It wasn’t too long ago when one would conjure up images of cottage paintings and drawings of a White Wolf howling at the moon when someone would mention The Riverside Arts Walk (which occurs on the first Thursday night of each month). Not that there‘s anything wrong with cottages or wolves since the beauty of art is in the eye of the beholder, but you know. . .
With that said, the Arts walk has evolved into a haven for surreal, post-mod, eclectic artists. From abstract imagery painted on a mannequin’s torso to photographs of local indie bands, The Walk has new blood running through its veins. The locations where the artist displayed their work varied: from the sidewalk to the second floor of the Back to the Grind Coffee shop to the UCR Sweeney Art Gallery. This stuff was everywhere! I lit my first clove for the evening, took a drag, and began taking a walk.
While traveling down the street La Calavera came upon two up-and-coming I.E artists worthy of much notice: Zakary Rodgers and Travis Duran.
Artist: Zakary Rodgers
Form of art: mixed media, painting, drawing, writing
Home Town: Corona
Age: 17
Trademark characteristic: “I have a long list of mental problems”
Link: www.myspace.com/ZakaryRodgers
Zakary Rodgers
The sidewalk was crowded. The sound of admiration was in the air. In the center of all this was Zak Rodgers. A good guy who is approachable. He drove from Corona to display his pieces tonight. “Yeah, I’d describe my work as stream of conscious. What ever is in my head at the time, I paint. I draw on anything I can get my hands on.” As La Calavera looked at his work I was amazed and impressed at the surreal drawings that covered items such as pieces of cardboard, toilet seats, glass frames, and the torsos of 3 mannequins. “I’ve been working on my art for about 2-3 years but it always came natural to me. I remember when I was a baby drawing all over the place with my mom’s lipstick.” “My first pieces were done on cardboard when I was put in Military School. I got locked in the bathroom one time and I just started drawing.” Zak is someone with a lot of potential who has a good future waiting for him. Check out some of his art below and to find out more about him, click on the myspace link.
(Paintings/Drawings By Zak Rodgers)
Next, La Calavera’s friend, Eric, led him to an entrance next to Back to the Grind. Before I walked up the carpeted stairs, I took the last drag of my clove before hittin’ brown’s ville. I flicked it onto the sidewalk and began climbin’. The faint sound of some D.J’s beats started getting louder and louder till I eventually reached the top. The D.J. was playing in one of the rooms but I wasn’t here for that. As I turned. . . there it was. On the hallway wall, a set of photographs hung attracting the attention of many art goers. Photographs that had this presence about them, a sort of mental noise. . . These photographs aren’t flat, I mean. . .they’re taken in a way where you can just “hear” what’s going on in them. They have depth. Next to them was a guy with massive piercings leaning on his long board wearing a black hoodie.Artist: Travis Duran
Form of Art: photography
Home Town: Mira Loma
Age: 24
Trademark characteristic: “I have 8 transdermal implants, I’m into body mod.”
Link: www.myspace.com/photosbytravis
Travis Duran
This is Travis Duran the photographer. “I deal mainly with photographing live bands but I’m movin’ towards pin-ups.” Travis was a really humble/personable guy. “I started taking photography classes in High School, but after I graduated I didn’t have any equipment to work with. I eventually saved up enough to by the stuff I needed.” He uses a digital camera but still enjoys being in the Dark room. He loves the art scene in Riverside “I’m from Mira Loma, but this is my first art show in Riverside.” After a shake of the hand I took one more glimpse of his photo’s and walked back down onto the street. For more info on Travis, click on his myspace link. Below are a few samples of his work.
Photos by Travis Duran
Pissed off because I couldn't take photo's of La Calavera with these great artists (I left my camera at home), I lit up one more clove, continued down the street and ended up at the U.C.R Sweeney art gallery where a lot of good items were on display. After that I went back to Aces and Eights where our favorite photographer, Malina Love, was busy showing her work to the people coming in. Check out the previous months blog for info on Malina and her great work. Also click on the link on the rightside of the screen: Malina Love Photography. Don't forget to hit these artist up and show them some support!
Hasta La Proxima,
La Calavera #42
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