Housed in the offices of the architectural firm, John J. Speegle and Associates, the Schiebel-Richardson Gallery presents the exhibit 36 8 X 10, a display of photographs of architectural details, organized by John Speegle. The opening receptions for these exhibits always draw a crowd from San Antonio’s eclectic community of architects and designers.
Schiebel-Richardson Gallery / John J. Speegle and Associates. Main entrance.
As participants in the FOTOSEPTIEMBRE USA Festival since 2002, The Witte Museum, as is its mission, has always excelled in presenting quality exhibits, vintage and contemporary, that are culturally and contextually relevant to the South Texas region. For the 2008 Festival, the museum is hosting La Cultura Trasciende Fronteras: A Personal Portrait of Tejanos and Mexicanos, a retrospective of selected images by San Antonio photographer and gallery owner, Al Rendon. Curated by Bruce Shackelford, the exhibit, on display in the museum’s Focus Gallery, depicts Rendon’s perspectives of, and involvement with, the Mexican-American experience, and the different communities that are defined by the cultural, social and economic aspects of this experience.
The Witte Museum. Main entrance on Broadway Avenue, on the Eastern edge of Brackenridge Park.
As part of their educational outreach program, coordinated by Roland Mazuca, Blue Star Contemporary Art presents a series of exhibits and workshops at the Julia Yates Semmes Branch Library, which anchors the Southeast corner of Comanche Park at the intersection of Judson and Nacogdoches. The Semmes Library -a very pleasing, dramatic, airy structure designed by the San Antonio firm Rehler, Vaughn and Koone- is hosting the exhibit Journey Into Civilizations a collection of photographs made by artist/psychologist Patrice Villastrigo during her travels. As an extension of the exhibit Patrice conducted an image appreciation/interpretation workshop, Finding The Beauty Within From Without, with library visitors. Also involved in the workshop was famed San Antonio icon, our good friend and artist, Alex Rubio.
Julia Yates Semmes Branch Library. Main entrance. “Using Comanche Tower as a focal point, the Library’s reading areas are oriented to take advantage of views into the park. The site orientation also takes into account the solar path, capturing indirect natural light while minimizing the amount of direct sunlight. Rainwater is collected in this environmentally friendly building and piped into water cisterns to be used to help meet irrigation demands on the site.”
With a few dozen participating photographers of all stripes, and an attendant cast of hundreds, all in party mode, the opening reception for the exhibit ¡Presente! – Photography And The Art Of The Present Moment at Centro Cultural Aztlan, coordinated by photographer Deborah Keller-Rihn, was at times more like a festive bazaar than an opportunity for art contemplation. This is not a bad thing, although it is difficult to appreciate the scope of an artist’s work when only one image is on display, and several dozen fans and friends are milling about showing their support. Add to the mix the ambient music of Mombassa Code –a favorite San Antonio art band- and tasty quesadillas, and the only option left is to shout hellos and goodbyes, while going through a meet-and-greet repertoire of ritualized backslaps, fist-bumps, and high-fives.
Centro Cultural Aztlan. Main facade.
Exhibiting in the Trinity University Dicke Art Building Art Gallery, is Trish Simonite –photographic artist and Trinity professor- who is presenting Traces: The History Of Flint, a series of her new digital images. With a well-balanced combination of natural and artificial light, the simple, elegantly appointed gallery, provides visitors with a pleasing, unhurried environment for viewing art.
Dicke Art Building, Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Center, Trinity University.
Out in the Great Northwest, where once were miles and miles of sparsely populated Texas Hill Country, at the intersection of North Ellison and Loop 1604, sits the fastest growing campus of the Alamo Community College District. Northwest Vista College, already a sprawling coterie of not so unpleasant Nouveau-Tex public architecture, is undergoing a major construction process, with even more structures on the way (the Art Department will soon have its own building), as the population boom in the area defines the area’s educational needs. On display inside the Huisache Hall -organized by Tim Jones– is a collection of images by Students, Faculty & Staff, entitled Northwest Vistas-FOTOSEPTIEMBRE USA, the College’s contribution to the 2008 Festival.
Northwest Vista College. Campus entrance.
