Just a little Good Natured post
A blog entry about an art show at the best public gallery in San Diego.
To anyone living in San Diego who is interested in Art with a capital “A” but maybe isn’t exactly sure where to find it in this city whose culture seems to be spread impossibly thin, this blog is for you! In my nearly 4 decades on this planet I’ve spent more than 9/10 of my time living in and around San Diego. After college I bounced around from Rancho Bernardo, to North Park, to the Midway district, to Vista/Oceanside, to Poway, and now I’m happily in Ocean Beach which I am beyond grateful for. I say this not to brag (1) but I say it to share that I’ve lived in many parts of the county and the one thing that is consistent to all this living is that EVERYTHING in San Diego is spread the fuck out and the “Art Scene” if there even is one, is no exception. For years I’ve known that the museums at Balboa Park were a hub. After starting to spend more and more time there I’d begin to prefer the Spanish Artist Village as it had more to offer and IMHO often provided more compelling or at least digestible work than most of the stuffy shows that had been on view at the museums for what felt like forever. (2)
As I started taking my photography more seriously and started becoming an “artist” myself, it became important for me to start finding the places where "good" art is shown in town. And in this city it has been a real struggle. Over the years I’d be reminded of the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, I’d also found the commercial galleries in La Jolla while working in that part of town for a number of years, and I’ve found few more gallery spaces in various parts of town but most of what I found were some version of a commercial gallery. I learned in the last few years about the artist studios and galleries in Liberty Station, through some of my friends I made while beginning to show/sell my work at the annual ArtWalk shows (3) in the same location. However, in my understanding, if you are not actively or passively paying rent on the space (4) I've only found a couple legit public galleries that show great work. The Crème de la crème being the San Diego Public Library Gallery at the San Diego Central Library in downtown which is what this whole meandering blog is all about.
The space itself is nothing short of incredible. It sits on the top floor of the now 10 year old library that I still refer to as “the new library.” (5) The space is everything you’d imagine an art gallery look like. If I had to guess I’d say it was 20’ x 60’ but I’m not a contractor and it’s not easily googleable so “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.” At any rate it’s a good size room, great lighting, typical sterile environment, it feels exactly like a room/hall in a museum. The only difference is that this is a free gallery space and it’s open to the public. The first time I walked in I couldn’t believe it was free. Granted it’s a much smaller experience than going to a whole museum, but the quality of the work and the level of excellence of the gallery I just couldn’t believe it was for the people.
As an emerging artist it’s been important for me to start understanding this world that I am attempting to occupy so I’ve been getting out to art events and exhibitions around town as much as I can and every time I’ve come to the library gallery I’ve been absolutely blown away by what was on view and unlike the boring ass San Diego museums (6) there’s a new show what seems like every quarter and this latest show… my god. It’s sensational.
It’s title Good Natured and every piece is in one way or another about the environment. How incredible is that?! Now I’m sure some of you may be thinking, “ok so the show is about the environment, so what?” To be fair, if that’s your takeaway, fine —but also THE ENVIRONMENT IS ONLY THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WE FACE AS A SPECIES SO ITS KIND OF LIKE ALL WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT ALWAYS!!! But other than that, I could see your point.(7) I guess I’m just tired of seeing meaningless bullshit work and shows and there is SOOOOOO MUCH OF THAT going on these days... So to see a show with incredible work AND purpose that shines lights on different aspects of the environmental crisis and highlights the delicate nature of the environment through a collection of vastly different pieces and perspectives was something that I not only can get behind, but it’s probably the best and most important show in the city that I’ve seen.
As you may have realized this isn’t a formal art critique like one by one of my heroes, Mr. Jerry Saltz, but rather a blog post from an artist who appreciates good work and would like to see more of it in his hometown. I don’t have the vocabulary to adequately describe each piece, or to articulate just how impactful this particular show was to me, but I think there’s enough here where you can get the gist. Also, being a smaller show, I think a better use of my time and skillset is to try and pique the interest of people who might actually make the pilgrimage downtown and dedicate 30 mins to an hour or so to go give the gallery a visit. (9)
Good Natured curated by Bonnie Domingos and featuring work by Trevor Amery, Mariah Armstrong, Stephanie Bedwell, Taylor Chapin, Aaron Glasson, Sofia V. Gonzales, Judit Hersko, Bianca Juarez, Timothy Murdoch, Margaret Noble, Terri Hughes-Oelrich, Catherine Ruane, Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio, and Ruth Wallen will continue its run through the end of the month (7/30/23) and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Every piece in the show is amazing, which speaks to Bonnie's credit as a curator. And if I had to pick just one piece as my favorite it would be the postcard rack, by Margaret Noble located right near the entrance. It features different postcards with a local board of tourism inspired “sometimes…” written in script font on the front over the top of images indicative of environmental decay/catastrophe and inscribed with a cultural norm that devastates the environment on the back. Written in the style of a personal confession “Sometimes I do ________,” which showcases how much power we as individuals, and collectively as a society have to make a positive impact on the environment by simply engaging in small changes in personal behavior. Just an absolute gem. Any who, enough gushing/butchering other’s work. Go check it all out for yourself while you still can through the end of the month, and then go check out some books from the library below.
(1) Because let’s be honest there’s only a couple of neighborhoods/cities that I listed that I’m proud to have lived in. IJS.
(2) To be fair to the museums, most of what’s shown/available at the artist studios is very commercial, and probably wouldn’t be a great fit for a museum show but there’s also some real shit in there too.
(3) It's an art fair.
(4) Passively through a steep commission via a commercial gallery.
(5) Let's be honest, in terms of the skyline and coming from a local boy it still feels quite new.
(6) Shots fired.
(7) I know i'm just speaking for me but one of my biggest pet peeves is artists who are afraid to tackle issues in their work (regardless of the medium they work in) to avoid being viewed as “political” or because the work might not sell, or whatever the fuck justification they have for making the shitty, boring, soulless, or all of the above work that they happen to make. To me art is about communication, and if the only thing your art communicates is "pretty" or "fun!" that ain't going to matter in 30 years when we're all living in Kevin Reynolds'(8) Waterworld, and it ain't going to help wake anyone up from our collective consumerist coma either.
(8) Arguably Kevin Costner's Waterworld.
(9) Free 2 hour parking in the underground parking. Just validate on the first floor on the left, by the counter after you walk through the metal detectors.
The photo that changed my life
A blog post about how a single Martin Parr photograph set me onto my journey as a photographer/artist.
ITALY. Rome. Colosseum. Statues and tourists at the Colosseum. 1993. © Martin Parr/Magnum Photos
I like to imagine that in every artist's life there's a piece of art, in their medium, that they just CONNECT with and it sets them on their journey to become who they are as an artist. I'm certain this is not the case for every artist and it's probably a total oversimplification bordering on an idealistic way at looking at the world, but I guess that's just how my brain works #sorrynotsorry.
I delight in wondering what was the album (or song) that made Thom Yorke want to pursue music. What was the film that made Tarantino want to make movies, what was the painting that made Warhol want to pick up the brush? Would there be satisfying answer for each? I'm certain Tarantino has the film as his work is very referential and he often speaks of how he is paying homage with specific shots, scenes, etc. and he's also very open about his love for cinema so for him I think it's just my laziness that's stopping me from knowing that specific answer(1) but I have no idea if Thom Yorke would have an album that inspired him to become a musician because he seems like he could have just as easily been inspired by an obscure work of art that has nothing to do with music, or a process such as photosynthesis, or even something along the lines of "the overwhelming helplessness associated with people's unconscious and relenting desire to ensure suffering perpetuates." For the record those are not actual Thom Yorke references or inspirations, it's just crude interpretations of things that I could imagine him being inspired by as an artist.
Humourous aside: How funny would it be if I had a chance to ask Thom and he dead ass answered "Whitesnake - Here I go again. Hands down. Brilliant."
<waves of laughter>
Oh we do have fun!
I do get I can be kind of a snob at times (2) when it comes to art and entertainment or anything really but having that awareness of myself and my snobbery doesn't take away from my belief that —at least in my mind —artists like Andy Warhol or Thom Yorke would have to be inspired by something much deeper than something akin to a Whitesnake song, as popular as it might have been (3) and I'm just curious as to what that might have been for them.
For me, I have grown to see myself become a sponge, soaking up my favorite traits, mannerisms, and ways of thinking and doing from everyone who came before me in virtually every aspect of life. I first noticed this with artists who work in mediums that I have practiced in, but eventually learned about the crossover (4) and now basically I take from anyone and everyone. I'm inspired by all kinds of people; musicians, comedians, philosophers, poets, writers, painters, animators, filmmakers, chefs, parents, teachers, scientists, naturalists, conservationists, activists, public servants. I could keep going... health care providers, entrepreneurs, inventors, athletes, philanthropists, care givers, etc. I am inspired by so many different kinds of folks because I subscribe to the personal philosophy of "Always be learning" and I believe that anyone can be a teacher as long as you (me) are always willing to learn. As a practicing life artist and I’ll take valuable lessons from just about anyone, BUUUUUUUT if me/my work had to be distilled down to just one medium right now that'd have to be photography (5)(6)(7). And fortunately, with respect to photography I do have THE picture that… well,,, changed my life really, and I am incredibly thankful for my photography professor and friend Amy Caterina, for first sharing it with me.
The photo I'm thinking of is the Martin Parr photograph shown above (and also found on Page 12 of Mr. Parr’s book Small World) and I’m gonna talk about it for a bit. The photo is a colour photo and filling out most of the frame in the center of the photo shown in soft focus (but not too soft) is a group of around 30-40 retirement aged tourists gazing up at something. Behind them and to the sides you can see some of the ancient architecture that has been preserved around the Colosseum, giving some sense of the place —also in soft focus. Lastly, in the foreground, shown in the bottom of the frame there are a couple dozen souvenir statues of Roman gods and goddesses, Michelangelo's David, etc. in sharp focus giving a humorous juxtaposition against the silver-haired group that stands behind them. That's the basic reading of this photo "oh what a funny comparison, the statue of David, compared to David Longbottom the retired plumber from Liverpool. What a laugh!" and to anyone's credit who sees that interpretation, good on you because I've also seen people miss it completely and it's quite embarrassing. "So it's like a tour group or something???" It's sad really but not surprising that our society isn't taught to critically think or even look, let alone study art. Either that or we’ve grown so accustomed to our fast-paced lifestyles that we don’t allow ourselves the time to make meaningful connections when we’re seeing art. Realistically probably a bit of both. We’re dumb in a hurry! We want stuff to be explained to us so we don't have to think about it. We want shit jammed down our throats while people (also without taste) assure us it’s good. Our consumption of art is basically at crisis level: Jello-shot. It's how this picture came to exist in the first place (8) but I digress...
When I first saw the photo, I immediately got the juxtaposition and the comedian in me (9) really appreciated it because photography, or should I say good photography was still very new to me at the time when I first saw this photo. So seeing humour in a photo was a revelation. Beyond that I saw that there was still more meat on the bone. In fact, I felt it. I saw people as we are, compared to our own idealistic versions of ourselves. We like to imagine ourselves as these fit, godlike, beings, mastering the universe but the reality is we are doughy, prisoners to our own stupidity and greed. Not allowed to thrive when we are in our primes because we have manufactured ourselves to be slaves to capitalism. We are supposed to be exploring, engaging, and experiencing the natural world as we are in our physical peaks like those figures in the statues, yet most working-class folks do not get to have an opportunity to do anything remotely close until they reach the age of 65 if they’re lucky.
I'd never seen anything like this in a photograph —and I’d seen some real as the kids say “bangers” too, but I’d never seen something like a societal critique so damningly portrayed in a single frame like that. A photo that has a meaningful message that doesn't trigger a trauma reaction -AAAAND it's humourous. I didn't know photography could do those things, so short of listening to "The Power of Now" seeing this photo for the first time might have been the most liberating experience of my entire life.
For me this photo was a call to action. The wakeup call I needed. The cautionary tale. I could follow my dreams, become the photographer behind the lens, and see the world NOW; or I could continue on the path I was on as a CPA, gaming the system doing taxes for the rich and become one of the faceless people in photo. Trapped working against my own interests until I'm too old to do anything outside the supervision of a tour guide, unaware of the potential that I'd let slip between my fingers like the grains of the hour glass. Fortunately, I have answered the call and have decided to "Get busy living, or get busy dying." (10)
At this point in my career I'm what's commonly referred to as "poor as fuck,” (11) I'm virtually unknown, BUT I'm also the happiest I've ever been. It's the first time in my life that I can honestly say I'm living with any kind of intention. This is in contrast to the past when I'd always felt like my life was on some kind of autopilot. My life now feels like a new level of vibrance (12) and it's a feeling that I don't know I'd ever felt before. Maybe as a kid but even then, I'm not sure. It's a lightness, like I'm on shrooms constantly (13). It's crazy. And to think for me that all started with seeing THIS one photo.
Again major thanks to Amy Caterina for giving me the red pill and showing me this photo #YouMyMorpheus, and of course to Mr. Parr if he were ever to see this: my abilities both with the pen and behind the lens are far too inadequate to fully articulate how much this photo/your work has meant to me but I am hopeful that this post is a start to me expressing that gratitude and it is my greatest hope that one day my work can inspire a generation behind me in the way that yours has (and still does) for me. Thank you.
If you enjoyed my writing or my photos below (inspired by Martin Parr) and would like to read/see more the best way to do so is by subscribing to my newsletter (if you’re nasty). In my newsletter you’ll get regular updates on projects, shows, life updates, recent photos, etc. and of course more of my hilarious, thought-provoking, and definitely not meandering writing.
Also, feel free to noodle around on my site, look through my projects, blog, and print store if you’d like to purchase a limited-edition print or even a postcard. Anything helps (I’m broke AF!!!) and if you want to reach me, shoot me a DM on insta.
(1) Although if I'm being honest I sometimes like not knowing. You can find this in some of my work even. Not knowing makes for better mental stimulation. It's why I like Radiohead.
(2) This on account of I'm a GIIIINORMOUS snob.
(3) Whitesnake's "Here I go again" reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 list at its peak position in 1987 and was #7 on the year-end chart for 1987.
(4) I’ve found that it is important for me as an artist to seek out and really take in work outside of photography. It can be just as important as being immersed in photography itself.
(5) Something about me and photography just "clicked."
(6) When I was given the opportunity to follow my dreams and become a photographer I knew I had to give it a "shot."
(7) Honestly, I couldn't "picture" doing anything else with my life.
(8) Our inability to think for ourselves is exactly why tour groups exist. We travel in ways where we want to be shepherded around and shown what to look at and told what to enjoy and since the creation of Mr. Parr’s book, Small Wonder, mindless tourism/consumerism has only gotten worse.
(9) I'm sure you tell from my hilarious writing that I've bombed multiple hundreds of times on stage as an open mic comedian. I think it shows. It shows right? Hello?!
(10) Those of you cinephiles who love the talkies as much as I do will know the quote.
(11) This is mostly for humourous effect I'm ok.
(12) I’m talking +15 levels of vibrance here, people!
(13) I mean this in the best way.
Some of my more Martin Parr-ish photos:
Stuart Todd Whitworth: The Music Project Strikes Back
My extremely talented singer-songwriter friend, Stuart Todd Whitworth and I collaborate on a multimedia project.
I’d written before about my chance encounter with the incomparable Stuart Todd Whitworth briefly as an aside in another story regarding my music photography/project but as a refresher for us all I'll go into more detail (in case anyone is interested).
I’d first run across Stuart while I was filming some person-on-the-street interviews for a yet to be released video project. I had been bouncing all around San Diego County over the summer and fall during 2020 looking for places with people around and on this day I happened to post up in La Jolla. I had gotten some decent b-roll, a handful of participants recorded, and had been about at the end of my day. It was about the end of the day’s day as well as the sun had already set by this time, but something about Stuart’s… I dunno… aura (?) when he approached me made it feel like I NEEDED to shoot this one last interview.
Stuart gave a great interview and afterwards we started talking and he told me he was a musician and blah blah blah. I remember being pretty cooked by this time and therefore I didn’t think too much about Stuart or the fact that he was a musician. We traded information as Stuart had mentioned that he was always looking for someone to help with photo/video stuff but at the time, music work was not really something that I thought about pursuing in any degree.
Fast forward 6 months and I’d been inspired by a local jazz band that had been rehearsing near my girlfriend’s old place. I decided that there’s tons of great local musicians and I’d like to try and collaborate with them, if they’ll have me. So I’m at the Subaru dealership waiting for my car to be serviced when I get a random call from Stuart asking if I’d be interested in filming a show for him the upcoming weekend. I had plans already so it didn’t work out but I mentioned to him that I would be interested in collaborating on a photoshoot or some other project if Stuart would be interested.
He was.
Over the course of a couple months we’d catch up on the phone and meet up in person to brainstorm. Stuart told me all about his impending album release and his unorthodox process of completing the album, we listened to some of his music, and we tossed some pasta at the wall. Eventually we had a project idea that stuck and we both felt it would fit our style and artist voices. We decided on a photoshoot and interview to be smashed into a self-narrated slideshow and that is exactly what we came out with and I’m beyond excited to be able to say that it is available for everyone to watch RIGHT NOW!
I’m very proud of how this video came out so thank you for watching. If you enjoyed the video, you should definitely check out more of Stuart’s music. You can find all of his music videos on his website, or you can follow him on social to keep up with him. You can find all of his socials here. And lastly, but certainly not leastly, if you really want to support my man, Stuart, you can show love by buying his album which not only comes with a disc and download code, but also a really cool book with amazing artwork renditions of the cover art from multiple artists across multiple mediums. Like the man and the music behind it all, the album presentation is unique and beautiful.
Support the artists you love so they can keep making the art you love.
Hi my name is BLOG
An introduction of sorts.
For those of you that don’t know me too well yet I wanted to introduce this blog in a manner that I felt comfortable with, so this is that.
I would like you to understand that I AM AN ARTIST and I identify as both a photographer AND a comedian. —No this isn't a hackey conservative 'i IdEnTiFy As A _________' type of "joke" <eyeroll> —rather it's a dead-ass, sincere, clarification about who I am and what I am doing here in this blog/website, in my career, in my life.
This is important to me because the comedian side is much more apparent in my writing than it is in my photos and I don't want anything I do to take anyone by surprise or to open myself up to the asinine criticisms of "this is not _________" or "stick to _________."
I'm an artist and I refuse to be put into a box because of someone else's narrow views.
Anyway, to help clarify I have listed both what this blog is all about and what it’s not all about below.
What this blog is all about:
Whatever the fuck I want
What this blog is NOT all about:
Bullshit*
*unless I want to write about bullshit.
Ok. Maybe that was a tad facetious. But it’s coming from a real place.
I have a problem with a lot of "photographers" —and I was one of these for a while —which is that they blog about COMPLETE BULLSHIT. Whether it’s the “top 10 ways to de-stress your wedding day,” “3 tips for getting the best newborn photos,” or “fun ideas for a family photoshoot that everyone will enjoy!” <BARF> IT’S ALL HORSE SHIT! And it's not just the wedding and portrait photographers doing this shit you'll see fine art photographers blog about "the top 5 benefits of having art in your house" or whatever cookie cutter bullshit they're trying to shovel down your throat. It’s all straight marketing to get you to buy into a product or service. While it may be coming from real experience or maybe even a real desire to share information those types posts are ALWAYS meant as avenues to sell the reader something. They’re not real blogs.
In a way you could say I am trying to do exactly what they're doing because I'm trying to sell you on me, but also in so many ways I'm not doing aaaaaaanything link that. And to be fair, I'm actually not trying to sell you on me. My goal is to share all my different sides of my creativity and expression. If you happen find any of that relatable, enjoyable, insightful, helpful, etc. then THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME and I think you'll find a lot of stuff that you like here. And if you don't like my stuff that's ok too, I mean... you may want to start doing some brain exercises or schedule an appointment with a neurologist because it doesn't speak highly of your intellect, but it's still ok! <--[THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF MY HUMOUR]
So if you do support me in any way whether its appreciating my writing/photos, or buying every print, book, or film project that I produce please know that I am truly thankful to have your support. As someone who didn't come from money I understand that it is important for me to make a living, but I also want to be able to share my work with folks who might not have the means to buy my art. So that's a big reason that I have this blog.
All in all, I created this blog to be a place where I can share photos, maybe with a fun anecdote or some kind of backstory on how they came about AND at the same time I want it to be a place where I can share my thoughts and opinions on anything and everything. From the political turmoil that we are currently suffering through as a nation, to the fact that not enough people know about the Showtime series "Episodes" starring Matt LeBlanc which is one of the funniest shows ever written. Essentially, it's a place for me to share any form of artistic expression that can fit on this 2 dimensional plane that you're currently looking at.
So if you're only here for a certain type of art, there will be plenty of that for you and for the shit you don't like you can scroll on by, but I will say this: IF you’re a fan of at least one of my artistic expressions, there's a good chance you'd probably like the other stuff too. I'm just saying...
In conclusion, I dunno if that was clear AT ALL or if this is useful to anyone other than myself, but that's pretty much what this is and will be. If there's a change to my approach I'll let you know.
Either way thanks for taking the time to read my bullshit.
-Richard :)
P.S. Please enjoy these images from my portfolio at the time this was originally published.
