West Portal's Awesome Man-Seum

Jennifer Maerz

Feb 3, 2011, 2011, Midnight

Anyone can get a bunch of art to hang in their homes, but few people turn their residences into actual works of art. Gregangelo, who Sara Faith Alterman wrote about a few months back, has a pad that he's spent three decades turning into a museum (which, by the way, is also called Gregangelo) with the help of many local artists and folks involved in his Velocity Arts and Entertainment crew. On a recent Saturday afternoon, Sara, her fiancee Sam, and I trekked up to the fancy pants part of West Portal to check out the Gregangelo Museum. Sam and I had never been inside before, and the affable Greg (for short) gave us an in-depth, three-hour tour of every last kitchen nook, crawl space cranny, and secret trap door room, most of which went far beyond my wildest imagination. (He even showed us his roller skates, which is his method of choice for getting around the city).
Each room is in a completely different theme, decorated to the nines with sculptures and paintings and thousands of knick-knacks. The coffee table pictured above is from what was technically the third room we saw. It's covered in a tower of candy, some of it fake and some of it very real (Greg gave us to-go bags to take sweets away with us.)  

Greg is an awesome host. He's a great conversationalist, who seems as interested in his guests as they are in him, and he knows how to give good spread. Here's a little tower of yum that he had waiting for us when we arrived (and that's Greg in there, too).

 There's a lot of Ancient Egypt going on at Gregangelo's. There are pyramids and paintings everywhere, like in this bedroom, where everything is a different shade of emerald or gold.

 When Greg has a color theme in mind, there's no limit to how far he can saturate a room in this hue. This photo's blurry, but this was one of my favorite parts of the tour. Everything in this section is orange, and when you crawl in (literally, like on your hands and knees) Greg can cue a record player by remote control to play "The Girl From Ipanema." Sam is holding one of many hundreds of bouncy rubber balls with long rubber spikes found in the room.

What is this, you ask? A time machine, obviously. Every artist's home should have one.

If I could go back in time, I would like to collect this painting by Margaret Keane, the famous San Franciscan whose work is all over the museum. Greg told us a good story about a paint-off between Margaret and her then-husband, a contest to prove that she was the actual artist behind the Keane works.

 The Gregangelo museum is visited by a lot of kids (and, from time to time, bachelorette parties, from what we heard). There are so many little details in each room that children - and those with a childlike sense of stokedness - have a lot to look at.

My favorite part of the house, though, is up in the attic. That area represents the cycle of life, and involves a lot of crawling and spinning around, mirrors, glowing lights, and generally, very psychedelic stuff everywhere. The last part of this wing is a pyramid room, where unfortunately none of my photos came out. I can describe it, though; it's like being in your own private laser light theater. (Which = sweet!) Greg played some wild new age jams through the speakers and we were instructed to lie down on pillows as images of stars and planets were projected in the dark over our heads. It was, like the rest of the Greganglo experience, completely surreal. I hope we can have a Bold Italic event at the Gregangelo pad; it's like no other museum in town. 

Categories: Art & Design, Sightseeing, Only In SF, West Portal

The Seed of a Spark of a Glimmer

Imagination is the seed of all creativity, it lives inside every person on this earth inhabiting our thoughts and dreams. “The Seed of a Spark of a Glimmer” looks inside the thoughts of those bringing their creativity into the world through art or invention. Film maker Wade Ranson is spending 2013 traveling the world interviewing artists, musicians, writers and creatives of all walks of life to find the secrets of the creative mind. Where do our ideas come from, how can we touch the creative spark inside us and how it feels to live a creative life?

Keep in touch with this project here at www.theseedofasparkofaglimmer.com where I will add a short quote from my new interview subjects throughout the year. If you are a creative with a unique story to tell feel free to contact me at the email address below to discuss being a part of this film. The goal of this project is to inspire others to live more creative and happier lives.

“I believe that creativity is innate in everyone. I’ve never witnessed a child not play, not imagine, not tell a magical story. For some reason people choose a different door…Usually the fiscal paths are what kill creativity more than anything.”Gregangelo, Performance Artist, San Francisco, U.S.A.

Interview of Gregangelo by Will Clark, Masters Student at Berklee College of music for a Class project DECEMBER 2013

Will:
How did you get your start in production?

Gregangelo:
It happened accidentally and over a long period of time.
I started young as a performing artist with bit and novelty parts in high school musicals and than more as a visual artist grabbing every opportunity to make anything (usually pertaining to on stage scenery and costume) and than in ethnic dance where I developed a whirling dervish act (with much help) and that single act garnered allot of attention from audiences and other performing artists alike. I soon discovered circus and a whole new world opened. I had a fire in my being to push and develop my own limits and consequently soon attracted other equally dedicated artists.

Without knowing any conventional limits, and incorporating every skill I learned along my path, I soon began developing small shows with a mix of 7- 10 artists. I did the sales and negotiation of the shows, the book-keeping and finances, the “booking”, the casting, the music, the costumes, the lighting plots, both the direction and artistic direction, some choreography, the performing, the rigging, the artist management, the catering, the load in/out and often quadrupled myself in shows by performing a ground act, an aerial act as well as working as a percussionist while artistically directing the show simultaneously.  Needless to say, I learned from trying every aspect of everything and recovering from the inevitable failings by trying harder to succeed one project at a time on the way…and still am.

See talk on link below for more details:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=737HdHJYzOQ

 Gregangelo, Whirling dervish at Land’s End Labyrinth in San Francisco

Will:
Who are some of your major influences in what you do today?

 Gregangelo:
There are so many.
First off my parents, who’s very simple advise when I decided early on to live as an artist was:
Go for it. Do not ever ask us or anyone for money. Do it honestly.
And I have lived by both rules. I never have received a dime for projects from grants, endowments, funds, family, etc. It has all been 100% earned income project to project. And the highest% of $ of every project goes to paying other artists and helping them in return to earn a viable living. It is this which has built my self-esteem and confidence the most, and has gradually grown me into, an otherwise unlikely, position of leadership.

Growing up in San Francisco, I watched and learned the nuts and bolts of business from select friend’s parents and my family who all owned, worked hard and ran small and growing businesses. I was driven by the will and inspiration of those who earned their way by doing what they liked and lived their purpose.

I was influenced by the achievements and mistakes (which I learned not to make; though I’ve made plenty of my own) of the multi-cultural proprietors who I worked for as a young man- a Japanese gallery owner, a Middle Eastern dance teacher/choreographer, an Australian caterer, an African American theater director, an Italian developer and an aspiring Polish business man/film maker, whose claim to fame is that he accidentally made the worst film ever.. And it is now an occult classic!!! It is amazing what you can achieve when you stick with it and adapt to the often unexpected results accordingly.

Many influences came from exceptional teachers and people who I did not really know, and from many folks who I met but did not care to know. Those people were the dreamers, the”some-dayers”  the idealists who never had the courage to take risks, or to work and push their limits and bring their dreams to conscience reality. I rebelled against them…and I suppose I still am.

Gregangelo as a young man in Cairo, Egypt with his niece, Shiva

Will:
What do you think are some of your favorite installations you have done in your career?

Gregangelo:
There have been numerous, but by far, I am proudest of the peripheral museum installations we do surrounding and inspired by major museum exhibits which garner interest for their public programs. Collaborations with other artists and arts organizations are also most profoundly  memorable. See samples of my favorite rite here:

http://gregangelo.com/entertainment/category/installations/

Detail of Velocity Kaleidoscope Installation

  Of course, my home and studio dubbed by artists as “Circus Headquarters” and”The Gregangelo Museum” by visitors (I just call it “Home”) is the most permanent of them all and is in fact my “Installation Lab” and a continued transforming and evolving work and experience in progress. I share it with an interested public year round and as frequently as possible:

http://gregangelo.com/entertainment/category/gregangelo-museum/



Room in progress… Before               Interim…. (It still is not finished)…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H91iaxsiGNI\

Still shot during filming of ‘Home Strange Home” 

Will:
What are you working on now?

Gregangelo:
At this moment: Several intricate Installations, events, shows, characters and antics for clients such as Google, Gilead Sciences, Netsuite, Github and a gala following the RSA conference of internet security specialists/cryptologists and more (All varying concepts). They are all designed to entertain, inspire and honor the over-achieving employees of these leading innovative companies which are changing how the world lives and communicates. Each of our productions offers these innovators a new and un-familiar experience to store in their memories.

I am also working on 1 date for donors at the SF de Young Museum inspired by their current David Hockney exhibit (just finished one surrounding the BVLGARI exhibit)

We have 3 confirmed dates at the Nevada Art Museum and are working on concepts to execute for both private and public events surrounding the Doris Duke Shangri-La exhibit.
We also have 2 confirmed dates for private and public at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary art and are developing a brand new installation called: 

Aura
“Sphere of Layers”

Consistent to the weather installation in gallery 4, Velocity Arts will create a fully immersive environment in galleries 1,2,&3 bringing all the elements of weather and the seasons together… with a twisted perception on how humans realize such environments.

The largest part of this install will be one gallery with a giant cloud video sculpture that morphs through the seasons as guests observe- aerialists suspended from the cloud combined with special effects will all be fused together. Autumn will be a gallery of contemporary still life paintings, which on second glance are actually food buffets into which the guests can reach beyond the frames and eat…and so on.
(No musicians will be cooked outdoors in the AZ blistering heat in the process)

On a lighter note, there is also a large private party for the 50th birthday of a local lady who likes to celebrate big. We are developing a plethora of characters, scripts, and antics which catapult you back into the decadent 1970’s experience at Studio 54...witness Cher, Mick Jagger and Liza Minnelli converse about the birthday lady, revealing her to the guests. My dear friend and favorite writer, Rita Abrams will be writing that script.
http://gregangelo.com/entertainment/personnel/rita-abrams/

There is also a small public “Banana Festival” for which we will producing an outdoor family show -Yes we have fallen into the agricultural harvest celebrations- what is better to celebrate than food, the sustenance of our existence!

Image from Velocity Circus’ “OOHS and AAHS in OZ” show for the Giant Pumpkin Festival

There are allot more, but these are what are foremost in my mind at the moment.

I always take great pride in our commissions and performances for entertainment giants. We have had major jobs in the past for Warner Brothers, Univision, etc. and I hope more opportunities to entertain for mega-entertainment companies come soon…

Velocity Characters greet guests at HBO Premier of GAME OF THRONES Season III


Will:
What is it like collaborating with other artists in your field of work?

Gregangelo:
This is what I call living completely, pure joy, and has in fact become my life’s calling.
I could not achieve anything fully without the fantastic collaboration of both a steady crew of artists and technicians, as well as consistently bringing on and mentoring younger developing artists as well as pushing the limits of seasoned older artists- all who are 100% dedicated to making their way in this world as an artist, expressing themselves fully- and do, regardless of all obstacles. 

Gregangelo, directing and collaborating with 2 crews (from San Diego, CA and Tucson AZ) to launch a Velocity Aerialist on helium balloon rig over a stadium

In Flight…

Bay Bridge Rapscallion

I am a bit late, but with all of the hype over the realy wonderful new San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, I was inspired to post this song written by Rita Abrams which personifies the bridge as "Mr Babe Bridge".  Rita wrote it for a show we did several years about San Francisco. It is sung by Darien Gray. Enjoy...

Mr Babe Bridge

Babe Bridge upstaging Ms GG Bridges

Velocity Artist Ashley Gomez

I am honored to be part of the subject matter in Velocity Artist Ashley Gomez (singer/actor/ character) essay for her college level Creative Arts class. - Gregangelo

Photo by Hiromi Yoshida

 

Perspectives Essay

 

Ashley Gomez

Creative Arts 176

March 3, 2013

 

Drawing from my own experiences in working with groups, I would agree with Piers Ibbotson’s statement:

If the right culture were in place, innovation would not be an issue; the function of managers would be like the function of the director of a good ensemble: merely to select from the stream of inventions and suggestions pouring from the group as it engages with the tasks they have at hand (p. 2).

Ibbotson suggests that in order to be a successful manager, it is important to listen to the group and gather different thoughts and ideas to fulfill its purpose.  I’ve worked in many different types of groups, for school projects, work, or organizing events, and in every situation there has always been a goal to be achieved and a leader to help organize the process. Since I have been reading Ibbotson’s, The Illusion of Leadership, I have become more aware of the leadership processes around and what makes them successful or not successful.

Many performing artists strive to make a decent living doing what they love, but they struggle to get a steady income.  Alone, they are unable to create a demand.  Gregangelo Herrera, the artistic director of the arts and entertainment company Velocity Circus has taken an approach, similar to the approach that Ibbotson writes about and that has better enabled a solution to be found for a problem.  I’ve been working with Velocity Circus for close to a year and I have recognized the qualities in the leadership that have driven this company to success.  

            Prior to founding Velocity Circus, Gregangelo performed around the world in Cirque Du Soleil as a Whirling Dervish.  Traditionally, Whirling Dervishes are men who are a part of a mystic brotherhood that spin around in long flowing skirts to represent the spinning of the cosmos.  Gregangelo took from this philosophy and started to think about how the motion of spinning is a part of everything that makes up the universe from the atoms to the way we live. He then began to think about this in terms of the art world.  From his perspective, artists today are consumed with achieving fame and fortune, obsessing with beauty and stardom, while battling one another for a spot at the top.  This is the exact never-ending unobtainable journey that is stripping away from their very soul, which is why artists should take a step back, look past these tropes, see that the universe is still spiraling around them, and realize that the true wealth is inside them.  They should come together and collaborate as a group and become stronger rather than competing against each other in an endless battle. Gregangelo and a team of other artists used this philosophy to create Velocity Circus. 

            Instead of battling one another for a spot on the top, these artists come together to create something innovative and unique.  Building from the ground up, they started to design characters, sets, and gathered performers of all types. They collaborated to achieve the fantasies of their customers. When a challenging project came up, the artists found a way to bring it to life. This is exactly the type of leadership that Ibbotson writes about that drives a group to success.  Ever since I have been working with this company, I have been able to see a difference in myself as an artist.  I’m encouraged to come up with ideas and get my creative juices flowing.  Being in this type of environment motivates me to perform well and think outside the box.  If we succeed as a group, we succeed as a whole, which fulfills my artistic individuality as well. I believe I am an important asset in contributing, and since I feel that my input and ideas are valued, I give more of myself.  

Photo by Hiromi Yoshida

Gregangelo takes what the group has to offer and morphs it into a masterpiece. Because of this successful leadership, Velocity Circus has not only created a steady working environment to artists, but it has become a hot commodity that is in demand.  Museums and corporations seek Velocity Circus to bring even their own wildest ideas and fantasies to life. This encourages involvement from the client as well.  Gregangelo calls his team “Mission Impossible” because there is no project too difficult for the hundreds of artists who make up Velocity Circus.  Together, anything can happen.

Gregangelo’s philosophy has created the “right culture,” therefore allowing innovation to take place. His function as a leader has allowed several artists to come together and work as a team to build their ideas into elaborate works of art for others to enjoy. A good leader takes part in the group and listens to ideas. They admit mistakes and recognize efforts. Ibbotson’s statement hits it right on the nose. If you understand what it takes to be a leader, you’ll fulfill the team, which fulfills the client, which fulfills the goal, which fulfills the company.  This concept is the backbone of success.

Works Cited

Hererra, Gregangelo. “TEDxYouth at Castilleja - Gregangelo.” YouTube. 12 Dec. 2011. YouTube. 20 Sept. 2013 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=737HdHJYzOQ>.

Ibbotson, Piers. The Illusion of Leadership: Directing Creativity in Business and the Arts. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 2. Print.

Language Revelation

Olivia Gryphon, an accomplished artist who runs several of her own businesses, took the time this week to fill in here and help run Velocity Circus.

I went through a list of work tasks for the day, which I don't exactly recall but something to the extent of :"Be sure to leave space for the albino monkey's wings", "Order a hydraulic lift so we can make her appear to melt", "Don't forget to clean the snow machines", " Be sure her headdress is not a hazard when he throws the knives at her" ; to which she calmly and rationally replied, "No Problem" and proceeded to do the work.

In that brief moment of an assuring and able reply, I realized that I normally cringe at the utterance of either word: "The problem is...", "No, that's OK" (WHICH IS IT- No or OK? and always spoken in the condescending tone one speaks to a pet), and so many more lazy, inept, and obstructive uses of the two words.

But sequence No+ Problem together and it is a sweet concerto spoken by a composer of the highest competence.

I suppose this was just a flash of realization that ALL of the artists around here are indeed maestros...

"Superimpose the Neptunian's over the Andromeda Galaxy..."The beluga whale should have the expression of a drag-queen"... " Buy forty yards of black and white polka dot fabric for the quick change"..."Can you re-write the song to include a baby who turns into a dog?"... Try to spin suspended from your teeth for just 8 counts longer"...

مافيش مشكلة (mafiiš moškila) No problem

All in a days work...

GREG'S WORLD by Rita Abrams

   

Welcome to the world of the wildest guy I know

He moves with high Velocity--he's called Gregangelo

His life is one big circus and his passion is intense

He was born a whirling dervish and been whirling ever since

There's no way to describe it, so I'll have to simply say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Civilizations on the ceiling, hieroglyphics on the walls

There's a mummy in the living room, and phantoms haunt the halls

In the basement they're concocting creatures made of glitter glue

In the kitchen a contortionist is stirring up a stew 

There's no way to describe it, so I have to simply say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

If you think you've got the gist of it--you still have no idea

How shall I put it? The bathroom almost makes it fun to have diarrhea

& Upstairs, you can sleep in a pyramid while attending an all-night black light show

Just a few o' the perks o' the lucky ones, in the Orbit of Gregangelo

TAG:

He's One-of-a-kind, and kind of a Wonder

He'll retool your brain chemistry

He's an alien being brought down to earth

To set all our fantasies free

But with all o' that said, I still can't begin to describe him, so I give up!

All I can say is...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GREGANGELO !!!!Í

Written by Rita Abrams August 2013