My earliest memory of coming across Paul Madonna‘s work is that I remember being tickled that the name of his strip in the SF Chronicle was “All Over Coffee.” Being a coffee person, I took it as a personal compliment, certainly an endorsement. It was when I was just starting Ritual and it seemed auspicious.
The strip started in 2004. Ritual opened in 2005. In celebration of Paul creating an original piece of art for our current seasonal espresso, Sweater Weather, I spent some time reflecting on the shared history of Ritual and Paul Madonna.
The first All Over Coffee was a comic that manages to capture so many layers of observations about San Francisco in just three panels, it takes place in a coffee shop, naturally. (In 2004, that coffee shop would have been a “second wave” coffee shop – maybe Muddy Waters on Valencia, or Que Tal on Guerrero, or one of the old-school Italian cafes in North Beach. In fact, Paul could probably give as insightful a history of San Francisco coffee culture as anyone. Paul, can we please do that when you’re up for it?)
Paul had shows periodically at Ritual, in 2007, 2009, and 2010. For one of those shows, he created this gorgeous ink drawing on watercolor paper. It appeared in All Over Coffee on September 19, 2010. It shows the Sea of Edison bulb light fixtures¹ that was an iconic part of Ritual Valencia in the early days. The handwritten text says:
“I want to absorb every moment of this, enjoy every second, every smallest particle of perceptible time.”
“I am so happy. And I’ve been alive long enough to know it’s all so fleeting.”
I’ve been lucky enough to get to live with this piece since he created it in 2010. I love that the ductwork in the space over the old office is in the piece. (I climbed around up there and installed that ductwork! It was dusty up there and the work was satisfying but completely thankless!) I love that the lights, first adored, then notoriously copied, now gone, are immortalized in this piece. And perhaps, what I love about this piece the most, is that having it hung in my living room for over a decade, the sentiment has seeped into my subconscious.
When I have one of those moments of pure bliss, I close my eyes and name what’s happening, I try to slow down time to make those fleeting moments stretch into an image I can hold on to for longer. I make a mental picture for myself, searing it into my memory. I think of that piece.
I think the first time Ritual officially appeared in All Over Coffee was the ink and watercolor drawing Paul made of our fifth annual PARK(ing) Day installation, on September 18, 2009. PARK(ing) Day was the one-magical-day-a-year radical act of having temporary parks occupy parking spaces, which of course led to the parklet, but that’s a story for another time.² It’s so incredible that this cultural moment, which undeniably changed the way people think about public space and permanently altered public space in cities around the world, was captured in a beautiful drawing by Paul Madonna. But that’s the thing about Paul – he’s there, incredibly capturing the thing that matters, accessibly and beautifully.
In August 2014, Ritual Valencia re-opened after a remodel. One of the major changes that we made is that we remodeled to have one continuous gallery wall to showcase art. At the same time, Paul was celebrating 10 years of All Over Coffee. We collaborated again by hosting a show of Paul’s original art for our grand reopening. His colorful pieces looked amazing on the freshly painted walls and elevated the space.
Not long after that re-opening, we were reimagining our coffee packaging. I wanted the packages to feel special like each one was a thoughtful gift. And the packaging had to be beautiful. We created a mock-up of our coffee bag from that design process with his artwork. We were so inspired by seeing Paul’s art on the package that we created packaging that incorporates art. We’ve commissioned work by dozens of different artists for our labels since they debuted in 2016. And we’re so honored that we’re coming full circle by featuring art by Paul on our current package.
And to celebrate our first collaboration in years, Paul and I dreamed up a whole bunch of fun ideas! We’ll have his books at the cafe! We’ll do a limited edition tote bag to commemorate this collaboration! Paul would do an exhibition at Ritual! We’ll have an art opening and book signing!
However, while we were getting ready to debut this collaboration, Paul was severely injured in a terrible hit-and-run accident on his way home from his studio. While Paul is expected to make a full recovery, the costs are tremendous, and your financial help is greatly needed.
All proceeds of the book are going to Paul.
Limited Edition tote bag – all proceeds of the tote are going to Paul.
I was looking at my copy of All Over Coffee as inspiration for writing this newsletter, and I re-read Andrew Sean Greer’s intro. He wrote “Paul Madonna remembers what you forgot” and that resonates so much with how Paul’s art and insights have seeped into my subconscious and helped me notice and remember things that I might otherwise have forgotten. We are so lucky to have such a perceptive and talented artist capturing all of these details, all of these moments, things that we might otherwise have overlooked which add up to the city that we love. (I mean, how often do you let someone into your subconscious?) Let’s show him just how much we love and appreciate him, his work, and his contributions to our city of Art & Innovation.
Thank you, Paul. The walls at Ritual are freshly painted and ready for show whenever you are.
Eileen
Paul Madonna’s book will be available for purchase only at our cafe locations in San Francisco or Napa while supplies last.
The limited edition tote will be carried both online and in cafes.
You can also purchase original artwork or a print from Paul’s online shop.
¹ For people who visited Ritual Valencia in the early days (2005–2014), one of the iconic features was our Edison bulb light fixtures (thank you, Dogfork Lamp Arts). While these simple exposed bulb fixtures later became “so ubiquitous…” I would venture to say that Ritual was among the first places if not the first (?) to have them. Once again, Paul was there, documenting the thing, the piece of San Francisco culture that spilled onto the world stage.
² San Francisco art collective REBAR first created “PARK(ing)” in 2005 to re-image the potential of the metered parking space. In 2006, in collaboration with the Trust for Public Land, REBAR founded “PARK(ing) Day”: a global exploration of the creative potential of streets.
