Indie culture

Nostalgia for a different time in Sacrament's art scene: Belmonte Gallery panel at Time Tested Books

2012-09-17T15:30:13Z

An avant-garde art movement swept the art world in the 1960s, and its unofficial headquarters in Sacramento was the Belmonte Gallery, which was opened by Sal and Masako Yniguez in 1962.

On Sunday, The Sacramento Living Library's Tim Foster hosted a panel discussion on the Belmonte at Time Tested Books, featuring Masako Yniguez and three artists whose work was displayed the gallery, Irving Marcus, Peter Vandenberge and Kurt Fishback.

Fishback, who is now known principally as a photographer but at the time was also a sculptor, discussed his memories of the gallery and his nostalgia for what he said was an exciting and headier time in Sacramento's art scene.

The following is a selection of what he had to say:

"It was funny. Everything outside of us tried to pin us into pigeonholes, but all we were doing was enjoying our connection with Sal and (Masako) and making art.

"In those days, there were four art critics in Sacramento. Two newspapers and four art critics that any artists could call on the phone and say, 'Would you like to look at my show?' Remember? There was just all these people that were open to talking about art. I got lots of reviews by just calling people.

"There was an openness that doesn't really exist anymore. There doesn't seem to be real interest in local art in the Bee anymore. It doesn't sell papers and, of course, papers are hard to sell anyway, right?

"It was a time when it was necessary to have an open space that would allow you to be yourself, and that was the Belmonte Gallery. That's its biggest legacy, and I've been hungry for that kind of energy and thought, and watching gallery after gallery close in this town, there's just no real support for art. In fact, a friend of mine (who runs a gallery) was at my house Friday morning, and he said somebody actually called the day of a Second Saturday opening to ask if he was serving wine, and that was that the determinate as to whether they were going to come to the show. I mean, it used to be that if you didn't have cheap wine there wasn't much of a turnout, but that wasn't at least spoken quite that bluntly.

"I miss the '60s for many reasons, and one of the biggest is the Belmonte, and what happened -- the freedom, the love, the caring, this passion, this passion for art, for making it or discussing it or sharing it.

'It was a different time. It was a time that will never happen again, I don't think."

To learn more about the Belmonte Gallery, read Tim Foster's article in the Feb. 2010 edition of Midtown Monthly, Memories of Belmonte.

Video: Downtown James Brown jams at the Chalk-It-Up! festival

2012-09-11T17:41:09Z

Downtown James Brown is by far Sacramento's most popular street performer, and he has been known to jam with the reggae/funk band ZuhG on occasion ‒ which is exactly what went down on Labor Day in Fremont Park during the Chalk-It-Up! festival.

(Video shot by Russell Albert, cmdshiftMedia
Edit by Jared Goyette, Sac Press)

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Jared Goyette is the editor of the Sacramento Press

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VIDEO: Good street food + design market gets off to a funky, fun start

2012-06-04T16:23:43Z

The Good: street food + design market got off to a roaring, fun and funky start Sunday in a warehouse at 1409 Del Paso Blvd. The marketing firm behind the event, Unseen Heroes, released this "Quick Wrap Up" time lapse video from the event on Monday afternoon:

More than 2,500 people came out for the festivities, which will occur every first Sunday of the month through November, according to event organizers.

There were food trucks in the back and a wide spectrum of vendors inside, from brewers and baristas to artists and clothing and jewelry designers. A DJ spun, giving the crowd full of families and young couples a beat to step (and eat and shop) to on a warm late spring afternoon.

The market, which was organized by both Unseen Heroes and the Del Paso Boulevard Partnership, is part of a larger plan to transform the neighborhood into a design district, a process we'll be following closely here at The Sacramento Press.

Here we have photos from two bloggers that were at the scene – both are worth following. Donelle O'Brien is a prolific Instagramer and lover of all things Sacramento. She blogs over at SeenInSacramento.com.

Dawn Balzarano is a home baker and cook, as well as a self-taught writer and photographer who covers food, travel and photography at KitchenTravels.com.

Photos: Samba at Second Saturday

2012-05-14T06:11:32Z

A Samba School style band with dancers and musicans from the Sacramento Drum Circle and Dance Meetup Group strutted down 20th Street on Saturday during the Second Saturday Art Walk. A jam session just after J Street turned into an improtu dance party, with onlookers joining in for about 10 minutues, before the group marched on toward L Street.