SAN FRANCISCO OPEN STUDIO 2009 MICHAEL COPELAND SYDNOR DEBUT Signal 72" x 48" x 9" Subway 60" x 48" x 9" Platform 60" x 48" x 9" Annunciator 72" x 48" x 9" San Francisco Open Studio 2009 Michael Copeland Sydnor - Live/Work Gallery Debut Weekend Three @ SOMA Saturday, 24 October & Sunday, 25 October 140A Langton Street @ 7TH & Harrison Street 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. for directions or information call 877-921-8234 (toll free) morerail4u@gmail.com www.soulinthecity.org. MICHAEL COPELAND SYDNOR is a man of many talents, with a background in theater, set design, sound production, dance, jazz, poetry and arts administration. But this time he's talking railroads. Sydnor's perspective of workers, particularly African-American porters, cooks, waiters and linemen is created from an eclectic array of artifacts, collectibles, digital video interviews and his own artwork - canvas graphics of signage and internationally recognized transit symbols - in homage to the enduring lore of train travel, says Oakland Tribune columnist, Anna Lee Allen. Her ebullient introduction refered to Sydnor's one-man exhibition, MORE RAIL: Montage of Rail Experiences Restoring an Intimate Legacy," which had its world-premier at the Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery, Elihu M. Harris State Building in downtown Oakland in 2007. Sydnor's S.F. Open Studio 2009 debut event is designed to share with visitors the multi-disclipinary aspects of MORE RAIL. MORE RAIL is an ongoing project that is a comprehensive visual arts, performance arts, and culinary arts program using Oakland, California as the backdrop for a fanciful look at trains, railroad history and the importance railroads had on the national psyche. Their stories are shared in an eclectic exhibition full of artifacts, digital video interviews of train passengers, and Sydnor's contemporary transit art. MORE RAIL events are presented by Soul In The City Urban Advocates, a program produced by Go Productions. On Saturday the 24th of October, Sydnor will share his culinary arts experience providing his take on the culinary expertise of rail chefs with tastings from Southern Pacific and Fred Harvey's best known dishes (at 1:00 p.m and 3:00 p.m.). Sydnor's living memory boxes provide details of the lives of those who worked or travelled on railroads. On Sunday the 25th of October, at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., the studio comes alive with an excerpt from his highly-acclaimed oral history performance art work, MORE RAIL: Migration Suite. Chanteuse, Susie Butler, and jazz pianist, Will Hammond, perform this biographical tale about Shirley Ethridge, a former Pullman Nurse/Maid from Oakland wrtten and directed by Sydnor. 100% of the art sales proceeds over the two days will be donated to Go Productions, an IRC 501(c) (3) founding resident company of the African American Art and Culture Complex in San Francisco, California. For over 25 years, Go Productions has been providing participatory-arts services and programs for emerging artists in the Bay Area. Funds raised are dedicated for the support of international artists who perform and produce original works for international audiences. Materials: Canvas Acrylic, Enamel, Lights and Found Objects IER Tryptic - Three 60" x 48" x 9" Panels THIRD WEEK AT SOMA SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER & 25 OCTOBER SAVE THE DATE You are invited to the live work/work gallery from 11:00 AM until 7:00 PM during Open Studios SOMA weekend 140A Langton Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
	Reviews of the World Première of More Rail at Oakland's Elihu M. Harris State Building.
Cool. Clyde Jones Super interesting. Annette Kazzoun
Very Nice! My dad, who was an Engineer on the steamers, would have enjoyed  Sheila Lamb ... loved the TV show about building community. My great grandfather laid rail in Colorado to feed his family while homesteading  Camille Peterson
Always Interesting! Thanks you Phillip Silva Very Interesting. Eula Thomas Linen Life Gallery Bravo! Librie Velise, Italy
Very Interesting... D. Bruce Shelton (Amtrak Conductor assigned to Caltrain)
Very Nice. Well Done. Sheila Powe Great Show! Gerald Rico Interesting Show... Darrell Robinson Linen Life Gallery
Good Job! Renee & Stanley Williams Very Interesting. Bob Wong Wonderful! Thanks very much. Robert
Oakland Tribune/Feburary 18, 2007 by Anna Lee Allen MICHAEL COPELAND Sydnor, the artist behind the current exhibit at the Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery in downtown Oakland's Elihu M. Harris State Building is a man of many talents, with a background in theater, set design, sound production, dance, jazz, poetry and arts administration. But this time he's talking railroads. Sydnor's one-man show explores Oakland's railroad history from the perspective of workers, particularly African-American porters, cooks, waiters and linemen. Sydnor has created an eclectic exhibit of artifacts, collectibles, digital video interviews and his own artwork - canvas graphics of signage and internationally recognized transit symbols - in homage to the enduring lore of train travel. The exhibit, "MORE RAIL: Montage of Rail Experiences Restoring an Intimate Legacy," incorporates such diverse items as a passenger recliner seat (invented by a woman by the name of Sarah Goode), a steamer trunk - used by the porters to store their "kits," a serving tray, with the cutlery and bud glass vase, used in the dining car - as well as various hats, caps, luggage tickets and other ephemera. Sydnor wants visitors who come to the gallery, to contact him with their stories of rail travel, or of working for Southern Pacific and other railroad companies. "I am taking oral histories down, so we do not lose the memories," he explains... Sydnor says he became inspired by Oakland's rail heritage in 1991 when he assisted a public art interdisciplinary project titled "Binding Ties: The 16th Street Station." "I worked with visual artist Stephanie Anne Johnson to create giant images of train workers that were projected upon the front facade of the landmark station," says Sydnor. The "sound and light" show incorporated music and narratives that told the story of the 1912-era intermodal terminal (designed by SP architect Jarvis Hunt). At designated times, there would be a broadcast on a local radio station and folks would come, park in the lot in front of the hulking station, and tune in to listen on car radios as they watched the images flash across the front of the building, Sydnor further explains. "Through helping Stephanie Anne Johnson with her piece, I came to appreciate how central a role Oakland has played with respect to rail transportation in this country, and also how closely the experiences of so many African Americans are tied to trains and train travel." He believes the anecdotes and reminiscences captured in the oral histories will enliven the official written record. "The components are part biography, part conversation, part historical fact, and part of everyday living - in the tradition of the African griot storytelling." The artist has also been taking part in community meetings that seek to establish a new use for the vacant SP station. "It is my feeling that the building must become a destination, not just a monument," he said. "If we incorporated working streetcars (as there used to be there), it could attract tourists, businesses and increase safety in that area," the artist believes. "We feel the vitality that characterized Oakland was lost when the interurban rails were ripped out and cemented over. We need to bring back light-rail services, in the way that San Francisco has done, with its Third Street Line," Sydnor adds.
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