Art Focus Oklahoma Mar/Apr 2016

ArtOFocus k l a h o m a

O k l a ho m a V i s ual A r ts C oal i t i on

Vo l u m e 3 1 N o . 2

March/April

2016

Art Focus

Ok l a h o m a

from the editor All of us at OVAC are hard at work planning a few of the best highquality springtime art experiences in Oklahoma. If you’re reading this on the day Art Focus Oklahoma hits newsstands, then you only have a few more days to get your discounted pre-sale tickets to Momentum OKC, which takes place March 4 – 5. If you live in OKC and you’ve never attended, Momentum is one of the best art parties of the year! With live music, a cash bar, and the best in new, cutting edge art by Oklahoma’s young emerging artists—Momentum offers an experience like no other!

This spring will also see the return of both the Tulsa Art Studio Tour, as well as Concept, both of which offer unique opportunities to engage with art. With the intimate, insider’s look at artist spaces afforded through the Tour, we can break the fourth wall and make personal connections with artists. This year our Concept partner is the city of St. Louis, and we are thrilled to see how Curator Adam Welch builds the conceptually-rich exhibition that is set to open at the Hardesty Arts Center in June.

Of course, in addition to what OVAC provides, there’s always a multitude of great art happening all over the state—some of which is highlighted in this issue. Much of this issue focuses on the ability of visual art to transcend fields. Within these pages we see art in social movements, art in architecture, and we revisit with an Art365 veteran to see how he combines art with urban planning. Since art affects so many aspects of our lives in Oklahoma—live it to the fullest.

Sincerely,

Lauren Scarpello publications@ovac-ok.org

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition 730 W. Wilshire Blvd., Suite 104 Oklahoma City, OK 73116 ph: 405.879.2400 • e: director@ovac-ok.org visit our website at: ovac-ok.org Executive Director: Holly Moye director@ovac-ok.org Editor: Lauren Scarpello publications@ovac-ok.org Art Director: Anne Richardson speccreative@gmail.com Art Focus Oklahoma is a bimonthly publication of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition dedicated to stimulating insight into and providing current information about the visual arts in Oklahoma.

Mission: Supporting Oklahoma’s visual arts and artists and their power to enrich communities.

OVAC welcomes article submissions related to artists and art in Oklahoma. Call or email the editor for guidelines.

OVAC welcomes your comments. Letters addressed to Art Focus Oklahoma are considered for publication unless otherwise specified. Mail or email comments to the editor at the address above. Letters may be edited for clarity or space reasons. Anonymous letters will not be published. Please include a phone number.

OVAC Board of Directors July 2015–June 2016: Renée Porter, Norman (President); Susan Green, Tulsa (Vice President); Michael Hoffner, Oklahoma City (Secretary); Gina Ellis, Oklahoma City (Treasurer); Bryon Chambers, Oklahoma City; Bob Curtis, Oklahoma City; Hillary Farrell, Oklahoma City; Jon Fisher, Moore; Titi Fitzsimmons, MD, Oklahoma City; Ariana Jakub, Tulsa; John Marshall, Oklahoma City; Travis Mason, Oklahoma City; Laura Massenat, Oklahoma City; Amy Rockett-Todd, Tulsa; Douglas Sorocco, Oklahoma City; Dana Templeton, Oklahoma City; Chris Winland, Oklahoma City; Dean Wyatt, Owasso.

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition is solely responsible for the contents of Art Focus Oklahoma. However, the views expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Board or OVAC staff.

Member Agency of Allied Arts and member of the Americans for the Arts. © 2016, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

All rights reserved.

View the online archive at ArtFocusOklahoma.org.

Support from:

On the cover Adam Lanman, Reflection Haus, 2015, print and mixed media on paper 24” x 36”.

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contents

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Living Contradictions: The Art of P.S. Gordon Lucie Smoker highlights the hidden gems of Gordon’s prolific career in anticipation of the Living Legend Artist Award.

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Editor’s Pick: Blair Thurman’s Honeybadgers Your favorite editor recommends her pick for required viewing this spring.

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Transcending Through Grief: Jil Guyon’s Widow Krystle Brewer dives deep into the human psyche with Guyon’s powerful video installation.

10 Off the Wall: Thomas “Breeze” Marcus Alison Rossi explores the multiple influences on Marcus’ unique aesthetic.

12 Tim Hearne: “Stay Fly” and Other Insights

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Olivia Biddick introduces us to fantastic inhabitants of Hearne’s mixed media world.

F e a t u re s 14 Adam Lanman’s Structure-scapes Emily Newman reveals the architectural influences in Lanman’s work.

16 Mother’s Prayer: Eyakem Gulilat Cedar Marie checks back in with the Art365 veteran to unveil how graduate studies in Urban Planning have impacted his photographic work.

18 Artists as Organizers: OKC Artists for Justice Ebony Iman Dallas and Trina Robinson discuss the impact of the artists who demanded justice and brought national attention to the horrific crimes that jolted a local community.

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21 Regional Focus: Frank Lloyd Wright at Crystal Bridges Museum Ariana Jakub Brandes takes us on a journey through an architectural masterpiece.

23 Ekphrasis: Art & Poetry Deborah J. Hunter muses about the freedom of imagination, transported by Heather Clark Hilliard’s ethereal Portal.

Business of Art 25 Ask a Creativity Coach: Finding Time Tips on not letting social media get the best of you and focusing on what really matters.

26 OVAC News 28 Gallery Guide

(p. 8) Video still from Widow, 2013, created and performed by Jil Guyon, cinematography by Valerie Barnes, original score by Chris Becker, electronics and percussion by SPIKE the percussionist, vocals by Lainie Diamond (p.10) Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, street artist (p. 21) Frank Lloyd Wright House Reconstructed on the Museum Grounds: Master Bedroom at Bachman-Wilson House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Photo courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; Photos by Nancy Nolan Photography

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P.S. Gordon, Mrs. Lennox, 1998, 48 x 60 inches, oil on canvas

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LIVING CONTRADICTIONS: The Art of P.S. Gordon

by Lucie Smoker

“Love is important. Time is less important and at the same time more important. It’s a contradiction,” says Patrick “P.S.” Gordon, who will be receiving the first Living Legend Artist Award on March 31 from Living Arts of Tulsa. In his accompanying exhibition, Gordon’s paintings of men in ball gowns will stand before us, bursting with opulence at the gala of life. Yet many of these men posed shortly before taking their last breaths. Now they defy death.

Created in the 1990’s when Gordon moved from Oklahoma to New York, these paintings document his experience watching his friends die of AIDS, one-by-one. Sadly, no gallery wanted to show them. Turned down by venues from San Francisco to New York, venues that regularly featured his art, these works brought up a conversation that the mainstream has never wanted to have: HIV is real, it is powerful, and it can take any of us out of the party fast. It’s a conversation still relevant today.

not do what I did effortlessly. It helped in my self-acceptance as an artist and as a gay man.”

for 30 to 40 years.” He still knows people who bought artwork from Strawberry Fields.

He knew he wanted to be an artist from the age of five, knew he could be successful if he worked at it, and sold his first painting in 1962 at age twelve. Three years later he opened his first gallery, Strawberry Fields in Claremore, OK.

Now with four grandkids, the issues of sexuality seem less important in his everyday life, but he still wants these works to be seen. It is the final step in his process and a sort of payment on his debt to the people who elevated our culture and inspired so much of his work.

“I was never more comfortable than when I had a brush or a pencil in my hand. The rest of the time, the ice was thin and life was dicey.”

The message contained within these works has unfortunately not been lost to the ages.

According to the CDC, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) of all races and ethnicities remain the population most profoundly affected by HIV. In 2010, the estimated number of new HIV infections among MSM increased 12%.

A gay man with a daughter before that was accepted, he became obsessed with samesex marriage as early as the 90’s yet kept his straight ex-wife close, an ongoing force in his life. After finding success with his art in New York and across the country, he came home to Oklahoma because, “People are nice here.

I wanted to talk with someone I had known

When Gordon paints, however, his process isn’t linear or focused on making a point. “I swear,” he says,”It’s the most fun thing I can (continued on page 6)

“I was lucky,” says Gordon about testing for the dreaded disease. “I was negative. Being negative made me work harder for those who did not have a voice.”

His paintings of New York performance artists and their dressmaker capture the charisma, elegance, and tough pride of men fighting a disease that has since invaded every corner of our society. Most of them lost the AIDS battle, yet received immortality from Gordon. While any true performer has “presence,” these men are omnipresent, beautiful, and frightening.

Their contradictions draw you into a magnificent but tragic storyline told with joyful color and textures so real you want to reach out to caress the soft velvets, slipperysmooth taffetas, and tattooed biceps. While the plot-line portrays a gay lifestyle that our society still does not wholly embrace, Patrick Gordon felt a personal obligation to paint it, saturated with truth.

In 1982 after 10 years of marriage to his high school sweetheart, Gordon came out of the closet. The strength to be himself came from his art. “The more I drew, the more acceptance I found in people. They could

The Engagement Portrait, 1999, 40 x 40 inches, oil on canvas

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(continued from page 6) do without laughing.” Instead, he invites his curiosity to get the better of him. “I still find out things I had not expected,” he says. “I see it and something inside me has to record that.”

To be convincing, to be a realist, he has to keep learning and recording every day. He starts painting at 9:30 in the morning and, with an OCD-like obsession, channels all of his energy into figuring out what’s important and what is not. Adding a little of this, taking away a little of that, he fulfills his curiosity. Through the process he creates a visual documentary of sorts.

But the painting isn’t finished until it meets you, the viewer. Gordon asks, “Don’t you think intention is in the viewer’s reaction? They have a sense of things on the menu to order. What they choose to see is up to them.”

Living Arts will bring out P.S. Gordon’s most controversial works March 31 through April 28 at 307 East M.B. Brady Street in Tulsa, livingarts.org. Simultaneously, The Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council will feature some of his less controversial works at the AHHA Hardesty Arts Center, 101 East Archer, ahhatulsa.org.

The 48th Annual Gussman Juried Student Art Exhibition will open on March 31, through April 21, 2016, in the Alexandre Hogue Gallery.

Opening Reception March 31, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with an award ceremony; 5:30 p.m.

The exhibit celebrates the best of the School of Art in digital media, painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, printmaking, photography, and graphic design. The Gussman Student Art Show is the capstone exhibit of each academic year. This exhibit is intended to showcase the most exceptional creative works ex produced by students in the School of Art. All University of Tulsa graduate and undergraduate students who were enrolled during the current academic year are eligible to submit works for inclusion in this exhibit.

The Dressmaker, 2000, 48 x 60 inches, oil on canvas

Living Arts has established the Living Legend Artist Award to honor those artists of all disciplines who push the art world forward, establishing the reputation of Tulsa as an artistic city and contributing to the encouragement and inspiration of other artists in our community. Patrick (P.S.) Gordon will be the inaugural recipient of that award and will be honored at a dinner event on Thursday, March 31 at an exhibit preview. Seating for that event is extremely limited but those interested in sponsorships or tickets may contact Peter Hay at Living Arts, 918-585-1234. n Lucie Smoker is a suspense author and freelance writer specializing in the arts. Her dark poem, “In a Shard of the Bedroom Mirror,” will be published April 4th in Veils, Halos and Shackles: International Poets on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women from Kasva Press.

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EDITOR’S PICK: Blair Thurman’s Honeybadgers

by Lauren Scarpello

Blair Thurman’s Honeybadgers is taking up a brief residency at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and it is not to be missed.

The double-paned hinged totem is a reimagination of a Haida image taken from Thurman’s favorite old lucky T-shirt. A gift from his ex-wife, the shirt served as Thurman’s steadfast talisman for over 15 years. It would be easy, considering the use of imagery from a Pacific-Northwest indigenous tribe, to jump in to questions concerning appropriation. But to understand Thurman’s reasons for using the image, we must delve into both his emotional connection to the object (the T-shirt), as well as his interest in Friedrich Nietzsche’s interpretation of the eternal return.

In a recent review on Berlin Art Link, writer Alice Bardos exquisitely analyzed Thurman’s relationship to the concept. The eternal return is a historically recurring concept that the world is made up of a finite number of events that infinitely cycle. Nietzsche saw this as limiting and burdensome. However, as Bardos points out, the concept seems to play out positively in Thurman’s work through his use of personalization.1 Honeybadgers is a perfect example of this, in that he imbues new life into the object he references and the imagery he uses. Thurman breathes hope into the concept of the eternal return, demonstrating that despite the finitude of our surroundings—creation and rebirth are always possible.

He does this by turning the image from the shirt into a plywood billboard of sorts and electrifying it with neon lights.

Thurman is known for his Pop-Minimalist sensibility. Honeybadgers certainly takes its share of cues from that aesthetic ilk, but with expressive surface details and evidence of the artist’s hand that are somewhat opposite to the tidy stoicism of Minimalism. It is in these details that we see the work as a vehicle for reincarnation.

Upon close inspection, you can see that the plywood forms and the neon lights are just slightly asymmetrical. There is some yellowing in spots like coffee stains, or where sweat and deodorant mingle to permanently discolor armpit fabric. The veils of white,

Blair Thurman, Honeybadgers, 2009, plywood, acrylic, neon, glass, wire. Lent by SPBB, LLC. © Blair Thurman. Photo by Rob McKeever. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

black, and red paint reveal the texture of the wood underneath—reminiscent of crepe-like cotton dulled by too many launderings and discolored from the ink of an errant sock. The neon tubes are twisted imperfectly, like clay that has been lovingly rung out by hand. It becomes apparent that Honeybadgers isn’t just about the image; it isn’t just about the T-shirt. It is the T-shirt.

But despite the highly personal connection, the work still manages to be universal. It’s a testament to our ability to constantly reinvent our world while still acknowledging the experiences that we can’t escape—that one place we lived where we came of age, that imperfect marriage that taught us so much, and that one perfect T-shirt we will never forget.

Honeybadgers is on view at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art now through May 1, 2016. For more information, please visit okcmoa.com. n Lauren Scarpello is the Associate Director of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and the editor of Art Focus Oklahoma. She can be reached at publications@ovac-ok.org.

1 Alice Bardos, Exhibition // Blair Thurman at Peres Projects, Berlin Art Link, November 25, 2015, accessed January 15, 2016, berlinartlink.com/2015/11/25/exhibition-blairthurman-at-peres-projects

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Transcending Through Grief: Jil Guyon’s Widow

by Krystle Brewer

Video still from Widow, 2013, created and performed by Jil Guyon, cinematography by Valerie Barnes, original score by Chris Becker, electronics and percussion by SPIKE the percussionist, vocals by Lainie Diamond

Arguably the most painful experience, both physically and emotionally, to be endured in this lifetime, is the loss of a life. If we live long enough, every single one of us will experience this pain, yet this highly personal response can be confusing, frustrating, and isolating. These multifaceted and varying feelings can at times be unexplainable and difficult to formulate into words.

In a video performance by Jil Guyon, Widow, the artist beautifully and gracefully shows a glimpse of one woman’s experience with grief and its many layers of emotions.

Her inner world is metaphorically depicted as a clean, bright white space where her body experiences a series of actions to depict her emotional turmoil. She uses her body to create a visual language in order to express these feelings, which are otherwise

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a struggle to convey. Utilizing symbolism such as black clothing, the shattering of porcelain, and blood, paired with meticulous movements and electronic accompaniment, she describes an autobiographical narrative through performance.

Widow begins with an empty room. The camera faces double doors and slowly zooms in closer. When the doors eventually open, the woman, wearing a black knee-length dress and black heels, emerges and slowly walks towards the viewer. She reaches into a pocket on the front of her dress and pulls out a saucer and cup. Raising it high above her head, while the electronic music that accompanies the piece steadily increases in anxiety-ridden intensity until climactically, the cup and saucer fall and shatter when hitting the ground. Simultaneously, the

music stops and the viewer is left in silence.

In the following segment, the artist pulls a sash from the front of her dress that appears to be endless. All the while, the performer becomes weaker until ultimately she falls back on her hands. In this act, Guyon speaks to the physical pain of grief as her sash of entrails is pulled from her body and pools on the floor. Though not a graphic image, the fabric and her expression successfully convey a sense of anguish.

Through the rest of the piece, Guyon performs a series of actions, including wearing sunglasses and waving the sash in a snake-like wave. An unclear event happens that leaves the woman lying on the ground with a line of blood from her neck to her chest beneath the dress. In each of these actions, and throughout the entire piece, though the

performer uses objects as props, she is ultimately alone. This absence of another figure points to the fact that despite having a community for support, bereavement is intimate and isolating.

By locating the performance in an internal world, it shows that the space in which the grieving process happens is inaccessible to the external world. Though our bodies may have a physical reaction, the majority of the chaos and pain happens within us.

Though the performance is fairly ambiguous, the slow, deliberate, and thoughtful movements, and the broader compilation of the segments, convey the complex experiences of the woman in the narrative. The choreography and musical score, paired with the symbolism utilized throughout, leaves the viewer in a self-reflecting state. Despite the highly personal nature of loss,

the performance remains vague enough to speak to a universal understanding of grief and its complicated essence.

The screening of this performance by Jil Guyon is a part of New Genre, a larger program by Living Arts that supports experimental work in performance, new media, and installation.

Widow will be shown at Living Arts March 4th through the 24th. More about Jil Guyon’s performance and the rest of the works in New Genre XXIII can be found at livingarts.org. n Krystle Brewer is the Managing Director of 108|Contemporary and can be found at krystlebrewer.com

Video still from Widow, 2013, created and performed by Jil Guyon, cinematography by Valerie Barnes, original score by Chris Becker, electronics and percussion by SPIKE the percussionist, vocals by Lainie Diamond

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Off the Wall: Thomas “Breeze” Marcus

by Alison Rossi

What do Wildstyle graffiti and Tohono O’odham basketry have in common? Besides complex interweaving, highly evolved craftsmanship, and strong ties to a specific milieu, both hold significance in the work of Thomas “Breeze” Marcus. Marcus, who was raised on the Salt River Reservation in the Phoenix metropolitan area, has identified these distinct art forms as his primary influences— influences that reflect his identity as an “indigenous person in an urban culture.”1 Apparent in Philbrook Downtown’s exhibition Off the Wall: Street Artist Thomas “Breeze” Marcus is the continuum of the aforementioned creative traditions. The exhibition development involved an experimental approach for Philbrook as well as for the artist.

Christina E. Burke, Philbrook’s Curator of Native American and Non-Western Art and the exhibition curator, invited Marcus to create an original, large-scale painting for Philbrook inspired by works that the artist selected among the museum’s significant Native American art collection (including the Eugene B. Adkins Collection) housed in Philbrook Downtown.

In October 2015, Marcus, with Philbrook’s support, interacted with Burke daily while painting the exhibition’s featured work, Chasing Infinity (2015). Months later, the artist’s presence and process are still palpable for the visitor in the form of a time-lapse video of the three-week undertaking projected on the wall adjacent to the exhibition. Within the gallery, visitors immediately encounter a display of media including aerosol, aerosol caps, acrylic, oil-based pens and painters tape bearing the ghosts of the artist’s designs that serve as artifacts documenting Marcus’ sojourn and techniques used while generating Chasing Infinity.

From a distance, this twelve by six foot acrylic and oil painting on wood panels located front and center in the gallery draws the viewer into its energetic composition, highly-saturated coloration, and magnetic epicenter. The visual language of Chasing Infinity is reminiscent of the street art that Marcus became known for early in his career. Closer inspection reveals seemingly infinite, intricate line work akin to the endlessly interwoven motifs of the carpet page of a Hiberno-Saxon illuminated

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manuscript or the dazzling, calligraphic mosaic patterns embellishing an ornate Mihrab.

Flanking Chasing Infinity are two vitrines, each bearing three historical Native works from Philbrook’s collection that the artist selected as points of inspiration for his painted panels.

A c.1930 Akimel O’odham (Pima) willow and martynia woven basket with dramatically contrasted lighting symbols shares the swirling, radial symmetry and bold geometric diagonals of Chasing Infinity. A wave or water design in the painting’s panels seems appropriated from an Osage loom-beaded strip, a work that connects Marcus to the artisanal culture of his Ponca ancestors. Media such as European beads and silk ribbons woven into an Otter Hide Drop from a Man’s Straight Dance Outfit remind the viewer that artists have longincorporated new materials and techniques in their work. Marcus, who prefers to paint on hard surfaces, sourced vinyl records to embellish his vignette (on loan from his personal collection) entitled The Seasons: Summer, Fall, Winter (2015) that illustrates the seasons marking the traditional O’odham calendar.

Burke notes a theme of tension in Marcus’ work: tension between dynamic and fixed patterns, between blocks and diagonal movement, between curvilinear and geometric representation, between desert and plains environments. The exhibition title Off the Wall evokes another kind of tension. Though the merits of street art have been lauded by some galleries and museums since the early eighties and have been celebrated recently in a string of exhibitions at major museums, fundamentally, the language of graffiti and street art is one of anti-establishment. Is it then troubling to see art rooted in these traditions presented in the established art world?

In a recent interview, Marcus stated that “it’s very easy to...be stuck in one world or another...” but “...there is balance to be restored and there are people striving to do that [by]... reclaiming themselves and their identity...no

matter where [they] come from.”1 With work that bridges disparate traditions, geographies and platforms, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus demonstrates that sometimes a marriage of unlikely partners can thrive: indigenous and urban, historical and contemporary, street art and museums. The artist’s message resonates with a mid-twentieth century, shallow Akimel O’odham basket in Off the Wall emblazoned with the iconic Man in the Maze design, a diminutive human figure at the entrance of a comparatively sizable maze. While the Man in the Maze serves as the emblem of the Tohono O’odham people, it also represents the essential human experience: navigation through the path of life on which each person must find his or her own way.

Off the Wall: Street Artist Thomas “Breeze” Marcus is on view through June 5, 2016 at Philbrook Downtown, 116 E. M. B. Brady St., Tulsa, OK 74103, open Wednesdays - Saturdays, 11am-6pm and Sundays, 12pm5pm. The Adkins Study Center, located at Philbrook Downtown and dedicated to the access, research and dissemination of new scholarship pertaining to Native American and Southwestern art, particularly of the 20th and 21st centuries, is open Wednesdays - Fridays, 1-5 p.m. or by appointment. n Alison Rossi teaches in higher education and serves as a museum consultant.

1 Ginger Dunnill, Interview with Artist Thomas BREEZE Marcus, Episode 16, podcast audio, Broken Boxes, What Makes the Human Make the Art, MP3, 54:55, accessed January 2, 2016, brokenboxespodcast.com/podcast/2014/9/17/ episode-16-interview-with-thomas-breeze-marcus 2 Dunnill, Interview with Artist Thomas BREEZE Marcus

page 11 images: (top) Installation of Chasing Infinity, 2015. Image courtesy of the Philbrook Downtown (bottom right) Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, Red Sky, 2014, acrylic, aerosol, and oil on vinyl record (bottom left) Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, Blue Sky, 2014, acrylic, aerosol, and oil on vinyl record.

Images courtesy of Blue Rain Gallery

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Tim Hearne: “Stay Fly” and Other Insights

by Olivia Biddick

Artist Tim Hearne’s new exhibition Calculated Lines opens at the State Capitol’s North Gallery this spring. This show adds seven new works to the three that were shown previously at the 2015 ArtNOW exhibition.

The works in Calculated Lines feature different animals drawn with graphite combined with acrylic paint. The subjects representing the animal kingdom range from Oklahoma natives like the bison and scissortail flycatcher, to more exotic species like the zebra and giraffe (his son’s favorite animal).

The title of the art show reflects the planning involved in creating each piece. Hearne says, “It’s mainly a play on that fact that even though I have covered parts of the drawings in black paint, everything was calculated and mocked up beforehand.” Calculated Lines is a compelling reminder that all art takes great meditation, whether a piece gets drafted physically or just mentally.

The names for each individual drawing are also self-aware. They are a refreshing break from the common style of pretentiously vague art names: thoughtful, clean, and with a healthy dose of whimsy.

Although the title Calculated Lines could initially evoke mathematical precision and rigidity, its contents are far from it. Hearne’s work is a highly imaginative portrayal of nature, combining photo-realistic drawings with abstract swaths of paint. The juxtaposition of loose design elements paired with graphite representations create a lively contrast to the title when combined.

flowing lines mixed with the drawing. I decided to try it with a few other references, and it came across well.”

Hearne speaks candidly about what he perceives as the different limitations of the art supplies he uses, but those limitations are hardly evident to the viewer’s eye at all. It’s proof that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Hearne says he has been gravitating towards black and white art, because colored pieces require arduous blending methods to get his desired hue.

Space was another artistic “limitation” discussed. Pencils and dry media in general “can be worked on in just about any space,” says Hearne. Painting, in contrast, requires a lot of static space but can cover more ground faster than pencils. It also tends to be more freeform, which Hearne admits is a bit out of his comfort zone; “I like to plan what I do, so I am not a big fan of doing things live.”

Despite his trepidations, Hearne hopes to explore painting more seriously as he moves forward. For right now, his impeccable mixed media drawings are a pretty great place to be.

Hearne is a self-taught artist, which makes his technical skill that much more impressive.

The majority of the subject is drawn with a heightened amount of detail, while the silhouettes are laid down in thick, organic lines extending across the page. In several works, such as Big Bodies, the animals’ eyes are what betray the sense that the images might be photographic. Pushing the boundaries of creepy and cartoony, the eyes give life to his subjects and draw the viewer in with an element of play.

His inspiration for this exhibit began with the piece Stay Fly: “I came across a picture of a hummingbird that I really liked, but I viewed it spreading across the whole paper. I started to draw some test lines of how it would flow, and I like the free

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Tim Hearne, Stay Fly, 2015, graphite and acrylic paint on paper

Hearne, Big Bodies, 2015, graphite and acrylic paint on paper

Calculated Lines is on view in the North Gallery of the State Capitol until March 27.

For more information on Tim Hearne, please visit timhearneart.com. n Olivia Biddick is the Office/Production Coordinator at CVWmedia in Norman. She has a BA in Journalism with an emphasis on Broadcasting and Electronic Media from the University of Oklahoma. Contact her at Olivia.biddick@gmail.com.

Philip VanKeuren: Murmuration Forty Copperplate Photogravures March 25th - May 14th, 2016

Op en in g + A rti s t R e c e pt io n March 24th, 6 PM

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UPCOMING EVENTS Visiting Artist Lecture: Presented by Christopher Daniggellis, Assistant Professor Printmaking, University of Missouri April 4, 6pm Melton Gallery, Art and Design Building Visiting Scholar Lecture: “Polish, British and American Printmakers” Presented by Dr. Waldemar Deluga, Director of the Institute of History of Art, Cardinal Stefan Wystynski University, Warsaw, Poland April 14, 6pm Melton Gallery, Art and Design Building Senior Capstone Exhibition TBA – Follow us on Facebook for updates

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University of Central Oklahoma | Department of Art 100 N. University Dr. | Edmond, OK 73034 (405) 974-5201 13

Adam Lanman’s Structure-scapes

by Emily L. Newman

2016 promises to be an exciting year for Adam Lanman. Not only is he showing new work at the Invited Artist Gallery in the Underground (pedestrian tunnels in downtown Oklahoma City) and participating in ArtNOW at Oklahoma Contemporary in the first few months of the year, but he also was selected for the prestigious Downtown OKC Artist Invitational. His success is undoubtedly predicated on his unique combination of socially engaged art with a focus on place.

Lanman navigates dual roles as artist and architect. His background is certainly rooted in the latter, first receiving his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma, and then his Master of Architecture at Cornell University. He has pursued a body of work that traverses both art and architecture. Of his artwork, he elaborates, saying: “My goal is to create an art based design practice that reclaims the territory of the marginalized areas of our built environment; to promote public participation by non-specialized labor and to create a built environment that is as much a playground as it is a public space.”

While he works to encourage his viewers to reconsider their ideas about materiality and space, his projects are intended to spark emotion, often joy or happiness through their whimsical design and unique structures of interactivity. It is in this blend of creative, artistic moments and the artwork’s invasion into the viewer’s physical space that seems to exemplify the blend of art and architecture. His pieces may range in size, from the small intimate book to a larger assembly, but each are meant to work on a specifically human scale.

His ongoing series, drawdels (a combination of the word drawing and model) literally combine an exploration of two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. Works like Bridges and Silos (both 2015) are made from Japanese fold books which unfold horizontally in Lanman’s hands and yet, have an important vertical element as the paper is cut into forms and embellished with collaged elements including wire and ink. Starting flat, the form builds upwards

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and outwards, emerging with intricate complex paper cuttings which develop an increasing energy as one progresses throughout the work, climaxing towards the center of the piece. The forms recede, and the entire work becomes still, returning to that of a notebook.

In referring to these pieces as Memory Notebooks, Lanman acknowledges that the subject is often directly tied to fragments of his childhood life in various locations throughout the Midwest. Focusing on memorable structures like birdcages and silos, these works have a connection to farming communities and nature but also lack any specificity that weds the piece to a unique community or person. To fully examine them, they require careful study.

One must bend down and change position, moving his or her body to see the hidden supports and detailed line work that are created within the tiny paper supports and drawings.

Not content to work in just one or even a few mediums, Lanman enjoys the process, and he explains that he is “constantly evolving and adding to [his] vocabulary. This means a lot of learning from other people and a lot of mistakes.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Lanman enjoys collaboration, as architecture is rooted in the necessity to be able to work with many different people of various backgrounds. At the Underground, he is showing with Cassie Stover in an exhibition titled impermanence, co-curated by romy owens and Jarica Walsh. Stover and Lanman are exploring the concept in relation to environment. Drawings will be displayed in sections on two long eighty-feet walls, but, in an unexpected twist, will be continually replaced with different drawings throughout the course of the exhibition.

Recalling the ever-changing landscape of modern society, Lanman hopes that viewers consider the sociological, technological, and ecological changes that have taken place. In the changing of the drawings, new images replace older ones, recalling the passage of time and the nature of an urban development.

His project for the Downtown OKC Artist Invitation, Skyline : Timeline, ties together many of these issues. Placed in front of the Oklahoma City University School of Law, Lanman will be creating a series of fabric and metal towers. The colors of the forms correspond to land and building development in the downtown area, and will be placed so that they become part of the skyline itself when viewed from certain angles. The project will open in conjunction with the deadCENTER Film Festival, and will provide an educational view onto the expansion of the capitol city as well as distinctive combinations of colorful architectural forms.

As Lanman’s career progresses and he continues to refine his ideas and his practice, his empowered take on socially conscious art and architecture is insightful.

With so many opportunities to see his work in the first half of 2016, here’s hoping many of us get the chance to do so.

Not to be missed, impermanence will open in March, and Lanman’s Skyline: Timeline is scheduled to open in June.

For more news on Adam Lanman, see his websites: adamlanman.com and adamlanman.tumblr.com. n Emily L. Newman is presently Assistant Professor of Art History at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Specializing in contemporary art, gender studies, and popular culture, she earned her PhD from The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Her book, The Lifetime Network: Essays on “Television for Women” in the 21st Century (co-edited with Emily Witsell), will be available in late Spring 2016. emilylnewman.com

Page 15 image: (top) Adam Lanman, Bridges / Birdcages / Silos. 2015, h10 x w8.125 x d54 inches, mixed media in Japanese fold moleskine notebooks

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition Presents Tulsa Art Studio Tour Self-Guided Tour April 9-10, 2016, Noon-5 pm Preview Exhibition February 19 through March 31 Circle Cinema Gallery, 10 S. Lewis Ave.

Tickets $5 in advance $10 at the studio door at www.TulsaArtStudioTour.org, or by phone at 405-879-2400.

Tulsa Artist Fellows: Alice Leora Briggs • Crystal Z Campbell • Molly Dilworth Akiko Jackson • Nick Vaughan • Nathan Young Margaret & Scott Aycock • Julianne Clark • Joey & Al Frisillo Mery McNett • Amy Rockett-Todd

f e a t u re

15

MOTHER’S PRAYER: Eyakem Gulilat

by Cedar Marie

Eyakem Gulilat, Untitled, 2010, archival pigment print

When Eyakem Gulilat first saw South African journalist Kevin Carter’s haunting image depicting the 1993 famine in Sudan—the one of a vulture standing behind a starving toddler—it ignited a deep concern for the incredible power of photography to portray identity and the authenticity of place.

Gulilat, an Ethiopian immigrant who came to the US with his family in 1996, is inspired by a desire to describe his Ethiopian heritage to others. Interested in the relationships between people and the built environment, he draws on his experience as a photographer and an immigrant to explore the complexities of cross-cultural borders and people’s perceptions of time and place.

In his project Mother’s Prayer, Gulilat re-enacts his childhood memories to create a

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dialogue with his past. His images attempt to metaphorically collapse the space between the geographic and physical location of his adult self in America and his childhood memories in Ethiopia. By reconstructing those memories through photography, Gulilat is rewriting his personal story into the presentday landscape he inhabits.

Gulilat challenges the notion of identity and the authenticity of place by playing into Western audiences’ understanding of what Africa is like. He dresses in traditional Ethiopian clothing and prompts his viewers to make sense of the unfolding narrative he visually stages.

In one re-enacted memory, Gulilat carries a large, seemingly heavy burlap sack over his head while walking barefoot on a gravel trail

lined with barren scrub brush. In another image, he is unclothed and lying face down on a wood floor; a taxidermied crow is perched above his head. Here, Gulilat is recalling Carter’s iconic image of the starving African child, but all of the re-enacted memories in Gulilat’s photographs are shot in the United States: in Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Upstate New York, places that do not look like Africa.

“Photography is a very problematic invention,” Gulilat explains. “We immortalize a moment and we would become that moment.” Gulilat is asking viewers to reconsider that moment through Mother’s Prayer.

“It is a strange relationship that I have with the camera, but also it is the harsh reality of

the drought and the famine and of what happened, politically, in east Africa, in Somalia and in Sudan. In a digital age where information flies from Syria to here or wherever you are, and everybody is a journalist today in the name of Facebook, it is perfect timing.

What is place? Where are we?”

Gulilat explains that Mother’s Prayer started out by observing how immigrant communities inhabit a place in a cluster, together, and how they have to make sense of that new location to create their own solidarity.

“How did the Asian district in Oklahoma City come about? If you look at Oklahoma City today, you have northeast, predominantly black; northwest, very affluent people; south Oklahoma City to the eastern area, Latino. How does that happen? These are some of the thought processes I have about who I am and how I make sense of a place.”

Gulilat’s nearly five-year journey in creating Mother’s Prayer is a kind of tracing of his internal DNA, he says, and that DNA is also tied to his identity as a photographer.

“As a performer of my childhood memories, how does that then become part of what I remember? I do certain things and I stop myself because my father does it and now I am doing it too.

I am a direct implication of my father and my mother. I cannot go back beyond my parents; I have to create that story to preserve my grandmother. These stories are a way to articulate who I am, and the photographs allow me to go home.”

Untitled, 2015, archival pigment print

The idea of home, like place, is a difficult question Gulilat poses in this project, in his examination of his Ethiopian identity and in his quest for belonging. He doesn’t believe in a physical location that can be defined as home. Instead, home is more ephemeral, planted in a state of nostalgia.

“I think we become who we are based on our individual connective memories and through an understanding of where we come from.

Because of the subconscious or DNA, I find myself saying Ethiopians are my people. I am from there; these are my roots. But guess what, I would never fit in. For me, this idea of home is an arbitrary term.”

Mother’s Prayer is also as an expression of gratitude, as the title for the project reflects his mother’s hope for her children.

The desire to understand complex community relationships, and his place within them, has put Gulilat on a path to seek innovative ways to extend his creative practice. His recent border crossing into studying urban planning as a PhD candidate at the University of Oklahoma seems like a natural next step. His approach to his creative practice places Gulilat in a position to offer a bold, new vernacular in reshaping underrepresented communities in positive and lasting ways, and to create new memories and hope for the next generation.

To see more of Gulilat’s artwork, go to eyakem.com. n Cedar Marie is an independent artist and writer.

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Artists as Organizers: OKC Artists for Justice

by Ebony Iman Dallas and Trina Robinson

Candace Liger (center) in protest outside courtroom, photo credit: Valerie Rollins-Vaughn of withunmind photography.

“With so many injustices across our nation and state, the time is long overdue to begin organizing for change in OKC.” Candace Liger’s passionate words speak to what many see as a pattern of overly lenient policies in dealing with perpetrators of heinous crimes when the victims are from certain racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Liger is no politician, however. She’s a poet and a dancer, and co-founded OKC Artists for Justice (OKCA4J) along with fellow poet Grace Franklin. The purpose in creating OKCA4J was to address the history of injustices and to specifically mobilize the

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community to demand change during the Daniel Holtzclaw criminal proceedings.

Holtzclaw, a former OKC police officer, was charged with 36 felony counts ranging from stalking to first-degree rape against 13 African-American women while on duty.

Holtzclaw patrolled a traditionally AfricanAmerican neighborhood on the Northeast side of Oklahoma City.

Instead of protecting the community, Holtzclaw preyed on its most vulnerable, often leveraging existing arrest warrants to obtain the victims’ silence. Despite the severity of the charges against him, Holtzclaw was initially released from jail and placed on house arrest when his bail was reduced from $5 million to $500,000.

It was then that Liger and Franklin decided something must be done and called on the community for help.

“There are women in this city who need our voices to be loud, bodies to be present and accountability demanded as they go through these proceedings. We are here to support and encourage,” said Franklin.

They, along with board members Chaya Fletcher, A Jafar Cooper, Tiffani Sanders, and Vanessa Morrison, in addition to a core group of dedicated supporters, are on a mission. They are working to address injustices committed against women of color through advocacy and support in the state of Oklahoma.

Since its inception, OKCA4J has offered support to the 13 women publicly and privately with dedication and compassion.

Early efforts included hosting public information sessions, protesting outside the courtroom, and assisting with emotionally supporting the victims. As a result, the public followed their leadership and joined several protests throughout the trial. Teal is the color traditionally worn to show support for victims of sexual violence; teal ribbons were worn during the protests to symbolize support and keep the focus on helping the victims.

One of the immediate goals of OKCA4J was to draw national attention to a case that was, at the time, receiving very little coverage outside of Oklahoma. Prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, as well as the many survivors of former officer Holtzclaw’s crimes, recognized them: “I want to thank you, Grace, publicly, and the sisters, as I have thanked you privately for helping to tell America about the biggest rape case that none of them have [sic] ever heard about,” said Attorney Crump. “You are the unsung heroes here of getting the word out.”

(top) Candace Liger leading a protest outside the courtroom, photo credit: Valerie RollinsVaughn of withunmind photography.

Members of OKCA4J have now been interviewed and quoted by Democracy Now on NPR, NewsOne Now, The Oklahoman, NBC News, and BBC News to name a few.

At their request, Attorney Crump followed them on Twitter and shared case updates from them. Given his diverse following, the momentum spread as celebrities soon began

(bottom) Photo provided by OKCA4J. OKCA4J board members. Top row, left to right: A Jafar Cooper, Vanessa Morrison.

Bottom row, left to right: Grace E Franklin, Candace Liger and Chaya Fletcher.

Not pictured: board member Tiffani Sanders.

(continued to page 20)

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(continued from page 19)

Protest outside the courtroom, photo credit: Valerie Rollins-Vaughn of withunmind photography.

voicing their concerns via Twitter about the case and its lack of media coverage.

OKCA4J is an eclectic unit made of women, men, visual artists, chefs, teachers and others.

Though the name contains the word “Artists,” being one is not mandatory. However, art was often at the center of the healing process, as many people involved with the project created works of art reflecting their emotional response to the case. This provides a tangible perspective to share with the public.

For example, Candace Liger wrote a poem titled Pseudo-Gardeners, visual artist Tiffani Sanders created a painting titled I am Her and Valerie Rollins-Vaughn documented protests taking place outside the courtroom with photography.

Using creativity to promote social justice is an act highly encouraged by the organization: “Art is a universal language. Use creativity to talk and educate on activism within your own craft. Find comfort in your own exhibition to bring awareness,” said Vanessa Morrison.

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Less than one week after the Holtzclaw verdict was announced, OKCA4J held a community forum and panel discussion.

Panelists included Attorney Tamya Cox, founders Candace Liger and Grace Franklin, certified domestic and sexual violence response professional Vanessa Morrison, and Lieutenant Alex Edwards of the Oklahoma City Police Department. This created a space for open dialogue about rape culture, police relations and future organizing efforts.

On each table, colorful square-shaped pieces of fabric were placed and attendees were encouraged to write messages of support that will be woven into a quilt.

Holtzclaw was convicted of 18 of the 36 counts against him. However, a guilty verdict does not mean the end of this grassroots organization. OKCA4J was recently granted $3,000 by Third Wave Fund’s Mobilize Power Fund for their “It’s Still Not Over Campaign.” In addition to hosting outreach activities, they will continue to partner with existing organizations that advocate for women of color in the future.

For more information or if you would like to get involved, email OKCA4J at artistsforjusticeokc@gmail.com, find them on Facebook or follow them @okcart4justice on Twitter and Instagram. n Ebony Iman Dallas is an artist, designer and founder of Afrikanation Artists Organization. She can be reached at eid@ebonyimandallas.com Trina Robinson is a freelance writer. She can be reached at ms.trinarobinson@yahoo.com.

Regional Focus: Frank Lloyd Wright at Crystal Bridges Museum

by Ariana Jakub Brandes

As one approaches, a serene steel tree by Roxy Paine grows from the middle of a circular driveway, far taller than any surrounding structure. The roof of Crystal Bridges is not visible from the road. To enter, you must walk toward a concrete colonnade that squeezes you into a pair of elevators—no direction but down.

Released below into a ring containing an imposing 30 foot tall Louise Bourgeois spider (Maman, 1999), one gets a feeling not unlike Alice having fallen down the rabbit hole.

On November 11, 2011, Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas opened its doors to the public with a mission “to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature.” In just over four years, it has welcomed over two million visitors, developed both a scholarship and educational fellowship in American art, and earned a reputation as a serious cultural institution. The museum’s substantial endowment, aided by the deep pockets of its founder Alice Walton, has made it a formidable collecting force in the art world. Its most recent acquisition could be considered a near perfect embodiment of its mission to combine art with nature: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson house.

Arkansas native E. Fay Jones apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright and his buildings continue the principles of organic architecture begun by his mentor. Alice Walton grew up in an E. Fay Jones home and continues to live there. Crystal Bridges’ architect Moshe Safdie confesses features in Jones’ architecture inspired his design for the museum.

Visitors to Wright’s Bachman-Wilson house will pass through a welcome pavilion designed and constructed by students from the E. Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. Its structure allows for a visual transition from the curved museum shapes towards Wright’s horizontally dominated facade. A copy of the letter by the Wilsons to Wright asking to build them a home is sincere and worth a read.

The house sits alongside Crystal Spring, a short walk from the museum’s stunning Safdie-designed building whose construction feats could fill another article. The exterior of the Bachman-Wilson house is concrete and wood with horizontal lines dominating.

Inside the hidden doorway—another Wright touch—the entryway is narrow and low. This

“compression moment” is characteristic of his entrances and encourages visitors to move toward the large window-filled living space.

Sunlight enters through small wooden samara (sycamore seed) shaped designs just below the ceiling. These openings filter in light as if through a tree, bringing nature inside as Wright intended. Artwork is absent from the house, allowing for ephemeral light on the walls to take the place of paintings.

To keep his Usonian houses affordable, Wright was rarely present when they were built. He minimized errors during construction with clear plans that focused attention to line. Each 4-foot square lines up with a wooden window frame. The concrete floors in the main living space are Cherokee red, a favorite color of his that imagined the clay floors of our ancestors.

Like the entrance to the museum, there is no constructed focal point when you take in Wright’s building--no dominating structure that draws the eye or steals the show. Nature was his god and her presence is visible throughout. (continued to page 22)

Frank Lloyd Wright House Reconstructed on the Museum Grounds: Living space BachmanWilson House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; photos by Nancy Nolan Photography.

Widely regarded as the greatest American architect of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright considered architecture “the mother art” and was determined to transform the American landscape with his “organic” architecture. “Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization,” he famously said. His mission would be to design buildings in harmony with their natural surroundings made primarily from local materials.

The Bachman-Wilson house (transferred piece by piece from New Jersey because of frequent flooding) is known as one of Wright’s “Usonian” homes, a word derived from “United States of North America.” Wright preferred this adjective to “American” to describe his new system of designing affordable residences for the American middle class.

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(continued from page 21)

Admission to Crystal Bridges Museum is sponsored

by WalMart and there is no cost to view the museum’s permanent collection, grounds, or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House. Timed tickets are necessary to tour the house and can be reserved through the museum’s website at crystalbridges.org. n Ariana Jakub Brandes is a writer, educator, curator and artist in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She can be reached at abrandes@casciahall.com.

Frank Lloyd Wright House Reconstructed on the Museum Grounds: (top) Back Exterior at Sunset/ Bachman-Wilson House designed

by Frank Lloyd Wright. Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; photo by Nancy Nolan Photography. (bottom) Front exterior Bachman-Wilson House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; photo by Nancy Nolan Photography.

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JOE CUNNINGHAM: BEYOND QUILTS April 1 – May 22, 2015 Opening Reception: April 1, 2015, 6 - 9 PM 108 East M.B. Brady Street, Tulsa, OK 74103 www. 108contemporary.org Image: (left) Missed, Joe Cunningham, Design by Cristina Moore, Third Floor Design, University of Tulsa School of Art Brady Craft Alliance, Inc., dba 108|Contemporary is a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

free to public bring own art supplies all ages music food

2015 Sept 14 Oct 16 Nov 9 Dec 7

SOCIAL

2016 Jan 25 Feb 22 NORICK ART CENTER at OCU March 21 April 18 6:00 - 8:30 OCUSchoolofVisualArts OCUSchoolof Art

23

EKPHRASIS: Art & Poetry edited by Liz Blood

Portal, by multidisciplinary artist Heather Clark Hilliard, envelops and sets free the “wild imaginings” of poet Deborah J. Hunter. Ekphrasis is a place for poets to respond to visual art.

Poet: Deborah J. Hunter is a poet, performance artist, actor, teaching artist, and workshop facilitator. Her poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, and in 2013 she was an Oklahoma Poet Laureate nominee. Her one-woman performance piece, “Amazons, Gypsies, and Wandering Minstrels,” in which she portrays multiple characters, has won her audience and acclaim.

Artist: Heather Clark Hilliard focuses on conceptual fiber art and site-specific installations. Hilliard’s work has been exhibited in four solo exhibitions, including the Oklahoma State Capitol and her artist-in-residence exhibit at 108 Contemporary, and in national group exhibitions in ten states. Hilliard has received multiple awards from Concept/OK, FiberWorks, and Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.

24 e k p h r a s i s

Spaces in Between My imagination is free, infinite as space and time— light moving in and out of tiny gaps in delicate lace.

My body is gravity-bound, but spirit and thought move without restraint or restriction.

Fantasies spinning their own galaxies.

I could use whip and chair to command the wild imaginings that fill my mind, keep alive my dreams.

But, no.

I let them rise as air bubbles or bob and weave like colorful fish in and out of seaweed skeletons.

Portal, hand-knit copper wire, 54 x 15 x 12 inches

e k p h r a s i s 25

ASK A CREATIVITY COACH: Got Talent? Motivation Matters More

ASK A CREATIVITY COACH:

FINDING TIME

by Romney Nesbitt

Dear Romney, I feel frustrated when I look at artists’ Facebook pages with their stream of posts and promotions. They seem to have found the time they need to do their creative work AND network about it, why can’t I? —Envious and Frustrated Dear Envy, First, don’t judge your insides by someone else’s Facebook page. Take what you see on others’ pages as their attempt to share the very best moments in their day-to-day lives. Instead of measuring yourself against others, decide how social media can serve your needs. Consider creating separate pages for your personal and professional lives. Use social media posts to keep your patrons apprised of new work, new ideas in progress, and upcoming shows. If you post or publish a blog, keep a regular schedule. A short regular post is more effective than an occasional lengthy tome.

Do you manage the internet or does it manage you? Social media networking is important, but it’s not as important as creating new works.

Consider using a social media management option like HootSuite to manage all your social media accounts so you can focus more time on your art-making.

What really matters is that you decide to take a step every day toward your career goals. Those daily steps do take effort, but it’s possible to find more time by making a number of small changes. Your day has a familiar rhythm that includes family and work responsibilities, patterns of behavior and energy highs and lows. Sometimes our habits need to be upended to achieve more productivity and focus. A few small changes in what you do and when you do it could make a big difference in your focus and output. Examine your routines and habits by answering my coaching questions:

Romney Nesbitt is a Creativity Coach and author of SECRETS FROM A CREATIVITY COACH. She welcomes your comments and questions at romneynesbitt@gmail.com. Book her to speak to your group through OVAC’s ARTiculate Speakers Bureau.

A few small scheduling adjustments could help you find the time and focus you need for your work and help you feel satisfied with your creative progress. n

When are your studio hours? Do friends and family know when you are working?

How many hours per week (not per day) are you in your studio creating? Set a weekly goal instead of a daily goal. For example, six hours of studio time per week (rather than one hour per day) allows for the occasional day off and unexpected interruptions.

How many hours per week do you spend career networking? Set specific times for networking, blogging etc. outside of your time creating art.

Do you know your personal energy patterns? Use your high energy times for your high-value work—creating. Use lower energy times of day to your advantage by scheduling appointments, errands, and networking during these less productive hours.

Do you know what you want to accomplish each day? Before you leave your studio set a goal for the next day’s work. Pre-planning allows your creative brain to stay on duty while you go about your other daily activities.

26 b u s i n e s s o f a r t

Rediscover the Historic Paseo!

Shopping, Dining & Learning!

22 Galleries, 80 Artists, Restaurants, Boutiques, Art and Education For more information about Educational Programs contact:

405.525.2688

ARTS DISTRICT

thepaseo.org #FirstFridayPaseo

First Friday Gallery Walks every month FRI 6-10 PM & SAT 12-5 PM

OVAC NEWS

MARCH | APRIL 2016

Momentum OKC is an interactive, multidisciplinary art event highlighting Oklahoma artists age 30 and under on March 4 & 5, 2016. The exhibition features three Spotlight Artists selected to create a small body of work under curatorial guidance, as well as a juried survey component. This year’s Spotlight Artists are Klair Larason (Oklahoma City), Haley Prestifilippo (Norman), and Gloria Shows (Oklahoma City). There will be cash prizes selected by Curator Trent Lawson and Catherine Shotick, the emerging curator.

Additionally, there is a $100 Viewer’s Choice Award selected by the audience.

Audiences will experience film, performance, new media, installation, music and more.

For more information on the event, visit MomentumOklahoma.org.

A self-guided tour, the Tulsa Art Studio Tour showcases the talent of artists who live and work in Tulsa. The artists featured on the Tour open their studios to the public for a weekend, giving art lovers a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at local artist’s workspaces. Visitors meet artists, buy artwork, and observe art being created in working spaces. The 2016 Tour will feature 14 artists that represent a variety of artistic media and styles, and will be held the weekend of April 9-10. Tickets are $5 in

advance, or $10 at the studio door. For more information, or to sign up as a sponsor, please visit tulsaartstudiotour.org.

The 2016 Concept exhibition presents an evocative investigation of contemporary artists in Oklahoma, along with a regional artist exchange. Concept contains two exhibition components. The Survey is a competitively selected exhibition of artwork in all media, selected by guest Curator Adam Welch (Pittsburgh, PA), from artist submissions. Focus is a curated group exhibition of new work by 4 Oklahoma artists and 4 artists from partner city St. Louis, MO. Focus artists are selected by the guest curator from proposals and receive an honoraria and curatorial guidance to create new work to debut at the exhibition. The next installation of Concept will open in June 2016 at AHHA in Tulsa. The Focus exchange will open in September 2016 at The Luminary in St. Louis, MO. This past November, we held our first Collector Level Membership + Community Supported Art (CSA) Launch Event. Collectors attended a reception with the artists and received their first piece of original artwork. The program is a new way to connect art buyers with local artists.

Through the CSA Program, collectors will receive 2 original pieces of art annually

by Oklahoma artists and enjoy all of the additional benefits at the Patron Member level. The next Launch Event will be held in the spring. For more information, or to sign up, please visit ovac-ok.org/get-involved.

The next quarterly deadline for all OVAC Grants is March 15. Applications are accepted monthly on the 15th for Education Grants. All other grant categories are reviewed quarterly. Please visit ovac-ok.org/ programs/grants for a complete list of the available opportunities.

Art People

Allied Arts recently welcomed Laura Ketchum as the new Employee Giving Coordinator. Laura earned degrees in music education from Western Michigan University and wind music conducting at Southern Oregon University.

Kathy McRuiz (formerly the Director of the Hardesty Arts Center, AHHA) has been named the new Executive Director of 108|Contemporary and Krystle Brewer has been named the Managing Director.” n

Thank you to our new and renewing members from September and October 2015 Jo Ann Adams Samantha Arnold Alfredo Baeza Keith Ball and Marti Jourden Tommy and Tahlia Ball Joy Reed Belt, JRB Art at the Elms Steve Brown Renee Coon Bob Curtis Bryan Dahlvang Dorothy Dinsmoor Ebony Dorsett Alana Embry Marianne Evans

Kandyce Everett Cathleen Faubert and Pete Froslie Ariana Foote Diane Glenn and Jerry Stickle Almira Grammer Bill Green Susan Green Michelle Hendry Geoffrey Hicks Michelle Himes-McCrory Mary Hockett Thoma David Holland Pauline Honeycutt Helen F. Howerton

Jennifer Cocoma Hustis Cynthia and Thomas Janssen Jonathan Johnson Joni Johnson Jasmine Jones Karen Kirkpatrick Melanie Krcilek Keith Lenington Mitzi Massie Janice Mathews-Gordon William McClure Mat Miller Holly Moye George Oswalt Jeanne Parkhurst

Anthony Pego Angela Piehl Guy Ragland Marissa Raglin Anne Richardson Stephanie Ruggles Diane Salamon Amanda Sawyer Barbara S. Scott John and Mary Seward Peggy Sanders Shelden and Dana Talbert Janetta Smith Patricia Smith Stephen Smith

Adam Stewart Jim Terrell Ashley Trattner Christian and Alesha Trimble Patricia Triplett J. Diane Trout Harwood M. Teresa Valero Burneta Venosdel Jordan Vinyard Mark Waits Blake Walinder Mo Wassell Corazon S. Watkins Liz Wilson Julie Yang

o v a c n e w s 27

Gallery Listings & Exhibition Schedule Ada

Chickasha

The Pogue Gallery East Central University ECU 3D Program Exhibit Through March 11 61st Annual Student Exhibit March 21 - April 21 Senior Exhibits April 25 to May 6, 2016 900 Centennial Plaza (580) 559-5353 ecok.edu

Nesbitt Gallery University of Science and Arts Oklahoma Montmartre April 7, 2016 1806 17th St (405) 574-1344 usao.edu/gallery/schedule

Alva Graceful Arts Gallery and Studios Cartoonist Lauren Purje at NWOSU March 6 523 Barnes St (580) 327-ARTS gracefulartscenter.org

Ardmore

The Goddard Center High School & Middle School Annual All Schools Exhibit Through March 11 Elementary School Annual All Schools Exhibit Opening March 29, 4:30 – 7 pm Through April 16 401 First Avenue SW (580) 226-0909 goddardcenter.org

Bartlesville Price Tower Arts Center 510 Dewey Ave (918) 336-4949 pricetower.org

Broken Bow Forest Heritage Center Beaver’s Bend Resort (580) 494-6497 beaversbend.com

Claremore Rogers State University 1701 W Will Rogers Blvd (918) 343-7740 rsu.edu Wolf Productions: A Gallery of the Arts 510 W Will Rogers Blvd (918) 342-4210 wolfproductionsagallery.com

Davis Chickasaw Nation Welcome Center Artist Reception- Larry Carter March 1- June 30 35 N Colbert Rd (580) 369-4222 chickasawcountry.com/explore/ view/chickasaw-nation-welcomecenter

Duncan Chisholm Trail Heritage Center Aaron Mallard March 23- May 22 Our People, Our Land, Our Images Through March 16 Woodcarver Creations April 11 - May 25 1000 Chisholm Trail Pkwy (580) 252-6692 onthechisholmtrail.com

Durant Southeastern OK State University 1405 N 4th PMB 4231

Durham Metcalfe Museum Eggsquisite House of FaberEgg: The 31st Annual Omelette Party March 6

28 g a l l e r y g u i d e

8647 N 1745 Rd (580) 655-4467 metcalfemuseum.org

Edmond Donna Nigh Gallery University of Central Oklahoma 100 University Dr (405) 974-2432 uco.edu/cfad Edmond Historical Society & Museum Sign of the Times- The Great American Political Poster 18442012 March 25- April 30 431 S Boulevard (405) 340-0078 edmondhistory.org Fine Arts Institute of Edmond Photography of Narciso Arguelles Through March 31 James Coplin Through April 30 27 E Edwards St (405) 340-4481 edmondfinearts.com Melton Gallery University of Central Oklahoma Juried Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition Through March 10 Young Talent in Oklahoma March 22 100 University Dr (405) 974-2432 uco.edu/cfad University Gallery Oklahoma Christian University 2501 E Memorial Rd oc.edu

El Reno Redlands Community College 1300 S Country Club Rd (405) 262-2552 redlandscc.edu

Guthrie Hancock Creative Shop 116 S 2nd St (405) 471-1951 hancockcreativeshop.wordpress. com

Owens Arts Place Museum 1202 E Harrison (405) 260-0204 owensmuseum.com

Guymon

All Fired Up Art Gallery 421 N Main (580) 338-4278 artistincubation.com

Idabel Museum of the Red River Recent Acquisitions Through March 6 812 E Lincoln Rd (580) 286-3616 museumoftheredriver.org

Lawton The Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery 620 D Avenue (580) 357-9526 lpgallery.org Museum of the Great Plains 601 NW Ferris Ave (580) 581-3460 discovermgp.org

Norman The Crucible Gallery 110 E Tonhawa (405) 579-2700 thecruciblellc.com Downtown Art and Frame 115 S Santa Fe (405) 329-0309 Firehouse Art Center 444 S Flood (405) 329-4523 normanfirehouse.com Jacobson House 609 Chautauqua (405) 366-1667 jacobsonhouse.org Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art Gallileo’s World: An Artful Observation of the Cosmos Through April 3 102nd Annual School of Art and Art History Student Exhibition April 22 – May 15

555 Elm Ave (405) 325-4938 ou.edu/fjjma Lightwell Gallery University of Oklahoma Galileo’s World Through July 31, 2016 520 Parrington Oval (405) 325-2691 art.ou.edu MAINSITE Contemporary Art Gallery OAWCF Curatorial Fellowship Exhibition Through March 11 122 E Main (405) 360-1162 normanarts.org Moore-Lindsey House Historical Museum 508 N Peters (405) 321-0156 normanmuseum.org The Depot Gallery Stacy Miller- Gallery Opening March 11 200 S Jones (405) 307-9320 pasnorman.org

Oklahoma City

Acosta Strong Fine Art 6420 N Western Ave (405) 453-1825 johnbstrong.com [ArtSpace] at Untitled PASS, Mandy Messina Through March 13 1 NE 3rd St (405) 815-9995 artspaceatuntitled.org Brass Bell Studios 2500 NW 33rd facebook.com/BrassBellStudios Contemporary Art Gallery 2928 Paseo (405) 601-7474 contemporaryartgalleryokc.com DNA Galleries 1705 B NW 16th St (405) 371-2460 dnagalleries.com Exhibit C 1 E Sheridan Ave Ste 100

(405) 767-8900 chickasawcountry.com Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum Willard Stone Centennial: A Legacy of Art Through Family Through April 30 1400 Classen Dr (405) 235-4458 oklahomaheritage.com Grapevine Gallery 1933 NW 39th (405) 528-3739 grapevinegalleryokc.com Howell Gallery 6432 N Western Ave (405) 840-4437 howellgallery.com In Your Eye Studio and Gallery 3005A Paseo (405) 525-2161 inyoureyegallery.com Individual Artists of Oklahoma 706 W Sheridan Ave (405) 232-6060 iaogallery.org JRB Art at the Elms Grace Grothaus & The Light Show Through March 3 2810 N Walker Ave (405) 528-6336 jrbartgallery.com Kasum Contemporary Fine Art 1706 NW 16th St (405) 604-6602 kasumcontemporary.com National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1700 NE 63rd (405) 478-2250 nationalcowboymuseum.org Nault Gallery 816 N Walker Ave naultfineart.com Nona Hulsey Gallery, Norick Art Center Oklahoma City University 1600 NW 26th (405) 208-5226 okcu.edu Oklahoma City Community College Gallery 7777 S May Ave (405) 682-7576 occc.edu

Oklahoma City Museum of Art Honeybadgers by Blair Thurman Through May 1 Our City, Our Collection: Building the Museum’s Lasting Legacy March 12 - August 31 The Modernist Spectrum: Color and Abstraction Through December 31 415 Couch Dr (405) 236-3100 okcmoa.com Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center Summer Wheat: Everything Under the Sun Through August 3000 General Pershing Blvd (405) 951-0000 oklahomacontemporary.org Oklahoma State Capitol Galleries Tim Hearne Through March 27 (North Gallery) Patricia Isbell April 4 - June 5 (North Gallery) Michael Nicholson Through April 3 (East Gallery) Keith Murray April 11 – June 12 (East Gallery) Mary Nickell Through April 10 (Governor’s Gallery) Nicholas Bayer April 18 – June 19 (Governor’s Gallery) 2300 N Lincoln Blvd (405) 521-2931 arts.ok.gov Paseo Art Space 3022 Paseo (405) 525-2688 thepaseo.com The Project Box Erin & Tim Cooper March 4-26 Christie Hackler April 1-30 3003 Paseo (405) 609-3969 theprojectboxokc.com Red Earth 6 Santa Fe Plaza (405) 427-5228 redearth.org

Satellite Galleries Science Museum Oklahoma 2100 NE 52nd St (405) 602-6664 sciencemuseumok.org Summer Wine Art Gallery 2928 B Paseo (405) 831-3279 summerwinegallery.com Tall Hill Creative 3421 N Villa The Womb 25 NW 9th St wombgallery.com Verbode 415 N Broadway Ave, Ste 101

Park Hill Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc. Cherokee Syllabary: From Talking Leaves to Pixels Through April 2 21192 S Keeler Dr (918) 456-6007 cherokeeheritage.org

Piedmont Red Dirt Gallery & Artists 13100 Colony Pointe Blvd #113 (405) 206-2438 reddirtartists.com

Oklahoma State University Museum of Art Angie Piehl: Feral Beauty and Opulent Decay Through March 12 Richard Tuttle: A Print Retrospective Through May 7 720 S Husband St (405) 744-2780 museum.okstate.edu

Sulphur Chickasaw Cultural Center Ofi Tobi Exhibit Through May 27 867 Cooper Memorial Rd. (580) 622-7130 chickasawculturalcenter.com Chickasaw Visitor Center Artist Reception-Alan Burris March 1- June 30 901 W 1st St (580) 622-8050 chickasawcountry.com/explore/ view/Chickasaw-visitor-center

Tonkawa Eleanor Hays Gallery Northern Oklahoma College 1220 E Grand (580) 628-6670 north-ok.edu

Tulsa 108|Contemporary Joe Cunningham: Beyond Quilts April 1 – May 22 108 E MB Brady St (918) 895-6302 108contemporary.org Aberson Exhibits 3624 S Peoria (918) 740-1054 abersonexhibits.com Gilcrease Museum Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain Through April 24 Showing the Hand of the Artist: The Draftsmanship of William R. Leigh March 6 – June 26 1400 Gilcrease Road (918) 596-2700 gilcrease.utulsa.edu Hardesty Arts Center Oklahoma Dance Film Festival January 22 – April 17 Harwelden Awards Exhibit March 4 – April 3 Recent Works: Patrick Gordon April 1 – May 22 101 E Archer St (918) 584-3333 ahhatulsa.org

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Ponca City Ponca City Art Center 819 E Central (580) 765-9746 poncacityartcenter.com

Shawnee Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Wounaan Baskets from the Rainforest of Panama Through March 13 1900 W Macarthur (405) 878-5300 mgmoa.org

Stillwater Gardiner Gallery Oklahoma State University Kimberly Schaefer: Incorporeal Through March 16 108 Bartlett Center for the Visual Arts (405) 744-4143 art.okstate.edu

g a l l e r y g u i d e 29

Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education 124 E MB Brady St (918) 631-4400 gilcrease. utulsa.edu/Explore/Zarrow Alexandre Hogue Gallery University of Tulsa 2930 E 5th St. (918) 631-2739 utulsa.edu/art Holliman Gallery Holland Hall 5666 E 81st Street (918) 481-1111 hollandhall.org

Joseph Gierek Fine Art 1342 E 11th St (918) 592-5432 gierek.com

M.A. Doran Gallery 3509 S Peoria (918) 748-8700 madorangallery.com

Living Arts P.S. Gordon Cathy Deuschle: Nudes April 1 - 28 307 E MB Brady St (918) 585-1234 livingarts.org Mainline 111 N Main Ste C (918) 629-0342 mainlineartok.com

Lovetts Gallery 6528 E 51st St (918) 664-4732 lovettsgallery.com Philbrook Downtown Doel Reed Through March 27 Off the Wall Through June 5 Cady Wells: Ruminations April 2 – October 2 116 E MB Brady St

Become a member of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

Join today to begin enjoying the benefits of membership, including a subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma.

Collector Level + Community Supported Art (CSA) Program $1,000 ($85 a month option) · · · · ·

2 original and quality pieces of art by Oklahoma artists 2 tickets to CSA Launch Events twice a year 2 tickets to 12x12 Art Fundraiser $400 of this membership is tax deductible All of below

PATRON $250 · · · · ·

Listing of self or business on signage at events Invitation for 2 people to private reception with visiting curator 2 tickets each to Momentum OKC & Momentum Tulsa $200 of this membership is tax deductible.

All of below

FELLOW $150 · · · · ·

Acknowledgement in Resource Guide and Art Focus Oklahoma Copy of each OVAC exhibition catalog 2 tickets to Tulsa Art Studio Tour $100 of this membership is tax deductible.

All of below

FAMILY $75

· Same benefits as Individual, for 2 people in household

INDIVIDUAL $45 · · · · ·

Subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma magazine Monthly e-newsletter of Oklahoma art events & artist opportunities Receive all OVAC mailings Listing in and copy of annual Resource Guide & Member Directory Invitation to Annual Members’ Meeting

Plus, artists receive: · Inclusion in online Artist Gallery, ovacgallery.com · Artist entry fees waived for OVAC exhibitions · Up to 50% discount on Artist Survival Kit workshops · Affiliate benefits with Fractured Atlas, Artist INC Online, Artwork Archive, and the National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture.

STUDENT $25

· Same benefits as Individual level. All Student members are automatically enrolled in Green Membership program (receive all benefits digitally).

30

(918) 749-7941 philbrook.org

(918) 584-2440 piersongallery.com

Philbrook Museum of Art The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction Through May 1 Japanese Painted Screens and Scrolls March 6 – June 26 2727 S Rockford Rd (918) 749-7941 philbrook.org

Tulsa Artists’ Coalition 9 E MB Brady St (918) 592-0041 tacgallery.org

Pierson Gallery 1307-1311 E 15th St

Tulsa Performing Arts Center Gallery 110 E 2nd St (918) 596-2368 tulsapac.com Waterworks Art Studio 1710 Charles Page Blvd (918) 596-2440 cityoftulsa.org

Wilburton The Gallery at Wilburton 108 W Main St (918) 465-9669

Woodward Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum 2009 Williams Ave (580) 256-6136 pipm1.info

MEMBER FORM ¨ Collector Level + Community Supported Art Program ¨ Patron ¨ Fellow ¨ Family ¨ Individual ¨ Student ¨ Optional: Make my membership green! Email only. No printed materials will be mailed.

Name Street Address City, State, Zip Email Website

Phone

Credit card #

Exp. Date

Are you an artist? Y N Medium?________________________ Would you like to be included in the Membership Directory? Y N

Would you like us to share your information for other arts-related events?

Y

N

Detach and mail form along with payment to: OVAC 730 W. Wilshire Blvd, Ste 104, Oklahoma City, OK 73116 Or join online at ovac-ok.org

Art Focus

Ok l a h o m a

Annual Subscriptions to Art Focus Oklahoma are free with OVAC membership.

Mar 4-5:

Momentum OKC

730 W. Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104 Oklahoma City, OK 73116 The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition supports Oklahoma’s visual arts and artists and their power to enrich communities.

Visit ovac-ok.org to learn more.

Mar 15: Concept Survey Application Deadline Mar 15:

OVAC Quarterly Grants for Artists Deadline

April 9-10: Tulsa Art Studio Tour April 22-23: OVAC Spring Cleaning Sale

View the full Oklahoma visual arts calendar at ovac-ok.org/calendar.

MARCH CARYL MORGAN “WATERCOLOR” OPENING RECEPTION:

FRIDAY, MARCH 4 6 - 10 P.M.

APRIL “LEGACY” GEORGE BOGART and STUDENTS OPENING RECEPTION:

FRIDAY, APRIL 1 6 - 10 P.M. Gallery Hours: Tue - Sat 10 am - 6 pm Sun 1 pm - 5 pm

JRB ART

AT THE ELMS

2810 NORTH WALKER PHONE: 405.528.6336 www.jrbartgallery.com

Non Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Oklahoma City, OK Permit No. 113