Water scarcity in the U.S. west may seem like a problem that affects western residents alone, but where the national food supply is concerned, the consequences of a water crisis spread quickly in all directions. The San Joaquin Valley is the most productive agricultural region in the world, according to a Reuters data report on California agriculture and water supply. The state produces “over half of U.S. fruits, nuts and vegetables and over 90 percent of U.S. almonds, artichokes, avocados, broccoli and processing tomatoes,” and is the nation’s largest dairy supplier.
Read the restPosted on Monday, May 14, 2012 by Allison Byers
Impressive effort, is a phrase that is often banded about when describing the work in student shows. Frequently it is used to describe the raw talent, if not 100% polished execution that one associates with a non-professional collection. But for the CCA Class of 2012 Senior Runway Show, which took place in San Francisco on Friday night, impressive effort doesn't begin to cover it.
Read the restPosted on Monday, May 14, 2012 by Allison Byers
Some great new illustration and painting work from Berkeley, CA based artist Deth P Sun from his recent show at Domy Books in Houston, TX- which just came down on April 26th!! Deth is originally I'm from San Diego, California, he studied for two years at San Francisco State University, until he transferred to the California College of Arts and Crafts, where he received his BFA in 2002 in Painting and Drawing.
Read the restPosted on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 by Allison Byers
Jon Rubin had an important question, and he knew where to find the answer: at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, which he was visiting in March on a business trip.
Read the restPosted on Monday, May 7, 2012 by Allison Byers
Some of the best trend spotting in town can be found on the corners of Polk and Eddy, Fourth and Mission, or Eighth and Hooper, where fashion students gather during breaks, many wearing their own designs or inventive thrift store finds. They're everywhere, from Dogpatch to Ocean Avenue.
Read the restPosted on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 by Allison Byers
The American Academy in Rome recently announced the winners of the 116th annual Rome Prize Competition. Recipients of the 2012-2013 prizes are provided with a fellowship that includes a stipend, a study or studio, and room and board for a period of six months to two years in Rome, Italy.
Read the restPosted on Monday, April 30, 2012 by Allison Byers
While teaching a design class at California College of the Arts several years ago, Brian Kane noticed that his students often didn't sit. They instead draped themselves across their chairs or lounges, completely absorbed by their various electronic devices. Sealed off from the world by earphones and entranced by glowing screens, they were as likely to sprawl sideways as to sit up straight. Even in public places, many of them liked to rearrange the furniture and transform those spaces into their own customized zones for working, meeting or socializing.
Read the restPosted on Thursday, April 26, 2012 by Allison Byers
his year marks the third anniversary of the Rotman Design Challenge. It started out as a commendable experiment by the school’s Business Design Club to expose MBAs at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management to the value of design methods in business problem solving. This year, the competition drew teams from a few other MBA schools and some of the best design schools in North America.
Read the restPosted on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 by Allison Byers
We asked the top art curators in the state to help us pick the 10 California artists who are on the rise. On the panel were Franklin Sirmans (Chief Curator of Contemporary Art, LACMA), Jens Hoffmann (Director, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts), Rebecca Morse (Associate Curator, MOCA, LA), Jill Dawsey (Associate Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego), Eli Ridgway (Owner of Eli Ridgway Gallery in SF), and Craig Nelson (Director of Fine Art Painting, Academy of Art University). Now, find out who made the cut.
Read the restPosted on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 by Allison Byers
John Waters' reputation precedes him -- and we bet that gives him no end of glee. The Baltimore native featured the plentiful drag queen Divine in many of his early features, and he took on topics such as baby farms, an adult who lives in a playpen, and a competition between two people to be the most disgusting human on the planet. Waters makes San Francisco his home -- at least part time. He calls his residence in the city "the apartment that Hairspray bought me," referring to one of his biggest commercial successes.
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