I have the incredibly good fortune to be able to commute to work on foot, so I go through less than one tank of gas each month. From the looks of this new art installation taking place at Pumpflix locations, I’m going to have to make a specific effort to fill my tank more frequently. For those of you who have been following this blog for any length of time, you’ll be familiar with my affection for the unusual and unexpected. Well, this collaboration clearly fits the bill. Keep your eye out for Pumpflix stations while driving around town. If you happen to see any of these videos, please report back here to let us know what it was like.

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SB Moves

Artist videos on Pumpflix gas pump-top screens, on view at 10 stations in Santa Barbara County from July 17th to August 17th, 2011

Pumpflix, Laurel Beckman, and the Department of Art at the University of California Santa Barbara, are pleased to present a unique collaboration in programming artist video content over dozens of pump-top displays at 10 gas stations in Santa Barbara County. Twenty short videos, created by UCSB affiliated artists especially for the occasion, will play in rotation amongst ads, news, weather reports, and community service posts. Streaming over the Pumpflix digital video network to an estimated audience of 200,000 viewers a month*, an artist video will screen every four minutes at each location.

Featured artists:  Yumi Kinoshita, Kathryn K. McCarthy, Lauren Norby, Tim Brown, Alejandro Casazi, Elizabeth Folk, Masha Lifshin, Nathan Hayden, Laurel Beckman, Hannah Rose Vainstein, Nicholas Loewen, Van Tran, Luke DePass, and Karen Spector.

when: July 17th – August 17th

where: Pumpflix gas station locations:

76 Station – State & La Cumbre
Seaside Shell – Carrillo & Chapala
Turnpike Shell – Highway 101 & Turnpike
Hollister Fuel Depot – Hollister & Rutherford St.
Winchester Unocal 76 – Highway 101 & Winchester Canyon Road
Fairview Unocal 76 – Highway 101 & Fairview
Turnpike Fuel Depot – Calle Real & Turnpike
Coast Village Chevron – Coast Village Rd & Butterfly Lane
Mesa Fuel Depot – Cliff Drive & Meigs Rd.
Walnut Shell – Hollister & Walnut Lane

*Based on a national average of 500 vehicles per day and 1.85 passengers per vehicle; information from the National Association of Convenience Stores.

See the project’s Vimeo album at:

http://vimeo.com/album/1645880

Contact:
Laurel Beckman
Professor of Art, UCSB
beckman@arts.ucsb.edu
323 240-3729

Sean Checketts
Vice President, Pumpflix
seanc@pumpflix.com
805 689-9091

Here is another upcoming show at UCSB, and I’m extremely happy to have the MFA students reaching out to spread the word about the shows there. It is not far away, but it is very easy to feel disconnected from the university, and I’m sure that many students there feel isolated from the art community in greater Santa Barbara. So, if I can help bridge that gap in some small way, I’m happy to do so.  Don’t forget that tonight there is a closing reception up there that features an exhibition boxing match….!

This next show will be a great place to see work by emerging artists who have finished the first year of the MFA degree. Make sure to check it out.

Event Title: “Yummier/Brainsickly”
Exhibition Feature: UC Santa Barbara MFA First Year review exhibition featuring Bessie Kunath, Emily Halbardier, Jae Hee Lee, Jared Flores, Nicholas Loewen, Rimas Simaitis, Ruby Osorio, Tim Brown, and Van Tran
Opening Reception Date/Time: Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 from 7-9 pm
Exhibition Dates: Tuesday, May 3rd thru Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
Exhibition Location: 479 Gallery and Project Space at UC Santa Barbara main campus
Gallery Hours: 12-4 Monday-Friday and weekends by appointment

Rimas Simaitis, "Vacuums" (2011)

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“Yummier/Brainsickly” is an exhibition of 1st year UCSB MFA candidates Bessie Kunath, Emily Halbardier, Jae Hee Lee, Jared Flores, Nicholas Loewen,Rimas Simaitis, Ruby Osorio, Tim Brown, and Van Tran.The work will feature a multifaceted approach to art making, includingpainting, installation, sculpture, animation, performance and experimentalsoundscapes. In addition to the work of individuals, a collaborative food tabledisplay will add meaning and depth to the show’s title.

“Yummier/Brainsickly” runs from Tuesday May 3rd through Wednesday, May11th, 2011. The opening reception will be on Tuesday, May 3rd from 6-9 pm.Regular gallery hours are M-F from 12-4pm and weekends by appointment;contact Tim Brown. Gallery 479 is the Art Department’s student-run exhibition space inBuilding 479 that features current creative endeavors by students and faculty atthe University of California, Santa Barbara. The gallery is available for one-weekexhibitions throughout the Spring, Fall, and Winter quarters.

*For high-res images, artist contacts or more information, contact Tim Brown at512.731.8605 or unotito@gmail.com

It took me a while to figure this one out when it first landed in my inbox. I’d never heard of the Old Gym Gallery 479. And an art show that focused on boxing… well that is just weird enough to get me really intrigued, especially when the closing reception for the show includes an exhibition boxing match. I’ve never been in to boxing, and I can’t say I know much about it. But I do love strange juxtapositions and this definitely qualifies there.

Make sure to check out the links below for all the information on the event and the gallery.

ART IN ATHLETICISM: THE FORM AND PHYSICALITY OF BOXING

OLD GYM GALLERY 479

APRIL 18TH – 22ND 2011

HOURS: GALLERY M-F @ 11-5PM // TRAINING FACILITY T/R @ 5-6PM

EXHIBITION BOUT / CLOSING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND, 5PM

FEATURING: DESIREE D’ALESSANDRO IN COLLABORATION WITH RAYMOND DOUGLAS

Old Gym Gallery 479′s sports and recreation imbued history is embraced in this exhibition that focuses on hybridizing the fields of Art and Athleticism. 10 student boxers from the local community will be on display alongside heavy bags and a full scale boxing ring. During Gallery hours, the space is pregnant with potential amongst the spotlit artifacts. After Gallery hours, the doors remain open and the house lights flicker on. Tuesday and Thursday evenings the space will be utilized as a boxing training facility where the featured student boxers make an appearance in honor of camaraderie and endearment for the Noble Art of Boxing. The show will close Friday at 5PM with an exhibition bout — a finale that can’t be missed!

Be sure to come to our Closing Reception and Exhibition Bout Friday, April 22nd @ 5pm. It’ll be a night to remember.

We look forward to seeing you there!!

Press Release: http://desiree-dalessandro.com/PressReleaseArtinAthleticism.pdf

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207001692658853

Gallery Information: http://www.arts.ucsb.edu/facilities/gallery479

* Funding for this event has been generously provided by the University of California, Santa Barbara Graduate Division and Interdisciplinary Humanities Center. Thanks is also extended to the Art Department, Duke’s Boxing/Fitness of Isla Vista and David Martinez Boxing.

First of all I wanted to get the word out that Art Essentials is having a huge canvas sale. When I was there yesterday pre-stretched canvases were 50% off!! Make sure to get in there before they are all gone.

Secondly, the Art From Scrap monthly news letter appeared in my inbox today, and I wanted to make sure to get the word out about this very interesting discussion that will take place at Design With Reach TONIGHT. There is an email near the bottom of the info below for RSVPing. If you make it to the talk tonight and would like to let us know what you thought, please come back here to post your comments.

DWR SANTA BARBARA

WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO AN ‘IN STUDIO’ EVENT!

DWR and the UCSB Sculpture Department: Reuse at its Finest
Thursday, June 11, 6:30-8:30pm, 607 State Street, Santa Barbara

It’s time To Connect the Design and Art Community through living Green with Reuse Products!

Kim Yasuda, U.C.S.B.’s Art Department Sculpture Professor, will join us in the Santa Barbara Studio to discuss the importance of reuse in the Art World.  Along with Kim, the best of U.C.S.B.’s sculpture students will present their 2008/2009 artwork.  All sculptures have been created using recycled, found and discarded objects located in the Santa Barbara and Goleta areas. DWR is excited to host this Green/Reuse Art Show, an important subject matter for all to see and hear.

Refreshments and appetizers will be served.

Enjoy a Night Out on Us!
RSVP to santabarbara@dwr.com by June 09, 2009

Please call the studio if you have any questions – 805.564.1971

Everybody Wants Everything

Media Arts and Technology University of California Santa Barbara

Please join us for an evening of installations, interactive presentations and performances showcasing work by Masters and Doctoral Students in the Media Arts & Technology Program (MAT) at UCSB.

Located in the California Nanosystems Institute, MAT is a transdisciplinary graduate program that fuses emergent media, computer science, engineering, electronic music and digital art research, practice, production, and theory.

Monday June 8 from 6pm to 9pm. Performances start at 8pm.

Free parking permits available on arrival.

Media Arts & Technology at UCSB
http://www.mat.ucsb.edu

Map to California Nanosystems Institute, Elings Hall
http://www.cnsi.ucsb.edu/visitor/