Art Focus Oklahoma, July/August 2012

ArtOFocus k l a h o m a

Ok l a ho m a V i s u al A r ts C o al i t i on

Vo l u m e 2 7 N o . 4

July/August 2012

Art OFocus k l a h o m a from the editor

Drawing by Emma Ann Robertson.

The artists in this issue of Art Focus Oklahoma find inspiration in their surroundings: the weather and landscape of Oklahoma.

Some need look no further than their own backyard, while others find their muse in the vast skies and open plains.

Take Sarah Hearn (p. 4), for instance, one of the artists selected for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s Concept/OK: Art in Oklahoma Residencies. Her project focuses on the humble but fascinating lichen, which can be found almost anywhere on the planet, yet she finds at least four varieties growing on her home in Oklahoma City.

Tulsa artists Louise Higgs and Cathy Deuschle (p. 6) spent time with the landscape in two scenic Oklahoma locations for their recent exhibition at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. While their landscape paintings represent the beauty of Quartz Mountain and Stewart Park, they aren’t just about what you can see in these places, but also how it feels to experience them.

Similarly, Margaret Aycock’s new exhibition at the Oklahoma State Capitol (p. 14) includes landscape paintings from a variety of Oklahoma’s most beautiful locations, from the Wichita Mountains to the Tall Grass Prairie. When she can’t travel for a scenic vista, though, she finds inspiration in her own backyard oasis.

Norman artist Asia Scudder’s exhibition at the Leslie Powell Gallery in Lawton (p. 20) includes a new series of sculptures based on her two decades of living in Oklahoma. Themes range from motherhood to the often unpredictable Oklahoma weather – a result of the artist’s recent close encounter with a tornado.

Throughout this issue, you’ll find subtle nods to the landscape, weather, and life that define the environment in Oklahoma. Perhaps the artists featured will offer you a new way of seeing what has become common to you – or make you aware of something you never noticed before.

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 speccreative@gmail.com

Art Focus Oklahoma is a bimonthly publication of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition dedicated to stimulating insight into and providing current information about the visual arts in Oklahoma.

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

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

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

OVAC Board of Directors July 2012 - June 2013: R.C. Morrison, Bixby; Patrick Kamann, Margo Shultes von Schlageter, MD (Treasurer), Christian Trimble, Edmond; Eric Wright, El Reno; Traci Layton, Enid; Suzanne Mitchell (President), Norman; Jennifer Barron (Vice President), Susan Beaty (Secretary), Bob Curtis, Gina Ellis, Hillary Farrell, Michael Hoffner, Kristin Huffaker, Stephen Kovash, Carl Shortt, Oklahoma City; Joey Frisillo, Sand Springs; Jean Ann Fausser, Susan Green, 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.

Member Agency of Allied Arts and member of the Americans for the Arts.

Kelsey Karper publications@ovac-ok.orgb

© 2012, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

All rights reserved.

View the online archive at www.ArtFocusOklahoma.org.

Support from:

On the cover Cassie Stover, Oklahoma City, Bold as Brass, Acrylic on canvas, 34” x 28” See page 12.

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Symbiotic Cooperation: Concept/OK Residency Artist Sarah Hearn

Selected for OVAC’s inaugural Concept/OK Residency, Oklahoma City artist Sarah Hearn invites the public to contribute to her project, which focuses on lichen collected from around the world.

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A Quiet Moment: Marwin Begaye at Ponca City Arts Center

Begaye’s new exhibition features intricate woodblock prints expressing fluidity and balance in both process and subject.

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Nature Embraced: Landscape Paintings by Louise Higgs and Cathy Deuschle

Two Tulsa artists painted en plein air in two scenic Oklahoma locations, seeking to recreate both the beauty of the landscape and what it’s like to experience each place.

10 Scott Hurst: New and Not So New in Pawhuska

With a variety of styles and media represented, Hurst’s current exhibition in Pawhuska shows the artist balancing tenuously between order and chaos.

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12 Cassie Stover: Warts and All

Rejecting the notion that a portrait should be an idealized representation, Stover celebrates the unique qualities and quirks of her subjects.

14 Visions of the Natural Oklahoma: The work of Margaret Aycock goes to the State Capitol Tulsa artist Margaret Aycock brings a collection of new works to the state capitol, showing the beauty of Oklahoma’s natural spaces.

16 From Process to Print: Romare Bearden at Price Tower Arts Center

A new exhibition in Bartlesville focuses on Bearden’s later work, particularly highlighting his work in various printmaking techniques.

18 Hometown Glory: Shifting

A new exhibition at the Individual Artists of Oklahoma gallery focuses on identity, exploring race, politics, cultural heritage, and class.

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20 Twist of Fate

A chance encounter with a random piece of wire led Norman artist Asia Scudder down a different artistic path.

22 Protest Portraits: Magnifying Constitutional Rights

Norman photojournalist Kendall Brown explores the human side of the Occupy movement in a new exhibition at Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery.

f e a t u re s 24 Brady Craft Alliance: Oklahoma craft artists find a new home in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District With a new gallery space and store currently under construction, the Brady Craft Alliance is gaining momentum.

business of art 27 Ask a Creativity Coach: To Teach or Not to Teach Is teaching an art class helpful for your artistic career?

OVAC news

29 New and Renewing Members 29 OVAC News 30

gallery guide

(p. 4) Oklahoma City artist Sarah Hearn is collecting lichen samples as part of her project for OVAC’s Concept/OK: Art in Oklahoma Residencies. (p.10) Scott Hurst, Tulsa, Paper Boats (Cyclades) (p. 20) Asia Scudder, Oklahoma City, Spirit Rider, Powder coated steel, 24” x 18”

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Symbiotic Cooperation: Concept/OK Residency Artist Sarah Hearn

by Allison C. Meier

For her Concept/OK Residency project, Oklahoma City artist Sarah Hearn is collecting lichen samples to be documented and identified, to become a part of the final exhibition.

Sarah Hearn is one of two artists selected for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s (OVAC) Concept/OK Residency project, a new exhibition investigating current art making in Oklahoma. Hearn will be exhibiting her project Symbiotic Cooperation this December at the inaugural exhibit at the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa Hardesty Arts Center (AHHA). The Oklahoma City-based artist’s project focuses on organisms that she finds especially fascinating: lichens.

“They are like alien life on our planet— invisible yet everywhere,” she said. “They expose instability between science and science fiction an area ripe for study, creative and scholarly.”

Symbiotic Cooperation developed from Hearn’s curiosity for natural systems that appear concise and organized on the surface, but on closer look are more complicated. The lichen, as a combination of two organisms living together, is especially unusual in defying clear classification.

“I guess I’m drawn to this rebellious behavior,” she said. “Lichens are considered fungi, but they aren’t fungi alone. Because of their symbiotic relationship with alga or cyanobacteria, they can exist in some of the most extreme climates on earth and they

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grow on everything. My house, for example, has at least four different kinds of lichen growing on it.”

From now through the closing of the exhibit in February 2013, Hearn is having an open call for lichens around the world. Everyone is invited to collect and mail her lichen, which Hearn will then photograph, draw and incorporate into the exhibit. Each participant will receive a photograph from Hearn of his or her lichen. To further involve the public, she will be hosting a lichen collecting expedition near Tulsa at the start of the exhibit, and she will also conduct a workshop exploring the relationships between lichen and photography.

“It is a type of mutual exchange intended to mimic the symbiotic partnership between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacteria,” she said.

For Symbiotic Cooperation, she is working with professional lichenologist Sheila Strawn, PhD, to identify the specimens she receives and preserve them for future study. After the project is complete, the University of Central Oklahoma will accept the lichen collection into their herbarium. Already her collection has a diversity of lichens, including unwhiskered ruffle lichen, bear lichen, dwarf

rosette lichen, reindeer-moss lichen and wolf lichen, as well as lots of bark lichens as yet unidentified. As they are understudied organisms, an organized collection of lichens could be an asset for future study, especially since it’s estimated that lichens can live to over 1,000 years old.

While Symbiotic Cooperation is a divergence from her previous work in several ways, including the use of a material in a living state and the reliance on collaboration, it is connected to her previous art projects as well.

“This project addresses my desire to explore the complex human relationship with other forms of biological life,” she said. “This is a definite continuation from an Unnatural History, a previous project that documents the fictional discovery of a taxonomy of marine life.”

Both Symbiotic Cooperation and Unnatural History originated with Hearn borrowing empirical methods of inquiry and applying them to her art, evident through her use of classification systems, photographic documentation and scientific illustration.

Each body of work she produces also serves as a reminder to constantly redefine, reinterpret and reconfigure what we think we know about the world around us. However,

Symbiotic Cooperation will be much more organic than her other projects that have been very structured.

“I will still be working to classify, study, draw and photograph the lichen as I receive it—therefore the installation of the work will continue to change, grow, and morph throughout the course of the exhibition,” she said. “The nature of this project depends on collaboration in more ways than one—without it, it will fail.”

Her lichen project is further related to the trend of a new kind of openness from many scientific communities.

“With DIY and open source science labs emerging in places like Chicago and LA, collaborative efforts between the professional scientist and the citizen scientist are making new discoveries and research possible,” she said.

Another current project Weather Observations, started last March, relates to science in daily studies and photographs of the sky. She will be exhibiting some frescos from the project in PhotoFest at JRB Art at The Elms gallery in Oklahoma City in September and a complete installation of Weather Observations at Individual Artists of Oklahoma gallery in May of 2013.

“I have begun assembling a key of different cloud types and sky conditions observed in the Oklahoma sky,” she said. “It is an interdisciplinary project that exposes the vulnerable relationship humans have with the weather. I know it sounds crazy, but I want to physically make weather in a controlled environment.”

Although this work is different from the collaborative lichens project, it is a progression, as she has been struck by the connections between the weather and the lichen, which gets the nitrogen it requires to survive from fog distribution or lightning strikes. She is approaching all her projects as an artist, not a scientist, yet she has a deep love for studying nature and even minored in science as an undergrad.

“I sincerely believe if I didn’t find my passion for making art, I would have become some sort of biologist,” she said. “I have tremendous respect and fascination for the natural world. As an artist, science is a realm I borrow from, but do not religiously adhere to, meaning that science fictions slip into my work either by human error or in the case of An Unnatural History, intentionally. Science fiction allows us to dream about what is possible. When the sometimes absurd ideas of science fictions are set forth, real changes can come to hard sciences.

This is an exciting territory to think about.”

Concept/OK: Art in Oklahoma will be held December 16, 2012-February 16, 2013 at the Hardesty Arts Center in Tulsa. The exhibition includes residencies, a survey of contemporary Oklahoma artists, and an exhibition exchange with Kansas City. For more information on OVAC’s Concept/OK Residency project, visit www.concept-ok.org. n

The lichen samples collected for Sarah Hearn’s Concept/OK Residency project will become part of the University of Central Oklahoma herbarium at the project’s end.

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.

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A Quiet Moment: Marwin Begaye at Ponca City Arts Center

by Netha Cloeter

(left) Marwin Begaye, Norman, Scissortail, Woodblock, 2011. (right) Resting, Woodblock, 2010.

For the past two years, Dineh artist Marwin Begaye has been paying closer attention to birds. Or perhaps birds have been paying closer attention to him. “In certain situations there will be an egret, or a heron, sitting outside my window. I’ll be doing a demonstration in class, and there will be an egret sitting on the house across the street. At different workshops I’ve assisted and led throughout the country, herons and egrets have shown up.” As these sightings have accumulated, so has the artist’s understanding of these captivating creatures and their intimate subtleties: their movements, their patterns, their gazes.

The presence of these birds in his lived and artistic landscape is probably a result of increased attention and sensitivity to the creatures, though it’s hard not to wonder if the birds are messengers of sorts, communicating to and through the artist. Begaye has taken their presence seriously; as a result, bird imagery has trickled into his artistic practice and now a cohesive, growing body of woodcuts and paintings center around this thematic subject.

It’s impossible to deny the aesthetic allure of prints such as Resting 6

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(2010), where an ornithological, Audubon-like illustration is superimposed on an organic graphic pattern which, like the branch the bird is perched on, seems to grow beyond the picture plane. A careful balance of black and white, articulated through positive and negative space, and variations in the thickness and direction of lines create optically complex patterns. The striking, limited color palette is central to the artist’s aesthetic: “I love to try to get that tonality that you get from drawing from such a harsh and rigid medium [woodcut]. People like to think that it has no give, but I’m trying to push how far I can take the medium, how intricate I can get.” It would be disingenuous not to describe this result of his intricate experimentation as, in a word, beautiful.

Once the initial wave of admiration for the exquisite beauty and intricate details of his avian prints settles, viewers are pulled into Begaye’s carefully constructed layers. These layers cut through environmental observations, art history, and traditional stories while creating timeless visual worlds. In Scissortail (2011), a lifelike scissor-tailed flycatcher pauses on a thorny branch, high above an exquisitely carved, filigreed background. Though the scissortail,

the state bird of Oklahoma, occupies a specific geographical place, the setting in Begaye’s composition is stylized, ambiguous, and seems almost beyond this world. The moment appears fleeting, with the bird poised as if it is about to fly off again, in search of a higher branch or the sky above. This impending movement is emphasized through the fluid, graphic backdrop of the scene and a carefully embedded, swooping ribbon made by alternating cuts, perhaps echoing the scissortail’s flight. Despite the signs of implied motion, in this moment the bird is balanced and steadfast, gazing directly into viewers’ eyes. The artist’s mastery of form and impeccable finesse imbue Scissortail with simultaneous fluidity and balance.

But fluidity and balance are more than an end result for Begaye; they are part of the artistic process itself. Though he starts with a developed concept and design, the plan often evolves as he begins carving into the woodblock. Furthermore, the imagery itself represents an evolution: he will frequently take a traditional design element, such as the pomegranate flower or squash blossom, and gradually work it into an abstraction, flattening, twisting, and opening it up. Some patterns have evolved from textile designs, borrowed from his grandmother’s rugs. Often his incorporation of traditional Navajo iconography is, according to the artist, “so subtle that no one sees it.”

Fluidity is also part of what drew Begaye to printmaking in the first place. He worked as a freelance graphic designer and painter for thirteen years before matriculating at the University of Oklahoma, where he received his M.F.A. in printmaking in 2006 and where he now teaches painting and lithography. His shift from painting to printmaking is a bit surprising: he had established a solid reputation as a painter, appearing in major national and international exhibitions, such as the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian’s 1995 show Indian Humor. Nevertheless, he was drawn to the step-by-step process of printmaking, the history behind it, and the way it had evolved and transferred across cultures. He also found the fluid atmosphere surrounding the medium appealing: printmaking is often a social process, involving shared studios and a community spirit that encourages collaboration and spawns collectives, quite different from the isolation and independence that accompanies a painting practice.

Before the body of work focused on birds emerged, Begaye directed much of his artistic energy towards a series of images addressing health issues in Indian Country. Prints from this series compile diverse references and shocking imagery – from war bonnet-clad calaveras (the grinning skeletons often associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead) to lethal, Coca-Cola missiles– to address epidemic issues such as diabetes, addiction, and poor dietary choices. While these didactic prints with their scathing subject matter and bold, almost propagandistic aesthetics are popular, focusing energy on sobering health issues began to consume the artist both physically and artistically. It was when he shifted his energy towards regaining

hohzó, the Navajo concept of being centered in beauty, that he began closely observing the birds around him while simultaneously noticing the prevalence of birds in traditional Navajo practices.

Metaphoric and more subtle than his series focused on health issues, the compositions in his bird series feel weightless yet deeply reflective, like poignant, visual haikus. They have also offered a space for experimentation: his designs have continually increased in complexity, causing Begaye to incorporate a variety of carving techniques and designs while attempting to convey fluidity through the hard-edged relief process.

This infusion of fluidity into the hard, static medium of woodcut is fully realized in the 2012 print Traveler. A blue heron perches regally in the center of the image, directing his piercing gaze towards and even beyond viewers, as if carrying a message larger than the individual standing before him. Layers of worn plumage and a sharply feathered neck suggest that he has gathered a share of experiences, and though he is still, we can assume he will soon be expanding his wings and taking off again. Receding waves of liquid, curvilinear patterns move through the background, situating the heron in his natural, wetland habitat. As I stand before the image, I am caught in a silent, fleeting moment, seemingly suspended above this spatial and temporal reality. It feels as if a flicker of mutual understanding passes, or perhaps I am simply remembering something that has been forgotten, something that will leave again with the heron. Still, for a short, quiet moment, I am paying close attention.

Traveler and several other prints by Begaye will be exhibited at the Ponca City Arts Center from August 17 – September 23, 2012.

For more information on the Ponca City Arts Center, please visit www.poncacityartcenter.com. n Netha Cloeter is a graduate student in Art History at the University of Oklahoma. Her academic interests include educational theory, material culture studies, and contemporary Native American art.

Woodblock prints in progress in the studio of Marwin Begaye.

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Nature Embraced: Landscape Paintings

by Louise Higgs and Cathy Deuschle

by Scott Hurst

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On view in April at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center (TPAC) was a little gem of a show consisting of paintings by two Tulsans: Louise Higgs and Cathy Deuschle. Their theme was the landscape, and the works were a breath of fresh air.

The artists visited two Oklahoma sites and painted en plein air: Quartz Mountain in the southwest part of the state near Altus, and Stewart Park at Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa. Working directly from their subjects, Deuschle and Higgs painted not just what they saw, but, and this is crucial, what they felt as they were looking. Their visions complemented each other’s beautifully (each had a long wall opposite the other) while remaining distinctive and unique. I got the sense that each, in their own way, merged with their subjects, with the natural scenery they had chosen to immerse themselves in –the trees, rocks, water, air and space. They depicted from within, as it were, rather than from without.

There are some achingly beautiful moments and passages which clearly resemble their models, I’m sure. The paintings, particularly in the case of Higgs, seem to be about what it felt like to be in those places, about how paint can express and articulate these feelings as they were being experienced. Not depiction per se, so much as lived color, lived form, and lived connections. From our conversations, I know that Higgs is very attuned not only to sight, but also the tactile, as well as the sounds and the smells of a given place. An avid gardener, an enthusiastic student of art history, and a fervent admirer of great painters and paintings of the past (Botticelli, Ingres, Max Beckmann), she brings all of these interests and influences to her work, approaching and connecting with her subjects from the inside out.

tree emerging from below the canvas. The colors are vibrant, some unexpectedly so at first, but they coalesce the longer one looks into a believable whole, the energy and warmth of which is quite impressive.

There is a depth and richness to this painting that I think touches, in some untranslatable way, who Higgs is as a person. What I find most remarkable is the work’s presence, combining a joie de vivre with an idiosyncratic realism that comes out of the artist’s immersion in her subject. Cezanne talked somewhere about the need to not only see Mont Sainte-Victoire in order to be able to paint it, but to hear it, smell it and somehow feel its weight imaginatively as well.

This was an outstanding show by two fine artists who paint with skill, commitment, and love. I look forward to being able to experience much more from each as time goes on. n

Scott Hurst, a Tulsa-based painter and writer, lives in the woods with his dogs Myrtle and Otis, a turtle, and lots of books. You can reach him at eshurst@cox.net.

Deuschle’s Wood Scene, painted in Stewart Park, features a subtlyenunciated ground line one-third of the way from the support’s lower edge (helped made visible by a diagonally turned length of dead limb), a luxuriantly overgrown patch of the park below and center with a variety of green tonalities dominating, and a rather dark, grayish-blue sky above suggesting either early evening shortly after sundown, or dawn. The tree trunks, the largest being just slightly off-center, give a quite realistic impression a few feet away (reminiscent of Monet), but up close reveal flecks of turquoise, yellow-green, burnt sienna, pink, gray, and white. Roughly scumbled here and there with pigment contrasted with vertical pencil strokes, these defining flourishes appear or disappear depending on one’s proximity to the painting. Life and death intermingle here, reminding us of Nature’s great processional and the mysteries embedded everywhere in this world.

Higgs’s The Mountain VI, painted at Quartz Mountain, shows one mountain head-on and a portion of another nearby in the background, with clusters of variously colored treetops below, a slice of beach lower still, and water cradling the lower edge with the top of a dead (opposite page) Louise Higgs, Tulsa, The Mountain VI, Oil on canvas, 20” x 15” (right) Cathy Deuschle, Tulsa, Wood Scene, Oil on Masonite, 24” x 18”

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Scott Hurst: New and Not So New in Pawhuska

by Janice McCormick

Scott Hurst, Tulsa, Loft Life

One theme that emerges in Scott Hurst: New and Not So New is his seemingly contrarian approach to his own art-making. On the one hand, he seeks to create order and to achieve control, while on the other hand, he slyly delights in the humorous, the ambiguous, the serendipitous and the fragmentary. All of the latter he allows to break through the façade of order. This gives his work a playful, child-like quality. It is as if he is stacking blocks up, only to knock them down.

Take visual quotations from art history, couple them with a self-deprecating sense of humor and you get Scott Hurst’s self-portrait Painter Painting. The unusually long, thin shape of the work catches your eye. The yellow arcs near the top and the bottom frame the artist at his easel. A working lamp held up by a black armature precariously hovers overhead. One of his abstract paintings hangs on the wall in the background. This painter’s

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Scott Hurst, Tulsa, Full Moon Over Courthouse Steps (Pawhuska)

scruffy gray beard, eyeglasses perched half way down his nose, a pipe clenched between his lips (like one of Van Gogh’s self-portraits), his scrawny arm reaching out to brush paint onto a red canvas – all have a caricature quality. Yet, his eyes reflect an intense focus on the work at hand. The brightly lit lamp spreading yellow rays recalls Van Gogh’s impasto rays of light. The arcs framing the scene echo Picasso’s Girl Before a Mirror.

But, here, it is as though we are stepping through the looking glass for we see not only the mirrored image of his head, shoulders and arm, but also his abdomen and thighs which are outside the mirror and thus should be outside our purview. The same with the painting on the wall: we see not only much of it within the mirror frame, but also the rest of it just above the mirror. Is there yet another mirror which captures both reality and the first mirror image? Reality is slipping away.

Another example is Hurst’s Full Moon Over Courthouse Steps (Pawhuska) which, at first glance, appears to be a serene cityscape in the simplified style of Milton Avery. Appearances can be deceiving. This small work captures a feeling of a world out of kilter, of order on the verge of falling apart. He achieves this through creating an ambiguous space.

Instead of a single, unifying vanishing point, there are multiple ones that keep the viewer off balance as attention shifts from one perspective to another. From one viewpoint, the space recedes down and away when looking at the pink staircase which ends in a dark shadow. But, from another point of view, the staircase appears to rise up like a step pyramid. The angles of the buildings on each side of the staircase do not form a coherent whole. On the left side, the wedgeshaped building’s architectural lines of its windows do not run parallel to the corner

edge. The building on the right has a roof that is wider at its farthest point, rather than narrower as one would expect of a building receding down and away from you.

Furthermore, its gray foundation is at such a sharp diagonal that it appears to be rising up to point at the moon. A gray curvy shape emerges part way down or up the staircase (depending on which perspective you adopt) and sweeps past the end of the staircase. Then it either narrows down to a point in the distant horizon or flows upward to point at the moon. Is it a road? Maybe. On the upper left side of the canvas, an ominous large block of mauve set on a spindly rectangle tilts at an angle, threatening to topple onto the buildings and staircase. Even the bright white moon does not dispel the spatial ambiguity. Part of it appears to be back behind the wedge of buildings on the left, yet its sheer brightness brings it forward towards the viewer.

Is this moonlight madness, or what?

Hurst’s Loft Life is a mixed media work consisting of pages from architectural magazines, two wooden shims, a plastic sliver of a debit card, ink drawing and oil.

Here we find a subtle clash of values between dueling texts as well as in the clash of imagery. Several balloon dialogues in the architectural magazine scraps express lofty ideals. One such balloon, for example, speaks of “re-inhabiting” in terms of “how to import modernity without betraying the cherished soul of old buildings.” But, the word “DEBIT” on the sliver of plastic makes a sly, down-to-earth point: such a[n architectural] goal will cost a lot of money. Surrounding these magazine scraps are thin, ruled lines that neatly inscribe various sizes of squares, rectangles and triangles.

Soft light colors of yellow, blue, gray and pink are all carefully contained in these geometric shapes. Disrupting this quiet order are blotches of dark gray ink as if the artist’s pen leaked: life can be messy and the best laid plans often go awry.

Paper Boats (Cyclades) merges diverse impressions of the artist’s trip to the Cyclades Islands east of Greece. The edges of boats as well as the coastlines are smooth and sharply delineated, to suggest that they are paper cutouts, hence the title. But, in actuality, these shapes are remnants of a previous painting underneath the present one. Their mottled colors suggest the rugged terrain of the islands’ interiors. These child-like cutouts bring to mind Henri Matisse’s cutouts at the end of his career.

Hurst makes use of multiple perspectives here as well. The islands and boats are seen from overhead as if on a map or from an aerial view. Shift to top portion of this large canvas and you are looking across the blue sea to an intense Van Gogh sun on the horizon, with two sailing boats seen in profile in the lower right-hand side. One island thrusts up out of the sea to block part of the sun. Even the proportions are unrealistic since some boats are bigger than some of the islands. An odd white form near the center of the canvas appears to be a duck-like sea monster with an island hanging out of his bill. This sea creature echoes those found on old seafaring maps.

But, here it is not very scary. The overall impression in this island hopping adventure is how the blue sea mitigates the intensity of the sun.

Despite the eclectic range of styles and subject matter, Hurst’s art is a tenuous balancing act of order versus chaos, with the outcome always in doubt. Scott Hurst: New and Not So New remains on exhibit at the Lloyd Gallery, East 6th Street in Pawhuska through mid-September. If you wish to schedule an appointment, contact Scott at eshurst@cox.net. An artist reception will be held September 8, 2012 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. n Janice McCormick is an art reviewer who has been writing about art in Tulsa and Oklahoma since 1990. Currently she teaches philosophy part-time at Tulsa Community College. She can be reached at artreview@olp.net.

Scott Hurst, Tulsa, Painter Painting

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Cassie Stover: Warts and All

by Krystle Brewer

Cassie Stover, Oklahoma City, Crazy Like a Fox, Acrylic on canvas, 28” x 34”

We are constantly being bombarded by Hollywood movie stars projected as being perfect and magazine advertisement highfashion models airbrushed to conceal their flaws.

The media sets an unattainable bar for us all to strive towards in the never ending race to be the world’s most beautiful. In the midst of our obsession with perfection, Claremore, Oklahoma native artist, Cassie Stover rebukes the idea that cosmetic beauty is ideal and instead pays homage to her subjects’ imperfections and quirks.

In her latest body of work, she paints portraits of her close friends and acquaintances whose

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personalities, lifestyles, and uniqueness intrigue her. She allows those elements that drew her to the individuals in the first place to take the forefront instead of idealizing her subjects.

“These days I’ve been really put off by some of the artwork out there that showcases flawless, model-esque subjects. It’s just too easy. It’s definitely not my reality,“ Stover said. In fact, it is the opposite that constructs her reality: to portray her subjects as the lively, interesting people they are and to show that this spirit has value equal to those pieces with the “modelesque subjects.”

Each piece in this series is given a title with an expression that represents a certain aspect of the person depicted. Because of her interest in old sayings and their meanings, her titles are derived from dated phrases that give insight to the person in the painting. Some titles from this exhibition include: Crazy Like a Fox, Bold as Brass, and Guild the Lily. The titles are important to the pieces because they were carefully chosen by the artist to “let the viewer in on a little secret” about the person that is before them.

In her pieces, you see genuinely real people, flaws and all, not a conjured up perfected

character plucked from a fairy tale. The viewer can get a wisp of the subject’s story and energy captured on a canvas of layered acrylic paint.

She uses vibrant colors and a mix of quick and steadied brush strokes to create her seminaturalistic yet exaggerated portraits. She describes her style as having “an urban, gritty feel, almost as if they are sections of old murals that have been weathered and graffitied over.”

This dynamic style of painting, including several layers of imagery and color along with a varying span of naturalism, gives her work depth and movement.

Although she chooses to not idealize her subjects in her paintings, she still paints them in an admirable and laudable tone as individuals who would catch your curiosity and create a desire to learn more about them.

“I hope no one ever looks at one of my pieces and says, ‘Oh, well that’s pretty.’ My intention is that my paintings stir the viewer in other, less

superficial ways.” said Stover about her work.

She aims not to merely depict them as they are, but to give them such a life that the viewer can begin to have a conversation with the work and even get to know them.

Together these portraits comprise a body of work seven strong under the appropriate title: Warts and All. They will be on display at DNA Galleries located at 1705 B NW 16th Street in Oklahoma City. The opening reception will be August 10th from 7:00 pm-11:00 pm, coinciding with the Plaza District’s Live on the Plaza art walk and will close on August 31.

When she isn’t painting, however, Stover is busy working and managing her shop: Hudson Tattoo [and art studio] located at 1210 N Hudson in Oklahoma City (where some of her work can also be seen). Although she finds herself making art on skin more than canvas these days, she feels very fortunate to be able to make a living as an artist. “Being a tattoo artist,

all my tattoo work must be pristine, nice and neat. So when I get to paint, creating ‘messiness’ becomes pretty freeing. Just playing with the paint, creating texture and layers in these pieces, I really enjoy that.” The contrast between her highly rendered tattoos and more free style paintings give her a great balance in her work. A step into her studio or browsing her online portfolio, you can see the broad range of her talent.

For more information about the show visit: www.dnagalleries.com.

For more information about Cassie Stover visit: www.cassiestover.com. n Krystle Brewer received her BFA from Oklahoma City University and will begin pursuing her Master’s in the fall. She is currently the Project Coordinator for the Cultural Development Corporation in Oklahoma City.

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Visions of the Natural Oklahoma: The work of Margaret Aycock goes to the State Capitol

by Barbara Eikner

The Oklahoma State Capitol can take a break from the daily grind of creating bills, working politics and other legislative business from July 16 to September 16 and view the beauty of nature through the oil paintings of Margaret Aycock.

Nature has been very kind to the Oklahoma territory from floras to vegetables, from mountains to valleys, to the creation of a symphony of colors that play in harmony to make the state a beautiful place and Aycock captures these moments on canvas.

Aycock is an oil painter whose work is in the style of post impressionists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Claude Monet. Her subjects include landscape, seascape, still life, home portraits and interiors. She is represented at the online gallery Midwest-Fine-Art. com and M.A. Doran Gallery in Tulsa, OK. She brings a collection of new original works to the state capitol. Included in the collection are places such as Tall Grass Prairie, Quartz Mountain, Black Mesa, Wichita Mountains and others.

Aycock’s vision is to put on canvas the beauty in the natural places and spaces of Oklahoma.

Margaret Aycock, Tulsa, What we saw that day, and what we didn’t, Oil on canvas, 12” x 12”

Aycock does not have to leave home to see the beauty of nature.

She and her husband Scott, who is a musician, poet and budding visual artist, have transformed their backyard to an oasis of natural beauty to include prim roses, iris, peonies, vegetables such as lettuce and potatoes, and mini waterfalls. All of this greenery has drawn butterflies and the rest of nature’s creatures to a wonderful natural environment in the city limits. Aycock uses the same green thumb in the garden to create on canvas.

Aycock started painting at the age of five and as she moved to various places across the country, she started taking drawing lessons and decided to major in painting at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. Her greatest

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learning experience was sitting at the easel of John Szeke. Szeke was an impressionist oil painter from Hungary and became her master teacher. Aycock also studied painting privately under the tutelage of Virginia Jarboe. Her professional career has always revolved around art and painting. Her first job was at St. John Vinney School for girls where she served as a house parent for eight girls and taught art.

Her teaching career spans over twenty-five years to include teaching painting at Tulsa Community College, Ziegler’s Art & Frame, and Gilcrease Museum. She has participated in the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa’s Artist in the Schools program, and has been artist in resident at Kaiser Rehab and the High Risk Pregnancy unit through Hillcrest

Hospitals’ Arts in Healing Program.

Aycock has won numerous awards including best painting in the Oklahoma Women in the Arts Show in 1995. In 2007 her painting of the Tall Grass Prairie was chosen to travel with the national show, America Paints the Parks, and in 2011 received the OVAC Creative Projects Grant, which made possible the Capitol Governors Gallery exhibit. In 2011, she published the book, Painting the Impressionist Still Life With Margaret Aycock with CreateSpace Publishing.

The exhibit of Margaret Aycock’s works will be held in the State Capitol Governors Gallery, 2300 N Lincoln Blvd, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Governors Gallery is located

on the second floor of the State Capitol, adjacent to the Governors Blue Room. The Governors Gallery is open to the public from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm weekdays. This exhibit is free and open to the public. All works are for sale by contacting the artist.

Follow Margaret on her blog at margaretaycock.blogspot.com or email her at artistswaygallery@yahoo.com. View more of her work at www.midwest-fine-art.com. n Barbara L. Eikner is a frequent contributor to Art Focus Magazine, author of Dirt and Hardwood Floors, owner of Trabar & Associates, and can be reached by email at trabar@windstream.net.

(above right) Margaret Aycock, Tulsa, Cowboy Dreams, Oil on canvas, 16” x 20” (below right) Margaret Aycock, Tulsa, Prairie Tree, Oil on canvas, 8” x 10” (below left) Margaret Aycock, Tulsa, Violet Iris, Oil on canvas, 8” x 10”

From Process to Print: Romare Bearden at Price Tower Arts Center Tiffany Barber

Romare Bearden (1911-1988), Untitled (Street Scene), c.1972. Lithograph, Edition 50, Courtesy of Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jazz clubs jumpin’ with improvised sounds, from the stride-style piano to the scattin’ trumpet. Juke joints filled with members of a talented tenth. Ballrooms and dance halls stompin’ with lindy hoppers. Harlem in the 1920s and ‘30s was a rich tapestry of cultural activity and symbolized a utopian space for belonging and solidarity. Artist Romare Bearden spent formative years in Harlem after his family migrated north. Bearden’s collages and prints incorporate magazine and newspaper clippings as well as old photographs to depict scenes from black life in Harlem and elsewhere, approximating jazzy, syncopated musical compositions. Bearden’s collages act as a kind of social realism centered on scenes of families and workers in the rural South and the urban North.

From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden, presented by Price Tower Arts Center, focuses on Bearden’s later period. It includes 84 lithographs, etchings, collagraphs, screenprints, drypoints, monotypes, and engravings created over a span of three decades.

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Best known for his prolific photomontage and collage practice, many of the works in the exhibition are series of prints based on collages in Bearden’s oeuvre. Several of the prints are the result of collaborations with other artists.

The exhibition explores Bearden’s printmaking process, its relationship to the artist’s collage practice, and how key themes and motifs like urban life and jazz in the United States, Greek mythology, and Biblical parables informed his artistic practice beyond collage.

Bearden was a founding member of Spiral, a collective of a New York-based group of black artists formed in the 1960s in relationship to the Civil Rights movement and the rapidly changing landscape of American art, culture, and politics. Continuing the project of empowered racial consciousness introduced by the Harlem Renaissance, Spiral and the larger Black Arts Movement championed a celebratory rhetoric of black solidarity influenced by identity liberation movements of the 1960s and ‘70s. Spiral’s group identification and celebration of blackness

served as a strategy of resistance and inherent belonging. Despite contemporary criticisms of purporting a narrow, unifying notion of black culture, Bearden and his Spiral cohorts brought sophistication, visibility, and dimension to struggles around black representation.

Between 1960 and 1985, Bearden produced a number of etchings and aquatints, two processes based in removal and reduction.

Etching involves the chemical removal of material from a printing matrix, creating recesses in the surface that form the image.

Aquatint involves applying a protective coating to a printing matrix, selectively removing the coating, and immersing the matrix in acid. The plate is then covered with an acid-resistant powder that fuses and preserves the ink. A series of notable works in the exhibition titled The Family (1975) was produced using a combination of etching and aquatint techniques.

The Family began as a Kodalith of a corresponding collage; Bearden often revisited

images and motifs. For instance, he explored the motif of family in a 1945 gouache with ink and graphite on brown paper. The piece features a family of three figures: father on the left and mother on the right holding a child. The figures are set in an interior, domestic space comprised of simple, rounded geometric shapes that resemble Henri Matisse’s use of geometric abstraction. Matisse, Picasso, and other modern masters heavily informed Bearden. Fauvism’s bright color palette and Cubism’s dissolution of space were particularly influential.

In 1969, Bearden revisited the image in a mixed media collage on board titled Untitled (The Family). The composition’s horizontal axis is more pronounced; the mother figure, standing in a doorway, is now pictured in the left half of the image; the father figure is holding the child and standing just outside the doorway on the right. Bearden changed the composition yet again in 1975. The three figures are now farmers. The print is still organized along a horizontal axis, but a new figure is introduced. A wall divides a partially shrouded nude female figure, pictured on the left side of the image, from the three figures in the right foreground. The black nude was one of Bearden’s most recycled motifs, representing a range of allusions – from a classical Venus, a biblical Susanna, and a prostitute to a symbol of the role of black women as domestic figures.

Just as extracting and transplanting images from diverse sources was central to Bearden’s collage practice, the artist transposed themes and motifs across mediums to elucidate the complexities of his visual rhetoric. Bearden’s printmaking practice clearly intimates his practice of collage. Collage is achieved in layering through abstraction, juxtaposition, and alteration. In its simplest operation, the literal layering of forms creates depth and dimension. Bearden used collage as a political device in thinking through representation – its dimensions and derisions – particular to black experience. Through collage, Bearden critically engaged issues of difference and extended these explorations in his richly textured printmaking process.

Price Tower Arts Center presents From Process to Print: Graphic Works

by Romare Bearden on view through September 2, 2012. From Process to Print is organized by the Romare Bearden Foundation as part of a national centennial celebration of the artist’s birth. Visit www. pricetower.org for more information. n Tiffany Barber is a freelance visual arts writer and organizer. Her curatorial projects have featured work by artists responding aesthetically to the conditions of urbanization in the contemporary moment. Tiffany is a PhD student in Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester. Her writings on contemporary art have been published in Beautiful/Decay, THE Magazine Los Angeles, Public Art Review, Art Focus Oklahoma and online publications for ForYourArt, Americans for the Arts, LatinArt, and Evil Monito Magazine. (above) Romare Bearden, The Lantern, 1979, lithograph, edition 175.

Courtesy of the Romare Bearden Estate, New York, New York. (below) Portrait of Romare Bearden in his studio, early 1980s.

Photograph by Frank Stewart, courtesy of the Romare Bearden Estate, New York, New York.

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Hometown Glory: Shifting

by Erinn Gavaghan

Angela Renee Chase, Oklahoma City, Cultural Connections, Vinyl (installation view), 13’ x 20’

Discovery of who we are and where we come from is an innate desire in all of us. Curator Tiffany Barber returns to Oklahoma City this summer to curate Shifting at Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) gallery. The Oklahoma City native has been living in Rochester, NY to pursue her PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester. Barber’s return to her hometown for Shifting reflects the message of the exhibit as much as the artists included.

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Barber began developing the idea for this exhibit as a way to bridge her curatorial practice with her PhD studies. The exhibit focuses on engagements with identity and post-identity discourse. To do this, she has assembled a collection of Oklahoma artists, whose works participate in this dialogue and together allow for exploration through race, politics, cultural heritage, and class.

The eclectic backgrounds of the artists themselves help to further highlight both our differences and commonalities.

doing studio visits with each. “Out of those studio visits, the show really evolved,” said Barber. What Barber seems to have tapped into is the true cultural diversity of the Oklahoma arts community. For example, Norman artist Tara Najd Ahmadi, whose works address ideas of language, identity and place, is from Iran and has just finished her MFA studies at the University of Oklahoma (OU). Her practice explores her own shift from Iranian culture to American.

Jalisa Haggins, also from Norman and a BFA student at OU, focuses on ideas of stereotypes of blackness in society. Artist May Yang from Tulsa focuses on her isolation from her cultural background and attempts to reconnect with her heritage while exploring her current environment.

These three artists, all at different stages of their practices and from very different cultures, approach the ideas in Shifting in ways that allow people from varied backgrounds to understand the common desires of understanding identity.

After researching Oklahoma’s visual arts spaces and programs, Barber was able to assemble her list of artists and then began

Barber plans to unite these artists by anchoring the show with a work by Oklahoma City artist Angela Renee Chase:

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a vinyl outline of the United States. From there, the viewer will be visually led through the space to take in work by the diverse artists of Shifting. Photographer Eyakem Gulilat’s work directly confronts an investigation of personal identity and memory through a series of images of himself in reenactments. This series, entitled Memories, discusses the Ethiopian and American cultures he inhabits. On a broader scale, Sherwin Rivera Tibayan’s photographs from the Horror Vacui series takes the discussion of locality and place to one of theory. Photographs of empty billboards stand in as metaphors for the “effects of globalizations and local instances of absence and presence,” according to Barber.

The mere presence of such cultural diversity in the arts community in Oklahoma seems to make this a natural place for the discourse of Shifting. When asked why Oklahoma, why now, Barber replied, “I think Oklahoma’s contemporary art scene is unique, and there are lots of artists in Oklahoma doing great work. I wanted to help bring some visibility to those artists as well as think through issues around identity

and difference that have emerged in art history, politics, policy and critical theory.”

We are thrilled to have Barber return to her hometown to present her ideas of identity and place in an exhibition that promises to speak to each viewer on a very different and personal level. Barber’s extensive study of arts and culture are reflected in her thought process for this exhibition. In reality, there is so much diversity throughout the country that she could likely take this premise and transplant in nearly any community.

However, Oklahoma City is ingrained in Barber’s own identity and place, so it only makes sense that she return to her roots to spark this discourse.

Shifting opens at IAO on July 14th. For more information about the exhibit, visit iaogallery.org. n

Erinn Gavaghan received her MA in Art History at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. She is currently Executive Director of the Norman Arts Council and a 2012 Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellow.

(right) Tara Najd Ahmadi, Norman, Illustration of fifth requiem of Rainer Maria Rilke (No.6), Acrylic on Cardboard, 10” x 20” (below) Eyakem Gulilat, Norman, Nazareth to Woodstock 2010, Video Still

Twist of Fate: A chance encounter with a random piece of wire led Asia Scudder down a different artistic path

by Susan Grossman

Franz Mutis, Jazz in Venice, Acrylic on canvas.

Asia Scudder, Oklahoma City, Angels Passing By, Steel, 27” x 32”

As someone who has spent years navigating the art frontier of the central Midwest, there’s more than a touch of irony that an agricultural staple has become integral to the work of Asia Scudder. Baling wire, that multipurpose fix-all hardware used for everything from binding hay to fixing fences on farms and ranches, is the backbone for the whimsical sculptures she creates.

Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Scudder grew up accustomed to wide acceptance for the arts. Her grandfather was a sculptor who

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achieved regional fame and had works included in the 1939 World’s Fair.

Scudder was exposed to paintings of Villon, Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso that were part of an art collection acquired by her great aunts. The very nature of her hometown nurtured the creative spirit.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that Omaha is an art-centered place, kind of like a mini Chicago,” she said. “Artists enjoy a lot of acceptance there. So, when I moved to Oklahoma more than 20 years ago, it wasn’t like that. Historically it was not part of the culture.”

A lot has changed during her more than two decades in the Sooner state, including a greatly improved understanding of the importance of art and heightened comfort level when it comes to revealing her art to the public.

Scudder’s evolution from wildlife illustrator to sculptor is thanks to a chance encounter with a random piece of baling wire.

“One day I was out on a walk with my kids and I found a scrap piece of wire,” she recalled. “I thought it would be fun to see what it would be like to create a piece of sculpture. Since I had drawn so many horses as an illustrator I stuck with what I knew and created this three-dimensional wire horse. It was really freeing for me to get away from those super-detailed drawings I was doing and do something else.”

She has been creating wire sculpture ever since.

In July Scudder will unveil a new series of sculptures at the Leslie Powell Gallery in Lawton. Several pieces will feature a new dimension to her craft. Using an original sculpture as a template, she scans the image into a computer, then takes the digital version to a subcontractor who cuts the image into aluminum or steel. Some of these pieces will be powder coated in bright colors.

The theme of the exhibit is centered on her 22 years of living in Oklahoma.

“I have lots and lots of experiences that will be explored in the show,” Scudder said. “It really is an accumulation of them all.”

One piece in particular that she describes is of a horse that is rearing up on its hind legs and looks as if it is going over something. An abstract rider is holding on.

“The rider could be me, overcoming some of the obstacles of being a young parent here and learning how to navigate an unfamiliar landscape,” Scudder explained. “What also hits me a lot about living here is the climate, the sun and the wind which for me is a metaphor for change and keeping things stirred up.”

Great Plains and the willingness of residents to try new things. Of course, no retrospective of Oklahoma experiences can be complete without a few tornadoes. There likely will be a sculpture of a twister especially given her recent encounter with the tornado that skipped through Norman April 13.

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.

Mostly the show, half of which will feature works using her signature wire and the other half of the aluminum and steel variety, will revolve around the issues of being a single mom and raising kids. However, as deep as that may sound, Scudder said her messages will not be delivered in a heavy-handed way.

“Any of the so-called hard times I have had as a single mom will be translated into something fun and whimsical,” she said. “I want this show to be fun and uplifting.”

Scudder does not draw her sculptures before she starts. Rather she prepares for her work by thinking and daydreaming about what might take shape.

“It is kind of like jumping off a high dive,” she said. “I wait to see what happens. The materials speak and guide me as an artist. I just have to be open to what comes.”

Her pieces are narrative works, although in the abstract. They deliver messages of the universal rather than the literal.

“Quite often my work reflects poetic interpretations of animals and of indigenous figures which are representative of iconic cultural mythologies as well as variable emotional states of being,” she said. “I have worked diligently over the years and have gone from creating animals to projecting experience.”

In addition to her work as a sculptor, Scudder devotes half her time to Native Landscapes, Inc., a landscape design company.

The Leslie Powell Gallery exhibit, slated to open July 7, 7:00-9:00 pm and run through August 29, will be her last in Oklahoma, at least for the time being. Scudder plans to relocate from Oklahoma City to Boston in the fall to try her hand working in sculpture and landscaping on the East Coast. n

(top) Asia Scudder, Oklahoma City, Mayan Mask III, Steel construction, 22” x 28” (bottom) Asia Scudder, Oklahoma City, Elephant, Steel, 18” x 20”

Scudder also appreciates the openness of the

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Protest Portraits: Magnifying Constitutional Rights

by Hannah Cruz

Kendall Brown, Norman, Portrait of a Protester #8501, Digital print on vinyl, 72” x 48”

When Occupy Wall Street protests began in New York City in September 2011, Kendall Brown knew there was more than one side to the story.

With protests spreading into the Midwest, Brown, a Norman photojournalist, immersed herself in the movement — attending protests in Oklahoma City, Norman, Tulsa, Shawnee, Lawton and Dallas — in an attempt to capture the human, varied stories mainstream media were neglecting.

Instead of relying solely on her journalistic training, Brown began photographing individuals in front of a black sheet.

“I felt like all the initial images of Occupy that were coming up that had the protests in the background, people weren’t really learning anything from the images or they already had

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their minds made up about the protests,” she said, on why she decided to use a backdrop.

leading up to the show in an effort to make the exhibit accessible to the general public.

“By removing the protestor from their environment, the hope is it will force people to look at the person first just as a human being and then think about their place within the context of Occupy as a whole.”

“A really important part of curating the show has been understanding that it’s not meant to just be a gallery show — it’s much larger than that,” Brown said.

The result is what Norman Arts Council Executive Director Erinn Gavaghan calls a “startling insight into the ‘faces’ of the 99 percent.” A collection of Brown’s portraits, entitled Snapshots of the American Autumn: A Portrait in Protesting, premiered at MAINSITE Art Gallery in Norman on June 8. The exhibition continues through July 21.

Though the gallery show exhibits large scale portraits printed on vinyl, Brown said smaller posters were wheat-pasted throughout Norman

As both a journalist and an artist, Brown said documenting some of what she described as the best and worst in humanity — from extreme generosity to both police and protestor violence— reminded her of the importance of freedom of speech.

“The whole motivation of the project is just to get people to start talking about the idea of protesting and to really consider what that means and what the first amendment means to them,” she said. “Because one thing that I think came out of the Occupy protests were there

were several cities where there was fairly severe police brutality in response to people simply exercising their first amendment right. People who originally only had negative things to say about the protests suddenly realized that’s not okay. It doesn’t matter what you’re saying, it’s not okay for someone with their hands zip-tied behind their back to get pepper sprayed in the face. That’s never okay.”

Brown said she hopes her exhibit — named as a nod to the Arab Spring, violent protests in the Middle East and North Africa beginning December 2010 — will help viewers consider the importance of the first amendment, as well as how far they consider those rights to extend.

By making her art public — both physically and online — Brown said she has received a wide range of public reactions. But ultimately, she said, as long as people are talking she feels like she’s done her job.

“The idea is, I just want these people — the people giving very positive responses and the people who are giving very negative responses – I want them both to come to the opening,” she said. “I want them both to be involved in the dialogue surrounding the show and to discuss what it means to protest, what it means to have freedom of speech and how far that extends in their opinion.”

As she attended protests, Brown said she was surprised to learn the diversity of reasons individuals were protesting, and that there were people representing “every possible point along the political spectrum.” Her portraits, she said, allow the viewer to strip away political bias and protestor-stereotypes and see the protestors as “people first and as protestors second.”

Gavaghan said she hopes Brown’s work will help viewers connect with the protestors on a human level.

“I hope the community can see this exhibit as an extension of what the Occupy protesters are doing. Bringing this cause to the attention of the masses while giving a very real identity to those of us who are in the 99 percent,” Gavaghan said.

“This is also a really unique opportunity to see the work of an artist responding to an historic event — an event that is still in process and will be for a while. It is not often that the artist response can be seen in the midst of what she is responding to.”

Brown’s work is available for online viewing at www.facebook.com/occupyportraits. n Hannah Cruz received a BA in journalism and minor in studio arts from Texas Tech University.

Though she’s a California-girl at heart, she lives and works in Norman, Okla., with her husband.

Contact her at hannah.m.cruz@gmail.com.

(top) Kendall Brown, Norman, Portrait of a Protester #8910, Digital print on vinyl, 48” x 72” (bottom) Kendall Brown, Norman, Portrait of a Protester #7942, Digital print on vinyl, 48” x 72”

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Palace, a salt-fired clay piece by Stillwater artist Brandon Reese will be featured in the Brady Craft Alliance’s Crafting Ritual & Identity exhibition at Living Arts in Tulsa, August 3-23.

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Brady Craft Alliance: Oklahoma craft artists find a home in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District

by Natalie Deuschle

Digital rendering of the Brady Craft Alliance’s new space, which is currently under construction in the Mathews Warehouse in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District.

Brady Craft Alliance, a platform created for Oklahoma’s craft artists, is gaining momentum this year. The organization was created to connect craft artists to audiences and opportunities through education, recognition and exhibition programs. To learn more about this pioneering movement, I spoke with Executive Director Emily Kern.

What was the impetus for creating an organization solely dedicated to fine craft in Oklahoma?

Myra Block Kaiser, the founder of Brady Craft Alliance, has been showcasing fiber art in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years. Upon returning to her hometown of Tulsa several years ago right as the Brady Arts District was beginning it’s revitalization, she saw infinite opportunities for Oklahoma arts.

Just as fiber art is in the blood of Northern California, the story of craft has a long and rich history in Oklahoma. Beadwork, leatherwork, pottery, rugs, basketry and jewelry all have a beautiful legacy in Oklahoma which is preserved and exhibited in a number of

local museums. How is this tradition of fine handiwork expressing itself today in contemporary craft? Answering that question and discovering other pockets of current Oklahoma fine craft artists was the impetus for creating the organization.

How do you distinguish between fine craft and fine art?

To put it simply, we don’t. Fine craft is fine art. The boundaries of fine craft are blurry to be certain, but at its core fine craft focuses on the highest quality hand-made art. Defining art as craft typically has to do with materials, process, and seeing the handiwork of the artist; however, just as the boundaries of all types of visual arts, theater, music, and dance are constantly shifting and perpetually pushed outward so are the boundaries of fine craft. As more and more of our lives become digitized, craft reminds us of what is unique and valuable about the human experience.

Is there any particular medium that craft artists in Oklahoma seem particularly drawn to? Do you notice any trends?

We have a lot of ceramicists in Oklahoma and rightly so. We have a rich tradition in ceramics and many stellar programs at a number of Oklahoma universities. There seems to be a trend, especially among emerging artists, to explore fine craft traditions within an atypical medium, such as creating a classic quilt pattern out of sheet metal or taking a basic traditional knitting stitch and using it to knit three inch diameter rope into large scale sculptures. Oklahoma artists seem to be right in the middle of a wave of resurgence of fine craft in the United States.

Are you equally focused on both traditional and contemporary craft?

No, we are definitely more focused on contemporary art. We are dedicated to education about traditional craft, as it is important in appreciating and understanding where the field is today, but our exhibitions and workshops are typically dedicated to contemporary artists and practices. We exist to support Oklahoma fine craft artists continued on pg. 26

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by connecting them to audiences and opportunities through education, recognition and exhibition; therefore, since our mission is to support living and breathing artists, our focus is on contemporary work and practices.

How do you select jurors and guest artists for shows?

We have a diverse group of board members ranging from emerging artists, established artists, curators, collectors, and art advocates that currently work together to select jurors and guest artists. They try to choose jurors that will raise the profile of fine craft in Oklahoma and allow our Oklahoma artists to work with and learn from the best in their fields. When choosing guest artists, aside from the jury process, they highlight the breadth and depth of fine craft in Oklahoma. When choosing guests from outside the state, they focus on exposing Oklahoma artists and audiences to types of work and artists they would not normally have access to.

I read on your website that you are involved in community outreach, what does that mean?

We are involved in a number of activities, with more to come in the future, which exist to educate the community about fine craft.

Currently, we work with over 15 public schools and teachers to help them incorporate more craft into their classrooms. We help them create craft-based projects in their art classes that reinforce what the students are learning in science, history, math, and English courses as well as incorporate craft-based sketch books into the classrooms which boost the literacy component in each class. Every exhibition we have includes a number of educational opportunities for the community.

Are there any exciting events that Brady Craft Alliance is sponsoring this year?

Yes! The George Kaiser Family Foundation is currently remodeling the historic Mathews Building in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District, which will be the home of our new gallery and members’ gift shop in early 2013. Later this year, Living Arts in Tulsa will host our first Oklahoma invitational exhibition, Crafting Ritual & Identity, from August 3-23. The exhibition features three to six works from each of 15 Oklahoma fine craft artists. The work will focus on the theme of ritual or identity

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from the perspective of an Oklahoma artist.

What do you think the future holds for Brady Craft Alliance?

With the opening of our new gallery and gift shop we hope to offer Oklahoma artists a new venue to show and sell their artwork as well as provide the community opportunities to see and experience unique art from outside of Oklahoma. We hope to join forces with other statewide non-profits, galleries, and artists to have Oklahoma exhibitions and artists regularly featured in national art publications and better represented in galleries across the nation. We hope to play a significant role in solidifying Oklahoma arts in the national art dialogue and help make Tulsa a premier arts destination.

We currently have efforts underway to join forces with the public schools in Tulsa and assist them in the arts education of our young people.

We believe that the arts can play a vital role in increasing the quality of education and in breaking cycles of poverty. Craft in particular improves problem solving and critical thinking skills, as well as encourages creative thinking, all skills which are crucial for long term success in any field.

For more information, please visit bradycraftalliance.org n Natalie Deuschle graduated from Colby College in 2011 with a degree in Classical Civilization. She currently works as a bilingual social worker and teaches Kripalu Yoga around Tulsa. Visit natalie-kay.com.

(below) Above Earth, a ceramic piece by Stillwater artist Anita Fields, will be featured in the Brady Craft Alliance’s Crafting Ritual & Identity exhibition at Living Arts in Tulsa, August 3-23.

Ask a Creativity Coach:

by Romney Nesbitt

To Teach or Not to Teach Dear Romney, I’ve been asked to teach a painting class, but I don’t have any teaching experience.

I can’t decide if the benefits of teaching a class offset the time away from painting?

-Flip Flop Dear Flip, You could choose to build your career through painting and teaching. A class will build your patron base and provide extra income through art sales and tuition. If you have commissions stacked up and a show booked, wait until you have more free time than deadlines.

Design your class to be a platform for your work and you’ll see long-term career benefits.

Maximize your marketing options by using your classroom as a gallery space. Display a few affordable paintings at each class and offer a student discount. Your goal is for each student to purchase a painting. Capture email addresses and build your mailing list. If you teach at an art supply store, artists’ co-op or community college they’ll take care of advertising your class through store flyers or course catalogs. Set your fees at the going rate for that venue. For classes lasting several sessions, provide a supply list. For a one-time class or workshop, provide all the materials and add this expense into your tuition.

class as a group and interacts with individual students. Write all your lesson plans beforehand. Adult students like to know the full scope of the class. Design assignments to help each student improve and feel successful. With beginning and advanced students in each class, plan to modify assignments. Provide a pleasant classroom environment by giving each student ample space to work. Play peaceful music to facilitate creative thinking. Only offer a makeup class if you are absent.

My best tip for teachers? Always arrive first!

Your presence shows that you’re in charge.

Come a half-hour early to make sure your classroom is clean and welcoming for your students. n Romney Nesbitt is a Creativity Coach and author of Secrets From a Creativity Coach.

She welcomes your comments and questions at romneynesbitt@gmail.com. Book her to speak to your group through OVAC’s ARTiculate Speakers Bureau.

Before signing on for a six-week class, offer a half-day workshop to see if teaching is a fit for you. Teaching is demanding. You’ll field dozens of questions per hour. Art classes are also time intensive. Most classes will meet once a week for 2-3 hours. Add travel time and time for set up and clean up and half a day is gone.

To prepare for teaching, observe another art teacher. Notice how the teacher directs the

business of art

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UNIV ER SI TY C O L L E G E

O F

OF

CENTRAL

F I N E

A R T S

OKLAHOMA A N D

D E S I G N

Alive Alive “Flight” by Christopher Domanski

“Shakespeare” by Gary Lee Price

Where Public Art Comes

“Breath” by David Thummel

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For more information, contact Zina Gelona at (405) 974-3432

OVAC NEWS

JuLY | AUGUST 2012

Recent OVAC artist project grants totaled $11,050 and included the following artists.

OVAC invested Creative Projects Grants in Kendall Brown’s Snapshots of the American Autumn exhibition at Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery in Norman; Paul Bagley’s new sculpture for Apogaea Art Festival in Colorado; Amanda and Dylan Bradway’s joint exhibition at Hellion Gallery, Portland, OR; Holly Wilson’s new series called Bloodline for the Crafting Ritual and Identity exhibition at Living Arts of Tulsa; Asia Scudders new sculptures for an exhibition at Leslie Powell Gallery; Danny Marroquin’s Skywriters film; and Tate Wittenberg’s Raisin’ Cain: A History of Cain’s Ballroom documentary.

Thanks to our foundation and government program partners for the following grants in recent months:

Education Assistance Grants helped Tulsa artist Helen Howerton participate in a bronze sculpture workshop with John Coleman and Tulsa artist Leland Leslie to attend a wood fired ceramics workshop at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas. Alva artist Andrew Lauffer received a Professional Basics Grant to frame photographs for his exhibition in Protection, KS. The next OVAC Artist Grant deadline is July 15.

Guidelines can be found at www.ovac-ok.org.

Watch for calls for artists for all of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s programs at http://tinyurl.com/OVACcalls.

Allied Arts: Annual Support The George Kaiser Family Foundation: Tulsa Art Studio Tour, Concept/OK Exhibition & Momentum Tulsa

National Endowment for the Arts: Momentum exhibitions National Endowment for the Arts: Oklahoma Art Writing & Curatorial Fellowship Oklahoma Arts Council: Organizational support

Art People Jennifer Barron was named director of The Paseo Arts Association in Oklahoma City, which upholds the historic arts district and offers educational programs for the public.

Besides serving on the OVAC Board, Barron started as an OVAC intern many years ago.

Congratulations, Jennifer.

Helen Howerton, Tulsa, The Offspring, Acrylic on canvas, 16” x 20”.

Welcome to Kerry Azzarello, the new Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition Operations Manager. She just completed her Masters in Art History from the University of Oklahoma. She earned her undergraduate degree in business and joins us with experience in office management and communications from an architecture firm.

Besides directing the Student Art Gallery, Azzarello worked at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art throughout her graduate work. She has an interest in the intersection of art, architecture and the community.

Thank you to our new and renewing members from March and April 2012 Margaret Aycock Kerry Azzarello Keith Ball and Marti Jourden Marc Barker Jennifer Barron and Bonnie Allen Linda Bayard Pamela Bell Meloyde Blancett-Scott Andrew Boatman Bryan Boone John Brandenburg and Janet Massad Irma Braun-Hampton Benita Brewer Bill Broiles, NTU Art Association of Oklahoma, Inc Martha Burger Dennis and Deborah Burian

Claudia Carroll Josh Cassella Denise Caudill Brittaney Chilton Scott Cowan Kathleen Curran Cynthia Curry Gayle Curry Debbie Curtis Zia Daugherty Kay Deardorff Ashley Desmond Cathy Deuschle Rebecca DierickxTaylor Steve and Maggie Dixon Robert Dohrmann Natalie Donaldson Yvette Ecklund David Elder Sarah Engel

Yvonne Evans Glenn Fillmore Darlene Garmaker Joseph Gierek Fine Art Carla Goble Jordan Godlewski Katy Griffin Grace Grothaus Brandice Guerra Katherine Hagen Sue Hale Megan Hawkins Jamie Henderson Tony Hennigh Linda Hiller Dirk Hooper Cecelia Hussein Garvin Isaacs Jane Iverson Salvador Jasso Micheal Jones Clayton Keith

Julia J. Kirt Tony and Julie Lacy Lindsey Larremore Vanessa Larwig Andrew Lauffer Fernando Laurens Vincent B. Leitch Rod Limke and Juan Hernandez Tamara Love Greg Main William Mantor Dru Marseilles Janet Massad Cindy Miller Caroline Mock John Wayne Morrison Chad Mount Glenda Cook Mullins Deborah Myers David Nees Tom Nesthus

Dustin Oswald, Bombs Away Kim Pagonis Angie Piehl Plains Indians & Pioneers Museum Patty S. Porter Tony and Celia Powles Rush Prigmore Linda and Randy Read Laura Rice Jim Roaix Bernard Roddy Verletta Russell Margaret Schick Nancy and Phil Sears Christine Sharp-Crowe Kacie Sherrard Shikoh Shiraiwa Lucas Simmons John Sparacio Jacquelyn Sparks

Eric Spiegel Julie Strauss Julia Swearingen Claudia Tasca Laura Thompson Paul Timshel Christian and Alesha Trimble Christine Verner Charles and Renate Wiggin Angela Williams Holly Wilson Elia Woods Janice Wright Marina Yereshenko Loretta Yin

ovac news

29

Gallery Listings & Exhibition Schedule

Ada

Edmond

D.J. Lafon June 1- August 31 The Pogue Gallery Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center 900 Centennial Plaza (580) 559-5353 ecok.edu

Dan Thornhill Through July Fine Arts Institute of Edmond 27 E Edwards St (405) 340-4481 edmondfinearts.com

Alva

Asia Scudder Opening July 7th 7-9pm The Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery 620 D Avenue (580) 357-9526 lpgallery.org

Sandy Flint July 15- August 30 Graceful Arts Gallery and Studios 523 Barnes St. (580) 327-ARTS gracefulartscenter.org

Ardmore

Native American Exhibition July 1- August 25 The Goddard Center 401 First Avenue SW (580) 226-0909 goddardcenter.org

Bartlesville From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden Through September 2, 2012 Price Tower Arts Center 510 Dewey Ave. (918) 336-4949 pricetower.org

Chickasha Selections from the Permanent Collection of the Nesbitt Gallery Through August 31 University of Sciences and Arts of Oklahoma GalleryDavis Hall 1806 17th Street (405) 574-1344 usao.edu/gallery/

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gallery guide

Lawton

Norman FAC Faculty Show June 8-July 28 Reception Friday June 8 6-9PM Children’s Summer Art Show August 10-September 1 Reception Friday Aug 10 6-8 pm Firehouse Art Center 444 South Flood (405) 329-4523 normanfirehouse.com Scandinavian Art in honor of Oscar B. Jacobson June - August Jacobson House 609 Chautauqua (405) 366-1667 jacobsonhouse.com A Century of Magic: The Animation of Walt Disney Studios Through September 2 Oklahoma Clay: Frankoma Pottery Through September 16 Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 555 Elm Ave. (405) 325-4938 ou.edu/fjjma

Headshots Exhibition August 20 - September 10 Lightwell Gallery, University of Oklahoma 520 Parrington Oval (405) 325-2691 art.ou.edu Snapshots of an American Autumn: A Portrait in Protesting June 8 – July 31 Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery 122 East Main (405) 360-1162 normanarts.org

Oklahoma City Cell Phones in Summer June 15 - September 15 [ArtSpace] at Untitled 1 NE 3rd St. (405) 815-9995 artspaceatuntitled.org Soaring Voices: Recent Ceramics

by Women from Japan June 12- August 25 City Arts Center 3000 General Pershing Blvd.

(405) 951-0000 cityartscenter.org Jeff Sparks and Josh Stebbins July 13- August 9 Cassie Stover August 10- September 13 DNA Galleries 1705 B NW 16th (405) 371-2460 dnagalleries.com Horses July 6- July 28 Heather Gorham and Delvie McPherson August 3–31 JRB Art at the Elms 2810 North Walker (405) 528-6336 jrbartgallery.com

Touching the Past: Art Retrospective of Enoch Kelly Haney Through July 28 Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum 1400 Classen Dr. (405) 235-4458 oklahomaheritage.com Fiberworks 2012 Through July 7 Individual Artists of Oklahoma 706 W Sheridan (405) 232-6060 iaogallery.org Prix de West Through August 5 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1700 NE 63rd (405) 478-2250 nationalcowboymuseum.org Ted Conley (East Gallery) July 9 – September 9 Cody Lee Dopps (North Gallery) July 2- September 2 Margaret Aycock (Governor’s Gallery) July 16-September 16 Oklahoma State Capitol Galleries 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd (405) 521-2931 arts.ok.gov The Art of Golf July 19- October 7 FUSION [A New Century of Glass] June 14- Sep 9 Oklahoma City Museum of Art 415 Couch Drive (405) 236-3100 okcmoa.com

Marwin Begaye, Norman, Traveler, Woodblock, 2012, at the Ponca City Art Center, August 17 - September 23.

Park Hill Cherokee Baskets, History in Woven Art Through August 19 17th Annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show and Sale August 25- October 7 Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc 21192 S. Keeler Drive (918) 456-6007 cherokeeheritage.org

Ponca City Marwin Begaye: Prints August 17- September 23 Ponca City Art Center 819 East Central (580) 765-9746 poncacityartcenter.com

Tulsa Panoramic Landscapes of the American West Through October 7 Discover the Real George Washington Through September 23 Gilcrease Museum 1400 Gilcrease Road (918) 596-2700 gilcrease.org Forward with a Different Eye July 6-20 Crafting Ritual and Identity August 3-23 Living Artspace 307 E. Brady (918) 585-1234 livingarts.org

Summer Perspective Through July 16 Santa Fe Indian Market Goodies August Lovetts Gallery 6528 E 51st St (918) 664-4732 lovettsgallery.com This Great Land: Contemporary America in Art Through July 15 Antibodies: Fernando & Humberto Campana 1989-2009 July 15-October 7 The Philbrook Museum of Art 2727 South Rockford Road (918) 749-7941 Philbrook.org

Metaphors of Magic: Ryan Pack July 6-28 Where the Land Meets the Sea: Together Alone, the Artist and The Photographer Michelle Firment Reid and Nige’ Ollis August 3-25 Tulsa Artists Coalition Gallery 9 East Brady (918) 592-0041 tacgallery.org

Building and sustaining Oklahoma’s arts industry 10,000 jobs strong An agency of state government • arts.ok.gov

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.

PATRON - $250

-Listing of self or business on signage at events -Invitation for two people to private reception with visiting curators -$210 of this membership is tax deductible.

-All of below

FELLOW - $125

-Acknowledgement in the Resource Guide and Art Focus Oklahoma -Copy of each OVAC exhibition catalog -$85 of this membership is tax deductible.

-All of below

FAMILY - $60

-Same benefits as Individual level for two people in household

INDIVIDUAL - $40

-Subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma -Monthly e-newsletter of visual art events statewide (sample) -Receive all OVAC mailings -Listing in Annual Resource Guide and Member Directory -Copy of Annual Resource Guide and Member Directory -Access to “Members Only” area on OVAC website -Invitation to Annual Meeting Plus, artists receive: -Inclusion in online Virtual Gallery -Monthly e-newsletter of opportunities for artists (sample) -Artist entry fees waived for OVAC sponsored exhibitions -Up to 50% discount on Artist Survival Kit workshops -Associate Membership in Fractured Atlas, with access to services such as insurance, online courses and other special offers.

STUDENT - $20

-Valid student ID required. Same benefits as Individual level.

MEMBER FORM ¨ Patron

¨ Fellow

¨ Family

¨ Individual

¨ Student

Name Street Address City, State, Zip Email Website

Phone

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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?

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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 OVAC membership.

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

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

Visit www.ovac-ok.org to learn more

U pcoming Events July 15: OVAC Grants for Artists Deadline July 20:

OVAC’s 24th Birthday

August 1: Concept/OK Survey & Focus Exhibition Deadline August 3-5: Creative Capital Core Weekend Workshop

July Horses

Featuring Joe Andoe, Jennifer Hustis, Brent Learned, & Jean Richardson

Opening Reception: FRIDAY, JULY 6 6 - 10 P.M.

August Heather Gorham & Delvie McPherson Opening Reception: FRIDAY, AUGUST 3 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