Press Release

SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE ART GALLERY

“Bringing Back The Fire: Art & Community at Burning Man & Beyond”

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 21, 4-6pm
Friday, February 22, 6-9pm: Evening Celebration featuring fire dancers & more!
The public is invited to attend both free events.

The Burning Man Festival turns part of Black Rock Desert in Nevada into the ‘world’s largest outdoor art gallery’ for one week each August. Much of the art shown on the site is intended to burn— but many pieces survive, to be seen again. This exhibit celebrates some of these, and the community of participants who have created them.

Art included in this show withstood the tremendous extremes the desert offers, from 70 mile-an-hour winds to 100+ degree temperatures, along with grinding storms of dust. Many larger works at Burning Man (and in the gallery) require the participation of many to create them—these are collaborative art-making. Finley Fryer’s local community in Dunsmuir, CA collects the scrap plastic that becomes transformed into the magical semblance of stained glass. The Celtic Forest, conceived by Laura Kimpton, united a team of sculptors and fire artists for its realization. Art Farm Motel invited draw-ers & doodlers of any stripe to contribute the drawings which became the background to a 40-foot long painting. Jennybird Alcantara’s large paintings featuring psychological states humorously depicted will also be on display.

The Burning Man Event could never be captured within a gallery’s confines—it truly must be experienced first hand. However, photography & video will fill in some of the missing pieces—showing much more artwork, and fire, and participants. Photography by Gabe Kirchheimer, Geoffrey Nelson, Scott Hess, Scott London and Don Jackson will be shown, along with film and videos made by Jane Sullivan, Wallace Boss, Bill Breithaupt, and Robert Henrikson.

Follow all the action and construction on the Bringing Back the Fire blog at http://srjcburningmanshow.blogspot.com

The Santa Rosa Junior College Art Gallery is at 1501 Mendocino Ave. The Gallery is open Monday thru Fridays 10 Am to 4PM and Saturday from noon until 4PM. For information, call 527-4298

Map & Directions

Santa Rosa Campus
1501 Mendocino Avenue,
Santa Rosa, CA 95401-4395
Gallery :
(707) 527-4298

Direction
From the south:
Travel north on Hwy 101. Exit at College Avenue turnoff. At stoplight, make a right turn onto College Ave. Proceed eastbound on College Avenue to Mendocino Ave. Turn left on Mendocino Ave. At Pacific Avenue, turn left turn into the SRJC parking lot. (you will need to buy a permit ($3) at a station in the parking garage)
See map at left to find gallery on ground floor of the Doyle Library Building.(--head out the far end of the garage and angle towards left--we'll have colored lights or signage out there to help you find your way!)

From the north:
Travel south on Hwy 101. Exit at College Avenue turnoff. At stoplight, make a left turn onto College Avenue. Proceed eastbound on College Avenue to Mendocino Ave. Turn left on Mendocino Ave. At Pacific Avenue, turn left into the SRJC parking lot. See map at left to find gallery on ground floor of the Doyle Library Building.(--head out the far end of the garage and angle towards left--we'll have colored lights or signage out there to help you find your way!)


(please note that the metered parking shown in the map is currently closed off due to construction, so the parking structure at Pacific Avenue is probably your best bet)