MICHAEL
ACKER – Artist Statement
The Valley of the
Moon Main Stem: A Panorama in Space and Time Main Stem: a. The main
branch of a river or a leaf. b. Nick-name applied to San Francisco’s
Market Street. c. Any main street.
Sonoma Valley, sometimes
called the Valley of the Moon, is thought to have been named by
General Vallejo, who probably mistranslated it from the Coast Miwok.
Jack London, who lived there in the last years of his life (his
ranch is now a wonderful California state park) used the name for
the title of a novel.
Geothermal water
was discovered (by Europeans. Native people surely used the waters
previously) in the valley in the 1880’s. The area became a thriving
resort spot, mainly for residents of summer-cold San Francisco,
and continues to be to this day, although much has changed.
Long before I moved
there (from San Francisco) I happened to take a drive down Highway
12 from Calistoga Rd. to the town of Sonoma. The setting, the buildings
and the place names, Agua Caliente, Fetters Hot Springs, Boyes Hot
Springs, El Verano, immediately and permanently enthralled me. Later
I became acquainted with the history of the place, which furthered
my fascination. I started to make art with and about my new home.
Finally, I came up with this project.
I have photographed
every building and lot on Highway 12 between Agua Caliente Rd and
Verano Ave. in Sonoma Valley. I am creating a series of photo collage/watercolor
panoramas to span this entire area. In addition to recording what
is there now, I am incorporating photographs of buildings that are
gone so that I can recreate the street as it would be if all had
survived. I am also compiling historical information about the area.
Each panorama is shown with a historical caption. I am doing research
in the county library, the recorder’s office, the newspapers, and
by interviews.
I want to capture
the “ghosts” that inhabit this area and intertwine them with contemporary
images. I love the idea that all these different eras can exist
at once, at least in art. Since change is constant, this project
could continue indefinitely. Very shortly after starting the project,
my photographs started to become the “historic” ones.
The project is part
historical document and part personal interpretation of images of
the area in which I live, that I love, and that fascinates me. It
is a celebration of the “order in complexity” of this particular
built environment.
Please see mca-studios.com
for more information and images.
JON
GARIEPY - Artist Statement
I have spent a large part of my life in, on,
and around the ocean, surfing, sailing, kayaking or just hanging
out at the beach, so it is a natural for me to have an exhibition
in Pacifica. I am celebrating the joy of a fair wind and a sunny
day, the love of being on the water, the love of living in a beach
community. And I’m acknowledging that with all the joy there’s also
the sadness at the end of the day for the mortality of all things.
Currently I’m absorbed
with the preciousness of our moment to moment experience and, given
this, the human propensity for folly. While dealing with concept
and personal truth, my aim is to create something unusual and interesting,
using the most elementary tools and techniques.
I work in a gestural
manner and love rough edges and ragged texture against smooth and
seek a feeling of spontaneity in my work. I like to work loosely
with wide brushes, whether using underglaze for my clay work or
acrylic paint for the paintings. I frequently work with thin washes,
drawing on my background in watercolor. Through form, texture, finish
and subject matter, it is my intention to give voice to a simple
part of our everyday existence.
www.jongariepy.com
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