Page 208 | Pacific Sun | Marin County, California

Automat Documentary Recalls 20th Century Self-Serve Restaurants

Mar 30, 2022

Automat Documentary Recalls 20th Century Self-Serve Restaurants

There was a time when, for the price of a nickel, diners could participate in a uniquely American food phenom.

The Automat anticipated both the worlds of fast food and “self-serve,” became a social institution, then vanished into obscurity.

Founded by entrepreneurs Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart in the late 1880s, their restaurant concept was novel in more ways than one. Patrons at Horn & Hardart literally inserted nickels into slots and small windows opened, revealing their selection. But more significantly, the chain enabled an egalitarianism that defied the mores of its time. When many restaurateurs were racist, sexist and xenophobic, Horn and Hardart’s venture fed millions of New Yorkers and Philadelphians of all backgrounds, eventually in 100 different locations and for more than a century—one nickel at a time.

Filmmaker Lisa Hurwitz admirably captures this forgotten cultural moment in her whimsical and edifying documentary, The Automat, which serves up an extra helping of talking heads whose lives were touched by this nutritious nickelodeon. Throughout, anecdotes and analyses come in tasty, bite-sized portions from such luminaries as filmmaker Mel Brooks, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Hurwitz’s deep dive into the history of the Automat was inspired, in part, by a Ph.D. dissertation she read while in college. Entitled “Trapped Behind the Automat: Technological Systems and the American Restaurant, 1902-1991,” the work was written by Dr. Alec Shuldiner, who now lives in Fairfax and is co-producer of the film and one of its key interviewees.

“The Automat may have served via a machine, but the experience of dining in one was very social,” Shuldiner said in a recent email.

Given our contemporary era’s advances in AI and automation (not to mention a pandemic-born wariness of other people handling our food), it seems the Automat is primed to return (the last one shuttered in the early ‘90s). Shuldiner disagrees.

“Recent attempts to use the Automat technology to vend food… hardly even offer dining space and are focused on limiting all forms of human interaction,” said Shuldiner. “This reduces the Automat to really just another vending machine.”

He points out that elements of the Automat live on in chains like Starbucks, “where social mixing is common.” This reminds that “social mixing” is also key to the theatrical movie-going experience, which, for now, is the only way to see The Automat, and one of the best ways you could spend your nickels in the Bay Area.

‘The Automat’ plays at Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael; Summerfield Cinemas, Santa Rosa; Landmark’s Albany Twin, Albany; Vogue Theatre, San Francisco. Check theater listings for times and tickets.

‘Rent’ Goes Up in Novato

Harry Duke

Mar 23, 2022

Every 30 years or so, musical theater manages to produce something to which the younger members of a generation attach themselves.

From Hair in the 1960’s through Hamilton today, composers and lyricists’ use of the music of their time has been an effective way to entice younger audiences into theaters.

The 1990’s brought Jonathan Larson’s Rent, which transplanted Puccini’s opera La bohème from Paris to New York’s East Village Alphabet City and transformed its painters and poets to filmmakers and rock stars. The show went on to win four Tonys and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Its success was not witnessed by Larson, who tragically passed away on the show’s Off-Broadway opening night. The Marin Musical Theatre Company and Novato Theater Company have a co-production of Rent running in Novato through April 10.

It’s the tale of an artistic community struggling to survive the ‘80s, the grunge movement, urban gentrification, the AIDS crisis and the interpersonal conflicts that come with life. Roommates Roger (an intense Nelson Brown) and Mark (a genial Jake Gale) resolve not to pay any rent to their former friend and landlord, Benny (Arup Chakrabarti), who plans to turn an adjoining lot into a “cyber arts studio” and evict the artists and squatters living there.

Mark, a wannabe filmmaker, serves as the narrator of the story. Through him we meet Roger, who’s afraid of succumbing to AIDS before he writes one great song. Roger is pursued by Mimi (Trixie Aballa), who has addiction issues. Mark still pines after his ex, Joanne (Anna Vorperian), who left him for Maureen (Shayla Lawler). There’s also Tom Collins (Gary Stanford, Jr.) and his crossdressing partner, Angel (Stephen Kanaski). All of their stories are delivered through song via a pounding hard rock score, vigorously delivered by musical director Daniel Savio’s four-piece band.

Director Jenny Boynton has a large, diverse cast at work and several really stood out. Lawler brings the right amount of New York attitude to Maureen. Angel is the heart and soul of the show, and Kanaski, in tandem with Stanford’s Collins, brought a true sense of love–and the heartbreak of loss–to their characters.

The vocals were sometimes iffy, as is often the case with scream singing, but the energy the cast brought to the stage was invigorating. The entire ensemble comes through with “Seasons of Love.”

The pandemic led to a dearth of large-scale musicals on local stages. Rent was overdue.

’Rent’ runs through April 10 at the Novato Theater Company, 5420 Nave Drive, Ste. C, Novato. Fri & Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $18–$30. Proof of vaccination is required. Masking is optional. 415.883.4498. novatotheatercompany.org.

Meditative Musician Visits West Marin

Charlie Swanson

Mar 23, 2022

Raised on the East Coast and now living in Portland, OR, guitarist and singer-songwriter Jeffrey Silverstein uses music to better understand himself and those around him.

That mindset makes for very contemplative, almost ambient music, which funnels deep thoughts through a psych-folk and indie-rock lens on albums like his 2020 full-length debut, “You Become the Mountain,” and his 2021 EP, “Torii Gates.” This is named after a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.

After two years at home due to the pandemic, Silverstein is back on the road and making his way to West Marin, where he’ll play on Friday, March 25, at Smiley’s Schooner Saloon in Bolinas.

“Music has just always been the thing I love the most,” Silverstein says. “That really became clear once I had my first attempts at being in a band, a very bad band, in high school.”

For Silverstein, failure was a part of the process of growing as a musician. Rather than letting early struggles in his music career derail his passion, it only further instilled a work ethic and drive to improve.

Now a decade into his musical journey, Silverstein’s skill and confidence shines on the patiently melodic musings he produces on the six-track “Torii Gates,” which features songs about the quiet majesty of nature and which celebrates the unknowable aspects of life in the 21st century.

Silverstein often draws comparisons to David Berman (Silver Jews) for his deep voice, and to Bill Frissell for his dreamy guitar sound. He has been able to develop his own sound and style over the years, due to the fact that he works professionally as an educator and therefore makes more experimental music than someone who relies on the tunes to pay the rent.

“I’ve said that music and meditation and running and teaching are all ways that I get to know myself,” Silverstein says. “Hopefully as you get older, you know yourself more, and somehow I think that makes its way into your creativity.”

This month, Silverstein excitedly shares his creativity with a full band on this current tour. Bay Area alt-rock band Credit Electric and folk songwriter Mikayla McVey will join him in Bolinas for a spirited outdoor show.

“I’m hoping this run of shows will feel like I’m going through the other side (of the pandemic),” Silverstein says. “I’m really excited for the opportunity.”

Jeffrey Silverstein plays on Friday, March 25, at Smiley’s Saloon, 42 Wharf Rd., Bolinas. 6pm. $10. Smileyssaloon.com.

Letters to the Editor

Pacific Sun Staff

Mar 23, 2022

Grateful to Gaye

I am grateful for Gaye LeBaron’s professionalism in accurately collecting and preserving key historical events that scholars will draw from for decades to help us understand Sonoma County in the 20th Century. This includes Clarence Barnard’s participation in the 1920 lynching (“The Shame of Santa Rosa,” Bohemian, March 16)–I was Gaye’s assistant the day he came to her office to “set the record straight”–and the many, many, even hundreds, of columns she has written about Hispanics, Blacks, Chinese, Italians, Japanese, others and race/caste relations in Sonoma County.

Mary Fricker

Sebastopol

Elephant in the Room

Thank you for publishing Joseph Brooke’s essay (“Roots of the Tree of News,” Open Mic) in your March 16 issue. He unveils the elephant in the room, while most of us shut our eyes against it. The underlying basis of most of the suffering on this planet is clearly traced to the exploding (exploded!) human population.

We recycle in the face of an estimated 150 million metric tons of plastic littering the world’s oceans, and we incentivize electric vehicles because our nearly 1.5 billion cars are a significant contributor to global warming.

Yet we continue to add more humans to this small, precious planet, as though there will be no consequences. Surely, we have the courage to acknowledge that human overpopulation affects all of us, and choose to have only as many children as our compassion for humanity and our Earth allow. Brooke uses the term “infestation.” As I watch our unchecked overpopulation, the word “metastasis” arises. Healthy cells do not multiply endlessly; only cancerous cells do that. Aren’t we more intelligent, more compassionate than a host-destroying illness?

Laurie Hammond

Rohnert Park

Challenging Thompson

As I write this, it has been four and a half years since I first challenged my corporate opponent, Mike Thompson, to a debate on the issues. This challenge was delivered by mail and in person, as well as through social media and in the letter to the editor section. Still he refuses, not just to debate me, but ANY of his opponents for more than a decade. Why? He’s afraid to have his views challenged publicly. He’s afraid that you, reader, will discover the truth about his hypocrisy, inaction and outright dishonesty. He is a political coward, who is on a coast, simply following the party line on just about every issue. That isn’t loyalty to you, the voter. That isn’t serving you. That’s serving his party. No party is 100% good, just as no party is 100% bad. This country is having major issues right now, and the people deserve to hear the truth, deserve to hear opposing viewpoints and solutions they may not have considered. And the people deserve to have elected officials who are accountable to answer for their policy decisions and share their view about how we move forward. Because of Mike, there has been no Congressional debate for more than a decade, because he knows the League of Women Voters won’t host an event if even one candidate is absent, so all he has to do is make himself unavailable. It’s cowardice. To Mike, I say: Quit hiding from challenges. If you’ve got nothing to fear, debate will only make you stronger. And to the reader, I say: You can make a debate happen if you bombard him with calls and letters. How about it, Mike?

Jason Kishineff

No Party Preference candidate

Look: WERKSTATT Pop-Up

Jane Vick

Mar 23, 2022

Good morning, glitter babies! And happy Wednesday! How is everyone’s week? I’m in Brooklyn as I write this, so suffice to say my week is off to a phenomenal start, though I did take a redeye here and promptly threw up upon arrival due to an inimitably disgusting airport sandwich. But never fear, I’m now gracefully sipping an oat latte and all is well.

This week’s Look is very exciting—drumroll please—welcome to WERKSTATT!

Was ist das? one might be asking. Well, allow me to illuminate; WERKSTATT is a pop-up shop curated by artist and goldsmith Lilia Chandran, currently being hosted at The Shop at Marin Art and Garden Center. Yes please and thank you.

From now until April 9, Thursdays + Fridays 10-4 and Saturdays 10-5, explore an exceptional curation of art, locally-produced handcrafts, jewelry and décor, all to the accompaniment of Lilia’s own curated soundtrack. Bands like Starchild, Wyld Iris—a dreamy trio of female vocals with a banjo to boot—disco folk singer/songwriter Caitlin Gemma, and artists Andrew Byars, who, according to his Instagram bio, is “just a guy.” With major finger-picking chops and a beautiful voice.

This is the kind of event I live for—an amalgam of great music, beautiful art—like the featured photo, an intriguing piece by one of the featured artists, Jack Ketcham—and of course wearables, to enhance the Look!

Who is Lilia Chandran?

I had the same question, after learning about WERKSTATT. Lilia Ramachandran was born and raised in Germany, where she studied goldsmithing and received accreditation from the Handwerkskammer Karlsruhe in 2019 after attending the Goldschmiedeschule Pforzheim and completing an apprenticeship at Bagger & Gehring in Hamburg, Germany.

Chandran now lives in Northern California and works with 18 karat gold, drawing inspiration from her German and Indian heritage and the ancient practices of metal work she learned in Germany. Her work is graceful and minimal, and as well as gold, she also creates in pencil and ink, sketching and drawing intriguing and playful linework.

WERKSTATT is so worth it. Take the trip to the Marin Art and Garden Center this Saturday, enjoy some sweet music, meet Lilia and revel in all the content northern California has to offer.

Looking phenomenal, everyone.

Love,

Jane

Jane Vick is an artist and writer currently based in Oakland, California. She splits her time between Europe, New York and New Mexico. View her work and contact her at janevick.com.

Novato Homeless Union Chapter Protests Homeward Bound’s Policies

Nikki Silverstein

Mar 23, 2022

Novato Homeless Union Chapter Protests Homeward Bound’s Policies

A group of residents from the New Beginnings Center, a homeless shelter in Novato, staged a march and protest last week to demand improved conditions and fair treatment at their temporary home.

The shelter’s top brass, bearing freshly baked cookies and rolls, greeted the group as they ended their march in front of the New Beginnings Center, which is operated by Homeward Bound of Marin, a nonprofit organization.

There were some tense moments as the residents, who are members of New Beginnings Chapter #5, the newest chapter of the Marin Homeless Union, aired their grievances to Homeward Bound’s co-CEOs, Mary Kay Sweeney and Paul Fordham, and the nonprofit’s board of directors’ president, Bob Pruett.

“Ventilation has been broken,” Anita, a resident and union officer, said. “Mold has been present for six months and longer. Yes, staff knows, the director knows, and nothing has been done.”

Other residents also spoke out about issues, including shelter staff threatening them with eviction. One man asked that the New Beginnings staff come out of their offices to allow the group to address them directly.

Despite the request, the staff of the 80-bed shelter never joined the group. Fordham said the Homeward Bound leadership was there to listen on their behalf.

“Some of your concerns, we haven’t heard about before,” Fordham said.

The final speaker was Anthony Prince, general counsel for the California Homeless Union. A formidable force backs up the New Beginnings Chapter #5, according to Prince. Thousands of people belong to 25 local homeless unions in California, which are part of the National Union of the Homeless.

The union members are asking for the establishment of a collective bargaining committee, Prince said. The goal is to have residents, along with their union representatives, sit down with management to discuss their needs and legal rights.

“This is the way to go forward,” Prince said. “We don’t want to fight you… Meet us at the table.”

Homeward Bound’s board president Pruett agreed to a meeting with the residents and their union representatives, noting the need to address the problems.

The demonstrators left the executives with a list of 20 demands. Some demands would be easy to implement, such as keeping a binder of the facility’s policies and procedures in the lobby and making grievance forms readily available.

Other needs may be more challenging to satisfy. The residents, who are required to make monthly monetary “contributions” to the New Beginnings Center, demand the payments be recognized as rent. Under California law, rental payments are made by tenants, giving them more rights than night-by-night shelter residents. For instance, a landlord cannot evict tenants for making a safety or health complaint.

Homeward Bound, which has been in existence for 48 years, is no stranger to tenant rights. In addition to temporary shelters, the organization also operates long-term supportive housing for formerly homeless adults and families. During the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Homeward Bound served 870 people.

In an interview the day after the protest, Fordham pushed back on the demand to recognize the residents as tenants. Fordham emphasized that the New Beginnings Center is a shelter, not permanent housing, and although the residents’ monthly contributions help balance the budget, the payments are not rent and there is no lease agreement. Some people are not paying their contributions, and since the pandemic began, they’re not asked to leave.

Prince maintains the monthly payments are indeed rent. Homeward Bound documents obtained by the Pacific Sun seem to give validity to that position.

“All participants are required to make a $270 contribution by the 5^th of each month. If collecting General Relief, contribution is $210 a month,” according to a document titled “NBC Basic Program Guidelines,” which the residents must sign.

A New Beginnings resident received a letter, written by a shelter case manager on March 1, 2022, about the past due amount he owes. The document indicates that “contribution,” “rent” and “fees” are interchangeable terms.

“This is to inform you that the client owes $910 being contributions for months of November, December, January, February, and March. Usually, residents are expected to pay by the 5^th of the month just like they are expected to pay their rent for rental apartments. I hope this helps you to get his fees paid,” the letter states.

Rent confers tenant rights, and Prince is like a dog with a bone on this point. The letter is an admission by the New Beginnings Center that the resident’s contributions are the legal equivalent of rent, Prince said in an interview.

“You don’t have arrears on a voluntary contribution,” Prince said. “They pay by the 5^th of the month, just like they’re expected to pay rent. Paying rent is mandatory.”

Other significant issues exist for residents at the shelter, according to Prince. They are required to maintain and clean the New Beginnings Center, yet they aren’t paid. It remains to be seen whether the residents are going to file a wage and labor claim to test the constitutionality of the shelter’s policy.

Fordham dismisses Prince’s claim that the residents are performing work and should be paid. Still, he wobbles with his explanation, vacillating between whether the tasks are voluntary or required.

“Chore assignments are part of all of Homeward Bound’s congregant living facilities,” Fordham said. “Residents are asked to help to take care of the facility. It’s not a requirement to do it. If somebody signs up and they can’t do it due to a disability, they’re not asked to leave.”

The “NBC Basic Program Guidelines” make no mention of asking residents to help or excusing those with disabilities.

“All participants are responsible for maintaining the facility, assigned a chore and expected to participate in double scrub,” according to the printed guidelines.

None of the documents obtained by the Pacific Sun state that monthly monetary contributions and facility maintenance by residents are voluntary. How, then, are residents informed they can bow out?

Residents are not aware that refusing to pay and declining to sign up for maintenance duties was an option, three long-time residents said in interviews.

The New Beginnings Center is currently working to clarify the contribution policy, because it hasn’t been enforced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fordham said. More funding may soon be available, which would allow the shelter to do away with monthly contributions entirely.

Unfortunately, Fordham is now unsure whether a meeting with the residents and union representatives will take place. When reminded that the board president committed to it, Fordham noted there are deeper implications to some of the residents’ demands.

“We will follow up with them,” Fordham said. “We’re discussing this with our board and legal representation. We’re getting advice on what we’re being asked to do and what our requirements are.”

The union, too, seems to be backpedaling. Prince said they don’t want to fight, but sent a letter to Fordham and Sweeney on Monday suggesting he is reconsidering.

“We anticipate, going forward, that litigation may be initiated against Homeward Bound/New Beginnings Center. Most immediately, we have evidence that undue pressure, threats by inference and reprisals may have already been made against NBC residents who have participated in the formation of the New Beginnings Chapter #5,” Prince’s letter stated.

Pandemic Patrons: Artist Sue Averell Thrives Despite Covid

Jane Vick

Mar 23, 2022

Pandemic Patrons: Artist Sue Averell Thrives Despite Covid

Many artists and gallery owners struggled during the pandemic, but—due to what she refers to as luck—Sue Averell actually found herself continuing to thrive.

“I’ve been selling my art for over 20 years, and other people have been selling it also, so I already had a following.” said Averell in a call. “And then I noticed, as I’m sure a lot of people did, the bombarding messaging to support local business in any way possible. Statuses on Facebook about buying art and supporting creatives were running through, and the media in general was focused on supporting locals, and I think that was a big part of my continued success.”

Averell has been exceptionally active in the arts prior to the pandemic, which, as she herself said, definitely helped her during peak Covid times.

“I’ve been at this Sausalito location for five years now. Prior to this, I had a show in Arizona for 15 years, where I sold the bulk of my work until I got tired of moving every year. And in 2019, my work was picked up by Tierra Mar Gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

Averell explained how art began for her—how, essentially, she was born into it.

“I come from an artistic family. My grandmother taught me to china paint when I was quite young. My earliest memories are of drawing in a coloring book, and thinking about the medium of crayon. How much white space was left between the pigment. And my father was an artist also. He designed and built a home, did sculpture, and one of his final projects was doing the stained glass windows for his and my mother’s church.”

Averell grew up in southern California and went to art school. In 1996, she moved to San Francisco to pursue her desire of painting urban landscapes, and found an apartment with rooftop access and a studio in Hunter’s Point.

“I could just go and make a mess. I started experimenting with large paper pieces to get a feel for the image I wanted, and at that time I was doing freelance graphic design, so I had these chunks of free time where I would go to the studio. And I think that time uninterrupted really allowed me to get going on a specific path. In a short period of time I had a small series, and started putting them out to galleries in San Francisco, and I actually got a call back. I was shocked!”

Averell says she thinks it was the right place, right time—the gallery was looking for someone who painted San Francisco cityscapes, and they wanted something really unique—but it’s more than just timing that brought Averell success in seeking representation. Her work is downright interesting. Cityscape can so easily become cluttered or derivative, but Averell’s renderings are active and full of light. They are blocky, generous abstractions that read immediately as the San Francisco cityline. It’s impressive.

“Within two years, maybe three, I had said goodbye to all my graphics clients. Super lucky,” says Averell. She’s quite humble. Again I remind her of the time and resources she allocated to developing her style and producing her work.

“Yes, that’s true. I think the thing is, you get that check from a freelance job completed, and you don’t go out and spend it.

It was 2003 when she officially gave up her last freelance client. She was at an artist’s residency on the island of St. Thomas, and it suddenly struck her how ludacris it was to be lugging a computer around designing postcards. But it was hard to let go, she said, because of how easy and ready the compensation was.

“It took courage, after starving and rolling nickels sometimes to buy dinner, to say okay I’m really doing this.”

Since her business didn’t significantly slow as a result of the pandemic, I asked Averell in what way she felt affected by the circumstances of the last few years.

“Actually, I think it made me appreciate what I have more. I slowed down—there was no one here, so I could take my time more with my work. I didn’t paint as many paintings as in prior years, but the paintings were more thoughtful. And my work didn’t change, for or about the pandemic. I think that some artists felt like they had to document the circumstances, felt obligated to document history, but I didn’t feel that.”

This struck me significantly, as frankly refreshing. I asked Averell if she felt that her work was providing a respite from the tumultuousness of the current state of affairs, both for her and for her patrons.

“When we first had to shut down I was in shock for about two weeks. My lease was ending and I thought, do I really want to put myself through this roller coaster? But I realized that it would be worse to just jump, and ultimately I kept the space and came back to paint. And once I started focusing on my projects again, everything started to seem a bit more normal.”

Averell says that art is a way in which people find an outlet, a way of coping with the challenging circumstances of reality. During the pandemic, more than ever she cultivated her style and vision, rather than pivoting towards an overtly current theme.

“You have to believe in your work, and it’s a mistake to follow a trend — even a culturally major one — because you’ll always be chasing the next thing, the next major event, and that’s not authentic. And if you don’t believe in your work, how can you expect your collectors to believe in it? I had so many medical professionals come here when we were finally able to open up, who thanked me for keeping this space and this work authentic and free from the news influence.”

In times of high crisis, we look for outposts—oases where we can find a rest from the extreme nature of our day to day. And though many artists are political artists, or socially-critical artists, not all of them are nor yet should they be. The importance and need for beauty is perennial. It’s a part of what makes life not only worthwhile, but bearable. The courage of artists to create is a forever-treasured part of the human landscape. Sue Averell’s gallery and studio can be found at 28 Princess St., Suite B, Sausalito, CA 94965. Stop in and meet her in person! Follow Gallery Sausalito on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GallerySausalito/ and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sueaverellart/