Rainmaker

San Diego Central Library Art Gallery
330 Park Blvd, 9th Floor
San Diego CA 92101

Opening Reception
September 19, 2015
12:00 p.m — 2:00 p.m.

Rainmaker looks at the past, present and future of water, connecting the anniversary of a pivotal moment in the region’s history to our environment today. In 1915, the city was on the brink of growth but reservoirs were dangerously low. Officials hired self-taught “moisture accelerator” Charles Hatfield, hoping he could make it rain. Over the next four weeks, more than 30 inches pummeled the region, wiping out dams, homes and bridges. Now, water is again a top concern. Twelve of San Diego’s most thoughtful and innovative artists — Adam Belt, Roman de Salvo, Michael Field, Lisa Hutton, Gabriel Kalmuss-Katz, Dominic Paul Miller, Margaret Noble, Scott Polach, Eva Struble, Joshua Tonies, Jim Wilsterman, and Sheldon Wood — fill the gallery with sound, sculpture, painting, poetry, photography, video and digital animation. They explore the presence and absence of water, its mystery and allure, the futility and absurdity of our attempts to control nature. On view through November 29, 2015.

Image credit: Charles Mallory Hatfield, 1910, Courtesy of San Diego
Public Library Special Collections. Detail, Scott Polach, Make ’em
Hum #070515 (White), (2015). Photograph, 8.5″ x 11″