AthensArtGirl

I'm alive!

2008-05-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

With graduation from Ohio University looming on my life's horizon I remembered this little thing called a blog that I have relating to Athens art.

It's been awhile since my last post due to the sheer amount of fun stuff going on in this town- several spring music fests, like Blackoutfest and For Real Fest, made for some good times for students and Athenians alike. Next up: the Nelsonville Arts and Music Festival, May 16-18. I'm super pumped- I'm working on a large preview feature of the festival for Speakeasy Magazine. This event highlights the best of national and regional acts, from the Avett Brothers and Akron/Family to Southeast Engine and Woody Pines.

Check back soon for photos of this event and a link to the preview...until then, I'll probably be around Donkey playing with my new Mac and photo booth:

Saved by Donkey's 'Nelsonville Series'

2007-11-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

Finals week is a mess of textbooks, pages torn out of spiral notebooks, and highlighter ink…unless you’re like me and study at Donkey for the pleasant distractions of paintings lining the walls.

This quarter I owe my finals week survival to Aaron Smith’s art collection, “Nelsonville Series,” a compilation of paintings and prints of mobile home landscapes set in Nelsonville, Ohio.

Every time I look up from studying my Media Ethics text I am met with glee by the 13 pieces adorning the backroom of the coffee shop. Smith’s series is dynamically arranged from the entrance of the room with images set in daytime, sunlight-drenched views of mobile home-lined streets, to the opposite wall sporting snow-covered lawns and nighttime prints.

By the time your eyes reach the last piece, a snowy driveway with yellow and blue mobile homes, you gain a sense of hope that crosses over from local society to your own ability to overcome the mounds of work you have to peer over just to see the paintings in the first place.

Smith’s artist statement notes that his series is the accomplishment of seven years of work, from 2000-present, and was honored by the OAC Fellowship for excellence in art in 2003. The artist stresses his desire to explore the “use of mobile homes as subject matter.”

“I chose to present images of mobile homes in a very traditional format and medium…landscapes using oils on canvas in a simple rectangle,” Smith’s statement explains. “This forces the viewer to deal with the subject matter in the context of fine arts.”

The subject matter, consisting of Nelsonville neighborhoods only, relates to a population of 5,230 people located in the Athens County city on the Hocking River, according to the 2000 census. For some 2,036 households within the city limits the average family income is $27,122, with 23 percent of those families living below the poverty line.

Smith’s series shows mobile homes “integrated into neighborhoods and in contrast to the rolling hills of the region.” He notes in his statement that he tried not to express a negative bias in the presentation.

I think Smith achieved this goal, judging by the comments I overheard while ignoring my notes. One person commented that the pieces make “beauty out of the mundane,” while others appreciated the uniqueness of the subject matter as something they don’t think of or see every day.

Another friend said that the paintings look like photographs, but at the same time are identifiably paintings. I noticed this the more I focused on the pieces, especially in the brushwork. Smith is meticulous with the springtime scene details of gravel, bricks, and tall grass. I noticed the opposite in the subdued winter settings, with muddled lines between brown grass and snow, this perhaps being a sign that they were created at different times in Smith’s series and at different times in his artistic approach.

Overall, the color and object combination of trucks, trains, trailers, and trees all in a single frame is mesmerizing and is sure to distract many more studiers and Athenians in the coming months. Make sure you stop by if you’re in need of finals week survival or just a regular cup of Joe.

'Drink'

2007-11-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

Parts of Bill Anderson's latest show, "Drink," are still available for your viewing pleasure, but a majority of the work has been sold or taken down.

Didn't get a chance to enjoy a bagel and the disappearing art? Don't you fret! Take a look at some of the pieces below in my first ever slideshow.

See the post below for more details...

Some tips for using the slideshow: scroll your mouse over the top of the slideshow frame to see the command options; scroll over the bottom of the slideshow to select individual photos. Click on the larger image of the photo to see information about the picture.

A self-proclaimed 'Mixed media mastication of introspective balderdash'

2007-10-31T10:11:00.001-07:00

My first stop on my way down the art extravaganza that is Court Street landed me at Bagel Street Deli. I was greeted by the bouncing sound of RJD2, the smell of steamed bagels, and the equally invigorating artist and bagel steamer Bill Anderson.

Anderson's art collection "Drink" has been on display at Bagel Street since his opening show in late September, with a free wine bar that was well received by the many alcohol connoisseurs of Athens. Anderson had time to sit down with me at one of the home-decorated deli tables, this time the table with many leaves, and explained what the works around us were all about.

"This is the culmination of about a year and a half or so of pieces," Anderson said. "I had a collective drive along the lines of a cartoon vocabulary with a context directed towards ideas that were pursued through drinking or intoxication."

Anderson's pieces range from a monotone map collage of a man on a hanging set of vertical blinds to a sunshine triptych hanging on the opposite wall. I asked Anderson about the noticeable contrast placed throughout the room.

"It's combining the child's perspective with the adult- the opposite of a drunken attitude- using a cartoon vocabulary to help me carry those ideas," Anderson said. "It's not so much a contrast, but accepting a contrast and then utilizing that to create this middle ground of understanding and inspiration."

Anderson chooses mediums like hanging blinds because they're logical items to his buyers.

"It's a recycled idea from one of my first shows in high school...I realize that people love to be able to hang stuff up that can go in their window because it's so economical, and it's fung shui, and it's neat that light can shine through and is still a functional thing. It's a space saver. The context of this piece has to do with being blinded and being drunk- so drunk you can't see."

As an Ohio University art student Anderson appreciates how to utilize the Athens community to explore his art ideas and experiment with the actual idea behind "Drink." After all, the idea is truly recycled: Anderson found these blinds in the dumpster. The yellow-themed triptych will soon be on display in the Standard Salon, another locally owned location. Anderson traded this painting with the salon for a hair cut and storage space. This community connection is what drew Anderson to display his work at Bagel Street.

"I didn't think about it twice," Anderson said. "I wanted to shy away from schools and do something by myself, totally DIY. This place- you can't beat Bagel Street. You don't have to be anyone here."

Organic Art

2007-10-24T10:25:00.001-07:00

As a fourth-year member of the Athens community I am constantly amazed by the ways in which this town is able to thrive on itself. Athens gives all new meaning to the organic trend, promoting local agriculture, retailers, and even neighborhood artists.

As a student it can be hard to find time to indulge in my art-loving side, which is why I feel so indebted to the many restaurants and shops around town that display local artwork on a regular basis. It seems that Athens has taken the fast-food notion and applied it to culture, enhancing a lunch-eater's quick time away from the books with thoughtful pieces scattered throughout friendly areas such as Bagel Street Deli, Donkey Coffee and Espresso, The Union, and Casa Nueva.

It is the goal of this blog to seek out current art displays at these local locations to get a better understanding of how the community of Athens, Ohio, encourages itself simultaneously through art and the economy.