Pacific Art Collective - Cultural Xposure Through Unity of Art

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS - Valley
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Both Indie and High Art Benefit as They Intersect

When upscale meets underground
By Joe Rodriguez

Le Petit Trianon is a lovely old recital hall in downtown San Jose known for classical music and high-brow audiences, but there stood grungy Will Rowan under its art deco chandeliers. A wool cap pulled down to his ears, the impresario of underground art was about to ignite a blasting, slamming, paint-splashing good time.

``Check it out,'' he said. ``This is our crowd.''

What unfolded in San Jose that recent evening was an original and inspiring show orchestrated by Rowan and the emerging Pacific Art Collective. After two years and more than 60 events, the network of young, struggling musicians and artists -- aka PAC -- is creating a vibrant new local art scene and is also introducing hard-to-reach young people to traditional art institutions.

Space and indie rock 'n' roll bands and slam poets performed in the theater while artists playfully painted in the lobby. About 200 people, most of them teenagers and young adults, moved freely between the on-site explosions of music and art.

The evening event was an eye-opener for fresh art fans Manuel Leon, 27, and his wife, Vannessa, 24.

``We live only two blocks away on Fifth Street, but I never knew about this place,'' Manuel said of Le Petit Trianon. ``I don't know if I'd come back for classical music, but maybe I would since I know this is a cool place.''

What's in it for the Trianon? Marketing director Hope Shapiro said she's not in it for the money. PAC paid a discounted rent. ``It's more an awareness of the building and the art that's happening inside to a broader audience,'' she said. ``This is one of the few ways that I think those future generations might actually be intrigued and want to start pursuing art, or at least start consuming it.''

If the PAC session at the Trianon was a blast, a similar event in April at the venerable San Jose Museum of Art was -- as young people like to say -- ``the bomb'' -- 731 eager participants showed up.

The turnout of shining new faces stunned Doniece Sandoval, the museum's new marketing director.

``Traditional museums are having a hard time getting younger people and minorities through their doors,'' Sandoval explained. ``How do you attract them when they have so many entertainment options available to them? Our traditional memberships are aging. Where will we be 20 years, or even in 10?

'' The museum didn't take a census that night, but Sandoval was delighted to believe that most of those attending were teenagers or young adults visiting the museum on their own for the first time. A good number were Latino, Asian or black, an encouraging reflection of the city's cultural diversity.

Once in the door, the young crowd happily roamed the museum's current art exhibits, and by night's end, the museum had sold 23 new memberships without really trying. Its leadership was so impressed, there will be two more museum-based PAC sessions this summer and fall.

Three years ago, Will Rowan, a part-time Web designer, rock guitarist and disc jockey, visited New York City and was overwhelmed by its vibrant art scene. He returned to San Jose determined to build one here. But how?

Land and housing are too expensive in San Jose for artists to colonize dumpy neighborhoods or empty warehouse buildings. Even the most established art organizations depend on large city subsidies to survive.

``For the longest time,'' Rowan said, ``San Jose artists and musicians had to leave San Jose to get exposure. We wanted to turn that around, so artists from around the Bay Area and state can come to San Jose for exposure.''

He and a few friends, including actor Daniel Briones and disc jockey Marcus Robinson, questioned why art and music events happen separately.

Since the first PAC show at San Jose Repertory in 2003, its membership has grown from about 20 artists and bands to about 350, and its ranks include fashion designers, actors, filmmakers and photographers.

PAC sessions also have been held at Barbarella's beauty salon on Santana Row, the Wyndham Hotel, Camera 12 cinema complex and Wave's steakhouse in San Jose. PAC and some of its San Jose artists staged sessions in Los Angeles recently and Las Vegas last autumn. They're traveling soon to Oakland and Portland, Ore.

All this success has come with little money. Still working on non-profit status, the group advertises through simple fliers and word of mouth. It doesn't have an office or performance space, only a Web site at pacificartcollective.com.

PAC keeps admission prices low, usually $5. Half of the proceeds for each event go to the organization, half to the artists and performers.

Ronnie Bogel is a fashion designer based in Willow Glen. For the Museum of Art show, he had three models walk around in his newest line, which featured short skirts and tank tops cut and pasted for an avant garde, casual look.

``It exposes me to a new customer base,'' Bogel said about the show, where he signed five new clients and sold 17 items. ``More than making money, it's giving me the opportunity to establish myself as a fashion designer in Silicon Valley, which is where I want to stay.''

Ironically, PAC's lack of its own space may be the key to its success. By holding shows around town, the collective introduces the city's young artists, poets, musicians and followers to each other and to arts institutions that generally showcase artists who are more established.

Artists can sell whatever they paint at the shows, but nobody is getting rich.

``The purpose isn't really to sell art, because the crowd we're trying to get in here doesn't have the money,'' Rowan said. ``We're trying to expose them to art, to the making of art, and we hope they'll even try it some time. They can go to a club and listen to music or a DJ, but here they can get it all.''

In a valley famous for computing, an artistic innovation is booting up.

Do you have a story idea for East Side/West Side? Contact Joe Rodriguez at jrodriguez@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5767.