Shepherd and Shepard

We saw Shepard Fairey on TV last week, I think it was Sunday morning. My mom called and told me to put on channel 4. They were talking about his support and involvement with the Obama campaign. The host kept bringing up that Shepard is a “CEO in Pumas” I don’t think she did much research on him. He did a great job, I have heard Shepard talk before and he's always on point.


He handles himself well, I think I'd be freaked out to be on TV but Shepard seemed very comfortable up there. Props. One of the things they talked about- his iconic image of Obama and the infamous big banner seen here:


I found out last week that Riverside resident/activist/businessman/ Derric Swinfard was responsible for making this happen. You can read about it here on his blog.


Derric is a great guy, he’s really getting things started here in ol’ Riverside. His company, Monster Media was one of the first to install solar panels on the roof and take advantage of the solar energy rebate for Riverside. I think this is just the start and despite the polluted air that we receive from L.A. and Orange County, Riverside is cleaner than it's ever been. Derric has recently met with the mayor of Riverside, Ron Loveridge, and apparently he's hoping to make Riverside one of the "greenest" cities in California. Right on. I think Derric is making some things happen, I know I am looking at how my family lives and trying to change things.


I met with him and his wife Erin last week- we always have a good talk- being politically similar in our views and sharing stories about our two year olds. So they have put together an art show called Sea No Evil which will be showing at the Riverside Art Museum. All kinds of artists are participating- Revok, Saelee Oh, Ed Templeton, Shepard Fairey, Maxx242, Kelsey Brooks, Alex Kopps, C.R Stecyk III, me and tons more. Looks like Shepard will be D.J.ing, and Matt Costa will be performing.



All of the work will be auctioned off and the show is a fundraiser for Sea Shepherd, a conservation group that targets illegal whaling, poaching, shark finning and illegal destruction of habitat on the high seas. Captain Paul Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd will be on hand to give a presentation on the status of our oceans. I hear this guy gives a great talk. He’s rammed whaling ships and sunk them! Dang.

Here is the web site for the show- http://www.seashepherdartshow.com/

The piece I put in is an older wall cluster made up of pieces of wood and found objects. I don't work in this style too much anymore, but I see it as an important part of my development. Installing it in the museum made me think about revisiting some of these clusters I used to do. My piece:
"Hills of Riverside", approx. 60" x 36", mixed media, 2001-2003.



The auction is a silent bid, and you have to be there that night to bid on pieces. I started my minimum bid pretty low at $500, I just want to generate some donation money for Sea Shepherd and hopefully let someone enjoy a nice piece.

Here is more info:

SEA NO EVIL ART SHOW BENEFIT - 2008

Date: Saturday July 12, 2008 Doors Open at 6:00 pm

Place:
Riverside Art Museum
3425 Mission Inn Avenue
Riverside, CA 92501
www.riversideartmuseum.org

We are excited to announce, this year the art show will be held at the prestigious Riverside Art Museum in the historical downtown area of Riverside.

On the night of July 12th, 2008, the art show will completely take over the
entire art museum, 3 floors, including special guests Matt Costa playing music on the roof (3rd floor) And Shepherd Fairey spinning records. The first two floors will display donated art from noted artists, available for purchase through silent auction bidding the night of the show.

It promises to be an event to remember giving the opportunity to raise increased awareness and funding for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Captain Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, will be the featured speaker, giving an update on what is happening globally with oceanic conservation.

See you there...