San Francisco Bay Area

Kathryn Spence: short sharp notes, rolling or churring whistles, clear phrases Â» Mills College Art Museum

August 22, 2010newsBed Sheets, Bobby Pins, College Art Museum, Coyotes, Dimensional Works, Hanging On The Wall, Hanor, Kathryn Spence, Mattress Tags, Mills College Art Museum, Paper Towels, Safety Pins, San Francisco Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco California, Screech Owls, Sculptural Objects, Thread Paper, Uncanny Ability, Urban Detritus, Western Screech, Whistles, Wire Pins, Wood Pins, World That Surrounds

KATHRYN SPENCE Untitled (Western Screech Owls), 2009 Coats, pants, stuffed animals, sand, string, thread, wire, pins

The exhibition Kathryn Spence: short sharp notes, rolling or churring whistles, clear phrases will feature new work by the San Francisco Bay Area artist. Spenceâ€™s sculptural objects are inspired by birds and the natural world but are composed from the discarded materials of the human world.

Accumulated bits of fabric, thread, paper, and cardboard take on species-specific characteristics and inhabit space as they might in the wild.

KATHRYN SPENCE Untitled (Coyotes), 2009 Sweaters, shirts, towels, stuffed animals, wood, pins, colored paper

Her work demonstrates an uncanny ability to capture the essence of animals without masking her found materials, applying a naturalistâ€™s methods to urban detritus. Spenceâ€™s objects emulate the living animals and other items and elements she observes in nature, and explore the disparity between the culture of the artificial and the existence of the untamed natural world that surrounds us. Spenceâ€™s works on paper take on sculptural qualities as well, often lying on bases instead of hanging on the wall and incorporating some of the same materials found in her sculpture. Her exhibition at the Mills College Art Museum will include a combination of new two-dimensional and three-dimensional works.

Kathryn Spence received her MFA from Mills College in 1993. She lives and works in San Francisco, California. Kathryn Spence: short sharp notes, rolling or churring whistles, clear phrases is curated by Stephanie Hanor.

via Current Exhibitions Â» Mills College Art Museum.

Bay Area is Fertile Ground for Sprouting Green Theaters

October 13, 2009newsAlameda County, Art Centers, Aurora Theatre Company, Business Programs, Carbon Footprint, Consumer Content, Dyane, Electrical Service, Exit Signs, Facility Lighting, Fertile Ground, Killion, Lesher Center, Lincoln Theater, Performance Venue, Performing Art, Production Coordinator, San Francisco Bay Area, Theater Performance, Title 24, Water Flow

Reprinted from SF Performing Arts Examiner: â€œEast Bay Theatre Goes Greenâ€ by Dyane Hendricks, October 3, 2009 Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley was certified on September 29 by the Alameda County Green Business and the Bay Area Green Business programs as the first certified â€œgreenâ€ professional residential theater company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Aurora Theatre Company Technical Director and Production Coordinator Chris Killion, spearheaded the companyâ€™s efforts to go green, Aurora made the decision to go green because â€œthe staff and administration felt it was the right thing to do. There were also systems in place, like the Bay Area Green Business Association, that enabled us and helped us meet that goal.â€ Other certified green performing art centers in the Bay Area include the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek and Lincoln Theater in Yountville. Both venues play host to a variety of performances and companies throughout the year. In San Francisco, Eth-No-Tec is a green-certified business, but does not have a regular theater performance venue. Aurora Theatre Company is a green-certified business that also has a resident theater. In order to meet qualifications to be green-certified, Aurora Theatre Company set up in-house recycling and composting. The company also began utilizing paper that contained as much post-consumer content as possible, changed all cleaning products used in the facility to biodegradable, less harmful green cleaners and soaps, installed restrictions of water flow on all faucets, and reduced gallons per flush in restrooms. All facility lighting meets Title 24 standards and all exit signs are now LED lights; there is a time-of-use meter on Auroraâ€™s electrical service. Certified green materials were also used in the construction of the companyâ€™s recently-opened Nell and Jules Dashow wing. As a result of Auroraâ€™s greening efforts, the company has significantly reduced its carbon footprint and is generating significantly less trash. Additionally, Auroraâ€™s decision to go green provides an opportunity for audiences visiting the theater to participate in being environmentally friendly. Aurora Theatre Company continues its 18th season in October with Neil LaButeâ€™s Fat Pig, and will stage The Coverlettes Christmas in December, The First Grade in conjunction with the GAP new works festival in January, and John Gabriel Borkman in April. Closing the season in June is the Bay Area premiere of the comedy Speech & Debate. For more information about Aurora Theatre Company or for tickets call 510. 843.4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.

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San Francisco Bay Area Exhibitions and Happenings

May 21, 2009newsArt Activity, Berkeley Ca, Breathtaking Array, California White, Cheese Factory, David Brower, Dimensional Scans, Emily Payne, Environmental Action, Exhibition Space, Greenhouse Room, Inaugural Exhibit, Manzanita, Marin Area, New Langton Arts, Pae White, Patricia Watts, Raspberry Bush, San Francisco Bay Area, Sf Bay Area, Video Screen

Thereâ€™s been a buzz of eco-art activity out here in the SF Bay Area that Iâ€™ve been meaning to shout-out, Matt Merkel-Hess-style. Itâ€™s good work, and yes. Here we go.

First off: the amazing ladies at ecoartspace put together an inaugural exhibit for Art at the Cheese Factory, Terrior: A sense of place. Curated by Patricia Watts, the exhibit includes photos, paintings, installations and performances by a breathtaking array of environmental artists. Thatâ€™s Emily Payne above installing in a lake. Yes. The exhibit continues until June 21st for those of you in the Marin area. Check out the website for a nice cranial buzz.

In San Francisco, New Langton Arts just opened an exhibition from Pae White called In Between the Outside-In. The central piece is a trapezoidal greenhouse/room framing a video screen. The projected image is a series of curling lines and unfolding patterns based on three-dimensional scans of an oak tree, a wild raspberry bush, and a manzanita grove. Those guys were all outside of Nevada City in California. Whiteâ€™s all about blurring the lines between site and non-site, I hear. The exhibit is up until the 18th of July.

Lastly: the Brower Center just opened. Itâ€™s a new center for environmental action with its own exhibition space in Berkeley, CA. Currently theyâ€™re running a series of photos by Sebastiao Salgado entitled Then and Now. They are big and black and white and stunning. They are people in environments. Upstairs in the space is an exhibit about activist David Brower, the buildingâ€™s namesake: itâ€™s what greenmuseum.orgâ€™s Sam Bower has been spending most of his time on these days.

Go to the Green Museum