Latest / philly has heART / Dominique Samarco: Artist and Educator

Transcript

Dominique Samarco: Artist and Educator · philly has heART

0:13
Lucinda. Hey, Lucinda. How's it going? It's going
0:19
pretty well. Pretty well. It was a nice weekend.
0:22
Tell me what you got into. I had the privilege
0:25
of meeting up with some old young friends of
0:29
the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Circa what year?
0:32
2017, probably. Holy shit. This couple was probably
0:39
the best young friend love story. that you have
0:43
ever heard. A true it couple. A true it couple.
0:46
Ian and Sarah, shout out, met at a young friends
0:51
committee meeting and then they started dating,
0:55
got married, and now have a beautiful daughter.
1:00
Thanks to the young friends of the Philadelphia
1:03
Museum of Art. You too, audience, can find love
1:08
at a young friends meeting. It could happen to
1:10
you. And then I also got out into nature and
1:18
saw the Wayne Art Center's public display of
1:23
art off of a trail this weekend from, I think,
1:28
from a lot of the students that had been there
1:30
all summer for their art camp program that they
1:33
have together. So it was cool. It was nice to
1:36
see it. Arts up and comers. Yes. So true. So
1:41
true. Lucinda. Yes. Walk us through your packed
1:45
art weekend. On Saturday, Petit Garçon and I
1:50
hit Old City. But before we did that, we ran
1:53
all of the errands. He went to a little French
1:56
workshop. We went to Target and he got to spend
1:59
a gift card from his birthday like six months
2:02
ago. Nice. We picked out his first day of school
2:08
outfit. We're still workshopping it. Yeah, yeah.
2:11
It's coming together. Yeah. No uniforms. Okay.
2:14
I wish there was a uniform. Yeah. Maybe you can
2:18
make your own. I maintain that a rugby shirt
2:22
is the ideal top for a little man because you
2:26
get the knit, the comfort of a knit. Yep. You
2:29
get the... Versatility of long sleeves. Versatility
2:33
of... I don't know how that makes it versatile,
2:35
but go off. You roll them up. Okay. You get the
2:40
put -togetherness of a collar. Yeah. It's perfect.
2:45
Just get him 25 of those. 25 different stripes
2:48
to Rugby's. How about that's a little overkill?
2:51
I think we could stop at five. Well, okay, on
2:54
to what I did for reals. We hit Paradigm Gallery
2:57
where we saw Threads of Allegiance, Little Italy,
3:01
and Cruel Intentions. The first one, Threads
3:04
of Allegiance, was especially moving. We went
3:09
to Jane Gallery and saw Lucy's Cornerstone exhibition.
3:13
It's her first solo show, so it was kind of major.
3:16
Wow. The topic was Philadelphia, lots of Philadelphia
3:19
nature, Philadelphia architecture. Chef's kiss.
3:23
Love it. Museum for Art and Woods group exhibition,
3:27
a .k .a. From one of their residency programs
3:30
called A Plank in a Shipwreck. Love that name.
3:35
I know, it's good. Petit Garçon followed me around
3:38
the exhibition space with a little piece from
3:41
the Wooden Petting Zoo. Nice. The one that really
3:46
struck me was originally a distinct exhibition
3:50
called I'm Me, Who Are You? at Pi Gallery, where
3:53
I nearly dropped 4K, of which I have... None
3:57
of that to drop on art. Oh, very moving piece
4:00
then. Fell in love. Nearly missed a mortgage
4:05
payment for it. The last day of 12 Gates Group
4:09
exhibition first was a C. We caught that on Saturday.
4:14
Their next exhibition is going to be later on
4:17
in the fall. And then we saw the group show at
4:21
Fangallery. Shout out Mr. Fred's name. And then
4:24
finally, we popped into Muse Gallery and saw
4:27
Lauren Sapori's exhibition, Flightless Bird,
4:30
headed east. It was great. Awesome. But you didn't
4:35
stop there. No. Petit Garçon was complaining
4:39
about his tummy aching, probably because all
4:43
these gallerists are giving him treats and cookies
4:46
and candy and... And he's complaining about a
4:52
tummy ache on the way home. And I had previously
4:55
promised him a stop at the playground. Although,
4:57
you know, he starts complaining. I'm like, okay,
5:00
well, we can just go past the playground. It's
5:02
right here. And he's like, bye, Mom. And he's
5:05
out. He's out. He's like, you've got eight minutes.
5:09
Heading for the slide. This was the day it was
5:10
really hot. Oh, yeah. And then the next day,
5:14
Sunday, we... went to Da Vinci Art Alliance after
5:19
his soccer practice, and we saw the UArts alum
5:23
and faculty exhibition. It's called UArts, No
5:27
Vessel Can Hold the River. And we saw Claire
5:29
Cook's and Ben Kramer's exhibition, Friend of
5:33
a Friend of a Friend. On that note, guys, if
5:37
any former UArts students have been reunited
5:40
with their artwork through Thunderbird Salvage,
5:43
please reach out. We want to talk to you. Would
5:46
love to have you on. Let's chat. Yeah. On to
5:49
the conversation. Greetings. This is Robert Marsh,
6:06
and you're listening to Philly Has Heart Podcast.
6:08
In this podcast, we sit down with artists, gallerists,
6:12
educators, curators, and other creatives who
6:14
comprise the Philadelphia art world to discuss
6:17
upcoming performances, exhibits, and other events
6:21
and initiatives that are not to be missed. The
6:24
art scene in Philadelphia is so rich that it
6:26
can seem daunting. Consider this your weekend
6:29
cultural recommendation. With me always is my
6:32
producer, Lucinda Daggerland. Hello, hello. And
6:36
today we have Dominique Simarco. We're so happy
6:39
to have you today. I'm so happy to be here. Thank
6:41
you so much. Excellent. Excellent. So, Dominique,
6:44
we always ask our guests to start with their
6:47
origin story. Take us through your journey that
6:50
brought you to art as well as moments big and
6:54
small. I really appreciate this question because
6:57
my art series that I just started that I had
7:00
at Da Vinci Art Alliance for the solo show. It's
7:03
literally like about my journey in life. So I'm
7:06
always thinking about this kind of being an educator
7:08
in Philadelphia, where you start, your development,
7:11
your connection to the community, things like
7:13
that. For me, where I started in terms of art,
7:16
I feel like maybe this happens with a lot of
7:17
people. We've always gravitated to like creating
7:20
things out of like nothing. When I was a kid.
7:24
I had a lot of, you know, I didn't come from
7:26
a whole lot of money, so I had a lot of time
7:28
to, like, think of ideas. So I would take, like,
7:31
a simple thing and, like, a sock and, like, cut
7:33
it up and make, like, a dress for a Barbie. Oh,
7:35
that's perfect. Yes. Or, like, I distinctly remember
7:37
when I was a kid, and I would, like, cut up an
7:40
old jean and then use wood glue. Like, I remember
7:43
using wood glue to make a purse. Whatever was
7:46
around. Like, why was my brain thinking of...
7:49
Taking jeans to make into a purse using wood
7:52
glue. I have no idea. So, like, I was always
7:54
very creative in, like, making anything out of
7:57
nothing. And then I went to high school and I
7:59
felt like I was kind of celebrated for my talents
8:03
in art in some ways. I didn't like high school
8:06
at all. Like, I did not enjoy it. But I really
8:09
enjoyed creating things. I loved the art room.
8:12
I had really great teachers growing up, you know.
8:14
So I felt a sense of belonging. In the sense
8:17
of like being kind of useful or like, you know,
8:21
for having a skill that I could like help people
8:23
with. And then after high school, I went to CUNY
8:26
College of Philadelphia. So I'm the first person
8:28
in my family to go to college. So that was like
8:31
a pretty big journey already. Yeah. And I had
8:35
amazing professors there. And it was really tough
8:38
kind of navigating higher education. So I think
8:42
that's where I started thinking about, like,
8:44
equity and community and access and stuff. Yeah.
8:47
After CCP, I was able to get a scholarship to
8:50
my dream college, which is in Baltimore, MICA.
8:54
MICA is Maryland Institute College of Arts, so
8:56
it's a private art school. It's like a fancy
8:59
-schmancy art school. Nice. So, I don't know,
9:01
coming from CCP, I was like, no, I'm going to
9:03
try to go all the way with it. Right, yes. Going
9:06
to the best of the best. So I went to MICA. For
9:09
two years, I went in as a transfer, and I got
9:12
a painting degree there. That department, like,
9:14
the painting department there was so cool. Like,
9:16
it was so surreal. Me being a Philly girl and
9:19
being able to get into a school like that was,
9:21
like, so cool. Yes. After Micah, I taught, like,
9:25
for a little bit of time in Baltimore, and I
9:29
was contracted in as a teacher in a school. in
9:34
Grove Park Elementary, and they didn't have any
9:37
art education or anything like that. So they
9:40
would contract musicians in and artists in to
9:43
teach to the kids. So I think, again, I'm starting
9:46
to think about community, equity, access. After
9:49
I was in Baltimore, I eventually decided that,
9:52
you know, I want to teach and give back to my
9:54
own community that I grew up in, so I went back
9:56
to Philadelphia. That's where I started to, like...
9:59
I got into high schools and I developed a art
10:02
department at a high school in Southwest Philly
10:05
that didn't have an art program. So I love what
10:09
I do. So I was able to start an art department
10:11
from the ground up and painting, drawing, sculpture,
10:14
APR and design. So that's where I'm currently
10:17
at right now. And now I'm starting to get my
10:19
foot in of not just being seen as like an educator,
10:21
but also like. an artist as well sorry that was
10:25
very long -winded no no this is great oh my gosh
10:28
no this is perfect while you were in um ccp or
10:32
at micah what art direction were you gravitating
10:37
towards man i had again i had some really good
10:40
professors um i'll always like shout out to the
10:43
people that kind of like nurtured that talent
10:46
in me and like just like made me feel like it
10:48
was okay to like keep pursuing the arts so like
10:51
I had a really amazing professor Jeffrey Reed
10:53
he was a landscape painter and um he kind of
10:58
he kind of just like I could I could just see
11:01
myself doing what he kind of was doing I always
11:04
really liked color. I don't know. I loved color.
11:05
Like if you look at my paintings now, they're
11:07
very colorful. I like push it. I'm like, let's
11:09
just be bold. So, and then I transferred into
11:12
Micah as a painting major. Cause like, I just
11:14
wanted to like specialize in that. Gotcha. What's
11:16
it like to go into, you know, a public school
11:20
and recreate that art department from nothing?
11:24
Where do you even start? I kind of draw from
11:27
my experiences. you know, it's seeing how my
11:31
professors taught, seeing how they develop their
11:34
departments. And I would draw from, you know,
11:37
lesson plans that I saw at CCP or lesson plans
11:40
that I saw at Micah and like how they would structure
11:43
their department. And I would take things from
11:45
them and I would put them together. And I'm like,
11:47
okay, no, like, I think this is what this department
11:50
would need. And then like, you just kind of like.
11:52
fake it till you make it right yeah with anything
11:54
like just if you have like the cut like just
11:57
be confident just try it out if it doesn't work
11:59
like you can always course correct you know so
12:01
yeah i draw from my painting that isn't finished
12:04
yet yeah exactly exactly that's awesome yeah
12:07
thanks i love that going back a little bit we
12:11
caught on that place is a major theme in your
12:15
work and just like calling back to philly dreaming
12:18
and becoming but also having been to micah in
12:21
baltimore Think of Baltimore and Philadelphia
12:24
as spiritual sisters. Yeah, I could see that.
12:27
But also there are a ton of contrasts. For example,
12:30
I think Philadelphia stands on its own as a primary
12:34
city, whereas Baltimore, I think, will always
12:37
be in the shadow of its I -95 sister, D .C. Yeah.
12:41
But I guess what attracted you to Micah from
12:45
Philadelphia was location at all. Yeah. A piece
12:50
of that, and then... Did you know that you wanted
12:53
to return to Philadelphia eventually after school,
12:56
or did you leave it up in the air until after?
13:00
I think for Baltimore, I think in some ways it
13:03
was location, but again, my painting professors
13:06
came from Micah too, so I also had that connection
13:09
there. I was contemplating between going to SAIC
13:13
in Chicago, the School of the Art Institute of
13:16
Chicago. I was thinking more so like this would
13:19
be my first time. leaving philadelphia so i kind
13:22
of wanted to be a little bit far away but also
13:25
like still have that philadelphia feel in some
13:29
ways micah's campus is gorgeous have you been
13:32
to micah's i've seen it on uh going past it on
13:35
95 they've got some really good branding nice
13:38
yeah like they have this one building that just
13:41
like looks like an igloo like it's just beautiful
13:42
like the way the glass the architecture is and
13:45
i just like I wanted the campus feel in a way,
13:48
but I also wanted to really focus on my art.
13:50
So I felt like, I don't know, just something
13:53
told me to just go that way. And I'm really glad
13:56
that I did because the people that are in Baltimore
13:58
that I met are like some of the best people ever.
14:00
It has like, it is called Charm City, but like
14:02
it really does have that charm. I love that.
14:04
Like there's even like. there's like that even
14:06
kind of like Southern hospitality kind of, like
14:08
they're so kind, like I had such great experience.
14:11
Yeah, they were great out there. So I'm really
14:13
glad that I did that. And then in terms of going
14:15
back to Philadelphia, I feel like this happens
14:18
with a lot of people that go into art schools.
14:20
They're like, once I get my art degree, like
14:22
I'm going to go to New York and I'm just going
14:25
to make it and I'm going to be this big art star.
14:28
And like, that's like my ultimate, that was like
14:30
my ultimate dream. Like, oh man, I want to be
14:32
a big art star. But then you like realize like,
14:35
When you come from more humble beginnings that
14:38
it's there's some things that you kind of have
14:40
to like, you know, you have to make networking
14:43
connections. You have to market yourself. You
14:46
got to learn about business. So there's a lot
14:48
of things that you have to navigate after getting
14:51
a degree. Like you still have to work like 20
14:53
times as hard still, you know. Right. Which is
14:55
like I graduated Micah in 2016. Ten years later,
15:00
I'm just kind of like. getting my footing into,
15:03
like, you know, the art world. Everything that
15:07
I was learning in Baltimore, I kind of just wanted
15:09
to go back home because I really love our community.
15:11
I love Philadelphia. I think you can see it in
15:13
my art, too. Like, I just have such a love for
15:16
our community. And I just, like, I just know
15:19
that we can just, like, create really great things
15:22
if we just, like, put a lot of love into, like,
15:25
uplifting each other. I know it sounds so cheesy.
15:27
No, yes. That's why I'm, like, an educator because,
15:29
like, I just want to pay it forward and, like.
15:31
uplift our community in any way. So eventually
15:33
I just took my teaching and wanted to come back
15:36
to Philly to kind of like give to the younger
15:40
generation in Philadelphia. Oh, that's beautiful.
15:43
That's beautiful. You know, you've gone through,
15:46
you know, many different, you have your master's
15:51
of arts education. You've gone through different
15:54
types of art, art studio, sculpture, painting,
15:57
drawing, AP art design. What was your favorite
16:02
genre to teach and your favorite age group to
16:06
engage with? Well, I really love teaching AP
16:09
art. I know that's kind of like the, I guess
16:12
the obvious thing. It's just so cool because
16:15
you teach kids and with AP art. you're kind of
16:21
seeing who they really are and like what they're
16:23
interested in. Yeah. And you're nurturing that.
16:26
Right. And they're the most dedicated. Yeah.
16:28
And they're like, really like they want to learn,
16:31
like they want to just take everything and I
16:33
want to give everything. Right. Like I, I'm like,
16:35
Oh, I can teach sculpture. You want to learn,
16:37
you want to do a portfolio that's about sculpture.
16:39
All right. So it's like, I get to like just throw
16:41
everything into the, into teaching them. And
16:44
they're so receptive to it. And it's really cool
16:47
to think about like art as like an. a way to
16:50
think about inquiry and research. Like arts -based
16:53
research is really something that I am starting
16:56
to think about in depth, like the artist as a
16:58
researcher. Within AP art, you just see students
17:03
using art as a way to think about bigger societal
17:07
issues or equity, poverty, trans rights, things
17:13
like that. So it's just really powerful, I feel,
17:15
to teach that. subject that's a beautiful way
17:18
to think of it because each one of those pieces
17:20
right each each piece an artist makes has some
17:24
story behind it yeah has some truth behind it
17:27
and leaning into the information that comes with
17:31
each of those pieces of art yeah i'm sure they
17:35
as you're creating your art you're doing that
17:39
same research yeah yeah That's awesome. It's
17:41
like a cycle almost. It's so cool. Like I'm doing
17:44
the work and then my students are also doing
17:47
the work and we're both like inspiring each other
17:49
in some ways, you know? That's great. Yeah, it's
17:51
really cool. It's really exciting. I'm really
17:53
like, I'm blessed to like be in that position,
17:55
you know? As you were touched by your professors
17:58
and your teachers, you're doing now the same
18:01
for each and every one of those kids. Yeah. It's
18:03
awesome. Oh, thanks. I try. Do your past professors
18:07
and teachers know that you're... teaching and
18:10
inspiring the next generation or have you been
18:13
able to keep in touch with those yeah so i i
18:16
mean i love community so i always try to like
18:20
i was invited to ccp to do um i was during like
18:24
a scholarship recently so like even to go back
18:26
it's like full circle like you go back into the
18:29
place where you really started and then to be
18:31
able to be like to another student like hey i
18:34
see you Like you're great. You're going to do
18:35
great things. So like to go back into that space
18:38
is like really cool. But yeah, I keep in touch
18:40
with my professors. I love my professors. So
18:42
whenever I can, like I'll go back for a talk.
18:45
In doing some research today, I saw that you
18:47
do. I don't know how you would call it, store
18:51
art with Mac Mart. Oh, yeah. That's so funny.
18:55
I love Mac Mart. Oh, it's so good. You've worked
18:58
with Mac Mart? Yeah. That is so funny. Now, you
19:01
did some research. I'm obsessed with art, like
19:04
in so many different forms. I'm obsessed with
19:06
macaroni and cheese. Oh, my God. They're so funny.
19:08
Shout out to Mac Mart. Yes. Yeah, so I have like
19:13
a little side hustle. I love that. Upon other
19:15
side hustles. Yes. Where I'll do like window
19:17
paintings for businesses and stuff. It's beautiful.
19:20
So I was able to work with Mac Mart. They're
19:22
really cool. The food's great. You guys should
19:24
try Mac Mart. Mac Mart plug. Yes. That is so
19:28
funny. But yeah, like, you know, when the Eagles
19:30
were in the Super Bowl, I was doing like Eagle
19:32
store fronts and everything on the low. That's
19:34
great. Yeah, yeah. It was so much fun. Because
19:37
like, again, I love all things Philadelphia.
19:39
So to be able to like. Duke Eagle's storefronts
19:42
was so cool. That's great. That is so funny.
19:45
Oh, no, no, it was awesome. It was awesome. And
19:48
I live in Ardmore now, and so, like, now they
19:51
have the Ardmore store up there. I did Ardmore's,
19:54
too. Yes, I saw that. Oh, my God, this is so
19:56
funny. I mean, I... I've been a Mac Mart fan
19:59
since the food truck days. So good. So good.
20:03
They have the food, like they're bringing their
20:04
food truck back. And your art is so like, it
20:07
draws people in. It really does because you've
20:10
taken, you've taken their ideas and their love
20:14
of mac and cheese and made it into a beautiful
20:17
piece. That's inviting. It's always great to
20:19
work with like. equally passionate people you
20:22
know you just like feed off each other right
20:24
yeah they're great they were great they were
20:25
great to work with the location are more they're
20:27
great too like definitely i just love how you
20:30
can customize mac and cheese like what more could
20:32
you want art outside customized mac and cheese
20:37
inside like come on um do you have like a certain
20:43
piece that you have worked on or that you are
20:46
working on currently that you could kind of walk
20:49
us through what your process was like hmm i guess
20:52
i could talk about the the very first painting
20:56
that i did for my series philly dreaming and
20:58
becoming so i had this idea like years ago like
21:01
man i don't know i kept popping in my head i'm
21:03
like i really want to paint like my corner store
21:05
that i grew up in like i grew up going to right
21:09
and i kept thinking about it but i like pushed
21:10
the idea in back of my head and i Eventually,
21:13
like years later, I'm in grad school and I'm
21:15
like, damn, maybe I should like paint that corner
21:18
store painting. So I made the painting and I
21:22
went back to the location of the corner store
21:25
when I was a kid and I took a photograph of it.
21:29
It being closed kind of like fit into me going
21:32
back in time and revisiting it. Yeah. So then
21:34
I take it into like Procreate in my iPad and
21:38
I like play around with the levels and the curves.
21:39
And you know me, I'm bumping that color up. Right,
21:42
yes. So, and then I use a photo reference. It
21:46
doesn't always look like the photo reference,
21:48
but I try to take a photograph that shows like
21:51
a really intense guy. Because I think about like
21:54
faith and things like that. Holding on to your
21:58
dreams. I know it sounds kind of cheesy. Oh,
22:00
right. Again, going back to Mac Mart reference
22:02
right there. And I'll use the photo reference
22:06
to make like a painting. But then when I'm painting,
22:10
like I just like scrape stuff off, which if you
22:13
look at my work, you kind of see like layers
22:15
of like fleeting moments in the painting. And
22:19
then I'll paint on top of it and I'll keep scraping
22:21
and I'll paint on top of it. And then I will
22:24
use rags sometimes when I'm working. I really
22:27
love rags because it makes this really glowing
22:29
halo effect. If you see some of my landscape
22:32
paintings, like the skies, and I'll use rags
22:34
to rub the color in so it blends nicely. But
22:39
yeah, that painting was the first painting of
22:41
the series where I kind of went back in time
22:43
of my own development to think about equity,
22:45
our community, bigger societal issues. The corner
22:49
stores were so foundational to every little community
22:52
that was created, both in South Philly and North
22:55
Philly. Yeah. You're right. They're closing left
22:58
and right. Yeah. I was just thinking, like, this
23:00
is a good way to kind of connect with our community.
23:03
Because, you know, everyone kind of sees their
23:05
own corner store in that painting, you know?
23:06
Right. So that's what I was thinking about. Like,
23:09
I don't know. When I'm making paintings, even
23:10
when it's about me, I kind of want other people
23:12
to feel, like, a joy in that moment, you know?
23:16
Mm -hmm. Or, like, feel seen in some way. Oh,
23:19
that's beautiful. Oh, thanks. I love that. Do
23:21
you have any upcoming projects or exhibitions?
23:25
So I just graduated my master's and thanks to
23:27
DaVinci Art Alliance, I was able to get a solo
23:29
show. And from that solo show, now I have a bunch
23:33
of galleries that I'm able to kind of work with.
23:36
Donate to Da Vinci Art Alliance if you can. Yes.
23:39
They're really great. They're amazing people
23:41
in there, and they do a lot for community arts.
23:44
I'm part of a group show called Water Ice at
23:47
University the Arts League, and that's up until
23:51
the end of August. It's about, like, resilience
23:54
and joy in Philadelphia, so it, like, fits kind
23:56
of, like, with... the kind of artwork that I
23:58
was doing. I love it. There's a lot of amazing
24:00
artists in that show, so if you have time, please
24:01
check that out. We'll link that in the show notes.
24:03
Oh, cool. I have two paintings at a community
24:07
gallery at 12th and Market. It's connected to
24:09
the Marriott. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's a really
24:12
cool gallery that I think people should be exposed
24:14
to, you know? Yeah. I think I actually saw that
24:17
on your Instagram, too. Was that relatively recent?
24:21
It went up in summer, and it's going to be done
24:25
in October. Okay. But that's a really beautiful
24:27
space. And then I'm going to be in a Philadelphia
24:32
show at the Jane Gallery. We love the Jane Gallery.
24:36
I listened to the podcast with the owner in it,
24:39
and I think she's just so cool. cool that was
24:41
a cool episode yeah oh yeah so neat i'm so excited
24:45
to be in that show and it's about like philadelphia
24:47
love and all things that we love can you tell
24:49
us what month is that that's gonna happen in
24:51
september i think it's gonna be like september
24:54
5th or something like that awesome okay so early
24:56
september and there's gonna be a lot of beautiful
24:58
work about our community and love in Philadelphia.
25:01
It'll be up for first Friday. Yes. I think that's
25:03
what it's going to be. It's going to be like
25:04
the first Friday of September. Perfect. So, you
25:06
know, if you can check that out, that would be
25:08
awesome. Yes. I know what you're doing on that
25:11
Friday. Oh, cool. So where can people find you
25:15
both online and in real life? I like the real
25:19
life. Do not stalk this girl, guys. That's okay.
25:24
You guys come say hi. I'm kind of friendly. You
25:26
can follow me on Instagram. I'm pretty active
25:29
on my Instagram at Dominique Samarco. I have
25:32
a studio at the Paper Mill community. If you
25:34
guys want to stop by, you can always come by.
25:37
Well, we have some rapid fire questions to conclude
25:40
our talk today. Cool. So if you could describe
25:45
the Philly art scene in one word. Heart. Love
25:48
that. Cheesesteaks, wit -wiz, or without? With.
25:54
Nice. If you had to pick one medium to work with
25:59
for the rest of your life, what would it be?
26:01
Maybe acrylic paint. Yeah? Yeah. I like that.
26:04
I like that. F. Mary Kill. Basquiat. Herring.
26:10
Banksy. Whoever he or she is. Okay. Kill Banksy.
26:16
Okay. Who knows? I know exactly. Who is this?
26:20
It's not personal. Who is this person? Sorry,
26:22
I said that so fast, too. That's just a hard
26:26
one, you know? Mary Basquiat. Nice. Fuck Keith
26:30
Haring. Okay. Your favorite Philadelphia neighborhood?
26:33
The one I grew up in, Frankfurt. Lovely. Favorite
26:36
Philadelphia -based artist people are sleeping
26:39
on? My studio mate is Amber Rivera, and she's
26:42
a phenomenal photographer. She works with Photography
26:45
Without Borders, which is a really amazing organization
26:47
that goes and helps out kids in the community
26:50
as well to uplift them with photography. So shout
26:53
out to Amber Rivera. She's an amazing photographer
26:55
and teacher too. Love that. Love it. So set the
27:00
scene. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is on fire.
27:04
Oh, gosh. But you have the superpower to save
27:06
one wing. Which one do you save? Oh, man. Contemporary,
27:14
I know that's right. I really love the contemporary
27:16
gallery. Yes, so do I. I really love going in
27:18
there. It's so joyful. There's so much going
27:20
on. It's so bright, too, and inviting. Contemporary.
27:23
Who doesn't love the urinal? Yeah, exactly. It's
27:25
so fun. It's so resistant. Favorite beverage
27:30
at the moment? I'm a teacher. I drink like three
27:32
cups of coffee. Gotta get through that day. How
27:36
do you take your coffee? A little bit of cream,
27:39
like, you know, sometimes if you go to Dunkin',
27:40
you ask for cream. Sometimes it's a lot of cream.
27:42
No, a little bit of cream. Just a splash. A little
27:44
bit of cream, yeah. Thanks. Well, Dominique,
27:46
thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate
27:48
this. I will see you shortly at the J -Dub. Are
27:53
you inspired, Robert? So inspired. I mean, she...
28:07
It has an amazing story that has come full circle
28:11
on perfecting that art and then bringing it back
28:15
to the same community that raised her. It is,
28:18
it's incredible story. And also something else
28:22
that I failed to mention during that conversation,
28:24
but now that we're talking about it, I'm thinking
28:27
about how a past guest we had, Stephen. cited
28:32
a former teacher that he had in elementary school
28:36
who spoke not so nicely about his art or about
28:41
his interpretation of instructions and you know
28:46
if we had more of those inspirational teachers
28:51
like dominique and the ones who inspired dominique
28:54
how many more kids out there would be moved To
29:01
share. Exactly. And at least make it more part
29:06
of their life. Because they were inspired by
29:10
a teacher. So what are we doing this weekend?
29:13
What's going on? Petit Garçon and I already went
29:17
to Old City, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't.
29:20
Paradigm Gallery, the three exhibitions, are
29:23
closing on August 24th. In Belle Vista at DaVinci
29:30
Art Alliance, the two exhibitions, the UArts
29:34
and the Claire Cook and Ben Kramer are up until
29:38
8 .25. And then going back to Old City, originally
29:42
Distinct's exhibition, I'm Me, Who Are You at
29:45
Pi Gallery is up until August 30th. Lauren Sappori's
29:50
exhibition, Flightless Bird Headed East, at Muse
29:53
Gallery is up until August 31st. And Lucy's exhibition,
29:57
Cornerstone, is at Jane Gallery until the end
30:00
of the month. If you make your way over to the
30:04
parkway at the Barnes, Where I'm From, an exhibition
30:08
created by the artist from Mural Arts Philadelphia's
30:11
Rec Crew and SCI Phoenix. is available until
30:17
8 .25. From Paris to Provence, French Painting
30:22
at the Barnes, an exhibition of Monet, Cezanne,
30:26
Van Gogh, and others, is up until 8 .31. Up the
30:31
parkway, you can find yourself at the Philadelphia
30:35
Museum of Art, where Boom Exhibition will be
30:38
open until 9 .01. TikTok. Brand by Editions.
30:46
Innovation and Screen Printing Exhibition at
30:48
the PMA is there until November 16th. I think
30:51
that one's going to be really interesting. Yeah.
30:53
It's like pop art. If anyone has tickets or an
30:59
in to the Calder's Garden opening, I want it.
31:04
I want to go. I want to put on my tuxedo. I want
31:09
to be there for opening night. And with that,
31:14
Philly has art. And art! You know what else would
31:30
be cool other than you throwing out the first
31:32
pitch at a Philly's opener? What? I would love
31:37
for... Our new logo to be wrapped around Deceptibus.
31:46
They can use the funds. Oh, this route sponsored
31:50
by Philly has heart.