arts
No Festival Required Celebrates 10 Years
Posted on 6/13/12 by Christina O'Haver » No Comments
No Festival Required founder Steve Weiss. Photo by Anthony Sandoval
Steve Weiss took out his yellow highlighter.
The local resident and film programmer was preparing to show an independent documentary at the Phoenix Art Museum and was marking up the resumé of Los Angeles filmmaker, Andrea Kreuzhage.
He wanted to mention some of her most significant projects to the audience during his introduction to her piece, “1000 Journals,” but he realized he was highlighting almost all of them. Unable to choose from the impressive list of experience, he asked Kreuzhage what he should talk about.
“I don’t want you to mention any of that,” she replied. “If you want to say anything, say that I sold my house to make this film.”
“That’s why I like independent films,” Weiss explains as he tells the story that has stuck with him for the last three years.
Weiss’s Phoenix-based, one-man film programming company, No Festival Required, is turning a decade old this year – a milestone he’s amazed by.
“It was a total crapshoot 10 years ago,” he says.
The idea developed out of his and the film community’s discontent with the traditional process of film festivals, which Weiss says rarely includes explaining to filmmakers why their pieces aren’t selected and often includes charging such filmmakers the same entry fee as those who receive slots in the festivals.
Weiss came across filmmakers in search of other avenues for presenting their short films and, in 2002, he began forming “the anti-festival.”
In June of that year, Weiss and former Modified Arts booker Leslie Barton threw up a sheet at the gallery and performance venue and waited to see if anyone would show up to watch the approximately 60 minutes of content Weiss had gathered. After seeing a decent turnout, Weiss and Barton deemed the inaugural show a success and decided to continue it. They played more than 600 short films in 50 screenings over a period of five and a half years.
While still screening regularly at Modified Arts, Weiss began showing movies at other venues. His first show outside of NFR’s Roosevelt Row home occurred at the Phoenix Art Museum in February 2004 and consisted of a compilation of what he considered to be the best short films from the screenings at Modified Arts.
In 2010, Weiss heard about FilmBar, a independent movie theater-slash-bar, slated to open in Downtown Phoenix. He approached owner Kelly Aubey about getting involved, and after assisting with six months of pre-planning, Weiss spent six more programming for the space until his departure in August 2011.
Weiss has learned over the years that bringing a film to an audience is much easier than bringing an audience to a film.
While screening at one location, Weiss had to attract people who were willing to see a flick that they knew nothing about and maybe wouldn’t even relate to. But showing movies at various locations allows him to present a broader range of work and attract viewers who actually have an interest in the specific content of the films.
He says his Building Communities Cinema series, which includes films about improving the livability of cities, attracts many Downtowners and arts advocates.
Weiss’s predictions for the future of NFR include continuing to work with many different venues and individuals, becoming more involved in the film distribution process to help filmmakers promote and sell their films, and maybe even bringing shows to small towns interested in creating art house, documentary and independent film environments.
Weiss enjoys gathering the community around uncommon cinema and championing filmmakers’ good works.
“There are a few films that I’ve screened and re-screened because I just think if the whole world hasn’t seen these films, I’m just going to show them again and again until just one person is left in the theater,” he says.
For Weiss, one of the biggest benefits of working with independent films is developing close connections with filmmakers like Kreuzhage, whose “1000 Journals” documentary he has screened twice.
“For the viewer, I think it’s knowing that people really put their hearts into these things,” he says.
Upcoming Shows
Film: “Trimpin: The Sound of Invention”
Filmmaker: Peter Esmonde
Date: Thursday, June 14, 2012
Time: 7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 7 p.m.)
Where: SMoCA Lounge, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission: $7
Synopsis: “A documentary feature profiling the life and work of a highly creative and somewhat eccentric artist/inventor/engineer/composer. The artist Trimpin generally shuns publicity, yet he has received a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and many other international accolades for his outrageous musical investigations.” Learn more
Film: “Two Americans”
Filmmakers: Dan De Vivo and Valeria Fernández
Date: Monday, June 18, 2012
Time: 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Where: 3rd Street Theater, Phoenix Center for the Arts
Admission: $6
Synopsis: “The life of a 9-year old child is forever changed when ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff’ arrests her Mexican parents for working at a local carwash. Fighting to rescue her parents from deportation, Katherine Figueroa becomes the poster child of a movement to oust Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio from office. Exposed by the media, Kathy’s family is challenged to overcome their fear of living in Arizona. But when Sheriff Joe uses his power to retaliate against the County Board, it’s the legality of his actions that is questioned. Now the Sheriff’s fate hangs in the balance of an FBI criminal probe.” Learn more
From the Wire | Warehouse Clearance Sale To Benefit Artlink
Posted on 5/15/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
Some news items don’t need translation. That’s why DPJ launched the From the Wire series, so we could serve the destinations here by posting information and announcements – in their own words.
Have anything to donate? Art, furniture, appliances, etc. are welcome. Drop items off on Friday afternoon, May 18th from Noon – 5pm at the parking lot in the rear of the After Hours Building.
Artlink, creator of the wildly popular First Friday’s in downtown Phoenix and Art Detour, one of the longest-running arts events in Arizona, will be the benefactor of a warehouse clearance sale.
The sale will be held on Saturday, May 19th, from 7AM to 12 NOON in the parking lot of the After Hours Building, at 116 W. McDowell Road. The After Hours Building is in the heart of downtown Phoenix, 1 block west of the Phoenix Art Museum and the Central/McDowell Light Rail Stop.
Merchandise comes from a variety of manufacturers and most are never-used overstocks and samples. Items in the sale include gift-wrap, stationery goods, pet products, scrap-booking supplies, t-shirts, greeting cards, holiday decor plus art, furniture, appliances and more. Many prices are discounted nearly 90% from normal retail, with many items marked at just 25 cents.
According to Mike Oleskow, President of Artlink and organizer of the sale, “This is a great opportunity for people to get incredible deals and support the Phoenix Arts community. Proceeds help keep services like the First Friday shuttles running each month. While free for First Friday participants who love using it to explore art and to get around Downtown, the shuttles are Artlink’s biggest expense each month.”
Artlink Phoenix is one of the oldest, all volunteer run, 501-C-3 arts organizations in downtown Phoenix. Its mission is to maintain and enhance regular events, including the monthly First Fridays art walk, the annual Art Detour self-guided tour, an annual Juried Exhibition and an art-related fundraiser.
For more information on Artlink, please visit artlinkphoenix.com.
Meet the Artists of Martinis & Masterpieces Part III
Posted on 4/26/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
We have to admit it. Some of us tend to support the local martini makers more than we do local artists.
Yet, while a bartender may concoct a drink in a myriad of different ways, artists consistently amaze us with what they create. Inspired by an infinite number of moments and memories, they distill these impressions into an expression that is uniquely theirs.
The creations of the artists below (plus here and here) can be yours for the bidding at tomorrow night’s Martinis & Masterpieces. Be sure to register for the event before 5 p.m. TODAY, as you will not be able to purchase tickets at the door.
Averian Chee grew up on the Navajo reservation in a small valley called Nazlini. It was there that he began to appreciate the abundant colors of the lush landscapes that surrounded his home.
Right: Self-Portait – Sheep Herder
Frank Ybarra grew up in a family that was proud of its Mexican roots but was fully assimilated into U.S. culture. Ybarra’s colorful neo-Cubist works are cartographic icons of the U.S. Southwest, indicators of place and vehicles of memory.
Right: Backyard Pachanga
Her boutique salon, Mercantile is where Thibault most often paints, sometimes between hair clients. She often associates her work as a stylist and as a painter as only slightly varied from each other.
Right: Bananas
“I started exploring the use of cement as a substitute for clay. Building the structures in a much lighter way and then applying the cement by either coating or light weight castings. ‘Stackhouse’ is an example of that explorative process.”
Right: Stackhouse
During her many years of painting, Parmasto has taken her collectors on a journey of Post Soviet abstract expressionism, color field and gesture exploration, natural impressionism, fantasy and non-objectivism.
Right: Autumn Blush
Expressing the mass confusion of jumbled information in his head and flooding its way onto the canvas, John Babbitt creates a mirror image of who he is. The goal is to create a balance from the confusion and mess of emotion to end the flood of chaos.
Right: Kung Fu Crane and Chicken
McLaughlin maintains studio-residences in France and the United States. He keeps a workshop in the Loire Valley in France, a studio in Palo Alto, California and another on two acres of desert in Phoenix, Arizona.
Right: Femme Sirene
As a driving force in the Chicano art scene, Covarrubias helped found Movimiento Artistico del Rio Salado (MARS) Art Space and ARIZTLAN, a statewide organization of Hispanic artists and writers. Many of his murals decorate walls and buildings throughout the Valley.
Right: You will have to see what he creates live at the event…
If you go
Event: Martinis & Masterpieces
Date: Friday, April 27
Time: 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Madison Event Center, 441 W. Madison St.
Tickets: $50 each until 5 p.m., April 26 (tickets will not be sold at the door)
Benefiting: Arts & Business Council
Participating Artists: Emily Costello, Christopher Gerlings, Carolyn Lavender, Deborah McMillion Nering, Zach Stelling, Anthony Peters, Lara Plecas, Tom Stephenson, Gina McComas, Kurt VonBehrman, Chris Swanberg, Lee Hazel, Averian Chee, Frank Ybarra, Ellen Wagener, Jim Covarrubius, Larry McLaughlin, Laura Voight, Sal Cosenza, Anne Parmasto, Shauna Thibault and Johnathan Babbitt.
Sponsored by: Phoenix Motor Company, Fuze, Org.Gen, and Plaza Executive Suites. In-kind sponsors include New Times, Davidson & Belluso, SW Scenic Group, Crescent Crown Distributing, Stoli and Hendricks, Downtown Phoenix Journal, Party People, Fry’s, Monkey Brain Promotions, O.H.S.O., Rubios, Picazzo’s, Ticoz, Sidebar, Hanny’s, Tilted Kilt, Bar One, Tequila Cruz, Arizona Iceman, Airpark Signs and Framin Works.
Meet the Artists of Martinis & Masterpieces Part II
Posted on 4/23/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
It may only be Monday, but our minds are on this cocktail party. The idea of being surrounding by a myriad of martinis and local masterpieces of this caliber has us giddy with excitement.
You may have met a few of the participating artists. Now, enjoy another round of introductions and join the fun this Friday.
Lee’s oil paintings exercise two realms of her creativity; a gift for portraiture and her personal work. Lee’s work involves aspects of her life, the people around her, experiences from her travels and her imaginative dreams.
Right: Back to Back
“There is no way I can predict where the work is ultimately going. However, I do know that my work when taken as a whole is part of a continuing chronicle of where I have been, what I have seen and how I felt.”
Right: Ride
Inspired by the landscape tradition of the Hudson River School, American Luminism, and vintage photography, Phoenix-based artist Ellen Wagener is a keen observer of the atmospheric and tactile qualities of the sky and land.
Right: Canyons
“Time doesn’t stand still for anyone. It passes in a blink of an eye and changes with each passing moment. In 1999 when we were headed into another century I wanted to do a body of work that would reflect where we had been.”
Right: Gibson Girl
Chris Swanberg works primarily with welded steel focusing on form, scale and compositions. Strongly influenced by machinery, architecture and midcentury design, he utilizes found objects and industrial cast offs where applicable to create his sculptures.
Right: Bio Mechanical II
“My love for color and texture draws me to paint in oil. My goal is to inspire others to pause, observe, think, and forget the cares of their life if only for a moment.”
Right: Mirage
Utilizing images bombarded from fashion magazines and print, movies, electronic imagery or life, Tom seeks to create abstract paintings with a message through photorealism.
Right: Eat
If you go
Event: Martinis & Masterpieces
Date: Friday, April 27
Time: 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Madison Event Center, 441 W. Madison St.
Tickets: $50 each until 5 p.m., April 26 (tickets will not be sold at the door)
Benefiting: Arts & Business Council
Participating Artists: Emily Costello, Christopher Gerlings, Carolyn Lavendar, Deborah McMillion Nering, Zach Stelling, Anthony Peters, Lara Plecas, Tom Stephenson, Gina McComas, Kurt VonBehrman, Chris Swanberg, Lee Hazel, Averian Chee, Frank Ybarra, Ellen Wagener, Jim Covarrubius, Larry McLaughlin, Laura Voight, Sal Cosenza, Anne Parmasto, Shauna Thibault and Johnathan Babbitt.
Sponsored by: Phoenix Motor Company, Fuze, Org.Gen, and Plaza Executive Suites. In-kind sponsors include New Times, Davidson & Belluso, SW Scenic Group, Crescent Crown Distributing, Stoli and Hendricks, Downtown Phoenix Journal, Party People, Fry’s, Monkey Brain Promotions, O.H.S.O., Rubios, Picazzo’s, Ticoz, Sidebar, Hanny’s, Tilted Kilt, Bar One, Tequila Cruz, Arizona Iceman, Airpark Signs and Framin Works.
Meet the Artists of Martinis & Masterpieces
Posted on 4/20/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
Cocktails parties are always something to look forward to, but Martinis and Masterpieces takes the concept to new level.
The annual Arts & Business Council fundraiser at Downtown Phoenix’s Madison Event Center on April 27, is described as a “casual, afterwork fund-raising cocktail party, original-art exhibit and silent auction.” This special event brings together a collection of cocktail makers with an impressive roster of local artists (see full lists below).
As much as we can wax poetic about a good martini, we’re here to talk about the art. The artists committed to supporting a good cause represent a range of styles and mediums, and the variety should make for a stimulating accompaniment to the liquid refreshments.
Below is the first group of participating artists. Look for others to be revealed in the days to come.
The unifying themes in Carolyn Lavender’s work are generally organizational systems, such as the grid, with an interest in sequential process and a straightforward presentation of ideas and images.
Right: Journal 27 (three bears)
His drawings are based on existentialism, religion, pseudoscience, gender roles, death, discovery, and the dualistic nature of the human experience in the 21st century.
Right: Momento Mori
Emily Costello finds much of her inspiration from her Mexican heritage and its cultural icons and images: Luchadores (Mexican wrestlers), Mexican folk heros, sacred heart, Loteria (Mexican bingo), Frida Kahlo and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) are abundant in her work.
Right: Vida
Sal Cosenza is a recent graduate of Arizona State University with a BSD in Architectural Studies. Born in 1988 in Scottsdale, Arizona, he has a particular fascination with New York subjects.
Right: Domestic NY- Caught In The Act
Deborah’s art reflects the era that has always meant the most to her: The 1950s – a time where anything can happen.
Right: Mid-Century Modern Genii
At first glance, his work is dominated by basic shapes and bright colors. Upon further inspection, realistic faces and subtle colors draw the viewer into a more complex situation that provokes unexpected thought and emotion.
Right: Chrysops
My work explores the connection between the environment and the human experience. When we recall memories of people and places; we are left with a feeling that captures the overall experience.
Right: Homeland
If you go
Event: Martinis & Masterpieces
Date: Friday, April 27
Time: 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Madison Event Center, 441 W. Madison St.
Tickets: $50 each until 5 p.m., April 26 (tickets will not be sold at the door)
Benefiting: Arts & Business Council
Participating Artists: Emily Costello, Christopher Gerlings, Carolyn Lavendar, Deborah McMillion Nering, Zach Stelling, Anthony Peters, Lara Plecas, Tom Stephenson, Gina McComas, Kurt VonBehrman, Chris Swanberg, Lee Hazel, Averian Chee, Frank Ybarra, Ellen Wagener, Jim Covarrubius, Larry McLaughlin, Laura Voight, Sal Cosenza, Anne Parmasto, Shauna Thibault, Johnathan Babbitt
Sponsored by: Phoenix Motor Company, Fuze, Org.Gen, and Plaza Executive Suites. In-kind sponsors include New Times, Davidson & Belluso, SW Scenic Group, Crescent Crown Distributing, Stoli and Hendricks, Downtown Phoenix Journal, Party People, Fry’s, Monkey Brain Promotions, O.H.S.O., Rubios, Picazzo’s, Ticoz, Sidebar, Hanny’s, Tilted Kilt, Bar One, Tequila Cruz, Arizona Iceman, Airpark Signs and Framin Works.
