This Tri-Angulation* is about A.T.A., or Artist's Television Access (recently featured in Guardian) which has a name that erroneously implies that it is a venue accessible to artists...

A friend of mine, [name witheld becasue I got him in trouble with this email], is in a band called [name witheld], and this Friday, I almost had a chance to see him play. He was performing for free (so I was told) at A.T.A. on Valencia Street at 21st. I have been really tight on cash these past couple of months, and had to miss their performance at Kimo's because of the cover charge.

Ever since we moved back to San Francisco, my wife and I have been subsisting on the old Top Ramen and Mac 'N Cheese diet that got me through college. So a free show was a welcome thing. We also haven't been able to go on a date for a while because we have been working such disparate schedules that we usually don't get a night out together. So we were looking forward to our first chance to see my friend in his new band.

As it turned out, the event was free, but the gallery was charging a $5 'donation' at the door. I used to run a small art gallery myself (FLOORSPACE on Market Street), and I know that the cover charge usually never actually covers the event, so $5 really is not that much to pay. I have also been curator of a show at A.T.A. myself, and did not charge a cover for it. I also know that it is called a 'donation' because you don’t have all the right paperwork, so it is actually illegal to charge money at the door. Usually you let people in on what you call a 'sliding scale' which is whatever they can afford. The sliding scale is customary, especially if you are a providing a 'resource for artists' (as ATA purports to do).

But at A.T.A., the scale did not slide for us. The girl at the door kept saying that a donation was "greatly appreciated." We offered to pay all the money we had with us (which was three dollars) but that was not enough of a donation, and she did not let us in. My wife and I (artists, by the way) were denied access because we could not pay the illegal cover charge.

This is not the first time I have dealt with A.T.A.'s selective way of granting access to artists. The show that I put on at A.T.A. was a gallery show, not a film or video presentation. We had a showcase of some of the works of the CIA (Conceptual and Information Arts) department of San Francisco State. The CIA is a struggling department (of which I am an alumni) and I thought I was doing something good by having a gallery show in the city. As such, I felt it inappropriate to charge people when we were trying to get exposure for ourselves and our department at school.

It turned out not to matter that there was no cover charge, because for the entire month, except for the opening, the show was inaccessible anyway. A.T.A. never had their doors open long enough for anyone to see the work, unless it was for one of their shows when a screen was dropped down in front of some of the works to have their 'Other Cinema' film show. There was also a kinetic sculptural piece that was left unplugged for the entire month. So we never got the exposure we were hoping for, because no one had access to our show.

Perhaps in the 80s, A.T.A. was something different, avant-garde even. Back when video installations weren't in the MOMA, and high schools didn't have video editing systems. But A.T.A. seems more like a dinosaur now. It is a treehouse club for aging hipsters. Perhaps they should drop the "Access" from their name. Perhaps the words "Television" and "Artist" are a bit of a misnomer as well...

-Torrey

replies below

Torrey,

Welcome back from Virginia. If I have room, do you want me to put this in the Lettuce to the Editor section?

--Gene
[editor SF Hearald]

Well blah, go ahead and post this if you like. Feh!

I just wanted to say hi. And let you know that I am looking forward to seeing what comes from being on your mailing list. It was unfortunate that we didn't cross paths while you were down here. So hopefully if I ever get my bigbutterbooty up to the bay area I will be able to track you down and possibly add a little burritto or pizza influence to your rameneque existence. And I'd just like to give you a big hug.

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Kirstin