Solar Culture Gallery: Dimensional Shift show opened June 9

By Ryn Gargulinski
Three people referred to it as “artsy-fartsy.” Three people were wrong.

The “it” in this case was the June 9 community art show opening at Tucson’s Solar Culture Gallery. Nothing about this amazing gallery – or its proprietor Steven Eye – is pretentious or “fartsy.”

The opening was, of course, “artsy” because it would be dumb if a gallery opening weren’t. But anyone expecting fru-fru artists in designer duds, artwork that costs $2 million but looks less interesting than a small child’s vomit and snooty remarks over wine and cheese won’t get it at Solar Culture.

What you get instead is a wide array of local artist creations ranging from paintings of aliens, moonlit trees and skeleton brides to sculptures made of abandoned mechanical parts. Art cascaded from the walls, hung from the ceiling and even looked like it was about to scoot away across the floor. The best was a welded steel devil child on a tricycle. Beautiful.

The whole lack of haughtiness and exclusion is also beautiful. The show was open to anyone who wanted to participate. No judge, jury or crotchety old man with a monocle who thinks he’s a descendent of Michelangelo tries to make you feel two inches tall just because your voodoo dolls are made out of junk you found on the side of the road.

When you became overwhelmed by the gallery’s interior, replete with metallic collage, photos of the rear end of a Speedway McDonald’s and a sad-looking Charlie Brown, you can take a breather on the back porch. Here you get to watch the Union Pacific train trudge by every 7.5 minutes (according to a man who had a studio nearby). Don’t forget to wave at the motorman.

The only thing annoying about the entire evening was probably myself, who loomed around Steven while he was deep in conversation with others just to get the phone number of the artist who created the welded steel devil child on a tricycle. Beautiful. Consider it sold.

The exhibit stays up until October, so stop by Solar Culture Gallery at 31 East Toole next time you’re in the area. Steven holds these community art shows three times a year and yes, you may find an artist has brought wine and cheese to the potluck that accompanies the show's opening. But you won’t get the snootiness that often comes with it.

Contact Solar Culture Gallery at 520-884-0874 or info@solarculture.org. Learn more about the gallery's wide array of events at www.solarculture.org.

Random photos of Tulum, Mexico, a testiment to why Frida loved her homeland.

Rental Review: Frida

By Ryn Gargulinski
Anyone who wants to experience pain need only glance at the paintings of Frida Kahlo. Kahlo was able to turn her anguish into captivating art and this film paints an intriguing picture of that pain.

Although a tad slow at times, the movie is not painful to watch – but it is, however, very painful to watch what this gifted and vivacious woman has gone through.

Through an early bus accident, a young lost love, five million surgeries, a body brace, a cheating husband, a divorce from the cheating husband, a remarriage to the cheating husband and a host of other maladies, both physical and psychological, Frida lives on.

She also lives just long enough to see her goal of an art exhibition in her Mexico homeland, which she views from her deathbed.

We come to love Frida as much as we already love her art.

Highlight: The surgery scene with animated skeletons dancing around and missing teeth.
Lowlight: The nagging question on why all the chicks were so drawn to Diego Rivera.
Rating (1-10): 7.92

Glorious tileworks, Sawyer comtemplates a cactus.