Homelessness
October 23rd and 24th, 2004
Opening Reception:
Saturday October 23, 7pm
Music by Don Cobb and Larry London
Seating for concert 8pm
Sunday Party:
Sunday October 24, 3pm
French Disco Live 4pm
Belly Dancing with Hadiya 5pm
Gallery Location: 2701 8th St., Berkeley
In Memory of Presti
Arthur Bacon will be exhibiting his new series of images
titled Homelessness, a sequel to his Homeless Sites
series shown last year at the Bonnafont Gallery. The work is the result
of a year spent visiting among the homeless in San Francisco's streets
and in secluded areas of Golden Gate Park. One group of photographs speaks
of the uncomfortable relationship between contemporary fine art and the
reality of the streets, while another is a lyrical depiction of human
abandonment.
Aitana de la Jara's new paintings, In Memory of Presti, constitute a meditation on death and the process of remembrance, both on a personal level and in society. Re-evaluation, spaces for remembering, the passage of time, and guilt are themes that are addressed throughout the series. The work centers on the death of her puppy, Presti.
The Opening Reception on Octber 23rd will feature the first performance
of Music for Four Players by Don Cobb and Ukranian
Tree by Larry London. Don and Larry will each play
clarinet, Heghine Bolloyan, violin and Wanda Warkentin, cello.
On October 24th, French Disco will play pieces
from their demo album, including A Picture of Arthur Bacon and
Collapse on Sound. Afterwards, Hadiya will take
the stage to perform an original Belly Dancing routine.
Arthur
Bacon has exhibited in the United States and
abroad. His photographs are in the permanent collections of various museums
and galleries. Arthur worked as an assistant at several of Ansel Adam's
Yosemite workshops in the 70's meeting many legendary figures such as
Brassai, Ruth Bernhard and Brett Weston. Later, he spent three years in
Florida working with Jerry Uelsmann and Evon Streetman. In addition to
his photography, he has directed a documentary film about his father,
the composer Ernst Bacon for public TV and was the cinematographer for
a feature length movie Avalon. His photography has been moving
towards a deeper search for new aesthetic solutions that allow him to
express his artistic vision with a larger freedom than the photographic
medium would seem to afford.
Aitana
de la Jara studied painting and printmaking at Yale University
and the Norfolk Summer School under John Hull, Elena Sisto and John Kiefer,
among others. Aitana's paintings have been primarily focused on the effects
of traumatic events on the human / personal experience. Although the paintings
are figurative, the imagery and material handling of the paint come together
to form surprising combinations. She lives and works in San Francisco.
Don Cobb is a musician and composer.
He has taught, composed and arranged for players and singers at hand,
and led music-making in several colleges, many schools and other settings,
including Mills College, the Athenian School, and Friendsville Academy
in Tennessee. In the 1970's he directed concerts of American and regional
music at the Oakland Museum.
Larry London did his undergraduate work
at Harvard and earned a Master's degree in composition at Mills College.
He studied with Darius Milhaud, Terry Riley, and Lou Harrison. He has
played clarinet in all of the Bay Area's professional orchestras. His
compositions have been performed at the Aspen and Cabrillo Music Festivals,
by the Oakland Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony chamber series.
French Disco was formed in 2003 by Sean Smith and Dat
Nguyen. Dat and Sean were roommates in the Berkeley Co-op when they started
playing music together. The two moved into a space in South San Francisco
and were soon joined by Myriam de la Jara on vocals and Tanya de la Jara
on drums. The sisters grew up in Spain and immigrated to the US in their
teens. When not playing music the four are often seen around town debating
issues pertaining to music, life, death and high art. French Disco's music
is based around cool guitar sounds, particularly vintage sounds, rich
sound landscapes, and lots of reverb. You can download their songs at
http://music.download.com/frenchdisco/3600-8591_32-100349056.html?tag=list.
Back to top ›
