New GCAC Website and Blog!

Grand Central Art Center is excited to announce its newly designed website with blog, now online!

We invite you to visit:
http://www.grandcentralartcenter.com/

Artists in Residence, Tacos and a Wedding – Another Typical Weekend @ GCAC

At Grand Central Art Center you never know what to expect, especially when you are an artist in residence. The only thing that is certain is fun activities and connecting with great people.

This past week we had Lisa Bielawa back in residence as we prepare for her major opera project Vireo, a project with her long-time collaborator librettist Erik Ehn. It was a week full of meetings with community leadership, potential collaborators, individuals from Cal State Fullerton and key members of our direct community.

We also continue to have in residence curator Regine Basha, here for the month of July working on projects and talking possibilities of future collaborations with GCAC through her Basha Projects initiative.

But it’s not all work around GCAC, we always find time to walk down to our favorite local tacoria and grab some lunch. Tacos provide a great way for our artists in residence and staff to connect further – just ask Lisa, Regine and GCAC Associate Director Tracey Gayer.

And what GCAC weekend would be complete without an event on our 2nd Street plaza? This weekend, Delilah Snell (our former GCAC tenant through her Road Less Traveled store, Co-Founder of Patchwork Modern Handmade Festival and Co-Founder of the Craftcation Conference for Creative Makers) and Gustavo Arellano (Editor of OC Weekly, Author of Taco USA, writer of the syndicated column “¡Ask a Mexican!”) celebrated their marriage with a reception on the plaza. Delilah and Gustavo sure know how to throw a party! It was, as they have called it “a street fiesta”, with a great mix of live bands, DJ’s including the world famous Richard Blade (formerly of KROQ and now on SiriusXM 1st Wave), great food and drink, and a wonderful gathering of the Santa Ana community. It also provided the opportunity for some dancing to classic 80s pop, allowing Lisa Bielawa to get in on the festivities and share some moves with GCAC’s Santa Ana Sites Co-Found Allen Moon – a fun time was had by all!

GCAC SENDS OUR CONGRATULATIONS TO DELILAH AND GUSTAVO – SUCH A LOVELY COUPLE! TO A LIFE TIME OF HAPPINESS!!!

Video, Images and LA Times Review of Santa Ana Sites #5: Steve Roden

On the evening of Saturday, June 14th, GCAC presented the fifth performance in our Santa Ana Sites series, with a sound performance by artist Steve Roden.

The evening began with a reception at Downtown Santa Ana’s Q Art Salon, hosted by Jose Quant and Shell Martin. Guests gathered and connected with one another at this pre-event mixer.

At 8:15pm, GCAC Director/Chief Curator and Sites Co-Founder John D. Spiak led guests, downstairs, down the street the a historic law building and a parking lot in front of roll-up gate leading to an underground parking area. When all had arrived, the gate was opened and guests made their way underground, where they then entered another space – that of a subterranean racket ball court located beneath the law building owned by Dennis Dascanio, who generously allowed GCAC use of the space for the evening.

There, guests were greeted by Sites Co-Founder and Artistic Director Allen Moon and were introduced to Steve Roden for some brief pre-performance remarks.

GCAC invited Steve to perform in the Sites series, as we admired and respect him for the constant risks he takes – through his painting, installation work, films and sound performances. He is always challenging himself and the audience, allowing access to those slight moments in life that we often forget, or don’t allow ourselves to experience or enjoy – the slight mark, the capturing of an actual shadow, an adjustment or shift of a tone. It is what Steve does best and what makes him such a remarkable individual.

Over the course of his 5o-minutes performance, Steve didn’t disappoint, as he took the audience on a complicated sound journey – one that began with sound bleed from a cumbia band performing for a wedding at a nearby banquet hall, first collaborating with those sounds, then making that background beat truly disappear as his own synthesized composition took center stage. Through his skillful use and knowledge of sound, Roden was able to successfully transport the audiences to a place outside the confines of the Downtown Santa Ana location, to a space of “elsewhere” that was unique to each of the 108 individuals experiencing this live performance.

GCAC was fortunate to have in attendance Carolina Miranda of the Los Angeles Times, who wrote a wonderful review of the evening. capturing her own images and sound of the performance that she shares through text and slideshow, available through the following link:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-steve-roden-sound-art-santa-ana-20140617-column.html

We were also able to record video documenting some of the sound check with the artist during the afternoon set-up, so we thought you might enjoy it as well.

We would like to also acknowledge and thank Dennis Lluy, along with his team at The Yost Theater for their continued support of Santa Ana Sites. Through their in-kind generosity, they have loaned equipment that makes each Sites performance possible.

Lastly, we thank all those who attended and who continue to support Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana Sites and our community outreach activities!

More information on the Santa Ana Sites series, including documentation of past performances, can be found online at:
https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/santa-ana-sites/

SANTA ANA SITES #5: STEVE RODEN – A Sound Performance – June 14

SANTA ANA SITES #5: STEVE RODEN
a sound performance

JUNE 14, 2014
7:30 – 8:15PM
PRE-PERFORMANCE RECEPTION / MIXER
*please arrive no later than 8pm

RECEPTION LOCATION:
Q Art Salon
205 N. Sycamore St.
Santa Ana, CA 92701

audience will be escorted to performance location

SEATING LIMITED, TICKETS REQUIRED, BUT ARE FREE TO PUBLIC
ticket information below

Santa Ana Sites #5 presents an evening of sound performance by artist Steve Roden. Performing through the use of two analog modular synthesizers, Roden will continue the Sites approach of presenting work in unique Santa Ana spaces, activating a subterranean racket ball court located in the heart of Downtown Santa Ana.

Tickets are free but reservations are required – RSVP info towards the bottom of this page

Steve Roden is a visual and sound artist born in Los Angeles and living in Pasadena, CA. Roden’s practice includes painting, drawing, sculpture, writing, film/video and sound performance.

Since the late 1980’s, Roden has had numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally. recent solo exhibitions include: CRG Gallery, New York and Susanne Vielmetter LA Projects, Los Angeles. Group exhibitions include Silence at the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas and the First International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Cartagena, De Indias, Colombia.

Roden has performed his soundworks at various arts spaces and experimental music festivals worldwide including: Serpentine Gallery, London; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; DCA, Dundee, Scotland; Redcat, Los Angeles; Crawford Gallery, Cork, Ireland; as well as performance tours of Brazil and Japan. Recent performances include John Cage’s Cartridge Music with composer Mark Trayle at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena; a tribute to Rolf Julius at the Hamburger Banhof, Berlin; and performances at the Museum of Art, Strasbourg, France and The Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas. Since 1993, Roden has released numerous cds under his own name as well as under the moniker “in between noise” on various record labels internationally.

Recently the artist has created numerous site-specific sound works for spaces such as MOCA at the Pacific Design Center in response to a group of paintings by Mark Rothko; the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington’s James Turrell Skyspace; the MAK Center for Art and Architecture/Schindler House in Los Angeles; a live collaboration with Stephen Vitiello in a room of 50 pieces of sculpture by Donald Judd at Chinati, Merfa, Texas; Daniel Libeskind’s Run Run Shaw new creative media centre building at City University of Hong Kong; a sound/sculpture/drawing installation for Thomas U. Walter’s 1848 building at Girard College, Philadelphia for the Hidden City Festival; and a permanent public artwork at Hayvenhurst Park, in West Hollywood, California.

This event is anticipated to be at maximum capacity with reservations required.

Reserve FREE tickets through email with name and requested number of tickets with a maximum of two tickets per guest to:
jspiak (at) fullerton (dot) edu

A reception at Q Art Salon will begin at 7:30pm, with guests being asked to arrive no later than 8:00pm on Saturday, June 14th.

 

ABOUT SANTA ANA SITES
Santa Ana Sites, an initiative of California State University, Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center, presenting, in community partnership, contemporary performance in public and private spaces throughout Downtown Santa Ana.

The traveling forum is designed to provide the community shared artistic experiences, encouraging the discovery of diverse environments and architectural space.

Santa Ana Sites was founded by Allen Moon, Artistic Director/Community Partner and John D. Spiak, Grand Central Art Center Director/Chief Curator.

More information on the previous Santa Ana Sites can be found at:
https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/santa-ana-sites

 

SUPPORT
Santa Ana Sites #5 is made possible through the generous in-kind support of Dennis Dascanio, Jose Quant and Shell Martin, and Q Art Salon.

Video Documentation – Santa Ana Sites #4: wild Up at the Santora

SANTA ANA SITES #4:
WILD UP IN THE SANTORA
WITH LISA BIELAWA AND THE COLBURN CONSERVATORY

SANTA ANA SITES, AN INITIATIVE OF CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON’S GRAND CENTRAL ART CENTER. PRESENTING, IN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP, CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACES THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN SANTA ANA.

THE TRAVELING FORUM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY SHARED ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES, ENCOURAGING THE DISCOVERY OF DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS AND ARCHITECTURAL SPACE.

VIDEO DOCUMENTATION CREATED BY STEVE METCALF: http://stevemetcalf.com/

CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PAST PROGRAMS OF SANTA ANA SITES

wild Up, Lisa Bielawa and Colburn Conservatory – Recap of Santa Ana Sites #4

Grand Central Art Center is beginning to use the tagline “Art unRestricted” to describe our programming.  A perfect example of GCAC’s philosophy took place this past Saturday evening, as we presented the fourth in our ongoing Santa Ana Sites series, co-founded with our community collaborator and artistic director Allen Moon.

Santa Ana Sites #4: wild Up in The Santora was our collaboration with Chris Rountree, founder and creative director of Los Angeles based new music ensemble wild Up; Lisa Bielawa, New York based composer, vocalist and GCAC Artist in Residence; and musicians of the Colburn Conservatory of Music.

The evening began with a reception at GCAC, where we gathered the 225+ in attendance and provided each with a program and wristband of a certain color, which marked groups of 60.   At 7:30, the guests were officially welcomed by GCAC Director/Chief Curator John D. Spiak and given a brief overview of how the evening would play out.  They were told they would be escorted across the plaza to the Santora Building in groups of 60, where the official program would begin.

Upon arrival at the Santora, guests were greeted in the atrium by Genesis Again, a vocal work by Lisa Bielawa with solo accompaniment on violin by Andrew Tholl.

As the short piece concluded, the audience transitioned to the second floor of the building where the full wild Up music ensemble was performing James Tenney’s Swell throughout the open area.  This transition continued to occur until all 225+ audience members were gathered together on the second floor, experiencing the performance of Swell together.

As the work concluded, Allen Moon introduced Chris Rountree, who provided insight into the printed program and spaces of the building.   The program laid out nine locations throughout the three stories of the Santora Building – atrium, third floor, stairway, se corner, OC Creatives, Tween’s Studio, NW corner, steet level gallery, basement – each providing a micro venue which had been separately programed for the evening.  It was a structure that provided the opportunity for each audience member to self-select his or her experience.

The choices were as follows:
Chance Encounter – Lisa Bielawa
Retracing – Eliot Carter Solo for Bassoon
Quintet – Andrew Tholl
The Cohen Variations – Daniel Felsenfeld
Let Down – Radiohead
Synopsis #5 – Lisa Bielawa solo for trumpet
Cabaret and Bach – for bass and voice
Ongoing percussion installation – Corey Fogel
The Twin Suite – Samuel Vriezen
Fratres – Arvo Part
Grisey for clarinet
Spirit Worker – ongoing installation by Chris Kallmyer
Synopsis #9 – Lisa Bielawa solo for Viola
Works by Luciano Berio and John Cage for soprano and voice
Punk Rock Set 1: Deerhoof and Dog Face Hermans
Trombone Sequenza – Luciano Berio
Synopsis #9 – Lisa Bielawa solo for English Horn
Synopsis #3 – Lisa Bielawa solo for Flute
Three Meditations on California Girls – Andrew Tholl
Above Chiangmai – Harold Budd
Love in Outerspace – Sun Ra
Narayana’s Cow – Tom Johnson
Knee Play 2 – Philip Glass

The evening concluded with everyone reuniting in the street level gallery space to experience the last works of the evening together:
From the Cello Suites – J.S. Bach – Archie Carey
Punk Rock Set 2: FEAR, The Misfits, Deerhoof

It was truly a remarkable evening, as wild Up and Lisa Bielawa allowed us to continue to expand our notions of the unRestricted!

Thank you to all the talented performers who made the evening possible:
Christopher Rountree (Artistic Director/Conductor/Voice), Lisa Bielawa (voice), Andrew Tholl (violin), Linnea Powell (viola), Claire Chenette (oboe/English horn), Dana Jackson (bassoon), Chris Kallmyer (guitars/trumpet), Andrew McIntosh (violin/viola), Ruiging Tang (viola), Brian Walsh (clarinets/saxophones), Allen Fogle (horn), Corey Fogel (drums), Justine Aronson (soprano), Melinda Rice (violin/viola), Derek Stein (cello), Eleanor Weigert(clarinets), Jonah Levy (trumpet), Matt Cook (percussion), Richard Valitutto (piano/accordion/melodica), Maggie Hasspacher (bass/voice), Erin McKibben (flute/piccolo), Archie Carey (bassoon), Matt Barbier (trombone), and Jodie Landau (percussion/voice).

Santa Ana Sites #4 was made possible through the generous support of Santora Group LLC, with in-kind support provided by Ashley Eckenweiler, The ACE Agency, Tweena Tran and Memphis Cafe.  We also recognize the wonderful contributions of time and energy the Grand Central Art Center team provide on a daily bases to ensure successful outcomes, so please join us in thanking them next time you visit.

Thank you as well to Kurt Mortensen and Steve Fisch for providing images and video from the evening!

Here are a few video links from the evening:

on YouTube:

on KCRW:
http://blogs.kcrw.com/whichwayla/2014/03/all-the-worlds-a-stage

on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202872813802754&set=vb.1274343186&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202872901164938&set=vb.1274343186&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202873016687826&set=vb.1274343186&type=2&theater

To keep informed of future programs, as well as to see images and programming of past events, visit the Santa Ana Sites Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/santaanasites

Success of programming is made possible through the generous financial support of individuals like you.  Contribute to GCAC’s continued success by make a donation online today!
https://www.fullerton.edu/SupportGCAC

Santa Ana Sites #4 : wild Up in the Santora with Lisa Bielawa & Colburn Conservatory – Feb 22

Santa Ana Sites #4: wild Up in The Santora fuses classical instruments with contemporary sounds to create an unforgettable evening in one of Santa Ana’s most charming venues. Los Angeles based music collective wild Up, musicians from The Colburn Conservatory of Music and composer/vocalist Lisa Bielawa come together on Saturday, February 22 to share in a night of unexpected artistic ventures.

With the momentum of three successful Sites programs pushing them forward, Grand Central Art Center and Santa Ana Sites’ Co-Founder/Artistic Director Allen Moon serve up their newest vision showcasing the youthful side of culture. wild Up is a modern music collective that embraces sound as a vehicle for shared experiences. The Los Angeles Times praised the group stating, “You’d be forgiven for mistaking wild Up for an indie rock band.” Led by acclaimed conductor Christopher Rountree, members of the group along with some of Colburn’s musicians and soprano Bielawa will disperse throughout The Santora building to perform engaging micro concerts.

Audiences will begin their Santa Ana Sites #4 journey at the Grand Central Art Center for a pre-show, move to the Santora’s atrium for their first encounter with the musicians, and head to the top floor where the performers and audiences will begin an adventure of music and architecture in various galleries, studios, and empty spaces. The music draws from a vast array of genres, with compositions from Bach, Ravel, Machaut, The Magnetic Fields, Katy Perry, Sun Ra, Brian Eno, The Beach Boys, The Dog Faced Hermans, Philip Glass, Lisa Bielawa, Ornette Coleman, Deerhoof and The Misfits, amongst others. Composer/vocalist Bielawa’s performance with the ensemble treats Southern Californians to her first performance since her appearance in the LA Opera’s presentation of Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach, where she also served as the production’s Choral Master.

The historic Santora building’s Spanish Colonial Revival architecture sets the tone for an adventurous evening of music and mingling. A recent change in ownership has lead to rejuvenation for the landmark venue, which broke ground in the late twenties and catered to classic Hollywood celebrities including Jack Benny, Milton Berle, and Lucille Ball. Santa Ana Sites #4: wild Up in The Santora will illuminate the architectural centerpiece of Downtown Santa Ana with sound and creative energy once again, an ideal way to pay homage to the building’s rich history while celebrating contemporary culture in the vibrant downtown.

Santa Ana Sites provides contemporary performances in spaces throughout Santa Ana. The traveling forum is designed to introduce the community to artistic experiences while encouraging diverse environments. Past events featured David Harrington, founder and Artistic Director of the Kronos Quartet; Backhausdance performing their dance installation, The Elasticity of the Almost; and a performance from Inner Mongolian music group AnDa Union. The Santora installment of Santa Ana Sites #4 unites music lovers of every age and background for an evening of forward thinking entertainment.

More information on the previous events can be found on the Santa Ana Sites Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/santaanasites

This event is anticipated to reach maximum capacity with reservations required.  The public is invited to reserve FREE tickets through email with name and requested number of tickets with a maximum of two tickets per guest to grandcentral@fullerton.edu

A reception at Grand Central Art Center will begin at 7pm. Guests are asked to arrive no later than 7:30pm on Saturday, February 22nd.

SUPPORT
Santa Ana Sites #4 is made possible through the generous support of Santora Group LLC, with in-kind support provided by Ashley Eckenweiler and The ACE Agency.

GRAND CENTRAL ART CENTER
California State University, Fullerton Grand Central Art Center is dedicated to the investigation and promotion of contemporary art and visual culture: regionally, nationally, and internationally through unique collaborations among artists, students, and the community.

Grand Central Art Center, 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701, 714.567.7233, https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com
A Unit of CSUF’s College of the Arts
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Busy End to 2013, Even Busier Beginning to 2014 @ GCAC!

To say it has been a little busy around Grand Central Art Center over the past month is a bit of an understatement – IT’S BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY!

Vincent Goudreau was very active during his last weeks in residence at GCAC in mid-December. As part of his Recordings of an Immigrant project, we decided to fly Juan Aquino out from the island of Maui to join Vincent in residence. Juan is the inspiration/subject for Vincent’s current project.

During their time together Vincent and Juan, along with videographer Randy Mills, spent a number of days searching for a specific house in Fullerton, CA – the location where coyotaje delivered Juan upon his arrival into the United States over twenty years ago. Now a legal US citizen, the visit by Juan brought him back to a connection/transition location that marks an important part of his amazing life journey. We will share the results of this search soon, as the video is currently in the editing phase for a short documentary we will be releasing online in the coming weeks.

Vincent and Juan, joined by GCAC Director/Chief Curator John Spiak, presented a public conversation about Vincent’s residency, his journeys with Juan and thoughts for the project moving forward. The evening included the screening of two of Vincent’s past short film/video works – Harry and Janet and Villa Capri, providing insight into how Vincent’s projects often deal with the topic of global connection and place. As the screening concluded, patrons were invited to join the artist for an informal ice cream social, a tribute to an important scene from Villa Capri.

As the week concluded, we were visited by two of Danielle Susalla Deery’s classes from Irvine Valley College, Museum and Technologies and Museum Marketing. We are proud of the fact that Danielle is a Cal State University, Fullerton alumna and love when she returns with her students to share her enthusiasm for contemporary art. The students of her classes enjoyed a full tour of GCAC provided by GCAC Director/Chief Curator John Spiak. They talked about the technologies included in Matthew Moore and Braden King’s installation Cumulus and shared stories of successful marketing strategies by art institutions. They also had the opportunity to visit Vincent Goudreau in the GCAC Artist in Residence studio and talk with him directly about his project and process.

Vincent has now returned to Maui, but keep an eye here for updates on the project and the soon to be released short documentary of the search for the drop house with Juan.

That following week GCAC was visited by Peter Held, Arizona State University Art Museum Curator of Ceramics. Peter and John Spiak worked together for many years at the ASU Art Museum. The day was spent visiting Orange County Museums and Galleries, including the Orange County Museum of Art, Irvine Fine Arts Center and Laguna Art Museum. The timing for the Orange County Museum of Art visit was perfect, as it provided for a preview tour of the new exhibition California Landscape into Abstraction curated by OCMA Chief Curator and Interim Director Dan Cameron. The day concluded with a late lunch across our 2nd Street plaza at Memphis and a full tour of Grand Central Art Center. We are excited to see what Peter does with the move of the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center to its new location!

2013 ended with the arrival of artists and educators Heather Layton and Brian Bailey from Rochester, NY. Heather and Brian were here for a second visit in the continued development of projects with GCAC. We anticipate them back for a third visit later this year. During this most recent visit, they worked towards a specific project as part of their larger 59 Days of Independence project.

As part of this project, and for our First Saturday Art Walk kicking off 2014, Heather and Brian celebrated Burma’s 66th independence day on January 4th at GCAC by giving away 66 hand-painted lanterns they created during their residency. Creating an installation in the artist in residence studio space, they opened the storefront studio doors and invited the public in to select a lantern. People were lined-up waiting outside the door when they arrived. It took less that six-minutes for the 66 lanterns to be spoken for that evening. Truly magical!

After all the lanterns were gone, Heather and Brian joined us in the main gallery spaces for our receptions. The evening provided great opportunity with a productive 40-minute conversation for Brian and Heather with Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, his son Miguel Pulido Jr., GCAC Santa Ana Sites co-founder/collaborator Allen Moon and our GCAC Director/Chief Curator John Spiak. So many collaborative possibilities in the works for their return visit!

The January First Saturday Art Walk also kicked-off with a meet and greet event for GCAC Artists in Residence Ingrid Reeve, Barbara Milliorn and Evan Senn, as they begin their project The Life of an Artist. The project is a proposed television/webcast series that follows the lives of two Orange County artists and their manager, an art historian and art critic, as they strive for their professional dream to solidify careers as professional artists.

Ingrid Reeve, Barbara Milliorn and Evan Senn are recent graduates of higher education programs at California State University, Fullerton. Throughout this coming year year, the artists will be hosting and participating in monthly events in their artist in residence opportunity at Grand Central Art Center (GCAC), in downtown Santa Ana. The monthly events will include panel discussions and workshops, as well as performances that will engage the community of Santa Ana and the larger Orange County.

Their residency at GCAC is meant to help them in their goal to educate and entertain interested parties on the life of an up-and-coming female artist in Southern California by creating a window into the art world as well as providing historical context for contemporary practices in the arts, and a focus on the unique struggles and benefits of being a woman in today’s world.

That night as well marked the closing of the successful run of Matthew Moore and Braden King‘s installation Cumulus. It was yet another well attended First Saturday, with over 2,000 individuals through the door and engaged with the exhibitions. We feel so fortunate to be a part of this amazing downtown and Santa Ana community!

But there is no rest for the weary, as two days later the GCAC team was in full de-installation mode of Cumulus. It was a short de-install time, so everyone leant a hand, even Curatorial Associate Yevgeniya “Jenny” Mikhailik and CSUF GCAC student intern Shauna Hultgrien (she write our INTERNal Affairs blog posts).  We were able to get the work down and the gallery resorted backed to its normal configuration in less than a week – ready for the arrival of Julianne Swartz and Ken Landauer to begin their major installation just a few days later. Thanks go out to the entire GCAC team of amazing individuals for their hard work and dedication!

The beginning of January also brought a surprise visit from a few folks, Curator Sara Cochran and graphic designer Eric Montgomery. It was just announced that Sara has accepted the position of Associate Director at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Cochran left her position as Modern and Contemporary Art Curator at Phoenix Art Museum in November 2013. Prior to that, she was Assistant Curator at Los Angeles County Museum of Contemporary Art (LACMA). She had also held positions at the The Getty Center in LA and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was so great to have her and Eric here for a visit and tour of Grand Central Art Center!

Also paying us a visit was artist Brent Green and FLOWN drummer and vocalist Kate Ryan. The two spent a couple of days with us as Brent packed some of the work from his To Many Men Strange Fates Are Given exhibition that took place at GCAC last year. It’s been a very busy year for Brent, with many major new projects in the works and the recent acquisition of one of his works by the UCLA Hammer Museum to their permanent collection. We also found out during the stay that Kate was scheduled to make an appearance in an upcoming episode of HBO’s Girls, jamming on her drums.  It also provided Brent and Kate the opportunity to connect with Julianne Swartz and Ken Landauer who have been in residence the past couple of days as well.  It’s so wonderful to have them all staying with us at GCAC!

And yesterday we were visited by Los Angeles based artist Julia Haft-Candell for a site visit for her upcoming solo exhibition Fast and Slow. She meet with GCAC Curatorial Associate Yevgeniya “Jenny” Mikhailik, who is curating Julia’s GCAC exhibition, to discuss her project and installation details. We are excited to see the project develop for the opening in March!

Now we are in full installation mode for Julianne Swartz and Ken Landauer’s Miracle Report, a project that includes at current time 26 monitors, 6 projections and numerous speakers. This is a MUST SEE EXHIBITION! We hope you will join us at the public reception during the First Saturday Art Walk on February 1 from 7-10pm.

There is a lot more planned and in development for GCAC in 2014, we are excited to share it with you!!!

Santa Ana Sites #3 – AnDa Union

Following the success of Santa Ana Sites #1: David Harrington of Kronos Quartet and Santa Ana Sites #2: Backhausdance, GCAC was approached by Irvine Barclay Theatre on the possibilities of collaborating with them to present Santa Ana Sites #3 – AnDa Union!

OF COURSE WE ACCEPTED!

Grand Central Art Center and Irvine Barclay Theatre – through the continued collaboration with Santa Ana Sites co-founder Allen Moon, and with thanks to Barclay’s Doug Rankin and Karen Drews Hanlon, John Luckacovic and Eleanor Oldham of 2Luck Concepts, and Tim Pearce and Sophie Lascelles from AnDa Union – presented an intimate acoustic evening with a group of ten instrumentalists and singers from Inner Mongolia.  AnDa Union describe themselves as music gatherers.  Digging deep into the Mongol traditions of Genghis Khan’s unified tribes and unearthing forgotten musical histories, creating a whole new generation of sound, as they perform on indigenous instruments and in the khoomii, throat-singing, style.

Guests began their evening by joining us at Grand Central Art Center for a pre-performance mixer.  Though the extreme generosity of Trez Ibrahim and her soon to be open Downtown Santa Ana venue Vineyard Roz Wine Lounge & Art Studio, guest enjoyed fine wine, conversation, our current exhibition Cumulus: Matthew Moore and Braden King, as well as a preview of our three exhibitions that open this Saturday, November 2nd – Cross Cut: Aili Schmeltz;  Rage Bear: Juggling Awesome organized by current CSUF Illustration MFA student Marvin Chow; and the Glass and Ceramics Exhibition and Sale, which includes the work of current CSUF students, alumni and community artists.

AnDa Union is in the midst of a 7 week US tour to some of the great world music presenters in the country.  We couldn’t be happier that this collaborative opportunity presented itself, allowing these magnificent musicians to play as part of our Santa Ana Sites series.

With 72 individuals in attendance, we were able to keep the evening acoustic, informal and intimate.   The beauty and power of AnDa Union’s voices and instruments brought the space to life for the enthusiastic audience.  Another grand success for the Santa Ana Sites series!

If you missed the event, you can see and hear past performances of Anda Union here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLy0IRy2-aQ&feature=youtu.be
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_jZGXhemw8

If you missed Santa Ana Sites #1 or #2, here are links to recaps:

Santa Ana Sites #1: David Harrington of Kronos Quartet
https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/kronos-quartets-david-harrington-kicks-off-gcac-santa-ana-sites-series/

Santa Ana Sites #2: Backhausdance 
https://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/santa-ana-sites-2-backhausdance/

Santa Ana Sites #2 – Backhausdance

Last evening we continued our Santa Ana Sites, a series developed by Grand Central Art Center and Allen Moon working through community collaborations, which aims to present contemporary performance in public and private spaces, in and around downtown Santa Ana.

As you may recall, our Santa Ana Sites #1 featured David Harrington, Founder and Artistic Director of the Kronos Quartet, who shared his insights into Kronos’ creative process through an evening of listening.

This time around, Santa Ana Sites #2 partnered with Jennifer Backhaus to present Backhausdance, performing their newest work, The Elasticity of the Almost, in a dance installation. The three-night run (Thurs – Sat) opened with a private VIP performance event on Thursday. The evening started with a mixer, allowing this select group of individuals to become better acquainted, catch-up with old friends and make new ones. Our thanks to Dan Bradley and Diego Velasco of Memphis for the continued support of Santa Ana Sites through their generosity of quality food for the evening.

As the dance performance began, audience members were invited to roam about the loft space as the dance played out around them, provoking a shifting of vantage points and perspectives.

The dancers activated all levels of this three-story loft, providing multi-level viewing by the audience from balconies, as well as live streaming video projected upon the wall of the third floor.

 

 

 

If you missed the preview event, we apologize. We were limited on space and had to be extremely selective. But don’t worry; the good news is that there will be three more performance, one tonight and two Saturday night. These performances will be ticketed performances: $12 advance / $20 at the door.

To reserve space for Friday and Saturday, please go here:
http://www.backhausdance.org/santaanasites

You can also share the event with your Facebook friends:
https://www.facebook.com/events/547811531940749/?ref=br_tf

We would like to thank the dancers for the power, creative spirit and inspiration they provided over the course of this incredible hour-long performance. Our thanks as well to Jennifer Backhaus, Jeremy Hunt and the entire Backhausdance team for the realization of this dance, sound and media production. Thank you to all who attended and for the energy you provided throughout the evening. Thanks to Kurt Mortensen of the Pacific Symphony for some of the outstanding images included in this blog. Lastly, our sincere thanks to Allen Moon for collaborating with GCAC to realize and continue Santa Ana Sites.

Yes, there are more Santa Ana Sites in the planning stages, so keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming announcements.