An obsession with porn, scamming on chicks at clubs, maintaining large biceps and hanging with the bros. This is what “Don Jon,” played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt ["Looper" (2012), "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), "Inception" (2010)], values in his superficial life. He lives in New Jersey and exemplifies everything that the Jersey Shore connotes.  Funny, witty and smart sums up Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s indie film project. Watching “Don Jon” was a fun ride that I never wanted to end. Levitt does it all here! He wrote, directed and stars in this entertaining film that world premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Writer/Director Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in Relativity Media’s “Don Jon”.
Photo credit: Daniel McFadden ©2013 Relativity Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

“Don Jon” is given this name by his friends, because he is a major ladies man that goes in for the kill and succeeds to bed every “dime” that he is attracted to. Each quest begins at the night club where he scans the bar for the hottest chick of the night. Once “Don Jon” finds his target, he moves to the dance floor for seductive dancing, then continues to seduce his victim and leaves with his flavor of the week in a taxi cab and finally, to his satisfaction, the night ends in his bedroom where the magic takes place. However, ironically, his routine with sex and women does not end in the bedroom. In between his sexual escapades, he is obsessed with watching Internet porn, which apparently satisfies him more than the real thing.

It is not until he meets “Barbara,” played by the sexy and beautiful Scarlett Johansson ["The Avengers" (2012), "Iron Man 2" (2010), "Lost in Translation" (2003)], that he finds what he thinks is love. And following being caught watching porn, he attempts to end his bad habit at her demand. However, no matter how hard he tries to kick the habit, he still remains addicted and is unable to let it go until he meets “Esther,” played by Julianne Moore ["30 Rock" (2009-2013), "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (2011), "Children of Men" (2006), "Magnolia (1999)"]. Moore plays a character that is more open-minded than that of Johansson’s character and pushes “Don Jon” to open up and explore sex in reality, with a real woman, instead of with the fake actors on his computer screen.

Tony Danza and Writer/Director Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in Relativity Media’s “Don Jon”.
Photo credit: Daniel McFadden ©2013 Relativity Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes us on a ride. He introduces us to the life and ways of a superficial male that objectifies women and has an inability to find happiness through deep relationships with females. Then, we see him transform from his selfish and shallow existence to becoming a deeply emotional, mature man that is open to having a vulnerable and open relationship with a woman that he has deep respect for. The film’s scenes flow perfectly and possess a rhythm causing the viewer to be so engrossed in the story that one forgets that he/she is sitting in a theatre watching a mere movie. Gordon-Levitt does a terrific job with this film in all its hilarity and realism. “Don Jon” is a must-see!

[Top Photo: Writer/Director Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson star in Relativity Media's "Don Jon". Photo credit: Daniel McFadden ©2013 Relativity Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.] ]]> http://www.diginmag.com/2013/03/12/sundance-2013-joseph-gordon-levitts-don-jon-entertains/feed/ 0 http://www.diginmag.com/2013/03/10/2012-indie-rock-music-reviews-by-richard-morales/ http://www.diginmag.com/2013/03/10/2012-indie-rock-music-reviews-by-richard-morales/#comments Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:51:09 +0000 admin http://www.diginmag.com/?p=1045

Letter from the Music Editor

Allah Las

Allah-Las – Allah-Las (Innovative Leisure)

Imperial Teen

Imperial Teen – Feel the Sound (Merge)

Jason Lytle

Jason Lytle – Dept. of Disappearance (Anti-)

Jeremy Messersmith EP

Jeremy Messersmith – Paper Moon EP

Mahgeetah

Mahgeetah – Heavy Baby (Unknown Breakthrough)

Swearin’

Swearin’ – Swearin’ (Salinas Records)

The Sun Parade

The Sun Parade – Yossis (Spirithouse Music)

Read 2011 Music Reviews

Dig In Magazine was in for a treat at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival! Not only did we get to interview the directors and cast of the new Miller Brother’s (“Touching Home” 2008) western, “Sweetwater,” starring Ed Harris (“Touching Home” 2008, “A Beautiful Mind” 2001, “Pollock” 2000), January Jones (“Mad Men” 2007-2012, “X-Men: First Class” 2011, “Law & Order” 2008) and Jason Isaacs (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″ 2011, ”Cars 2″ 2011, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ 2010), but we had the opportunity to see the world premiere of the film.

View more photos from the “Sweetwater” Movie Premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival!

“Sweetwater” Movie Premiere | 2013 Sundance Film Festival
January Jones “Sarah” on the Red Carpet
Photo by Cindy Maram

“Sweetwater” | Jason Isaacs “Prophet Josiah”
By Logan and Noah Miller

“Sweetwater” is not your ordinary, cookie cutter Hollywood western. In contrast to traditional westerns filled with themes of cowboys and Indians combined with scenes of outlaws combating the upstanding town sheriff who works to save the vulnerable women and good citizens of the town, with “Sweetwater” we have a different scenario.  Within this film, there is a corrupt minister, “Prophet Josiah,” played by Jason Isaacs, who is more like a cult leader who runs the town. He takes many wives, some that are under-aged, and he rapes and murders the innocent. January Jones plays “Sarah,” an ex-prostitute turned doting wife who is the victim of this violent and sinful tyrant. “Prophet Josiah” murders her hard working husband, played by Eduardo Noriega, just as she is with child and rapes her. Although “Sarah” is the target of “Josiah’s” horrible deeds, she does not play the victim, but instead, rises up, takes the power away from this monster and kills off his entire crew.

“Sweetwater” | January Jones “Sarah”
By Logan & Noah Miller

“Sweetwater” Movie Premiere | 2013 Sundance Film Festival
Directors Logan and Noah Miller on the Red Carpet
Photo by Cindy Maram

The directors of “Sweetwater” have definitely taken some cues from feminism as January Jones’ character does not allow any man to keep her down. She is the heroin in this film, which is ironic for Hollywood westerns, which usually have a strong, masculine, triumphant male cowboy figure that rides off into the sunset. But not in this film! January Jones does an amazing job of playing the beautiful wife who is feminine in gentle moments, but yet strong and fearless at other times in her quest for revenge on the men who attempt to victimize her. And Ed Harris portrays the playful town sheriff, “Sheriff Jackson,” who operates on his own moral code and protects the innocent. Harris’ role is very lighthearted bringing humor and life to the film.

“Sweetwater” | Ed Harris “Sheriff Jackson”
By Logan and Noah Miller

On the Set of “Sweetwater”
January Jones, Noah Miller & Logan Miller
By Lorey Sebastian

“Sweetwater” Movie Premiere | 2013 Sundance Film Festival
Academy Award Nominated Film Editor Robert Dalva during Q&A
Photo by Cindy Maram

“Sweetwater” offers a unique spin on the Hollywood western with many twists and turns. It is entertaining, humorous and at the same time shocking and ironic. In this indie film, the Miller Brothers and the rest of the cast do an excellent job of presenting the audience with an out of the ordinary western that Hollywood and moviegoers have never seen before.

“Sweetwater” Movie Premiere | 2013 Sundance Film Festival
The Audience at Eccles Theatre
Photo by Cindy Maram

Audiopharmacy has been chosen by the Dept. of State and American Voices to represent America as Cultural / Music Ambassadors! Dig In Magazine caught up recently with Audiopharmacy founder, Teao Sense, to find out more about their music, collective and upcoming international tour! 

DIM: Do you feel that these days it is better to publish music online? I know for me, it is easier to do everything online, because it is so expensive to publish hard copy magazines.

Audiopharmacy-Teao Sense: That is how it is with music. People are slowing down on putting out albums because it’s so much easier to upload stuff online instead. I can make something and release it in the same night.

Audiopharmacy

DIM: Do you think publishing online or publishing hard copy albums is the route to go?

TS: I think both for sure. Sometimes I want to drop a record, straight vinyl. Nothing beats having something you can hold in your hand. You can’t really pass on a CD without it being in some sort of physical form anyways unless everyone is in this virtual world. It’s nice to have physical things. Someone once said: “You can’t hug a download”.

Audiopharmacy’s Teao Sense in the Studio

Teao by Martin Travers

DIM: Where are you based?

TS: San Francisco, California

DIM: Regarding the Audiopharmacy Collective, what do you look for in an artist, dancer or musician?

TS: There are a lot of talented individuals in the crew, but more importantly it is a spiritual connection in a sense of moral and heart. For starters, if somebody is really talented and they come into the crew with a big ego and not getting along with the rest of the crew, it’s hard for me to say, but they aren’t going to be a part of the family because they don’t actually… well, it takes more than just skill and talent for them to be a part of the tribe. Not that I want to exclude anybody, but it’s a moral movement.

Audiopharmacy’s Teao Sense, Love Speak & Family

DIM: Can you explain the social and culture movement?

TS: We are a collective, so there are a lot of sub-projects going on within the crew. It started as being just about music, but as it evolved we became musicians, producers, DJs, dancers, photographers, videographers, activists, poets, and live painters. At this point we are getting into learning and educating each other on self-sustainability. With all these different interests in the collective you can imagine our projects are becoming very broad too.

DIM: How would you describe your music?

TS: Musically we are rooted in hip hop, but have evolved into a more eclectic worldly sound. You can still hear the hip hop elements in the music, but I personally play a lot of world instruments. I am also a turntablist so I like to fuse together world sounds with turntablism, hip hop, Latin, Spanish and Middle Eastern scales, dub. Some might say we are a fusion of the Fugees with Gil Scott Heron, with Dead Prez on the revolutionary side. And in the spirit of Bob Marley, we are a conscious group with a conscious message.

Audiopharmacy Collective – Dancers

DIM: Who are your artistic influences?

TS: In the four-piece, Audiopharmacy live-ensemble core, it’s myself, Teao on production, turntables and guitar, Ras K’Dee on vocals and keys, Keepyahjoy whose on bass and buckets, and Ras Pulse on drums. Ras Pulse is from St. Croix in the Virgin Islands and he is from the Zioneers, which is a legendary reggae band. The first band to bring roots culture to Puerto Rico. He brings the reggae element to the band. Keepyahjoy is also Rasta. He comes from New York and was into East Coast hip hop growing up just like I was. Ras K’Dee has always been into hip hop so there is a lot of hip hop influence. But on a personal note, it’s hard to say who my influences are because I actually like to create a sound that is new. I tend to veer away from styles that have been done. I play more from my intuition and my emotion, communicating my emotions through sound.

DIM: What are you trying to communicate through your music?

TS: [I communicate] my emotions through the music, but Ras is our main vocalist. He is African and Native American, so a lot of his vocals deal with the struggles of the Native American community. He is from the Pomo Tribe of Northern California. Aside from concerts for people who like our music, we do a lot of indigenous events as well. In the production and the vocals overall, we like to unite the cultures of the world. The voices of the different instruments bring together different cultures. We have members in the collective who are from all over the world featured on the albums.

Audiopharmacy Collective Art: Dragonlady

DIM: I understand you have played all over the world. Where have you played nationally and internationally?

TS:  Nationally, we’ve played California, New York, Seattle, Toronto, Oregon and the whole west coast including Los Angeles and San Diego. Internationally, we’ve toured Europe six times. We’ve done Germany, Austria, France and London, Holland, Switzerland, Japan… I’ve played in Nepal and the Philippines, but because I’m a DJ I’ve played a lot of places that not necessarily the whole band has come out for. Including Australia and New Zealand, I’ve been to a lot of places.

Audiopharmacy Collective

DIM: What do you enjoy most about playing music and doing what you do?

TS: Our community and building community around the world. Showing people they can enjoy the richness of life not necessarily through monetary means, but by supporting people through community, which art, music and the elements of nature already provide. I’m from San Jose and San Francisco, I grew up here where money is very essential. You are part of a system where you have to pay expensive rent and have to pay for all these things that everyone is stressed over. But I’m learning more about self-sustainability. All you really need to be happy, in my opinion, are the four elements of nature. Water and Sun will give you energy. If I want to have a recording studio, I don’t have to pay PG&E to power my studio, the sun will provide that energy. If I have solar panels on my land, I can have a studio there. Food, I don’t necessarily need to pay money for my food, I can grow it in the garden. Community and love, well those are things we just have to manifest. That is something I am learning myself too. I still live in the city. Ras just bought land up north and we are calling it the “nest”. We are basically offering the land to the community to do various projects up there. It is a place to go to garden and practice these things.

Audiopharmacy’s Teao Sense, Ras K’Dee & Keepyahjoy

DIM: How did you get involved in the U.S. State Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the non-profit organization American Voices?

TS: It is a program that Hilary Clinton developed to dispel the myth that America is a whole bunch of greedy politicians, which is what a lot of other countries think. She developed this program so the 99% of America could be represented in other countries who hate on America. Technically we were chosen by them as being cultural ambassadors for America. The process was first the application and out of 300 applicants they called and wanted us to come to a live audition. They told us we were top-40 in the nation. It was funny because our bass player Keepyahjoy didn’t even want to apply for the thing. We were busy and he wanted to keep doing shows. He didn’t want to waste our time with this extensive application and figured we might as well enter the lottery. But next thing you know they wanted us to come to a live audition and fly us to Washington D.C. At the last minute they changed the audition to San Francisco, so we went over there. About a week later I got a phone call from the Director who said “we want Audiopharmacy to represent America”. So in the end, we became cultural ambassadors of the U.S. and they are sending us to Indonesia, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and New Zealand.

DIM: Who will you be playing for in these countries?

TS: We go on a 35-day tour in February to do concerts and also go to schools and do workshops with the youth…To be the face of America, to teach them music and American culture.

DIM: Best of luck on the tour!

During the recent 2013 Sundance Film Festival, a documentary film entered the scene. This film was no ordinary documentary. “Linsanity: The Movie” documents the life and rise of Asian American, Ivy League NBA star Jeremy Lin. Well, you know the story! Often thought of as an underdog, Lin arises from being a former state champ and player of the year at Palo Alto High School to playing for Harvard and finally, in February 2012, to becoming the breakout star of the NBA playing for the New York Knicks in the midst of a disappointing season. Out of desperation, the New York Knicks looked to the end of their bench and found Jeremy Lin, an undrafted free agent from Harvard. On the verge of seeing his lifelong NBA dream vanish, Lin – at near what was believed to be his last chance as an NBA professional, underwent a now-legendary run, obliterating stereotypes along the way, and in the process birthed the global phenomenon known as “Linsanity.”

“Linsanity” Still | Director Evan Jackson Leong & Jeremy Lin | Photo by Michael Bow

According to director Evan Jackson Leong, because Lin is many things, Asian American, Ivy League, and Christian, he is a minority in pro basketball circles. Lin was undrafted and was quickly cut from the Warriors and the Rockets. And he was pushed down to the second string of the NBA a number of times. But although he was facing these issues, he chose not to be discouraged, but instead made an effort to prove himself and play his best at all times. Lin decided that he was not going to play for anyone else, but was determined to play basketball the way he felt he should play it.

“Linsanity: The Movie” also brings to light the difficulties Lin faced being a racial minority in the NBA. He was often overlooked and not recognized as a substantial player. Lin was subject to discriminatory slurs and comments made by basketball fans, as well as fellow NBA players. Although Leong focuses on the obstacles that Lin faced, the film goes on to highlight the fact that Lin was able to push beyond racial stereotypes and boundaries in the midst of adversity.

Director Evan Jackson Leong, along with producers Chris Chen, Allen Yu and Brian Yang, began shooting and documenting Jeremy’s amazing journey 3-4 years ago at Harvard University. With the consent of Lin’s parents, past coaches and the NBA, Leong was determined to tell the story of a young basketball player that had gone further than any other Asian American basketball player had gone before. Lin’s traits, such as his strong Christian faith, humble demeanor and lighthearted sense of humor are evidenced throughout the film. One could not be anything but touched by seeing the sheer determination and heart that is shown through the childhood footage of him playing on the basketball court to his never-give-up attitude that is exhibited as he is shifted from team to team in his NBA career.

After Leong and fellow filmmakers took on the project years ago, they were unsure of how to conclude the story. However, as stated by Leong during the January 26^{th, 2013} Q&A following the Sundance Film Festival World Premiere, in February 2012 when the global phenomenon of “Linsanity” took the basketball world by storm, the filmmakers were given the perfect ending to their film. When “Linsanity” hit, it turned pro basketball upside down and the world was never the same.

To learn more about their filmmaking journey with Jeremy Lin, view the Q&As with director Evan Jackson Leong, producers Chris Chen, Allen Yu and Brian Yang from the World Premiere of “Linsanity: The Movie” at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

“Linsanity: The Movie” will be the Opening Night film at CAAMFest in San Francisco, CA on March 14, 2013. Please support “Linsanity: The Movie” on Facebook, Twitter and through the film’s Kickstarter Campaign.

Dig In Magazine-Cindy Maram: Hi Ashton! How are you? I’m Cindy with Dig In Magazine.

Ashton Kutcher: How’s it going?

Ashton Kutcher | JOBS Interview | Sundance 2013
© Cindy Maram/Dig In Magazine

CM: What made you want to [get] involved in this film [‘Jobs’] as I know you’re a big techy and follower of Apple?

AK: Well, I’m very interested in technology. I’m very interested in innovation. And I’m very interested in entrepreneurship as a whole. So, if you look at that collective, there’s a natural hero in that collective consciousness and that’s Steve Jobs. To me, he’s heroic in the things that he accomplished in his life. To go from a kid that was dropping out of college that didn’t have enough money in his pocket to starting a company…and sells his van to start a company…to having the most successful business in the history of the world. It’s a pretty inspiring story! And it wasn’t really an opportunity as much [as it was] an honor to play him.

CM: What do you want audiences to take away from this film and your role [as] Steve Jobs?

AK: I want people to get excited about building things. I want kids to grow up and think [that] my only option is not only to only work in this institution or this factory or this thing, [but] that they could come up with an idea or solve a problem, and turn that into a business for themselves. And create innovation. And create positive change in the world with the tools that they created.

CM: Wonderful! Thanks so much and best of luck with the film!

AK: Thank you!

The evolution of an artist is only as dramatic as one’s range allows. For painter Ricky Watts, that boldness is especially evident in his newest works of fine illustration. At 32, Ricky Watts has been featured in galleries and publications in San Francisco, Oakland, New York City, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Diego. A veteran graffiti artist known for massive movement and large-scale murals, Watts is also a graphic designer by trade. This summer, his signature “Bone Shaker” piece appeared on the 40-foot stage banners at the 2012 Outside Lands Festival.    

From his studio in Sebastopol, CA, Ricky Watts invited Dig In Magazine to delve into his creative process. A true artist’s sanctuary, the foggy hillside studio was once his grandfather’s woodworking shop, and a place Ricky grew up chasing barnyard cats and fantastical dreams.

Eight intricately drawn pen and ink works stand against a wall spray painted a thousand times over.   Easily recognizable in each piece is the contrast of childlike innocence with wreckage and despair, nature and humanity colorfully imposed on grayscale brick and mortar. Explaining his methods, Watts discusses his use of color and collage, future art books, and the insanity of Oakland Art Murmur.

Ricky Watt’s solo exhibition, Destination Unknown, opens at Zero Friends Gallery in Oakland on Saturday, January 5^th from 5-8pm and will be showing through January 31^st. 

“Destination Unknown” New Works by Ricky Watts

Ricky Watts in his Home Studio on 12/27/12 | Photo by David Korman

Dig In Magazine: Did you start all of these drawings in 2012?

Ricky Watts: “They are all started in 2012. But a couple of them I started and then put away because I got frustrated with where they were going. I decided rather than keep going and trying to force it, I just left it alone and came back to it later. That really helped me finish it, but it’s strange because the art went in a different direction while I was meditating on it.”

DIM: What was it that moved you to go from your traditional aerosols with massive movement to these intricate illustrations?

RW: “I went from very bold and abstract to these very detailed drawings. I wouldn’t say I got bored, but I got to the point where I didn’t feel challenged. I’ve been spray painting for 17 years and it’s always something I love to do. It’s very fun and I enjoy it a whole lot. But I got to the point where I wasn’t getting the reaction I wanted from people about my art. I wanted to push it to another level and do something that would make people stop and stare at the piece for a while.”

“I’ve always drawn since I was a kid so I kinda came back to drawing through nostalgia. It was comfortable and it felt good, and I’ve always loved creating drawings. Plus it’s cheap [laughing], that’s really what helped. The cost of doing one of these drawings is a lot less than a dramatic mural.

Each color is a different can, so it would get expensive because I was buying five shades of each color. Spray paint doesn’t really last as long as these art markers either.”

DIM: I get the theme of immanent destruction in your pieces, but how do you come up with the colorful shapes and creatures?

RW: “It was a game I was playing with myself. To see how much I could make it look like the original image. Then from there it went to taking multiple references and collaging them together, making these fantasy worlds.”

“The Vicious Cycle” by Ricky Watts

DIM: This looks like San Francisco. [Spotting the first piece of his collection]

RW: “This is a drawing I did from a photo; it’s the 1906 earthquake looking towards Treasure Island. Nob Hill is back here in the smoke. This was the very first one I did. I have always been fascinated by earthquakes and big disasters; I don’t know why I am draw to it. Originally I did the drawing all in black and white, to keep it as line art. But I wanted to create the smoke in the background and then it looked half-way done. This was the one I put away for a few months. I came back to it deciding I needed to color it to make it look complete. So it was the first one I started and the last one I finished.

DIM: And “Temporary Stability”?

RW: “This is a little fishing village in Indonesia. I did this one for the group show at Zero Friends in the summer. I did it based on the big favela drawing I had done before. I was exploring the shanty-type drawing and I came across this photo. I got kinda silly down here and started drawing these eyeballs. They are like these creepy little eyes watching you.”

“Temporary Stability” by Ricky Watts

DIM: Why only the buildings in black and white?

RW: “The reason I did these in grey scale was one, because my printer is in black and white, but two because I wanted to make what was alive in color. So the grey gave the brick and the stone a very cold feel and the colors really pop it. It’s kinda sad and cold but the rich colors come with life. 

DIM: How long did it take you to create “Dreamland”?

RW: “Each one has been a struggle. It’s kind of a battle within myself to keep doing it. For the longest time I always worked on six or seven different pieces all at once and I would just kind of circle around and work on them a little bit here, a little bit there. With these I’ve kinda slowed down my process and only worked on one at a time. I’ll work on one from start to finish and then the next one will come around.

“This one probably took about five weeks, the longest of all of them. This is an Italian villa on the coast, the shipwreck was in Russia and of course this is Half Dome (Yosemite). The balloons I threw in because I grew up watching the balloons over Napa and Windsor. It was this childhood thing.”

“Dreamland” by Ricky Watts

DIM: How do you structure your images?

RW: “I planned it out in Photoshop first. I find the images or use photos I’ve taken and develop this concept, move stuff around and make it bigger or smaller. I’ll then take that concept and transfer it to a cold-press watercolor board. Then I draw the outline. I take a piece of graphite transfer paper, which is used a lot in drafting, and I trace out where the shapes are so that it creates a map for me. That way I can get the composition right and make it more accurate. I’ll then take little portions of the drawing and blow it up on my printer and draw it as I see it.”

DIM: Somewhat like how you would start a mural.

RW: “Yes, but I only have a black and white printer so I have to make up the color myself. A couple of these I had to make up the colors entirely. Because the San Francisco photo was taken in black and white, I did the colors as I saw them.”

DIM: What materials do you use for color?

RW: “I do watercolor for the backgrounds and the skies. For the color I’m using Copic art markers. It’s a prismacolor Japanese art marker. They are archival so they are better for stuff like this, and they are refillable so I can keep them forever.”

DIM: Do you have to import them?

RW: “I buy them through Riley Street in Santa Rosa”

DIM: Who do you listen to when you paint?

RW: “I listen to a lot of audio books while I work. It’s very nostalgic. When I was a kid, my mom used to read to my brothers and I every night and I would lay on the floor and draw. I started revisiting books my mom read to us like The Hobbit. Then I found all these audio books on iTunes. While I’m working it takes me away to another place. The Hobbit is probably one of the only fiction books I listen to though. A lot of its non-fiction that I listen to, I like a lot of historical stuff. While I was doing the drawing of the earthquake, I listened to a book about the earthquake and fire – it put me into that period. It felt like I was a part of the drawing.”

DIM: How about the last three albums you’ve had in your tape deck over there.

RW: “Mmmm… Z-Man. He’s a rapper from San Francisco. Empire of the Sun; Cut copy is also a favorite. I like a lot of stories about baseball. I’ve always been a Giants fan.”

“No Where In Particular” by Ricky Watts

DIM: You spent a lot of time doing murals, where are they?

RW: “San Francisco and Oakland are the two main places. I’ve done stuff in Santa Rosa and all around Sonoma County though. The back of Dare Devils and Queens (barbershop in Railroad Square). That’s probably the only one that’s left in Santa Rosa. The buildings get sold or the piece gets painted over for whatever reason. That’s also one of the reason’s I’ve shied away from doing a lot of mural work. It gets your name out there but it’s not very permanent.”

DIM: So you’ve moved away from murals entirely?

RW: “I still do them, just not as often as I used to. From the late nineties to 2008, I was traveling all the time up to Portland and Seattle and then down to L.A. and San Diego. I was with the Lords Crew, mostly Bay Area but it’s expanded over the years. We have friends in Austria and now we have people in New York and L.A.”

DIM: When did you begin creating gallery pieces?

RW: “I starting doing works on canvas in 2004, that’s when I got serious about doing works to show in art exhibitions. Before that I didn’t really take it seriously, I just loved spray painting. Then I went to school for graphic design.”

DIM: You went to the Art Institute of California in San Diego.

RW: “Yes, but at that time I had gotten a part time job at a print shop near campus. I really liked working at the print shop and was learning so much more there than I felt I was at school, so I left after two years. I said, ‘I’m paying for this myself’, and I felt I wasn’t getting my money’s worth so I left with my two year degree instead of a four year degree. But really it was fine because the first two years you are learning the programs and then the final two years you are just building your portfolio. I had learned the programs and I was working already, so I quit.”

DIM: Are you still working in graphic design?

RW: “I still do design but it’s slowed in the past few years because I’ve been focusing on pushing my art farther. I quit my day job three years ago. I worked for various print shops for about ten years, doing pre-press and design work. But I got tired of the print shops closing – it’s a dying industry. I got tired of having to go out and look for a new job. Then six months later that shop would go under. So after the last shop closed I said this is ridiculous and went off on my own.”

Ricky Watts at Outside Lands

DIM: You were featured on Juxtapoz.com last spring, how did that happen?

RW: “I’ve always been a fan of Juxtapoz and dreamt of being printed. I would send my stuff through their artist submission page but never heard back. Then a friend of mine started dating the girl that did the blog, so that was kind of my foot in the door. I got to know her and they did a little feature on the website. It really took off when my “Bone Shaker” drawing was the scrim banners at Outside Lands this year. Juxtapoz had a booth and I stopped by, met the editor, and established a connection. It was surreal seeing as the drawing was 40 feet high with 50,000 people in front of it. And it was my birthday.”  

DIM: When did you become involved with Zero Friends Gallery?

RW: “I’ve known Alex Pardee for ten or twelve years now, through graffiti and spray painting. When they formed Zero Friends, it was originally based around Alex’s art. Then when they wanted to expand and bring in friends, one thing led to another and I moved a few prints through them. They recently acquired the space last year in Oakland and started doing art shows.”

DIM: [Checking out his art book library I pick out a copy of Alex Pardee’s illustration book put out by Upper Playground.] Do you have any plans to put together a book?

RW: “Yea, Alex is the hardest worker I’ve ever met. He’s one of those people that can function on very little sleep. He can work for 20 hours a day and get up and do it all over again. It’s very inspiring to see all the stuff that he does. I’m still producing work though. It will happen eventually. Zero Friends is putting out a book so I’m contributing works for that right now. But at some point, I’ll have enough images where I can do it.

“Preoccupied” by Ricky Watts

DIM: Do you think you’ll include your whole portfolio or stick to one theme?

RW: “I would probably do the whole thing, just to show my range as an artist. I could break it up into different sections, have some design stuff in there, some of the different t-shirt graphics I’ve done.”

DIM: Tell me about the group show at Zero Friends last summer.

RW: “They do a group show every summer because they go down to San Diego for Comic Con. It’s always so crazy during that time of the year; instead of trying to squeeze in a show they just do a group show. It’s kind of a tradition every June or July.”

DIM: Have you ever had a show at First Friday’s Art Murmur?

RW: “This will be my first big show. Art Murmur is insanity; it’s the craziest thing ever. It’s exploding now. The street that Zero Friends is on, they’ve closed down the street completely. It’s just this giant street fair on 25^th and Telegraph and Zero Friends moved right in the heart of Art Murmur. The show gets a thousand people on the first Friday night. And because it gets so big, they don’t even have to promote it. People are gonna come anyway. Since First Fridays is the event, the following Saturday is when the gallery does the artist’s reception. The show will be up for First Friday, but it’s just a preview.”

“Oakland” by Ricky Watts

DIM: So are you excited?

RW: “Yea, this is so crazy because I’ve never been finished this far in advance for a show before. Usually I’m working on three pieces a day before the show is supposed to open and it’s always this crazy mess.

But I’m a firm believer of supporting local business’ so I use Riley Street for my art supplies; I use the frame shop inside Riley Street to do all the framing. Because the show is right after Christmas and they take off two weeks at the end of December each year, I had to have all my pieces to them before December 15^th. That was my deadline. So I’ve been done with the show for the last week and half. I feel almost guilty that I am not still working on it. It’s almost like I really don’t know what to do with myself. But it’s been great because I’ve been able to work on the promo and the marketing.”

DIM: Lastly, how did you come about the show’s title, Destination Unknown?

RW: “The pieces are very fantasy and kind of fun. There’s this whole thing that  we don’t really know where we’re going but you know we’re gonna have fun along the way. So it’s really like, I’m not sure where this is going to take me, and I know it’s going to continue to build, but I’m not sure where it’s going to go from here. I am definitely going to keep doing these drawings though.”

Gallery: 415.380.7940

Website: www.ROOMARTGALLERY.COM

Present Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 12pm to 6pm

Room provides art consulting, art leasing, custom art creation with your preferred artist, interior designer and hosts special events in their unique 2,000 sq ft building with a spacious parking lot.

Room Interior Art Gallery held its monthly Art Walk on January 14, 2011 in San Rafael,CA. Dig In Magazine stopped in to see the art, listen to some music, have a glass of wine and say ‘hello’ to Danielle Molinski. There was a mixture of art spanning from abstract and figurative to pop culture and photography. The atmosphere was bubbling with excitement as new work covered the walls and art lovers from all over the Bay Area stopped in to admire the gallery and its artwork. Dig In Mag had the chance to talk to Danielle about her new role at Room Interior Art Gallery. Dig In Magazine: Hi Danielle! You’ve done an amazing job here at Room Interior Art Gallery. What is it that you do for the gallery? Danielle Molinski: Hi Cindy, it’s been a team effort! Agne [Correll] and I have known each other for many years and we work really well together. We always talk about what we want to accomplish at Room, she is an artist and I’m not, which makes for a good partnership because we look at everything from different perspectives. We have learned a lot from each other so far. Since I started, I have been focused on creating more sales for the gallery, building a clientele, bringing new artists and promoting the gallery through a bigger marketing presence. Besides being an art lover myself, I have many years of both sales experience and marketing skills that can help Room grow and become a great place to find art or host an event in Marin. DIM: How have you changed the gallery since you began in November? DM: Agne and I have very different backgrounds and we talked a lot about defining Room’s identity as a gallery. An art gallery is a retail space so it is important to look at it as a business and make the right decisions. We have been working towards finding Room’s voice by asking ourselves what art style best represents Room. I think that it is always going to be an ongoing process because we need to follow what works and what feedback we are getting from our clients. It is important to us that we are offering our public something different from what they are seeing in the other galleries around us. We want our clients to look at art that they can picture in their homes. We also want Room to be an art gallery space where people are not intimidated to come in, a place that they want to check out when they walk by. We are currently showing an array of artworks that range from $275 to under $10K hoping to offer something for everyone. After I started working with Agne, I was able to bring works of a few of the artists that I have worked with before such as the Internationally acclaimed Wosene Kosrof, Samuel Takembaiyee and Lisa Rasmussen. I’m working on a new redesigned website, a bigger Internet and email newsletter presence plus we have various projects using direct mail. DIM: What is your background in terms of the art world? How long have you worked in the art industry? DM: I have been working in art sales, events, management and marketing since 2001. Since I started, I have always been very involved and curious to learn more about the business of selling art and I have applied myself to study and work in all different areas of running a gallery. Through a lot of hard work and guidance I was fortunate to have the opportunity of being advanced into marketing, management, and to create and help organize several art events. I continue to learn a lot from my mentors and friends that have been in the business of selling art for several decades, they have guided me through where I am today. DIM: How did you get into selling art? DM: I have worked with high-end merchandise since I was fourteen. When an opportunity arose I took a chance on it; it was very natural for me to work with art because I’m a big art lover myself and I was extremely excited and ready to go to work. Previous to getting a job in the art world I have never worked with it before, but I applied myself so I wouldn’t become just a salesperson selling art but someone that was truly involved in the process. DIM: What galleries have you worked for? DM: I have worked for a company that at one point owned nine gallery locations. It specialized in high-end art from Africa and later on American Art in some of its locations. I worked directly in four locations and indirectly on the other five. I started working in sales part time and rapidly got promoted throughout the years. Since last year, I’m also working with my good friend Horacio Gomes building his art gallery area at Horatius in the Potrero Hill in San Francisco. DIM: What is your strategy for selling art? DM: I believe that having a good personality and putting your client at ease, good product knowledge and getting to know your client’s needs are very important points when selling anything. I try to get to know my customer and listen to what they’re telling me. I always make notes so I can always remember what they have told me, who they are, etc. I find it very important to follow up with a client before and after a sale. I let the person connect with the artwork and try not to get too technical about a piece. I feel that it’s important to let the person connect with the art instead of explaining it too much, only the artist himself can do that successfully because he is the one that created the work, it’s best to let the person be “with it” for a moment. When I’m buying art for myself, I usually buy it because I fell in love with it, so I try to let people buy it for the same reason. Most times purchasing art is an emotional decision. I like to focus on the feeling that the artwork evokes, but also read the client for what they need to hear to make a good decision on an artwork. I try not to assume if the person can buy the artwork or not and I’m comfortable about asking for the sale. DIM: Are there certain types of artwork that you specialize in? DM: I’m best at selling contemporary art. I’m most excited about abstract, vibrant art although I also personally love works by old Masters. I find contemporary abstract artworks selling more frequently and because I’m sales minded, I tend to continue to learn and exceed at that instead of trying to work with several styles and have mediocre results. At the moment we are also looking for great sculpture art, which is something I really love. If you are excited about something you tend to sell well. DIM: What do you like about art and working in the art industry? DM: I love art and most of the time my travels are based around visiting museums and ancient art sites. I’m always looking at art everywhere I go, it’s one of those things that really inspires me. I travel to Europe and Americas every year and I’ll never get tired of looking at all kinds of art, even if it’s a piece of hand-woven upholstery, a clay pot or a centuries old painting. Art is attractive to me because it allows my mind to wonder. I have picked out a few pieces at home that will calm or excited me. I love looking at them. I find it so important to surround yourself with art objects that you love. Looking at your favorite piece of art can make you smile, can take you away to a distant land, tap into memories. Art is very personal and just for looking at someone’s walls you can learn a little more about him or her. I enjoy working with art because it is a very social profession and also fulfills a part of me where I like to work with something that touches people’s lives positively, the buyer for buying something they love, myself because I need to make a living like anyone else and the artist, because his art is appreciated by someone, I think ultimately that’s what the artists most want. DIM: What is your outlook on the art industry in this present day? DM: Honestly, it takes a lot of courage to make your living out of making, promoting or selling art. It is a really attractive occupation because of the social part of it and because you can make money by working with beautiful artworks, but the other side of it is that it is not easy. It takes a lot of work, discipline, confidence and persistence. I have a tremendous respect for anyone that believes in art as a profession and sticks with it. I have had more success with art a few years back, but I have learned to adjust. I truly believe that if you have built a real relationship with your clients, you are always going to find the right piece for the right person. People that have collected art throughout the years are still buying art, but I might find it a little more difficult these days to sell art to a new collector. To an established collector, then buying art is like for some buying a new pair of shoes. It’s already part of their lifestyle. I tend to have an optimistic but realistic outlook on selling art and that helps me think that I make my own successes. For me, working hard, to continue to learn, being creative, proactive and open to every opportunity has been the best formula. Times are challenging but it’s when times gettough you can really see who has the guts to keep on going forward. With all that’s happening in the economy, there’s a new breed of artists that are determined to make it. They are more passionate when creating, more proactive and flexible, involved and social as opposed to taking a back seat throughout the process. I believe that 2011 will be a great year for people thinking about purchasing art again. DIM: What is your vision for Room Interior Art Gallery in the future? DM: Agne and I have great plans for Room, we are bringing in exciting new art from all over the country besides working with great local Bay Area artists, we are also looking into finding more three-dimensional art, we are organizing special installations and making Room a place where people want to come in and see what’s new or use the space for special events. We would like to help promote Fourth Street in San Rafael as an art hub in Marin and work more with the non-profits as a way of giving back to the community. We want to work more closely with interior designers and also find art to place in offices and restaurants. We are working on a bigger presence online so we are able to expand and offer art to collectors all over the country. We also have art classes and poetry nights coming up, our goal is to keep the gallery busy all year around and take every opportunity to promote the artists we are representing. We try to think outside of the box to keep Room a lively and interesting space to visit and shop.