It was a steamy, svelte Saturday evening in Pomona. It was the kind of night you expect an earthquake to rattle the ground beneath you or a freak summer rainstorm that drenches you with buckets of water and then, gone in a flash with only the scent of wet asphalt as a reminder of what just happened. Instead, this stale, quiet night offered the appearance of the zombies of Pomona… Of course I mean that in the most flattering way possible.
Every second and last Saturday of the month the zombies of Pomona come out to quench their hunger for Art! Every gallery, restaurant, and chotskie shop has their doors open ready to have the walls, pedestals, and glass cases devoured by these art zombies. They pass by and whiff at the air wandering about, absorbing the monthly smorgasbord that is, the Pomona art walk. It had appeared that I had become infected…I began to itch with the need to devour some artwork.
There was a quiet build-up for this particular Art walk. I have been to previous art walks over the summer and noticed the frenzy of school kids walking around with nothing but time on their hands and art on their brains. The streets were not flooded with bodies this time. Instead it resembled swiss cheese with pockets of asphalt and automobiles. The Metro gallery had a few interesting pieces of artwork by artist Thomas Pathe, he had a large-scale photo hung against glass, of a sweeping country field and decrepit wood fence. It was a wave of wheat-thin beige grassy knolls, desolate and haunting. The DA gallery space had “Cruisin’ Magulandia,” which was a benefit for Chicano artist, Gilbert Lujan. Outside of the gallery was an amazing car (could’ve been a Chevy but not sure, I was too wrapped up in the paint job!) (editor’s note: it says ‘Chevrolet’ on the front!) painted in reds, golds, and whites in an explosion of classic Mexican art motifs and line work. Leia Steingart was at Bunny Gunner Gallery with a body of work titled, “Gray Matter,” paintings and portraits done in shades of gray against a strong colored background.
There was a plethora of artwork at every nook and cranny. People and paintings, photos, collage, and, sculptures squeezed into what looked like walk-in closets and bathrooms. If you blinked you might have missed an amusing or mundane artist standing by a folding table laid out with soggy crackers and sweaty cheese. The Pomona art walk offers a mixture of venues to appease your senses. A trip to the art walk invites you to experience the art zombies, the smell of hot bodies and alley trash, and flood of young folks spilling out of the Glass House for a quick smoke and folks getting a bite to eat at Aladdin Jr.’s or a drink at the local bar. Next month I hope I can continue to feed that insatiable need for, “Brains!” Oh I meant Art.
Jay Dawes
