rialtotheatre.com

I promise this is not just a plug to attend the Summer films at the Fox….It occurs to me, scanning the papers daily, that of course we are in the midst of the summer film desert By this I mean of course that the vast majority of films released by the studios during these hot calendar  months are aimed at generating the most money, and not the most engrossing post-film discussions. I will admit I enjoyed the “Star Trek” reboot, am hearing great things about “Up”, laughed out loud for much of “The Hangover” but was unimpressed by “Terminator Salvation” and the “X-Men” Origins film so far. Having visited the set for the upcoming “Transformers” sequel I am mostly interested in having my 12-year old son be blown away by the spectacle of it all.

It would seem a good time to remind people that there are other choices in the Tucson film world than the multiplexes which surround our City. Fine classic films will continue to be screened at the 10th annual Cinema La Placita on Thursday nights (cinemalaplacita.com) at 7:30pm. Also, the Loft, Tucson’s home for Independent CInema (loftcinema.com) has a great schedule of upcoming films that are not to be missed. And of course I have to mention the Fox, whose 4th annual summer series I have again programmed. The series (foxtucsontheatre.org) has screened two gems so far (”Best Years of our Lives” & “The Searchers”) but will screen 7 more including “The African Queen” on this Saturday – June 27th. The series ends August 15th with “Dr. Strangelove”. Films start at 7:30pm and between the ambience, great films and beverages it is a great way to beat the blockbuster blues with a classic film. Many cities do not have this wealth of “other” film options – support them if you can – you will not be sorry.

So, I often wonder, and never seem to learn, that you can’t force creativity. I sometimes find myself in my studio wandering from thing to thing and never actually getting much of anything done. Granted, my studio is a nightmare of materials which I sometimes am able to spin into artwork (Rumpelstiltskin reference). I find that I need to surround myself with the things that intrigue me, and speak at some level to me. I suppose this is the creative muse at work? I seem to work best under deadline – for example an art show deadline, or entry deadline. But I also seem to store up creative impulses to be released at some point. For example, after I left the Fox in April of 2008 I experienced a burst of productivity which I assume I had been ignoring due to my work load. I created over 50 works of art in a short (6-month) period.

This blog presents another creative deadline to address on a regular basis. While the  output is slightly different, there is the issue of summoning the muse to inspire work. Is this a creative luxury? In researching other creative types, it appears that a mixture of discipline and creative talent must be brought to bear in order to create. This seems to apply to writers, musicians and artists everywhere. I suppose one way to combat potential “creative block” is to be flexible enough to move from thing to thing and to not wait until a deadline is looming. I also find that the ability to walk away when something is not working and to return later is a wonderful luxury.

I am reminded of the 1999 Albert Brooks film “The Muse” where Sharon Stone is the embodiment of an artistic muse who is supposed to inspire his screenwriter character and only ands up driving him crazy. Luckily, I believe many of us creative types have an invisible, or at least cheaper muse to feed. Perhaps our muses are just a different personification of conscience, or intuition which due to genetics, or just luck, get our attention on a regular basis.

One of my pet peeves over the past ten or so years (I know, seems like a minor point) is the lack of artistic gateways to downtown. While I was working at the Tucson Arts District partnership I was always hoping that we would find a way to create some visible markers to let you know you were in the “Arts District”. This seemed to fall into a grey area due to the question of who would pay for it (public funds or private), where would they be located, and who would decide on the artist/themes? With the demise of the Arts District, and craziness of Rio Nuevo this notion seems lost for good. 

Part of the downtown signage plan called for kiosks to be located downtown and that would have helped create a sense of place, but sadly they were never constructed. Full disclosure – I saw the design plans for these kiosks because my wife’s design firm had been hired by the City to design the entire downtown signage system and I watched these plans go from spectacular to affordable and then non-existent. So why would we need kiosks or gateways? In visiting other cities such as L.A., Chicago, and San Francisco I have seen successful gateway projects and other signage elements which add to the walking, urban experience as well as creating a sense of place. A sense of arrival is essential when creating an experience. Think how, when driving downtown on a Saturday night the two neon marquees of the Fox and Rialto give you a feeling of being in an urban space. A place dedicated to entertainment. How can we carry out  that feel in broad daylight? How can we recreate the downtown of yesteryear? Can we make people remember what we want them to?

Obviously the tile murals of Steve Farley help set the tone when entering downtown from Broadway, but what about Stone Ave.? What about from the freeway? I remember clearly coming to Tucson for the first time in 1983 to go to the University of Arizona. We got off the freeway at Speedway and the first major landmark we passed after getting off the highway was a big strip club (now an empty lot). This really set the tone for the community. So maybe I’m talking about gateways to the entire community and not just to downtown. Imagine entering Tucson through the Saguaro National Forest on all sides – that would make a statement, and help us control sprawl?

If we want to be taken seriously, be respected, and be proud of our community first impressions are the rule. Let’s take some time to clean up the front yard of our community so the neighbors will want to do the same.

Recent media accounts of the proposed development deal downtown raised the usual hue and cry of the taxpayer voices against “handouts” for artists. Why were the two selected arts-related groups scheduled to get funds from the Stiteler/Martin deal? Due to the location of the proposed development, these two groups were poised to both benefit from the development and also potentially be harmed by the deal. WAMO (Wharehouse  Area Management Organization) and Skrappy’s were potential partners in support, which I believe the developers sought to engage as part of a grass-roots groundswell of warm-fuzzies. WAMO was also at the table as the original development agreement included master planning of much of the warehouse district just north of downtown. Skrappy’s has been in search of a home for some time now after vacating their space at the rear of the Rialto block on Broadway and this deal would have given them some security for the near future. (I am omitting the Rialto Theatre in this post as I believe that angle of the story has already been covered in many places).

How, as a community, can we support the things that help define us and enrich our lives? Can we support specific artists whose work we all agree is significant? No, not likely. It is not possible to get any large group of people to agree on anything, art especially. Can we find ways to support places which are dedicated to presenting the arts, and places which allow artists to continue to work – at a reasonable cost? Yes. We support the Tucson Museum of Art, music, dance and theatre venues in many ways (government grants, etc.). I believe supporting the conservation of the warehouse district is one way to ensure that artists are still a part of the urban experience.

Disclaimer – I worked for the Tucson Arts District Partnership when that group established the warehouse district – late 1990’s – and am familiar ,and friends with, a number of artists currently working in this area. I also watched downtown lose a lot of character when early adopters (pre-Rio Nuevo) thought downtown was hip & cool but were forced to leave. We lost great businesses and arts spaces due to greedy landlords (Yikes, Berta Wright, The Arts District Bookstore, Cafe Magritte, etc.). While I will admit market forces and other elements had a hand in some losses, I would love to have these ghosts of downtown back today. If we lose the warehouse district in the near future we will lose another barrio – an arts barrio waiting to be CAREFULLY brought to fruition, and one that we cannot replace easily anytime soon. Let’s hope other developers can recognize a value in this gem that is awaiting support.

We pass many works of art in our daily travels around town, but we don’t  always know who the work is by, or realize that it is a part of “our” collection as citizens of Tucson. One simple resource to peruse is the public art collection on Tucson Pima Arts Council’s website (http://www.tucsonpimaartscouncil.org/programs/publicArt/collection.html) which lists and has photographs of many of the 135 public artworks in the public collection. The TPAC public art staff members Mary Ellen Wooten and Sally Krommes continue to be busy with new calls to artists for public art projects, but are also a great resource for artists looking to enter the fray. Full disclosure – I have a piece of public art in the TPAC collection, a set of four sculptures located at Golf Links and Houghton which I created in 2001. 

Public art is a tough gig. It is a lot harder than it looks to come up with artwork that meets tight budgets, required public acceptance and is rewarding to the artist. I submitted for 20 projects, was a finalist for 10 and got 1 commission. I am pleased with the end result, but it has to be a special location/budget to get my attention now.

I encourage artists to volunteer to sit on a public art review panel as it is a great way to learn the process from the inside-out. You can see the dynamic of a panel first hand, watch artists present their proposals, and get to know the players in the public art world of Tucson. I have sat on three panels to date and am always reminded of the experience when I drive by an artwork I had a hand in selecting – its almost as good as being the artist of the work.

Well its almost Biennial time at the Tucson Museum of Art. This every-other-year exhibit (hence the name) showcases the best in Arizona contemporary art. Drawn state-wide from submissions, and guest curated by a prominent juror, the show promises to let the public get a sense of contemporary art being created by Arizona artists. Full disclosure – I am in the Biennial this year after a 14-year dry spell, but I am just one of 44 selected artists, several hundred applied. It is important to remember that this is one juror’s show/vision of contemporary art in Arizona. There are mnay more artist working than are represented at the Biennial. Support your local artist – even if they are not in the show!

The show opens Friday July 10th and runs through September 26th and is a must view for art fans in Tucson and Southern Arizona. This year’s guest juror is Tim Rodgers, the Chief Curator at the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Look for good work from artists including; Carrie Sied, Ken Rosenthal, Gwyneth Scally, David Elliot, Moria Geoffrion, Simon Donovan, Matt Cotton and many others in the show. I will post after the opening with my favorites and report on the response the show is getting.