Friday, October 1, 2010

South First Friday Tonight!


October 1, 2010 — South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk

Posted on September 13th, 2010 admin No comments
JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on OCT 1st!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)
  • Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design – 366 South First St. map

    Opening Reception: BETTER THAN 2009 MOMO solo exhibition
    MOMO is known for thoughtful post-graffiti: tagging his name the width of Manhattan, creating over-sized collage, a fake New Yorker magazine cover, tide powered sculpture, a computer script which makes his art for him, and prints, paintings, and videos that rely on chance for fun and substance.
    Better Than 2009 at Anno Domini continues his recent experiments in paint, with some support materials demonstrating his previous outdoor and system based art.
    Exhibition dates: October 1 – November 20, 2010
    Also on view in galleryTWO: Estates of the Splendrous and Secret by Alex McLeod
  • Art Glass Center of San Jose – 465 South First St. map

    Lionel Chapital is back at the torch demonstrating how to get in the “spirit” of the fall season. Witches and ghosts, goblins and ghouls, drop by the Art Glass Center and watch them being created starting at 8:00 pm
  • Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery – 499 South Market St. map


    Asadi, mask by Liz Burkhous
    THREE FOR FALL
    Higher Fire presents a trio of clay artists connecting with autumn festivities and colors: Liz Burkhouse, Cindy Couling, and Janet Starr. Check out exquisite hand-made Arts & Crafts tiles and murals, African-inspired masks, and Day-of-the-Dead themed works in our October gallery show,THREE FOR FALL. Tour Higher Fire’s newly renovated studio and browse a mini-show of functional and decorative pottery by studio staff; enjoy demonstrations of wheel-throwing and hand-building and some tasty treats too.
    Exhibition dates: October 1 – November 4th
  • KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

    7-9pm Opening Reception: Featured exhibitions by Mariana Barnes, John Eric Paulson

    Mosaic painting by Mariana Barnes
    Ancient Art, Modern Twist new paintings by Mariana Barnes
    Mosaics have been used in artwork around the world for thousands of years. Mariana Barnes has adapted this ancient art form into her mosaic-like style of painting. She gathers inspiration for her work from the art and symbols of past and present civilizations, combined with the patterns she sees in nature and everyday objects. She uses geometric and nonlinear designs, complementing them with iridescent tones and luminescent colors.
    The process of her art is meditative. She strives to make art that is calming and peaceful and art that speaks with candor and passion. Her work is intended to be healing -to spark a sense of well being in the viewer.

    photograph by John Paulson
    Italy Today an exhibit by John Eric Paulson, Master Photographer
    Thousands of years of history have produced the beautiful country of Italy. Visitors are pleasantly surprised by the diversity of the Italian culture. Italy is a young country. It became a unified nation in 1861. John’s first trip to Italy was in 2001. The enchantment he felt has drawn him back many time since. This exhibit will hopefully bring the same feelings to you, the viewer.
  • MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – 510 South First St. map


    Cones (detail), Tanya Aquíñiga, spun yarn, 2010
    Join MACLA for a fabulous evening of art and performances:
    In MACLA’s Gallery: Lineas: New Modes of Contemporary Urbanism featuring recent work by Tanya Aguíñiga and Teddy Cruz. This two-person exhibition explores a triangulation of global borders, local resources, and sustainability.
    In the Castellano Playhouse: D’Lo shows off his world class comedy chops and hip hop mc skills and get our First Friday audiences laughing and crying. Joining D’Lo is MACLA’s 2010 Youth Slam Team for an encore of their groundbreaking performances from the July 2010 Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Competition
  • Phantom Galleries – temporary exhibits in vacant storefronts

    386 South First St: Freedom. Experience Reality. by abstract artist Nathan Belomy
  • San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map


    TECHstyle SoftWEAR:Surface & Shape, an installation by
    Corinne Okada Takara, Colleen Quen and Rick Lee
    photo credit: Anthony Chen
    On view: TECHstyle SoftWEAR: Surface & Shape, an installation evoking the Silicon Valley experience by Corinne Okada Takara, Colleen Quen and Rick Lee. This collaboration comments on Silicon Valley’s inventive lifestyle and historical roots using textiles designed by Corinne Okada Takara through the community-driven fusionwear sv project/experiment in sculptural artwear created by Colleen Quen in an environment designed by Rick Lee. Also on view: the premier International TECHstyle Art Biennial (ITAB): this juried exhibition showcases the work of artists combining fiber media with new technologies in their artistic processes, in the content of their work and as a means of artistic expression. ITAB 2010 includes 40 works by 28 artists from six countries and includes digital Jacquard tapestries and garments, videos, interactive works, and even a tapestry of hand-woven fiber optic cable with patterning driven by real time Twitter feeds and airline flight data from the Internet.
  • SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery – 577 South Market St. map


    artwork by James Brunner
    EYAAAAAAH!! MONSTERS!!!
    October is here and Halloween is coming and, of course, there be monsters afoot. The Art Boutiki features monstrous art by the likes of James Brunner, Jon Hastings and Drew Rausch (just to name a few). Also featured will be unpublished pages from SLG Publishing’s Haunted Mansion comic book series and a few other ghastly images from our vast archives of, ghastly images. Live music and all the usual Boutiki fun.
    Exhibition dates: Oct 1-29, 2010
  • Works San Jose – 451 South First St. map


    On view: (OP)space
    (OP)space—which stands for OPportunities, OPen, and OPerable—is an ambitious experimental architectural design project constructed to demonstrate how flexible architecture and a “Zipcar” style short-term rental model can contribute to the cultural and economic development of a neighborhood by giving communities the tools to reclaim unoccupied spaces. The installation is constructed with hinged hexagonal-based organic sections that operate similarly to the leaves of an expandable table. By shifting the orientation of the sections a wall becomes a table, or a chair becomes a shelf. This flexible environment, designed and built by students and faculty of California College of the Arts to coincide with the 3rd 01SJ Biennial, will host programs created with the local community ranging from a bike kitchen to a fashion show to a DJ lounge. The many uses of the environment continue on First Friday at Works with (OP)exhibit: Glass_Texture and Transparency.
  • Caffé Trieste – 315 South First St. map


    “Gelato Counter”, Acrylic on Gallery-wrapped Canvas, 20 x 20
    Opening reception of Food, Flowers and Fun by Jennifer Norton
    This exhibit will feature a collection of inspiring images including food we love to eat, flowers we love to admire, and fun things we love to do on our time off.
    First Fridays are Opera Night at Caffé Trieste with some of the Bay Area’s best opera singers performing your favorite arias and duets.
    Exhibition dates: Oct 1-30, 2010
  • Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

    Join us after Candlelight Yoga (6-7:30 pm) on Friday, Oct 1st, as we welcome Art Walk patrons and mingle with new yogi friends and the downtown community. For the month of October, we feature Nancy Lober. Nancy Lober’s work is influenced by the simplicity of Japanese design. Her work focuses on combining images, textures, photography and found objects. She transforms them digitally into her own vision of beauty.
    Exhibition dates: October 1-29, 2010
  • Good Karma Vegan Café – 37 South First St. map

    Opening Reception: I Want To Go There! by Kristin Abbott
    I work as an illustrator and I love to set the scene and tell the story one image at a time. My very favorite thing is when kids come to my house and say “OoOOOoooh, I want to go there!”
  • METRO Photo Exhibit – 550 South First St. map


    photography by Jennifer Ahn
    snaps: photos by the ahn sisters
    A small collection of photos by Jennifer & Nancy Ahn shot over the last 10 years.
    This is a tale of two sisters. one is loud and crazy who takes 30 minutes to explain a story; the other is quiet and mellow who can explain the same story in two minutes. both share a love of yummy food, bargain shopping, cute animals, and most of all art.

    photography by Nancy Ahn
    Exhibition dates: October 1-29, 2010
  • South First Billiards & Lounge – 420 South First St. map

    Streetlow Arte—”I’m On the Outside Looking In”: outsider art from within prison walls.
    Artwork by incarcerated youth and adults is about the guarded, nonetheless creative expression to the outside world of one’s condition in an atmosphere hostile to individualism, vulnerability, and emotion.
    Materials we take for granted such as pens, pencils, and paños (bandanas) are often banned in prison. But, through networks and trade, they still find their way into the hands of incarcerated artists driven to produce raw, technically-challenging art pieces made with painstaking detail and patience. Confiscation and destruction of these pieces are not uncommon, making this art much more meaningful to those loved ones outside fortunate to receive these messages of loneliness, pride, love, and pain.
    This exhibit presented by Streetlow Magazine, The Beat Within and Heart of Chaos features work from the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall, California & Texas Prison systems, and local Chicano artists and photographers.
    The Homeboy Mad, Dee Lady, The Soul Strivers, and Moses & The 10 Commandments of Soul will spin Rare Soul, Northern Soul, Funk & Lowrider Oldies.
    Open to all ages until 10pm, 21+ after 10pm
  • Art Ark – 1035 South Sixth St. map


    Center Piece by Inge Heidric, puzzle pieces, interior light
    5–8pm Opening Reception: MODIFIED, a group show of artists using the found object as a gateway into their processes.
    For these artists, the found object serves as a vehicle for the erotic, the mundane and the psychological. For some artists, the object quietly reveals itself over time. For others, there is a need to rip it open and pull it apart. Ocean plastics, puzzle pieces, an ironing board and crutches; these everyday objects have been modified in order to manifest new realities with the purging of inherent cultural meanings.
    Exhibition dates: October 1-29, 2010

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Adobe Gets Even Greener

LEED is a certification standard used to measure how "green" a building is, specifically measuring the environmentally sustainability of the design, construction, and operation of the building. There are 4 different obtainable rankings: LEED Bronze, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, and LEED Platinum... the last of which is essentially a tree-house powered by hugs. There are only 15 or so LEED Platinum high-rise buildings in the world, and 3 of them are in Downtown San Jose. As you might have guessed from this post's title, Adobe owns all 3. Despite already being at the very highest echelon of green, they managed to find a way to take it to the next level. 

Adobe will install 4 "Bloom Boxes" on top of each tower, which will generate 1/3 of the energy required to run the entire complex. In a nutshell, a Bloom Box is a futuristic fuel cell array that generates up to 100 kilowatts of electricity using air and natural gas while producing little to no emissions. Adobe will have a total of 12 of these to complement the 20 turbine wind farm they have already installed on site (seriously, take a good look at the towers next time you're in downtown, you can see them). For more information on Adobe's quest for LEED certifications that have yet to exist, check out this GreenBeat article.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

San Jose Animal Activists

I just wanted to quickly plug a new organization dedicated to making San Jose the model of animal welfare awareness. San Jose Animal Advocates is trying to spread the word about local animal shelters and rescue groups and hopes to make the community more aware of pet overpopulation and encourage residents to make a difference in the lives of animals. Fore more information, please take a look at their website right over here or a recent article published on them in the Rose Garden Resident.