Black Friday. I'm sitting in the morning silence drinking my Feliz Navidad coffee. All EC Artists are home enjoying their "day after".

A call breaks the silence.

"Heeeyyy... That guy [editor] with the D Magazine is doing a story on the EC."
"No he's not."
"Huh?"
"He hasn't spoken to me... and he knows nothing about us... so he'd better not try to publish anything about us."
"Well... He wants to do something for this issue. Should I give him your number, or give you his number? But he wants to pound it out today..."
"I'm not working today. Maybe some other time, but I'm definitely not working today."

The guy on the phone is a prince.
The guy he's referring to is one of the people who inspired my acerbic blog: "Art Arrogant vs. Art Ignorant."

The EC and our artists will gain nothing from being featured as a last minute filler in his magazine.

The EC has a show on for the next 2 weeks in the gallery at Roger J. Wyan's Photography Studio. It is a collaborative show of 10 artists work, alongside Roger's images of the artists. James Brizendine, Shirley Brizendine, and Oscar Onsurez each have 3 pieces in the show. Marlen Hernandez, Hilda Cotta, and Jose Miguel Castaneda each have 2 pieces. Sue Thao, Carolina Mendez, Calixta Perez, and Antonio Perez each have 1 piece in the show. Additionally, 8 of the 10 artists have masks in the show. The show was featured at the Merced Art Hop (10/17/09), and it was a huge success. We met a lot of great people-- artists, art lovers, and folks who just like a fun community event. Roger suggested we keep it up for a few weeks following Art Hop. So, if you missed it, or want another look, check it out. 1812 Canal Street, Suite 7 (second floor), in Merced.

The EC Artists have never shared a show with anyone other than other EC Artists. Roger is an outstanding photographer, a dedicated photo essayist/journalist, and...well... a really nice guy. He spent two days with the artists, hanging out in the studio, talking, listening, and charming the socks off of everybody. During those two days, he made some great candid, informal portraits of each artist-- capturing their personalities. Roger showed great respect and awe for the artists' work, and spent at least an hour, going up and down the ladder, fiddling with the lighting in the gallery so it was just right. Thanks Roger.

Unfortunately, I was so busy speaking with attendees at Art Hop, answering questions about the artists and their work, and discussing art, development, and the creative process... that I didn't take one photo myself. Sorry, but I have nothing to post. I'll try to get over there before we take the show down, and get some video.

Recently, I've been bothered by a whiff of something "bad" in the Merced community. There seems to be a sense among local arts organizers (not to be confused with local artists) that our community is Art Ignorant. This feeling has become more and more apparent since the establishment of the UC Merced "community". As our local denizens pander to their already inflated egos, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with our communal, as well as my personal, identity.
During a recent phone call with an arts organizer, he used the line "We need to educate Merced about art, because most people don't know anything about it." This was the cherry on top of a crap flavored ice cream sundae, that I was not going to be force fed. So, I let him have it.
Let me explain... In that same week, I had read several comments in a discussion forum for a facebook page devoted to a soon to be released magazine promoting our local downtown scene. Actually, the magazine is promoting a connection between the UC and the local downtown scene... which continues the pervasive pandering to their temporary existence in our community-- confusing. But, as my grandmother would say, I digress.
All of the comments commended the magazine's founder for establishing the magazine (it hasn't come out yet). A few, however, were absolutely caustic. I became so angry that my blood pressure rose, my face turned red,... and I took an aspirin, just in case:-) The comments stated that people in Merced were in need of this magazine because, among other things, they do not know anything about art. Pardon my language, but... fuck that.
During my phone call with the arts organizer I mentioned earlier, I told him that many people do not participate in our local arts events. We want to get them involved... but their lack of involvement and participation does not make them Art Ignorant. Taking that tack makes you Art Arrogant... and Art Ignorant.
Many people make art that does not fit into the confines of your perception of "what is art". I have been fortunate to meet musicians, artists, poets, activists, dancers, and thinkers... people who have not, and likely will never, enter the Arts Center or attend Art Hop. They are not Art Ignorant. Quite the opposite. The arts exist in their lives as a natural element, the likes of which I envy greatly.
Here is an example. A boy attends school. His parents came here from Mexico... yes, legally. His mother works seasonally in the fig orchards. His father works year-round, dawn to dusk, at a local nursery. He has dirt under his nails, and on his boots. Neither he, nor his wife, speak English. One day, during a show-and-tell, the boy brings a small accordion. It is no toy. His father is there. The boy announces that he plays the accordion, and he prepares to play. His father, who has taken time from work, moves a chair next to his son, and pulls out a guitar. The teachers and the students look and listen with open, smiling mouths, as the boy and his father play a lovely waltz. At the end, the group claps excitedly and asks for another song. Father and son oblige.
A 35 year old man with a second grade education, who had cultivated the gift of music in his son, as his father cultivated the gift in him. If he has never stepped foot into the Arts Center, attended Art Hop, or local Arts Festivals, can we really say that he "needs to be educated about art?" Does his lack of participation and involvement make him Art Ignorant?
Those who are guilty of being Art Arrogant would say yes. The girl who says that the local arts scene is boring and not really art... is Art Arrogant. I would imagine she is about 18 or 19. I doubt she is local. She is a student at the UC, and when her education is finished, she will no doubt leave this community. Is she even an artist herself?
Art does not need to shock you to be art. Art does not need to be pretty to be art. A