CAA Member News - October 2022

Concord Art Association is a California 501c3 non-profit organization

October 2022
Volume 22 • Issue 10

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
John Nakanishi

In September, John visited his dad and sister in Seattle.

Crypto art, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), metaverse art galleries, immersive experiences, augmented reality technology—I am fascinated with this strange, new world that recently caught my attention. I’d heard about it, but it hadn’t entered my sphere until I visited the Vincent Van Gogh immersive experience in San Francisco. That got me to look outward, past the historical precedence and into a very cool and different-looking future. Rather than walking around to view static, framed masterpieces in galleries, people are looking more to experience art in different ways.

In January 2022, the Seattle NFT Museum opened its doors. Preceding it was the March 2021 opening of the Superchief Gallery NFT in New York City. Someone described it like walking into an electronics store, with dozens of screens streaming digital art. An exciting exhibit is currently running at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco that I am dying to see. It’s the newest immersive experience called “Verse: The Art of the Future.” It apparently combines a digital art exhibit with NFT displays along with some augmented reality technology—get your fill all at once!

Public art—whether indoor or outdoor, temporary or permanent—has grown in popularity as well. Successful street artists, such as Banksy, give people the chance to view, think about, and discuss art during our average days around town. Locally, we can enjoy “street art” in the recent flurry of new murals going up on Concord buildings! More than ever, I see art everywhere I go!

But you don’t even have to leave home to enjoy viewing art. During the pandemic, when galleries were closed, I used my computer to “visit” a number of virtual galleries. You (well, not you exactly … but your avatar) can often still meet people and interact in metaverse galleries, so it doesn’t need to be a solitary experience.

I am familiar with my art, but this new art is almost too new and hard to understand. I’m not sure how all this art technology works, but I don’t know how my cell phone works either. For now, I could go back to my familiar art tools and not bother. I think I would rather figure out when I can see “Verse,” and experiment with some artistic doodling in Procreate on my wife’s iPad. How might you venture into some of these new areas for your art?

October Member Meeting In Person!

Our next member meeting will be held in person on Tuesday, October 11 starting at 4:00 pm. The location is currently the Concord Library. If that changes we will send out an announcement.

Board president John Nakanishi will guide us in a make-and-take activity, which is always fun. And be sure to buy a few raffle tickets to help support CAA and for a chance to win a lovely prize. Also, bring your new work for the mini art show. It's so great to see old friends again, and there were many new faces at the last meeting too!

If you can stay after the meeting, plan to walk a few steps over to the Council Chambers to attend the city council meeting where the city will hear a presentation by CAA on the approved designs for the next phase of the Utility Box Project.

If you have not had a chance to join CAA, take a minute to click on the button below that will take you to our website where you can read all about the benefits of membership!

Join CAA

CAA Presents Utility Box Art Designs
to Concord City Council
by Catherine Hensiek

Phase III of the Concord Utility Box Art Project is moving ahead after months of slippage caused by manufacturing and shipping delays. Within the last three weeks, a jury of Concord residents and artists reviewed the submissions and selected those that exhibited artistic merit and best represented the theme of "Concord Reflections."

Next, the CAA Utility Box Art Project committee presented the designs selected by the jury to the City of Concord Parks and Recreation Committee chaired by Council Member Carlyn Obringer. Carlyn and the other council member on the committee, Edi Birsan, reviewed the selected designs, discussed pros and cons, and decided which submissions would be referred to the full city council for approval.

The art selected for this final step in the approval process is wonderfully varied. The submitting artists took to heart CAA's message that the art needed to be big, bold, and beautiful and produced wonderfully creative ideas.

CAA will present the designs recommended by Carlyn and Edi at the city council meeting on Tuesday, October 11th. The in-person meeting starts at 6:30pm. At this meeting, the full city council will vote to approve the artwork for each of the traffic control boxes in this phase.

The fourteen winning designs will be announced within a day of city council approval. Painting is expected to begin in early November. By the end of the year, these utility boxes with their unique and colorful designs will grace intersections throughout Concord.

The CAA/City of Concord partnership will have succeeded in transforming 29 utility boxes into public art since we began working together in 2018. In May 2023, we will undertake the second part of Phase III with six additional traffic control boxes. The Call for Artists will be issued early in the year.

CONCORD ART ASSOCIATION
ROTATING GALLERY

One of the benefits of CAA membership is a chance to participate in the Rotating Gallery. Members display work at locations throughout the county. The CAA Rotating Gallery Members will be changing their work the first week in October 2022. If you'd like to stop by, the following locations will have our members artwork on display:

Assemblyman Tim Grayson’s Office........Demaris Brown
Concord Library – Lobby........ Julie Lindberg
Mt Diablo Center – Adult Care........Karen Giorgianni
Meals on Wheels, 2nd Floor........Alice Martinez
Contra Costa Tax Office, Martinez........Janice Davis and Michele Browne
Visit Concord........Alicia Ackers
Ygnacio Valley Library........Thea Jue, Mary Lujan, June Vega, and Kim Lawson

The CAA Rotating Gallery changes work on a quarterly basis. There is no hanging fee and CAA askes for a 10% donation if something sells. If you are interested in displaying work or know of a location that is interested in hanging work at no cost, please contact Renaye Johnson at doublera@aol.com and/or Kim Lawson at kimlawson2000@gmail.com .

Evelyn Musser Watercolor Painting Donation

CAA recently received a surprise donation of a watercolor painted by Evelyn Musser, one of the first members of the association back in 1963. Evelyn Marie Musser was the first historian for The Concord Art Association. On the back of the painting is a nice write up of Evelyn and how she helped start CAA. CAA is grateful for the donation, and recognizes it is auspicious as we arrive on the eve of our 60th anniversary next year. In addition to the watercolor, two paintings by other artists were donated.

These donations came from Ginny Glavinovich. She found this painting in her brother’s estate. Her brother has a nice art collection that will be sold in an estate sale in a couple weeks. Ginny has offered to CAA a preview of the art and a chance to purchase any pieces prior to the sale. If you are interested, please respond via email (concordartassociation@yahoo.com) and arrangements can be made to put you in touch with Ginny.

October Plein Air with Nancy Roberts

Welcome to fall! It’s time to enjoy the cool, crisp weather as well as the sights, sounds and smells of the season! It’s a favorite time of the year for many as it ushers in so many holidays that make the heart sing! Break out your cozy sweater and jacket, and join us for our October Plein Air outing on Thursday, October 13th at the beautiful Lafayette Reservoir, from 10am-2pm. For more information, CLICK HERE for Nancy’s flyer! Hope to see you there with your paints/camera/sketch book or any medium that captures your creativity and the day!

Also remember, you can also join Nancy’s weekly Contra Costa Plein Air group on Facebook or by checking her blog-spot for details at:

https://contracostapleinair.blogspot.com/

CAA Member Gallery

One of the great benefits of membership is the opportunity to be included in the member gallery on the CAA website. If you have not yet submitted your work to the gallery, please make it a point to do so this month! Each member receives an artist listing and link to up to 6 images. All members are encouraged to submit their work! It's easy, just click on the button below.

Join the CAA Member Gallery

Clyde Artist Network presents Clyde Arts Festival
Sat October 8th 10 - 3
109 Wellington Ave. Clyde

In Case You Missed It

Visit our blog for quick recaps of past meetings. Full replays are for members only. Video links are posted on the CAA website or can be made available via email upon request.

What we learned from Dierdre Shibano
What we learned from Micah Goguen
What we learned from Nikki Basch Davis
What we learned from Connie Milholland
What we learned from David Austin
What we learned from Kara Bonsteel
What we learned from Neno Villamor
What we learned from Toru Sugita

Save the dates!

Zoom links are emailed to members the day before each meeting. If you are having any trouble accessing Zoom, please email us for assistance.

2022 Meeting Dates and Times Are Subject to Change - Stay Tuned!

Tuesday, October 11 at 4pm: Member Meeting at Concord Library
Tuesday, October 11 at 6:30pm: CAA Presentation at Concord City Council
Saturday, October 22 at 11am: Art Chat via Zoom
Tuesday, November 15 at 4pm: Member Meeting at Concord Library
Saturday, November 26 at 11am: Art Chat via Zoom

Visit the Meetings calendar on our website to see more.

Concord Art Association Mission Statement
As a 501c3 non-profit organization, CAA works to cultivate and enrich the creative lives of local artists and Concord area residents through exhibits, education, public art and community giving. Founded in 1963, CAA is the oldest art association in Contra Costa County. Members include artists, crafters, makers, enthusiasts and supporters of the arts.