It's Back! - Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
It's Back! - Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition It's Back! - Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition ArtFocus O k l a h o m a It’s Back! After a three year hiatus, Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) has brought back the 24 Works on Paper Traveling Exhibition. Vo l u m e 2 0 N o . 2 M a rc h / A p r i l 2 0 0 5 $300
- Page 2 and 3: 7 on the cover Artist: Mark Hatley
- Page 4 and 5: 4 Maps and tickets to the OVAC 2005
- Page 6 and 7: 6 profile Out of Their Element Out
- Page 8 and 9: 8 It was still hard for me to trans
- Page 10 and 11: 10 reviews William Struby (OKC) Dis
- Page 12 and 13: 12 reviews Dragon Dance by Ron Flem
- Page 14 and 15: 14 previews CONTEMPORARY The 27th A
- Page 16 and 17: 16 drawing and paintings be treated
- Page 18 and 19: 18 Gallery Listings & Exhibition Sc
- Page 20: ArtFocus O k l a h o m a ArtFocus O
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong><br />
ArtFocus<br />
O k l a h o m a<br />
It’s<br />
<strong>Back</strong>!<br />
After a three year<br />
hiatus, Individual<br />
Artists of <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
(IAO) has brought<br />
back the 24 Works<br />
on Paper Traveling<br />
Exhibition.<br />
Vo l u m e 2 0 N o . 2 M a rc h / A p r i l 2 0 0 5<br />
$300
7<br />
on the cover<br />
Artist: Mark Hatley<br />
title: Sorry Spot,<br />
Monotype,<br />
contents<br />
In IAO’s 24 Works on Paper<br />
Member of<br />
the National<br />
Association<br />
of Artists’<br />
Organization.<br />
10<br />
3<br />
6<br />
9<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
16<br />
17<br />
20<br />
18<br />
13<br />
profiles<br />
tulsa artists’ studio tour<br />
artists out of their element<br />
reviews/previews<br />
24 works on paper<br />
24 hours from tulsa<br />
sacred hybrids<br />
back to basics photography<br />
contemporary fiber art<br />
features<br />
history of competitive shows<br />
and oklahoma: centerfold<br />
OVAC news<br />
at a glance<br />
round up / momentum okc<br />
renewing members<br />
gallery guide<br />
member agency This program is supported in part<br />
by the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> Council<br />
ArtFocus<br />
O k l a h o m a<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong><br />
P.O. Box 54416 • <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City, OK 73154<br />
ph: 405.232.6991 • e: director@ovac-ok.org<br />
visit our website at: www.ovac-ok.org<br />
Executive Director: Julia Kirt<br />
director@ovac-ok.org<br />
Editor: Janice McCormick<br />
(918) 366-3394 artreview@mindspring.com<br />
Art Director: Anne Richardson<br />
anne@speccreative.net<br />
Art Focus <strong>Oklahoma</strong> is a bimonthly publication<br />
of the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong> dedicated<br />
to stimulating insight into and providing current<br />
information about the visual arts in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>.<br />
OVAC welcomes article submissions related to<br />
artists and art in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>. Article proposals should<br />
be sent to the OVAC office either by mail or email.<br />
Quality images are also accepted with complete<br />
caption information. Deadlines are six weeks before<br />
the publication date. For instance, the deadline for<br />
the May/June issue is March 15. OVAC includes<br />
gallery listings for visual art exhibitions for which<br />
the entire content of the show remains intact for the<br />
duration of the exhibition. Every effort is made to<br />
include galleries and venues statewide that provide<br />
OVAC timely information.<br />
OVAC welcomes your comments. Letters addressed<br />
to Art Focus are considered for publication unless<br />
they include the note “Not for publication” and may<br />
be sent to the editor at the address above. Letters<br />
may be edited for reasons of space or clarity.<br />
Anonymous letters will not be published. Please<br />
include your telephone number if your letter is to be<br />
published.<br />
Editorial Board: Janice McCormick, Bixby; Stephen<br />
Kovash, Randy Marks and Sue Moss Sullivan,<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City; and Teresa Valero, Tulsa. Assistance<br />
from Edward Main, Bixby. Cecil Lee, Norman/<br />
Chickasha is editor emeritus.<br />
OVAC Board of Directors 2004-05: Richard Bivins,<br />
Cleveland; Elliott Schwartz, Rick Vermillion, Edmond;<br />
Diana Brown, Lawton; Maya Christopher, Joan Goth,<br />
Norman; Thomas Batista, Ellen Berney, Carissa<br />
Bish, J. D. Merryweather (Treasurer), John Seward<br />
(Vice President), Carl L. Shortt (President), Lila Todd,<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City; Suzanne C. Thomas (Secretary),<br />
Spencer; Chris Ramsay, Stillwater; Pam Hodges,<br />
Claudia Doyle, Teresa Valero, Tulsa.<br />
The <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong> is solely responsible<br />
for the contents of Art Focus <strong>Oklahoma</strong>. However, the<br />
views expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect<br />
the opinions of the Board or OVAC staff.<br />
© 2005, <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong>. All rights reserved.
Explore<br />
Behind the scenes with ceramic cats, wooden<br />
tornadoes, and bronze children, visitors can see<br />
how artists work on the Art Studio Tour. Set for<br />
Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17 in Tulsa,<br />
the OVAC Art Studio Tour 2005 will feature<br />
nine artists demonstrating a variety of media,<br />
including wood, fiber, painting, landscape<br />
installation, and ceramics.<br />
creativity<br />
Art Studio Tour Exposes Artists in Tulsa<br />
The artists’ studios will be open to the public from noon until<br />
5 p.m. each day of the self-guided tour, giving visitors the<br />
chance to talk with the artists, view and buy artwork and see<br />
art being made. Visitors are able to see inside the working<br />
spaces of both established and emerging artists, from basement<br />
to loft, individual and shared. The works range from abstract<br />
to representational, realistic to expressionist and traditional to<br />
cutting edge. Best of all, the viewing experience is relaxed and<br />
informal. Each artist will be present both days at their studios for<br />
demonstrations, questions and conversation.<br />
Participating Tulsa artists are: Roz Cook, sculpture; Janet<br />
Duncan, landscape installation; Cynthia Brown and Walt Kosty,<br />
ceramics; Bob Hawks, wood; Janet Hawks, fiber; Louise Higgs,<br />
painting; Kate Kline, fiber; and Matt Moffett, painting.<br />
continued page 4<br />
Cynthia Brown from<br />
Brown Cat Studio<br />
with some of her<br />
ceramic creations.<br />
profile<br />
3
4<br />
Maps and tickets to the OVAC 2005 Art<br />
Studio Tour are $10, $5 for students and<br />
are available at Ziegler’s (6 N Lewis) or<br />
Brookside Pottery (3710 S Peoria) in Tulsa<br />
or online at www.ovac-ok.org. OVAC<br />
members will receive a coupon good for<br />
two tickets in the mail. Student or other<br />
groups may make special arrangements for<br />
discounted rates.<br />
For the first time this year, visitors will<br />
have the opportunity to preview the<br />
artwork and meet the artists in advance at<br />
a sample event at the Gilcrease Museum on<br />
April 7. For $30 or $50 a couple, patrons<br />
can view examples of each artist’s work<br />
and enjoy great refreshments. Their patron<br />
ticket will also be good for the tour the<br />
following weekend.<br />
Participating Artist<br />
Information:<br />
Rosalind Cook<br />
Sculpture<br />
Rosalind was born in Lima, Peru in 1946.<br />
Living in an isolated community high<br />
in the Andes until the age of seven was<br />
conducive to creativity as well as a love<br />
for varied cultures and people, which is<br />
often evident in her bronze sculptures.<br />
Sculpting was a hobby that began to grow<br />
along with Rosalind’s children. She began<br />
concentrated sculpting studies in the 1980s<br />
and knew this was a calling on her life.<br />
Soon after casting her first bronzes in 1989,<br />
her professional career quickly began to<br />
grow through select gallery representation<br />
and shows. Notable commissions enlarged<br />
the scope of her work, including works<br />
at hospitals, parks, libraries, churches,<br />
corporate headquarters as well as private<br />
homes across the country. Rosalind said,<br />
“My work is most recognized by the faces<br />
and the flowing forms of my sculptures. My<br />
goal is to capture the spirit of my subject,<br />
be it joyful, peaceful, animated, etc. I see<br />
my sculptures as a way to communicate<br />
with a viewer and hopefully celebrate the<br />
human spirit with them.”<br />
Janet Duncan<br />
Environmental artwork<br />
“The last 3-4 years of my life have been<br />
spent on a tract of land just north of Tulsa,<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> creating an environmental<br />
earthwork. The original 10-acre plot<br />
was covered with trash and debris,<br />
overgrazed, and overgrown with vines.<br />
While discovering the land, I’ve begun<br />
to discover myself. What has evolved<br />
includes pathways, seating areas, sculptures<br />
and more. Additional expression through<br />
electronic media and written works<br />
document the many levels of my experience.<br />
The primary goal is to provide a space that<br />
shares my own experience with the viewer,<br />
while providing a space for their own inner<br />
reflections.”<br />
Bob Hawks<br />
Woodturning<br />
After serving five years in the Army during<br />
World War II, he attended the Art Center<br />
College in Los Angeles and in 1948 started<br />
his own commercial photography business.<br />
Bob’s clients included several well-known<br />
national magazines until 1987 when he<br />
relinquished management of the business<br />
and was able to devote most of his time<br />
to woodturning. While still active as a<br />
magazine photographer, he now has more<br />
time to create one of a kind, hollow vessels<br />
for sale and exhibit throughout the United<br />
States. Bob’s pieces are included in the<br />
permanent collections of The White House<br />
Collection of American Crafts, <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
Governors Mansion, Glenbrook Hospital,<br />
Forest Heritage Center Museum, Arrowmont<br />
School of <strong>Arts</strong> & Crafts and more.<br />
Jan Hawks<br />
Fiber<br />
Jan Hawks is a fiber artist who grew up<br />
with adults who created clothing and<br />
decorative items by knitting, crocheting<br />
and sewing. Her interest in fibers started<br />
very early as she hung on her mother’s back<br />
as she sewed on a treadle sewing machine.<br />
At age six she learned to knit, was sewing<br />
all her own clothing by 15 and at 17 began<br />
to learn to weave. Through the years she<br />
has learned many crafts but currently is<br />
working mostly with fibers and the sewing<br />
machine. She started into quilting when<br />
she saw a magazine article on Seminole<br />
patchwork and much of her work contains<br />
this technique. She has had several magazine<br />
articles published showing her own designs<br />
using this technique and has had wall<br />
hangings and wearable art shown in juried<br />
shows in Texas and <strong>Oklahoma</strong> including<br />
Visionmakers and Fiberworks. She continues<br />
to experiment with traditional techniques<br />
using them in untraditional ways.<br />
Cynthia Brown and Walt Kosty,<br />
Brown Cat Studio<br />
Ceramics, Mixed Media Assemblage<br />
Each piece of artwork from the Brown<br />
Cat Studio is hand built and a one-of-akind<br />
ceramic sculpture. Cynthia works<br />
in coil, slab, and pinch construction for<br />
her whimsical and colorful creations. She<br />
frequently creates animal series, most<br />
recently on cats. Walt works in the studio<br />
also, which was originally conceived as an<br />
endeavor for Cynthia’s work. He is involved<br />
with the commercial aspects of the business,<br />
but also creates text pieces that he evolved<br />
into performance expressions. Using<br />
found and common artifacts, Walt builds<br />
assemblages or installations.<br />
Matt Moffett<br />
Painting<br />
Matt Moffett started oil painting because<br />
his dog died in 2000. Since then, his life has<br />
drastically changed from teaching Spanish<br />
at the University of Tulsa, to teaching art<br />
to public school kids at one of the poorest<br />
public elementary schools in Tulsa. Moffett<br />
paints pet portraits throughout the US and<br />
parts of Europe; collectors include Barry<br />
Switzer and President Gerald Ford.<br />
Kate Kline<br />
Fiber<br />
Kate is a fiber artist and runs a textile<br />
studio in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>, where she teaches<br />
quilting, hand-dyeing and surface<br />
design. In addition, she makes quilts and<br />
garments, and does machine quilting for<br />
other artists. “I have been working with<br />
fabrics as long as I can remember, from
dressing my dolls in scarves as a young girl<br />
to making garments and quilts from my<br />
hand dyed and embellished fabrics.<br />
Always wanting to create something<br />
unique, I have designed and constructed<br />
much of my own clothing since my college<br />
years. I started painting and printing on<br />
fabrics experimentally in the ‘90’s and took<br />
classes with Jane Dunnewald and Ann<br />
Johnston. I’m always experimenting with<br />
a variety of media from other disciplines,<br />
such as welding, pottery, painting and<br />
drawing. While I am often working in<br />
a somewhat traditional mode, my varied<br />
background and cross-media scrounging<br />
bring a unique touch to my work.<br />
Although I have some formal art training,<br />
I believe my ‘eye’ comes from experience,<br />
an open mind and passion.”<br />
Louise Higgs<br />
Painting<br />
Louise Higgs is a painter and educator.<br />
Higgs has served as the artist-in-residence<br />
for the Hospice of Green Country in Tulsa,<br />
working creatively with grieving family<br />
members, terminally ill patients and hospice<br />
staff members.<br />
OKC Art Studio Tour:<br />
The OVAC Board has elected to take a<br />
break from the OKC Art Studio Tour to<br />
draw together a task force to develop a<br />
statewide tour. OVAC’s goals are to grow<br />
links between artistic communities and<br />
highlight artists all over the state. Anyone<br />
interested in helping create this new<br />
statewide venture, call or email Julia Kirt<br />
(405-232-6991 or director@ovac-ok.org)<br />
to participate in the task force.<br />
Matt Moffett<br />
Lulu takes a dip<br />
24”x30”,<br />
oil on canvas,<br />
2004<br />
Picture from<br />
Janet Duncan’s<br />
environmental<br />
installation in<br />
north Tulsa.<br />
Rosalind Cook<br />
“Waterlily”<br />
bronze<br />
5
6<br />
profile<br />
Out of Their Element<br />
Out in the Elements<br />
By Randy Marks<br />
My studio partner and well-known<br />
provocateur Larry Pickering suggested<br />
that we should have an outdoor<br />
sculpture show at Studio 31 Deuce on<br />
NE 37th in <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City. When<br />
I agreed that would be a good idea,<br />
he told me that I was in charge of it.<br />
This was apparently cosmic payback<br />
for my goading him into doing a show<br />
of nonfunctional sculpture as opposed<br />
to the functional art for which he is<br />
known. Fair enough.<br />
The first item of business was to put<br />
the show off as long as possible. Finally<br />
the Friday following Thanksgiving was<br />
chosen. The next item was theme. I<br />
kicked around several ideas then decided<br />
that this could be an opportunity for<br />
some fresh thinking. The question was<br />
posed “What would happen if you asked<br />
artists who had never done outdoor<br />
sculpture to do outdoor sculpture?”<br />
Item number three was recruitment. In<br />
order to make the proposition attractive<br />
it seemed smart to insure more exposure<br />
for the show than a one night stand<br />
at our studio. Joy Reed Belt stepped<br />
forward to host the show after the<br />
initial opening at JRB Art at the Elms.<br />
Recruitment came easily after that<br />
Audrey Schmitz<br />
Aphrodite’s Charms<br />
Stoneware clay, found<br />
iron elements<br />
and then a bonus was added. Audrey<br />
Schmitz, who had accepted an invitation<br />
to participate as a sculptor, said she<br />
would like the show to travel to the<br />
Eleanor Hays Gallery on the Northern<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> College campus, Tonkawa.<br />
Fourteen artists accepted the challenge<br />
to get out of their normal element and<br />
try their hands at outdoor sculpture.<br />
The diverse group included a high<br />
school student, a blues guitarist, fiber<br />
artists, painters, architects and more.<br />
Following are comments from some of<br />
the participants:
Morgan Robinson<br />
seed pod/picked up/taken home/all alone<br />
thick & thins/once again/coffee shop/did not<br />
stop<br />
pushed the top/ink drops/sketched a bit/<br />
quite intense<br />
pleasant trip/sang a song/devils claw<br />
felt the need/I let it bleed<br />
in letting go/I trapped some time/I called it<br />
mine/I stared in space/never erased<br />
my hand just sketched/I stretched/my<br />
window home/all alone<br />
I thought of Japan/sensitive land/seems to<br />
know/ thoughts that allow SEEDS to grow<br />
I gave it light/that dimly glows/my<br />
nudging spirit/lets me know/which way we<br />
should go<br />
I try to say/concentrate/don’t stay up late/<br />
you took the bait<br />
watch the leaves/watch the trees/that let you<br />
in/allowing grins<br />
show me grass/sing me songs/quietly sway/<br />
& sing along<br />
take a coffee/take a tea/don’t think too<br />
much/let it be<br />
simple sophisticated/ exchanged & traded/<br />
blessed but frustrated<br />
walk around/ take a seat/suspended shapes<br />
encase me/in the minute’s moon & sun/ one<br />
in all and all in one<br />
Nathan Lee<br />
Most of my sculptures have the look of<br />
something that would more than likely<br />
live on the outside. I use parts of trees and<br />
other things that occur in nature. I try to<br />
make figures that are quite unnatural in<br />
appearance but seem some how familiar. If<br />
I can make people take a second look then I<br />
have accomplished my goal.<br />
I am glad that I participated in this<br />
exhibition because it gave me the<br />
opportunity to show my art in a different<br />
environment and it gave me a new direction<br />
for my art both in technique and execution.<br />
I made a few missteps when creating my<br />
piece but I also learned so much from a<br />
technical standpoint. This has opened a new<br />
door of possibilities with my work and I am<br />
looking forward to gaining more experience<br />
in showing in an outdoor environment.<br />
Brian Fitzsimmons<br />
When Randy invited me to be part of the<br />
exhibit, I was afraid. It had been some<br />
time since I’ve created an object with no<br />
physical purpose or as art in a pure sense.<br />
Although my work in architecture and<br />
furniture design attempts to be beautiful<br />
or intriguing as a piece of art in it’s own<br />
Brian Fitzsimmons<br />
stolen<br />
concrete<br />
right, the function/physical purpose of<br />
the piece always significantly impacts the<br />
design direction. With art, one should<br />
have something to say, or at least create<br />
something worth looking at more than<br />
once. Art has to stimulate the mind.<br />
So I started with trying to make something<br />
worth looking at. Along the way, the<br />
piece started to say something. Issues with<br />
religion and the hypocrisy that often stems<br />
from it began to find metaphor in stolen. The<br />
flightless wing strapped on as a religious<br />
guise, or an angel stripped of its wing<br />
and left powerless, the conflict between<br />
perception and reality. The use of material<br />
and form attempt to strengthen this notion.<br />
Concrete is used as both something heavy,<br />
rigid and solid, and something apparently<br />
fluid and delicate.<br />
That said, I chose to use concrete from the<br />
start. I have done a few concrete sculptures in<br />
the past, though none as large as stolen. The<br />
traditional use of concrete is unforgiving. A<br />
negative form is created to fill with concrete,<br />
making a positive. There are no second tries,<br />
short of starting over. Similar to architecture<br />
and furniture, plan it first, then make it. The<br />
base was created this way.<br />
In contrast, the wing explores the novel<br />
approach of pouring concrete over a wire<br />
armature. This approach allows some<br />
manipulation of the form to happen<br />
during the creative process. The form is<br />
slowly built up, … extending the time for<br />
decision-making.<br />
Michael Hoffner<br />
“Reluctant” might be a good word to<br />
describe the attitude with which I agreed<br />
to participate in this show - I had never<br />
done a sculpture large enough or permanent<br />
enough to stay outdoors. But having agreed,<br />
I was determined to do a good job.<br />
Layers of crumpled paper had figured in my<br />
work lately, and I thought a similar effect could<br />
be made with sheet metal. My first piece of<br />
outdoor sculpture would address the viewer at<br />
eye level, meaning there would probably be some<br />
kind of armature to position the sheet metal at<br />
viewing height. With a list of possibilities and<br />
constraints, I began my usual way of working.<br />
Sketches are done, usually three-dimensional<br />
views - I always try several ideas. When I hit<br />
on something I really like, I draw several views,<br />
details of how materials will come together<br />
and how connections will be made. After my<br />
pencil sketches had me convinced that the<br />
design for Sunflowers was worthy, I modeled it<br />
on my computer. Adjustments were made until<br />
the proportions looked right. Most of what<br />
remained at this point was to focus on the craft in<br />
executing the design.<br />
With the computer model, I was able to make<br />
a scale drawing to give the steel supplier.<br />
As a result of planning, every piece the steel<br />
supplier provided was exactly the right<br />
size, and every piece I needed was there. No<br />
material was wasted and there really wasn’t<br />
anything left to figure out. It was almost like<br />
assembling a kit—except that I didn’t know<br />
how to weld.<br />
Before Randy and Larry taught me to weld,<br />
I didn’t know there was anything missing<br />
from my life. Zoomed in on the finite world<br />
of creating a weld, there was a place where the<br />
sense of time and space was lost, except for<br />
a 3/16” pool of molten metal I was coaxing<br />
down the joint of two steel plates. The act<br />
of fabricating Sunflowers was a more visceral<br />
experience than my drawing or painting. The<br />
physical demands of working with large, heavy<br />
pieces contributed to the elevated focus that<br />
made this experience so enjoyable. Compared<br />
to two-dimensional work, the results are so<br />
much more tangible. If a painting is a diagram<br />
of an idea or an artifact, a sculpture is truly an<br />
artifact. I am no longer reluctant.<br />
Alyson Atchison<br />
I enjoyed this experience tremendously.<br />
Everyone should force themselves at least<br />
once to expand their usual way of thinking<br />
into a new dimension. I literally felt my<br />
brain stretching as I tried to picture how I<br />
would “draw” in the third dimension. In my<br />
drawings, the lines are the most important<br />
part of the image. I didn’t want to lose the<br />
sketchiness and expression that I get with my<br />
lines. So, it was important for me to be able<br />
to see my “style” in what I made. The steel<br />
rods I had available to work with lent well to<br />
this idea.<br />
continued page 8<br />
7
8<br />
It was still hard for me to transfer my<br />
thinking from 2D to 3D. Upon my<br />
orientation to welding, I told my teacher<br />
I wanted to make a building for a practice<br />
piece. He showed me how to get started<br />
and then I went to work, but stopped short<br />
with a flat outline of a building. I couldn’t<br />
see past the second dimension. I was sure<br />
my sculpture was supposed to be flat. It was<br />
like a light went on in my head when he<br />
showed me how far I could go with it.<br />
Heather Lee<br />
I think one of the most challenging things<br />
for me when making my sculpture was<br />
waterproofing it and getting it ready for an<br />
outdoor environment. Since all of my work is<br />
done using fabric, getting it ready for weather<br />
and the elements was the main priority.<br />
Angela Renke<br />
I reference parts of the human body to create<br />
something that may convey a small glimpse<br />
of my past along with my present thoughts<br />
on the nature of the two sexes. I have an inner<br />
obsession with the part of me that defines<br />
me as a woman. It is not so much a physical<br />
obsession, as it is a conceptual obsession. The<br />
vagina makes me a woman, it is so literal,<br />
but it is the most obvious difference between<br />
man and woman. The physicality of humans<br />
is one of few concrete differences; whereas<br />
other differences are left as subjective ideas.<br />
These differences create my fascination of our<br />
similarities. I am interested in understanding<br />
how our differences complement each. In this<br />
work I sought to focus on the gray areas of<br />
similarity between man and woman. I was<br />
thinking of these differences, whether they be<br />
physical or behavioral, which come together to<br />
form a similarity.<br />
Sue Moss Sullivan<br />
I have fantasized about working in<br />
metal or wood for the outside gallery,<br />
but needed this push, shove and<br />
challenge to move me out of the comfort<br />
of my chosen medium. The ideas for the<br />
two pieces I completed came easily, but the<br />
execution was the challenge. Fortunately,<br />
I have my own resident welder, Andy,<br />
who patiently waited while I lined up<br />
everything, and then threw me the grinder<br />
and plasma cutter to do my own finish work.<br />
I loved working with these tools and seeing<br />
it all come together. When I saw them<br />
installed, I wanted to alter and change them,<br />
but that’s for another time and other work.<br />
Audrey Schmitz<br />
Aphrodite’s Charms evolved after thinking<br />
about the lives of women in ancient<br />
cultures, and making sketches for a<br />
sculpture that would commemorate their<br />
history in some way. To realize the piece as<br />
a giant bracelet came as a result of a visit<br />
to Tonkawa Foundry’s scrap lot to seek<br />
“art parts,” and finding some curved pipe.<br />
Although the pieces were not full circles,<br />
I saw the potential for charm bracelet<br />
fragments – no longer intact but offering<br />
traces of a life.<br />
Aphrodite, the Ancient Greek goddess<br />
of love, beauty and humanity became<br />
my subject – certainly she would have<br />
received many charms from her lovers and<br />
consorts... [and] The charms are handmade<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> Painting and Drawing<br />
Biennial VIII<br />
April 30-June 10, 2005<br />
Opening reception: April 30, 2-4 pm<br />
Curator’s talk: 2:30<br />
Art Gallery at the University of<br />
Science and <strong>Arts</strong> in Chickasha<br />
photo credit: Ken Crowder<br />
ALTHOUGH THE PIECES<br />
WERE NOT FULL CIRCLES,<br />
I SAW THE POTENTIAL<br />
FOR CHARM BRACELET<br />
FRAGMENTS – NO LONGER<br />
INTACT BUT OFFERING<br />
TRACES OF A LIFE.<br />
of stoneware clay, hollow slab forms that<br />
are incised and glazed to resemble bronze<br />
or iron. Each charm represents the “giver”<br />
in both the design and personal message<br />
engraved into the clay...<br />
The major structural components are made<br />
of iron, mostly found elements left for<br />
scrap from the foundry yard and an oil-field<br />
supply business. Some machine work was<br />
required along with welding – so I bought<br />
or begged this expertise from friendly,<br />
talented and curious Tonkawa citizens.<br />
Randy Marks<br />
As the curator I should, mai oui, be biased.<br />
That aside I can say that I was happy and<br />
more so with the work that was presented.<br />
Each artist brought good work and a new<br />
perspective to their sculptures.<br />
Organized by the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong> • For more information, go to: ovac-ok.org or call (405) 232-6991.
24 Works on Paper Traveling<br />
Exhibition 2004: A Speedy Review<br />
by Stephen Kovash<br />
After a three year hiatus, Individual Artists of<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> (IAO) has brought back the 24 Works on<br />
Paper Traveling Exhibition. Once publicly funded,<br />
this 16th exhibition of works on paper is now<br />
sponsored by the Stephany Poorbaugh Memorial<br />
Fund and by a contribution from Dr. Mark Allen<br />
Everett as part of the Art Freedom Fund of IAO.<br />
24 Works on Paper travels to five locations in<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> starting in September 2004, and return<br />
to <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City in July of 2005 for an artist’s<br />
reception and closing exhibition. The review was<br />
done at the East Central University Gallery in Ada.<br />
This exhibition, juried by Katherine Liontas-<br />
Warren, Professor of Art at Cameron University, is<br />
an outreach program of IAO. The purpose of the<br />
outreach is to provide quality contemporary art to<br />
communities that normally have limited access,<br />
and to give state-wide exposure to <strong>Oklahoma</strong>’s<br />
contemporary artists. All forms of works on paper<br />
are considered including: photography, painting,<br />
drawing, lithography, etching, serigraphs, collage,<br />
and mixed media.<br />
Usually by the time you read one of these articles, the<br />
exhibition has closed and you no longer have a chance<br />
to view the work. Since this show will be traveling<br />
through July, you still have a chance to see it. Venues<br />
for the exhibition include Northern <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
College, Tonkawa, from the last week of September<br />
through the end of October, 2004; Southwestern<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> State University, Weatherford, second<br />
week of November through the third week of<br />
December, 2004; East Central University, Ada,<br />
January through February, 2005; Leslie Powell<br />
Gallery, Lawton, May through June, 2005; and at<br />
IAO Gallery, <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City, July, 2005.<br />
Winners of the $200 Awards of Merit are Mark<br />
Hatley and Tim Sullivan. Each artist received a $25<br />
honorarium for accepted work.<br />
I have found it challenging to review single artist<br />
shows in that I need to be able to describe what is<br />
going on, give a fair indication of the overall show,<br />
while not taking up too much space. My test here is<br />
to attempt coverage to all the participating artists<br />
while considering your attention span. So in this era<br />
of “speed dating” and “poetry slams,” I am going to<br />
attempt “Speed Reviewing.”<br />
Burt Seabourn (OKC) Pablo and Me - Intaglio<br />
Etching – Collage format, found Picasso, couldn’t<br />
find Burt, browns predominate, mixture of<br />
masculine and feminine images.<br />
continued page 10<br />
Kathleen Rivers<br />
Morning Coffee<br />
Giclee<br />
reviews<br />
9
10<br />
reviews<br />
William Struby (OKC) Distance – Mixed<br />
Media - Nice piece, reminiscent of a<br />
post-WWI French Poster, very blue,<br />
slender woman (in bondage?).<br />
Kathleen Rivers (Ada) The Dance<br />
- Collage Monotype - Businessman<br />
walking, towering buildings, crumbling<br />
destruction, fire, smoke, scribbling over<br />
the top of the piece.<br />
Kathleen Rivers (Ada) Morning Coffee<br />
- Giclee – Voluptuous female form,<br />
nice use of color, with black, white,<br />
pink (blood), yellow and orange<br />
predominating. A fancy coffee order is<br />
written over the piece.<br />
Trent Lawson (OKC) Belly - Mixed<br />
Media/Acrylic - paint and other material<br />
is layered on thick, creating a texture<br />
that looks like cracked earth/sculpture/<br />
raku. Very earthy, like the floor of the<br />
Mojave Desert.<br />
D.J. Lafon (Norman) Gertrude Stein -<br />
Charcoal – VERY nice study of a woman<br />
(Gertrude Stein maybe?).<br />
Kolbe Roper (Edmond) Simple Celebration<br />
– Mixed Media - Middle Eastern feel,<br />
collage, Whirling Dervishes, people<br />
praying, Russian (?) Musicians in a rotunda<br />
(think Library of Congress). Collage<br />
includes three illustrations of some sort of<br />
grain.<br />
Mark Hatley (Ada/South Carolina) Sorry<br />
Spot – Monotype - Picasso meets Ren<br />
and Stimpy. Disturbing yet very pleasing.<br />
Great use of color – multicolor Ren with<br />
one big arm, one little arm, surrounded by<br />
stars. Green, blue and red predominate.<br />
Chris Corbett (OKC) In the Motionless<br />
and Timeless Center - Silver Gelatin Photo<br />
– Timeless is appropriate – classic female<br />
nude in a hollow tree/sylvan setting.<br />
Sue Clancy (OKC) Hungry for Music<br />
- Mixed Media – Classic Sue, whimsical<br />
figure, eating and drinking musical<br />
notes, hand made paper (Sue’s specialty),<br />
collage of images include Beethoven,<br />
Ears and the statement “About 1801,<br />
Beethoven began to experience deafness,<br />
but he did not allow this to interfere<br />
with his composing.”<br />
Christina Busche (OKC) Untitled -<br />
Photograph - Black and White, ghostly<br />
images (looks like New Orleans),<br />
possibly a man and woman in a hallway.<br />
Eerie yet compelling.<br />
Amanda Boehm (Lawton) 6 Visits<br />
or 21 Days Carpal #3 - Intaglio<br />
– very interesting, ropy and masculine,<br />
resembles a Japanese back tattoo.<br />
Keith Ball (OKC) Hub Cap Giclee Print,<br />
Acrylic – Partial photograph of a vintage<br />
wire hubcap, finished in graphite, paint<br />
splatters and graphics reminiscent of 80’s<br />
pop art – Duran Duran meets A-HA in<br />
automobile alley.<br />
Alyson Atchison (OKC) Girl with Grace<br />
- Serigraph – Alyson is going to be big,<br />
pick up her stuff while it is still underpriced.<br />
The print shows a figure of a<br />
girl commanding a fish from the water,<br />
stars and moon in the background.<br />
Turquoise blue, red, yellow and orange<br />
predominate.<br />
F. Bradley Jessop (Ada) Blue Yodel #2<br />
- Monotype, Mixed Media – Industrial,<br />
50’s/60’s (post?) modern images – female<br />
in profile, whimsical cat scratched<br />
cartoon. Neat high tech material<br />
– aluminized ink.<br />
Jacquelyn J. Knapp (Chickasha)<br />
Searching - Graphite – Very nice<br />
graphite (almost 3D) representation/<br />
study of clouds possibly storm clouds.<br />
Betty Wood (Norman) Fantasy<br />
Landscape – Monoprint - Rolling<br />
destitute landscape, dried leaves/weeds,<br />
willow branches – lonely highway?<br />
Betty Wood (Norman) Arching Forms<br />
- Monoprint - Stark, black and white,<br />
deathly, arch shape predominates<br />
(tombstone?), winter, iris, ginkgo,<br />
willow branch.<br />
Petas (OKC) Symbols of Us, Reprise<br />
- Mixed Media- The Artist formerly<br />
known as Wendy Mahsetky-Poolaw<br />
– Cave paintings, horses, plants and<br />
flowers. Stark and compelling.<br />
Petas (OKC) Symbols of Us - Mixed<br />
Media – Very challenging piece,<br />
deceptive, images are there, you have to<br />
find them, face of a man in pain, conflict,<br />
wings. Black and whites predominate.<br />
Tim Sullivan (Norman) Apotheosis<br />
- Screen print – Kaleidoscopic vista of<br />
human form, black, blue, purple and<br />
earth tones, images intertwined in a<br />
psychedelic background, very 60’s.<br />
Michael Wilson (Norman) Precious<br />
- Monotype - Schizophrenic, beautiful,<br />
misshapen daisy with dollar bills for<br />
leaves, writing, coherent yet conflicting<br />
and contradictory.<br />
Michael Wilson (Norman) Ways In -<br />
Monotype – Child images, block numbers,<br />
windows, quote “Happiness is a warm<br />
puppy/so I got on/His name is Happy<br />
Stefan Chinov (Ada) Untitled – Etching<br />
– Black ink, white paper, rhomboid and<br />
other uneven shapes.<br />
This is a great, well juried show and is<br />
an excellent representation of what the<br />
artists in <strong>Oklahoma</strong> are currently doing.<br />
Please don’t miss it at the Leslie Powell<br />
Gallery or the IAO in July.<br />
Post Script – I promised to give a few<br />
words about Mark Hatley, who received<br />
one of the two awards of merit. Mark<br />
recently graduated from the Art Program<br />
at ECU which continues to produce<br />
very promising artists. I recently looked<br />
at Mark’s senior show that, while<br />
undisciplined, was wonderful to view.<br />
He shares the quirky dark cartoon style<br />
of many of his contemporaries and he<br />
deserved the award of merit. His “24<br />
Works” piece nicely represents his overall<br />
portfolio. Mark has moved to South<br />
Carolina to pursue graduate work. I look<br />
forward to see his work as it matures.
Bradley Jessop<br />
Blue Yodel #2<br />
Monotype and mixed media<br />
Ace Cuervo’s<br />
24 Hours from Tulsa By Janice McCormick<br />
Unlike Ian and Sylvia’s song of the same<br />
name, Ace Cuervo’s 24 Hours from Tulsa<br />
(recently at Holliman Gallery, Holland Hall<br />
campus) captures not a physical distance<br />
from Tulsa, but rather a psychological<br />
distance experienced while within Tulsa’s<br />
city limits. The titles to all of Cuervo’s<br />
black and white photographs merely<br />
state the exact time they were taken. His<br />
approach to the traditional subject matter<br />
of cityscape and architectural detail has<br />
a decidedly post-modern flair with its<br />
highly self-reflexive emphasis on the nature<br />
of photographic images as images. He<br />
achieves this by deliberately misemploying<br />
photographic techniques: over exposure<br />
when taking the picture or underexposure<br />
when printing (2:20pm); jostling the camera<br />
during a very long exposure resulting in<br />
wavy lines of light (1:26am, 1:45am); and<br />
simply leaving it out of focus (2:38pm).<br />
Among these images of Tulsa’s urban<br />
environment, there are familiar architectural<br />
landmarks: the old Mayo Hotel (3:08pm),<br />
the soon-to-be-demolished Denver Grill (1:<br />
27pm; 1:14pm), and the Admiral Twin Drivein<br />
Theater (10:22am). Even a new landmark<br />
is tossed in for good measure - the retro-<br />
Art-Deco downtown Bus Station (3:17pm).<br />
Yet, such familiarity does not bring comfort.<br />
Something is lacking. It takes a moment to<br />
realize that there are no people in this city.<br />
The very purpose for this architecture – to<br />
serve human needs – remains unfulfilled. You<br />
can almost hear the hollow footsteps of the<br />
photographer on an empty street.<br />
2:20pm, a large 17” by 22” photograph,<br />
captures the sweep of an extended overpass as<br />
viewed from below. Its concrete arc dominates<br />
the entire image. As it hovers over and curves<br />
away from you, a palpable sense of distance<br />
separates you from the bleached-out cityscape<br />
beyond. The “T” shaped concrete supports<br />
and steel guardrail heighten this separation.<br />
Here, the image’s large blank white areas<br />
(deliberately the result of improper exposure)<br />
amplify the barrenness of the scene.<br />
1:45am strikes the viewer as a drive-by shot<br />
of the cityscape taken at night from afar.<br />
Jiggling the camera while set on a long<br />
exposure distorts the lights of skyscrapers and<br />
lampposts into sharply delineated streaks, bars<br />
and tildes. The resulting rhythmic liveliness<br />
contrasts with the rather dark, uneventful<br />
sky and totally black foreground. Reflecting<br />
on this liveliness, you realize that it comes<br />
not from the city itself, but rather from the<br />
photographer’s actions. For all you see, this is a<br />
dead city. Furthermore, this blurred skyline of<br />
unremarkable, late modern glass-boxes (which<br />
could be any where in the world) leaves you<br />
disoriented and wondering, “Am I the only<br />
one here? And, where am I, anyway?”<br />
Several signs crop up through out the exhibit,<br />
but one in particular caught and held my<br />
attention. The lit neon sign in 9:53pm reads:<br />
“COUPLE $28 / Gateway Motor Hotel<br />
/ WKLY EXTENDED STAY / RATES<br />
STARTING AT $22/ SLEEP AMERICAN.”<br />
At first, the cartoon-like Uncle Sam holding<br />
a stars and stripes suitcase brings a smile<br />
because of its folksy charm. But, when<br />
coupled with the phrase “Sleep American”,<br />
it takes on an unwelcoming and excluding<br />
tone. And, you feel a bit sheepish for having<br />
found it amusing.<br />
With only traces of human activity found<br />
(a sun-lit but empty sidewalk - 4:25pm, an<br />
unmanned bike leaning against a bar or liquor<br />
store wall - 1:52pm, and a motel sign lit up<br />
to attract sleepy passer-bys - 9:53pm), it is<br />
startling and rather surreal to find human<br />
faces. But, these faces turn out to be images<br />
in the mural on the south-facing wall of the<br />
Denver Grill (1:14pm), taken in December<br />
2004. On a larger-than-life scale and painted<br />
in an awkward manner, the heads of Marilyn<br />
Monroe, James Dean and Elvis Presley peer<br />
out across a broad and empty stretch of gravel.<br />
All their color drained away by the black and<br />
white photograph portends their imminent<br />
destruction by the bulldozer.<br />
Breaking with the traditional, objective<br />
documentary approach that merely records<br />
what is present, Cuervo explores his own<br />
complex and ambivalent reactions to Tulsa by<br />
manipulating various photographic processes.<br />
And, in the process, he creates a psychic<br />
distance that allows us to look at Tulsa from a<br />
different perspective.<br />
11
12<br />
reviews<br />
Dragon Dance<br />
by Ron Fleming.<br />
redwood burl, from the<br />
exhibit Sacred Hybrids at<br />
Living ArtSpace, December<br />
2-23, 2004, Tulsa, OK.<br />
Sacred Hybrids<br />
There is a piece entitled, Nurture or Nature, in the<br />
Sacred Hybrids exhibit at Tulsa’s Living ArtSpace.<br />
The work is a bowl-shaped vessel of manzanita<br />
burl and gourd – beautifully gnarled, organic and<br />
irregular - that holds in its center a cradled shell<br />
from which an egg, born of polished stone, has<br />
emerged. A succession of protective orbs and vessels<br />
- molded by nature, molded by hands – this piece<br />
also holds in its center the essence of a collaborative<br />
exhibition by two Tulsa artists, Ron Fleming and<br />
Linda Stilley. If this title, Nurture or Nature, poses as<br />
a question, then this exhibit sets up a compelling<br />
dialogue between the two. And, if this title is the<br />
answer to a question, then it’s easy to accept its<br />
harmonious resolution.<br />
Vessels and bowls, urns and jars metamorphose<br />
into womb-like forms, alternately protective and<br />
vulnerable, inviting you to witness the birth and<br />
decay of nature. An intriguing combination of<br />
bio-morphic and geometric designs, natural and<br />
mannered surfaces, this collection reveals the<br />
individual style of each artist, but resolves itself best<br />
in the works which join the two most evocatively;<br />
these are the “sacred hybrids.”<br />
Ron Fleming’s turned-wood sculptures are texturally<br />
diverse and expressive. There are the simple vessels,<br />
with geometric patterns, combining smooth and<br />
jagged edges, like Pyramidal Vessel, made of spalted<br />
(a process of rotting the wood to create a pattern)<br />
by Rhonda S. Davis<br />
hackberry. Other works are composed of more<br />
elaborate, complex open and closed forms, playing<br />
off outer and inner light patterns. Serpico, a small<br />
vessel, retains the natural irregularities and openings<br />
of buckeye burl, allowing the light to shine through<br />
circular openings, repeating the cast light shapes from<br />
its exposed interior. Open and closed forms take a<br />
most ornate turn in Dragon Dance, made of redwood<br />
burl and mannered into fluid, leaf-like spirals.<br />
The hand of Linda Stilley becomes evident in the<br />
adornment of many of the works present, not just<br />
riding upon their surface, but penetrating into<br />
their content and three-dimensionality. Primarily a<br />
painter who has also worked in clay, Stilley appears<br />
to slip effortlessly into a collective consciousness<br />
with Fleming, elaborating on the integration of the<br />
tactile and spiritual by using opaque and translucent<br />
acrylic washes and the introduction of fetishes in<br />
the form of extraneous objects, such as beads and<br />
feathers. Time Frame incorporates hackberry, acrylic,<br />
leather, copper, stone and bone into a vessel. The<br />
repetition and subsequent patterns composed of<br />
these ornate features suggests musical rhythm,<br />
with perhaps ritualistic associations. At times,<br />
Stilley vacillates between suggestively unrestrained<br />
brushwork and the insistence of order, as she<br />
complements the forms.<br />
Method and content are tightly woven in this<br />
exhibit. Naturally evolving and deteriorating<br />
wood, suggestive of transition and the passage of<br />
time, crosses paths with the touch of the artists’<br />
hands - gentle hands, playing off the stage of life<br />
of the material itself and intent on preserving its<br />
inherent beauty, but firm and molding hands as<br />
well. Metamorphosis rests in three pieces, made of<br />
sycamore, acrylics, hackberry, walnut and cocobolo.<br />
Like Nurture or Nature, it addresses the core of our<br />
existence, as it joins man and environment through<br />
the birth of one from the other. Smooth egg shapes<br />
that have left behind their broken shells, jagged<br />
from the break or trauma of birth, serve as symbolic<br />
reminders of both life’s protection and destruction.<br />
There is an implied tenderness toward the natural<br />
condition of the woods and materials in this<br />
collection – a respect for their innate qualities. There<br />
is the mark of the artist as well, searching for and<br />
determining his or her creative, but respectful role.<br />
Fleming and Stilley found a good match with each<br />
other for their respective aesthetics when they joined<br />
forces here, establishing a dynamic not unlike the<br />
one which exists in the play of the concepts of nature<br />
and nurture they address. It’s a dynamic operating<br />
on many levels, including one which reminds us of a<br />
shared passage of time with nature’s resources, where<br />
we recognize and find universal concepts of beauty.
<strong>Back</strong> to Basics<br />
Photography<br />
In an age where digital photography has<br />
become the norm, this exhibit will take<br />
an alternative view and feature <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
and regional artists preferring light and the<br />
camera over a computer screen and Photoshop.<br />
A variety of photographic techniques<br />
such as Cyanotype, Polaroid Transfer and<br />
Daguerreotype will be on display. <strong>Back</strong> to<br />
Basics Photography and Eye Spy, a coinciding<br />
exhibition of children’s photography, will<br />
be on display April 28 – May 31, 2005 in<br />
the Eleanor Kirkpatrick Gallery at City <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Center. There will be an opening reception on<br />
Thursday, April 28, 2005 from 5:30 -7:30pm.<br />
The <strong>Back</strong> to Basics Photography exhibit<br />
has been included in the 2005 gallery<br />
season to showcase the variety of styles<br />
and techniques within the medium of<br />
alternative photography. Don’t let the<br />
name “<strong>Back</strong> to Basics” deceive you! This<br />
exhibit will offer exceptional work that is<br />
anything but elementary! This celebration<br />
of the basic relationship between artist and<br />
camera has produced work that is innovative<br />
and contemporary. Each artist has explored<br />
alternative processes to develop a body<br />
of work with a fresh and unique appeal.<br />
Some artists such as Jim Meeks’ images<br />
will explore man-made objects in basic<br />
geometric shapes that were found in various<br />
places and that had either been thrown<br />
away or left to rust and decay. “I like the<br />
character these objects take on over time,<br />
the basic shapes, their commonness and the<br />
process of searching for them,” says Meeks.<br />
His works have been featured recently in<br />
the International Photography Hall of Fame<br />
in <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City and a number of his<br />
images are in public and private collections<br />
throughout the United States and Europe.<br />
Sarah Williams has returned to <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
City from New York and is now making<br />
her presence in art venues in the <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
market. Williams’ images are the result of<br />
a unique process that she has developed. In<br />
Topography of the Brain, Williams began with<br />
colored pencil and ink drawings, coated<br />
with cooking spray and baked in the oven,<br />
resulting in an orange cast. She then coated<br />
the drawings with gel medium making them<br />
printable. She has refined the process and<br />
her experience allows her the ability to color<br />
balance her imagery. “I immerse myself in the<br />
creative process beyond traditional techniques.<br />
The alchemy and unexpected surprises that are<br />
possible with processing prints by hand allow<br />
my creativity to flourish beyond the creation of<br />
a negative or a print,” says Williams.<br />
Dallas based artist Kimberly Rodriguez is<br />
the Merchandising Coordinator for Wright<br />
Studios which produces small product<br />
catalogues. Catalogue photography requires<br />
detailed attention to presentation, placement<br />
and lighting. In contrast Rodriguez prefers to<br />
photograph the world without manipulation.<br />
Rodriguez comments, “I want to show how or<br />
where things were before they were lit, shot<br />
and burned to a disc. The minute details that<br />
make up the world around me speak to me.”<br />
Using a Holga camera, she has allowed the<br />
natural occurrences of light leaks and ghosting<br />
previews<br />
to affect her composition. She creates an<br />
interesting visual collage of disoriented subject<br />
matter combined with scenes from daily life.<br />
<strong>Back</strong> to Basics Photography promises to<br />
be a photographic journey into the<br />
contemporary world of alternative process<br />
photography. Images will be presented in<br />
a wide variety of unique formats including<br />
light boxes, photographic constructions<br />
and installation pieces.<br />
In addition, there will be a coinciding<br />
children’s photography exhibit Eye Spy in<br />
the back of the gallery. Under the guidance<br />
of a professional photographer, children will<br />
be given cameras to photograph the world<br />
as they see it. This exhibit opportunity has<br />
been made possible by Kirkpatrick Bank.<br />
The Eleanor Kirkpatrick Gallery is located<br />
in City <strong>Arts</strong> Center at State Fair Park, 3000<br />
General Pershing Blvd., OKC, OK. For more<br />
information or call 951-0000, gallery hours<br />
are Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.<br />
and Friday - Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.<br />
Jim Meeks<br />
Campbell Center<br />
<strong>Back</strong> to Basics<br />
Photography at<br />
City <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Kimberly Rodriquez<br />
NY Strip<br />
<strong>Back</strong> to Basics Photography<br />
at City <strong>Arts</strong><br />
13
14<br />
previews<br />
CONTEMPORARY<br />
The 27th Annual Fiberworks Exhibition<br />
sponsored by the Handweaver’s League<br />
of <strong>Oklahoma</strong> will be featured in the<br />
Eleanor Kirkpatrick Gallery at City <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Center March 12 – April 9 th , 2005.<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> artisans working in a tactile<br />
medium are infusing innovation into<br />
a traditional artform, creating a new<br />
genre of contemporary “fiberworks.” This<br />
extraordinary exhibit includes objects<br />
made of felt, woven cloth, paper, dyed<br />
fabric, photo transfer onto fabric, basketry,<br />
knitting, quilting, beading and more.<br />
Artwork will be accepted for entry into<br />
this juried exhibit at City <strong>Arts</strong> Center<br />
on Saturday and Monday, March 5 th & 7 th<br />
noon to 4pm. A non-refundable entry and<br />
handling fee will cost members $15 and<br />
$20 for non-members. This entitles the<br />
entrant to submit up to three (3) works.<br />
Awards are given for outstanding entries.<br />
The Linen: Enduring and Endearing<br />
Workshop will be offered in conjunction<br />
with the exhibit on Saturday and<br />
Sunday, March 12 - 13, 2004 from 9am<br />
– 4pm at Center City <strong>Arts</strong> Center. The<br />
workshop cost is $60 for members and<br />
$80 for non-members. Artists interested<br />
in submitting work for the exhibition<br />
or attending the Linen: Enduring and<br />
Endearing Workshop should call Dorothy<br />
Dinsmoor at (405) 348-4666.<br />
Fiber Art<br />
Fiberworks began in 1978 by the<br />
Handweavers League to provide <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
fiber artists with an opportunity to enhance<br />
and expand the artform and offer a venue<br />
for exhibiting and selling these unique<br />
works of art. “The Handweavers League<br />
is very proud of our annual Fiberworks<br />
Exhibition. It is the only statewide show<br />
that gives fiber artists the opportunity<br />
to exhibit their work and the show helps<br />
educate visitors about the history and<br />
traditions of fiber as an art medium.<br />
It is always an exciting exhibit and<br />
Handweavers League of <strong>Oklahoma</strong> greatly<br />
appreciates the partnership with City<br />
<strong>Arts</strong> Center, and the support of State<br />
<strong>Arts</strong> Council, and our generous donors,”<br />
comments Sue Moss Sullivan who is<br />
the 2004-2005 Handweavers League of<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> President.<br />
The juror for the 2005 Fiberworks exhibit<br />
is Nancy Hoskins, from Eugene, Oregon.<br />
Ms. Hoskins has an extensive background<br />
as a weaver, an instructor, a writer, and a<br />
researcher. With an MS in Interdisciplinary<br />
Studies (Art History, Art Education, and<br />
Fine <strong>Arts</strong>) from the University of Oregon,<br />
she taught college weaving from 1981 to<br />
1996. Ms. Hoskins has a special interest<br />
in Pharaonic, Coptic, and Early Islamic<br />
textiles, which as resulted in numerous<br />
publications, including the recently<br />
above left: Laura Strand<br />
(Last year’s Juror of Fiberworks)<br />
If Only<br />
Painted silk<br />
above right: Lin Hartgrove-Sanchez<br />
Miho (left) Basile (right)<br />
Scanned photograph printed on vinyl, sliced by<br />
hand and woven<br />
published Coptic Tapestry Albums and the<br />
Archeologist of Antinoi, Albert Gayet. Ms.<br />
Hoskins researched Coptic collections in<br />
over fifty museums around the world to<br />
gather material for this book. She is also<br />
the author of Weft-faced Pattern Weaves:<br />
Tabby to Taqueti; Universal Stitches for<br />
Weaving, Embroidery, and Other Fiber <strong>Arts</strong>;<br />
Boundweaving (a video tape); and many<br />
articles in textile and archeological journals.<br />
Nancy Hoskins has exhibited in 30<br />
solo and group art exhibitions in the<br />
United States, Canada, and Australia,<br />
and has presented over 100 programs and<br />
workshops for guilds as well as for regional,<br />
national, and international conferences in<br />
18 states and five countries. With her broad<br />
range of interests, skills and experiences,<br />
Ms. Hoskins will bring to <strong>Oklahoma</strong> fiber<br />
artisans an extraordinary opportunity to<br />
gain both an introduction to Coptic and<br />
Early Islamic textiles and a unique handson<br />
weaving experience.<br />
City <strong>Arts</strong> Center is located at the State<br />
Fair Park, 3000 General Pershing Blvd.,<br />
OKC, OK. Gallery hours are Monday-<br />
Thursday 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and<br />
Friday-Saturday 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. with<br />
no admission charge.
Audrey Schmitz<br />
Icon<br />
Photo-assemblage: Silver gelatin prints,<br />
glass, wood<br />
20.75 x 12 x 4.75”<br />
Awarded Best of Show in Eleventh<br />
Biennial National Juried<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong>:Centerfold Exhibition.<br />
Stephanie Grubbs<br />
Swimming Flying<br />
wool felt<br />
Mike Stephens<br />
First Class<br />
Woodcut<br />
A Brief History of Competitive Shows<br />
and OKLAHOMA:Centerfold<br />
By Cecil Lee<br />
On January 16, the Leslie Powell Foundation and<br />
Gallery biennial, OKLAHOMA:Centerfold, opened<br />
with a reprise at the USAO Art Gallery in Chickasha.<br />
This is the first of three competitive shows to be in<br />
the USAO Art Gallery this Year. This density of<br />
Competitive Shows Would have been unusual 20<br />
years ago – but not forty years ago. As I remember,<br />
the first fall I taught at OU in 1959, shortly after I<br />
arrived as a new teacher, my colleagues and I attended<br />
the Southwest Biennial show sponsored jointly by<br />
the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City Museum and the University of<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong>. Competitive shows were common after<br />
World War II and continued with full flourish until<br />
the mid-sixties. Then they disappeared<br />
from view in the serious art scene<br />
and did not reappear until a quarter<br />
of a century later. Why? First let me<br />
address the mid-century phenomenon,<br />
then the reemergence.<br />
While most of the Midwestern<br />
universities had developed art<br />
departments before the depression, there<br />
was a renewed energy with the GI Bill<br />
students and a new attitude toward the<br />
arts. John Dewey’s belief that art was a<br />
necessary component of the developed<br />
and balanced personality made its<br />
impact on art education and we had<br />
begun to see its first fruits. With low<br />
cost higher education and a firm belief<br />
that the war had been fought to make<br />
possible the pursuit of the “finer things<br />
in life,” the arts were embraced with a<br />
new enthusiasm. Numerous Hollywood<br />
movies featured young artists in Paris.<br />
In a post-war imitation of the Gertrude<br />
Stein circle, we found aspiring writers<br />
and poets, dancers and choreographers,<br />
musicians and composers, and painters<br />
and sculptors. The general affluence of<br />
the Eisenhower years made possible a<br />
reasonable hope of supporting oneself by<br />
being an artist. The post-war mentality<br />
was to embrace modernism as the<br />
significant direction for the arts.<br />
It is surprising, from our viewpoint, that the content<br />
of what we called modern had a wide and general<br />
approval. In painting, the style of the cubists,<br />
especially Picasso, was accepted. In music, Stravinsky<br />
and American jazz could be used as the standard; in<br />
literature, Hemingway and Maugham. Later, the<br />
more expressive artists were added to this pantheon<br />
of the accepted. The universal agreement and<br />
Maryruth Prose<br />
Ladder<br />
hand dyed and woven wool<br />
enthusiasm were overwhelming. I have a paper by a<br />
graduate student who claims we would go forward<br />
“by the grace of God and the guidance of Picasso.”<br />
This unanimity of opinion was, of course, limited to<br />
the art scene. At the Southwest Biennial opening in the<br />
fall of 1959, there were picketers at the fair grounds<br />
with literature denouncing us as communists or<br />
communist dupes who were knowingly misguiding<br />
the public by saying that bad art was good. These<br />
expressions of ours, it was argued, would eventually<br />
lead to the moral decline of the social fabric. But<br />
those in the avant-garde held their ground.<br />
The end of this solidarity (and with it, competitive<br />
art shows) was brought about by the<br />
diversity of new directions. The New<br />
Image show of 1959 and the Responsive<br />
Eye show of 1963, coupled with<br />
Andy Warhol’s contributions, raised<br />
questions of how one could compare<br />
diverse directions. That is, how can<br />
one say a particular Liechtenstein is<br />
better that a particular Rauschenberg,<br />
let alone the horror of a silk screen<br />
of a Marilyn Monroe photograph.<br />
Further, added to this was a group of<br />
traditional art patrons (often with a<br />
great deal of money) who had come<br />
to openly question the authority of<br />
the professional artists. Even academic<br />
administrators began to raise doubts.<br />
In <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City, the combination of<br />
an extremely advanced show juried by<br />
Clement Greenburg and the withdrawal<br />
of five abstract paintings alleged to<br />
be pornographic led to the end of the<br />
regional biennials. Similar dramas were<br />
enacted in most major cities. The age of<br />
the competitive shows was over. Small<br />
groups of particularized directions, such<br />
as representational water color, or china<br />
painting, alone continued.<br />
But, in the eighties the loss of a former<br />
age became evident. OVAC, in its<br />
inception, saw a need for the dynamic of<br />
the competitive show. The Leslie Powell<br />
Gallery in Lawton offered its first Centerfold show in<br />
1989 and The USAO Art Gallery began the Seven-State<br />
Biennial in 2001. Each had a different agenda. OVAC<br />
hoped to encourage the cutting edge of art and restore<br />
the modern to a vital role in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>. The founders<br />
of the coalition raised the comparison question. While<br />
willing to let the jurors deal with style problems,<br />
there remained the question of media breadth. Should<br />
continued page 16<br />
feature<br />
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drawing and paintings be treated together?<br />
The Centerfold started eclectic with a loosely<br />
defined landscape idea (the dictates of the will<br />
of their patron, Leslie Powell) that became<br />
so loosely defined as to simply be a show of<br />
everything anywhere in the country. That there<br />
is a need for such a show is evident in the near<br />
800 entries from nearly every state. The show<br />
is well publicized in the national art media.<br />
Why would so many out-of-state artists pay to<br />
enter a show they have only a limit chance of<br />
getting in? All three shows have a respectable<br />
purse which is essential to their purpose. It is<br />
not the money itself that attracts the artists. The<br />
money guarantees a serious show and acceptance<br />
enhances their credentials. This is not unlike the<br />
role shows played in the 50s. How then do these<br />
shows differ from the early post-war models?<br />
Rather than attempt to grade the works as<br />
though they were by members of an academy<br />
(as was done in the 19 th century French salons)<br />
the juror forms an exhibition which exposes the<br />
general health of the art scene. This is a bit like<br />
Greenspan commenting on the economic well<br />
being of the nation. Even in the juror’s statement,<br />
Kristy Deetz said little about the particular<br />
aesthetic criteria of the work. She spends half the<br />
space quoting from her 1994 statement and then<br />
talks about the American scene.<br />
“Philosophically I viewed this year’s exhibition<br />
in much the same way [as she had done earlier].<br />
Differences I did notice in the work submitted<br />
for the 2004/2005 <strong>Oklahoma</strong>:Centerfold include a<br />
broader range of voices, a heightened awareness<br />
of American and world politics, a stronger focus<br />
on gender issues and cultural criticism, and<br />
an increasing use of digital imagery and new<br />
technologies which are further blurring the<br />
boundaries among traditional media.<br />
“As a juror, I made selections based on the<br />
works’ capability to manifest a strong concept<br />
and effective technical execution, and to evoke<br />
in me a strong emotional/intellectual response.<br />
Congratulations to the winners especially, but<br />
to all entrants who undertook the challenge to<br />
unfold something of their individual landscapes.”<br />
In this eclectic array of art there are indeed<br />
some very fine pieces. D. J. Lafon’s oil painting,<br />
Morning Light, a figure study in ethereal colors<br />
shows a master artist at his finest. Lafon, retired<br />
from Ada and now living in Norman, is a<br />
frequent contributor to local shows and has<br />
become one of the assured statements of quality<br />
in any show. But to highlight the “comparing<br />
apples and oranges” dilemma, his work hangs<br />
next to a hand-dyed wool weaving by Maryruth<br />
Prose of Lawton. It is only in the last couple of<br />
decades that so purely a craft work could hang in<br />
a serious “art” show. There are still critics with<br />
mid-century criteria, but they are declining in<br />
number. Prose’s work, Ladder, is of unbelievable<br />
subtlety. First she has dyed an incredible range<br />
of color, then by sorting separate strands she<br />
makes a painterly illusion, reminiscent of the<br />
best of the op artists.<br />
Socio-political commentary dominates a<br />
woodcut called First Class by Mike Stephens of<br />
Corpus Christi, TX. The way in which Stephens<br />
comments on post 9/11 life recalls the early works<br />
of Ben Shahn, and, like Shahn, judgment of his<br />
work will probably depend more on the viewer’s<br />
red/blue position than on the aesthetics of the<br />
work. Reviewing the works in the show as one<br />
might a show a half century ago is impossible.<br />
There are many fine statements but not one<br />
concerted direction. The avant-garde is a thing<br />
of the past. In this post-modern world, a return<br />
to modernism—as we see in majority of the<br />
works—is merely another post modern position.<br />
It is certainly a show worth seeing. The aesthetic<br />
well being is still vigorous if lacking in direction.<br />
The selection of winners by Deetz continued in<br />
the democratic, aesthetically correct taste of the<br />
general selection. In the honorable mentions<br />
and critic choices one sees what is likely her<br />
taste, but the four top prizes are more like<br />
the best in four distinct categories or separate<br />
shows. First place winner, Stephens First Class<br />
has been mentioned above. Stephanie Grubbs,<br />
of Edmond, whose felt works have grown more<br />
and more sophisticated over the years was placed<br />
as second. An excellent work, called Swimming<br />
Flying, subtle colors and soft shapes give an<br />
evocative, loosely defined image. Nancy Morrow<br />
of Manhattan, KS, in her Heartland is probably<br />
the most typical of current style, although not<br />
one of the stronger works. Like many of postmodernist<br />
artists, she relies heavily on literary<br />
conceits at the cost of the visual.<br />
“Best in the Show” was given to Audrey<br />
Schmitz of Tonkawa, OK, for her silver gel<br />
prints and mixed media Icon. In some ways this<br />
piece does epitomize the tone of the show. The<br />
imagery of Schmitz’ work is highly eclectic. It is<br />
religious, but not of single defined religion. It is<br />
in the form of a sacred relic and requires a degree<br />
of reflection to grasp its spirituality. But, at the<br />
same time it is purely art. The use of materials<br />
is masterful, but the immediate effect has folk<br />
simplicity as though the artist had no idea about<br />
artfulness. The impact of Icon is conditioned<br />
by the presence of a second work very close in<br />
form called Beyond Mars. Like Icon it is sacred<br />
image. But Icon is far Eastern while Beyond Mars<br />
is American Indian in an implied Greco-Roman<br />
framework. Both works give a feeling of coming<br />
upon something of historical importance, not<br />
overwhelming but a good sense of presence.<br />
As a contemporary competitive show, The<br />
OKLAHOMA:Centerfold is certainly worth<br />
spending some time viewing.<br />
At A Glance<br />
Billy Reid<br />
‘Things Change’<br />
40 x 40 inches<br />
mixed media on board<br />
by Julia Kirt<br />
The Untitled [<strong>Arts</strong>pace] fall exhibitions were a great<br />
partnering of styles and media featuring Rob Phoenix,<br />
Shelly Collins, and Blake Collins running December 3 rd<br />
until January 22nd, 2005. Rob Phoenix’s introspective<br />
paintings filled the main gallery. Using a subdued<br />
palate, Rob’s acrylic on panel surfaces demanded<br />
attention. His imagery explored symbols, coming<br />
across like hieroglyphics with molded backgrounds.<br />
Above all, he seemed focused on the process of<br />
painting. In the small west gallery, Shelly Collins<br />
playful mosaics combined great textures. Her use of<br />
color and surfaces was great. Really, I couldn’t help<br />
but feel good looking at her work, as they seemed to<br />
exude a joy with life.<br />
Featured in the small east gallery, Blake Collins’<br />
drawings were mesmerizing—-both mirthful and dark.<br />
Getting to see his sketchbooks had me transfixed. His<br />
style plays on the old school look of etching in crosshatching,<br />
but with a contemporary twist in scale or<br />
subject. I look forward to seeing more of his work.<br />
Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery in Norman has<br />
made a consistent commitment to the best in<br />
contemporary art. Subsequently, the gallery has<br />
organized a regular series of exhibitions for young or<br />
up-and-coming artists. The most recent installment,<br />
Emerging Artists, was held December 3- January<br />
22. The exhibition featured Billy Reid, Erin Cochran,<br />
Katrina Tullius, Megan Akers, Garland Grantham,<br />
Ashley Nicole Smith, Craig Tompkins. I like the way<br />
the Mainsite asked each artist to really submit a body<br />
of work. Rather than a show with a smattering of<br />
pieces, viewers could get a strong sense of each<br />
artist’s direction. This type of challenge and focus<br />
is something I think we strongly need to improve<br />
the arts in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>—calling on each artist to pick<br />
their best work and make it even better. Anyway,<br />
the groupings of work were great. I was enthralled<br />
in Katrina Tullius’ works. She uses needlepoint on<br />
varying fiber backings, creating disconcertingly<br />
attractive and yet not harmonious compositions. Erin<br />
Cochran’s paintings were another highlight with their<br />
understated skill and wit.
Viewer’s Choice winner<br />
Matt Wiens with one of<br />
his paintings.<br />
Round Up March/April<br />
The next <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong> Artist<br />
Survival Kit workshop will be “The Organized<br />
Artist: Cataloging and Documenting Your Work”<br />
at the Edmond Historical Society on April 9,<br />
1-4pm. You know this is your chance to fulfill<br />
that New Year’s Resolution to get things in<br />
order! Watch for registration information via<br />
mail or online (www.ovac-ok.org) shortly.<br />
OVAC Program Assistant<br />
Stephanie Winter works with Trent<br />
Lawson, co-chair of Momentum<br />
committee, at the event.<br />
The fourth annual Momentum event in <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
City on January 8, 2005 was OVAC’s biggest event<br />
ever—literally with over 1,100 attendees!<br />
Troy Wilson, Exhibits Director at City <strong>Arts</strong> Center,<br />
and Dustin Hamby, Assistant Director of JRB Art<br />
at Elms juried the exhibition this year. The cocurators<br />
were incredibly thorough, spending more<br />
than six hours reviewing submissions from 147<br />
young artists. They chose 160 works by 85 artists<br />
age 30 and younger, which included visual art,<br />
installations, dance, film, mixed media, and more.<br />
Of the selections, Wilson said, “I enjoyed the<br />
experience of seeing work created from a fresh<br />
perspective. My personal criteria for selection were<br />
based on an effective combination of the following:<br />
technical ability, presentation, genuine exploration<br />
of subject matter and most importantly, the presence<br />
of a unique artistic ‘voice.’” Hamby added, “Many<br />
of the artists’ works reviewed were new to me, and I<br />
was grateful for the exposure to so many interesting<br />
and challenging ideas.”<br />
The curators also selected six of the awards: Best in<br />
Show: Billy Reid, OKC; Pitchy Patchy Award: Ruth<br />
Ann, Borum, Norman; Doerner, Saunders, Daniel &<br />
Anderson LLP Award: Amanda Hagy, Stillwater;<br />
Awards of Merit: Scott Henderson, OKC; Elise<br />
Deringer, Norman; Jennifer Glenn, Stillwater<br />
The Viewers’ Choice Award was tallied by audience<br />
votes with Matt Wiens, OKC the runaway winner.<br />
The OVAC fellowship and awards selections are just<br />
in. Congratulations to Jonathan Hills, Norman who<br />
is the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> Fellowship for 2005<br />
recipient. This year’s Artist Awards of Excellence<br />
recipients are Joseph Daun, <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City; Laura A.<br />
Guth, Midwest City; and Gary Hickerson, <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
City. Watch for more information and images next<br />
issue. Mark Pascale, who is the Associate Curator<br />
in the Department of Prints and Drawings at The Art<br />
Institute of Chicago, carefully selected the recipients.<br />
Robin Chase, co-chair of<br />
the Momentum committee.<br />
OVAC Director Julia Kirt with<br />
artists’ Trinity and Paul Mays.<br />
Momentum OKC: a Blow Out Success<br />
Four great bands kept the even lively including<br />
Simple Tree, 2Bass3, the B-Sides, and a classical<br />
duet of M. Brent Williams and Ginger Harkey.<br />
Perpetual Motion performed modern dances several<br />
times throughout the evening. Gary Parks brought<br />
his turntable to mix some old school music. Molly<br />
O’Connor performed “<strong>Oklahoma</strong> Land Crawl” to<br />
challenge the audience. Nicole Moan’s ceramic<br />
corsets made an appearance with new models. The 1/0<br />
collective performed an improvisational computer and<br />
projection spectacle that kept viewers mesmerized.<br />
The event took place at 1100 North Broadway<br />
on Historic Automobile Alley in downtown<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City. The location, generously donated<br />
by C.D. Warehouse, and offered a labyrinth of<br />
winding pathways and individual rooms to hold<br />
installations and film as well as larger galleries for<br />
the art, dance, and music.<br />
The event could never have taken place without<br />
the amazing volunteer committee co-chaired by<br />
Robin Chase and Trent Lawson. Other members<br />
were Jennifer Barron, Carissa Bish, Enise Carr,<br />
Maya Christopher, Elise Deringer, Sheila Guffey,<br />
Shana Keith-Ward, Heather Lee, Nathan Lee, Jeff<br />
Longstreth, Nicole Moan, Scott Jonathan Nixon,<br />
Romy Owens, Kolbe Roper, Anna Small, Clint Stone,<br />
Christian Trimble<br />
Watch for Momentum Tulsa in June 2005!<br />
A collaborative exhibition called <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
Landscape will open March 12 at 2 pm in the<br />
Philbrook Museum of Art Education Center Gallery,<br />
Lower Level (North Wing). Curator Michael Freed<br />
selected the artists for the invitational exhibition from<br />
OVAC’s Virtual Gallery, www.ovacgallery.com.<br />
The next OVAC Grant deadline is April 15, 2005.<br />
Forms are available online www.ovac-ok.org. Call<br />
(405) 232-6991 or email if you have any questions.<br />
round up<br />
17
18<br />
Gallery Listings & Exhibition Schedule<br />
Ada<br />
Works from the ECU Collection<br />
Through March 13<br />
Annual Faculty Show<br />
March 21- April 8<br />
Opening reception, March 24,<br />
5 - 6:30<br />
Annual Student Show<br />
April 11- April 22<br />
Opening reception and awards,<br />
April 21, 5-6:30<br />
Senior Shows<br />
April 24- May 14<br />
University Gallery<br />
East Central University<br />
(580) 310-5356 www.ecok.edu<br />
Ardmore<br />
Selections from the Permanent Collection<br />
March<br />
The All-School Exhibit<br />
Area Elementary Schools<br />
March 28-April 8<br />
Reception April 5<br />
Area Middle and High Schools<br />
April 11- May 2<br />
Reception April 20<br />
Charles B. Goddard Center<br />
401 First Avenue SW<br />
(580) 226-0909 www.godart.org<br />
Bartlesville<br />
Bold Improvisation: 120 years of<br />
African-American Quilts<br />
Through March 6<br />
Dennis Oppenheim: Indoors, Outdoors<br />
March 18- May 22<br />
Price Tower <strong>Arts</strong> Center<br />
6 th and Dewey<br />
(918) 336-4949 www.pricetower.org<br />
Broken Bow<br />
Forest Heritage Center<br />
Beaver’s Bend Resort<br />
(580) 494-6497<br />
www.beaversbend.com<br />
Chickasha<br />
Painting and Sculpture by Joe B.<br />
Lucero<br />
February 20 to March 18<br />
Opening Sunday, February 20<br />
at 3:00 pm<br />
University of Sciences and <strong>Arts</strong><br />
of <strong>Oklahoma</strong> Gallery-Davis Hall<br />
1806 17 th Street<br />
(405) 574-1344<br />
www.usao.edu/~gallery/<br />
Claremore<br />
Foundations Gallery-Baird Hall<br />
Rogers State University<br />
(918) 343-7740<br />
Durant<br />
Southeastern OK State<br />
University<br />
1405 N. 4 th PMB 4231<br />
Durham<br />
Art of the Curve: An Exhibition of<br />
Sculpture<br />
March 1- May 28<br />
Opening reception March 6, 1-3<br />
Metcalfe Museum<br />
Rt. 1 Box 25<br />
(580) 655-4467<br />
Edmond<br />
The 50 Years of Photojournalism of the<br />
Daily <strong>Oklahoma</strong> Exhibit<br />
March 8- April 16<br />
Watercolor <strong>Oklahoma</strong> XX Exhibit<br />
May 3- 26<br />
Edmond Historical Society<br />
431 S. Boulevard<br />
(405) 340-0078<br />
www.edmondhistory.org<br />
Chambers Library Gallery<br />
University of Central <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
100 University Drive<br />
(405) 974-5931<br />
www.camd.ucok/events.edu<br />
El Reno<br />
Gordon Parks Photography<br />
Competition: Celebration of Culture<br />
and Diversity<br />
Through March 30<br />
Redlands Community College Student<br />
Show<br />
April 5- May 19<br />
Redlands Community College<br />
(405) 262-2552<br />
www.redlandscc.edu/visitors/<br />
gallery.htm<br />
Idabel<br />
30 Years, 30 Treasures<br />
March 1- April 15<br />
Museum of the Red River<br />
812 East Lincoln Road<br />
(580) 286-3616<br />
www.museumoftheredriver.org<br />
Lawton<br />
Corazon Watkins and Gerald Clark<br />
March 5- April 30<br />
The Leslie Powell Foundation<br />
and Gallery<br />
620 D Avenue<br />
(580) 357-9526<br />
www.lpgallery.org<br />
Norman<br />
Helen Giddens: Quilts<br />
March 4- April 16<br />
Daniel Gegen: Ceramics<br />
April 22- June 4<br />
Firehouse Art Center<br />
444 South Flood<br />
(405) 329-4523<br />
www.normanfirehouse.com<br />
OU American Indian Student Faculty<br />
Staff Exhibit<br />
April 3-30<br />
Jacobson House<br />
609 Chautauqua<br />
(405) 366-1667<br />
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art<br />
410 W. Boyd Street<br />
(405) 325-3272 www.ou.edu/fjjma/<br />
Haze Diedrich<br />
She Spoke in Circles<br />
48” x 53” oil on canvas,<br />
David Crismon<br />
Charles I, 1635<br />
42” x 42” oil on metal<br />
New Work from David Crismon<br />
and Haze Diedrich at Mainsite<br />
in Norman through March 12th.<br />
David Crismon and Haze Diedrich<br />
Through March 12<br />
Mainsite Contemporary Art<br />
Gallery<br />
Sarah Williams<br />
Topography of the Brain<br />
<strong>Back</strong> to Basics Photography at<br />
City <strong>Arts</strong> in OKC<br />
122 East Main<br />
(405) 292-8095<br />
www.mainsite-art.com<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City<br />
Fiberworks 2005<br />
March 10- April 9<br />
Opening reception March 12,<br />
6-8 pm;<br />
<strong>Back</strong> to Basics Photography & Eye Spy<br />
April 28- May 31<br />
Opening reception April 28,<br />
5:30- 7:30<br />
City <strong>Arts</strong> Center<br />
3000 Pershing Blvd.<br />
(800) 951-0000<br />
www.cityartscenter.org<br />
The Heart of the Southwest<br />
Through March 30<br />
New Works by DJ Lafon<br />
April 1- May 21<br />
Opening reception April 1<br />
JRB at the Elms<br />
2810 North Walker- The Paseo<br />
<strong>Arts</strong> District<br />
(405) 528-6336<br />
www.jrbartgallery.com<br />
EdgeArtNow Exhibition<br />
April 1- 30<br />
Individual Artists of <strong>Oklahoma</strong><br />
811 N. Broadway<br />
(405) 232-6060 www.iaogallery.org<br />
International Photography Hall of<br />
Fame Inductee Exhibit<br />
Through April 3<br />
The Noble Metals: Platinum and<br />
Palladium<br />
April 9- June 30<br />
International Photography Hall<br />
of Fame and Museum<br />
2100 NE 52 nd Street<br />
(405) 424-4055 www.iphf.org
Kirkpatrick Galleries at the<br />
Omniplex<br />
2100 NE 52nd<br />
800-532-7652 www.omniplex.org<br />
Helicopter Cowboy<br />
Through March 6<br />
An Artist with the Corps of Discovery:<br />
The Lewis and Clark Suite<br />
Through April 28<br />
Brent Phelps: Photographing the Lewis<br />
and Clark Trail<br />
Through May 8<br />
Fred Beaver and Acee Blue Eagle:<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> Indian Artists<br />
Through October 23<br />
National Cowboy and Western<br />
Heritage Museum<br />
1700 NE 63 rd<br />
(405) 478-2250<br />
www.cowboyhalloffame.org<br />
Augusta Metcalf<br />
Governor’s Gallery<br />
Through March 18<br />
Bill Jaxon<br />
East Gallery<br />
Through April 22<br />
Yosef Kahnfer<br />
East Gallery<br />
Through April 29<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> State Capital<br />
Galleries<br />
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.<br />
(405) 521-2931<br />
www.state.ok.us/~arts<br />
Kid Size: The Material World of<br />
Childhood<br />
Through March 20<br />
Margaret Bourke-White: The<br />
Photography of Design, 1927- 1936<br />
April 14- June 12<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> Museum of Art<br />
415 Couch Drive<br />
(405) 236-3100 www.okcmoa.com<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> Watercolor Association<br />
Mixed Media and Collage Exhibit<br />
Through March 11<br />
Nona Hulsey Gallery,<br />
Norick Art Center<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City University<br />
1600 NW 26 th<br />
(405) 521-5226<br />
April 30 to June 10<br />
OVAC (<strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong> <strong>Arts</strong><br />
<strong>Coalition</strong>)<br />
Painting and Drawing Exhibition<br />
Opening Saturday, April 30, 2:00<br />
to 4:00 pm<br />
Martin Delabano<br />
Tom Toperzer<br />
Through March 26<br />
Antje Manser: Botanicals<br />
Mykl Ruffino: New Works<br />
April 8- May 28<br />
Untitled (Art Space)<br />
1 NE 3 rd St.<br />
(405) 815-9995 www.1NE3.com<br />
University Gallery<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> Christian University<br />
2501 East Memorial Road<br />
(800) 877-5010<br />
Ponca City<br />
Dean Bloodgood<br />
March 18- April 23<br />
Brent Greenwood and Randy Marks<br />
April 29- May 28<br />
<strong>Arts</strong>place Ponca City<br />
319 East Grand Ave<br />
(580) 762-1930<br />
Ponca City Art Center<br />
819 East Central<br />
Shawnee<br />
Brush in a Healing Hand: Barbara<br />
Gallagher<br />
March 18- May 8<br />
Opening reception March 18,<br />
7-9 pm<br />
Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art<br />
1900 West University<br />
(405) 878-5300 www.mgmoa.org<br />
Stillwater<br />
Scott Reynolds: Standard American<br />
Through March 2<br />
Pakistani Miniature Painting<br />
and Drawing Biennial<br />
March 7- April 6<br />
Graphic Design Portfolio Exhibition<br />
April 10- 20<br />
Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition<br />
April 24- May 6<br />
Gardiner Art Gallery<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> State University<br />
108 Bartlett University<br />
art.okstate.edu/gallery.htm<br />
Tulsa<br />
G.C. Roundup: Cowboys of<br />
the Grand Canyon<br />
by Brian Magnuson<br />
Through March 10<br />
Abstract Images by David Varmecky<br />
March 17- April 14<br />
Apertures Gallery<br />
1936 South Harvard<br />
(918) 742-0500<br />
www.aperturesphoto.com<br />
D.J. Lafon<br />
Morning Light<br />
Oil<br />
from OKLAHOMA:<br />
Centerfold show<br />
Boston Artists<br />
Gallery<br />
23 East Brady<br />
(918) 585-1166<br />
1000 Years of<br />
Native American<br />
Art<br />
January 22- longterm<br />
exhibition opens<br />
Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery<br />
of the Incas<br />
March 19- July 10<br />
Gilcrease Museum<br />
1400 Gilcrease Road<br />
(918) 596-2700 www.gilcrease.org<br />
Holliman Gallery<br />
Holland Hall<br />
5666 East 81 st Street<br />
(918) 481-1111<br />
Idol: A Man’s Obsession works by<br />
Aaron Hussey<br />
March 4-24<br />
Suffering Fools, Gladly: Works by<br />
Paul Medina<br />
April 1- 29<br />
Living ArtSpace<br />
308 Kenosha<br />
(918) 585-1234 www.livingarts.org<br />
Tom Conrad<br />
Through March 18<br />
Ann Marie DiStefano<br />
April 14- May 12<br />
Floating World Gallery<br />
3714 S. Peoria Avenue<br />
(918) 706-1825<br />
Hudson River School: Masterworks<br />
from Athenaeum Museum of Art<br />
Through April 24<br />
The Philbrook Museum of Art<br />
2727 South Rockford Road<br />
(918) 749-7941 www.Philbrook.org<br />
Stitched Skins by Nancy Carlson<br />
March 4-26<br />
Michael Hoffner, Joseph Mills and<br />
Larry Pickering<br />
April<br />
Tulsa Artists <strong>Coalition</strong> Gallery<br />
9 East Brady<br />
(918) 592-0041 www.tacgallery.org<br />
Tulsa Performing <strong>Arts</strong> Gallery<br />
110 East 2 nd Street<br />
(918) 596-7122<br />
Tulsa Photography Collective<br />
Gallery<br />
North Hall at OSU-Tulsa<br />
700 North Greenwood<br />
Michael Barnes<br />
March 3- March 25<br />
Opening reception, March 3,<br />
5-6:30 pm<br />
37 th Annual Gussman Student<br />
Exhibition<br />
March 31- April 22<br />
Opening reception March 31,<br />
5- 6:30 pm<br />
Master Thesis Exhibition<br />
April 28- May 21<br />
Opening reception April 28,<br />
5- 6:30 pm<br />
Alexandre Hogue Gallery<br />
Phillips Hall, the University of<br />
Tulsa<br />
600 South College Ave.<br />
(918) 631-2202<br />
www.cas.utulsa.edu/art/<br />
Waterworks Art Studio<br />
1710 Charles Page Blvd.<br />
www.cityoftulsa.org/parks/<br />
Waterworks.htm<br />
Woodward<br />
Annual Paul Laune High School Art<br />
Competition<br />
March 4- March 30<br />
Opening reception March 30 11- 2<br />
Harry Kraft Kites<br />
April 5- April 29<br />
Reception April 9. 2-4<br />
Plains Indians and Pioneers<br />
Museum<br />
2009 Williams Avenue<br />
www.pipm1.com<br />
(580) 256-6136<br />
Rob Phoenix<br />
untitled,<br />
acrylic on wood panel,<br />
22” x 31”<br />
19
ArtFocus<br />
O k l a h o m a<br />
ArtFocus <strong>Oklahoma</strong> may be purchased at:<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City<br />
Full Circle Book Store<br />
50 Penn Place, 1st floor<br />
NW Expressway & Pennsylvania<br />
OVAC office<br />
Stage Center<br />
400 South Sheridan<br />
Tulsa<br />
Apertures Photographic Services<br />
1936 South Harvard Avenue<br />
Steve Sundry Book & Magazines<br />
2612 South Harvard Avenue<br />
<strong>Back</strong> issues may also be purchased<br />
at the OVAC office. Cost is $3 per issue.<br />
Annual subscription is $15. Annual subscription<br />
free with membership in the <strong>Oklahoma</strong> <strong>Visual</strong><br />
<strong>Arts</strong> <strong>Coalition</strong>. Membership forms and benefits<br />
can be found at www.ovac-ok.org or by phone<br />
(405)232-6991.<br />
Individual Membership: $30<br />
Student Membership: $15<br />
Family/Household Membership: $50<br />
Patron Membership: $100<br />
Sustaining Membership: $250<br />
Also, check out www.ovacgallery.com to learn<br />
more about artists in <strong>Oklahoma</strong>.<br />
Promise Guidry<br />
Cowboy Pickle<br />
acrylic on canvas<br />
2004<br />
Recently in Momentum<br />
PO Box 54416<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City, OK 73154<br />
Return Service Requested<br />
Shea Alexander<br />
Bonnie Amspacher<br />
Kristy Lewis Andrew<br />
Ty Atkins<br />
Margaret Aycock<br />
Maria Barakat<br />
Paul Barby<br />
Juli Barker<br />
Robert L. Barr<br />
Thomas Batista<br />
Nick Bayer<br />
Fred Bidwell<br />
J. Scott Black<br />
Kathleen Blake<br />
A. Clark Bockhahn<br />
Carol Bormann<br />
Bjorn Bower<br />
Eliazabeth Anne Brown<br />
Granger Brown<br />
Anji Bryner<br />
Kelly Cameron<br />
Barbara Chaffin<br />
Stefan Chinov<br />
Terry M. Clark<br />
Steve Cluck<br />
April Coates<br />
Kjelshus Collins<br />
John L. Cox<br />
Tara Crites<br />
Gayle Curry<br />
Adrienne Day<br />
de Shan<br />
Cathy Deuschle<br />
Brent Doster<br />
Elizabeth Downing<br />
Lori Duckworth<br />
Sandra Dunn<br />
Sam Echols<br />
Rand and Jeanette<br />
Elliott<br />
Nadia Ellis<br />
Maria Engles<br />
Kelley Farrar<br />
Randy Floyd and<br />
Michael Smith<br />
Joyce Fogle<br />
Denise Fox<br />
Tracy Frankfurt<br />
Robert A. French<br />
Casey Friedman<br />
Natalie Friedman<br />
Carrie Fudicker<br />
Darlene Garmaker<br />
Sunshine Garner<br />
Sterling Gates<br />
Jennifer Glenn<br />
Brent Goddard<br />
Shan Goshorn<br />
Darryl Gouch<br />
Garland Spencer<br />
Grantham<br />
Matt Gruber<br />
Amanda Hagy<br />
Nancy Harkins<br />
Cynthia Harris<br />
Bob and Janet Hawks<br />
Heidi Helmers<br />
Dana Helms<br />
Jaime Henderson<br />
Brandon Herrera<br />
Justin Hodges<br />
Pam Hodges<br />
F. Bradley Jessop<br />
Jane J. Johnson<br />
Kreg Kallenberger<br />
Jean Keil<br />
Jane Kistler<br />
Jordan Kopf<br />
Kristina Kroboth<br />
Chrysteena Lairamore<br />
Lynda Jo Laird<br />
Patrick Laird<br />
Carter Lees<br />
Vincent B. Leitch<br />
Ratna Kumar Lekkala<br />
P. Keith Lenington<br />
Adam Lopez<br />
Michael Lortz<br />
Jimmy Lovett<br />
Vicki Maenza<br />
Katrina Mann<br />
Randy L. Marks<br />
Jason Martin<br />
Maribel Martinez<br />
Joan Matzdorf<br />
Heidi Mau<br />
Paul and Trinity Mays<br />
Chris McMillin<br />
Cindy McNicholas<br />
Rick McQueen<br />
Sunni Mercer<br />
Shawn Meyers<br />
Marie Miller<br />
Francis Moran<br />
Susie Murphy<br />
Raybert Murrell<br />
Amber Nemelek<br />
Dylan Oaks<br />
Lori Oden<br />
Joshua Ogle<br />
D. Oswald<br />
Adam Oxsen<br />
Andrew Phelan<br />
Chris Presley<br />
Judith Prise<br />
Billy Reid<br />
Michelle Firment Reid<br />
Denise Rinkovsky<br />
Eric Saak<br />
Lane Savage and Chad<br />
Non Profit Org.<br />
US POSTAGE<br />
P A I D<br />
<strong>Oklahoma</strong> City, OK<br />
Permit No. 113<br />
Thank you to our New and Renewing Members<br />
from November and December<br />
Graham<br />
Klint Schor<br />
Bert D. Seabourn<br />
Cal Sechrest<br />
Hina Shafiq<br />
Mark Sharfman<br />
Ann Shaw<br />
Byron Shen<br />
Joe Slack<br />
Chris Small<br />
Geoffrey L. Smith<br />
Carrie Smith<br />
Miranda Sowell<br />
Jacquelyn Sparks<br />
Scott Spicer<br />
Sara Spradling<br />
Justin Spurlin<br />
Clint Stone<br />
Skip Thompson<br />
Justin Tilford<br />
Jennifer Tolman<br />
Tom R. Toperzer<br />
Brooks Tower<br />
J. Diane Trout Harwood<br />
Teresa Valero<br />
Cole Vittetoe<br />
Milly M. West<br />
Amy Widener<br />
Sarah Williams<br />
Michael J. Wilson<br />
Kody Wilson<br />
Ashley Nicole Winkle<br />
Betty Wood<br />
Joyce Yeich<br />
Joanna Zuniga<br />
Kristal Zwayer