Not so long ago, in a bar no so far from City College, Thumbprint Gallery hosted an art show. But this wasn’t an ordinary art show; this was a Star Wars show.
“That’s No Moon; It’s an Art Show!” was held at Basic Urban Kitchen + Bar in downtown on March 5. The show featured many local San Diego artists whose pieces were influenced by Star Wars as well as artists who were creating pieces at the show.
The force of the art show brought more than just Star Wars fans together. With people coming to see the art, hear the music and eat Basic’s signature pizzas the crowd was a collage of faces, young and old alike.
“(It’s) Amazing. Very eclectic group,” said Paulina Goodman, 23, who attended the show despite the fact that she isn’t a Star Wars fan.
“Basic is always a good environment for the art shows,” Goodman explained, echoing the sentiments of many of the artists that had pieces on display.
“Star Wars art, on top of it beer and house music!” artist Carleton Starr aka Astro exclaimed when he described the event and why he wanted to be a part of it. He had two pieces in the show that combined decoupage backgrounds with stenciled figures, one of Darth Vader and the other of Yoda.
Basic has been hosting art shows with Thumbprint Gallery for six years according to gallery co-owner Johnny Tran. They have a show every Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. This was the first popular culture theme they had chosen.
The theme worked, bringing in a crowd that was at least double the normal size according to the event’s coordinator Mofo, and selling half the pieces that were on display by 10 p.m. There was a handful of people in Star Wars clothing, with two people dressed as Sand People from the Star Wars universe lurking around the exhibit.
“I love the twist on some of the stuff,” said Lee Kohse, a Star Wars licensing artist who attended the show.
It isn’t a huge surprise that the show was successful. Star Wars fans are known to be passionate about in their fandom and this show came at a time when the future of the franchise is in question. With Lucasfilms Ltd. being recently acquired by Disney, many of these passionate fans are wondering what will come next, and an art show featuring different takes of their favorite characters just adds to their anticipation.
Rumors are flying that J.J. Abrams will be directed Star Wars Episode VII and that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill have all been approached to join the cast.
With all the current Star Wars hype, Thumbprint Gallery picked the perfect time to highlight this particular subject.
For more information on Thumbprint Gallery visit http://www.thumbprintgallerysd.com/. For information on Basic Urban Kitchen + Bar visit http://www.barbasic.com/.
