Galley Visit – ISM: 10 Year Anniversary Show

I visited downtown Santa Ana, California and the ISM Show at Grand Central Art Station. I entered this show because I am a sucker for community building in the arts. It did not disappoint.

Not only was the Gallery full, the streets of Santa Ana were alive with activity. All my senses awakened for break dancing, Peruvian musicians, a movie being screened outdoors, food trucks, and single table vendors selling their wares. All the other galleries (I will share on a separate post) in town were open and so were all the restaurants and clubs. A cacophony of people, sounds and sites.

Each artist/community member in the Cheers! portion of the exhibit was given a 4 x 4 inch coaster. All that was asked of the participants was to make an art piece and deliver it on time. As you can imagine, this almost guarantees a full house on Opening Night.

A wall of 4 x 4 Coaster art - Cheers!

Two pieces up close.

Mine was the only one with collage and string on it, most were drawings and paintings.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2012. A Smidgen of Pink.

As you can see from this image, which I took myself before delivery of my work, my coaster was hung upside down. However, I am glad to report that A Smidgen of Pink found it's way into the front window.

There are a lot of coasters to look at.

And a lot of people viewing the work.

Towards the back of the galley was a continuation of the ISM Show. Define Your ISM. And a full house! While I was viewing the pieces I felt as though I was in a room where a young child had figured out how to turn the lights on and off repeatedly. Look. Off. Look. Off. Look. 

The "Look" portion of the moment being me thinking about an ISM in a visual way. The "Off" portion was me moving over "Look" again and be festooned with a new tasty visual lolly pop.

Each ISM was rendered by an individual artist in their own individual style. Feminism, plagarism, socialism, musicism, loveism, sexism, pansperism, absurdism, and the ideas continue. Some being common societal terms, others were ideas made up by the artists themselves.

Two of my favorites are below:

Cody Griffith, Pansperism, graphite and urethane. Aaron Kraten, Absurdism, Mixed Media.

The exhibition will be on display at Grand Central Art Center from Saturday, July 7 until Sunday, August 12. Click here for directions and hours.