California Dreaming

[bob carnie]

Hi Folks

I would like to announce my wife my upcoming show in Riverside CA. I hope some of you can attend as well if you can forward the message to people in the area , I would appreciate the help.
You can also find more info at www.defendthedarkroom.ca

99204

I can see this attachment is too small I will fix , but if you are in a monster hurry to see what's up you can go to the website.
thanks

[bob carnie]

99205


This should open up nicer.

[Drew Wiley]

Congrats, Bob.... but now we gotta figure out a way to get you into northern Cal. It's such a big state.

[matthew blais]

Anxiously awaiting the Canadian Invasion...

[Michael Clark]

"BOY, MATT", your Gallery is attracting some big name Artists lately, glad I signed up for Bobs class !!!

Mike

[Ari]

Congrats, Bob; wish I could be there.

[gene LaFord]

Good luck with the exhibit Bob (& Laura). The work deserves a great reception!

gene

[Amedeus]

Fabulous ... good luck !

[Mark_S]

Congrats, Bob.... but now we gotta figure out a way to get you into northern Cal. It's such a big state.

+1 from another who would like to see you at this end of the state!

[bob carnie]

I am trying to make contact with galleries in the SF , Sacramento area. If not this visit it will be my next order of business. Getting shows is not an easy task
getting the work, finished and presented in frames is the easy part for me. We have family in San Jose, but this trip will be pretty tight to do a day trip north or south once we hit Riverside.

I am leaving the show on the West Coast for a couple of years, I will add to the work I am showing at Matthew's gallery as time permits. So that
I can mix and match work to the gallery's tastes and needs. Crating properly is the key to this by having similar work in common crates.
My strategy is to have work in the West and be able to fill any gallery request at the drop of the hat. Its ready to hang.
I will slowly move the work back east state by state. We have a permit that is renewable to keep the work in the US and each year its
renewable.



We also are planning to have the same work for the East Coast of North America and hopefully it will all meet mid west.

+1 from another who would like to see you at this end of the state!

[Drew Wiley]

I dunno, Bob. A friend of mine does all the prep work for the biggest local auction house; but you gotta be dead longer than Ramses III to sell work that way - which might apply to some vintage negs you commercially print. I stopped dealing with galleries in SF myself long ago, and all the people who ran them would be older than Ramses I if they were still alive anyway. My wannabee partner has started a 2 yr private development outside SACTO, so we can't realistically get any big gallery thing started before that is completed. Still contemplating location, but in some of these neighborhoods the permit process is so complex that I'd be as old as Ramses minus 3 before the paper work settled down. I need time to build personal print inventory anyway. The public photo fair over at SF was largely a bellyflop the last two yrs. So I have no interest in that particular venue. For shpg/crating I put together my own modular setup with precut components, then do final crate assembling with a roofing stapler. The other key commercial developer in the area is having some personal medical problems and wants me to cart away his big lab equip - about all I can realistically use is another 8x10 Durst enlarger. About my only serious new toy purchase is going to be an Esterly SpeedMat.
Wish I could run down to SoCal, but my day business is so nuts that I'll come back to a nightmare backlog after my only summer backpacking break - for every
week I take off, it amounts to about 3 wks behind here. Oh well ... shouldn't complain.

[ROL]

I dunno, Bob. A friend of mine does all the prep work for the biggest local auction house; but you gotta be dead longer than Ramses III to sell work that way - which might apply to some vintage negs you commercially print. I stopped dealing with galleries in SF myself long ago, and all the people who ran them would be older than Ramses I if they were still alive anyway. My wannabee partner has started a 2 yr private development outside SACTO, so we can't realistically get any big gallery thing started before that is completed. Still contemplating location, but in some of these neighborhoods the permit process is so complex that I'd be as old as Ramses minus 3 before the paper work settled down. I need time to build personal print inventory anyway. The public photo fair over at SF was largely a bellyflop the last two yrs. So I have no interest in that particular venue. For shpg/crating I put together my own modular setup with precut components, then do final crate assembling with a roofing stapler. The other key commercial developer in the area is having some personal medical problems and wants me to cart away his big lab equip - about all I can realistically use is another 8x10 Durst enlarger. About my only serious new toy purchase is going to be an Esterly SpeedMat.
Wish I could run down to SoCal, but my day business is so nuts that I'll come back to a nightmare backlog after my only summer backpacking break - for every
week I take off, it amounts to about 3 wks behind here. Oh well ... shouldn't complain.

I can't disagree with much of that substantively, but come on Drew. Why rain on Bob's parade? I'm sure he knows how difficult it is to show (quality) work. Thank goodness members here are affording each other opportunities and others who won't take "no" for an answer. That just may be a tad more productive than the usual argumentative diatribes (...not saying who) and bad jokes (...me, :o).

Keep gettin' 'er done, Bob.

[tgtaylor]

I am trying to make contact with galleries in the SF , Sacramento area. If not this visit it will be my next order of business. Getting shows is not an easy task
getting the work, finished and presented in frames is the easy part for me. We have family in San Jose, but this trip will be pretty tight to do a day trip north or south once we hit Riverside.

I am leaving the show on the West Coast for a couple of years, I will add to the work I am showing at Matthew's gallery as time permits. So that
I can mix and match work to the gallery's tastes and needs. Crating properly is the key to this by having similar work in common crates.
My strategy is to have work in the West and be able to fill any gallery request at the drop of the hat. Its ready to hang.
I will slowly move the work back east state by state. We have a permit that is renewable to keep the work in the US and each year its
renewable.



We also are planning to have the same work for the East Coast of North America and hopefully it will all meet mid west.

PM sent.

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

Ain't rainin' of Bob's parade, ROL ... jes pointin out some logistical speedbumps so he doesn't waste time barkin up the wrong tree! There are all kinds of clever theme galleries being put up around here ... but getting quality buyers to show up after dark in any neighborhood that requires body armor just doesn't work! Several pretty
well known photographers have tried that, and it just didn't work. I knew a pretty successful painter who got some of his canvases punctured with bullet holes.
A few people have managed personal shows in decent areas by taking short-term leases on vacant building impending final sale to someone else, but then you've
gotta set up and draw a purchasing clientele pretty fast. This ain't the East Coast. Commercial real estate tends to be ugly and obscenely expensive. And a couple
cities where this is not the case are on the verge of anarchy due to law enforcement cutbacks or neo-economies based on gambling or pot. There is a positive side. The area has a lot of sucdessful wealthy people, and the tradition of appreciating high-quality photography is still quite strong due to the heritage of the
West Coast school of days of your. An 8x10 still gets respect. The extant commercial galleries can only represent any one photographer to a small degree, and
are going to skin you alive on their cut anyway. That wasn't the case back when I was active - they let you take home a decent chunk back then. So in short
one needs to start thinking outside the box. Bob is good at that kind of thing. But it would take a team effort to put together a sustainable venue, and some real
financial backing, esp if one want to handle significant work and distinguish it from the many Holga clubs and artsy/craftsy co-op galleries in the area. I'm doin'
my homework, believe me .... but not quite at the point of letting the cat out of the bag (don't want the first thing to happen is for him to cough up a hairball).

[bob carnie]

I should reiterate that the work will be out west for at least two years, I am very patient and wanting as many people as possible see our work.. I am in a position (Elevator) to be able to finance the printing framing and crating , as this is our day business at cost since I do all my own work. Therefore I am more interested in showing and hoping for sales, not showing and needing sales.

I have learned through printing for others it took a few years for people to like my printing and then things got easier and more came, I really am following the kind of steps another Toronto Lab Owner took to get his work out there. Ed Burtynsky is legendary for his ability to show is work wherever and whenever, I am talking about his early days now folks, and the galleries may not be reflected on his CV but he was prepared at a moments notice to put a show together, he is still prepared and quite an inspiration for people like myself.

Word of mouth is very important and the more people who speak about your work good and yes bad the better .

[Drew Wiley]

That's good ... there was a near miss during the redevelopment of downtown Oakland. They restored all kinds of historical residences and old storefronts and put in
place a plan to assemble an affordable arts district with lots of small shops and restaurants. Things were going pretty well. They even managed to squeeze the locus
of heavy drug trafficking out of immediate neighborhood (it helped when one heroin kingpin was blown away, and the bigger kingpin - a former mayor - peacefully died of old age). Then the budgets cuts came and the police got hit the hardest. The recreational looters and anachists, along with vehicular sideshows, have gotten
totally out of hand. They can text to assemble mobs very quicky, as well as divert extant police resources. The downtown has been trashed eleven times so far.
Most small businesses would be lucky to monetarily survive just one instance of that. Today the city council is debating "whether or not" these "protesters" should
still be allowed to carry hammers, crowbars, and pieces of iron pipe, now that a restaurant waiter got clubbed and a few molotov cocktails have been thrown at
evening diners! Political correctness run amuk. So one has to very careful nowadays where one sets up a venue. There are some very safe affordable areas, but
then you've got to have some kind of magnet or theme concept to attract people there. ... (well, at least a pipe dream is better than no dream at all!).

[bob carnie]

Drew you are scaring me now .. Where is Batman when you need him???

[tgtaylor]

I thought Drew was Batman.

[Drew Wiley]

It's basically an obstacle course. I went thru the same thing back when I exhibited a lot. Whenever I potentially got involved with an SF gallery I wanted to see their back room. One particularly well know gallery managed to ruin a good chunk of a famous photographer's lifetime work due to a leaky roof and otherwise careless handling. Another one specialized in selling really old photographs for big bucks - many pre-emulsion (Fox Talbot etc), but stored them on high-formaldehyde content
shelving, and totally destroyed quite a few. You just gotta do your homework (and have connections). ... A pal was right on the verge of building me a real cute
gallery in a central location he already owned, but the city permit process became an utter nightmare. Every time they changed personnel the rules changed. But
some of the expensive draconian rules around here, esp per fire and seismic, are in fact necessary. And I'm right across the tracks from the most upscale unique
shopping complex in the Bay Area, and three galleries have already failed there. Again, it's not for the lack of rich people in the area. This is smack dab in the
heart of the biotech and pharmaceutical boom. Even Oakland, despite its reputation for bad areas, has far bigger areas which are very wealthy. ... I've just got
to continue networking till something pans out. I do have an old friend who does own an extremely successful combination restaurant/gallery in downtown Oakland
- not that I'd want to purse that specific venue for myself, but he's a remarkable resource for creative thinking. Don't know about downtown Sacto. My nephew's
law firm is there, but I'd have a question mark about inland Calif in general. It's our version of the Midwest, quite different tastes from the coast and nowhere near
as much affluence.

[Drew Wiley]

I'm hardly Batman .... I won't even drive some of those streets in broad daylite, much less mosey around them at nite. There are obviously plenty of safe areas to
go in the Bay Area, both urban and outdoor, without crossing gangbangers and pimps. An older co-worker on mine purchased the last available Queen Anne Victorian in downtown Oakland. The first morning he woke up there and looked out the front door, there was a dead guy there. Then he started a wonderful remodel, but got robbed at gunpoint in his garage of all his tools and equipment. ... after a few more close calls he called it quits and moved. I know someone else in that area who sleeps with a loaded shotgun in his bed. Too bad. Oakland has a lot going for it, including a wonderful museum; but I scratched it off my list quite some time back. Just too unstable. Frisco has terrible neighborhoods too, but they're not the places tourists or ordinary businesses would be. Real estate is insanely priced, and parking almost nonexistent. Still, I had good representation by certain established galleries there back in the day.... haven't kept up with the
current scene, however. But I'd really like to do an end-run around the whole nine yards, if possible. Time is now too short for all that traditional "fine arts career"
nonsense. I could tolerate living off cottontail rabbits and trout out in the countryside.... city pigeon and rat is a different subject. Prefer a real income and pension.

[gth]

I dunno.... It's a whole country between LA and The Bay Area.

I would explore working the show up the coast and when I say COAST I mean work your way up hw 1.

Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Saint Louis Obispo, Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and into the Bay Area, you have Saratoga, Mountain View , Los Altos, Palo Alto.

All loaded with old money or new tech money.

And even getting into The City stay on the West side, check out Sacramento Street and Fillmore Galleries. stay off Down Town.

Basically geographically you stay west of San Andreas fault, and culturally stay ocean cool and pale.

The coast is loaded with local winery money, rich european and asian tourists. I'd explore exhibiting in wineries.

And midway around Big SUR a good photographic legacy going back to the Westons etc. How cool is that!!??

[bob carnie]

thks

Big Sur- well I am a big fan of Brett Weston, but I think he would have found my solarizations not so aesthetically pleasing.

It was kind of what I am thinking I have mapped out most of the city's you mention, I will add the others to our list, As an unknown I really am going to follow the
submission guidelines and when someone responds who like Laura or my work will go with them. We are splitting the show up after Matthew's as it really is hard to
show two people together , Her work stands strong and hopefully so does mine.
I have travelled the coast highway from Van to Mexico and I find it to be very cool, not meaning the breeze from the ocean, but just the vibe one gets. We are born and raised Ontario flat-landers and the west coast like the east coast is very appealing. Don't get me wrong Ontario is IMHO the best place in the world to live and work ( cudos to OHIP)but we do dream of the west and east coast.

Now if I listen to Drew , he is painting a world that I am very dubious exists, I have visited every State in the US , other than Alaska and Hawaii and some States multiple times, Like Johnny Cash sings ** I've been every where Man** and all that I see is extremely friendly , hospitable , warm people. Drew I understand there are bad bad meanies out there, they are everywhere but nothing to be afraid of..Ed Burtynsky has a great following in San Fran.

Drew you should spend a Saturday night in Sudbury getting stinko with the boys, its not all machine guns and machettees outside your darkroom.


I dunno.... It's a whole country between LA and The Bay Area.

I would explore working the show up the coast and when I say COAST I mean work your way up hw 1.

Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Saint Louis Obispo, Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and into the Bay Area, you have Saratoga, Mountain View , Los Altos, Palo Alto.

All loaded with old money or new tech money.

And even getting into The City stay on the West side, check out Sacramento Street and Fillmore Galleries. stay off Down Town.

Basically geographically you stay west of San Andreas fault, and culturally stay ocean cool and pale.

The coast is loaded with local winery money, rich european and asian tourists. I'd explore exhibiting in wineries.

And midway around Big SUR a good photographic legacy going back to the Westons etc. How cool is that!!??

[Drew Wiley]

I know of only one steady gallery in Big Sur, and it's a knick-knack gift shop, not anything for serious work. Getting into one of the established Carmel galleries ain't
very likely, but won't hurt to ask - they're pretty damn small to begin with. I had a gig in that town for awhile, and yeah, there's a lot of money floating around. There's the whole hedonistic wine/cheese thing going on in several areas, including Napa Valley and now Paso Robles, artisified but largely untapped by photographers. Santa Barabara is where rich old people go to visit their parents. You'd probably have to take a second mortgage out on the entire province of Quebec to afford a space in some of those places.... But I was not joking at all about how dangerous certain artsified neighborhoods are ... not in the least. You heard it from somebody else... stay west of the San Andreas. I won't even come near my office at night unless its with a group of people.

[Drew Wiley]

Forgot one ... San Diego county.... tastes similar to up here (more Zen/cool versus LA/Vega/Scarface/Micahel Jackson/Donald Trump tackiness). I have a friend who has a booming gallery and home theater lighting business down there, esp around Malibu. Filthy rich neighborhood, and some big walls. Have no idea about established galleries - somebody will know. ... But do your homework and don't get cocky, Bob.... our own janitor was shot at not long ago, trying to get his keys,
and the same party did kill two people that same night, robbing botiques... The son of the owner of a business right across the street was killed in my parking space twenty minutes before I arrived... and this is considered one of the safest neighborhoods during the daytime. There are high-priced botiques all around here, but not one of them is open in the evening! People go riding bicycles around the park down the street during the day, but the next morning there are heroin needles all over the lawns. ... same with the jogging trails along the shoreline. ... ya gotta think like a cat .... four-dimensional territoriality, including the time of day. If you think SF is all safe, just ask any resident what Hunter's Point implies. The wine country is a different story.... rich gluttonous winos ... those are the
kinds of connections you need... maybe time to do a little touring and learn to speak cheese (never,ever Wisconsin cheese, however)....
gallery I can think of has flopped because no sane person would show up for an evening opening in a low-rent district.