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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Visual Art / Events Gallery Up is a haven for Small Works
Posted By Barbara Schreiber on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 10:12 AM
Not all hallways are created equal. If you need confirmation of this, just visit Gallery Up in Rock Hill. A hallway gallery is often an afterthought, a sop thrown to artists. But Gallery Up is a jewel box.
I spent a few hours last Thursday hanging out in this beautiful spot for the opening of 30 Small Works, an annual juried exhibition that attracts artists from across the country. Gallery Up also includes a store and a custom frame shop, discrete spaces that sustain the exhibition program. You can find all this on the second floor of the Gettys Art Center, a former post office and courthouse building that now houses an array of studios and other arts-related enterprises.
A juried exhibition can be a real crapshoot for a gallery, because you’re dependent on whatever artists send in for your consideration. But a great space and a no-nonsense juror can go a long way toward corralling a woolly assortment of submissions into a coherent show. 30 Small Works , now in its third year, always looks tight and this year’s version seems particularly so. And it looks as if juror Ce Scott, the Creative Director at the McColl Center for Visual Art as well as the Harvey Gantt Center, brought both her critical eye and her experience as a private chef to the task. The show has more than its share of dessert imagery, my personal favorite being Tabitha Ott’s luscious Dulce Brooch.
The gallery has always benefited from a strong pool of local artists, but early on there was a desire to expand its reach nationally. Gallery manager Stephanie Jordan and former co-manager Alfred McCloud proposed the juried show to owners Tamara LaValla and Zan Maddox as a way to bring in artists from across the country. (Or even the world — it was opened up to international submissions this year.) “It’s been pretty consistent over three years,” says Jordan. “About 20 percent of the submissions come from the area, which includes Charlotte. This year, there were over 300 entries from 120 artists.”
In a little more than three years, Gallery Up has become an important venue for area artists, who have long struggled with a dearth of professionally run places to show their work. The gallery was honored this year with the Business and the Arts Award from the York County Arts Council.
“It took us a while to feel comfortable approaching people and asking them show in what is essentially a hallway,” says LaValla. “But after a while, we decided that this is what we are and we could be proud of it. We’re here in this historic building, and the building is gorgeous.”
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Visual Art / Architecture Recession, architecture and Dope: A tale of two art shows
Posted By Manoj P Kesavan on Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 1:33 PM
Two notable — and maybe the best attended — art shows that opened this month are (1) the Art by Architects show, a collaboration between AIA Charlotte and Hodges Taylor Gallery; and (2) the Art of Dope – Vol. 1: Coke by five artists from the God City collective, held at the Art House. And they present a perfect study in contrasts, if there was ever one.
There are the more obvious differences: one is in one of the oldest galleries, right in the middle of the glossy corporate heart of the town, the other in an area full of rundown mill buildings and empty warehouses. The artists and the attendees at the opening in one event were predominantly (if not all) white — and the other, black. But it is the contrast in the nature of the work that is even more fascinating, and perhaps more revelatory.
The Art of Dope series attempts to explore the effect of drugs on the individual, society and popular culture. This premier installment focuses on cocaine (both the blow and crack varieties, in case you have a preference). It was also a play on the popular usage of the term “dope” — as something so good it is addictive — art as dope. Some of the work is literal, some more subtle and layered; some dark and complex, some not much more than slicker versions of editorial cartoons … yet taken as a whole, they blur the boundaries between various media, and question the role of the artist in the society — as it has become characteristic of God City’s work. They boldly tackle the complex and highly sensitive politics and culture of drug use in the community, while offering up art, music and creativity as a possible way out of the trap.
Whereas the architects show was notable due to the total absence of any reference to social/political/community issues. Other than the usual travel sketches/paintings, the majority of the works comprised of abstract compositions drawing from the various early 20th Century styles in very traditional media, like painting and sculpture. (That is not to imply that the Architects’ show did not have some exceptional pieces: Murray Whisnant’s “Fuller’s Earth” showcases his characteristic skill and levity, Ron Morgan’s marble and wood abstract “Figure” displays a high refinement of craft and aesthetic, and Carrie Gault’s small and seemingly quick watercolors captures a unique emotional intensity. And that is just to name a few — in fact most of the 30-odd pieces display notable talent.)
I also don’t believe that art should be judged by the strength of its message (or the lack thereof), or the (un)conventionality of the medium; however, how a group/community acts at a time of crisis often reveals a lot about its true nature. The “safe and detached” nature of the architects’ work would not have been so ironic if not for the fact that the show is taking place after two years of the worst recession in anyone’s memory (and because of which, most people who were at the opening were probably facing the biggest professional crisis of their lives). When one’s work is out of touch with one’s own reality — let alone that of the larger society — something is fundamentally wrong.
Of course these problems are not unique to Charlotte. (Even though our city, being middle of the road on most things, seems to illustrate them perfectly.) Also analyzing what is wrong with architecture is a whole ’nother discussion. Yet it is not hard to conclude that if the current conditions teaches anything, it is the need to redefine architecture (both academics and practice) to be more responsive to the times, make itself more inclusive, and be relevant to the larger community, well beyond the tiny percentage of the populace it currently serves.
Crises force one to be inventive, to redefine one’s role and to be creative beyond the confines of one’s medium. Maybe the ailing Uptown architects can start by learning something from the sick work of the young artists at the edge of the city. Hip-hop architecture, anyone?
– Manoj P Kesavan
Show details:
Art by Architects at Hodges Taylor Gallery: June 4 – July 31, 2010
Art of Dope – Vol.1: Coke at the Art House: June 4 – June 30, 2010.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Save our libraries. Redux — the 'Crying Wolf' edition
Posted By Manoj P Kesavan on Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 10:42 AM
As our regular readers know, this blog is primarily about (mostly local) art, design – and the social/cultural events and trends that affect and influence them. But, two months ago we departed from our usual topics to urge everyone to help ward off the closure of half our libraries — because we believe that it is an issue that anyone (who advocates any kind of cultural development) can be apathetic about.
And as we all know now, the March crisis, a $2 million shortage that threatened to close 12 branches and lay off 150 employees, got averted with reduced hours at all branches, and the layoff of around 120 employees and pay cuts for all those who remained. But now the wolf is back at the door. And this time the it’s a seemingly steeper challenge:
As per the new county budget, the library system will apparently be short of $17 million for the next fiscal year (starting July 1). So, if a shortage of $2 million could cause the closure of half the branches, this should be the death of the whole system, right? Well, apparently the math isn’t that simple. The current advocacy page at the library website warns (in bold red letters, in case you miss it) about the imminent closure of 16 branches — unless of course, something is done soon. Elsewhere, they are also proposing a “Sustainability Plan” where with an additional $8 million from the county and the cities, they could survive by closing only 4 of the branches.
Some of us — especially those who championed this issue two months ago — are perhaps a bit weary of it this time around. There have also been questions about the role and the judgment of the Library Board of Trustees, who ultimately decides what the Library does. If they had a Plan B (the one adopted now, with the reduced hours) did they really have to cause all the shock and anxiety at the prospect of the sudden closure of 12 branches? (It also didn’t help that, in the process, they aggravated the County Commissioners and the county manager — who controls almost 90 percent of their funding – by making it seem that it was the Commissioners’ decision to close them, and not theirs.) Moreover, by causing a public outcry (not to mention an outpouring of support) then, perhaps they lessened the chances of that happening again now, when there is an even bigger need for it.
Maybe all of us have a limited supply of outrage/angst (well, with a few possible exceptions), and it is not easy to repeatedly whip up those emotions — especially about the same old topic, when we have hot new monsters to shake our fists at. However, this is still an issue that would have an immediate impact on the quality of our daily lives, as well as a long-term one on prospects of this city. It is too critical to be discounted due to doubts about the competence of the government/leadership. People come and go, the institutions need to remain.
It is in our interests to contribute whatever we can, to urge the city and the county to allocate more funds, and moreover, to remain concerned and engaged. It is just too valuable a resource for us to lose, particularly now, in the middle of this seemingly never-ending recession — when we fear losing a lot of things that we took for granted just two years ago.
Let’s try hold on to this one.
