C3 Attacks Hipster Ground Zero at Coyote Fest 2011

C3 Attacks Hipster Ground Zero at Coyote Fest 2011

by David Tanimura
Photos Stan Kotecki

We hit Bucktown hard with a surgical strike. Our seasoned group rolled up to the dropzone and unloaded our cargo under bitter rain. Once inside the Flatiron, we knew we were in for a bit of excitement.Coyote Fest is always a wonderful event for C3: creative professionals connecting with professional artists, gallery owners and art lovers. For me, gallery shows are all about conversation. Don’t get me wrong—I’m a married graphic designer/artist in my late 20s with 3 part-time jobs trying to make a living during a recession. I’d love to sell some art, but that’s not really what excites me about putting on a show.

There’s nothing that can really describe the moment when a viewer connects with your art. For a halting moment, I can see my creative vision reflected in their eyes. I give them that fleeting moment to be frozen in time before I approach and offer a helping hand to guide their brain to catch up with their emotions, “If you have any questions, please let me know.”

“Yes… uh—Wow. What… what am I looking at?”

Then we talk and philosophize, stumble and recover. Eventually I take a deep breath and step back, letting my art do the talking for a while. I go and talk to my fellow C3 members and we share our stories of the day and have a quick bite to eat and sip of wine.

Coyote is a tiring and fulfilling three days. We take our art down from the walls. We say “goodbye” to the gallery space and “talk soon” to our new connections with dreams of grand future projects. We fit the art back into our vehicles and head home. Even as we are leaving Bucktown, the hive of hipsters, art freaks and bicycle punks—we can’t wait to come back next year.