Being the Second Saturday of the month, the School of Visual Philosophy across the road from the Flamingo Motel was holding an open afternoon, and it was great. The school is set in a large open plan space (former shop store?), with a front office reception area and small shop, and then a large open space with artist studios constructed around the perimeter. At the back, it opens out again into a large print room and an even larger blacksmith’s and workshop area. I caught the end of a talk before taking a look round. The artists are mostly grounded in traditional techniques: printmaking, metalwork, sculpture, signcraft and letterpress, which of course is the polar opposite of new media technologies and made for a perfect compare-and-contrast. I liked the energy of the space. This is something intangible and I don’t think is linked to any particular medium but more to a sense of openness to creative endeavour.
I managed to chat to founders Dana Harris Seeger and Yori Seeger. Dana told me how they had set up the school to keep traditional art and craft forms alive. I asked Yori about his thoughts on new tech. He sees it as another tool to be used, provided it builds on a deep understanding of the underlying art form and doesn’t try to short cut it. For a recent commission to build a display cabinet, Yori told me how he had first made the tools with which he made the cabinet, and that these would then form part of the final piece. Now that’s commitment to the process. I finished my visit eating freshly made pierogi dumplings and listening to live music. A great afternoon.
Across the road, another open studio. This was a friendly, welcoming event, but somehow lacked the same spark. I spoke to Belinda Lima who is from Surrey but has lived in the area for 30 years. She told me how the rise of the tech giants has led to new developments, higher rent, and pressure on artist studio spaces. This sounded very familiar: Cambridge (aka Silicon Fen) is on a similar trajectory, if not at the same scale.
My day ended with a visit to the Root Division 20th anniversary celebrations. Root Division is an impressive artists studio and white cube gallery space in San Francisco. It was busy and buzzing. I enjoyed the atmosphere and stayed for the speeches, with much well-deserved appreciation for keeping the organisation afloat and thriving for so long. The challenges of funding, supportive landlords, commitment and drive seem to be universal for any art endeavour to succeed.
