ISSUE November 2019

THE ARTS MAGAZINE OF THE ART STUDIO, INC.

NOVEMBER 2019

INSIDE: SCOFIELD’S ‘EQUILIBRIUM,’ PARK GÜELL, PRINCE VARUGHESE THOMAS, AND MORE

ISSUE Vol. 26, No. 3 Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Art Studio, Inc. Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy Coughlan Contributing Writers . . . . . . . . . Stephan Malick, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caitlin Duerler Copy Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth Gallaspy Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elijah Malick

A View From The Top Greg Busceme, TASI Director

I’M VERY EXCITED ABOUT the exhibitions that are coming up and ones that have shown. Kelli Scofield has been a disciplined painter for many years, and her reward for that diligence is a body of work that has evolved into an exquisite balance of color and form. While others, including me, use excuses to avoid the challenge of creation, Kelli and artists like her find their comfort comes through the production of art.

To young artists I ask this question: if you are not making art now, then when? If there are distractions of pleasure that draw you from your work, if you lack the courage to face your true self, to deal with temporary failure and self-doubt, you will not have the pleasure of experiencing self-determination, the force of will, perseverance, self-criticism and an innate understanding of yourself and your art. Keep working. Don’t give up. Have faith in yourself.

EXTANT. An answer in a crossword puzzle?

The clue for 54 across? “Still existing.” It struck

The Art Studio, Inc. Board of Directors Corporate President . . . . . . . . . . Greg Busceme Corporate Vice-President . . . . . Angela Scheibel Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephan Malick Membership. . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Logan Murphy Members at Large . . . . . . Stephanie Chadwick, . . . . . . . . . Olivia Busceme, Allison Kainer, . . . . . . . . . . Laurie Gordon, Michael Saar, . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheila Busceme, Sara Tuell, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Rollins Tenant Representative . . . . . Elizabeth Fontenot Assistant Director . . . . . . . . . . . Stephanie Orta

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 Gaudi’s Park Güell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 “Mapa Wiya” at the Menil . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 Kelli Scofield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Prince Thomas at AMSET . . . . . . . . . . Page 11 Above Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Thoughtcrime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15 Cover photo of Kelli Scofield

by Andy Coughlan

me that words such as “extant,” and “unique” are words that should never be preceded by “very.” Unique suggests a thing or person that stands alone, that is, one of a kind. How can something be “very” one of a kind or “very” still existing? Some words just don’t need superlatives.

Extant also stood out to me because of the crossword clue: Still Existing. The 30,000-yearold handprints on the walls of Chaveaux cave were a cry and celebration of their achievement, discovering their own existence, fully aware of their being. “Still existing” extends to our lives in Southeast Texas, especially while nature is NOT always our friend and decides to wreak havoc on our everyday lives.

Here is another one. The Art Studio, Inc. is extant in its mission to do its best to support,

See VIEW on page 13

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART STUDIO NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

Kelli Schofield: Equilibrium Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November 2

Holiday Shop-O-Rama Extravaganza Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 5-7

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4 • ISSUE November 2019

Volume 26, No. 3

A Walk in the Park

Gaudi, Güell combine in harmonious balance of nature, man This is the second of a three-part series on the Modernist architect Antoni Gaudi

BARCELONA — PAINTER BOB ROSS TOLD us to embrace the ”happy accidents” in art, although Antoni Gaudi would probably tell us that it is simply divine intervention. One such accident of coincidence happened in 1878, resulting in an ambitious project that would propel Gaudi to fame.

The Esteban Comella glove factory commissioned the architect to represent them at the Paris World Exhibition, where he was to design a display case for their new luxury line of designer gloves. While it seems like a minor project, Gaudi had designed furniture before as he worked to pay his college fees (and he would go on to design furniture to fit the houses he designed).

Typically, he built a three-dimensional model out of clay and plaster. It was decorated with Neogothic floral designs and other nature-related symbols. When the fair opened, Gaudi’s display case drew quite the crowd and he was awarded the silver medal for design.

More importantly, it caught the eye of 32-year-old Eusebi Güell, an entrepreneur and investor from Torredembarra in Catalonia, some 80 miles from Barcelona. The son of a textile mogul, Güell had more than doubled the family business holdings. As well as his father’s business acumen, Güell inher-

Story and photos by Andy Coughlan

The iconic salamander, top, guards the stairs at the entrance of Antoni Gaudi’s Park Güell in Barcelona. The park offers a great view of the city.

Volume 26, No. 3 ited his mother’s love of the arts, and he was a generous patron.

Güell was in Paris on business and decided to visit the World Fair. He was so impressed with Gaudi’s cabinet that he cut his trip short and went to Barcelona. He tracked the architect down at the Taller Punti, a workshop where Gaudi was a partner with his mentor, Eduald Punti. The workshop looked like a barn that featured a series of workstations. Despite its rustic look, it had a good reputation for producing high quality ironwork, carpentry and art glass. Güell met Gaudi, and the two exchanged contacts, leading to a professional partnership that would last 40 years until Güell’s death in 1918 at age 72.

Gaudi, at only 26, was not yet an established architect, but that would soon change. Under Güell’s guidance, Gaudí was commissioned to design furniture for the Sobrellano Palace. When Güell saw the reaction, he began to pass out Gaudi’s cards to potential employers.

In 1879, Joan Gibert Cassals commissioned Gaudi to produce a series of shelves and display cases, stools and counter, and a hand-painted sign for his pharmacy in Barcelona.

In 1882, Gaudi designed and built a network of hunting lodges and wineries on Guell’s estate at La Cuadra, which was dubbed “Bodega Güell.” Charles Rivers Editors’ book “Antoni Gaudi: The Life and Legacy of the Architect of Catalan Modernism,” describes wine cellars as seeming “to have been lifted right out of the magical woods from a Grimm fairytale, with its peculiar brick bridges and arches, heavily slanted walls, and caricatures of steep, painted roofs.”

The unconventional contours became a Gaudi staple.

“There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature,” Gaudi said. “Therefore, buildings must have no straight lines or sharp corners. The straight lines belong to men, and the curved ones, to God.” Gaudi accompanied Güell on business trips, and the following year landed the commission for Casa Vicens, which was featured in the first installment of this series. In 1890, Güell conceived of a utopian industrial village for the workers in textile mills in the Barcelonan municipality of Santa Coloma de Cervelló. He engaged multiple architects, and Gaudi, whose reputation for piety was unmatched, was commissioned to design the church. Güell underestimated the costs involved, and by

November 2019 ISSUE • 5

Antoni Gaudi used locally sourced materials to represent natural caverns on the covered walkways, above, which also supported upper walkways that snake through Park Güell. The entrance to the park, below, incorporates many of Gaudi’s signature features.

1914 the project had run out of money. As was the case on many of Gaudi’s projects, he had only finished the crypt.

Colónia Güell, as the village was to be called, is important in the careers of both men as it was the precursor for the project

the businessman is most known for, “Parc Güell.” It was to be built on the steep, barren Carmelo Hill (the lush vegetation there now is entirely Gaudi’s doing).

The park was intended to be an affluent living community located on Carmel Hill in

Barcelona. Güell got the idea while traveling in England, where he saw the landscaped gardens. It was to be a counterbalance to smoky industrialized areas of the city. While Güell was interested in the ideas of social reform that were being discussed in England at the time, Park Güell was definitely intended to be a suburb.

Gaudi planned a series of gardens that would organically flow together. An underground cistern that can hold 2,600 gallons of water sits under the ground to irrigate the gardens.

Güell planned to sell 60 individual triangular lots for housing, which would be built to the owner’s taste with the architect of their choosing. The house lots were designed to sit on the hill in such a way that that each house had an unobstructed view of the city below. Ultimately, only two houses were built, neither designed by Gaudi. One was intended as a show house,

See GAUDI on page 6

6 • ISSUE November 2019

GAUDI from page 5 the other, at Güell’s urging, was bought by Gaudi and he lived there with his father and niece from 1906 on.

Gaudi worked to build a village that was perfectly aligned along organic principles.

It was his chance to fully put into practice his philosophy of finding, as in nature, the balance between function and beauty.

A long wall snakes and conforms to the landscape, covering 50 acres around the park. The arches and pillars that border the roads and walkways are carved out of rock.

They look like they are caves hollowed out of the earth. The roads and paths are designed to merge in with the topography.

The most interesting aspect of the park is the menagerie of hand-made animals, including Gaudi’s iconic lizard, which has been adopted as a symbol of Barcelona and is found in every souvenir shop in town.

The 8-foot-long salamander is built into the staircase at the entrance to the park.

Some have theorized that is represents the alchemical salamander — a symbol of fire.

Others claim it represents the dragon that is fabled to live at the center of the Earth — Gaudi was known to be a fan of Greek mythology (it is known locally as “el drac” — the dragon). A third theory argues that it

Volume 26, No. 3 is the crocodile featured in the emblem of the French town of Nimes where Güell was born.

The relatively crude representation is encrusted with blue, orange, teal and violet broken ceramic tiles, which is a Gaudi trademark. The tiles also decorate the cottage and the built-in seating on the terrace.

The lizard is also a drainage outlet with water running from its mouth.

On the second flight of stairs, a snake head decorated with ceramic tile pieces of various hues of blue protrudes from a ceramic medallion below the Catalan flag.

Various and sundry gargoyles and lion heads jut out from columns. Apart from decoration, they serve to facilitate the park’s drainage system.

Climbing the winding paths, one culminates at a terrace at the top of the hill that gives a stunning view of the city below. At 258-feet by 150-feet, it was conceived as not only a meeting place, but also as a Greek theater, where the inhabitants could put on plays and hold festivals. Only half the terrace is on solid ground; the rest is supported by columns from a covered area that was intended to be a marketplace. The large hollow columns help drainage from the terrace, and large mosaic circles on the ceiling, depicting the four seasons, aid ventilation. As there is no actual flat surface

and everything is on a slight incline, the water moves in different directions, a concept Gaudi pulled from nature.

The seating on the terrace is ornamented with mosaic, and the seating is shaped to resemble a winding serpent. It has holes to help it drain. The way the seating winds in and out allows for a great number of people, but also allows small groups to gather and have intimate conversations. Gaudi even took into account physiology, taking great pains to make the seating fit the body for maximum comfort.

Rainer Zerbst, in “Gaudi: The Complete Buildings,” writes that Gaudi is said to have sat a naked man on plaster that was still

The ornate chimneys at Casa Batllo in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudi.

pliable and then reproduced the imprint as a form for the seating.

The development was not the financial success Güell hoped it would be, and work stopped on it in 1914. However, Parc Güell is now a tourist attraction and a recreational park. Gaudi’s visionary philosophy is evident at every turn, from the beautiful mosaic work to the marvelous walkways.

Güell made it possible for the architect to give us a glimpse of the breadth of his brilliance. The park that bears his name is a testament to the importance of patronage.

Next: Gaudi’s masterpiece — la Sagrada Familia.

The lion gargoyles at Park Güell, left, allow for drainage from the terrace. The serpentine seating on the terrace, top, allows for intimate conversations.

Many of the park’s walkways resemble caverns.

Volume 26, No. 3

November 2019 ISSUE • 7

‘Mapa Wiya’ explores Aboriginal ‘Country’ HOUSTON — THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLES OF Australia refer to their ancestral lands simply as “Country.” Aboriginal culture dates back 80,000 years, and there is rock art that dates back 20,000 years. In many ways, the art of the indigenous Australians has changed little in philosophy.

The medium may have changed (sometimes), but the art still incorporates swirling lines and dots — lots of dots.

The Menil Collection’s latest exhibition, “Mapa Wiya (Your Map’s Not Needed): Australian Aboriginal Art from the Fondation Opale,” is a stellar collection of artists’ meditations their “Country,” both temporal and spiritual.

Before one enters “Mapa Wiya (Your Map’s Not Needed),” one is greeted by Fred Grant’s “Pulyuna,” a large painting that features a complex network of circles and interconnecting lines. One is struck by the complexity of the decorative patterns.

This complex imagery is present throughout the exhibition, with many of the works featuring dots and lines that resemble maps of the earth and stars.

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri’s “Love Story at Red Hill,” 1977, incorporates painted on footprints — approximations of

Story by Andy Coughlan

Kanpi Women's Collaborative, Maringka Baker, Kani Tunkin, Teresa Baker. “Minyma Tjutangku Kunpu Kanyini,” 2017. Synthetic polymer on linen,59 1/16 × 118 1/8 in. (150 × 300 cm), Fondation Opale, Switzerland. EX2019.AA.1.19 feet with painted soles, as if someone walked across the canvas. This may be a nod to the Aboriginal “walkabout,” a rite of passage during which adolescent boys live in the outback for as long as six months to make a transition into manhood. It also

Fred Grant, “Pulyunya,” 2018. Acrylic on linen, 78 3/4 × 114 3/16 in. (200 × 290 cm), Fondation Opale, Switzerland. EX2019.AA.1.4

references the rock art of the ancestors, who used hand and footprints in their work. However, where the ancient artists used their own body parts, Tjapaltjarri deals with illusion as the feet are clearly not real, but painted on.

“Tjutangku Kunpu Kanyini” by The Kanpi Women’s Collaborative — Maringka Baker, Kami Tunkin and Teresa Baker — features rich reds and oranges on a black background that seem to swirl in a suggested space. The pieces echo satellite photos of some mystical region of a far-off region of the solar system. At around 5feet by 10-feet, the painting is large but the image seems to engulf the viewer on an epic scale.

Gulumbu Yunupingu’s “The Universe,” from 2006, uses natural earth and acrylics on eucalyptus bark. Although the piece is only around 24-inches by 30-inches, it also suggests an immense, one could say universal, scale. The eucalyptus bark looks like stiffened fabric.

Yunupingu is also one of several artists represented in a series of hollow log coffins, all decorated with swirling dots and lines.

“Rainbow Dreaming-Love Magic at Papayuna,” by Rover Thomas Joolama, has

the feel of a history piece. An object in the sky — sun or moon perhaps — hovers above eight layers of color that resemble not so much a rainbow as strata of the Earth, each layer rich with history.

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri’s acrylic on canvas, “Mamultjunkunya,” is a marvelous piece. At about 6-feet by 4-feet, it looks like a giant topographical map, with swirling lines designating mounds and hollows. It is even more impressive when one sees close up that the lines are actually long strands of connected dots. The attention to detail reveals an obsessive mindset that seems to be common to all the works in the show.

The swirling dots and lines are in evidence again in Nata Nungurrayi’s “Rockhole Site of Marrapinti.” As one stares into the painting, one feels as though one is falling into the rockhole, weightless.

The spiritual connection with the physical universe, as well as the spiritual, is evident in all the works. They are meditative pieces in the way that Mark Rothko’s paintings are, but with more ornamentation. But it is this complex patterning that

See MAPA on page 13

8 • ISSUE November 2019

Volume 26, No. 3

Kelli Scofield at work on the floor of her Beaumont studio.

FINDING ‘EQUILIBRIUM’

Kelli Scofield to present first solo show at TASI in November

IT’S ALWAYS DIFFICULT FINDING words to describe someone else’s work to an audience. Art reviews are an imperfect science of conjecture and anticipation — a balancing act between the Photos by known and unknown and cerAndy tainly a challenge between the Coughlan authentic and the clichéd.

Kelli Scofield’s November show, “Equilibrium,” posits no such struggle as she presents an authentic demonstration of

Story by Stephan Malick

color, abstraction and order that will make most obsessive-compulsives squeal in delight across a spectrum of patterns and textures and sizes.

Scofield’s talents are revealed on canvases and assemblages in a way that seems like a natural, matter-of-course process — making it feel like her work has been with us all the time.

“For this show, I spent a lot of time this summer refining and exploring my techniques — I wanted to show something different,” she

said. “I wanted to get away from just using brushes, so I used things like rulers and sticks and just other things to try and show some different textures.”

“Equilibrium” will be Scofield’s first solo show — and one can feel and see the emotion she has for this endeavor.

“This show is about balance for me. It’s about finding out who I am,” she said. “It’s about color and the craziness of shapes and squares. It’s about bringing order to chaos.”

Scofield said she and her husband, Ben,

Volume 26, No. 3 joked that she should call her show “Shit I Don’t Hate” because of her tendency to paint, pause and return to paint on a piece until she is feels it’s complete and she is satisfied.

Scofield is like many artists in that she is often her harshest and most demanding critic. She credits Ben as her biggest supporter because he always keeps her perspectives grounded — again, because she is always her harshest critic.

“My struggle is that I want to pick all the colors in my pieces,” she said. “I’m trying to bring order to the colors and combine with that the placement of shapes. Squares speak to me; I’m drawn to them.

“Ben doesn’t watch over my shoulder, but sometimes I’ll ask his opinion, and he’ll tell me, ‘Walk away from it.’ I have a habit of going back to pieces and doing little tweaks, and not moving on. Ben gives the point of view that helps me know I’ve done enough.”

Kelli counts many influences that contribute to her style and aesthetic — Picasso, Matisse, Gerhard Richter and Mark Bradford.

Additionally, local artist Richie Haynes — a friend and neighbor — gave her some advice she still carries with her.

“Richie told me not to think so much when I paint,” she said. “He said for me to just close my eyes sometimes and just let my work flow.”

Haynes died in November 2018, and some of Scofield’s pieces incorporate objects from the bits and parts he was known to collect.

“There are some boxes and pieces Ritchie’s wife, Stacey, let me use,” Scofield said. “I thought it would be a great way to honor him and how much he was an influence and a friend.”

She says her use of color sometimes overwhelms her, and she feels the urge to alter the pieces in one of her signature ways.

“Sometimes I just have like a ton of color, and it gets too chaotic,” she said. “I’ll decide that it doesn’t have any order, and then I always want to get white paint and bring it in.

So, I was trying to get away from just doing that.”

A fan of poetry, Scofield has added little surprises throughout several of her pieces.

“I love Edna St. Vincent Millay,” she said.

“I like to have lines of poetry hidden in some works. I have a book — I hate to cut up books — and I cut out lines that I feel however I felt when I was painting.”

Most of the works are recent creations, with most of her energy and production di-

November 2019 ISSUE • 9 rected after the prospect of a one-woman show was proposed by Art Studio founder Greg Busceme. A longtime elementary school educator, Scofield planned for this summer as a prime working time.

She most frequently works in an unairconditioned workshop behind her and Ben’s mid-century home in Beaumont. But physical space and intemperate Southeast Texas were not her only challenges. Her health became an obstacle and, in part, a foundational idea for her show. “‘Equilibrium’ is about exploring myself as an artist, but also the search for balance,” she said. “I had some health issues that really affected my day-to-day life and family’s, so this show has been about seeking balance between those issues.”

Scofield was recently diagnosed with Méniére’s disease — a disorder of the inner ear that is characterized by episodes of vertigo and, often, ringing in the ears.

“A lot of times this summer, instead of doing something social or because I was not feeling good, I could just sit and paint,” she said. “That was something that was calming, and painting helped me feel better and balance out how I was feeling.”

Her works are not necessarily hard and rendered ideas. She prefers to let her work direct its own course and outcome.

“I don’t usually think ahead of time. I just go sit down with the canvas, and I usually sit on the ground and work and just start putting color down,” she said. “I never really have an idea of where it’s going.”

Scofield’s use of color is what draws eyes to her work. A lover of modern furniture, art and all things mid-century, she has a theory about her attraction to color.

“I don’t know, maybe being a child of the ’80s?,” she said. “I always liked skateboard graphics and the stickers — surfer and skateboard magazines, the shirts, you know?

Everything was just neon and loud — and graffiti.

“That was just the kind of stuff that drew my mind to color and graphics. When I’m at a museum, I’m always drawn to the brightest, weirdest pieces.”

She said her interest in art pushed her to take classes in college about art history, drawing and painting.

“I took a lot of classes about art, not so much making art,” she said. “So, I had all these credits that brought me close to a couple of different degrees, and my parents told

See SCOFIELD on page 10

Painting by Kelli Scofield

10 • ISSUE November 2019

SCOFIELD from page 9 me I needed to complete my degree. I worked in social work for a time and later became a teacher.”

The expressiveness of her art is self-determined, not geared through those sets of formal classes. A life-long art lover, she lets her interests and senses create the path for artistic choices.

“I’ve just always liked art,” she said. “I’ve always been drawn to color. Matisse, Picasso. Mark Bradford is a contemporary artist that I’ve really started to follow and like.

I’m fascinated by his process and his story. His story is that, despite your background, you can prevail against doing what is just expected from art.”

Bradford is an American artist working and residing in Los Angeles and is known for his large grid-like abstract paintings combining collage with paint. His work has been often described, even by himself, as “in-between” painting and sculpture.

Gerhard Richter’s use of layer colors and uncovering layers underneath is another influence she likes to reflect on.

“I like the ideas and techniques that Bradford and Richter use to uncover color in their work,” she said.

“They’re both very non-traditional in their use of materials

Volume 26, No. 3 and their techniques.

“That’s also why I don’t plan out my pieces before I begin, because I don’t want my work to look like anything else or any other artists’ style of work.”

This non-traditional approach is what makes Scofield favor abstract art over realistic reproductions.

“I’ve been asked if I can draw, if I can do realistic works — I can, it takes me longer — I could sit down and I could draw a flower pot, or do a watercolor of a flower pot, but to me that’s, you’re kind of like copying something,” she said.

“It’s not just something that’s coming out of your head and creative and drawn out — something totally out of the blue.

“With the abstract and color, what I like is the originality of trying to do something that just doesn’t exist in the world and or all art ends up looking like someone else’s art, just like all music ends up sounding like somebody else’s music. I’m not trying to copy; it’s more like a meshing of influences. To me, it’s trying to do something original with color.

“Of course, I want people like it, and I’m really worried people won’t, or they’ll be judgmental. And two or three years ago, I would have not even wanted to put stuff in a show because of fear of someone saying something about it or not being accepted.

“But, I paint stuff now that I would want to see and

have, and I feel OK that other people might see that, too.

So, I’m more comfortable about showing this, and I’ve put a lot of work into it.”

To have viewers see something they like, there is nothing more “real” that a message can be, she said. To see something that has a positive impact and can make someone happy has to be one of art’s most comfortable agendas.

“I hope they find some pieces in there that they think are good that makes them feel positive and happy,” Scofield said. “To me, they’re all the bright colors — it’s about positivity.”

She said even with any “dark ones,” she created them with the attempt to cope with her issues in a positive way.

“I did one called ‘Vertigo’ — I was really angry with not being able to control this illness,” she said. “But painting became my way of dealing with it and expressing how I felt. To me that’s a positive release.”

This brings full-circle the authenticity and “balance” of her work and the point of view Scofield is presenting with “Equilibrium” — there’s no agenda, no hidden messages, no fussiness — there’s only color and text for viewers to sink into and absorb.

“Equlibrium” will be on display Nov. 2-29, with a reception, 7-10 p.m., Nov. 2, at The Art Studio, 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont.

Volume 26, No. 3

November 2019 ISSUE • 11

Thomas’ exhibit explores social media narcissism IN THE GREEK myth of Narcissus, the beautiful son of a nymph and river god shirks all real-world responsibilities to gaze at and admire his reflection in the surface of the river.

Thousands of years later, people of all generations, classes and cultures cast a similar admiration towards their digital reflection — the social media profiles that are curated to cast an irresistible version of the self — seeking validation of others and worship of self.

At the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, works in Prince Varughese Thomas’ “The Legacy of Narcissus” questions viewers to consider the impact of mass media in the ways we perceive and project our individual self, taking into account this Narcissus complex.

Engaging in a multimedia practice founded in photography, Thomas explores themes of vanity and egotism in mass communication through digital photography, installations, neon work and a video featuring performers and voices from Southeast Texas.

Entering the gallery, the viewer encounters a framed photo of the artist’s hand holding a mid-19th century photo plate. The photo is of a man who has just taken a photo of himself in one of the earliest known “selfies” — a

Story by Caitlin Duerler

practice taken for granted today where a camera is in everyone’s back pocket.

In the main gallery there are three different series — “What Are Words For,” “Famous to Infamous in 15 Minutes,” and “Masters of the Universe.” These series show a continuity with art historical referents as well as reflect contemporary social changes.

In “What Are Words For,” a grouping of charcoal drawings on Stonehenge paper blends reproductions of William Morris wallpaper patterns from the late 19th-century into backdrops and letter pattern combinations spelling out famous annunciations and tweets from the current administration. Some are straightforward and immediately recognizable, as in the case of “Truth is Not Truth” and “Individual-1.” Other works like “Alternative Facts,” “Nasty Woman,” and even explicit messages have more complicated pattern combinations, concealing words that could be offensive to certain viewers.

Thomas’ next series, “Famous to Infamous in 15 Minutes,” features three self-portraits of the artist disguised as Andy Warhol, referencing the famous pop artist’s desire for fame. Thomas questions, from the artist’s perspective, our hunger for such public recognition and reverence. The works are made of composite images of close-ups of Don-

ald Trump’s face, hands and mouth — nonverbal cues to the utterance and discourses he recounts in his public appearances.

“Masters of the Universe” continues Thomas’ experimentation in photography, featuring digitally manipulated images and video-stills of some of the highest-earning YouTube stars. These pigment prints on rag paper have the effect of brushstrokes on canvas, emulating the oil portrait tradition. These online celebrities are paid through advertising and making personal appearances at various events as a result of accruing millions of subscribers because of the content of their videos. However, these YouTube stars do not appear in the frame of a YouTube screen, but in 17th and 18th-century portraiture. “Portrait of Liza Koshy,” a comedienne who transitioned from YouTube to Hollywood, features Liza in an austere Dutch lace diadem cap and neck ruff, but flashing a contemporary peace sign and sticking her tongue out. Jenna Marbles, another comedienne, takes on the garb of a Rococo princess, her eyes blacked out from crying excessively while wearing eye makeup.

See NARCISSUS on page 12

“Untitled-1: From Famous to Infamous in 15 Minutes,” left, by Prince Varughese Thomas and a detail from an eye in “Untilted 3” from the same series.

12 • ISSUE November 2019

Volume 26, No. 3

NARCISSUS from page 11 Painted portraits hundreds of years ago were only afforded to the rich at the top of the social hierarchy, with their clothing and iconography designating their elite status.

Using their YouTube channels today, the elite of mass media perpetuate glamour and excessive lifestyles, much like in the historical precedents of oil portraiture.

A large, neon sign displays “Social Media is the Opiate of the Masses” — the blue light reflecting on the wall and throughout the gallery indicates the light reflected on the face of a person deeply engrossed in the screen of their smartphone as they scroll through their Facebook and Twitter feeds. “Opiate of the Masses” references the Karl Marx quote, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” Like Marx’s critical observation of religion, Thomas’ work asserts that social media generates a similar numbing effect to the social injustices in contemporary society.

Two installations in this gallery, cast in the blue glow of “Opiate of the Masses,” illustrate how the means of communication

1

we engage in are one-sided and self-laudatory. “Trophy Shelf” is a small installation of a shelf with matte black trophies with figures engaged in an athletic poses or laurel leaves and No. 1s. Instead of being awards for feats of athleticism or intellect, however, plaques reveal that these are accolades for banal achievements shared on social media, such as “Best Inappropriate Selfie Post” and “Best Personal Reflection of a Celebrity Death Post.”

The other installation, “One Way Conversation (Me, Me, Me. Now what about me),” features a rotary phone with the central number pad occupied by a reproduction of Caravaggio’s 1599 painting “Narcissus.” Every 30 minutes, the phone rings, and the listener is immediately accosted with stream-of-consciousness mumblings of monologues and dialogues, all portraying self-absorbed speakers.

The last work in this gallery returns to photography and features the image of famous feminists Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman made up of composite images of “belfies” — a new genre of selfie featuring tantalizing images of one’s butt. The feminists’ fight for equality decades earlier

culminates in a woman’s freedom to send pictures of her backside to whomever she pleases or post to social media for likes and comments from followers.

Curtained off from the second gallery is a third space playing a 10-minute video, “America the Beautiful.” It features three Lamar University singers, each taking a turn on stage performing classic national tunes, including “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America” and the “Star-Spangled Banner.” During each performance, the singer — who is a minority — is interrupted by overlapping voices hurling insults ranging from personal to political.

The singers stop and stare at viewers as angry voices utter one-liners insulting their appearance and exhorting them to “return to their own country.” Much in the style of social media platforms, commentators are protected by the anonymity of the computer screen to spew hate speech at fellow users.

Thomas’ show, in all of its different presentations, presents a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of self-obsession— after all, Narcissus met his demise because of his inability to stop staring at his own reflection.

“The Legacy of Narcissus” is on view through Dec. 1.

AMSET is located at 500 Main St. in downtown Beaumont.

For more, visit www.amset.org.

Prince Thomas talks to attendees at the opening of “The Legacy of Narcissus” at AMSET, Oct. 4.

st Thursday @The Studio NOVEMBER 7

• Free Seaport Coffee & drinks (BYOB) • Free Bubble Painting with Tenant Maria Petross (Great Grandparent and me craft) • Free Family craft activities • Free hands-on clay experience with Greg Busceme ($10 donation for each item to be fired, available for pick up at Dec. 5th's First Thursday)

ACTIVITIES BEGIN AT 5 P.M. 720 FRANKLIN IN DOWNTOWN BEAUMONT

NEW! 1 Cup at a Time for Keurig Available at Market

Basket

stores around Southeast Texas

Volume 26, No. 3

November 2019 ISSUE • 13

VIEW from page 3 assist and mentor artists to give them the best chance to reach their full potential. We provide a reasonable workspace with reasonable support at a reasonable cost. We have been extant since 1983, an independent arts center in downtown Beaumont steadily doing The Studio thing.

“Still existing” has a dark side. “Still” suggests holding our own but lacking momentum. “Existing” suggests just getting by, hand to mouth, but not realizing the full spectrum of emotions, lacking the ability to have a full, rich life — wanting, but not achieving, the momentum to drive you forward.

My analogy is quite transparent. “Still existing” is not life enough for any of us. It certainly is not enough for TASI. Even as we expand our outreach, improve our facility and present a myriad of events, shows and classes, our limited staff is buried in the administration of this amazing facility.

As the Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District (DBCAD) becomes viable we have a huge challenge ahead of us. How do we accommodate the influx of artists and other facilities that will populate the area?

What is The Studio’s role in the future of Southeast Texas?

Funding is a good start, but without the administrative capacity to handle the variety of programs we are planning to enact, it will be difficult at best to achieve

our goals.

We need assistance in grant writing, legal issues, architecture, construction, event participation, volunteer coordinators, art and craft instructors, gardeners, electricians and plumbers.

I would like to thank a few people who have come through for us in services and monetary support in the past few months. From Del Papa Distributing, our friend Randy Edwards has the go ahead to provide a considerable amount of craft beers to be offered at art openings and other big events. We are also thrilled that Del Papa is so generous as to buy a full page ad in ISSUE for the year.

We also have beloved sponsors Pete Churton and Beth Gallaspy who assist with the licensing of TASI as a music venue, and the good folks at Signs International who provide our show headers and banners at no charge. We have had a great relationship with Triangle Blueprint for the past 35 years. They believed in us when few did.

Andy Coughlan and Stephan Malick, along with the amazing group of contributors, make ISSUE the definitive arts magazine of Southeast Texas. Scott LeBurn has funded the prizes for the membership show for the past three years.

If you consider the volunteers, community service workers and board members who all offer their skills and ideas, sweat and muscle, it makes The Studio a better place for it.

SUPPORTS THE ART STUDIO, INC.

info@signinternational.com 409.832.0117 7398 College St. in Beaumont

MAPA from page 7

is so calming. One gets lost in the movement inherent in the imagery.

The works in the show are all made after 1950 and deal with the struggle for Aboriginal civil rights in Australia. During the 19th and 20th centuries, white settlers moved Aboriginal peoples from their “Country” — their ancestral lands — and forced them into settlements as a form of segregation. Many of the exhibited artists were born during this period and experienced the struggle.

They were not considered Australians and were denied citizenship of their own country. Australian citizenship was finally won after a national referendum in 1967, and with it came voting rights and control of their “Country.”

“Mapa Wiya” means “No Map” in the Pitjantjatjara language of the Central Australian desert region, and the exhibition’s title draws on a work by Kunmanara (Mumu Mike) Williams, who paints on a collage surface of government maps and post bags that represent the artificial boundaries imposed on the Aboriginal “Country.”

The works on display in “Mapa Wiya” are inspiring and thought-provoking. No map is needed to engage with these beautiful and meaningful works.

The exhibition features more than 100 works by more than 60 artists and is on display through Feb. 2.

For more information, visit www.menil.org.

SUPPORTS THE ART STUDIO, INC.

cueblue.com 713-357-6650 2024 Naomi St, Houston, TX 77054

14 • ISSUE November 2019

Volume 26, No. 3

Above Board

November fundraiser among myriad collaborative projects THE STUDIO’S 37TH SEASON has once again started off with a strong series of exhibitions, first by our indominable tenants in September and followed by Chris Troutman’s “Sequential: Studio Art and Comics” in October.

November promises to be just as compelling with Kelli Scofield’s “Equilibrium” as her debut one-woman exhibit — congratulations to her, and to all who show their work at The Studio.

Additionally, we have a fall fundraising event scheduled for Nov. 14, beginning at 6 p.m. at Madison’s on Dowlen. Once again, Frankie Randazzo and his crew, led by Robert Valvano, are hosting a musical showcase highlighting local talent that includes 2 Throwd Minds, Greg Jr. and others benefiting The Studio.

See the TASI website at artstudio.org and our Facebook page to buy your tickets now. Tickets are $10 with a limited number of stage front table seats at $15. The night will feature premium craft beers, courtesy of Del Papa Distributing and 2 Row Distributing, along with premium swag.

Madison’s has created a special food and drink menu to complement the event with proceeds directly benefiting The Studio’s programing for presenting live and original music by new artists.

What promises to be a titillating part of the evening will be a special thematic “reveal” performance directed by Shanna Hawa, TASI’s 2020 Beaux Arts Bal chairperson, and crew showing what to expect for our premier event taking place Jan. 18, 2020, at 720 Franklin.

Stephan Malick, TASI Board Chairman

TASI board member Allison Kainer took a turn at the merchandise table during the November 2018 “BEER-nefit for the Arts” fundraiser at Madisons.

Art Studio file photo

Patrons will have a chance to purchase Studio swag, Bal tickets and TASI memberships at one-of-kind discounts throughout the night.

Relationships are critical to sustaining stakeholder partnerships and a vibrant arts community. These efforts require many resources to carry out these events. No one sector is able to go it alone, and we sincerely appreciate our supporters.

With our patrons, volunteers and board members working together, activities and events are often planned out months, sometimes even years, in advance.

Another fine example of relationships is TASI’s joining with REcreate to host a joint event that will bring together fashion, art, design and entertainment to make what always becomes a one-of-a-kind happening. This next event will happen July 2020 with details coming over the next several months.

Something closer and reoccurring is TASI’s involvement with First Thursdays and the new Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District. In particular, The Studio is coinciding the start of our annual Shop-O-Rama. It will begin on Thursday, Dec. 5 instead of the traditional first Saturday and continue for several consecutive days.

The Studio is always open to new partnerships and opportunities to showcase creative talent throughout Southeast Texas.

There is strength in community unity.

Robust programming displays a credible legacy for artists and for TASI. Strength is not just a physical trait, but a position of leadership. Strength and leadership go hand-in-hand and can make or break any organization.

Leadership in nonprofit organizations presents a specific set of challenges and therefore requires a unique set of skills. Executive and administrative mentoring, and leadership development training can be key to growing organizational core competencies among board members and volunteers alike.

At the end of the day, governance and leadership training can create a team that will better serve an organization and help them meet their goals — more importantly it creates a culture of institutional excellence and professionalism.

Operational structure and competency are the areas The Studio’s board is working to improve on, with the common goal of providing the best support for all of our stakeholders.

The concept of leadership shares many common traits across private, public, business and nonprofit sectors. At TASI, we believe in these capabilities to grow and sustain our community so that we can continue this extraordinary journey we are on.

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 nonprofit 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. To present public exhibitions 2. To provide educational opportunities 3. To provide accessible equipment for artists 4. To provide peer feedback through association with other artists and crafts people OBJECTIVES 1. To present nine art exhibitions per year 2. To maintain equipment for artists in a safe working environment 3. To provide better access to artists for the public 4. To offer regularly scheduled adult and children’s classes 5. To develop and maintain public activities with all sectors of the community 6. To develop and maintain equipment to aid artists in their work 7. To provide a display retail outlet for artists 8. To expand programming and activities with increased facility space

November 2019 ISSUE • 15

Volume 26, No. 3

To Be Strong

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 St. Beaumont, TX 77701 or e-mail info@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 rejection by mail or telephone.

A Deadly Love Affair

Wrangling

Anorexia.

She's my friend. I actually love her.

I find comfort in her embrace With her arms wrapped around mine making them elegant, thin, and dainty.

She makes me feel fierce, unstoppable, strong, and perfect.

I love the way I look and feel, no fat on my bones.

Admiring myself in the mirror, I cringe at anything that moves or jiggles.

The slightest hint of softness, and I feel as if I've failed as a human.

He holds tightly to the reins that stop him falling.

Once again that old familiar feeling grips him as hard as he grips the leather tied around his knuckles.

It’s all an illusion, of course.

There are no reins.

There is no control.

The ride was over long ago.

It’s just a question of waiting to hit the ground.

Excess in life, and in weight is uncalled for.

Eating is just for survival. Not for fun.

The mere enjoyment I feel when I eat makes me sad.

I feel guilty for the times I actually acknowledge my hunger.

It's as if I've lost my hyper-spirituality And delved into the crime of self indulgence Acknowledging the cries of my carnal flesh.

How dare I stoop so low as to eat until I am full?

Feeling full is sickening.

It makes me feel as if my cells are literally ex p a n d i n g as I sit... growing and making me fat.

And on the days I really digress and eat a piece of chocolate or even one more bite of something I find appealing, just out of pleasure, I feel so much guilt.

Eating is not my friend.

Kate Ellen

Andy Coughlan

Strong can be a strutting walk.

Strong can be this confident talk.

Strong…a look that commands respect Your mind overflows with intellect.

A strength that transcends gender and race, but still carries oneself with poise and grace…

A proud profile…your head held high.

You could not fail even if you try.

You enter a room and all heads turn You speak a word and all ears burn, And not because of whom you talk about…

It’s because of what you were taught.

That’s strong.

A strong woman of character…

A thousand able bodied men straddling humongous pachyderms are strong, but even they can’t form a dent in…

Your spirit, your wisdom, your drive, your character or your faith…

You are strong.

Dorothy Clover Sells

Pork Moo Shu (Or, My Lunch with You-Know-Who) I met the Devil, just the other day.

Faded Polo, tan khakis Dirty brown Brooks shoes I just couldn’t believe This dusty old fool’s news.

I ate with the Devil, just the other day.

Pork Moo Shu Sticky rice, jasmine tea He took part home Boxed the same as me.

I worked with the Devil, just the other day.

Meetings, seminars Note covered pages Philanthropic panderings History of the ages.

I listened to the Devil, just the other day.

Lies and deceit Promises of gold Magical abilities Never growing old.

I conned the Devil, just the other day.

Playing out the part Faithful dim disciple Turned square tables round End the cursed cycle.

I parted with the Devil, just the other day.

Signs in the cloudy skies Rusty needles in the hay Golden stairways to heaven Unmarked graves along the way.

Steven R. Moore

720 Franklin, Beaumont, Texas 77701

Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit #135 Beaumont, TX

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

INSIDE • KELLI SCOFIELD’S “EQUILIBRIUM” • THOUGHTCRIME: MUSINGS FROM AREA POETS • ANTONI GAUDI’S PARK GÜELL • ‘THE LEGACY OF NARCISSUS’

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 Rhonda McNally John Roberts Beau Dumesnil Karen Dumesnil Sheila Busceme Kailee Viator Stephan Malick Michelle Falgout Stacey Haynes Joe Winston John Fulbright Mark Jacobson Nathaniel Welch Gina Garcia Jack Hays Aslinn Garcia Paisley Polk Zoe Williams Rana Matthews Caroline Badon James King Madison Rose Stuckey Dawn S. Fischer Madison Bonds Chris Garcia Taylor VanDevender Jaycie Henderson Nathan West Kay O'Neal Olivia Busceme Chad Barrows

JOIN US

FOR ART OPENINGS ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

THIS MONTH:

Kelli Scofield: Equilibrium OPENING RECEPTION IS NOVEMBER 2, 7-10 P.M.

This project was funded in part by the B.A. & E.W. Steinhagen Benevolent Trust through the Southeast Texas Arts Council.

ISSUE

DISTRIBUTION POINTS DOWNTOWN THE ART STUDIO, INC. 720 FRANKLIN ART MUSEUM OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS 500 MAIN BABE DIDRIKSON ZAHARIAS MUSEUM 1750 IH-10E BEAUMONT CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU 801 MAIN BEAUMONT ART LEAGUE (FAIRGROUNDS) 2675 GULF ST NEW YORK PIZZA & PASTA 790 NECHES SETAC 701 NORTH STREET, STE. 1 STARBUCKS EDISON PLAZA TEXAS ENERGY MUSEUM 600 MAIN SOUTH END/LAMAR UNIVERSITY CARLITO’S RESTAURANT 890 AMARILLO @ COLLEGE SUNRISE 2425 S 11TH SIGN INTERNATIONAL 7398 COLLEGE SWICEGOOD MUSIC CO. 3685 COLLEGE LU ART DEPARTMENT DISHMAN ART MUSEUM UNIVERSITY PRESS 202 CARL PARKER BUILDING OLD TOWN ALDEN HOUSE SALON 2415 CALDER ANNA’S MEXICAN BAKERY 2570 CALDER JAVELINA TATTOO 2510 CALDER CHAPAS TAMALES 2305 CALDER THE BREW SHOP 2410 CALDER HEADSTRONG HAIR STUDIO 215 18TH ST. JASON’S DELI 112 GATEWAY SHOP CNTR KATHARINE & CO. 1495 CALDER TACOS LA BAMBA 2005 CALDER RAO’S BAKERY 2596 CALDER CENTRAL/WEST END BAR LOCAL 6358 PHELAN COLONNADE CENTER SMALL TOWN VINYL 6356 PHELAN COLONNADE CENTER BASIC FOODS 6220 PHELAN BEAUMONT COMMUNITY PLAYERS 4155 LAUREL BEAUMONT VISITORS BUREAU IH-10 COLORADO CANYON 6119 FOLSOM JERUSALEM CAFE 6260 PHELAN KATHARINE & CO. CARRY-OUT CUISINE 4455 CALDER GUITAR & BANJO STUDIO 4381 CALDER LOGON CAFE 3805 CALDER MADISON’S 4020 DOWLEN RED B4 BOOKS 4495 CALDER REED’S LAUNDRY 6025A PHELAN @ PEYTON ICON 6372 COLONNADE CENTER THIRSTY’S 229 DOWLEN PARKDALE RAO’S BAKERY 4440 DOWLEN PORT NECHES THE AVENUE COFFEE CAFÉ 1226 PORT NECHES AVE. ORANGE STARK MUSEUM OF ART 712 GREEN AVE.