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For more information visit the Daily Events Calendar and the
AoU Forum
Feb 7: Utah Arts Festival Aps
Feb. 13: PTC Loge Gallery Aps
Feb 20: 2004 Mayor's Arts Award
Feb. 20: UAC Visual Arts Fellowships
March 12: Coral Canyon Art Festival Aps
March 15: Finch Lane Gallery 2004-2005 Exhibition
Aps
WHAT ARE
YOU READING THESE DAYS?
Most recently I've reread "Edward
Hopper Watercolors." I'm slowly reading though the third Harry
Potter before the movie comes out. I'm also halfway through "Reign of
the Stavka" -- kind of a mystery action intrigue conspiracy novel. I usually
make it through several magazines each month. Smithsonian, Art News,
Southwest Art, Tikkun, Wilson Quarterly, Modern Painters (also a quarterly)
and I'll nose through my wife's Real Simple.
WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO PAINT OR SCULPT
YOUR PORTRAIT?
Hard one. I liked the one
Lee Udall Bennion did years ago. (My former wife has it) As for
one now, I’d give Bruce Smith, Camille Korry or Ed Oberbeck free reign
with my face. Maybe even Alex Bigney.
WHAT IS HANGING ABOVE YOUR MANTEL?
Our home has no mantel, but
above the entry door table hangs Rembrandt’s, "Christ Raising
Lazarus", a posthumous restrike from the millennium edition. I have
a few of my kid's drawings and some friends’ work hanging in my studio.
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Exhibition Review: Salt Lake City
Student Visions: Show Us Your Stuff II
by Linda Bergstrom
New Visions -- students of art are filled with them. Visions of
what art itself means to them; visions of their next project; visions
of what their life as a future artist will entail. The future is spread
out before a student like a newly stretched canvas. During the month
of January, the New Visions Gallery Show Us Your Stuff II was dedicated
to the innovative and refreshing visions of art students from around
the state. The exhibit reminded me of how refreshing it is to be in a
gallery where the unexpected greets you the moment you step through the
door.
A juried exhibit, Show Us Your Stuff II included works
from colleges, universities and art programs from around the state.
New Visions’ gallery space is small, making for a lean show that gave
me the feeling of wanting more long after I left the gallery. But the
sole juror for the show, Bruce Robertson of Salt Lake’s Visual Art Institute,
had every intention of offering a smaller showing. And pieces showing
traditional methods, or art classroom exercises were not a part of this
show.
Upon entering I was confronted by two floor pieces -- in the center
of the gallery -- crying out to be visually devoured. Keith Pisciotta’s
large steel piece, "Hold Me Together", balanced like an oversized silver
origami in the center of the floor. At a closer look, the color and texture
of the steel came alive with a subtle blue hue, and though the lighting
could have enhanced the piece more, every angle created new shadows within
the sculpture, and on the floor. Using a plasma cutter, Pisciotta cut lines
into the steel, making the piece appear lighter and helping the unique
play of light. His inspiration for the piece was a young student he was
teaching who was struggling to learn to read. He created the sculpture
as an “older piece and a younger piece balancing each other to make it
work”. Both pieces are attached to each other as one in the exhibit.
Pisciotta’s piece shared the floor with" Fill In", a sculpture
by Adam Runkel. Standing over five feet tall, the rusted steel, cut into
lengthwise sections and with large pieces of bark attached, stood solemnly
overlooking the gallery. A “new vision” of sculpture, refreshing in its
use of materials, was rendered here. To simply view it and walk away
would be a travesty. This unique sculpture required a savoring linger, from every angle,
to best take it in.
Photography actually dominated the exhibition, though each
one was so distinct in style that I barely noticed the dominance. "Repose" and "Revelry" by Dan Tree were so
infused with light and texture that they all but glowed. A photograph
of his which appeared to be hung upside down was an inspired move and
once again proved that this show dared to defy the traditional. Holly
Christmas’s black and white photograph,"Sunder," was another standout.
The curve of a man’s neck juxtaposed against a stark white landscape was
haunting.
The display of all of the photographs as diptyches, rather than
solo pieces, was unusual, but filled the void of wanting more within
the exhibit. "Unnatural Light" and "Natural Light" by photographer Katie
Brock were rich with nuance and texture. The sublime colors of these photographs
were soothing, and the use of symmetry between the two photographs was
more thought provoking than expected.
The show was lacking in paintings,
but Lian Greenwood’s "Rose" monotype and Stephanie Ross’s "Quilt #2"
held their ground amid the photographs and sculpture. Ross’s use of actual
feathers within the blocks of the painted quilt added dimension and depth
to the painting. Greenwood's "Rose" could have been two different monotypes,
depending on where the viewer was standing; what were swirling pools of
color up close, became a budding rose after standing back just a few feet.
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Every show
worth its weight needs a piece that makes one run to the dictionary
in search of its definition. "Costal Supination" by Candice Rigtrup was
one such piece. Though the meaning of the title was never fully manifest,
the piece was a Rubik-esque photographic tower. Black and white photographs
mounted on various sized boxes were stacked atop each other. With a sign
shouting “Play With Me” one couldn’t help but do just that, and have a
great time doing it. Each photograph was lucid and stark, and a hands-on
piece was just what this show needed.
This was more than likely a first show for most of these artists,
as it was for Keith Pisciotta. He felt that his experience in this show
was “very positive”, and that positive feedback has given him the motivation
to move forward with more steel pieces, as well as to enter pieces into
other shows. Hopefully the rest of these talented artists will find this
show to be the catalyst for them to do the same. Kudos to New Visions
for providing a forum for these burgeoning artists, as well as other emerging
artists.
NEW
VISIONS GALLERY
is located at 242 South 200 West in SLC. Their exhibition for the month
of February is another juried exhibit entitled "A Season for Nonviolence."
Special Feature
Inside the Vault:
Truths & Myths from the Utah State
Fine Art Collection
The State Fine Art Collection, begun in 1899 as the Alice
Merrill Horne Collection, now consists of over 1,100 works by
Utah artists in all media. The pieces are on display in
various state and office buildings throughout Utah and many travel
with the Utah Arts Council Traveling Exhibition Program.
The continued acquisition of artwork comes
from purchases made through the visual arts program and
donations from patrons and artists of the state of Utah.
This series is an effort to preserve and
share the stories and experiences surrounding the artwork
and artists of Utah as seen through the eyes of the Utah
Arts Council staff.
Compiled by Laura Durham
Assistant Visual Arts Coordinator, Utah Arts Council
"Curtain Call"
"Capitol Reef" oil on canvas
V. Douglas Snow (1927- )
"Capitol Reef" actually belongs
to the state’s public art collection. This controversial
painting was installed in the State Court House in 1997. The
committee in charge of choosing the piece met several times with the
artist and the architect prior to its installation (as is the case
with many public art projects). Two Supreme Court judges were
on this committee and assisted in the process, but Judge Richard C.
Howe was opposed to the piece.
Howe believed the painting was distracting and “not
appropriate to the proceedings of the court.” This opposition
triggered much controversy and a series of debates ensued.
Howe wanted the piece removed, but it would be impossible to take
it down without destroying it. In 2002, a decision was finally
made to put up a curtain to cover the painting while court is in
session. When court is not in session, they draw the curtain,
uncovering the abstract painting. This “solution” was an expensive
one as the curtain cost the state $26,000 to make and install.
Howe retired in February 2003.
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