How to make it in America.

When you're working on a show about America, it is easy to get patriotic. You see enough American flags and energetic fervor around them and you start to believe the hype. Which is a good thing. But America: Now and Here isn't just about hype and it's not about patriotism. It's about a dialogue and a conversation.

And it is probably not a coincidence that this song has been on repeat on each of my Apple music devices over the last several weeks.

Charles Bradley, I couldn't have started a more universally engaging conversation had I tried. Which I might have. But didn't have to. Cause this song does it so superbly.

Why is it so hard to make it in America?

Please enjoy Bradley's dance moves around 2:30 and 4:30 responsibly.

Days Off, Kansas City Style.

For some people, the weekend is defined by Friday night through Sunday evening. From this general assumption of what a weekend means comes the phrase 'Thank God It's Friday.' From that phrase comes the ABC Friday night television sitcom series from many of our childhoods, 'TGIF' (do we not all remember 'Family Matters' and 'Step by Step' sandwiched between or around 'Full House'? Oh gosh, we sure do). But for those of us who are in production, the weekend comes not very often or not at all and certainly not on the days others might expect it to.

Well, this past Monday and Tuesday, I got my first chance to enjoy a 'weekend' in Kansas City. And enjoy it, I did.

Some highlights.

Loose Park. Oh, how I love a park. I love, love, love a park. I'd heard some great things about Loose Park. It almost completely lived up to its expectations.

Near the Kansas City Art Institute...sponsored by H&R Block (um, oh wow, really?!)...this amazing public art piece. The irony is debatable. The art, super cool.

I swung by my friend, Beniah Leuschke's studio. He is a genius. He is a wordsmith. He is an artist. He is awesome and though this moldy seat does his work no justice, his work is rad and you must check it out.

I love Kansas City. I love my KC weekends whether they're on Saturdays or Mondays or once a month or only from 11 p - 5 a in the mornings. I will take advantage of every moment of free time I have here. I will weekend it up every hour I have off.

I put the I--twice--in Missouri.

When I signed on to manage production for an art tour I didn't really know much about, I figured I'd make the best of seven paid months exploring America. I'd take a couple of road trips on my days off, get to know the landscape of the Midwest, and write long entries into my yet untitled book during long nights to myself.

Three weeks ago I moved to Kansas City, still unsure of the city's placement on a map, let alone which state it belonged to.

Kansas City has turned out to be the kind of place that surprises you. It's not near the ocean and the street signs are poorly distributed. People are slow and they seem to want to talk rather than rush you through the line. Favors are asked in person and new friends drop by with gifts of strange fruits and common candies.

There are, amongst the barbecue establishments, a number of great restaurants in Kansas City. There are more independent coffee shops than Starbucks per the average block. People introduce themselves and then they run into you again and again and they probably remember your name.

I am currently living in Kansas City, Missouri. I am here for America: Now and Here.

The journey starts here. It starts on Friday.

Art in the streets of Kansas City.

I may be missing MOCA's Art in the Streets exhibit this month. But while I'm sad I won't see what Deitch throws together, I'm happy to report the Kansas City is presenting its own spectrum of art in the streets.

The big dog in town is Scribe. His art is fresh. It is unpretentious. It is unfettered by the inflated redonculousness that many LA street artists have fallen victim to.

 

A panel from Scribe's David and Goliath

Then there's KC's very own Alexander Austin. Curated and commissioned by David Ford, Austin has installed a mural size portrait of his signature Martin Luther King for America: Now and Here. The artist is quirky. He is kind. He is not much into 'schedules.' He dons a cowboy hat, it seems, all the time. And his work--well, it is incredible.

Introducing America: Now and Here, Mark Bradford & a trip through the Midwest.

On Friday, I'll be leaving LA. Til the end of October. Yeah, you heard me right. That's 6 months on the road. The only thing that could tear this fairly new Angeleno (6 years is still new, right?) away from town for that long would be the sickest of projects. And this one's a doozy. America: Now and Here is a touring art show. And its participating artists are beyond, beyond, beyond.

As I travel through the Midwest this Spring/Summer/Fall, I'll keep you posted on my travels. And I'll also introduce you to the work of the amazing artists who've got pieces on our traveling caravan of American art. Some names you'll recognize (think: Chuck Close, Yoko Ono, Jasper Johns, Edward Albee, Jeff Koons, Damien Rice, Catherine Opie, Marsha Norman, and on and on) Some you won't. They are all incredible.

First up, meet Mark Bradford.

Soon, you'll be meeting Kansas City. Which may or may not excite you. I think it excites me.