Art Move Issue 12

LANA MILLER THE BAY JOHN BURON GERARDO MEZA

ISSUE TWELVE SPRING 2018

ISSUE TWELVE

OWNER Sara Kovanda

LANA MILLER

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Chaos & Order

EDITOR-AT-LARGE & SOCIAL MEDIA J. Fatima Martins

THE BAY

COPYEDITOR

Proudly Serving Misfits

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Brennan Hallock ART DIRECTOR Lindsey Auten CONTACT Email, text, or call Sara: artmovemagazine@gmail.com (402) 630-0945

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Cover image: Lana Miller, “Hedge” (Poesy/Angels and Devils Series), ballpoint pen, marker, and Prismacolor on Bristol, 14" x 11", 2015. Courtesy of the artist.

JOHN BURON

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Off My Lawn

GERARDO MEZA Studio Spotlight: Life with Meaning

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LANA MILLER’S BALANCING ACT

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Anxiety is not a condition to fear; it’s a natural reaction, a calling out, telling us to start a processing mechanism that will transform chaos into order. During pulsating moments, we need to release the movement within the body and mind through a calming mental mediation (sitting, breathing, yoga, or prayer) or active physical expression (dancing, music, singing, laughing, or art).

Through these exercises, tension and confusion is defused—expanding and contracting into a form that is more manageable. It’s the re-staking of internal blocks that have fallen, or rewinding the ball of emotional and physical string. The process of doing is what resets the disorder.

Artist Lana Miller, who works with abstract expressionistic forms, confronts the mayhem from a position of flow rather than control.

Miller’s release and processing mechanism is the Drawing Line, the most basic of all art methods. She composes visual poetry: each line progresses freely within an ambiguous open resting space where serendipity is embraced. As she sets down the lines, she’s aware of their visual cadence, directing the transformation and relaxing into the compositional formation where one step naturally leads to another.

Her goal is balance.

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sonally, I have always operated as an artist In my drawings and paintings I try to achieve first, expecting and deserving of parity with a kind of sensibility and animated calm; a bal- male artists. Twenty to 25 years ago some ance between chaos and order. I am drawn to accused my work of being too masculine, too the pastoral qualities of nature, but find equal heady, and too esoteric. Fortunately, I don’t hear that anymore. inspiration in the serendip“ART IS THE HIGHEST FORM Unfortunately, I never itous patterns of the urban really played the “art landscape, and the unlimOF HOPE.” —GERHARDT RICHTER ited landscape of the imaggame” of fame and forination. My work also alludes to the body. I tune. I am guilty of under-representing my am currently working on two different series: artwork. I am the worst at self-promotion. I “Poesy,” which includes abstract imagery, words guess I just didn’t inherit that gene. and free-form verse; and the “Strata series,” using ballpoint pen and colored pencil, and JFM: When starting your images, do you have occasionally acrylic paint and marker. a preconceived idea or inspiration source motif, or do you begin a drawing line and Q&A allow it to direct where the image will go?

JFM: Many of your images evoke deep emotional conditions. From your personal expe- LM: I rarely, if ever, preconceive or use a rience as an artist and sensitive person, how sketchbook for planning. My process is instinchas art helped you deal with difficult times? tual, yet meditative and controlled. Most often source material comes from memories and LM: I’ve been through many difficult times in emotions. There are certain motifs which reocmy life, and the ability to make art and view cur, especially in my “Lithic Series,” in which I art has always saved me. It helps me make explore rock or vessel shape arrangements. My sense of the world and gives me a sense of work unfolds in the process of making. Given calm within the chaos of life. I don’t think I my use of pen, ballpoint pen, and sometimes would still be around without it. art markers, the process has a certain builtJFM: There’s a lot of attention now on women in danger. The work can’t be erased, so artists, especially the power of older female I have to guide it and either artists. From your personal experience how embrace mistakes or discard the piece and begin has the art world changed for you? another. Given the mateLM: After decades of neglect, I am so grati- rials I work with and the fied to see women artists, particularly older process I use, I often take women artists, finally getting their due. Per- advantage of accidents. (opposite) “Nonconformity,” (via Kiechel Fine Art #103002), pen and colored pencil, 6.5" x 6", 2002. Courtesy of Kiechel Fine Art. (right) “Hedge” (Poesy/Angels and Devils series), ballpoint pen, marker, and Prismacolor on Bristol, 14" x 11", 2015. Courtesy of the artist.

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Chaos & Order, Explained

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JFM: Do you have a favorite series?

LM: I can’t say I have one favorite series. I have worked within the “Lithic Series” (drawings of rock/vessel arrangements) since 1993. It is my longest-running series and, of course, has great meaning for me. I am still enamored with my “Strata Series,” and my “Poesy/Angels and Devils Series,” but I feel changes coming on.

JFM: Who are a few of the thinkers, artists, and intellectuals who inspire you?

LM: I am inspired by a very wide variety of thinkers, writers, poets, artists, and musicians. I have very eclectic taste.

It is difficult to narrow down the list!

Writers/poets/philosophers: Roland Barthes, Julio Cortazar, Kenneth Patchen, W. S. Merwin, Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda, and Yogananda Paramahansa.

Artists: Cy Twombly, Joan Mitchell, Gerhard Richter, Julie Mehretu, Anselm Kiefer, Agnes Martin, Kohei Nawa, Howard Hodgkin, Thomas Nozkowski, and Josef Sudek.

Musicians: Thelonious Monk, Astor Piazzolla, David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Brian Eno.

(top) “Strata Grouping #2”, ink and colored pencil, 5.5" x 5". Courtesy of Kiechel Fine Art. (bottom) Untitled (via Kiechel Fine Art, #F16), ink and colored pencil, 5.5" x 5", 2012. Courtesy of Kiechel Fine Art.

Lana Miller received her BFA and MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in painting and drawing. She was a graduate teaching assistant throughout her master of fine arts program. She was awarded the Francis William Vreeland Award for Excellence in Graduate Study in the Visual Arts, and the Mayor’s Art Award. Miller has lived and worked in Montana, Seattle, and Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Miller taught art and design classes as an assistant professor and adjunct lecturer for 15 years. She is currently living and working in Lincoln, Nebraska, where her work is represented at Kiechel Fine Art and the Lux Center for the Arts. She is also a gallery volunteer. Miller’s work can be found in collections such as the Hallmark Art Collection, The Museum of Nebraska Art, and the Sheldon Art Gallery, as well as numerous private collections throughout the US and the UK.

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THE BAY: GIVING BACK THROUGH SKATEBOARDING, MUSIC, AND ART b r e n n a n h a l lo c k

“We opened The Bay with the intention of giving young people a place that was safe and positive to do something they love, and we skateboarded so we figured we’d start there,” explains Shayne Pearson, program director at The Bay. “We quickly realized, though, that we had the capacity to do more than just skateboarding—to be impactful in more ways.”

When The Bay was moved to its current facility, Pearson says they wanted to be

Photo by Lauren Farris

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In 2011, a skate park opened in Gateway Mall off of O Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was created as a place for kids to hang out off the streets and in a safe environment.

That skate park has become much more than a place to hang out, though. Since moving out of Gateway Mall and into its current location at 2005 Y Street, The Bay has expanded into a coffee shop, an art studio, a music venue, and a force for change in the community.

intentional about creating opportunities for the subcultures of skateboarding, music, and art. “It’s using this idea that you can take something you love and you can use it to give back—you can use it to make an impact,” he says, “whether that’s art, music, skateboarding, coffee, you can create a bigger purpose for it.”

The Bay has been successful at using these avenues to give back to the community. Using programs such as their All Access Pass, they have been intentional about making sure their space is accessible to everybody, regardless of socioeconomic means.

Working with the public schools, they allow point persons at the schools to distribute the All Access Pass to those who the point person feels are in need of them, such as children who are on free or reduced lunch or are involved in the juvenile justice system. With this pass comes unlimited use of the skate park, any necessary gear, free access to shows, free entry to The Bay’s art programs, and free meals.

“The reality is some people love skating and their parents drive them here after they get out of school just because they love being here,” explains Pearson. “But for other kids, their mom or dad doesn’t get off work until 9 pm, maybe they’re staying at the People’s City Mission, and they need a place to be.” Because of programs like All Access Pass, The Bay is able to serve different needs for a lot of different people.

The Bay also created the program Skate for Change, which is a way for those benefiting from The Bay to be

able to give back to the community in a tangible way.

When The Bay was still located in Gateway Mall, they began meeting once a week with backpacks full of socks, hygiene items, and bottles of water. They skated downtown and distributed these items to the homeless community.

“Then one day we had like 45 kids show up,” says Pearson, “and they had stolen all their dads’ tube socks and cleaned out the kitchen cupboards, and they just wanted to go do Skate for Change.” From there it started happening organically and spreading to different cities: first Omaha, then Chicago, then Seattle, and it has continued to grow.

It is now in about 110 communities all around the world.

When the downtown music venue Knickerbocker’s closed, the staff at The Bay felt it left behind a gap in the all-ages music venue scene. They decided to fill this gap by using their space to host shows open to anyone. They are now the only professionally run exclusively all ages venue in the state of Nebraska.

Like all aspects of The Bay, the organization wants to use its music venue as a way to educate and benefit the community. “We’re looking at how we can make more of an impact and more meaning behind those experiences,” says Pearson. “We’re going to leverage the opportunities to teach kids and build professional development into it. We want to show kids how to produce a show, how to mix it, or how to operate as a tour manager. We have all these opportunities to show them real-life opportunities they could step into.”

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A program will soon be started to teach kids hands-on ways to apply art as well. Using a digital art residency, they will be able to benefit both an artist and the community. “We’ll be hiring people for a month or two as an individual or as a team, and they will come here, rent whatever gear they want for our space, set it up however they want, and workshop out of it,” says Pearson. “We’ll give them hype and exposure, but the trade-off is they will be expected to teach classes and host workshops.”

These will include classes for kids to come and learn digital art skills, as well as classes for adults in the community.

Another exciting art endeavor The Bay will be starting soon is a publication designed for kids by kids. “We want something tangible for kids to create with the skills they are learning,” says Pearson. “So we are going to create a print

publication made by kids for kids that tells a story and celebrates Nebraska subculture youth.”

The publication will highlight artists, musicians, dancers, poets, designers, and more in the Lincoln area. It will be created in The Bay’s new computer lab by kids involved in their programs and classes.

In addition to skateboarding, music, and art, the final piece of The Bay is a recent, but undeniably successful, addition. The Bay’s coffee shop is a way to bring people together. Pearson explains that if you cannot find common ground over skateboarding, music or art, everybody can find common ground over a good cup of coffee and good food.

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(previous page) Interior of The Bay. Photo by Brennan Hallock. (far left) The Bay was founded in 2011.

Photo by Brennan Hallock.

(above) The Bay serves coffee as another way to bring people together.

Photo by Lauren Farris.

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(middle) Plans for an art studio are in the works. Photo by Brennan Hallock.

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JOHN BURON’S AMERICAN LAWN PROBLEM

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John Buron is not from Nebraska nor does he reside here, but he is an American. For a time he slept in Texas and, therefore, we can assume he is aware there are dozens of different species of wild tall grasses native to the North American prairie.

The wild grasses have evolved over time to thrive in the flatland’s ecosystem, flourishing into a unique landscape known as the Sea of Grass. These native prairie grasses, which are tough, textured, and challenging to tame, are not the same grasses found in common domestic home yards, golf courses, and other passive green spaces.

The American Lawn is a problem. It’s in the discussions about ecology, economics, and culture where artists like John Buron offer revelatory insights.

Buron lives in Rhode Island—a place that is equal parts rocky ocean coast, industrial mill town, and rolling woodlands; and, even though there is limited open land space in New England, the manicured grass lawn presents the same cultural and ecological quandary as it does in the Great Plains.

In his art, Buron suggests that middleclass suburbia symbolizes a fearful, isolationist American attitude. The grass lawn itself is a cultural signifier, and the "get off my lawn" warning has become an American mantra.

The condition of the American suburban lawn is that social standards require it to be designed into a precise look conveying a homeowner’s character: a messy unkempt lawn says the homeowner is lazy and possi-

bly poor, while the clean-cut lawn communicates to neighbors that the homeowner is industrious and therefore a good person.

Lawns are imbued with home ownership, property boundaries, disposable incomes, whiteness, and sameness. The suburban lawn achieved its prominence in America as a status symbol after World War II with the widespread construction of new singlefamily suburban neighborhoods. It is from this period that Buron finds inspiration and motivation.

Buron is a multidisciplinary artist producing prints, videos, installations, and sculptures featuring the deconstruction and reassembling of a wide variety of blended pop-culture and middle-class references.

SpaghettiOs, guns, cowboy hats, balloon animals, clowns, backyard BBQs and Cold War fear, Catholic Mass and American patriotism are a few of Buron’s favorite “Americana” things to blow up, pull apart, and remake into absurd, humorous, and clever juxtapositions.

John Buron: Off My Lawn, Explained The riding mower in my sculpture “Off My Lawn” is not intended to be used as a mode of transportation on a quest to explore other cultures, or to expand the owners’ horizons.

It is designed for traveling within their own property lines, moving in a repetitive pattern like a caged animal. It is a sentry protecting its domain, well equipped with firepower to ward off any of the “others” who may attempt to trespass against them.

Millions of recently empowered mowers across the United States are in lock step on a fear-fueled hate procession, following in the footsteps of ignorance, wearing a deep scar into the earth as they burrow back and forth, deeper and deeper into isolationism.

Q&A JFM: In all of your work, you use a motif of a specific cultural American period. Often the combinations come off as absurd with an undercurrent of sinister. Are you making statements or asking questions?

JB: I believe I am trying to get viewers to question their own beliefs by making statements in my art. I try not to create public service announcements or one-liners. I intentionally make the themes a bit vague to keep things from becoming dogmatic. I use imagery from the mid-twentieth century because it works well to illustrate a certain naiveté of white middle-class exceptionalism. Also, it is when my parents came of age and I was born, so it triggers early memories for me.

My titles are a crucial part of the work, usually completed after the visual part is finished and finalize the process, like a gift wrapped up with a bow. The humor is intentional and designed as much a relief for me as it is for the viewer. Absurdity is something I have been working towards for a long time. It is much harder to achieve than you would think.

Most of my work is me grappling with issues that are swirling in my mind; the art I produce helps me feel some control over the current issue. Perhaps it is a false sense of control, and “Off My Lawn 1,” mixed media hanging sculpture.

Courtesy of the artist.

“Off My Lawn 2,” mixed media hanging sculpture.

Courtesy of the artist.

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a delusion that I am making a difference, but I like to think sharing the work with others has some positive effect. I also like to think of my work as a way to offer a form of respite to folks who have similar sensibilities to my own: a preaching to the choir to comfort them I suppose, letting them know they are not crazy and alone.

pose. In “Off My Lawn” I am blowing up the selfish American isolationist “anti-everyone that’s not like me” mentality. I love how the organized exploded parts are all suspended in animation, displayed like a gravitydefying memorial to the object; and for me exposing the ideas that I am disputing and hoping to help dissolve.

JFM: Fragmentation is an important mode in your compositions. Before you begin a piece, do you have a concept and then hunt down the fragments you need to complete the work?

JFM: Do you own a riding lawnmower and a gun?

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JB: Sometimes I want to make a piece about a specific issue, and I hunt for the imagery.

Other times it starts with an image I find which sparks an idea. I have tons of magazines and books that I go to when I need imagery or lack inspiration. I also frequent yard sales and thrift and antiques stores looking for ephemera, and the Internet is a great source.

The “Off My Lawn” sculpture is one of several works where I use exploded engineering diagrams. My initial idea behind using the exploded diagrams is a personal desire to destroy the ideology I am addressing. Sort of a childish voodoo fantasy solution designed to make it disappear I sup-

JB: Ha! I do not own a gun, lawnmower, or a lawn. But I would love to drive a riding lawnmower in a Washington DC military parade with a mounted toy gun shooting a flag that says “Bang!”

John Buron lives in Providence, Rhode Island and exhibits throughout the New England region. His BA in fine arts is from the University of Texas–Austin. At the time of this writing he was exhibiting in “Newport Annual Members Juried Exhibition” at the Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island. You can see more of his work, including videos, on his website www.johnburon .com, and follow his Facebook page where he posts about exhibitions, works in progress, and his views and opinions on American culture and politics.

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STUDIO VIEW: GERARDO MEZA As a visual artist Gerardo Meza remains on the edge of notability. As a musician, however, he is famous for his dynamic performances with the popular band The Mezcal Brothers, who were inducted into The Nebraska Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and his solo act: Gerardo Meza Band.

He maintains an intimate visual arts studio at the Parrish Studio Building on 1410 O St., where he’s been since 2012, and welcomes guests during Lincoln’s monthly First Friday Art Walks. The informal snapshot photographs seen here of Meza’s portfolio, and art displayed in studio, were taken in spring 2017 by Art Move during a relaxed interview.

When asked about the noticeable and important shift in style within his oeuvre, Meza bravely revealed that he stopped making visual art for about a decade. During his emerging years in the 1980s and '90s, he gained a reputation as one of the more imaginative and effective young Lincoln artists and was marked as a rising star. After taking a hiatus, he returned feeling stronger and optimistic having achieved a greater sense of personalization saying, “The newer images are a more honest reflection of who Gerardo Meza portfolio (select view), mixed media drawings, paintings and sculpture, originals and reproductions, various years ca. 1984–2017. Images by Art Move at Meza Studio, Parrish Studios, 2017.

I am; they are freer, intended to be emotive and mysterious. I’m not going to tell you everything.”

Meza is a graduate of the University of Nebraska Fine Arts Department and is an instructor with Lincoln Public School’s Arts and Humanities Focus Program. He is respected for his collaborative approach with younger artists and students and will sometimes host their work in his studio space.

Meza maintains an active Facebook page where he posts exhibitions and performance announcements as well as shares images of his artful life with family and friends.

Although he can be enigmatic, he is a warm and profoundly soulful individual. His favorite quote: “It’s not the meaning of life that’s important; it’s the life with meaning.”

Gerardo Meza portfolio (select view), mixed media drawings, paintings and sculpture, originals and reproductions, various years ca. 1984–2017. Images by Art Move at Meza Studio, Parrish Studios, 2017.

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