Walter Wojtyla was given the
one-man prizewinners' show and Reesey Shaw and Don Patterson were
given a two-man show from November 1975 - January 4, 1976.
In the February 17, 1976 minutes
the following was recorded:
The Guild initiated a $5 surcharge
on top of Fine Arts Society dues to be collected by the Guild only
to overcome their deficit and help fund programs.
Mr. Gardiner made arrangements
for the All California-Hawaii-Baja show to be shown as a unit in
the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City.
A slide viewing light table
was set up in the Rental Gallery with a maximum of 5 slides for
each artist along with bio-sheets available in binders. They were
ready for the new opening on May 7, 1976.
This was written in the minutes
of May 18, 1976:
"… So that all members
will realize to what extent the Gallery supports the local artist,
privileges seldom accorded by a major gallery such as:
a) An opportunity to support a cultural institution
b) Being under the umbrella of the museum
c) Co-sponsoring the California-Hawaii Biennial, All-Media and six
award exhibitions within two years
d) Invitation to exhibit in the Art Sales and Rental Gallery
e) Art Guild Registry with bios and slides in Sales and Rental Gallery
f) One member, the Chairman of the Guild, represented on the Board
of Trustees of the Fine Arts Society"
The Art Guild Chairman according
to the FAS by-laws was only to serve a one-year term. This was in
conflict with the Guild by-laws, which still allowed for the three-year
term. "The Society's bylaws take precedence over ours and therefore
ours will have to be amended during the coming year." The Guild
by-laws were amended later to resolve this difference.
(Note: The Guild's term on
the Board of Trustees was reduced from three years to one year,
in the new by-laws of the Fine Art Society. This was read to the
Guild on May 18, 1976. As rumor had it, this action was because
of the behavior of Kay Whitcomb and also Earl Saunders. Earl was
the last Guild representative trustee to hold a three-year term.
Earl related to me a story how in 1974, a vote came up to support
new construction at the Old Globe Theatre. All of the Trustees voted
against that support with the exception of Earl, who voted in favor.
Only Frank Kochritz, who was also on the Board of the Old Globe,
was in favor, therefore he could not vote. When the publicity how
an Art Guild member was the sole positive vote embarrassed the Board,
they changed their vote, but resented the Art Guild. Earl, however,
was thanked profusely by the Craig Noel, the Director of the Old
Globe Theatre. Between this embarrassment and Kay's strong personality
the Society felt that the Guild should be punished, and they removed
the full three year term for the Guild representative and made it
a one year term for the Guild president only.)
Olaf Weighorst had another
one-man exhibition in the Gallery from July 23 - August 29, 1976.
In the Summer of 1976 New
York artist Sol LeWitt was having members of the Guild participate
in a project of his, which entailed drawing on the walls of the
Museum in an "Art Event." The object was to do 1111 lines
on the walls of one of the galleries. The following is a note written
by Lenore Simon in her diary, describing the event.
"A happening at Fine
Arts Gallery opening for MOMA's big art show - nice to be involved.
I was one of 25 local artists invited to participate in rendering
Sol LeWitt's work of 1111 lines randomly rendered on the museum's
wall - Lois (Lois Stecker) + I worked on 700 plus lines of the 1111
'work' piece at the F.A.G. - A fiasco due to misinterpretation of
directions, which I took with humor + Lois with chagrin + despair.
It was a pressure point, but one surmounted and to look back on
with a smile…"
In 1976
Kay Whitcomb founded the Enamel Guild West and served as its first
president. When she received the Prix du syndicat d'invitative
at Limoge France, in 1978, it was a great honor for the La Jolla
based artist-craftsman and the entire local craft community.
Year after year the Art Institute
show was considered as a qualifying show for the Guild and it was
always rejected every time it came up at the Guild Board meetings.
Beth Mohr wrote this article
for the San Diego Union on August 13, 1976:
Gallery's Option-To-Buy-Plan
Change Of Scenery For Art And Art Patron Is Offered
"Paintings demand an
emotional response. The feelings they inspire - excitement, love,
hate, intimidation, pathos, anger - may grow, pall or reverse with
time.
That is why they may become
proudly displayed treasures or losses hidden in the back of the
closet. It is also why it is best to 'try them on' before buying.
The Art Rental and Sales Gallery
at the San Diego Fine Arts Gallery offers an ideal 'try on' plan
as well as an easy way to own original art…
Mrs. Murray S. Holloway, who helped set up the gallery in 1968 and
was its manager until last year said:
'All of the artists are highly
qualified. Works are only accepted from those who have been represented
in recognized juried shows or who are members of the Fine Arts Gallery's
Art Guild.'
During her regime, she became
aware of a growing appreciation of contemporary art among the gallery's
volunteer staff and regular clients…
The opportunity to become
familiar with different kinds of art apparently is the key to deeper
appreciation. Renters, not forced into total commitment, can be
daring enough to try living with new art styles. Volunteers are
regularly exposed to a variety of art…
Mrs. Denise Draper, current
manager and long time volunteer before taking over her present post,
finds that frequent gallery visitors also show broader interest
in new works.
'This gallery (rental and
sales) is situated so that almost anyone who comes to see exhibits
in this wing of the Fine Arts Gallery must come through here,' she
said. 'They stop to see what we have whether they are gong to buy
it or not.
The more people see of contemporary
art, the more they like it. Abstract art becomes less strange to
them. They feel more at ease with it. They may not necessarily like
it, but they stop feeling hostile towards it.'"
On September 21, 1976 the
minutes recorded the following:
"Art Guild Invitational
Exhibition … Bill Bowne reported on the exhibition scheduled
for Nov. 24 at Casa Real, San Diego State University… This
will be the first in a series of exhibitions."
Nine sculptures by Donal Hord
were featured in the Fine Arts Gallery in the fall of 1976.
Noel Osment wrote this in
an article for the San Diego Union published on October 10, 1976:
Artist Fred Hocks, 90,
Looks To The Future
"…The German born
painter, who celebrated his 90th birthday Friday, was recently honored
at a reception at the Fine Arts Gallery, where a collection of his
paintings is on exhibit this month. Hocks believes that 'art is
the basis of everything' - if instilled in people at an early age,
it will be with them all their lives, affecting the way they look
at everything in life, increasing their sensitivity…
Hocks feels that the stimulation
of being around other artists is essential…
That's why he did something about getting San Diego artists together
after the war…
There were originally about half-dozen artists, and within two weeks
we had $5,000 in the kitty. Eventually the group grew to about 400
or 500 members and became the Allied Arts Council…
Hocks was also instrumental
in seeing that artists could continue to have studios in Spanish
Village in Balboa Park at reasonable rates after the war. (Note:
See Chapter IV, pg. 54.)
Earlier during the Depression
he had bought 40 acres on a hillside in Sweetwater Valley, where
he had built a studio and stored all of his early paintings…
One day he learned that the
Sweetwater studio, with about 300 of his paintings had burned.
'I was so absorbed in what
I was doing then it didn't bother me.'…
Now however, he admits to
some 'nostalgic regrets. I would like to see them again - some were
probably quite good.'" (Note: Fred Hocks died shortly thereafter,
in a nursing home, mostly alone, penniless, and destitute. Ed Wordell
saw to is friend and mentor during this time.)
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