The WALL at Cantor Café

EAT, LOOK, ADMIRE
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 | By Issra Omer
Stanford Daily

Cool Café at Cantor Arts Center showcases student art spaces
There are not many places where the works of Rodin, Warhol and undergraduate students come together, but Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center proves an exception.

While Cantor itself is known for its displays of great works, what you may not know is that it is also home to a café downstairs that showcases the art of aspiring Picassos–none other than Stanford students. Debuted in 2000, the Cool Café at the Cantor Arts Center lives up to its name, taking principles of innovation and uniqueness beyond its menu.

The Café’s lively atmosphere comes from a combination of fare, vibe and art. Students, faculty and visitors enjoy conversations over fresh, organic food while the waiters and owner cheerfully move about the café serving their customers. Outside is a beautiful seating area, where customers can chow down while enjoying spring quarter sunshine. Three large paintings hang on a vibrant red-orange wall inside.

The paintings are the creations of Emma Webster ’11, who believes that the Cool Café provides the perfect space for her work.
“When people go to the CoHo,” Webster said, “the atmosphere is ‘football and beer,’ rather than a primary focus on the artwork.”

Unlike the CoHo and Wallenberg Hall, both of which display works of art by students, the ambience of Cool Café allows visitors to concentrate on the art.
“People come when their senses are open and they are in a state to fully appreciate art,” café owner Jesse Cool said.
Webster’s art begins the new initiative of displaying student artwork at the café. Cool was inspired to feature student artwork because she believed student pieces would provide a bold dynamism, while retaining a personal atmosphere, both of which are key aspects of the café.

“I wanted it to be bold, contemporary, personal, ever-changing,” Cool said. “I want it to be something to talk about.”
Not only does the student art enhance the café experience, it also allows exhibitors to transition from student artists to professionals.
“Displaying art in the café represents a great leap, since it’s so hard to go from the status of a student to a professional,” Webster said.

The café maintains a supportive relationship not only to the Cantor Arts Center, but also to up-and-coming artists and art students.
“To me, this café is another way of creating community and supporting budding artists, and I think the display will hopefully raise awareness and support for the arts,” Cool said.

Patience Young, museum curator at Cantor, expressed enthusiasm about Cool Café providing a space to showcase student talent.
“The Cantor Arts Center does not allow student work to be displayed because of complicated, long-standing problems dealing with issues of priority,” Young said. “But the café was a way to circumvent these rules–it’s a win-win situation.”
Ultimately, the fact that Cantor does not display student art may not pose a barrier in the Stanford University Art Initiative after all.

“In a museum, or a more scholarly environment, there is a certain way you are supposed to act,” said Kristen Olson, academic and educational technology liaison. “But the café is a lively space, which leads to a different atmosphere.”
According to Webster, the display space gives students artistic freedom they likely would not have in other displays on campus.
“There is no restriction,” she said. “You can really get creative, and then you start to make connections and see the relationships between the different works of art in the museum.”

Webster’s exhibit at the Cool Café is part of a larger program called Your Art Here, which operates under the Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts (SiCa), an organization that allows students to get involved in the arts on campus.
It is this intersection of good food, art and student support that makes the Cool Café, according to Cool, “a gem at Stanford University.”

"Your Name Became an Animal": Emma Webster ('11)

Your Name Became an Animal

Works by Emma Webster ('11) now up in the Cantor Arts Center Café

for more information visit the artist's website: www.emmabgwebster.com

"NOMAD" (Feb 10-Mar 10): Kris Cheng '11, energy resources engineering major

New exhibition at the CoHo: "Nomad."

Artist Kris Cheng recently won a photography competition--sponsored by the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law--for one of his photos from the "Nomad" collection. Read an interview with Kris to learn about his photography background, extensive travels and Canon 5D Mark II camera here: http://globaljustice.stanford.edu/news/2750.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT:
Nomad is a side photographic project undertaken during the Summer of 2010 in Western Mongolia. It is an artful profile of the nomadic herders living in the mountainous Tavan Bogd and Hovd regions of Mongolia, the most remote and sparsely populated country in the world. With only a backpack full of gear, a Russian Jeep and a lot of bread, the photographer and a small cadre of befriended Mongolians embarked on an incredible journey that included blizzards, wolf attacks, river crossings and unforgettable encounters. The series offers a contextual glimpse into a people and lifestyle that is uniquely and intimately tied to nature in a way that has become lost to many.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Kris Cheng is a senior majoring in energy resources engineering. His photography is a natural byproduct of his passion for international development, nature, adventure and culture. His work can be found at www.krischeng.com.

"CONNECTING WITH DOTS" (Jan 11-Feb 10): Kyle Taylor, biology grad student

New art at the CoHo! "Connecting With Dots," by artist and Biology grad student Kyle Taylor, threads themes of the human figure, homosexuality and a neo-pointillist method, whereby seemingly infinite dots make up the whole. The exhibition will stay up until the end of the month.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT:
The dot is anything but small and insignificant, especially in combination with other dots. In fact, I am from a map dot--a small, rural town in the Midwest and proud of it. My style reflects the values, perseverance and work ethic of that upbringing. The content is an ongoing journey of acceptance and validation--dot by dot. Each piece is a milestone on that journey--a place to pause, reflect and celebrate.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Kyle Taylor is a graduate student studying Cellular and Molecular Biology at Stanford University. For more information, please visit the artist's website at guydots.blogspot.com.

"SAFE" Artist's Reception, Nov 18

All photos from Emma Webster's "Safe" reception at the Coho are by Lara Ortiz-Luis '11.

GALLERY160 Opening Reception, Nov 17

The opening reception for GALLERY160 was a huge success last Wednesday thanks to all the hard work of the student gallery committee and the artists. We had a lovely crowd come to check out the opening exhibit, and it was overall just a magical evening, launching a new era for student artists on campus.

Look forward to a short video feature with interviews from the artists, and stop by Wallenberg Hall to check it out in person! The exhibit will be on view at least through January. Wallenberg is open to the public Monday through Friday, 7:00am – 10:00pm.

Here are some wonderful photos from SiCa's photographer, Jonathan Poto '13:

"SAFE" (Nov 17-Jan 4): Emma Webster '11, studio art major

"Safe," an exhibition by Stanford student artist, Emma Webster, will be on view in the Stanford Coffee House from November 17th, 2010 through January 4th, 2011. The reception will be Nov. 18th, 8:00pm--meet the artist!

ARTIST’S STATEMENT:
Safe is a combination of works from my spring and winter quarters in Paris as well as this summer in San Diego. This series is about the eventual distancing between people--the slow separation where the ones we love most become unknowable. In the same sense, Safe also addresses how we revel in recoiling from others; how self-imposed incubation makes us more ourselves. The figures, cocooned and isolated, reflect how we hold ourselves where we want to be: somewhere safe. Despite their abstractions, the ambiguous forms of Safe portray a pervasively human narrative. Safe’s subjects, like us, grope for a sense of closeness that perhaps we once had but have since lost.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: 
Emma Webster is a senior majoring in Studio Art at Stanford University. She has also studied painting at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, l’École d’Art Plastique in Paris and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Emma is a two-time recipient of Stanford Student Art Grants and was recently awarded the Angel Grant for an upcoming series. For more information please visit the artist’s website at: www.emmabgwebster.com

prepping for the opening of GALLERY160!

Making signage for our exhibit opening tomorrow (Wednesday, November 17, 2010) in Wallenberg Hall/Building 160! Come to the reception from 5-7pm and meet the artists and gallery organizers!

"LIFE AND DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN" (Oct 21-Nov 18): Rene Morkos, engineering grad student

René's artist reception at the CoHo last Thursday was featured in The Stanford Daily!

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/10/28/evading-death-one-random-step-at-a-time/

"URBAN FURNITURE" (Sept 23-Oct 20): Ernesto Durand, Mexican artist

For the past month, the CoHo has been fortunate to host the wonderfully charming exhibition "Urban Furniture," by up-and-coming Mexican photographer Ernesto Durand.


"Urban Furniture" was inspired by Durand's nightly strolls in Barcelona, where he studied for a year. It is a photographic essay about the furniture that Barcelona residents leave outside their homes once a month, a tradition unique to this animated Spanish metropolitan. At night, the city livens with a spirit that is not present in daylight. Even a sofa becomes something else. Durand’s “Urban Furniture” is a colorful exhibition about the magic that emerges in Barcelona’s streets at nighttime.


Here are some snapshots of Ernesto's visit to the CoHo:

(Ernesto hanging up his photographs)

(working up the nerves to speak at his artist reception/September 23, 2010)

All good things may come to an end, but fortunately, SOCA now has a new exhibition on display at the CoHo: "Death and Life; Afghanistan." Stanford grad student René Morkos took hundreds of photos while working as an engineer in Afghanistan, culminating in an eye-opening exhibition that explores the fine line between life and death.


Come to the CoHo tomorrow (Thursday) night at 7pm to hear René speak about his experience in Afghanistan and the stories behind his photographs. Here's a sneak peek:

(the flyer for René's exhibition "Death and Life; Afghanistan"/October 21, 2010)