LocalArt

STUDIO SALE: Keith Lahti Clay Open Studio

2006-11-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

The annual Keith Lahti Clay Open Studio, featuring pottery by Keith Lahti, runs noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday and SUnday,Nov. 11 and 12. There will be a large selection of pottery to choose from, just in time for you to wrap your head around Xmas presents, along with what a press release describes as "plentiful gourmet snacks" (like what, for instance?).

The studio is located in Clay County about 10 minutes from Exit 40 on Interstate 79. Take exit 40, go north on Rt. 16 about 3 miles to Nebo, turn right or east on Nebo-Walker Rd., go 8/10 mile to fork, left up the hill at fork, up and over the hill. The studio will be on the left at the bottom on the other side.

More info: Call 286-2635 or email lahticlay@yahoo,com.

OPENING: "Bob Ross Don't Live Here No More" OVEC Benefit

2006-11-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

OPENINGS: The new environmentally-inspired group exhibition, "The Appalachian Landscape: Bob Ross Don’t Live Here No More," opens 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 at Huntington's Arcade Building, 949 3rd Avenue (across from Pullman Square). MORE INFO: OVEC website

This week-long exhibit benefits OVEC, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, from the sale of any of the artworks. Bob Ross, of course, was the painter with frizzy hair and a soft-spoken manner whose TV programs showed people how to paint pretty landscapes with fluffed clouds, swatches of trees, rolling mountain ranges and tumbling streams. Why then is Bob being used to promote the show? "Art is powerful when used to raise individual consciousness and to sensitize entire communities. It allows us to see the actual landscape, something not seen in a Bob Ross inspired painting," says a press release about the exhibit. Artists were invited to submit three works of art "that address the broad and contested issues, political, social, psychological and spiritual, affecting the Appalachian landscape in our day."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Say goodnight, Blogger

2006-11-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

There will be no new posts at thegazz.com lineup of blogs all day Tuesday, Nov. 7 as we switch to a new blogging program. We are abandoning blogger.com and moving to an in-house version of the Word Press blogging program. It's hard to complain about a free program (which blogger.com is) and are thankful blogger.com blogs got us blogging in the first place. But long lulls in fresh posts to our gazzblogs have not always been because of bloggers asleep at the switch. Sometimes, the switch didn't work. We have too often been unable to post for long stretches of time and it went on one time too many. And on the web, no one can hear you scream (which is what I was doing when our blogs were down). Our hope is the new program, hosted on our own servers, will allow is to serve up more frequent content to gazzblogs. Stay tuned.

thegazz.com editor
Douglas Imbrogno

CLOSINGS: Museum in the Community

2006-11-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

If you missed this story in Tuesday's Charleston Gazette, here it is: the Museum in the Community in Hurricane has shuttered its doors. Pretty abruptly, too, we hear: the place still contains art exhibits by Dolly Hartman and a fiber arts show. At least one of the artists was locked out of retrieving her artwork when she went to the place. Watch for a follow-up by Gazette reporter Bob Schwarz, probably in the Tuesday, Nov. 7 business section of the Gazette.

Reprinted from the Oct. 31 Charleston Gazette

By Bob Schwarz
Staff writer

The financially ailing Museum in the Community in Valley Park, Hurricane, has closed while its board considers what steps to take next.

"We are currently experiencing a cash flow crunch due to a very difficult year of fundraising," said John Arthur, the immediate past president and designated spokesman in a voice-mail message left Monday evening following a board meeting. "We're very hopeful that our doors will reopen soon."

Arthur said he is grateful for all the support the community has given. "We're basically asking the community - local, county and state governments - to help us with ideas in our time of need."

Burdened by $700,000 in construction debt on the $1.8 million new home it moved into eight years ago, the situation boiled over in early August when board members pushed out executive director Kelli Burns.

Melissa Wober, then a member of the four-person, executive committee and Abby Lyons, both BB&T employees, signed the news release that announced Burns' departure. The museum would become less of an art museum and more of a children’s museum emphasizing all the arts, Wober said over the next few weeks.

She and Arthur both spoke briefly at a wine-tasting which nearly 100 Putnam County residents interested in the museum's future attended at the museum in late August.

Wober said she has left the board, and Lyons is now working for BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C. Board members have not named a new executive director.

The museum's Web site does not appear to have been updated since last spring, when it was promoting watercolor classes for March, April and May, the museum's annual auction May 13, and a "Healing through Creativity" exhibit that was coming up in July.

To contact staff writer Bob Schwarz, use e-mail or call 348-1249.

OPENING: Jude Binder lecture, film and exhibit opens Nov. 17 at state Capitol Complex

2006-11-01T06:07:00.000-08:00

Jude Binder will present a lecture and the premiere of her film "Field of Flowers" at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 at the W.Va. State Theater inside the Cultural Center at the state Capitol Complex. Her "Moving Wood" exhibition will be on display in the Balcony Gallery from Nov. 17 through Jan. 7

REVIEW: Allied Artists Exhibition, Parkerburg, WV

2006-10-23T13:08:00.001-07:00

Be sure to peer down the gullett of "WV Bone Fish with Trailer" by David Riffle. Photos of artworks by Sandy Fisher

IF YOU GO: The Allied Artists of West Virginia 65th Juried Exhibition, now showing through Nov. 3, at Parkerburg Art Center, 725 Market St. Call(304) 485-3859. Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tues. to Sat.; Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.

By Sandy Fisher
For thegazz.com

Emerging artists join old-timers like David Riffle, Raymond McNamara, Caryl Toth and Chris Dutch and Robin Hammer at the Allied Artists Juried Exhibition, now showing at the Parkersburg Art Center. Crafts are engagingly displayed near paintings in this show of 67 works chosen from among 166 entries by juror Wallace Hyleck of Berea College. Wallace chose photographs, sculptiures, pottery, prints and acrylics that would usually be too diverse to be placed side by side. Thanks to the professional look of the art center and expert placing of the works, the effect is a seamless round of colors, textures and forms.

Diversity in style is matched by diversity of artists. Two newcomers are Debbie McHenry and Riley A. Vann. McHenry is an attorney and an acrylic artist. She works by trowling on acrylic paint then scratching into the canvas with toothpicks, forks and her own nails. The result is "Where Dreams Increase," a colorful human head-like form from which dreams radiate, textured and hot pink, as delicately as flower tendrils. This is a second Allied Artists show for Vann and his patterned photo "Switches" is a striking work. Everday objects -- in this case something as prosaic as a group of electric light switches -- are given a real depth of meaning.

Young talent gives way to a tried and true professional. David Riffle delivers a mixed-media piece titled "WV Bone Fish with Trailer." This sculpture literally hangs over your head. It's fun to peer into the belly of the fish and see that it has eaten Riffle's trailer. As a retelling of the story of Jonah and the Whale, the work is charming, even as it represents everyday objects we see in West Virginia. The day before seeing the exhibit, I'd spotted a blue heron while walking my dog alongside the Kanawha River and so especially enjoyed the small replica of a heron flying above Riffle's fish. For me, this is part of the joy of viewing works of area artists-- they resonate as I have experienced much that they interpret. Riffle deservedly won an Award of Excellence for his work.

My friends and I from Charleston piled into the car to see this exhibit and then ate dinner on the patio of the Blennerhasset Hotel down the street from the Art Center. The evening was exhilarating and we had fun discussing the art on view. With a show this large, there was much to discuss.

--Sandy Fisher is a Charleston resident.

Despite the diversity of art forms on view, the effect is a seamless round of colors, textures and forms.

OPENINGS: Felix Krasyk, the New York Paintings at UC's Frankenberger Gallery

2006-10-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

"River of Dreams," watercolor on paper, 11.5" x 17.5", 1959, by Felix Krasyk

OPENING: "Felix Krasyk: The New York Paintings," opening reception 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 24, Gallery Discussion 6 p.m., at Frankenberger Art Gallery, on 2nd floor, Geary Student Union, University of Charleston. Runs through Nov. 22. Call 357-4795.

By Mark Tobin Moore
Frankenberger Gallery director

"I loved design. I wanted to create my own impressions, like Picasso, and not like Rembrandt or Rubens, who were about naturalism. I wanted to paint abstract impressions of the aura and spirit of a person to show what your eyes don't see." -- Felix Krasyk

In 1952, Felix Krasyk left Charleston, West Virginia, to work and learn textile design in New York City. A year prior to leaving, he won two prizes in the 16th Annual Exhibition of Allied Artists of West Virginia. He'd never before exhibited his work. "My acceptance came only 14 hours before the show, and when 'Passers By' By won first place in the oil paint division, I was more surprised than anyone else," he says.

In New York, he worked at B. Altman's by day and painted at night. He used almost any materials he could find, bought inexpensively, or borrowed from a friend. He usually painted with oils or watercolor on canvas, paper, cardboard, or show card, a poster-like-surface used by commercial sign painters at the time. A large Picasso exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art affected his own paintings for years. There were no art classes available for Krasyk at Charleston Catholic High School; nor were there any art museums in Charleston when he was growing up, so this Picasso exhibition served as a revelation. It freed him to paint without questioning himself. Krasyk attended the Art Student's League briefly upon arriving in New York but felt dissatisfied. "There were just too many rules," he recalls. "I really just loved Picasso's freedom of design. He could take a person and make him look like a balloon, and it was okay."

He cites other influences including European painters like Paul Cezanne, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dali, and American artist Stuart Davis. Cubism and Surrealism had a direct effect on Krasyk's abstractions as well; but there is also a concern for story-telling narratives, including both documentary and fantasy imagery. And he had other motivations. "I painted to keep myself from going nuts. Whenever I went home at night I closed and locked the steel apartment door and it felt like I was in prison. After all, I am a 'country boy' and I missed West Virginia."

In late 1959, Krasyk returned to Charleston to care for his ailing parents. He landed a professional design position at Woodrum's Department Store and some years later became a co-founder of Interior Design, Inc. in Kanawha City. Krasyk never painted again and he has never exhibited these works in public, except for 'Passers By' and 'Cockfight.' It may be said that the works in this exhibition serve as a kind of time capsule of Felix Krasyk's New York experience, as well as a visual diary, perhaps, of a young man's search for himself and his artistic vision for one brief decade.

Off to Zurich goes a Poffenbarger

2006-10-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

How much is art worth in West Virginia? Well, if it is the 31" x 47" pastel on paper painting "Winter Stripes" by Susan Poffenbarger (at right), the exact figure is $4,015. And it's headed out of state. To Zurich, to be exact, says Ellie Schaul of The Art Store. We were curious about the painting, which we used in a post below to pump the opening of the store's fall season this past Saturday, featuring nature-inspired works on display by homewoman Poffenbarger and Massachusetts artist Nancy Berlin. Oh, and it cost $300, Schaul says , to ship the work across the Atlantic to its new digs in Switzerland.

-- by Douglas Imbrogno

Clay Sculpture Takes a Bath

2006-10-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

The local sculpture some people like, others are indifferent to and some love to hate, "Festival delle Arti," in front of the Clay Center, is going to take a bath. Well, the Clay Center folk are announcing that it will be cleaned, actually, by "metal specialist" Chip Schwartz today and tomorrow.

EVENT: Art Walk, 5 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 19, downtown Charleston

2006-10-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

The interior of Gallery Eleven, one of the sites on this Thursday's Art Walk in downtown Charleston

Take a walk. Not that kind, this kind-- an Art Walk from 5 to 8 p.m. this Thurday (oct. 19). The monthly event in downtown Charleston keeps galleries open later, often with beverages and snacks and sometimes performers at hand, along with the art and the craft on display. This Thursday's Art Walk features:

ROGER LUCAS GALLERY: New works by Kemp McElwee, Roger Lucas, Elly Rashid, and Mort Kunstler of landscapes, flowers, abstract, and wildlife. 1031 Quarrier St. Call: 344-2787. Hours: M-F, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Website: www.rogerlucasgallery.com.

SHOWCASE WEST VIRGINIA: "Scenes of West Virginia," featuring photography by Bruce Haley, Thomas Fletcher, Frank Ceravalo, Steve Payne, Moriah Gioulis Scher, Bryan Lemasters, and Betty Rivard. Samples of West Virginia foods will be available during the Art Walk. Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10 to 6, and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 906 Quarrier St. Call: 342-8527. Website: www.showcasewv.com.

ANNEX GALLERY TAYLOR BOOKS: New collages by Eric Pardue, figure drawings by Rob Cleland, pastels by Dolly Hartman, oils by James Ferguson, & wood carvings by Charly Hamilton. 226 Capitol St. Call: 342-1461. Website: www.taylorbooks.com

ART EMPORIUM GALLERY: "West Virginia Landscapes" by Betty Rivard, Bruce Haley, Joel Sites, Laura Moul, David Fattaleh, Steven Rotsch, and Clayton Spangler. Artist reception night of ArtWalk 5-8 pm Allied Artists lower level. 823 Quarrier St. Call: 345-2787. Website: www.artemporium.net

GOOD NEWS MOUNTAINEER GARAGE GALLERY: "Bruce Haley's Photographs." 221 1/2 Hale Street. Call: (866) 448-3227. Website: www.goodnewsmountaineergarage.com

GALLERY ELEVEN: Watercolors of Frankie Wheeler capturing the spirit, beauty and nostalgia of Appalachia. A cooperative of 15 artists featuring fine crafts, glass, jewelry and cards. 1033 Quarrier St. Call: 342-0083. Hours: M-Sat, 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. Website: www.galleryeleven.com

ROBERT C. BYRD U.S. COURTHOUSE: "Charleston and Vicinity," with David Fattaleh, Bruce Haley, Robin Hammer, Michael Keller, Thorney Lieberman, Laura Moul, Steve Payne, Betty Rivard, Mark Wolfe and Amy Williams. Hours: M-F 8 to 5 p.m.

OPENINGS: "Wild Wonderful Fibers" at Museum in Community

2006-10-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

"Youdoo" voodoo dolls by Amy Williams are among works by more than 15 artists working in fiber, which opened today at Museum in the Community

OPENINGS: "Wild Wonderful Fibers" opens today (Oct. 10) at Putnam County's Museum in the Community. There's an opening reception 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14 at the museum, at Valley Park, Hurricane. Call 562-0484

"Wild Wonderful Fibers" is a brief survey of contemporary West Virginia fiber artists that features work by Elaine Bliss, Cyndi Bolt, John Bernatitus, Lynn Creamer, Michael Davis, Susan Feller, Victoria Fergus, Lori Flood, Jane Frenke, Sharon Goeres, Laurie Gundersen, Betty McMullen, Cynthia Myerberg, Liz Nutter, Lisbet Okun, Kim Potter and Amy Williams. The exhibition is the second of six showings throughout West Virginia. Some artists in the show use traditional media such as quilts and rug-hooking, but present their designs in a nontraditional manner, including abstract and expressionism. Others create wearable art that feature creative contemporary designs. Several of the artists use a conceptual or post-modern approach to their pieces.

OPENINGS: Poffenbarger, Berlin show at the Art Store Oct. 14

2006-10-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Susan Poffenbarger's "Winter Stripes," pastel on paper, 31" x 47"

The Art Store opens its fall season on Saturday, Oct. 14, with work by West Virginia landscape artist Susan Poffenbarger and Massachusetts conceptual artist, Nancy Berlin. Poffenbarger marks her 11th solo exhibit at the Art Store, showing 15 new paintings. Working in the impressionist manner, the artist continues her focus on landscape both in West Virginia and Europe, with several winter landscapes included.

Berlin's work, too, is inspired by nature but in the abstract. Working primarily within a 15 inch x 22 inch format, she builds her paintings using layers of delicate line, color and texture.

"These two very different approaches to the landscape allows the viewer to experience how two artists respond to the complexities that nature offers. The renown American landscape painter, Neil Welliver would say of his paintings, 'I would call them presentations of nature rather than representations.' I find this true with these works," says gallery director, Ellie Schaul.

In a release on the show, Poffenberger says of her latest work: "The energy I put into seeing is often more time consuming than the energy put into painting.... I continue to be inspired by man's use of the land and have worked to present this, while still achieving the balance, pattern and the intimacy that nature offers."

Speaking of her paintings, Berlin says: "I am interested in mapping various phenomena of the natural world using marks and systems often seen in cartography, satellite imagery and scientific analysis. The works in this show present a conceptual response and description of the landscape and the plants and animals found in it."

Poffenbarger's paintings are in many private, corporate and public collections including the Huntington Museum of Art; Juliet Museum of Art at the Avampato Discovery Museum; the State of West Virginia Mansion Collection and the United States General Service Administration.

Berlin's work is represented in numerous public, corporate and private collection including the Boston Public Library, the Cape Cod Museum of Fine Arts, and the Davis Museum, Wellesley, MA. In the spring of 2006, she was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome.

One of Nancy Berlin's abstract paintings representing nature include this one, titled "INTERVAL V," oil stick on paper, 16" x 16".

REVIEW: "John Fluharty: Photography" at Cultural Center

2006-10-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

Photo by John Fluharty

IF YOU GO: 10 color and black-and-white photos by Charleston native John Fluharty, from his travels in Egypt and Tibet. On view through Oct. 29 at The West Virginia Division of Culture and History's 2nd floor Balcony Gallery at the State Capitol Complex, Charleston. Free. More info.

By Rebecca Burch
For thegazz.com

A boy stands in front of a demolished monastery that had been his home. Rubble surrounds him – evidence of the cruelty of those who would tear down a holy place, rather than allow those unlike them to worship in peace. On the boy's face is a mixture of emotions: pain, sorrow, anger, determination. The jagged texture of the rubble and the coarse grass contrasts sharply with the boy's smooth face and soft clothing. A slight breeze appears to blow the clouds and grass in the background as he stands atop the hill where the monastery once stood.

This is not a scene from the evening news, but a description of one of the dramatic photos in John Fluharty's current exhibit in the Balcony Gallery at the Cultural Center in the state Capitol Complex. The exhibit of black-and-white and color photos, features photography from Egypt and Tibet taken during the Charleston native's 2005-06 travels.

In these photos, Fluharty has captured intimate moments in the lives of his subjects, who range from a young, blind girl in Tibet to a barber in Egypt. The photos have the look of having been taken almost by surprise, recording fleeting moments in the lives of people halfway around the world. Fluharty explains in his statement; "I aim not to show the people and places, but the relationship between person and environment, the daily life that we so often overlook."

In "Giza and Camel," Fluharty tackles a cliché subject -- a picture shot by 10,000 tourists: a camel in the desert, the Pyramids of Giza in the background. Despite the familiarity of subject matter, Fluharty has put his own spin on the image. The camel, sitting on its haunches faces away from the camera, looking at the pyramids as if contemplating the last leg of its trip across the hot sand. The colorful tassels hanging from the beast’s harness contrast with the smooth cerulean blue sky and golden pyramids in the distance.

Perhaps the most interesting photo in the exhibit is "Barber." An Egyptian barber is preparing to give his customer a shave. The patron reclines in a chrome-and-turquoise swivel barber chair like you might find in any small-town barber shop in America. The barber looks at something off-camera (some passersby, as Fluharty explains in his artist's statement.) The shop is cluttered, the walls adorned with framed memorabilia and a large, round mirror. The scene looks like a Norman Rockwell painting, except for the fact that the setting and subjects are Egyptian.

This is such a perfect collection of photos to exhibit in a time like this, when so much attention is given to the ways people from different cultures are dissimilar. Fluharty’s exhibit reminds us that, although our skin color and cultural background may vary, we are all very much alike. We all mourn our losses. We are all weary travelers. We all take a moment every now and then to treat ourselves to a little pampering. We are all human.

Photo above at right "Boy With a Thousand Buddhas" by John Fluharty

Rebecca Burch is a Charleston art teacher and writer.

ART EVENT: Photographic arts writer and critic gives lecture Monday, Oct. 16

2006-10-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

ART EVENT: Internationally noted writer and critic on photographic arts, Andy Grundberg, will give a free lecture in the Clay Center's Walker Theater on Monday, October 16 at 6 p.m. A reception that costs $15 follows. Call 561-3500

Andy Grundberg, curator of the Clay Center's current exhibition "In Response to Place: Photographs from the Nature Conservancy’s Last Great Places," will speak on "Contemporary Photography and The Nature Conservancy's Last Great Places" for The Collectors Club Annual Kickoff Event On Mondayt, Oct. 16. The public is welcome to attend.

A meet-and-greet reception with Grundberg will follow at 7 p.m. in the center's Avampato Discovery Museum. Guests will have a chance to view the "In Response to Place" exhibit, up through Nov. 5, as they discuss the photography with the curator. Cost for the reception is $15 per person.

Grundberg has written about photography for the past 25 years, including 10 years as a critic for the New York Times. As curator for "In Response to Place" he invited 12 internationally known photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Sally Mann, Lee Frielander, Richard Misrach, William Wegman and Mary Ellen Mark to capture The Nature Conservancy's "Last Great Places" and examine the way the camera could depict the human relationship with nature.

Reservations for the reception can be made through Oct. 12. RSVP by calling 561-3500. For more on the Collector's CLub and Clay Center, visit www.theclaycenter.org.

To read a review of the show, click here.

EXHIBIT: "The Omar Project" at Chief Logan State Park

2006-10-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

"The men were dressed up - they weren't working that day. They all worked together and were close. They all belonged to the union. Their lives depended on one another." (Photo by Ben Shahn, October 1935)

EXHIBIT: The Omar Project: Not a Simple Story," at Museum in the Park at Chief Logan State Park. Free reception and talk by Betty Rivard from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 5. Open through October.

The Museum in the Park at Chief Logan State Park has unveiled "The Omar Project: Not a Simple Story," featuring 20 black and white photographs of everyday life in the Logan County community of Omar. The photographs were taken in 1935 and 1938 by Ben Shahn and Marion Post Wolcott, photographers employed by the Farm Security Administration. On Thursday, Oct. 5, the Museum hosts a reception and gallery presentation by Betty Rivard, exhibit coordinator.

The FSA's primary goal was to combat the social and economic dislocations felt by farming families and communities during the Depression years. The visits to Omar were part of a larger project to take photographs across American between 1935 and 1943. The photographers were employed to publicize conditions of the rural poor in America, as well as the successes of New Deal programs and everyday life in America in
general. Fifteen photographers took more than 2,000 photographs in West Virginia.

The exhibit will move to the Southern WV Community and Technical College campuses in Logan and Williamson, the West Virginia University Library, and back to the Museum in the Park. It is also available for showing in other venues. For more information, contact Adam Hodges, site manager for the Museum in the Park, at (304) 792-7229.

"This was called the big row. The houses were used by the superintendent, the president, and the general managers. The back of the row opened to the Junior Mercantile Store, with back door deliveries to the houses. There were cooks and chauffeurs." (Photo by Ben Shahn, October 1935, from "The Omar Project: Not a Simple Story.")

REVIEW: "Face Value: New Works by Artist Mark Wolfe"

2006-10-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

THE SHOW: "Face Value: New Works by Artist Mark Wolfe," runs through Oct. 19 at the University of Charleston’s Frankenberger Gallery, Geary Student Union 2nd floor. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Call 357-4795.

By Amanda Miller
For the Gazette

With his latest solo show "Face Value" at the University of Charleston, photographer, designer, and illustrator Mark Wolfe anoints more than 40 portraits with his characteristic touch--textured, bold, and direct. Mayor Danny Jones, artist Charly Hamilton, musician Michael Lipton, writer and
psychologist Laurie Helgoe and many others are among the more than 50 faces in this diverse array of local Charleston denizens.

Wolfe's previous fine art endeavors have focused on objects with religious or death-related symbolism, such as headstones and graveyard ornamentation. This time he photographed the living--his friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. Yet, he still managed to infuse each portrait with a thread of mortality, giving these images an unnerving stillness, as if they were memorials themselves.

Wolfe's decision to narrow the image down to black-and-white on a stark white background with soft lighting provides a constant to the photographs, freeing them of any individual context or associations. With no posing or instruction from the photographer, each portrait is defined solely by the expression of its subject.

This filtering of visual information allows the viewer to soak up the details. Every hair and line is up for scrutiny. The subtleties of a half smile or a squint are more apparent. By choosing not to identify his subjects by name or occupation, Wolfe leaves an uninterrupted stream of communication between the viewer and the emotional intensity of the subject.

The clean and simple presentation of the show further aids Wolfe in his stripped-down approach to portraiture. Excellent print and paper quality hold up well when pinned directly to the wall. An absence of framing and heavy glass is a refreshing and decidedly humble role for the artist in handling his subjects. Wolfe delivers the sharp presentation one ought to expect from a graphic designer.

Those who enjoy Wolfe's past work should make it a point to see this show. His portraiture showcases the same high-contrast texture and editorial composition of his previous work. However, "Face Value" avoids some of the adolescent trappings cemeteries and gargoyles can present in photography. This work progresses into some of the most interesting territory in portrait photography-the kind that quietly hits you in the face with his emotional impact.

Amanda Miller holds a BFA in new media and photography from West Virginia University, where she also focused on modern art theory and contemporary art criticism. She is a West Virginia native and exhibits installation-based work throughout the state.

'Face Value': Face Up To It

2006-09-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

Photo for thegazz.com by Douglas Imbrogno

If you get out much in Charleston, you are going to recognize many of the faces on the wall at "Face Value," a new photo exhibit by Charleston artist Mark Wolfe. Above is Charleston artist Keeley Steele and co-proprietor of the Bluegrass Kitchen in Charleston's East End. Many others faces may be unfamiliar, but all are worth a look, a gaze and a ponder. Having all other identifying details shorn away -- background, clothing, any other color but black, white or gray -- is a singularly focusing feature of these works. And not everyone smiles or even has open eyes. It's an intriguing, absorbing show.

The exhibit is up through Oct. 19 at the University of Charleston's Frankenberger Gallery, in Geary Student Union. The gallery is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

'Face Value': Buskers Off the Street

2006-09-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

Photo for thegazz.com by Douglas Imbrogno

You may have seen these buskers busking in front of the downtown Charleston library and Ellen's Gourmet Ice Cream Shoppe. They stopped off the street and up into UC's Frankenberger Gallery at the invitation of "Face Value" artist Mark Wolfe. Their names are Winsome and Adrian DeQuiros and they are quite contemporary buskers -- they've a Myspace site, after all. Watch for an upcoming gazzTV appearance by the duo. Winsome, by the way, tells gazz that Charleston is one of their fave cities in which to busk. Other cities hassle them, while Charleston's finest "look out for us." Nice.

'Face Value': Opening Reception, UC

2006-09-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

Photo for thegazz.com by Douglas Imbrogno

"Face Value: New Works by Artist Mark Wolfe," opened Tuesday night, Sept. 26, with a reception at the University of Charleston's Frankenberger Gallery (2nd floor of Geary Student Union). The show, up through Oct. 19, features very high-contrast, close-up photos of more than 40 area residents (plus one of the artist's pug-nosed dog). The face at far left above is Gordon Simmons, who works with the W.Va. Division of Culture and History. Simmons was overheard to remark at the reception: "After I saw my photo, I told Mark: 'Give me my soul back!'"

Related article: Q-and-A with the artist.

REVIEW Excerpt: "In Response to Place"

2006-09-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt of a longer review of the Clay Center photo exhibit "In Response to Place," up through Nov. 5. To read the whole review, click here. "Bay," The image above is William Wegman's "dogscape" of one of his famous Weimaraners.

By Rebecca Burch
For the Gazette

'I don't go looking for twisty and sprawling images, but I find them. I guess it suits my personality. When there's not much water available, plants will fight to grow and all hell breaks loose. I like that." -- Lee Friedlander

The quote above is the perfect metaphor for the "In Response to Place," photo exhibit at the Clay Center. The artists featured captured images from the Nature Conservancy's "Last Great Places" list - a list of natural places threatened by development, pollution, and urban sprawl. Like Friedlander's plants, these places are fighting to exist, and these artists have captured their struggle with stunning results.

Some of the them, like Annie Liebovitz, William Wegman, and Sally Mann, are best known for their portraiture. A fan might be surprised to see their names in an exhibit of landscape photos. In fact, their photos of nature take on an almost portrait-like quality. Liebovitz's "Pitch Pines and Gray Birch" shows a grouping of almost human-looking, light-colored birch trees against the dark, velvety backdrop of pitch pines.

Fans of Wegman will be happy to see his famous Weimaraners in his landscapes. But instead of his typical anthropomorphic portraits of dogs in human poses, the dogs become part of the landscape itself. In "Bay," you see only the dog's back, forming a concave sort of "dogscape" against the background of a portion of Cobscook Bay, Maine.

Read on...

OPENINGS: Kemp Littlepage McElwee at Roger Lucas Gallery

2006-09-25T09:28:00.001-07:00

"The Sunrise Carriage Trail" (acrylic 38" X 38") by Kemp Littlepage McElwee

Charleston artist Kemp Littlepage McElwee opens a new exhibit of 30 acrylic works this Friday (Sept. 29) at Roger Lucas Gallery in Charleston. The image she chose for a card announcing the show should be a familiar one to fans of the Carriage Trail, which starts behind the city's CSX railway station and climbs up to Sunrise mansion in the South Hills. "I picked this painting to be my card because there has been a resurgence of interest in the trail," McElwee says. "People have worked hard to fix it up and make it more a part of Charleston. I'm hoping with this card that more people will remember that it is there for everyone and all of Charleston. It's a beautiful walk."

IF YOU GO: New works by Kemp Littlepage McElwee. Opening reception Friday (Sept. 29) from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Roger Lucas Gallery, 1031 Quarrier St. Charleston, WV. Call 344-2787.

OPENINGS: "Face Value" opens Tuesday at UC

2006-09-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

IF YOU GO: "Face Value: New Work by Artist Mark Wolfe" opens with a reception from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, Tuesday (Sept. 26), and runs through Oct. 19 at the Frankenberger Art Gallery, University of Charleston, 2300 MacCorckle Avenue, SE.

REVIEW: "Charleston and Vicinity" photo exhibit

2006-09-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

This review is reprinted from the Sept. 21, 2006 issue of gazz in The Charleston Gazette. Photo at right "Red Slide" by Michael Keller.

THE SHOW: "Charleston and Vicinity" at the Byrd Federal Courthouse through Oct. 31.

By Amanda Miller
For the Gazette

The group photography show on display in the federal courthouse, titled "Charleston and Vicinity," features work by 10 local artists, whose subject matter ranges from the Capitol dome to Kanawha State Forest.

With several photographs on display, show curator Betty Rivard sets the tone for the exhibit. Her work, leaning towards photojournalism with a snapshot feel to it, lives up to the matter-of-fact title of the show. It's Charleston and vicinity - no more, no less. Much of the work takes this theme to unpretentious and minimal ends, finishing strong. Others seem uninspired and better suited to a dentist's office.

Highlights include Amy Williams, with her composition in "CTC," and "Steeples" by Steve Payne, for its rich color combinations. Thorney Lieberman's "Capitol Dome," of impeccable print quality, is one of several grandiose shots of the state's chromed Capitol. Mark Wolfe's subject matter lends itself well to abstraction, such as the Charleston-Korolev Connection statue on Kanawha Boulevard.

Seasoned digital photographers may cringe at the slathering of Photoshop filters on Bruce Haley's work. If you like William Eggleston, or have a nostalgic soft spot for Americana, you might like Robin Hammer. Michael Keller presents solid studies of color and composition, and Laura Moul provides a nice reprieve from the concrete with her nature photography.

All of the work would benefit from a more cohesive presentation. A well-curated show should always list dates and media for each piece. The differences between some photo processes are night and day; is it too much to ask which ones are silver gelatin, which are chromogenic color, and which are digital ink jet prints?

And although an artist's statement isn't necessary here, it would be nice to see a list of all the artists involved along with the title of the show - just something to indicate that this is a group exhibit.

Those interested in Charleston's historical architecture and expansive views will enjoy this exhibit coordinated by The Judiciary Arts Program. Those looking for groundbreaking subject matter will find it's as tame as should be expected for an art show held within the federal courthouse. In any case, it's a welcomed chance to glimpse familiar parts of the city through someone else's eyes.

Amanda Miller holds a BFA in new media and photography from West Virginia University, where she also focused on modern art theory and contemporary art criticism. She is a West Virginia native and exhibits installation-based work throughout the state.

OPENINGS: William D. Goebel show at Charleston's The Purple Moon

2006-09-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

A detail from William D. Goebel's "Blind Willie," part of a posthumous show opening Tuesday at The Purple Moon in downtown Charleston.

The Purple Moon, 716 Lee St. in Charleston, presents "Native Son: Selected Works of William D.Goebel," beginning Tuesday (Sept. 26) with a 5 to 8 p.m. reception. Featuring original pen and ink drawing and scarce hand-colored and limited edition prints from the estate of the artist, the show will also release the print "Blind Willie" which Goebel had in the works at the time of his death. More on the artist from a release about the show:

"Native Son: Selected Works of William D. Goebel," the first posthumous show of artwork from the Estate of the artist, will explore the work, talent and unique perspective of one of West Virginia's best-known artists a little more than a year after his death. A self-taught artist, known to his friends as "Doug," Goebel was a former educator and aimed to teach through his drawings, books, and occasional public appearances.

The show features a limited edition print, "Blind Willie," a homage to William Samuel McTell, who was born in 1901 and lost his sight in late childhood. "Blind Willie" earned the status as one of the most accomplished guitarists and lyrical storytellers in blues history. He became an accomplished musical theorist, able to both read and write music in Braille. The work by Goebel, featured on the cover of Charleston Magazine in December 2005, was a new direction away from his architectural drawings and born of his love of the blues and of Bob Dylan. It is a work that that gives a glimpse of how Goebel's art had evolved and what might have been. Preparations for this new, limited edition print were in progress at the time of Goebel's death and completed by his family.

"Face Value" by Mark Wolfe opens Sept. 26 at UC

2006-09-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

When it rains, it pours photos. Read the posts below for three new photography exhibits now open in Charleston. Here comes a fourth. "Face Value: New Works by Artist Mark Wolfe," opens Sept. 26 at the University of Charleston's Frankenberger Gallery. A release on the show describes it this way:

"Morbid" could be one word used to describe Wolfe's art. The Charleston artist has long held a fascination with death and related imagery around religious themes. In a new artistic venture, Wolfe tarries off the path of the cemetery photography he is most known for and ventures into the arena of live human beings. A new exhibit at the University of Charleston, called 'Face Value' includes over 40 photographs of local people. From Mayor Danny Jones and artist Charly Hamilton (at right and below) to Howard who sweeps the sidewalk at Taylors, the photos are high contrast black-and-white digital images that are striking in their simplicity and vividness."

Wolfe owns and operates Mark Wolfe Design, a small graphic design business in Charleston. He is a Tamarack artisan and has displayed art there and at Annex Gallery, Taylor Books, Renaissance Gallery in Huntington, the juried exhibit at the West Virginia Cultural Center, Della Brown Gallery at WV State, the Sunrise Art Museum, and Covenant House Art Gallery.

Also included in the UC exhibit are his pastels, scratch boards and other related photographic works. Wolfe says: "I wanted to concentrate on a more organic form of expression as opposed to more ornate and architectural objects that I have focused on during the past three years. I wanted to depict the individual personalities that come through even though color, three dimensions and any other form of reference has been erased."

IF YOU GO: "Face Value" opens with a reception from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, Sept. 26, and runs through Oct. 19 at the Frankenberger Art Gallery, University of Charleston, 2300 MacCorckle Avenue, SE.

"Last Great Places" photo exhibit opens at Clay Center

2006-09-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

"In 25 years of wandering the American desert, I have never seen sand dunes surrounded by water like we found here in the Carson (Nev.) Sink." -- photographer Richard Misrach

Wilderness is usually a fiction. When Ansel Adams took his breathtaking photographs of the Yosemite Valley in the 1930s ands 1940s, it was already a popular tourist spot, but there were no signs in his photos of visitors and cars, nor even roads and telephone poles. To Adams, that would have spoiled the beauty, writes Andy Grundberg in the coffee-table book "In Response to Place: Photographs from the Nature Conservancy's Last Great Places."

Time passed, and a new generation of landscape photographers decided it was time to include people, their animals and their buildings, according to Grundberg. He asked 12 well-known photographers to choose a site from The Nature Conservancy's "Last Great Places" list and shoot whatever images the photographers wished. Grundberg curated the resulting "In Response to Place" exhibit, which opened at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington in 2001. Fifty of those images, from all 12 photographers, have toured the country since and will open at the Clay Center in Charleston on Saturday, Sept. 16, for a run that extends through Nov. 5.

Featured artists include landscape photographers Terry Evans and Richard Misrach, portrait artists Annie Liebovitz and William Wegman, and cutting-edge art photographers Sally Mann and Lee Friedlander.
It scarcely matters that there are no West Virginia scenes in the show, said Rodney Bartgis, state director of the Nature Conservancy of West Virginia, which, along with Merrill Lynch, sponsors the Clay Center show. "West Virginia isn't out there by itself. It's part of that big picture. The birds that nest here often winter in South America."

IF YOU GO: "In Response to Place" will be on display Saturday through Nov. 5 at the Clay Center. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday toSaturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission, which covers all science and art exhibits, is adults $6.50; children, teachers and senior citizens $5. Call 561-3500.

RELATED EVENT: Curator Andy Grundberg's will speak on "Contemporary Photography and Nature Conservancy's Last Great Places" in the Clay Center's Walker Theater at 6 p.m. Oct 16. The talk is free, but a reception afterwards is $15. To reserve a reception spot, send a check by Oct. 12. Call 561-3500

-- By Bob Schwarz

"I felt obliged to try to better understand my own backyard. The Gunks are actually an extraordinary hunk - outcropping - of rock, and I wanted to show the raw bones of it."
-- photographer Annie Liebovitz, who visited the Shawangunk Mountains in New York.

"I found that the land is shrinking rapidly around Arches and other protected parks and monuments here, just as it is in Egypt, where development is coming to the edge of the Plain of Memphis. It is important to me that these entrances to our sacred places be preserved."
-- Lynn Davis, who photographed the Colorado Plateau in Utah. "I

Charleston, it's time for your cameo...

2006-09-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

"Bike Rack" by Michael Keller is among the works in the "Charleston and Vicinity" show at the Byrd Federal Courthouse through October.

"Charleston and Vicinity" is the title of a group show featuring photographs of West Virginia's capital town and its environs, now up through Oct. 31 at the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse on Virginia Street. The show, orchestrated by photographer Betty Rivard, is part of the Judiciary Arts Program, coordinated by Sally Groves. It's viewable when the courthouse is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. (You'll need a photo ID to enter the building and prove you are not Osama bin Laden.) The featured photographs are by: David Fattaleh, Bruce Haley, Robin Hammer, Michael Keller, Thorney Lieberman, Laura Moul, Steve Payne, Betty Rivard, Amy Williams and Mark Wolfe.

If your appetite is whetted for more Charleston photographs, do check out the DowntownWV gazzblog, which specializes in that sort of thing, featuring A daily dose of three photos by photoblogger Walker DeVille along with occasional guest photos.

Charleston native eyeballs Egypt and Tibet

2006-09-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

"Egyptian Barber" by John Fluharty

Charleston native John Fluharty travels far and wide in search of striking photographs. He has exhibited photos from his travels in Nepal in past years in Charleston. Starting Friday (Sept. 15), ten new photos he shot in Egypt and in Tibet in 2005-06 are featured in a show at the Cultural Center in the state Capitol Complex.

The exhibit, in the 2nd floor balcony gallery, includes images of a monk seemingly lost in the ruins of a temple destroyed by the Chinese government; a Tibetan girl listening intently to a nearby conversation; an Egyptian butcher awaiting customers at the market; and the shot above of an Egyptian barber taken late one evening at a village in southern Egypt. "In choosing these photos, I looked for an intimate relationship between the subject and his environment," says Fluharty.

"Giza and Camel" by John Fluharty

See a slideshow of some of the photographer's Tibetan photos at this link.

What's needed now in the arts in WV

2006-08-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, the Wag can only shake the waggly head, and wonder. Can it be true that at least as far as one reader is concerned, the most important current issue is the Wag's syntax? That the only grievance is address-inspired resentment? And what does the term 'culture czar' really mean? Culture czar? A tyranical ruler? Don't get the Wag started again. Perhaps the backwaters are stagnant, emitting foul vapors that are poisoning what otherwise might have been fine, creative minds. That's one explanation, anyway.

The real issues here have little to do with any one person, nor with who's the boss hog at the funding trough. The problem is a gaping lack of exposure, sensitivity and perspective. Sadly, our expectations are low, and most of us seem to be unaware of it. As West Virginians we once had the excuse that we were isolated. That simply isn't true anymore, but we continue to think like we still are. Can it be a cultural habit? The Wag noted in an earlier blog that it is said that West Virginians are anti-education. Perhaps the better description of the prevailing attitude here is that education is superfluous. The amount, depth and breadth of education should be serious considerations for all positions of leadership here, not just the culture sector. If the leadership is truly aware, they will lead the people to awareness. Culture, created and inspired by education, determines the way economic development is pursued.

The Wag is calling for a serious investigation of the current state of West Virginia affairs in the arts, culture and history. Hey, Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail--there's a lot more to the coverage of culture than calendars of events, sassy stories and photos of bands and other entertainment, and profiles of celebrities who happen to hit town. The prevailing public perception seems to be that the arts are a backwater, a diversion for the rich or a haven for weirdos. The current beefy power structure is oblivious to art and culture except in its most obvious, conventional forms--a clear result of the lack of sophisticated arts education in West Virginia schools, and a serious lack when it comes to a deep understanding of West Virginia culture and history.

Would it be possible to conduct a fair investigation of who gets what -- and why? Whew, if excellent, incisive reportage and criticism were ever needed, it's needed now.

Arts leadership -- or lack thereof -- in West Virginia

2006-07-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

The Wicked Wag can't help but wonder what W.Va. Education and Arts Secretary Kay Goodwin and the Manchins think education is for? To list when one dies so as to make the obituary paragraph longer?

One reader has said that all the qualifications a West Virginia state government appointee needs is the blessing of the governor. That's a sorry state of affairs in 2006, for both the governor and his so-called secretary of arts and education. What does the secretary of arts and education do? Would that be a policy-making position? If so, what qualifies Ms. Goodwin to make arts policy? The Wag understands that she holds a bachelors degree in theater from West Virginia University, which is scant qualification for a position whose holder sets the direction for the state's cultural growth and development. If the people running the administrations that created and continued this position really felt that arts and education were worthy of a secretary's position, should they not have required that the holder of the position be well educated, both academically and by experience? (It appears that the greatest qualification Goodwin holds is her MRS from Mr. Goodwin, a powerful old-school politician.)

Of what professional development has Secretary Goodwin availed herself since she has been in office? Upon what basis does she form her opinions? More to the point, what has she done in the years she has held her post that would demonstrate her knowledge and leadership in arts and education? As the person who might be the visionary, what are her contributions? Can somebody list them, please?

Apparently, it would surprise the Manchins, Goodwin and new Commissioner of Culture and History Randall Reid-Smith to hear that there are contemporary programs in arts administration that prepare people for positions of leadership in the arts. A simple Google search yields much exciting information about the intertwining of arts and business knowledge in arts administration programs at Indiana University, the University of Kentucky, Boston University, Southern Methodist University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Oregon, to name just a few. Unfortunately, West Virginia University is not among them, nor is any other West Virginia school. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the governor's will and pleasure were that West Virginia's unique culture become a growth center for our future? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the secretary of arts and education would see to it that at least one academic institution in West Virginia offers programs that prepare our people for a future in the creative economy that requires sophistication in aesthethics and design?

For the record, here's how the University of Indiana introduces its Arts Administration program:

"Stepping Into Leadership

The 89th U. S. Congress defined 'arts' as follows (this definition is also endorsed by the Education, Science, and Arts Commission of the United Kingdom's House of Commons):

The term 'arts' includes, but is not limited to, music (instrumental and vocal), dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, industrial design, costume and fashion design, motion pictures, television, radio, tape and sound recording, the arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of such major arts forms and the study and application of the arts to the human environment.

Since 1971, the Indiana University Arts Administration Program has trained students to assume leadership positions in the nation's most prestigious arts institutions. The program has been committed to the development of leaders who are realists as well as idealists, forwarding-looking yet mindful of the past, and respectful of the needs of both art and business.

Broadbased in outlook and curriculum, the program strives to achieve a balance of artistic and management concerns, of theory and hands-on experience. Individual attention by full-time faculty who are arts professionals, linkages to the business world, access to top-ranked departments campuswide, and an excellent placement record are all hallmarks of the program, as are the rich cultural resources on campus and in the community."

The will and pleasure of Indiana leaders for the past 35 years has been to provide state-supported arts management training not only for its citizens, but for the nation. It's regrettable that the West Virginia secretary of arts and education has only the barest minimum qualifications in either arts or education and no qualifications in art administration or policy making. And that the new commissioner of culture and history has nothing but low-level administrative jobs to his credit. It has been said that the majority of West Virginians have an anti-education bias. Could the Manchins and Ms. Goodwin be part of that majority? One hopes not, but the way these two government positions have been handled seems proof of that bias.

~ The Wicked Wag

Figuratively Speaking Show

2006-07-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

The Wag confesses to have been so riled at the crap in the state government's Culture Sector that the June 23-24 show "Figuratively Speaking" at 1520 Kanawha Boulevard East passed without comment. The Wag wishes to correct that now.

Laura Alvis, Betty Gay, Todd Griffith, Scott McPherson, Jamie Miller and Regina Perry got together, found a great space to hang their show--the wonderful old Hallinan House on the Boulevard-- mounted the show, publicized it, and hosted it, on FestivALL Weekend. Bravo! The work, a varied collection of drawings, paintings, sketches, and installations, evoked fairly strong feelings in me. The Wag's most memorable image from the show was turning as I left on that first evening to see the young artists and their friends gathered on the steps and porch. I know they didn't intend it, but they were part of the big picture they created. The house's grand central staircase was transformed into a female sluice, spilling down the steps. And just beyond the doorway--the Wag will leave it to your imagination as to what that symbolized--were all the youngfolks, birthed right there on the porch.

The Wag only wishes the show could have been up a little longer, and hopes these artists will continue to show that kind of initiative.

More of the same at the Palace

2006-07-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Randall Reid-Smith (at right) was appointed commissioner of the Division of Culture and History effective July 1, immediately followed by Art Director Richard Ressmeyer's firing.

The Wicked Wag writes:

Ms. Claymore, your courage and honesty are indeed admirable. Thank you for expressing your views. (See post below). They ring true. As for those who are griping about the dearth of local art coverage at the moment, the Wag is reminded of the old joke, "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?"

The Wag suffered a conciliatory moment, thinking that the Manchins deserved a measure of old-fashioned West Virginia grace. But considering recent events at the Division of Culture and History, the Wag now fully recognizes that West Virginia is getting a big dose of old-fashioned, stinking West Virginia politics. Because it's happening in the arts and culture sector, the West Virginia media is not paying attention.

The guvner, after 19 months in office, finally named a commissioner of culture and history, and that commissioner's first action is to lop off the head of a state employee who differed with the opinion of the secretary of arts and education. People who know assert that Kay Goodwin's attempts to grab money from the State Commission on the Arts to fix her botched museum project may be flat-out illegal. The guvner obviously thinks none of this is important, or he would have directed the secretary of arts and education to conduct a real search for a qualified commissioner. Instead, what do we get? A guy plopped into the position whose only qualification is that Mrs. Manchin says he is adorable.

We also get to see -- is collusion too strong a word? -- the governer, his wife, and their operative, the secretary of arts and education, conspiring to force a pillow on the face of West Virginia Culture and History. Indeed, it's gasping for breath. Maybe the guv hoped Culture and History would just go away during those 19 months of neglect, and under the stifling hand of Kay Goodwin, that still just might happen. It will be interesting to see who else's head rolls, since the board members of the arts commission (confusingly also called commissioners) are appointed by the governor, and serve at his "will and pleasure." Several of these intelligent and responsible people also disagree with Kay Goodwin. So, now what, Joe Manchin? What now, Gayle Manchin?

What are Mrs. Goodwin's qualifications for the position she holds? Never mind that. What has she done since she has held the job? Have the state's culture and history sectors prospered under her hand? Where are you, Charleston Gazette? How about you, Charleston Daily Mail? Can we see some reporting on the issues? It appears to the Wag that if arts and education are moving forward, it is entirely without Kay Goodwin's assistance.

What are Randall Reid-Smith's qualifications? It isn't enough for the governor's press secretary to simply announce that the governor thinks Reid-Smith is well qualified. Judging from his performance so far in the arts and culture sector, the guv wouldn't know a qualified arts administrator from the back of his own neck. Let's examine Randall Reed-Smith's qualifications. If his job at Culture and History was to raise money for the museum, how well did he perform? Did he raise any money? And if so, from where?

I asked in an earlier blog who's calling the shots at Culture and History. That, dear reader, was a rhetorical question. It's not that tough to guess. Mrs. Goodwin, you're doing a lousy job with education and the arts. The Wag started to say 'you're doing a pedestrian job,' but no, lousy, stifling, incompetent--all those words apply. That's less than pedestrian. Joe and Gayle Manchin, it takes more than lip service to lead in arts and education.

And you, Randall Reid-Smith? If you were to jump out of their laps and take any initiative of your own, you can bet your head would roll, too.

Playing with marble

2006-07-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

This piece by Jane Claymore first ran on the op-ed page of the Charleston Gazette on June 29, 2006. Blogged here, comments are invited below

West Virginians are being kicked off the home assistance roles in record numbers, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

Elevators don't work in two high-rise office buildings in the Capitol Complex, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

Big Pharma has seduced state government regarding drug prices and advertising, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

Children in poverty don't receive dental care, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

Women are being killed in record numbers due to domestic violence in West Virginia, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

The state museum at the Cultural Center is still an incomplete mess, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

The state's natural beauty is under assault on all fronts: watersheds, viewsheds and lightsheds, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

ATV deaths look to pass last year's record, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

Better miner safety laws have been defanged on the federal level, but the governor needs marble bathtubs.

I reckon you get the picture. What I want to know is, where'd he come from that he learned the people of the state owe him a life of luxury in office? This governor of ours, whose wife has been so voluble about how ashamed she is about living in the Governor's Mansion, as ragged as she allegedly found it, has a habit of living beyond the taste and means of the state: the biggest boat on the river, request for a bigger airplane than anything in the current fleet (which cannot be maintained adequately as it is.) He says he's parked his big SUV since gas prices shot up.

Call me a snob. (I've been called worse and those epithets weren't true, either.) This outfit in the mansion is tacky, vulgar, ostentatious and outrageous beyond belief - $29,000 in plasma TVs was, I thought, the worst it could get. Proves I'm an optimist. Busting contracts to elude purchasing rules to a local draper (Wallpapers in Stock) who also supplies booze for parties, and has been held up and fined in front of the attorney general, shows that Manchin gets lousy advice. Tell me: Is the pseudo-bankrupt who did not declare her interest in the governor's yacht still crashing at the mansion? The Gov declared: "This poor girl has nothing." Reckon he forgot about the yacht she forgot in her bankruptcy filing. He took her in. How much is that bit of charity costing taxpayers?

Myself, I'll be darned if I want to pay $1.8 million more than the $1.5 million declared necessary to fix up the mansion. Nor do I want to pay for a banquet hall on the mansion's back 40, since it'll wind up costing 150 percent more than he says. And his wife, the first lady, should be terribly ashamed now about bath requirements. What's next, 40 gallons of ass' milk, like Cleopatra?

--- By Jane Claymore

Caring about Culture and History

2006-06-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

Rules versus laws. Matters of taste. Whether the Wag's content is appropriate for the local art blog... The Wag takes these issues seriously. Some good points have been made. Some quick responses.

Yes, the Manchins did restore Cass Gilbert's original design to the Capitol dome (the smartest move that's yet been made regarding the dome's maintenance). And yes, Miz Manchin is a warm, outgoing and bright First Lady. The Wag doesn't even have a problem with marble bathtubs. The Wag prefers excellence and wishes all West Virginians could have more exposure to it, both tactilely and conceptually. The Wag does have big problems with prevarication and obfuscation, no matter who the author is. If you prevaricate and obfuscate, you know who you are. You aren't helping matters.

The Wag also realizes that the Manchins can't be all things to all people. But for better or worse, they asked for the difficult administrative job of moving all of us forward, and collectively, we gave them the job. They are going to have to learn to appreciate some things they may not already know about, and may not ever have cared about. The Wag has listened and watched, and has determined that the Manchins' strong suit is not aesthetics -- and that silly releases from state government urging the plebes to attend a fair or festival, complete with Joe Manchin's by-line notwithstanding, that culture and history, officially or unofficially, are not a high priority in this administration.

Fine. But it would be a stroke of genius on the part of the Manchins if they would only do due diligence when it comes to putting people in place who DO have excellent training and experience in the realm of Culture and History--capitals no accident. Yes, it is not only possible, but preferable to hire people who actually have credentials and track records to do important jobs, and then let them do them. (Credentials do not include a South Hills address, by the way, nor do they mean attachment to some rich or well-connected politico.)

Take West Virginia Culture and History seriously, Joe and Gayle. Prove you take our Culture and History seriously by finding the very best people you can find to fill important jobs in the Division of Culture and History. Beware of flatterers and sychophants. Beware of cronyism.

Is this a local issue? Is it an art issue? The Wag doesn't care. The Manchins are now locals, and they ultimately preside, as far as federal and state dollars and emphasis are concerned, over art, which is part of Culture. Their attention or lack of attention in this realm will become part of our history. Can art, culture and history survive without their knowledge, care and attention? Sure. So far, they have. Would the Manchins have to stretch way out of their comfort zone to simply search for a well-qualified person to daily preside over Culture and History, and the several boards that attempt to give responsible guidance in the realms of preservation, arts, and history?

-- The Wicked Wag

Hog-wild in the Mansion?

2006-06-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

The Wicked Wag notes that none of the Wag's entries has evoked written comment. Hello? Anybody out there? The Wag is starting to feel like one hand clapping.

Maybe the issues at hand are too important to be limited to the Gazz ArtAttack blog in a land where few people understand the enormous transformative power of art. Yes, art. The Wag will expound some day soon on all that, but for now, the Wag is still quivering with the realization of the parallels between how things are being done at the Governor's mansion and how things aren't being done next door at the Cultural Center where the museum should be.

There has been some talk about the Governor's spending program at the mansion. The word going round is that costs for renovations will probably not stop at last week's $3.3 million. If the Gov and The Missus have their way--and the Gov is getting pretty used to having his way--the total costs will be more like, ummm, upwards of $5 million. That's with the new "banquet room and kitchen." So, what is happening here is exactly THE STRATEGY applied to the museum project. Say the cost will be one figure, knowing very well that the job can't be done for that, then do as you please and say I'm sorry later (if necessary) rather than asking permission. (In the case of the museum, that strategy went awry, but that's because Joe is less than interested in the museum.) A lot of times the public won't be paying any attention, and the newspapers, those barking dogs, often can be confused and thrown off scent. Or maybe the editorialists and writers at the papers don't really care, either.

The Wag notices that the Manchins are beginning to behave like Ferdinand and Imelda, those infamous charming rulers of the Phillipines. With the Gov's approval rating supposedly at 80%, who wants to say that he and his wife are doing the wrong thing? So the rulers take the opportunity to run hog-wild. Because they can.

Ms. Manchin perhaps has several more ideas for the mansion, which she is not totally forthcoming about, possibly because she expects the poverty mentality here will cause our collective knees to jerk and mouths to fly open with automatic shouts of 'No!' The Manchins, like all cunning West Virginians, have developed strategies to get around all that.

The fact is, the mansion has needed to be refurbished, and truly does need additional and updated facilities. The question is, to what degree, and in what fashion? Like the much-debated and often-changed plans for the state museum, the project should be approached in a rational way, with costs honestly, forthrightly projected. What's that you say? "Forthright" and "West Virginia political process" are mutually exclusive concepts?

The Manchins were told long ago that vinyl replacement windows were not appropriate for the historic residence provided for them during their tenure. Much of the renovation work has been done outside of proper bidding procedures. Granted, those bidding procedures are tedious and too often result in stupid outcomes, but the process is supposed to help guard against wretched excess. The Gov and The Missus have broken the law in ignoring purchasing rules. Are we agreeing to ignore that because we like them? If plans go forward to add a wing to the mansion, it must be architecturally appropriate to the building. If it is not, it will be a blunder not only at our financial expense, but an unavoidable eyesore at the expense of our architectural legacy.

The big problem is that the Manchins are so lacking in education in this area that they don't realize what they are doing, and so drunk with the power that popularity seems to confer on them that they think they can do no wrong. No one should touch that building without consulting at least one architect who specializes in historic structures, who has knowledge of National Register regulations.

In a state where the basic educational level is low there are few people who understand the importance of these issues. Regarding the vinyl windows discussion, several people in the statehouse said, "Wouldn't they have used better materials if they had been available in their day?" Apparently the answer to that question is not clear to everyone, so here it is: The mansion is an example of the best materials and building practices of its day, making it worthy of careful preservation. Before downtown Charleston got its facelift, you could see the common idea of "improvement" played out on the "modernized" storefronts on historic buildings. The same ill-informed thinking is at work here.

The Wag is no politician, and no one-issue drone. The Wag acknowledges that the Manchins are charming folks. But the Wag wonders if the same clumsy, ill-informed processes are at work in other sectors of state government, and we're unaware of it? Are we being dazzled by warm smiles? It wouldn't be the first time, would it?

The Manchin-Marcos Connection?

2006-06-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

THE WICKED WAG returns with the guest post below. (Please note: the Wicked Wag is getting up to speed on gazzblog posting. The gazz editor has posted this ArtAttack entry for the Wag -- he is not the illustrious WW.)

The Wicked Wag is wondering: Are we sure those folks in the governor's mansion aren't named Marcos? Marble bathtubs? Gold highlighting on a skylight? $1,123 for a showerhead? (These details and ones below come from a June 8 Charleston Daily Mail story by business editor George Hohman.)

Administration spokeswoman Diane Holley is sure we've all experienced the same kind of cost overruns when we've rennovated our homes. The Marcoses, uh, Manchins are no doubt feeling that their minions would only want the best for them. Afterall, Mr. M. reportedly is the second most popular provincial ruler in the land. $22,564 for 10 humidifiers, all the fittings and labor to install them, to preserve the valuable antique furniture and art?

And here, the Wag thought the M's preferred plastic. After all, the Governor decreed that the mansion's second and third story windows be replaced with vinyl, despite an order from the Preservation Commission. The Wag was expecting all that dusty old stuff to be replaced with bright shiny new Naugahyde and Formica.

The Wag also notes that there's no budget for the Capitol Building Commission. Hmmm. Perhaps the same invisible hand that's at work on the State Museum is at work there, as well?

Walk the walk, Gov. Joe

2006-06-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

THE WICKED WAG returns with the guest post below. (Please note: the Wicked Wag is getting up to speed on gazzblog posting. The gazz editor has posted this ArtAttack entry on the Wag's behalf -- he is not the illustrious WW.)

The Wicked Wag saw one of those filler releases that come from state government in the June 12 West Virginia Record, a weekly newspaper that purports to serve the legal community. What a "column" with Joe Manchin's by-line on it titled "Attend a fair or festival this summer" was doing in that publication doesn't take much guess work. The paper had a hole to fill, so they stuffed it with that release.

Yet the Wag finds it highly amusing that the same governor who opted to attend the NASCAR races in North Carolina on the weekend of The Vandalia Gathering, the biggest state-supported heritage festival of the year that occurs literally in his backyard, is telling fellow West Virginians they can have a "great, inexpensive retreat close to home."

The Wag suggests that the governor walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Guest Post: Who is in charge of state's Culture and History?

2006-06-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

[from thegazz.com editor] The ArtAttack blog is always open to guest postings from people concerned about the health and life of the arts in West Virginia. We received the following from someone who asked they not be identified (we know who the person is) as this person must interact with the powers that be at the W.Va. Division of Culture and History in the future. We felt what Wicked Wag had to say was well worth sharing:

WICKED WAG Writes:

When it comes to properly promoting the industry of culture in West Virginia, I think many people are missing the big picture. The big picture encompasses the state's leadership in concert with the private sector. What private culture sector, you say? Well, one might ask that question in the same way folks were asking "What tourism industry?" back in the early '80s. Back then, state tourism efforts included a director who made about $30,000 a year and was stuck in a dismal little office in one of the state buildings. Even the tourism director had little hope for a real industry in West Virginia. So what happened? I won't go into the history of all that, but I watched the tourism industry burgeon from those days to what it is now. Somebody got the picture.

Do I think state government should be the engine for development of an industry of culture sector in West Virginia? I don't know, but I do know that state government shouldn't be a hindrance. Right now, about all it is getting is lip service, and the state museum delays are a nice smoke screen for the
larger issue of lack of leadership. That lack is not Nancy Herholdt's. She is being used as a scapegoat. She only did what she was told. The Gazette ought to be asking who the boss is? Who's calling the shots? Or not calling them?

The reason no one is asking questions is that, apparently, no one thinks that the Division of Culture & History is important enough. If "culture" is understood as a revenue stream, then it doesn't look so important. Certainly not as important as mining, oil, gas or chemicals. But if it's understood as the face of West Virginia, the persona, then the neglect becomes more significant. It doesn't appear that anyone really believes the rhetoric that a more creative populace translates into a more prosperous populace. One source in Berkeley Springs has said that the town's revival as a spa resort was achieved in spite of a county and town government that offered little help, and from time to time, even threatened to block the town's tourism development because of political infighting. Private enterprise prevailed, in spite of them.

Perhaps that's what will have to happen on the state level, as well. If and when "Culture & History," the foundation of 'the industry of culture', is recognized and nurtured as a substantial source of potential revenue to the state, and is allowed to speak for the state in a way equal to athletics at WVU or Marshall, state government might then finally see fit to put some brains and effective leadership behind its further development.

One Ghastly Sculpture?

2006-06-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

As soon as the new sculptural group at the Clay Center was unveiled last summer I hopped into my car and went downtown to take a look. Having been dumbfounded often enough at what passes for sculpture in the city (please check out the sculpture deck at the Department of Culture and History building), I wasn't very sanguine. It seems really good sculpture is almost impossible to obtain -- witness the 11-year-struggle to complete the Veteran's Memorial on the Capitol campus. Meanwhile, the crappy stuff is fairly easy.

Finding a site, though, is another matter. But site difficulties can be overturned if a person has an obvious "in." For example, a worthy cause. Or deep pockets. Take firefighters: who can argue that firefighters are heroic? Surely they deserve better than the horrific memorial they got at the W.Va. Department of Culture and History, which is laughably incompetent. Of all its inadequacies, the first is that it is life scale, not heroic scale.

So there I went to the Clay Center. The hoopla of the dedication the day before was all over. There, poking our eyes out on the corner was a weird grouping of children in Renaissance Era dress, dancing around a purported tree to the distant music of childhood. So far, so good. Ya t'ink?

I admit to being perplexed. All I could wonder is: What in the hell is a memorial to the Black Death doing on a corner of Charleston, West Virginia? Doesn’t it belong at some debarkation point memorializing the tragic episode of the Children's Crusade in Medieval Europe? Because that's no tree, that's a ghastly rose, rising stiff, thorny, and unyielding as any of the scentless wonders sold by florists these days. Pre-dedication publicity made much of the "tree" and that excited my interest. I believe I've only seen one sculptural tree done well, and it's on the campus of Vanderbilt University.

You remember the rhyme, dating deep into the plague era of the Medieval period: "Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posy / Ashes, Ashes, we all fall dead." As a nursery rhyme, it occasioned much hilarity as little kids fell over in giggly heaps, or at least it did when I was a child. I hear today that in many playgrounds it's a forbidden game, as some kind of black magical mantra. Now, we have it memorialized at the Clay Center. That's a hoot. (NOT-SO-FUN FACTS: The "ring around the rosy" was the livid color of the skin surrounding the buboes (swollen lymph glands), while the "pocket full of posy" were herbs carried in vain attempts to avoid the contagion of the bubonic plague, most active in Europe in the 14th century. It coincided with the Crusades and the Renaissance.)

In a way, the dark subtext of the sculpture echoes the dark horror of childhood: being always at the mercy of others, of bigger, often unseen monsters of reality and imagination. Maurice Sendak knows this all too well.

As the natural trees grow up around the site of this sculpture (if they are allowed), they will create a glade about the group, which can only make the site and sculpture more intriguing. Right now, it's terrible.

--- By Jane Claymore

A Not So Ghastly Clay Center Sculpture?

2006-06-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: The ArtAttack groupblog received a late response to Jane Claymore's lambasting of the Clay Center's "ring around the rosy" sculpture("One Ghastly Sculpture?"). In the interests of it not getting lost in the shuffle, we are posting it here since it is one parent's eye (and one kid's eye) view of the sculpture. Other responses welcome.

SHARON REED HILL Writes:

In response to Jane Claymore's caustic comments about the sculpture at the Clay Center, I beg to differ! As a former elementary teacher of 35 years, I know about the derivation of "Ring Around The Rosey," about Maurice Sendak (whose books children love but there are adults who want to read sordid things into them) and art.

But mostly I know about kids. To call the sculpture at the Clay Center morbid, etc., from her point of view is absurd as well as frightening: What if people reading her blog started thinking that way and then imposed their thoughts on others? One can take anything that he or she sees and bend it to his or her point of view. But the sculpture at the Clay Center is a thing of beauty.

Last weekend, I took my 8-year-old granddaughter to the Clay Center's "Hooray For Hollywood" workshop for kids. We had a great time but she wanted to go upstairs to see the film industry's clothing exhibit as did I. And we took in all of the artworks, too. Then it was back down to the science exhibits where we tested everything until we were worn out. Upon leaving, she immediately ran outside to the sculpture. Like me, she had seen if from a distance but never up close and personal.

She went from figure to figure smiling as she went around; I had to take at least 10 pictures of her using my camera. We decided upon which figure we loved the best (the dancing girl) and then we both commented on how much we loved the tree! She said she would like to have it in her house. So would I! And neither of us wanted to leave the sculpture area: it has a magic about it. And that magic is the happiness of children.

All of us have the little child inside of us no matter how old we get. Perhaps Ms. Claymore has forgotten that aspect. Some things are just as they are. Nothing more. The sculpture represents joy and happiness of childhood. Kudos to the Peytons and the Clay Center for enabling all of us to have such an artwork to gaze upon. It truly is magic in its truest sense.

Is the Quarrier Diner doomed?

2006-05-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

I've been looking into the planned relocation of the downtown Library and its demands for land on the East End close to the Clay Center. I have come to the conclusion that probably the most important endangered building in Charleston is the Quarrier Diner, a favorite target of Walker DeVille's photos in the DowntownWV photoblog (here, here -- which is the shot above -- and here). And with good reason. It's a divine, entirely convenient and usable Art Deco facade and interior. Close inspection of Quarrier Street reveals an abundance of said features on the street.

Check out the Atlas Building. Then consider the building that once housed Latimers Ltd. (During the crack cocaine years of the '80s, the Cook family replaced that curved glass window at least three times, at something like $10,000 a pop. Their insurance company must have finally thrown in the towel, which is why the window is in two pieces now. But it could be restored if adequate surveillance from the police or cameras were put on duty.)

Everyone adores and would riot if anyone tried to eliminate the exterior or interior of the Blossom Dairy. (And frankly, the upholstery inside is sprung and uncomfortable and I had one of the worst dinners and service there a few months back.) But why are people so slow to appreciate the Quarrier Diner?

Harriet Young Hoy, Charles Young's daughter, has told me that the folks at the library approached her dad asking him to donate the Quarrier Diner and the Ott Building, which he owns along with the parking lots. The idea was to donate those properties for demolition to accomodate the new library. Mr. Young declined the honor.

I have only seen its picture in the paper, but must say I'm massively unimpressed with the model of the proposed new library. As on-line life and reading becomes the new relevancy, fabulous palais de warehouse are not necessary, especially when they threaten architectural jewels -- and the Quarrier Diner is one of those.

Charleston will only be great when people open up their eyes and say, "No." No to the destruction of irreplaceable buildings like the Quarrier Diner, sitting forlornly, along sidewalks the city fathers and mothers want people to stroll once again.

--- By Jane Claymore

W.Va. state museum is still M.I.A. Is it time to fire away?

2006-05-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

In April, Gazette reporter Bob Schwarz wrote about the still missing in action state museum renovation at the Cultural Center in the state Capitol Complex (read his piece here: "Museum re-do still lagging.")His piece concerned the vanished state museum at the Department of Culture and History, run by whomever may be the Arts and Education Secretary. Gov. Joe Manchin hasn't nominated a new one yet and this may be understandable as this mess of a museum project probably has every qualified person in the state making signs of the cross and screeching, "No Thanks!"

Personally, I'm nostalgic for the homey little museum with the dressed fleas (last known location: A. James Manchin's office when he was W.Va. Secretary of State). But starting with Arch Moore, the state got far more grandiose. Although the Great Room served as gallery space for only the Vandalia quilt exhibition, there was a great little shop and plenty of stuff to look at downstairs. Unfortunately, most of the vast collection was uncatalogued and stored in the basement, which leaked from the day that building was opened.

In an attempt to rectify these wrongs, Gov. Underwood got Renay Conlin in as secretary -- only her expertise lay in music, not museums or works on walls. Big mistake. At least one state native, Elizabeth Hartman, tried to get the gig to redesign the place (major qualification being her successful work on the Museum of Natural History in New York City, also a redo, and her degree from Harvard in architecture). But she wasn't good enough for Conlin and company. Second big mistake.

Plans were made, inadequate money secured, and the place has been a mess ever since. Occasionally the local papers ran a story detailing how much no one in charge wanted to point fingers at anyone else and how understanding everyone had to be about all the money down the drain. Since acting commissioner Troy Body flitted off, leaving a bigger mess than ever, precisely nothing is being done. Probable reason: the redesign of the redesign must be redesigned and no one over there wants to ask for more money for that particular rat hole.

It's getting embarassing -- a novel concept for state employees and one that must be pondered. People get fired a heckuva lot quicker at the DOH, DMV, and Office of Administration for the kind of waste and incompetence at Culture and History. And I wonder, why is that?

--- By Jane Claymore

LocalArt into ArtAttack

2006-04-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

We will shortly be recasting the LocalArt blog as the new ArtAttack blog, devoted to art and culture in West Virginia and full of art news, reviews, politics and manifestos. West Virginia needs a few good cultural manifestos. Got one to share? Let us know as we are looking for a citizenblogger to join the mix at ArtAttack. Watch for the new blog to start next week.

Be a Detective - Find Free Art

2006-03-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine once said that when someone gets an original piece of art, then they can't stand the cheap, replicated stuff anymore. Well get ready for some cool, original and free... yes, free art. Long before VanGogh's struggles with selling art, artists have pondered how to market and sell their work. But one local artist is planning a large art giveaway project as part of an effort to encourage people to appreciate, collect, and maybe even eventually buy art.

Charleston artist Mark Wolfe has been working on a variety of handmade prints, mostly tiki-themed, and he's leaving them around town. (Double-click on the image at left to see an example up close). "I love the street art and abundance of art in many of the larger cities I've visited, and I wanted to bring that here. Original art has a vitality and a spirit, and I wanted to help bring art to people who haven't really thought about it much before."

Wolfe is making individual prints of single tiki faces and even tiki totems and leaving them in coffee shops, book stores, hair salons, and other locales around town. Over the next month, he plans to leave over 50 prints around town. And he challenges other artists to join in on the fun. "Galleries, museums and events like FestivALL are great places to see art," he says, "but it doesn't have to be confined to just that. I hope other artists will consider making art to leave around town as well."

Public Art: Love It, Love It Not

2006-03-20T06:47:00.000-08:00

By Amy Williams

In March, a 12-year-old boy stuck his gum on a $1.5 million dollar painting by Helen Frankenthaler at the Detroit Institute of Art. Possibly starting his career as an art critic early, he learned the cost of bad reviews... and got expelled from his school. But he was 12 you know. Yet what of adults who defame and destroy art?

The recent thievery of my installation art piece, The Yellow Clothesline, in front of Taylor Books on Capitol Street, got me into investigating art terrorists. Thankfully, after some interesting twists of fate, part of my clothesline got returned to Taylor's a few days after it was stolen. The man who turned it into Angie Mullins said he "found it in the alley."

This is one of the challenges of public art... sometimes the public doesn't like it. A recent NPR radio show on Christo and Jeanne-Claude's project of placing fabric panels over areas of the Arizona River area of central Colorado highlighted the regular controversy that surrounds the couple's efforts to put installation art on public view. According to the interview about the project "Over the River,": "The artists say the social debate is an essential part of every project they do... " But many people are very protective of the natural, rural qualities that attracted the couple to the area in the first place. Check out www.npr.org and type in "christo art."

In the summer of 2004, Swedish graffiti artists kidnapped a fiber-glass cow from the international street art exhibit "CowParade." Demanding the cow sculptures be declared "non-art,t he artists executed the cow. The group held the cow hostage for three weeks, with demands that the 100-plus other cows be removed from the streets. E-mail video coverage sent to a paper showed the cow flanked by two masked, black figures with power drills. Later the cow was sent back to CowParade officials, cut in pieces in a bag.

One of the reasons I love public art is because it takes art to the street. The NPR story quoted Katy Siegel, a public art scholar and associate professor of art history at New York's Hunter College. She says Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work is important because it engages millions of people who don't visit galleries or museums. "It's good to be talking about these things," she says. "What is public? What's in the public interest? How do we use public space?"

What do you think?

Yellow Clothesline Snapshow Coming Soon

2006-03-14T04:32:00.000-08:00

Daniel Buren, a pioneer in installation art, once pleaded: "Can art get down from its pedestal and rise to street level?" In an effort to answer his calling, Amy Williams created the clothesline installation art piece recently hung on Capitol Street in front of Taylor Books. The piece was also an effort to bring the Annex Gallery exhibit, "30 Artists Think Yellow," to the street. Keep reading LocalArt to found out when we post A Snapshow at thegazz.com of the installation process. Meanwhile, if you're in downtown Charleston, head to Taylor Books to see the installation hanging from the trees out front.

Blah, blah, blog...

2006-03-13T06:09:00.000-08:00

By Amy Williams

"What is blogging?" one of my friends recently asked after seeing my name listed as a blogger in the paper. "It's kind of on-line journaling," I told her. "Less objective maybe and more personal opinion."

As a therapist, I have teenage clients who frequently show me their blogs. You can find blogs covering all kinds of subjects online now. When Charly Hamilton and I considered blogging for the Gazz, we realized that as working artists it could be dangerous territory to write about other artists and art in general. In our short time blogging, we have already offended people and been warned by other artists how any criticism might not be received well.

Fortunately, we decided early on that our purpose in blogging and writing the occasional review for the paper (whether online or in print) was to get the word out about what's going on in the art world. The now defunct Cranky Artist, along with Gazette reporter Bob Schwartz, hold the role of critics. Cranky probably hit more nails on the head, as he/she was anonymous.(Watch for the revival of Cranky-style blogging soon at thegazz -- gazzeditor) Charly and I (and probably even Bob) are often more discreet, and usually our criticism is what we choose to write about and what we do not.

At least we are working artists -- creating, showing, applying for grants and juried exhibits. I like it when people who practice something are the ones who write about it. It's not that we're experts, but we are definitely understanding of what other artists experience in the creation process.

While blogging hasn't completely caught on in West Virginia, it's still a powerful way to share news, opinions and throw challenges out there. In Robert Genn's online and e-mail artist newsletter (www.painterskeys.com), a recent article on blogging talked of the benefits of writing art blogs. Is blogging a way to market yourself, to get your art out there? Art is about both the work and the artist themselves. Some artists have great followings, and it seems their persona is a key factor (and their friends). Of course, there are great artists who don't market themselves at all (and performers, too, who let their work speak for itself).

Maybe it's a delicate balance of creating art you are proud of and engaging other people in believing in your work. One thing Charly and I defintely agree upon -- we are attached to our art work and are often sad to see it go. We want to know where it is. But neither of us like to create in a vacuum either. It's always great to be included in an exhibit or to find someone who wants to pay you for a piece of work you've created.

We also want to link up other people, to profile other artists and their work. We want to continue creating a community where art is better appreciated and collected. In our world of daily stress - war, political infighting, the healthcare mess -- we have personally found solace in art, both our own art and others. What better way to share that good news than through the power of the blog?

At www.blogger.com they define the word: "A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world."

We need more bloggers on LocalArt - of all age groups and interested in all kinds of art. If you like what we're doing, hurrah! BUT if you don't like what we're doing, then tell us about it... we'll listen!

What is installation art --- and why?

2006-03-06T06:15:00.000-08:00

By Amy Williams

Installation art is a medium, like painting, sculpture and photography, but it's a little harder to put your finger on. One way of looking at installation art is that the work and the space that it is in are "melded together," as writer Mark Rosenthal says in his book "Understanding Installation Art." He goes on to say:

"Installation refers to a dedicated space in which one artistic vision or aura is at work, setting forth various kinds of phenomena... In an installation there is unlikely to be a single object, but an assemblage, attached or not... Regardless, the viewer is usually in an enclosed space, swept up in a work of art much larger in expanse than an individual object can normally create..."

Huh?

Well, for me installation art is about concept and space. It's about using a space to create something -- outdoors or in -- that makes people stop and ponder and maybe even remember. It's about an idea that is bigger (in execution style) than something you can put on a table or in a frame.

The closest most people come to knowing about installation art is from the artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. From his more recent saffron "Gates" installation throughout New York City's Central Park (see image above) to his earlier installations of wrapping Berlin's Reichstag in 1993, Christo has brought this form of art to the masses. And, his work is on a scale that has done a great advertising service for this medium. A phenomenal video recollection of his work is on DVD at the Kanawha County Public Library. The set of films on his different projects offers insight into the amazing amount of work going into each of his installations. It's also charming how he wins over construction workers and everyday folk, who beforehand had no idea what he was doing or why.

Another form of installations are the outdoor, citywide animal sculpture displays that many cities have. Chicago had cows, Cincinnati had pigs (image at right) , Lexington had horses, D.C. had donkeys and elephants. Local artists painted these fiberglass beasts and they were placed around each city in various attire.

It is largely from these inspirations, that I have increasingly wanted to create installation work. My first local exposure to this work was last summer when FestivALL had Pittsburgh-based Cindy Snodgrass create or coordinate public participation in fabric assemblages downtown. Gregg Oxley, from the Museum in the Community, also created the spectacular "House of Leaves" that was earlier presented in the small gallery there (and most recently was recreated next to the Bluegrass Kitchen on the East End).

As part of the Annex Gallery exhibit "30 Artists Think Yellow," I was inspired to make a clothesline in front of the bookstore during March. Yellow reminds me of sunshine and outdoors and spring.... and, of course, clotheslines. I have always had an affinity for clotheslines. There aren't many around anymore. (As a side note, no matter what people say I think clothes are softer when they are dried in the dryer with a piece of scented paper.) Still, I love non-technology at times, and what better emulates that than a clothesline?
I think it's true we sometimes take on tasks because we don't know that we cannot. Who am I after all to create installation art? I have never been to art school, and often if I tell you something, I may be winging it. Yet I knew that putting up a clothesline on Capitol Street was something I had to do.

After studying Christo's renderings -- he often sketches locations, draws in his installation, colors only that part in and sells them to raise money for his project -- I sketched my plans and headed to the Charleston Streetscape Committee. With my plans, humble sketches, copies of similar projects in other cities and memories of the years of rejection Christo faced, I anticipated a difficult battle. But the project met with great reception - I think the talk of sadly cutting down more city trees added oomph to my goal of sprucing up downtown with some outdoor, public art. Friends collected yellow clothes for the effort, recycled largely from thrift shops and secondhand stores and their own closets.

One of my favorite Christo quotes sums up my own hopes well:

"Our projects are not something out of fantasy. Fantasy is what we find in the cinema and the theatre, our imaginative notion of things. But when we feel the real wind, the real sun, the real river, the mountain, the roads - this is reality, and we use it in our work. Our projects carry that reality."

Next Monday (March 13) when the city can help me reach the top of the light posts to hang the exhibit, a clothesline of yellow clothes will hang downtown. What does it mean? You tell me.

A Poem on 'Looking at African Art'

2006-02-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

By Charly Jupiter Hamilton

The lion grows,
the amazing hanging breasts are beating a child
who must be mankind carved.
The moon is a pig,
the sun glows and mingles
with murderous drought and crime.
The long ago smile is at death's ordinary door.
Great nature sits in religion, though sometimes not religiously.
We all waltzed out of Africa,
whether you believe it on this dog day or not
is your business.

Catch African Art at Taylor's-- Quick!

2006-02-28T08:58:00.002-08:00

Click on images to enlarge. Photos by Mark Wolfe of Mark Wolfe Design

In the April issue of Utne Reader, an article titled "Real Time Africa" talks of a travelling exhibit of African art now making the rounds through Europe. Featuring contemporary work by more than 80 artists, the exhibit is so big it has three categories: "Identity and History," "Body and Soul," and "City and Land." If Europe isn't on your travel agenda, but you are wanting to check out some cool African art, visit the local Annex Gallery at Taylor Books before its own exhibit of African art closes on Friday.

Judy Strawderman, an African Art collector for almost 30 years, co-owns Scary Creek Art and teaches at W.Va. State University. The pieces she currently has on exhibit are mostly traditional art forms, but a few are more contemporary (the Madkonde sculptures for example). The exhibit features 100 art pieces - figures, masks, and more - from a wide variety of African countries, acquired from traders, galleries, and flea markets. Many of these pieces are also for sale.

In their own communities, many such items were created to be used as more than just as art. "It is an art form which is alive. It is not meant to be isolated in a case but rather to be used, held, and seen," says Strawderman. "Overall the majority of my pieces where designed to be used in everyday life, spiritual/religious ceremonies, storytelling, and rites of passage."

One intriguing aspect of the exhibit is appreciating each piece on its own and using your imagination to see it in the context of why it was created. Strawderman advises art viewers: "When we look at a piece, even in this show, we see it isolated. We see the mask, but we don't see it with the full costume in the environment for which it was designed to be used. We see a beautiful beaded blanket, but we don't see it draped across the shoulders of a woman wearing a beaded apron, with bead work and brass rings around her neck standing in front of a house painted in the same type of brilliant geometric patterns which we see on the blanket and apron. So we learn to appreciate the form outside of its context."

IF YOU GO: The exhibit closes tomorrow, Friday, March 3, Annex Gallery, Taylor Books, 226 Capitol Street.

---By Amy Williams

New Culture and History Commissioner Needed: Apply Here!

2006-02-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

Has the lack of a West Virginia Division of Culture and History commissioner left the arts in the Mountain State utterless?

I meant rudderless.

The post has been vacant since acting commissioner Troy Body quit in December. Like, who decided that "Open for Business" is better than the cool "Wild, Wonderful West Virginia" for the state's motto? (And what ever happened to the even cooler "Almost Heaven"?) No artist seems to be working on that.... unless it's the type of artist who works nightly at the Pink Pony Lounge.

And there is no Commissioner to talk to about my idea of turning Arch's bunker basement into a West Virginia guest artist miniature golf course, with such themes as "Hillbilly Holes" and the huge "Strip Mine Whine" course -- where you lose your balls and can never reclaim them. There simply is noone to propose the idea of "Coal Sculpture Show" for next year's Black History Month.

What are the artists of the state to do? Where's our leadership? Who's in charge? So I'm thinking that this LocalArt blog should take matters into its capable hands and ask for applications for the job of New Commissaire of Arts and History (note the high culture Frenchy spelling...)

As they say,we're OPEN FOR BUSINESS.....so apply yourself. Or submit someone you think would work. The salary would be negotiable with the Yeager Airport Parking Deck; no Toadees or fast track goalees need apply. And, as we know from the past, no experience is necessary.

-- Charly Jupiter Hamilton

Where to hang, baby!

2006-02-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

After they created art, artists need to think about whether they want their art to be seen and where. Although there are exceptions, many artists work their way up in the art food chain and start small... hoping to hit it big and show in ever more enviable and "reputable" places. Of course, an artist does not even have to show their work to be an artist, do they? But most of us want people to see what we make. And for artists who want to sell their work, or even make a living from it, the question of where to hang their art is even more important.

Most of us don't have a Theo Van Gogh, Vincent's brother who continually loaned him money and supported his work. Even more of us are not Picasso, who could pay for dinner by doodling on a napkin. So we have to think more and work hard to get our work seen, and hopefully appreciated, by others.

So where to hang? Well for me the answer to that question has been answered through one important concept: networking. Networking isn't just for bankers and lawyers. Artists benefit from networking, as well. You can learn from other artists, and even your non-artist friends, about places that display art.

In Charleston, there are a variety of venues for exhibiting your work. Gallery Eleven, an artist cooperative at 1033 Quarrier St., displays work by a variety of member artists. Art Emporium, 823 Quarrier St., displays work and even has an exhibit space in its 2nd floor loft. One of my favorite places, which doesn't even have an art focus per se, is Visions Day Spa, 238 Capitol St. With a new 10-week art rotation schedule, artists can get their creations seen by hundreds of people each month who are getting massages, manicures and hair cuts. Hey, don't laugh. Even if you're shown in more serious places, locations like Visions can be a good place for new and/or experimental works. And with the better commission rates, you can keep 80 percent of your sale price compared to 50 or 60 percent in other galleries.

Of course Taylor Book's Annex Gallery, Callen McJunkin/Steve Payne, the Art Store are more accepted and often respected locations for exhibiting. It can be much harder to get into these galleries, but they provide great support for artists and valuable support and guidance as well. Galleries often take more of a commission, but they also give more to the artists they choose to represent.

There are all kinds of creative and innovative ways to have your art shown as well. On two occasions, I've used the Covenant House Art Space, 600 Shrewsbury St., to stage shows. They ask for no commission, although donations are welcome. Of course, hours are limited and the location is definitely off the beaten track so that's the downside. But if you can create a big opening night, then it can be a success too.

Plus, there are a variety of competitive exhibitions that you can apply to. These often require a registation fee, but if you get a piece in it's great visibility. Or ask your socialite friends to host a party profiling your art -- this might be an unconventional, but lucrative way to show and sell.

When you have art you want shown, or even better a selection of multiple pieces, contact different people and ask if they would review your work. Do they want to see the original pieces or would they prefer images on a CD? If you have an artist resume, bring that too. The ideas of how to have your work seen are limited only by your own mind... so get busy hanging out.

Do you have ideas of where to show art? Send them to the LocalArt blog and we'll include them online.

-- By Amy Williams

Create Art: Donate Yellow Clothes

2006-02-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

New York City had Christo and Jeanne-Claude's saffron Gates -- Charleston will soon have the Clothesline Project. The March street installation art project will be part of the exhibit, "30 Artists Think Yellow," at Annex Gallery, Taylor Books.

Developed by Gazz blogger and Charleston artist Amy Williams, the installation piece will include yellow clothing items recreated into a large outdoor piece of fabric art. In an effort to promote public art, Williams has invited people to donate yellow clothing, scarves, fabric, etc. in a box at Taylor Books. "It's a great way to recycle items and people can see their part of the whole piece when it's completed."

The exhibit invites artists to create a literal or conceptual response to yellow. The exhibit will hang March 6 through 31 with a reception March 16. Clothing items are needed within the next week and can be left in the yellow box inside the door at Taylor Books.

Guest Bloggers and Reviewers Desired

2006-02-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

Do you like to look at art and share your opinion about it? Want to scope out the latest openings and shows in Charleston and beyond? Join artists Amy Williams and Charly Jupiter Hamilton in talking about the local art scene. And if there's a show out-of-town worth visiting, tell us about that, too. Help rev up the art scene with more dialogue about what you like and don't like! Comment on our blogs or e-mail Amy at amyvangogh@yahoo.com or Charly at charlyjupiter@yahoo.com.

A Day Trip to Great Art

2006-02-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

Arthur Leipzig's photo titled "Low Seam Coal Mine, Richlands, VA, 1947."

By Amy J. Williams

On a recent weekend, Mark Wolfe and I journeyed to one of our close getaway locations: Columbus, Ohio for some music and art. We were especially taken by the Columbus Museum of Art photography exhibit "Arthur Leipzig: On Assignment," which covers a vast area of locales and subjects. A five-piece series on the Mountain State includes great stories of Leipzig's journey to Virginia and West Virginia to photograph miners. His amusing and poignant story of travelling into a 36-inch, low seam locale is not to missed.

In addition, Leipzig photographed Ethiopian Jews, North Atlantic fishing, a cancer clinic in New Jersey, lumberjacks in the Everglades, musician Pablo Casals in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the painting of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1946. Leipzig, who will give a talk at the museum 7 p.m. Feb. 26, says: "I have been able to observe the world and myself. Photography has helped me learn much about both."

Leipzig's photograph "Three Forks, West Virginia, 1947"

IF YOU GO: "Arthur Leipzig: On Assignment" is up through March 11 at the Columbus Museum of Art.
NOTE: This Arthur Leipzig website contains a richs sampling of his black-and-whote photographs from around the world.

Hop, Skip and Jump to New (and Nude-Filled) Art Spot

2006-02-13T18:37:00.000-08:00

Charleston's galleries and art venues will again be open late for art viewing this Thursday evening, from 5 to 8 p.m. In addition to visiting Annex Gallery at Taylor Books and the Callen McJunkin/Steve Payne Gallery, take a big leap and visit the ArtSpace's First Inaugural Nude Art Exhibition (above the Bluegrass Kitchen on the corner of Elizabeth and Washington Streets on the East End).

After last week's opening featuring about 40 photos (see work at left), there'll be another reception Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. And if you've ever wanted to model au naturel, local artists will be available to take Polaroids in a special "Nudes2Go" where you can pose and take the picture home for only $10. Artist Keeley Steele says her goal in presenting the exhibit has been "to raise awareness of the need for alternative venues of underrepresented genres of art." Who said Charleston doesn't have some fun things to do?

IF YOU GO: Other times to see the Nude Art Exhibition: Monday and Tuesday, noon to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.; or by appointment. No admission, but tips are appreciated. Part of the proceeds go to Artspace. Call 346-2871.

INSIDE/OUTSIDE Exhibit at UC

2006-02-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

By Amy Williams and Charly Jupiter Hamilton

INSIDE/OUTSIDE, a new exhibit at the University of Charleston's Frankenberger Gallery, offers a variety of photographic fare for viewers, featuring works by six artists. Charly says: "Being a painter/printmaker (God's chosen), I always think of photo-making art as being the lazy step-child of real art making. But I'm changing -- in the UC gallery's new show there seemed to be plenty of that art stuff."

Our favorite set of works was by Betty Gay -- her pieces were a standout with eight vignettes in a series of photographs themed "Interaction." The artist, who is a Marshall grad student and instructor, tends toward self-portraiture in her work... and we love it. It's worth the visit just to check out what new venture she is off on. (We saw her work before in a pearl series and she frequently uses her home and belongings in unique and fun ways.) It's great to see an artist with both a cool concept and great execution.

Betty Gay's 'Interaction' photos just delight me," says Charly, "Maybe that blurred moving body of a woman leaping and jumping in and out of the frame of an everyday apartment reminds me of my relationships and their dancing moving impermanence."

Jodie Nichols did a nice job photographing everyday subjects in a Dorothy Norman-style and these are worth checking out as well. Charly adds: "Jody Nichols' photographs of cafeteria plates, pots and dishes haunt my controlled, falling kind of life in their ordered, gleaming, stainless and stacked way."

James Duncan's hand-colored photos captured items in his grandfather's home. "Coming from a family of carpenters" -- Duncan's grandfather worked on the UC library -- "James Duncan's hand-colored silver prints had that formal, sculpture-y feel of a carpenter," he comments. "But they also had a surreally, what-the-hell feel of a man on 'the black sheep, no-count artist path,' as James said."

Laura Moul used a variety of cameras (digital, 35 mm and medium format) in her scenic pictures. Bruce Haley has eight colorful abstract pictures enhanced in Photoshop. Photographer Betty Rivard completes the lineup with seven local photographs of Charleston area scenes.

Says artist and UC professor Mark Moore: "The variety of styles and approaches encompasses traditional black-and-white and color, digitally enhanced and even hand-painted images. The subjects in the photographs range from landscapes to apartment interiors, as well as some unexpected studies of everyday objects made both beautiful and icongraphic."

IF YOU GO: "INSIDE/OUTSIDE" is up through March 2. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 357-4795.

Is Your Art Worth Dying For?

2006-02-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

By Charly Jupiter Hamilton

These days, artists seem to move between two darknesses. That some cartoons can get masses to riot, burn down embassies, murder and maim is almost unbelievable. I, as an artist, can sit here in West Virginia and make a disagreeable, witty cartoon of a turbaned bearded guy and a slow-witted, big-eared Texan doing the dirty, and put it on the Internet and "waalaa" - riots and disenchantment worldwide (and maybe yours truly's death also).

The power of the visual arts! Shouldn't this country - this state- make institutions of 'off-colored art?' Buy an artist instead of an F-16?

My first real recognition as an artist was for cartoons depicting my friend, Alice Griffin, engaged in my imagined sexual activities. I did these cartoons during my second year of Algebra I in high school (having failed my first year of Algebra I). They made Alice laugh. And I thought she threw them away, but she didn't. (My first collector!) Then, her mean old daddy and only doctor in Troutman, North Carolina found them - and he would have burned my embassies down with me in them and thrown me to the happy-to-oblige KKK boys for tar and feathering.

He did threaten me with a gun and told me of his friends in high places who would have me put away in the state's insane asylum in Morgantown, North Carolina. Though shaken, I also thought: "Wow, I rattled the high and mighty!"

I still try to be true to that feeling -- and you know what they say, "If they can't take a joke..."

Developing Art Collecting Mojo

2006-02-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

Speaking of art and collecting, here are some Tips for Developing Your Art Collecting Self:

1. Buy what you really like.
2. Worry about finding a space for it later.
3. Visit all kinds of art events - gallery openings, studios, art fairs and university exhibits.
4. Look in art magazines - check the library or local bookstore.
5. Get to know artists you like - sometimes they will work with you on prices and many often do commissions.
6. Check out prices before you buy. (Hey, there's nothing wrong with wanting a deal.
7. Look for new local artists when you travel.
8. Keep photos of the pieces you own and store them in a safe space along with the receipt of what you paid.

Unless you're wealthy, don't worry so much about the investment value of your art. It probably won't increase in value that much in your lifetime anyway... sorry!

Charleston's Art Walk: A Relationshop Rorschach Test

2006-01-31T18:19:00.000-08:00

By Amy J. Williams

Anyone who has ever been burnt by thinking they know who they're involved with (and later finding out it ain't quite so), could benefit from Charleston's monthly Art Walks downtown.

What??? What's cheaper and less complicated than signing up at the dating service eHarmony and easier to administer than a Rorschach test? Again, the Art Walk. It might be just the place to both find a date -- and then find out if they really are the one for you!

As a therapist, I frequently hear relationship-burnt people ask if I could administer some kind of test to make sure the next person is right for them. Well, there are plenty of compatibility tests, but why not have a little fun and hit the street? Each third Thursday of every month, Charleston's galleries and art venues are open late to welcome viewers (and hopefully potential buyers) of art. Often, you can nab some free wine, snacks and meet interesting people. Plus, you can gain quick insights into your companion's personality.

"What do you see when you look at a giant flower at Art Emporium?" you may inquire of your date. If you are for or against pets, discuss it while checking out Charly Hamilton's dog art at Annex Gallery Taylor Books. (This is a great way to help pre-screen your pet allergy challenges with potential new mates -- and discreetly so.)

Susan Petryszak's art at the Callen McJunkin/Steve Payne Gallery is the perfect Rorschach test. "Just what do you see in that watery mass?" can tell you whether you're safe -- or it's time to make a run for it.

And then there are the prices. Can they afford the great piece of jewelry you like at Distant Mesas (alas, since closed) or only the Blenko water pitcher at Taylors?

Inquiring dates want to know... and the Art Walk is where to find out.

The Un-Intimidator: Annex Gallery's New Art Talks

2006-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

By Amy J. Williams

People who love art, make art, buy art, collect art often forget one important thing... lots of people are clueless when it comes to art. They don't think they can make it (well, maybe they can't) and they often have no idea what they really like.

In an effort to remedy this situation, Annex Gallery at Taylor Books is offering a four-part series of Art Talks starting 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8. My co-blogger and artist Charly Jupiter Hamilton will kick off the series at the first Taylor Books Annex Gallery Art Talk. He's the first in a great lineup of talks given by artists in a salon-style discussion. Charly's talk, called "Trickster Art," will undoubtedly be a foray into poetry, stream-of-consciousness thinking and an insight into his unique style of creating art. If you're missing the Beat generation, Charly is a good remedy. If we're lucky, he might even reveal a side that not everyone knows... reading his quirky, funny and thoughtfully colorful poetry.

Following months will include Claire Sherwood in March, Peter Massing and Paula Clendenin in April and Joe Mullins in May. Watch for more info about these artists and mark your calendar for an evening that will build your art education and your art self confidence.

Turning Life into Art

2006-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

By Amy Williams

Are you depressed, giving up smoking or just frustrated about some things going on in your life? Well, what are you doing about it? When something is going wrong in my life, I like to talk about it. I've often said that's why I have so many friends... I vent and vent and vent. It would take a small army to listen to me and not get perturbed. And I might just wear them out anyway. Hey, I work as a therapist so I know the benefits of talking things through... but geez I take it too far sometimes.

As I've matured both as an artist and a person, I've learned that creating art can be a therapeutic way to work out problems... without actually speaking a word to anyone.

In Robert Glenn's online creativity newsletter, a recent article talks about a reader who has given up smoking and the related effects it's having on her. The loss of this addiction, whether it be smoking or drinking or whatever can make it hard to get back to your creative work according to Glenn. He suggests that people are often depressed before they smoke and they are subseqently depressed after they stop. His idea? Replacement units. Here's what he says:

"Replacement units can be tailor made to the previous addiction. A cigarette, for example, burns down in about eight minutes. The idea is to make eight minute poems, paintings or whatever. These units can be repeated with the same frequency as the previous addiction. "

In the same way, I've learned from my co-blogger, Charly Jupiter Hamilton, that if I am feeling discouraged or upset I can paint or draw that into a story or I can write a poem. Now, I fondly look back on poems that were remembrances of past problems. And I'm glad I didn't put any more negativity out there in the world by venting and complaining. The problem was positively stored in my sketchbook or notebook for only me to see. Often at that later date, I see that what seemed so monumental at the time was just part of my story. Will my journals be in a museum with my work some future day when I am gone? You never know!

For more information on the Glenn's inspiring newsletter for creative folk, contact rgenn@saraphina.com or go here.: http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/giftscribe.php

Blanche Lazzell and the Art of Women Making Art

2006-01-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

Blanche Lazzell's color woodblock print of the Waitman T. Willey House in Morgantown (1934) is among the works of the pioneering West Virginia-born artist on view at Avampato Discovery Museum.

By Amy Williams and Charly Jupiter Hamilton

For enthusiasts of women's art, there are two current exhibits to see: "Blanche Lazzell: The Work of An American Modernist" and its companion show, "Jan Matulka: The Global Modernist' at the Avampato Discovery Museum and the National Pen Women Exhibit at the University of Charleston (See review below). West Virginia can be proud to boast of being the birthplace of Lazzell, as well as a solid group of contemporary women artists.

It was not lost on myself and fellow art blogger and artist Charly Jupiter Hamilton that Lazzell created art at a time when women were still not fully appreciated in the art world. Exhibit information even mentions that because of Lazzell's interest in the decorative arts, her influence as a modernist was minimized during her lifetime.

Who could believe that a girl from Maidsville, West Virginia, born in the late 1800s, would go on to travel to Paris and even paint nudes? Lazzell painted, made woodblocks and made rugs as well as other "decorative" art pieces.

Charly especially appreciates the influence of German expressionism on Lazzell's work. She went to Munich and came back to Providence, Rhode Island and did wood cuts. "Fish House is one of my favorite pieces," he says, "I like that about her, that she made woodcuts."

When we visited the opening reception, there was some controversy over Lazzell's colors. But Charly defended Lazzell saying, "Other people didn't like her colors, but I kind of liked the colors. Acrylics hadn't really been invented, so the oil paint colors reminded me of that time. Muted colors were bright then. It reminds me of colors that are hip now."

A quote from Antonio Porchia in the front of "Vivid Companions," (a book of poems by West Virginia poet Irene McKinney) goes: "Before I travelled my road, I was my road." Charly says, "That's what I was thinking as I looked at Blanche Lazzell's paintings and prints... now I can go on down my road happier to have met her on the Avampato Museum's walls."

To continue the adventure of exploring West Virginia female artists, just cross over the river to the University of Charleston where the National Pen Women Exhibit is displaying work by more than 20 contemporary women artists. The Pen organization was founded in the spirit of Lazzell's challenges - getting women artists shown and noticed at a time when women faced more challenges in being shown and published.

Pen Women Exhibit at UC

2006-01-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

NOTE: Click on artwork to enlarge images.

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton
One of the things I miss about living in a big city like Washington, D.C. is the variety of art - museums and galleries. Thanks to the efforts of Mark Moore, Gallery Director and Assistant Professor of Art and Design at the University of Charleston, a wide variety of artists have been shown in the gallery this academic year. Moore continues his prolific gallery shows with a new exhibit by The National League of American Pen Women. The exhibit opened recently with 60-plus works by more than 20 female artists.

The League began in 1897 when women were excluded from exhibitions and as a way to bring together female journalists, authors, and illustrators.

The exhibit features a variety of mediums - watercolor, acrylic, collage, fiber art, and oil - and an even wider variation in prices. Some works start at $75 and others sell for more than $2,400, making this a good exhibit for beginning and more advanced collectors.

We found some real gems, including "Rejoice" (see first image), an artist's proof dry point print of the Madonna and Jesus by Kathy Boland. Drawn to both religious art and sketches, this immediately drew both of our attention. Boland, who also has an interest in religious art and imagery says: "Older images carry a lot of meaning, they're not just surface."

"From a Distance," (second image at right) by artist Carol Toth was another eye catcher. Both the color used in the mixed media piece and the figurative imagery made the piece a standout at the show. "I kept walking back around to see the painting from a distance," says Charly, "it looked Egyptian in Putnam County with an Easter Island Head falling backward."

Another refreshing piece was a monoprint by Pat Workman called "Tiger." "It looked like a dog to me," says Charly, "and I thought: Hey, maybe she didn't have a tiger around so she used her dog as a model. I use my dog as a model for a lack of women around."

With the recent coal miner tragedy, Pat Robert's assemblages in the New River Gorge Series were touching. John Stone talked of how the pieces, made of rusted parts and paint, were so interesting and lovely in their technique.

Laura Wilk had several pieces in the exhibit and Charly especially liked the three-piece collage collection, "Mountaintop," "Untitled," and "Butterflies." "They remind me of a Jackson Pollock painting, and even of my drop cloths," said Charly affectionately.

Another treasure was Carolyn Cavendish's "February Fantasy." It's not something either of us would have expected to be drawn to, an aerial view with buildings, water and boats... yet it reminded us of a 1950s postcard vacation scene with excellent illustrative work. Plus, Nancy Gunnoe's folk art, and works by Betty Warner, Sonja Adkins, and over 20 other artists make a jaunt to UC a worthwhile artistic endeavor.

"Many of the artists are breaking new ground, and I find that exciting and unexpected," says Moore. Charly adds, "I overhear how Mark Moore hung the 63 pieces in the gallery. There's a lot of greens and blues and water and he's got it flowing. Rough from sanding wood, I felt like a month old pretzel walking around in a lovely bag."

If You Go: The Pen Women exhibit runs through Jan. 27. For more information on the League, check out: www.americanpenwomen.org

Notes on collecting "Stuff"

2006-01-03T17:34:00.000-08:00

By Amy J. Williams

What separates people who collect things from people who don't? It isn't money, because a lot of people I know who struggle financially still collect all kinds of things. Then, there are people with loads of dough who collect zip! With due respect to the spiritual view of not attaching to things, it seems that as I mature artistically I also want to collect things.

While some hoard their possessions, I have always been one to dispose of items. My mom gave away all my childhood Barbies and toys. With each relationship break-up or move in my life, everything (or almost everything) goes. I can be sentimental, but often I just don't want to keep more "stuff." Yet at the ripe old age of 44, I've realized that "stuff" is exactly what artists need. "Stuff" can include toys from vintage vending machines, old wooden frames from the antique store or pictures cut from cards and magazines... all the ingredients in producing art.

I have come to realize that my Zen-ish desire to live with nothingness is incongruent with my desire to create strange and (I hope) interesting pieces of art. Edward Gorey, the illustrator and writer of so many interesting books, had plenty of "stuff." The book, "Elephant House," which chronicles his untouched house after his death, shows all kinds of collections - rocks, irons, frogs, books, and more. I felt better after looking at all his belongings, piled hither and yon. My house could look like this if I tried (but I would leave out the smell of kitty litter that visitors could always get a whiff of).

Collecting just to collect is unpleasant consumerism that is foolish and unfruitful. But recycling old items and recreating them into sculptures in your home or art pieces to give to friends is fun and even good for the environment. Shopping at vintage stores, flea markets, and antique stores gives artists and art loves a plethora of options for fun and often inexpensive items to collect.

I've started collecting chalk fruit to hang in the kitchen and doodads for my homemade voodou dolls. So, what are you collecting?

Another State of Mind

2005-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

In my recent travels, I've visited galleries and museums in Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C. One of the joys of out-of-state travel is experiencing the wider world of art and artists. As an artist, there's great inspiration in looking at art created by others. There's no way to really copy another person's work as each creation is through our own experience. But taking in other ideas can confirm what we've been doing or inspire us to expand beyond our own current limitations or ideas.

Martha Graham once talked of how we each have our own unique way of creating and that if we miss it then that artistic expression will be eternally lost. I often think of this as I make greeting cards, dolls, paintings or clay sculptures. I love to take in ideas from other artists and other places and then recreate them through my own eyes and heart and hands. I am always happier when I create and less so when I do not. You don't have to be a professional to experience the joy of making a handmade card or painting or even a doll or photograph.

Often, I take a sketchbook and either do sketches of pieces I like or I write down favorite artists or color ideas. For me, there's really no such thing as creating in a vacuum. All of our life can be art, really. When my kids were growing up, I would transform their childhood traumas of bloody noses and fights at school into stories. In the same way, my co-blogger Charly Jupiter Hamilton, has translated his life experiences into paintings or poetry.

For the New Year, I'm committing to incorporating art more into my life everyday. Instead of venting so much, I'm going to paint more. Instead of letting myself get down, I'm going to write more about it in haiku. Looking at more art, listening to more music, and even travelling out of town... will all help get to another state of mind.

Looking Up for Answers

2005-12-30T05:49:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of a new year and the end of a completed one, it is often a time for reflection. What has passed, and what lies ahead? In a recent trip to Washington, D.C., an installation exhibit by Mei-Ling Hom reminded me of my love of the sky. In the pavilion of the Sackler Gallery (part of the Smithsonian), Hom has created from wire an exhibit of hanging clouds. Titled 'Floating Mountains, Singing Clouds' and accompanied by music, the exhibit is meant to create a space in which museum visitors can clear their minds as they prepare to view to art throughout the building.

The sky and clouds have always been a way for me to clear my mind. Several years ago, I began painting 100 pictures of the sky. Numbering them, I gave them to friends, acquaintances, clients, family members. The series is not complete, as there may still be 20 paintings left to go. But the point of the exercise for me was to reflect on the sky and encourage others to behold its beauty as well... to look up.

There is a story of a 6th century sage who refused to leave his mountain for the future emperor Wu. Finally, the emperor came to him. When asked why he would not leave the mountain, the sage explained: "On the peaks there are many white clouds. One can only count them for oneself. I cannot take and send them to you."

That's what art is for me as well: a mind-clearing activity. It's a place to go. Creating and looking at art is a way to transcend mundane earthly concerns and explore a more contemplative place where we can enjoy color and form and ideas transcribed onto a canvas -- and maybe even find a few answers for whatever questions we face.

For the Love of Santa, Think Art!

2005-12-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

It seems there are three things on everyone's minds lately: getting holiday gifts, watching their budget and being in love. If you think artistically, then all of these needs and/or wants can be taken care of at the same time.

For the love of Santa, consider artistic and music-related gifts for the holidays. Instead of running out and getting a variety of mediocre gifts made in China by children who are worked too hard, consider buying original art locally. Taylor Gifts, at 226 Capitol St., has a fabulous selection of more than 20 artists and a variety of price ranges to fit every budget. The Callen McJunkin Gallery 221 Capitol St., and Gallery Eleven, 1033 Quarrier St., offer even more choices. You get a quality piece of art that someone can really enjoy, and you are helping keep the cheap prints that hang too profusely around town, at a minimum.

The Van Gogh Experience
If you've never experienced the joy of looking at original art, do a comparison. Charleston graphic designer and artist Mark Wolfe once said to me, "I always loved Van Gogh, but seeing the original was amazing compared to the copies in books. The color and texture was so vibrant... how people of his time did not see the greatness of his work, I don't understand."

Okay, so maybe you can't afford a Van Gogh, but the idea is the same! Buying art, or even giving someone music lessons, is a value for your budget. One of my friends is getting a family member a ukelele for Christmas (I must be vague for obvious reasons). My oldest son and I are thinking of giving each other lessons - me the accordion and he the guitar. It's a lot more fun than another pair of mittens.

Love of Art, Art of Love
At a recent FootMad dance, someone recently told Charly Jupiter Hamilton (artist and my blogging cohort) that living in Charleston is easier if you're in love. Well, if you create art or take an interest in art, then you are always in love. Art is the wellspring of passion, and at all the gallery openings you'll meet a lot of interesting people - you'll find out more about someone chatting over a Peter Massing or Paula Clendenin piece of art than you will over a bottle of beer. Well, maybe that's not completely true. But you get the idea... love is more sustainable if you can talk about art and music and creativity than if you just meet for a drink after work. There's still plenty of time to get interesting art-related gifts... hurry!

Art-Smart Gifts for the Artful

2005-12-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

When shopping for the artistic or the art-minded, there is no limit to the possibilities. But some choices are much better than others. Here's two more picks from your art investigators Charly Jupiter Hamilton and Amy Williams... we're trying to keep you in the good graces of your gift recipients!

>> Charly's pick:

European Beret's from Oregon -
Artist's berets are a prerequisite for artists, especially male artists, according to art fashionista Charly Jupiter Hamilton. In his former residence of Asheville, North Carolina Charly says, "Yuppy people, pretending art wannabes, would wear them to be like artists... maybe because they call Asheville the Paris of the South." Charly found a great online resource with several beret selections. His friend, Greg Carroll is one of the few local people who wear berets. "He's not an artist," says Charly, "but he is bohemian." Charly adds, "Usually if you see a guy wearing a beret you think he's a French Resistance fighter - shell shocked, looking for a German convoy to blow up... or he might be an artist."

www.johnhelmer.com
(503) 223-4976

>> Amy's pick:

"Some artists take a lot of time to paint or sculpt, but I like quick results," says Amy. Hence is born her love of Polaroid cameras. Polaroid photography was invented by Edwin Land, an American inventor and physicist whose one-step process for developing and printing photos created a new age in the photography world. The first camera was sold in 1948, and even though its popularity has waned due to problems in the company and, of course, the invention of digital cameras, there's still a world of wonderful creation when you photograph with a Polaroid.

Merrill Photo in downtown Charleston -- and yes even Wal-Mart -- carries a selection. Or you can get great cameras on EBay. Just make sure you can get the film for older models. Charly adds, "They're great if you want to take nude photos, everybody used to do that. You could have instant results and not get in trouble at the developer. Navy men's imagination went wild with all the ports we were in. There were lots of photo possibilities."

Take a stroll with Charly Hamilton through the Holiday Show at Annex Gallery Taylor Books

2005-12-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

By Charly Jupiter Hamilton with Amy Williams

A blues ditty:
Ladies and gentlemen sitting around here eating cookies
and drinking cheer in a warm Christmas chair,
feeling happy and thinking joyous thoughts
taking in their breath
Who's that sitting beside you?
It looks like Mr. Death.

Where do you go to find the best variety of art in one location? More than 20 artists are included at the annual Holiday Show in the Annex Gallery at Taylor Books. Better known and lesser known artists including works in every medium imaginable are featured -- sculpting, welding, painting, photography, scratchboard, fabric and woodcarving. Whether you want stocking stuffers or big gifts, there's a selection in prices from $34 to over $1,000.

In a recent meandering through the gallery, artist and art commentator Charly Jupiter Hamilton gave a review of what he likes in the new show... take this art road map and see if you can travel the same path as our art adventurer Charly!

"I always like the Christmas show that Ann and Angie work up at the Taylor Books annex... ahh, the Money's wild folk art figures floating around. And Joseph Lung's a genius to me. Peter Massing with his Navy man cool prints... Then I see Jeff Fetty's snakes - one Christmas past I got one for my sister Betsy and she couldn't have it in her house with so many memories of black snakes on the farm we grew up with. I love that little drunk Capitol dome of Kathy Boland. And I feel like I fell off the New York city fire escape with Vernon Howell... All those memories lying on my back looking up. I wish I would have thought to weld all that stuff together and be so smart like Mark Blumenstein.

"But I noticed a few skulls looking back from the mirror or maybe I am darkly drawn to that jokey other side stuff... which brings us back to the opening ditty. Earl Gray's 'Ten Faces and Two Skulls' is what'd I'd buy if someone would buy all my stuff... Or some of those Mark girl's 'youdoo' voodoo dolls: I want them all. The day I was viewing the show, there was a rather straight-looking blonde doll ornament with a broken hangar laying in the seat of a Mark Blumenstein sculpture right below the 'youdoo' voodoo dolls - looking like all-the-world a reject from her fancy sisters' party on the wall. SR Rothbery's 'Stuck in the Grid' looks like an everyday you get up death mask. Then you have the decayed flowers of Robin Hammer (he paints nudes too, you know?). .. and the 'please come to the baptism' scary scratchboards of Mark Wolfe... I got a small Eric Perdue red-rim cracked pot to put my ashes in - in case I die a little.

"As I am walking out, I see this hilltop home painting by Rudy Chamber... is that a pug dog behind the clever couple standing out front? And who could that be riding off to the mystical mountain with all his canvases on the donkey cart? Maybe Merry Pre-Christmas."

In Progress: Charly Art, Part 1

2005-12-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

Amy's note: In December, I coordinated a cooperative exhibit called "clotho" at Covenant House. I created 13 dolls of historic and contemporary women and invited 20 West Virginia artists to contribute and exhibit one piece each related to women. This is Charly's creation story about his contribution to the show. Now and then, we are going to be using the LocalArt blog to document the process of creating artwork -- our own and that of other artists from around the area and the state.

By Charly Jupiter Hamilton

It's the day before Thanksgiving and I'm working on my wooden "famous woman" for Amy Williams' show. My dogs, Reason and Lula, are barking their heads off at the garbage men and we're all eating sugarless Trix with Silk Soy milk and I'm pondering. 'Too cute,' I'm thinking. I want a totem. Universal looking. What's a totem anyway? A thousand images piss through my head.

I take my tools to my wooden famous woman and cut the head off! I'm feeling like a love advice columnist for the French Revolution. It's cold outside, and I'm sanding, cutting, and carving a new head and parts. Reason's on the porch chewing a bone (and I'm a vegetarian). And cold.

I'm listing to one-side: working, cutting. Going in and out of the studio making oatmeal cookies from the "Ecological Kitchen Cookbook" for Thanksgiving tomorrow and also hauling trash bags of broken shingles down to the road. Carving a little. Cutting. Adding an arm. Drilling holes. It's cold and snowing.

I read a Billy Collins poem about "Why I Look at Girls." It struggles, but ends well. I carve a devil on my famous woman's stomach. Add a leg and a bigger nose. Almost burn the cookies. (That's okay - I like them brown.) Haul more shingles down. Go to the city dump with Bill. Come back and carve the eyes out. Make a pie inside, then go out and sand the whole piece in the dark.

Now, at 11:30 p.m. (with Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row" singing on my juke box speakers) the pie smells about cooked, and I'm finished making my 3-D, carved wooden dog head totem. A kinda Bitch in a Box ...

Amy'll kill me.

LocalArt Gift Guide/ Make or Draw Your Own

2005-12-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

Charly and Amy's Gift Ideas for Artists and Artist Wannabes

On Christmas day you can only try on a new sweater so many times. So what are great gifts to make such a special, and often stressful, day more peaceful and fun? We have just the list. Keep checking back for great gift ideas over the next few weeks. Here are a few to get you started with your shopping:

Charly's Pick: Homemade Printmaking

1/2 inch soft linoleum blocks: $2-9
Cutter (Speedball has one with a handle and four blades): $10-11
Roller: ($8-13)
Water-based black ink
Index cards

Adolescents and even adults will enjoy creating and making their own prints. Or you can get these supplies to create and print your own holiday cards. It won't cost much more than $20 for all the supplies. Check Pro-Art on 187 Summers St., and other local art stores for these and other supplies.

Amy's Pick: Doodling

Prismacolor markers: ($3.59 each)
An interesting journal

With over 120 colors to choose from, Prismacolor markers are some of my favorite art accessories. And no matter your age, doodling can be fun and give you good distraction just when you need it. While Charly mentioned drawing erotic pictures of the choir director, I was thinking more along the lines of doodling scenes from your travels or daily life. You can get cheaper markers, but I vote for these. They can be replenished as little gifts all year long, and they make a great stocking stuffer.

Charly's Pick: Sketching

A leatherbound or nice quality sketchbook

Even though we are both vegetarians, Charly says get a leatherbound journal. Can you believe him? Taylor Books has great Moleskin brand journals - at least I don't think they are leather. Get a good quality mechanical pencil or pen as well. This can be used in the same way as gift idea No. 2.

Amy and Charly's Pick: How-to books

Since we are both avid readers, we agree that it's smart and cool to give books… whether a book on how to make puppets or an artist bio. We like to support local bookstores, but you can also find great resources on the web for just the right book.

If you have ideas for artistically inspired gifts, send them on. And keep reading for more holiday gift ideas for your favorite artist.

Blogging Onwards

2005-11-30T06:08:00.000-08:00

Charly and I are still very much print medium kind of people. So, we're still in the process of not only learning to blog, but learning to appreciate blogging. Maybe it's an age thing... we're kind of old for the blogging crowd, as it seems 20-somethings are more computer savvy and blogger conscious than we. I am told that people in their 40s blog, but I don't know many of them. Yet being young at heart, we have not been swayed by demographics or our own limitations... so we continue to explore what it means to blog about art.

We're not the only ones blogging about art, of course. Our fellow anonymous art critic, Cranky Artist, blogs locally about art. Even the Smithsonian now has an art blog site. Check it out. There's a great piece on chess (the Game of Artists), and it's a fun way to explore ideas of art and artists. In the meantime, Charly and I will be seeking to become ever more the hip artist by not just creating art, but blogging about it as well.

From Voodoo to 'Youdoo' Dolls

2005-11-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

Last year, the Huntington Museum of Art had a stunning exhibit of Haitian art and a lecture on voodoo art. Because I love the spiritual dimension of art, that exhibit and talk have stayed on my mind. And as the artistic mind often takes awhile to culminate into a tangible product, several months later I have been drawn to creating voodoo dolls.

Because I think it's important to focus on the positive, I've done an artistic spin and called my collection "Youdoo Dolls." They are symbolic reminders of how we each need to heal parts of our lives and we can send ourselves healing thoughts and prayers. It's the reverse of a curse... But when I researched voodoo dolls I found that originally they were made for a positive purpose: to send healing prayers to an area of a person's body where the pin was stuck. As in many religions, positive ideas can be corrupted into negative ones. Hence the focus on cursing people by using voodoo dolls.

I've made meditation dolls before, and this is just a version of that. They're a symbolic reminder of things we want to work on or be healed from. Or they can just be art you hang on the wall! Either way, part of the cool thing about making art is turning conventional ideas on their head and reinventing them in new ways.

Ouch, I just felt a pain in my side... Kidding!

Art Salon - Let's Talk ART!

2005-11-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

Recently, Mark Wolfe and I hosted over a dozen friends at an art salon party. Throughout the decades, people have gathered to discuss books and art and current events. We decided it was time to immerse ourselves with fellow artists and art lovers to talk about... ART!

People brought snacks and wine and ideas. Charly Hamilton read his quirky and autobiographical poems, Doug Imbrogno entertained us with performance poetry, and all evening long people mingled and talked about... ART!

Because I love art and I visit art museums and I check out library books on art and I create art, I often think that others do the same. But every week, someone who I admire and respect will whisper to me, almost like a confessional, that they really don't know much about art.

Admittedly our group was pretty art savvy: meaning that they are artists or art buyers or at least well-versed about art. It was fun to encourage one another and to share ideas, but it also helped me remember that part of what I love about art is teaching other people about... ART!

Sometimes when I've been focusing too much on not enough money, or squabbles with loved ones, or all the paperwork I have at the office, it's refreshing to focus on talking about... ART! Sometimes the way to solve a problem is to try focusing on something else. For me, art is uplifting and educational and the stories of artists and their art often amazing and inspirational. Try doing something smart... talk ART!

Three's Company at the Huntington Museum of Art

2005-11-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

---
Elvis Presley Wins his First Professional Award at the 1955 DJ Convention, November 1956, Photo by Gordon Gillingham. Gelatin Silver Print. Courtesy Grand Ole Opry ®

By Amy Williams

If two exhibits are great, then three are even better. And that's what the Huntington Museum of Art is offering as its fall fare. A Grand Ole Opry exhibit, combined with art by husband-wife team Maggie Taylor and Jerry Uelsmann plus a collection of folk art, make a trip to the museum a must.

Since moving to West Virginia almost a decade ago, one of my favorite destinations has been the Huntington art museum Having lived in multiple states, including northern Virginia near D.C. (where trips to the Smithsonian and National Galleries were regular jaunts), I'm familiar with all kinds of museums. The Huntington Museum of Art is at the top of my list.

Black and white photos taken in the '50s capture the Grand Ole Opry at its best. It was great to see one of my favorite old timers, Minnie Pearl. I remember watching the Grand Ole Opry as a child and even visiting there on the rare family vacation. Rock'n'roll was on the way, the Civil Rights Movement was taking hold in the South, and national turmoil was on its way in the '60s. But as the exhibit brochure asserts: "What is left are these haunting images of what we today call 'classic country' - as Barbara Mandell and George Jones like to sing, 'country before country was cool.'"

These photographs by Gordon Gillingham are crisp with beautiful lighting, exquisite unplanned poses and the backdrops are amazing.

There's also an exhibit of digitally enhanced photographic prints by Maggie Taylor and Jerry Uelsmann. This husband and wife team are similar in that they use photographic images to recreate their own art. Maggie does it with Photoshop software, where she layers images (sometimes up to 60). Her husband prefers the old method of the hand-manipulated photo montage and the darkroom to recreate surprising imagery. My exhibit visiting companion and I both preferred her works more - no offense to Jerry who has done quite a nice job himself. While Jerry's works feel somewhat dated, Maggie's work is completely compelling. If I had not had another engagement to get to, I could have stood there much longer looking at the layers of imagery in each picture.

Maggie Taylor, Girl with a Bee Dress. Courtesy of the artist.

Hand-made, yet refined

As a bonus, the museum has a collection of folk art. An outsider and folk art-influenced artist myself, this was the favorite of all three top exhibits. Four artists created works that are exquisitely done in their rough yet detailed, hand-made and yet refined works. It's amazing what people with little resources and a lot of imagination can do. "The Bands of Toller Hollow" are some of the coolest art around -- I imagine an amazing amount of work went into creating this depiction of a girl band in painted wood, fabric, metal, and found objects. There's also a puppet band, "My People," that is probably my favorite piece in the place.

Often I lament why so many people are at the shopping mall on a Saturday, when the museum is virtually empty. Inexpensive, educational, inspirational and just plain fun, many artists and art lovers fondly recall the influence art museums had on them when they were younger. They still have that effect on me. In a time when war drags on, gas prices rise, fall and rise, and so many things seem precarious, art remains a constant. It's a reminder of our past, a reflection of our present, and hope that through the creative process our minds can be fulfilled and our hearts lightened.

IF YOU GO:
Huntington Museum of Art: "An Evocative Association: Works by Maggie Taylor and Jerry Uelsmann" through Jan. 8; "The Grand Ole Opry," featuring 60 photographs of some of country music's biggest stars by Gordon Gillingham, through Jan. 15. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. 2033 McCoy Road. Admission $3 per person or $10 for families of four or more (free on Tuesday). Call 529-2701.

River Arts Show and Sale this Friday and Saturday in Charleston features area artists

2005-11-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

More than 30 area artists' work is on view at the 3rd River Arts Show and Sale this Friday and Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 520 Kanawha Blvd W. A reception and pre-sale takes place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, and the exhibit and sale runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Above is some work by Jeff Pierson, one of many pieces in all mediums to be on view. Proceeds from sales will help support art outreach activities in the community. Call 345-5042.

Compelled to Create

2005-11-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

By Amy Williams

As I prepare for a December exhibit of artwork in Charleston, my mind creates doubt and I wonder to myself: "Why did I commit to this?" I criticize myself and when I show what work I've done to others, they are often full of all kinds of ideas on what I could and should be doing. When the New Year comes, I say to myself, 'I am not making art anymore! I will play my recorder and accordion, do yoga... but no more paintings or dollmaking or knitting.' (I know when I am saying this that it is not true.)

So then I think of what inspires me to create. Whether I am making a doll for an exhibit or knitting a scarf for a friend or making a handmade greeting card, I am often compelled to create. If I can keep my critical voice at bay, that is.

Create, Create, Create

What inspires me, in addition to my inner drive, is knowing of other artists who create and create and create. One of the things I love most in looking at other artist's stories is their prolific rate of creation. Whether it's Andy Warhol or Vincent Van Gogh, Charly Jupiter Hamilton or my Elkview artist mentor Charlotte Chambers Ross, I love to see artists who just paint and paint and paint. Of course, being prolific involves more than just painting. My in-house muse Mark Wolfe plays music almost every day and weaves his artistic bent into his graphic design work and his fine art.

Charlotte is in her 80's, relatively unknown as the art field goes, yet she is one of my favorite artists. I met her when I was a writer for the newspaper, and I had not yet put a brush to the paper (except in my grade school days). But she became my spiritual art mother -- someone who had created through many years, many relationships, many moves, many changes. There are periods of her work that I love, and others I am not so drawn to. But that's part of the joy of it all. She just keeps working and showing and going.

Part of being a great artist is having an audience of people who think your work is great. Being dead helps, too. But regardless of that, being a great artist is just working and never giving up. Gotta go paint now!

The Art of Making Spring Rolls

2005-11-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

Absinthe, wine, cheese, cigarettes... are these the things that sustain artists? Well, sometimes! But creating great art can happen when you are a veggie health conscious person, too. And, who says a painter can't be a great cook? Artist Charly Jupiter Hamilton has been cooking up some great treats. A recent winner of the fall Footmad Pie Contest, Hamilton took home honors for his double crust apple blackberry walnut pie with a signature Jupiter face made in the crust. Mountain State University Culinary Institute judged 30 pies, and Charly won not only first place but overnight accomodations for two at a B&B.

He's not telling the pie recipe (yet), but he will divulge his veggie spring roll recipe. It's a great fall treat. He says:

Dara's Spring Rolls...

In a large and pretty bowl combine...

6 c. finely chopped broccoli (throw the course part of the stem away)
or 3 c. broccoli and 3 c. bean sprouts
2 carrots, finely shredded
4 scallions (green onions) chopped
3 cloves garlic (or more or less (big teaspoon minced or chopped)
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup oyster sauce

Option: 10 oz. or so chopped tofu - chopped mushrooms or/and chopped water chestnuts (a cheap can)

(Also sometimes I don't have the oyster sauce and use soy sauce to taste, etc. etc. - some experimenting is OK)

Roll 'em up in Egg Roll wrappers - as it shows on package. Bake on lightly oiled baking sheets for 15 to 20 minutes at preheated 425 degree oven. Enjoy!

Robert Villamagn-ificent

2005-10-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Robert Villamanga's "Fountain of Youth" (above) won a $5,000 state Juried Exhibit award this year.

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

If there were a fan club for a contemporary artist today, then Charly and I would both be card-carrying members of the Robert Villamagna Club, aka the Robert Villamagn-ficent Club. This artist is as personable as he is crafty -- crafty in a good way. Villamagna, an assistant professor at West Liberty in West Liberty, W.Va., collects and reconstitutes cast-off pieces of life into intriguing art pieces that are amazing to look at. "Found objects" have been part of the art scene historically, but seem to be making a comeback under the tutelage of the likes of Villamagna.

Villamagna, along with Patricia Chapman, Rob Cleland, and Sonja Evanisko will talk about their assemblage work at aMuseum in the Community's gallery talk, 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. All of the artists in this exhibit have taken things they've collected at flea markets, on the street during cleaning day, and yard sales to create 3-D works that mesmerize the viewer. Many of the works have compelling titles and and are not just a piece of art, but a concept as well.

Taking unwanted, unused and underappreciated objects and incorporating them into art (found art) is near and dear to many artists - who see the beauty of things and how they can be glorified and viewed in a fun and endearing way. Villamagna came to assemblage art after working as an art instructor. He earned an art therapy degree in 1991 and realized that watercolors might not be his forte. After finding a book on assemblage art, he has focused largely on that since.

Villamagna has work now on view at the state Cultural Center, Museum in the Community and Taylor Books, where he'll teach assemblage art in the near future. He won the $5,000 Governor's Award in the state Juried Show for his piece, "Fountain of Youth." Says Charly of his work: "He is Santa Claus, and his workshop has these handmade creations. He also has a personal joy -- and he wants to share that joy. It's all clever."

Charly says, "I like him. His work reminds me of my uncle who had a hardware store in New Jersey and he would send us in North Carolina broken toys every Christmas... it was the Erector Set that never worked. His work is almost like a consumer item, manufactured, but it also looks like little trolls were working on them. He is Santa Claus, and his workshop has these handmade creations. He also has a personal joy -- and he wants to share that joy. It's all clever."

Museum hours are: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. 3 Valley Park Drive, Hurricane. Admission free. Call 562-0484.

Artists We Think About...

2005-10-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

Dancing Bar in Baden-Baden (1923), Max Beckmann

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

On a chilly and reflective evening, when we were too tired to analyze the current art scene, Charly and I talked about who are some interesting artists of old that we like to think about. In our first talk (more to come on this subject), Charly picked more guys, and I picked more chicks.
German expressionist Max Beckmann is one of Charly's top picks. "He has lots of stories in his art, and he uses black outlines. I really like his caricatures - they are stiff and inappropriate for the scene, everyone looks like they will take off and say, 'I don't want to be in this painting!'"

Charly notes that Beckmann moved to St. Louis in the '50s and painted a great picture of San Francisco. "No one has seen it but me," says Charly, who found the painting in a book once. "It looks so unromantic..."

One of his country's foremost modern painters, Beckmann fled Nazi Germany to live in Amsterdam and then in the U.S. A good site to check out is www.maxbeckmann.online.com. You'll find some great info on this painter. He did a fabulous self-portrait, but check out his photograph: yikes! I hope history records the two of us more nicely.

Charly's next mention was the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. "I like that whole era of Mexican muralists, they were part of the Revolution, and painted social pieces, not still lifes." Another lesser-known artist of the same period was Orozco who painted "Man on Fire." A fabulous site that compares the two very different artists is http://www.mamfa.com/exh/oroz1996/hh_article.html.

Finally Charly mentioned a chick... yay! We agreed that Frida Kahlo is one of our favorites. I love her use of color, but most importantly one of the things I like most about her work is how she transforms her personal pain and life story into her art. Her vibrant, graphic paintings reflect the color and passion of her personality.

Two other women artists I think of include Georgia O'Keefe and Dorothy Norman. O'Keefe, well known for her paintings, was the wife of well-known photographer Alfred Steiglitz. I'm not particularly moved by O'Keefe's work (sorry!), but find her story more interesting. Lesser known is Alfred's girlfriend (when O'Keefe travelled West), the photographer Dorothy Norman. Steiglitz took poignant and exquisitely done photos of Dorothy, who in my opinion often outdid him in the small contact prints she made of everyday objects.

For me artist's stories can be as interesting as their art. While drawn to the color, vibrancy, and human element of Kahlo's work, I am amazed at how a place (the Southwest) drew O'Keefe away from her husband and life into a place where she was inspired by isolation and natural beauty. (The Kanawha County Public Library has a great book comparing the lives of Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keefe.)

Color, illustration, pain, storytelling... these are elements we are drawn to in the artists we love... telling things like they really are, not in some pretty, cleaned up way, but with the honest use of a brush.

Art, life and hobby: which is which?

2005-10-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

By Amy Williams

On Saturday evening, Mark Wolfe and I went backstage at the Cultural Center at the state Capitol Complex to meet musician Chris Smither, who would soon be performing in a FOOTMAD concert.

We talked music and art and found out that the guitarist is also an avid photographer. He is apparently not one to mix business with pleasure, or at least not more than twice (he married his manager and made his love of guitar playing into a living). Yet he says he keeps his photography in the definite realm of part-time pastime. "I've been taking pictures as long as I've been playing instruments, but I want to keep it as a hobby," says Smither. "I've already turned one hobby into a job."

This is understandable, I guess. But several artists I know take joy in mixing their artistic leanings -- Mark plays guitar, loves photography, and does all kinds of visual art endeavors. Charly Jupiter Hamilton (my co-blogger for this LocalArt blog) paints, has dabbled in ukulele, and is now an accomplished pie maker.

Although admittedly I don't make a living from my artistic bent, as does Smithers, it seems hard to me to separate out the different creative aspects of one's life. But Smithers say his music and photography don't particularly play off each other at all. No photos he has taken are on his website, no photographs of places he has been...

He does like art, especially more modern influences, and says he has an Andy Warhol lithograph of Mick Jagger, signed by Andy and Mick.

Whether or not to mix artistic interests up can be a tough call. Sometimes, when I am making no money from my art I wonder if I should be more business-like, marketing myself more, have art-related business cards and... well, treat my art like a business. Charly's art is his business, and he does have business cards, but I still watch him mix art throughout his whole life. His fruit pies have "Charly" faces on them, his bike has a "Charly" painting on the front, his mailbox and even the sign on the road to his house show the handiwork of Charly.

As artistic types, we all need to do what helps us be sane. And if, as for Smithers, that means separating out parts of your life into work and hobby then that's okay. But for me, I think it's better to let my creative bent completely wash through my life and overlap where it will... no boundaries, if you will.

Photo of Chris Smither by Mark Wolfe

Poultry and Poetry in Art

2005-10-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

October is a busy month for art with exhibitions galore. With just a little drive out of town, you can check out some cosmopolitan art at the Della Taylor Brown Gallery at West Virginia State University in Institute. After starting off the fall season with a diverse exhibit of area artists in September, artist and professor Paula Clendenin is serving some out-of-state fare with the work of New York's Brice Brown, a native of Louisville, Kentucky.

A total of 20 pieces fill the gallery with color, offering some interesting insights into the creative process. Studies (smaller drawings and paintings used to prepare for creation of the larger pieces) are displayed next to larger works of art. Brown works on wood panels, linen, and paper to create art where you can feel his physical strength in the bold colors, thick lines and designs.

A favorite of mine and of many visitors was the silkscreen portfolio called, "I Come in Search of Walnuts." Unfortunately, this piece was only shown at the opening reception, but a limited edition book is forthcoming. The work was a collaboration with New York poet and painter Trevor Windfield. Our favorite part of the exhibit was also the most frustrating. A no-touch book (someone with clean hands turned the pages for us) was a simple treat and exquisitely detailed. Charly felt the book was mysterious... and wished he could have put in on the wall so he could look at it and see it.

Brown includes a variety of symbolism in his work, and he and partner Don Joint co-exhibited earlier this year (in a show that earned a lovely New York Times). Their dog, Wally, accompanied them to the Institute exhibit. Wally's favorite painting (yes, I asked), along with Brice and Don's is a 60-by-40 inch oil on panel called "Wool and Dandelion Rampart."

Charly had this to say: "Wow, a New Yorky art in America-reviewed show for sure... jabby, thick colored, imagy, expressions of abstraction full of mental vocabulary and poetic forms. It's a little de Kooning, with even a chicken farm from back in his youth. The art titles are cool and strange, and it's all in the nebulous ground where paint and poetry can exist. Go see it!"

Worth noting: Profits from the sale of art will go to an animal rescue fund. Buy some art and save a dog, cat and maybe a chicken.

IF YOU GO: "Walnuts," paintings and drawings by New York artist Brice Brown, is up through Oct. 28. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Della Brown Taylor Art Gallery, Davis Fine Arts Building, Institute. Call 766-3196.

Going to ground: Claire Sherwood

2005-10-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

One of our favorite artists is Claire Sherwood. The current West Virginia's Juried Exhibition at the Cultural Center in the state Capitol Complex has two of her installations. But before that, Charly and I had seen Sherwood's work at the Della Taylor Brown Gallery at W.Va. State University in September.

Sherwood works in cement and fabric to create fabulous pieces that are thought-provoking, beautifully executed and big in every way. Her Juried Exhibit pieces are called "Pipe Dreams" (which won an "Award of Excellence" and was purchased for the state's art collection -- see photo) and "Vessel for Mourning." We both kept going back to them.

Of "Pipe Dreams" Charly says: "To me they look like columns on a building, jet engines, things falling from the sky, toppled statues. It's like the times we are in -- toppling regimes, earthquakes, hurricanes, the collapse of civilization. It feels there's a little danger of that happening in some ways."

The artist told us that she grew up across from a concrete factory. Hailing from New York, she is the kind of person that seems on the ground versus on a pedestal. Charly has named her "Sculpture Girl," and adds: "She's grounded, versus an 'I went to a private school and visited the ruins of Europe and now I am making art to put on a pedestal' kind of way."

In "Pipe Dreams," Sherwood could likely get away with less detail inside her work, if she wanted. But within the outer vessel there are smaller pipes (they kind of look like scrolls) with writing on them. "It's a womanly trait," continues Charly. "It's good to know this stuff is on the inside."

Sherwood, who welds and teaches at Marshall University in Huntington, strikes us as someone of substance. But what we both liked most is the idea of how she epitomizes that art comes out of you and your experience. And, of course, this art surprises us.
"We could be looking at a Mark Moore piece of art and blam -- there's this jet engine on the floor," says Charly.

I actually thought it looked more like a cigarette -- but hey isn't that what art is all about?

Echo McCallister: Museum in the Community

2005-09-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

A striking use of color, intriguing shapes, crayons and markers used to make see-through cars and houses, funky figures going every which way -- the work of West Virginia artist Echo McCallister has made it's way in a big way to Museum in the Community in Hurricane.

The new exhibit is part of a traveling show for the National Art Exhibitions of the Mentally Ill (NAEMI). Museum director Kelli Burns co-curated the exhibit with Juan Martin from NAEMI. This is the MITC's first national touring show and major catalog.

Discovered as an outsider artist through the help of Tim and Melody Urbanic of Cafe Cimino's in Sutton, McCallister's work has been seen in numerous group shows over the years. It has been shown in Washington, D.C., Miami, even London. The current exhibit, McCallister's first one-man show, has already been seen in New Jersey and Florida.

"He has an international reputation and is one of the top five best-known artists from West Virginia. His art is good. His perspective is good. His abilities are great," said Burns.

Seeing through things

A resident of Clay, McCallister's work and story is remarkable on many levels. He has been able to create art and have it shown widely in spite of having autism. He has lived through child abuse and spent many years of his life in state institutions.
The fun and colorful creations he draws and colors feature all kinds of houses, trucks, people and interesting figures. You often see right into them -- the inside of a car with its parts, the inside of a person or a house.

One might say McCallister's work is childlike, and artist Charly thinks that is a good thing. "Frankly, I like the work that kindergarteners do. I want to approach art like a child. Where do we draw the line on beauty? The root of prejudice is that people say it's not art because it's child-like, or a woman did it, or it was done with a camera. To me, the best page in Sunday's newspaper is the comics where kids send in their drawings."

The exhibit features more than 30 pieces. The collection of drawings includes work that is both wild and contained, elaborate and yet simple. Charly relates to McCallister's way of looking at the world. "I see that way: two dimensional, twisted. I like the way he looks at things, the car with the carburetor. It's like that little dance music is going on in his head. I have that, too."

Outsider art is an art world term for work created by technically untrained or not traditionally trained artists. Burns says of McCallister, "He is very communicative, but in a non-traditional way. He's calming and gregarious in his own way."

CHARLY CONCLUDES:
"Looking at Echo's work makes me feel as an artist we're kind of in a childhood... oblivious to the fact that the world already exists. So you create a new one. Not to destroy what you encounter, but simply not to find anything complete. So there are countless possibilities, countless ways of seeing, dreaming and drawing. It will never be done. Never have the seventh day. Never to see that all is good... so you draw on. Echo in me, Echo in you..."

If You Go: See the McCallister exhibit and meet the artist at an Alternative Health Fair, 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 at Museum in the Community. Exhibit catalogs are for sale, $20 signed by the artist, $15 un-signed, and t-shirts and unframed art are available. The exhibit closes Jan. 21. Another exhibit and book signing with a dinner will be held at Cafe Cimino, Sutton, from 5 to 8 p.m., Oct. 22. Call 765-2913.

Photos of artworks by Mark Wolfe of Mark Wolfe Design

Art Supplies Needed in Hurricane Areas

2005-09-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

Mark Moore, Assistant Professor of Art and Design at the University of Charleston, forwarded a request to me from a Louisiana colleague regarding the need for art supplies in their area.

There's a need in Baton Rouge and at LSU for: any art supplies, especially drawing pads, sketchbooks, pencils, markers, watercolor sets, crayons, charcoal, printmaking supplies, sculpture tools, papers, rulers, t-squares, and anything else that is not toxic or dangerous (e.g. oil paint chemicals). This will help people a way to express their feelings in this very traumatic situation. Financial gifts to LSU also cant count as tax benefits.

In his request to Moore, Stuart Baron, director of LSU's School of Art, wrote:

"Art is such a powerful means of achieving those true expressions of loss, fear, confusion, grief, and, most importantly, hope, which words alone cannot convey. No donation would be too small. Please, please help us by providing what you can. This is only one form of positive intervention, coming quickly from the entire country, that will enable the people and artists of the greater New Orleans area and Mississippi to sustain any possibility of a future whatsoever."

In Charleston, Pro-Art at 187 Summers Street has agreed to accept donations of supplies.

On a side note, James Thibeault has been working on Katrina boxes, along with area artists including Charly Jupiter Hamilton, Mark Wolfe and myself. The boxes are reminiscent of AIDS and tsunami boxes where remnants or found items from an area are combined with other themed artistic creations and sold to raise money for affected areas.

-- Amy Williams

Thad Settle: Frankenberger Gallery

2005-09-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

THE SHOW: "Grid, Pattern, Surface: Image as Process," Frankenberger Art Gallery, 2nd floor of Geary Student Union, University of Charleston, through Oct. 6.
ARTIST: 38 works by Thad Settle

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

Thad Settle's exhibit at the University of Charleston drew a small, but nice crowd for his opening and artist talk on Tuesday, September 6. His Buddhist leanings (he's a founding member of the Meditation Circle of Charleston) and employment in the telecommunications field have played a role in the focus of his art: a kind of Zen grid-ism.

Settle worked in cubicles and doodled hundreds of drawings, or as he calls them, "paintings" on Post-it notes. Although not in the current exhibit, there is evidence of Settle's interest in grids throughout most of his work. In "Heart Sutra: Indra's Net" Settle combines acrylic, metal leaf and wood on canvas as a reflection of the Buddhist idea on the interconnectedness of all things. While this was Charly's favorite, I enjoyed the figure drawings--they were still tight, but freer and wilder in a way with a good use of color.

Some of the pieces were reminiscent of mini-Rothkos, little squares of color. Settle's work is more of a pictogram, where you see pictures within the pictures. Two silver acrylic paintings caught the eye of our companions at the exhibit. One companion wished they'd seen more of a Buddhist influence in the show. Charly summed it up well, "Here is this artist, a family man working in office cubicles, doodling hundreds of grids on Post-it notes, being a part-time Buddha with a fanny pack and painting meditational-like grids. Is it life imitating art or art imitating life?"

CHARLEY SAYS:
"'I've gone from a size 6 to a size 12 in 5 months because I quit smoking,' I hear as I walk into an art show with some of 30 years of a person's art life on the wall. I just get a faith in resurrection that a beautiful life lies buried somewhere in the application of paint on canvas. And like Nelson's captains in the battles of the Napoleanic wars, I feel that the individual's uncompromising pursuit of the end that will satisfy him will also serve the general good. Strawberries and chocolates... I gotta go!"

AMY CONCLUDES:
For original art (and at a reasonable prices, as these works are also for sale) this is a great show to visit. And it's a nice meditative way to spend some time.

"House of Leaves": Museum in the Community

2005-09-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

THE SHOW: "House of Leaves" by Gregg Oxley
WHERE: Museum in the Community, near Hurricane (show now closed)

"She drank the same rock-gut sherry I did when I drank and not a bad view from the window except the roof was caving in..." --Charly Hamilton

By Amy J. Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

Haunting, funny, lonely, disturbing... These were feelings I felt upon seeing Gregg Oxley's installation exhibit, "House of Leaves," at The Museum in the Community in Putnam County. Although the exhibit closed in early September, it's worth mentioning and describing the work's ambitions.

According to Oxley, a recent Hurricane High Schol grad who is heading to school in Savannah, Ga., "House of Leaves" is based on the idea of sudden, tragic changes to any one individual. The main piece reflects the story of a woman who lost her husband and then, slowly, must rely on the help of others to get through day-to-day life.

My first visit to the exhibit was before Hurricane Katrina, but on the second visit it was intriguing how the recreation of an abandoned home was a reminder of the disturbing new reality along the Gulf Coast.

Oxley created a moving installation based on his interest in exploring abandoned homes. He took pictures of what he found and they were exhibited on a side wall -- dead kittens and mold in the refrigerator are juxtaposed with colorful flowers blooming in the yard.

The main exhibit featured a recreated room: a television screen full of static, empty hair-coloring bottles, so many other of the stray pieces of the lives we each live.

Each wall of the exhibit was a work of art itself -- found pieces, an altered book, a large mural of telephone poles reminiscent of crosses. The wall murals were intricate, and each piece a work of art itself.

WHAT CHARLY HAD TO SAY:

Charly thought the abundance of hair color bottles fascinating. "What do we hold onto?" he asked me. "When everything else fades, sometimes we cling to those simple things like coloring hair to keep us alive. It's like the mirage of having your hair done, the hope of having a husband, and so we work at this one fake thing."

"For awhile," Charly continued, "when I was in the Navy around the Philippine ports in the North China Sea, sailoring in a kind of uncontrolled AWOL squalor, I took to smoking English Oval cigarettes and would imagine myself the whole empire in one person, smoking as the edges of my vision gave away to chaos. I felt some of the same kind of feeling looking around Oxley's back-room mobile home deconstruction. Mobile homes, the illusion of a home, marriage, and black Clairol hair dye. The illusion of happiness. Art can scare you, and doesn't always fit on the living room wall. Sometimes it is the living room wall, falling in. Please remember it all as long as you can. If you don't have a life, no one can take it from you."

As we left Charly said, "What would the woman who lived in this house think was significant? Would it be the muffin pan? Did she make muffins? Did her husband call her 'Muffin?'"

AMY CONCLUDES:

Walking into this art was like walking into a picture, a tragic picture. Yet it was hard to leave.