Thursday, February 6, 2014 The Bakersfield Californian 29

BY MATT MUNOZContributing writer

As part of the ongoing cele-bration to commemoratethe 75th anniversary of

John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes ofWrath,” the Bakersfield Museumof Art will host a screening todaywith filmmaker David Rabi-novitch, writer and producer ofthe 2006 award-winning docu-mentary “The CompassionateEye: Horace Bristol, Photojour-nalist.”

“I’ve had the privilege over thecourse of my career, meeting andworking with some extraordinarypeople, but Horace was there atthe beginning of the whole ideaof the photo magazine,” saidRabinovitch, in a phone interviewfrom his home in Seattle.

Bristol’s extensive body of workcontains some of the most signifi-cant photographs of the 20thcentury. He began his profession-al career alongside photographerAnsel Adams in the Bay Area,before becoming among the firstcontributors to Life magazine. Itwas during that time that hebegan photographing migrantlabor camps in a series thatbecame the basis for “The Grapesof Wrath.” Bristol also did exten-sive coverage during World War II.

The idea for the film came toRabinovitch in 1989 after he readabout a first-ever exhibition fea-turing Bristol at the photograph-er’s alma mater, the Art CenterCollege of Design in Pasadena.

“That little piece of news reallypiqued my interest, and as a doc-umentarian, reading about a pre-viously unreleased cache of pho-tographs documenting the mid-20th century immediatelyintrigued me.”

In 1955, following the suicide ofBristol’s wife, the photographer

destroyed a large number of hisworks, while others were lockedaway for the next 35 years, to berediscovered by his children.

“I have just a suspicion thatwhat was probably burned were alot of prints and not negatives.Again, the second aspect ofrenouncing his work at that timewas that he just left the field. He

just stopped taking pictures.”To get the ball rolling for his

film, Rabinovitch placed a phonecall to the photographer at hisOjai home.

“Horace, in his gravelly voicesaid, ‘This sounds incredible.Why don’t you come on down toOjai?’

“For nearly a 30-year period,until television really begins totake over, that was the way wesaw the world, the images of theworld. The other aspect ofHorace, how he was able to cap-ture the images that he did, wasthat he was very humble andunassuming, and somehowworking with the equipment theyhad in those days. It’s not likeshooting with your cellphone.You’re carrying a box around.There’s something intrusiveabout it, and working with thatheavy, large slow film, that equip-ment, and to put himself in thosemoments in the hundreds of

thousands of instances, that wasan incredible talent.”

Arriving at the photographer’shome for his first visit, Rabi-novitch recalled that Bristol, inhis 80 at the time, couldn’t havebeen more hospitable.

“It was like touching the feet ofthe angels. The stories that cameout of this man were fantastic. ...During our conversations, he did-n’t hold back much. By that stageof his life, he’d had an extraordi-nary journey.”

Rabinovitch and cinematogra-pher Tim Metzger worked on thefilm for eight years, landing asnarrator singer Graham Nash (ofCrosby, Stills and Nash), himself aphoto enthusiast who knew Bris-tol professionally.

Though Bristol died in 1997 atage 89, he was able to see an earlyversion of the film.

“Horace approved. He said, ‘It’swonderful. I’m seeing photos I’venever seen before. There’s some-one in the San Francisco bridgethere, men in the fog in the back-ground.’”

The photos Bristol shot whiletraveling with Steinbeck to the

Central Valley during the DustBowl era are on display at themuseum as well.

“It’s absolutely clear how thestudio matched the peopleHorace shot to the scenes in thefilm ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’” Rabi-novitch said. “It’s unmistakablethat 20th Century Fox based visu-al design of the film on Horace’sphotographs. Now this takesnothing away from Greg Toland,who was the great cinematogra-pher on the film directed by JohnFord, but Horace also had in hiscorrespondence with 20th Centu-ry Fox, to see the photographs.

“So, in that documentation, wesee that Steinbeck turned the stu-dio onto them, and Horace in hisgenerosity of spirit, sent the pho-tographs to the studio. Horace isthe first one to say he didn’t writethe book, but had Steinbeck beena little more generous, he mighthave given Horace some kid ofattribution or thank you. Hereceived no compensation. Whatyou see in the film is what youget.”

— Matt Munoz is marketing directorat the Bakersfield Museum of Art

Film gives ‘Grapes’ artist his duePhotographer’s bodyof work celebrated

‘The Compassionate Eye’When: Today; reception is at5:30 p.m., with film at 6 p.m.;a Q&A session with the direc-tor follows. The film runs 50minutes.

Where: Bakersfield Museumof Art, 1930 R St.

Admission: $5 adults; $4seniors; $2 students; free tomembers.

Information: bmoa.org, 323-7219 or thecompassionate-eye.com

Eye Street

Horace Bristol’s extensive body of work contains some of themost significant photographs of the 20th century.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAVID RABINOVITCH

David Rabinovitch is the writer and producer of the documentary“The Compassionate Eye: Horace Bristol, Photojournalist.”

Today on “First Look with ScottCox,” Californian Lifestyles Edi-tor Jennifer Self will check inwith Richard Collins, dean ofthe school of humanities at CalState Bakersfield, on the com-munity celebrations of the75th anniversary of “TheGrapes of Wrath.” Americana hero Dave Alvin willkick off the festivities with aspecial concert at the Fox on

Friday, and we’ll be givingaway tickets to the show.Also up for grabs are four tick-ets to a Valentine’s Day con-cert by Don Felder, right-formerly of the Eagles, whowrote the music to classic rockgem “Hotel California.” For more on Felder, pick upThe Californian Sunday forour interview with the gui-tarist, who discusses his lega-

cy in one of the most suc-cessful bands in rock history,and the dysfunction and divi-sions that ultimately drovehim away.Watch “First Look” at bakers-field.com or tune in at 1180-AM, KERN. The show airs from7 to 10 a.m. each weekdaymorning, and the Eye Streetsegment is on every Thursdayat 9.

WIN TICKETS TO DAVE ALVIN AND DON FELDERCONCERTS AT THE FOX BY TUNING IN TODAY

Thursday, May 1, 2014 The Bakersfield Californian 19

Bringing the funk to Fox

BY MARK POWELLCalifornian staff writer

mpowell@bakersfield.com

When it comes to comedy,Jay Mohr plays by only afew rules: No picking on

the audience. No two shows canbe exactly alike. And, althoughhistorically futile, no requests.

“As soon as I hit the stage, peo-ple start yelling, ‘Do (Christo-pher) Walken!’” said Mohr, theformer “Saturday Night Live” castmember and current sports talkradio host who garners almost asmuch attention today for hisspot-on celebrity impersonations

as he did starring opposite someof Hollywood’s biggest names in’90s films “Jerry McGuire” and“Picture Perfect.” His impressionsof actors like Tracy Morgan, AlPacino and David Caruso are sta-ples, but Mohr’s most-requestedbit, hands down, is his channel-ing of the famously intenseWalken.

“That’s my ‘Hotel California,’”

said Mohr, who will make hisBakersfield debut Saturday, May10, at the Fox Theater. “It’s like ifyou go see the Eagles and theydon’t play ‘Hotel California.’You’re like, ‘What was their prob-lem? That’s the song I came tohear.’ But I don’t mind that at all.

“The trick is, I have to do itearly in the show,” Mohr added.“Otherwise, people start yelling.”

And what happens if an audi-ence member beats Mohr to thepunch?

“I usually say, ‘Uhh, I knowhow the show goes.’ Haha. ‘It’s onthe set list, my man. Hang tight.’”

Mohr’s craft, however, goesdeeper than his guffaw-inducingimpressions or his myriad, most-ly-supporting roles in dozens of

Mohr in store, but are local fans interested?Comic hopes to milklaughs — or cows

Jay Mohr in concertWhen: 8 p.m. May 10

Where: Fox Theater, 2001 HSt.

Admission: $40, plus fees,available at Fox box office orvallitix.com.

BY MATT MUNOZContributing writer

Funk music icon George Clin-ton brings his traveling cavalcadeof spaced-out funkateers, alongwith his potent brand of inter-planetary groove to the Fox The-ater on Sunday.

As the legendary ringleader ofthe mighty Parliament-Funkadel-ic, as well as the visionary Sven-gali for countless groups and pro-tégés, the tireless and alwaysfunky (underscore funky) Clintonhas become such an emblematicfigure that the mere mention ofhis name makes people do adance from where they stand.

“It makes me feel like the funkis workin’ and there’s still some-thin’ to funk about,” said Clinton,72, during a phone interview ofhis roles as innovator and ambas-sador of good times. “It makesme feel good that people knowwhere I’m coming from.”

He’s wielded his unique powerto move audiences for more thanfour decades, ensuring Americaremains “One Nation Under aGroove,” with a unifying musicalmessage he’s more than happy tocontinue preaching.

“I’m still on the same trip, man.I ain’t changed my goal, which isto keep on funkin’. It’s still reallygood to everyone still enjoyingthe funk.”

As a teen barber in the city ofPlainfield, N.J., Clinton tookinspiration from a cigarette brandin forming his first doo-wopgroup, The Parliaments, whichwould entertaining passers-by onbusy street corners. While Clintontook producing gigs and briefly

worked as a Motown Recordsstaff songwriter in the fertileDetroit soul scene of the ’60s, thedapper, besuited Parliaments hadone hit, “(I Wanna) Testify,” at thetail-end of the decade. With theformation of Funkadelic, thefreaky alter-ego of The Parlia-ments, the two groups wouldbegin a journey straddling theworlds of psychedelic rock, funkand soul.

“Wherever there’s dancemusic, that’s where the funk willbe,” Clinton said. “If it’s electron-ic, if its techno, hip-hop, if theydance to it, there’s bound to besome funk in there.”

Taking the fire of James Brown,the good vibes of Sly Stone, andthe edge of Jimi Hendrix intoouter space, Clinton cruisedalong through the early ’70sbefore establishing his own signa-ture brand of P-Funk on thecharts.

Both Parliament and Funkadel-ic had their share of charting hitswith singles, including “Give Upthe Funk (Tear the Roof of theSucker),” “Flash Light,” “OneNation Under a Groove,” “AquaBoogie,” “(Not Just) Knee Deep”and Clinton’s solo smash “AtomicDog,” all of which can still beheard in rotation on radio andparty playlists.

The deep Clinton discography— along with that of JamesBrown — went on to become one

of the musical foundations ofwhat became hip-hop and rapmusic, sampled over the years bya number of producers like Dr.Dre, rappers Snoog Dogg, DigitalUnderground, Cypress Hill, andmany more for their own hit-making use. As the act of sam-pling has grown in popularityover the years, Clinton has beenone of most vocal artists to chal-lenge the use of his music, bydemanding protection in federalcourt and fair compensation. It’sa fight he continues to wage.

“We’re in court right now, andCongress is still lookin’ at things.”

Lawsuits aside, Clintonremains happily aware of hisinfluence.

“You hear the music from guyslike Pharrell (Williams) and allthose deejays. Well, funk is theDNA of all that.”

Before leaving our interview,Clinton had one final funkyrequest for Bakersfield.

“We need you to bring twobooties to the show because onebooty ain’t enough.”

George Clinton and Parliament-FunkadelicWhen: 8 p.m. Sunday

Where: Fox Theater, 2001 HSt.

Admission: $29.75 to$49.75, plus fees, availableat Fox box office orVallitix.com.

Information: 324-1369 or322-5200

George Clinton, crewready to groove Sunday

PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGE CLINTON

Funk music icon George Clinton with Parliament-Funkadelic appears at the Fox on Sunday.

Please see MOHR / PAGE 27

In the week since The Californ-ian’s interview with comedianJay Mohr, the slow pace of tick-et sales for his Fox Theater con-cert May 10 apparently hasbeen bothering him. Wednes-day on “Jay Mohr Sports,” hisnationally syndicated radio pro-gram, the actor and “SaturdayNight Live” vet complained thathe would end up driving twohours from Southern Californiato Bakersfield to play an essen-tially empty house, noting thatonly 400 tickets had sold (theFox seats 1,500).“Way to stink it up, Bakers-field!” Mohr said in his briefrant. He jokingly, though with

bite, suggested he’d be betteroff going on a field trip to milka cow.

MOHR’S SALES PITCH TO BAKERSFIELD

“We need you tobring two booties

to the showbecause one booty

ain’t enough.”— George Clinton

Jay Mohr

Eye StreetThursday, May 1, 2014 The Bakersfield Californian 27

Rabobank1001 Truxtun Ave. ticketmaster.com or800-745-3000. (Listed ticket prices donot include additional fees.)

Monday: “The Perfect Gentlemen,”presented by Bakersfield CommunityConcert Association, 7:30 p.m., $80 fornine concerts. bakersfieldcca.org or205-8522 or 589-2478.

May 20: Green Day’s “American Idiot”Broadway Musical, 7:30 p.m., $35-$55.

May 22: Gloria Trevi, 7:30 p.m., 30-$95.

May 31: George Lopez, 8 p.m., $37.50-$47.50.

June 3-4: Sesame Street Live: Make aNew Friend, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; 10:30a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, $15-$30.

June 6: Ron White, 8 p.m., $41.25-$51.25.

June 7: Super Freestyle Explosion, 7:30p.m., $28.50 to $39.50.

July 17: Jesus Christ Superstar, 8 p.m.,$39.50-$149.50.

July 23: Goo Goo Dolls/Daughtry/PlainWhite T's, 7:30 p.m., $42.50-$57.50.

CSUB, Icardo Center9001 Stockdale Highway.

Today: 20th annual Voices of Inspira-tion, 5:30 p.m., guest speaker MichaelJ. Fox. $150. 410-1010.

Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace2800 Buck Owens Blvd. vallitix.com or322-5200. (Listed ticket prices do notinclude additional fees.)

May 9: Scott McCreery, 7 p.m.,$45.50-$54.50. ***SOLD OUT.

May 15: Brett Eldredge, 7 p.m., $15.50-$23.50. ***SOLD OUT.

Fox Theater2001 H St. vallitix.com or 322-5200.Prices listed are for the Box Office win-dow only.

Saturday: Carlos Mencia, 8 p.m.,$44.50.Sunday: George Clinton and Parlia-ment Funkadelic, 8 p.m., $40.25-$60.25.May 10: Comedian Jay Mohr, 8 p.m.,$40. May 11: Eli Young band, 8 p.m., $23-$26. May 18: El Festival de Mariachi 2014, 6p.m., $52-$97. June 1: Brit Floyd: Discovery WorldTour, 7:30 p.m., $42.50-$52.50

July 18: The Highwaymen Live, 7:30p.m., $29.50-$64.50.

July 25: Menopause the Musical, 7p.m., $51-$71.

Aug. 23: Glenn Miller Orchestra, 7:30p.m., $52-$72.Nov. 2: Josh Turner, 7:30 p.m., $45.50-$70.50. Nov. 5: Moscow Ballet's Great RussianNutcracker, 7:30 p.m., $34-$181. Dec. 7: Brian Regan, 7 p.m., $48.

Bright House NetworksAmphitheater11200 Stockdale Highway. All shows at

8 p.m., $12.50 per concert, or a seasonpass for all four shows for $40. ticketmaster.com or all Ticketmasteroutlets or by calling 800-745-3000.(Listed ticket prices do not includeadditional fees.)May 17: Pablo Cruise.Sept. 13: Starship with MickeyThomas.Oct. 4: Bluffet: The Premier JimmyBuffet Tribute.

Kern County Museum3801 Chester Ave., 437-3330.

June 7: Second annual Kern CountyNut Festival, cooking demonstrations,music, dancing, arts and crafts, con-tests, nutty concoctions, 9 a.m. to 4p.m. $10 adults; $5 children and can bepurchased in advance at the museum,Valley Republic Bank, Kern Schools Fed-eral Credit Union, Kern Federal CreditUnion and Farm Credit West withoutany added fees. If purchased online atkcnutfest.ticketleap.com, there areadditional fees. Tickets can also be pur-chased the day of at the gate, $12adults, $7 children. 437-3330.

On the Rocks Bar & Grill1517 18th St., vallitix.com or 322-5200.(Listed ticket prices do not includeadditional fees.)

May 19: Black Flag, 6 p.m., $20.

CSUB Amphitheater9001 Stockdale Highway, vallitix.comor 322-5200.

May 9-10: 28th Annual BakersfieldJazz Festival, 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Sat-urday, Tickets on vallitix are Friday:adults $32.50, students $22.50 plusfees; Saturday: adults $37.50, students$25.50 plus fees; Two-day combo,adults $56.50, students, $36.50 plusfees. CSUB students and staff are freewith ID, and children under 12 are free.

Eagle Mountain Casino681 S. Tule Reservation Road, Porter-ville. eaglemtncasino.com or 559-788-6220. All shows 8 p.m. $30 general;$40 reserved, unless specified. May 9: Los Tucanes de Tijuana. June 27: Gregg Allman, $35 general;$45 reserved.

TICKET ROUNDUP

movies and television showsover the last two decades.For his raw, sometimes-bit-ing style, Comedy Centralnamed him one of the 100greatest stand-up comedi-ans of all time. His first oftwo books, “Gasping for Air-time: Two Years in theTrenches of Saturday NightLive,” candidly detailed hisstruggles with anxiety andpanic attacks.

Since January 2013, Mohrhas hosted “Jay MohrSports,” a nationally syndi-cated sports talk show thatairs from 9 a.m. to noonweekdays on Fox Sports AM970. Of late, he’s been usingthe program to promote hisimpending trip to Bakers-field, sometimes in TracyMorgan-voice and some-times while mentioninglocal quarterback brothersDavid and Derek Carr.

“Mohriers” — the termMohr has bestowed uponhis most-ardent followers —as well as newbies couldalso be part of comedy his-tory come May 10: Mohrsaid the Bakersfield showwill be recorded for a possi-ble CD and vinyl release.

More of our conversation:Can you tell me every-

thing you know aboutBakersfield?

I don’t know anythingabout Bakersfield, to behonest with you. I could lie,but that wouldn’t help any-body. I know it’s an hourand 15 minutes away,according to MapQuest onmy phone. That’s my entireknowledge. I know othercomics have been there andloved it, the (Fox) Theater.

It’s like you’re a jack ofall trades when it comesto entertainment. You’vebeen a comedian, anactor. You were on “Sat-urday Night Live.” You’vebeen in movies. You’vewritten books. Now youhost a radio show. Haveyou ever wanted that one,lucrative project you’dbecome famous for? Orare you proud and happyto wear so many differenthats and do so many dif-ferent things?

I like wearing so manydifferent hats because whenthe going gets tough, there’salways a weird way to makemoney. If all hell breaksloose, you can write a book,you can do a radio show.There’s a lot of differentways to make a living in thisworld, so I always figure,why limit yourself? I don’twear a lot of hats on pur-pose, it’s just the way thingshave shaken out for me.

One thing I’ve noticedis that you’re not afraidto delve into deeper sub-jects beyond just sportsand pop culture. You’vewritten and talked aboutanxiety and panicattacks. You’ve even hadfamily members on airtalking about addictionand things like that. Arethere any subjects youwouldn’t discuss?

Umm, no not really. I justthink that, in comedy espe-cially, everyone is just reallyhungry for the truth. A lot ofcomics go on stage and theydo bits, and it’s very obvi-ously, you know, a joke. It’snot real. It’s something theymade up. When a comicgoes, “Oh, I was in Australialast weekend,” I just want toyell at the TV, “No! Youweren’t! You weren’t in Aus-tralia last weekend.’ Just talkabout Australia. I think theaudience will go along forthe ride with you. I thinkcomics sell the audienceshort, and I think maybethey’re afraid to talk aboutthings that have actuallyhappened to them in theirlives. And that’s the goodthing about being a comic.My wife (actress Nikki Cox)writes probably half my act.She’s a horrible insomniac.I’ll wake up in the middle ofthe night and she’ll handme a notebook completelyfilled with bits, ready to go,which is a luxury a lot ofcomics don’t have. On theother hand, as a comic, ifyou’re telling the truth onstage, most of your act hasalready happened to you.It’s all of the weird stuff youtell your friends. I think youjust have to trust yourselfthat strangers will thinkthat’s really funny too.

Now I’ve read that foryour shows, there are nonotes. No two shows arethe same, and you don’tdo a lot of picking on theaudience.

I hate picking on theaudience. I don’t want any-one to feel uncomfortablewhen they come to a show.People work really hard for aliving. They work a lot hard-er than I do. So the fact thatthey get picked on becausethey happen to have a goodseat seems to be the oppo-site of the goal the comic istrying to achieve, and that isto make everybody leavereally happy. The last thing Iwould want to have happenwould be somebody in thecar with a date saying, “Ihate that guy. I went on afirst date, and all he did wasmake fun of me the wholetime.” Nobody went to theFox Theater to find out whatthe guy in the first row inthe flannel shirt had to say.

He may be a very interestingperson, but his name’s noton the ticket.

So, the show on May 10is a meet-and-greet.What does that entail,and what can peoplegoing to the showexpect?

The meet-and-greet isself-explanatory. After theshow, I go backstage, I pee, Iwash my hands, and then Icome back out, and any-body who was at the showwho wants to hang aroundfor 15 minutes afterwardscan. And I really enjoymeeting them and shakingtheir hands and saying,“Thanks for coming out.” Imean, to be honest withyou, if they don’t come out,I don’t get paid. The least Ican do is look them in theeye and say thanks.

How many people askyou to do impressions?Because you’re kind offamous for being able todo a lot of impressions.What’s the one they usu-ally ask you to do themost?

Oh (Christopher) Walken.... It’s a fun impression todo and it’s a real story.Christopher Walken had adog with me on the set of“Suicide Kings,” and he keptwanting to know why mydog didn’t have a tail. Andthe conversation just gotlonger and longer, and hewouldn’t let me off thehook, and he really wantedto know:“What happened toyour dog’s tail? Where did itgo?” So, I mean, to not sharethat with people is silly.That’s what they really like,so I have no problem doingit.

Comedy Central hadyou on its list of 100Greatest Stand-Up Come-dians of all time. Who aresome of your favoritecomedians?

George Carlin is my go-to.That’s my touchstone.Everything I do, I think,“Would Carlin think this isfunny?” And he was themaster at taking words out,adding words, making theperfect combination ofwords. It’s a word business.I really loved Carlin. As akid, I had all the Bill Cosbyrecords. I devoured those.Dennis Miller’s “The Off-White Album,” where hisreferences were so obscure— and not everybody gets it— but it let me know thatit’s OK to have a part of theshow where, for a little bit ofthe show, only 30 percent ofthe people understand. Youmay lose a few people, andit’s brief, but for those 30percent, that’s the highlightof the entire show for them.

MOHRCONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

HANDOUT PHOTO

Singer Gregg Allman will appear atEagle Mountain Casino on June 27.

BY MATT MUNOZContributing writer

George Lopez for mayor?

It sounds like a punchline —and when you’re talking to theuber-successful comedian,there’s usually a joke in there

somewhere — but Lopez, when askedabout a 2010 television interview in whichhe talked about running for mayor of LosAngeles, didn’t retreat, or at least not com-pletely.

“It’s partly joking and serious. I don’treally have any political history, but neitherdid Arnold Schwarzenegger and hebecame governor. I’ve always consideredmyself a man of the people, like AbrahamLincoln. So, if I ran, it would be the sameway.”

But first Lopez needs to satisfy a fewstand-up commitments, like his scheduledappearance in Bakersfield on Saturday.

Also keeping him busy is his latest televi-sion role, in the FX Network sitcom “SaintGeorge,” not to mention the everyday hus-tle to remain relevant in the fickle enter-tainment industry.

“It’s a difficult business, for sure,” saidLopez, 53, during a phone interview. “It’snot as easy as saying, ‘I like to do TV fulltime,’ especially now. There are so manyreality shows to compete with.”

And there’s still not enough room at thetable for Latinos, Lopez said, though heacknowledged things are improving.

“I think there will always be an aspectthat is not particularly for us, but thosethings are harder to crack. Fortunatelythere’s NUVOtv and El Rey, and others thatare Latino-oriented networks. And ofcourse, there’s Univision and Telemundo.They get huge audiences, and that’s whereI think the disparaging thing comes in. TheSpanish-speaking audience is so muchlarger than people expect it to be, and theEnglish-speaking market is not preparedfor that number. Spanish news beats Eng-lish news almost every time, and novellas(Spanish soap operas) beat most first-runEnglish shows. There’s no way the English-speaking producers are ever going to getinto that market.”

Even with his clout, Lopez struggles,especially when his desire to become aproducer or switch to dramatic acting rolesconflicts with what Hollywood has pre-scribed for him.

“I’ve pitched some TV shows to work asa producer with only some on-cameraroles. Maybe now, because of the weight ofcreating a show is so difficult and the waythe climate has changed, some new direc-tions will change the perception of me thatI can act in other things. So, when it hap-pens, that will be a welcome change tomore dramatic stuff, especially being over50 now.”

But when Lopez yearns for the control

he isn’t always afforded in television, hereturns to stand-up, where he’s always incharge.

“Stand-up is the most free form ofexpression. Nobody can tell you what to doand what not to do, and getting in front ofpeople who pay to see you and enjoy see-ing you do stand-up is always a privilege.”

“Tall, Dark, & Chicano” in 2009 wasLopez’s last comedy special. The HBO pro-gram revealed a more pointed and politicalside to the comedian, who focused onissues like immigration, race and PresidentObama.

His earlier recordings, namely “TeamLeader” and “Why You Crying?” focusedmore on Latino cultural differences inAmerican life, a topic Lopez never tires ofmining for new insights.

“You listen to someone likeBruce Springsteen, andall this material isgoing to be aboutworking-class issuesand problems. It allsounds like BruceSpringsteen. Withme, it’s all aboutfamily and kidsand me gettingolder, but thenalso appreciatingbeing youngerand politics andall those things.It’s kind ofalways beenaround thesame for-mat.”

Currentlyon his platejust waiting toget skewered:America’s obses-sion with foodallergies and healthyMexican food.

“Those things have always beeninteresting to me. The kale, themango salsa, and the Chipotlerestaurants with their white ricein the burritos, those are placeswhere there’s great humor.”

But if the deal is right,Lopez said he’s certainly notabove hawking his own line offood, booze or other merchan-dise, using as a template thewild success of his friend Car-los Santana, who has a suc-cessful line of designer shoesand tequila.

“I’ve been offered someitems that haven’t been theright fit. I think my owntequila would be great. Idon’t drink anymore, but Ican’t tell people not to drink.

“Also, hats and some foodstuff, just not healthy food.Mine would be the “MasFat Collection.”

George Lopez alwayslooking for opportunity

PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGE LOPEZ

Comedian GeorgeLopez appears atRabobank Theaterand ConventionCenter on Saturday.

EEye StrereetTHURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014 | Editor: Jennifer Self • Phone: 395-7434 • Email: jself@bakersfield.com

26AT A GLANCE

Hispanic Chamber Menudo Cook-Off . . . . . . . . . . 28Arts Alive! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29The Lowdown with Matt Munoz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Review: ‘Kiss of the Spiderwoman’ . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Want to work at the Fox? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Ugandan Orphans Choir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33‘Sesame Street Live’ at Rabobank . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37-39

George Lopez When: 8 p.m.Saturday

Where: RabobankTheater, 1001Truxtun Ave.

Admission:$37.50 to $47.50,plus fees

ticketmaster.comor 852-7777

Hollywood hustle “Stand-up is the mostfree form of expres-sion. Nobody can tellyou what to do andwhat not to do, and

getting in front of peo-ple who pay to see youand enjoy seeing you

do stand-up is always a privilege.”

— George Lopez

BY CAMILLE GAVINContributing writer

Normally the Bakersfield Muse-um of Art’s 300-piece permanentcollection is housed safely behindlocked doors in a climate-con-trolled vault.

But starting this evening, 12 ofthese treasures will go on display,in addition to two major exhibitson loan from galleries in Carmeland San Francisco.

BMOA curator Vikki Cruz invit-ed a dozen Kern County residentsto pick their favorite artwork fromthe collection owned by themuseum and also asked, “Why isart important to the community?”

Jason Sperber, with input fromhis 9-year-old daughter, Lucy,answered that question in theirreason for choosing “Thai Jas-mine Rice Under a Kern CountySky,” a 48-by-48-inch enamel onboard by Prapat Sirinavarat. Theartist immigrated to this countryfrom Asia some years ago andnow lives in Bakersfield.

“To me, having this piece in thepermanent collection and havingit shown is a reminder that art is away that we tell our stories,” Sper-ber said. “And a community’s arttells us who we are, where wecame from and where we aregoing.”

The painting is both surrealand realistic — in the lower fore-ground are distinct images oftemples and elephants (a symbol-ic animal Sirinavarat includes inall his paintings) and most of theupper half shows a blurred butvery large bear-like animal look-ing as if it’s on the prowl.

Don Le was candid about whyhe selected “Keeping the SolemnVigil,” an oil painting by John VanDreal.

“It was a gut response,” Le said.“The two women are staring outbut you don’t know at what —there’s no context and it arousedmy curiosity.”

One of the women appears tobe naked under a striped beachtowel she holds against one bareshoulder; the other woman holdsa black mask over her eyes.

Frank Sullivan’s selection iscalled “The Falls,” by AronWiesenfeld, which appealed tohim because it’s dramatic. Itshows a slender young womanclinging to the sold rock face of awaterfall.

“The first time I saw it was in

Vikki’s office,” he said. “It’s veryengaging and there are two waysto look at it — she’s either wor-ried or serene; she’s scaling thiscascade and looking directly atyou with this vague expression.”

Kamal Youssef’s “Vigil,” wasChanell Hunt’s choice. The surre-al oil painting depicts a womanreclining next to a tree trunk withan owl perched on one of its barebranches, while a sun-like orbringed in shadow emerges from ared-tinted sky.

Hunt chose it because, “Thelucid and unapologetic use ofcolor and lines reminded me ofthe freedom of art, the pureexpression and expansion of ourperception through art.”

Other collections in the FallExhibition include the Photogra-phy of Mexico, an exhibit organ-ized by the San Francisco Muse-um of Modern Art. It provides an

BMoA: You pick the artMuseum asks publicto curate one of fournew exhibitions

CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN

Don Le answered the call for community curators put out by the Bakersfield Museum of Art. Le selected this 1995 oil on canvas, titled“Keeping the Solemn Vigil,” by artist John Van Dreal. Le and 11 others selected the works from BMoA’s permanent collection.

EEye StrereetTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 | Editor: Jennifer Self • Phone: 395-7434 • Email: jself@bakersfield.com

20AT A GLANCE

FLICS announces movie lineup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Nora Jane Struthers in concert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Arts Alive! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24The Lowdown with Cesareo Garasa . . . . . . . . . . . 26

It’s Buttonwillow for family fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Ticket Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Faces of Hunger exhibit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-33

BMoA fall exhibitionOpening reception: 6-8 p.m.todayWhere: Bakersfield Museumof Art, 1930 R St.Admission: $10, free tomembersInformation: 323-7219

Please see BMOA / PAGE 30

Her career path just clicked

BY MATT MUNOZContributing writer

If her parents had had theirway, Yvonne Venegas wouldhave pursued a career in

music, the same path taken byher twin sister, Mexican pop starJulieta Venegas.

But it was photography, herfather’s passion and profession,that beguiled Venegas, who wasdrawn to the powerful imagery ofher hometown of Tijuana, Mexi-co, a city of 1.5 million, where lifeis a perpetual balancing act ofwork, family, art and late-nightdebauchery.

“I come from a background ofsocial photography. My father isa wedding photographer and astudio photographer, and hiswork tends to look at his cus-tomers,” said Venegas during aphone interview from her homein Mexico City. “That’s what I’mlooking at, but I try to sort ofchange the view and interpretfrom my own experiences with

these people.”She and her siblings were

encouraged from a young age topursue artistic endeavors, butVenegas’ journey was filled with

detours, nothing like her twin’ssingleminded game plan.

“My father tried to involve mein music, but it was really kind of

Photographer follows in dad’s footsteps

PHOTO BY YVONNE VENEGAS

“Nirvana” from the series “Maria Elvia Hank,” 2006, by YvonneVenegas. The photo is on loan to the Bakersfield Museum of Artfrom the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Please see VENEGAS / PAGE 30

Eye Street30 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, September 11, 2014

nightmarish. My mom wantedto have the twins in piano class-es together and I would showup to class completely asleep.My sister would be all nerdyand all disciplined about it.”

Venegas developed her skillsat the drawingtable and thenturned to pho-tography, creat-ing a series ofcriticallyacclaimed pho-tographs,including sever-al featured in a

Bakersfield Museum of Art exhi-bition — “Photography in Mexi-co from the Collection ofSFMOMA” — which openstoday.

“It’s wonderful and an honorto be included in the show andamong so many great photogra-phers. To be traveling with it isjust wonderful. My work has atendency to be not so wellunderstood.”

The subject of her works inthe exhibition: the secret lives ofMexico’s upper middle class.

Venegas offers a rare and can-did glimpse into a class of peo-ple who rigorously safeguardtheir privacy because flauntingwealth in Mexico can be dan-gerous.

“I have a very strong attrac-tion to the upper class. For me,what it is, is that my work iskind of focused on very isolatedgroups and very isolated cre-ations that have to do with theconcept of class, but it also talksabout, in the bigger term, look-ing from the outside at socialimbalance. In our country thereis 60 percent poverty, andwealth is held up in a very smallgroup. ”

In 2006, Venegas was grantedprivate access to the familycompound of Mexican politi-cian María Elvia de Hank, amember of the ruling PRI party,who died in 2012. Hank had alongstanding professional rela-tionship with Venegas’ father,Jose Luis Venegas, who firstphotographed her when shewas a 15-year-old debutante inTijuana.

“My dad started a studio inTijuana in the ’70s and MariaElvia was a young, beautiful,debutante queen. She had greatrespect and love for my father,

and that’s one of the things thathelped get me access to her.”

Venegas would photographthe wealthy politician over fouryears after eventually winningHank’s trust. The politician wassensitive to the backlash sherisked by allowing such a can-did look into her life — opulentby the standards of most of hercountrymen.

But it was the wedding ofHank’s daughter that sparkedthe professional relationship.Hank asked Venegas and herfather to shoot the wedding andfestivities surrounding the cere-mony. But even after Venegaswon the trust of the politician,she never was granted completeartistic freedom.

“So, it was four years of com-ing in and out of their space,and I was carefully watchedabout what I was photograph-ing.”

While she was involved in theproject, Venegas brought theimages across the border and tothe campus of UC San Diego,where she was pursuing a mas-ter’s degree.

“I needed a thesis project andthis would be something I couldgo photograph and then go towhere all these artists are to talk

about it. It was the perfectmoment for me to kind of keepit leveled, because, to me, itwould be hard for me to beimmersed in that photographyand not have anybody to talkabout it.”

While the SFMOMA exhibi-tion contains only a fraction ofthe completed project, Venegassaid the experience opened hereyes to the country’s ever-changing social dynamics.

“This ideal of perfection,something that I consider iscommon of our social construc-tions, I try to throw it off a bitand find imbalance and findmoments that have to do withabsurdity and have to do withthe imperfect. You tend to see alot of that.

“What I’m attracted to fromthis class is that it’s also in themaking. There is such a smallamount of privileged people,yet there is such a large aspira-tional class. The history ofwealth in Mexico is not verylong and I like to find the thingsthat show that it is in the mak-ing and it is imperfect andunder construction.” — Matt Munoz is marketing direc-tor at the Bakersfield Museum ofArt.

VENEGASCONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

An inspiring ode to artLongtime Bakersfield religious educa-tor Deborah Mish Garton, who died

Aug. 20, was one ofthe community mem-bers selected by theBakersfield Museumof Art in July tocurate an exhibitionthat features BMoA’spermanent artworks.She selected “Inter-mezzo,” a 1968 seri-

graph by Phil Paradise.Garton and the 11 other communitycurators were selected for the honorafter answering the question “Why isart important to the community?” Garton’s response:B akersfield loves art.M ore than we realize.O n the walls of our homes, on thecorners of our streets.A ll around us, even in us, is beautiful,inventive, thought provoking art.

C ommunity pride is always in its art.O ur city would have less character ifwe didn’t have Fr. Garces at the circle,M uch less the big shoe on ChesterAve.M usic, from honky tonk, to country,to jazz, to rock fill our businesses.U su peeps r ttly uncrntn abt art. But,art is rl.(Usually people are totally uncertainabout art. But art is real life.)N othing can describe the rush ofconnecting with a photograph in theCalifornian, orI ncreasingly becoming aware of allthe art around you.T he trick to enjoying art is to enjoythe real life behind it.Y ear after year, life after life, art con-nects us to all humanity.

A n art lover in Bakersfield has awealth of life to become immersed in.R arely, is art unable to penetrateyour work, home, community, orheart.T hat’s why art is important to thecity of Bakersfield.

overview of the country’s histo-ry, from the time of the Mexi-can Revolution, 1910-20, up tourban politics of the 1970s and’80s. A large collection withmany pieces, it is being shownin the museum’s Dezemberand Cunningham galleries.

In the Ablin Wing is anintriguing exhibit of portraiture,titled “Face to Face,” that isbeing shown through the cour-tesy of Chris Winfield and theWinfield Gallery in Carmel.

The work of 17 differentusing an array of mediums —

paint, graphite and conte cray-on — some of the portraits arefull face, others depict the sub-ject’s full or partial body andeach one draws the eye of theviewer.

Some appear to be challeng-ing the viewer, or maybe theartist; some appear to be rest-ful; and some show curiosity onthe part of the subject, as if tosay, “Why are you drawingme?” or “Why are you invadingmy privacy?”

All three parts of the exhibi-tion will be up through Jan. 4.The museum’s regular hoursare 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdaythrough Friday, and noon to 4p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

BMOACONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

Venegas

BY KELLY ARDISCalifornian staff writer

kardis@bakersfield.com

Vacation is over and homework hasbegun, but local students have onemore shot to get their ya-yas out in

the waning days of summer, courtesy of anunlikely source: their teachers.

Saturday’s second annual BakersfieldFamily Picnic, put on by the BakersfieldElementary Teachers Association, is achance to have fun and make connections,said BETA president Michelle Johnson.Students from any local school, in the Bak-ersfield City School District or not, are wel-come to attend with their families.

“The picnic is all about welcoming allthe families and students back to school,”

said Johnson, who leads the union thatrepresents the district’s certified staff. “It’san opportunity to have some good qualityfamily time in the sun, having fun and not

having to worry about all the costs (of tak-ing family somewhere fun).”

Kids can look forward to games, musicand bounce houses. Community organiza-tions such as Children First Campaign andStay Focused Ministries will set up boothsand have activities for children. Familiescan bring a picnic lunch if they want, butBETA will give away 1,000 hot dogs, chipsand drinks at its booth.

The goal of the event is to let local fami-lies get to know each other and area teach-ers.

“We want to show (parents and stu-dents) that the educators really love theirchildren and care about them and wantthem to be successful,” Johnson said. “Wewant them to see us not only in the class-

room, but outside of the classroom, too.”Around 900 people attended the first

Bakersfield Family Picnic last year. Theevent was created because BETA’s out-reach committee wanted an event early inthe school year. The group’s biggest eventis Read Across Bakersfield each March.

If there seems to be a catch for the freeevent, Johnson said there’s not. Unlikeother “free” events where attendees mighthave to pay for individual activities, shesaid, the picnic is really, truly free.

“It’s just a good old-fashioned picnic,”she said. “There’s no ulterior goal. We’renot raising money, we’re not giving moneyaway. We’re just bringing the communitycloser together and building the schoolfamily.”

Teachers gift students, families with picnicSecond annual BakersfieldFamily Picnic presented byBakersfield ElementaryTeachers AssociationWhen: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. SaturdayWhere: Central Park at Mill Creek,between 21st and 19th Streets, justeast of R Street.Admission: Free, open to the community

Garton

CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN

“Face to Face: 30 Years of Portraiture: is part of the fall exhibi-tions opening tonight at the Bakersfield Museum of Art.