Best Bit of Art Detour Irony That Almost No One Witnessed 2012 | Bob Booker at eye lounge | People & Places | Phoenix
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Best Bit of Art Detour Irony That Almost No One Witnessed

Bob Booker at eye lounge

The local art scene was abuzz last March when Robert Booker, executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, defaced a piece of art at a gallery in downtown Phoenix during Art Detour weekend.

Booker didn't like a piece of art that photographer Tony Zeh displayed at eye lounge at the gallery's fundraiser for Art Detour. Zeh had created a collage that criticized the Commission for not having given enough of its grant money last year to visual artists, and Booker took offense. He bought the piece and then, in plain view of everyone at the gallery, wrote the word "Bullshit!" on it, then signed his name.Okay. So a local arts administrator threw some shade in public. That's interesting. But the part that almost no one was able to appreciate is the fact that, the very next night, Booker himself had a piece of his art on display at another fundraiser at the Herberger Theater Center. One of the patrons of the event took a photograph of Booker's painting and posted it on Facebook with the query, "Anyone care if I write on this?"

Best First Friday Hangout

First Studio

Between the well-jogged paths of Roosevelt and Grand is Arizona's first television station — and one of the coolest galleries in town. First Studio was built in 1949, but long after its days as a studio, the building on First Avenue is now home to a number of artists and monthly exhibitions. In the past year, the space has seen work by ASU photography students, an Art Detour show with artwork by Eric Iwerson, Casebeer, Nomas, Charles Darr and Colton Brock, and a farewell (only for now, we hope) show for local painter Jenny Ignaszewski.

The gallery's easy to spot, hosts killer shows, and always has a place or two to sit, reason enough to stop in.

Best Way to See Art You Missed on First Friday

Third Friday

So you stayed in to avoid the bongos, fire-breathers, and curfew-cutters on First Friday. No judgment here. But there's a well-known local secret to catching up on what you missed: Third Friday.

Skip a week, check out art openings in Scottsdale on Thursdays, or visit a museum almost any day of the week. And after you've made a few notes, get back out on Roosevelt Row, Grand Avenue, 16th Street, and to a few galleries outside the "district path" (including Icehouse on Jackson Street, Willo North on Seventh Avenue, and Practical Art on Central Avenue) to catch another (quieter) round of art openings and receptions. It's true: Third Friday is geared toward artists and their friends, families, and collectors who still want to venture downtown and see a few shows but could do without the free hugs and Ghostbusters. Now keep a secret and get out there.

Best Ephemeral Art Show

The BoneYard Project

In January, three DC Super 3 planes were given contemporary facelifts by How & Nosm, Nunca, and Retna, a C45 was stenciled and painted by Faile, a Lockheed VC 140 Jetstar was given a shiny political treatment by Andrew Schoultz, a C97 cockpit was covered with work by Saner, and more than 30 nose cones were painted by international artists such as Richard Prince, Lee Quinones, Kenny Scharf, Aiko, Futura, Peter Dayton, JJ Veronis, Mare, Tara McPherson, Crash, Daze, Ron English, Erik Foss, Tristan Eaton, Lisa Lebofsky, Mark Ryden, Walter Robinson, Judith Supine, Ryan Wallace, Jameson Ellis, Mark Kostabi, Eric White, and Arizona-based artists Colin Chillag, Daniel Martin Diaz, Randy Slack, El Mac, Dave Quan, and Hector Ruiz.

These names are as big in the contemporary art work as their canvases. The artists spent weeks attempting to transport, visualize, and ultimately transform discarded aircraft pieces under the careful eyes of curators Eric Firestone and Carlo McCormick. It's a tough — if not impossible — show to sell; the planes are huge and not operational, the nose cones won't fit through most standard doors, and the most anyone could take home was a flyer and a few Instagram photos.The Space Museum agreed to host the show for a few more months past its official closing date in May, but there are no solid buyers lined up for the larger-than-life contemporary art canvases, which means they'll likely return to the Tucson desert boneyard in which they were found and perhaps live to see another reincarnation.

Best Motorcycle Museum

Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley-Davidson

Buddy Stubbs isn't your ordinary hawg lover. Unlike your average weekend warrior, the local motorcycle aficionado has been sucking down exhaust fumes and riding steel steeds pretty much since reportedly being born in the back room of his parents' Harley Davidson shop. The septugenarian chopper fiend was raised around two-wheelers, began riding one at only 10 years of age, and went on to have a championship motorcycle career before opening his Cave Creek dealership in 1966. In addition to riding bikes for most of his life, Stubbs has spent decades accumulating arguably one of the biggest and best cycle collections in the entire Southwest. And he's more than happy to show 'em off to the public. Each Friday night, as well as the last Saturday afternoon of every month, guided tours are led through the 3,000-square-foot garage housing his treasure trove of more than a hundred vintage rides. Naturally, the collection is dominated by a meticulously maintained selection of Harleys that run the gamut of much of the company's 109-year history. Some of the gems include a cherry version of a circa-1918 Model J, a rare 1926 Peashooter racer, and a 1942 olive drab military-grade WLA from the era of World War II. Antiques and classics from around the world that were built by such iconic and throwback motorcycle manufacturers as Peugeot, Francis-Barnett, Indian, and Triumph also are featured around the place and are sure to get any gearhead's motor running. And if they have some serious cash squirreled away (we're talking $10,000 or more), most of the bikes are for sale.

Best Museum for Veterans

Arizona Military Museum

Pop quiz, hot shot: What's the only major Civil War battle ever to be fought in Arizona? If you're drawing a blank on the answer (it was the Battle of Picacho Peak, by the way), consider spending an afternoon boning up on your history at the Arizona Military Museum.

Inside this 1930s-era adobe building located on an Arizona National Guard base are displays and dioramas exhaustively chronicling our state's vast military past, including every single skirmish ever fought around these parts. Depictions of historic moments from local military lore are in abundance, ranging from the U.S. Cavalry's battles with Geronimo and General John J. Pershing's pursuit of Pancho Villa to the World War II-era caper when 25 captured German soldiers tunneled out of a Papago Park POW camp. And if any kith and kin happen to be veterans, be sure to invite 'em to tag along, as a significant number of exhibits are designed to honor Arizonans who served in every major armed conflict of the last 150 years — from the Spanish-American War right up to the current combat taking place in the Middle East. An endless cache of military supplies and retired vehicles also occupies the place, such as a meticulously restored Huey UH-1C gunship from the Vietnam War. And though freedom ain't free, admission to the museum certainly is, as there's never a charge to enter.

Best Museum for Geeks

Arizona Popular Culture Experience

John W. Edwards has never met an action figure he didn't like. Or didn't want to immediately buy, for that matter. The 54-year-old's sprawling collection of more than 13,000 figures and toys, all of which are housed in a cavernous location at Desert Ridge Marketplace, is evidence of this. Edwards, who grew up wanting to be an astronaut, has been accumulating out-of-this-world playthings since childhood, and his haul includes toys from every geek-friendly franchise imaginable. The rooms and halls are filled from floor to ceiling with mint-on-card figures from Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and Doctor Who, as well as mannequins sporting screen-worn costumes from Stargate and Caprica. And that's just the first floor. Upstairs is a twisting maze of racks containing plastic representations of sports heroes and rock 'n' roll icons, as well as numerous G.I. Joe dolls. More than just a gigantic nerdatorium and museum, the Arizona Pop Culture Experience is an example of the joys of a second childhood, as well as a massive monument to one man's various obsessions. For instance, Edwards apparently is a die-hard DC Comics supporter, as superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash widely outnumber their Marvel counterparts on the walls and inside a case filled with custom figures. We're sure Superman would approve.

Best Geekfest

Phoenix Comicon

For most locals, Memorial Day weekend is a time to bust out bikinis and board shorts, fire up the grill, and dive into the nearest pool. For geeks of the Valley, however, it's a time to dust off costumes inspired by superheroes and dive headfirst into the pop culture extravaganza known as Phoenix Comicon. For four days, the Phoenix Convention Center becomes ground zero for diehard devotees seeking to celebrate any and all aspects of geekdom, be it anime, science fiction, horror flicks, fantasy worlds, or video games. Oh, and there's also enough comic book-related content to satisfy any follower of the sequential art form. Phoenix Comicon's popularity keeps growing each year, blowing up faster than Apache Chief after chanting his magic phrase, as evidenced by the record-setting crowd of 32,127 who attended this year. The cavernous exhibition hall, which featured more than 800 vendors and artists, doubled in size. And there were twice as many geek-oriented panels, seminars, workshops, and discussions devoted to topics ranging from cosplay to getting into the sci-fi writing game. Then there were the special guests, who included some of the biggest nerd icons ever. For instance, this year's edition offered an appearance by William "Captain Kirk" Shatner, DC illustration god George Perez, and Preacher creator Garth Ennis. And that was just on Saturday. We can't wait to see what they come up with next year.

Best Urban Oddity

Space-Alien Donald

Phoenix's downtown art scene is alive with unique and colorful characters, whether it's a homeless artist adorned in aluminum pull-tab chain mail or some punker sporting a multicolored Mohawk. None of these freaky folk, however, is as memorable as Don Roth. After all, it's hard to forget an encounter with a septuagenarian spoken-word artist who's known to many as Space-Alien Donald and refers to himself as "the world's oldest gay Canadian rapper." A regular at such eclectic art establishments as Space 55 (natch) or his own funky venue Funny World, the spacey septuagenarian has a yen for performing eccentric and humorous beat poetry set to warbling keyboard beats. And he usually does it while wielding a plastic lightsaber and wearing a rainbow hat and a silver lamé sarong. Roth possesses a lifelong fascination with outer space after spending decades as a technician in the radio astronomy lab at UC-Berkeley, and that obsession bleeds over into his performance art pieces, which typically concern intergalactic affairs. Needless to say, the eccentric artist crowd populating downtown has embraced him as one of its own.

Best Girl Gamer

Mel the Office Gamer Girl

Video-gaming isn't just an ordinary hobby for Melissa Kaylor. In fact, it's a ginormous obsession for the 25-year-old Tempe resident, who spends practically all her waking hours either wielding a control pad or engaging in gaming-related pursuits in many different forms. As her alter ego, Mel the Office Gamer girl, Kaylor produces a YouTube series profiling obscure old-school titles, crafts cutesy plastic "pixel art" of iconic characters like Yoshi and Sonic the Hedgehog, and blogs about the gaming scene in the Valley. And in the past year alone, Kaylor has also helped organize a Nintendo-related art show at Bookmans in Mesa and participated in a nationwide 24-hour gaming marathon last fall to help raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. So devoted is Kaylor to gaming that she managed to keep up her playing habits even after suffering a fractured pinky last year. Now that's hardcore.

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