Pittsburgh Art Happenings: 9/12/08

Today is obviously a day that's been mothballed, and thus both sides in the presidential race have decided to suspend political activities. I figure that if a break in the action is acceptable for them, then it's ok for me as well. It just so happens that this particular date falls on a Thursday, so it's easy for me to simply follow my routine of posting about art events. So here is what this weekend has in store for the art fanatic:

Friday

After months of preparation which included a grant proposal, a jury process, an inordinate amount of convoluted communication, the layout and printing of a full-color 250-page catalog, and the actual physical setup of the exhibition... In the Making: 250 Years/250 Artists is finally opening at Fe Gallery in Lawrenceville (4102 Butler St.), tomorrow night at 7PM. Well over 400 local artists submitted pieces for consideration in the show. Those who were eventually accepted each got to include one image to be displayed in the catalog, and one piece to be hung on the wall. The latter were selected by curator Jill Larson- former owner and proprietor of the Fe Gallery before it received its non-profit status.

The exhibition started with the awarding of a Sprout Fund Grant coinciding with the Pittsburgh 250 Community Connections Initiative. The idea was to organize a survey of the best local art currently being produced around town. In addition a print production would accompany the exhibition, and serve as a permanent testament to the project. A general cattle call was put out, and word spread quickly throughout the local scene. Because of limited resources and busy judges, there were several delays before official invitations were sent out to the artists who had been chosen. While not everyone was pleased by the process, few had a realistic idea of the logistical nightmares that a show of this scale entailed.

But now the work is on the wall, and a mock-up of the catalog is available for perusal. The show itself will be available for viewing until January 10, 2009. Catalogs can be pre-ordered the night of the opening, and there will be a reception for its official release on some as yet unspecified date in October. While all of your favorites aren't likely represented, I'm certain that at least a few of them are. Keep in mind that just because someone is not in the show does not mean that they were turned down. Many artists I know didn't even submit work. Still, having scanned the list, I have confidence that this will be a high-quality sampling of what the 'Burgh has to offer the rest of the world.

The "250 Show" just so happens to fall on the same night as Pittsburgh Center for the Art's reception for "Artist of the Year" Susanne Slavick. To be honest, I've never heard of her before*... but her work looks good online. As the PCA staff notes Slavick's latest series is concerned with "digitally and manually transforming photographic images of wreckage, she 'recognizes, rues or reconstitutes' what has been decimated." I'm sure it's nowhere near as cute as it sounds. Alongside Slavick, the work of "Emerging Artist Award"-winner Adam Welch will be presented. Welch is an installation artist who had a particularly memorable piece in the 2008 PCA Biennial. Things get underway at 5:30PM and run until 8PM. Admission is $10 ($5 after 6:30).

I also want to give a quick shout-out to the Wizard of Oddities (4314 Butler St.). This idiosyncratic art space is also having a reception this Friday, from 7-11PM. It's for a retrospective of paintings from the "Voyeur" series by Sam Thorp. Stop in before or after you visit the Fe Gallery.

* Likely due to the fact that she is part of the CMU arts faculty- the majority of whom do not seem all that well-integrated into the local Pittsburgh arts scene. I suspect this is largely intentional.

Reflections On Local Art Chaos. Part 2.

Without a doubt I was more impressed with the quality of the art this weekend than I was last week. It started well with an impromptu stop at the Zombo Gallery for a look at Ian Green's new work. Michael and Julie (the gallery owners) are dedicated to presenting good 'lowbrow' art at affordable prices. Green is not known for selling cheap- he puts a tremendous amount of time and craftsmanship into everything he does, and he rightfully expects to be compensated appropriately for it. They were able to strike a very nice balance with a mix of tags ranging from 60 to several thousand dollars. There was truly something for everyone. Green's dystopian aesthetic was on full display, with Gandhi fighting asteroids, and baby-binky vitual reality implants. If you didn't get a chance to see it, be sure to make the closing on May 23rd.

Unblurred had a number of pleasant surprises for the discriminating viewer. Metamorphose continued a recent string of excellent shows with the paintings of Joana Ricou. In 2000 Ricou moved from Portugal to attend CMU. The 'Burgh is exceedingly lucky to have her. I first became aware of her work (which she describes as the intersection of biology and art) when she had a show with Stacy Gross at ModernFormations last March. She has been exhibiting lush depictions of the nude female form soaked in brash temptation. Her fiery color palette and sinewy brush-strokes collaborate in a body of work that is both reminiscent of the classical tradition and altogether fuckin' hot.

Across the street at ImageBox was another unexpected series of treasures. Brant Dykstra has been focusing on making rap music since his graduation from art school several years ago. He had actually taken an indefinite leave from painting until quite recently. His re-emergence caught more than a few eyes at his first solo last Friday. There is something vaguely 'day of the dead' about his imagery. His figures populate barren landscapes of muted color. They are stark, but exceptionally contemporary. He was present and accessible at his reception, and was gracious in representing his work. It seems that painting is in his blood. His older sibling Joren showed at the sadly-defunct Digging Pitt in February of 2007, as part of the excellent "Visual Grammar" exhibition of abstraction. I would be very surprised if we didn't see a lot more of both Dykstras in the future.

My post-Unblurred plans were stymied by the Brillo Box's decsion to hold an invitation-only party for the elite after the Carnegie International, and so I found myself with some other local artist schmucks down at Remedy. My sources tell me that things got a bit wild late night at the Brillo, despite the imposing velvet ropes guarding the esteemed entranceway. I guess those San Francisco graffiti guys can get a little out-of-hand. Any short-termed feelings of displacement melted away as I resumed my customary back-booth station on Saturday night. It was surprisingly slow- I guess everyone was at the fancy Piet Mondrian party at the Warhol.

The party for the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Biennial was relatively sedate. But I have to give props to co-curators George Davis and Laura Domencic for their shared vision- the entire exhibition was well-planned and engaging. I particularly enjoyed an installation by Adam Welch- a full library of 'books' painted powder blue, periodically jarred from the shelves by a mysteriously ambulatory power-drill vibration. Also outstanding were a series of ornate paper cutouts of mayhem by Bovey Lee, a battlefield landscape featuring a Sasquatch Army by personal favorite Jen Cooney, and an otherworldly topographical installation at Pittsburgh Filmmakers by Keith Tassick. There were elements of fancy and fantasy to a lot of the pieces that added a factor of delight notably missing from most group efforts. I was hard-pressed to find anything disappointing at the show, and will refrain from identifying the exceptions. You have to see it for yourself.

Three Rivers Arts Festival- 2007.

As an artist, I completely appreciate that efforts need to be made to expose a wider audience to the world of art. There should be opportunities for people to engage artwork that don't require an MFA to understand and enjoy. It's true that there is an insular quality to much of the stuff that gets exhibited at local galleries and even museums. But at the same time, the integrity of art and artists needs to be preserved. This is a timely topic for me as I have spent the last two days attending public spaces involved with the dissemination of art.

June has always been the time for the Three Rivers Arts Festival. For almost as long as I've been in Pittsburgh, I have made it a point to check out the event. I'm not sure whether it's my own evolving perspective, or if it is objective reality- but it sure seems like every year TRAF becomes less and less about the "art". Years ago they used to have a juried show outside, protected by mini-pavilions. It's true that there was always plenty of room to meander through those works. Even then it attracted mostly serious art fans. But it was my absolute favorite thing about the festival. Then they moved the juried show into the 937 Gallery, and space considerations limited the number of pieces they could include. This year they had their "Best of Pittsburgh" show in the PPG Wintergarden. I don't know how many people even realize it's there.

I enjoyed the "Best of..." exhibition, but it was the leanest offering I've seen yet. There were quite a few artists I know personally, and I did enjoy seeing what they submitted. Pieces by Adam Welch and Chris Lisowski were among the standouts. But there were only 48 total works, and they were labeled in the most confusing way possible. They had xerox copies of floor plans, completely unadorned with sufficient information to locate the individual pieces. The only way I could figure out that puzzle was by identifying the works of the artists I knew by sight, and working backwards from there. God help the visitor that isn't familiar with the Pittsburgh art scene.

And then I checked out the "Artist's Market", which is always held around Gateway Center. I think calling the vendors "artists" is generally a bit misleading. By and large the tents contain crafts and such. If you enjoy that sort of thing, more power to you. The people making those products are certainly artisans. There are many fine pieces of handcrafted jewelry, wind chimes, homemade wooden instruments and lots of stock photography. I know I risk sounding like an elitist snob.... but that's not representative of Pittsburgh "arts". Of course, there are always a handful of vendors selling paintings that you couldn't find at every other such event in the country.

I had a short conversation with Kentucky-born transplant and fine artist Mark Traughber. We were both puzzling over the lack of quality artists. Perhaps it has something to do with the jurying process- maybe the organizers don't want to include "challenging" artwork. Or maybe not many local artists take the market seriously enough to consider setting up downtown. I do know that Unicorn Mountain and some local galleries had booths this year, but they only set up for the first session and I missed out on them.

Anyway, it didn't help matters much that the TRAF this year was hampered by the construction going on down at the Point. Usually there is some interesting outdoor sculpture down by the performance stages. This year,the city has decided to fill in the trench that exposed the last surviving wall of Fort Pitt. That's right... on the eve of our 250th anniversary, our leaders are burying our history. Construction is underway, and so the stage and the food booths are jammed in tight with everything else going on. I'm sure there were a few people this year who wondered why they even bothered to fight the traffic. At least there will be more lawn for people to trample while watching the crappy Jimmy Buffet cover bands they always bring in for the Regatta.

Maybe I'm being a bit too harsh. On Saturday night they are having a Flux event (#15) in conjunction with TRAF, and it might redeem my opinion of the festival. There are a lot of good people involved with making that night a success, and I don't want to invalidate the energy they put into it. So show up on Saturday... see what there is to see of the "art" downtown... and then come to the tri-annual celebration of local artists at 610 Smithfield Street. There's free bike parking for the environmentally-conscious.