I am a freelance writer who contributes to the Sun, but as a visual artist I want to say that I appreciated Shelly Cone’s piece (“Where is the art?”) in the July 17 issue.
I particularly want to applaud Craig Shafer’s comment: “I don’t care if you’re blue collar, white collar, or blue blood, it’s our human nature. Art is in us.”
To the suggestion (hinted at in the story by Mayor Larry Lavagnino) that Santa Maria is a “blue collar community” as opposed to an “arts community,” I would say: Look at PCPA. Who would think that such a prestigious performing arts organization would be centered in Santa Maria? Why isn’t it in an arts community like Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo? But here it is, alive and well, and (other than barbecue) what could be more distinctly Santa Marian than PCPA? I think that it could be the same for the visual arts.
I participated in the local Arts Grant competition the past three years (I won second place in 2006), and from the work I saw by the various entrants, Santa Maria is blessed with a particularly strong visual arts community. We just have to find a way to make it more visible, more accessible, and more exciting for the general public.
I think we could take a cue from Lompoc’s murals in making art more visible. The general public doesn’t have to walk into a gallery to see them, they see them without even meaning to just while walking or driving by. If artwork got that kind of exposure in Santa Maria, I think it might be seen as more vital and less frivolous to the community.
My work has been shown in the Town Center Gallery, but I wonder how perceptions of what is and isn’t “Santa Marian” art have affected the local gallery scene.
My own artwork is somewhat unusual—surreal, illustrative, done in a combination of traditional and digital work. Once, I went to one of the owners of the now-closed Broadway Gallery and asked if I could show there. I was told, “There is no market for your artwork in Santa Maria. Try San Luis Obispo.”
“This is a working person’s city. Art is—when you’re trying to make a living, art is not at the top of your list,” Lavagnino said in Shelly’s story.
I am a writer and artist who is “trying to make a living” in Santa Maria, and it isn’t always easy. I’ve been to every sign design shop in town, attempting to get steady pay for my design skills and experience on my r»sum», and I’ve been dismissed by all of them.
Some of them were sincerely encouraging—“You shouldn’t work here, you should work in Hollywood”—but that’s one of the reasons I want to gather working experience in my hometown, so I can go off to Hollywood, make good, and then come back to Santa Maria … and support the local arts community!
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 7, 2008.
