Art Focus Oklahoma, January/February 2011

ArtOFocus k l a h o m a

Ok l a ho m a Vi s u a l A r ts C oal i t i on

Vo l u m e 2 6 N o . 1

January/February 2011

Demolition Democracy:

Jeremy Charles and the Capturing of Small-Town Oklahoma p.4

Art OFocus k l a h o m a

Drawing by Emma Ann Robertson.

from the editor Contemporary artists are making art that is pushing the art world to change how the work is presented, discussed and conserved. This shift forces new examinations of media, genre and even the concept of artwork as an object. This issue of Art Focus Oklahoma should give you a taste of how some Oklahoma artists and organizations are contributing to this ongoing development.

For eighteen years now, Living Arts of Tulsa has been a pioneer in exhibiting boundary-blurring works with the New Genre Festival (p. 22). What began as a venue for local artists working in diverse media has now grown to include regional, national and international artists exploring unconventional methods of art making.

Art 365 artist Aaron Hauck (p. 24) is employing traditionally commercial methods, such as thermoformed plastics and cast polyester resin, to create sculptures commenting on consumer culture. In his case, non-traditional art making methods are integral to the message.

In conversation with curator Shannon Fitzgerald, Dr. Sherri Irvin (p. 8) introduces her research in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, giving specific examples of works which illustrate the changing dynamic between the artwork, institutions and the physical object. Irvin comments on the increased importance placed on the artist’s intentions within presenting institutions and how that differs from the consideration given more historical works.

By redefining the characteristics of specific media, genre or tradition, artists are tapping into new potential for their work and for the viewer’s experience. How has this affected your artistic work or the way you interact with the work of others?

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: www.ovac-ok.org Executive Director: Julia Kirt director@ovac-ok.org Editor: Kelsey Karper publications@ovac-ok.org Art Director: Anne Richardson anne@speccreative.com Intern: Brooke Rowlands 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: The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition supports visual artists living and working in Oklahoma and promotes public interest and understanding of the arts.

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.

Art Focus Committee: Janice McCormick, Bixby; Don Emrick, Claremore; Susan Grossman, Norman; MJ Alexander, Stephen Kovash, Sue Moss Sullivan, and Christian Trimble, Oklahoma City.

OVAC Board of Directors July 2010-June 2011: R.C. Morrison, Bixby; Margo Shultes von Schlageter, MD, Rick Vermillion, Edmond; Eric Wright, El Reno; Traci Harrison (Secretary), Enid; Suzanne Mitchell (President), Norman; Jennifer Barron (Vice President), Susan Beaty, Stephen Kovash, Paul Mays, Carl Shortt, Suzanne Thomas, Christian Trimble, Oklahoma City; Joey Frisillo, Sand Springs; Anita Fields, Stillwater; Bradley Jessop, Sulphur; Elizabeth Downing, Jean Ann Fausser (Treasurer), Janet Shipley Hawks, Kathy McRuiz, Sandy Sober, Tulsa 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.

Kelsey Karper publications@ovac-ok.org

Member Agency of Allied Arts and member of the Americans for the Arts. © 2011, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

All rights reserved.

View this issue online at www.ArtFocusOklahoma.org.

On the Cover Jeremy Charles, Tulsa, Untitled, Photography. Frenetic welding, hammering and bending is a colorful spectacle between heats. Drivers rush to make repairs to their cars to compete final or consolation rounds.

See page 4.

2

contents

p ro f i l e s

4

Demolition Democracy: Jeremy Charles and the Capturing of Small-Town Oklahoma

6

4

A photographer from Oologah debuts a new series documenting demolition derbies in small towns of Oklahoma.

Tailfins, Tikis, Rockets and Robots

Tulsa artist Chris Wollard’s garage studio tells the story of his influences, including classic cars, Futurists and machine performance art.

8 Aesthetic Negotiations: A Philosopher’s Thoughts on Contemporary Art

In conversation with Shannon Fitzgerald, Sherri Irvin, Ph.D. shares her ideas about the philosophy of contemporary art.

re v i e w s 12 They’re All Blonde: An Interview with Romy Owens

Oklahoma City artist Romy Owens discusses recent developments in her hand-stitched photography work, as well as her goals for the future.

6

p re v i e w s 14 MAINSITE Contemporary Art Showcases Six Artists on the Rise

For their annual Emergent Artists exhibition, the Norman gallery selected six artists who represent current trends in today’s art world.

18 Between the Lines: The Limitless Possibilities of Printmaking

Two Stillwater artists, Kristin Gentry and Michelle Himes-McCrory, have collaborated on an exhibition which blends their styles to highlight printmaking’s vast possibilities.

20 Drawing Onto Stone: The Art of Katherine Liontas-Warren

In her current exhibition at the Oklahoma State Capitol, the Lawton artist showcases her ability to tell a story through images.

22 New Genre XVIII: Breaking the Mold

The annual New Genre festival, hosted by Tulsa’s Living Arts, brings provocative contemporary art and performance to Oklahoma.

14

f e a t u re s 24 Aaron Hauck: Transmutations of the Stone Age and “I Generation”

In preparation for the Art 365 exhibition, Aaron Hauck is creating two sculpture series that examine consumer culture from an archaeological perspective.

26 John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park: An Artistic Testament to the Life of a Community

A new Tulsa park and public art project honors John Hope Franklin and pays homage to the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.

b u s i n e s s o f a r t 28 Ask a Creativity Coach: A Goal Without a Plan is Just a Wish

24

The Creativity Coach offers tips on making the right resolutions to get your year on track.

29

OVAC News

30

Gallery Guide

(p. 4) Jeremy Charles, Tulsa, Untitled, Photography (p. 6) One of the small metal robots that inhabit the Tulsa studio of Chris Wollard. (p. 14) Alejandro Bagajewicz, Norman, Twins Peek, Mixed media, 49.5” x 52” (p. 24) Cast resin Clovis points by Art 365 artist Aaron Hauck of Ada.

3

Demolition Democracy: Jeremy Charles and the Capturing of Small-Town Oklahoma

by Carolyn Deuschle

Jeremy Charles, Tulsa, Untitled, Photography. Derby cars compete until they can no longer run.

Exhausted cars are either dragged or carried from the arena by tractors.

Jeremy Charles, a 33-year-old photographer originally from Oologah and currently living in Tulsa, creates photographs that are not only masterful representations of their subjects, but also acutely aware interpretations of the poetry inherent in photographing a human subject. From artists and musicians to athletes and politicians, Charles’ passion for his subjects— their narrative, their character, their emotional baggage—is rendered with the kind of colorful precision that echoes the acutely intense portraits of Michal Chelbin and the respectful yet insightful portraits of Dawoud Bey. Though his primary focus is on editorial work, with a special affinity toward music photography, he’s recently embarked on an independent documentary project, which has him aiming his camera lens at the participants and audience members of small-town Oklahoma’s demolition derbies. With his self-effacing nature, the documentary form seems to be a natural fit for the soft-spoken artist. The series, selections of which are presented here for the very first time, is both an incisive portrait of rural life and a striking commentary on small-town America. I spoke with Charles recently about the development of his career, his demolition derby series, and his love of Tulsa.

4

p ro f i l e

Carolyn Deuschle: You worked first as a graphic designer starting in 2000, and didn’t start photographing professionally until 2007. Do you remember what initially drew you to the medium?

Jeremy Charles: As a graphic designer, I worked with photography all the time and I realized how integral it was to good design. There is a mysterious quality about great photography. I wondered “How did they do that? My photos don’t look or feel anything like this.”

So, eventually I felt driven to unlock the mysteries. I’ve always been fascinated with vivid characters, people with rich stories and personalities whether they be artists, performers, musicians, athletes or public figures. I soon found that photography was a reason to meet and befriend these people.

CD: Where did you learn to photograph?

JC: Though I don’t necessarily like the label “self-taught,” that’s pretty much accurate. I never had formal training in my first career as a graphic designer, and I approached photography in the same D.I.Y., learn-as-you-go way.

CD: What inspires you?

JC: People inspire me, especially those with vivid stories, those who have struggled, those who are deeply passionate about things.

CD: How did the demolition derby series come about? What was its visual appeal?

JC: When I was a kid, I grew up around my grandpa’s shop. He was a master mechanic; he could fix anything. He was always greasy, always tinkering with engines. I never picked up on any of it, but I did develop a deep appreciation. I’ve never been into cars at all, but I knew the connection we Americans have with our cars. I mentioned to my friend Lee that I wanted to check out a demolition derby. He put me in touch with a man named David Shook who ran derbies often.

Once I saw the visual drama unfold that first time, I was hooked. These folks spent weeks designing and welding together old car parts, only to smash them up within a span of five or ten minutes. It’s adrenaline, it’s smoke, it’s engines on fire, cars flipping, drivers caught up in the moment celebrating and cussing, bonding over their shared love of these machines.

CD: How do the participants at the demolition derby react to you taking pictures of them?

JC: It’s mixed, but most of the folks are open to me being there. They like showing off their handy work and allowing me into their world.

A lot of them aren’t used to having a camera in their face and are suspicious of my motives. I actually had a guy wanting to fight me at the last derby. He was caught up in the moment: his brother’s car had flipped in the first heat, so he was worked up. But I stood my ground and others stopped him from attacking. Later his mother apologized on his behalf. I’ve been careful to make relationships and build trust with many of them, getting to know the promoters and having David introduce me to drivers.

CD: What was the most unexpected outcome of this project?

JC: Until you get into their world, it’s impossible to understand what drives their passion for demolition derbies. There is a nostalgic view of American’s auto industry of yesteryear. There is also a surprising amount of strategy and thought put into the sport. Certain car models have different advantages and disadvantages. Drivers have specialized tactics and styles. It’s also an environment of teamwork and collegiality. Fathers and sons build cars together, and whole families take part in the event.

CD: As an artist, why do you live in Tulsa?

JC: I grew up in a small town, but was always drawn to city life. For me, Tulsa is great because it’s not too large. You have the chance to meet people easily and nurture strong relationships. It’s easier to know the marketplace and build a reputation. Like a lot of young artsy types, I dreamed of making it in a more diverse place, but many people of my generation have banded together and decided to stay in Tulsa and make their mark, to build it into the city we want it to be.

CD: What does this city—the city you want it to be—look like?

JC: I think a lot of young Tulsans want to see our city become more cosmopolitan, diverse, energetic and art driven. After watching so many of our generation migrate to the coasts in search of opportunity and culture, we want to create the type of place that keeps them here. n

Carolyn Deuschle is a regular contributor to Art Focus Oklahoma. Her writing has also appeared in RL magazine, DesignObserver.com, and is forthcoming in Landscape Architecture magazine. Previously, she was an editorial work-scholar at Aperture magazine and an assistant editor at Princeton Architectural Press, both in New York. Currently, she is a freelance writer based in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Jeremy Charles, Tulsa, Untitled, Photography.

Frenetic welding, hammering and bending is a colorful spectacle between heats. Drivers rush to make repairs to their cars to compete final or consolation rounds.

p ro f i l e

5

Tailfins, Tikis, Rockets and Robots

by Brian Hearn

Metal robot and tiki sculptures at the studio of Chris Wollard.

It’s easy to find Chris Wollard’s home-based studio in a residential neighborhood of Tulsa. “Look for the pirate ship art car parked in the street,” he told me. Sure enough there it was; a purple monstrosity with bow and mast at least two stories tall marked the spot. I met Wollard more than a decade ago when he was an emerging artist who made a splash in some of the early OVAC Momentum exhibitions in Oklahoma City.

In particular, his Loki Ball installation and performance was unforgettable. In a square space about the size of a boxing ring he had arranged a number of rather awful ceramic pieces, some on the floor others on pedestals, which were summarily crushed to bits by a large animatronic steel sphere that appeared to move at random. There was

6

p ro f i l e

something thrilling about this destructive performance that tapped into the same human fascination as NASCAR crashes. Wollard loves automobiles. His driveway is quite literally lined up with them, most notably his pride and joy: a white 1959 Buick with tailfins galore.

I asked Wollard about the primary influences on his work, “Aesthetically the automobile - especially the optimistic and inspired design from the ‘50s when America had an eye on the future. The sky was the limit and cars were actually sculpted from clay by artists.” He also cited the Futurists as a conceptual influence with their dynamic passion for speed, technology and violence. Another important discovery was the machine performance art group based in the Bay Area, Survival Research Laboratories.

As I walked up the driveway past the rusted car and truck bodies more interesting objects appeared: huge fiercely grimacing tiki sculptures, and shiny sleek rocket ships right out of The Jetsons. The detached garage was open with a truck chassis on sawhorses occupying the middle of the space. Having grown up around machine shops, I recognized this environment instantly but there was something different about it, too - something older and weirder. This was the domain of Hephaestus, blacksmith of the gods. Here Wollard works his metal magic with the tools of the trade: hammers, tongs, anvil, files, drills, brushes, benders, grinders, saws, and the welding torch.

The space is just as grubby and cluttered as you would expect from an artist’s studio, made complete by the requisite cheesecake pin-up poster. As my eye scanned the workspace I saw a small steel robot with a mohawk poking its head out of a mess of tools and metal scraps. It’s one of a series of small robot sculptures Wollard made for a show at a downtown art and design space in Tulsa. He had the innovative idea of creating interchangeable parts so that people could assemble their own punk rock robots. Apparently this didn’t go over so well with well-meaning parents who realized the sharp edges were not exactly kid friendly.

We entered one of his current projects, a down-to-the-studs total remodel of a two-bedroom bungalow. Wollard is the epitome of DIY resourcefulness and creativity. The remarkable tile work he did in the bathroom is clearly inspired by custom car culture. Throughout the house there were more robots and rocket ships, notably a detailed metal diorama with two robot cowboys drawing their guns outside an Old West saloon. He took a seat on the back bench of a minivan and told me how he’d dropped out of school at the University of Oklahoma, got a job as a museum preparator, and gave it up to establish a studio/garage in south Oklahoma City. When it turned into an unseemly stint as a chop shop he wanted out.

the leather apron while you wipe grit and razor sharp metal shavings deep into your already irritated skin. I actually feel a little distant from the piece while I am working on it because I have so much protective gear on – heavy gloves, welding helmet, leather apron, etc. Then again, sometimes I love all that, but in the end the real rush comes from completing a sculpture, sitting back, and sharing the final product with a friend over a beer.”

What does the future hold for Chris Wollard? He would like to finish his house in Tulsa and scale up his work to larger installations of public art. And then there’s that ’39 Ford pickup in the driveway and eventually the tiki bar, too. n Brian Hearn is the Film Curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and a 2010 Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellow.

Chris Wollard with his rocket sculpture.

Looking for a fresh start, Wollard took a temporary job doing theatrical set construction in Memphis. Upon arriving in town, all of his tools were stolen out of his van. The less than sympathetic cops told him, “Welcome to Memphis.” Wollard decided to go back to school at the University of Memphis to finish his BFA in sculpture. He soon discovered the National Ornamental Metal Museum overlooking the Mississippi River which has a working smithy and foundry on site.

Here, Chris found like-minded artist-blacksmiths who could teach him all manner of metalworking. He learned to make his own tools and found himself living in the guest house on the grounds of the Museum.

“The opportunity I had to live and work at the Metal Museum in Memphis has probably affected me more than even I know. The people and my experiences there really changed me in a positive way.”

He showed me some of the “meditations” in metal he’d been working on. These ovoid forms are hand-hammered and smoothed steel resembling prototypes for flying saucers. I asked him about the process versus the end result of his artistic practice. “I work primarily in metal now so the actual process can be very unpleasant - sweat pouring underneath your protective ear muffs, pooling in your ears, dripping off your safety glasses and burning your eyes, soaking your shirt under

p ro f i l e 77

Aesthetic Negotiations: A Philosopher’s Thoughts on Contemporary Art

by Shannon Fitzgerald

Sherri Irvin, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma (OU). She serves on the board of trustees of the American Society for Aesthetics and is editor for the Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art section of Philosophy Compass, Blackwell’s online journal. Her work has been published in the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, the British Journal of Aesthetics, the Journal of Aesthetic Education, and the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, among others.

Her essays have been included in numerous books and anthologies.

Shannon Fitzgerald: As a practicing philosopher and professor of philosophy at the University of Oklahoma, what are your areas of expertise?

Sherri Irvin: I specialize in aesthetics and the philosophy of art.

My research has two main trajectories: I work on the philosophy of contemporary art and on the aesthetics of the everyday, which focuses on the possibility of having aesthetic experiences in the ordinary moments of everyday life, without having to visit an art gallery or go out to some magnificent natural site.

SF: What is your educational background and professional experience that led you to your current position at OU? SI: I studied philosophy as an undergraduate, and I went directly into the PhD program at Princeton, thinking I wanted to work in metaphysics, which is one of the more abstract and technical areas of

philosophy. While I was there I realized that I didn’t want to do that full-time, and I questioned whether philosophy was right for me at all. I transferred to the PhD program in clinical psychology at Rutgers University, but after a couple of years ended up moving to Canada when my partner was hired there. We lived for seven years in the Ottawa area, which houses the National Gallery of Canada and a few smaller non-profit galleries that specialize in contemporary art. I became involved with several of the galleries, and along the way ended up doing research in the curatorial archives of the National Gallery of Canada. This is how I first learned about how much of what we see in a contemporary art space depends on things like the artist’s instructions about how the elements of their installation artworks should be arranged.

After I became immersed in the art scene, I started to think about writing in the philosophy of art – I thought that might be something I could be passionate about. I had never taken a class in that area (and I still never have, though I have taught many!), but I wrote to Alexander Nehamas at Princeton and asked him if he would be willing to supervise my dissertation from a distance. He agreed. After all the work was finished and my PhD was awarded, he told me that he never thought it would work. Fortunately he didn’t tell me that!

After teaching in Canada for a few years, my partner and I decided to look for jobs that would fit our research interests better, and that’s how we ended up at OU. SF: What most about contemporary art intrigues you and inspires your research? How do you see your role across disciplines in the beginning of the 21st century?

SI: What most intrigues me about contemporary art is how the relationship between the artwork (or, as we might call it, the object of our appreciation) and the physical object is attenuated. With traditional paintings and sculptures, it seemed like the artwork was just a physical object; but for many contemporary artworks that can’t be right. For example, I’ve written about one of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s candy spills, “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), 1991.1 There isn’t any particular physical object that is essential to this work. Displaying it involves creating a pile of candy that viewers are free to take from, and replenishing the pile from time to time. But the work doesn’t go out of existence if the candies are thrown away in between exhibitions; it is still in the museum’s collection. So the work is something fundamentally different from a physical object like a painting.

This means that we, as viewers, have to take a different approach to understanding the artwork. Just looking at a physical object and taking in its visible features isn’t enough; we really need to know something about how and why those particular objects are where they are right now.

SF: As one who considers art production in a fluid now, how do you see the relationships between art, art history, and philosophy unfolding in contemporary global discourse?

Sigalit Landau, Barbed Salt Lamps (detail), 2007, Barbed wire soaked in Dead Sea salt, dimensions variable.

1 Irvin’s expansive essay “The Ontological Diversity of Visual Artworks” in New Waves in Aesthetics, ed. Kathleen Stock and Katherine Thomson-Jones (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), 1-19 can be downloaded as a pdf from her website: www.ou.edu/ouphil/faculty/irvin/irvin.html.

8

p ro f i l e

Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in LA), 1991, Candies individually wrapped in multicolored cellophane, endless supply, Overall dimensions vary with installation, Ideal weight: 175 Ibs. © The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation. Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York.

SI: I think the most important question, in this relation, would have to do with how we can best understand and appreciate works that are created in cultural contexts that differ greatly from our own. I don’t think philosophy has done a very good job of addressing this yet, but I am hopeful that philosophers who are strongly committed to diversity will increasingly work in the area of cross-cultural aesthetics.

SF: That is compelling, especially as we witness other disciplines likewise expand their discourse on a global level. This is apparent, for example, in feminist discourse as global feminism is providing new directions in contemporary art, and how curatorial studies and museum practices are re-thinking their role and responsibility in presenting work by global practitioners.

You have researched and written about museums and their role in presenting, interpreting, and conserving contemporary art. Specifically, you have addressed the various roles of curators and conservators in the stewardship and responsibility for caring for contemporary art and how that is evolving based on the types of work museums are acquiring (work artists are making) that is site-specific, ephemeral, conceptual, and technology specific; how do you see their work and how it is changing in museum practice?

SI: It seems to me that many aspects of curatorial and conservation practices are in flux right now, because the normative assumptions and conventions that have guided curating and conservation of historical works cannot be applied to many contemporary artworks. For some works of installation art, curators have to make crucially important decisions about how the

objects will be configured; and these decisions affect the experience the audience member has of the work. This is very different from decisions about how to hang paintings on the wall or how to display sculptures: my ideas about a painting may be affected by what is hanging nearby, but at the same time the painting’s actual appearance is not affected by what is chosen to hang near it. These days, curators’ decisions can profoundly affect the actual appearance of the artwork.

Conservation, similarly, is in a period of transition. Conservation has to be guided by a notion of the authenticity or integrity of the work, and for many contemporary artworks it is profoundly unclear what their authenticity or integrity consists in. Different works may require very different responses to the deterioration of their physical materials: for some works, it is crucial to retain those contnued on pg. 10

p ro f i l e

9

contnued from pg. 9

very materials in a presentable state; for others, it is preferable to replace them periodically with pristine materials; and for still others, the material should be allowed to deteriorate with little or no intervention.

These differences are often relevant to the interpretation of the work, so it’s crucial that the conservator consult the artist in deciding what to do. Conservators have developed elaborate questionnaires to ensure that artists communicate everything about conservation and display that the institution will need to know. However, institutions that don’t have in-house conservators may not do as thorough a job at information gathering, and this potentially leaves the work in limbo if a problem arises and the artist is no longer available for consultation.

SF: You lectured at the Miami Art Museum (MAM) this past December. What was the topic of your presentation?

SI: I discussed some works in the MAM collection, with regard to the way in which they are shaped by communications between the artist and the institution. I focused on a series of contrasts between works.

For instance, the museum holds Rachel Whiteread’s Untitled (Plaster Table), which has a tendency to be chipped whenever it is moved. The conservation instructions are to collect the actual chips, pulverize them, mix them with water and use the resulting wet plaster to make repairs to preserve the integrity of the object. But the collection also includes one of Sigalit Landau’s Barbed Salt Lamps, which were made by taking barbed wire structures and dipping them repeatedly in the Dead Sea until they became covered with salt to the point that the barbed wire was unrecognizable. For that work, Landau specifies that as salt falls off, no repair is to be made: it is crucial to the work that the barbed wire gradually be revealed. I see this as a powerful metaphor for the brutality and fragility of the political situation between Israelis and Palestinians. If Landau had made different choices about conservation, the work wouldn’t have the same thematic content.

SF: You are writing a book on the philosophy of art. Can you share with us the premise and content of your book?

10

p ro f i l e

SI: The book is provisionally titled Challenging Objects: Negotiations in Contemporary Art. It deals with all of the issues discussed above: the complex relationship between the artwork and the physical object in contemporary art, the fact that creating a contemporary artwork involves both fabrication and negotiation, and the way in which these issues are relevant for curators, conservators, and audience members as they interact with contemporary artworks.

Dr. Irvin Recommends:

SF: Do you see philosophy as critical to art making itself (for artists) or more as a way to talk about the art object as a referent or signifier related to philosophy?

SI: I think philosophy has a lot to offer artists as they are thinking about the process of art making. My work in particular addresses the way the work is shaped after it leaves the artist’s studio, through the artist’s interactions with the gallery or museum to determine how it should be presented and conserved. I argue that this kind of shaping that happens in negotiation with the institution, far from being a mere technical detail or afterthought, can have great importance for the work’s meaning.

of Computer Art, Routledge, 2009.

SF: Can you offer any advice to artists and curators interested in learning more about the philosophy of art?

SI: It’s hard to give general recommendations, because there are so many different aspects of the philosophy of art that someone might want to delve into. Stephen Davies’ The Philosophy of Art (Blackwell, 2006) is an excellent recent survey of the discipline by a leading philosopher of art. For those specifically interested in the philosophy of contemporary art, and especially the issues discussed in this interview, the papers posted on my web page (http://www.ou.edu/ouphil/ faculty/irvin/irvin.html) are a good place to start, because I am the only philosopher who has written about many of these issues. The work of Arthur Danto, who is well known both as a philosopher and as an art critic, might also be of interest, though his focus is quite different from mine. He has a book titled After the End of Art: Contemporary Art and the Pale of History (Princeton, 1998).

Buskirk, The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art, MIT, 2005.

Stephen Davies, The Philosophy of Art, Blackwell, 2006.

Dominic McIver Lopes, A Philosophy

Peter Goldie and Elisabeth Schellekens, Who’s Afraid of Conceptual Art?, Routledge, 2010.

Peter Goldie and Elisabeth Schellekens (eds.), Philosophy and Conceptual Art, Oxford, 2007.

SF: Are you optimistic about your field and its evolving influence on the knowledge of art?

SI: There is increasing interest in my field in reaching out across cultures and across disciplines to do work that will be relevant to real artistic practice. I am optimistic about this, because I think philosophers have a lot to offer. We specialize in clear, systematic thinking, in assessing the justification of beliefs and practices, and in figuring out how to bring divergent practices into line in a rational and consistent way. So, for instance, philosophers could look at the practices of conservators in relation to a variety of contemporary artworks, assess the principles that seem to underlie their decisions, and propose a set of guidelines that are largely based on existing practices, but that also show how to eliminate inconsistencies and deal with future cases in the most sensible way. n Shannon Fitzgerald is an independent curator and writer currently based in Oklahoma City.

Living Arts of Tulsa Presents

NEW

GENRE

18

CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL Feb 25 – Mar 12, 2011

livingarts.org

UNIV E RSITY C O L L E G E

O F

OF

C ENTRAL

F I N E

A R T S

OKLAHOMA A N D

D E S I G N

Work by Illustration Students Feb. 17-March 20 Donna Nigh Gallery Nigh University Center

Free opening reception with refreshments 4-6 pm, Feb. 17 For information, call: (405) 974-2432 or visit www.uco.edu/cfad/galleries “Part 2 of Music Series”

by Felicia Jones.

This exhibition features the work of students in UCO’s new illustration minor.

11

They’re All Blonde: An Interview with Romy Owens

by Sarah Atlee

Romy Owens, Oklahoma City, joaquin phoenix, Photos and thread, 12” x 40”

Romy Owens is a photographer living in Oklahoma City, an OVAC committee member and regular contributor to Art Focus. Owens’ recent exhibitions include Down In the Basement... at the University of Oklahoma’s Lightwell Gallery, and Sanctuary, a collaborative project with Edgemere Elementary students at aka gallery in Oklahoma City’s Paseo District. Owens’ solo exhibition Us v. Us opened at Tulsa’s Aberson Exhibits on December 9.

Sarah Atlee: Why don’t you start with the Aberson project? Tell me when, where and what you think that’s going to be.

Romy Owens: The title of the show is Us v. Us. and it’s going to be diptychs, except instead of being side-by-side they’ll be across from each other.

SA: Has the gallery space always been an element in your work? Is it starting to become more important recently?

RO: I think it is definitely becoming more important recently. But, it’s always in my mind, even from the very first solo experience I had.

I think anything that will enhance the experience is important to viewing any art.

SA: Sanctuary is a public art work that involves the community. The installation you did at Lightwell feels like a piece of public art, too, maybe just because it was on a monumental scale. Do you feel like you’ve been doing public art, and now with the Aberson show you’re going back to doing private art?

RO: No, no I don’t. I didn’t envision the Lightwell show as public art, although I can see where, based solely upon the scale, it does have that feel. That was not my intention at all. With the Sanctuary project, while it is a community experience, and it is a collaborative effort, it is

12

re v i e w

absolutely one hundred percent my vision. So, I don’t really envision that as public art either. I think of that as installation art.

SA: A lot can be said about your stitching process that you use. For a lot of artists that use stitching or similar techniques or media in their work, it’s often seen as a post-feminist view of women’s work, traditional craft, etc. Do you see it that way?

RO: I do. [It] is a very, very deliberate sentiment of post-feminist women’s work. This was women’s work. ...For all of time, women have been sewing because people need clothes, and people need things. Even during World War II, people were sewing flags, people were sewing tents, and everybody used every scrap. Of course my inspiration from Gee’s Bend and the women who made the quilts there, that was to keep warm. They were trying to warm themselves during the winter.

I sew not because I have to, but because I want to. I don’t have to sew.

And I certainly could use a sewing machine.

SA: But, sewing by hand is important to you.

RO: Yes it is. It’s very important. And I love it. I love the zen-ness of it. I love the alone time. I think about taking this picture, and where it is, and the story of this photograph, or the story of this wall, and the story of me being there photographing it. I develop an attachment to what I’m working on because I’m looking at it for sometimes a hundred hours. That’s why I give them names like I do, instead of...

SA: Like, Untitled Number Eleven?

RO: Ugh. No! They have names, they have personalities.

SA: I’m curious about where the titles come from. Do they float up from your stream of consciousness?

RO: Sometimes it’s very stream-of-consciousness and sometimes

it’s super-deliberate. When I started The Reconstructionist Effort, the first pieces that I made had this brown and yellow component to it, and all I could think about were female TV anchors. ...You think of women in power – Diane Sawyer, and Barbara Walters, or Katie Couric, or Jane Pauley – and you think of how they all have dark hair, but they’re all blonde. So that’s where that came from. For better or worse, that’s what they are. As soon as I embraced that, I thought, I’m going with this, then let’s think about iconic women ...so the pieces were designed with that in mind.

SA: Where do you see your art going in the future? Five years from now, what do you think you might be doing?

RO: Well, in five years, what I would love to be doing is only installation. I know that seems radically different, but the idea was planted in my head last year at Art Prize.

When Jason [Hackenwerth] was competing, and we were there, we joked about how if Jason won, he would help me win the next time and that really got my brain thinking.

What it would take to sew a paper house, with rooms, and floors, and doors, and windows? I think the Lightwell wall was my first step in that direction of genuine installation. I really think that there will be a time, hopefully within the next five years, that I will make something that is a standalone structure. ...I do love to make the small, saleable pieces that can go into someone’s home. I always see that being a component of what I do, but I definitely would love to start doing very large-scale installation.

SA: Are you going to stay in Oklahoma?

RO: I will always be an Oklahoma artist. I can say that without a doubt.

SA: Good, I’m glad to hear it. What do you think about the future of art in Oklahoma?

RO: I hope that it is going to do nothing but increase and grow and be a force to reckon with. I think while New York or Paris or London or even L.A. or San Francisco may be goals for people, I don’t know why Oklahoma can’t be a destination for art. We’ve got people who are working very hard and making extremely good art.

I want to be one of those people that are contributing to that. n

Romy Owens, Oklahoma City, zan, Photos and thread, 10” x 10”

Painter Sarah Atlee can be found most days in her studio at the Oklahoma City Coworking Collaborative. Her next solo show, Occupied: Oklahomans Talk About their Jobs, will be on display at aka gallery in May 2011.

re v i e w

13

MAINSITE Contemporary Art Showcases Six Artists on the Rise

by Susan Grossman

Geoff Krawczyk, Oklahoma City, Barzakh, Mixed media on canvas, 51.5” x 72”

Six artists creating works that organizers say are representative of current trends in the art world today are the 2010 Emergent Artists at MAINSITE Contemporary Art in Norman.

14

p re v i e w

An emergent artist is someone at an early stage of their career that may or may not have had many exhibitions. The annual selection process is open to anyone at any age. “We are always looking for people who want to make their resume of exhibitions more substantial and have a current dynamic drive to be a professional artist,” said Christian Pitt, MAINSITE gallerist. “Some of our past emergent artists have gone on to win major grants and fellowships, enter into master’s degree programs at elite art schools, and exhibit in galleries across the country.”

This year’s artists all have ties to the University of Oklahoma. Pitt said the selection committee was interested in artists who represent current trends and three of this year’s artists are sculptors.

“This exhibit happens to be heavy on sculpture, with work by Alejandro Bagajewicz, Alexandra Knox and Mike Hill,” Pitt said. “We think that happened because the sculpture department at the University of Oklahoma has been active in the Oklahoma arts community.”

Also included are stop motion animation artist Tara Najd Ahmadi, painter Geoff Krawzcyk and photographer Sherwin Tibayan.

Tara Najd Ahmadi Tara Najd Ahmadi is an Iranian artist who moved to the United States in 2009 to work towards her MFA at the University of Oklahoma. She received her MA in Animation Directing at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran and a BA in Graphic Design from the University of Tehran.

Ahmadi’s current work is in stop motion animation, using handmade characters and sets to create the scenes of her films.

“I use stop motion animation because it stands right on the border of fantasy and reality,” said Ahmadi. “The crudeness of the movements and the detailed puppets make an image that is funny and bitter at the same time. My pieces might be the nightmares of the individuals who wake up every day and hope for making another world.”

Ahmadi is an active member of the women’s rights movement in Iran and has made several pieces related to women’s basic rights.

“As an Iranian activist, I like to reflect the sound of the protest against the big systems of control,” said Ahmadi. “I feel my pieces reflect the people’s challenge to gain what they want.”

Alejandro Bagajewicz Argentinean-born sculptor Alejandro Bagajewicz has studied at universities around the world. As a multilingual world traveler, he is fascinated by what travel and culture bring to the arts.

In 2000 he attended the art program at the Catholic University of Lima Peru and at the end of his study he was chosen to leave his sculpture as part of the university’s permanent public art exhibit. Bagajewicz continued his studies in sculpture at the Academia di Belle Arte di Bologna and at the University of Bologna in Italy where he learned stone sculpting.

He earned his degree from the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 2006 where he refined his work in metal sculpting.

“Art has demonstrated to me that there is an enigma to be deciphered, that there exists something mysterious about the relation between me and artistic creation,” Bagajewicz said in his artist statement. “The turmoil created while confronting different materials fascinates me because I have a need to excel during that act. This consistency surrounds all artists.”

Alexandra Knox A Ukrainian heritage has played an important role in shaping the beliefs of Alexandra Knox, including tradition and superstition.

“As I have reached my mid-20’s these elements have influenced my daily life more and more, raising questions and curiosities that I confront through my art,” she said. “I am drawn to using materials that echo my grandparents’ lives, such as the use of steel and fabrics, as well as everyday objects with which I have a spiritual connection. It is also through sensory experience that this spiritual connection grows stronger. The smell of steel, for example, reminds me of my grandfather’s shop while certain foods resurrect memories of my grandmother.”

Alexandra Knox, Norman, To Lead a Simple Life, Steel and bronze, 5” x 1” x 14”

Knox considers the creative process as a contemplative study of her heritage. The repetitive tasks can be compared to such Ukrainian crafts as embroidery.

“The influence of these traditions can be seen throughout my work, but is translated in materials that prove to be a fervent link to my Ukrainian forbearers,” Knox said.

“As a result, this body of work becomes a medium for self-discovery as well as a record of sensorial memory.” contnued on pg. 16

p re v i e w

15

contnued from pg. 15

Knox is a graduate student in studio art at OU. Sherwin Tibayan Photos of empty billboards featured in Horror Vacui by Sherwin Tibayan, a graduate student in photography at OU, surveys their material presence while considering their capacity to comment on the environments that surround them.

“For the last two years I have taken notice of and been actively searching for very clean, very white billboards, the kind that seem to present nothing but their own monumental physicality” he said.

“Without the company of an advertisement to distract us, each billboard becomes an ambiguous fixture within the built environment, possibly indicative of economic and social realities, but equally reminiscent of movie screens or unpainted canvases.”

Horror Vacui is about filling up the photographic frame with a confrontation of an object’s recovered material reality, Tibayan explained. It is only through the manifest blankness of each billboard that we encounter it—and possibly for the first time—as a physical object cast into landscapes of arguably equal emptiness.

Geoff Krawczyk Norman native Geoff Krawczyk was introduced to art at a young age by his father, Mike Krawczyk, a professional cartoonist, illustrator and Vietnam vet. Growing up in a family with a father who is a disabled veteran gave him an interest in the nature of sacrifice and violence which has influenced his artistic practice.

A 2006 OU graduate in painting and printmaking, Krawczyk currently is working on a master of fine arts at the State University of New York in Buffalo. His work has been shown in numerous galleries and locations throughout the world.

“My work is an exploration of the mythology of spirituality, the politics of aesthetics, and the connections between sacred and profane,” he said.

“For me, a necessary function of art is to examine the overlap of these two realms, the space of actual experience. We live in an era in which reproduction and simultaneity define our world. I want to re-interpret this collective visual language in hopes of finding parallels between disparate iconography. My goal is to challenge belief structures and create a dialog about the perception of life and death in contemporary society.”

Mike Hill The work of sculptor Mike Hill is organic, using materials such as bamboo, plaster, and metal casting to convey his message. This process is the vehicle he has chosen to help him understand the unexplainable forces of human existence.

“I have been exploring the thought process I am engaged in while harvesting my material, specifically bamboo,” he said. “It is the strength of the bamboo that so closely relates it to the cast metal

Mike Hill, Norman, Celestial Map

16

p re v i e w

within my work. The bamboo and cast metal share a conversation with each other and question their existence. I think of the bamboo as a visual representation of a strong life force that was once living in nature but is still in some way very much alive in its presence.

“In metal casting there is a certain energy and life force that radiates from the molten metal and is then recorded forever as a cast work of art. It is these visual representations of life and nature and the questions of our existence that are the driving forces of my work.”

Hill is a graduate student in studio art at OU. The 2010 Emergent Artists exhibition continues through February 5, 2011.

MAINSITE Contemporary Art is located at 122 E. Main St in Norman, OK. More information is available at www.mainsite-art.com. n Susan Grossman is a lifelong journalist and public relations specialist who currently works as a development officer. Her hobby job is freelance writing for a variety of local, regional and national publications covering everything from art and architecture to sports. Reach her at susangrossman@cox.net.

(left) Tara Najd Ahmadi, Norman, Gut Theory (still), Stop motion animation, black and white. (right) Geoff Krawczyk, Potlatch, Mixed media on canvas, 55” x 59.5”

17

Between the Lines: The Limitless Possibilities of Printmaking

by Allison Meier

Artwork by Kristin Gentry (left) and Michelle Himes-McCrory (right).

Although monotypes are the basis for collaboration in Between the Lines, a two-person show at Individual Artists of Oklahoma gallery in Oklahoma City, Kristin Gentry and Michelle E. Himes-McCrory brought everything from drawing, scratching, burning, carving, collaging and sewing into a cohesive exhibit.

“We decided to create a show based on the limitless possibilities of printmaking,” Himes-McCrory said.

Blending their distinctive artistic styles, as well as their backgrounds in both printmaking and painting, the two artists created mixed media pieces on wood panels, using monotypes as a launch point.

“Collectively, our work envelops lost ideas, a dying culture, and many forgotten memories,” Himes-McCrory said. “We look to the past as inspiration, and use our art as a tool to revive the lost, dying and forgotten.”

Gentry’s clean lined art is inspired by her identity as a Native American woman in contemporary society, while Himes-McCrory’s printmaking has a dimensional appearance, which is sometimes haunted by skeletons or wandering creatures.

“We’re both using imagery based on plants and flora, trees, our organic bodies, birds and other objects that we both feel is important to us individually and collectively,” Gentry said.

18

p re v i e w

The collaboration developed when Gentry and Himes-McCrory participated in the 2009 Monothon at [ArtSpace] at Untitled in Oklahoma City.

“I have always admired [Michelle’s] works, her draftsmanship and her positive outlook on life,” Gentry said. “It’s a great opportunity to be able to work with Michelle to create art. Having someone to help you with the physicality of using a hand cranked press is also a great perk of creating works with someone. Printmaking can be a physically exhausting medium.”

Unlike most group exhibits, the two artists worked simultaneously in the same studio, even sometimes collaborating on the same piece.

“Michelle and I are constantly printing together, influencing and critiquing one another as the pieces are emerging,” Gentry said.

Gentry comes from a family of artists who work in fibers, wood, and traditional painting, growing up traveling the art festival circuit with a mother who was always sewing and a father who worked as an architectural draftsman. For Between the Lines, Gentry shifted from the vibrant colors that usually define her work into the realm of blacks and grays, keeping the use of pattern, repetition and positive and negative shapes. The hand sewing that she incorporated into her monotypes reflects her Native American heritage.

“Since floral patterning from traditional tribal regalia influences the content of my pieces, elements of hand sewing are often present to honor my mother and grandmother,” she said. “For this body of work, I’ve started adding in less structured, or strict, patterning, and have been going with a more organic feel to accommodate the collaboration of my show partner.”

After receiving her Associates of Art degree from Tulsa Community College, Gentry studied art education at the University of Tulsa before earning a BFA in painting and printmaking from Oklahoma State University. She now teaches at the Stillwater Multi Arts Center and recently received a professional basics grant from OVAC for Between the Lines.

Himes-McCrory studied printmaking at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, and in 2005 received a BFA from Oklahoma State University. The dark undercurrent in her art tempered with a strong sense of whimsy was first inspired by old family photos. After incorporating them into her work, she later discovered an old album in an antique store and wondered about the people in its photographs, and how they were doomed to a dusty bin. She now collects antique albums and continues to use the found images.

By adding and subtracting the two artists’ styles in the show, Between the Lines illustrates the way printmaking can be endlessly transformed through media and perspectives.

“By its very nature, printmaking is a process that requires careful planning and execution, but I love that creating monotypes forces me to be more spontaneous combining printmaking, painting, and drawing mediums,” Himes-McCrory said.

Between the Lines will have an opening reception on Friday, February 11, from 6 to 9 pm. It will show through March 5. In April, Kristin Gentry and Michelle E. Himes-McCrory will have another collaborative show at the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition gallery, entitled Inversion. n

Allison C. Meier is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. She works in communications at the Cooper Union and has covered visual arts in Oklahoma for several years. She can be reached at allisoncmeier@gmail.com.

“My work tends to be illustrative and often autobiographical with overlapping narratives, leaving hints, but ultimately leaving it up to the viewer to decide the meaning,” she said.

Artists Kristin Gentry (left) and Michelle Himes-McCrory (right).

p re v i e w

19

Drawing Onto Stone: The Art of Katherine Liontas-Warren

by Sheri Ishmael-Waldrop

Through design, bold color, the contrast of black and white, her narratives and subject selection, artist Katherine Liontas-Warren brings pastel drawings, watercolor images and hand printed pieces to life using color to emphasize a mood or mystery within the composition. “I carefully select my subject matter in my works,” she said. “I am interested in nature and use subjects that represent experiences and metaphors in my life. The pastel drawings are narrative and the reoccurring or double tornados are personal and universal icons for seasonal experiences in Oklahoma.”

Warren’s skill as an artist is featured in the Oklahoma State Capitol’s North Gallery through February 20, 2011. “I was elated and very honored when I received an invitation to exhibit my works of art in the North Gallery at the Capitol,” she said.

“The Oklahoma Arts Council supports the work of professional Oklahoma artists by showcasing their work in three galleries in the State Capitol,” said Alyson Atchison, Curator of Education and Capitol Galleries. “The exhibitions exemplify the artistic quality and cultural diversity in our state and enrich the lives of Oklahomans and Capitol visitors alike while promoting public interest and understanding of the arts.”

Atchison said lithography is a unique medium and Warren’s technical skill and ability to be so expressive through the medium is rare. She believes those who work in the Capitol every day will find something in Liontas-Warren’s artwork they haven’t seen before. “The artistic excellence and merit of Katherine’s printmaking make her an excellent choice for the North Gallery,” Atchison said. The exhibit includes 18 of her prints.

At an early age, Liontas-Warren was drawn to pencils. As an undergraduate at Southern Connecticut State University, her first encounter with printmaking was in lithography, and she was immediately taken by the “beautiful method of drawing onto a stone.”

Katherine Liontas-Warren, Lawton, Tumultuous Prophecy, Pastel, 44” x 30”

20

p re v i e w

The mark-making and the gorgeous blacks hypnotized her. She was determined to be a lithographer, and thirty years later, she continues to love drawing on a stone. “I prefer to work in black and white to celebrate the graphic history of early illustration in printmaking,” Liontas-Warren said. “Stone lithography best describes my narrative and personal imagery as an honest depiction of storytelling.” When not creating lithographs, she works on other methods, such as printmaking and drawing media.

Liontas-Warren is a Professor of Art at Cameron University where she teaches drawing and printmaking. With a Master of Fine Art from Texas Tech University and a Bachelor of Science from Southern Connecticut State University she hopes her students will have the drive and passion to continue creating and seeking artistic endeavors after graduation, and to continue learning everyday as they discover their surrounding environment through observations and opinions.

Liontas-Warren is a strong believer in developing perceptual skills in drawing. “My students learn how to see through visual thinking and I promote drawing in the journal as an important component in being a creative artist,” she said. “A journal will promote self-discoveries and allow creative thinking to emerge on a daily basis.” She shares her journals with her students hoping to inspire them as they begin their journey as an artist. Many of these journals will consist of influences, inspirations, and beautifully rendered drawings of simple forms and shapes in nature.

numerous purchase awards and juried awards. Her drawings and prints are held in permanent collections nationally and can be located in university galleries.

drawings were purchased for inclusion in the permanent collection at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art and at Austin Peay University in Tennessee.

Her works can be viewed at private institutions such as University of Texas at Tyler, Arkansas Art Center, Oklahoma State University, Quartz Mountain Lodge, University of Colorado, University of North Dakota, Veterans Hospital in Oklahoma City, University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, and the Milwaukee Museum of Art.

Two of her drawings are included in the second edition of the Drawing from Observation textbook, by Brian Curtis. JRB Art at The Elms gallery in Oklahoma City represents Liontas-Warren’s art works.

Liontas-Warren’s exhibitions have been displayed at universities and galleries nationally, internationally and regionally, including Ball State University, Florida State University, Leslie Powell Art Gallery, Kirkpatrick Museum in Oklahoma and the Bruno Art Conservatory Museum in Czechoslovakia Republic.

Of her recent accomplishments, she is honored to receive the Faculty Hall of Fame award for outstanding teaching and scholarly activities at Cameron University and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Award for Artist of the Year by Paseo Art Association in November 2010. n Sheri Ishmael Waldrop is a freelance writer and photographer from Sapulpa, and the new director for Sapulpa Arts.

When her sons were eight and older, Liontas-Warren worked with them on some collaborative drawings celebrating storytelling and describing their imaginative adventures on paper. She said the drawings were very successful and two of these

In 1998, she was selected to represent Oklahoma in Color Print USA, a national portfolio exchange of original prints by 52 artists form 50 states. The exhibition opened nationwide in all 50 states and toured Europe.

Liontas-Warren has exhibited in 18 solo shows and 205 national and regional juried competitive exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe, and has received

Katherine Liontas-Warren, Lawton, Circus Treats, Pastel, 22” x 30”

p re v i e w

21

New Genre XVIII: Breaking the Mold

by Tiffany Barber

The practice of ‘new genre art’ entered the mid-century stage looking for new, undiscovered relationships with art and culture. Contemporary artists abandoned painting and sculpture for performance and installation work, and extended photography’s trajectory to video paired with altogether new forms previously unexplored. Living Arts’ New Genre XVIII is Tulsa’s own daring response to the possibility of unbridled artistic production. New genre means new form, and according to Steve Liggett, New Genre XVIII’s chief organizer, this mantra sets Living Arts’ own stage for this exhibition of unconventional media.

Now in its 18th year, New Genre XVIII brings provocative contemporary art and performance to Oklahoma. New Genre XVIII endeavors to challenge the preconceptions around the role of art in culture by supporting artists working in nontraditional media, actionbased performance, and unsanctioned guerilla methods. Living Arts, an exhibition space in downtown Tulsa committed to presenting quality contemporary art and performance, hosts the annual festival that Liggett, with help from poet Walt Kosty, launched in 1992. The festival’s mission to support local artists working in diverse media has since expanded to include other local venues and now involves regional, national and international artists.

Most critics and art historians locate the emergence of an interest in new genres and forms in the 1960s and ‘70s with rigorous endeavors in conceptual, land, installation, performance and video art. Historically, the previous relationship with art, tied up in romanticism and impressionism then abstract expressionism and pop art, moved from objects to ideas and actions. Artists working in new genres and media often invent entirely new modes and sites for cultural production, new methodologies, technologies, or categories in the process. Much like the art historical movements that comprise the canon of contemporary cultural production, the history of Living Arts’ New Genre Festival centers on the present moment, ever-changing because of sociopolitical shifts and technological advances.

This year’s New Genre XVIII features an estimated forty artists from Oklahoma and elsewhere. Many of the featured artists are selected from an open call for proposals, but some of the artists are invited to present specific works. Living Arts is comprised of twelve curatorial and programming committees that review submitted proposals and suggest festival artists. Additionally, grants from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Performance Network allow members of Living Arts’ curatorial team to travel outside of Oklahoma and view contemporary works and performances in their commissioned settings. Through this outreach, artists are then invited to participate in the New Genre Festival.

New Genre XVIII involves six to eight venues, most of which are offsite. Living Arts hosts two installations, one is a light installation by multi-disciplinary artist Charles Matson Lume. The other is a sound installation by Portland-based artist Ethan Rose that premiered at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Time-Based Art Festival in 2009. Rose’s installation, Movements, consists of more than one hundred altered music boxes, carefully timed and methodically displayed. The

22

p re v i e w

Charles Matson Lume, St. Paul, MN, Detail of Like an Island Down River from Us (for William Bronk), Installation

tinkering creates a sensation of a shifting texture, housed in a visually stimulating acoustic environment. Other festival venues include Circle Cinema, Liddy Doenges Theater, Jazz Depot, Nightingale Theater, and the University of Tulsa’s Alexandre Hogue Gallery.

For those with a passion for performance, Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary performance collective Cloud Eye Control’s Under Polaris is not to be missed. Integrating animation, experimental theatre, pop music, and puppetry, the collective’s work fuses screen and stage to create inventive hybrids of animation and performance. Another must-see-and-hear is musical quartet So Percussion’s rendition of Steve Reich’s newest works. Composer and sound artist Steve Reich is credited as the first to use looped conversation and recorded voice in sound work and So Percussion’s performance promises to be a remarkable sensory experience. New Genre XVIII also features Butoh-inspired choreographer Erin Dudley’s Dreams Damned, a

performance piece that explores beauty, love, and restraint within our limiting societal definitions of eroticism and the presumed banality of domesticity.

This year’s festival features a new addition: contemporary dance. Six directors of Tulsa-based contemporary dance companies will each present their own work during the festival. For the art enthusiasts who need more than New Genre’s concentrated presentation of contemporary art, performance, artist residencies and workshops, Living Arts hosts New Genre Cabaret, showcasing short pieces developed by the festival’s artists-in-residence.

Genre XVIII celebrates synergy and art from all over the world coming to Tulsa for two brief but uniquely exciting weekends. This year’s festival is scheduled for February 24-27 and March 3-6, 2011, and New Genre Cabaret is scheduled for March 12, 2011. Visit www.livingarts.org for more details. n Tiffany Barber is a freelance writer and organizer living in Oklahoma City.

Her visual art reviews and feature articles have been published in Beautiful/ Decay, THE Magazine Los Angeles, Public Art Review, Art Focus Oklahoma and online publications for ForYourArt and Evil Monito Magazine.

Living Arts’ multi-disciplinary, multi-sited festival enriches the region’s cultural communities by presenting work that escapes classification. The festival started as a reaction against local traditional festivals steeped in banality and now has a rich history of supporting innovative artists working at the threshold of contemporary art. New

So Percussion will perform during New Genre XVIII.

Need Caption

p re v i e w

23

Aaron Hauck:

Transmutations of the Stone Age and “I Generation”

by Holly Wall

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s exhibition Art 365 will open at [ArtSpace] at Untitled in Oklahoma City in March 2011. Five artists each receive a $12,000 honorarium and one year of interaction with curator Shannon Fitzgerald.

Visit www.Art365.org for more information.

Aaron Hauck’s artistic exploration of consumerism led him to create a new moniker for Generation Y: the “I Generation.”

“I grew up during possibly the most hyper-accelerated period of technological advancement in human history, and I began teaching at the beginning of the Facebook and Twitter world that we know so well today,” said Hauck, an art professor at East Central University in Ada. “My work is focused on the relationships that exist between consumerism and consumption, and the impact that they have on the environment.

“The ‘I Generation’ — or its more commonly known name ‘Generation Y’ — is seen as the successor of Generation X. I use the term ‘I Generation’ for two reasons. First, the letter ‘I’ has became synonymous with many of the over-commercialized products that are used today, which we think help us adapt to the world around us.

“Second, the focus on ‘I’ as its role as a firstperson pronoun highlights, in our contemporary society, our quest to carve out our own individual identities. This quest is pulling us away from the face-to-face community in which our ancestors first adapted to this world.”

24

f e a t u re

Cast resin Clovis points

For his Art 365 project, titled Transmutations of the Stone Age and “I Generation,” Hauck uses sculpture to juxtapose society of the Stone Age with the ‘I Generation.’

In his project proposal, Hauck wrote: “While the earliest human settlement of Oklahoma is evidenced primarily from the presence of a single artifact type called the Clovis point, the ‘I Generation’ signifies the largest growth of different media for the creation and expression of self-identity in human history. The exhibition will express the complex and rather confusing transmutations of the fixation on selfidentity in the ‘I Generation.’ I will explore the fine line between human cultural evolution, the banalities of modern consumerism, and their relationship with the environment.”

The project consists of two series of sculptures.

One series is composed of replicas of Clovis points made from brightly colored plastic similar to that used to make portable electronic devices.

“A Clovis point is a highly specific stone tool made by hunter-gatherers during their colonization of different environments of North America at the end of the Stone Age,” Hauck said. “These points will juxtapose implements used in today’s consumer culture.

“While tools like the Clovis point had a dual importance for both human adaptation to environment change and identity, the tools used today in the ‘I Generation’ are actually removing us further away from our natural environment and are likely contributing to its further degradation, all in the aim of establishing a unique identity.”

The artist said the Clovis points’ varied colors mimic Americans’ contemporary desire to personalize their belongings.

“A walk-through of any mall in America will boast a plethora of kiosks offering an infinitely tempting array of cell phone faceplates that satisfy our obsession with branding ourselves, which expresses and therefore facilitates the construction of our individual identities,” he said.

Another series contains over-sized Clovis points painted “as if they are commercial signage like those found at box stores or fast food restaurants.”

“A childhood friend of mine is an archeologist working at Ghent University in Belgium on the role of social networks in the adaptations of hunter-gatherers to post-Ice Age environment, and we have discussed the Clovis point’s role in constructing identity for people during the Stone Age extensively over the last two years,” Hauck said. “While there is some evidence for a group of people that existed in Oklahoma prior to the Clovis people, the people using Clovis points are actually the first well-documented people to call Oklahoma home.”

With his archeologist friend’s help, Hauck also plans to recreate a Clovis knapping floor, which is intended to explore the intersection of Stone Age and “I Generation” consumption practices.

“Another series of sculptures will depict some of the staple objects from our culture of convenience — such as portable media and communication devices, automobiles, and fast food containers — produced from natural

A digital mock-up of the thermoformed plastic Clovis points for Hauck’s Art 365 project.

materials like antlers, bones, leaves, stone, and wood,” Hauck said.

He provided an example: an iPhone made of granite.

Hauck said his Art 365 project is similar to work he’s done in the past but has provided him an opportunity to explore a new theme and new ideas in new ways.

“This is the most historically based theme that I have ever undertaken,” he said.

“Juxtaposition has always been a significant element in my work, and it is particularly important in this case. Over the last three years, I have purposely tried to create interesting relationships between form and material. This is no different with this project as I am depicting an object made thousands of years ago and making it out of a modern material, like casting resin.

“I view Art 365 as an opportunity to grow as an artist by way of curatorial and financial assistance,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t have begun experimenting with casting polyester resin or thermoforming plastic sheet if it wasn’t for the generous support that Art 365 provided.”

The Art 365 grant and its year-long span have also allowed Hauck the opportunity to reflect on his project and bring new perspective to it over time.

“As a full-time college professor, I have a lot of duties that can make the creative process difficult,” he said. “On the other hand, it is great to be around art students because I get a great deal of inspiration from them. So I have been squeezing in pockets of time here and there during most school days, working evenings, and putting in long days every weekend. I’ve spent probably half of that time just trying to figure out how to make rubber molds properly or finding the closest plastics warehouse that stocks a particular type of plastic, etc. At first I was going to farm out a lot of the work to professional facilities, but in the end I value the knowledge learned from figuring things out on my own.” n Holly Wall has been covering the arts in Tulsa for three years. She writes weekly art columns for Urban Tulsa Weekly and monthly for the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Intermission magazine.

f e a t u re

25

John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park: An Artistic Testament to the Life of a Community

by Barbara Eikner

John Hope Franklin moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma from Rentiesville, Oklahoma when he was about ten years old. A valedictorian of the 1931 Class of Booker T. Washington High School, he moved into the world of academia and became a well-respected and highly regarded historian of African American history and race in America. A few of his honors include the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1978, Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995, NAACP Spingarn Medal in 1995, over 130 honorary doctorate degrees, appointment to chair of the Advisory Board of President Clinton on Initiative on Race in 1997 and the list goes on.

This man was an Oklahoman. In his honor on October 27, 2010, the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park was dedicated by the citizens of this state.

The entire park can be considered public art. There are large and expansive areas with greenery, benches, waterfalls and trees. There are statues of heroes and soldiers along with abstract sculptures of massive design. There are animals, birds and fishes made of brass and steel running, flying, leaping and swimming on riverbanks, near lakes and on sidewalks.

This park is not only in Franklin’s honor but to recognize and pay homage to the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, the single worst incident of racial violence in American history. More than 1,286 homes and businesses covering more than 30 blocks were burned to the ground.

Over 300 lives were believed taken.

The Tower of Reconciliation, Hostility, Hope, Humiliation and Story Boards Artist Ed Dwight was amazed and drawn to the historic perspective of the 1921 Race Riot in Tulsa as he researched, viewed old photographs, accountings, books, stories and oral interviews of survivors to aid in the creation for the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park. This was especially interesting for a sculptor who did not know any Black History until he was 45 years old.

The design changed a number of times as the funding and discussions moved in many directions. What was initially to be a tower inside an atrium of a museum with glass walls, ended up being a tower of reconciliation outdoors.

The design was created in the Ed Dwight Studios in Denver, Colorado.

There were 12 members of the design, process and final installation team. It took approximately 7 years to complete this project with over 2 years of delay due to political discussions and debates.

The artist used the ceramic shell process to design and create the Tower of Reconciliation. The studio is 18 feet high so the Tower, which is 27 feet tall, had to be completed in three 9 foot sections and then welded together.

The three entry sculptures Hostility, Hope and Humiliation stand as you enter the north side of the park. Hostility is an image of a young white boy with a rifle and pistol ready to kill. Hope is Maurice Willis, then head of the Red Cross, holding a black baby of murdered parents and Humiliation is a black man with hands raised being led to jail. All of these are on a platform in front of a water wall. The water wall is calm

26

f e a t u re

Detail of Hostility, a sculpture by Ed Dwight created as a part of the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park.

and peaceful, recalling a tragic yet historic moment in time.

The sculptor chose the tower as the central focus to tell the story of the riot from the beginning. The beginning is Africa. The bottom of the tower starts with Africa: drums, music, women carrying children on their backs, domestic food preparation and warriors. The next rung is the slave trade to America, up to the rung of the Trail of Tears, then Subsistence Farming, the Run of 1889, the Battle of Honey Springs, Statehood, African American Emergence, Greenwood, the Riot and then the Reconciliation. The final climb to civility, which we must all do together, is Reconciliation.

Reconciliation, the final imagery atop the Tower, depicts Oklahomans reaching for the heavens, standing on each other’s shoulders, lifting each other up, pushing each other up to a place and space not defined by human eyes but by a spiritual force.

The ten storyboards surrounding the Tower, give a clear view of the African presence in this country before Oklahoma was a state and the contribution of these early pioneers. The stories then move to the

present day, climbing up together. One storyboard simply states, “We were Oklahomans before there was an Oklahoma.”

The Sculptor Dwight was born and educated in Kansas City, KS to Ed and Georgia Baker Dwight. Born in September 1933 in the midst of poverty and the Great Depression, his father was a player on the Kansas City Monarchs, of the Negro Baseball League and his mother a strong woman committed to education and excellence.

His artistic skills were evident as a young child but his father encouraged him to seek a career in engineering that would be profitable and suitable to a good life in America.

Dwight graduated from Kansas Community College, joined the United States Air Force, received a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Arizona State University and became the first African American Astronaut Candidate supported by then President John F. Kennedy.

His military career ended in 1966.

After leaving the military, Dwight dabbled in various entrepreneurial pursuits, but then returned to school at the age of 42 and received a master of fine arts degree in sculpture and taught art at the University of Denver. This led to a career path of sculpture and project design. He immediately became a self–sustaining artist. He has created over 110 memorials and public art pieces around the country and received many awards and accolades for his work.

Dwight is the author of the autobiographical book Soaring on the Wings of a Dream: The Struggles and Adventures of the “First Black Astronaut” Candidate. He is developing his next published work, Politics of Art from the African American Perspective, which will be available in early 2012.

Dwight participated as a guest lecturer at the National Symposium: Reconciliation in America: Moving Beyond Racial Violence, June 2010 in Tulsa and was on hand for the dedication of the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in October 2010 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park is located at 400 N Elgin Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. n Barbara L. Eikner is owner of Trabar & Associates, which provides artists with PR and management services. Ms. Eikner is a member of TAC, OVAC, Philbrook Museum, Community Artists Collective of Houston and PRSA. She is the author of Dirt and Hardwood Floors and can be reached at trabar@valornet.com

Detail of Hope, a sculpture by Ed Dwight created as a part of the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park.

f e a t u re

27

A Goal Without a Plan is Just a Wish

Ask a Creativity Coach:

by Romney Nesbitt

Dear Romney, I have a show scheduled in late 2011. Could a New Year resolution help me paint more? —Already stressed Dear Stressed, A resolution could help you paint more if you see it as the first step in the process of reaching your goal. Goals or resolutions are achieved not by wishing or reciting affirmations but by completing a series of actions over a specific period of time. Goals must be specific, achievable, and measurable. The following five goal-setting questions and answers should help your resolution get off the ground.

What do I want?

Right answer: I want to paint two paintings every month in 2011.

Wrong answer: I want to paint more.

Why do I want it?

Right: I want to increase my art sales by twenty percent over last year’s sales.

Wrong: I want to make more money.

What will I have to do to make this happen?

Right: I’ll devote one hour each day or five

hours per week to paint.

Wrong: I’ll work harder.

When will I start?

Right: I’ll start today, or a specific date in the near future.

Wrong: As soon as I’m in the mood.

What’s my deadline?

Right: One month before my opening.

Wrong: I don’t like to box myself in to a certain date; it cramps my creativity.

Who will help me stay accountable?

Right: I’ll ask a friend to call once a week to ask about my progress.

Wrong: I don’t need anyone’s help. I can do this by myself.

The right answers illustrate the specificity needed to achieve a goal. Stating a resolution or goal is simple; making it a reality isn’t easy. To learn more about goals and how to

reach them, I’ve devoted a chapter to creative business planning for writers and artists in my book, Secrets from a Creativity Coach. Resolve to give your goal the attention and time it deserves and you’ll see real, measurable results.

Romney Nesbitt is a Creativity Coach, artist and writer living in Tulsa. She is the author of Secrets from a Creativity Coach, available on Amazon.com. Romney welcomes your ideas or questions for future columns. Contact her through her website www.romneynesbitt.net.

Book Romney to speak to your group through www.articulateOK.org. n Romney Nesbitt is a Creativity Coach, artist and writer living in Tulsa. She is the author of Secrets From a Creativity Coach, available on Amazon. com. Romney welcomes your ideas or questions for future columns. Contact her through her website www.romneynesbitt.net. Book Romney to speak to your group through www.articulateOK.org.

Thank you to our New and Renewing Members from September and October 2010 Robert Adams Molly Adams Heather Ahtone & Marwin Begaye Alexandra Alaupovic Lori & Mike Alspaugh Duane Angles Nicki Asberry Debra Ashley Jennifer Ashurst Alecia Atwell Katie Babb Phyllis & Darrell Baker Mary Zoe Baker Valerie Banes Doug Bauer Rick and Tracey Bewley Doris J. Bewley Elyse Bogart Betty C. Bowen Bryce Brimer Greg and Ginny Brown Lacy and Dan Burroughs John Byrne Myers Campbell Stan Carroll Maria Chacon Jennifer Chakrabarty Lisa Chronister Karen L. Collier and

28

John Calabro Linda and Ian Coward LaTasha Craig Janey Carns Crain Scott and Julie Cumbie Bob Curtis Bryan & Sharra Dahlvang Janet Fadler Davie Elizabeth Davis Brenda Dewald Diane Dillingham Dorothy Dinsmoor Meredith Downing Matt and Shelly Dumigan Linda East Clara Edmon Tiffany Edwards Elizabeth K. Eickman Barbara Eikner Marvin Embree Tiffany English Dixie Erickson George Matthew Esparza Miranda Fairchild Sandra Fendrych Beverly K. Fentress Glenn Fillmore Jake Foster Jonathan Fowler

business of art

Gus Friedrich & Erena Rae Joey and Al Frisillo Margee Gaeddert Elisha Gallegos Afton Geyer JoAnn and Helen Giddens Alaine Godsey Elizabeth Green Gwynievere Harris Rod Harwood Pamela J. Hayes Josh Heilaman Edwin Helm Shelly Henry Teresa Herndon Heather Clark Hilliard Michelle Himes-Mccrory Kiki Hiott Michael Hoffner Angela Houston Cybele Hsu Pamela Husky Sarah Hutchins Chaz Ines Sean Jackson Kellie Jones & Eric Flaming Paula Jones

Karen Kinney Karen Kirkpatrick Jordan Kistler Debbie Langston Klair Larason Lenette Lawless Bobby Lee Jason and Julie Lees Rosie Leonard Mark & Laura Ann Lewis Shelly Lewis Stanfield and Blake Stanfield Monika Linehan Jean Longo Lovetts Gallery Mama Trizza’s Pottery Shop Giannina Marin Samantha Marquette Traci Martin Tiffany McAnarney Kenny McCage Rory Dale McCallister Kathy McRuiz Marc and Jan Meng Dominique Midgett Katherine Miles Suzanne and Ken Morris Shirley Morrow Gregory Motto

Jena Mottola Debbie Musick Christina Naruszewicz Elizabeth Needham George Oswalt Ken Owen J. Megan Parjeter Claudia Patrick Anthony Pego Ronna Pernell Jessica Philpott Larry Pickering Jerry Piper Christian Pitt and Shawn Downey Shawn M. Post Tyler Prahl Morgan Robinson John A. Robinson Christine Rodgers Brooke Rowlands Mary and Ken Ruggles Diane Salamon Nancy Sander and Gary Theilen Denny Schmickle Barbara S. Scott Byron Shen Louise Siddons Frank and Pat Simons

Andrew Smith Lori Smith Sandy and Bob Sober Jennifer Solis Sound Pony Stephanie Southern Leigh Victoria Standingbear Joyce and Earl Statton Andy & Sue Moss Sullivan Yui Takazawa Sarah Taylor Rachelyn Teague Lloyd Matthew Thompson Sherwin R. Tibayan Tracie Tuck-Davis Diana and Tom Tunnell Jane Turnbull Rochelle Wald Jason Wallace Paul Walsh Julie Watson-Fraley Leo and Nancy Werneke Gerald H. Westby, Jr. Angela Williams Jennifer Woods May Yang

Round Up

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2011

We are grateful for all the help preparing for the Momentum Tulsa exhibition, which included strong work by 50 artists and three Spotlight artists. Many thanks to the curators Shannon Fitzgerald and Sarah Jesse.

Thanks to Grace Grothaus for Chairing the event. We appreciate Living Arts for partnering with us as the location. Thank you to our major sponsor George Kaiser Family Foundation.

The first Oklahoma Art Writing & Curatorial Fellowship just wrapped up. We are thrilled with the strength of the Fellows and Mentors, who worked together this year to explore many aspects of the art field. We plan to host the program biennially, so the next

installment will be 2012. Watch for more essays and reviews by the Fellows, the public program recaps, and news about the call for 2012 Fellows on the program webpage: www.write-curate-art.org.

The OVAC office was lucky to have three hard working interns for the fall semester.

Local artist Brooke Rowlands was a huge help during our event season assisting with administration work as well as installation of both 12x12 Art Show and Sale and Momentum Tulsa: Art Doesn’t Stand Still. She stayed on throughout the fall helping with research as well as Art Focus Oklahoma magazine.

Kacie Jo Sherrard is a student at Oklahoma Baptist University who commuted from

Shawnee twice a week. Kacie has worked many hours in the OVAC database as well as focusing on detailed tasks that she excels at, including artists applications and longitudinal research studies. Taylor Goode, a student from the University of Central Oklahoma, has been a guest blogger on the OVAC website in addition to helping with daily office tasks. Taylor is currently managing the art work displayed at Wills CafĂŠ and Lobby Bar in Oklahoma City and his experience of hanging art exhibitions and has been very helpful.

Thanks to all for your work!

ovac news

29

&

Gallery Listings Ada

Bartlesville

Oklahoma City

Gerald Clarke January 9- February 7 Interscholastic Show February 7-14 Eric Humphries: Tulsa Riot February 16- March 18 The Pogue Gallery Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center 900 Centennial Plaza (580) 559-5353 ecok.edu

William Schickel: Spirit Made Manifest Through January 9 Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind January 21 Public reception February 4 5:30-7 Spanish Language Tour of Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind February 17, 5-7 Over the Top Gala January 29, 6- midnight Price Tower Arts Center 510 Dewey Ave. (918) 336-4949 pricetower.org

2010 Creativity World Biennale Through January 8th [ArtSpace] at Untitled 1 NE 3rd St. (405) 815-9995 artspaceatuntitled.org

Ardmore

Linda Tuma Robertson and Barbara Elam Through January 29 Shane Cox Lobby Exhibit February 1- March 1 The Goddard Center 401 First Avenue SW (580) 226-0909 goddardcenter.org

El Reno Community Tapestry Project: Public Art by People Through January 28 Gordon Parks Photography Competition Finalist Exhibition February 7- March 4 Redlands Community College (405) 262-2552 redlandscc.edu

Lawton Dark Gables: Mongo Allen January 8- February The Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery 620 D Avenue (580) 357-9526 lpgallery.org

Norman Holiday Gift Gallery Through January 8 Firehouse Art Center 444 South Floods (405) 329-4523 normanfirehouse.com Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind Through January 2 Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 555 Elm Ave. (405) 325-4938 ou.edu/fjjma Cathy Deuschle, Tulsa, Figurine, Oil, paper, wax, metal on paper backed by board, 52” x 29”, at Living Arts in Tulsa January 7-27.

30

Exhibition Schedule

gallery guide

Emergent Artists Through February 5 Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery 122 East Main (405) 292-8095 mainsite-art.com

18th Annual City Arts Invitational January 28- February 12 City Arts Center 3000 General Pershing Blvd.

(405) 951-0000 cityartscenter.org Vietnam Graffiti Project Through January 6, 2012 Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum 1400 Classen Dr. (405) 235-4458 oklahomaheritage.com Featured Artists: Christen Humphries, Beverly Herndon, Kolbe Roper, Brooke Rowlands, Todd Graham, Brandi Downham.

Through January 31st Istvan Gallery at Urban Art 1218 N. Western Ave. (405) 831-2874 istvangallery.com Katherine Liontas-Warren North Gallery Through February 20 Don Narcomey Governor’s Gallery January 3- March 6 Oklahoma State Capitol Galleries 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd (405) 521-2931 arts.ok.gov New Frontiers/ Jonathan Hils: Intersection Through January 2 La Serenissima: Eighteenth Century Venetian Art from North American Collections Through January 2 George Nelson: Architect, Writer, Designer, Teacher February 3- May 8 New Frontiers Jill Downen: Counterpart February 3- May 8 Oklahoma City Museum of Art 415 Couch Drive (405) 236-3100 okcmoa.com

smART SHOW January 7-29 Paseo Art Space 3022 Paseo (405) 525-2688 thepaseo.com

Ponca City Annual Membership Exhibit and Competition January 30- February 27 Ponca City Art Center 819 East Central (580) 765-9746 poncacityartcenter.com

Shawnee Collective Memory and Objects of Inspiration: Billy Hassell Through February 6 Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art 1900 West Macarthur (405) 878-5300 mgmoa.org

Stillwater Full Circle: The Evolution of Fine Art Printmaking at ULAE January 12- February 4, reception January 13, 5-6 Jenny Rogers: Perfect Surf February 9- March 4, reception February 17, 5-6 David Huang: Metal Smith February 9- March 4 Gardiner Art Gallery Oklahoma State University 108 Bartlett University (405) 744-6016 okstate.edu

Tulsa Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924 Through January 2 Gilcrease Museum 1400 Gilcrease Road (918) 596-2700 gilcrease.org Cathy Deuschle: Aggregate January 7-27 Brad Birchett: Earth and Time Constance Thalken: Purge February 4-17 New Genre Festival XVIII February 24-28

Don Narcomey, Oklahoma City, Gate, pine, steel, wenge, padauk, bocote, spalted elm, sandstone, 21” x 6” x 6”, on display at the Oklahoma State Capitol Governor’s Gallery January 3-March 6.

Charles Matson Lume: Light Installation Ethan Rose: Movements Sound Installation February 25- March 24 Living Artspace 307 E. Brady (918) 585-1234 livingarts.org Constructing a Human Comedy: The Art of Honoré Daumier Through January 2 Adaptation: Video Installations by Guy Ben-Ner, Arturo Herrera, Catherine Sullivan, and Eve Sussman & the Rufus Corporation Through January 9 American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow February 6- May 15 The Philbrook Museum of Art 2727 South Rockford Road (918) 749-7941 Philbrook.org

David Charles Anderson: Contemporary Sculptor Through February 5 Pierson Gallery 1307-1311 East 15th St. (918) 584-2440 piersongallery.com Chet Baker Photos February 3-27 Tulsa Performing Arts Center Gallery Third and Cincinnati (918) 596-2368 tulsapac.com Power of Typography January 20- February 24 Reception, February 10, 5-7 pm Alexandre Hogue Gallery Phillips Hall, the University of Tulsa 2930 E. 5th St. (918) 631-2739 cas.utulsa.edu/art

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.

Sustaining $250 -Listing on signage at events -Invitation to private reception with visiting curators -All of below

Patron $100 -Acknowledgement in the Resource Guide and Art Focus Oklahoma -Copy of each OVAC exhibition catalog -All of below

Family $55 -Same benefits as Individual for two people in household

Individual $35 -Subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma -Inclusion in online Virtual Gallery -Monthly e-newsletter of visual art events statewide -Monthly e-newsletter of opportunities for artists -Receive all mailed OVAC call for entries and invitations -Artist entry fees waived for OVAC sponsored exhibitions -Listing in Annual Resource Guide and Member Directory -Copy of Annual Resource Guide and Member Directory -Access to “Members Only” area on OVAC website -Up to 50% discount on Artist Survival Kit workshops -Invitation to Annual Meeting

Student $20 -Valid student ID required. Same benefits as Individual level.

GET INVOLVED

MEMBER FORM ¨ Sustaining

¨ Patron

¨ Family

¨ Individual

¨ Student

Name Street Address City, State, Zip Email Website Credit card (MC or Visa Only) 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

Comments:

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

ArtOFocus k l a h o m a Annual Subscriptions to Art Focus Oklahoma are free with membership to the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

730 W. Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104 Oklahoma City, OK 73116

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

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition supports visual artists living and working in Oklahoma and promotes public interest in the arts.

Visit www.ovac-ok.org to learn more.

Upcoming Events: January 15: OVAC Artist

Grants Deadline February 5: Oh, Snap! Documenting Your Work in Photos

workshop February 7: Momentum OKC

Artist Deadline

January Michele Mikesell Opening Reception: New Years Day SATURDAY, JANUARY 1 1 - 6 P.M. Paseo Gallery Walk: FRIDAY, JANUARY 7 6 - 10 P.M.

February Christine Sefolosha Martha Green Opening Reception: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4 6 - 10 P.M. Gallery Hours: Mon - Sat 10 am - 6 pm Sun 1 pm - 5 pm

2810 North Walker Phone: 405.528.6336 www.jrbartgallery.com

JRB

ART

AT THE ELMS