Where

Just Breathe – a wellness sanctuary
828 N 2nd Street
Phoenix, AZ

March 21 to May 19 :

Monday to Thursday: noon to 8:30pm
Friday: noon to 6pm + 6pm to 9:30pm (every First Friday)
Saturday: 9am to 5pm

26 Blocks at Just Breathe

(article by R.J. Price, Downtown Phoenix Partnership)

Thanks to Werner Segarra, photographer of Block Z; Andy DeLisle, photographer of 26 Blocks logo; and Igor Brezhnev, graphic designer extraordinaire.

]]> http://www.26blocks.com/tour/march-2011/feed/ 0 http://www.26blocks.com/blog/future-city/ http://www.26blocks.com/blog/future-city/#comments Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:47:59 +0000 26 Blocks http://www.26blocks.com/?p=2658 Last week, 26 Blocks ended it’s  Dec 2010 to Jan 2011 stay at the Phoenix Burton Barr Public Library.

I wanted to write this post about the Future City competition surrounding the 26 Blocks exhibit while it was still at the library. That didn’t work out, but I did snap some cool photos and take the time to choose my favorite entry from the 75 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade school entries.

The annual competition is in it’s 19th year and is designed to encourage the discovery and growth of interests in math, engineering, and science.

My favorite submission is No. 708 by Veritas Homeschoolers, named ‘Chiriqui’, and seen in the images following.

The city is built out of recycled items.

It’s located in the tropical mountains of Panama. I know this because the two page write up that the students were required to include with their city says so. Check out the inner workings view of the stuff that runs under the city.

I learned from the Future City staff that the Veritas Homeschoolers won as the best city entry for Arizona two years ago.

On the back of the Chitiqui city presentation are photos from behind-the-scenes with the Veritas Homeschoolers.

I’m thrilled that 26 Blocks got to be exposed to all those kids when Future City was on display at the Phoenix Public Library. Tons of kids from Future City explored 26 Blocks quite a bit as well.

~ Joey Robert Parks

Block T (Rodney Rascona)

In March 2010, Rodney (and all the artists of 26 Blocks) were working out how they would handle their blocks in a unique way. When I told him about the struggle some other 26 Blocks photographers were having (i.e. “My block is, literally, a pile of dirt surrounded by a chain-link fence. I have no idea how I’m going to approach it.”), Rodney said, “I have the opposite problem. My block (Block T) features the Phoenix Symphony Hall and the Phoenix Convention Center. It’s been shot so much, by so many photographers, the challenge is to do something new.”

Of all the photographers in 26 Blocks, Rodney was one of the first one’s I wanted to participate and one of the last few I pitched. As a ghostwriter putting together his first writing, sculpture, and photography show, you don’t come back from your first visit to Rodney’s website (next link) and think, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll pitch this guy I’ve never met before, who I have no connections to, who’s my first pic beyond the four photographers I do know, and he’ll jump in, no problem.’

So I waited until I had 24 of the 26 photographers in place for the exhibit and then I contacted Rodney. These quotes aren’t exactly precise, but the end of our discussion went something like this:

Joey: “…So that’s the idea. What do you think? Are you in?”

Rodney: “I’ve lived in Scottsdale for a long time, but I haven’t worked in the states in a decade. I’m looking for the right project before I begin focusing again on the United States.”

Joey: “26 Blocks is that project.”

Did he say, ‘yes’, right then? In my memory he did.

In October 2010, 26 Blocks photographer, Rodney Rascona, was named ‘Deeper Perspective’ Photographer of the Year by the Lucie Foundation’s prestigious annual International Photography Awards (IPA). The competition received over 15,000 entries from 103 countries. Rascona won the award based on selections of his humanitarian Haiti series, The Pink Door Photographs. Before his award announcement, he was in the running with these finalists  (note: there is intentionally no sound):

~ Joey Robert Parks

The woman told me how instrumental Jeff had been to her five years ago when he helped her decide what kind of camera to get. I proudly told her the story Jeff revealed to me a few months back when we’d crossed paths at Lux Coffee (owned by fellow 26 Blocks poet, also named Jeff). How he’d used in-camera tricks to get the semi-transparent  stripes falling across his wife’s face and arms and that it wasn’t a Photoshop maneuver. How if you went to the Phoenix Civic Center Plaza, you couldn’t find a place where this image is possible without some inventiveness.

I talked with the woman in front of Block L for a few minutes and learned that her name was Diane Ovalle. She’s a photographer and a Community Organizer. She’s concerned about social justice in Arizona. ”I have this idea,” she explained. “It’s a lot like what you’ve done with 26 Blocks, but a lot smaller.” And then she ran through the list of reasons she really couldn’t do it right now. One was time. The other one she ended on and was probably the biggest obstacle in her mind: “…and I don’t have the money.”

“Money?” I said. “If you wait for time and money, you’ll never start and you’ll never finish”.

…maybe I wasn’t so eloquent. I write reality so much better after the fact. What I actually said was probably something like:

“You don’t need money to get started. You just need to get started. All you need is find one other person who shares some of your passion. Have them do something and you do something. That’s how I started 26 Blocks. I knew it would be six months before the public would see anything and I needed a website to tease the audience. Chris Tingom jumped in and off we went!”

“There’s this quote a writer friend, Pierre O’Rourke, has on his wall,” I told her. “It’s kinda cheesy, but I still like it.”

“Sometimes you have to just jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down.”

While writing this post, I asked Google about her. Diane Ovalle created (with artist Jesus  Barraza) what the Phoenix New Times called, “the now-famous purple and turquoise We Will Not Comply poster“. That poster was part of the anti-SB 1070 ‘Footprints’ show, back in August 2010. I had no idea what I was encouraging when our conversation ended that day at the library.

I hope she’s falling from her cliff by now.

~ Joey Robert Parks

[I believe I said something about 'one paragraph posts', yesterday. Some exceptions will be made. Why not start with the first one?]

First Friday. July 2010. MonOrchid. It’s a packed house and a woman looking at the Block G photograph points at it and says, “I’ve seen this guy. He’s a musician.” I inquire, but she doesn’t know more.

December 2010. CityScape. We’re throwing a party to launch the new iPad app. I’m pretending to be a first time viewer, but I’m actually there to find out what people think of the show. I’m talking to a guy who’s convinced he’s met the guy in Block G: “Yeah, he works at a homeless shelter. I can’t remember which one.” I ask if he’s a musician. “That sounds right. Wish I could remember his name.”

Wednesday. Jan 5th. 2011. Phoenix Burton Barr Public Library. 2nd Floor. North side. I’m the Undercover Boss. Same setup. But this time: “His name is Ray. He works at the homeless shelter in downtown Phoenix. I don’t remember his last name, but I can find out.” I tell her I’d love to meet him.

Thursday. Jan 6th. I’m at Staples. In the checkout line. The guy in front of me looks familiar. Dan? I ask about Ray. Dan: “Ray Reeves. He’s got a couple CD’s out.” I tell him I’ll send him an email to get Ray’s info, but as I leave the store, the rest of the day rushes at me and I forget to follow up.

Friday. Jan 7th. I’m packing for a research/vacation trip to New Orleans. Phone rings. Dude’s voice says, “Hi, Joey. This is Ray Reeves. I heard you’re looking for me.”

Tuesday, Jan 18th. Ray and I are having coffee at JoBot (“cup of Joe” + “Robot”). Were the events leading up to this day conveniently coincidental? The discovery’s that follow remove any doubt.

1. The barista’s name is Joey. Goes by ‘Joey G’
2. The owner of JoBot is one John Sagasta, better known to 26 Blocks fans as the bald-headed, bearded guy facing the guy in the cowboy hat in the photo of Block F (the group shot of ‘Conspire’, which is, wouldn’t you know it, right across the street from JoBot.)
3. Joey G tells me how to contact a few other people in Block F’s photo.

In my conversation with Ray, I learn things I would not have expected from looking at his photo for 7 months. He’s not nearly as stoic as he looks in the photo. (“I woke up from a nap when the photographer knocked on the door.”)

• He works the midnight shift at a homeless shelter and has been there for seven months.
• He’s a part-time musician.
• One of his most popular songs is this one. “People like that one a lot, for some reason.”
• His band is “Ray Reeves and the Masters of the Economy“. Think Frank Zappa + The Beatles + Sonic Youth.
• Phoenix New Times named him, “Best Way to get a Quick-and-Easy Demo” n 2009.
• He’s a native from Camp Verde, AZ. Throw a dart in the center of the state.
• He can track his family line in the Verde Valley of Arizona back to 1875.
• He’s studying sustainability and wants to build a career in Aquaponics.

This blog will swirl around the happenstance moments like the ones that led to meeting Mr. G-Man Reeves. He’s bound to show up again.

Coming Monday

Block L:  Social Justice

~ Joey Robert Parks

Part of keeping this show healthy is visiting it every few days to see how its doing. Are there finger smudges on the photographs from people who don’t know it’s not nice to touch the artwork? Have any of the writings been knocked loose? Is anything damaged? As a writer by profession, I didn’t think I’d enjoy these things, but it turns out it’s much like tending a garden at my grandma’s house or hanging laundry on the line out back. Initially, I don’t really want to do it, but once I start, I find it unusually relaxing. Even so, that’s not the best part of returning to the exhibit for a visit.

For me (I don’t know about other curators), the best part is the amazing, personal, conversational, intriguing, unusually interesting stories I learn from talking with people who are absorbing a particular photograph, piece of writing, sculpture, or some other aspect of the 26 Blocks exhibit at that very moment. So after 10 months of touring and constantly telling my friends about these stories, I’ve decided it’s time to tell everyone how 26 Blocks is affecting the people who experience it, the subjects of the artwork, the artists who created it, and the people who sustain it.

Speaking of sustaining…. because I’ll be posting here three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, my posts won’t be any longer than about a paragraph. As much as possible, I’ll include a relevant photo, video, audio, or whatnot with the post, as well as a plenty of links that aren’t about 26 Blocks.

The focus of this series is 26 Blocks, but because its focus is the people, culture, history and future of downtown Phoenix, that’s what each post will ultimately be about.

I hope you like it,

Joey

(Oct 10, 1960 to Nov 12, 2009)

This 8-minute video performance of Charles was shot casually in 2007 by professional photographer (and 26 Blocks participant) Brandon Sullivan as Charles shared selections from his portfolio with Joey Robert Parks’ Creative Round Table; of which Charles was a member.

A Lifetime Performance

When you were with Charles, you were the most important person in the world to him. His time, money, talents, and very life were continuously offered to others. We received all this and relished in who he was. Charles loved sipping Margaret’s Hope 2nd Flush Darjeeling and buying coffee for as many people as he could at Lux. He sometimes arrived at his Tuesday morning book study unprepared because he had given his book away. He had photographic memory. He had “absolute pitch”; play any note, on any instrument, and he could name or replay that note. At the age of 24, he had already composed four symphonies, three operas, multiple piano and organ works, a host of songs for voice and piano/orchestra accompaniment, string quartets and piano trios. He traveled extensively. He learned several languages; German particularly fluently. He performed many recitals at private concerts around the world, premiered and recorded works from some of the world’s most exemplary living composers. Yet, foremost, we discovered rather quickly the thing which was closest to Charles’ heart and soul: his passion for Jesus, his mother Louise,  and everyone else he met. Charles gave us an understanding of what a life given to others looks like, feels like, and sounds like. He is greatly missed, but his music and his  lifetime performance endures.

~ Joey Robert Parks, Nov 2009.

Who does Charles Wells sound like?

We put that question to many of his former students, colleagues, and close friends.  The sound of the feedback was diverse and varied, but one Charles’ former students summarized perfectly the thoughts of everyone.

“Charles is especially difficult to pin down because he doesn’t fall into the laziness of most modern musicians.  Hearing him play Beethoven, Chopin, or Chinary Ung is fresh and unique each time, because he breaths new life into their pieces as the unique works of art that they are.  Usually pianists play the music, but Charles allowed the music to play him.  You usually hear the modern pianist rather than the original composer, but Charles allowed each piece to have a voice of their own.  For that reason, I would say that any attempt to compare him to any modern pianist will be futile – he is unlike any pianist that anyone today has ever heard. ”

~ Anthony Sciubba, former student

Purchase Charles’ Music:

Timeless Piano Classics (Chapter One)

iTunes

CDBaby

Amazon.com

Timeless Piano Classics (Chapter Two)

iTunes

CDBaby

Amazon.com

Chinary Ung: Khse Buon, Child Song, Seven Mirrors

(Charles Wells, tracks 3 – 7)

iTunes

Amazon.com

Visit the memorial page of Charles Kevin Wells

Andy DeLisle

Andrea Avery

View 26 Blocks, 26 Photographers, 26 Writers in a larger map

Photographer:
Bill Timmerman

Writer:
Ashlea Deahl

View 26 Blocks, 26 Photographers, 26 Writers in a larger map

Photographer:
Brad Armstrong

Writer:
Betty Webb

View 26 Blocks, 26 Photographers, 26 Writers in a larger map

Ever since I was a child in Mexico City, I felt the need to create with my hands. I would play and sculpt with anything in my reach. I didn’t possess any fancy toys, so my favorite material was modeling clay. I would make my own action figures and when I was finished playing. I would knead the clay in to a ball to start over again the next day. This hand-mind exercise was the actual beginning of my career.

I work by instinct, through an internal dialog that I can’t ignore. The ideas dictate the medium, thereby fostering a strong relationship between the images and materials. I draw inspiration from my heritage, personal observations and childhood memories. I alter the same ideas by taking different approaches with various materials, such as with the “guitar/woman” series. I prefer to communicate visually, in a poetic manner, making similarities in the creation of life, music, and art. I pay tribute to women who create life; through conception, they create music and the masterpiece of a new person. Often, my musical pieces become exaggerated seedpods, also representing the evolution of life. I can’t let go of my work until I am satisfied, until I achieve the ideal state of expression. Only then am I able to see that my visual “talk” can speak clearly to those who view it.

View Rafael’s web site.

Contact Joey at 480.236.5517 to discuss the possibility of drawing your community together by showcasing 26 Blocks at your venue.  If you haven’t seen the show and want to spend time with the exhibit’s 76 pieces of art, grab your iPad and download the free iPad app.

[image: kevindooley]

5:30pm to 7:30pm
Sponsored Bar
Private Tours
FREE

UofA College of Medicine, Phoenix         600 E. Van Buren St. (Building 2)         Phoenix, 85004

(click map to expand)

Ken Clark summarized this event so well in his June newsletter, we’ll let him tell you about it.

“The goal of Get Your PHX is to show up, en masse, to support those who pioneer new restaurants, stores, bars and event spaces. We want to provide them a boost as they put their sweat, tears and wealth on the line to make life great downtown. Plus, we want to provide a chance for you to meet others like you, who want to get the most out of Phoenix.

“Don’t let the title fool you, this is not in Tucson. This is the UofA College of Medicine on [the N/W corner] of 7th St and Van Buren.
Admit it, I’m sure you’ve driven by and said, “Cool building, nicely done. Someday I should have a closer look.” But you never did.

Well, now is your chance.

This is a very exciting event for us. The folks at the college are pulling out all the stops. They admit they’ve waited way too long to invite the general public to get a personal glimpse of the inner workings of the college.

It’s kinda like how Willy Wonka finally opened up the chocolate factory, but this involves research labs, petri dishes full of God-knows-what and some pretty high tech medical innovations.

The college, as you probably know, is housed in what was the old Phoenix Union High School, which sat empty for years. The college has done an incredible job of integrating the old and the very, very new, as you will see on the special tour. At a couple points, they constructed a “building within a building” so as not to damage the original structure.

But, wait. There’s more. There will be a special Get Your PHX installation of 26 Blocks, the writing and photography exhibit that beautifully defines our sense of space and place in downtown. The installation will be housed in what was the old school auditorium, with its majestic archways and grand pillars.

So, share this invite and help us get the word out. This is going to be a highlight of the summer!”

Download a 26 Blocks PDF flyer for this coming presentation of 26 Blocks and help us spread the word to everyone!

In the beginning, 26 Blocks was an impulse. Shapeless and nebulous, it nonetheless had weight and certainty. What it lacked however, was unknown and unknowable.

November 12, 2009. Charles Wells – an extraordinarily gifted composer, pianist and instructor; the fourth teacher in a direct line from Brahms; my best friend and the best man at my March 15, 2008 wedding – passes away abruptly and unexpectedly.

Within days, 26 Blocks is baptized in a wave of emotions that culminates in a new truth: “Time is shorter than I imagined. Great things can occur, but not if I keep waiting for them to come to me. There isn’t time for fear.”

I recently overheard someone, who didn’t know I was within earshot, say that I was greatness in the making. Ever since then, whenever I see someone who’s homeless or hopeless, uncertain or unkempt, socially awkward, mentally challenged, or just plain lonely, I think, “There goes greatness in the making.” And then I wonder how close that person is to freeing some dormant impulse in their life.

It’s a hard thing to access properly, but I’d say my greatest talents are wordsmithery, a passion for learning, and a strong desire to encourage others. The question is no longer what I will do with my talents, but when.

26 Blocks is part of the how.

The who is you.

There are many stories about downtown Phoenix that have yet to be heard and seen. Not because they don’t have an outlet, but because they haven’t been created. Why downtown Phoenix, you ask? Because all that Metro Phoenix is, started there. Because it’s the heart of the whole city. Because this heart gets its lifeblood from the people of its cities, towns, and urban villages. We feed it and make it strong.

One of the first ways children get strong in their minds and hearts is by forming words with the 26 letters of the alphabet. It’s a stepping-stone to communication. With 26 Blocks, writers and photographers that call Metro Phoenix home can now build a skyscraper’s worth of stories in a way that’s never been done before. All we need is imagination, a unique perspective, a desire to learn, and a willingness to share our stories with others.

First Friday, July 2nd, 6pm to 9pm

Third Friday, July 16th,  6pm to 9pm

Yelp Review & monOrchid Interior Pictures here.

214 East Roosevelt Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1951
(602) 253-0339

monOrchid

View 26 Blocks in a larger map

Phoenix Community Alliance

[Photo Courtesy: thornydalemapco]

Five Blocks of the show (one block = photograph, writing, sculpture)  have converted the offices of the Phoenix Community Alliance in the historic (1928) downtown Phoenix Security building into a gallery. Here’s a good article (with pictures) about the show at their office (by Tonya Gray,  PCA).

ASU Hayden Library

[photo courtesy: _sgt_riot_]

Eight of the 26 blocks of writing, photography, wood interpretations are under the rotunda right as you enter the ASU Hayden Library on the Tempe campus. You’ll find all 26 of Rafael Navarro’s 4″ x 4″ interpretations of 26 Blocks™ at this location. See the link for map to campus and library hours.

(at Civic Space Park)

OPENING RECEPTION:
First Friday
September 3, 2010,
6-10PM

CLOSING RECEPTION:
September 17, 2010, 6-10PM

424 N. Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(Right across the street from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.)

In this map, the gallery is right where it says, “Phoenix Civic Space Park”.

A note on Parking: There are no parking spaces. Enjoy First Friday downtown then catch the light rail to the exhibit. It will drop you just feet from the park and gallery.

Definitely click this link for Artlink A. E. England Gallery. (A new window will open…)  It’s full of all the info you want to know, including pictures of the gallery, inside and out.

[image: combusean]

The library can–and should be–a place to inspire and build the community that surrounds it.

(click poster to make full screen)

[thumbnail pic: alandd]

6pm to 10pm.

See this detailed map to the location of the show at CityScape’s Main Tower Lobby.

[thumbnail image: jackdog2508]

click map to enlarge exhibit location

CityScape website