My Grandson Harrison cannot get enough of the Art Contest + Exhibit in University Mall. Graham based artist, Steven Reinhart exhibits his project entitled Through a Wood.
One of Harrison’s favorite is this turtle done by Chapel Hill artist Jane Bergman entitled Eons of Evolution Destroyed in Decades.
Jack welcomes shoppers to Weaver Street in Hillsborough and the new parking deck.
Sculptor Jonathan Bowling has created this charming whimiscal donkey from old farm machinery and demolition scrap metals. Study him carefully to see the intricate assemblage of old tools.
One of the benefits of living in a college town is the exposure to an abundance of interesting topics and issues always being addressed and studied.
Art can take on a roll of education and instigate activism and such an exhibit is currently on view on campus.
UNC’s Fed Ex Global Education Center is showcasing work of American Artist Mitch Lewis. The artist uses sculptures he has constructed from terracotta, bronze, resins and wires to bring our attention to the genocide which occurred in Darfur Sudan from 2003-2006.
“Toward Greater Awareness” Darfur and American Activism is on display from October 17-December 17.
The exhibit is small but immensely powerful and thought provoking. The sculptures reflect a dignity of the souls of the Sudanese people as their physical bodies are tortured brutilized and mutilated.
ART with A MESSAGE and humanitarian cry.
View it PLEASE.
Anahid
Peter Nesbit, Chief Curator of the Ackland Museum hosted a presentation Sunday afternoon at Hanes Auditorium, a panel discussion entitled: “Collecting our Thoughts” . The discussion was an enrichment learning experience for the current exhibit at the Ackland titled: ” Carolina Collects: 150 Years of Collecting Modern and Contemporary Art”.
Three distinguished panelist presented their experiences of living with art from their career and aesthetic view points.
Robert Hobbs is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University he suggests that post-modernism is an art form that has a domineering conceptual element. He explained that in post-modernism ” interpretation is a creative force and the interpretation is as important as making the art”. As a result, a collector of such art is looking to be challenged by the art work. The art work is taking the collector out of his comfort zone and into a state of exploration.
The second panelist, Jeff Whetstone is a UNC photography professor and a successful contemporary photographer. His works are widely collected and exhibited. Jeff states that as an artist, he hopes he is always in a formative stage, so that his work remains new and inquisitive. From the collectors’ perspective, he addressed issues of creating art for oneself versus for the market. This is an age old conflict. While the artist delights in his works being purchased , he does not want his work to take on a direction that constricts creativity anticipating the marketability of his expression.
The third panelist was Claire Schneider, an independent curator. She explained that new mediums of contemporary art are often so enormous, and so costly that collectors are devising new methods of collecting. Often several museums will buy one piece and share the cost of storage and opportunities to display. On the opposite end of the collecting spectrum, she introduced novel ways young collectors are entering into the art market with modest budgets. A new concept modeled after Community Sustainable Farming (CSF) has been initiated in a few cities. The new term CSA…Community Sustainable ART has been hatched. Claire gave the example of a town in Minnesota where art supporters pay $300 for the year and receive 5 works of original art. Certainly an interesting concept.
This then brings me to our own community where the opportunity to collect original art is easily accessible.
Orange County is holding its Annual Open Studio Tour November 5-6, 12-13.
Catham County Studio Tour is December 3-4, 10-11.
These tours allow collectors to meet the artists in their studio environments. A marvelous chance for we North Carolinians to continue the tradition of CAROLINA COLLECTS!
Anahid
