Rod Mc Gehee has been making his living as an artist for the past eleven years. He's done portraits, interiors (including some that pay homage to famous artists by characterizing them as cats), and landscapes. It took him a long time to break through to his current expressionistic style. He says that the years he spent painting realistically were a way of paying his dues. He feels that if he hadn't done this, his work would be shallow. He can be pretty critical of his own work, but again, he feels that it's all just part of being a "real artist."
His upcoming show at Art Inc. should be really impressive. There will be about sixty pieces inspired by his travels in Mexico, San Antonio, and Europe. I actually haven't been able to see these new pieces yet, but the piece on the flyer alone is such a step forward from the more commercial works that I've seen of his. It should be worth the trip down to San Antonio.
Jennifer Chenoweth is a really incredible, really busy woman. She and her husband are both artists. They have two kids and alot of projects. I went to her house and recorded this interview inside her backyard studio. It was really fun to get to talk to her while surrounded by in progress works. If you listen really carefully you might be able to hear her dog Fiesta playing with a buddy in the background. I hope you enjoy listening. Check out Fisterra Studios to see her paintings and more. Her husband Todd Campbell is a metal worker. They have great solo work and great colaborations.
I thought today was a pretty good show. With three guests in the studio I wish I could have gone more in depth with all of them. All abstract artists, they are putting on a show called PAINT which opens tomorrow (October 16th) at ARTspoken Gallery 1507 W Koenig Lane. They've been planning this show for some time, but more recently decided to turn the event into a fundraiser for cancer research. They chose LIVESTRONG: The Lance Armstrong Foundation to be the recipient of 30% of the profits from the show because of its holistic approach to research.
Jan Middleton Roset is a cancer survivor herself and I'm so glad she is here with us. She's cheery and caring and clever. Her art is as colorful and vibrant as she is.
Shawn Camp has known Jan for quite some time and she says he was a very supportive friend during that time in her life. His paintings are very unusual and unique.
Leanne Venier is a woman who has done so much with her life you'd think she'd be much older than she looks. She's studied alot of Jungian philosophy and it's reflected in her paintings and the method in which she paints. Check out her mandala series in particular for some of that.
The official reception for PAINT is October 20th, so if there's anything more you want to know about these fantastic people then that's your opportunity to ask them yourself.
Here are the links for today's show. I just thought I'd make it easy for everyone to get all the info in one place.
robotgroup.net/index.cgi/BrooksColeman
Today was the episode of Visual Aid I've been waiting for since the show's inception. I've known Kevin for a long time and his work has always spoken to me very deeply for a number of reasons. If you missed the episode check out shatteredshutter.com to see his photography and learn about urban exploration.
Kevin manages to simultaneously appeal to two different, somewhat incompatible sides of my being. I've always had an insatiable longing to be a part of the past. It's an illogical sentimentality that has plagued me since I was three or four and first realised that someday I would have to die. Things will change and you won't be there to stop it.
These photos help feed that need to rediscover the past so that the ghosts of an era can live again. Those moments that were a part of life for the people who worked in these hospitals, factories, and offices were real. It's comforting in a way to know that just because a fragment of time is over it is no less real.
This exploration is the archeology of the recent past. By ghosts, I don't mean dead people. If you've done some snooping in a forgotten place or been somewhere that used to be useful or meaningful, and it affected you, then you know what I mean by "ghosts." It's just that resonance of life that can't be stilled as fast as you can vacate the premises and lock up. It's the story that doesn't have a narrator yet, but the pictures are there waiting for him.
Kevin Lynch has done a great job of becoming that narrator. The story he tells is one that appeals to my other side. That's the rational side of me that loves discovery and problem solving and might have read a touch too much Ayn Rand in high school.
There are some shots of smokestacks that make me imagine how proud the engineers and architects must have been when their creation let out it's first breath of life in production. These structures were not just beautiful and functional. They were beautiful because they were functional. Though they lie dormant and abandoned now, they were proud marvels of human ingenuity and capability.
I imagine that some environmentalist tendencies might not allow all of you to apreciate the beauty in a smokestack. In that case Kevin's work may bring you hope. Take a look at the Pine Valley (Black Bayou) School. These photos will show you how quickly the Earth will take back what we put here. Be sure to read the story too. It's a good one.
For the time being some of these photos are on display at Quack's bakery at 43rd and Duval.
There's something important here that Kevin isn't the only one to notice: art is all around us. The theme is explored in a number of ways in other exhibits here in Austin right now.
The most obvious of these is at the Austin Museum of Art. Extra-ordinary: the Everyday Object in American Art are selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art that show art imitating life. Also featured there are Everyday Objects: extra ordinary Austin designs. Basically they are apreciating the artistic value of real objects that are for sale in stores across the country that were designed by Austinites.
This is in stark contrast to the snub that art world has previously given to functional art. Painter Carlos Rivera Pineda points this out in his statement for his exhibit Hacia La Vida which is on display at the Mexican American Culture Center.
"During the last century the euro-centric mind set decreed that art could not have a function in order to qualify as 'fine art'. The idea that if art displayed a practical purpose or a spiritual uplifting sank it to the depths of 'folk art'."
You'll have to read the whole thing for yourself before you start thinking that we've really changed in the right direction. Basically, this previous distinction between the two types of art was to elevate european art above that of other people such as the Native Americans and Mexicans. I wouldn't go as far as to say that having a fancy water cooler on display at AMOA changes this devisive attitude.
I will say that there are people out there trying to bring real change where it counts. To celebrate the opening of the MACC, I interviewed fellow KOOP dj Gin Daniel who hosts Native Horizons. She told us alot about the Navajo weaving exhibit there.
The hand woven Navajo rugs are a valuable and important piece of Navajo culture. They have spiritual significance and take alot of time end energy to make. They are valuable to collectors also. The highest appraised item ever on PBS's Antiques Road Show was a Navajo rug. Unfortunately, none of this markup ever makes it to the weavers because they have dealt with trading companies who pay them paltry prices for their work. Gin and some other American Indian advocates are selling these rugs for the weavers and taking nothing for themselves so that the artists themselves can finally get more of what they deserve.
By the way, one rug was stolen from the exhibit. If you have any information regarding this please pass it along to me so we can help recover this very important piece of art.