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Jan 29
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City’s junk becomes a cautionary artistic vision
By Victoria Dalkey, Bee Art Correspondent, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012
Gioia Fonda’s drawings begin as photos of street debris.
You would expect an exhibition at a college gallery to be educational. Gioia Fonda‘s show at the James Kaneko Gallery on the American River College campus is that in spades. Fonda documents every step of the labor-intensive process by which she creates her masterful drawings of piles of junk. This body of work, one of which won the best of show award at last year’s State Fair art show, is a poignant comment on a sad aspect of the economic downturn our city has been experiencing.
She begins with color photos of trash piled up on the street in front of houses in her neighborhood. “Most of the piles,” she writes, “seem to occur when an address has experienced an eviction, a foreclosure or sometimes a death: always some kind of transition.” Like canaries in coal mines, they are harbingers of worse things to come. For Fonda, they represent “not only a reflection of the lending crisis but also a comment on our rampant consumerism and the utter disposability of what we produce and what we buy.”
Gioia Fonda stands in front of her winning state fair art piece, “Pile, With Soccer Ball.” The acrylic on canvas art piece placed first in the 2011 California State Fair and is currently displayed in the Kondos Gallery. Tony Wallin wallintony@yahoo.com
That is scarcely a new idea, but Fonda treats it with a mixture of sadness and a formal integrity that lends the piles a kind of monumental grace. The giant pile with a soccer ball, a potted plant, an old bike and a wheelbarrow that was shown in the State Fair exhibition is on view here and is even more imposing in the smaller Kaneko gallery.
Surrounding it are other drawings, among them “Watering Can,” a triangular pile of trash in which a watering can plays a small but significant role. A trio of drawings on the wall across from it features tangles of netting, worn tires, plastic jugs, and a stuffed toy. These are not only commentaries on our throwaway culture but strong abstractions reminiscent at times of Bauhaus Constructivism.
As interesting as the finished drawings are, a series of works that demonstrate how Fonda arrives at her destinations. She begins with the color photos, then isolates the shapes of the objects in the piles, draws them on paper and cuts them out. These cuttings she piles up and arranges into collages from which she then makes Xerox prints. It’s a lengthy, exacting and time-consuming process, but it pays off with drawings that are both moving and formally elegant.
Accompanying Fonda’s works at the campus gallery is a series of mostly small bronze and ceramic sculptures by Garr Ugalde. Their imagery is both innocent and menacing. Combining childhood toys with instruments of war, they comment on “how quickly the world engages its children in war.” “Beehive Rocker” places a child on a crude rocking horse surrounded by alphabet blocks. A beehive placed over the child’s head adds a surreal note of danger. “Pecker” combines grenades and bird skulls. “Night Mother” gives us a pregnant woman with a birdhouse on her head.
Children’s toys and the use of bird imagery, Ugalde writes, “speak to the ideal of freedom, innocence, and the safety of home.” Though superficially, he notes, they seem to be innocuous, lurking among them are instruments of destruction, many derived from war toys. Ugalde’s small works made of bronze are intricate and imbued with a dark humor that turns disturbing as you note the details in them. A larger piece made of ceramic is blunter. Titled “I Used To Carry a Big Stick, Two,” it gives us a pit bull with a grenade in its mouth sitting on a block covered with an American flag. Small texts cite places in which confrontations have occurred, among them Wounded Knee, Guantánamo and Havana. Ugalde’s work is a nice complement to Fonda’s and the two visions result in a show that is both moving and thought-provoking. Curator Ramsey Harris has done a great job of installing the show.
GIOIA FONDA: THE PILE SERIES
GARR UGALDE: WAR STORIES
What: Gioia Fonda lends a monumental grace to piles of refuse that she sees as “a comment on our rampant consumerism and the utter disposability of what we produce and what we buy.” A complementary exhibit of small bronze and ceramic sculptures comes from Garr Ugalde. His imagery is both innocent and menacing, a comment on “how quickly the world engages its children in war.”
Where: James Kaneko Gallery, Room 503, American River College, 4700 College Oak Drive, Sacramento
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays, or by appointment, through Feb. 8
Cost: Free
Contact: (916) 484-8399
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
Also see: Art instructor, Gioia Fonda wins State Fair competition
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Nov 27
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Fonda – Better Days (Album Review)
Thanks to their dead-on instincts for engaging melodies and their heavy My Bloody Valentine influences, Better Days is a focused set of lush, dreamy pop.
In the eight years between Catching up to the Future and Fonda’s new EP, Better Days, the band’s principal songwriting duo, Emily Cook and David Klotz, have devoted their energies to some truly questionable projects: Cook contributed to the screenplay of the execrable Gnomeo & Juliet, while Klotz is the music editor for the ongoing pop-culture nightmare that is Glee. Egregious and eyebrow-raising though those credits may be, Cook and Klotz’s work here is characterized by relatively good taste. Thanks to their dead-on instincts for engaging melodies and their heavy My Bloody Valentine influences, Better Days is a focused set of lush, dreamy pop.
The massive power chords and thundering percussion line of the title track open the EP on something of a Coldplay note, but a heavily distorted lead guitar line quickly kicks in and the song’s melody takes a minor-key turn, recasting the song as an effective and on-point homage to early-’90s shoegaze. Cook and Klotz sing lead in unison on “A Love That Won’t Let You Go,” and they use off-kilter, slightly discordant harmonies to bring a real sense of tension to the track. While that approach to arrangements might not be novel (Fonda is hardly the first act to draw heavily from the Jesus and Mary Chain), it’s something they make effective use of over the course of Better Days, allowing their deliberate aesthetic choices to play as big a role as their lyrics and performances in creating the EP’s tone.
In the eight years between Catching up to the Future and Fonda's new EP, Better Days, the band's principal songwriting duo, Emily Cook and David Klotz, have devoted their energies to some truly questionable projects: Cook contributed to the screenplay of the execrable Gnomeo & Juliet, while Klotz is the music editor for the ongoing pop-culture nightmare that is Glee.
To that end, Fonda absolutely makes the most of Better Days’s scant running time. Even with the new track, “Some Things Aren’t Worth Knowing,” added to the set for this new rerelease, the EP doesn’t even scratch a full 20 minutes. None of the songs ever threaten to overstay their welcome (“In the Coach Station Light” is an unabashedly lovely two minutes), and there’s something to be said for the degree of precision Fonda brings to their songwriting, especially on the riotous, punk-inflected standout “My Heart Is Dancing.” That said, even in a market that’s increasingly singles-driven, the sheer brevity of Better Days casts the EP as more of a teaser for a bigger project than as a standalone release.
Other links: Youtube, Fondamusic, Bandcamp
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Oct 22
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Blane Fonda – 10.03.11
Interviewed by: Jenny Tate (10/11/11)
The following is a mini interview of generic questions that we posed to all bands that wanted to answer:
Blane Fonda (Questions answered by Matthew Witt)
www.blanefonda.com
www.facebook.com/BlaneFondaMusic
www.twitter.com/BlaneFonda
1. How did you get your band name?
Blane Fonda is a pen name that our singer used back in his college years. He would post pics and comments about his old band under the name. The band never knew it was him, and they believed Blane Fonda was a super fan of the band.
2. How did this band get started?
Blane Fonda was formed from the instrumental members of The Sapiens and the singer from Technicolor Stallion. The Sapiens needed a new singer and they found Mark (singer) on Craigslist. From there Blane Fonda was born.
3. What bands are you influenced by?
Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Muse, ELO, The Killers, Tears for Fears, Flaming Lips, The Cure, The National, Chet Baker, this list can go on forever.
4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
The Rolling Stones back in the 70’s. The Stones are the definition of a rock band. Their music is timeless, and they are definitely known to party hard. It would be exciting to play in a era when music was raw and the corporate world wasn’t running the music industry.
5. Best food to eat on tour?
We are fortunate to have a food coach in the band (Dave the bassist). He prefers for us to split a chicken sandwich before a show with Miller High Life, and on the road we eat Sunflower seeds (ranch flavor) and drink Gatorade.
6. Why should people listen to your band?
We are a fun band with clever lyrics and catchy hooks. Our music is melodic and energetic. Your dads will love us and your 12-year-old niece will too!
8. If you won a Grammy, who would you thank?
Parents, Family, and Friends!
9. If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?
I think the radio industry needs to change. Radio is monopolized by the corporate world. It seems that you have 5 stations playing the same 20 cookie cutter songs all day long. There is no variety anymore, and it’s almost impossible to hear something fresh. Internet radio has become popular because of its variety. It should be easier for bands to get their songs played on their local stations, which seems impossible today.
10. Memorable tour experience?
Playing at the ES Jungle in Indianapolis. Our second show at the venue, we had fans singing lyrics to all our songs. Stage diving and crowd surfing was happening all around us. It was a surreal moment – it felt like we were in a staged music video. The energy in the venue was explosive. It’s moments like this that makes being a musician worth all the hassle.
11. What does AP.net mean to you?
AP.net means a lot to bands like Blane Fonda who are DIY. You give us a opportunity to get our name and songs out to people who would have ever heard us. In today’s music scene, it’s hard to get credible acknowledgment if you don’t have professional representation. AP.net definitely helps out the DIY scene.
12. What is your favorite song to play?
“Cucccurucucu” by Franco Battiato. It’s an Italian pop song that we were asked to play for a fashion show. We don’t speak Italian so we don’t know what we’re saying, but it’s one catchy tune.
13. What is your vacation spot of choice?
Maui, Hawaii.
14. What music reminds you of your childhood?
Grunge music: Specifically Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It was the anthem song during middle school – every garage band was covering it.
15. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
To fly at super sonic speeds, so I never have to be stuck in traffic or buy a plane ticket.
16. Any pre-show superstitions or rituals?
Eat half of a chicken sandwich and pound a Miller High Life down. And if I have enough money, a shot of Jameson.
17. What is something that most fans don’t know about you?
I used to kill mosquitos for a summer job.
18. What is your assessment of the current state of radio? Do you think it’s a place where your band could flourish?
Radio is pretty stagnant right now. I do not listen to it much, because the same 20 tunes are played on it. The corporate world has monopolized the radio stations and force them to play the same cookie cutter songs. I do give props to 93.1 WXRT in Chicago for breaking the mold. They play a large variety of music that keeps me listening. If Blane Fonda could get their tunes on radio, we could definitely flourish from it. People still listen to radio, and if we could reach them through radio, it could only help us draw a larger fan base.
19. What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time I fish for musky.
20. What kind of hidden talents do you have?
I can blow bubbles off my tongue.
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Oct 15
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PCA’s ‘The Miracle Worker’ communicates Helen Keller’s amazing story
By Scott Orr, The Daily Courier – 10/11/2011
PRESCOTT – To see “The Miracle Worker” performed live at the Prescott Center for the Performing Arts is to simultaneously suspend disbelief and realize what an effort it is to stage this very physical play effectively.
And it is effective. For anyone who has never seen the film or the play, “The Miracle Worker” tells the true story of Helen Keller, a young deaf and blind girl, and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. The story is set in the period immediately following the Civil War, when such children were sometimes believed to be uncontrollable and placed in asylums.
Annie (Joanne Robertson, right) and Helen (Carly Fonda, left) have a breakthrough in communication with the help of a doll.
Helen, played by 10-year-old Carly Fonda, is indeed uncontrollable as the play opens. Fonda, acting in a role that has no dialogue, yet sees her on stage for nearly all of the show’s two hours, gives a nuanced performance. “I have learned that you can (convey) words through your facial expressions,” she said.
The role requires violent behavior: Helen slaps, kicks and bites people, throws silverware, breaks dishes, and wreaks all manner of other destruction whenever she fails to get her way. Annie (Joanne Robertson) gives as good as she gets, although Robertson said playing the part required a little extra help. “It’s very physical,” she said. “I’m wearing kneepads and I have bruises all over.”
Supporting actor Justus Burkitt as Helen’s half-brother, James, steals nearly every scene he’s in, cracking pointed jokes and delivering sarcastic comments to Annie and his father, Captain Keller (Kevin Nissen). He acts as the comic relief in an otherwise very intense show, but his appearances never seem forced or extraneous.
Helen (Carly Fonda) acts up at the breakfast table while Annie (Joanne Robertson) assesses the situation in the Prescott Center for the Arts' production of "The Miracle Worker." Callaghan Howard, Kevin Nissen, Karla Burkitt, Lois Fazio and Justus Burkitt co-star.
The show is directed by Catherine Miller Hahn; this is her 60th production. She said it was not easy to stage. “This one is very difficult. There’s lots of pieces to it, lots of scenes, lots of places,” she said. Because of the nature of the theatre (it is a converted church), plays like this one, with multiple sets, require some unusual techniques and staging. “In our theater, we don’t have flies (cables to a tall ceiling) to take things up or down, so you have to figure out a way to move and weave it all,” Hahn said.
The set design takes advantage of the open space above the stage, allowing the upstairs spare bedroom in which Annie writes her diary entries to literally be upstairs, above the rest of the house. As usual for this theater, there are unavoidable viewblocks presented by the structural pillars of the church which stand at the front of the stage. It is surprising how frequently these relatively small obstructions block parts of the action at times.
If you know the story or have seen the film, you know how it ends. This production also includes a touching “extra” after the end of the play itself.
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Sep 11
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Student finds his soundtrack to success
The past few weeks of Grant Fonda’s life would not make for a very stirring motion picture.
Although Fonda participated in an international contest that tested his skill and resolve, there was no final scene of victory, only quiet affirmations. No triumphant hoisting of a trophy over his weary head, only subtler moments to be cherished and worthwhile lessons to be tucked away for a future date.
University of Missouri graduate student Grant Fonda recently traveled to Poland to compete in the Transatlantyk Instant Composition Contest.
The graduate student at the University of Missouri School of Music traveled to Poland earlier this month to compete in the Transatlantyk Instant Composition Contest, a compositional pressure cooker that tested his ability to write emotive music for motion pictures. Although Fonda did not achieve a level of glory worthy of having his own tale captured on celluloid, he came home with a better understanding of what it means to be part of the film industry.
Fonda applied to the competition — founded by Oscar-winning composer Jan Kaczmarek (“Finding Neverland”) — almost as an afterthought, engaging the process between finishing a commission and heading to his native California for vacation. In addition to submitting previously composed works, he was required to score two short film clips that were distinct but equally daunting. The first, a climactic scene from the 2009 film “Get Low,” included a stirring soliloquy from Oscar winner Robert Duvall; it was an “intense” and “delicate” moment with dialogue that needed to be preserved, not drowned out, he said. The second was from a “bizarre” French cartoon in which a young girl, among other things, falls into a bowl of alphabet soup and is attacked by zombies.
For the Duvall clip, he evoked themes of mystery and absolution through the use of unresolved dissonances, inverted chords and pedal tones; Fonda balanced “menacing” and “childlike” themes for the latter. For his work, he was selected as one of 30 participants, which meant trekking to Poland, watching a short film, and composing and performing an accompaniment before a panel of American and Polish judges on the spot.
Fonda was shown a five-plus-minute piece called “Walking,” produced by a Canadian travel commission decades ago; the work was bizarre and psychedelic, with no discernible plot or dialogue, he said. Immediately upon leaving the screening room, he sat at the piano and performed his level best. His strategy: attach a winning theme to the film’s central character and balance out its more extreme elements with a relatively accessible, melodic score. Ultimately, Fonda did not take his place among the 10 finalists. He received praise from the American panelists but was told the European judges wished he’d taken more risks; other contestants incorporated elements of prepared piano or relied on a more serial, clustered set of tones.
Although Fonda did not advance in the competition, his compositional sensibilities were advanced by encouraging, “invaluable” interactions with the likes of composers Christopher Young (“Spider-Man 3,” “The Grudge”), George S. Clinton (the “Austin Powers” films), Bruno Louchouarn (“Total Recall”) and producer Roy Conli (“Tangled,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”); these professionals offered lessons on life and art in master classes and specific feedback in personal conversations.
Among the comments Fonda received were praiseworthy pronouncements on his ability to convey mood and character and his capacity to musically captain viewers through a spectrum of emotions in a short period of time. Clinton remarked on his remarkable capacity for suggesting and creating color through orchestration. Additionally, he was told he had a fitting temperament for composition and was encouraged to stand up for his abilities, even while avoiding walking on others in collaboration. Ultimately, he was deeply encouraged by Young’s comments on the relationship between a composer’s maturity and the potency of his or her music.
“He said, ‘You’re not going to be able to evoke the right emotion for a romantic scene if you’ve never been married,’ ” Fonda recalled. “ ‘You’re not going to be able to evoke the right emotion for a funeral if you’ve never witnessed somebody close to you die.’ He said there’s just a certain advantage that being older in the industry has than being younger. … All this time I had been thinking,” as someone who’s closer to 30 than 20, “I’d missed my stride.”
Fonda said he’s likely to reapply next year — this year’s contest might not have provided a feel-good movie ending, but, as he exercises his talent and applies messages received an ocean away, there’s little doubt a sequel is in the works.
Reach Aarik Danielsen at 573-815-1731 or e-mail ajdanielsen@columbiatribune.com.
Copyright 2011 Columbia Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This article was published on page C2 of the Sunday, August 28, 2011 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune.