How is it the middle of November already?!? There are a couple of great shows that are sneaking up on me this weekend. The first one I’ll highlight is down in Carpinteria at the Anderson Art Collective. I absolutely love the idea for this show (see details below). There is something about the rarity of collaborative works of art in the art world that makes me very excited. The pieces bring together different points of view, techniques, and media to create something entirely unique, which is exactly what this show is about.  And the results look amazing…

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Anderson Art Collective Presents The Exchange: Bridging the Gap between Northern and Southern California Art Practices.
Santa Barbara, CA – Anderson Art Collective announces its upcoming show The Exchange, a two-man show with individual and collaborative work by California artists Randy Noborikawa (Costa Mesa) and David Seiler (Oakland).

This highly anticipated show embodies an exchange of ideas on art, culture and ethnicity between two artists from diverse and uncommon backgrounds. On the leading edge of their respective art communities, the two artists bring a snapshot of Northern and Southern California art practices to the Collective. The show opens with an artists’ reception on November 20 from 6-8pm and continues through January 9, 2011.

Artist David Seiler brings a background of Bay Area Figurative influences, strong sense of draftsmanship and use of unconventional art media. In addition, Randy Noborikawa’s immersion in Orange County sub-culture, keen sense of composition and extensive use of neon, allow for the two artists to explore themes of ethnicity and cultural boundaries in unique and uncommon ways.

“Because of the physical distance separating the two artists, the collaborative works for this show were made while the artists visited each other in their respective studios, creating the large scale works for the show within an intense (at most) 72 hour period,” notes gallery co-curator Benjamin Anderson. “The result culminating in a visceral, process oriented journey and visual dialogue of two very different artists in one work of art.”

David Seiler lives and works in Oakland, CA where he is known for both his chaotic and turbulent mixed media art as well as his gallery ‘Victorian Rat’. Coming from an ethnically diverse upbringing in the Bay Area, Seiler’s work searches for cultural boundaries and uproots them by laying them bare in his bizarre and otherworldly sculptures, paintings and drawings.

Randy Noborikawa lives and works in Costa Mesa, CA and is gaining widespread recognition for his cutting edge contemporary art that eschews his extensive art training, immersion in Southern California culture and years as a venerated artist/designer for surf giant Quicksilver. Both artists are alumni of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and have been exchanging ideas on art for more than ten years.

Keeping with its continuing mission, the Anderson ART Collective will again donate a portion of sales to a non-profit organization. For this show, the Collective decided to bring it closer to home and has joined forces with the Carpinteria Skate Park Foundation. The Foundation has been working for over a year to bring a skateboard friendly facility to the City of Carpinteria. They are dedicated to seeing the completion of a city park prominently featuring a skate friendly environment that would facilitate the needs of active youth and their families.

Anderson ART Collective is located at 410 Palm Avenue, A2, in Carpinteria, CA on the beach just south of Santa Barbara and is open Fri, Sat and Sun from noon to 5pm or by appointment. The gallery has a roster of eleven contemporary artists and with an emphasis on quality and concept, is a platform to promote the arts, to protect the environment and to support human rights. Anderson Art Collective is one of 34 galleries that will premier at Red Dot Art Fair in Miami http://www.reddotfair.com in conjunction with Art Basel Miami Beach http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com in December 2010. For more information go to http://www.andersonARTcollective.com or call 805.684.8783.

Muddy Waters is in need of our help. As one of the best places in Santa Barbara for young artists and musicians to get their work out into the world, it is a vital part of the Santa Barbara art environment. However, it is in need of some serious renovations that can help alleviate the capacity issues that have become more of an issue as bigger acts book the spot.  Andi Garcia has stepped up to the plate to begin a series of fund raising events to help with the cost of renovation.

However, if a charitable heart isn’t enough to get you join forces, go for the “Big Kahunas of tiki/zombie art culture”.     …Tiki + zombie!    Honestly, what more do you need to know?

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This Exotica/ Tiki themed art show with feature some Big Kahunas of tiki/zombie art culture with special friend , Tom BIG TOE Laura headlining

select guests like
Ken Ruzic
Mickey Edtinger
James Owens
John Mulder
Dave Cohen “SQUID”
Jen X
David Bird Designs
Candace McArthur Grant
Deborah Ramirez
Andy Proctor
many more .

Also featured will be several locals past and present

DONATED RAFFLE ITEMS by :
BOD Recording Studios
Andy Proctor
David Bird Designs
and many more

I’m not only an art lover, I’m also a book lover. And my collection of first-edition books is far bigger than my art collection. So I got very excited when I read about Goleta’s new bookstore, which is run by Simon Taylor, a former curator and art-critic. Tomorrow night is the opening of the next show at the store/gallery. Make the extra effort to head up to Goleta to show your support! Details below….

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VERBARIAN: Word-Based Art by Five Los Angeles Artists

Reception for the Artists: Friday, November 12, from 5 to 7 pm

The gallery at Left Coast Books, in Goleta, California (5877 Hollister Avenue), is pleased to announce its new exhibition, “VERBARIAN: Word-Based Works by Five Los Angeles Artists.” The exhibition will be held from November 2 to December 24, 2010, featuring works by organizer Lynne Berman, Eve Luckring, Audrey Mandelbaum, Rebecca Ripple, and Susan Silton.

There will be a Reception for the Artists on Friday, November 12, from 5 to 7 pm. From 4:30-6:00 p.m., Susan Silton will be typing a text using a ribbonless typewriter as part of an ongoing typewriter performance series.

The art works on display include the media of sculpture, works on paper, drawing, embroidery, and installation. All use language as a primary element. In simultaneously reading the work of art and viewing it, the interplay between distinct perceptual activities is negotiated.

Visual artist and poet Eve Luckring’s “It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” re-creates communication with the City of Los Angeles in a wall installation. The dense and impersonal language of bureaucratic correspondence with the city inspired her to respond in the reflective tone and imagistic language characteristic of tanka, a form of Japanese lyric poetry. Two of Luckring’s poems are also presented on a window of the gallery using colored vinyl text.

Audrey Mandelbaum’s “After Helen Levitt (No…Comforting)” is a hand-embroidered work reinterpreting a 1971 photograph by photographer Helen Levitt using Levitt’s own words to *describe the picture as its text.

In Susan Silton’s “T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922)”, she typed on an old typewriter which intentionally doesn’t contain a ribbon, so that what is left on the page is the imprint of the act of typing. Silton used the text of T. S. Eliot’s seminal poem The Waste Land which was informed in part by the pervasive disillusionment and cynicism gripping Europe in the wake of WWI.

Lynne Berman’s drawings, “Anita Dimendberg Goes to Vegas: Parts A and B”, are based on “tracking” her mother-in-law, Anita Dimendberg, on her first visit to Las Vegas. Anita’s dialogue is the basis for the marks used in her drawings which transform into abstract visual representations.

“thigh/blind”, by Rebecca Ripple, is a sculpture made from aluminum blinds with the word thigh cut into them. Another sculpture by Ripple, “insertion”, is formed from protruding polished steel letters with razor edges spelling insertion, a reference to clinical instruments and jewelry. A fleshy stain of tape fastens the steel to the wall.

I don’t want  to take your attention off of tonight’s First Thursday, but I also want to make sure you tune in to KZSB this weekend to check me out on the Arts and Antiques radio show hosted by Elizabeth Stewart. I’ll be discussing the blog live tomorrow at 10 am, but if you can’t catch it then, it will be re-aired at 8pm on Friday night and again at 11 am on Sunday morning.

Tonight’s First Thursday is shaping up to be one of the best of the year. Not only because it is November and we finally have some beautiful weather, but this month’s art offerings are exceptional. Besides Pianos on State and the first ever Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative Art Crawl, there are some really exciting exhibits to check out, including the Bang Bang underground show which I’m particularly excited about.  Below are my selected highlights of places to make sure not to miss tonight as you hit the street.

125 E. Carrillo Street
The BANG BANG Underground Art Production is inviting everyone for the one-night event at 125 E. Carrillo Street ( orange door in the back). The event will start at 5pm and last till at least 10pm. The featured artist of the night are Sherry Wetzel, Inga Romualdo Guzyte and the musician Chris Wilson and more… They will have snacks and drinks for the hungry and thirsty ones!

This one is a bit off of the beaten path, but it is well worth it. The last show at this place nearly sold out. If you want first pick you better get there early.

THE SUPPLY ROOM @ PRESIDIO MOTEL
1620 State Street
(805) 963-1355
Featuring local artist Stephanie Dotson. She will be showcasing a collection of recent encaustic paintings layered with ink and resin. Stephanie currently lives and teaches printmaking in Santa Barbara.

CANARY HOTEL
31 West Carrillo Street
(805) 884-0300
Linda Stewart-Oaten, recipient of The Arts Fund’s 2010 Individual Artist Award (IAA) in General Fiction, will premier her winning piece, “Flames”, in a public reading. Also reading will be IAA Honorable Mention winners: Jim Alexander, Catherine Gee, and Fred Nadis.

BROOKS INSTITUTE GALLERY 27
27 East Cota Street
(805) 690-4913
Construction & Reconstruction: this group exhibition features samples of the culminating work of six emerging photographers from the Master of Fine Art Photography program. The selection of works from these groundbreaking artists ranges from the truly novel to reinterpretations of the familiar. The pieces reflect a variety of personal experiences, expressions, concerns and interests. Wine will be provided by Olive House.

SANTA BARBARA CONTEMPORARY ARTS FORUM
653 Paseo Nuevo, 2nd Floor
(805) 966-5373
Forum Lounge: Without Sun. In two showings, 7pm and 8pm, artist Brody Condon will present the live performance Without Sun: Modification (2009). This dance and spoken word piece is based on an edited compilation of “found online performances” of individuals on a psychedelic substance which will be screened before the performance. Condon worked with dancer Linda Austin and actor Russell Edge to re-interpret the erratic movements and verbalizations of people in the throes of revelatory and frightening psychoactive experiences.