Most are familiar with the parable of the starving artist—the dramatic amalgamation of being artistically gifted but incessantly strapped for cash is a motif that has been romanticized beyond reproach: think, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin. Cue the violins.
Rarely, however, does one see the trope turned on its head with the emergence of the artist-as-philanthropist. Typically, it’s the artist who receives the benefit of some wealthy benefactor looking to support the arts through their hefty bank account. Enter David Garibaldi.
The Sacramento artist has lined up an impressive résumé—from entertaining crowds with electrifying live shows that blend art and performance, to receiving a commission from the Disney company to bring to life some of its seminal characters in his singularly kinetic style, not to mention his visit to the White House at last year’s South by South Lawn: A White House Festival of Ideas, Art and Action. For the last several years, Garibaldi has been quietly donating his time, talent and coin in support of local and national philanthropic efforts.
“When I was 25 I realized that my paintings were being auctioned off for tens of thousands [of dollars], which is amazing to me, and I was grateful for that,” he explains. “But I thought, ‘OK, this is a great opportunity, how can we use this for a bigger purpose?’ So, I set a goal at 25 to raise a million by the time I turned 30. We met that goal before I turned 30, we’ve since raised almost $4 million now. I like to help organizations that are empowering people, for instance the Women’s Empowerment Program here in Sacramento [and] the Sacramento Children’s Home.”
Now, as Garibaldi prepares to return to the Sacramento stage with Art Life Live—an all-ages benefit at Ace of Spades on Nov. 25 for Turnaround Arts, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities—he says that his passion for helping others comes from his experiences as a troubled teenager. Through the advice of his art teacher and mentor, he realized that the days he spent defacing property with his raucous graffiti-writing crew would only cause him grief in the long run, which he realized soon enough when his pattern of indolence prevented his graduation from Sheldon High School.
“I was always a creator, and I say creator because, yes, I was drawing, but I was also into Legos and cars—building things and creating stories behind them,” he says. “Then I also started playing the trumpet in third grade and I played until high school. So, the music and art were always parallel throughout my life.”
For those unfamiliar with Garibaldi’s work, the artists’ canvases bear the images of noteworthy and celebrated figures in pop culture. But they don’t spring to life in the lonely confines of his studio on the R Street Corridor. They instead emerge under the bright lights of the stage as he prowls the dais, igniting a firestorm of color on the canvas in a flurry of brushstrokes—a wash of yellow here, a slash of blue there. As the driving beats from one of his favorite hip-hop tracks serenades him in his progress, and amid the frenetic pace of the show, slowly a portrait begins to emerge. The audience waits in anticipation of which famous visage will appear on the once inky, blank canvas.
And while Garibaldi is enjoying the accolades, exposure and most certainly the paychecks, he confides that in his 20s he was unemployed, careless and lost most of his worldly possessions to poverty. He cites the Sacramento creative scene as the catalyst for his evolution from self-taught artist to performance artist to philanthropist.
“I started painting in 2003. I had never painted on canvas or with acrylics before, I just started teaching myself how to paint,” he explains. “I started combining what I love—music and art—and instead of waiting around, I thought, ‘I’m going to go and paint live where people are into what I’m into, and hopefully attract buyers or collectors.’”
While Garibaldi admits that he probably gave away more than he sold, it’s because of those early art sales that he began to gain confidence. This propelled him on an upward trajectory that would lead to performances at the White House, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and as the opening act for both the Blue Man Group and Snoop Dogg. Garibaldi says that with every $50 sale or $100 sale, his confidence in his talent grew. It was a tough time, but he was also fearless.
“I was dealing with the local scene at the time. In a sense I was the new kid trying to make my way in and I didn’t do things like everyone else,” he continues. “I didn’t talk to the right people, I didn’t go through those political channels that everyone else did. I was like, ‘I’m going to go out and paint live, and no one is going to sell my work and take a commission.’ So, I just didn’t care. I think that is where Sacramento came into play, why I say Sacramento was so influential, is because of the climate and the opportunity that was provided—you can create your own opportunity.”
It’s through this concept of creating one’s own opportunities that inspired Garibaldi to take his humanitarian calling to the next level as he sets his sights on expanding his legacy in philanthropy.
“I’m also starting my own nonprofit with my high school art teacher. It’s in the process right now and it will be up and running next year,” he says grinning widely. “It’s being called Creator X Project and [our mission] is to multiply the amount of creators in the world by giving them the tools and the inspiration to create. Similar to what Turnaround Arts does, but my dream, or my goal, would be to adopt a classroom for a year and make sure they’re fully supplied with not only the art supplies but also instruction.”
Art Life Live promises to reveal even more of Garibaldi’s fearless nature. According to Garibaldi, his fans can delight in both the expected and unexpected. The artist will be jutting around the stage at his usual frenetic pace, but says he plans to incorporate other components into the show that his Sacramento admirers have yet to experience.
“I am going to be doing a 60-minute performance,” he explains. “I’ll be doing up to eight paintings live—they’re done all completely different, some are multiple pieces that are moving. We’ve got this massive video wall that will be on stage that I’ll be interacting with, [and] I’m breaking out my trumpet for an interlude. It’s basically made up of a lot of moments and it’s a journey, but the concept is Blue Man Group meets Bob Ross. It’s an all-ages show, and I’m donating tickets to my old high school art class so I’m giving them 40 tickets because I want to inspire the next generation.”
Proceeds from the upcoming show will also benefit Turnaround Arts, the national program originally founded by the Obama administration. Garibaldi explains that when he was invited to the White House to perform last year, he was approached by representatives of the program and asked to be a Turnaround artist, an opportunity the artist-cum-philanthropist dared not deny—especially since the program speaks directly to his personal mission of providing arts access to children.
“I get to adopt schools around the country,” he says proudly. “I go visit them and do performances for them, but these schools have already been given funding and anything they need to use the arts to turn around non-arts issues like attendance, math scores, morale. I’m definitely getting more into arts education, more so because I’m learning about it firsthand.”
While Garibaldi continues to build his brand traveling the world with his artist’s palette in tow, his commitment to the Sacramento community continues to drive him in this next stage of his career.
“Sacramento creates this climate that [while] there’s a scene, you can also do your own thing, and I took full advantage of that, I didn’t ask for permission,” he explains. “I was just like, ‘I’m going to do this! I’m not going to take shit from anyone and I’m going to figure this out.’”
Rock out with your art out with David Garibaldi on Nov. 25, 2017, at Ace of Spades (1417 R St., Sacramento). Tickets start at $35 and proceeds will go to a great cause. Hey, it’s almost the holidays, so this is a fun way to begin the giving season. For tickets to this all-ages benefit show, go to Aceofspadessac.com.
**This article first appeared in print on pages 18 – 19 of issue #253 (Nov. 20 – Dec. 4, 2017)**
This Saturday, July 23, Arden Fair Mall will host an evening filled with art and entertainment at their reveal party for Elevate: An Art Exhibition. The top 10 artists who submitted their artwork to be displayed on the mall’s 40-foot LED video tower will be celebrated at this free event that will also feature musical performances from Amber De La Rosa and Jon Reyes (of DLRN and Good Company). Local radio personality and emcee Soosh*e! will also be on hand. The party, which is free and runs from 5–7 p.m., will be hosted by none other than world renowned performance artist and Sacramento local, David Garibaldi, who also acts as one of the judges for the Elevate art contest. Other judges include Shelly Willis, executive director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, and Mark Friedman, president of Fulcrum Property and an avid art collector who contributes to various arts organizations. At the reveal party, the judges will announce the top three winners of the contest and award cash prizes ranging from $500 to $2,500. For attendees, not only will you be able to bask in the glow of the amazing large-scale digital art, you can also wet your whistle with beverages from 58 Degrees and Holding Company and Beers in Sacramento, along with small bites from Seasons 52, BJ’s, Nordstrom Marketplace Café and Block Butcher Bar. Visit Ardenfair.com for more details.
Ride along with Submerge for its fourth-annual Bicycle Mural Tour. Yes, that’s right: the journey inspired by street art returns and features some of the city’s newest pieces—blasted in the alleyways of businesses like the Wilkerson Theatre on 25th Street, or covering a vacant building near busy railroad tracks. As this story gradually developed, via random bike rides and a few wrong turns throughout midtown and downtown, an underlining theme emerged from the select layers of paint: Change is ever-present. As more corrugated and concrete walls in Sacramento become skillfully decorated canvases, some veteran pieces fade behind new concepts and transition into mere memory. Submerge revisits and remembers one mural in particular, highlighted in 2012, by self-taught artist Skinner. His longtime homage to the monsters of heavy metal at the former Java Lounge coffee house on 16th Street was recently painted over with a new mural by artist Mynas. Much like the flux in businesses, the spot now hosts Good Hands Barbershop. In this year’s feature, explore the hidden designs of the outdoors, remember past works of art and pedal along with a magazine that will continue to document this ever-evolving art form.
Space Babe
The Wilkerson Theatre
1723 25th St. (In the alley)
Sacramento
A full-bodied space woman in an orange and red uniform stares down at passersby. Her white eyes encased by a clear astronaut helmet and colorless, outlined arms hint that this mural is yet to be finished by artist Cyber Punk. Sharp letters in many shades of brown and yellow are accented by several blue and purple orbs guiding viewers from one end of the alley to the next. Clue: If an older man framed in gold with deep brown eyes appears, smoking a cigar, X marks the spot.
The Land Before Crime
1905 S St. (Next to Jim’s Color Corner Inc.)
Sacramento
A red van parked near the S Street railroad tracks reads “Mystery Machine” on one side. Its owner, artist Anthony Padilla, stands on the highest step of his paint-speckled ladder, and accents a navy palm tree with bright, aqua blue in the background of his mural, The Land Before Crime. Padilla says the owner of the building wanted a simple way to ensure that random incidents of tagging stopped. With this piece, he asks the public one question, “When will fossil fuels go extinct?” The query directly relates to the triceratops and pterodactyls featured throughout the plush scenery Padilla has created. “Instead of watching Miley Cyrus shake her flat ass, you could spend time thinking about serious shit,” explains Padilla. “This is the land before manmade laws. There wasn’t a judicial system. Everything was down to the laws of nature.”
Untitled
a Hidden treasure
Channel the inquisitive attributes of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes and discover this mural not too far from Padilla’s The Land Before Crime. To find this bonus piece, bike toward the alleyway of new music venue Witch Room, then mosey past two blue dumpsters, and finally, peek around the corner near the railroad tracks to reveal a three-piece set of script and prehistoric creatures. One blue-gray dinosaur glares behind dark shades and clutches a can of spray paint. Although the ground is decorated by empty Ben and Jerry’s ice cream pints and cigarette butts, and a pair of shoes dangles from the power lines above, this hidden design is worth the extra investigative effort.
Style Vault
Good Hands Barbershop
2416 16th St.
Sacramento
A police officer walks across a checkered floor and into the “style vault,” where stacks of gold coins act as a bread crumb trail of sorts. The word “end” is painted in gigantic letters in the foreground of this mural, with intricate details and color painted in each letter by artist Mynas. The piece quietly ends with the officer fast asleep on a wooden stool next to a box of glazed donuts. Owner of Good Hands Barbershop, Joshua Green, recently opened his business in March and says he simply wanted to start something fresh for the city. So, the choice to paint over Skinner’s mural of monsters was made. “I feel I made the right call,” explains Green. “I made sure I found the right person. It’s not like I said, ‘Screw it. It’s got to go.’ The art that was done previously by Skinner was kind of demonic with blood and people’s heads getting cut off. I got families and kids coming through here.” Eventually, Green wants to keep the wall in question as a rotating art space filled with layers by future artists. “I left a section up there that I had Mynas leave alone. It’s not 100 percent forgotten.”
Our Time
7th and K streets
Sacramento
An ominous figure stands tall, his eyes shaded behind neon green words that blatantly ask, “Our time?” This is the latest mural by artist David Garibaldi (@garibaldiarts) on 7th and K streets. The piece presses the question of time, perhaps coincidentally or intentionally adjacent to what will be formerly the Downtown Plaza Mall. As the mural tour comes to a close, change again surfaces. This time, it’s found within the deep purple of this figure’s jacket, accented with vibrant green and warped and smeared in a brown and gray background.
When Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins first put ink to skin in the late ’20s and uttered the words, “Color is here to stay. Good color that is,” he encapsulated the very essence of the tattoo culture that exploded in the ’90s onto the arms, legs, chests and even faces of almost one in four Americans.
Now, some 40 years after his passing, you can’t stroll down the street without seeing an endless stream of walking canvases sporting pinup queens, tribal bands and portraits of loved ones. No longer are they a rite of passage for soldiers, sailors or those living on the fringe of society that defined ink-lovers a generation or two ago—a 2006 survey by the American Academy of Dermatology revealed that 24 percent of Americans between 18 and 50 are tattooed.
It’s not often that art, food and commerce converge, but after a decade in one of the most challenging businesses to break through, the tattooed-themed INK Eats and Drinks has built a solid following of regulars and bar hounds who frequently gobble up its fare.
“We’re not trying to be a chain or corporate,” says Christina Arntson, bar manager and assistant general manager. “Our success was just [being in] the right time and location—it was like the stars aligned and now we’ve been here for 10 years.”
The scene at INK Eats and Drinks in Midtown reads like a living tribute to Sailor Jerry’s artistic style—the space is open and inviting and sleeved-up with a vibrant adornment of tattooed-inspired art in the classic tattoo tradition.
“Most of the stuff that you see on the ceiling is by a couple of artists at Forever Tattoo, Brent [Patten] and Eiland [Hogan],” Arntson says. “The mural is actually by [David] Garibaldi, who is kind of a big deal now. He did the mural right when we opened.”
The eatery recently put on a hum-dinger of a bash in celebration of its 10 years on the grid. The daylong affair included the christening of its new outdoor patio, where guest artists flexed their creative muscles with body painting, chalk art and live painting demonstrations. Also on hand were a few of the members of The Sizzling Sirens Burlesque troupe.
“When I was there it was a pretty good turnout,” says Elizabeth Miller, a regular customer and tattoo artist at Relentless Tattoo. “There were some old, familiar faces from back in the day from when we first started going to the first happy hour, so the old-school group from happy hour was there. I got to see faces that I hadn’t seen in a really long time.”
Partygoers also were treated to raffle prizes from Side Show Studios, Relentless Tattoo, Trash Film Orgy, Sacramento Horror Film Festival, The Sizzling Sirens Burlesque Experience and Body Advantage.
“The first big push was all of our regulars,” Arntson says. “We had a pretty good turnout, but the most important thing was to get all of our regulars together to have a good time and show our appreciation. We also featured our brand new merchandise with our 10-year logo by Liz at Relentless.”
The Relentless ink slinger, who has also decorated the bodies of many of the staff at INK with her work, was allowed to display her artistic chops as well as express her passion for traditional-style pin-up art by designing the restaurant’s T-shirts commemorating its decade-long run in the business.
“Christina approached me to see if I would design a logo for their 10-year anniversary. They gave me some information on what they wanted, they wanted me to use the INK logo, but they let me pretty much pick overall how it would come out,” Miller explains. “The pin-ups on the back were something I came up with to make the 10—tattooing pinups is one of my favorite things.”
The restaurant boasts an extensive menu that includes classics like burgers, sliders, hot wings and macaroni and cheese, but it’s their dedication to their guests with daily specials that keeps their doors swinging open with a parade of guest after guest. Every day there’s a special deal; on “Medical Monday” members of the medical industry can score 35 percent off of dine-in or to-go eats, on “Taco Tuesday” flashing your ink gets you $3 drafts, $5 wine and $3 Tuaca shots, on “Whiskey Bum Wednesday” whiskey specials flow all night long with $3 whiskey cocktails and $3 Jameson shots, while Thursday draws in the many construction crews working nearby with their “Hard Hat Lunch” where workers get 35 percent off their tab.
On the weekends, when brunch reigns supreme on the grid and everyone seems to be doing bottomless mimosas and build-your-own bloody Mary bars, Arntson is looking to steer people away from the typical brunch bevvies.
“I know people are all about the bottomless mimosas, but I’ve been trying to incorporate other things. I have a five-dollar breakfast cocktail menu,” Arntson explains. “I’m starting to do St. Germain sangria pitchers with all seasonal, fresh fruit.”
A recent trip to the restaurant proved why the spot has been around for 10 years. The room was bustling with construction workers enjoying a quick break from the dust and grime while chatting it up with the wait staff. The staff, while obviously enjoying the jokes and stories being told by the construction workers, still managed to provide impeccable and attentive service to the rest of the diners in the room.
The food didn’t disappoint either. The mac and cheese was a display of ooey-gooey goodness, the salmon BLT was an artful display of smoky succulence, the classic Reuben, while not overloaded with pastrami, was lightly dressed in Thousand Island and lovingly sandwiched between two slices of a soft and buttery marble rye and their fried calamari was a study in deep-fried perfection—not too chewy or reminiscent of an old rubber tire.
“My absolute favorite is the grilled triple cheese and a cider,” Miller says. “I get that every time. They put Parmesan cheese on the outside of the bread and then they grill it—it’s buttery and the top of the bread has that kind of burnt cheese on the top.”
Miller also says that while tattoo art typically resides on the human flesh, she is currently working on art for two local restaurants. Proof that the trend set by INK wasn’t just a gimmicky ploy to wrangle in diners.
“I think when people see the art in INK, they look at tattoo art in a different light,” Miller says. “I think that’s why a lot more restaurants are steering toward that [design aesthetic] because I think they realize tattoo artists aren’t just tattoo artists—they can do a lot of other cool things, too.”
Somewhere in tattoo heaven Sailor Jerry is beaming with pride.
This just in: world-renowned performance painter David Garibaldi will create a Kings mural live in front of attendees during Second Saturday festivities on May 14, 2011 at the corner of 20th and J Streets from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Garibaldi wants Kings fans to be a part of the one-of-a-kind mural by submitting photos showing their support for the Kings to his twitter (@garibaldiarts) or on his Facebook fan page using the hash tag “#HereWePaint.” Watch a special message from Garibaldi below.
