Local Aesthetic Magazine

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An inside look into San Antonio’s local art world

PLUS

Henry + The Invisibles

The Powderkids Jaime Alexander Trevino IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT VINCENT VALDEZ POSTHUMOUS INTERVIEWS

February 2010


Local Aesthetic Team

Mike: CO Fo under / Writer

& Photograp her r o it d E r, e d n u Kat: Fo Felicia: Writer and Photographer

James , Writer

Art : Writer

contributors Buddy Calvo Dave Novak Jaime Alexander Trevino Darren Abate For more information on contributing to Local Aesthetic please call 210.748.2982 or email us at localasa@gmail.com

Miguel = Writer


Contents

February 2010 Editorial

04 Editor’s letter 05 San Antonio is... Lame? 30 Last night at old Jack’s 42 Posthumous Interviews 46 Digital Killed the Analog Star

Sounds

10 Not your Average One Man Band Henry and the Invisibles 26 James' top 5 29 Album Reviews

Taste

32 Chef Jaime shows us how to plate Sights

Movement

Calendar

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010

34 Inside look at the powderkids 53 Library-collections from san antonio

Let’s battle ....coming soon

58 Calendar of Events Shows Call for entries


EDITOR’S LETTER

This one’s for you... What Is Art? That is the first question that was asked of me on my first day of college. I couldn't tell you what class it was as it was a question asked in almost all of my art classes. It wasn't until my senior year as I sat in Aesthetics with one foot out the door that I finally listened to the question and tried to find an answer. This is not an easy question to answer because it has so many conclusions. Art is beauty, painting, nature, photography, food, dance, sculpting, writing, music, video, and yes, even sometimes trash. Art is what you make it. Art is what you perceive art to be. The Local Aesthetic is dedicated to bringing you an inside look at San Antonio local art: Sound, Movement, Sight and Taste. Our goal is to cover all of the amazing people, places and inspirations in our city. The Local Aesthetic is not made up of just a few people. We are the city and all of its residents. We want you to be a part of this publication. We want to hear your thoughts and feelings. We want to know your favorite bands, photographers, and more. This publication is for you. This month we were privileged to speak with Henry from Henry and the Invisibles, we took a look at an analog victim that rose from the ashes to conquer over the digital revolution, and finally took a peek behind the scenes with the makers of the Powderkids. From all of us here at your Local Aesthetic Magazine, Enjoy! Kat Carey

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010

Artist of the Month Vincent Valdez ! Vincent Valdez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. His greatgrandfather, who was an artist from Spain, was one of his first artistic influences. At the age of three, Valdez began drawing and as early as kindergarten he and others realized his artistic abilities. While participating in a mural project at San Antonio's Esperanza Peace and Justice Center at age 10, Valdez decided art would be his career. He worked with his mentor, artist/muralist Alex Rubio, on murals around the Alamo City, eventually painting on his own. When he graduated from Burbank High School, Valdez received a full scholarship to the International Fine Arts College in Miami, Florida. After one year, he accepted a full scholarship and transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, where he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. Valdez is still a big part of our city. He continues to exhibit and works on commissioned pieces. He also teaches art to middle school students in San Antonio.


San Antonio is lame

EDITORIAL

FELICIA ESPARZA

A few months ago, I decided to take a break from San Antonio. Being done with school and over everything else I seemed to be getting myself into, I decided to take a month-long trip to South America -- Ecuador to be exact -- followed up with a trip to Chicago. “I just need to get out of this city, for real” is mostly what went through my mind. “If I leave, I’ll feel less lame, that’s for sure” is what I convinced myself. I flew to the southern hemisphere and I stood at the base of the Hancock Building. In each extreme experiencing the most influential, inspirational, and pure independence I’d ever had in my life. I opened myself up to the world. Throughout my trips I would attempt to clear my mind of anything Texas. However something would inevitably pop into mind that would instantly remind me of home; transporting me back to the familiar feelings that I loved - in particular, an appreciation for the arts. I am a lover of food, fashion, downtown art galleries, and music - especially music. All the while I would dance at Reggaeton and Bachata dominated fiestas in Tosagua I would think of the familiar Tejano bands at Market Square during Fiesta. I felt a special closeness to the sights, the sounds, the experience of being a party to different channels of expression, different channels of thought, different types of art. I already had a strong appreciation for these things. Every feeling I felt as a result of the musicians in the mercados of Quayaquil and the graffiti in Wicker Park, was accelerated because I’d connected with the art and forms of expression of home. The feeling in a room full of Toulouse paintings, at The Art Institute of Chicago, wasn’t too unlike the feeling I first got when I heard “God’s Messy Divorce” by

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010

Cartographers; it was lively, entertaining, at times a bit mesmerizing and overwhelming. The feeling of watching the vast lights of Quito dance and prance against the night sky is not unlike the feeling I get watching Alex Scheel from Pop Pistol jumping barefoot, highly and wryly in the air. What I’m getting to is this: while travel and movement are essential to the growth of the individual, so too is an appreciation for that which they know and have come from. We all must go through a phase of “this sucks”, of challenging the familiarity and mundane, in order to progress. We must appreciate what we have, where we’re from, before we can really and truly appreciate anything else. This is where the spirit of our E-Zine begins. It is an attempt to explore the multiple facets of art and expression throughout our vast and diverse city. From the culinary arts, to the explosive local music scene, to pioneering and experimental photography - we’re aiming to celebrate the great talent of this city, to create enthusiasm for our local artists and art scenes and, above all, make us all appreciate San Antonio a little bit more. The beauty of art, is that it can be many things, it is many things, but to me, its about feeling. And for me, music, photography, style, and everything aesthetic begins with how it all makes you feel. And having seen much and now back home, seeing more, I feel quite great, and not very lame at all.


DARKROOM Photography Kat Carey

451 E Rampart San Antonio, Texas 78216 • 210-748-2982 •

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010

Katcarey@mac.com•www.darkroomfoto.com


Got a Story, Photograph, Event, Painting, Sculptor, Design, Recipe, Album, Organization, Announcement, Drawling, Video, Movie, Poem, etc. that you would like to share with your city? Submit it to localasa@gmail.com

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010


Andy Photograph By Kat Carey Š Darkroom Photography


Sara Barcus 2009 To Fly of Fall (from upcoming series ) Mixed media on paper 12x36 in www.vodkairish.com, myspace.com/vodkairish Š Sara Barcus


Henry + The Invisibles Not your average One Man Band...



By Miguel Romero Photography by Kat Carey


Friday night 9:34 PM Rebar on Broadway near 410: Immediately after stepping inside I see a PA, a keyboard, a laptop, a bass, a guitar, a mini-drum set, an alto sax, a tambourine; enough instruments to have at least 7 people playing something at once. But the band’s nowhere to be found, only the ringleader of this act: Henry. My gaze shifts from the stage to the Shiner on draft at the bar, where I chat up a big fan of Henry + The Invisibles. I ask him what he thinks about Henry’s show, he responds: “What else could you ask for, he’s a one man band!”

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010


MUSIC

That’s right, Henry plays his entire show alone. He plays all the instruments and sings all the harmonies in his live performance. “When you go see a live band, you see three or four guys making all this sound, but then you come see Henry it’s all that sound from one guy.” Henry’s fan returns to his table with his friends who also await The Invisibles’ performance. Among the strobe lights and the projected twirling blue stars on the ceiling reminiscent to the opening of a Paramount film, I perch myself on a bar stool and wait for the show to start. 10:36 PM Nearly thirty people are crowded around Henry’s set up, some of them wearing f e d o r a s . H e n r y ’s sporting the antiquated head fashion as well, over which he flings the lightning bolt strap of his red Fender Stratocaster onto his s h o u l d e r. Wi t h t h e strike of a key, he starts the drum loop. His black leather boot taps to the beat. The crowd is already dancing. He strums a funky riff in the key of A (perhaps for Awesome) and puts

down the guitar while the lick keeps playing through the speakers. He picks up the bass and lays down some mean slap funk in the vein of George Clinton. Down with the bass and onto the keyboard where the melodies of a Fender Rhodes pierce through the groove and soothe the mood of the tunes. He grabs the tambourine and records it through his vocal mic, stomps on something near his foot and throws the tambourine aside while it keeps the beat out of the PA. Back to the guitar, then to a synth lead solo on the keyboard, followed by his singing “You can have it if you just reach out and grab it.” By eleven o’clock the crowd has swollen to nearly fifty people, trying their best to make room to watch in awe as the multiinstrumentalist known as Henry + The Invisibles, behind a pair of oversized sunglasses, jumps from instrument to instrument keeping the music flowing and the crowd moving; just another Friday night for Henry Gutierrez. Influenced by his f a t h e r’s r e c o r d collection from an early age consisting of

Zeppelin, Hendrix, and Chicago (bands he still listens to today), Henry’s long journey as a musician began on an old classical guitar lying around the house. Tinkering on the frets of a dilapidated 6string led to an interest in the alto sax in junior high and percussion in high school. “If I ever saw an instrument I wasn’t really familiar with, I’d check it out and try to play around with it.” Henry humbly mentions to me in a phone interview. Henry’s first fruitful band The Gingerbread Men, a funk/soul group consisting of 13 members at one point, came out of San Antonio in the early 90’s before moving to A u s t i n l a t e r. T h e i r success led them to tours with big names such as Macy O’Parker, To w e r o f P o w e r, Medeski Martin & Wood and even played at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as well as releasing a couple studio produced records. After The Gingerbread Men disbanded, Henry made the big move to the Big Apple where he continued jamming; playing everything from funk, to soul, to rock in a variety of

bands as well as continue with music lessons by exploring several different instruments such as the bass guitar, piano, his voice, and although a drum set, wasn’t readily available, he still managed to practice at home with drumsticks and a drum pad. “The move to NYC had a lot to do with furthering my education in jazz, soul and hip hop music. There just wasn't enough of that vibe [in Te x a s ] for my satisfaction. I really needed to surround myself with it and that's exactly what I did the day I moved to NYC.It was basically practicing eight hours a day on any random instrument.” It was there where he formed the band Starchild, which would make the trek south with him back to San Antonio in 2005. “After being in NYC for about 9yrs, I felt very satisfied and moved back to Texas for a number of reasons... my Father was the most important. I wanted to be closer to my dad he has always been a very special inspiration in my life.”


"My theory is that evolution is constant as far as anything goes. I feel that you should always be pushing the envelope and thinking outside the box in order to really be able to evolve to what you're trying to do."


So what did you do when you got back into town ? Well, first I was in a sort of decompression state. That happens when one relocates from such an electric city with a constant hum of intrigue… and on the back burner I was thinking ‘what can I do musically here? W h a t ’s happenin’ on the scene.’ My Father suggested a local hang on broadway; the Rebar. As it turns out, a old friend of mine was managing the joint at the time. Remembering some old times; reminiscing about the Ging’Breadmen shows and such, he was down for something fresh- that’s when Starchild made it’s big leap from the Big Apple to the Alamo City. It didn’t take long before our Tuesday night was poppin’- great times, amazing circles of friends! The dynamics of the band, however, were sometimes intense and in the Fall of ’08, Starchild took a break. So how did Henry + The Invisibles start up? I was really just gonna take a break and try some new stuff musically. this was different. this will be blank + the blank. Ironically, I purchased a loop pedal while in STARCHILD and had never really used it much until I saw it there… collecting dust on

the floor near the 33’s. I had a few gigs booked already as Starchild and decided to try my

newest project… Henry. After a few gigs, I didn’t want to be called just ‘Henry’. It was like ‘Sting’ or ‘Madonna’. Not really, but you get my point. And though most of us are visible, it sometimes seems and feels like we can be invisible… the whole time being IN the Visible. I don’t know… fun name. I like the idea of having an invisible posse, my crew. Ya know, essentially it’s a one man phunk band and all I’m tryin’ to do is get everyone’s attention to the dance FLO! So this show in Austin was my debut for my father and my girlfriend and they were like “Wow that’s…pretty interesting!”

We didn’t think you were gonna do that and we really didn’t think it was gonna sound as good as it did.” And that was the vibe I got from a lot of people. All I’ve had is pretty positive feedback about what I’m doing.” A lot of technology seems to be necessary to make your show possible…. Not really a lot of technology plays into what I’m doing. I mean, that’s relative I guess; but as far as technology goes? Not Really. I use my laptop for sounds to the controller – the keys. I use analogue loops and guitar effects, the drums and water jugs are obviously organic. Ye a h , a s f a r a s gadgets go I had some really cool glow drum sticks. Pretty much toys, but they were fun for one show. I also have a cape that makes me invisible sometimes. So you started off with a water jug, a snare and an acoustic and I saw you recently at Rebar and your set up has changed drastically since the first time I saw you at Rebar in 2007, which was a mess of cables. I think you were wearing these huge sunglasses and this really cool fedora and I remember thinking “Man, is this guy on mushrooms or what’s going on?” (Henry laughs). How has your show evolved since the first concept of the project?


The show in constant evolution. Musically the message is focused on putting some love into everyone’s heart and some magic in everyone’s pockets to take home for the road. The concept has never really ever strayed to change. Musically. Constantly learning how to say what I want on various instruments has and always will be a constant evolution. Not to far back and not to far away, when water jugs and pots and tambourines laid a groove like no one’s beez nest. Oh wait! I still do that stuff. Every show is guaranteed to be different because it’s organic. Happening right there…. “

So a lot of technology seems to be necessary to make your s h o w p o s s i b l e . Yo u implement a laptop in your show and use a technique called “looping”, which is basically recording something and having that play over and over until you stop it. Tell us how exactly

you make your set work using all these cool gadgets and anything else you do to make your set work. Not really a lot of technology plays into what I’m doing. I mean, that’s relative I guess; but as far as technology goes? Not Really. I use my laptop for sounds to the controller – the keys. I use analogue loops and guitar effects, the drums and water jugs are obviously organic. Yeah, as far as gadgets go I had some really cool glow drum sticks. Pretty much toys, but they were fun for one show. I also have a cape that makes me invisible sometimes. Have you had any bad shows? Of course, I have had a few in my years of playing thousands of shows with other projects. None that I would point out to be in a spotlight for, and not many to mention with H+TI. I once told a club owner (a total douche) to fuck off… really was not so necessary but at the time seemed appropriate. And actually thinking back… I’m at peace with that. As far as bad, how could it be? What with the best of friends, the family and folks? These days, shows to me are a meeting of good times. I’m just trying to live my life for the good times. I noticed on your calendar that you’ve been playing a lot in other towns, how much of your time is spent on the road and

what kinds of responses are you getting outside of SA? I’m on the road quite a bit. I love the drive. And I have friends in every town that I’m always very happy to see. It’s that reason alone; it’s what keeps me doin’ what I’m doin’! They want to groove, I want to groove! I think we’re rockin’ some waves on the third coast. What kinds of music are you listening to now and what are some local acts you like to check out? There are rare nuggets of soul funk stuff from the 60’s 70’s that you can only find on 45s or on youtube. I completely digg that sound. It makes me move and that’s what inspires me to play the music that I play. I want folks to dance and have good times at the show and walk away with that. As far as local artists in San Antone, I dig Blowing Trees and Cinderleaf… I really don’t get that much of a chance to get out but when I do I would really rather check out something original and badass… even bizarre. I love the roller derby, the unicycle football league, burlesque road shows. So what’s in store for Henry + The Invisibles?

Recording and more recordings on the way.More songs about how we can do this. A message to all reading these words… keep the dreams alive. Phunk music is a conduit. Henry + the INvisibles love you.The next revolution is evolution.


Photography by Kat Carey Š Darkroom Photography


MUSIC

Fans can check out Henry + The Invisibles every Friday night at Rebar (8134 Broadway, 78209) or on the net myspace.com/ henryinvisible and facebook.com/henryinvisible. You can download his music on iTunes, by searching “Henry Invisible”, and even download

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!


Before there the Invisible Starc

Let th phu


was Henry + es, there was child

here be unk!

Starchild Every Monday @ Gatsby 10:00 pm


Photograph By Art Guillermo Jr


Speed lights Photograph By Kat Carey Š Darkroom Photography


Got a Story, Photograph, Event, Painting, Sculpture, Design, Recipe, Album, Organization, Announcement, Drawing, Video, Movie, Poem, etc. that you would like to share with your city? Submit it to localasa@gmail.com



My Favorite Albums of 2009 (If you find this predictable‌ then you probably have good taste.) By Jamie Courtney


this album is juxtaposed with organic harmonies and themes of routine, 1. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest

domesticity and feelings of mechanical doom. How does this all work together?

From the uncharacteristically

How were Brian Wilson and Charles Manson homies? Beats

bluesy “Southern Point” to

me.

the dreamily psychedelic and churchy “Foreground”, Veckatimest is very near to perfect. Diverse in styles, rich in texture, steeped

4. Here We Go Magic, Here We Go

in harmony; this album sounds like it was not made by

Magic

four men but poured forth out of the damp soil of the remote island it is named after.

Nine songs: 3 of noisy nonsense and 6 of an almost mystically textured, dirty, indie

2. Atlas Sound, Logos

folk-pop. It is an irresistible sextet of percussive

Murky and sick with

and cinematic songs that sound like

fuzz and bright progressions,

they were recorded underwater. It

Logos

is impossible to say between “I Just Want

is a masterpiece for a new

to See You Underwater”, “Ahab”, “Only Pieces”, “Fangela”,

generation of music listeners.

“Tunnelvision” and “Everything’s

This is an

Big” which is better. All of these songs

introspective album that

were my favorite song at some point this year.

succeeds in achieving great accessibility

"

"

"

through catchy hooks, varied textures and

5. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca

pulsing dream-like instrumentation. Bradford Cox has succeed in making the kind of

When it comes to

album Neil Young might

mind-fucks, Dave Longstreth is no

make if he was born in the early eighties and was

stranger.

confined to a bedroom too

Bitte Orca is, however, the

long. “Criminals” and “Attic Lights” are standouts.

first real Dirty Projectors BAND effort. What does that mean? It means that his pure genius (which few

3. Animal Collective,

can really love) has become a

Merriweather Post Pavilion

carefully controlled chaos, operating through the considerable abilities of his

I don’t believe that Merriweather

band mates.

Post Pavilion is Animal

This album is so endearing chiefly because of

Collective’s best

its diversity. It’s hard to believe “Stillness is the Move”

album, but it is still one of the

and “Useful Chamber” came from the same planet, let alone

best albums of the year and a

the same album.

truly innovative effort. The dance feel to


Do you have an artist you would like to nominate to be Artist of the Month? Send us an email. Thats

nice I guess, but I’ve seen better...

(Localasa@gmail.com)

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!


album reviews?

If you’re wondering why we at Local Aesthetic could not take time out of our busy schedule to write a review about the music in San Antonio, it’s because we want to hear from you. Do you really give a crap about how we feel about it? Wouldn't you rather listen to the people of San Antonio? So: 1. 2. 3.

you send us the link to the album that you want to review, include a photo of yourself giving two thumbs up, down or somewhere in the middle, send us all of your contact info,

and we will publish it in the next issue of Local Aesthetic. Let’s see what you have to say... Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!


LAST NIGHT AT OLD JACK’S By Felicia Esparza & James Courtney

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!

Photography By Felicia Esparza


EDITORIAL

Few venues in San Antonio can boast such an impressive history of good shows as Jack’s Patio Bar. Yet one of the refreshing things about Jack’s has always been it’s ability to provide this without the pomp (or condescension approaching apathy) that you might find at other places that regularly feature solid live music. There’s no trendy art on the walls at Jack’s and the bartenders are speedy and enthusiastic. Over the years Jack’s has hosted a range of well-known musicians from Poison’s heartbreaker Bret Michaels to THE incredible Tim Reynolds and been an avid supporter of San Antonio’s most popular upand-comers like Morris Orchids and Cartographers. The Jack’s stage is the musicians’ stage. The last night of old Jack’s came at a sentimental moment in time. The eve of Thanksgiving, most in attendance came prepared with voracious appetites, for what Jack’s would no doubt most impressively serve up, and thoughts of thanks. The evening’s entertainment was provided by MeryKid, Marcus Rubio and the Gospel Choir of Pillows, and Blowing Trees. As the night wore on and we all saturated ourselves with the sounds of each moment, the closing of old Jack’s became only a mark in its history, its spirit living in those in attendance, all of us nodding our heads to the night’s sounds. Seeing Marcus Rubio and his impressive ensemble of musicians and instruments methodically taking over the stage was an encouraging moment. While we were all there, in part, to say goodbye to a place that has grown

worn with its experience; one couldn’t help but feel hopeful for all that’s to come, with a talent like this in continual bloom. When all the instruments and players were set, Rubio led them through several new tracks (tracks not included on their summer 2009 release Oceanic Tremors). A clear standout among these was the playfully ferocious “Hello Dallas, I Have a New Haircut”, a song exploring arrival and anxiety. The song finds Marcus demanding a great deal of his voice and fully commanding the stage from his semi-circular nest, front and center among the spread. His stage presence, complimented by the smiley dexterity of his Gospel Choir of Pillows, becomes more casual and yet more exuberant with each performance. These new songs, which find Rubio exploring familiar ‘internal dialogue’ type territory, show the maturity of a young songwriter who can work from every angle. Rubio and the Pillows finished with a smattering of offerings from their impeccable Oceanic Tremors, a beautifully presented and executed piece of imaginative and genuine independent joy-pop. Marcus once told me that the album was about an Orca whale that “is kidnapped by a former friend the shark and gives up hope of finding his love, contracts decompression sickness and winds up beaching himself on land”. That’s right. It is a must listen and is available at Hogwild Records or by contacting Marcus directly.

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!

The set ended with standard crowd-pleaser and album track “Military Syndrome”, a haunting near march that finds Marcus (over a carefully executed cacophony) breathlessly beseeching the crowd: "I hope you find, in your mind, what you know in your heart". Closing the old Jack’s stage, in the appropriate fashion, were San Antonio stunners, Blowing Trees. Regulars on the Jack’s stage for the past five years, Blowing Trees, led by ferociously fervent frontman Chris Maddin, gave a thunderous and bellowing performance most deserving of the Jack’s venue. Introducing the audience to the group’s latest efforts off their upcoming album, “Wolf Waltz and the Big Nothing Now”, Maddin shouted lyrics like fiery flares above his head, blending with the thick red lights of the Jack’s stage. Blowing Trees, a band thoroughly difficult to exact in explanation, filled their set with their specialized blend of Jered Stevens’ psychedelic guitars, Drew Pierce’s polished and understated drums, and the soulfully funky bass of the on stage cigarette smoking Scavone. Easily melting together, they produced a booming and near-religious performance of “Goblins”, a dominating track off their first album and roared through such set staples as “California Skies” and “The Day the World Left Me”. The band never visibly tired, meshing and flowing more cohesively with every opening note. Blowing Trees blew their spectacular slew of songs, as if reliving, in

every momentous crescendo and belting of vocals, their five years growth on the Jack’s stage, their musical playground that always allowed for their evolution and experimentation. During “Running Blind”, the entire band seemed to be running on no more than pure resolution to leave their permanent and enduring mark on the old Jacks stage. Closing out with a moving and spirited rendition of the Pixies classic “Where Is My Mind”, Blowing Trees final performance on the old Jack’s stage exemplified why Jack’s, for so long, has dominated as the purest and most authentic place to see San Antonio’s best local music. - James Courtney and Felicia Esparza Visit them at their new location @ 2950 Thousand Oaks .


Taste

Jaime Alexander Trevi単o

The Art of Plating By Kat Carey

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!


I have to admit that my and I jumped at the reasons for calling Chef chance to ask him for a Jaime to do a demonstration for the demonstration for our readers of Local taste section of the Aesthetic. The fact that I magazine were not got a free (and amazing) entirely selfless. The first lunch coupled with a time I encountered lesson on the importance Ja i m e ’s c o o k i n g wa s of plating wasn’t bad, entirely by accident, either. however pleasant of an Jaime is all about accident it may have been. “ wo r k i n g w i t h w h a t I was attending an event you’ve got.” You don’t at Eden located at 281 need a million dollar and Evans and I had kitchen to make good planted myself next to a food. “We eat with our plate of the best hummus eyes before we eat with I had ever tasted. It was our stomachs. To me it’s fantastic and different and so important for the food I was sure I would never to be visually appealing as be able to duplicate for well as tasty.” my enjoyment at home. A few short minutes later I Kat : Tell me about the realized I was scraping dish we made today. the bottom of the bowl and my heart sank, sure Jaime : Today we made that I would never again my Baja shrimp tacos. I taste this magnificent used a light Japanese creation. Then, to my Panko bread crumb so surprise, Jaime Treviño, you don't have a heavy whom I had known caked on batter, personally for a number wrapped in a whole of years, walked through wheat flower tortilla the kitchen door holding and topped with a red another bowl of that cabbage, homemade delectable treat. Needless pico de gallo and to say I was ecstatic to guacamole. The learn that I knew the crunchiness from the talented Local culinary Aesthetic artist FEBRUARY 2010!

cabbage to the heat from the salsa and the creamy texture of the guacamole should make it come together very nicely. This hits every part of the palate and satisfies all textures. K: Let’s talk about plating. W hat’s the most important part of plating? J: Color has a lot to do with it because my plate is like my canvas; there are some people who onl y paint on white canvases but there are some people who use colored canvases. I personally prefer a white plate. It allows the food itself to stand out. It’s not distracting so it allows the color and texture to be what it is in its truest form. I believe we eat with our eyes before we eat with our mouth so food has to be visually appealing first and for most. K: How do you know how to set up the food?

J:Cooking simple can be very complex but as far as the plating process you want it to look clean and provoking. You want the color and composition to pop out at you and make you want to eat it. Don't overwhelm the viewer with the unnecessary garnishes and an abundance of sauce, but don't leave out that little extra something that makes it all that more appealing. You have to know when to say "that's enough." A little can go a long way, and control is ver y important. K: Last question. Is ther e anything you would like to say to any aspiring chefs out there? J: Keep at it! Even if it is just a hobby right now. If you love it, do it and carry that love and passion into your food. Make it look appetizing b e c a u s e yo u n e ve r know what's in store for the future.

Chef Jaime’s Tip of the Day: Use canola oil when frying food. It is lighter and healthier but also keeps your food from tasting too oily. Also, cook in small batches. That allows for the food to cook faster and further


Local Filmmaker Buddy Calvo, co-founder of Machina Cinema, writer director of “Jacob,” sits down with Local Aesthetic and discusses upcoming feature length film “The Powderkids” www.machinacinema.com

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!

and his


LA: Tell me a little bit about The Powderkids. i.e. what's it about, what's your role in the production of the film, etc. B: The Powderkids is the story of a college kid who finds himself right where he didn’t want to. I know that’s a little vague, but I’ll explain. Lucas is the kid in question and it’s basically his journey and story that the film takes place within. Lucas had left his hometown of San Antonio three years before the story takes place in order to go to college and basically get away from a lifestyle he knew would take him nowhere. Lucas is an English major, and recently his grades aren’t what he thought they would be. He’s about to enter his senior year of school when he finds out that his final year’s scholarship is about to be revoked and that he will be placed on academic probation. Lucas doesn’t have the money to pay for school and decides to talk to his professor and essentially beg for some type of extra credit to bring his grade up. The professor finally agrees but decides that the paper will be an open forum, the only requirement is to write about something he is passionate about, write something that is real. Lucas finds the open forum harder than he expected and is about to lose his scholarship unless Aesthetic FEBRUARY paper. 2010! he Local writes an amazing Lucas

understands what he needs to do but also understands what his professor is looking for, and he convinces himself that he doesn’t have the story or the passion there at school but thinks he may know where he can find it. Lucas returns home (to San Antonio) and back to the friends he knew in high school, looking for the inspiration he needs to write this paper and reconnecting with the life he left behind. It’s in this journey that the story takes place. There are several other college friends of Lucas’ that return to San Antonio as well and are along for the wild ride that is about to occur. That’s as general as a set up that I can give you. There are many facets of the story that take place which I haven’t spoken about at all but that’s what the film is for. There is love, there is action and there is all the drama that would follow a character’s return. My part in the film was writer and director. Basically, the story and scenario is based upon several true stories that have happen to myself as well as some close friends. After gathering the ideas together between a group of us it was my task to transform some 250 pages into a 90 page shooting script. This is my first full length feature and was a great learning experience.


Branden Yackevicz as Lucas

LA: How was it working in San Antonio? Was it easy to gain permission for the public shoots, how were the different establishments you worked with, etc.

Janet led us to the Scottish Rite which had everything we needed for the scene. After it was shot you would not have had any idea that it was an office building and not an actual jail.

B: Working with San Antonio has been With the independent great. The film being not so businesses here were mainstream in San more than helpful Antonio, we found with locations and many local the San Antonio Film businesses that Commission was a allowed us to film great asset to us. in their Janet Vasquez at the establishments with film commission was few questions. Most a huge help when it of them were just came to last minute excited to be part places to film and of our film and bent creative ideas to over backwards to fake one location to help us with make it seem like scheduling as well another. For as cost for the example, we have a venues. scene where one of our characters is LA: I hear there is getting out of jail an epic foot chase and were not able to scene through Aesthetic 2010! get Local access to theFEBRUARY downtown San San Antonio Jail so Antonio. Can you

tell me a little bit about that? Our chase scene was the first foot chase scene ever filmed in San Antonio. It started at the Greyhound bus station and ended at the original El Mercado (market square). It was actually filmed backwards starting with the end and working our way back to the beginning of the scene. We had two stuntmen working with us that day that are skilled in parkour which added some really cool elements to the chase. The day we filmed was extremely hot, much like the entire summer, but we shot our actors and stuntmen running for hours, starting at 7am and finishing at

4pm that afternoon. We had lots of extra support that day, people on a golf cart driving our DP while the guys ran, as well as carrying our coolers with water. We also had some family that came out to bring snacks, Gatorade, ice and more water throughout the day. The last thing we shot that day was the beginning of the scene and for that we had a deputy sheriff to help us close down St. Mary’s right by the Greyhound station so we could film our actors running through traffic, dodging a few cars. We had quite the audience for this part with people walking around downtown who stopped to watch us film.


LA: What has been the biggest challenge in the making of the film? (spreading the word, finding an audience, casting, etc.) B: Our biggest challenge in making The Powderkids was money. We started off knowing we had a small budget but we ended up not even getting all the money we were planning on. Our investor had promised us $5K, but as with most things something came up and we ended up getting about three thousand from him. That was still more money than we’ve ever had for a film but with such a large cast and so much to do we had to cut some corners. I, along with my producers, had to pay for lots of stuff out of pocket. Little things always came up but we made it in the end.

John Manak (Paul) and Cayman Gentry (Deano)

LA: Are there any special thanks or acknowledgments you would like to make? B: Definitely. I know I’m going to forget someone but I will try my best to remember everyone. First our amazing crew who worked for NOTHING but some snacks, sandwiches and the occasional coffee run : Jimmy, Miguel, Art, Larry, Devon, Amby, and Priscilla Our actors: Branden, Tasja, Stephanie, Caymen, Chris, Samantha, Ashley, John, Jason, Max, Chae, Romy and Lawrence. Our Producers Joe Gallegos and Perla Rivera. Our great cinematographer Darren Abate and our Production Manager Dave Novak. We definitely would not have been able to accomplish this film without the help and support from our family and friends. Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!

Devon Martinez, script supervisor

from L-R: Max Landingham (James), Nastasja Sachs (Ruby), Branden Yackevicz (Lucas), Stephanie Hunter (Sadie), Jason Rhodes (Marcus)


LA: What are three things you feel every reader should know about The Powderkids?

Type to enter

Type to enter text

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!

B: “The Powderkids was the first full length feature shot in Texas with the Canon mark II 5D. The Powderkids is a full length feature made for $4K. The Powderkids is the first full length feature done by Machina Cinema.� text


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She's a Pinot Lady Photograph by Carolina Hinojosa


Playground Photograph by Carolina Hinojosa


EDITORIAL

Posthumous Interviews

A Conversation with La Llorona By FELICIA ESPARZA

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!


Yo u ’ v e h e a r d o f h e r . “If you don’t behave… I’m going to call the Llorona” is the warning with the most capacity to quickly calm kids the fuck down. Mention of her name is enough to chill the blood of the Chupacabra and ensure that the Cucuy stays in his part of the darker end of the closet. When it comes to notorious women of death, La Llorona is tops on the list.

F: Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me. Ll: Oh, it’s nothing dear, with Halloween out of the way and everyone in cheerful sorts, preparing for making merry- there’s just not much need for a spooky woman who cries incessantly and keeps the kids in check… this time of year they use the fat guy for that. F: Ooo… downtime… how are you keeping busy. Ll: Well… you’d be surprised how much sleep it takes to keep up with the kind of wailing I do, not to mention the gallons of water I have for breakfast everyday. And then there are those older kids who are too cool for Santa… I still scare them back in line on an as needed basis… it’s a living… err… well you get the idea. F: When you’re not keeping up with your daunting duties, what do you do? Ll: Well I find myself on bodies of water a whole lot, y’ know, looking around for something I can’t remember. This time of year I haunt the Riverwalk quite regularly. Love the extension, by the way, but those kids at Rock Bottom sure don’t scare easy… it’s easier at the VFW… there’s a lot to work with there I guess. There’s something I look for in water… something far Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!

away from my heart but strangely important… all those old songs about me can tell you about it… they flatter me. Right now I like how Beirut has interpreted the Legend. Death and art are eternally linked… and ever since my death I have really learned to appreciate color and melody in particular. F: You know- to shift gears a bit -as a cultural symbol you have become a genuine part of Latin American/Chicano identity. How do you feel about you influence, particularly on women? Ll: It’s like this, ultimately, Hispanic women have followed this idealized version of motherhood that they’ve been instilled with from birth, y’ know, making tortillas, bearing male boys, what have you. I bucked the trend, and, while I’m destined to live as a solitary soul, mourning my losses, filled with regret, but, I’m immortalized. I will live forever. I have set myself apart. And that’s all we can ever want in this life and the next and the next. La Llorona can currently be found haunting large bodies of water and waiting for young children to misbehave.


EDITORIAL

A conversation with Mr. Billy Mays By Art Guillermo

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!


BILLY MAYS HERE! Art: Hey Billy, so what did you really think of Oxy Clean? Billy: WELL, I WAS A PAID SPOKESPERSON SO I HAD TO SAY I LIKED IT! BUT IN TRUTH, I ACTUALLY LOVED IT! IT WAS SO AMAZING! I EVEN MIXED IT INTO A PASTE. WHY DO YOU THNK MY TEETH WERE SO WHITE! Art: Billy, Do you always yell? Even in print? Billy: OF COURSE! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LET PEOPLE KNOW HOW ENTHUSED I AM?? Art: What about Mighty Putty? Did you have a favorite use for it? Billy: YES! I PUT SOME MIGHTY PUTTY IN THE KEYHOLE OF VINCE’S (of Slap Chop fame) CAR! LET’S JUST SAY THE LOOK ON HIS FACE WAS “SHAM WOW”! Art: What was the worst thing you ever did to eliminate a competitor? Billy: I PAID A HOOKER $930 TO BITE VINCE’S TOUNGE. SHE DIDN’T “LOVE THOSE NUTS”! Art: So I take it you really didn’t like Vince? Billy: HELL NO! “FETTUCCINI, LINGUINI, MARTINI.” WHO SAYS THAT?!?

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!

Art: Are there any products you passed on and ended up regretting? Billy: DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED! I THOUGHT THE SNUGGIE WAS A FRIGGIN’ JOKE! Art: Thanks, Billy Billy: NO PROBLEM! TELL SULLY HE’S STILL NOT EXCITED ENOUGH! Art: Will do.

Have you recently had a conversat ion with a dead celebrity ?? Well unlike those Jerks that don’t believe that Elvis is speaking to you from beyond the grave, we want to hear about it. So next time you sit down with them, ask them the questions you have always wanted to know. Then send it to localasa@gmail.com


EDITORIAL

almost

Digital Killed the Analog Star

Local Aesthetic FEBRUARY 2010!


The Impossible Project Team

Local Aest!

ŠThe Impossible Project


EDITORIAL

The Machines

My very first camera was a Polaroid. It was black, bulky and loud. At the time you don’t feel much of an attachment to something like that. Occasionally the pictures were blurry. The film was pricy and only came in small quantities. The list of complaints went on and on. When the digital revolution hit there was an immediate attraction. Digital cameras could provide truly instant photos without the shake and wait of their inferior predecessor. If you don't like it, delete it. Not only have you not wasted a pricy exposure, you still have spent considerably less time than it would have taken shaking and waiting with the old analog film. In June 2008, Polaroid discontinued Polaroid film and jumped on the digital bandwagon. Although this event went unnoticed by most, as a photographer I felt a sense of loss. Suddenly, all of those qualities that were once undesirable became my fondest memories of my first love. The bulk was no longer a hassle; it was the mark of solid, quality construction. That loud sound of the film leaving the camera became the camera’s calling card rather than an annoying byproduct. The agonizing minutes leading up to seeing the finished product were now, in my mind, characterized as the “classic shake-and-wait”. It took the product being virtually wiped off the face of the earth for me to realize that my love for photography started there. One of the best feelings when you’re in the darkroom is Local Aesthetic

February 2010 !

dropping the blank paper into the developer and watching your creation come to life. Is it too dark? Is it too light? Is everything in focus? Needless to say I now buy my instant film on eBay. The majority of it is already expired with the freshest groups expiring in December 2009. Even with that in mind I take my chances. While surfing the web recently for my instant film fix I stumbled upon something fantastic. The Impossible Project (named in homage to Edwin Land, the inventor of instant photography's quote: 'Don't undertake a project unless it's manifestly important and nearly impossible') lead by an eccentric Austrian artist and businessman named Florian Kaps and a collective of 11 former workers from the Polaroid factories, has picked up where polaroid left off. Mr Kaps, 39, has dedicated the past five years to instant photography. He set up www.polanoid.net, the biggest Polaroid gallery on the web, and the first ever Polaroid-only art gallery in Vienna, called Polanoir. He is leading this group to conquer a mission. The Mission you ask... “to reinvent Polaroid’s instant film process and ensure it is enjoyed by countless generations to come.” Did I notice halfway through reading about their endeavor that there were tears of joy rolling down my face? Maybe. Are there others out there who will be just as excited as I am to learn about this rebirth? I sure hope so.

©The Impossible Project


EDITORIAL

"

"

What.How.When

So lets take a step back and start from the beginning. When Polaroid was transforming itself from an analog Instant Film Production Company to a global Consumer Electronics and Digital Imaging company, with new high quality products for the masses it started running out of the essential components. So Polaroid globally stopped the production of analog Instant Film in June 2008, closing the factories in Mexico and the Netherlands. So launching October 1st, 2008 The Impossible Project team signed a ten-year lease from the former Polaroid plant on the factory itself,in Enschede (NL), acquired the machinery and engaged the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide. The concrete aim is to re-invent and reproduce analog integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras."The project is more than a business plan; it's a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn't create turnover," said Mr Kaps. Don’t worried kids Polaroid is fully aware and supportive of this goal.The mission is therefore not to re-build Polaroid Integral film but to develop a new product with new characteristics, consisting of new optimized components, produced with a streamlined modern setup. An innovative and fresh analog material, sold under a new brand name that perfectly matches the global re-positioning of Integral Film. Since 1972, integral film production has followed the exact same recipe, based on exactly the same components invented almost 40 years ago by Polaroid. Every single pack of Integral Instant film consists of about 20 components/ parts. But here is the rub. Some of essential original components used for producing Polaroid Integral film are not available any more. The team members decided that they have to re-invent and develop new and better solutions for Local Aesthetic

February 2010 !

replacing/upgrading problematic/expensive components before re-starting production. Altogether they face 7 challenges. Just to name a few, 1. develop a new negative 2. a new positive 3. a new battery solution 4. a new reagent 5. new materials for mask 6. pod foil 7. etc.

The factory

The Impossible Project has 15 months to develop this new, modern Integral Film, which should be ready for mass production at the end of 2009. If my calculations are correct that somewhere between soon and now. They plan to produce 1 million films in the first year (2010), and 3 million films thereafter. It is apparent the the new film is geared towards the more artistic but I encourage all lovers of the Polaroid to rekindle there relationship with that old shake-n-wait. With production due to restart in 2010, there's enough time left for anyone silly enough to have thrown out their old Polaroid camera so hit the local thrift stores and find a new one. For more information on the Impossible Project visit www.the-impossibleproject.com We want to see your best and worst polaroid moments. So scan it,send it and we will post it. (localasa@gmail.com )

ŠThe Impossible Project


UPDATE Because over the past 12 months the Impossible Project has generated so many press reports, events and discussions about the beloved medium on instant photography and there journey to keep it alive, Polaroid® Brand has decided to re-launch some of its most famous Polaroid Instant Cameras. Polaroid is commissioning The Impossible Project to develop and produce a limited edition of Polaroid® branded Instant Films in the middle of 2010. Summit Global held a press conference on 13th October 2009 in Hongkong, announcing the plans to re-produce some iconic Polaroid Instant Cameras and to bring them to the market in 2010 in a strategic relationship with The Impossible Project. For more information on the Impossible Project visit www.theimpossible-project.com

Local Aesthetic

February 2010 !

©The Impossible Project


EDITORIAL

PRESS RELEASE 13 10 October 2009 PRESS RELEASE 22 January th

th

Back to Reality The Impossible factory is working overtime but so is the rumor mill: Polaroid rocked CES in Las Vegas, dancing with LadyProject Gaga. This breathtaking overwhelmed them that they The Impossible inspires Polaroidperformance to re-launchsoInstant Cameras obviously forgot to share the real facts about the future of Analog Instant Photography. The details are simple: The Impossible Project is the one and ONLY institution in the whole milky way Over the past 12 months, The Impossible Project has generated an incredible that will number be capable of producing Analogand Instant Film forabout Polaroid cameras. of Instant of press reports, events discussions the fascination Photography, and particularly about its quest to keep this unique and captivating kind of photography alive – by re-inventing a new analog integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras.

Back to the Future

Accomplishing this mission and running the former Polaroid plant in Enschede (NL), The Impossible Project the is pleased history-making The Impossible Project will present status oftoitsherewith work toannounce the publicaon cooperation between The Impossible Project and Polaroid:

22nd February 2010

The new licensee of the Polaroid® Brand – The Summit Global Group – will relaunch some Edwin of theLand mostpresented famous Polaroid Cameras andPicture is therefore in New York - where the veryInstant first Analog Instant publicly at the commissioning The Impossible Project to develop and produce a limited edition of Annual Meeting ®of the Optical Society of America 63 years and 1 day ago, on 21st of February Polaroid branded Instant Films in the middle of 2010.

1947. On this date he changed the world of Photography by announcing one of the most Summit held photographic a press conference on 13 October 2009 in Hongkong, outstanding and Global successful inventions in thhuman history.

outlining their plans to re-produce some iconic Polaroid Instant Cameras and to bring them to the market in 2010 in a strategic relationship with The Impossible To honorProject. this milestone of Polaroid Instant Photography, we kindly ask you to save the 22nd of

February 2010. You will then learn all about the exciting details of the Impossible future of Instant The Impossible Projectare is proud excitedathat its ambitions and all the in relentless Photography. Details/invites aboutand to follow; video of the presentation New York as well work that has already been invested are now becoming the foundation for as a comprehensive media as kit awill be available worldwide. Polaroid's comeback producer of Instant Cameras. Large-scale production and worldwide sale of The Impossible Project's new integral film materials under its own brand will already start in the beginning of 2010 - with a Press Contact brand new and astonishing black and white Instant Film and the first colour films to follow in the course of the year. Marlene Kelnreiter marlene@the-impossible-project.com T.: +43 (0) 1 890 31 90 91 M: +43 (0) 680 318 30 77 Project I PR Contact The Impossible F.: +43 (0) 1 890 31 90 15 Marlene Kelnreiter www.the-impossible-project.com marlene@the-impossible-project.com Press Images / Releases / Clippings T.: +43 (0) 1 890 31 90 91 M: +43 (0) 680 318 30 77 F.: +43 (0) 1 890 31 90 15 www.the-impossible-project.com Local Aesthetic

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February 2010

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Welcome to the Library A collection of this months short stories, poems and literary works

Local Aesthetic

February 2010

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Sights

Sights

Poetry By Mike Hughes response to 09/08/09 blog

to have and have not, the movie

she said the blogs have been too soulless lately and wrote a poem as if her ceiling was the sky, about possibility and mattering, she's so tired of finding ways to un-destroy her mind. there's too much to describe was what she exclaimed at night. she'd snarl passion and writhe, making love from human plight. she's debating her stance on equanimity after years of burning the forests between wrong and right,

i could never say no and would wait forever for you to just say yes. i wonder whose ego was hung up on never waking up second best. i tried on the broadest shoulders just to show you that i could fit. it wasn't hard to play bogart, only to realize when to quit.

still looking through the gray, blinking and smarting from the ash of flamed out philosophies of life. she caught herself mid-sigh, steadied her dramatic eyes, exhaled that smoke so wise, and drank the steely moonlight. she said the blogs have been too soulless lately and painted, from memory, that perfect moment sky of possibility and life mattering, she's so good at finding ways to reinvent her mind. there's too much to describe was what she exclaimed at night, even social gadflies get tired, break down, and cry. she's debating her elusive identity, and if you die once or many different times, still reading, scribbling into notebooks, and singing a medley of old and new philosophies of life. she's at her best mid-sigh, she's into synthesis, will smile and then defy rusting in steely moonlight. she said the blogs have been too soulless lately not as a lament, but a knowing aside. she's continuously debating everything,

i only miss you on sundays when the next week looms like a patronizing threat, when i really need measured grace to balance the wild defiance drumming in my head. i only miss you on sundays when energies are refocusing and minds made, when a friendly bet with malaise can start a war between ideal and common sense. i only miss you on sundays when football's over and the moon can't be my friend, when alarms might make a smug face at all the moments i choose to cherish and waste. i only miss you on sundays when i really don't want another cigarette, when i just want to go to bed but can't, because, without you, it feels like giving up. i only miss you on sundays when i'm aging in mirrors, when refusal must wane, i only miss the purpose we could make out of simply loving each other.

her communion comes in thought, art, and seizing life.

Local Aesthetic

February 2010

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CONFESSION AND FOREWORD

dear, i made up all that shit about meditation you came to love me in a moment's hesitation. i didn't lie, we both speak in approximation. all the words you know, quick, what's their definition? i just want immunity from my intuition, except that's purely childish selfhood and tradition. let's not go and google our zodiac perdition, ascribe to what's inside more poetic inscriptions; but, run, galavant toward our whimsy's ambition, we can live beyond lost pride and failure's derision. but what's that, which kiss did i like the best? we try to entrap each love to confess a blush it can't quite comprehend or wrest from the blood flow between our brain and breast.

Pete, Jane, Frank, and Laura Pete’s hair is a long, tangled mess of avoidance. He thought not combing it would make him pure, but just another insecure rationalization. Tried to beat anxiety with doped up wuwei and ended up with a disjointed lot of revelations turned juvenile understandings. Still a bum kid staring down whiskey in his veins, swerving in between home and fucking up. He’s relational and estranged just like everyone else.

there's old gentle sighs dubbed with musical knifes of light, sometimes waking up cries of dust and adjusted sight and other times you feel ordinary and your mouth dry, thinking you'd die for the freedom to laugh and defy heartless alarms and careers too early and contrived. i stomp to the shower to the tune of the reprise, i'll carry that weight, i'll open sleepless blood-shot eyes, exorcise tiredness with coffee and a smile's guise, edit out crusades of gripes to die for decent pride.

Nothing more embarrassing than being alone, Jane feels like the reason they make these ads for singles and flatter stomachs, but she won't deign to click.

though fighting bleak won't make you unique, what love, what justice from feigning meek? some feel richer for what they entreat, others slave over what makes them weak.

Always seems to be a chasm between her lust for attention and her need to be saved. She’s relational and estranged, just like everyone else.

the bible 2 won't eschew any such avenue, but rather accrue purple, green emotional hues in a gone pasture of humanity courting truths. the conundrums won't soothe much of the hurt that we outgrew, the thinking is inherently blue, not meant for proof of black, white, heavens and hells, to celebrate or rue. i saw angry in hungry, deep in grief, drunk to lewd; yet, i did bloom and still depend on these diseased roots. how long must i polish sin off god's most holy tooth? we never knew dreaming up a soul made of an ancient bottom-less hole would be so vital to feeling whole, we think in why's for sake of revolt. we try not to wonder when we'll stop letting ourselves go, if a body is a vessel or a temple, no, no judgment for a world hazy and wreaking of smoke, no lust tainting energies of potential and hope. tried not to feel remote when i awoke well below great vague expectations of what i should be and know. a spiritual winter cure global warming type foe enlists, misguides passion with its apocalypse goad. i clothe myself in myths of transcendence, but just crow. i am aware of being aware, i heaped a blank stare here, there, nowhere, praying, maybe, for words, thought to bear a continuity we could share.

She finally read the Word of God in college, from a tiny book with a green cover, most often surreptitiously, desperate for a way out.

Frank’s flock is made of mostly irrelevant thoughts, hypotheticals that he never chased. That's quite a brutal way to die, dreams replaced with complaints. One unending soliloquy from mind’s pulpit, he would tell everybody he loved them if he could only find out how to phrase or frame it right. Sunday night hypertension with weeks to dawn and universes to down and then piss out. He’s relational and estranged, just like everyone else. Laura stomps in each day, saying ‘I hate my life,’ cutting her school lunch with a plastic knife. Sadness is the old, bad habit that she could never kick. She can’t remember which helplessness to unlearn, whether some bitterness is well deserved. Orphaned into a false, mundane, mediocrity sect. Took up running for all the symbolic reasons, and found only another way to ache. She’s relational and estranged, just like everyone else.

Local Aesthetic

February 2010

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You can have forever To write the perfect poem, But it just might turn out That thereʼs nothing left to say.

You can love a person Too much, too little, or too late, But the real trouble is believing Thereʼs a recipe for ʻjust rightʼ.

You can have friends Teach you tenderness and loyalty, But donʼt be surprised when you find That they disappear as easy as night.

You can sell forgiveness To the transgressors and the meek, Both are gullible and guilty for Thinking a soul is something damned or saved.

You Try But The

Years Trickle By. And, Though, itʼs hard

You learn Truth is But a word That usually fools you.

You canʼt win The spiritual lottery By bitching, but itʼs Too hard to smile today.

Yes, you should remember That it is probably Better to ʻacceptʼ than ʻexpectʼ. Thereʼs beauty in blue and gray.

Local Aesthetic

February 2010

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Calendar

Austin Texas

San Antonio Texas

Art on the 5th 1501 West 5th Street, Austin Texas 78703 www.arton5th.com

Art at the Jalapeno, 512 South Flores, San Antonio Their First Friday myspace.com/artatthejalapeno

Austin Galleries 1219 West 6th Street Austin 78703 www.austingalleries.com

Art in The Chamber, Chamber of Commerce, 602 East Commerce, San Antonio ,

Austin Art Space a place for established and emerging artists www.austinartspace.com

ArtistiKIDS! A mobile art ministry, encouraging Creativity through Christ, www.artistikids.org Alisha 210-909-1409 Bent Easel, 121 Blue Star Suite 6, San Antonio

Bydee Art Gallery 512-480-3100 Positive Image Art and Gallery, 512-472-1736

Blue Star Art Complex 116 Blue Star in Southtown San Antonio, Celebrate First Fridays of the Month www.bluestar.com 210-227-6960

Clayways Pottery Studio and Art Gallery, 888-487-3667

Bihl Haus Arts, 2803 Fredricksburg Road, www.bihlhouse.org

Rock of Ages Fine Art Gallery, 512-762-1736

Brad Braun Studios, 9107 East Mistletoe, They are a part of the Second Friday Art Walk, Art on the Hill

Jones art Gallery, 512-328-2886 Yard Dog Folk Art, 512-912-1613 www.yarddog.com Quality Frames and Art Gallery, 512-328-3631

Carver Cultural Center, 226 North Hackberry, Will be displaying the art of the Gevers Street Studio, www.thecarver.org 210-207-7211 Calcasieu Gallery 214 Broadway San Antonio

More Info

Casa Margarita, 732 South Alamo, San Antonio, Texas78205 210-222-8444

www.inthegalleriesaustin.com profiles and reviews of galleries and studios in Austin along with a calendar of events

Centro Cultural Aztlan 1800 Fredricksburg Road Suite 103, Ramon Vasquez 210-649-6072

The Arts I Austin Links for galleries and studio in Austin www.austinlinks.com/arts

David Shelton Gallery, 20626 Stone Oak Parkway San Antonio, 210-481-5200,

Monica Aroaz has a news letter that she puts out, email her at monica@maroazgallery.com

El Sol Studios, 936 South Flores www.elsolstudios.com 210-226-9700

Corpus Christi Texas Sur de Tejas ixchelartist@grandecom.net

Esperanza Center for Justice, 9200 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio Fighting Wolf Studio, Bandera Road, San Antonio 210-534-8109 Gallist Art Gallery, 1913 South Flores, Second Saturday Celebration, Art Poetry (hosted by Tom E), music and refreshments, call Joe Lopez 210-212-8606 joegallista@sbcglobal.net Gevers Street Studio, 718 South Gevers,

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Gevers News (Lauren Browning) will be displaying her art at the Brenda Ladd Studio in Austin, 1509 Newning Avenue, Austin 512-707-0070, The Carver Cultural Center on North Hackberry in San Antonio and La Casa Rosa 527 West Dewey San Antonio. www.laurenbrowning.com/ Galleria Ortiz, 4026 McCullough www.galleriaortiz.com 210-826-8623

Villa del Carmen Sculpture Conservatory, 11354 Vance Jackson, San Antonio, Texas"Tx Dinner Wine Friends Sculptors Outdoors Cool!!!, March 27, 2010 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas www.wittemuseum.com

Guadalupe Cultural Art Center, 1300 Gudalupe Street, 210-271-3151 www.guadalupeculturalarts.org

Announcements

High Wire Arts, 326 West Josephine, 210-827-7652 210-320-5702 www.highwirearts.com They are Part of the Second Friday Art Walk "Art on the Hill"

Please Visit Localasa.com for more information on call for entries and competitions.

Inspire Fine Art Center, 1539 East Sandlewood, San Antonio, Texas (In an old Red Brick Firehouse) More Info 210-829-5592 www.inspirart.ning.com Tracy Oliver 210-842-9723 Joan Grona Studio, 116 Blue Starr , Oart of the First Friday Celebration at the Complex La Casa Rosa Art Studio, 527 West Dewey,www.luislopezartist.com 210-785-0743 Long Hall Art Gallery, 618 West Craig, www.longhallgallery.com Mango's Gallery ouz@mangosgallery.com www.discoveredartist.com/ ofeliaz McNay Art Gallery, 6000 North New Braunfels www.mcnay.org 210-824-5368

"The Working Actor" WorkshopTaught by Casting Director/Actor Andrew Aguilar & Actor/ Producer Derek Nixon San Antonio, TX. January 23th or 24th, from 9-5 @ Radius Center, For Only $95! Please sign up fast classes are filling up quickly! www.theworkingactorworkshop.com The call is open to professional artists residing in the United States. The total project budget is $600,000 and includes design, fabrication, installation, travel expenses and taxes. Application deadline is 11 p.m., Monday, Feb. 22 (Pacific Time). www.publicartsa.com Battle of the Alamo 6 Dance battle of the year. February 13th 2010 102 Cincinnati Ave 210-317-4649 www.myspace.com/battleofthealamo

SAVA Art Gallery, River Center Mall 101 Bwie Street (Corner of Bowie And Commerce shirleneharris@yahoo.com www.savisualartists.org

Societies and Organizations

Studio4FM The Martinez Street Women's Shelter, 1508 South Hackberry, 210-534-6638 www.mswomenscenter.org

San Antonio Visual Artists SAVA Shirleneharris@yahoo.com www.savisualartists.org

SAMA San Antonio Museum of Art Free on Tuesdays, 200 West Jones www.samuseum.org 210-978-8100

Texas Photographic Society www.texasphoto.org

Tobin Hill Art Alliance, "Art on the Hill", Every second Friday of the Month, several galleries and studios within walking distance of each other have an Art Walk (High Wire Art 326 West Josephine, La Casa Rosa 527 West Dewey, Brad Braun Studios 9107 Mistletoe and others) start time is 5:30 pm www.highwireart.com 210-785-0743

Local Aesthetic

February 2010

To add an art organization, event or announcement, email us at: localasa@gmail.com

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Untitled Photograph By Kat Carey Š Darkroom Photography


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