For those of you who have not made the trip into Left Coast Books since it opened its doors a few years back, you are missing out on a wonderful experience. Smack in the middle of Old Town Goleta, this oasis of literature and art is full of surprises. I’m ashamed to say that it has been just over a year since I last put up a post about them, so today I’m taking a step to rectify that.

Left Coast Books hosts "I am Curious"

“I am Curious” is an exhibition highlighting artworks of all media from 13 Santa Barbara artists: Erik Sultzer, Tim Brown, Nick Loewen, Patrick Melroy, Sam Fretwell, Emily Halbardier, Bessie Kunath, Chris Silva, Jared Flores, Rimas Simaitis, Ryan Bulis, Katy McCarthy and Alison Ho. Each piece in the exhibition reflects a level of playfulness and childlike curiosity that disarms the viewer. In consideration of the dramatically different nature of each artist, it is interesting that this common thread exists; a common sense of collectivity of the imagination.

The exhibition is situated in the gallery space at Left Coast Books in old town Goleta. Beyond the exhibition space reside shelves of art books upon art books that have been accumulated slowly and skillfully by owner, Simon Taylor. The artwork selected for this exhibition converses with the loaded meaning of a book; a single item which represents a viewpoint through expresses ideas and/or information. The artworks utilize a similar level of curiosity- one that would propel a person to open a book, as they appear to summon a physical and childlike interactivity through bright colors and the familiarity of their shapes. Yet, these works, unlike the books, are, in the tradition of displayed precious objects, off limits. The artworks openly exhibit a state of vulnerability and fluidity of interpretation. Perhaps the art works and the books have more in common than one would first presume.

About Left Coast Books
Established in Santa Barbara, California, in 2004, Left Coast Books is a bookstore and art gallery that specializes in ART BOOKS, offering thousands of titles on painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, design, photography, film, video, and performance art. We also sell classics, literary fiction, history, and a broad variety of useful academic books. Art exhibitions are held in the front gallery; plays, music, and spoken word events are held in our backyard. We are open to the public Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11 AM to 6 PM, in “Old Town Goleta.” Internet orders are processed and shipped on a daily basis.

“I am Curious” will be on display Wed- Sat/ 11-6pm from April 13- May 16, 2012 in the gallery at Left Coast Books, located at 5877 Hollister Avenue, Goleta, CA 93117. Calling ahead is recommended, Phone: (805) 845-1212, and to schedule a private walk-through or viewing during the off-hours, please email the curator at: info@bessiekunath.com
For more information about Left Coast Books, visit the website, http://www.leftcoastbooks.us/

It is time once again, my art-loving friends, to meet up for our monthly wanderings around the downtown arts district. This month we’ll be hitting up a number of great places that we’ve never been before, and I’ve set up our itinerary so that we end up more or less where we started (so there’ll be no long walk back to the car at the end of the evening). We’ll be meeting on the steps of the Channing Peake Gallery (105 East Anapamu Street) at 5:45. See the map below for our planned route and below that check out a preview of some of the places we’ll be hitting.

See you on Thursday!

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mischievous
allegory II

recent & past work by dan levin

april 5 – april 28, 2012
reception: thursday, april 5 • 5-8pm
+ WHITCRAFT WINERY & DJ I LOVE CRUNCH
this will be the first “1st Thursday” at lola

lola
1221 state st., back of victoria court
santa barbara, ca / 805.845.5322
hours: m-sat 11-6 / sun 11-4

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It has been a little while since I posted any updates on the Funk Zone Mural project. This is, in my humble opinion, the best public art project in all of Santa Barbara (please add your comments if you think I am horribly, horribly wrong). Below are some of the newest murals to be found at the site. I didn’t get good photos all of them, and I don’t know the names of all the artists. So… if you can help me out by passing along the relevant info, I’ll update the pictures proper captions.

"Know Cause" by Skye Gwilliam and Martin Diaz

by Taylor Berman and Roman Sorensen

by John Federico

by Martin Diaz

by Jamie Guerrero (click on the image to check out Jamie's blog)

Call for Ideas:

FAÇADE FACELIFT PROJECT

Saturday April 14, 2012

2 – 5 pm

March 22, 2012: The Arts Fund invites artists of all ages to help us conceptualize a fresh, new look for our building’s exterior façade.  This one time idea-generating event will take place Saturday, April 14 from 2 – 5 p.m. at The Arts Fund Gallery in the Funk Zone at 205C Santa Barbara Street.  The event is free and open to the public.

Arts supplies and refreshments will be provided along with façade templates on paper. Finished and unfinished works will be displayed on the Arts Fund’s website atwww.artsfundsb.org and social media sites.  Selected works will be awarded prizes by a panel of jurors from neighboring businesses.

To participate please R.S.V.P. to info@artsfundsb.org and be present for the event on April 14. Materials have been generously provided by The Morris Squire Foundation.

Organization Background:

The Arts Fund (www.artsfundsb.org) was established as a nonprofit in 1983 dedicated to fostering the arts in Santa Barbara County.  The organization’s formal mission is to create, fund and administer programs and projects that foster the arts for the people of Santa Barbara County, to act as a catalyst maximizing the effectiveness of arts resources, and to nurture collaborative relationships amongst arts organizations.

The Arts Fund is best known as the sponsor of the annual Individual Artist Awards (IAA), a juried competition open to Santa Barbara County artists, and the Teen Arts Mentorship Program that matches promising high school students with professional master artists and writers in a workshop setting. In 2001, The Arts Fund opened The Arts Fund Gallery at 205C Santa Barbara Street at Yanonali in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone neighborhood. Gallery sales and private donations are an important and essential source of funding for the organization. Please visit www.artsfundsb.org to learn more upcoming programs and events or how to make a donation to support the work of The Arts Fund. The Arts Fund Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 1-5 p.n. and by appointment.

It has been a while since I’d heard any rumblings from down in Carpinteria, so I was very excited when the following press release landed in my inbox. For those of you who don’t know it yet, down in that wonderfully sleepy little beach town, tucked away off the main drag there is an oasis of contemporary art. This new exhibit/installation is exactly the kind of thing that make the place so interesting. There is a kind of freedom that is inherent in experimenting like this, and it makes me very happy to know that this is going on near by. This is not the kind of thing we get to see around here very often, soI highly encourage you to take advantage of our proximity to the Anderson ART Collective.

Opening Reception: March 31st from 5 – 9. More details below.

“Lived-in at the Anderson ART Collective”