S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. On Today's Arts and Culture Show will tell you about an art festival in Chula Vista , a local comics creator and their upcoming project. Then a look at what's happening on your weekend preview. Here's to conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Chula Vista artists explain the uniqueness of their work ahead of an upcoming festival.
S2: You know , a lot of Chicano artists feel inspired being so close to , you know , Mexico and being so close to their own communities here.
S1: We'll tell you about that. Plus , hear about Chris Riley's new comics project and all of the happenings in your weekend preview. That's ahead on Midday Edition. The Chula Vista Arts Fest returns this Saturday for its second year. Located in the courtyard just outside Chula Vista City Hall. The festival will highlight South Bay's flourishing art scene. I'm here with Danny Zavala , vice chairman of Chula Vista Cultural Arts Commission. He founded the Arts Fest last year and also runs Steins Hollow , an independent arts gallery. Danny , welcome.
S3: Thank you for having me.
S1: Glad you're here. Also with us is Hector Tsuchiya. He's an arts instructor and curator for Steins Hollow. Hector , welcome to you , too.
S2: Thank you so much. Thank you for having us.
S1: Glad to have you both here. So , Danny , I'll start off with you.
S3: I had a kind of made my way into the the city during my interview to be the commissioner for the Cultural Arts Commission. Um , they kind of said , you know what ? What do you bring to the table ? Why do you want to be a part of the commission ? What are some ideas you have ? And I had kind of told them about this dream of , you know , City Hall. The courtyard is very nice and a big space. And I said we could probably do a big art festival here , something , you know , that this community come out and enjoy the arts. And also , you know , those who have never been to City Hall kids , come and see how nice it is there and just really enjoy the day as a community supporting each other.
S1:
S3: You know , it's always exciting to have a new art from the local artists. It's going to be basically the same setup as in musical performances , vendors , the art showcase. The new thing that's coming is workshops , so the community can be hands on and create their own crafts. You know , Hector will be in charge of some workshops that are pretty exciting where hopefully , hopefully it goes well. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , Hector , tell me about some of those. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So the workshops that we're going to bring this year are just going to be one hour workshops led by actual community artists , you know. So I will be teaching a couple of workshops and then I'll have a friend. His name is Mark. He works with Clay. So the workshops that we have are kind of clay making. And then also kind of like a DIY screen print situation. So anyone that attends will be able to sign up for the workshops and they'll be able to take home a craft for the day.
S1: Oh , that sounds really neat , Hector. I mean , you're an artist in the South Bay.
S2: So first of all , that's the first challenge , you know , getting first across that your own barriers , just to see if you have something that you want to show. Other than that , you know , personally in Chula Vista , there is a bit of a lack of a space for artists in this specific community to share their work. You know , as I was starting out straight out of high school , I was painting and I was trying to find places to show. But a lot of the places the show were just a little far , you know , it would be places like in downtown San Diego , Barrio Logan , North Park. And you know , those are a little bit ways away , which is not bad. It's still very good opportunities. But that's kind of how the idea for Science Hollow came about. You know , we just wanted something that was just a little bit closer and that would open its doors to really much anyone that wanted to come through and show. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , Danny , I mean , the venue that you provide is super important. So talk more about that.
S3: You know , a lot of people see art as just , you know , doodling or drawing and painting and things like that. But I believe art is actually opportunity , and it's through art that I for me personally , I was able to put myself in a position to be the vice chairman of cultural arts and then not just help myself and Hector , but help our community and our friends around us. So I believe the more spaces that are available could help push , you know , other people who may want to pursue art , help them feel more confident that there's places for them that they feel wanted , appreciated and like just value that , you know , people are actually paying attention and say , here , we're giving this for you , this platform for you to grow. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: You know , we have lots and lots of artists that just , you know , really , really dedicated like us just to create things that they want to see in their communities. I think we also live in a very kind of an inspirational space , talking about kind of that border life. You know , a lot of Chicano artists feel inspired being so close to , you know , Mexico and being so close to their own communities here. So I know that that kind of , you know , helps breed more of , you know , Chicano art and more art that represents them as an identity , you know , or art that represents us in identity. So , yeah , I think the art scene is very much alive here in San Diego. And we're just trying to , you know , get it more on the table , more on the table. Yeah.
S1:
S3: You know , those more pop art contemporary inspirations. So there's a lot of that in my work. Um , I mean , like Hector said , as well as my community is very inspiring. Just as a little kid going to Chicano Park Day , seeing all the murals and just the rich culture that is in the community and especially in Logan. But I believe that's basically all of San Diego. You know , it's more condensed in Logan and it's really shown there. But I believe what we're trying to do is really push that out and like , bring it out of especially Chula Vista. You know , it's such a nice big city , but with a lot of talented artists. But there's no way for them to be shown and , like , show their work like , hey , we're here. We , you know , we're here in Chula Vista. We're a lot of creativity. So it's more I'm inspired by the motivation to just get them out there and , you know , bring them up to the table , bring them to the top.
S1: Well , speaking of all the talent in Chula Vista , how about the young artist community ? How would you describe it ? Hector.
S2: Yeah , I can speak very close to that , actually. Um , right now , I'm actually working as a youth artist instructor. I work at this little art studio in Bonita , and I get to teach a lot of kids ages seven through 11. But , yeah , I mean , these kids are just kids that are really inspired by the world that they see today. You know , I feel like they are living in such such a different time and a different space this day and age. You know , after the pandemic that has happened and just new rules that they have for I don't go I don't know , I guess navigating society , you know , they're they definitely need an outlet to express themselves in the world of art , you know , so I've met ten year old seven year olds that are just incredibly talented because they've had the time just , you know , to really , really hone down their skills , you know , and it's something that they're very , very interested in. So I think I'm really , really proud of , like a lot of my students that I have and I know that there's more out there , you know , that I want to basically create opportunities for them for that when they're ready to go , you know , they can just hit the ground running from here in San Diego. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S1:
S3: It's mostly either Sunnyside or , you know , Tijuana is where there's a lot of artists or like Hector mentioned earlier , going to Logan , North Park , Little Italy , downtown , all those , uh , hubs. And I believe our goal is to put Chula Vista on that map as an art hub and a place where don't overlook us or don't skip us. We have something brewing , and that's where Art Fest comes in to showcase all of that. Excellent.
S1: Excellent. Well , Hector , you're a painter. Tell me about your artworks.
S2: I don't like , and I don't like to consider my works kind of abstract. They're definitely very , very , um , figurative , I guess. So over the course of the last year , I think I did a lot of like a series about hands. Um , hands just became kind of like a little vehicle to kind of conduct my feelings toward the sense of touch , you know , basically the sense of touch and the role it has in intimacy , friendships and just romance , you know ? So it's something that I felt disconnected with a couple of years ago. But through my paintings , I've been able to just kind of reconnect myself with that , that , um , that sense , you know , um , but yeah , in terms of , like , style , I'm just really , really passionate about looking at kind of like cold classical arts. I my favorite area is kind of like the Baroque era. So using the techniques of those masters back in the day is something that really , really inspires me , you know ? So , um , I deal with oil paint. And so I look at those masters and kind of just wonder how they got like all those blending looking nice or how to make the contrast look , look much better in my own paintings. Mhm.
S4: Mhm.
S1: And one of the one of your paintings was actually noticed by Jack black.
S2: He had one of his paintings. Noticed ? Yes.
S4: Oh , nice.
S1: Well , Danny , you're a mixed media artist. That's pretty cool to be.
S3: Um , and some of my paintings , I do a lot of like for floral patterns , because I used to work with my grandfather , who was a tile worker. So have you ever seen , like , Mexican or Spanish tile in houses or even in Mexico when you visit ? They have a lot of floral patterns. So I implement some of those into my paintings just to kind of , you know , to look nice and aesthetic. But it's also a little piece of me , I'm putting , um , on the art as well. And , and then , um , you know , just , uh , pop culture or just any ideas that come , come to mind that I may feel inspired , whether it's through music , hearing a song and saying , you know , this , I felt this certain way and I want to , you know , express it on the painting. Wow.
S4: Wow. Well , Hector.
S1: You know , you both seem passionate about helping artists and in particular , young artist.
S2: You know , I will always look back at my own community and look back at all the opportunities that they have given me , so I want to definitely turn around and be able to offer something that the community can come together and look at , you know ? Um , growing up , um , it's interesting now because I grew up in kind of like in the art scene. So before I started doing , um , any art , I was actually playing in , um , some bands. And so back in the day , we used to host a couple shows and just play music shows. So that was kind of like my first entrance into like the artistic scene that we have here in San Diego. And , you know , it's been the funny thing , kind of growing up with all the people that used to play with. And you see that they're also kind of doing the same thing. You know , they're working to create opportunities for other people , you know ? So the people that I grew up with are also doing the same. So it's like a really , really close knit support group that we have going on.
S4: Well , how.
S1:
S3: And , you know , it kind of inspires them to draw. I know for me , I have a little sister , she's nine years old , and every time she sees my work or I , when I talk to her or give her a call , she's always , hey , Danny , what are you working on ? Have you painted anything new ? And , you know , she's very fascinated by it. And I'll catch her painting her own things or drawing her own , um , you know , inspiration. So it shows that what we're doing is really helping and letting kids feel like they have a place to express themselves through , like art , whether it's drawing , doodling or , you know , even just scribbles that , you know , they're happy about it and it just really uplifting. And I believe art has really helped us with that , a much larger scale. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S1: Well , one of the best ways to support local arts is to buy it.
S4: So that's. One.
S3: One. Way.
S4: Way. Yeah.
S1:
S2: You know , the best way to support us is to actually just show up. You know , we'll I know every event that we throw is always dedicated to the artist. For example , for our shows , we don't take any cuts of any of the , um , paintings that we sell. We want to open up our space to no cost to the artist. But , um , yeah , more specifically for us , you know , all the paintings that you see on the exhibition , those are all going to be for sale. However , you do have to contact the artist , um , for more specifics , you know , um , but , um , yeah , all the vendors that are going to be vending , they're all artists of the community. They're not necessarily just vendors that come from other places. These are vendors from our own communities that would like to also show the products that they have , you know , so showing up , showing up is the best way to support , um , the arts community , I think.
S4: Well , Danny.
S1:
S3: The big well , the big picture is , um , our efforts to continue going for years to come as long as we can , um , just just keep advocating for the arts and making sure it's not forgotten and really pushing its importance. I believe a lot of us here in the news and stuff that budget , you hear budget cuts at schools or things like that , they cut art programs because they feel it's not important or part of the agenda. But I believe , especially after the pandemic and , you know , there's a lot of mental health issues going on as well. Art is another outlet for that. And it's not just all about selling a painting and , you know , trying to become famous. It's more about connection with , you know , our own imaginations in a way , in our creative lives. Because I feel we're all kind of stuck in this , in this world. And sometimes it can be stressful or difficult for some of us and , um , being able to express ourselves through art or kind of in our own world with our own rules , you know , there's no really there's no rules to art. Um , you could do whatever you want and just just kind of feel free from the norm. And I believe , uh , if we if we keep continuing how we're doing with artists and Steins Hollow Gallery , hopefully we can , you know , get , get the arts where it needs to be.
S1: I've been speaking with Danny Zavala , vice chairman of Chula Vista Cultural Arts Commission and founder of Steins Hollow Art Gallery. Thank you so much for joining us.
S3: Thank you.
S1: Also , Hector Sue , quilt arts instructor and curator for Steins Hollow. Hector , thank you too.
S2: Yeah , thank you so much for having us again.
S1: Still ahead , KPBS Arts reporter Beth Accomando sits down with San Diego based comics creator Chris Ryle to talk about his new project. I'm working with Francis Coppola.
S5: Like it ? It still just sounds so amazing to even say that. Like , I have to kind of separate the fact that that was The Godfather and Apocalypse Now and the conversation that guy with just a guy that wants to make a graphic novel , you know.
S1: Stick around. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. You know , Comic-Con may be over , but that doesn't mean we can't still celebrate comics and pop culture. San Diego based comics creator Chris Ryle has an extensive career in the industry. His most recent project , he's adapting Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming sci fi epic Megalopolis into a graphic novel. KPBS Arts reporter Beth Accomando spoke with real. About working with Coppola and the comics industry. Take a listen.
S5: Hi there. So I'm Chris. I'm a comic book writer , editor , publisher. And this is where I write , edit and publish comics. So welcome to my office. Or if you will , this is my Sanctum Sanctorum in comic book parlance , or my Fortress of Solitude. So please come on in.
S6:
S5: Yeah , I was 4 or 5 years old living in Long Beach , and my older brother's friends in the neighborhood had just comics all over the place. So whenever we'd go play , I was drawn to this old Fantastic Four comic issue 130. I remember because it had the Fantastic Four and the Frightful Four , so there's like eight colorful characters on the cover , all fighting , and one's made of rock , one's made of sand , one's made of fire. And I'm just I was completely , utterly captivated by that. And that just kind of grabbed me and never let go. So that was that was the start of it all. Yeah.
S6:
S5: So one is as a fan or as a reader , like I love the way art and words all work together in tandem to create a story , sort of the excitement you feel almost every single page being like , like its own little mini story where you get to the bottom of that page and hopefully it's compelling enough that you want to turn the page. And so every page of a comic can be that way if it's done effectively. And then just the marrying of , like I say , pictures and dialogue and thought balloons like they used to do on comics , where you got a sense of the interior monologue going on with the character , the captions that told another story. Sound effects , like all these different pieces together , just kind of created this special way of story telling stories that don't really exist in any other form. You know , you don't have the the ease of things like music and sound cues and moving pictures like in TV and film. So you just have to take all these disparate elements and put them together in an effective way. And I just , I don't know , I just love , like I say , story and art working together. The one other part of it as a as a creator or publisher , like , I love the collaborative aspect of it too. So the writer's words and the artist's illustrations in the colorist and the sound effects from the letter. All those people working together in a collaborative way is also just an exciting way to tell stories , because you're not doing it all in a vacuum. You know , you're all working together to make this greater thing.
S6: And how did you get into comics ? Because , you know , in America , it's not exactly a high art form or , you know , revered. And there weren't like courses in how to go into comics.
S5: And all the New York publishers are where it's all happening , as far as I knew. It's like , oh , do you really just mail stuff off and hope for the best ? Or I just didn't know that there was a path to working in comics. Because you're right. You don't take the bar exam , you don't go to med school. You just kind of find your way in. And it feels like every time you ask anybody how they got into comics , it's a different story. So mine was like , I wanted to be a writer , and I , I was sort of tangentially connected to writing. I was doing technical copy and writing corporate speeches and ad copy and things that didn't necessarily appeal to what I really wanted to be doing. So I started doing comic reviews and comic commentary and news and things like that online , and from there it got noticed by a few comic creators who talked to me about collaborating on stuff and then eventually , um , one of those collaborators , a writer named Steve Niles , who was the big writer at IDW at the time , which is a San Diego based comic publisher. He got me in touch with them. And when they had an opening for editor in chief. And so my first official job in comics was editor in chief of a publishing company , which I know is not the usual path , but it worked out. I mean , I jumped into it in a way that like , I'm like , I don't know if I know how to do this job , but I'm not going to say no when they offered it. So you just kind of learn on the fly.
S6: Now , you worked for quite a while at IDW , which is , you know , I feel like I'm talking about bookstores now. It's like it was a brick and mortar office. And now post-pandemic , things seem to have changed.
S5: Most definitely. I mean , that's the great thing about the way the internet is kind of democratized. Creation of content is some of the best people I work with in some of the most talented people , live in Chile , live in Australia , live all over the world. The flip side of that is like as a kid , I heard stories of the Marvel bullpen. You know , everybody sitting in the space , and they're all working together and making comics together , and I. I miss that aspect of it. You know , it was fun when everyone was just excitedly working on the same stuff in the same room. So again , like , it's a trade off , but it does allow more opportunities for people that aren't , you know , physically near a comic office space.
S6: Now , one of the projects you have coming up is something I'm excited about , because I grew up watching Francis Ford Coppola's movies and was inspired by him to go into filmmaking and stuff. And you're working on a graphic novel version of his film Megalopolis.
S5: Is that true ? And first you're like , I don't know if this is real , but your response , like my response to always to these things is , yes , Francis Coppola , I am the right one who can do that. Um , and so we just started talking about what he wanted , and I went out , you know , I , I pitched him a thousand thousand art styles just because it was like , you know , you want to please a guy who hasn't really ever been in this space before. So I'm like , it can look like this. It could look like this. There's this. And he just goes , pick what you think is the best for this story. Because , you know , I've done a lot of licensed books and sometimes they're very strict and controlling and very precise on what they want. He just wants a good book. And so like we just talked about art and his approach to the world and like his kind of humanist view of , I don't know how society can improve. And he's doing a lot of those themes , like are woven into Megalopolis and with the book , too , he said , you know , just tell my story in a way that is compelling and different than the movie and interesting and and all of that. And and then the more we talked about it , the more I come to find , like , he gets sort of short handed into the Martin Scorsese the conversation of comic book movies are bad for the culture , which Francis has never said , but he , like a lot of the guys who were auteurs , feel squeezed out by a marketplace that wants more spectacle because spectacle hasn't always been , you know , that's not what he's going for. He's going for a story and characters. And so I think he's concerned by the marketplace , but certainly not by the content. So we start talking about comics and movies , and you find out that he loved comics as a kid , like he loved he cited a character called The Heep , which is like a precursor to Swamp Thing and Man Thing. And like , nobody mentions the heap unless they're legit , unless they know comics. And so he loved comics as a kid , you know , he loved Plastic Man , he loved The Shadow and The Phantom. And so it's fun when you can find that common ground , you know , that common comic book language to talk about , even with people that have never otherwise dabbled in the space before. So it's it's been a blast. Like it's been just the most , like , exhilarating , creatively inventive thing. Um , yeah , I've loved every bit of it because I'm working with Francis Coppola. Like it ? It still just sounds so amazing to even say that. Like , I have to kind of separate the fact that that was The Godfather and Apocalypse Now and the conversation that guy with just a guy that wants to make a graphic novel , you know , because otherwise I think I would just get too intimidated by the whole conversation.
S6: And let's hear the trailer for Megalopolis.
UU: When does an empire die ? Does it collapse in one terrible moment ? No. No.
S7: But there comes a time when his people no longer believe in it.
S8: Don't let the now destroy the forever.
S6: While then took us to his computer to show us pages from the graphic novel adaptation of Megalopolis.
S5: And we really haven't shown much of this book yet. But this is the first two unlettered pages of the Megalopolis graphic novel. So this is done by an artist named Jacob Phillips , who was doing all the pencils , inks and colors himself. He does a lot of great books on his own. He did a book called The Enfield Gang Massacre that was just gorgeous books this past year , but he also colors his father Sean Phillips's work on these Ed Brubaker graphic novels. Yeah , I was just going through and sort of fine tuning the script based on the script that I'd put together , working off the Francis's script here , and I'm adding , tweaking and adjusting , editing , writing bits of dialogue and other captions that sort of help the storytelling flow. Which again , is so weird and intimidating because I'm like , kind of editing Francis Coppola or rewriting Francis Coppola , you know , which just feels very presumptive. Um , you know , this Oscar winning writer director that I'm deciding , well , that doesn't need to be here. This would sound better , but , you know , it's sort of all about making the story work in each form. And so there has to be some changes that take a thing going from moving pictures to a static graphic novel. And so this has a lot of scenes and bits and things that were not in the final cut of the movie. And so it's very much its own thing and its own story that plays out in a different pace too , than the film. Um , and so I like that because the straight adaptation is like back in the day. It was fun because that was the only way you could re-experience a thing was like , Star Wars isn't available anymore now that it's not in theaters. So you have to read the comic adaptation. But now I think having something that differentiates itself and tells a different story is the best way to to really interest people in an adaptation. So we're we're entering kind of the final stages of tweaking the graphic novel and getting it ready for print. So it's it's now in that like hustle of , uh , getting it done and ready to be out in the world , you know , to coincide with the film's release , which is late September this year. So.
S6: Well , I was going to ask when he kind of handed it back to you. That left you with a lot of choices. So how did you like what were you tapping into in the film , or what was it in the film that you kind of like latched on to that made it click for you or made you go like , this is the way I want to take it.
S5: I mean , the thing of it , the story he'd been working on , he'd been working on it for decades. It very much involves the idea of what societies become and what cities become , and how to kind of better integrate humanity and nature into all coexisting together in a more organic way , instead of like , fighting nature. You know , like a lot of times we will go raise an environment to put up concrete and skyscrapers and things like that. And his whole take is that , you know , we work better when we're sort of organically working with nature , and we're not just supplanting it , but we're kind of finding ways to , I don't know , take lessons from the way nature evolves and find cities that are more evolutionary in that they adapt more to people's needs than just building these concrete monoliths and saying , you know , you got to , like , fit with that. Like his idea of a city is a thing that does have a more organic feel to it. And so the movie , in all of its different iterations over the few decades he's been working on it , it evolves that of like , how do we how do we maintain nature but also progress ? And how do we feed the artist and let the artists interpretation of what the world should be work in tandem with commerce ? And , you know , we've kind of seen more and more of a push pull that as we've entered these late stages of capitalism that we're in. And so he's very interested in like not sort of paying attention to just how shrill all parts of society have gotten , but like , how do we get past this ? How do we evolve past sort of the the coarse dialogue that we're currently having and build a better future for everybody. And so he's interested in that. And so that was kind of what we tried to bring to life. You know , in the graphic novel , as much as he's trying to do in the film is just looking at like , this doesn't have to be the only way , like there's there's bits of the city that evolve throughout the story in ways that kind of bring his vision to life visually , that we really tried to emulate on the page without without the artist really knowing what he had in mind visually. Like he didn't ever see the film. I showed him some of the concept art , but otherwise this is very much his interpretation of what's written on the script. The story is a version , or it's set in a version of New York. Um , that's called New Rome. And so a lot of the costuming and a lot of the architecture plays up like bits of Roman society , you know , Roman flair. And so there's lots of golds in the costumes. And so. There's.
S9: There's.
S5: Lots of. Beautiful.
S9: Beautiful.
S5: Golds in the artwork too. And so , so again , it's not doing actor likenesses and taking movie stills and just trying to bring them to life through art. But it's very much like here's the artist interpretation of the story and how it and I just find that such , such a more , I don't know , pleasing way to tell a story instead of just copying film stills. That's the thing. When you get into working on this with Francis is he's not like , here's my story , bring it , bring it to life. On paper , it's like he's a very deep thinker about all parts of society. And so you try to find ways to not only just tell his story , but sort of tell his spirit and infuse it with just , I don't know , the the sort of humanist approach that he's taking to telling the story and that he would like the world to take. Like my goal is to make him a book that he is just as proud of as his film. So that's that's a high bar. Um , but we're trying. Yeah.
S1: That was KPBS Beth Accomando speaking with comics creator Chris Real. His graphic novel adaptation of Megalopolis is set for release in September to coincide with the film's opening. Still ahead. Hugo Crossway has a new exhibition at Bread and Salt. KPBS Arts editor and producer Julia Dixon Evans tells us about it.
S10: It's kind of incredible how these giant canvases actually still feel and look like sketchbook pages. They're full color , but there's still this sense of , like , mark making with colored pencil lines.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. This weekend in the arts. Tijuana artist Hugo Crosthwaite has a new exhibition. There's a Big Zien and Music Faire , plus a San Diego made summer market , lots of live music and more. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts producer Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome.
S10: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S1: Glad you're here , as always. So let's start with artist Hugo Crosthwaite and his new exhibition at Bread and Salt. He's known for his black and white art , but this new exhibit has some color in it , right ? Yeah.
S10: And , you know , he's like globally well known for his black and white drawing style and even on his big murals and even on the two portraits that he has in the National Portrait Gallery , they're actually stop motion animations of him drawing. So it's still very , very drawing based. And it's all in black and white. And he's also very much the sketchbook artist. He always has one with him and he constantly draws people around him and cityscapes. And then one day he ran out of his plain white paper sketchbooks , and he stopped in the little shop to buy another , but could only find , uh , like a colored paper sketchbook. So he bought it. It has like bright colored paper in different colors pinks , yellows , greens , um. And he continued drawing on it , just using the color as is kind of the same as the white background. And when he decided that there's something to this process , like he could do this in a bigger form , like on canvases or in murals. Um , it actually also seemed kind of daunting for him.
S11: I didn't know how am I going to paint ? How do you start the paint ? How do you start using color when you haven't used color in 30 years now ? I had no idea , but I just said , well , I'm just going to do what I do on my sketchbook. Now I have a color field , and inside this color field I'm just going to draw people in black and white. So then in a canvas , I would fill out these color fields and then just draw characters and then with color pencil , kind of unite the whole thing.
S10: And it's kind of incredible how these giant canvases actually still feel and look like sketchbook pages. They're full color , but there's still this sense of like , mark making with colored pencil lines. So this exhibit , it's called tissue color. And while every single one of these pieces has at least one and often many figurative drawings like , like a character. Some of them also have these really striking cityscapes. And I love that about Cross Sweet's work. The way that he draws Tijuana is as this , like vertical or towering , beautiful cluster of houses and buildings , and he's translated that really beautifully into color as well. And he's also drawing murals directly on the walls at Bread and Salt surrounding , each of the big canvases. He uses this bright metallic paint pen and on brightly colored walls , too. It's kind of he's kind of going all in on the color and in the canvases and these murals. He also has this undercurrent of of kitsch or what he refers to as narco luxury.
S11: We'll show this exhibition , which is kind of like me presenting color in Tijuana in color and playing with this idea of Mexican folklore and how especially Tijuana. You know , I grew up in a Creole shop. So then my whole notion of the United States is that as a Mexican , I'm selling things to the United States. Now , that's where the dollar is , most of them. So then I wanted to continue that notion through my work as as selling something or presenting something. So then it's kind of like this , this idea of luxury. This idea of kitsch. This idea of narco luxury. Also , you know , like this idea of how narcos decorate their mansions , you know , with very baroque in ostentatious way.
S10: And yeah , it all opens on Saturday at Bread and Salt. It'll be on view through the end of October. There's going to be an opening reception on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. , and also in Bread and Salt. There's another opening that you can check out at the same time. It's kind of this fun and different group exhibition at the Athenaeum Arts Center. It's called What's Your Type ? So that's like typography and fonts and design and artists Philip Brindle , Ray and Khoisan and a bunch more will have work in that show. And it's also a good chance to check out the other exhibits that are still on view. Klein. Swann. sponsors Lancia at Ice Gallery. I just saw this one for the first time. It's this incredible installation involving like , puddles of black acrylic on the floor. There's feathers strung from the ceiling. It's really immersive. And then there's a beautiful and thought provoking exhibit from Tiger Crow Collective that's at best practice. And yet it's all open Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. and it's barrio Art call. So you can also head over to Logan Avenue to see a bunch more art and music and food. The whole barrio Art crawl starts at noon on Saturday.
S1: Wow , just a really great way to immerse yourself in art this weekend. But let's talk about DIY art. Compressed is a zine and music fair by two great DIY collectives in San Diego.
S10: It's a Zona music fair like this big vendor fair with art and books , small presses , live performances and DJ sets. And this year they're going to be at the downtown library on the ninth floor , shyly event space , one of the best views in town from there. And it's this collaboration from Burnley Books , which is a local shop , and Visa press , and particle FM , which is an internet radio station. And yeah , both focus on DIY art and music , and this is a great way for them to champion that. Great.
S4: Great.
S1: So well , what is DIY art ? In case there are some folks who don't know , right.
S10: So it's like this broad term for art that's created by an individual or group without any sort of gatekeeping , like an agent or a contract or curator or any kind of barrier or external input. And also , a big part of DIY art is the accessibility of the means of production. And this is why zines are such a big part of DIY are because all you really need are like a scissors and a photocopier , or a way of making collage digitally. And same goes for internet radio. Everything is is like accessible and self-produced. And I talked to the people planning this event and Amanda Burnell , who is one of the founders of Burn All Books , she said that DIY art is super essential for creativity. Basically , the synthesis of what.
S12: DIY is is not asking permission before you make something. So maybe it's not the most technically accurate or , um , the sharpest looking. Maybe it is , but it's something that you made that you , you did out of like , passion. Um , and that you probably taught yourself how to do in some way , whether that's with the help of friends or you did everything from start to finish on your own. Um , so everything is kind of on your terms and it makes creativity a lot more possible and broad because you don't have to , to wait for anyone to co-sign.
S10: So this event is all day from 11 to 5 on Saturday at the downtown library. There's going to be music from DJs and artists like Laura Pena and Make Believe DIY , and some of the artists and zine makers and small presses that will be there include Editions Karada , which is a shop and publisher out of Tijuana. It's kind of banal. Books counterpoint across the border. There's also elevator teeth , and my little Underground will be showing and selling stuff to , and it's this great low key environment to just go up and talk to some of these Zen makers , talk to them about why they do this sort of work as well. It's all ages and it's totally free.
S1: Well , San Diego Made is back with their summer market , this time at Liberty Station all weekend long.
S10: There's 120 local makers invited. They share their products like clothing , art , foods , drinks , jewelry , things like that. And they're also having live music scheduled throughout both days. Um , la boogie Buena. Dev , love , Nathan and Jesse. Davina. More artists. Um , there's a bunch of fun stuff for for kids to like. There's a little mini golf area , there's art making workshop , and then just kind of a kids area where they can go and decompress and do coloring pages. Um , there's food and food trucks , cocktails and mocktails , tons of stuff. It's all free to get in , but you do get a free gift if you donate at the door. This is from 11 to 6 on Saturday and 10 to 5 on Sunday in the North Promenade area of Liberty Station. It's just a great opportunity to do a little shopping.
S1: Right up my alley. Um.
S4: Um.
S1: The annual Summer Splash Reggae Festival is presented by the World Beat Cultural Center every year. Let's hear about this year's festival.
S10: So this year , they're holding it at the outdoor Epstein Family Amphitheater at UCSC. It's right on the Blue Line trolley station on campus. It's from Saturday from 3 to 10. And the lineups curated by McKenna Cheatham of the World Beats Center. And this year , it has the longtime reggae performer Michael Rose. and this is a song from his latest album. It just came out two weeks ago. It's called Rockin Like a Champion rockin and the I.
S13: Love track and music. They are free to hop to the top.
S10: Can't really drop Bob Dylan , but there's also Warrior King , Alika , Quinto Sol and more in that lineup. Um , and it's all ages. It's , um , Saturday afternoon.
S1: Sounds great.
S10: It'll be their last show set the whistle stop bar. The have nots are led by Shelby Bennett , and I've always really loved their kind of irreverent sound. They have a song called I Have to Read this off. It's y c tm w t d y and mrg , which spells out you can't tell me what to do. You're not my real dad , which is so funny to me. They also have a song about gaining weight , but then also a bunch of just really like genuine and relatable songwriting. This is lopsided from their 2020 release Real Good Now.
UU: Oh , I made mistakes and learned the hard way as I go to drum time too.
S10: Also on Friday , there's a couple of surf rock and indie bands at Soda Bar. The Burke Harts , who are from Buffalo , are playing with locals. Porto and the Soles. The soles are a Chicano indie band. They just released a new single , Polaroids , which is great , and they have a forthcoming EP coming out.
UU: What a mess I've made again. Oh , what a nice.
S10: And then on Sunday there is a free all ages music and art event. It's called Blanket Sounds. It's downtown at the Waterfront Park. It's monthly throughout the summer , and this month's lineup is a DJ set by dandelion , Music by The Lyrical Groove and Friends. And then they have an art installation. This month's is Armando de la Torre. His work is really great and it's all hosted by Brittany Taylor. And one more on Sunday night at Lulu's at the Lafayette local pop and soul singer Ruby G. That is a free show. Um , I will leave you with her track Head Above the Water , which came out in 2021.
UU: I was lost , I was falling. I was wrong. Gotta keep going I gotta keep the wind strong. Wow.
S1: Wow. There is so much to see and do in San Diego. You can find details on these and more arts events and sign up for Julia's weekly Arts newsletter at pbs.org. I've been speaking with KPBS Arts producer Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thanks.
S10: Thank you. Jade.
UU: Days go on and on. I looked out my window and I ask.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
