Sushi Art Hits the Streets for Sixth Time
(Excerpts from article)
By Robert L. Pincus
Art Critic
Situating art in public locales has a goal, sometimes acknowledged and sometimes not: to reach an audience that rarely ventures inside museums or galleries. Although many of the viewers for this kind of work and the regular audience for art are one and the same, the goal remains.
“Streetsites ’91,” Sushi’s sixth annual effort to place art out in the community on a temporary basis, offers some tantalizing evidence that people are intrigued by these projects. Four of five are visible from the car, at least in part. Thus, more than any- other time in the history of this exhibition, we have drive-by art.
However, a quick note of caution: To actually experience these works, you will have to park the car for a few minutes…
…Underwood’s “dogs” are along the upper portion of Sushi’s exterior, seated on a trompe l’oeil row of red tile. They were inspired, as the accompanying- brochure says, by “Mexican guard dogs who bravely stand guard at night, but spend their lonely days on the rooftops of their domains.” But you don’t need to know that to be amused by their presence on Eighth Avenue, just across from the downtown post office…
…The four realized projects (hopefully, Soon to become five) are of mixed quality, but each year one is glad for “Streetsites.” There is nothing else like it. For a month or so, it provides some art where we don’t expect to find it, and that is an idea good enough to deserve an annual play.
Art Review
“Streetsites ‘91”
The San Diego Union, E-4, Friday, March 8, 1991