Small Town Sights

[daniels-davis-discoveries-blog]

So I was able to make it to part of the painting of the “Art Garage.” I planned my attire very poorly and the clothes I wore I was not willing to get paint on, so I didn’t participate in the actual painting. Instead I grabbed my phone and photographed the process. Of...

[cityjumper00]

That's so great that you were able to go! It seems like a really interesting project, and one that really captures the culture and atmosphere of Davis. I like that all kinds of people were there to help paint and contribute to the mural, it shows how open and willing to work together Davis is. Not every town is as welcoming and accommodating as Davis, but here everyone easily comes together to create something big and wonderful. I'm sure it wasn't the easiest task to find parts of a beautiful piece of work for children to do, but the people here show themselves to be more than willing to do this so that the community as a whole could come together and celebrate our culture. 

[cityjumper00]

The last class of this seminar was an interesting and fun time. I enjoyed being able to use the knowledge that we had gained throughout our experiences over the duration of the quarter in order to work on the scavenger hunt. For the art work that we were assigned, my group ended up knowing where two places were, but were unsure of the other two. We worked together to solve this, making a plan to split up so that two people could find the known areas and the rest of us would search for those pieces of art that we didn't know. Aside the obvious of remembering where some cultural spots were from visiting them previously, the seminar also prepared us for this task by introducing us to many sources of information about culture in Davis. For the art works that we didn't know, we decided to pay a visit to the John Natsoulas Gallery, planning on asking someone more knowledgeable than us about where to find the mural and statue. Without having visited the Natsoulas Gallery before in class, I would have never known that it was a great place to learn more about the arts, whether this be in general or in Davis specifically. It was fun to be able to put the cultural knowledge I have gained over the past several weeks to the test with my peers; even though it was raining as we biked around downtown Davis, it did not put a damper on the enjoyment of the day. 

Looking back on this seminar as a whole, I believe it was a useful class to have taken. It is not a topic that I would have normally been exposed to, since I am a science major and therefore have no requirements pertaining to such cultural classes. However, it has opened up my mind to being more culturally aware, a trait that I believe will stay with me through my experiences in Davis and elsewhere. It has gotten me to think about my hometown and childhood in terms of the cultural events and opportunities I have had there, as well as look into the future for more chances to explore other cultures. One result of this is my great interest in participating in a Study Abroad program. I have decided to go on a Summer Abroad course in France this year, and also am planning one for going to a university in the United Kingdom my junior year. Both of these times will allow me to immerse myself in new cultures and explore the wonderful offerings of these places. As I go through these experiences, the lessons I learned about the varying aspects of culture and the arts will remain with me and further my eagerness to learn about culture all over the world.

[cityjumper00]

I went with my floor mates to the farmer's market last Saturday. It was a beautifully sunny day and it seemed like everyone was out there having a good time. There was even a children's choir performing on the stage, with quite a large crowd around to watch them. The director of the choir passed out lyric sheets for their music before they started, encouraging everyone in the audience to sing along with the kids, and a surprisingly large amount of people actually did. It was fun to see the children coming out and performing, and also cool that everyone joined in on the fun. It really seemed like a community in this respect, because everyone was there to support the children and also come together to add their own voice to the mix. Also, many of the adults knew the words to the songs without the lyric sheets, showing that they probably grew up learning the same songs in their own children's choirs or schools, and this is a tradition that has been kept up since they were small. 

[mraggieuke]

Hello Fellow Aggies and Davis Explorers,

This past Friday we met with Alan Humason, the office director of the Yolo County Visitors’ Bureau, in his office next to the Hunt-Boyer mansion. He told us about all the numerous places to sight-see and fine dine in Davis as well as in the whole county....

[cityjumper00]

I've actually thought about this a decent amount before, because I have a friend at Berkeley who will be coming out to Davis to visit at some point, and I've come up with quite a few things that people "need" to do in Davis. One of these is going to the Arboretum- it's so beautiful and it'll be especially nice coming from a city like Berkeley to see the creek and trees and everything out there. Also of course there's the farmer's market on Saturdays, which is just fun to look around and there's always something interesting going on (as long as it's not raining at least). Then, this is a little more of just something I've come to love than what everyone does, I would also take her/whoever else to the Grad some night to go line dancing. It really is a lot of fun, and something pretty unique to Davis. So yeah, I would say the Arboretum, farmer's market, and line dancing are a few of my favorite cultural aspects of Davis and what I would share with someone coming to visit here. 

[cityjumper00]

Last week our class went to visit Alan Humason, who works in the Yolo County Visitors' Bureau. Like the week before, this trip brought a different kind of perspective of the cultural offerings of Davis. Rather than that of an artist, historian, or someone in management of these types of culture, Alan Humason is a promoter of culture through his advertising of Davis and Yolo County. He had a lot to say on the different ways that Yolo County reaches out to other places and organizations in an effort to bring more people here and let them know about the many opportunities and other great things that come from this area. These included things such as advertising Yolo as a place near San Fransisco to stay (since San Fransisco is always overcrowded with tourists), having local wineries and farms display their products in large galas and other events to get their names known, and partnering with travel companies to have our area promoted more, instead of only having Los Angeles and San Fransisco as the places to go in California. In doing all of this, Mr. Humason is encouraging the Davis and Yolo culture in a way different from that of others, by inviting outside people to come and participate in and enjoy our culture. This in turn encourages people here to invest in culture in order to have something interesting to offer and draw people in to town. 

Near the end of our time at the Visitors' Bureau, I asked Mr. Humason what he usually thought of or promoted as the aspects of Davis and Yolo County that are unique to this area. In response, he spoke of the great wineries and other farmland that surrounds us, the bike culture, and also the festivals that are held around here. These are all great examples of what makes up Davis and Yolo culture- agriculture, food, biking, and fun festivities- and Alan Humason helps all of these areas prosper in getting their names out and more people in. 

[nataliadaraselia-deactivated201]

I’m actually live blogging this, which is rather cool. The speakers can answer your question directly, and in goes the typed response!

The speaker, artistic director Rob Salas begins by explaining how this ensemble got started. At first, it was mostly a UC Davis students based theater group. The...

[cityjumper00]

I personally really like the idea that the group started with shows in the Arboretum and I wish they still had shows there. I think being outdoors lends a very special atmosphere to anything, including theater. This is evident in the cliche of students always wanting their classes to be outside, as it is an open and relaxing atmosphere. In my perspective, this can help with understanding (of class material or the workings of a play) because it is simply a positive area that encourages attention and enthusiasm. That being said, I know there's a lot of problems with producing theater outside that made the ensemble move to an actual theater, but it's nice that at least the summer camp is still at the Arboretum, especially since it's probably kids that most need the relaxing and encouraging atmosphere it brings. 

[cityjumper00]

I posted a few photos from my travels before, but here I wanted to expand on the different cultures of places I've been, especially in the context of this class and what I've learned since about Davis culture. These photos are all from a trip to France I took two summers ago. Even from the pictures it's quite clear the differences between these two places and Davis. This countryside was very laid back and had an abundance of nature, much like Davis. It also welcomed my American school group as a way to learn from our culture while sharing with us its own long historical culture. This is displayed in the second picture, which was taken when my group, made of French language students at my high school, got together with a local high school, where we met other students, got interviewed about our own culture, and watched a performance by the French students including a fusion of both cultures. This was all very interesting and fun to be a part of, especially as I did not have much experience with the rural lifestyle of this countryside area coming from Los Angeles. Even with this open and country feel to the town, however, the differences between America and France were always apparent. For example, when we dined in a town restaurant we were served cuisine particular to France (one day we even had snails), and as you can see in the last picture, the architecture is much different and obviously older than any you would regularly find here. France is without a doubt my favorite place in the world, having visited twice and planning to return this summer for study abroad, and much of this is due to the overwhelming sense of history and culture that permeates everywhere, something that is lacking here in America because of our relative youth. 

[cityjumper00]

Last week in class we heard from a representative of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble. This gave a different perspective on Davis culture than many of our other speakers, as it was a personal experience rather than an overview of the city by third parties. I think this added to the interest of the class session, as well as built upon the rest of the course's information well. It especially brought a new view of the arts because the speaker was a member of the ensemble in a more behind the scenes role, not as an actor himself. This shows that art has many different aspects, from its creation, to actual display, to management. 

It was very nice to hear about the workings of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble over its history, especially its permeance and growth. Though the group originally did not plan on being around long, it chose to stay and flourish in the cultural area of Davis. This is telling about both our city and the group itself, that the people of Davis are open and welcoming of cultural offerings such as this to the point where they continue beyond their plans. Throughout the quarter this seminar has repeatedly made me realize how culturally aware and responsive our city is, a fact that I wouldn't have otherwise seen nearly as much. 

From starting as just putting on Shakespeare plays in the Arboretum, this group now also holds an acting camp for kids. In this way, they are giving back to and helping to further grow the artistic culture that influenced them to stay here in the first place. They also do this through their internship opportunities, continuing the offers they give to kids through adolescence and adulthood so that anyone can benefit from the group.

 When asked what the most important part of theater was, our speaker spoke of the idea that the stage is a place of truth and real communication, as well as the advantage it has over film from being live and therefore able to connect on a deeper level with the audience. This is interesting and I do agree that art forms such as theater and performance are usually used to display some sort of universal truth, often uncovering one that is uncommonly noticed in real life; however, I would somewhat disagree with the statement that this is a quality of only theater. Rather, this is, for the most part, the goal of all artistic forms including visual art, performing art, and literature.

[inanutshell-galaxy-life-blog]

[mraggieuke]

I love these photos! I remember going to that part of the Arboretum and looking up at the moon. My friends were bold and went and sat on the dock and I finally joined but it freaked me out a bit during the night!

[cityjumper00]

These are beautiful photos! I also quite enjoy the arboretum and other natural aspects of our city and the university itself. It’s so nice to be able to go out and sit near the creek or lake, or in the shade of the big trees near there. This is something that many other schools don’t have, as they might be in the middle of cities or other cramped areas without room for nice open nature areas like we do, and the fact that we are a spread out and nature oriented campus and town is one of the things that originally drew me to Davis, personally.

[cityjumper00]

Last weekend, through the pouring rain, my equestrian team traveled to Stanford to our final show of the season before Regionals. This experience was a great one in itself, loving horses and my team as I do, but it was also interesting from the perspective of this class. Many intriguing comparisons can be made about the culture and atmosphere of Stanford versus Davis, on a normal as well as equestrian plane. It is obvious that for each school and team, there is a great love of our sport and chosen animal companions, but (biased as this probably is) I do believe there is a difference in the attitude of the Davis team specifically that could have to do with our origin here. The down to earth, rural atmosphere and culture of this city seems to bring our team a great connection to both each other and our goal in being equestrians, and I think it is interesting to be able to notice this specifically when we go to competitions away from our own city and school.

[cityjumper00]

Last week for our class, we visited Don Saylor, a Yolo County Supervisor. This visit provided insight into the officials’ view of Davis, Yolo County in general, and the role of culture and the arts in all of this. Mr. Saylor spoke about many of the ways he connects his job as Supervisor to Davis culture and is a patron of the arts through his work. To me, one of the most interesting parts of his talk was when he spoke of the education system that has been set up in Davis and how art, music, and culture has been preserved, though in many other places it has largely suffered under the harsh economy. On every level of education, the arts have been promoted here in Davis, from the elementary schools where students learn to play the recorder, through full theater and orchestral programs in high school, and also the abundance of cultural offerings at UC Davis. Coming from a long history of taking music classes throughout my schooling, I greatly appreciated hearing from city officials how hard they were working to keep music and the arts flourishing in schools. Personally, I couldn’t imagine going through my education without the lessons I learned and the bonds I created through many artistic and cultural means, such as my choirs, dance teams, and connections with the different instrumental groups.

Apart from the musical and performing arts that have been preserved through efforts from people such as Don Saylor, there was also talk of the visual art projects that have been completed throughout Davis and Yolo County. One of the main parts of this seems to me to be the Transmedia Art Walk that our class went through on one of our previous classes. Mr. Saylor also told us of other projects, however, such as the mural that was created out of a water tank, a project he seemed quite proud of. This proliferation of the arts in many forms throughout Davis, despite the hardships of economy and a growing college town, is quite inspiring, and being able to speak to a city official about their side of the story made this even more so. 

[cityjumper00]

So, as everyone knows, last week in class we went on the Transmedia Art Walk through Davis. Here I’ve posted a few pictures that I took of the art we saw, specifically of the pieces I thought were most interesting. I think one unifying element these have is the strong detail that they all possess. As I posted before, I really like when artwork contains a lot of detail and is realistic. This is what attracted me to (sorry I forgot the names of each piece of art) the butterfly/paper mural and the flower. These both were amazingly well done, especially for both being quite large and on the sides of buildings, which at least to me does not seem like the easiest medium to work with. The windows were also an interesting take on being realistic, putting paintings of shop windows right beneath actual ones. I suppose looking back at these artworks they also have strong coloring. I think this points to the brightness of Davis culture itself and my attraction to the bright colors of these murals belies the parallel attraction I have to the upbeat atmosphere in the town. I suppose the one that really deviates from the others is the Interdimensional Warrior- this one is not at all realistic or very colorful, but there’s always two sides to every person and town right? My favorite piece of art that we visited happened to actually be the one I assigned myself, “Taking the Scenic Route,” an extensive mosaic. I loved how the artistic took the title literally in making the mosaic up a pathway, so you literally walked through the scenic art. It also seemed the most obviously representative of Davis, with its bright sun shining down upon bright agricultural areas and other natural beauty, representing many of the things that drew me to Davis in the first place. 

So other than the art simply having many cool aspects to it, the whole experience of the art walk was thought provoking. Where I come from, there’s not really artwork around town. We have the museums in LA of course, and I’m sure there is some art around closer if you want to see it, but it’s not as obvious a part of the culture of my town as it is here. Being a Biotechnology major and not artistic, I must admit the difference doesn’t have much of an effect on me, but walking around Davis more has given me an appreciation for more art. It’s nice to just be able to go around and see colorful, beautiful, or simply interesting art wherever you go, even if many times it’s just in passing. Another interesting thing about the art being around is that the university really isn’t much of an art school, it seems to be much more based in the sciences, and yet we have more art around than most places. I think this is nice and shows the balance that Davis has come to possess in many ways. 

[nataliadaraselia-deactivated201]

Hmm…in that last picture, did you have any thoughts about the significance of the coloring on the beach towel? It seems awfully like the LGBT pride flag. Perhaps there could be some kind of political message with it being so cleverly on display like that? Or , to digress a bit, perhaps it is part of college/ Davis culture to think of LGBT rights every time you see a rainbow. Perhaps this painting is just a plain old rainbow after all…

[cityjumper00]

Wow I didn't really think about that at all when I first saw it as a matter of fact, but now that you mention it I see what you mean. Like you, I wouldn't actually know if the rainbow is supposed to stand for the pride flag, but I would like to think it would be. Davis does seem to be quite a progressive community, after all, especially with the coming of the university, bringing a constant influx of the younger generation which I'm sure has almost forced the whole town to be open minded to support such things as gay rights. 

[cityjumper00]

After learning the history of Davis on Friday, last Saturday I was able to learn about the beginnings of something that has become a large part of my life here in Davis- my sorority, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi. This sorority being Jewish interest has brought me closer to the culture that I did have back home, but in a smaller way, and it was interesting to find out about it’s founding right here at Davis fifteen years ago. This past weekend was our Alumni Weekend, so members from the past, including a few from the very first year, came to visit. We exchanged stories and traditions, inviting them to join in our new favorite event, Family Bake Off, and also hearing stories about the kinds of events they used to do as sisters. Part of the weekend was also going to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning, an event that bridges both time periods of Sigma’s history, as the Farmer’s Market has been a part of Davis culture for a long time. I think this was a great experience to be able to hear about the starting of Sigma and how it has changed since its formation, a topic that closely parallels the history of Davis and its transformations that we heard about last Friday in class. 

[cityjumper00]

Last week in class we visited the Hattie Weber Museum, a small building containing a large amount of Davis history. As our host spoke about this town's history and we looked around at the collected artifacts, what really interested me was both the strong connection to agriculture and animals the whole town has and was formed on, as well as the rural feel that has survived over the many changes that this town has undergone. I enjoyed seeing the many purple ribbons and prize winning livestock that have come from the university and surrounding farms, showing the greatness of UC Davis' agricultural program and also the history behind it in the fact that Davis' surroundings are also all rural areas.

Being an equestrian as I am, I also liked seeing the original Gunrock, the Thoroughbred that gave our mascot it's very unique name, and the pictures of the old horse farms that occupied this area. 

It was also interesting to hear about the attempts, both successful and failed, that have been made to keep Davis as a small town. Being the site of a large university, especially one so focused in the sciences, could have easily changed rural Davisville into a bustling city; however, this was not the case. Though the name was changed as a result of the university coming, the town itself has retained much of its slow paced life, resisting such changes as becoming a downtown of high rises and getting rid of its iconic central park.

[culturecow]

Last Friday, our class had the opportunity to embark on the Davis Transmedia Art Walk. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I was expecting it to be a guided tour where we would be educated on the history and art of Davis in great detail. However, it turned out the art walk was to...

[cityjumper00]

I agree with you about the two works you mentioned; the Interdimensional Warrior was definitely an interesting piece. I know we were all there looking at it for quite a while, trying to point out different parts of it and find insight into what it might mean. Of course, some of these theories were a little out there, but as you said, this being a self guided tour we had the chance to think about the art and see them as whatever we wanted. I hadn't thought about that specifically before but now that you mentioned it I agree that it was nice in its own way. I know there are many interpretations of the purpose/meaning of art, but I think that it really only serves what purpose the viewer gives it, and in walking around to see the artwork ourselves we were able to find the interest, meaning, or sometimes lack thereof of each piece without being specifically told what we should take from the art. 

[cityjumper00]

So, as everyone knows, last week in class we went on the Transmedia Art Walk through Davis. Here I've posted a few pictures that I took of the art we saw, specifically of the pieces I thought were most interesting. I think one unifying element these have is the strong detail that they all possess. As I posted before, I really like when artwork contains a lot of detail and is realistic. This is what attracted me to (sorry I forgot the names of each piece of art) the butterfly/paper mural and the flower. These both were amazingly well done, especially for both being quite large and on the sides of buildings, which at least to me does not seem like the easiest medium to work with. The windows were also an interesting take on being realistic, putting paintings of shop windows right beneath actual ones. I suppose looking back at these artworks they also have strong coloring. I think this points to the brightness of Davis culture itself and my attraction to the bright colors of these murals belies the parallel attraction I have to the upbeat atmosphere in the town. I suppose the one that really deviates from the others is the Interdimensional Warrior- this one is not at all realistic or very colorful, but there's always two sides to every person and town right? My favorite piece of art that we visited happened to actually be the one I assigned myself, "Taking the Scenic Route," an extensive mosaic. I loved how the artistic took the title literally in making the mosaic up a pathway, so you literally walked through the scenic art. It also seemed the most obviously representative of Davis, with its bright sun shining down upon bright agricultural areas and other natural beauty, representing many of the things that drew me to Davis in the first place. 

So other than the art simply having many cool aspects to it, the whole experience of the art walk was thought provoking. Where I come from, there's not really artwork around town. We have the museums in LA of course, and I'm sure there is some art around closer if you want to see it, but it's not as obvious a part of the culture of my town as it is here. Being a Biotechnology major and not artistic, I must admit the difference doesn't have much of an effect on me, but walking around Davis more has given me an appreciation for more art. It's nice to just be able to go around and see colorful, beautiful, or simply interesting art wherever you go, even if many times it's just in passing. Another interesting thing about the art being around is that the university really isn't much of an art school, it seems to be much more based in the sciences, and yet we have more art around than most places. I think this is nice and shows the balance that Davis has come to possess in many ways. 

[nataliadaraselia-deactivated201]

I was immediately excited when I found out we were to be exploring an art gallery. I happen to be a bit of a hobby artist but I was never really aware of the professional art world. It was also interesting to learn about Mr. Natsoulas’ interesting journey to where he is now, as well as about the...

[cityjumper00]

I really like your take on realistic art being very admirable, and I agree. Obviously it takes special talent to create the abstract and out of the box modernist art that usually has very little connection to reality, but I really love more realistic art more. I guess I can see more clearly the effort and technical skill that went into the art, and I appreciate that part of it. I did, however, also quite like the trapeze collection on the first floor, lacking as it was in much reality. I also like your comment on how the architecture of the building, how it's built somewhat sporadically with hallways, stairs, and rooms that aren't exactly in an orderly fashion, which is in itself artistic, and definitely would be more on the modern side of what John Natsoulas seems to value in his gallery.