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The County Fair
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| RED DESERT DANCE |
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| LAURA WEINBACH |
| SAM & JUDA TOLMASOFF |
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| REUBEN MARGOLIN WAVE ART |
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| JUDGEMENT DAY |
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| STRING METAL |
New Arts Scene at Fair 8/10/09
by Bonney Zanardi
San Mateo Times
The arts are getting special attention at this year's San Mateo County Fair, which opens Saturday at the Expo Center,
2495 S. Delaware St., San Mateo. San Bruno artist Boris Koodrin has dived in as the event's creative arts coordinator, with
designer/colorist Kayte Van De Mark as his associate.
Koodrin, a commercial screen printer and muralist, also trained in Apache tracking and philosophy. That has led him into
mentoring at-risk youths and teaching an experiential class for high school students in "how to see without looking."
Van De Mark has worked for Donald Trump for nine years as a uniform and interior designer and has directed the Sanders Gallery
in Fresno for 12 years.
You'll find the fine arts in the large Expo Building at the south end of the fairgrounds. This year's theme, "Carry
the Light," was begun by Koodrin when he did the cover art for blues guitarist Kelly Richey's CD of the same name.
Koodrin calls the concept "an ideal that beckons all of us to become master painters of our own dreams." It
includes "the creative responsibility to carry the light and to mentor others," he says.
Plans for enhancing the presentation of visual arts include large kite bouquets reaching up to the ceiling, with tails
of light winding down to the display areas. Reuben Margolin's kinetic art, "Pentagonal Wave," will be overhead.
Another of Margolin's works, "Soda Bottle Wave," will be installed in Sequoia Hall.
Margolin says both are "part of a series of monumental mechanical mobiles that seek to combine the logic of mathematics
with the sensuousness of nature." The Berkeley native began his studies in math and physics at Harvard University, but
he "changed paths" and earned a bachelor's degree in English. Later, he studied classical drawing and painting at
the Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy, and monumental painting at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in Russia.
It was the movement of a little green caterpillar that captured his imagination and initiated his work to create wavelike
sculptures. In addition to his mesmerizing undulating installations, Margolin, who has a studio in Emeryville, also makes
pedal-powered rickshaws. (You can see some online at www.reubenmargolin.com.) He has exhibited his work in California and
abroad, such as at the Swiss Science Center in Winterthur and at the Kinetica, London.
Another of Koodrin's goals is "to lift the literary arts to new levels," he says. An 8- by 16-foot stage will
be used for literary seminars, author presentations and musical performances integrated with the spoken word. In addition,
large printed excerpts from all first-place winners in the literary categories will be hung in the exhibit area.
This year marks the fair's 75th anniversary. Saturday's opening-night festivities include fireworks at 9 p.m. The fair
will be open daily through Aug. 23. Hours are noon to 10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and noon to 11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Tickets
are $10 adults; $8 children ages 6 to 12 and seniors 55 and older; and free for children 5 and younger. Visit www.sanmateocountyfair.com.
for a schedule of performers and events.
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