AS SEEN HERE
project: #7
location: San Francisco @ Merchants of Reality.
date: 3/4 – 3/5. 2016
type: collaborative painting. Potentialist Road Show event.
A RENAISSANCE & A ROADSHOW:
It didn’t take long for Alley Art and it’s fearless creative ambassador to find the promised land on the big move out west. As history gave us gold and silver and rough wrangling cowboys, present day gives us an unorthodox artistic renaissance in the biggest little city, Reno.
After a quick settling in among the renaissance pioneers I was informed to load up and hit the road again. My westward trip would continue on to the edge of the earth. To the great big vast expanse of blue. To the big city. The one filled with golden gates and robot dreams. San Francisco.
So just like that Alley Art hit the road again. Heading toward the setting sun. Joining Reno Potentialists on a mission to spread a new sort of wealth to the people and pioneers of the west.
THE POTENTIALISTS:
A poem is read to the beat of paint on canvas. A group of musicians flow lyrics and thoughts in costumes of monsters and gold. A painting is completed not by a signature but by a final piano note. All these things happen at the Potentialist Workshop.
The Workshop is a studio-gallery-theatre dedicated to Potentialism. An idea which melds artistic boundaries. An idea where the artist embodies a true creative release. This is what the artists of The Workshop stand for. This is what The Roadshow is all about.
THE MERCHANTS:
It was only fitting for The Potentialists to join forces with The Merchants once in San Francisco. The exchange was not of goods, but of creative ideas. Two nights were set for showcasing and sharing. Trading secrets, passions, ideas, and creative vibes. The Merchant’s space was a time warp to the beginning of things. When rooms and storefronts were filled with that which mattered. Filled with well crafted things and stories behind them. The Potentialists and The Merchants found brotherhood in creative intention. A lasting exchange more valuable than the gold which was sought after so many years before.
THE SAME URBAN JUNGLE:
San Francisco. Streets of paved gold cement and bright flashing lights billboards. A new era has come for a city built on discovery and wealth. Yet it’s still the same.
Same hills lined with narrow homes and alleys. Same blues music charming the midnight fog. Same city slickers out for a quick buck. It’s still as chaotic as before. Creatures of night prey, sweet birds of day sing. The rain still falls heavy. And the last tokes off the cherry still burn as red as the brick. San Francisco is a city. A jungle. An evolving system where the unique, creative, and collaborative survive.
BUILDING BLOCKS:
The community controls the elements of a city. They are the building blocks of creation. Through all the differences. The chaos. The growth. The change… It is the collaborative community that creates a dynamic place to live.
ELEMENTS:
And so began a two night, rain or shine art event. The stages and rooms were set for collaboration and community involvement. Alley Art rolled out canvas and asked for elements to be built. Color. Line. Shape. Text. Build from the basics. Build together. Control the elements of creation.
AS SEEN HERE:
The rain still fell. The streets still said something. It was all there for the taking. Just stop. Look. Listen. and be inspired. The streets of San Francisco hold all the creative life one needs. Subjects and words of inspiration poured out… joining the elements. Art was in the making.
A FINAL DAWN:
Just as dawn’s sun finally peeked it’s head through skyscrapers and glass windows Alley Art and The Roadshow packed up and headed home. A weekend of creation and collaboration gave a fresh glisten to the eyes of the San Fran “building blocks.” Waking with paint still on their hands the dream seemed all too real.
The potential is there. Create it.
artists: J.Charboneau
contributors: The Potentialist Workshop . The Merchants of Reality . The San Francisco community






























