THE ARTS MAGAZINE OF THE ART STUDIO, INC.
MARCH 2012
MIXING IT UP PAGE 8
INSIDE: BALL IN PICS, AMSET DUO, OLITSKI AT MFAH, AND MORE
From: @Cas-D_Fried nice stroll but miss my friends time to renew studio membership
SEE MEMBERSHIP FORM ON PAGE 3.
A View From The Top Greg Busceme, TASI Director
ISSUE Vol. 18, No. 6 Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Art Studio, Inc. Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy Coughlan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracy Danna Contributing Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . Elena Ivanova, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Strange Contributing Photographers . . . . . . Scott Eslinger, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brittany Blackwell
The Art Studio, Inc. Board of Directors President Ex-Officio . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Busceme Vice-President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angela Busceme Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Roberts Treasurer/Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth Gallaspy 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 artstudio@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 Abominable Snow Ball in Pictures. . . . . . . . Page 4 Pruitt, Jack at AMSET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 TASIMJAE Call For Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 Roy Bares’ ‘Mixed Terrain’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Olitski at MFAH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10 Around & About. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12 Thoughtcrime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 13
Cover photo of Roy Bares by Andy Coughlan
HOPE ALL IS WELL with you and yours. We had another fun and sucessful time at the Beaux Arts Ball this year. The numbers aren’t all in but through our diligent repurposing, recycling and just plain reusing many of our decorations and paring down printing and mailing costs we raised enough to take care of our music license fee and resupply our clay inventory. Thanks to the board of The Studio for working together to make this happen, and the interns and apprentices on whom we constantly depend, daily, to assist in all our programs. Westbrook Key Club, a team of young and dedicated volunteers came out Saturday morning to help us set up and we extend our appreciation for their assistance. Thanks also to RECreate who put on a fantastic style show of some of the area’s best designers. It was a wonderful addition to a magical evening and I hope we see more of the same next year. I would especially like to thank all the partiers who make the event — the extravaganza of costumes amaze and delight participants every year. We are already looking forward to next year’s ball and looking for a new theme to challenge our creative spirit. The IRS form 990 is a report required of all nonprofits to maintain their tax exempt
status. Over the years we have had the generosity of CPA firms that would do the 990 for for amamzingly low costs or free. Those reports eventually became too expensive for the firms to continue the pro bono service to us. We certainly didn’t have the funds to pay the $2,500 to $3,000, and for years we relied on older 990 reports. Forward to 2006, and we find legislation that demands that non profits provide the 990 form report anually or lose their non-profit status. As you might have already concluded, The Art Studio was on that hit list and we were put in a probationary period until we follow up and produce 990s for the past three years ending in 2011. The good part: As I sit reading the letter and feeling once again as if the rug might be tugged out from under us for some red tape issue, I get a call from a Mr. Rodney Williams who is a CPA in Beaumont and saw our organization on the vast list of NPOs that were not compliant. Churches, veterans organizatons, civic groups, were among the guilty that he was assisting in regaining their NPO status and asked if we would like him to represent us free of charge as simply a civic jesture. I cried a little in relief and affirmed we were in dire straits and his help
See VIEW on page 15
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART STUDIO MARCH Roy Bares “Mixed Terrain”
APRIL TASIMJAE (The Art Studio, Inc. Member Jurored Art Exhibition)
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 3
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 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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Not-so-frozen fun
4 • ISSUE March 2012
Volume 18, No. 6
TASI’S BEAUX ARTS BALL FUNDRAISER BRINGS OUT CHARACTERS, CASH
THE BEAUX ARTS BALL 2012 — The Abominable Snow Ball offered the coolest party in town on Jan. 28. A night of fun, fashion and fund-raising, the ball brought in thousands of much needed dollars to help The Art Studio Inc. continue to promote art and culture in Southeast Texas. A portion of proceeds already have gone to paying SESAC dues, which allow The Art Studio to host monthly band nights, and to purchasing clay to sell to local artists and students. Money raised at the Beaux Arts Ball helps keep the lights on and the doors open at TASI year round. A big THANK YOU to the many volunteers who helped plan, set up, work the event and clean up; to the American Legion Hall, Post #33; to Brandon Gouthier Photography; to RECreate; and to the many underwriting and silent auction donors: Carlo Busceme III, Katharine & Co., Jane Roberts Consulting, Regina J. Rogers, Susan Wallon, Marty Arrendondo, The Book Bazaar, Burns Antik Haus, Greg Busceme, Kelli Cordi, Andy Coughlan, Chris Cox, Karen Dumesnil, Elizabeth Fontenot, Janna Fulbright, Cynthia Grimes, Larena Head, D.J. Kava, Jeff McManus, Rhonda McNally, Elizabeth Pearson, Cynthia Perkins, Annie Orchard, the Shiflett Brothers, Michael Snowden, Solutions Day Spa, The Tattered Suitcase, Kevin Thompson of Studio 77, Kailee Viator, Estate of George Wentz, April Whitehead, World Gym and Sue Wright.
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March 2012 ISSUE • 5
Text by Beth Gallaspy Photos by Andy Coughlan and Scott Eslinger
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Volume 18, No. 6
INTERIOR WORLDS Pruitt, Jack explore hidden perceptions in AMSET shows THERE ARE WORLDS WITHIN our own — places of intrigue and wonder where the rules of the uniPhotos by verse are created with every stroke of Brittany the brush, chiseling Blackwell of stone, or lighting of the welding torch. The artist carves a world from his own — one that describes his experience and perception — breaking the seal of hidden truths. Robert Pruitt describes his experience of the outer world in his exhibition, “This Rejection of the Conqueror: Works by Robert Pruitt,” while Meredith “Butch” Jack explores the inner world of the artist in “Meredith Jack: Back in Black,” both on display at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas through April 8. The collection by Jack features a variety of sculptures made from metal, stabilized foam, and mixed media. Each black-painted piece is like a hole in the world where we reside, and a window into the world created by the artist. Looking at the collection, one gets the feeling that should he utter the artist’s name three times, the art itself may come to life. Some of the pieces in the “Tondo” series, a collection of black, circular hanging sculptures made of condensed foam, have a window-like quality — allowing viewers to peer into the mind of the sculptor. Other pieces resemble weapons and shields, proudly displaying the void of color of their otherworldly kingdom. Each piece in the Tondo series forces the mind to grasp for something recognizable — resembling melted or mutated versions of earthly artifacts. The series reminds one of a mad creator, haphazardly joining the organic and inorganic into something new and enigmatic. Jack’s large, metal sculptures are equally indefinable. “Rose Garden 46” also has a window-like quality. The frame of the window itself is not straight and true, but wavy and malformed, giving the piece a “once upon a time” quality that lets the viewer know that what he sees when peering through this window is not necessarily of this world. “Rose Garden 47” is unique in the collection, being one of two pieces (the other being “Tondo 34”) that are not entirely black — both having a feminine quality about them.
Review by Andrew Strange
“Rose Garden 47” has a platinum colored rose encircled by black steel atop an anvil-like structure — as if anchoring the artist to a precious and creative force from which his which his world springs forth. Jack said “Snake Woman 1” and “Snake Woman 2” are his take on the ancient Minoan Snake Goddess. The two sculptures stand like tall, dark idols. The snakes, which crown the summit of the obelisks, reach toward the sky in honor of their patron goddess. The top-heavy appearance of the sculptures adds to the power and impact of the pieces — hinting at a law-defying quality within their nature. “Truth Table” hints at the evolution of Western imperialism with its broken Roman-style column as it gives way to a metal American cowboy hat. While one empire has fallen, its children continue to carry out a legacy of conquering “less civilized” lands. Perhaps the truth is on the table — in the form of artifacts from a tradition of entitled conquerors. While Jack explores his inner world, Robert Pruitt’s collection examines the artist’s place in a postmodern world. Drawing from the work of post-colonial writer Franz Fannon, Pruitt’s work represents the pastiche identity of today’s African-American artist. The work shows how Pruitt remains aware of his roots while absorbing the barrage of icons and idols in Western commercial society. There is a particular emphasis on idols in the collection. Whether gods, comic book heroes, historical figures, kings, cosmonauts or science fiction Jedi, the hero makes an appearance in a majority of the pieces in the collection. In “Two Sistas,” a Conté charcoal and gold leaf drawing on hand-dyed paper, two women wear ceremonial robes with the Russian space program symbol on the breast, one wears an African icon headdress. A young man wears a bustled cape in “Superbad Garveyite.” The figure stares at the viewer with a seriousness that draws one into the picture. This is one of the drawings where the subject looks back at its spectators. A collection of sculptures, paintings and ready-mades make up the “Throne Room,” each pays homage to a kingly figure “Oba,” a Conté charcoal drawing on
See AMSET on page 11
MAMA by Robert Pruitt.
TRUTH TABLE, foreground, and ROSE GARDEN 47 by Meredith “Butch” Jack.
Volume 18, No. 6
March 2012 ISSUE • 7
THE ART STUDIO, INC. MEMBERS JURORED ART EXHIBITION
TASIMJAE
CALL FOR ENTRIES DEADLINE MARCH 31 CALENDAR Entry dates........................................March 27-31 Jury selection..............................................April 1 Notification by mail..................................April 4 Pick-up works not accepted..April 6 by 4 p.m. Opening/awards reception.....April 7, 7-10 p.m. Pick up exhibited work..........................May 1-2. ELIGIBILITY Open to all members in good standing of The Art Studio, Inc. (TASI). Membership fee of $35 may be paid at time of entry. Works completed within the last two years that have not previously been shown at TASI may be submitted. All two-dimensional work must be ready to hang (wires, not sawtooths). All three-dimensional work must have firm base. Work may not exceed two hundred pounds in weight or 10 feet in height. Completed entry label must be firmly attached to the back upper left corner of 2-D work or base of 3-D work. SUBMISSIONS Entries must be delivered to TASI, 720 Franklin, Beaumont, Texas, M-F between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. No works will be accepted after 4 p.m. on March 31. Deliveries by bus not accepted. Works must be shipped prepaid and/or hand delivered. Limit two (2) entries per person. RETURN OF ALL ENTRIES Work not accepted must be picked up by 4 p.m. on April 6. Works selected for exhibition must remain on display until April 30 and may be picked up May 1-2.
APT. 9, by Trisha Faye, was the winner of TASIMJAE 2011.
AGREEMENT Although the greatest possible care will be exercised in handling work, TASI accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to work submitted, while in transit or on premises. TASI reserves the right to photograph submitted works for publicity purposes. Submission of entries implies the artist’s understanding and agreement to the rules and conditions of the exhibition. AWARDS 1st. place: A solo exhibition at TASI in May 2013 2nd. place $75, 3rd. place $50 JUROR Branden Morris Art of Culture Director Museum of Cultural Arts in Houston
LUNAR RABBIT, by Sean Wilcox, earned honorable mention at TASIMJAE 2011.
Volume 18, No. 6
‘MIXED
8 • ISSUE March 2012
EXPLORING
ARTIST, TEACHER ROY BARES FINDS INSPIRATION ‘ALL OVER THE PLACE’ ROY BARES SITS IN his studio, a small room off his kitchen on the way to the back patio. It is reasonably dark unless he turns on the light clipped above his head. He also paints on his patio or at Kelly High School where he has worked for 11 years. But that’s not what he means when he says his art is “all over the place.” “I may work in one style for a while and then switch over to another — it’s just whatever hits me,” he says. “Starting out trying to sell your work, you try to paint what you think people are going to want to buy, what’s
Story and photos by Andy Coughlan
going to look nice over their couch. Through that, you try out different styles. Doing that, I felt comfortable doing a variety of different styles. Later on I kind of stopped worrying about that part of it and I just started painting things that I was thinking about, not really worrying about style.” The product of his thoughts will be on display at The Art Studio, Inc. in March in a show aptly titled, “Mixed Terrain.” The show opens with a reception March 3 and runs through March 31. The 46-year-old father of two says he really started painting when he was 18 or 19. “I went to work at a sign shop while I was going to college at Lamar University,” he says. “I got a lot of on-
the-job experience.” Bares started out as a graphic design major at Lamar before switching to art education and studio art. He graduated in 1990. Working at Kelly High School helps his creative juices flow. “It is a good place to be,” he says. “It’s like my other studio, a second home to me. A lot of the stuff I do with my students keeps my ideas going. It’s kind of like a jumping platform for me, in the sense that I am always critiquing their work and in the process, giving myself ideas, pushing myself.” Bares paints in a small room in his house as well as on his patio and at Kelly.
TERRAIN’
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Bares uses acrylics mostly. He used to use oils but found that over a period of time, the fumes began to affect his health. “I love them, I really do,” he says. “But I work all day with oils and my lips are cracked, and breathing the distillants, my throat gets store and I get bronchitis — I just had to get away from it.” Even though Bares mostly paints whatever takes his fancy, he says that he still takes on commissions including still lifes, portraits, murals. He also paints backdrops for photographers and for proms. He has done the backdrops for Taylor Dance Studio recitals for the past 13 or 14 years. The backdrops can be as large as 26 feet by 50 feet. His most recent backdrop took two months every day after work. “I don’t know how many more of these (backdrops) I can do,” he says. “My shoulder’s giving out.” When Bares has an idea, he often works on a several versions on the same theme. “I will work on a series of images and then I will stop and my ideas will get redirected and I’ll start on something else,” he says. A few years back he started on what he calls his “Flying Banana” series. “I got this idea for a blue monkey and the idea stuck in my head,” he says. “Then one day at work I had a student who was doing a sculpture unit and they couldn’t think of anything. I said, ‘Why don’t you me a monkey and I want you to paint him blue.’ I did a little rough sketch and right
See BARES on page 14
Roy Bares sits on his patio and sometime studio space accompanied by Buffy Vampire Slayer. Bares’ paintings “Flying Banana #2: The Chase,” main image, and “The Flight of the Zebra King” are part of his exhibition “Mixed Terrain” at the Art Studio in March.
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Volume 18, No. 6
With Love and Disregard
P AINTINGS BY J ULE S O LITSKI AT THE M USEUM OF F I NE AR T S , H OU S T ON
“As we all know, inspiration, like love, can’t be induced. If we are fortunate, it will happen, falling upon us like a gift from the gods. If we are very fortunate, it will happen more than once. The only thing I could hope for was that I would be at work when the miracle came about; so I worked all the time.” — Jules Olitski, “The Courage of Conviction,” 1986. “REVELATION: MAJOR PAINTINGS BY Jules Olitski” opened at MFAH on Feb. 12. The exhibition features more than 30 monumental paintings from public and private collections by one of the leading American artists of the 20th century. Organized by the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, this retrospective provides a rare opportunity to see Olitski’s artistic legacy in its entirety, from the early experiments in stain painting to spray painting and to ground-breaking canvases of the last decade of his work. I would like to step back and share an episode from my past. I was visiting a famous museum known for an outstanding collection of West-European art with an artist friend. As we walked through the galleries, I was captivated by exciting stories that unfolded in every painting, whether it were a Greek myth, a historical event or a scene from everyday life. My friend could not care less about these stories or their interpretation. He would stand for a long time in front of a canvas looking at the intricate brushwork, color contrasts, juxtaposition of shapes or the interplay of light and shade. This memory came back to me as I was reading Jules Olitski’s comments about his experiences in museums. “One reason, maybe the best, why we go to the museum is to see great art, to get the look, the feel, the ‘smell’ of quality,” the artist wrote in 1985. He acknowledged that all his life he especially admired Rembrandt, whose masterpiece “The Polish Rider” in the Frick Collection in New York was one of his all-time favorites. Olitski described how he tried to paint from a large reproduction of this work in order to “appropriate” Rembrandt’s technique for his own work: “I was going to get inside that painting. I was going to take it apart, open it up like you might an unusual sounding clock to see what made it tick the way it did ... I kept referring to it, trying to get the inner structure of the painting to somehow serve my purpose, my vision. Didn’t work... What a painting! It’s all undulating surface, seamless and impenetrable; a good Rembrandt has no holes.”1
Story by Elena Ivanova
Jules Olitski, PURPLE GOLUBCHIK, 1962, magna acrylic on canvas. Private Collection. Image © Estate of Jules Olitski/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; photo: Michael Cullen
Jules Olitski, PATUTSKY IN PARADISE, 1966, acrylic on canvas. Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Purchase, 1982. Image © Estate of Jules Olitski/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Jules Olitski, GREEK PRINCESS-8, 1976. Acrylic on canvas. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Museum Purchase, 1976. Image © Estate of Jules Olitski/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; photo Lee Stalsworth
At the first glance, it may seem paradoxical that the artist who was one of the major proponents of Color Field Painting (also called PostPainterly Abstraction) found inspiration in paintings of Rembrandt and other old masters. We tend to think of abstract art as a “thing in itself” which has nothing to do with figurative art and its principles. This notion is not dispelled, but, in fact, often reinforced when we go to museums. Most museums present their collections chronologically, which helps to follow the historical sequence of events. However, this approach renders invisible non-linear connections between individual artists and movements, which spread throughout art history like a finely woven web. These connections with art of the past were vital for Olitski’s work. Since his first exploration of art as a student at the National Academy of Design in New York and later in Paris at the Ossip Zadkine School and the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere, Olitski was inspired and challenged by great masters. He never attempted to imitate their work, he wanted to “translate” their art into the language of modern painting. He summarized his relationship with the past in the following personal manifesto: “Take what you can use from the past and throw out the rest. Keep going back and you’ll find more and more to take and maybe more and more to get rid of.” During the course of his artistic career, which spanned over sixty years, Olitski “kept going back” to old masters while being involved in incessant experimentation in search of new forms of artistic expression. He was one of the most unconventional artists of his time whose artistic method was based on “serious play” with materials and tools. He stained and gun-sprayed the canvas, applied paint with a wide assortment of tools, such as brooms, rollers and mitts, trying not to be judging or calculating, but allowing intuition to dictate which way to go. It is believed that he occasionally painted blindfolded to liberate himself from any preconceived notions and habits. At the same time, he always maintained focus and control in the middle of experimentation. This process is evident in the works presented in his retrospective at MFAH. Upon entering into the gallery, the viewer is immediately overwhelmed by the enormity of canvases and luminosity of colors. The feeling is
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March 2012 ISSUE • 11
AMSET from page 6
Jules Olitski, OF DARIUS, 1988. Acrylic on canvas. Private Collection. Image © Estate of Jules Olitski/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; photo: Rachel Portesi
Jules Olitski, WITH LOVE AND DISREGARD: SPLENDOR, 2002, acrylic on canvas. Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish, Toronto. Image © Estate of Jules Olitski/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; photo: Michael Cullen
akin to being in a Gothic cathedral, with light pouring in through stained glass windows and casting multicolor shadows on stone columns and walls. Stain paintings from the early 1960s attract, like magnets, by large biomorphic shapes, which seem to be floating in space. Works like “Purple Golubchik” were done by saturating canvas with paint rather than applying it to the surface, as it is done in the traditional method of painting. This technique requires precision and calculation since once the paint penetrates the fibers, it cannot be removed. One critic dubbed this type of work “one shot” paintings. The compositions are created by juxtaposing large color forms and areas of raw canvas. “Patutsky in Paradise” and other spray paintings from late 1960s dazzle the eye with radiant color that evenly covers the whole surface of the canvas and shimmers with subtle variations in shade. These works provide great examples of the major feature of Color Field Painting — all-over color. It was renowned critic Clement Greenberg, the “godfather” of Abstract Expressionism, who coined the term “all-over” approach in relation to composition in works of the first generation of Abstract Expressionists. Tracking the origins of this approach to the famous Monet “Lilies” series, Greenberg pointed out an important distinction between traditional artists and modernists in their attitude toward the painterly surface. While traditionalists regarded the canvas as a window into the world, modern artists treated it like a flat surface, or “field.” In works of Color Field painters like Olitski, Barnett Newman, Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland and Morris Louis, the “all-over” approach manifested itself as a uniform color. Spray paintings marked a new stage in Olitski’s artistic evolution. According to Olitski, the idea to paint with a spray gun came to him during his conversation with sculptor Anthony Caro. Caro remarked that he wished his sculpture “to be all about the density of the material.” Olitski replied that he would like his paintings to be “just a cloud of color that remains there transfixed.” The result was the series of “lighterthan-air” paintings that convey a sense of weightlessness and suspended color. In 1966, Olitski, together with Helen Frankenthaler, Roy Lichtenstein and Ellsworth Kelly, represented the United States at the 33rd Venice Biennale. Color Field Painting became an international phenomenon lauded by critics and sought after by art dealers. Notwithstanding all this fame and success, Olitski continued his quest for new frontiers in art and
by the early 1970s he radically changed his style. The body of work created during the next two decades of the artist’s life is presented in the exhibition under the title “Baroque and High Baroque Paintings.” Olitski always related his painting practice to the legacy of West-European art history. However, with age, the message of old masters became clearer in his work. Some paintings in this series, like “Of Darius,” have a heavy impasto surface which shows the evidence of being worked on with brooms, rollers and mitts. The physicality of these works convey, in the language of gestural abtsraction, the drama and the dynamism typical of such artists as Tiepolo, Tintoretto and Caracci. Other paintings, such as “Greek Princess – 8,” have smooth, opaque surfaces painted in somber tones with variations in value, which reminds of Olitski’s lifelong fascination with Rembrandt. Using gel medium which made his brush movements visible, Olitski was able to re-introduce Rembrandt’s famous chiaroscuro into the 20th-century painting. During the last decade of his life, Olitski’s style underwent yet another transformation. “Splendor” and other paintings in the series “With Love and Disregard” sparkle with glass-like pools and rivulets of undiluted pigment. One can imagine a seventy-year old artist pouring and mixing paints on the canvas which is stretched on the floor in his studio. He is filled with joy and excitement as he is playing with tools and experimenting, waiting to see what happens. He is celebrating life and the beauty of creation while at the same time declaring his disregard for everything predictable and safe, for death itself. Olitski was one of those artists who could eloquently speak of his art and had a penchant for writing. In his memoirs, essays and interviews, he constantly questioned his process and searched for answers in his own experiences as well as in the legacy of great masters of the past. When asked about the first thing he did before embarking in a new project, Olitski replied, “I pray that God gets me out of my way.” Feeling outside of himself, trying not to anticipate, letting things happen, following his intuition, taking chances — that was his creative process. Throughout his life Olitski never stopped feeling the excitement of following the unknown path, which challenged him to abandon the comfort of the familiar for the sake of the unexplored.
hand-dyed paper, who sits surrounded by his subjects and treasures. A gold crown made from the matrimony of a many a boy’s two favorite things: bicycles and Star Wars is encased in glass. The crown has a partial bike wheel, spokes and all, combined with the iconic Princess Leah, braided, double bun hairdo. Other headdresses in the “Throne Room” gallery are infused with brightly colored weaponry, all aimed at Oba. A ready-made collection of Oba’s subjects stand at the ready before him — a superman glass, Yoda, a policeman action figure, a Transformer, and many other warrior-oriented toys make up the king’s army. The exhibit seems to suggest that the very luxuries that power provides may also be that which becomes one’s undoing. “Stunning Like My Daddy,” a Conté charcoal drawing on hand-dyed paper, comments on the idea that generations create a simulacrum of those before them as they try to capture the cool that draws people to the past — but always adding a personal touch to Dad’s duds. There is also an emphasis on headdress in the show. In addition to the various crowns and headdresses displayed in the “Throne Room,” many of the figures in the drawings have elaborate hairdos, such as “Steeped” and “Stone Cut,” while others wear headdresses like the figure in “Mama” or “Two Sistas.” The black ball-cap bearing the letter “X” in “Thinking Cap” hovers over its display on a pillow of blue light like a mystic crown waiting for a prophesized king. Another black ball-cap, turned on its side in “Dome” bares its gold-leafed underside. All of the pieces in the Pruitt collection are connected by the network that is the artist’s identity. Many of the drawings have obvious connections — similar garb, common, themes and colors. Some pieces are connected through their incorporation of African history, family totems and traditions, others through an attraction toward space and science fiction or through popular Western culture. But each is a representation of internalized experience, phenomena, and interaction — the sum of which becomes the identity of the artist. For more information, call 409-832-3432.
1
Jules Olitski, “Reflections on Masterpieces,” The Edmonton Art Gallery’s Update magazine, July-August 1985.
STEEPED by Robert Pruitt
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Around & About If you come across any interesting exhibitions, museums or other places on your travels, share them with us. Call 409-838-5393, or contact us through our web site at www.artstudio.org. Be sure to include the location and dates of the subject, as well as any costs.
The BEAUMONT ART LEAGUE will host its 50TH ANNUAL NATIONAL EXHIBITION, March 1-31. The reception will be held March 10, 7-9 p.m. BAL is located at 2675 Gulf Street in Beaumont For information, call 409-833-4179 or visit www.beaumontartleague.org. ______________
An international jury of art scholars and professionals has awarded the third annual Prix International du Livre d’Art Tribal (International Tribal Art Book Prize) to ANCESTORS OF THE LAKE: ART OF LAKE SENTANI AND HUMBOLDT BAY, NEW GUINEA. The MENIL COLLECTION published the book — edited by Virginia-Lee Webb — to accompany an exhibition of the same title presented at the Menil, May 6 to Aug. 28. Founded in 2009, the annual award is bestowed by Tribal Art, an international quarterly established in 1994, in collaboration with Sotheby’s. The award honors diversity and excellence of publishing in the field of tribal art. Each year select monographs are judged according to a specific set of criteria relating to the quality of objects represented, photography, printing, layout, and text. Books must also make significant contributions to the current state of scholarship. The jurors described this year’s winner in a group statement: “‘Ancestors of the Lake’ is a stunning look at the region’s distinctive art, such as its highly stylized wooden sculptures and decoratively and abstractly designed barkcloths. This beautifully illustrated volume brings together many of these important historic pieces for the first time, including the landmark collection of French writer and art dealer Jacques Viot, along with photographs by Paul Wirz. The book also explores how European Surrealist artists found inspiration in the art of New Guinea, highlighted by rarely seen photographs by Man Ray of Sentani sculpture.” The show was reviewed in the June 2011 ISSUE. ______________ The MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON is hosting TUTANKHAMUN: THE GOLDEN KING AND THE GREAT PHARAOHS, an exhibition featuring more than 100 artifacts, most of which had never been shown in the U.S. prior to this tour. The show is on view through April 15. “Visitors will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the spectacular treasures, more than half of which come from the tomb of King Tutankhamun,” a museum release states. These include the golden sandals that were found on the boy king’s mummy, a gold coffinette that held his stomach, golden statues of the gods, his rings, ear ornaments and gold collar. The exhibition also includes a replica of King Tut’s mummy created as a direct translation of the pharaoh’s recent CT scans. Since the real mummy has never travelled and still lies in its royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings, visitors who are not able to travel to Egypt can get a sense of what it looks like. The exhibition is organized by the National Geographic Society, Arts & Exhibitions International and AEG Exhibitions with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. The majority of proceeds from the tour support the preservation and conservation of antiquities and monuments in Egypt,
including construction of the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. The exhibition features treasures associated with the most important rulers of the 30 dynasties that ruled Egypt over a 2,000 year span. The exhibition explores the splendor of the pharaohs, their function in both the earthly and divine worlds and what “kingship” meant to the Egyptian people. Visitors will encounter master sculptures of powerful Egyptian rulers, including Khafre, builder of the Great Sphinx and one of the pyramids at Giza; Hatshepsut, the queen who became a pharaoh; statues of the warrior pharaohs, Tuthmosis and Ramesses the Great; as well as King Tut’s father Akhenaten, the pharaoh who changed Egypt’s religion to the worship of one omnipotent sun god. The magnificent golden death mask of Psusennes I will also be on display. The exhibition also showcases the largest likeness of King Tut ever discovered — a 10foot statue of the pharaoh found at the remains of a funerary temple. The exhibition was curated by David Silverman, Egyptologist from the University of Pennsylvania, who also served as a curator during the 1970s Tutankhamun tour. “There’s mystery,” Silverman states in a release. “There’s excitement. It’s exotic and foreign, but it’s recognizable.” To promote understanding and put these artworks in context, the exhibition reflects environments that help convey the story of the artifacts, such as the Great Pyramids at Giza and the four rooms of King Tut’s tomb. “Tutankhamun” will be on view in the 22,000square-foot Upper Brown Pavilion of the Caroline Wiess Law Building at the MFAH. Its introduction features a National Geographic documentary narrated by award-
This 18th Dynasty Canopic Coffinette made of gold, carnelian, obsidian and rock crystal was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb and is on display at the MFAH through April 15.
RECENT ART STUDIO NEW OR RENEWING MEMBERS Vikki Avaregan Sarah Boehme John & Janna Fulbright Pat & Cindy Grimes Meredith Jack Debbie Lavergne Doug Mattingly Maria Elena Sandovici Christy Valka & Joey Richardson
winning actor Harrison Ford. The final galleries are dedicated to King Tut’s tomb, including an area devoted to its discovery by British explorer Howard Carter in 1922. There, visitors will encounter legendary treasures from the tomb’s antechamber, annex, treasury and burial chamber in corresponding galleries. “Houston has a history of embracing exhibits surrounding ancient Egypt. This is the first time since 1962 that treasures from the tomb of King Tut have visited Houston,” John Norman, president of Arts and Exhibitions International, states. New scientific discoveries continue to provide insight into King Tut’s legendary life and death. The exhibition features the first CT scans of the young king’s mummy, which were obtained as part of a landmark Egyptian research and conservation project, partially funded by the National Geographic Society. “Egypt’s ancient treasures are among the world’s greatest cultural legacies,” Terry Garcia, executive vice president, National Geographic Society, states “Visitors to this exhibition will not only see stunning artifacts spanning ancient Egyptian history, but they will also learn more about the life and death of Tutankhamun through CT scans conducted on his mummy.” The MFAH is open seven days a week to accommodate visitors to the exhibition. Admission to “Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs” requires a timed-entry ticket that also includes general admission to the museum. General admission for MFAH members is $23 for adults and $15 for children 6-18, $22 for students with ID. General admission for non-MFAH members, Mondays through Fridays, is $25 for adults and $16 for children 6-18, $23 for students with student ID and for senior adults (65+). Non-member general admission Saturdays and Sundays is $33 for adults, $18 for children 6-18, $29 for students with student ID and for senior adults (65+). Family Four Packs are available for $70 and for nonmembers starting at $75. A Family Four Pack is for two adults and two children. Admission is free for children five and under. Tickets are available for purchase at the MFAH Box Office, online at www.kingtut.org or by calling 1-888-9314TUT (4888).
March 2012 ISSUE • 13
Volume 18, No. 6
Tho ughtcrime 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 or submitted on a disk (using approved word processing software), or may be sent to TASI by e-mail. All works are subject for review by our editor, and may be rejected or edited on the basis of grammar, spelling or content. 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:
Hand-blown Abstraction A space of moments, Filtered by dreams and auras, Awaken my existence. Through hues and colors I pronounce what went unheard. This visual dictation Represents chimerical ease. Yes, reality has been far removed, But temporary bliss is My meandering piece of mind. Cynthia Perkins
ISSUE 720 Franklin, Beaumont, TX 77701 or e-mail: artstudio@artstudio.org Authors must submit a daytime telephone number along with all submissions. Pen names are acceptable, but authors must supply real names for verification. All submitted works become property of TASI, and whether rejected or accepted, are not returned to the author. ISSUE does not notify of rejection by mail or telephone.
A Thought
Promise Kept
I watch the movie flicker on The silver-blue screen of the Mind's Eye. The man who inhabits Row 1, Seat 5 pays me no attention, so I do the same to him. On the speakers, angels and demons Sing of Love and Betrayal. Images flash faster and faster. Then
Today, you are fifteen.
the
Much time has elapsed.
thought is gone.
The Midnight Ride of Others Here Bethany Eldred
I often think when we Meet again, I shall bend At the knee, though unrealistic. But in my mind’s eye you Are still the same: My baby.
And with great fortitude I have overcome. Ever mindful of you throughout The years I have wept… I strove long and hard, And made that promise kept.
William Dawes and Samuel Prescott long have died and been forgot. And, while it’s true that neither sought to be a storied patriot, still, both should be revered for what
Easter Easter, Birth, Day
Fog
we’re told was freedom dearly bought. But Sam and Bill are barely jot in history books that might allot a single asterisk (untaught).* Why then could that poet not Admit as much into his plot?
Day by Day or Not There is a life together To celebrate Like the Easter Giving birth and rebirth Images
Jesse Doiron
of life
* Dawes and Prescott rode with Paul
A child of the Easter A man of eternal spring Regenerating power To nurturing everyone Me luckily Yourself as always
Revere to alarm the colonists that the British were moving to attack on April 18, 1775. Longfellow does not mention them at all in his famous poem, “The
Jaimé E. Cantú, Jr.
A grey shroud engulfs, envelopes. Silence surrounds like a damp blanket. Walking, somnabulent, through the haze, With nothing to see, touch, feel, Except a small brief flame that flickers To the left, now to the right. Turning with no sense of direction, No north, south, east or west. Nothing exists except, briefly, a light, or Hints of other’s existence in echoing footsteps. How comforting is this living shroud. How sweet to drift out of time and space. Alone. And free.
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” Neither did Sarah Palin.
Jade
Andy Coughlan
14 • ISSUE March 2012
BARES from page 9 then I solidified that vision I had. “The next step was to take it to another level. I thought, ‘Where can I take it?’ Monkeys love bananas, so the flying banana evolved.” Bares says he likes a little bit of humor in his work. “Being around kids a lot I want something that might appeal to them — maybe have a message for adults, too,” he says. For a while he worked on retablos, the iconic religious images that originated in Mexico. “I did one religious painting at the end of ’99 and that sparked my interest,” he says. “And then, being in that environment, working at the Catholic school — I do most of those on commission.” Bares said that effect of religion on his art is something that is hard to explain. “I talk to my god every day but it’s not always in a church setting. But I do have a strong spiritual sense,” he says. “It seems to have a reccurring theme in my work. Ever since I did that first painting I have tried to open myself up to just listen to that voice and just go with something if I feel something, whether it comes out being spiritual or not. I think that was the point when my painting started to change. “I think it opened me up more than just seeing an image I would like to paint to more what it was I felt. It’s hard to explain. It opened me up to experimenting with symbolism. I still like to paint portraits and flowers and people and places.” A quick tour around Bares’ paintings and one cannot help but notice a variety of styles, from surrealism to expressionism, but the proficiency of his realistic technique is evident throughout. Bares cites the old masters, from Degas to da Vinci, as high primary influence. “I might try to combine chiaroscuro with surrealism,” he says. “If I have a problem, I always go back to the old masters.” Born in Beaumont and raised in Fannett, Bares now lives in Nederland with his wife Felicia, to whom he has been married for 22 years. The pair met at Lamar where she was also an art major. The couple has two daughters, Samantha and Isabel. Having a family puts demands on his time, but he tries to work late in the evening at least two or three times a week. “The problem with me painting is that it winds me up,” he says. “If I paint too late at night I can’t go to sleep. My brain won’t shut down.” He points out several pieces that are based on a still life he sets up for class. “I take it up there and show them where they can take a regular still life,” he says. Behind him in his space is a recently finished canvas with a deer skull backed by an American flag, with fish playing in a waterfall. “I went to Laredo a couple of years ago on a hunting trip,” he says. “I drove into the lease and there were border patrol everywhere. I got on my three-wheeler and go about another five miles to the blind and there are patrols in the woods and I’m kind of nervous to shoot anything — I’m seeing things moving around out there and I don’t know what it is. That made me open my eyes to the problem we have, so I
Volume 18, No. 6 thought I’d make a statement about immigration. I call it ‘The Mule and the Missing’ — the drug mule. It’s a representation of us as a whole and these stars are falling on the edge. I’ve been keeping up with it on the news. Last year there was 30-something people gone missing down there. It got really scary.” While everyone knows him as Roy, he signs his work by his full name — Samuel Roy Bares. “I’ve been doing that a while,” he says. “I have some uncles named Samuel and another called Roy, so I decided to do that.” Typical of being raised in Southeast Texas, Bares enjoys the outdoors. “I haven’t done any fishing paintings in a while because there are a million fishing pictures out there — I’m looking to do something different,” he says. “But I do like to fish. It’s a getaway. You’re out there thinking of a million different things and be a million miles away.” Bares says he hopes that his work makes people think a little bit. “Art is so interpretive,” he says. “No two people are going to view my art the same way. What one person gets out of it, another might not — they might not enjoy it so much. You want to make artwork that’s memorable, that when they leave the show or look at the artwork, they’re going to remember it. I think that’s the most you can hope for.” The variety of images and styles on display in “Mixed Terrain” should have something for everyone to remember. The Art Studio is located at 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont. For more information, call 409-838-5393 or visit artstudio.org.
Mission Statement 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.
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. 5. THE MULE AND THE MISSING by Roy Bares
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
Volume 18, No. 6
March 2012 ISSUE • 15
VIEW from page 3 was deeply appreciated. Rodney has been diligently working to appease the IRS and put us in good stead with them. This is not a gift of eternal bliss and I understand his plight. If an NPO does not make more than $50,000 a year they are exempt from submitting the 990 that year. Some groups never make that much therefore they need not submit the 990. Our situation is more complicated. Because we collect sales tax fom clay sales, rental, classes and other taxable items we must submit a 990 every year regardless if we make less than $50,000 or not. I am indebted to Rodney and his firm for being so generous with his time and knowledge. I know it was more than he expected but he kindly carried on anyway. As for the future, we are hot on the trail for a generous soul or group who will help fund the additional expense that this bill has imposed on us. Otherwise we can expect to pay $2,500 to $3,500 per year. One way or another we will get this done. We’ve considered a 990 party to raise funds just for this regulation. Please keep us in mind for help in this endevor. We have lots of projects still to do as we’ve completed the rollup doors project
and turn to completing the fence, outdoor lighting and awnings. Plus we need roof repairs that have become evident as the rains returned, in the clay and painting studios. The wall between the gallery and office/breakroom is no more than dust from termite damage and needs to come down and a nonwood wall put in its place. This I hope happens before it gets terribly hot! We are reorganizing studios to accomodate a couple of more clay residents and to make better use of the space. Thanks goes out to Marty Arredondo who was kind enough to help out after a cancelation in the February show. The Shifflett brothers were to exhibit their work but had extraneous circumstances that prevented them from showing. I always turn to the prolific artists like Marty who always have new work of a high quality. Thanks, my man. Studio instructor/mentor Andy Ledesma lost his mother to a long illness last month. Please extend your hearts out to him and prayers for his mother. Andy has been teaching Saturday classes and mentoring young people since the summer. He has taken some time away to attend to his mom and his family in Tomball. We love you Andy, come back soon.
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 at 409-838-5393
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.
720 Franklin, Beaumont, Texas 77701
Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit #135 Beaumont, TX
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
INSIDE • ROY BARES’ ‘MIXED TERRAIN’ • THOUGHTCRIME: MUSINGS FROM AREA POETS • BEAUX ARTS BALL IN PICTURES • PRUITT, JACK AT AMSET
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. Bryan Castino April Ringland Heather & Adam Butler Andy Ledesma Rhonda Rodman Sue Wright Cyndi Grimes Rhonda McNally Andy Coughlan Olivia Busceme Ben Jennings Jordan Johnston Beth Gallaspy Kim McGlothlin Elizabeth Pearson John Roberts Philip Grice Beau Dumesnil Karen Dumesnil Sheila Busceme Kailee Viator Hayley Bruyn Bryan LaVergne Gabe Sellers Michael Snowden
JOIN US FOR ART OPENINGS ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH THIS MONTH:
MIXED TERRAIN ROY BARES MARCH 3 GALLERY RECEPTION IS 7-10 P.M.
ISSUE
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