THE CUT-OFF MEN, FILM/DOCUMENTARY NOW ONLINE FOR VIEWING!!!

Artist/Athlete Adam Moser attempts to realize his lifelong dream of playing in the big leagues by trying out for Major League Baseball (MLB). Recognizing he is not alone in this dream, Moser invites individuals from Grand Central Art Center’s Downtown Santa Ana to join him, forming a 9-member tryout team, the Cut-Off Men. A short documentary by Adam Moser and Mickey Fisher.

CUT-OFF MEN FILM SCREENING!

Monday night we premiered CUT-OFF MEN, a new documentary film project by Mickey Fisher and Adam Moser. It was an enjoyable evening in our Grand Central Art Center Black Box Theatre. In the coming week, we will be placing the film online for viewing. Until that time, we thought we would share some still images from the film as a sneak peak!

Images and complete overview of the Cut-Off Men and Adam Moser’s Social Practice Artist in Residence at Grand Central Art Center can be found online:
https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/adam-moser-cut-off-men-and-mlb-tryout-results/

The Cut-Off Men film can now be viewed online at: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-cut-off-men-filmdocumentary-now-online-for-viewing/

CUT-OFF MEN – FILM WORLD PREMIERE @ GCAC

WORLD PREMIERE of the documentary film…

CUT-OFF MEN
a film by Mickey Fisher and Adam Moser

TONIGHT
Monday, June 18 @ 7 p.m.

Grand Central Art Center
Black Box Theatre
125 N. Broadway
Santa Ana, CA 92701

Images and complete overview of the Cut-Off Men and Adam Moser’s Social Practice Artist in Residence at Grand Central Art Center can be found online:
https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/adam-moser-cut-off-men-and-mlb-tryout-results/

The Cut-Off Men film can now be viewed online at: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-cut-off-men-filmdocumentary-now-online-for-viewing/

 

Adam Moser, Cut-Off Men and MLB Tryout Results!

We know you have been waiting to hear results of the Major League Baseball tryouts, part of artist/athlete Adam Moser’s Social Practice residence here at Grand Central Art Center.

It’s been an extremely busy week, so we apologize for the delay.  Here is a breakdown of this week’s activities as they played out for Adam’s team, the Cut-Off Men.  Advance warning, this post is a bit long, but we think it’s worth every moment!

In our last blog post, the jerseys and Adam had arrived at Grand Central Art Center, the Cut-Off Men’s clubhouse and lockers were ready for the team’s arrival, and we were looking for one more teammate to fill out a nine-man roster.

On Sunday, Adam was invited by Cut-Off Men teammates Tori and Abraham to join them for one of their league games taking place at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove.   It was a beautiful Southern California day! Adam got a little time in the outfield and a couple of at bats, while Abraham was covering third and Tori at shortstop.  It was a great warm-up for the tryouts to come.

Monday evening, the team arrived early to meet their fellow teammates for the first time, as well as see their new lockers and jerseys (jerseys created by Victory Custom Athletic – thanks again to Claudette Duggan and the Victory team for helping us get these on such a short notice) before the Dutch Treat Dinner/Ball Signing event.  They brought with them their gear to store in their lockers, in preparation for Tuesday mornings early departure to the tryouts.

The team signed some baseballs for one another to get a little practice in before the public ball signing that evening.  They walked together, as a team, down Broadway to Izalco Salvadorian Cuisine on 5th Street, in Downtown Santa Ana.  Thank you to Fernando Valladares of Izalco for opening his restaurant to our team for this event!  Upon arrival, they were met at the restaurant by fans, friends and family.

At the restaurant, the team signed baseballs, met with their new fans, talked baseball and ate pupusas.  They bonded as a team, shared their thoughts about the next day’s tryouts and told stories of their history with the game.  As the night concluded, we headed back to the clubhouse with some of the teams news fans to share the space and further conversation. Before departing for good night sleeps, they tried on their jerseys on for the first time and we had the opportunity to take a more official first team picture.

Tuesday began early, as the team was scheduled to arrive at 6:45 a.m. to suit-up and catch the team van to the tryouts in Compton.  The team was very focused, prepping their gear, getting into their uniforms.  Our team documentarian/filmmaker and Grand Central Art Center current resident, Mickey Fisher, took the opportunity to interview team members to get their thoughts pre-tryouts.  When the team was ready, we met our van driver Rick and loaded the team van for departure.  We would like to THANK Stacy Wilkerson at Gold Coast Tours for all her assistance in helping us schedule a van on such short notice (as we mentioned previously, we just met Adam for the very first time at the Open Engagement Conference in Portland, OR.  On May 19, 2012, he first told us his idea for the project and we agreed to help him realize it).  Stacy, and our driver Rick, were a true pleasure to work with through this project.   And as it turns out, Rick’s brother is a major league scout for the San Francisco Giants, so we got to talk some baseball during the drive north to Compton.

We arrived at the MLB Urban Youth Academy, where Rick drove us right up to the main entrance with VIP service.  As most other individuals were there solo, you could tell immediately, coming as a team was drawing some attention.  The Cut-Off Men, with their team jerseys and van, created quite the buzz!  We could hear other attendees speculating out loud – “who is this team with such a dominant presence?”  The team listened up as instructions for the beginning of the day were delivered and waiver forms were handed out to over 500 individuals there to tryout.  So, like all the others, the Cut-Off Men filled out their forms and waited for further instructions.  Before things got too crazy, our documentarian/filmmaker Mickey took the opportunity to do a few more interviews with the wonderful backdrop of the ballpark.

Pitchers and catchers were instructed to go to one field, infielders and outfielders instructed to go to another.  For the pitchers, they were divided up by those who had previously played in the majors, those currently playing college ball or had played in the last year; and those who were playing in amateur leagues or hadn’t played recently.   On the opposing field, each position player formed into separate lines to receive their numbers.  Once the numbers were assigned, each position was called over by grouping to run their 60 yard dashes against the clock and one opponent.  The pitchers weren’t required to do the run, but more on their requirements later.

As the running continued, the position players on the team had a chance to warm-up their arms and stretch a bit, before all were told to head to the opposing field.  While the fielders had been running the 60 against the clock, the pitchers were showing their stuff on the mound.  The scouts didn’t tell the attendees directly, but it was clearly over heard from the viewing area –  righties that couldn’t throw at least 95mph weren’t being looked at, and lefties that could hit 88mph and had some movement would be considered.

Meanwhile, the position players were once again divided into outfielders and infielders, with infielders being separated further – second base, shortstop and third basemen in one area; and first basemen in another.  The outfielders were up first. Each was required to field fly balls, line drives and grounders, then give their best attempt to test their arms by throwing those fielded balls to a catcher behind home plate. If the scouts like what they saw on the first three attempts, the players would get a bonus ball.  Our only teammate trying out for outfield was Adam, so all eyes were on him.   As the Grand Central Art Center team looked on, Adam proceeded to make two great catches and charged to field one fast grounder.  He then threw each ball, with a gun of an arm, on a fly, straight into the catchers glove.  In an actual game, each of Adam’s throws would have been the perfect opportunity for the out at home.  So perfect was Adam’s fielding and throws, that he received a bonus ball, which he fielded to the same perfection!  With that complete, Adam was able to relax a bit and take in some of the action.

Next, the opportunity for the infielders to show their stuff.  The Cut-Off Men had the left infield covered, with the majority of the teammates playing shortstop and third base, and one trying out for second base.  Our guys looked great out there, fielding their grounders cleanly, charging those balls rolling fast on the infield grass and gunning their throws to first base.  There was a lot of confidence and pride on the field, and the Cut-Off Men proved they knew their way around a diamond.

After all second, shortstop and third base players had their opportunity to show their stuff, it was time for the first basemen skills to be tested.  As the Cut-Off Men were fielding no first basemen, this meant a little downtime, more bonding, sharing of experiences and lunch for the team.

The break didn’t last that long before all players were summoned to the infield for the announcement of who made the cut.  Of the 500 plus players in attendance, it was made clear at the beginning of the day, “dreams would be crushed.”  They were going to announce 40 numbers, which would be of the players who would move forward to play a simulated game on the field. They also made it clear that, of these 40 players, maybe one or two might be approached by a MLB scout at the event with a possible contract offer.  By the end of the announcement, it was clear that it was not the day for the Cut-Off Men; no one for the team would be making it to the big show.

These are the Cut-Off Men!  They are a team and they stand together with pride!  They were there supporting one another, bonding and talking about finding another nine guys who might be interested in a pick-up game.  They were making plans to play a game together this coming weekend.  They gave it their all and left everything they had on that field.  They were proud and able to hold their heads up high, knowing they had just experienced something together that no one could ever take away.

The team spent a few more hours taking in the remainder of the tryouts, watching young recruits give it their all in the hopes of making the next cut.  They shared stories from their  experiences – “the scout told me I was throwing in the mid-80s, which I could hardly believe I still had in me.  Then he told me I had two things going against me, my age and my velocity.”  Team members talked about the guys that they met throughout the day, those on the field with similar hopes and dreams.  It also provided the opportunity for documentarian/filmmaker Mickey to take some iconic shots to add to his footage.

As the tryouts were wrapping-up, we had an amazing chance encounter.  Yes, it was Major League Baseball scouting legend Phil Pote.  You know, the guy with a cameo in Moneyball that asks “Who’s Fabio?”  He is much more famous than that, as he’s been involved with Major League Baseball for over 50 years!  We struck up a conversation by asking whom he thought from today might make it to the big show, and through his answer he pointed at Adam and Erik and said, “you and you.”  OK, first he said that he doesn’t have a crystal ball and has no idea who might make it, since there are so many factors.  Then he said he could just look at guys and say “you and you”, but there is no guarantee.  He asked about our team name and Adam shared the project, talking about Social Practice and the community team he had built.   Phil was enthusiastic about the project and talked a bit of art with us, then told us how he had been playing in Major League Baseball all these years waiting for his acting career to take off.  He shared his amazing screenplay ideas and asked Adam to send him documentation and writing on the project when it was complete.  He handed us all his business card which has a giant “S” logo and reads: Seattle Mariners, Phil Pote, Advisor – Scout.  He introduced us to Ike Hampton, the Manager of the MLB Urban Youth Academy, who also played in the majors as a catcher for the New York Mets (1974), and later California Angels (1975-79).  If you get the opportunity, we highly recommend a trip out to Compton for a visit to the MLB Urban Youth Academy.   It is an outstanding facility and incredible service to the community!  Adam presented both Phil and Ike with a Cut-Off Men signed ball, before Ike had to get back to business.  Phil spent more time with us, as we proceeded to talk baseball with him for another 30-minutes.  His love and knowledge of the game was contagious, and his desire to keep the respect in the game was truly admirable.  Pete should be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown!  As we wrapped things up, Phil said good bye by giving each of us a high-low-head-on fist bump, then jumped in his car and drove off.  Rick had arrived with the team van, so  it was time to load everything up and head back to Grand Central Art Center.

Upon arrival back at the team clubhouse, a little surprise was in store.  The team planned it perfectly, with Adam asking GCAC Director/Chief Curator John Spiak if he could see the photo we took with Phil Pote’s again.  As soon as Adam had the phone safe in hand, Abraham proceeded to provide Spiak with the traditional post game/victory drenching.  As there was no Gatorade or water cooler, water in a small trashcan would have to do.

It was time for the post tryout team dinner with family and friends.  We headed over to Memphis at the Santora for a celebration and hearty meal with a southern twist.    The dinner also provided an opportunity to celebrate Cut-Off Men Steven’s 25th birthday.  We sang out loud and shared in the glorious day.

Following dinner, we headed back to the clubhouse for the scheduled 7 p.m. press conference.  There, we met with the team from CTV3, who interviewed Adam.  They then handed the microphone to him so he could conduct interviews with his team.  Adam asked about the days experiences – What had been gained?  What had been learned?  How they were feeling?  The CTV3 team will share the coverage link of the story when it’s online, and we will share it with you!

As the team began to change out of uniforms and wind down their day, visitors entered the clubhouse and inquired about the project, including local Santa Ana CSI police officer and photographer, Leonard Correa.  It was at that moment we were able to shift the sports conversation, one which we had so carefully protected over the past three weeks, to a conversation about art.  We had been sharing the art conversation among the artist, his teammates and the GCAC staff over that same period, but publicly we only talked baseball.  Adam explained the workings of Social Practice, the relationships between the teammates and artist, the relationships between the world of baseball and the world of art.  They understood perfectly and shared their insights.  We had a fantastic exchange that included everyone, then we presented each visitor with an autographed team ball.  It was a perfect way to end such an outstanding experience!

So we know you are now asking, just how does this project relate to the workings of Social Practice?  What are the relationships between the teammates and artist? Are there really relationships between the world of baseball and the world of art?  Ponder that for a few days!  We’ve gone on too long with this post already, so we’ll share it in another entry to be posted soon.

The Cut-Off Men film can now be viewed online at: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-cut-off-men-filmdocumentary-now-online-for-viewing/

Videos

click on image or text to start video

CARMEN PAPALIA: MOBILITY DEVICE

Mobility Device was a performance in which artist Carmen Papalia, who is blind, was accompanied by a marching band that replaced his white cane as his primary means of gathering information about his surroundings. As part of this site-specific performance for the Grand Central Art Center, Papalia explored Downtown Santa Ana while The Great Centurion Marching Band from Century High School in Santa Ana, under the direction of Scott Devoe, provided musical cues indicating objects, obstacles and other information that might be relevant to the artist on his journey. As a piece of music, Mobility Device was an extension of the musicality of the white cane—bringing attention to the things that the white cane, on any occasion, might touch into sound. With Mobility Device, fixtures such as curbs, lampposts and sandwich boards became notes in the soundscape of a place. Alternately, Mobility Device proposed the possibility of user-generated, creative process-based systems of access. It represents a non-institutional (and non-institutionalizing) temporary solution for the problem that is the white cane.  The community was invited to join the performance.

ADAM MOSER: THE CUT-OFF MEN

Adam Moser’s GCAC project involved the opportunity to realize his lifelong dream of playing in the big leagues by trying out for Major League Baseball. Recognizing he was not alone in this dream, Moser place an “open call” to the community for individuals to form a nine-member tryout team.  Team members had to be in good physical shape, available to attend multiple events and available the complete day of tryouts.   Team members were also required to be at least twenty-five years or older.   The call was a success, finding nine diverse community teams members who became the Cut-Off Men.

Often the world of baseball and visual art, and those within these fields, are considered complete opposites.   The Cut-Off Men explored the similarities of baseball and visual art, through programs and symbolic actions: individuals coming together for collective success – a baseball team/group exhibition/artists collective; idea of collectable – bobble head giveaway/signed team Cut-Off Men baseballs in edition of 50/limited edition print/multiple; importance of venue – baseball stadium/art museum; importance of signature as measure of value and authenticity – autographed baseball/signed artwork.

Thank you to Mickey Fisher for the creation of these short documentary films!

Mat Gleason, Brent Green, Dan Cameron, Kip Pastor, Ruben Dario @ GCAC

We would like to thank everyone who has participated in programming over the past week here at Grand Central Art Center. It has provided another active schedule of diverse programming and wide range of visitors.

Last Thursday, Mat Gleason from Coagula (both the magazine and gallery) stopped by to see the exhibitions and chat a bit. We had the opportunity to talk about Tony de los Reyes, Constantin Hartenstein and Erin Morrison‘s work and the upcoming programming, before the conversation shifted to Angels baseball. Mat is one of the Angels number one fans, he actually pens for http://www.halosheaven.com/, but we won’t reveal his moniker, you’ll have to guess. The talk of baseball led to a great conversation about Adam Moser‘s residency/project this summer at GCAC, The Cut-Off Men. We honored Mat by presenting him with one of the team autographed, limited edition, baseballs from the project. Now if Mat would just stand still for one moment, we could get an in-focus picture…

Mat Gleason with Cut-Off Men autographed baseball

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Friday afternoon, artist in residence Brent Green and his collaborators, Mike McGinley, Jacquelyn Gordon, Tim Rutili, Tim Hurley and Jim Skuldt, met up at the Orange County School of the Arts, Margaret A. Webb Theatre. They spent much of the afternoon doing set-up and sound checks with the amazing OCSA team and volunteer students for that evenings screening with live soundtrack performance of Green’s feature film Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then. The venue is top notch and the sound quality was fantastic! After the sound check and a few warm-up runs, we headed down for a wonderful, pre-screening/performance, Mexican food dinner in downtown Santa Ana.

Sound check with Brent Green, Tim Rutili, Tim Hurley, Mike McGinley, Jacquelyn Gordon and Jim Skuldt

Sound check with Brent Green, Tim Rutili, Tim Hurley, Mike McGinley, Jacquelyn Gordon and Jim Skuldt

Sound check with Brent Green, Tim Rutili, Tim Hurley, Mike McGinley, Jacquelyn Gordon and Jim Skuldt

Sound check with Brent Green, Tim Rutili, Tim Hurley, Mike McGinley, Jacquelyn Gordon and Jim Skuldt

Sound check with Brent Green, Tim Rutili, Tim Hurley, Mike McGinley, Jacquelyn Gordon and Jim Skuldt

Sound check with Brent Green, Tim Rutili, Tim Hurley, Mike McGinley, Jacquelyn Gordon and Jim Skuldt

Following the early dinner, it was time to head back to the theatre for the performance. There was a great audience who experienced a performance that was truly emotional, reflective and inspiring. It was a very moving evening of live music soundtrack and powerful film. Thank you Brent and your collaborators for creating such powerful art! Our sincere gratitude to the team at the Orange County School for the Arts, especially Aaron Orullian, Patrick Williams, Eric Hamme, Kevin Cook, Cathy Michaels. We are looking forward to future collaborations with your team, faculty and students!

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, screening with live performance @ OCSA Webb Theatre. Photo by Matthew Miller

Post performance conversation. Curator Cassandra Coblentz with artists Todd Gray, Kyungmi Shin and Joe Biel

The working week started of Monday with a visit from Orange County Museum of Art Chief Curator Dan Cameron. We invited Dan down to speak with students enrolled in the Exhibition and Design program at Cal State University Fullerton. Dan shared stories of how he began his career in the curating practice, his early travels to Spain that so inspired him, and his early writing on the topic of art. He talked about past projects, including his time at the New Museum, curating the 2003 Istanbul Biennale and the development of Prospect 1 in New Orleans. The students asked great questions and the conversation was lively. Thank you Dan for the time, energy and inspiration you provided to our students.

Orange County Museum of Art Chief Curator Dan Cameron

Monday evening, we partnered with OC Food Access Coalition, Positively Delicious OC and Memphis at the Santora to present a screening of the film In Organic We Trust. We had the great fortune to work with two wonderful individuals through this collaboration, OC Food Access Coalition Executive Director Gillian Poe and Program Coordinator Mire Molnar-Barton. We had an engaged crowd on hand that had the opportunity to talk with numerous organizations that set-up booths in our lobby, take in the tasty treats provided by Memphis, and enjoy the screening of the film. Following the film, the audience was provided the opportunity of a Q&A with the films Director/Producer Kip Pastor. It was an educational exchange that lasted close to an hour, with quality information provided by both the filmmaker and audience.

OC Food Access Coalition Event

OC Food Access Coalition Event

OC Food Access Coalition Event

Screening of In Organic We Trust

In Organic We Trust Director/Producer Kip Pastor during Q&A

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This afternoon, we were visited by Jose Quant and Shell Martin of the Q Art Salon, one of our great gallery neighbors here in Downtown Santa Ana. Jose and Shell brought Ruben Dario of Teatro Nacional Ruben Dario, Managua, Nicaragua, for a site visit to GCAC and conversation about cultural exchange possibilities. Lots of ideas and energy, so we will keep you posted as things develop.

Jose Quant of Q Art Salon, Ruben Dario of Teatro Nacional Ruben Dario, Managua, Nicaragua, and GCAC Director/Chief Curator John Spiak

Once again, we thank everyone who participated in our programming over the past week and look forward to providing more opportunities for community focused engagement in the coming days and months.

Lots of great GCAC programs, educational outreach, exhibitions and performance on the horizon!

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU JOIN US!

Lisa Bielawa – Artist in Residence – Site Visit #1 @ Grand Central Art Center

It’s been an exciting week, with Grand Central Art Center having been extremely fortunate to host artist/composer/vocalist Lisa Bielawa as a visiting Artist in Residence.  This was Lisa’s first site visit to Downtown Santa Ana, as she begins the process of developing a larger project and an extended residency.

We worked to introduce Lisa to individuals in our community and sites around Orange County of possible interest.  The visit allowed her to experience our community, this region and to begin developing ideas for projects that could be realized through her artistic vision.

Tom Burke, Flying Bull, Inc. and a Special Events Consultant, provided a tour of the airstrips of the former Marine Corp Air Station El Toro in Irvine, now part of the development in process of the expanding Orange County Great Park.  Lisa was interested in visiting the site as she is currently developing projects on former runways as part of her upcoming Tempelhof Broadcast.  the Tempelhof Broadcast will be performed on the Tempelhof Airport runway in Berlin, and in development for performance on Crissy Field, San Francisco.  Tom shared brief histories of the site and recent activities, as we walked the runways and Lisa tested the sites sound qualities at distances.  It was a clear morning and the songbirds in the adjoining fields were clearly happy.

Lisa met with Allen Moon, of the David Lieberman Artists’ Representative, as they discussed the current international creative scene and the many individual acquaintances and friends they had in common.  Allen shared his perspectives of Downtown Santa Ana, along with his vast knowledge of the greater Orange County community and the individuals here for whom Lisa would benefit by meeting.

Dr. Pamela Madsen, composer, performer and scholar, California State University, Fullerton’s Music Department, met with Lisa at the recommendation of Allen.  She shared information on her role as director of CSUF’s New Music Festival, including her vision for the 2013 festival.  They talked about the current voice, music and composer communities of Southern California, including individuals involved with our colleague SoCal universities of CSU Long Beach, Chapman University, University of California Irvine, Los Angeles and San Diego, and the possibilities for collaboration.

Dennis Lluy, owner of Downtown Santa Ana’s Yost Theater, connected with us for even more inspirational conversation.  For a bit of background, the Yost Theater it the oldest theater in Orange County, originally built in 1912 during the Vaudeville movement.  Dennis has spent the past five years renovating the theater to an original feel and passionate authenticity.  Dennis is an amazing thinker and long-term generous supporter of Grand Central Art Center, as well as the OC Arts community in general.  After grabbing a bite to eat at Chapter One restaurant, we walked over to the Yost to spend some more time in the venue.  Lisa visited the site on the first day of her residency, but this return visit provided her the opportunity to wander through the space and test the theaters natural acoustics.  The space is amazingly live, with a hammered tin ceiling that helps to project a voice throughout, engulfing the site with beauty!

Along with the individuals from our direct community, we were also able to engage Lisa with artists currently connected with Grand Central Art Center.  We attended the UCLA Hammer Museum Yearbook Signing Party hosted by the Hammer for artists Adam Moser and Harrell Fletcher.  You probably recognize Adam’s name, since he just completed his Artist in Residence project here at GCAC, The Cut-Off Men.  At the event, Lisa was able to engage a bit with the Hammer‘s Curator of Public Engagement Allison Agsten and Senior Curator Anne Ellegood. She was able to have extended conversation regarding Social Practice, recent projects and the contemporary art scene of Southern California with Adam, Andrew Douglas of the Metabolic Studio, and Contemporary Art Curator Cassandra Coblentz (full disclosure, Cassandra is married to John Spiak, GCAC Director/Chief Curator).

We were fortunate to also have back at GCAC artist in residence Jules Rochielle.  She is here for another site visit, as she continues to connect with our community and further develop her project – meeting with individuals from El Centro and the Santa Ana Public Library.  Jules visit provided the opportunity to gather a few other Southern California artists for conversation and a quick breakfast gathering.  Joining us were recent OTIS MFA in Public Practice graduate Christina Sanchez and Los Angeles based artist Nancy Popp, who was recently named InterArts Chair at the Idyllwild Arts Academy.

More site visits were worked into the schedule, and through the recommendation of Jules, Lisa toured the Santa Ana River, which stretches 29 miles from Huntington Beach to Corona, and is located a couple of blocks from GCAC.  Walking the bike path, she explored the space and considered its concrete valley and closed railroad bridges as possible project sites.

Wednesday afternoon, Lisa hopped on the train at our local Santa Ana Train Station (again, a few short block from GCAC) and made the quick one-hour trip down to San Diego.  Once there, she first met with Steven Schick, Conductor of the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus.  She shared with him her experiences as artist in residence at Grand Central Art Center and her current thoughts related to project ideas.  They were able to brainstorm together and consider collaborative possibilities.  In the evening, she connected with Jim Rosenfield, President of the Mata Festival Board.  Lisa is actually one of the co-founder of the Mata Festival, with Philip Glass and Eleonor Sandresky.  Lisa had the opportunity to share more information regarding Grand Central Art Center’s vision with Mr. Rosenfield and talk about concepts for her project to be realized through our institution.

Thursday, before departing for the airport, Lisa met with Cathi Douglas, Editor of CSUF’s Titan Magazine.  The Titan Magazine team is working on an article about GCAC.  Lisa sat down with their team for a photo shoot, before meeting with Cathi for an interview at the Gypsy Den Grand Central Cafe.  Make sure to keep any eye out for an article on GCAC in an upcoming issue of Titan Magazine!

And with a packed schedule, somehow Lisa still found some quiet time throughout the week to sit within our GCAC Black Box Theatre, at the piano, working to compose new work for additional upcoming projects in her life.

Yes, another extremely successful visit by an outstanding artist who we are excited to have back in the very near future.  We’ll keep you posted as the project continues to develop and we will let you know dates for Lisa’s return when they are official.

Adam’s In The Clubhouse!

Adam Moser has arrived at Grand Central Art Center and has begun to occupy his locker in the clubhouse.  Placing his cleats, cap and donated Sam Bats in their proper place, he’s getting ready to see action at tryouts on Tuesday!

Here a link for more details on Monday nights Ball Signing/Dinner, which is open to the public, as well as details on Adam’s overall project: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/uniforms-ready-clubhouse-ready-teammates-ready-balls-are-here-and-adam-arrives-tomorrow/

The Cut-Off Men film can now be viewed online at: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-cut-off-men-filmdocumentary-now-online-for-viewing/

Uniforms Ready, Clubhouse Ready, Teammates Ready, Balls Are Here and Adam Arrives Tomorrow!

After a long drive to the Victory Custom Athletic factory and headquarters in Chatsworth, CA, we are proud to announce that the uniforms are now here at Grand Central Art Center – in the clubhouse and ready for the teams arrival.  A big THANK YOU to the team at Victory Custom Athletic, especially Claudette Duggan, for helping us get the uniforms in less than two weeks.  Their factory is amazing, here it is in action.

Meanwhile, back at Grand Central Art Center, our amazing preparator Matthew Miller was putting the finishing touches on the team clubhouse, now located in our GCAC Artist in Residence studio.

And here is what it now looks like in our new team clubhouse for the Cut-Off Men, all ready for the teams arrival!

You’ll have your first chance to meet the team in person this coming Monday night by attending the Dutch Treat Dinner/Ball Signing event at Izalco Restaurant, here in Downtown Santa Ana – balls to the first 50 individuals to arrive.  For details visit: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/invitation-to-dutch-treat-dinner-ball-signing-june-11-%C2%AD-please-join-us/

We found out that the Major League Baseball tryouts on Tuesday are free and open to spectators, so drive yourself over and join us at the ball park.  Complete details and the address can be found online: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/about_mlb/tryout_us.jsp

Without further ado, we would like to introduce you to Adam’s team!  We are still missing a couple of teammate pictures and are working hard to recruit one last team member, so help spread the word.  Even though each member trys out individually, Adam would still love to have a “team” of nine.

Adam

Abraham

Erik

Justin

Mike

Phil

Steven

Tori

Projects like this, especially on such a short time frame (we just met Adam and heard about his idea for the first time a little over two weeks ago when we agreed to realize it), would not be possible without our own amazing Grand Central Art Center team.  Thanks to their energy over the past two weeks and for all the hard work each has put towards this upcoming artist in residence with Adam.  It was an extremely short timeframe to realize such a project, but their excitement and know how in regards to the elements for such a project helped to make it a reality.  The team includes:  Tracey Gayer, Matthew Miller, Jenny Mikhailik, Angelica Perez, Tony Pedraza, Maxwell Rivas and our newest addition, CSUF student intern Ariel Gentalen.

If you still need more information on Adam’s project, or would like to join the team (deadline extended to June 9), visit:  https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/dream-of-playing-in-the-major-leagues-mlb-join-gcac-artist-in-residence-adam-moser-and-tryout/

The Cut-Off Men film can now be viewed online at: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-cut-off-men-filmdocumentary-now-online-for-viewing/

Baseballs Have Arrived – Ready for Signing & Dutch Treat Dinner @ GCAC

There was an easy joke here, but we didn’t go there…

Yes, the baseballs have arrived for our official team Baseball Signing / Dutch Treat Dinner event this coming Monday, June 11 beginning at 7pm.  The dinner is in conjunction with Adam Moser‘s Social Practice Residency here at Grand Central Art Center. Details at: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/invitation-to-dutch-treat-dinner-ball-signing-june-11-%C2%AD-please-join-us/

The public is invited to join us and the first 50 individuals to arrival will receive a free autographed ball signed by the entire team.  But remember, if you’re not on the team, you must pay for your own dinner.

For more details on the project or to become a member of the team that will officially tryout for Major League Baseball, visit: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/dream-of-playing-in-the-major-leagues-mlb-join-gcac-artist-in-residence-adam-moser-and-tryout/

The Cut-Off Men film can now be viewed online at: https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-cut-off-men-filmdocumentary-now-online-for-viewing/