Carlsbad Art and Culture

photo and inspiration submitted by Briana Mooney

A steady flow of compact 4 door cars screech to a halt as the overhead traffic light changes from yellow to red. Impatient drivers toss stink-eyed looks out their windows at annoyances who minutes ago were co-workers, but now represent another roadblock between them and their couch. The 5 o’clock traffic jam becomes as slow as the growing stubble of a 5 o’clock shadow. You glance beyond your white knuckles and warped steering wheel into your mirror where irritated red eyes glare back. Your feet sweat as you rev intimidations and insults towards your constricting competitors. The homeward path you visualize is scattered with numerous prizes, each awarded after a successful green light. Yellow represents an increased blood pressure and red is a clogged artery. Thick thunderclouds tease as they tumble through the darkening sky. Palms blow violently in the breeze contrasting with your stagnation. A dull atmosphere surrounds you, periodically interrupted by anxious breaklights tapping with uncontrollable twitches. Internally, you cringe more violently than a peak and trough riding buoy during a mid Atlantic storm. You hold your breath, fallowed by a primitive yelp as you ease within inches of your neighbors bumper. A fly lands on your wrist which ignites a furry of wild slaps and punches that gradually evolve into a complete attack that would quiet an ill behaved toddler. As you pull at you hair and curse oncoming traffic, the above light switches from the terrorizing red to the green of rolling hills. You ease the gas with a sigh of relief. Like a cheap thrill, your pleasure of mobility is short lived as you stare with empty eyes at the ticking time bomb of the next yellow light.

What if you tried to find the beauty in every circumstance?

Next time you find yourself in a traffic torment, open your eyes and find something beautiful, interesting and thought provoking. In time, you might find yourself enjoying those pesky red lights!

A thick blanket of harmless clouds hangs low over a rigid belt of green trees. Yellow explodes to life in the highlighted edges of sprawling palms. Receding lines of a fence trail off out of view creating an exaggerated sense of perspective. Trees remain in the background while others leap forward like an excited grasshopper. The aqua pool sits alone like a grumpy drunk surrounded by the the motionless stories of gray barflies. Each drink is encouraged through the glassy eyes of a once playful summer day. High above the chilly water of the pool and inter mixed in the glowing palms, sits three steadfast landmarks, each very similar to the eye, narrow and tall, but also extremely different in meaning. The dark plump Juniper tree (or maybe Cypress) stands strong with rarely noticed functionality. Slightly behind, the steeple and cross of the St. Patrcks’ Church reaches skyward with accentuated holiness. Far in the distance stands the hot smoke stalk of the Encina Power Plant like the tip of an iceberg above the smoldering components of a tired machine.

Directional lines and patchy colors create a composition which represents a map for the viewer’s eye. The focus is on the piece as a whole as well as the individual components. Shapes might be positioned where they seem as if they sit nervously on a loaded spring, able to leap off the canvas or out of a page at any moment. This kinetic rue animates stagnant shapes through juxtapositions of its surroundings. The direction of lines have a similar effect where a series of flowing marks can create a sense of motion like the steel track of the Surfliner. The viewers eyes might ride the lines across a figure’s back or over the green hills of the French countryside, finding the edge of a canvas and ultimately falling onto the paint splattered wood planks of the floor below. Along with pulsating shapes and guiding lines, colors campaign for dominance of a canvas or work in unison, harmonizing a well balanced visual experience. When these components work as a team, the outcome is truly a visual masterpiece.

Though a visual experience can be as sensual as a lover’s massage or as maddening as a nervous breakdown, the eyes are not the only vehicle which guide you through an artistic experience. The cognitive wheels of the mind analyzes what your eyes see. Like reading a magazine, the meanings of arranged shapes and photos on a piece of paper are translated into an understanding. Art is read the same way, but like a young child, you first have to learn the sound each component and combination makes. When this is learned, like a new reader’s found interest in the words of each passing sign, the visual elements and meanings of everyday sights sing to you with unavoidable interest.

Let your eyes take you on a voyage through the above photo. What stands out and where do your eyes end up? How does your mind interpret the three landmarks?

A fascination with the visual may come from the invested hours in search of Waldo, the bright colors of Sesame Street or from the influence of your family.

For those who seek visual entertainment, Christmas time is a jackpot of brightly colored nuggets. As the sun recedes and the chimneys smoke, festive decorations awaken with the vibrancy of the Vegas strip. A dinner table chat continues into the family wagon as the slumbering streets of Carlsbad are navigated by families in search for their favorite decorations. Wide-eyed children awe at clumps of color, each individual to the owner’s taste. Scouring parents drive the streets of sprawling residential areas looking for clumps of blinking lights which would rival a techno beat driven ecstasy party. Along with the mental notes and nominations, an ongoing tally of Christmas light presentations are mentally recorded by each competitive child. A rubbernecked glance creates an explosion of alertness prompting another frenzied scan. Long episodes of silence are accompanied by the introverted screams of a sibling competition. A delayed stoplight is like a paused video game, but the anticipation of a distant glow is like a Christmas Eve peek under your parent’s bed. The silent drive continues until a shooting star is mistaken for Santa’s sleigh, prompting a childhood desire for slumber. The family tradition comes to an end as the wagon turns its last corner and slowly rolls down the street of lights which began the hunt. Unable to wait, erratic numbers are announced and bluffs are called; favorites are described and secrets are shared; smiles are smirked and laughter explodes. Another yearly drive brings all to hugs while hand clasped parents glow as bright as the lights which surround them.

Christmas comes and goes, but holiday traditions stay forever. What memories do you have and what traditions do you plan on continuing?

My mind putters to a hold as my truck spits its first cloud of smoke. My eyes break the bond between them and my brain and become, like insect antennas, more reactive than visual, only awoken by the possibility of confrontation. While driving down the lively streets of the village, a foggy cloud clutters my thoughts and dulls my view like the last moments of a livid dream. While approaching a destination, I am awoken by the realization that my entire drive was overwhelmed by a zombie like trance while my body safely guided me. My antennas are released and drop into my lap as my eyes blink back to a visual state of musing.

What if your eyes created your route rather than the destination; if each turn was provoked by a visual stimuli calling your name like a thick painting in a dully lit window of a dank antique store. How often do you use your eyes for motivation and inspiration? An insipid drive only lacks entertainment when your eyes are lazy and unwilling to search for appeal. Imagine all the things you missed which could provoke a thought, a story or simply would look amazing on your livingroom wall. Have you walked around the block filling pages of ideas in a small black book which constantly rests in the back pocket of your worn out jeans? Do you crave splintery lightpoles for flyers of the weekend’s events. Are your fingertips gray from browsing the pages of the local Reader? Can you draw and shoot your camera at moment’s notice, rivaling the Western speedshooters your childhood stories immortalized? How many sidewalk doodles have you missed? How many clouds have you ignored and how many opportunities have been lost?

Try opening your eyes a bit wider. Look for colors and juxtapositions, reasoning and symbolism, inspiration and motivation. Look on the ground and in the sky, on walls and in bushes, inside and outside. Scribble ideas and observations or take a picture. There is an endless amount of creativity in the streets of our village waiting for attention and criticism.

Where is the location of the above photo? Test your awareness! Let me know if you find it!

Once upon a time life was simple. Each day started with morning cartoons and yawns which seemed to last ages. Our minds were stimulated by the back of cereal boxes and comics; our bodies strengthened by long games of tag and schoolyard sports. The word “responsibility” was still a foreign term adults used when their voices raised and their brows frowned. Our planner consisted of 12 pages hung on our cluttered bedroom wall which included a handful of important dates: Christmas, Halloween, Birthday and the last day of school. Our office was a room of bunk beds with He-Man or My Little Pony sheets. The foundation of our business was a thick layer of colorful legos randomly stacked like a loose after-school dog pile. Our vehicles ran as fast as our legs could pedal and were fueled on stiff quantities of sweets and soda. A domestic partner was a teammate and a crush was a tightly folded note passed to someone you wanted to share a fruit-roll-up with. As the sun sank and your belly rumbled, you sat eagerly at the family dinner table ready for Tuesday Tacos or Friday French-Fries. Your brother’s farts didn’t smell and you sister still had bangs. Your mother still sang and your father still played. Your imaginary friend was one of playful rues rather than neurotic torments and the only worry you had was what to do once Saturday morning came. Everything was slow and effortlessly simple.

As adults, we reminisce the days without schedules and responsibilities. When playful laughter was universal. Today obligations replace unpredictability and playtime is just another word for a fifteen minute break. The realization that life was once simple might be a key to adulthood happiness. Remember the things that made you happy and the games that made you a winner. Go out and play in the rain, dance like no one watches and play with friends because they are fun. You might find fun in a picnic park, a beach sand castle, a neighborhood bikeride or a Sunday skateboard session at the local highschool. Think back when life was simple and relive it as an adult!

photos by Anthony Donez

What do you miss about your childhood? Do you still act like a kid?

The battle of green and red is never-ending. This eternal headbutt lasts as long as your eyes stare and your mind winces. As your white flag waves in the smoky sky, you retreat, allowing the next passer to feel the visual agony you once loathed. Will these colors ever hold hands in harmony? If so, who would have the strength to moderate a feud more romantic than the Montagues and Capulets, more ruthless than Itchy and Scratchy and more stubborn than a heated Homeowners Association debate. What are the psychological effects of these colors? When used, can they provoke ill effects? Van Gogh used them to express the terror of humanity. The predicament of Adam and Eve began by an ill-mannered bite from a brightly colored red apple accessorized with a lush green leaf. The Golden Gate bridge is generally considered to have had more suicides than any other in the world and from afar, can stage a visual battle between the rich red of the bridge and the rolling green in the surrounding hills.

Out from the setting sun; galloping on a horse of the color of all colors combined, emerges a crisis counselor pigmented in blue. It is the color of the sky and sea and is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, wisdom, loyalty, confidence, truth and intelligence. Blue may be capable of defusing the weapons of red and green. A treaty is spoken of in a voice as relaxing as the sea’s rolling waves and as soothing as the winds of the sky. The relationship between red, green and blue (RGB) is witnessed everyday in a harmonic dance of color interlaced on our hypnotizing computer screens.

Who knows what street this flying red horse lives on?

Photo by unknown photographer

The ocean is like a theater without a schedule. Waves crash on the shore at will while panicking surfers scamper for the shoulder. The horizon’s bump dances like a seducing siren while a carnal lineup drools. As the skyward surge of cold water reaches its peak, the curtain yanks open showcasing the moment’s star. The sun intensifies a spotlight which reflects the glowing mist of the offshore spray creating a perfectly lit stage for the natural show. Wide turns and elegant snaps awe the crowd like a well rehearsed ballet routine. The audience clinches the dry shrubs of the cliff as the performer bows out and leaves the stage for the next upcoming performance. With great anticipation, the stoked audience checks the marquee, which sits off in the distance as a lineup of bobbing figures. The show plays as the sun reaches its zenith and continues as long as the natural spotlight shines.

Carlsbad locals Eric Geiselhart and Gabe Garcia share the stage of a 12 ft. wave at Swamis on Dec. 5th, 2007.

During one of my many relaxing pits stop within the village, I noticed the irony of the police car, the red curb and the Donut Shop. Its amazing how often free entertainment occurs when you slow down and open your eyes.