Photo by Daniel Triassi- Mustang Daily

A showcase of David Settino Scott’s work, titled “California Primitive 25 Year Retrospective” is on exhibition through the end of February at the San Luis Obispo Art Center.

Walking into the center reveals Scott as an artist who depicts diverse subject matter. Scott’s work resides at the intersection of art history and following his own gut.

One of his pieces titled “Birth of Pasta,” illustrates his love of Italian cuisine. In the composition, angels watch as a giant ball of spaghetti erupts while a cook and her assistants gaze at the culinary possibilities.

But he also tackles tough subjects, as in “A Pure Working,” which features stylized portrait busts of various Vietnamese Buddhist monks who set themselves on fire in the Vietnam War.

The exhibit marks a quarter century of achievement by Scott, said Gordon L. Fuglie, adjunct curator for the Art Center. Fuglie first found out about Scott in the ’90s while at an opening reception for another artist in Riverside, California.

“I went up stairs and walked into the gallery displaying ‘A Pure Working’ and I was brought to silence and stillness in its presence,” Fuglie said.

At the opening reception for Scott’s exhibit, Fuglie said it was an honor to curate a retrospective with someone with such a vast body of work rich in human experiences, fantasy, spirituality and history.

The audience seemed to echo Fuglie’s sentiments as some of them yelled “David rules!” and “We love you,” throughout the night.

Morro Bay resident Ella Mcoy came to the opening because of Scott’s historical references.

“I was interested because of the themes of Dante’s Inferno, Goya, slavery and the Vietnam War,” she said. “I’m also similar to him in age.”

Scott’s art was shaped by his blue-collar upbringing. He dropped out of high school to take on a number of manual jobs. Scott later enlisted in the Navy. He discovered his interest in art while in the Navy when he began to copy the pin-up girls from artist Alberto Vargas. He put one of his drawings in the ships locker to be his “girlfriend,” he said.

Scott describes his art “odyssey” as beginning when he got out of the Navy. Painting for the first time was difficult without any formal instruction.

“Mixing colors everything came out as mud,” Scott said.

Next, Scott’s artist odyssey led him to museums in Europe where he saw Goya’s etchings on the disasters of war.

“That was very moving for me,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is important work, and this is saying something.’”

Goya’s work made Scott committed to be an artist. After he came back from Europe, he enrolled in college. From the 1960s to ’70s, Scott struggled with his artist identity and eventually gave it up altogether to become a flight instructor.

Still, flying couldn’t replace his passion for art.

“There’s something to be said when you do what you’re supposed to do. What’s in your heart and soul to do, as opposed to what you think is best for you to do or what other people think is best for you to do,” he said.

Scott returned to art with an encouraging public response in 1983. Art Center assistant director Maura Johnston agrees that Scott’s work needs to be collected as part of the important historical art collection of the Central Coast.

“He has a unique vision, he paints what he wants, he’s not painting for profit but because he has to, it’s what he loves,” she said.

Courtesy Photo.

Seventeen Cal Poly students are currently waiting to see if the designs they created in conjunction with Hablamos Juntos last quarter will grace the hallways and directories of hospitals nationwide.

Hablamos Juntos, Spanish for “We Speak Together,” is a program sponsored by Fresno Center for Medical Education and Research at the University of California, San Francisco dedicated to bridging the language gap steadily growing in the United States, especially in health care.

The organization believes that hospital-affiliated symbols should be free of any sort of language dependency, which is why no foreign language fluency was needed to design the symbols or to interpret their meaning.

“Symbols are visual images that represent a reference, a word or a real world object, place or concept,” according to the program’s Web site.

The purpose of the project is to design a set of symbols that can be universally recognized and reach speakers of all languages. Hablamos Juntos designed 28 original symbols in 2006 — illustrating common places around hospitals such as the chapel, surgery wing and waiting room, and are looking for another 15 symbols from college design students.

This is where Cal Poly art and design assistant professor Katherine McCormick entered the scene. She and a previous design class helped Hablamos Juntos with the design of the original 28 symbols, and she believed her students were ready to take on more. She sent a detailed application to the program, fighting to become one of three universities chosen to design more symbols based on the originals.

Graduate student programs from the University of Cincinnati and Iowa State were chosen, along with the undergraduate program from Cal Poly.

McCormick’s students spent the past spring quarter dedicated to the project to create symbols that meshed with what Hablamos Juntos had already created.

“The new symbols had to fit into the old design language,” McCormick said.

By meshing both design languages and actual languages, the students collaborated on 12 new symbols, including designs for ophthalmology, nutrition and respiratory services. Each student was given individual assignments that were then assessed by the class, who, as a whole, decided what worked.

Multiple designs, some for the same symbol, were sent to Hablamos Juntos in late September. Testing for each of the 15 categories, including the 12 that Cal Poly students submitted, is now in progress. Testing will rely on surveys of both health care workers and designers to get feedback before making a decision about which symbols are chosen. Results should be known soon after testing wraps up in December.

Now that the symbols are in the process of being tested, are the students simply holding their breath, waiting for response? No way.

While the other two universities have dedicated their fall quarters to “research method” classes concerning the symbols, Cal Poly has been working on a project that would allow a hospital visitor to become familiar with the designs.

One student created a series of posters that explain each symbol, while another made flash cards that could be placed in the waiting room and another designed a directory that would feature each design in multiple languages.

Art and design senior Sarah Hamling stirred laughter from the group when, during her presentation of her children’s book illustrating the symbols, she realized her yellow shirt perfectly matched the cover.

“Watch out,” McCormick said. “When you’re working on a project you will subconsciously start to dress in the color palette.”

This sense of immersion seems to affect every student in the class; the dedication came forth first in the designs and now in the application.

“I wanted to show the symbols in a very simplistic way. That way, the reader can learn about them but have it be interactive as well,” Adam Wirdack said of his project.

While Hablamos did not petition the class to create these projects, McCormick came up with the idea as another way to present the symbols to the program while simultaneously allowing students to create another professional piece of work to add to their portfolios.

“I think it’s good for Hablamos to see their options. From what I know of dealing with them before, they will be really excited to see these,” she said.

McCormick and her students are now partnering with the local French Hospital to work both the symbols and the application projects into their facilities, which would be step one in Hablamos’s mission.

The unique design team at Cal Poly has not only taken on an influential project, but also finished it. They have not only finished it, but also have begun to implement it locally.

“Eventually, every hospital and health facility in the nation will adopt these symbols,” McCormick said. “It is great to be able to be part of the solution of something in such a large context.”

“Flying High” by Sylas Stephens and “A Living World of Colors” by Robert Maja (left to right) are just two of the artistic cans revealed Friday night. Photo by Erin Hurley- Mustang Daily

Shell Beach has a few new additions to its main street that are both ornamental and functional. On Friday night, community members revealed their “ARTcans,” a set of 12 painted trash and recycling cans along Shell Beach Road.

Before the inauguration on Nov. 13, there were no trash or recycling cans in the city. The Shell Beach Improvement Group (SBIG) had been trying for a few years to bring cans like these to the city and have local artists paint them, but they had faced some difficulty finding willing artists. Then Colleen Gnos, a Shell Beach resident and artist who recently heard about the project, organized a group of 12 artists whom she knew would be enthusiastic.

“This event is a big step for Shell Beach — we really are a community of artists, but it’s hard to see it most of the time,” Gnos said. “I really want this to be a chance for Shell Beach artists to meet and feel supported.”

Gnos helped the SBIG move the cans, find sponsors for the project and garner public attention for the show, in addition to painting a can herself.

“There is little support for recycling in Shell Beach, and creating these cans not only helps make the city more beautiful but also promotes environmentalism,” Gnos said.

Each artist painted a trash or recycling can under the theme “Sand, Waves and Caves” and created 12 unique and beautiful works of art with images of mermaids, beaches and similar scenes. The fourth-grade students at the Shell Beach Elementary School painted a can together as well.

The businesses on the main street of Shell Beach held an open house for the event, offering free refreshments and a place for visitors and artists to mingle. Local musicians wandered up and down the street, adding a friendly and fun atmosphere to the event. The artists who painted cans, as well as other local artists and photographers, displayed their work in various shops and restaurants.

Tyler Aldrich, wife and representative of Dominican-born artist Robert Maja, another Shell Beach artist who painted a can, said that Robert “is really proud to live here in California, and it is so great for him to be able to be part of the Shell Beach community and share his culture. This event is a wonderful way for Robert and other Shell Beach artists like him to be able to express themselves through their artwork.”

The community of Shell Beach supported their local artists in several ways. Not only did local businesses offer the artists a welcoming place to display their work to the public, but the financial support for the creation and unveiling of the cans came solely from local residents and businesses.

The Old Vienna Restaurant was one Shell Beach business that sponsored a can.

“The SBIG has been working on this for three years,” restaurant owner and SBIG member Zoa Musick said. “When it was finally decided that the cans would be painted, I wanted to be involved, so I volunteered right away to sponsor a can.”

The event drew a large attendance of both Shell Beach locals and visitors. Most came to support family or friends and be part of a good cause.

“It’s a community event, and it’s a really great idea,” Shell Beach resident Kate Flynn said. “I know some of the artists personally, and so I was able to see these cans evolve from the beginning — I watched the artists paint them in their driveways!”

The event also attracted Cal Poly students like biology freshman Jena Epperson.

“I find this type of event to be a great way to get to know people as well as a great way for a city to show their ideals about saving our planet one recyclable at a time,” Epperson said. “The intricately painted recycling cans were unique and beautiful; they stand out and depict trash-free environments that everyone can recognize and relate to. My personal favorite was the jellyfish can.”

In the gallery, a 6-foot sketch of three serious-looking faces with empty eye sockets are placed cheek-to-cheek. Mustang Daily photo

The University Art Gallery will feature the work of three Thai artists who have been invited to Cal Poly as part of a university artist exchange. Cal Poly’s exchange program with Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, gives faculty members at both universities an opportunity to travel overseas to visit and create art at other campuses. The Thai artists will  create different pieces that fit a theme, ultimately producing an entire gallery of work for Cal Poly to display.

The exchange began this summer with three Cal Poly faculty visiting Silpakorn University to create art that fit the program’s ‘water’ theme. Returning Silpakorn’s hospitality, Cal Poly is hosting the Thai artists for one week.

This year, the hospitality extends further than sharing the university campuses due to budget cuts. Instead of staying at a hotel as artists have in past years, the visiting artists are staying with faculty members to cut down on costs, art department Chair Sky Bergman said.

Art professor and exchange coordinator Michael Miller said that hosting the artists makes the experience “more intimate.”

Miller, who visited Thailand in the summer, said that the American and Thai group created the theme together.

“We felt like just the exchange in general, cultural exchange, is kind of elemental or essential to people in the globe getting along,” he said.

Part of creating a global unity is understanding other cultures. Miller said that he had to get used to the different style of Thai art.

“It takes time to understand the work. Just like if you’re listening to rap music. When you first listen to something that’s different, it looks all the same, sounds all the same. Then when you start to pay attention and you become friends with someone, it really starts to broaden out and it’s unique in many ways,” he said.

Artists in the West shy away from using symbolism, Miller said, while artists in the East heavily use symbolism in their work.

For one particular piece of art, Silpakorn project coordinator Sasivimol Santiratpakdee explains the different levels of wisdom in terms of a lotus flower being below or above water. The deeper a lotus is beneath the water, the more ignorant it is. As the lotus emerges above water, it achieves a deeper understanding and ultimately becomes wise.

Beginning last week, the artists brought their supplies to the gallery and began working on their pieces, which relate to Earth’s elements.

In the gallery, a 6-foot sketch of three serious-looking faces with empty eye sockets are placed cheek-to-cheek, waiting for artist Nawin Biadklang to fill in the empty space with his acrylic paints.

Santiratpakdee said that his piece, titled “Impermanence,” represents the elements of his soul.

Another artist sits on the ground next to Biadklang’s giant faces, focusing intently on a watercolor he’s painting. Colorful images of war protests, hands pulling back slingshots and political figures bleed on the thin pages scattered around Biadklang. He’s chosen “Wisdom” as his elemental theme and as the title of his work.

Watercolor artist Prasert Pichayasoonthorn explains in Thai to Santiratpakdee that he plans on wrapping the papers around wire, creating paper lanterns. The lanterns will hang at different levels to show the different levels of wisdom, the lower lanterns being less wise than the higher ones.

The third artist and first female faculty member invited on the exchange in the past 12 years, Prapakorn Sukonhamanee, has been weaving a colorful, traditional fishing net to hang in the gallery. Santiratpakdee said that each color takes about a day for Sukonhamanee to weave. The yellow, light pink, dark pink, red and blue layers on the 12-foot, webbed net mark the five days she’s worked on her creation, “Drop of Water.” She plans on adding more layers.

The day after the artists arrived in San Luis Obispo, Santiratpakdee gave a lecture in the art department on the facilities at Silpakorn University. More than 50 faculty and students showed up to the lecture. After the talk, Miller hosted a meet-and-greet with the artists over traditional Thai cuisine in the glass courtyard. Students lined up to try the noodles and curry. Miller tossed the noodles in the air, putting on a show for the art enthusiasts, and individually served each faculty member and student.

“It’s to get the students to meet the artists because food brings people together,” Miller said. “In the U.S., communities are so absent. It instantly creates a group of people (where) it interrupts their day; they talk and they have a good time.”

Miller hopes that every aspect of the exchange, including the gallery and the noodle gathering, will bring people from different cultures together. He especially hopes that the students will learn something from the Thai visitors.

“We’re really focusing on student involvement so seeing students come to these talks, seeing students eating is really important because really this is for the students.”

The University Art Gallery will be hosting an opening gala event on Nov. 12 beginning at 6 p.m.

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Artwork made from reclaimed or reused materials including eggshells and obsolete Polaroid cameras will be on display today at the 4th annual ECO Art Reception and Benefit at FrameWorks Gallery, where 15 percent of the proceeds will be donated to The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to protect the Black Lake Preserve.

“This is a great event to attend because it’s a bit off the beaten path,” gallery director Sara Egerer said. “It is edgy and shows a different and fun way of using art.”

Art ECO was created by Egerer as an outgrowth of passion for constructing art from reclaimed materials. This venue allows her and other artists to exhibit their unique creations while participating in an event that assists the community.

There are 13 local artists participating, who have created functional pieces as well as wall art for this green design event. Egerer constructed two of the pieces that will be at the event — a cross titled “Mixed Blessing” and a piece called “Killing Time” named after a quote by Dion Boucicault.

“I enjoy creating art that possess a duplicity of being visually appealing while conceptually challenging. My goal is for my art to evoke a sense of apprehensive attraction in its viewer,” Egerer said.

One stimulating shoe sculpture, “Combat Stiletto,” was made by Larry Le Brane. This remarkable one of a kind artwork is made of bullet-clad platforms and stiletto knife heels. Le Brane’s piece provokes a warrior essence and creative stand on the nature of stilettos. He started with the bullets, which led him deeper into the design of the shoe.

“I’m drawn to explore and combine found materials and fused glass in absurd and visually-appealing ways,” Le Brane said of his art.

Another artist, Maggie Ragatz, created “Eva on the Half-Shell” and “Shell Chandelier.” Both these are made of egg shells assembled in an imaginative approach. She came about the design after collecting blue Araucana egg shells from a food share box.

“My strategy is hoarding materials until an idea comes,” Ragatz said.

This will be the first time this one-of-a-kind artwork has been seen in the county. The art was chosen through a submission process whereby each artist had to present their work along with a description, title, pricing and materials used.

Art ECO will be held at FrameWorks at 339 Marsh Street from 6 to 9 p.m. To view the artwork and for more information about this event go to www.sloart.com. The prices of the art vary, but the event is free.