The Slow Art Experience

 It turned out to be a beautiful day for slow art. To recap from my earlier post, (Slow Art), Slow Art is the practice of stopping in front a work of art and looking at it for seven to ten minutes, allowing you to see complexity and nuance you would miss just whizzing past.

So having signed up on-line, the BF and I motored over the the Frank Bette Art Center on a sunny Alameda Saturday.  We were greeted by a friendly volunteer (everyone at the Center is a volunteer -- someone needs to fund a curator position for that fine establishment) who explained that Slow Art didn't mean Silent Art, so we were free to talk about the artworks as we looked around.  She then introduced us to Brian Frus and Michael Gifford, two of the artists whose work was in the show!  I decided that I would pick their pieces as some of the works to be slowly enjoyed.

By a happy coincidence, the current show was Alameda 48-48-48, in which the City of Alameda was sectioned into 48 pieces and 48 artists had 48 hours to take photos, the proofs of which were submitted to a committee, who chose the pieces to be included in this art show.   The artists then had 6 weeks to create something wonderful.

We started by walking through the entire gallery, glancing at all the available art.  Since the Frank Bette Art Center is only two rooms, this did not take long.  We each picked out a few pieces we then wanted to spend more time with.  By happy coincidence, the BF and I choose the same pieces.


Amusement Park by Susan Lee Hocket
Mixed Media/Paper Cloth
$800

 We started with the delightful "Amusement Park" by Susan Lee Hocket, which is a patchwork quilt-esque piece combining fabric pieces quilted together mixed with pieces of photographs of the Park Street Bridge.  I set the timer on my phone to 10 minutes, and we sat in on the chairs thoughtfully moved in front of the piece.



This is a complex and wonderful piece which this photo does not do justice to.  The BF and I talked about how the colors of the fabric were perfectly chosen and sewn together to give a rather cubist look at the bridge and the estuary water and banks.  They flow together in a disjointed, but ultimately pleasing whole and I was very surprised to find the 10 minutes up so quickly.

But Slow Art waits for no woman, so we moved on to "City Hall" by Brian Frus.



City Hall by Brian Frus
Photo Print
$250

 The title is intriguing, because it is a photo of an abandoned art deco building -- but wait!  As I slowly look at the photo, City Hall appears as a reflection and the BF points out that the photo must be of the old gas station on Oak and Santa Clara.  We gaze at the photo, which is rich and layered, with the building facade, the empty shelves behind the glass windows, the building next door, visible through the glass, and the reflection of City Hall on the right.  We discuss the layers, the angles, the pleasing proportions of the building and the photographer's skill in capturing the.. bing!  the 10 minutes are up again.

We wandered around the 2nd room and found Michael Gifford's "Night Light" in both a large photo print and a jigsaw puzzle.



Night Light by Michael Gifford
Jigsaw Puzzle of Photo
$75

 

I started with the large photo of the High Street bridge at night.  I liked the photo, which also had more layers the longer I looked at it.  However, when I looked at the same photo on the box of the jigsaw puzzle, I experienced it in an entirely different way.  I was drawn into the photo and felt like I became a part of the scene.  I told the BF about this experience, and Michael Gifford himself came up and joined in the conversation.  We talked about how the color contrasts were slightly different when printed for the jigsaw puzzle and how others had felt that same pull I felt with the puzzle when looking at the large print.  Michael talked about standing on High Street Bridge at night, which was slightly scary, and how the photo was exposed over time.  The streak of light along the left side of the bridge turn out to be headlights of cars crossing the bridge into Alameda.  It was wonderful to be able to ask the artist questions and hear about how the photo was made!

We were unable to stay for the potluck lunch to discuss the art further, but were nonetheless very happy with our Slow Art experience, and determined to see more art in this way in the future.  I enjoyed participating in this international event on such a local level. 

And I'll bet the folks who participated in the International Slow Art Day at the De Young did not get to talk to their artists!