Art Focus Oklahoma, November/December 2010

ArtOFocus k l a h o m a

Okl 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 5 N o . 6

November/December 2010

Jonathan Hils: Physical Formations and Theoretical Explorations p. 4

Art OFocus k l a h o m a from the editor Drawing by Emma Ann Robertson.

If there’s one thing we never seem to run out of in Oklahoma, it’s space. The wide open plains and horizontal cities seem to have no end.

I’m always fascinated by how space can influence or direct an artist’s work. It’s not just painters interpreting our landscape. It’s also artists creating environments with installations or responding to spaces where their work is shown or being inspired by the people that inhabit their surroundings.

In this issue of Art Focus Oklahoma, you’ll find interpretations of space in a number of forms. Jonathan Hils (seen on the cover) was challenged by the vast gallery space inside the Oklahoma City Museum of Art to create a series of five works that would fill, but not crowd the room. Christen Humphries (p. 10) investigates a much more intimate space, studying the intricacies of an acorn or the veins of a leaf – all found just outside her back door.

Two stories in this issue show how space can be explored in a more tangible way through architecture. Although many of his designs were never realized, Bruce Goff’s (p. 14) architectural ideas challenged the traditional standards of construction and definitions of space. In “Art in Architecture” (p. 26), you’ll find several architectural projects where art is an integral part of the design and you may have a difficult time distinguishing between what is art and what is architecture, if a distinction can even be made at all.

Look around you. There are spaces large and small waiting to be discovered.

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

Kelsey Karper publications@ovac-ok.org

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. © 2010, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

All rights reserved.

On the Cover Jonathan Hils (left) Passenger, 2010, 15’x4’x4.5’, steel, wire, plastic balls and paint. (right) Bedfellows, 2010, 18’x6’x4.5’ for each, Welded and treated steel, Welded and brushed aluminum.

See page 4.

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View this issue online at www.ArtFocusOklahoma.org.

contents

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Jonathan Hils: Physical Formations and Theoretical Explorations

In an exhibition at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Norman artist Hils combines physical grace with conceptual force.

The Many Facets of Leigh Victoria Standingbear’s Mosaics

Incorporating handmade tiles and found objects, Standingbear’s mosaics are inspired by nature and color.

10 Fleeting Beauty of Nature

Christen Humphries finds the subjects of her work in the small botanical wonders discovered right outside her door.

p re v i e w s 12 From Paris with Love: Brainard at Aberson Exhibits

Artist John Brainard, who currently lives in Paris, is a Tulsa native and is bringing his work back to his hometown.

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14 Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind

An exhibition at the Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art in Norman brings to life many of architect Bruce Goff’s designs that were never realized.

16 Small Town Renaissance: Chickasha’s Creative Renewal Sets

New Community Standards

A recent revitalization effort has brought contemporary sculpture to a small Oklahoma town.

18 A Forum for New Works

Living Arts of Tulsa’s new LAB provides artists with space for exploration, growth and collaboration.

20 World Descends on Oklahoma City for Annual Creativity Forum

The World Creativity Forum comes to Oklahoma City for three days in November, celebrating innovation in commerce, education and culture.

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f e a t u re s 22 Art 365: Man Versus Machine

Tulsa artist Geoffrey Hicks is using an 800-pound robotic arm to challenge the idea of what is art.

24 On the Map: Broken Bow

Home to Beavers Bend State Park, the town of Broken Bow is also home to the Forest Heritage Center and Museum, the official Wood Art Capitol of Oklahoma.

26 Art in Architecture

A few recent projects in Oklahoma are blurring the lines between art and architecture.

b u s i n e s s o f a r t 28 Ask a Creativity Coach

Romney Nesbitt offers advice for clearing the clutter and putting your studio back to work.

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28 The Hitchhikers Guide to the Gallery A guide for Brave Artists.

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OVAC News

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Gallery Guide (p. 10) Christen Humphries, Temple, Pressed Roses II (detail), Watercolor and casein on panel, 36” x 12” (p. 14) Bruce Alonzo Goff, American, 1904-1982, John Garvey House, Number 1: Aerial Perspective, 1952, Graphite on white tracing paper, 71 x 90.6 cm (p. 16) Duff Bassett, Oklahoma City, Songosaurus, Powder coated steel, 120’ x 65’ x 14’, located in Chickasha’s Shannon Springs Park. (p.

26) Rendering of the proposed SkyDance Bridge by S-X-L in collaboration with MKEC Engineering.

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Jonathan Hils: Physical Formations and Theoretical Explorations

by Julia Kirt

Jonathan Hils, Norman, Bedfellows, Welded and treated steel, welded and brushed aluminum, 18’ x 6’ x 4.5’

Jonathan Hils has a lot of time to think. In eight months of average eight to ten hour days in the studio preparing for his solo exhibition, INTERSECTION, at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Hils bent, welded and cut thousands of parts while thinking about the meaning of his work and analyzing contemporary society.

Hard labor and theoretical exploration frame Hils’ artwork, making for a rare juxtaposition of physical grace and conceptual force. Although his sculptures are saturated with intellectual exploration, Hils expects that the first encounter with the works is a visual and spatial experience.

“In my head there is a ton of stuff going on. So much that I’m hesitant to talk about all of it because at a certain point in talking about it, it’ll just confuse people. I don’t want to overload people with everything because in the end it doesn’t completely matter. What is going to happen is their experience with the things in the show,” Hils said.

Preparing for his largest ever exhibition space, Hils began by considering the gallery. Hils said, “I think for any artist the more [space] you are given, it’s a more difficult endeavor how to create work that feels appropriate and maximizes the opportunity at the same time.

You don’t want to walk away feeling like it’s not enough or too much.”

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To “maximize the potential” of the big space, he decided to make large-scale sculptures. At the same time he dislikes clutter, so chose to produce few pieces to “take over the space.”

Hils also expressed a strong sense of responsibility to the visitors of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Aware of the museum’s goal to educate and increase understanding of contemporary art, Hils envisioned artwork that could appeal to the most casual viewer while offering contemplation points for those willing to examine further.

Once he had conceived the expected number and type of works, Hils started working in the studio. Hils has primarily worked in steel for about eight years. His new work includes plastics, wood, and even some pre-manufactured objects. He builds each sculpture piece by piece, cutting, bending and welding, depending on the material.

A time consuming and laborious process he said, “It’s very repetitive and physical work and steps that follow the same pattern over and over again.” He chooses to work this way in part inspired by craft artists and industrial workers of the past. Mainly, though, Hils feels satisfaction building the work himself rather than using outside fabricators.

He summarized the ups and downs of the process this way: “The starting point is pretty simple and somewhere in that median space between starting and finishing, it gets to be a frustrating experience because you don’t see a whole lot of progress from day to day. You don’t get a lot of satisfaction quickly but you know what it’s eventually going to be and look like.

It’s almost like a marathon. You hit a wall. You know that you are having a hard time moving forward, but you know that there is going to be an end and you get through that little gap.

Then the euphoria kicks in as it all starts to come together and you near the end and that satisfaction washes over you. “

Amidst all the time of tedious work, Hils has yet to quit and walk away from a piece. “Sometimes there is loud music and you try not to think. Sometimes you think ‘why the hell am I bending the 500th metal piece?’” he said.

Essentially the process is performative for Hils. He knows the time invested and said viewers seem aware as well. He said, “Always one of the first things they ask is, ‘How much time did that take you?’

It always fascinates me. That’s an irrelevant question, in a way, because in my mind you take as long as it takes you to do what it is you are doing.”

acknowledged, “You can only give people so much information and at some point you have to shut your mouth.”

Hils also is known for his diligent work helping students and championing community projects as an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Art and Art History. He received his BFA degree from Georgia State University and his MFA from Tulane University. He was selected for a John Michael Kohler Arts Center Arts/Industry artist residency in 2005 and received the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition Fellowship the same year. He has shown extensively across the U.S. in solo and group exhibitions.

INTERSECTION remains on exhibit through January 2, 2011 and is the second installment of the New Frontiers series. See www.okcmoa.com for more information. n Julia Kirt has been the director of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition since 1999 and delights in the opportunity to visit artists’ studios. Read her frequent blog posts, many featuring artist profiles, at OVAC.blogspot.com.

Jonathan Hils, Norman, Facade, Powder coated steel, plastic, screws, 15’ x 4.5’ x 5’

Viewers seem fascinated and amazed by the construction of his pieces.

Hils ventures that this fascination stems from a general modern disconnect to physical labor and the structure of things. Many are acclimated to experiencing without knowing how things work, like the “Internet where all seems fluid and easy and one click away,” he said.

The construction of his work, with small connected pieces, seeming both random and patterned, mirrors his conceptual footings. Hils said, “The title of the show is INTERSECTION, which relates to the process of the fabrication because everything is related around these junctures.

The junctures are not important aesthetically, but it’s also that process of getting to a point where something is deviating or you are moving in another direction. Decisions have to be made at an intersection.

Intersection also implies that there is a movement involved whether it’s a traffic intersection there is a trajectory and a way of movement.”

This work continues the Odd (@) Culture series Hils initiated in 2005, which examines American identity placed with and embodied by our vehicles. He said he is interested in “What our status as an American is in a global perspective, not necessarily dealing with a cultural specific thing, but sort of a very generalized broader stroke of what are our priorities and what’s going on, where are we going to go.”

Grappling also with inquiry about the environment, fragility of our country, polemical politics and chaos theory in his work, Hils said he has no set stance he is trying to convey. Instead he hopes the artwork will spur questions in viewers as they consider “Why are these in the museum? Why am I contemplating this? What is the bigger picture?”

Despite all his theoretical ruminations while creating the work, Hils

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The Many Facets of Leigh Victoria Standingbear’s Mosaics

by Janice McCormick

Leigh Victoria Standingbear, Beggs, All She Wants To Do Is Dance, Mosaic

Always on the lookout for new and emerging artists, I first noticed Leigh Standingbear’s mosaics three years ago. Her All She Wants to Do Is Dance was chosen for Serendipity, the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition’s (TAC) Annual Members Show in 2008. Recently, Standingbear’s Unlikely Pendleton Blanket was on exhibit in TAC’s The Artists’ Muse, its 2010 Members Show. What impressed me most was how her work quickly evolved, going beyond the decorative to fine art.

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Janice McCormick: What is your background in art? Who influenced you?

Leigh Standingbear: Growing up in the hill country in Austin, Texas, I first exhibited my artistic talents drawing faces on hickory nuts, making turkeys out of pine cones, and painting rocks.

interruption in what I really do - art.’ It was a real paradigm shift, so in the late 1980s I acquired an old 1966 Paragon kiln from Eleanor Carmack and started hand building. With no time for art classes, I had to learn about glazes all over again! I hadn’t used glazes since college so I just started experimenting.

We moved to Tulsa where I started the 3rd grade at Holland Hall School where I graduated in 1970. I was fortunate to have had the support and encouragement from my parents for my interest in art. They enrolled me in art classes at Whiteside Park and later the Philbrook Museum of Art School. I took classes at Philbrook for two summers between school years. This experience gave me the opportunity to experiment in all mediums. It was there I developed my love for ceramic art.

Over the years I had amassed a huge treasure box full of pottery shards, beads, fossils, rocks, and other found objects. I saved them thinking I would someday have enough for a mosaic. I enrolled in a mosaic class at Waterworks Art Center (a part of the Tulsa Parks and Recreation) and I was hooked after learning how to create hand-made tiles. I could incorporate found objects and hand-made tiles, so off I went!

In high school at Holland Hall, my art teacher was Eleanor Carmack, a well-known Tulsa artist. My art instruction at Holland Hall remains my most valuable art education. Eleanor remains my friend and mentor today, still helping me to reach new creative heights.

After graduating, I attended Trinity University in San Antonio as an Art major. Phillip Evett, the internationally known sculptor, taught me to weld with steel and to sculpt stone. It was in sculpture class that I knew I would create art that could be touched. Phillip was my mentor for four semesters encouraging me to continue with three-dimensional arts.

I left Trinity after two years disillusioned by the realization that graphic art was practically the only art career that would pay the bills at that time. I knew that whatever I did, I didn’t want to work indoors. My childhood roots in the hill country were strong. My love of nature and the outdoors led me to complete an Associate Degree in the field of Horticulture. I became a Gardener and later, the “Chief” Horticulturist for the Tulsa City Parks Department. With less time to focus on art, landscape design became an important outlet for my creativity.

Developing a landscape is an artistic process which uses the same basic design principles for any work of art. Working with plants is a three-dimensional artistic process to achieve a pleasing combination of varying heights, color and complimentary textures. Working with boulders, water features and sculpture placement in landscapes gave me the opportunity to work in very large spaces. I am proud to have an artistic impact on the visual aesthetics of Tulsa.

During these years I never stopped sketching. Every single sketchbook I ever filled is a wealth of images and ideas I use in my ceramic work today. Old National Geographic magazines are still a great source of my inspiration. I still have every picture I cut out and saved from the early 1900s through the 1940s. I saved pictures of objects created with natural materials, body décor, jewelry details, shields, pottery, costumes and strange customs. I am greatly inspired by traditional fabric motifs, patterns and embellishments unique to various cultures.

JM: Are there any other media that you work in?

LS: During my horticulture career I became a good photographer for the many slide shows and lectures I presented featuring Oklahoma native plants. I designed and wrote educational handouts and brochures for public distribution using my own photographs. Photography remains a passion. I recently completed a series of note cards featuring Oklahoma native plants. Each card describes the importance of plants for survival of man and wildlife.

I dabble with acrylic paint on canvas and will do more painting in the future.

And, I enjoy making sterling silver jewelry. I feel fortunate to be able to go from one medium to another. It gives me time to break away from a mosaic project while enjoying another. I have to leave a project alone for a while and go back to it with a fresh look.

JM: Initially, you used a lot of found ceramic fragments. What inspired you to start making your own small tiles?

LS: When a woman asked me if my pieces were stepping stones!

My first mosaic pieces were primarily combinations of found pottery shards and other found objects among a few handmade tiles. Since I had actually found my pottery shards as opposed to purchasing pottery and smashing it, I had a personal attachment to each piece. I remember where I found special pieces and each piece told a story. Shards from an old mining camp in Colorado told the story of the journey the piece had taken during the gold rush and how carefully a treasured piece of family pottery was brought to these high elevation camps. I imagined the sadness when their piece of family history was broken. I used these shards as the central theme of my mosaics and featured them as the treasured objects they are to me personally, but I realized that the shards didn’t have the same meaning for the viewer. When pottery shards were becoming a cliché, I switched gears.

So the woman that asked if they were stepping stones did me a favor by giving me the message: ‘Take it to another level, Leigh!’ continued on pg. 8

JM: When and why did you start doing mosaics?

LS: Frustrated that my art career was still a hobby during my horticultural career, I created a new motto: ‘My job is just an eight hour

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continued from pg. 7 My mosaics started out with very earthy tones and earthy found objects. A friend said she’d buy one if they were a bit more colorful and whimsical. I didn’t start using really bright colors until we went to Santa Fe in the late 1980s where I saw Phyllis Kapp’s watercolors in a gallery on Canyon Road. I’d seen colorful work before, but for some reason Phyllis’ work stopped me in my tracks. Another message was clear – ‘dare to use brighter colors, Leigh!’

My more colorful work started to sell in Tulsa art festivals. During a show, a woman commissioned me to do eight separate mosaic pieces each featuring a large tile with different Oklahoma native plants. Each piece was created with entirely hand-made tiles. After that, I gained a newfound confidence to focus more on creating my own tiles and to ‘get my work out there.’ My mosaics now feature my hand-made tiles. My treasured found objects are still in my pieces, but only a select few.

JM: What do some of the patterns and shapes of your hand-made tiles signify? Do you draw upon Native American motifs?

LS: I have upon rare occasions used Native American motifs, but as a general rule I don’t use symbols of any kind. Symbols and motifs from distinctively different cultures are not always universally understood, so I prefer to create my own symbols and patterns and incise my own textures and designs in my tiles. I also press patterns into the clay with just about anything: tree bark, steel cable, leaves, shells, fabric, screens, burlap bags and leather.

Many of the incised patterns and symbols on my tiles are stylized representations of sea forms and plants. I don’t draw out any of these patterns beforehand. They just present themselves. Choosing glazes to fit the patterns is an exciting part of the process.

JM: Do you plan on making larger mosaics? Larger tiles?

LS: I enjoy the scale and creation of my small mosaics, but recently I started creating larger tiles and larger patterns for larger pieces that will take my work to yet another level. My only limitation is the size of my kiln…time for a new one!

It has been a pleasure to reflect on the progress of my work as inspired and influenced by art forms in nature, my horticultural career, my teachers, parents, strangers, friends, exotic cultures, and other artists. I am grateful for all of the known and unknown persons that gave me the messages I needed just at the right time to advance to higher levels of creativity.

JM: And, I, for one, look forward to the next creative leap that Leigh Standingbear takes in her art. 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.

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(above) Leigh Victoria Standingbear, Beggs, Blanket Flower, Mosaic (below) Leigh Victoria Standingbear in her studio.

U NIVERSITY

O F

C O L L E G E

C E N T RA L O F

F I N E

O K L A H O M A

A R T S

A N D

D E S I G N

African Art Collection Explore the most comprehensive exhibit of African art in the region!

Objects from the 1st Century BCE through the 20th Century.

Newly arranged and displayed for your enjoyment.

Chambers Library, 2nd & 3rd floors For information, contact: Dr. William Hommel (405) 974-5252 bhommel @uco.edu

*This collection features pieces on loan from the Kirkpatrick Center Affiliated fund and Perry and Angela Tennison.

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Fleeting Beauty of Nature

by Allison Meier

Christen Humphries, Temple, Fleeting Beauty, Watercolor and gouache on paper, 12” x 12”

Nature’s beauty is ephemeral and changing.

Bright colors flourish in spring and summer before fading to accents on autumn browns and disappearing completely in the grey and white of winter. Christen Humphries captures these transformations through her art by focusing on nature’s nuances, from the slender form of a blooming daylily to the small chaos of an abandoned bird’s nest.

Humphries began painting botanicals while a student at Cameron University in Lawton, where she took a summer class in the Wichita Mountains.

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“It was just the best experience to go out and paint in nature and experience it,” she said.

“I’ve been enamored with it ever since.”

After graduating in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in art with an emphasis on drawing, she took a job on an organic farm in Massachusetts, drawn to the idea of living in an old barn and spending more time with nature. She later attended Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, earning an MFA in painting in 2009.

Humphries now paints from a quiet studio near Waurika Lake outside of Comanche.

Surrounded by nature, the inspiration for her next piece is always right outside her door.

“I’m out in the country; there’s hardly anyone around,” she said. “There are wheat fields all around and scrubby oak trees and lovely little areas like that. It’s just really beautiful and very secluded to itself away from big city.”

Rather than plan her paintings, Humphries takes walks from her studio and waits to be engaged by a small botanical wonder, like spindly allium wildflowers topped with spiky seeds or dried pecan leaves curled over each other as if in an embrace.

After finding her subjects, she arranges them on her drafting table, ready to discover the unique qualities of even the most common acorn.

“Since I’m drawing right from life, I can see every little detail and I get into all the little minutiae of it,” she said.

While she loves to paint flowers and will cut and dry them in spring to have for the fall, one of her first botanical works was inspired by a glimpse of color in winter.

“I was just walking and everything was brown and all the grass was dry,” she said. “I saw this one little vine type of thing and it looked like it had been broken off. The leaves had dried, but there was this beautiful saddle brown color and it had these lovely little bluish dried berries on it. It was so beautiful. I saw that and I picked it up and painted it. It hasn’t stopped since.”

Behind her delicate botanical portraits are washes of color, sometimes taken from her watercolor palette and sprinkled with salt to let loose uncontrolled star patterns. The fluid backgrounds contrast with the very studied drawings, making the fragments of nature almost float on seas of color.

Two unripe pecans are suspended above mottled olive green in They Fell in September and the torn wings of a butterfly cast shadows over marbled grey in Tattered Hackberry Emperor.

“I see these little bits of nature almost like gifts from God, saying ‘Look what I made’,” she said. “I think that God is an artist. Even a little tiny leaf has so many veins. I could go on painting these things for the rest of my life.”

Recently, she has concentrated on the contours and colors of roses, such as in Fleeting Beauty where a purplish bud’s petals are just beginning to wilt. However, she is always open to whatever botanical subject may stop her in her path.

“I don’t even feel like I’ve hardly got into it yet,” she said.

“I feel like it’s just now beginning to grow.”

Christen Humphries will show her botanicals this November in Womb of Nature at Istvan Gallery in Oklahoma City. She will also travel to Chicago in December to participate in the One of a Kind arts festival.

Christen Humphries, Temple, They Fell in September, Watercolor and gouache on paper, 8” x 6”

To view more of Christen Humphries art, visit www.christenhumphries.com. 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.

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From Paris with Love: Brainard at Aberson Exhibits

by Elizabeth Downing

John Brainard is a transplanted Tulsan. He has lived, created, worked and felt cities from Tulsa to New York to Paris (his current location being the envy of many an artist). He works with found objects and weathered components, imbued with more meaning given his setting: history is inescapable in Europe in a way that Americans can see but don’t understand. It’s part of the allure, to be able to touch hundreds of years’ worth of wear on a stone façade. The urge to touch is strong when up close with Brainard’s work – and that sentiment is shared by both the artist and the viewer. Read on for his thoughts on inspiration, living with his own work, and coming back to Oklahoma.

Elizabeth Downing: What is the inspiration behind this particular body of work? What puts you in the mood to create?

John Brainard: I am most directly inspired by a certain quality of visual decay. I’m very attracted to the singular character – color texture and pattern – to be found in aging surfaces; in peeling paint on crumbling plaster walls, by weathered stone and worn wood, and the various detritus one encounters everywhere if looking.

I’m drawn to bits of discarded wire and string that have outlived their function but found fanciful shapes. Noticing these surfaces – often walls of old buildings in ancient places like Rome, Marrakech or Paris has come to be perhaps the most prevalent source of inspiration for the work I’m doing.

Call it rescue, reclamation, recycling, whatever – I always imagine that each of these things has an intrinsic “history”. I am upping the ante on the expression “if these walls could talk” and extending it to found objects.

The list could go on and on, as I hope it will throughout my life.

ED: What type of work hangs on your walls?

JB: I have a variety of works; several pieces of my brother’s some of my own, a few by friends or artists I admire (a Fred Otnes collage). I also have a small collection of old European (mostly French) “erotic” etchings and drawings.

John Brainard, Paris, France, In the Clouds, Mixed media collage painting on watercolor paper, mounted on aluminum, 32” x 48”

ED: Is putting up your own art a way of studying it?

JB: I often discover things I’d not seen before and then it’s off the wall and back into the studio. The ones that stay up more or less permanently are there because I have some good feeling or association with them and I appreciate their “contribution” to the rooms I live in.

ED: Tell me about your techniques.

JB: I work primarily along two lines- I make a lot of smaller pieces that are purely collage, or one might say collage-assemblage, using the aforementioned found objects.

I also make (usually larger) collage-paintings, and for these I often begin with photographs I’ve taken of walls and surfaces that have caught my eye; these I print on heavy textured “watercolor” paper, which is then mounted on aluminum. I then seal the surface with an acrylic medium and commence painting and adding elements of collage and assemblage to make the finished piece.

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ED: Are you a part of artist groups or gatherings?

JB: Basically no. I have been associated with organized groups, both in New York and in Paris, but inevitably find it lacking the purpose I’d imagined. I did not really find that quintessential artistic give-and-take one hopes for in a group experience. So I suppose I’m just not a “group” sort of person. And I detest anything resembling a meeting.

ED: Why did you choose Paris?

JB: I really chose to live in Paris for personal, not professional reasons. It is for me - a beautiful city with a distinctive character and tremendous charm. While Paris has all the big, noisy things of every major capital city, it can also have a very intimate nature, and sometimes- within the various quartiers, or neighborhoods- it can feel almost like a village (at least by comparison to New York City!).

The art scene here, while certainly smaller than New York or London, is concentrated and alive. On certain nights one can go to the Marais (a quartier which has become the hub for many contemporary galleries) or around Saint Germain des Pres, and there are literally throngs of people in the narrow streets and spilling out of galleries everywhere.

ED: Has art influenced the decision of where to live?

JB: Yes, art has certainly been an influence in my choices of where to live, it has not been the ONLY factor, and of course one needn’t go to any specific place, city or country to make their best art or to make the most of that art. Whether it’s Tulsa or New York or Paris or Beijing or Timbuktu, the important thing is “what”, not “where”. Great art can and is being made all over the world and in all sorts of conditions ED: What is the most important thing you have yet to achieve?

JB: Wow, I don’t know. The list would be very long indeed. But I’ll let you know when I achieve it. Except then it would simply become the next thing.

JB: I left Tulsa immediately after graduating from the University of Tulsa in 1976, and at that time I was very anxious to leave and to get to New York and begin the life I’d been imagining for years. My connection to Tulsa, apart from my parents and a few old friends, was hardly strong, and over time became less and less so. I was looking to the future, not the past, as one typically does at that age. I think I garnered a new appreciation for Tulsa finally in 2005-6, when both parents died, and I was back more often and for longer periods than I had been since leaving 30 years before. I was impressed and touched by the kindness and warmth of the people.

Neighbors and friends I’d not seen for years opened doors and hearts, and were more helpful and supportive in every way than I would ever have imagined.

ED: What is the most important quality in an artist?

JB: I don’t think I can answer that one. In fact I don’t think there IS a single, most important, defining quality for an artist. We are all different; one artist’s strength may be another’s weakness.

ED: What do you remember the most about Oklahoma?

JB: Storms come to mind; big, powerful summer storms, when the sky turns colors before really letting loose. In fact I’ve always missed those dramatic storms. n

ED: How often do you come to Oklahoma?

How do you feel coming back – did you part on good terms?

Elizabeth Downing is not an art critic, but a photographer of the urban landscape and a technical writer who lives in Tulsa. She can be reached at beth@bethdowning.com.

John Brainard

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Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind

by Tiffany Barber

“I got into architecture at a very early age without my wish, or consent, or knowledge. It was purely accidental and according to the laws of chance.

So I was into it as part of the continuous present, you might say, right from the beginning … No matter how many buildings you have built, if you think of each one as a new experience, and new solutions for new problems, … but try to approach each problem as freshly as possible, you find that you are always doing something strange and new and different.”

– Bruce Goff, Goff on Goff: Conversations and Lectures 14

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How interesting would it be to live by second chances, to start from the beginning every day? Composer, artist, educator, noted architect and all-around Renaissance man Bruce Goff placed this consideration, what he called the ‘continuous present,’ at the heart of his design approach. Goff’s continuous present encouraged indeterminacy, individualism and chance, and rejected processional hierarchies.

Best known for his contributions to the archive of modern American architecture, Goff’s work remains at the intersection of traditional and futuristic organic architecture. Accordingly, Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind, a retrospective exhibition of Goff’s unrealized architectural drawings and projects, emphasizes a simultaneous tension and semblance between the modern and the contemporary by layering Goff’s original renderings with specially-created virtual extensions and interpretations. Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind, on exhibit through January 2, 2011, is a collaborative exhibition involving the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, Price Tower Arts Center in Bartlesville, and the University of Oklahoma Colleges of Architecture and Engineering. The animations and three-dimensional renderings of Goff’s unrealized designs were created by Skyline Ink Animation Studios. After its premiere at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind will travel to the Price Arts Tower and on to several other locations.

Using Goff’s original working drawings as a primary resource, three-dimensional construction models and cinematic photorealistic computer animation will bring to life projects previously seen only in developmental stages or historic photographs. Goff designed an estimated 500 projects, of which approximately 140 were constructed.

Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind will survey architectural designs by Goff that were never constructed or were demolished, and using state-of-theart modeling and animation technologies, will reproduce Goff’s designs in stunning detail to explore his conceptual approach to organic architecture and his use of materials. The exhibit also will include 12 short virtual movies comprised of computer-animated reproductions of the interiors and exteriors of selected projects, 27 framed copies of blueprints of selected projects reproduced at their original size, 4 threedimensional printed models with bases, and a virtual tour of one of Goff’s innovative architectural designs.

Bruce Goff was a prolific leader in the United States organic design movement, with an impressive career spanning nearly eight decades.

Organic architecture is an integrated approach to form and function

that responds to a building’s site, unifies the site and the structure, and considers the properties of construction materials. Frank Lloyd Wright is credited with coining the term ‘organic architecture,’ and while Wright is largely considered the patriarch of organic architecture, Goff is arguably its prince. Goff was born in Kansas in 1904 and, at the age of two, relocated to Oklahoma with his family. At 12, he began apprenticing at an architectural firm in Tulsa, OK and by the age of 15, he had completed his first design project. Following his mentor, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and architect Louis Sullivan’s advice, Goff avoided college and developed his own unique expressive approach to organic architecture, wherein personality and personal development played a larger part in his architectural compositions than any coined style or movement.

Goff believed that design was synonymous with self-discovery, and he favored creativity and imaginative whimsy over monotonous codifications. Contrast figured prominently in Goff’s work – from his use of salvaged and readymade materials to how he employed ornament and detail. With each architectural composition, most notably the Bavinger, Price, and Ford Houses, Goff carved the space with exposed structure and paired spatial complexity with intricate ornamentation.

Goff’s continuous presence showed up in his design features as well, such as his frequent use of the spiral and open space.

Goff’s architectural practice celebrated abstraction and abandon from convention, fine art concepts shared with his artist cohort. The incredible index of work produced during Goff’s golden period in the mid-1950s to the late 1960s solidified his place in the American imagination. Goff’s mid-century portfolio embodied the iconic, boundless, limitless, free association often attributed to the American spirit of liberty and freedom. Most of Goff’s major commissions were private residences and Goff believed that everyone deserved access to compelling design, regardless of budget or class, hence, his interest in salvaged construction materials. Goff’s maverick architectural masterpieces challenged the constructions of organic architecture and privileged the idea of improbability, contributing to his legacy and imprinting America’s Midwestern landscape. 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 and online publications for ForYourArt and Evil Monito Magazine.

Bruce Alonzo Goff, American, 1904-1982 Bavinger, Gene and Nancy, House: Design and Presentation Drawings, 1950-1951 Graphite pencil on tracing paper, variable, Reproduction, The Art Institute of Chicago.

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Small Town Renaissance Chickasha’s Creative Renewal Sets New Community Standards

by Karen Paul

Archie Held, Richmond, CA, Flight, Bronze, 14’ x 12’ x 3’, in front of the Nash Library on the campus of USAO in Chickasha.

With a population of only 16,000, Chickasha in Grady County is becoming one of the state’s strongest arts districts and an example of how true collaboration can change the direction of a community.

The piece entitled Gandy Dancer, a term used for early railroad workers, will be located in the town’s historic Rock Island railroad area. The area is quickly becoming a growing arts district.

“Artistic revitalization has to come from the community in order to succeed. It can’t be led just by the local government,” said Julie Bohannon, president of the Chickasha Area Arts Council.

Held’s newest sculpture will be the first public piece located outside of Shannon Springs Park. The city’s first public sculpture, Oklahoman Duff Bassett’s Songosaurus, utilizes a series of gongs to create sound throughout the area. The second public art project, a set of buildingsized murals by Oklahoman Dr. Bob Palmer, focuses on the city’s history, agriculture and citizens. The murals were funded through a grant from the Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC).

Through the revitalization process, the Chickasha community has discovered and been surprised by its own artistic spirit, which is more contemporary than most expect for a small Oklahoma town.

“To have a town of this size that supports contemporary sculpture in public places is quite amazing,” Bohannon said.

The town of Chickasha will soon be the home of four contemporary pieces of public art. Sculptor Archie Held’s piece, currently in its final stages of development, is the third public art project on city property.

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Held, who has more than 30 years of professional experience, created another sculpture entitled Flight for the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) campus in August of 2009. Flight reflects Held’s trademark style of simple and elegant geometric shapes, which often feature water elements.

Held’s previous experience with the Chickasha community and his sensitivity to site specifications made him the obvious choice for Chickasha’s newest work.

“Bringing Archie’s sculpture to the Rock Island Depot area requires a combination of three entities. The local arts council has a great relationship with city leaders who helped us with funding and obtaining the necessary permits. The arts council is stable and was able to help with financing.

Our relationship with USAO also saved us a tremendous amount of money on the project. In addition to guidance and support from President John Feaver and art gallery Director Cecil Lee, USAO provided space for the planning events and lodging,” said Bohannon.

Funding for the new public sculpture was collaborative, encompassing grants from the OAC, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and funds from the City of Chickasha and the Chickasha Area Arts Council. Valuable guidance also came from the Oklahoma Art in Public Places office.

As part of the NEA grant, the public art project included a mentoring component.

Three of Oklahoma’s emerging public artists, Eric Baker, Dustin Boise and Kolbe Roper, were selected to work with Held.

“These young artists saw the amount of preparation and experience involved in Held’s presentations to the community’s leaders,” Bohannon said. “It’s experience that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise have.”

As the location enters its final formalization stages and a detailed concrete surround incorporated with elements from the sculpture is created, the completed public project may not be finished until March of 2011. “We’re now nearing winter months.

Installation of a sculpture with a water feature isn’t going to be very feasible in Oklahoma during the winter,” Bohannon said.

Karen Paul is a freelance arts writer living in Norman. She recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Master’s degree in Mass Communication. You can contact her at karenpaulok@gmail.com.

Editor’s Note: Julie Bohannon has been selected for a 2010 Governor’s Arts Award by the Oklahoma Arts Council. She is being honored for her work with the Chickasha Area Arts Council.

Held’s public sculpture may still be in the works, but it is already increasing the community’s commitment to the arts. The 2010 Rock Island Arts Festival has seen an increase in the number of local artists participating in the festival. The Chickasha Arts Council has also seen better connections with local artists.

Bohannon believes that Chickasha’s creative renaissance offers a formula that many small towns can replicate, but only if they are truly dedicated to the process.

“Can any small community create an artistic revitalization in their area? Yes, but it takes true creativity and passion. It can only work if the community has a genuine interest in the process,” Bohannon said. n Dr. Bob Palmer, Bethany, with his Shannon Springs Mural in Chickasha.

The original intent of Chickasha’s series of public artworks was to build a stronger connection between USAO’s artistic community and the town in which it is located.

“USAO has a strong public art gallery and we wanted to bring that commitment to the arts into the community,” Bohannon said.

The project was originally scheduled for installation at the Rock Island Depot site at the beginning of October. “Communities who want to do public arts projects should understand early in the process that these projects always take longer than expected,” Bohannon said.

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17

A Forum for New Works

by Sheri Ishmael-Waldrop

Dancer Megan McKown-Miller performs a portion of a dance in the Living Arts LAB of Tulsa. Miller danced with Tulsa Ballet for 16 years and is now part of the SoLuna Performing Arts Group. The group performed the soldout Song of the Swimming Sun on Aug. 21, 2010, at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Liddy Doenges Theatre.

Exploration, growth, collaboration: Living Arts of Tulsa provides a setting designed to encourage artists to stretch their boundaries in a creative environment.

Steve Liggett, Artistic Director of Living Arts, said, “In keeping with the mission of Living Arts ‘to develop and present contemporary art forms in Tulsa,’ The Forum for New Works Program will give opportunities to artists of all kinds to do research and develop new forms of art.”

This unique LAB, or Living ArtSpace at 308 S. Kenosha Ave. in downtown Tulsa, will provide artists with space and time to explore interdisciplinary or collaborative works for 3 to 4 weeks. Performing

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artists have unlimited use of the facility and the freedom to utilize the space as the artist sees fit.

Dancer Megan McKown-Miller said the LAB fills a gap between conception and the performance. It allows the artists to test all aspects of the performance and get the theater feel, to create a video, hold a photo shoot or do a final run through.

“Steve is very generous and works with the artists,” Miller said.

Living Arts strives to support artists who are breaking “new ground” or pushing their media to the logical, or many times illogical, limits, Liggett said. It challenges artists to work in collaboration and to

develop new hybrid forms of art.

In Miller’s August performance, Song of the Swimming Sun, the Soluna Performing Arts Group featured interpretive dance, a violinist and singer, 20 foot tall illuminated sculptures, and a videography. She said the use of the LAB allowed the group to save the cost of practice space rental. They were able to design the lighting, see how the performances flowed and financially, it allowed them to hold the final performance in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Liddy Doenges Theatre.

“Look around you – most things in our world today are made from many different materials. It is like I have said for years that the difference between artist and the craftsman is that the craftsman tries to conform his/her ideas to the material that he/she knows the most about,” Liggett said. “The artist, on the other hand, uses any and all materials and methods to best communicate his/her ideas.”

He said in the mid to late ‘80s, and on into the early ‘90s, there was a culture of collaborative artwork in Tulsa.

“Groups like the Phoenix Projects, TuCCA, Tulsa Artists’ Coalition, Rhea-Gunn, and yes, even Rhea-Liggett were more actively involved with experimenting to see how artists of different disciplines could work together to form new hybrid forms of art,” he said.

As he traveled the country he noticed that many locations still had collaborative work being produced.

“When Living Arts moved to this great space for our new location on Brady, we decided to not cut the future gallery space up by placing the studios there, but leaving them on Kenosha in order to allow for a larger space to better present larger artworks,” Liggett said.

The shift in space allocation gave Liggett the ability to develop six new studio spaces at the LAB and use the old gallery space for crossdisciplinary investigation and development.

In talking to their partners with the National Performance Network and the Andy Warhol

Initiative, they found very few of these kinds of spaces donating time to artists, but many rentable spaces.

“The Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City has an amazing program for development of artists’ spaces,” he said, “and we merged several ideas together to come up with ‘The Forum for New Works’.”

The Living Arts Space hopes artists will take advantage of the spaces 24 hours-a-day available for 3-4 weeks to develop new works that are a blend of differing disciplines. They believe this can be a great resource to not only Tulsa area artists, but also regional, and perhaps international artists very soon.

The LAB through Living Arts provides nine individual artists’ studios which helps to make the “Forum for New Works” possible.

“The idea of artist residencies is floating around between several groups on Brady right now and there are many models that we are looking at to see how to develop this,” Liggett said. Eventually, they’d like to offer stipends for production of new works, but for now they are only able to give artists the space and time.

“With time, I believe the program’s success will enable us to secure funding to re-grant to artists for production costs and materials,” Liggett said.

The LAB has been used by several groups of artists including: SoLuna Productions in the development of Song of the Swimming Sun, Megan Miller, Director; ThunderRoad Theatre in the development of Buffalo Gallery, Julie Pearson-LittleThunder, Director; OKLA DADA & Mondo Bizarro for development of Go Ye Therefore; Emily Johnson with This is Displacement; OVAC for Momentum Tulsa; and discussions for use

by The Blue Lantern Multi-Media Exhibit at the Individual Artists of Oklahoma gallery in December with a new collaborative group in Tulsa called Triage. n Sheri Ishmael Waldrop is a freelance writer and photographer from Sapulpa, and the new director for Sapulpa Arts.

How does the “Forum for New Works” Work?

1. Artists put together proposals giving project details and submit it to the Living Arts Artistic Director who oversees the projects if chosen.

2. I f selected, the group signs an agreement that includes the Rules and Conditions of using the LAB. 3. The artists’ group begins preparation for their time in the LAB and can even approach (with approval from Living Arts) sponsors to work with them.

4. T he artists’ group will have 3 weeks to work in the LAB. They can work on creating installations, performances, multi-media artworks and things that do not even have names yet!

5. Depending on the outcome of their time in the LAB, their results may then be presented to the Living Arts Committees who would decide if the work is ready to be presented

by Living Arts either at the Living ArtSpace on Brady or another location.

6. E ach studio artist has the opportunity to be involved with the Forum for New Works as well.

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World descends on Oklahoma City for annual creativity forum

by Susan Grossman

Creativity. A word loaded with meaning most often associated with the arts and those who create it in whatever shape, form or medium.

Yet, artistic expression is just a fraction of the many ways humans are capable of expending their creative energy. It may not seem like it at first glance, but finding solutions to social issues is another.

Take “Farm to You” as an example. A cooperative effort by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University Department of Nutritional Services, Oklahoma State Department of Nutritional Services, Oklahoma State Department of Health and Southwest Dairy Farmers, this traveling exhibit was designed to teach school-age children the importance of healthy lifestyles.

Oklahoma Lawyers for Children formed 13 years ago as the result of some creative thinking by two Oklahoma City attorneys who found that children had no voice in the legal process.

In an interview with a local business newspaper, Kent Meyers, a founder of the organization and director at Crowe & Dunlevy, said, “A lot of times you try a big case between corporation A and corporation B, and all they’re fighting about is money.

They both care, but it’s not the end of the world. But it can be the end of the world in children’s cases. If you take a wrong turn and put the child in a bad situation, it can be the end of that child’s world. So many of these children have been horribly scarred emotionally by what has happened, and we have a chance to make life a little better for a child. That’s very comforting.”

These are just two ways the convergence of creative thinking is used to convey messages and solve societal issues. The nonprofit organization Creative Oklahoma (CO) was formed in 2006 to promote the generation of ideas, both by individuals and organizations, in commerce, education, and culture. CO has as its goal to transform our state through initiatives leading to a more entrepreneurial and vibrant economy.

Through this organization, Oklahoma has become a “District of Creativity”, an

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Biennale – (bye-an-all) The Italian word for “every other year”, biennale is used to describe an event that happens every two years and is most commonly used in the art world to describe an international manifestation of contemporary art. The original biennale is still held in Venice, Italy. international network of delegates consisting of 12 regions in the world that have been working together in the field of creative innovation policies since 2004. These districts include Baden–Württemberg (Germany), Catalonia (Spain), Flanders (Belgium), Karnataka (India), Lombardia (Italy), Oklahoma (USA), Nord–Pas de Calais (France), Qingdao (P.R. China), Rhône–Alpes (France), Scotland (United Kingdom), Shanghai (P.R. China) and Tampere (Finland).

To that end, CO is hosting the seventh annual World Creativity Forum November 15-17 at Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. More than 1,200 creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, technology experts, educators, scientists, artists, students and policy makers will gather to share ideas, learn from each other and network.

“We are expecting delegates from around the world, especially from the 12 Creativity

Districts, as well as from the region and the state of Oklahoma,” said Susan McCalmont, vice chair of CO board of directors.

“Internationally, creativity translates to business more than it does here. We don’t have to sell the concept to artists because this is what they do. It has been harder to sell this concept because here, innovation is the more common word.”

In conjunction with the World Creativity Forum, [Artspace] at Untitled is organizing the 2010 Creativity World Biennale to be presented in Untitled’s galleries and extending into venues throughout the Automobile Alley district along Broadway.

The exhibit will debut during the forum November 17 and run through January 8, 2011.

Modeled after the long-running Venice Biennale, held every two years in Italy, the exhibition will focus on the visual arts. The theme is New Processes, New Approaches, New Art. It will include the work of 24 artists selected to represent the different Districts of Creativity worldwide including Oklahoma, which is currently the only District of Creativity in the United States.

The Oklahoma City event is the first-ever Creativity World Biennale.

McCalmont said the event will be an historic one for the city and hopes that the biennale will become a tradition for the world forum.

Jon Burris, executive director of [Artspace] at Untitled, is serving as director for the biennale.

“After visiting the World Creativity Forum in Flanders and in Stuttgart, we did not feel culture was terribly well-represented,” Burris said. “Commerce, yes. Education, to a degree, yes. But there did not seem to be a highly focused effort on culture.”

When CO approached Untitled about hosting cultural meetings during the forum, Burris said he proposed the idea of a biennale to be held in conjunction with the event.

“Our mission is to introduce national and international contemporary art to audiences in Oklahoma City so it made sense to me to organize a biennale,” he said. “We

are honored to be working with Creative Oklahoma towards the implementation of the first ever Creativity World Biennale. The biennale will also serve to publicly identify Oklahoma’s role as an international District of Creativity from the cultural arts sector.”

and Rio de Janeiro both of which will be added to the network of creativity districts in November.

“It has taken a bit longer than anticipated to get support for international participation but we have seven countries and we are pleased with the work we will be exhibiting,” Burris said. “We have been able to pull this together in a year, when typically we would take two, so it is pretty remarkable that we were able to get 50 percent participation.”

Burris explained that the biennale theme is based on the idea that, as new technologies develop around the world, so too are new processes of creating art involving new media and new materials. Artists worldwide are embracing new methods of producing art as a result and it is the goal of this biennale to introduce new aesthetic approaches that have developed as a result.

An added element of a “virtual museum” will allow not only local audiences, but an international audience to view biennale art installations expected to fill close to 100,000 square feet in various Automobile Alley buildings. [Artspace] at Untitled’s website as well as the CO website will host a dedicated area illustrating 360 degree views of each “art space.” Live streamed lectures by selected international artists are planned over the course of the exhibition.

He said there is a great emphasis on newer processes in the work that was selected which gives artists the ability to explore new directions. “There will be a lot of interactivity,” he said. “You will see work unlike anything you have seen before.”

Representing Oklahoma will be photographer Sarah Hearn, Skyline Media Group, Inc, and a collaboration between Tom Pershall and Bob Sober.

Sarah Hearn, Oklahoma City, Evidence, Light-box and specimens in jars, 25 13/16” x 55 1/4”

Untitled invited each district to submit four different artists for consideration. An internal committee whittled down submissions and chose artists from Scotland, Flanders,

For more information about the World Creativity Forum visit stateofcreativity.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.

Catalonia, Shanghai, Oklahoma, Denmark

Sarah Hearn, Oklahoma City, New Taxonomy, Installation (118 Ra-4 prints, plexiglass, vinyl lettering, shelves), 8” x 8” each

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Man Versus Machine:

Geoffrey Hicks and his Robotic Arm Project

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.

Since January of last year, Geoffrey Hicks has been storing an 800-pound robotic arm in his home studio in Tulsa. Next spring, he’ll debut it at Art 365 in an installation that hasn’t yet been titled but that Hicks refers to as “Robotic Arm Project.”

Hicks bought the arm, which was manufactured sometime in the 1980s, on eBay without knowing just what he wanted to do with it.

“Usually I come up with ideas kind of organically,” Hicks said. “I like a technology or a piece of technology and I buy something. If you think of a wood sculptor, a wood sculptor might go out and get some logs. They don’t really know what they’re going to use them for. They set them in the corner of their studio and they work on stuff and then they go look at this log and eventually it speaks to them. They think, ‘Oh, I want to go make that into a chair.’ But when they get the pieces, they have no idea what they’re going to use them for.”

For “Robotic Arm Project,” Hicks plans to mount a digital camera onto the end of the arm and equip it with face detection software that will enable it to find and capture images of patrons’ faces as they view the exhibit. The facial images, as well as time-lapse images of the gallery, will then be displayed on screens behind the robot.

“I’m still a few months away from knowing exactly what it’s going to do,” Hicks said. “It may end up with a Facebook page it uploads photos to. People can tag themselves or something. And that challenges the notion: Is it a person? Is it an entity that takes photos?”

Geoffrey Hicks with the robotic arm that will become a part of his Art 365 project.

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Geoffrey Hicks’ Heartbeat installation at Momentum in March 2010.

Heartbeat is made of 151 light bulbs which react to the heart rate of dancers connected to it.

Hicks said his project is about the interaction that will happen between humans and the robot as they observe his exhibit.

“The thing about it, to me, is to challenge people and what they think of as art,” Hicks said. “Is this (the robotic arm) the art? Is the photograph it produces the art? To me, the art is the interaction between (the machine) and the person.”

Though many likely have not seen a robotic arm in person, Hicks thinks people are familiar enough with modern-day machinery that they’ll recognize or relate to the robotic arm right away.

“I think, for a lot of people, this is going to be completely unfamiliar, but I think a lot of people will walk up to it and, even if they’ve never seen one, will think of it like a person, with human characteristics, and really relate to it in an odd way,” Hicks said. “In this day and age, we all use machines all the time, and we never think about it. You use an ATM or, at the gas station, you don’t even go in anymore; you swipe your card. At the checkout counter at the stores now you swipe your own stuff. It’s pretty widespread the way we interact with machines now. You don’t even think about it. I think we’re drawn to machines a lot of times and really embrace them without thinking about it.”

Another question Hicks wants to leave his viewers with is: “Who’s controlling the machine?”

“The idea is kind of to challenge people with the question ‘Who’s controlling the robot?’” Hicks said. “What’s behind it? It’ll be completely autonomous, but people are going to walk up to it and it’s going to be doing its thing and they’re going to project onto it, what is its motive? What’s behind it?

“It kind of brings to mind, who do you hold responsible for things?”

Hicks continued. “If the machine takes a photograph of someone that they don’t like, whose fault is that? Is it my fault? The same thing with war. If you have an unmanned bomber and it makes some

sort of mistake and kills some people, whose fault is that? Is that no one’s fault or is that someone’s fault? It’s an interesting dynamic.

When you unleash it on the world, whom do you hold responsible for what it does?”

Though Hicks almost always employs some sort of technology in his projects, it’s usually an older technology, and his goal isn’t to create projects using the latest gadgets and software but to create tangible things and then observe how the public interacts with them.

“In this day and age, most people are going to digital creations,” Hicks said. “They make animations or they make things on the computer, and I like to make physical things that move in a physical space. So I like to make a piece of art that literally and physically moves on its own accord, which I think is the opposite direction a lot of people are going.

These days, everything’s going to making cool flash animations on a computer as opposed to making physical things.”

This project also blends Hicks’ interest in technology with his habit of experimenting with photography.

“I really try to separate myself from the average person and do different things with displaying my photographs,” Hicks said.

Hicks is in the process of building the controls for the robotic arm and writing the software for the facial recognition sensors. Although he’s pretty adept at creating this kind of technology, like with each of his projects, he’s teaching himself something new to accomplish a specific task.

“It’s not that I’m that smart; it’s that I’m that determined,” he said. “It’s like trial and error, trial and error, trial and error.” 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.

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ON THE

BROKEN ARROW

by Jennifer Barron The Echinata Gallery is a permanent wood art gallery at the Forest Heritage Center

In scenic southeastern Oklahoma, approximately four hours drive from Oklahoma City and a little over three hours from Tulsa, the town of Broken Bow is perhaps best known for its picturesque lake, woods, and some of the state’s most striking natural landscapes. Over the course of the past two decades however, Broken Bow has been adding to its resume by serving as a burgeoning regional hub of woodturning arts.

The town of Broken Bow is home to Beavers Bend State Park, with camping, hiking, and lake activities enjoyed by visitors yearround. Located on the grounds of the state park is the Forest Heritage Center and Museum, which is host to a wide array of exhibits and annual events highlighting the arts and culture of the area. Throughout the museum, 14 murals and dioramas depicting the history of the area and the importance of conservation are on display. These were painted by Harry Rossoll, a Georgia artist best known for creating forest conservation icon Smokey Bear.

Exhibit curator Doug Zook, 2005 winner of a Governor’s Arts & Education Award and an accomplished woodturner himself, has been instrumental in the museum’s efforts for the past 15 years. He comments: “Since we first started our forestry museum and educational programs in 1976, we have worked very hard to create a forum that helps people appreciate the beauty and artistry of wood.” The success of these programs seems evident, as Zook explains that the Center has recently been designated the official “Wood Art Capitol of Oklahoma.”

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Although terminology of wood art may sound interchangeable, there are a few important differences: Woodworking is defined as the process of carving, building or constructing any item using wood. Wood carving refers to any sculpture made in wood, from simple reliefs to large three-dimensional works in the round; woodturning involves the use of a lathe to shape pieces of wood.

The focus on woodworking and woodturning here stems in part from the area’s roots as a lumber hub. In 1911, the Dierks brothers moved to the area and founded Choctaw Lumber Company, naming the newly founded town Broken Bow after their hometown of Broken Bow, Nebraska. The Dierks brothers were the first of many foresters to be drawn to the dense pine and hardwood forests throughout the region. During the depression, numerous smaller lumber towns sprang up along the nearby railroad. When an area was cleared, the entire town - businesses, homes, even the post office - were packed onto railroad cars and delivered a few miles away to the next stop down the tracks. Many of these temporary towns planted lasting roots, and the lumber and paper industries are still major regional employers. This history is detailed in the fascinating, recently added exhibit The People of the Forest, which

For more information about Broken Bow, Beavers Bend State Park, and Southeastern Oklahoma please visit the following websites: Forest Heritage Center and Museum: www.beaversbend.com Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce: www.brokenbowchamber.com City of Broken Bow: www.cityofbrokenbow.com Beavers Bend State Park: www.beaversbend.com Talimena Drive: www.talimenascenicdrive.com City of Hugo: www.hugochamber.org Bigfoot Festival: www.bigfootmountain.com/festival

introduces visitors to the legacy of the local lumber industry through over 150 restored historical photos and didactic pieces.

display through October, and all pieces will become part of the Forest Heritage Center’s permanent collection.

Annual events at the Center also spotlight the work of local and regional woodworkers. The three day Kiamichi Owa-Chito Festival in mid-June includes a visual arts exhibit that attracts professional and amateur visual artists from Oklahoma as well as Texas and Arkansas.

Art in all media is accepted and displayed, but the Festival places special emphasis on its wood art categories. The Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce states that the goal of this event “is to stage an annual Festival of the Forest in an effort to acquaint the people of Oklahoma and the world with the beauty, heritage, culture, industry and progress in Kiamichi Country.”

These events show the dedication of this institution to keep alive the region’s traditions, and to inspiring the next generation of wood artists.

Through the annual events and activities of the Forest Heritage Center, a cohesive regional arts community grows stronger every year. Doug Zook has also used the resources of the Forest Heritage Center to bring master woodturners to lead classes at high schools in the region for the past 15 years. Zook’s passion for the art form is evident. He states: “This woodturning course was designed to be the class that I never had in high school.”

Masters at Work, another annual event, is an exhibit and competition between master woodworkers representing five notable woodworking clubs. The participating clubs were selected from competitive applications from groups in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas.

The competition will consist of a “turn-off” in mid-September for $2,600 in prize money. Work created in the competition will be on

Outside the State Park, also notable in Broken Bow is the Gardner Mansion and Museum, built in 1884 for Jefferson Gardner who would later become chief of the Choctaw Nation. The mansion currently holds artifacts from pioneers as well as from Indian inhabitants of the region.

On the museum grounds also stand what remains of a 2,000 year-old Cypress tree, once an important landmark to Choctaw travelers forced to relocate via the Trail of Tears.

Exploring the region even further yields some unexpected rewards.

Southeastern Oklahoma- alternately called ‘Kiamichi Country’ or ‘Little Dixie’ - features a number of noteworthy places. Scuba divers in Broken Bow Lake may spot buildings that were part of the city of Hochatown, before most of the town was relocated to create the lake. The Talimena drive, 30 miles north of the lake, is renowned as a place to experience fall foliage. 50 miles to the southwest, Hugo was once a winter home to several travelling circuses (and is still home to two: Carson & Barnes and Kelly Miller). Hugo’s Mt. Olivet Cemetery includes ‘Showmen’s Rest’, a resting place for circus performers, managers, and other circus employees, marked with unusual monuments that honor the life’s work of the people buried there. To the north and even farther off the beaten path, legend holds that the Kiamichi Mountains are also home to a very distinctive citizen: Bigfoot. The city of Honobia hosts an annual Bigfoot Festival in early October. Visual artists can submit art in all media to the Bigfoot Festival, coordinated by the Pushmataha County Art Guild.

Festival attendees can enjoy storytelling and live music, and conference attendees can listen to lectures in Bigfoot Studies.

A region of gorgeous landscape, rich history, diverse annual festivals and a unique arts community, southeastern Oklahoma is a destination for artists in Oklahoma and beyond. In the heart of this region, Broken Bow’s Forest Heritage Center and Museum preserves the region’s character and history, builds on it and serves as a launching pad for artistic traditions to come. n Jennifer Barron is an Oklahoma City based artist and arts administrator who believes firmly in the power of art to enhance lives, build communities, and push us forward from our comfort zones.

A scene of Broken Bow Lake

f e a t u re

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ART IN ARCHITECTURE

by Lisa M. Chronister

Is there a difference between art and architecture? One basic definition of “art” from dictionary.com is “the quality, production, expression… according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing…” A further clarification is that art is “the fine arts collectively, often excluding architecture.” Architecture, on the other hand, is traditionally defined as the art and science of designing and erecting buildings. While part of the definition of architecture is art, part of the definition of art specifically excludes architecture. Both fields use creative imagination and technical skill and are often judged by the same principles of design (space, balance and texture, to name just a few). Several recent Oklahoma City area projects showcase how the relationship between art and architecture is often so entwined that the two can’t be separated.

commercial stretch of NW 10th Street in Oklahoma City in a former television repair shop. The new street façade consists of the existing brick painted green and unfinished concrete wall panels accented by a pattern of white vertical steel pipes. Inspired by the variant structure of teeth, the pipes are of different widths and spacing, and are staggered slightly back-and-forth. On the exterior, the pipes form the trellis-like roof of the entrance path as well as a screen wall, complete with a gate. “The pipe structure is not just decorative; it secures the entire entranceway,” says project designer Larry Pickering. The pipes continue inside the building where they form part of the reception desk. In this case, the pipes are at once functional and essential to the design statement; the art is truly integrated into the architecture.

From the highway, the recently completed Armed Forces Reserve Center in Norman (on I-35 at Tecumseh Road) by LWPB Architecture appears to be an unlikely place for a one-of-a-kind art piece. The 250,000 sq. ft. building houses administrative offices, classrooms, storage and assembly spaces for both the Oklahoma Army National Guard and the United States Army Reserves. The art is incorporated on the interior of the building as an acoustical wall panel installed around the interior perimeter of the assembly hall.

The art-in-architecture idea will also be embodied in the Oklahoma City SkyDance Bridge scheduled to begin construction this coming spring. More than 16 design firms responded to the City’s request for proposals and design competition for a pedestrian bridge over the realigned I-40. The original call for entries described a “pedestrian bridge… [to] be constructed over the new, semi-depressed section of 10-lane interstate highway and the BN&SF Railroad, on the south edge of downtown Oklahoma City.” It also noted that “civic leaders have also identified an opportunity to use the bridge as a vehicle for communicating the City’s renaissance to freeway users.” The winning design, by the team of S-X-L, in collaboration with MKEC Engineering, is a combination of stainless steel and translucent panels; the form is inspired by the movement of the scissor-tailed flycatcher in Oklahoma’s ever-present winds. At 18-stories, 30 feet wide, and 440 feet long, the monumental X-shaped structure is intended to be an instantly recognizable city landmark. The bridge serves a utilitarian function, connecting downtown pedestrians to the Oklahoma River, but accomplishes this in an extraordinarily artistic way. The giant “x” is both the structural support and the primary form; likewise, the suspension cables are tensile in both function and aesthetic.

The acoustical wall panels were required by the government client for sound attenuation of the large space. Wanting to avoid the look of 38,000 sq. ft. of plain wall panel fabric, the project designers proposed a mural depicting the history of the Oklahoma military, its soldiers and their contribution to America’s history and national defense. For inspiration, Fran Oden, Interior Designer, and Yuming Zhu, Graphic Designer, of LWPB Architecture worked with the 45th Infantry Museum, who provided access to their photographic archives.

Hundreds of photographs were scanned, evaluated, and composed. At 8 feet high and almost 400 feet long, the mural consists of 80 silkscreened panels. The color palette uses various khaki camouflage tones with small amounts of pinkish-red relief provided by the Redbud tree. The final design is broad in theme, energetic in execution, and reverential without being too sentimental. One particularly engaging image is a young soldier who looks directly at the viewer in a confident, focused manner.

The transformation of the acoustical wall panels into an “art” piece, however, had unintended consequences. To meet the construction budget, anything considered by the client to be unnecessary, including “art”, was eventually eliminated from the project, and what began as a functional client mandate became “unnecessary” art. In the end, LWPB Architecture and the contractor, The Korte Company, felt so strongly about the integrity of the mural that they donated its design and installation to the facility. In retrospect, says Ms. Oden, “We would have worked to keep the panels specified as an interior wall finish so that they would not have been cut from the budget.” In this case, once architecture was recognized as art, its place in the building was jeopardized.

A recent project by Fitzsimmons Architects would suffer great consequences if the “art” portion of it were to be eliminated from the project. Dental Service Group’s new office is located along a timeworn

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These three projects illustrate that the line between art and architecture is blurred, if in fact the line exists at all. Many would argue that the basic definition of art directly describes architecture as fully as the traditional definition of architecture, if not more so. If creativity, imagination, and technical skill are the defining characteristics, then these projects are definitely art. Except, that is, when they are architecture. n Lisa M. Chronister is an architect and principal at LWPB Architecture in Oklahoma City.

(left) The completed and installed mural at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Norman, a project of LWPB Architecture. (right) Dental Service Group’s new office, a recently completed project of Fitzsimmons Architects.

2010 Creativity World Biennale November 17, 2010 - January 8, 2011 Representing Selected World-wide Districts of Creativity Exhibitions at [Artspace] at Untitled and Multiple Venues Throughout Oklahoma Cityʼs Historic Automobile Alley For Additional Information and Specific Exhibit Locations Visit: www.artspaceatuntitled.org, Exhibitions Page

CREATIVITY WORLDFORUM

NOV. 15-17, 2010 OKLAHOMA CITY USA

Ikrausim

by Nick Ervinck Representing Flanders

[ A R T S P A C E ] at U N T I T L E D

1 NE 3rd Street Oklahoma City, OK 73104 USA 405.815.9995 info@artspaceatuntitled.org

27

Ask a Creativity Coach Dear Romney, I moved my home studio from one room to another. I’m overwhelmed by my piles of art supplies, portfolios, books and framed artwork.

There’s so much stuff I no longer need. Is there a way to get organized quickly and painlessly?

—Packrat Dear Packrat, As George Carlin said, “Sometimes you’ve got stuff and sometimes your stuff’s got you.” Thanks to the hoarding shows on TV we’re all more aware of our stuff and how it can take over our homes and heads.

Too much stuff in a small work space will restrict you physically and inhibit the flow of ideas. While your studio is in disarray, sort and purge outdated or unwanted items. Donate art supplies you haven’t used in the last two years to a high school art department or senior center. Get rid of damaged and out of date frames. To save space store two-dimensional art work flat in a portfolio. About books: If you’ve mastered the skill, donate the book. Keep only what’s currently useful.

Donating what you no longer need will clear your physical space and boost your creativity. Take your tax donation and enjoy the good feeling that comes from helping others.

To organize quickly, work for only twenty minutes at a time. Mark three boxes Donate, Trash and Keep. Set a timer for 20 minutes and get to work. At the beep take the donation box to your car, trash to the can and put on a shelf the things you want to keep. Immediately removing unwanted items from your studio clears space quickly and keeps you from feeling overwhelmed. Work twenty minutes a day for a week or two or take several twenty minute time slots over a weekend and you’ll be back to work before you know it. 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.

www.ova c.blogspot.com 28

business of art

(Click the “Art Focu s Ma ga zin e” la bel.)

Round Up

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2010

Thanks to our foundation and government program partners for the following grants this year:

Oklahoma Arts Council: Organizational support

for City Arts Center in Oklahoma City.

Congratulations on your new role, Clint.

Allied Arts: Annual support

Oklahoma City Community Foundation: ARTiculate and Artist Survival Kit retreat

Erinn Gavaghan was named Executive Director of the Norman Arts Council.

Recently relocated from St. Louis, Gavaghan completed her MA in Art History at Webster University and worked at the Contemporary Art Museum while there. When living in Oklahoma City previously, she worked for Ballet Oklahoma. Welcome back, Erinn.

Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation: Art 365 exhibition catalog George Kaiser Family Foundation: Art 365 exhibition George Kaiser Family Foundation: Momentum Tulsa and Tulsa Art Studio Tour Kirkpatrick Foundation: Art 365 exhibition Mid-America Arts Alliance: American Recovery & Reinvestment Act National Endowment for the Arts: Oklahoma Art Writing & Curatorial Fellowship National Endowment for the Arts: Art 365 exhibition

Oklahoma Humanities Council: Oklahoma Art Writing & Curatorial Fellowship The 12x12 Art Show & Sale was a blast fundraiser again. Thanks to the artists, committee and supporters. Sam Fulkerson and Margo Shultes von Schlageter adeptly CoChaired the event, raising strong underwriting in a tough year and growing art sales. These funds support OVAC’s programs like artist grants and fellowships. Thanks 12x12 supporters!

Art People: Clint Stone is the new Executive Director of Individual Artist of Oklahoma Gallery.

An active artist, educator and curator, Stone most recently served as Exhibitions Director

Catherine Whitney joined Philbrook as Chief Curator and Curator of American Art. She last served as Curator of American Art and, later, Director of Twentieth-Century American Art at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. We’re glad you are here, Catherine.

Jo Wise is the new Executive Director of the Paseo Arts Association. Wise previously worked for the American Heart Association and City Arts Center. Congratulations, Jo.

Thank you to our New and Renewing Members from July and August 2010 Mazen H. Abufadil Nicki Albright Lindsey Allgood Sharon Allred Rudy and Janet Alvarado Valerie Aubert Alice Holland Barham Ralph and Pauletta Beaty Mike and Corey Blake Chandra and Steve Boyd Bob and Connie Bright Tammy Brummell Dennis and Deborah Burian Annalisa and Bruce Campbell Jerry L. Cathey Deon Cavner Stephanie Chapman Lynn Clark Julie Wohlgemuth Cohen Marty Coleman Bob and DeJean Dace Adrienne Day John and Susan Dobson James and Deborah Drummond Tony Dyke and Susan Morrison-Dyke Keith Eakins Michael Elder Nadia Ellis Butch Enterline Christiane E. Faris Gayle Farley Mike Fauks Thomas and Anita Fields Kimberly Fonder Kouri Fowler

Melanie Fry Glen Gentele and Shannon Fitzgerald Denise D. Gleason Janet Goertz Shan Goshorn Todd Graham Martha Green Bill and Mary Ellen Gumerson Christie Hackler Lindsey Handyside Carol Hansen Winnie Hawkins Lawrence Hellman Scott Henderson Steve Hicks Chris Hill Jan Holzbauer Kenneth Hoving Helen F. Howerton Nathan Huebert Sam and Rebecca Huskey Sandy Ingram Jacqueline Iskander E. K. Jeong F. Bradley Jessop Scott M. Kane Kelsey & Barney Karper Jody Karr Robert Keating, Topographic Inc. Lou C. Kerr Priscilla Kinnick Brian Landreth Maury Langston Marvin Lee and DaOnne Olsen Diane Leggett

Cathey Love Jeff and Suzy Lytle Maribel Martinez Paul Mays Richard and Liz McKown George and Cristina McQuistion Suzanne Wallace Mears Paul Medina Melton Art Reference Library Sunni Mercer Shawn Meyers Kay Moore Mike and Lea Morgan Taylor Munholland Regina Murphy Mary Nickell Nikki Noa Oklahoma City Museum of Art John and Marilyn Oldfield Nathan Opp Kim Pagonis Cindy Pauchey Patricia A. Pearson Patty Plummer Mary Blankenship Pointer Harold Porterfield Louis and Marcy Price Julie Raymond Mitsuno Reedy Christina Rehkop Richard and Judy Riggs Andy and Stacy Rine David M. and Sharon Roberts R. Randall Robinson, MD Tom and Velma Sanders

Brandon Schader Larry Schwab Bert D. Seabourn Nancy and Phil Sears Matt Seikel and Denise Duong Kristin Simpsen Diana J. Smith Geoffrey L. Smith Jeanne Hoffman Smith Marcee and Chris Smith Carolyn Spears Earline Strom Michi Susan Anita Tackett Paul Taylor Mickey and Kym Thompson Steve Tomlin Kris Torkelson Robert and Elizabeth Tyrrell Erin Van Laanen Laura and Joe Warriner Nick and Sharon Webster Jeri Wensel Christopher Westfall Patricia White George Whitlatch Mark Williams Martin R. Wing Kimberly Wood Gary and Betsy Wood Leonard Charles Wright III James and Denise Wedel Lillian Yoeckel Mark Zimmerman

ovac news

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&

Gallery Listings Ada

Durant

Mark Sisson and Jack Titus November 1- December 30 Senior Shows December 1-18 The Pogue Gallery Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center 900 Centennial Plaza (580) 559-5353 ecok.edu

Barbara Elam Through November 5 SE Art Faculty Exhibit Pedagogy 2010 November 15- December 11 Southeastern OK State University 1405 N. 4th PMB 4231 se.edu

Ardmore

Group Exhibit Through November 20 Holiday Art Market November 26- December 4 Studio 107 Gallery 107 E Main (580) 224-1143 studio107ardmore.com Jack Dowd’s Last Call Through November 24 Linda Tuma Robertston and Phil Joanou November 30 The Goddard Center 401 First Avenue SW (580) 226-0909 goddardcenter.org

Bartlesville William Schickel: Spirit Made Manifest Through January 9 Price Tower Arts Center 510 Dewey Ave (918) 336-4949 pricetower.org

Broken Bow Beavers Bend Folk Festival November 12-14 Forest Heritage Center Beavers Bend Resort (580) 494-6497 beaversbend.com

Chickasha Steve Breerwood: An Inherent Condition Through November 5 Juan Granados November 12- December 10 University of Sciences and Arts of Oklahoma Gallery-Davis Hall 1806 17th St (405) 574-1344 usao.edu/gallery

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gallery guide

Durham Sandra McManus: Stained Glass and Glenn Lamb: Watercolor Metcalfe Museum Rt. 1 Box 25 (580) 655-4467 metcalfemuseum.org

Edmond Sports Exhibit Opening November 4 Wine through Time Fundraiser November 4, 6-8:30 Closed for the Holidays December 18- January 4 Edmond Historical Society & Museum 431 S Boulevard (405) 340-0078 edmondhistory.org Kenny McKenna December 2, 5-7 pm Shadid Fine Art 19 N Broadway (405) 341-9023 shadidfineart.com

El Reno Unique Creative Visions: The Art of Jessie Montes Through November 30 Community Tapestry Project: Public Art

by People December 3- January 28 Redlands Community College (405) 262-2552 redlandscc.edu

Lawton Heart and Soul of the Great PlainsWhere the Buffalo Roam November 6 The Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery 620 D Ave (580) 357-9526 lpgallery.org

Exhibition Schedule Norman Holiday Gift Gallery November 12- January 8 Firehouse Art Center 444 S Flood (405) 329-4523 normanfirehouse.com

Marcus Eakers November 12 Josh Reynolds December 12 DNA Galleries 1705 B NW 16th (405) 371-2460 dnagalleries.com

Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind Through January 2 Stare Stare Stereo November 6- May 15 reception November 5, 7-9 Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 555 Elm Ave (405) 325-4938 ou.edu/fjjma

Small Works Fusion: Skip Hill, Nick Wu, Carlos Tello, Sohail Shehada November 5- 26 Reception November 5, 6-10 JRB Art at the Elms 2810 N Walker (405) 528-6336 jrbartgallery.com

Emergent Artists 2010 December 10- February 5 Reception December 10, 6-10 Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery 122 E Main (405) 292-8095 mainsite-art.com

Oklahoma City Eric Wright November Geoff Krawczyk December aka gallery 3001 Paseo (405) 606-2522 akagallery.net

2010 Creativity World Biennale November 15- January 8 [ArtSpace] at Untitled 1 NE 3rd St (405) 815-9995 artspaceatuntitled.org Nigel Hall Through December 18 Delvie McPherson Through November 6 City Arts Center 3000 General Pershing Blvd (405) 951-0000 cityartscenter.org Regina Murphy and Betty Powers November 5-December 1 Christmas on the Paseo December 3 Contemporary Art Gallery 2829 Paseo (405) 848-8883

Harold Holden: The Cowboy Way Through November 30 Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum 1400 Classen Dr (405) 235-4458 oklahomaheritage.com Kolbe Roper, Christen Humphries, Beverly Herndon November 12- January 31 Istvan Gallery at Urban Art 1218 N Western Ave (405) 831-2874 istvangallery.com Small Works, Great Wonders Winter Art Sale November 18 Flying High and Crash Landing: Bull Wrecks in Rodeo Through January 10 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1700 NE 63rd (405) 478-2250 nationalcowboymuseum.org Nick Hermes Through December 19 Bobby C. Martin December 27- February 27 East Gallery Angela Castro Through December 12 Katherine Liontas-Warren December 20- February 20 North Gallery Joan Matzdorf Through December 26

Oklahoma State Capitol Galleries 2300 N Lincoln Blvd (405) 521-2931 arts.ok.gov Alfonso Ossorio: Gifts from the Ossorio Foundation Through November 28 Luis Jiménez: Works on Paper Through December 12 New Frontiers Jonathan Hils: Intersection Through January 2 La Serenissima: Eighteenth Century Venetian Art from North American Collections Through January 2 Oklahoma City Museum of Art 415 Couch Dr (405) 236-3100 okcmoa.com High School Print and Drawing Exhibition Through November 12 Graduating Seniors November 19- December 17 Nona Hulsey Gallery, Norick Art Center Oklahoma City University 1600 NW 26th (405) 208-5226 okcu.edu

Hold It: The Container Show November 5- November 27 Paseo Art Space 3022 Paseo (405) 525-2688 thepaseo.com

Ponca City Muchmore Photography Exhibit and Competition November 7-28 Bri Hermanson: New Work December 3-31 Chocolate and Champagne Gala II December 3, 6-8 Ponca City Art Center 819 E Central (580) 765-9746 poncacityartcenter.com

Shawnee A Promise of Home: Benefiting Family Promise of Shawnee November 5-21 Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art 1900 W Macarthur (405) 878-5300 mgmoa.org

Stillwater Faculty Exhibition Through November 4 BFA Graphic Design November 10-19 Studio Capstone December 1-10

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.

Gardiner Art Gallery Oklahoma State University 108 Bartlett University (405) 744-6016 okstate.edu

December 3-23 Living Artspace 307 E Brady (918) 585-1234 livingarts.org

Tulsa

Adaptation Through January 9, 2011 The Philbrook Museum of Art 2727 S Rockford Rd (918) 749-7941 Philbrook.org

John Brainard November 11 Romy Owens December 9 Aberson Exhibits 3624 S Peoria (918) 740-1054 abersonexhibits.com America: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of a Nation Through August 2, 2011 Gilcrease Museum 1400 Gilcrease Rd (918) 596-2700 gilcrease.org Dia De Los Muertos Arts Festival November 1 Altared Spaces Exhibit November 1-6 Corner Installation November 1-14 Champagne and Chocolate November 20 The Four Elements Exhibit December 3-23 Thicket/New Growth Exhibit: Paul Medina

Grace Grothaus: Grid November 5-27 Children’s Show December 3-18 Tulsa Artists Coalition Gallery 9 E Brady (918) 592-0041 tacgallery.org School of Art Faculty Show November 11- January 6 Reception November 11, 5-7 Alexandre Hogue Gallery Phillips Hall, The University of Tulsa 2930 E 5th St (918) 631-2739 cas.utulsa.edu/art

GET INVOLVED

MEMBER FORM ¨ Sustaining

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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: November 3: OVAC Member Forum November 8: Artist Applications for Momentum Spotlight Deadline January 15: OVAC Artist Grants Deadline

November SMALL WORKS Skip Hill Nick Wu Carlos Tello Sohail Shehada Opening Reception: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5 6 - 10 P.M.

December Denise Duong Matt Seikel Opening Reception: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 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