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A Hidden Gem of the Phoenix Music Scene
Susan Krane, director of SMoCA and vice president of the Scottsdale Cultural Council since 2001, has announced that she will leave her position
ArtBook of the new west is a distinctive editorial magazine as well as a useful guide dedicated to profiling many local artists and fine art galleries throughout the state.
Observing this collection necessitates commitment. The dialogue between artist and observer requires an ability to enter into a shared post-Romantic desire to contemplate the vast and surreal through the smallest details.
"There's room for everybody and everything. This is everybody's downtown..."
Construction work is underway on the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts' much-anticipated renovation...
His new series of abstract photographs taken in the Phoenix area is being released May 1st and contains a host of striking images that bridge the gap between photography and abstract expressionism.
As odd as it may be to use the word refressing to describe a play about a water shortage, that's what Urinetown is.
The 4th Annual Modern Phoenix Home Tour and Expo, held last weekend (April 5-6), was an engaging tour through the architecture, minds, services, and products of those on the forefront of Mid-century Modern (MCM) design and preservation in Phoenix.
Phoenix Rising: An Examination of Art and Education in the Valley
Richard Bestwick
From the mayor's office, overlooking the cinematic view of downtown, Phoenix's Mayor Phil Gordon said to me in a tone suggesting a feeling of responsibility to invoke positive changes in the midst of an on-going forward progress,
"Now, Phoenix is rising, becoming a great city. I've always said Phoenix is emerging as one of the great cities of the 21st century. There are certainly other great cities throughout the world, throughout the U.S. but they have already emerged as great cities prior to the 21st century. We are one of the few new great ones."
In the 1980's, Phil Gordon became involved with the city as a young attorney and young developer. At that time, former Mayor Goddard was determined to preserve this culture, quickly being destroyed for development in the downtown area. Together, along with others, they worked on an historic preservation ordinance still in place today.
Without yet knowing that he would someday be involved in public government, Mayor Gordon began restoration projects for the city of Phoenix.
"My first venture working with the city was the marriage of arts and historic preservation in terms of revitalization."
Helping to restore the downtown area, Mayor Gordon immersed himself in the completion of many projects including The Times Building, as well as the very first historic building to be located in Phoenix, part of the City and State of National Register Corps Duplex on 5th Avenue and Roosevelt.
When asked if he had more leverage prior to coming into office, he responded by saying,
"I think it's more of an advantage now...It's easier to move things through the system when you're within it, with the same goals as the outside."
Mayor Gordon expressed his initial interest of becoming a teacher with a major in history. He said that he has always been fascinated with history and still continues to read about the evolution of cities and towns throughout the world. He went on to say,
"One thing that's very common is that art has always been an interracial part of other cultures. There hasn't been a great city, nor do I believe there ever will be, that didn't have a vast focus on art."
So how does art play into our city and to what degree is its presence a factor? Yes, art is a visionary tool, which has revolutionized many other cultures, filling the pages of the history books we read and learn from today. Sometimes it's even a necessary escape for creative minds whose natural instincts are to confess alternate ideas of how to turn the world, or simply the community we live within, into a more compassionate society. But, can art be used as a defense mechanism; a structure of some sort which still maintains a valid and systematic persistence?
"There's room for everybody and everything. This is everybody's downtown," Mayor Gordon continued explaining. "The eco-system of our city is the buildings, the people, the art, and all the neighborhoods. If one aspect of that is failing, the entire community is going to fail."
During this time of rising house foreclosures, record breaking gas prices and fear of diminishing stability, our elected officials search for solutions that can return strength among us. Is art a possible human response to these problems which may never cease to exist?
Mayor Gordon insists that, "Art is critically important. To me, for the success of the city, it's a major statement and the soul of the city. It''s also a major economic driver...something that is pleasing and soothing to the people. It adds color, life and vitality."
Speaking about sustainability, rapid urbanization and quality of life in Arizona, Wellington Reiter, Dean for the College of Design Program at Arizona State University, also gave insightful perspectives related to the future of the valley through the approach of art, education and modern development with similar concerns and ambitions.
He mentioned hostile climate, urban sprawl, traffic problems and air quality slowly deteriorating, being some of the environmental issues we are undoubtedly facing. Professor Reiter acknowledges the West in general as being the most urbanized area in the country, yet he sees the irony in it also having potentially the least access to resources.
"It could make it difficult here if a couple of things go the wrong way. We're completely dependent on roads and cars, so when gasoline takes a spike in cost, it will impact us much more...You look at the environment and you're thinking, what can I add that's going to actually do something other than contribute to the problem?"
Though he can admit these challenges, Professor Reiter (as an architect) doesn't look past the aptitude Phoenix still promises. He believes, "This is such a youthful place that is in the state of becoming. People see opportunity. They see the landscape and they see it everywhere...If you were looking for a subject matter and the environment was something you really wanted to elaborate on, there's so much here to use at your disposal."
Professor Reiter was charged with the urban design of the college campuses being incorporated into the construction of the light rail. He has dedicated a considerable amount of time to the expansion of downtown Phoenix, which includes the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism (with a new residential hall located beside the light rail) and the University of Arizona College Of Medicine, which opened in 2006.
"More buildings, more students and more degrees," Professor Reiter said anxiously." If the path we're on continues, ASU is expected to be thirty percent larger by the year 2020. That's not happening at MIT or Harvard or those types of established places. They're pretty clear on what they're doing. Yes, they're expanding as well, but not like we are here."
For generations to come, everyone can make a difference by using their talents, voices and individual cultural experiences, combining art and education with the help of our political allies, whose presence can often have a more influential impact within the system.
"Now, Phoenix is rising, becoming a great city. I've always said Phoenix is emerging as one of the great cities of the 21st century. There are certainly other great cities throughout the world, throughout the U.S. but they have already emerged as great cities prior to the 21st century. We are one of the few new great ones."
In the 1980's, Phil Gordon became involved with the city as a young attorney and young developer. At that time, former Mayor Goddard was determined to preserve this culture, quickly being destroyed for development in the downtown area. Together, along with others, they worked on an historic preservation ordinance still in place today.
Without yet knowing that he would someday be involved in public government, Mayor Gordon began restoration projects for the city of Phoenix.
"My first venture working with the city was the marriage of arts and historic preservation in terms of revitalization."
Helping to restore the downtown area, Mayor Gordon immersed himself in the completion of many projects including The Times Building, as well as the very first historic building to be located in Phoenix, part of the City and State of National Register Corps Duplex on 5th Avenue and Roosevelt.
When asked if he had more leverage prior to coming into office, he responded by saying,
"I think it's more of an advantage now...It's easier to move things through the system when you're within it, with the same goals as the outside."
Mayor Gordon expressed his initial interest of becoming a teacher with a major in history. He said that he has always been fascinated with history and still continues to read about the evolution of cities and towns throughout the world. He went on to say,
"One thing that's very common is that art has always been an interracial part of other cultures. There hasn't been a great city, nor do I believe there ever will be, that didn't have a vast focus on art."
So how does art play into our city and to what degree is its presence a factor? Yes, art is a visionary tool, which has revolutionized many other cultures, filling the pages of the history books we read and learn from today. Sometimes it's even a necessary escape for creative minds whose natural instincts are to confess alternate ideas of how to turn the world, or simply the community we live within, into a more compassionate society. But, can art be used as a defense mechanism; a structure of some sort which still maintains a valid and systematic persistence?
"There's room for everybody and everything. This is everybody's downtown," Mayor Gordon continued explaining. "The eco-system of our city is the buildings, the people, the art, and all the neighborhoods. If one aspect of that is failing, the entire community is going to fail."
During this time of rising house foreclosures, record breaking gas prices and fear of diminishing stability, our elected officials search for solutions that can return strength among us. Is art a possible human response to these problems which may never cease to exist?
Mayor Gordon insists that, "Art is critically important. To me, for the success of the city, it's a major statement and the soul of the city. It''s also a major economic driver...something that is pleasing and soothing to the people. It adds color, life and vitality."
Speaking about sustainability, rapid urbanization and quality of life in Arizona, Wellington Reiter, Dean for the College of Design Program at Arizona State University, also gave insightful perspectives related to the future of the valley through the approach of art, education and modern development with similar concerns and ambitions.
He mentioned hostile climate, urban sprawl, traffic problems and air quality slowly deteriorating, being some of the environmental issues we are undoubtedly facing. Professor Reiter acknowledges the West in general as being the most urbanized area in the country, yet he sees the irony in it also having potentially the least access to resources.
"It could make it difficult here if a couple of things go the wrong way. We're completely dependent on roads and cars, so when gasoline takes a spike in cost, it will impact us much more...You look at the environment and you're thinking, what can I add that's going to actually do something other than contribute to the problem?"
Though he can admit these challenges, Professor Reiter (as an architect) doesn't look past the aptitude Phoenix still promises. He believes, "This is such a youthful place that is in the state of becoming. People see opportunity. They see the landscape and they see it everywhere...If you were looking for a subject matter and the environment was something you really wanted to elaborate on, there's so much here to use at your disposal."
Professor Reiter was charged with the urban design of the college campuses being incorporated into the construction of the light rail. He has dedicated a considerable amount of time to the expansion of downtown Phoenix, which includes the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism (with a new residential hall located beside the light rail) and the University of Arizona College Of Medicine, which opened in 2006.
"More buildings, more students and more degrees," Professor Reiter said anxiously." If the path we're on continues, ASU is expected to be thirty percent larger by the year 2020. That's not happening at MIT or Harvard or those types of established places. They're pretty clear on what they're doing. Yes, they're expanding as well, but not like we are here."
For generations to come, everyone can make a difference by using their talents, voices and individual cultural experiences, combining art and education with the help of our political allies, whose presence can often have a more influential impact within the system.