Vanagallery

Well, the Vanagallery is still gone. But I’ll be meeting up with portable, mobile art and creative projects worldwide. Today while reading Jalopnik I was inspired by this beast.

Built by the young members of the Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club. Includes a pop-up DJ booth!

News flash: I, Lee Tusman, have sold my 87 Volkswagen Vanagon Vanagallery. I have left Southern California and am traveling around the world for the next 10 months working on art projects, curating and visiting artists, curators, interventionists, pirates, etc doing contemporary urban creative projects in the public sphere. I’m writing this from Seattle now. I drove the Vanagallery, filled-to-the-brim, with art, art books, bikes, music, zines, albums, all the way up to Northern California. I left my things there, and sold my van to a florist. In the following year, I will be traveling in the US, Europe and Asia and working on temporary, mobile art projects and the spirit of the vanagallery will live on. Visit LeeTusman.com to stay up to date with my many projects. Thanks.

Above cell phone photo by Daniel Teeter Photography Co.





Above van artworks by Creativity Explored artists in SF.

Hi all, it’s been a quiet for a few months, but busy behind the scenes.

This Sunday will be my (Lee T’s) last Sunday in Riverside, CA as a resident and I am going to sell the Vanagallery! I am about to embark on a 9-month round-the-world trip to meet other artists, curators, pirate radio stations, musicians, arts orgs, residencies, and more. I’ll be playing music with others, doing research on contemporary art projects in the public sphere, visiting many many places in the US, Europe and Asia. When i return, i will relocate to another city and begin new ventures at this time.

On Sunday is a blowout Jewish Noise record release party out of the Vanagallery for the new album “Find a Way / Silent Groove For Blank Stamper” on Jewish Noise records.
The album features 10 parallel grooves that were designed for 33 1/3 for 43 seconds each, but can also be played at 45, 78, forward, backward, upside down. It can be listened to, used as a remix or sound source for composition, DJed with, messed with, or used in other ways. Performers on Sunday include Quiltz, Conscious Summary, Weak Stream and Demon Slayer. We’ll also have a Really, Really Free Market including fabric, tape players, and art supplies, as well as burning pinatas, cats, and who knows what-all. It should be great. If you live in the crazy region that is Inland Southern California, please stop by at 3rd and Commerce in Downtown Riverside, CA. If not, i will hopefully see you on my 9-month round-the-world travels. Please do get in touch!

Also, Vanagallery is available for purchase. It has lots of love still to give.

We had a really cool intimate vanagallery show on the 18th. Started off with solo improv by False Sunshine, and was joined by Aaron Roche and Dan Burns (of Action!) for a really crazy all-out jam while a freight train rolled by. Drums, guitar and experimental effects box in the 9s. Great stuff. Look for a joint release by jewish noise and the music fort in the fall. This was followed up by performances by Action, Aaron Roche, and even an impromptu performance by Aaron Freeman of Mothers of Gut.

Parking lot shows are a lot of fun.

Jump over to jewish noise for an audio excerpt.

yes, we’ve been doing a lot of these lately. in riverside, ca. (“I have traveled much in Riverside.”)

VANAGALLERY Parking Lot Show
FRIDAY JUNE 18

STARTS AT 9PM Sharp.

ACTION (prog/reg)
AARON ROCHE (acoustic/folktronic)
FALSE SUNSHINE (electronic/exorcisim)
STOLE_LIFE (primal plucking)
+ undisclosed others

LOCATION: Parking Lot/Quonset Hut @ 3rd and Commerce St. near 91 freeway – Riverside, CA – next to train tracks. Look for Silver Vanagon.

Note: Performers, activities subject to change depending on whims. This is the last concert for Aaron Roche in Riverside, CA before he moves to NYC!

facebook event page with directions/etc is here.

Font Sunshine and Conscious Summary (with MCs Slapoint and Miguel Landeros of Yuga) played a guerilla show Saturday May 29 at approximately 9pm in a parking lot in Riverside, CA. About 50 – 80 people in the parking lot were watching/listening. There were also about 30 – 45 on the decks of 2 bars in the immediate area.

FS played for approximately 25 minutes, combining new age cassette tapes, improvised roughshod noise, live cell phone calls, and MC Slapoint for an extended poetry session, and Miguel Landeros who had a long experimental improvised freestyle session. It was amazing. These photos capture some of the mysterious, intense feel.

The first performance ended when a police car showed up. Someone at the bar called in a 5150! The police officer was friendly, saw that there was no ‘danger,’ and left. Then Conscious Summary played an amazing set with violin and circuit bent stuff, including an electric pencil sharpener. Killer!

Vanagallery in action

Slapoint on the telephone handset mic

Police officer pays us a friendly visit

Cell phone photos by Angela Asbell

Guerilla Vanagallery ‘Running With The Night’ event Saturday May 29th in Riverside during Saturation Fest. Shhhh. (performers may include Yuba, Font Sunshine, Slapoint, Conscious Summary, etc). Also, a 25-foot microphone passed among the crowd. Also, who knows. Also, etc. etc. Full regular saturation festival info and schedule here.

Running With The Night is a monthly event. Most recently, we held one Feb 21, 2010 in the Vanagallery, parked outside my studio on 3rd Street in Riverside, CA. See photos below to get an idea of the intimate epic-ness of our gathering.

MCed by Lee Tusman

Husni Abu Bakar

Ann Mazzocca

Karen Wilson telling a story

Aaron Freeman playing Doom 2012 (accompanied by Ryan Beal)

Electronic Wizardry by DEMONSLAYER


Yes, we had cupcakes. Expertly baked vegan and chocolate stout cupcakes by Talene Salmaszadeh.

Just received this official-looking proposal for a Mobile Skate Park and Art Show from Jeff Ribaudo. Ribaudo experiments with works on paper, especially collage and printmaking. Many of his prints fall between abstracted graphic elements and minimalist collage. He also does traditional and new media printmaking. In 2008, his work was shown in Riverside Art Museum’s project space galleries. He has an amazing series of minimalist skateboarder prints. Take a look at this awesome proposal.

Surprise (shh) performance in front of the Art LA Contemporary Fair Saturday at 1PM. FORT Vanagallery. Foot Sunshine (noise). A Roche (folknik). MC White Jewish Girl (bad rap karaoke), and maybe Producer Snafu (hard) and anyone else off the street. + live drums of destruction. In conjunction with jewish noise.

Buy the way, do you follow Vanagallery on Facebook? You should, or you’re missing out on fast announcements and cool articles like this.