Issue Magazine - February 2015

THE ARTS MAGAZINE OF THE ART STUDIO, INC.

FEBRUARY 2015

MATTERS OF LIFE & DEATH SEE PAGE 8

INSIDE: PAINTING VS. SCULPTURE, SYMPHONY MOVIE NIGHT, AND MORE

GALLERY CONVERSATIONS: INTERPRETING AN ARTIST’S ‘FANTASIES’

, t r A e n i Fine Food F

Saturday, February 14, 11 a.m.-noon

Two Magnolias

r e s t a u r a n t

in the Art Museum of Southeast Texas

Weekday lunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Wedding Receptions • Rehearsal Dinners • Meals to go

10 % d i s co un t fo r a r ti s ts Join Dr. Sarah Boehme, Stark Museum of Art Curator, for a discussion exploring the interpretation of an artist’s fantasies and a close reading of Walter Ufer’s painting Fantasies.

STARK MUSEUM OF ART 712 Green Avenue, Orange, TX 77630 • starkmuseum.org

409.886.2787

500 Main Street in downtown Beaumont, Texas

409-833-5913 www.2magnolias.org • www.facebook.com/TwoMagnolias twomagnoliascatering@gmail

WE WANT YOU FOR BAND NITE Hear original music by local musicians at

For upcoming gigs, visit The Studio’s facebook page

$5

admission

All ages welcome • 21 and up BYOB and have your ID.

A View From The Top Greg Busceme, TASI Director

HOPING EVERYONE HAD A joyous holiday season. Holiday for whom? Good question! Nonetheless, hoping yours was a happy one.

Studio activity was relegated to the Shop-O-Rama and thank you to ever yone who came by to shop.

We had a exciting assortment of unique gifts made right here in Southeast Texas. Our added entertainment, the Disco-rama, was a big success and we danced until midnight to the tunes and show of Space Capsule.

Ultimately, most ever y artist sold some work, got to meet new people and reinforced the notion that what we make has value, esoterically and commercially.

Jan. 24 will be the opening of a Studio group show in Leesville, La. We were invited by Oneellleven Galler y director Tony McDonald to fill in a Januar y spot and provide interesting inspiration to the art enclave there. We are loaded up at this writing to go in the morning to set up.

Leesville is a family town for me.

Many of my Fertitta and Culotta family come from here so it is with a little nostalgia that I go to this town and remember all the family and parties, weddings and, yes, funerals, too.

Our memories and our hearts go

ISSUE Vol. 21, No. 5 Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Art Studio, Inc. Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy Coughlan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracy Danna Contributing Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . Elena Ivanova, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Haley Bruyn Contributing Photographers . . . . . . Elena Ivanova Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Dodson The Art Studio, Inc. Board of Directors President Ex-Officio . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Busceme Vice-President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angela Busceme Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Roberts Members at Large: . . . . . . . . . . . Sheila Busceme, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth French, . . . . . . . . . . Andy Ledesma, Stephan Malick, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Butler

The Art Studio, Inc. 720 Franklin Beaumont, TX 77701 409-838-5393 www.artstudio.org info@artstudio.org The ISSUE is a monthly publication of The Art Studio, Inc. Its mission is to publicize The Art Studio and its tenants, and to promote the growth of the arts in Southeast Texas. ISSUE is also charged with informing TASI members of projects, progress, achievements and setbacks in TASI’s well-being. Further, ISSUE strives to promote and distribute the writings of local authors in its “Thoughtcrime” feature.

ISSUE is provided free of charge to members of TASI and is also available, free of charge, at more than 30 locations in Southeast Texas.

Regular features include local artists of note and reputation who are not currently exhibiting at TASI; artists currently or soon to be exhibiting at TASI; Instructional articles for artists; news stories regarding the state of TASI’s organization; and arts news features dealing with general philosophical issues of interest to artists.

Contents The Paragone Question. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Symphony at the Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 “Memento Mundi” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Divergent Theater Valentine’ Event . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11 Chambers Stevens Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11 Victoria House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12 Heartist by Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12 “True West” at BCP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 13 Thoughtcrime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Cover photo of Kailee Viator in her studio

by Andy Coughlan

out to the family and many friends of Robert Martinez who passed away Jan. 6.

Roberto, as I called him, was an avid supporter of the arts. A regular at art openings, Bandnites and fund raisers, Robert always had a good hug for all his friends. With a smile and good nature that beamed across a room, Robert was surrounded with people who loved him and he had the ability to love all of them back. Rest in peace, my friend.

Studio classes and workshops get back in the rhythm of things. Along with my clay classes on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to noon, on Mondays we have self-directed life drawing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Want to express yourself in other ways? Tr y Poetr y Renaissance ever y third Thursday.

Want to hear some music you’ve never heard before? We have Bandnite Jan. 31 with some of your favorite local originating musicians you’ve never heard. You’ll be glad you showed up.

What would Feb. 7 be without our first show of the new year? We are in our 30th season and who better than the bug girl, Kailee Viator, to kick off the new year with a great show.

See VIEW on page 12

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART STUDIO FEBRUARY

M AR C H

Kailee Viator “Memento Mundi” Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 7

Sculpture Group Show Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 7

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ART STUDIO Membership in The Art Studio, Inc., provides invitations to all exhibitions and one year of ISSUE, the monthly arts magazine of The Art Studio. It also gives free eligibility for members to enter the annual membership art exhibition (TASIMJAE) and participate in various exhibitions throughout the year.

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4 • ISSUE February 2015

Volume 21, No. 5

2D or not 2D…?

PARAGONE, RUSSIAN STYLE: FAMOUS EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CAST IN BRONZE “Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.”

— Michelangelo WHICH ONE OF THe arts is superior — painting or sculpture? Today such a question sounds absurd. We live in a world of diverse art forms and we value the unique contribution of each of them to our culture.

However, five hundred years ago, hierarchy of the arts was a popular subject of scholarly treatises and learned discussions at the courts of Renaissance dukes. So much so that a term was coined in reference to a debate about the relative merits of the arts: paragone (“comparison,” plural “paragoni.”)

None other than the great Leonardo da Vinci passionately argued the supremacy of painting over sculpture, as well as over poetry and music, on the grounds that it was a universal truth capable of recreating the forms of nature perfectly.

To put it bluntly, Leonardo declared that a painter was a refined intellectual capable of conveying the three dimensionality of natural objects on canvas while a sculptor was just a sweaty workman.

In his contribution to the paragone, Michelangelo pointed out that the painting was only good insofar as it imitated the three-dimensional qualities of sculpture, a point that he brilliantly demonstrated in his paintings.

Little did I know that I would get involved in this ancient debate when, on a hot summer day, I traveled to Tsarskoye Selo, a magnificent residence of Russian tsars

Story and photos by Elena Ivanova

Alexander Taratynov and Mikhail Dronov., top, THE NIGHT WATCH. AFTER THE PAINTING BY REMBRANDT “THE NIGHT WATCH.” Bronze. Rembrandt van Rijn, above, MILITIA COMPANY OF DISTRICT II UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN FRANS BANNINCK COCQ, KNOWN AS ‘THE NIGHT WATCH.’ 1642. Oil on canvas, 11.91 ft x 14.34 ft. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Volume 21, No. 5 a few miles south of St. Petersburg.

A few words must be said about this place. One of the most splendid summer residences, a Russian equivalent of Versailles, it is a huge complex with several large- and small-size buildings surrounded by expansive parks. The largest of the buildings is the Baroque-style Catherine’s Palace, best known, perhaps, for the ill-fated Amber Room — stolen by the Nazis and never found, but painstakingly replicated in every detail about a decade ago. The complex also encompasses the Lyceum, a boarding school for boys of noble birth, of which great poet Alexander Pushkin was one of the first graduates, and the Neoclassical Alexandrovsky Palace.

Most visitors head straight to Catherine’s Palace and Tsarskoselsky Park, masterfully landscaped and dotted with pavilions, grottos and other miniature architectural marvels. However, I chose the shady, less glamorous Alexandrovsky Park for my afternoon walk. Unlike its neighbor, it has never been laid out in geometrical shapes in the fashion of the French garden. Trees and plants were allowed to grow freely, like a natural forest, and it is with a sense of mystery and excitement that one follows winding paths to discover, at the end of the trail, a quaint little place straight out of a fairy tale, such as the Chinese Village or a Gothic chapel known as Chapelle.

One of such mysterious paths led me to the White Tower, a Romanesque-style citadel, with bronze knights in full armor in the niches and four ferocious lions on the surrounding terrace. Built in 1821-1827, this medieval-looking tower was originally used as a gym for the sons of Tsar Nicholas I, where they engaged in physical training and practiced martial arts. The upper floor served as the studio of the court artist who also instructed young Grand Dukes in drawing and painting.

Like the rest of the complex, the White Tower was destroyed during the war and has been recently restored, albeit only in the exterior. Today the Tower offers an excellent backdrop for photos, its white stuccoed walls cutting a striking silhouette against the blue sky.

As I approached the Tower, I came face to face…with a group of musketeers. No, I don’t mean those fancy-dressed people who entertain tourists at all popular sites in the city and its environs. These musketeers were in bronze and their arrangement immediately brought to mind the famous painting by Rembrandt, “The Night Watch.” A nearby label confirmed my impression. What I had stumbled upon was a recent work by two contemporary Russian sculptors, Alexander Taratynov and Mikhail Dronov.

It must be noted that Taratynov and Dronov had successful individual careers and had been acclaimed and recognized nationally and internationally well before this project came into being. It all started as a sort of a play, almost a frivolity. Dronov noticed a wallsize reproduction of “The Night Watch” in Taratynov’s studio and jokingly suggested to make it in sculpture.

Before long the artists got so passionate about this idea that the joke turned into a very serious undertaking. All figures were sculpted in plaster by hand and then molded and cast in bronze by hand as well. Nobody commissioned or sponsored this project — the artists financed it with their own money from start to finish.

Their selfless enthusiasm paid off.

Serendipitously, they started the project in 2002 and

See PARAGONE on page 6

February 2015 ISSUE • 5

Alexander Taratynov, top, THE BLIND. AFTER THE PAINTING BY PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER “THE PARABLE OF THE BLIND.” Bronze.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, above, THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND, OR THE PARABLE OF THE BLIND. 1568. Distempter on linen canvas, 34 in x 61 in. Museo de Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.

Alexander Taratynov, far left, KNIGHT, DEATH AND THE DEVIL. AFTER THE ENGRAVING BY ALBRECHT DÜRER. Bronze.

Albrecht Dürer, left, KNIGHT, DEATH AND THE DEVIL. 1513.Engraving.

9.6 in x 7.5 in.

6 • ISSUE February 2015

Volume 21, No. 5

PARAGONE from page 5 completed it by 2004 as the world was getting ready to celebrate Rembrandt’s 400th birthday in 2006. The Dutch government got excited about having the sculptural version of the great master’s most famous work installed on Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam. In the meanwhile, the 3D rendition of “The Night Watch” was exhibited, to much acclaim, in Iceland and in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Today the bronze castings of “The Night Watch” can be seen in Amsterdam, where the installation is permanent, and also, for a limited time, in Moscow and in Alexandrovsky Park in Tsarskoye Selo.

So which one of the arts is superior — painting or sculpture? I must admit that, after seeing the 3D composition by Taratynov and Dronov, I am strongly leaning towards sculpture. No offense to Rembrandt — his work is unique and powerful beyond words, and so is the experience of seeing the original at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Yet, what an excitement it is to get into the midst of the brave militia company, to touch their clothes and weapons, and even to pose for a picture with captain Frans Banninck Cocq or lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch!

Making the viewer a participant of the action is not the only merit of the 3D version of this famous painting. Due to the fact that each figure stands on its own low pedestal, we can walk around them, see them from different angles and appreciate the sculptors’ mastery in “completing” the images that Rembrandt depicted only partially. The sculptors based their artistic decisions on a scrupulous examination the painting and on a thorough research of costumes of the appropriate time period.

They almost had to assume the personality of the great Dutch master in order to follow his way of thinking about the characters and re-imagine the scene from new vantage points.

The sculptors also had to make some changes to the original composition. For example, they eliminated a few background figures, most notably the girl in a yellow dress. In the painting, the girl acts as a kindof mascot of the militia company known as the Kloveniers (Dutch for Arquebusiers.) The claws of the dead chicken at her belt refer to the company’s name (‘claw-veniers’) and she is also carrying a ceremonial goblet.

Although in the background, the girl stands out in the painting because Rembrandt emphasized her figure with light and color.

Obviously, these means are unavailable in a sculptural composition. As yet another bronze figure, she would have lost her compositional and conceptual importance. However, Taratynov and Dronov found a way to preserve at least one of the Kloveniers’ symbols in their rendition of the scene. The ceremonial goblet is featured as a part of a Dutch-style still life on the right side of the group.

Apparently, creating 3D renditions of famous European and Russian paintings has become somewhat of an obsession with Taratynov. There were three more 3D installations, which he executed on his own, in the vicinity of the White Tower: Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s “The Blind Leading the Blind” (also known as “The Parable of the Blind”), Piero della Francesca’s “Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza” and Albrecht Dürer’s “Knight, Death and the Devil.” All figures are shown life-size, with necessary additions of the body parts that are not depicted in the painting.

For example, in the case of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza, Taratynov had to complete their torsos from the breast level down. He also had to conceive a composition that would logically unite the characters from two separate portraits. In his version, the Duke and the Duchess are lovingly holding hands as they look into each other’s eyes. This positioning of the figures, besides preserving Piero della Francesca’s profile view of the models, also gives them more warmth and humanity, and turns the formal portraits into a lively genre scene.

Later I learned why Piero della Francesca portrayed his august patron in profile. While such representation was flattering since it resembled the images on Roman medals and cameos, there was a more compelling reason. The Duke lost his right eye in a battle and had to have the bridge of his nose removed to improve his vision. However, the surgery permanently disfigured the right side of his face.

Being unaware of this fact during my visit to Alexandrovsky Park, I did not look at the other side of Taratynov’s sculpture. Despite all my efforts, I could not find a photo of this work that would show the right side of the Duke’s face. So I am stuck with a gnawing question: did the Russian sculptor reflect this historical truth or did he prefer to sustain

Piero della Francesca, above, PORTRAITS OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF URBINO, FEDERICO DA MONTEFELTRO AND BATTISTA SFORZA.146772. Tempera on panel, 18.5 in x 13 in. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

Alexander Taratynov, left, THE DUKE OF URBINO FEDERICO DA MONTEFELTRO AND HIS SPOUSE DUCHESS BATTISTA SFORZA. AFTER THE PAINTING

BY PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA “PORTRAIT OF FEDERICO DA MONTEFELTRO AND BATTISTA SFORZA.” Bronze.

the artistic license suggested by della Francesca?

This is a good lesson to all of us: always walk around the sculpture. You never know what you may discover when you look at it from a different angle.

To learn more about Alexander Taratynov and Mikhail Dronov, visit their websites: www.taratynov.com, www.mikhaildronov.com.

Lights, Camera…Music!

Volume 21, No. 5

POPS

February 2015 ISSUE • 7

CONCERT TO SPOTLIGHT

CLASSIC

HOLLYWOOD

CHELSEA TIPTON II, MUSIC director of the Symphony of Southeast Texas, is putting together a concert comprised entirely of familiar songs from classic movies and television shows. “ SOST Goes to the Movies!” will be held at the Julie Rogers Theater at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 21. Tickets range from $14 to $41.

Special pricing is available for seniors and students.

“The concert is part of our pop series,” Tipton said. “Ever y year we do four classical concerts and one pop piece. This year the theme is movies.

“When we looked at Hollywood, we decided to not only look at familiar music from movies, but to take from classic television as well. We wanted pieces that young people would recognize, like the theme from ‘007’ or ‘Spider Man,’ and the music from Harr y Potter — but we made sure to include the classics as well.”

The concert will feature more than just a musical performance.

“When you are putting together a concert like this, there needs to be a multimedia component to it,” Tipton said. “There will be other features accompanying the music, like lighting, and images from the movies and shows. There will be a lot for the audience to experience and it

Story by Haley Bruyn

THEMES

should be really dynamic.”

A lot of elements have to be carefully organized to ensure the concert flows well, Tipton said.

“The musicians of the Symphony of Southeast Texas are incredibly talented, but there is more to putting on a show than that,” he said. “The biggest challenge, for me personally, is keeping all of the parts moving in a consistent way during the concert.

“Ever ything has to happen when it is suppose to happen. There are many short pieces, and the key is figuring out how to move quickly and seamlessly from piece to piece so there are no pauses.”

Ramona Young, drama teacher at All Saints Episcopal school and Divergent Theater artistic, will co-host the event.

“She brings the drama and the Hollywood histor y,” Tipton said.

Young said she is excited to be working with the symphony.

“There is so much talent there and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said. “There will be a bit more humor than your average concert — and there will be movie trivia that has to do with the content of the concert. It will be fun for people of all ages.

“The concert will be great fun for movie

buffs, particularly because it falls on the eve of the 87th Oscar awards ceremony, and we’ll have several Oscar-winning pieces from years past.”

Tipton said that the concert promises to be a lot of fun, and is the perfect introduction to the symphony.

“This is a really wonderful concert to come to if you’ve never seen or heard the orchestra live before, especially for young people” he said.

“There will be so much for people to see, and the pieces are songs most people will recognize, not just from classic movies like ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ but from television shows like ‘Dragnet,’ ‘The Lone Ranger,’ and ‘I Love Lucy.’”

The Julie Rogers Theatre is located at 765 Pearl Street in Beaumont.

For more information and tickets, visit sost.org or call 409-892-2257.

8 • ISSUE February 2015

Volume 21, No. 5

ARTIST KAILEE VIATOR MUSES ON MORTALITY, CELEBRATES LIFE A VEIL OF DEATH HANGS over Kailee Viator’s art. An awareness of mortality infuses every brush stroke of her paintings, every kneaded piece of clay, every item in her assemblages.

That does not, however, mean that Kailee’s work is not brimming with life and vitality.

“It’s more of a reverence thing,” the 25-year-old says. “If you don’t have a concept of mortality then you are not going to live life to the fullest.”

The fruit of Kailee’s musings on the nature of existence will be on display in “Memento Mundi” at The Art Studio in February. The show opens Feb. 7, with a reception from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and runs through Feb. 28.

A graduate of Lamar University where she earned a BFA in painting, Kailee has wanted to be an artist since she was a child.

“When I was four years old I told my mom I wanted to be an artist,” she says. “My mom would draw pictures for me. I would say ‘Draw me a zebra.’ She got her artistic ability from her father, my grandfather, He’s the one who taught me how to give things volume.”

When her maternal grandfather, Craig Hoyal, died, she found that his death — or more specifically, her thoughts about mortality triggered by his death — began to permeate her work.

“A lot of the show is about, not necessarily death, but the whole idea of appreciating life through death, and he was the first experience I had of losing someone close to me and not really knowing how to feel about it,” she says.

He died in 2009.

“I didn’t really feel much about it,” she says. “I was like, ‘Oh, that happened.’ And then way later, about a year later, I really thought about it and cried.

“Before he passed, I was doing paintings of road kill, just for the hell of it — blood and guts and gore kind of deal — and in the middle of that series is when he died and things turned from there. It actually had a concept to it more than getting some shock value. Before it was just ‘Yeah!

Fuck shit up!’”

Kailee laughs at the thought of her 19-year-old self, with her Suicide Silence hoodie, actively trying to shock and offend with her art.

When her grandfather died, her art immediately changed, she says, but while she was working through her feelings, she was not intellectualizing

Story and photos by Andy Coughlan

Artist Kailee Viator sorts through her supplies as she prepares for her solo show, “Memento Mundi,” opening at TASI Feb.7.

Volume 21, No. 5

her motivations. It was not until she worked on her senior thesis, in the fall of 2012, that the life/death/rebirth theme really came in to focus, prompted by a study abroad summer trip to Italy.

“I saw all these cathedrals and all this work about similar themes,” she says. “A big one was the Capuchin Crypts in Rome where all the monks’ bones are all over the floors and all over the ceilings — all the intricate patterns with these bones. In the final room, there are headstones in the ground and it says, in Italian, of course, ‘What you are now we once were, what we are now you will be.’ The whole dust-to-dust thing.

“It was comforting. At first, when someone dies, I will never get to see them again, never get to learn from that grandparent. Not that I don’t love my other three grandparents, but he was the one I should have spent the most time with.”

Her grandfather was 77 when he died. Now her other grandparents are failing and she makes sure to spend time them.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t spend time with him, it just wasn’t enough,” she says. “The only other instance of death I experienced, I guess it was around that same time, the guy I was in love with in high school killed himself and I didn’t find out until about three days after his funeral. That was important at the time, but I don’t know if it is important to (the show).”

All these events started Kailee thinking about

February 2015 ISSUE • 9

mortality.

“It’s evolved a lot,” she says.

“Thesis-wise, I was trying to express that whole idea of life/death/rebirth without referencing any specific religion content — I mean, I probably kinda did, it looks just like an altar — but using symbols such as bugs and flowers, and all the symbolism that goes with each kind without saying anything really specific,” she says.

“There’s still a lot of flowers and bugs. I guess that’s a sort of personal symbolism. I want it to make sense to me but also to other people.”

Kailee uses cicada shells in her assemblages and says they are the most important symbol for her.

“In ancient China, they used to carve cicadas out of jade and put them in the mouths of the deceased to bring them to the tranquil afterlife,” she says. “They are very much a symbol of rebirth — the whole shedding of the skin, living underground for 12-14 years and then coming out as this new thing. I relate to that a lot.”

One of her thesis pieces featured a woman whose lower half is wrapped in fabric adorned with cicada shells, with winged cicadas flying up and around her.

Despite the seeming fixation with death, Kailee does not see herself as a morbid person. Working through these issues in her art makes her feel connected, she says.

“I definitely believe in the collective unconsciousness,” she says. “I have a read a lot of things by (Carl) Jung and I like Joseph Campbell a lot — feeling connected to all people and the earth and dirt, all the bugs and flowers being connected.

“I think a big reason I switched to clay is touching and molding the dirt and playing with it, and having it bend and shape to my will. Even in the wax things there are a lot of sticks and bugs, things like that. I guess I feel like I enjoy making a thing more than drawing or painting a thing these days, because it’s more genuine, more natural. I can’t draw a flower to be more beautiful than the real thing. Not that I’m doing that because I can’t, but because it’s more genuine.”

As she talks, Kailee seems to revel in the real-

Kailee Viator’s show “Memento Mundi” will feature mixed media and clay works including “Whitewashed I: Eternal,” far left, and “Nectar.” izations about her work. She says she has been preoccupied with school — she is training to be a radiology tech — and while she has been making art, she has not been able to intellectualize it.

Although she uses bugs in her work, they are found pieces. The idea of killing the bugs (she references Damien Hirst’s butterfly installation with annoyance) is a complete anathema to her.

However, the found cicada shells and flowers mean that her work will eventually decay.

“That’s part of it,” she says. “I think it goes back to the whole concept of dust to dust. The butterflies of mine aren’t going to be pretty colors forever — eventually they will turn brown and fall to smithereens.

“I am OK with that. And I hope that the people who like and buy my stuff are OK with that, too. Or if they are not, I don’t feel like they get it.”

People hold on to things too much, she says.

“I do it, too.”

While the work in “Memento Mundi” references specific people, Kailee is quick to play down the specifics of any of the symbols and images.

“I don’t want to get too personal,” she says. “I mean, it’s personal to me, but I want it to be personal to you and to the next person. For example, when

See MEMENTO on page 10

10 • ISSUE February 2015

MEMENTO from page 9 I had my thesis, my friend came up to me in tears because she felt what I wanted her feel from that, but it has nothing to do with me in the end. I mean it does, but it doesn’t.”

When someone looks at a painting, the viewer sees what they will see — the artist has nothing to do with it any more, she says. Although she then contradicts herself.

“I say you are no longer part of it but you are — there are pieces of my hair and my sweat in it,” she says.

Kailee moved into working ceramics over the past year and has embraced the challenge of learning a new skill. Changing her medium has changed the way she approaches her work.

“It’s not really more direct, but it feels more direct,” she says. “I don’t have to do all these layers and getting my paints out and washing my brushes — which I never do, I just throw them away.

“If you get involved with clay it teaches you a lot — not just art related or skill — it teaches you patience. If you look at my painting, is no such thing as patience there.”

She points out a larger than life size, ornate ceramic skull.

Volume 21, No. 5

“I would never in a million years have thought that I would spend that much time on one piece — ever,” she says. “If it’s not instantaneous I would walk away from it and maybe come back in two years and work on it some more — and even then it’s doubtful.

“It’s not even about art — it’s life. I guess you always learn about life through art and vice versa — the clay especially.”

There is a relationship she has found with clay that is different from her past relationship with painting.

“The way I work is I do a bit here and there and then I walk away, go eat, go to bed, and I forget about it — and that’s OK with clay because as long as you wrap it up it’s fine,” she says. “It’s pretty forgiving, too. I mean, with paint you can paint over it, but you still know it’s there. With clay, you can reshape it however you want it.

“It’s like you have more of a relationship with your material than you do with paint. With paint there’s more of a disconnect. There is a separation between you and the canvas because there’s the brush, there’s the paint — it’s different.”

She credits local ceramicist Linnis Blanton for fostering a love of clay and mentoring her.

“I have Linnis coaching me in every way possible — that man is my Zen person,” she says.

An artist must constantly challenge herself, Kailee says.

“Clay is a big part of that because it was pretty much completely new to me,” she says. “I would mess up all the time, things would break and fall apart, and I would cry. And Linnis would just tell me to calm down, go home, come back tomorrow, it will be OK. “I’ve worked through so much with myself through (clay), things I never really dealt with. I guess that goes back to my grandpa and the guy I went to high school with.

You just rush through it and never really deal with it. Art’s like that, too, I guess.”

Much of her multi-media collage pieces incorporate letters and book texts but Kailee cautions against reading too much into that.

She laughs and says she should make up a reason why she uses a particular text. One piece has pages from a George Eliot novel.

“Memento Mundi,” at The Art Studio, beginning Feb. 7, will feature mixed media and clay works by Kailee Viator, including “From Beneath You,” left.

“I just hate ‘Silas Marner’ and I felt OK tearing it up,” she says, with a laugh. “I did that with ‘The Jungle,’ too.”

Among her favorites from high school were “Frankenstein” and “Hamlet.”

“We had to learn the whole ‘To be or not to be’ speech,” she says, laughing again at the appropriateness of her likes, connecting the melancholy Dane’s musings on death to her work.

Kailee is also inspired by the landscape she encountered on a trip to Sedona, Calif.

“I went there a few years ago and I knew I wanted to make art about it, and since then I haven’t stopped making art about it,” she says. “In those moments, being there, is the closest I’ve ever felt to something, I don’t know, divine? — I know, it sounds stupid, but it’s true. Since then I have been trying to incorporate other landscapes into (my work).”

Kailee points to a shelf on which sits a ceramic cave with a small white figure perched solitary on a ledge.

“A lot of the ceramics have these figures in them — little bitty non-descript ceramic people, not male or female or anything like that — and they are just placed around these landscapes in meditative poses. So, just humanity being in nature and around it — interacting with it,” she says They are small because they are humans, Kailee says.

“It’s like that whole thing about looking at the stars and feeling insignificant, but not in a bad way,” she says. “What’s that quote about us all being stardust?”

So death comes to us all. But to know that is not to dwell on sadness, but to celebrate with enthusiasm and fun. Kailee laughs at death — she laughs often — not in spite or defiance, but because it makes the living so much more fun.

The Art Studio is located at 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont.

For more information, visit www.artstudio.org, or visit the “Memento Mundi” Facebook page.

Volume 21 No. 5

February 2015 ISSUE • 11

Divergent Theater to host Valentine’s dinner theater at Beaumont Club, Feb. 13-14 DIVERGENT THEATER WILL PRESENT a Valentine’s show, Feb. 13 and 14, hosted by the Beaumont Club.

Patrons will dine on a specially prepared meal by Chef Rodney while listening to live music.

This will be followed by ‘Love/Stories,’ a series of short plays by Itamar Moses, directed by local theater veterans Adonia Placette, DeeDee Howell, Andy Coughlan and Ramona Young.

Dinner begins at 7 p.m. A premium package, including romantic extras and stage side seating, is available for $90 a person. Standard tickets are $75 each.

Tickets are available online at www.divergent theater.com, or at the Beaumont Club, located at 590 Orleans, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Young, Divergent Theater’s artistic director, says that the event promises to be a romantic evening for couples. “‘Love/Stories’ plays are smart and funny with a twist on the normal romantic fare,” she says.

“Couples will be pampered from start to finish and Chef Rodney has promised a great meal before the show.”

Each of the plays has a different theme on what it takes to have a relationship.

“Having a relationship is not always easy and these pieces reflect that — but always with a humorous touch,” Young says. “And we have assembled an amazing group of directors and actors. It is so important that Beaumont’s theater scene, which is strong, continues to offer a diverse selection of

work, not only for audiences but also for actors and directors. This show is an exciting chance for people to see fresh work with local talent.

“But most of all, romance is the order of the

day, and what better way to spend an evening with a loved one than with dinner and a show.”

For information, visit ww.divergenttheater.com, or visit their Facebook page.

HOLLYWOOD

ACTING COACH CHAMBERS STEVENS TO CONDUCT WORKSHOPS IN FEBRUARY

ACTING COACH AND AUTHOr Chambers Stevens will bring his Hollywood expertise to Beaumont, Feb. 28 and March 1, with a pair of Disney 101 workshops for aspiring young actors, and an advanced commercial workshop for adults.

The workshops, hosted by Divergent Theater, are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m.-noon for 2nd through 5th grade, and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. for 6th though 12th grade. The advanced commercial workshop will be held, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, March 1.

The workshops will be held in the Assembly Hall at All Saints Episcopal School, 4108 Delaware in Beaumont.

Cost is $75 for each workshop.

Advance reservations are required.

Reserve a spot online at Divergenttheater.com or go to facebook.com/divergenttheater.

“Chambers has a gift with children and teenagers,” Ramona Young, Divergent Theater artistic director, said. “When he is coaching them on

auditioning and different acting styles that are currently en vogue in Hollywood, he is super high energy.

He’s fun, he does voices, he connects on their level — he’s just hilarious.

Kids love him.”

He will teach students how to focus on the laugh, how to make an impression, and the difference between single camera and multi-camera auditions.

Stevens is an expert on the Disney style and has a multitude of clients on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.

He is an established coach and the author of seven books of monologues, scenes and commercials for young actors. He is married to Betsy Sullenger, producer of the Disney Channel hit “Liv and Maddie,” and recently won in five catagories “Best in L.A.” awards from Backstage, the national magazine for the film and television industry.

The advanced commercial workshop will cover how to make an

Chamber Stevens impression, and the difference between a comedic commercial and a dramatic one.

Young said that participants will learn about all facets of the audition and acting process.

“Chambers will instruct them on what skills they need to work on to be an effective auditioner,” she said.

“There’ll be some techniques on memorization and how to make your audition stand out. There will also be scene and monologue work.

Stevens, who is making his seventh trip to Southeast Texas, said he enjoys working with young actors.

“Kids are the best,” Stevens said.

“They are so full of creativity and energy. Their imaginations are powerful so they can throw themselves in to any scene. Plus they are so hungry for help from someone who knows what they are doing.

“Once when I was in Beaumont, I got a kid an audition for a Broadway show — so no telling what will happen,” Stevens said.

For more on the workshops, visit www.divergenttheater.com or www.facebook.com/divergenttheater.

For more on Chambers Stevens, visit www.chambersstevens.com.

12 • ISSUE February 2015

Volume 21, No. 5

High Street Gallery to host ‘Fever Dreams,’ Feb. 13 THE HIGH STREET GALLERY will host an exhibition of mixed media artwork by three up-and-coming artists, Chris Presley, Steffen Sangster, and Everett Beaujon, 7-10 p.m., Feb. 13. The gallery is located in Victoria House, 2110 Victoria St. in Beaumont.

“Chris Presley is a founding member of High Street Gallery, and a former resident of Victoria House, where the gallery is located,” Olivia Busceme, gallery director, said. “He has brought along two other young artists and we’re very pleased to show their sundry works on Friday the thirteenth.”

Entry is free and the work will be for sale. Refreshments will be available at the event. The exhibit is titled, “Fever Dreams.”

Southeast Texans all, Presley works mostly in ink and sometimes oils, while Beaujon works with photography and collage. Sangster just uses whatever materials he has available.

“I am obsessed with processes.

Imperfections and messes also interest me,” Sangster said. “I have no intended perceptions.”

Artwork by Chris Presley, left, Steffen Sangster and Everett Beaujon will be on display at High Street Gallery, beginning Feb. 13, in the exhibition “Fever Dreams.”

Presley’s main influences are Salvador Dali, Ed Templeton, Blu and Junji Ito. Sangster says he is influenced

by Andy Warhol, Martin Kippenberger and John Baldessari.

Presley describes his work as dark and surreal, but measured.

“I want to convey the sense that these things could be real, but in all reality you know it’s more likely the

essence of the subconscious,” he said.

For more information, email victoriahousetx@gmail.com, or visit the High Street Gallery Facebook page, or www.nakeddads.com

VIEW from page 3

‘Heartist by Artists’ benefit set for Feb. 12

One of Darrell Troppy’s hearts on display at “Heartist by Artists,” Feb. 12.

Darrell Troppy’s annual heart show, “Heartist by Artists,” a charity fundraiser for The American Heart Association for the Golden Triangle, will be held 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Feb. 12, in his studio located at 1393 Broadway in Beaumont.

Contributing artists include Inez Alvidrez, Adam Cook, Annie Green, Abigail McLaurin, Barbara Allamon, Summer Lydick, Nathan McCrary, Evelyn Sibley, Andy Coughlan and Troppy.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day every year, I invite local artists to join me in depicting their own unique variations of — you guessed it — the heart,” Troppy said.

“The works are showcased and auctioned in the annual heart show, with part of the proceeds benefiting a local non-profit organization chosen by me as the recipient of our donation. Each year, I put the names of all local charities into a hat and draw a name.

“For this year’s recipient, I drew The American Heart Association for the Golden Triangle.”

Nearly 100 works of art submitted by nine local artists will be displayed for a silent auction, with opening bids starting at $100. Raffle tickets will also be sold for $20.

One lucky winner will walk away with a 2x6 heartwork by Darrell Troppy.

Admission is free but donations are encouraged. Attire is business casual.

“Dress to kill, and feel free to wear your heart on your sleeve,” Troppy said.

For more information, visit the “Heartist by Artist” Facebook page.

Start priming those canvases, firing those kilns and rolling the presses. TASIMJAE, our annual membership show, is right around the corner! Shake off the cold and get to work making something fantastic! The best thing about TASIMJAE is all the new work we get to see and the great people we get to meet. And don’t forget: cash prizes and a one-person show for the top prize. If you’ve never entered, what are you waiting for?

Ever yone starts somewhere and The Studio show will get you participation and feedback on your work (the good kind).

Yes, you are taking a chance, but there is no down side. You are not punished for not getting in. We get a thirdparty juror whose interest it is to put together a good show.

On another day they could pick a whole other show, so you don’t have to take it personally, unless you like the angst.

Eli is sending our membership renewals to all our due members. Don’t forget to send her something back. She’ll appreciate it and so will I.

Volume 21, No. 5

February 2015 ISSUE • 13

Dark comedy ‘True West’ runs through Feb. 14 at BCP THE LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP and inevitable competition between brothers takes center stage during Beaumont Community Players’ production of “True West” by Sam Shepard, running for three weekends beginning Jan. 30.

“True West” examines the relationship between Austin, a screenwriter and family man played by Blake Kyler, and his older brother Lee, a drifter and petty thief played by Michael Mason.

During a tension-filled and at times hilarious few days together, the brothers find themselves admitting that each has something the other wants.

Rounding out the cast are Gladys Thomas as their mother and Jody Reho as a Hollywood producer.

The dark comedy set in a suburban, southern California home debuted in 1980. Numerous acclaimed revivals since then show that the story continues to resonate with audiences.

BCP’s production is directed by Gina Hinson.

“The performances by Blake and Michael just during the rehearsal process have been riveting,” Hinson said. “I can’t wait to get this show in front of an audience.”

“True West” is rated PG-13 for violence and adult language.

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30-31, Feb. 6-7 and Feb. 12-14 and 2 p.m. Feb. 7.

All performances will be in the Jerry L.

Courtesy photo

Michael Mason and Blake Kyle rehearse a scene from “True West.”

McMillan Studio Theatre at Beaumont Community Players’ Betty Greenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 4155 Laurel Ave. in Beaumont.

Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors.

CLAY CLASSES @The Art Studio Feb. 14 to March 14 Saturdays, 10 a.m.-noon For beginning students.

Learn handbuilding and firing techniques

Student rush tickets, sold 30 minutes before showtime when seats are available, are $8.

For tickets, call 409-833-4664 or go online to beaumontcommunityplayers.com.

RECENT ART STUDIO NEW OR RENEWING MEMBERS IINDIVIDUAL

Sirena & Scott LaBurn

Mike Cacioppo

Sandra & Richard Laurette

Leonardo Castillo

Melinda McCrary

Sherri Hebert

Nel Morrison

Sam Keith

Anna & Matthew Myers

Stephen V. Kuritz Micky Mitchell

FRIEND/BUSINESS:

Mildred Morgan

Sandy & Joseph Fertitta

Dr. Bob Rogan

Cynthia C. Fontenot

Carole Seabrooke

Path Miller

Rose Stark

Patricia D. Tatum

Selena M.S. Thierry

Jayne & Brian Aquino

Vickie A. Vanover K.R. Wallon

Taught by Greg Busceme

$100 For information, call 409-838-5393 or visit TASI at 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont

Donations in Memory of FAMILY/GROUP

Murray Crawford Ralph Jr.

Ann Creswell Albert & Amy Faggard

Steel Magnolia Ladies

Anita Judice

Richard & Sandra Laurette

14 • ISSUE February 2015

Volume 21, No. 5

Thoughtcrime Submission Guidelines and Disclaimer ISSUE solicits and publishes the work of local authors. Poetry, short fiction, scholarly works and opinion pieces may be submitted for review. All works must be typed and may be sent to TASI by email or by messaging the ISSUE Facebook page.

The opinions expressed in “Thoughtcrime” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TASI, its Board of Directors, ISSUE’s editorial staff, or donors to TASI. Send typed works to: ISSUE 720 Franklin, Beaumont, TX 77701 or e-mail issue@artstudio.org Authors must submit a daytime telephone number and email along with all submissions. Pen names are acceptable, but authors must supply real names for verification.

All printed works are protected by copyright. The author retains rights to any published work. ISSUE does not notify of rejection by mail or telephone.

A Gray, Gray Day

Good Morning

It was a dreary, gloomy, bleak day The silhouette of barren trees against smoke Colored clouds looks like dirty cotton ribbons Draped across the wintery sky The naked limbs give the appearance of Long, trembling, arthritic fingers A solitary bird lands on the swaying branches Only to take flight again…

Screaming children break and run across a near-by Field…their clothes pressed by the whipping and Blowing gusts of frosty wind.

The younger ones poke along, but finally Catches up at the urging of their siblings…

They push on…hoping to make it home Before the inevitable comes…

A deluge, a storm…

The distant rumble of thunder…

The faint, familiar smell of rain in the evening air The foreboding sky grows darker and darker with every Precious second…

As they eventually disappear from view, it comes A few nonthreatening drops, then…

A solid wall of pouring rain that moves in Like an enormous white sheet Turning this gray, gray day into a Stormy, stormy, night!

Through the dark leaves of backyard trees, the sun unhides the sky, a dim-lit firmament that was.

Such blaze is but a dust.

It floats itself within the place that has no human end.

I see it for the first time as the last, ineffable.

“Good morning.” I can hear her yawn.

My wife, in groggy clothes, pulls back her auburn hair and smiles.

What’s come of sun is in her face.

All memory of years implodes, the moment nearly dawn.

Here universes fall in folds of soft fire in her smile.

D. Clover

Andy Coughlan

Jesse Doiron

Who is the master?

The movie is about to begin.

Settled in, wrapped cozy in blankets.

The dog waits for the exact right moment.…

Now! “Will someone let me out, please?”

Bill My eyes matted with sleep strain open My brain fuzzy with last night's dreams sends incomplete messages to my extremities.

My body shakes the lethargy that yesterday wrought I stretch my fingers to the sky and flex my neck back to see the break of a new dawn.

My head clear, I see hear smell and feel the terrifying black abyss Fill with warm light of worth purpose responsibility Casting no shadows and Projecting today's message clearly.

Traveling down an unfamiliar road I turn and wave My thanks for Nurturing shelter As two souls mingle, so do they part But the gift remains.

Cathy Atkinson

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Art Studio is looking for energetic people who have a few hours a month to help us in the following areas:

OFFICE SUPPORT • BUILDINGS & GROUNDS • SPECIAL EVENTS • MAILOUTS If you are interested in one or more of these opportunities or if you know of anyone who might be, give us a call

409-838-5393

Volume 21, No. 5

February 2015 ISSUE • 15

Thoughtcrime

Former Lover and Wishes for the Best I had been thinking a lot about an old lover only three months separated. If you ask her, she could tell you the exact time and date. She had a knack for such recollection. I made a CD as an excuse to see her. I was aching.

I was afraid to go to her job because I didn’t know who was there — or if she would receive me. I knew she would receive me. Nervously, I rang the bell for service and she walked slowly from her office, heels clicking like a show pony. It felt like it took her five minutes to round the corner.

She saw me and we stared at each other for a few seconds. I asked her, “Did I do wrong by being here?”

She said she was coming around to give me a hug. Both still in awe, she embraced me in her warmth and my sunglasses fogged. There was a very familiar smell that made my heart race with our bodies still attached. For a long time we healed each other, and I almost kissed her neck. If I had we would have not been able to control the flood.

I suggested that we sit down and talk. “I missed you,” I said and I could tell she was glad to see me.

“How are your shoulders?”

“They still hurt,” she said.

“Everybody told me that I was crazy for letting you go and you were the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.”

Gorgeous, funny, sweet, smart, successful.

“But I didn’t have a choice, did I?” It is true that if you love someone you should let them go; if they come back they are yours.

“They don’t even know me.”

I told her, “It’s your light, baby.”

“We had fun, didn’t we?”

She grabbed my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine. I thought back to a time when I was looking up her long, tan six pack with belly button charm, past her cupcake breasts, nipples hard as stones, into her eyes one blue one green and I said, “Now,” very matter of fact, “I want you to grab my hair and fuck my face.” She made a deep gasp and an even harder grasp and buried me deep, thrusting her hips up and down. She said she knew I was coming because we are connected in a way that we can feel each other’s thoughts and emotions.

“Did you say and do in a certain manner because you were with me and then changed when you were with someone else?”

“I said and did what was in my heart when I was with you.”

I saw her eyes dim slightly from repression or expectations from everyone she encountered, all but me. I wanted her to continue therapy without surgery on her shoulders. Massage and chiropractics helped, I know. Mostly she was hiding from the force of the world, closing her chest from the brunt of it all. She didn’t have the support from the people around her or they didn’t believe it would help. I’m sure they suggested prayer.

I remembered a time when we were laying in my bed and I had an overwhelming feeling that there was no one to turn or run to. Not friends, not family, and the only person who could carry the weight was me. I have the ability or empathy to feel others’ emotions without them speaking a word, and I knew she was scared for her two children and needed someone she could turn to. She wanted it to be me, but I didn’t have anything to offer at the time. For me it was a time of tribulation, and I was scared for her to be around me. Unexpected traumas happened to me and they were intensifying. I didn’t want her to get hurt, and I knew she would take any type of abuse or hurt for her children. She would even sacrifice her happiness for them, and I fear that is what is happening.

If I stayed any longer we would not have been able to control ourselves, so I stood up and said, “I’m leaving against my own will.” We hugged twice and she watched me walk to my truck. I felt undone.

K R O W T R A

@

JOIN TODAY!

Founded in 1983, The Art Studio, Inc. is devoted to: providing opportunities for interaction between the public and the Southeast Texas community of artists; furnishing affordable studio space to originating artists of every medium; promoting cultural growth and diversity of all art forms in Southeast Texas; and providing art educational opportunities to everyone, of every age, regardless of income level, race, national origin, sex or religion.

PURPOSE The purpose of The Art Studio, Inc. is to (1) provide educational opportunities between the general public and the community of artists and (2) to offer sustained support for the artist by operating a non-profit cooperative to provide studio space and exhibition space to working artists and crafts people, and to provide an area for group work sessions for those artists and crafts people to jointly offer their labor, ideas, and enthusiasm to each other.

GOALS 1.

2.

3.

4.

Nathaniel Welch

LR L E S U O Y

Mission Statement

To present public exhibitions To provide educational opportunities To provide accessible equipment for artists To provide peer feedback through association with other artists and crafts people

OBJECTIVES 1.

2.

3.

4.

AC X T SE ORG .

5.

6.

7.

8.

To present 10 art exhibitions per year To maintain equipment for artists in a safe working environment To provide better access to artists for the public To offer regularly scheduled adult and children’s classes To develop and maintain public activities with all sectors of the community To develop and maintain equipment to aid artists in their work To provide a display retail outlet for artists To expand programming and activities with increased facility space This project was funded in part by the B.A. & E.W. Steinhagen Benevolent Trust through the Southeast Texas Arts Council.

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INSIDE • KAILEE VIATOR’S ‘MEMENTO MUNDI’ • THOUGHTCRIME: MUSINGS FROM AREA POETS • SYMPHONY GOES TO THE MOVIES • PARAGONE: PAINTING VS SCULPTURE

When you support The Art Studio with your membership, you receive ISSUE, Southeast Texas’ and Southwest Louisiana’s alternative press, as well as class schedules, invitations to opening receptions and various Studio functions.

Volunteers These people are the life blood of our organization.

WE COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU! To volunteer, drop by The Art Studio, Inc., or call 409-838-5393.

Elizabeth Fontenot Bryan Castino Heather & Adam Butler Rhonda Rodman Sue Wright Cyndi Grimes Rhonda McNally Andy Coughlan John Roberts Beau Dumesnil Karen Dumesnil Sheila Busceme Kailee Viator Gabe Sellers Abbie McLaurin Scott & John Alexander Heather Adams Terri Fox Avril Falgout B.J. Bourg Michelle Falgout Dana Dorman Stacey Haynes Olivia Busceme Joe Winston John Fulbright Mark Jacobson Gina Garcia Nathaniel Welch Tracy Danna

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