On July 23rd the first ever D.I.Y. Film Fest will be held in Long Beach. This event will be a drive-in theater film fest celebrating independent filmmakers, community, and spiritual creativity. The films submitted will be produced and directed by mentors, students and professionals. The D.I.Y. Film Fest will also feature live music, a creation station, and food and libations. The OC Art Blog had an opportunity to ask Jocelyn Fee of Jane Free Productions a few questions about the up-coming...
Imagine a bright and colorful world where light pippy jazz is always playing, an assortment of soothing scents casually linger in the air, the weather is never not pleasant, and the diverse and eclectic people all around you are upbeat and friendly… This world is at your fingertips, thanks to the immersive art and design of Priscilla Moreno. A SoCal native, Moreno grew up in Los Angeles, but now calls Long Beach home. She is a full-time artist, and has shown her vibrant and fun artwork...
Climbing the walls and growing on the floor like a mold in various colors or stages of propagation, pill bottle caps encased a gallery space, bringing awareness to the spread of addiction to pharmaceuticals and its similarity to the growth of bacteria. I stumbled on this installation in 2012 as a part of the Huntington Beach Art Center’s “Escape from the Landfill” exhibition and was immediately enamored and enthralled by the power of this Long Beach-based installation artist, Olga Lah. Lah’s...
The Fine Arts Buildings of Cal State Long Beach are located on the southernmost side of the sprawling 3 mile campus. These Mid-Century modern buildings, designed by architect Edward Killingsworth, are beautifully integrated with trees and the most incredible staghorn ferns hang from giant pots suspended from outdoor beams. Rectangular chunks of granite are tipped over in various places to form benches and the doors to the graduate student galleries are open wide revealing work that is...
Last week, I had the privilege of seeing singer and songwriter Tristan Prettyman in concert at Fingerprints Records in Long Beach. Prettyman was celebrating the release of her third studio album "Cedar + Gold" and just about to commence a tour in support of the new music. Dedicated to "anyone who has ever surrendered," the new album "Cedar + Gold" is a work of incandescent beauty. Not since the 90s Lilith Fair days of Sarah MacLachlan, has surrender sounded so achingly sweet. Prettyman...
I began writing this music blog at a time in my own music career- in between albums and right about to turn 30 years old- when I have felt myself changing, growing, and reassessing why I do what I do. My ulterior motive for writing was to get out of my head, my studio, and my everyday life to ask other musicians how they have gotten to where they are and how they have faced whatever struggles they have encountered. I wanted to learn from others further down the road in their careers than me....
This past Saturday April 21st, folk singer M. Ward played an intimate sold-out show to an enrapt audience at Long Beach's Fingerprints Record Store during their Record Store Day celebration. Fingerprints, located at 420 East 4th Street in the Long Beach East Village Arts district, continually showcases awesome talent during their free in-store performances. The in-store performances I have attended over the years have all felt special, as the audience is getting the privilege of seeing a...
Now in its seventh year, GLAMFA and the attached Open Studios, has been a yearly event organized by CSULB graduate students to showcase new work by both CSULB students as well as a chosen few from other local graduate MFA programs including California Institute of the Arts, Claremont Graduate University and UCI. If the 2011 GLAMFA exhibition is supposed to act as an indicator of what our local bright young things are up to, the kids are not alright. This year’s event featured nearly 30 artists...
The work of Preston Daniels and Patrick Strand shines in a sparse space like the Phantom Gallery in Long Beach. White and airy, with windows on every side and an industrial feel, this gallery works well with most contemporary works, but these ones seem to fit especially well. ...
It is another eventful week! This week we have a lot of art openings in colleges and universities; Irvine Valley College (IVC), University of California, Irvine (UCI), California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), and Chapman University. Check out this calendar for more events! Don't forget Art Walk in Santa Ana is this Saturday! Thursday, February 3rd: Irvine Valley College (IVC) Art Gallery Presents: Digital World On view: February 3rd - March 3rd Location: IVC Art...
If you have the chance, I recommend the journey from Orange County to our L.A. County neighbor, Long Beach, for the show Constructions and Excavations featuring the work of Southern California artists Jonathan Anderson and Nathan Huff. Curated by Jeffrey Rau of Sixpack Projects, a new curating collective. Anderson's body of work entitled "Constructions" and "Impasse" establishes a consistent conceptual framework that uses the flat surfaces of...
The OC Art Blog was created in 2004 as a way to build community and promote the marginalized but dynamic Orange County art scene.
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By Maggie Luy Paper decor fluttered overhead as baby doll dresses and flower crowns filled the crowd. Women-owned vendors lined the walkways as festivalgoers moved through the sunlight, surrounded by bursts of color and music. That vibrant atmosphere captured...
By Mason Fujikawa The Tipping Point is a two-story installation at the Laguna Art Museum by Einar and Jamex de la Torre. The de la Torre brothers, glassblowers by trade, are prolific mixed-media artists who have exhibited internationally for over thirty years. Born in...
By Maggie Luy Take another step and lean in. Ordinary objects reveal deeper stories than they first appear to hold. From delicate threads woven into a portrait to bold images capturing moments of social change, the 42nd Irvine Annual transforms familiar...
By Maggie Luy Where does the game end, and the art begin? A basketball court is usually defined by rules and competition. In “GAME! Basketball and Contemporary Art,” that definition expands as the court becomes a surface for design and intervention. The...
By Chris Hoff There’s a particular kind of vertigo that comes with watching a technology arrive faster than the culture can metabolize it. Photographers felt it in the 1840s. Painters felt it again when Photoshop showed up. Now it’s AI’s turn, and the stakes feel...
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