Metabolic Studio Public SalonDan EtheridgeFriday, September 4, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

A New Food Landscape in post-Katrina New Orleans

About the Salon

This salon will present the collaborative work of the Tulane City Center (TCC) and the New Orleans Food and Farm Network (NOFFN) in their efforts to support the growing urban farming/local food movement in New Orleans. Although part of a national trend, the projects presented here also grew out of a post disaster context that has enabled many new visions to emerge with a high probability of success.

The salon will specifically look at two larger scale initiatives in the New Orleans area: the Viet Village Urban Farm (a proposed 28acre urban farm and farmers market in the principal Vietnamese nighborhood in New Orleans) and the Hollygrove Growers Market and Farm (a smaller local growers market and urban farming training center).

These projects differ in scale and intent, however they were both supported by the TCC/NOFFN collaboration that brought design, planning, technical and other skills to projects that had great community support and a piece of land. We feel we have developed a model to support groups that lack the resources to access these skill sets, and the projects we will present showcase how these community generated initiatives can begin to garner the momentum they need to become reality.

About the Salon Presenter

Dan Etheridge is Associate Director of the Tulane City Center and Adjunct Lecturer at the Tulane School of Architecture. Dan has a degree in Applied Environmental Management from Southern Cross University in New South Wales, Australia, is a Fellow of the Institute for Environmental Communications at Loyola University New Orleans, and has worked for the last five years at the intersection of regional coastal restoration strategies and urban design and policy. He has been published in environmental science and management journals, design publications and community advocacy forums and continues to work across these disciplines in research and practice. In addition, Dan is a partner in the environmental consulting practice Meffert + Etheridge Environmental Projects that specializes in bringing sound ecological practice and communication to design, planning and development projects.

Further information: www.tulanecitycenter.org

Image: Tulane City Center, courtesy Dan Etheridge

Metabolic Studio Public SalonKirk Anderson & Amy SeidenwurmFriday, August 28, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

Let the Bees Be Bees!

About the Salon

Convinced that the current decline in bee numbers is the result of their ‘enslavement’ to industrial processes, Kirk and Amy will discuss the pleasures of beekeeping and ways to encourage the native feral bee population.

Bees make honey to survive, and they’ve been doing it a long time. In its natural state, honey contains sugars, yeast and enzymes. It can also contain pollen and propolis (the resinous substance made by bees to seal cracks and small gaps in their hive). Humans discovered this wonderful honey, and eventually figured out a way to make the bees work for them.

In the early days, beekeepers used an inverted straw basket called a ‘skep’ to house the bees. Later, a man named Langstroth invented the current square wooden box with removable wood frames. This made it much easier for beekeepers to look at their bees and to get the honey out.

Honey can be extracted two ways: the frames can be put in a centrifugal extractor and the honey spun out of the comb or the comb can be cut out of the frame, crushed and the honey strained from it. Commercial beekeepers store the extracted honey in 55 gallon drums until it’s needed. Honey left alone will crystallize. It has to be liquefied to get it out of the drum. If the temperature used to melt the honey is less than 120E it can still be called “raw”. Honey can also be pasteurized (at temperatures up to 280E) to stabilize it and improve shelf life by killing the natural yeast and enzymes.

Humans like to control their environment and the living creatures in it, so beekeepers figured out ways for their bees to make more honey. However, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” really applies to bees. When bees and their hive are messed with, all sorts of problems can arise. If bees are allowed to go about their business as they always have, they’ll create strong hives and delicious, beneficial honey.

About the Salon Presenters

Kirk Anderson is an urban beekeeper and the founder of an LA collective of small-scale organic beekeepers. His goal is to do right by the bees so that the bees can return the favor. Amy Seidenwurm is a fan of bees, food, dogs, wine, music, typography, technology and basketball. In her professional life, she is a digital marketing geek.

Above: Bees settle into a front porch hive cut out of a wood-and-masonry dollhouse, Los Angeles 2009. Courtesy Kirk Anderson

Further Information: www.backwardsbeekeepers.com

Metabolic Studio Public SalonDetective Don HrycykFriday, August 21, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

Art Fraud in L.A.

About The Salon
Los Angeles is the second largest center for the visual arts in the U.S. This has attracted art thieves and conmen (and women) who have often targeted the cultural heritage of the city. LAPD's two-detective Art Theft Detail has investigated many of these crimes involving not only art but other types of cultural property including rare books, musical instruments, fossils, and Hollywood movie props. These crimes involve not only theft of art but also fakes, fraud and forgeries.

Detective Hrycyk will discuss some of these cases and profile the type of art criminals who prey on artists, art dealers and collectors. Preventive measures that art lovers can take to protect themselves will also be discussed. Additional information about the Art Theft Detail including crime alerts on stolen art can be found at http://www.lapdonline.org/art_theft

About the Salon Presenter
Don Hrycyk is the detective in charge of LAPD’s Art Theft Detail – the only full-time municipal art investigative unit in the United States. During the 15 years that he has been in this position, the unit has recovered over $77 million in cultural property. He has been a police officer for over 35 years. Prior to investigating art crimes, Hrycyk worked a variety of assignments including homicide, robbery, sex crimes, burglary, juvenile, assaults, forgery, gangs, and patrol.

He graduated from California State University where he majored in Criminology. He teaches Art Crimes Investigation to law enforcement officers and lectures on the art crime problem. Hrycyk is a recipient of the Smithsonian Institution’s Burke Award for Excellence in Cultural Property Protection.

Image courtesy Det. Don Hrycyk

Metabolic Studio Public SalonGreenmemeFriday, August 14, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

Weaving the Landscape

About the Salon

Freya Bardell and Brian Howe of the Los Angeles-based design studio Greenmeme will discuss a variety of their projects. Their cross-disciplinary collective has worked to bridge artistic and scientific disciplines to produce public art, architecture, landscape and ecological design projects, which seek to raise awareness of the cultural and environmental conditions around them. Using science, form, history, story-telling and myth, they have created a series of site-specific works which are playful and educational interpretations of their surroundings. Come join our discussion on River Livers, Matryoshka dolls and how to harness the power of Grandmothers!

Further information: www.greenmeme.com

Image: Matryoshka, Plummer Park 2009 ©2004-2009 Dwell LLC

Metabolic Studio Public SalonCharles PhoenixFriday, August 7, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

Charles Phoenix's Retro Slide Show Tour of Southern California
About The Salon

“It is the age of space and we have just landed in the most modern metropolis on the planet…”

A live vintage slide show performance by pop-culture expert Charles Phoenix. With his infectious enthusiasm and eagle eye for funny and thought provoking details Charles celebrates Southern California in the 1950s & 60s. You will experience the booming car culture, space age suburbia, fast food stands, shopping centers and drive-in's like you never have before. Go behind the scenes in Hollywood, see famous landmarks,then enjoy Knott's Berry Farm, Marineland and Disneyland when they were new and much, much, more-IN COLOR!

“… the sun-kissed Southern Californians seen here are clearly having the time of their lives. And so are we.” – Los Angeles Times (Critic’s Choice)

“so entertaining we wish it would last forever…” – LA Weekly (Pick of the Week)

About the Salon Presenter

Entertainer, author and pop-culture expert Charles Phoenix is known for his live hilarious retro slide show performances, comparing Downtown Los Angeles to Disneyland, Astro-Weenie Christmas Tree and colorful coffee table books. He offers a hip and highly original take on kitschy and classic American culture. Fans from coast to coast enjoy his infectious enthusiasm, gracious sense of humor and keen eye for detail. Charles is also a recurring correspondent for NPR’s Day to Day and The Martha Stewart Show. Charles was the Grand Marshall of this years DooDah Parade in Pasadena,CA. LA WEEKLY chose Charles for the cover of its 2008 people issue, calling him the Kodachrome King. For more on Charles and to sign up for his Slide of the Week go to www.CharlesPhoenix.com

Image courtesy Charles Phoenix