So what exactly is the Sawdust Art Festival?
There was a time when the music and antics of the Beatles were considered shocking and a threat to the well being of young people. Then the world turned a few times. Now, they’re an institution. You can take a ride to your local target and pick up and infant’s onesie silk-screened with the cover art from Sergeant Pepper’s.
It seems that the difference between shocking and benign is just a little bit of time. Take Che Guevara, for example. He seems to have a pretty good PR guy in his court. Keep in mind his role in history. He was a friend of Castro and one of the fellows that helped to install a communist government in Cuba. In case you don’t know, in the fifties that was considered a bad thing.
And so our discussion turns to the annual Sawdust Art Festival held in Laguna Beach. Originally, this gathering of local artists was a protest against the judging in other competitions. Forty years later, it has been embraced by the populous and serves as a place for artisans to display their wares.
Art is in the eye of the beholder. What is for sale really runs the gamut; some of it is incredibly commercial and some of it is progressive. The important thing about the festival is that it allows local artists to be working artists.
