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Photographs by Chelsea Jeffers.
Sculptures, vinyl records and the mild smell of grape juice drew passing crowds of Chico residents and local artists into 1078 Gallery Sunday night.
The Mixed Media Mixer, which just made its local debut, is a free event that will take place at the venue on the first Sunday of every month and feature local music and artwork of different media, such as sculpture, photography and painting.
The event, a collaboration of local musician, producer and director Joshua Hegg and Chico native Dorian Cohen, began in Berkeley. It is a product of Cohen’s multimedia production company, Metric Cosmetics and local companies Uncle Dad’s Art Collective and Energy Plant Arts.
Here’s what happened at the event’s debut:
Live music acts included acoustic rocker The Unexpected Guest (Chico State student Adan Gonzalez), hip-hop artist Himp C and the event’s official DJ, Matthew Garcia.
Gonzalez embodied an acoustic outlaw with his tenacious foot stomping and distressed vocals.
His cover of Metallica’s “One” was unrelenting as he launched his hand across the neck of his guitar. He managed to create an even more powerful version of the song with only an acoustic guitar.
Himp C flooded the room with positive vibes when he took the stage. He kept heads bobbing throughout the gallery with his melodic choruses, smooth tone and catchy rhymes.
DJ Matthew Garcia not only provided tunes between sets, but he also sold vinyl records through his small business, Outpatient Records.
The event also featured artists of primarily visual media. Chico State alumnus Mitchel Davidovitz showcased his innovation in photographic art with his Portal Series, in which he created endless windows using movement in the human body within his photographs.
Next to Davidovitz was Candy Cougar, an alternative model and artist. Rather than using conventional painting materials, she creates art with substances like eye shadow and grape juice.
One piece in particular, called “The Question of Rhonda’s Popularity,” was created using peach tea, eye shadow and hair dye. The products used correlate with the paintings as well, Candy Cougar said.
“For this piece, I used things a teenage girl would use,” she said.
Across from Candy Cougar was Joey Moshiri, who was painting bleach onto black T-shirts, turning one of life’s mundane annoyances into works of art with brilliant designs. Next to his shirts he sold earrings made from Lego Minifigures, dice and other unexpected objects that could be strung on wire.
Ze Treasure Troll (Chico State student Kirsten Springer) could be found intently working on the fine details of her latest sculpture, a “snail girl.” Her work includes the use of clay sculptures, crystal jewelry and skulls.
Near the stage, musician and artist Roxy Doll worked on her latest paintings. Her work offered a sharper edge to the gallery with more somber imagery.
Overall, the event was successful in reaching out to the the artistic community, giving them a chance to showcase their work and connect with other locals.
Matthew Weiner, local musician and 1078 Gallery chairperson and sound technician, said that it’s hard to judge the debut’s turnout, but that it was definitely successful.
“Any amount of people participating is a success,” he said.
Being from Chico, Cohen knew that the city would be a prime spot for a monthly Mixed Media Mixer.
“Chico is the perfect place for it,” he said. “There is a wealth of talent.”
Cohen has every intention of expanding his Mixer as far as possible, he said. Metric Cosmetics is currently scouting warehouses in LA.
Jake Hutchison can be reached at [email protected] or @poserpunk on Twitter.
