Spark: Crude
Spark hits the streets with tag artist Crude, whose mark is recognizable as an African mask, which was influenced by his research into outsider art as well as American folk art. Original air date: July 2006.
Mar 08, 2007
KQED: Spark Art Video Podcast
Spark is about San Francisco Bay Area artists and arts organizations -- it is a weekly television show on KQED 9, an educational outreach program and a Web site at www.kqed.org/spark. The Spark Podcast includes segments from the show and is released weekly.
Episodes
Spark: Sonos Handbell Ensemble
Spark learns that being part of a handbell ensemble is more challenging and fun than anyone might expect when they drop in to see Sonos Handbell Ensemble in Walnut Creek. Original air date: May 2004.
Mar 01, 2007
Spark: Bill Dan
On any given day and in all types of weather conditions, nature artist Bill Dan can be seen balancing rocks at Fisherman's Wharf, Crissy Field or on the waterfront of Sausalito. Spark catches up with Dan and witnesses that his work is both public and performance art. Original air date: April 2003.
Feb 22, 2007
Spark: Southern Exposure's Monster Drawing Rally
Spark takes a sideline seat at the Southern Exposure Monster Drawing Rally in which more than a hundred artists take up pencils, pens and other unlikely drawing tools to create on-the-spot masterpieces. Original air date: March 2004.
Feb 15, 2007
Spark: Richard Serra
Richard Serra is perhaps the most recognized site-specific artist in the world. Spark catches up with Serra as he installs an enormous public work for the University of California, San Francisco's new campus at Mission Bay. Original air date: June 2005.
Feb 08, 2007
Spark: Smart Mob
Smart Mobs are sweeping the world -- is it a passing fad or a major technological trend? Judge for yourself when Spark catches up with them. Original air date: October 2003.
Feb 01, 2007
Spark: Borneo Textiles
Spark meets Diane Mott, the curator of textiles at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, where she gives us a peek at their collection of Borneo textiles. These weavings produced by the Iban women, whose dyeing and weaving skills were the ultimate achievement, were the path to power in their tribes. Original air date: June 2003.
Jan 25, 2007
Spark: Paul Madonna
Paul Madonna's work captures the subtle and intricate tones, spaces and moods of San Francisco neighborhoods. Madonna draws "All Over Coffee," a lyrical and often enigmatic comic strip published in the San Francisco Chronicle. Spark catches up with the artist as he begins work on a Mission District scene for his strip. Original air date: April 2006.
Jan 18, 2007
Spark: Bella Feldman
Bella Feldman creates what she calls "anxious objects" -- ranging from large-scale, imposing pieces to smaller more intimate pieces. Spark visits with Feldman as she creates metal and blown-glass sculptures inspired by the Gulf War and the current conflicts in the Middle East. Original air date: February 2004.
Jan 11, 2007
Spark: Belva Stone
Belva Stone teaches poi, the ancient Maori art of dancing with balls on ropes. However, she takes this performance art to the next level by adding fire to the mix and dancing while swinging flaming wicks around her body. Spark follows Stone's class from rehearsal to performance at The Crucible. Original air date: February 2004.
Jan 04, 2007
Spark: Alice Wingwall
When noted photographer and sculptor Alice Wingwall began losing her sight, she became determined to continue making visual art. Now almost completely blind, Wingwall remains a vital visual artist. Spark checks in on Wingwall as she works on a new series of architectural photographs. Original air date: May 2005.
Dec 28, 2006
Spark: Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society
Spark drops in at the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, a non-profit organization presenting live concerts of principally jazz, classical and world music. All performances are held at the Douglas Beach House on Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay on Friday and Saturday nights in addition to Sunday afternoons. Original air date: August 2006.
Dec 21, 2006
Spark: Rebar
Rebar members Matthew Passmore and John Bela wanted to preserve the cultural integrity of the 32-year-old Southern Exposure gallery; not through photographs or a painting, but by drilling out a chunk of the gallery's wall and canning it. Yes, canning it. Luckily, Spark made it just in time to visit the "encannery" process. Original air date: July 2006.
Dec 14, 2006
Spark: TheatreWorks
Spark goes behind the scenes at the company's production of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, "Proof." Written by David Auburn, "Proof" opened the 2003-2004 TheatreWorks season and deals with the relationship between a mathematician and her mathematical genius of a father. Original air date: September 2003.
Nov 30, 2006
Spark: Destiny Arts Center
Spark talks with teens in programs at the Destiny Arts Center. The center, which offers a range of classes including martial arts, modern dance, theater and leadership training, has been building self-esteem and confidence in youth since 1988. Original air date: May 2003.
Nov 30, 2006
Spark: Marga Gomez
Nationally touring comedienne and actress Marga Gomez writes and performs solo shows based primarily on biographical material. Spark goes backstage with Gomez at The Marsh as she discusses her transitions between the worlds of stage comedy and Hollywood and workshops "Los Big Names," which is about her experience growing up in a show-business family. Original air date: April 2004.
Nov 23, 2006
Spark: Ben Rubin
Spark checked out "Listening Post" on view at the San Jose Museum of Art from June 3 through November 26, 2006. Created by media artist Ben Rubin along with statistician Mark Hansen, "Listening Post" takes chat and messages from bulletin boards -- thousands and thousands of messages in real time -- and displays them on a suspended arc of 231 small text screens. Original air date: July 2006.
Nov 16, 2006
Spark: ODC/San Francisco
Spark gets a tour of ODC's new building, which is full of classrooms and rehearsal space furthering this institution's commitment to fostering dance in the Bay Area. Original air date: June 2006.
Nov 09, 2006
Spark: Kathy Foley
Kathy Foley's scholarly pursuit of Southeast Asian puppetry has taken her through most of that region. She is currently writing a book on mask and puppet performance in Southeast Asia. Spark visits with Foley at the Asian Art Museum to get an expert look at their collection of Wayang Golek puppets from the Sundanese highlands. Original air date: June 2006.
Nov 02, 2006
Spark: Deborah Slater
Spark features Deborah Slater in her element working in collaboration with multi-disciplinary performing artists who are known for their dancing, singing, and trapeze work. "Hotel of Memory - More Furniture Dances," was inspired by Erik Satie's "furniture music," which was meant to be nothing more than ambient sound. Original air date: May 2006.
Oct 26, 2006
Spark: Stephen Kent
Composer and musician Stephen Kent has been playing the didgeridoo, a traditional aboriginal instrument, for more than 25 years. Spark takes a listen to his unique, contemporary style of execution influenced more by his travels than by a desire to continue within the Australian aboriginal musical tradition. Original air date: May 2006.
Oct 19, 2006
Spark: Gregory Gavin
Gregory Gavin is a visual artist with a social cause. His site specific project called "Riveropolis," was born out of his interest in bringing inner-city people together in a man-made environment reminiscent of nature. Spark visits Gavin and "Riveropolis" while in progress at the de Young Museum. Original air date: May 2006.
Oct 12, 2006
Spark: Ala Ebtekar
Ala Ebtekar is a visual artist whose large-scale line drawings explore the contrasts and similarities between contemporary hip-hop culture and traditional Iranian culture. Spark caught up with Ebtekar as he created work for "Emergence" at the Richmond Art Center during the spring of 2006. Original air date: May 2006.
Oct 05, 2006
Spark: Felipe Dulzaides
If Felipe Dulzaides has his way, his art will make people question their everyday environments. Spark talks to him about his public art piece, "Double Take: A Billboard Project," a collaboration with New Langton Arts consisting of eight billboards that were installed throughout San Francisco over the course of a year from December 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005. Original air date: April 2006.
Sep 28, 2006
Spark: Toychestra
If fond memories of your childhood include a brightly colored xylophone, plastic saxophone or Fraggle Rock drum kit, then you'd probably enjoy Toychestra. The group began as a one-off performance in 1996 for a women's music festival at Hotel Utah, when they decided to abandon their regular instruments and play only toys. Spark takes a listen. Original air date: April 2006.
Sep 21, 2006
Spark: MoAD
The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) is the newest addition to the collection of museums in the Yerba Buena arts district, surrounded by SFMOMA, the Cartoon Art Museum, the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, and the future sites of the Jewish and Mexican museums. Spark checks out MoAD and talks to Lizzetta Lefalle-Collins. Original air date: April 2006.
Sep 14, 2006
Spark: Liz Hickok
Artists have long been concerned with capturing the spirit of the cities they live in. Liz Hickok is no exception. In her "San Francisco in Jell-O" sculpture series, she has crafted jiggling and jewel-colored landscapes out of one of America's favorite desserts. Spark caught up with her working on her creations. Original air date: April 2006.
Sep 07, 2006
Spark: Kara Davis
As the host for the Dancer/Musician Improv Extravaganza at the Margaret Jenkins Dance Lab in San Francisco, Kara Davis creates an atmosphere where dancers and musicians can share their talents with each other and the audience. Spark visited Davis at the Dance Lab to see the outcome of her experiment. Original air date: March 2006.
Aug 31, 2006
Spark: Aesha Ash
In the career of a dancer, taking new steps as an artist can also mean changing your life. That's what Aesha Ash has done over and over, moving from the New York City Ballet to Switzerland's Béjart Ballet Lausanne and then to Alonzo King's LINES Ballet in 2005. Spark visited Ash during a rehearsal, where she discussed her adjustment to the third dance company change of her career. Original air date: March 2006.
Aug 24, 2006
Spark: Shotgun Players
Persistence has finally paid off for the East Bay's Shotgun Players. After over a decade of being nomads, the theater ensemble finally has a more permanent home with a 35-year lease on their space on Berkeley's busy Ashby Avenue. Spark checks in on this grassroots troupe as they rehearse for a production of Albert Camus's 1949 play, "Les Justes."
Apr 18, 2006