A project that started in Berlin in 2006 and was reprised in Portland in 2009 is coming to Charlotte.
PaperGirl is a simple, idealistic concept: solicit donations of art on paper. After the works are exhibited, roll them up and distribute them to volunteers, who will then ride around town on bicycles and give the art away to unsuspecting folks on the street.
Do you find this irresistible? Well, so do I. And so did Alex Smith, a Charlotte native and CPCC student who became aware of PaperGirl in its Portland iteration and wanted to do the same thing here.
Alex is working on PaperGirl Charlotte with the support of artists Katy Nolan and Brandon WIllett. Their goal is to collect 300 donated works on paper. DuggDugg has committed to hosting the gallery show. Alex is in the process of lining up drop spots for the artwork as well as volunteers to deliver work and help with other aspects of the project.
Want to be a part of PaperGirl? Send your work (original art only) to Alex at 6305 Reafield Dr., #14, Charlotte 28226, or contact him via www.papergirl-charlotte.blogspot.com or Facebook (papergirl-charlotte) to arrange a drop-off. The deadline for submissions is March 1.
The art we collect is not for sale, says Alex. You can get it only by chance.
To see PaperGirl in action, check out this video of the Portland effort:
Papergirl Portland from abraham ingle on Vimeo.
Of course, Portland is not Charlotte it is resolutely bicycle-friendly, has a huge art community and is brimming with gritty, youthful energy. But I cant imagine that Charlotte or anywhere else could be so dull and hard-hearted as to resist the charm and goodwill of PaperGirl.
If you follow the local art/design scene (and if you are reading this, you most probably do) you must be experiencing a Bechtler overload right now. Every kind of media including our little blog covered it extensively, and I certainly dont want to add to the hype. However, there is something that was missing from all that coverage: any serious review/critique of the much talked about architecture, of as everyone knows the second building in the US by the famous Swiss architect Mario Botta.
A few years ago, when he was about to start design on this project, Botta gave a lecture at the Architecture School at UNCC. At the Q&A session afterwards, one of the first questions was from Professor David Walters, and with noticeable reverence, he asked: Are we really going to get a building from you?! Now if you have read any of Walters formerly regular columns in Creative Loafing, you would know that he isnt someone who is easily impressed by anything. But then most people in the audience were similarly awed. Here is someone we had read about in magazines and textbooks, about to design something for our own little downtown!
But now the building is no longer a fantasy; it is a concrete structure that we can experience. It is time for analysis of the experience, of the structure, spaces, sequence, light, materials, and of the many little things that make up architecture; however, the talk about it still remains at the level of bedazzled gushing adoration. Of course architecture maybe more than most other media can be awe-inspiring. But we are in awe of a name here, propagating the same Cult of Genius.
We can expect to see the same drama being restaged when the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Mint Museum opens later this year after all, they are also by big names. We will treat those few sites as haloed grounds, while we continue to build the most predictable, unexciting structures all around them. While Bottas building is definitely an invaluable addition to the city, it is how we engage with it and what we learn from it that would ultimately determine its true value to the city. Now that we have top shelf architecture here, it is up to us to elevate the conversation to reach its level. To paraphrase Spider-Man that big city authority on scaling imposing edifices with any great gift comes greater responsibilities. Are we up to it?
When I strolled over to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art for the grand opening on Jan. 2, I figured it would be an opportunity to spend a few dreamy hours glimpsing a familys intimate collection of mid-20th century art and perhaps run into some friends after the long holiday. But the line snaking out the front door was the first sign that something else was going on at the terracotta building on South Tryon Street.
Since this outstanding collection and building have already been subject to massive coverage some of it hyperventilating I wont repeat too many details here. Check out Richard Maschals Charlotte Magazine story on how the museum came to be, cherry-pick some of the better reporting in the Charlotte Observer or find other coverage here, here and here.
Instead, here are a few random thoughts and observations offered from my humble perspective as a workaday artist:
The grand opening of the Bechtler may be a signal of changing attitudes in the Queen City. Even the staff was caught off guard by the turnout. They anticipated 2,000 visitors, but instead 8,000 showed up. Perhaps a lot of these people were just looking for something to do on a chilly Saturday or needed somewhere to take those last holiday houseguests, but Id like to think they were hungry for a different aesthetic experience (with appetites whetted, of course, by the lure of opening days free admission).
Many visitors either were so delighted they couldnt control themselves or had never before set foot in a museum, because they had to be constantly reminded to keep their mitts off the art. Ive never seen anything like this. The Bechtler staff, only six in number, relied on a cadre of volunteers to help them maintain order; I hope these people were treated to strong beverages when the doors closed at 5 p.m.
I was happy to learn that the book selection in the gift shop will expand. (A sentiment clearly not shared by a woman behind me who sniffed, Ugh, this has too many books. Im not interested in books.) Only about 40 percent of the stock has been put out. More titles are on the way; although most will relate to artists in the collection there will be other offerings as well, including books addressing contemporary art.
Could we please put a moratorium on comparing anything in Charlotte to anything in New York? The Bechtler is an important collection that speaks of a familys love of art and artists. Its a much-needed and welcome addition to our cultural landscape. It is housed in only the second Mario Botta structure in the United States. It will bring attention to Charlotte and be a tourist draw. And it is uniquely Charlotte because Andreas Bechtler is deeply committed to the city and wanted the collection to have its home here. Why do we have to proclaim that the Bechtler now makes Charlotte seem more like New York when it, in fact, makes Charlotte a better Charlotte? Charlottes collective habit of endlessly comparing itself to New York makes us look silly.
The opening day crowd at the Bechtler was overwhelmingly white. At the public opening of the Harvey B. Gantt Center, which is right across the street, it was overwhelmingly African-American I saw perhaps only four or five other white people the whole time I was there. This is obviously not a situation created by these institutions. But Ill be curious to know what efforts the various Wells Fargo Cultural Campus venues will make to encourage people of all races to step across Tryon and see whats happening on the other side of the street. (And to all my buddies who bemoan the paucity of contemporary art here and havent even been to the Gantt, you have until Friday to catch the Radcliffe Bailey exhibition and a few more months to see Juan Logan.)