This little ditty is not far removed from last week’s installment. As I intimated in Mr. McCraperson…, I am a consumer of media. While my taste in bits and bytes is not above reproach, I do attempt to be discerning in my consumption. When I purchased my iPad, I was excited at the thought of digital magazine subscriptions as the piles of paper beasts are quite high and in my absentmindedness, I tend to forget to take the latest issue of Wired, Esquire, GQ, Good, The New Republic, The New Yorker, etc. with me to read while not at home. Thus, it is a rarity that I make it through the entire rag before it is relegated to The Stack.

Eager to feast at my personal digital buffetimage via Wired.com, I jumped to the App Store and loaded The Economist app as it was at the top of the list. I downloaded the "free" app and called it up with a lonely tap. “Download the January issue for $4.99.” Wha?! I though it was free! This was the case with each of the other publications as well. Average price for saving trees - $5 an issue.

Disclaimer: I received a snail-mail offer for 24 issues of The Economist for $60 - $440 off the cover price.

Seriously? People pay $500 a year for a magazine? That’s $20 per issue. So, in this case, $5 seems like a steal. However, I subscribed to Wired, for a year, for $5. Esquire - $10. The New Yorker (which comes every week) - $40.

With all of the “Go green!” efforts out there, these providers need to figure this stuff out, fast. Certainly, I understand that this is a new medium and that there are overhead development costs to recoup, that the whole platform is still dancing baby – more of a novelty than an actual revenue stream. But how about some incentives? In reality, this is another case of consumers being punished for wanting to be environmentally conscious.

I can’t imagine it is cheaper to print and distribute a magazine than it is to make it magically appear on my iPad.

----------
B Side

Did you ever do that thing, when someone said, “That’s hot,” or, “You’re hot,” where you touch the tip of your tongue to your finger, and then swing your finger around in the air and onto your booty, exhaling a loud and sizzling “Tssssssssssssssssss”? No? Well, I’m cheesy that way, I guess. But, I totally hear that feverish sound reverberating off the walls when I’m around Fausto Fernandez and his artworks. If you don’t know him yet, figure out a way to meet him, because he’s one of those rare artists whose name already is known, and he just happens to call Phoenix home.

Fausto Fernandez’s work was chosen for inclusion in shows at the Mesa Arts Center, the Tucson Museum of Art, the Tempe Center for the Arts, the Phoenix Art Museum, the Heard Museum, the Smithsonian’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York and The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. He was selected to design a floor for the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Terrazzo Public Art Project to be built in 2012 and one of his paintings is now part of the permanent collection at the Phoenix Art Museum. See? I told you. Hot. His work reverberates with energy and tension in dynamic, layered abstractions. The machines and tools that work their way into his artworks create a space for us to pause and appreciate the beauty of those objects that constitute our daily routine. It is a delight to have Fernandez answer some burning questions in the exclusive interview below.

What is your motivation behind your current exhibition?
I think my motivation comes from wanting to find out more about who I am as a person, the way I think and how my thought process changes as I age and learn, finding the extent of my creative process and new techniques. It’s a lifelong process that keeps me motivated to keep creating.

My first solo show at Gebert Contemporary last November was a series of works I did last year. They were colorful, decorative mixed-media collages that depict tools, machines and aviation renderings as well as sewing patterns, blue prints and maps. I use instructional materials to represent my ideas of a mechanical society that works on a regular basis with tools, machines, clocks and time, rules and regulations to maintain order and at the same time to allow us to progress.

You have been creating art for a while. Is there a piece or collection that stands out for you?
What stands out for me is how there are certain series of paintings that feel like they flow easier than others, but, at times, certain paintings require more time and care. I started using the patterns of airplane horizontal stabilizers or airplane wings in recent paintings that mimic the design of a floor I designed for the Sky Harbor Airport Sky Train Station to be built at the end of the year.

What do you feel makes you stand out?
My choices of colors, instructional materials, and decorative shapes have developed into a personal style. Being part of the art community over the years and having worked at museums for a few years in the past have taught me different ways of professionally approaching my works, including the way I’ve built and displayed my works, and the choices I have made. I’ve been lucky to find great patrons and artist friends that inspire me, and I've received great advice from other artists and museum professionals that have led to museums, group shows, and gallery representation.

Are you able to create full-time?
Yes, a series of circumstances led me to become a full-time artist. I have a passion for museum work; I worked for seven years as a preparator of exhibitions at several museums. I was taking art history classes to pursue my M.F.A in art history to become a museum curator. During my work at the museum, I was selected to design a floor for the Sky Harbor Airport, and between conceptual meetings, design and a full-time job, it just made sense to me a that point that I needed to focus more time at my own art work, so I quit my job two years ago to give myself an opportunity to create.

Does being a Phoenix "transplant" or dual citizen affect your work?
No, it doesn’t affect my work. What might influence my work are people, relationships, family and friends. The fact is that as little or as big of an art scene as we might have, the conversations with other artists and community support have allowed me to focus and create what I like. Even though I was raised on the border and have dual citizenship, I lived in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico most of my life, growing up in Mexico with a Mexican family, and I never questioned my background. It wasn't until I moved to Arizona that I found that identity plays a big role, and cultural background seems to play an important role in trying to understand the artist. In general, I don't question border issues or cultural background in my artwork. I have more of an inclination to question and understand people in society and how relationships work.

--Princess Rosie

The problem with festivals like Bonnaroo or Coachella is one of saturation. Maybe the music all starts sounding the same, or maybe you’re just too tired and/or drunk to appreciate it. When every band you’ve ever wanted to see suddenly is available, the “specialness” of it all is somehow diminished.

And then, there’s Burning Man. Definitely not a festival.

I can’t quite explain the allure it holds for me. I’ve asked lots of folks if they want to go, but there is a certain fear revealed in the eyes when they answer, “No, thanks.” Perhaps it’s the anarchist/hippie/avant-garde/tribal/mind-altering vibe the whole event exudes (along with appropriate body odors) that just freaks people out. “No thanks” is the super-ego’s “NO WAY!!!” But, you know the id is toying around with the idea--probably has a pretty sweet art project (complete with fire-making apparatus) already planned.

According to the founders, “Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind.” Essentially, though, the event is a temporary experimental community that pops up in Black Rock City (120 miles north of Reno, Nevada), focused on self-reliance and self-expression. For one week, you are an active participant in a beautiful huge mess of people focused on building sculptures, creating installations, living in theme camps, wearing costumes, and riding bicycles in a majestic environment that might just get over 100ºF during the day. FUN!

The Big Theme for Burning Man 2011 is “Rites of Passage” and takes place August 29-September 5, 2011. And while that seems like it’s a long ways away, Starving Artists need to know about two critical deadlines. The first (February 1) is for art grants. There are very few to be had, but the 30-40 grants that they do fund can make your interactive and/or mobile art dreams come to life. You even can watch a webcast on the 13th to get some detailed information on how to prepare your grant. January 19 is the other important date you need to keep in mind. This is the day that 9,000 “first-level” tickets go on sale for $210 each. After that, the prices climb steadily. There also are a limited amount (2,500) of low-income and scholarship tickets available, starting January 26 . These tickets are $160 each and require a mailed application (available on the 26th).

I realize that for Starving Artists, these prices still might seem a little steep, but the fourth-level ticket price reaches $320, and the cost is comparable to any big music festival. And what music festival has required survival reading? Come on, all the cool kids are doing it. At least, the kids interested in radical inclusion, expression, and decommodification. And, if you decide to go, will you let me know? I’m still looking for some artsy folks ready to let their id loose in the Nevada desert.

--Princess Rosie

Yoga. Coffee. Massage. Music. Art. That’s a lot of intersections. At SuTRA Midtown Yoga, body-mind awareness includes giving that third eye some new meditation options. Every month, the studio hosts an art opening for a local artist, complete with music and wine tasting. Even the studio prides itself on a fusion approach to its yoga instruction.

The business side is totally solid. Yoga “tastings” are a clever and fun way to get people involved, giving potential students an opportunity to take unlimited classes. The studios are artfully designed, with a definite urban hipster vibe (in this case, not a bad thing). The quality of the art displayed fluctuates, but it’s cool that a local business is completely focused on getting out the talent of local artists—synergy, folks.

Currently, Gabe Richesson and Daniel Sheperd are exhibiting works at SuTRA. Richesson’s work focuses on psychedelic and surreal imagery with its roots firmly planted in underground culture.

SuTRA’s art openings are coordinated with First Fridays. You can wait until January, or you could schedule a post-holiday fusion massage, with some artwork viewing as dessert. Face it, you really don’t need to eat more fudge and cookies.

--Princess Rosie