Installation Completion - Photography, Lighting, Sound and Video for Macro Views, Micro Wonders - Mesa College Art Gallery

The final installation of Macro Views, Micro Wonders is almost complete. Francisco Eme, sound artist and I spent 3-4 hours working on installing the sound and video portion of 'Sensations' which is now in place. It's very exciting as this is my first installation using my video and Francisco's sound.  Mesa College student Jenny Armer worked on carefully lighting the exhibition but was also

instrumental in putting together the outdoor banner, posters and postcards for the show. Photographer Melissa Au shot images of the entire exhibition. Pat Vine orchestrated many aspects of the planning and details which has been a key factor in finally bringing together this exhibition.

I look forward in anticipation of the show opening on Thursday, September 10th, 4:30 - 6:30 pm, with a lecture I will be doing following it. The public is welcome and invited! Hope to see you then.....

Melissa Au photographer, shooting the installation of the entire exhibition.

Francisco Eme, sound artist explaining his process to Allesandra Moctezuma, Gallery Director,
 as he installs the sound portion of 'Sensations' installation.

Pat Vine, Gallery Coordinator and Allesandra Moctezuma working on final lighting details.

Installation Complete - Here's A Peak - Macro Views Micro Wonders, Cathy Breslaw's Show At Mesa College, San Diego

A two and a half day journey developing the installation of my show at Mesa College Art Gallery is in its end stages. I don't often experience the hands on installation of my exhibitions since they can be in various cities around the country, so it is of great benefit to have had this opportunity to create the space in a very personal way. It has been a joy to work with skilled staff members that have helped every step of the way. Here is a peak, with a few images.....

Still to come is Monday's installation of sound/video portion of the exhibition...more later......

Installation Of An Art Exhibition - Part 2: Behind The Scenes Look

Packing up my work on Sunday, I arrived Monday morning with my car loaded with art for the installation.  It was a nice surprise to see the large banner hanging in front of the gallery, showing images of my work and details about the exhibition...

After unloading my car, the work began....

This image shows just a few of the over 50 separate pieces eventually suspended from the ceiling, each having two to three points to hang. Because the ceiling is made of metal, magnets were used to suspend the individual pieces. 

I had lots of help yesterday, all of whom either teach at Mesa or have graduated from the Museum Studies program so they knew just what to do...

Today is day 2 - with more to come on the installation! 

Installing An Art Exhibition Is A Creative Act - Follow Behind The Scenes Process At San Diego Mesa College Beginning Soon!

 When we walk into an art exhibition, we experience the 'here and now' as it looks at the moment. We enter unaware of the work and complexities of preparation. My solo exhibition "Macro Views, Micro Wonders" opens on September 10th but conversations with Gallery Director Allesandra Moctezuma and Assistant Pat Vine began over a year ago.  The photos below gives viewers a sense of the space with nothing in it and before it was freshly painted but it will serve in stark contrast of what is to come next week when together with help from folks at the college, I will be installing over 20 works that include two room installations and one wall installation, several mixed media drawings, several transparent layered industrial mesh wall tableaus, and floor work. Portions will be suspended from the ceiling, some covering walls and parts sprawling on floors. For myself as an artist, I am a combination of humbled, excited, and nervous at the prospect of this challenge before me. Before I ever step into the gallery with my work, decisions have been made about the show title, printing accompanying images prepared for the banner, postcards, press releases and social media plans. It has been my experience that installing exhibitions is a true collaboration between the artist and curator/exhibition director as well as with countless others who make important contributions to the process. It is only with the true dedication of the staff, that I am able to create and install. The gallery space dictates ideas about what works to include and where they should be placed - viewers can think about their own living spaces and relate to the challenges of creating a home - and how each piece of furniture and object is thoughtfully positioned. With many experiences behind me, I recognize the installation process as a creative act with a voice all its own, adding to that of creating the art itself.
Next week I will be posting more photos of the process and then completion of the installation.

The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron?, Robert Dubac Uses Hilarious Characters To Help Us Face Ourselves As Women and Men

The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron

North Coast Repertory Theater, Solana Beach

One Night Only November 3rd - back by popular demand

Article by Cathy Breslaw

Robert Dubac wanted his audiences to experience pure fun and laughter when they saw his one man show The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron? playing for one night only, last night, at the North Coast Repertory Theater in Solana Beach. He got his wish as a few hundred men and women packed the theater with a sell out crowd. The result was ongoing uproarious laughter while Dubac asked the universal question “What do women really want? ” Posed by men, Dubac answers us by playing a series of five male characters plus a feminine voice inside his brain. Created and written 20 years ago by Dubac himself, he believes the show is timeless – that young men are mentored by older men who often offer outdated advice. Referring to his solo show as “ a combination of Mark Twain and Lilly Tomlin”, Dubac examines stereotypes, and comments that while it’s a show for both sexes and all ages, young males between 16 and 25 years old would love it too. When the show opens we meet "Bobby" in a very confused state having been dumped by the girl of his dreams. Unable to understand why, he channels some not-so-wise but hilarious advice from his five chauvinistic mentors. With a shrug of his shoulders or a crook of his neck Dubac seamlessly transforms himself into these five alter egos; each offering their own brand of misguided advice. They are: the honest Colonel; the grand communicator Jean Michel, the passionate Fast Eddie, 123-year-old hard-to-get Old Mr. Linger, and the ever-so-sensitive Ronnie Cabrezzi. The audience will clutch its collective sides in helpless laughter as Bobby sifts through their not-so-wise counsel. While sipping on a beer, Bobby finally taps into his feminine side to find some meaningful answers. In 2004, the touring production won a Craig Noel Award for Excellence in Theater, from the San Diego Theater Critics Circle, and the show has been translated into several languages and continues to be performed in several countries around the globe. Dubac has written and produced three other shows with universal themes: Book of Moron, Sex, Politics and Other Headaches, and a new production called Stand Up Jesus about how Jesus comes back to earth as a stand up comedian because as Dubac explains “it’s the only way people will listen to him(Jesus).”  Robert Dubac is a writer, actor and comedian who combines live theater with stand-up comedy, and through the process of poignant social commentary, gets us all to laugh at life’s ironies, and probably ourselves. Tickets for the November 3rd performance are on sale at the North Coast Repertory Theater and can be purchased online and by phone.

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Multi-Media Exhibition By Six Artists - Created By Ship In The Woods - 'Here/Hear' At Space 4 Art, San Diego

Ship In The Woods: Here/Hear

Exhibition at Space 4 Art, San Diego

325 15^th St, San Diego

Opening Reception: August 15   5-10 pm,  $8.00 donation

August 18 – 21                      11 am – 4 pm

Article by Cathy Breslaw

www.cathybreslaw.com

Adam Belt    

A Thing Is A Hole, in A Thing It Is Not          plywood, mirrors, light           36x48x84 inches

A Ship In The Woods, a non-profit community arts organization dedicated to promoting elevated conversations about art and culture, brings a multi-dimensional arts event to Space 4 Art, an exhibition space in San Diego. Entitled ‘Here/Hear’, this exhibition’s opening reception includes visual art, performance, music, film and installation. Six artists will use sound, light and viewer

interactive experience to express their own perception of the ‘here and now’.  The curatorial group organized by Curator, Lianne Mueller, strives to create exhibitions that use a combination of science, psychology, philosophy and the element of surprise to encourage viewers/participants to reflect and observe their daily lives with increased awareness.  The exhibition includes artist Lana Caplan who will engage the audience with an interactive piece, Adam Belt whose work illuminates images which slowly appear from a barren frame of blackness, Morgan Mandalay challenges us to become an active ‘looker’, Francisco Eme manipulates simple elements using natural reflection, and defraction of sound to create an ethereal soundscape and Gabie Strong and Matthew Hebert bring a tactile curtain of light and sound. The opening reception on Saturday August 15^th is a fundraiser($8.00 donation) for the  Ship in the Woods plans for a new residency program, future education programs and a recording studio. There will be special performances throughout the night by music groups PRGRM and HEXA  whose music is a combination of moody, rhythmic and hypnotic sound that is electronic and experimental. A food truck preparing Cajun  cuisine will be located outside of Space 4 Art during the reception. The show runs August 18 – 21 from 11 am – 4 pm.