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Watching the constant toil and activity of his birds, Arms finds a metaphor for the frenzied pace of modern life.
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opposite page:
Comfort, acrylic on board, 15” x 9”
Cover Story
David Arms A Higher Art by Deborah Walden | Photography by Lawrence Boothby Walking into David Arms’ Brentwood studio,
one might expect to encounter the usual trappings of an artist’s habitat: spatters of paint, drop cloths, a settled cloud of pigment and dust. Instead, the visitor finds an abode as neat as a pin, as interesting as a magician’s lair. A quiet refuge containing an even quieter man, this space is a vacuum-sealed inner sanctum. The white walls and numerous windows create an illuminated, holy atmosphere in which Arms seeks out a higher art. Toy birds suspended from the ceiling soar above one’s head. Tiny speckled eggs in a jar rest near a triad of brown seashells as smooth as glass. Beside them lie a gigantic pinecone, a dead maple leaf, and a silver tray of white powdered cakes. Nearby, a table covered in an old quilt displays a vase of unfolding magnolia flowers drooping from their own weight. Overlooking the whole scene, a worn, brown teddy bear held together by BandAids peers from a cloche jar. A wall of photographs boasts of Arms’ travels to Africa—a collection of colorful garments, shy eyes, and smiling faces tells powerful stories through a series of snapshots. At ceiling level hangs a print of an Arms original. In it, a hummingbird rests on a filament of pearls suspended against a dusky sky. Above a scene so achingly delicate, Arms has hung a rough, knotted crown of thorns. Such dichotomies define the art, the studio, and the man. “I live in my imagination,” admits the artist. Through his paintings, viewers catch a glimpse of that world in which he lives and its subtle yet pervasive tension with the reality that he faces. Most of Arms’ paintings feature birds, but few, if any, are in flight. They light on humble objects, perch on insecure footholds, or rest unaware beneath heavier things. Arms is a lover of birds. Their nests, eggs, and feathers adorn his home. He keeps a birdfeeder at his window in order to watch them. He has even hidden microphones near the feeder, so that he
can listen to birdsong while he paints. When asked about his fascination with birds, Arms replies, “They remind me of us. That’s why I started painting them. They are so busy.” Watching the constant toil and activity of his birds, Arms finds a metaphor for the frenzied pace of modern life. Arms is a complex man with a nuanced vision of his world. He does not offer the facile stereotype of the bird with hymns to carefree flight. Similarly, he does not see human beings as antlike creatures who do nothing but work. The bird offers such a perfect iconology for Arms because it has wings, because it soars the heavens, because its short life is so very hard. Arms is a man of faith, and his most important theme from inspiration to final outcome is the prevailing message of hope. In these
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He has even hidden microphones near the feeder, so that he can listen to birdsong while he paints. 10 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
left:
I Will Trust, 10”x10”
above: right:
Trust, 17”x11”
IGBOK (It’s Gonna Be OK), 67”x43”
below:
Faith, 27”x21”
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opposite page: below:
Peace, 37”x29” |
above:
Fear Not (detail) 17”x25”
Passage, 27”x17”
Watching the endless toil of birds at his windowpane, he feels called to reevaluate hope. troubled times, hope has become a vital theme for American culture. In this respect, Arms was years ahead of the curve: through his art, he has persistently endorsed the importance of hope for nearly a decade. One might expect an oeuvre of hopeful paintings to be all smiles and cheer. Here, we learn again the lesson of Arms’ studio: expect the unexpected. “People,” he says, “live in misery expecting to be happy.” Realizing that Utopian visions often set people up for disappointment, Arms attempts to nuance his vision of hope. It is gritty, visceral, even dangerous. He wishes to paint “the pain of hope, the difficulty of hope.” “That,” he claims, “is the real part of life.” As a Christian, he finds that faith and hope are his greatest inspiration. Through the hardships of daily living and loss, through watching the endless toil of birds at his windowpane, he says he feels called “to reevaluate hope.” He asserts, “We are all broken, and brokenness is a beautiful thing.” A painting like “Serving Piece” typifies Arms’ notion of hope. In it, two tiny gray birds perch on the edges of a delicate china plate. The plate itself floats impossibly in a blue sky. It suspends mid-atmosphere. The birds stand unquestioning on a paradox. Has gravity released its hold? Will birds and porcelain crash to the earth? The painting provides no answer. This surreal skyscape encapsulates Arms’ notion of hope. It is fraught with tension. It is perilous yet beautiful and serene. Arms’ painting “Broken” provides the foil to such scenes. It features a broken porcelain pitcher shattered in pieces on the ground. This object has fallen victim to the constant threat behind Arms’ floating birds and china. What goes up must inevitably come down. Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 13
above:
Serving Piece
below:
Goodness, 35”x35”
The apparent tension in his most hopeful images contrasts perfectly against the gracefulness of a piece like “Broken.” One begins to understand Arms’ belief that “brokenness is beautiful.” In delicate perches and shattered glass, he locates something particularly human—a poignant, haunting relation of hope, faith, and hardship. Arms’ vision has been greatly shaped by his visits to the Sudan for humanitarian work. On his last visit, he conducted art therapy with children who had been the victims of recent violence. Many had lost their homes and communities, and some had been forced to participate in killing their own family members. Arms relates, “All their pictures had guns, fires, and yet those children were so joyful.” This joy among barrenness and poverty has been life-changing for Arms. Speaking of the people he encountered in Africa, he
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right:
Broken, 37”x35”
By presenting his audience with the extravagant tension of hope in a broken world, Arms captures the essentially human, aims for the divine, and ultimately hints at the sublime. says, “I’ve experienced more joy there than I’ve ever experienced in this country.” The striking image of happiness and joy amid such harsh conditions is the type of sentiment that defines Arms’ painting. This brand of bold tranquility and unexpected hope marks his unique outlook on the world. David Arms does not cut an imposing figure. Like his famous birds, his frame is delicate, his eyes bright. He often blushes when he speaks, a wiry smile lighting up his otherwise-calm countenance. “I would love to be a public speaker,” he says softly, “but I’m an introvert.” Pausing for a moment’s contemplation, he claims, “I am a speaker—my words are paint.”
Sunlight streams through his studio windows. The constant chirp and tune of birdsong swells outside. In this room filled with cracked eggs, stray feathers, flowers, thorns, and discarded nests, one begins to see his vision of life. Celestial bodies and earthbound objects define his meditations and his art. By presenting his audience with the extravagant tension of hope in a broken world, Arms captures the essentially human, aims for the divine, and ultimately hints at the sublime. To paintings filled with things gossamer and ephemeral, he adds wooden hammers, broken glass. Thus, arriving at a vision of hope that is mature and global, his flights of imagination give way to a higher art.
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fa s h i o n
MANUEL The Rhinestone Rembrandt by Olivia Sarratt McCarthy | Photography by Jerry Atnip
over 10,000 rhinestones. A simple shirt can take weeks to make. Museums all over the world proudly display his pieces. The art of the design, the detail in the stitching, the quality of the cloth—all this is only part of what makes a Manuel creation so special. The history of his art is as fascinating as the man himself. Born in 1938, the fifth of 11 children, Manuel Arturo Jose Cuevas Martinez began his career at age 7. By the 1960s, he put Elvis in a jumpsuit, created James Dean’s hat, and designed the roses-andskeletons insignia of the Grateful Dead. He has dressed four presidents and so many stars it’s almost safe to say, “All of them.” At least, the ones he has are the ones we remember: Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Hank, Madonna, Cher, and countless other legends. At his shop on Broadway, Manuel is living art—his clothes exquisitely made by his own hand, a mane of silver hair carefully combed into place, and sharp black eyes that scrutinize everything around him. He is a content man but not a satisfied one. His next dream is to open an Institute for the Arts here in Nashville where students from around the world can come and learn from the master. Manuel’s legacy is far from finished. A single suit can showcase
can really make a true confession of all your sins. I had this plush place in California, but California was getting a little too crowded, unpractical, unsafe. I came to raise my children here—21 years ago—and fell in love. It’s a beautiful place to live. I have been in many other cities in many other countries, and I tell you, it’s good to come home to our corn-fed women!
Olivia Sarratt McCarthy: What brought you to Nashville and what made you stay?
OM: People know you best for your elaborate costumes for the
Manuel: I love Tennessee. Nashville is my little heaven.
stars, but you also do other designs.
I more than love it. It’s a beautiful feeling to go home to that peaceful place where you reign, where you
Manuel:
A very young and very stylish Manuel.
Yes. We do ‘the norm’ as well, like wedding dresses and gowns for the private sector. The entertainers are about 40% of my clients. The private people buy much much more, and they have a lifestyle,
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left to right:
Neil Young
Randy Travis, Lorrie Morgan and Jack White.
... he put Elvis in a jumpsuit, created James Dean’s hat, and designed the roses-andskeletons insignia of the Grateful Dead.
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OM: Who or what is your biggest inspiration?
When I dig inside, when I go deep, it is probably the freedom that I have to do as I please with a design. I was never...well, I got a lot of garbage sometimes— like when I made Gram Parsons this outfit back in the 70s—but art has no limits. It’s not about laws and controversy. Art is art. I made the Rolling Stones outfits with human organs on them. I had no problem with it. I don’t look at the function of what I do; I just do it. I just let the pencil go wherever it might. That freedom is what I’m talking about. I do what I want, when I want. I love it, and people pay for it.
M:
OM: Who has been your favorite star to dress?
The Lone Ranger. When I was a little kid I used to walk five miles to watch episodes of the Lone Ranger. I had the honor of making his outfits for television. Clayton Moore was my friend until the day he died, four or five years ago. I made all his uniforms, his personal clothes...everything. That’s why he’s my favorite, because of my childhood memories. What a great honor. The other kick in the butt that I will never forget for as long as I live...I introduced him to Roy Rogers. They had worked together many years and had never met. That was cool. M:
right:
Manuel with Loretta Lynn below:
Coyote
Wyoming
OM: If you could dress anyone you haven’t already, who would it be? Manuel: Maybe...all of those that I haven’t! But I am so busy with the clientele that I have. When the new ones come in, they are always welcome. Maybe I should take some time and dress myself a little better! I make all of my own clothes, since I was 7 years old. The underwear and the socks are the only things I don’t make. My kids take care of that. OM: What’s left? Do you have any dreams unrealized? Manuel: I am going to create an Institute of the Arts here in Nashville. A nonprofit organization that I have been working on. Mr. Ray Bell has been so kind to help me—maybe put up the building and the land and all that. I am very grateful. It is for students all over the world in their senior year to apply to intern here at the Institute and go out of here with a great history and maybe their own label. Just teach them the little I know. That will be the last leg of my legacy—the legacy thing, you know—that will be the last part of that. My sunset is here, and I want to do everything I can to make it flourish, preserve it, and pass it on. OM:What other parts of your legacy are you particularly proud of?
I gave 50 jackets, one to each state of America. I did one for each state, and that group travels all over the country but this year is resting here. We’ll move on and keep traveling to show the collection, and eventually we will give each state’s museum their jacket. I wanted to give back to the country. America gave me an opportunity to re-culture my own culture. All the opportunities I received...I want to give back. I started the collection in 1986. It was shown for the first time at the Frist museum in 2003. They rushed me to finish it. They showed it for almost a year. It was a beautiful exhibit.
Manuel:
The Rhinestone Rembrandt, King of Country Couture, legendary Lothario... at the end of the day, Manuel is a simple man. He pursues his calling with passion and gives us the gift of his efforts. The freedom he feels, we should all be so lucky to enjoy. According to Manuel, “It’s always possible. It’s just a matter of making that choice.” His atelier at 1922 Broadway is a shop, a museum, and an experience. Or visit his website, www.manuelcouture.com, to learn more about his extraordinary life and career.
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Music
Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night by Joe Glazer | Photography by Anthony Scarlati
a city within a city just south of the Nashville Fairgrounds, you might notice that every fifth house has a dozen or so cars parked in what used to be the yard, as if this is a neighborhood of Tupperware parties or backyard barbecues. Concentrated in this square mile of Mom and Pop businesses are two bead stores, four playgrounds, six pet services, nine hair salons—and 28 recording studios, a covert cottage industry converting NES power into world-class music behind third-world parking and boardedup cottages. It is hidden performance art. Locally, and certainly in the music business, the word “artist” usually means someone with a cowboy hat but without a job who sings. But step into a studio and it becomes clear that much of that art is in the underpinning and in the team—the studio musicians, the engineer, the producer, the gear and, importantly, the room—and all these, collectively, hold up the vocal like royalty on a moving chair, creating the opportunity for a performance. A studio is made special by its sound, mood, and cool stuff, and these hidden worlds have colorful and ironic names like Fool on the Hill, House of Blues, Room and Board, Platinum Lab, and Blackbird. There is never a sign on the façade, but there is complex magic inside. Driving around Berry Hill,
above:
Blackbird founder John Mcbride.
below:
Studio D
Blackbird, named for the Beatles song, may be the most over-the-top and well-equipped recording facility in the world. If it is not, it is not because owner John McBride hasn’t tried. A sprawling compound, this room is ten separate studios, from two-person editing suites to large, futuristic performance spaces with clusters of isolation booths for drums and vocals behind glass—not to mention the vintage gear, a warehouse of guitars, microphones, drums and signal-processing units. Not surprisingly, this wild labyrinth of passages, workspaces and esoteric collections is a portrait of McBride. What is noteworthy is not that John McBride grew up in Wichita, Kansas, obsessed with the Beatles, nor that he caught the audio bug young, but that in 1980 at 22, after seeing how incredible pro audio gear looked in a magazine, he borrowed $6,000 for a P.A. on the 26 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
“I always wanted to have a studio. I wanted to be involved somehow in the creative process” -John McBride wild idea that he could run live sound for bands. And three years later he used his parents’ house as collateral to get $75,000 for a serious concert system. He had all the signs of an undeterred dreamer, a prerequisite to building a studio. As if to illustrate he says, “I met Martina, and in 1988 we got married. I went to the bank and said, ‘I need to borrow 90,000 bucks; we’re moving to Nashville; my wife’s going to get a record deal, and I want to take the sound company there.’ This guy didn’t roll his eyes; he actually lent me the money!” he says, amused. “I have no idea why he did it.” In 1989, while running sound for a show in Oklahoma, McBride met Garth Brooks. “He was the opening act; he had no crew, no nothing, but we hit it off, and I did his sound for that show and then for the next ten years. When he took off, he loaned me the money for more gear. Doing sound in an arena—that’s expensive! Hey, it all worked out, and we grew and grew and grew, and in 1992 Martina got signed and opened the tour. It’s like in the movies that this happens but not in real life.” In 1997 he sold his sound company to Clair Bothers. “We had a contract this thick; I never looked at it once. Halfway through the negotiation I called the buyer because lawyers suck. I said let’s do this on a handshake, and he said, ‘I’m in.’” Martina’s career was taking off, and they had started a family. McBride says, “I always wanted to have a studio. I wanted to be involved somehow in the creative process, because music is what I live for. So in 2002 we closed on this place in Berry Hill, and I thought, ‘We’re going to make this a great, great studio, one that would kick the hell out of anything in L.A. or New
above:
Massenburg room: 138,645 1x1 rods of wood,
no two alike, to diffuse sound reflection.
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York.’ Nashville gets treated like a redheaded stepchild, but in live audio it was the same gear going out with Mark Chesnutt that was going out with Streisand and U2. After all, Nashville has the greatest players, and it can have the greatest rooms. They are like painters, and I want to give them the palette, all the colors they could want.” He riffs, “I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of producers and engineers, and we redid this room, Studio A, brought in George Augspurger who designed it originally. It was a compression ceiling, that doesn’t work…added eight feet to the back…there are so many opinions in audio. I love these ATC speakers. They’re English; it gives them the mystique…I was always a Beatles nut; I went crazy over the Beatles.” And he never slows down. Studio A—they run through J—is part of the portrait of its owner. The walls are covered with his collection of rare Beatles memorabilia, and the collections fan out from there, all reflecting McBride’s unsuppressed drive to enable music. Down the hall is the microphone locker where they store the vintage mics, an incredible collection of Telefunkens,
Neumanns, RCAs, etc., all looking like artifacts from old Sinatra movies and WWII newsreels. One, the Telefunken U47, is commonly called the Hitler mic and reflects the best of German engineering from lives that were on the line. These mics sound better than anything made today. They are heavy in your hands and seem like a cross between religious relics and found alien modules—and they are treated that way. While many studios or producers have one each of three vintage mics and treasure them, Blackbird has more than a thousand. McBride: “In every studio shot of Streisand there was always a Telefunken 251, and I wanted one for Martina, only I didn’t stop at one or four or ten or 20, we have 29. They’re cool, and they are not getting any cheaper.” For great old microphones, $10,000 is an average value, and all sound slightly different. To be working in a studio and have this arsenal at hand is an extra beyond all expectation. The same can be said for the vintage outboard gear, hard-to-find, rack-mounted units which, if stacked like phone books, would rise 300 feet by now, each known for its own complex aural color. These, along with the special mics and an equally serious guitar col-
A whim becomes an idea and goes to work...the payoff comes in good music and inspiration. 28 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
above Photo: David Yando
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1957 Messerschmitt KR200 32 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
Photo: James Green
1948 Simca-Gordini Type 5 race car
Photo: David Yando
Looking through the automotive gallery, designs through the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s are atypical and interesting, with Citroën, BMW, Fiat, MG, and Renault designs prominently displayed. But one must ask… does automotive design of mass-produced vehicles built for the sole purpose of moving people around really fall under the shroud of fine art? And what is art? Leo Tolstoy tells us art is a work that draws the observer into that which is being viewed and creates a relationship between those who produce the art and those who observe and appreciate and draw an impression from the piece. Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 33
“I’m a believer in the ‘American Dream,’ and as a child I dreamt of great Above Photo: James Green below Photo: James Green
automobiles.” -Kevin Tetz
above left: left:
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1949 MG CT
1938 Georges Irat
The cars on display at the Lane reach deep inside our psyche and speak to the cultural bond we all share with the modern automobile. The contract between designer and voyeur is tangible as one tours the rows of restored and original works. Design aesthetics are woven into each brand in every detail, although certain periods in automotive evolution pay particular tribute to our society’s desire to achieve more and better things. The silhouette of a vehicle can trigger a deep subliminal reaction; the style lines of an Adler Trumpf Junior are an exercise in forward motion, sweeping one’s attention from grille to boot with flowing lines. Simple louvers lend as much aesthetic appeal as utility and hint at a racing heritage that melds function into form. The geometric BMW logo and grille ornament, virtually unchanged over 90 years, understates its history with simplicity. The coat of arms of Crosley speaks of elegance and lineage, as does the Lancia marquee standing guard with staff, ready to defend. In the beautifully jeweled dashboard of a Simca-Gordini Type 5 race car, we find driver controls boldly laid out in symmetrical format. Its switches, knobs, and gauges, upholstered leather seat, and open cockpit are designed in concert to inspire a romantic and exhilarating driver experience—art that can be tangible, not just observed. Photo: David Yando Photo: David Yando
Photo: David Yando
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pa i n t i n g
Donny Smutz Every Picture Tells a Story by Melissa Cross | Photos by Anthony Scarlati
on the go. In the two years that Donny has been plying his trade as a surrealist painter, he’s made some waves with at least two paintings that present controversial religious themes. His painting Troika was slashed with a box cutter by an unhappy fan. And his .gov piece makes strong statements about our culture. As one of Nashville’s hot new artists, Donny Smutz (pronounced “smootz”) is a man
Yes, much of Donny Smutz’s art does stir our religious beliefs and political opinions. But look deeper into the bulk of his work, and you may even see memories of your childhood and enjoyable scenes from your life. Whether he’s the messenger of cultural statements or a storyteller who presents complex dreams for interpretation, one thing is opposite page: Empyrean certain: Donny Smutz’s art provokes thought. We sat down to talk with Donny, who appears younger and more upbeat than the complex and intense nature of his work. You grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas, in the heartland of America. Where did it all start for you? Were you always artistic?
My parents were really open to art. They recognized my artistic abilities pretty early. I remember sitting at a parent-teacher conference at school, and I was thinking,“Oh, I’m going to get in trouble for something,” because I was pretty ornery as a kid. And my kindergarten teacher told my parents, “This kid really has something.” She showed my parents my artwork and then the other students’ work. And they couldn’t get over how advanced I was, even as a kid in kindergarten. So I always knew that I had something unique. I’ve always been the guy in school that was destined to be an artist. So I grew up thinking and knowing that I was going to be a famous artist one day. And I really did believe that. Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 39
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above:
Ambiguous Armistice (detail)
far left: Yoke right:
Bait
“I always knew I had something unique... I was destined to be an artist.�
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Growing up, were you always into surrealism?
I don’t know where I first starting grabbing onto the surrealist world, but it was always more intriguing to me than any other style. M. C. Escher, Dali, Ernst, Bosch…anything that made me stop and really think about it. They were thinking outside the box, and I definitely want to be a part of that. Controversy has always followed me. When I was a senior in high school I created my showpiece, my last project of the year—a large pencil drawing of Christ on the cross. The cross was growing out of the ground, and Christ was wrapped with the American flag and a snake wrapped around his waist. It was a large piece hanging outside the cafeteria room where everyone could see it. Then the principal got fired up about it and said they had to take it down. It was actually a janitor that got upset about it. The news channels were called, and lawyers asked me if I wanted to sue the school. I didn’t want to. I was actually just happy that it made people talk. That was the first time that I got a big reaction to my work, and I liked it. It got people’s minds going, provoked conversation and even the janitor—that’s what it took to get her involved and communicating. So that’s good.
that Nashville was an art Mecca by any means, but I was surprised at how many art galleries actually were in this town. Yea, there’s more here than I thought. Some of your work makes definite statements. Do you plan your work out?
No, the only one that I really homed in on and got a really good idea of where I wanted to go with the painting was the .gov painting, the Obama piece, which I unveiled at the Tinney Contemporary gallery opening last month. That was the only one in the last year that I thought, “I gotta paint this.” And even though it ruffled some feathers and people questioned it, that’s the only one that I thought, “Okay, this is going to say something,” even before I started it. But most of the time, it starts out as an abstract, and then it turns into a puzzle as I’m working on the layers. As I work, the actual painting top:
Harmony
left:
The Evolution Of Flight
below:
Saccharinity
What brought you to Nashville?
I had a few friends here, and they said it was a great town. And I was in a band with two friends back in Kansas, and they decided that it would be a good move to come here. Then I got a taste of the town, and I found out that it wasn’t all cowboys and tight jeans and Wranglers. And it’s really not. It’s so diverse, and there’s a great rock scene here, and I love that. And now, I have so many great friends here. It’s all artist-geared and creative, and I love that about this town. We’re all a big family of artists—in every aspect of that world. I wasn’t thinking Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 43
starts telling me the mood of it and the different objects that I see in there. Then I start pulling those out, and it tells me a story and becomes a piece that I could not have sketched out on paper.
above:
Barren Cycle
kid, some great memory. That’s the meaning of my paintings that I would want them to have—that they have a connection with it and to their lives—especially if they’re thinking of buying it.
There’s a lot to see and surprises to find in your paintings. You have to look deep into them. Are you playing with people a little?
Do you have any favorite characters or recurring objects?
Yea, I don’t want to lose the mysteriousness. Some people like that— they love trying to figure out what it all means. Then I hide things in there, and all sorts of things are symbolic or metaphoric. And people like it. It’s like a puzzle that they’re putting together in their own minds.
For some reason water keeps showing up in my work. I have no idea why. But I love water for some reason. It’s tranquil; it’s soothing. Maybe it’s because right outside my studio window there’s a fountain, and I can hear the water. But I’m trying to get away from using water so much… and animals...things that I’m really comfortable with. I’m putting more things in that I’m not used to, so I can develop new stories.
So it’s okay for people to interpret your paintings the way they want to, not necessarily how you see that story?
Oh, yes. That’s what it’s for. I would hate to tell people exactly what it means—this is it. I’d rather have someone come in the door and see the piece, and it hits them and makes them think of something from their childhood. It brings back a memory that they had, a smell or a taste. Like all of a sudden it reminds you of when you were a
Do you work on just one painting at a time, or do you have several pieces going?
Yes, I usually work on one piece at a time unless I’m doing a series. I’ll just delve into one piece. I’ll go to the library to get inspired for images, or online or a book…and something will trigger something.
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opposite page:
SHORTY IN HEAVEN:
In the aftermath of a pretty elaborate
p h o t o g r ap h y
studio shoot my dog wandered onto the set as if she wanted to be in the shot too. We just happened to have some props lying around and this was the result.
Señor Jim McGuire A Life in Focus by Lisa Venagas
about Jim is that he is a pretty laid-back guy. Soft-spoken, unpretentious, gracious, if a little reserved. For someone who knows and photographs so many famous people, he is hesitant, even shy talking about himself. This is a man who is most comfortable behind the camera, not in front of it. Immensely likable and modest, he seems humbled by the thought of someone taking an interest in him. He enjoys telling a good story, but he is very conscious of not breaking confidence, of saying too much…perhaps that’s why he is such a great photographer. He lets the pictures tell the stories for themselves. What strikes you first
The Tennessee State Museum
And amazing pictures they are. The Nashville Portraits are legendary photographs of the most (in)famous musicians to come out of Nashville in the 70s and 80s. A tour of his website overwhelms you with images of the more than 600 album covers he has shot, including Johnny Cash and The Highwaymen, Vince Gill and Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Sitting in his place on 8th Avenue South, an old A&P grocery store that has been converted to a studio, you become aware of the various sides to McGuire. The industrial space speaks to his sense of order and composition. But there are hints of what inspires and excites the master as well. Coffee-table books of other photographers’ works including Richard Avedon, Shelby Lee Penn, and Herman Leonard. Pictures are pasted on a back wall, featuring images of Sophia Loren, his dogs Shorty and Django, tropical scenes, and Ford Woodies like his own. And throughout the space are large prints from the Nashville Portrait series—perhaps reminders to his guests and photography subjects of the credentials he brings to the table. But almost certainly personal recollections of the incredible times he has witnessed first hand and recorded for posterity.
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
Señor McGuire, as he has come to be known, has arrived at the titles of “Icon” and “Legend” honestly, even as he brushes the accolades aside.
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above:
DOLLY PARTON
below:
EMMYLOU HARRIS
This is Dolly about 1974, as she was preparing to begin her solo
I was a fan of Emmylou’s music long before I met her.
career after the break from her duet partner Porter Wagoner. She
This was shot at Cheekwood Museum of Art in the early 80s and
is one of the truly funny, wonderful, engaging humans on the planet.
wound up as the cover of her “White Shoes” album.
Q: There must be a good story behind how you got the nickname “Señor.” JM: I used to spend a lot of time in Mexico. I took pictures of hotels
for travel brochures, a lot of them run by Mexican businessmen. I was always introduced as “Señor McGuire.” As a joke, my assistant started calling me that, and then one day an art director put “Señor McGuire” as the name under a picture, and I guess it just stuck. Q: The Nashville Portraits are so soulful…I wonder how it is that you are able to get to the truth in the subjects you are shooting.
When I was just starting out in New York, I worked for a fashion photographer named John Foote. That was my real education. He’s introduced me to all the great photographers, and the one that really stuck with me was Irving Penn. He did a series called “Small Trades” where he took working
JM :
50 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
above:
below:
THE HIGHWAYMEN:
NANCI GRIFFITH
This was shot during a recording session for the first “Highwaymen”
I’ve always been drawn to this shot because it was just one of those
album in the lobby of a recording studio in Berry Hill. They all just
rare, unguarded moments that sometimes are the most revealing.
wandered out during a break and we shot this in about 20 minutes.
people off the street with their tools and placed them into the studio in front of a painted canvas. I was struck by them because, technically, they were so beautifully printed. I was really inspired by the thought of a black-and-white portrait in front of a simple, timeless background. When we strip the whole portrait thing down to just the person, and you’re not distracted by lighting or a background, that’s when it gets real. I always shoot my portraits against the same canvas, painted back in New York, before I came here, probably ’69 or ‘70. You can’t really tell where it was done, or when, and I really love that idea. All my portraits are lit the same way with a very basic, simple lighting set up. There’s a key light in front to light the person, and then a little light behind to give it that halo look. I guess if you’re going to call it a style, that’s what it is. Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 51
above:
SHORTY AND THE WHITE GIRLS
This is the kind of magic that can happen when you put kids and dogs together and just get out of the way. It was shot in Richland Creek as Shorty goes about training sisters Megan and Emily White on the finer points of how to properly treat a good dog.. 52 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
above:
MINNIE PEARL
below:
MAC WISEMAN AND JOHN PRINE
This was shot on stage during one of the last performances
They were huge fans of each other’s music and came together to
of the Opry at the Ryman. I was walking around on stage behind
make an album of wonderful and unlikely duets. Two legendary
her when I saw this shot.....one of those fortunate moments of being
musical careers colliding, even if for just a moment.
in the right place at the right time.
A look through McGuire’s book Historic Photos of THE OPRY: Ryman Auditorium 1974 reveals a photojournalistic angle to his work and a dedication to hours of work to capture the perfect moment in time. Q: Did you learn this aspect of your photography while working in Vietnam?
I never thought about that. That was a real learning experience for me. That was the first place that I picked up a camera. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was developing pictures in an old army tent, processing film in muddy water. I wouldn’t say those were great pictures, but they were the start of my interest in photography.
JM:
I was taking those pictures of the Ryman because it was a real pivotal time for the business. The Opry was moving from the Ryman to Opryland, and they were going to tear the Ryman down once that move happened. Most of the people in the music business were just devastated by that idea. There were no film crews, no TV stations; nobody was recording those moments, so I asked Hal Durham who was the manager of the Opry then, and he gave me the run of the building for three or four months until the last night. Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 53
GUY CLARK
Guy and I both arrived in Nashville in 1972 from opposite directions. This is Guy trying to explain to my dog Django why he named his album Cold Dog Soup.
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
above:
Q. This may seem rhetorical, but what would you most like to be remembered for? JM: For being the guy that had the only winning Pick-6 ticket at the
Breeders Cup! I talk McGuire into a picture posed by his prized ’47 Ford Woodie as a personal keepsake. Gracious to the end, he allows this indulgence. And I wonder which famous personality will come through the door after I leave and be charmed as I was by the master. If only I could be a fly on the wall of his studio, even for a day…. Jim McGuire’s prints are available to collectors either online through his website, www.nashvilleportraits.com, or through the Morrison Hotel Gallery, www.morrisonhotelgallery.com. He hopes to connect with other galleries locally and nationally to sell his portraits. Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 55
56 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 57
Theater
Nashville Theater Cooking Up Some Exciting New Creations by Jim Reyland
the wonderful aroma of startup and been-there theater companies taking the leap, swimming with the sharks and coming back with dinner. Everywhere you look, they’re supporting the production of original plays and musicals for the new American stage. But haven’t they heard it’s impossible to make money with this kind of thinking? The real money is in yet another production of Oklahoma. It’s safe, well-worn theater that people know, and no matter what, poor Jud always seems to end up dead. Sure, Rogers and Hammerstein wrote masterpieces, and young audiences should be introduced to them, but without new plays and musicals, we’re doomed to rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat and, ultimately, risk losing more and more of our adventuresome theater audiences. It’s all over town; you can smell it,
Writing and producing exciting new works for the theater has been going on in New York and Los Angeles and Chicago and Minneapolis and even Louisville for years, but Nashville? With its already one-of-a-kind country music scene, should we get greedy and add still another international creative legacy? Sure, why not. above: below:
Stuff, starring Barry Scott and Matthew Carlton.
Writer’s Stage 21 Baker Road by Jim Reyland & Addison Gore. With
Sondra Morton Chaffin, Sarah Morgan, Kristen Owen, Scott Rice, Erin Parker, John Warren, Matthew Taylor, Sloan Yarborough and Will Sevier.
Since January of 2009, impressive local companies have produced original new works right here in Music City. Writer’s Stage presented the world premiere of Stuff starring Barry Scott and Matthew Carlton and went big with 21 Baker Road, the workshopped new musical by Jim Reyland and Addison Gore, in a converted warehouse on Charlotte. People’s Branch, a brave, progressive company, did their 10X10 short play festival at Belmont featuring short plays by a host of up-andcoming Nashville playwrights, student and semipro. Sista Style’s Mary McCallum, Amun Ra’s Jeff Carr, Destiny Theatre Experience’s Shawn Whitsell, The Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Belmont’s Claire Syler and Nan Gurley, Rhubarb’s Trish Crist, and People’s Branch’s Ross Brooks, among others, all mounted impressive new works that represented hundreds of hours of dedication for every hour of stage time. Even the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, not known for its active literary department, is getting into the act with the awarding of the Martha Rivers Ingram Artist in Residence Fellowship for New Works for the second
58 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
Photo by Rick Malkin
above left: Actress Alicia
Ridley and Shawn Whitsell, writer,
director and producer of House of Harts at the Destiny Theater Experience above right: Denice Hicks and Brian Web Russell in the Nash-
ville Shakespeare Festival’s Shakespeare’s Case by Claire Syler, Nan Gurley and Denice Hicks.
year in a row. In 2008 the award went to local favorite David Alford and in 2009 to Minnesotan Victoria Stewart. Victoria, a delightful young lady originally from Boston and now living in Minneapolis, spent six months, on and off, in Nashville working with writers and students, culminating with the staged reading of her new play A Smart Girl’s Guide to Risk and Returns at Neely Auditorium on the Vanderbilt campus. In 2010 The Rep’s New Works Festival features not only a national name, but a collective of local playwrights-in-residence who will be working together with Tennessee Rep support throughout the season on their plays. The Festival will culminate with a staged reading of a new play by the recipient of the Ingram New Works Fellowship and the resident playwrights. It’s theater at a high level and nothing but good for our still-unproven literary community. We’ll have a chance to see how the big boys are doing it, kind of like Alan Jackson playing Branson. The theater is the most exciting and compelling medium we have. It’s the last pure artistic outpost. Everything else can be duplicated; everything else can be mass-produced and distributed. But theater’s right there, one night only. It’s happening now, right in front of you—and when it’s over, you’ve been touched, and you’ll never be the same. Jim Reyland is Producing Artistic Director of Nashville’s Writer’s Stage (www.writersstage.com) and president of Audio Productions, Nashville (www.audioproductions.com). His writing and composing credits include A Sugar-Coated Pill, Stuff, Further Than We’ve Ever Been, Shelter, A Terrible Lie, Article 4 and the musical 21 Baker Road with Addison Gore. jreyland@audioproductions.com
Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 59
62 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
anything goes
Wm. “Bucky” Baxter
What was the last book you read?
What characteristic do you most like about yourself?
Who would you most like to meet?
Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut
The hair on the sides of my head
Tammy Wynette in Apt #9
And what do you like least?
What are you going to be when you grow up?
The lack of hair on the top of my head
A beach /ski bum Who has most inspired you?
Winston Churchill and Dr. Andre Waismann Who is your favorite artist?
Chet Atkins in music, Butler Steltemeir in art What are you most proud of?
My accomplishments in music and love Why Nashville?
Work What do you like most about the City?
Old country music What do you like least?
New Country music If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
I don’t know, I’m not that deep An embarrassing moment you would most like to forget?
I already forgot Are you happy with where you’re heading?
Yes, but I see a few sharp curves ahead What’s your mantra?
There’s cracks in everything, that’s how the light gets in Any advice for young musicians?
Party less, practice more What’s it like being you these days?
Marvelous What talent would you most like to have?
The ability to run a large corporation Photo: Anthony Scarlati
What is your most treasured possession?
An antique gold handled cane given to me by Bob Dylan What is your greatest regret?
I’ve got a bucket full of them. You have five minutes left to live, what are you going to do?
Hug my children, then pray
Bucky Baxter is a professional musician who has toured and recorded with Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, REM, Ben Folds and dozens of others. He recently moved back to Nashville settling in one of the high rises in the Gulch. Bucky’s latest venture is Moontoast.Com an on line community and marketplace for Knowledge sharing.
Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 63
antiques
Linda Dyer by Melissa Cross You may not recognize her on the street, but chances are you’ve seen her face many times over the last 12 years. Since 1997 Linda Dyer has been one of the regular “on-camera” appraisers on the perennially popular Antiques Roadshow, which airs on PBS stations across the country. Linda, in fact, is one of the few appraisers who have been there since the American version of Antiques Roadshow debuted. What you may not know is that Linda is an appraiser, broker and consultant who lives and works in the Nashville area. A specialist in Tribal Arts and Ethnographica, Linda is most often called upon to appraise Native American, Polynesian and Spanish Colonial art and artifacts but is well qualified and knowledgeable in most antique genres.
Nashville Arts had a chance to talk with Linda about her experiences with Antiques Roadshow, her career as an antiques appraiser and the business of collecting arts and antiques. Have you always been interested in art and antiques? How and where did it all start for you?
I really credit my parents. They didn’t have a lot of money, but they had extraordinary taste and instincts. My dad would pick up Pueblo items in his travels to New Mexico and bring them home. Not touristy items but wonderful pieces, including the ring I wear to this day. That’s where it started for me. We lived in Arlington, Massachusetts, about 15 minutes away from the Harvard Peabody Museum and other great museums. I don’t know if my parents ever knew it or not, but even as a young girl I would take the bus into Boston and go to the museums. That’s how I initially learned about Native American arts and ancient arts of Egypt.
Linda Dyer (right) Do you have a favorite story about a great find?
When I was with Skinner auction house in Boston, I was doing “lobby duty” when a disheveled woman came in with a brown paper bag. She obviously didn’t have much money and said she needed a new transmission for her car—and that she had a mask to sell. Apparently she had bought this mask when she was a child for 25 cents and worn it over the years at Halloween. When she pulled the mask out, I knew immediately that it was an important piece, but I had to break it to her slowly…I didn’t want to shock her. It turned out to be a wonderful dance mask from the Pacific Northwest coast that eventually sold at auction for $38,000. It more than bought her a new transmission! That was back in 1986, and that very mask resold at auction in London last year for over $200,000. You’ve been with the American version of Antiques Roadshow since its inception in 1997. Tell us a little about the television production.
And how did you get involved in appraising?
I kind of backed into it. My formal training was as a registered nurse. But I continued to study tribal arts and was asked to consult at a New England auction house in the late 1970s, which transitioned into a full-time position. Native American art had not found its place in the fine arts market until the late ‘70s. Prior to that time, it had been viewed as utilitarian objects of tribal peoples—trade-related items, blankets, tools, baskets…everyday utility items that were usually housed in natural history museums. Thanks to the opening of the Rockefeller wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the market opened up for tribal arts and has seen steady growth, credibility and acclaim ever since then.
Each season we do five or six events, and three Antiques Roadshow episodes are produced out of each city, which amounts to about 50 objects shown “on air” from each event. The 2009 season includes Atlantic City, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina; Madison, Wisconsin; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona, and San Jose, California. We spend three days in each city, Friday through Sunday, and tape the television show on Saturday. We all have a great time doing Antiques Roadshow. It’s like going to camp! I’ve known many of the other appraisers for years, like antiques dealers Leslie and Leigh Keno, “the Twins,” who actually started in the business when they were just teenagers. The televi-
64 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
“The viewing public defies demographics. They sion production crew is also wonderful—they’re from WGBH in Boston, and most of them have worked on classic television shows like Julia Child’s. How does one get tickets to Antiques Roadshow?
People used to camp out on the sidewalks for days to get into an Antiques Roadshow event. Now the system is more humane, with a ticket lottery. In a recent event in Raleigh there were over 34,000 applications for tickets and about 6,800 tickets awarded. The people are not just from that city—they come from all over. At the Raleigh event I met a young boy, about 10 years old, who was a big fan of the show and came all the way from Buffalo, New York, just to witness the production. I’m constantly approached by people who express their affection for the show. The viewing public defies demographics. They range from soap opera stars to pre-teens, and everyone in between.
range from soap opera stars to pre-teens, and everyone in between.” Even in today’s economy there are some great buys out there that will hold their value and hopefully increase over the years. The American furniture market is depressed right now, so there are some very good investments there. And there are many specific categories that are continuing to see growth—like Women Painters of the 1930s and ‘40s. Native American art is still very affordable, and even today real masterpieces are still available for around $40,000.
What’s a show like?
It’s a symphony of noises! There are usually 70 to 80 appraisers covering over 20 different categories of art and antiques. The producers estimate that we see over 600 people an hour! When an appraiser has an item that they think will be of interest to television viewers, they’ll call one of the four producers over to discuss it. If the item makes the cut, the owner goes to the “Green Room” to await their turn at one of the four television appraisal stations in the middle of the room. On Antiques Roadshow we usually hear an estimate based on what the item might fetch at an auction. What’s the difference between that and an appraisal for insurance?
An appraisal for insurance is based on established replacement value—the price at which you could easily replace the lost or damaged item. On Antiques Roadshow we often give what we call fair market value (willing buyer, willing seller)—what we estimate that piece would bring at an auction. Those distinctions can be heard during the appraisals.
News: Antiques Roadshow makes Million-Dollar History!
Although it wasn’t one of Linda Dyer’s appraisals, a recent Antiques Roadshow event in Raleigh, North Carolina, made history with the show’s first million-dollar appraisal. A woman brought four pieces of carved Chinese jade that she had inherited to the show, which will air next year. Asian arts appraiser James Callahan said that the mark on the bottom of the bowl was created for an imperial order, and the carved jade and celadon pieces dated from the Chien Lung Dynasty (1736–1795). He gave the collection a conservative auction estimate of up to $1.07 million—the first ever in Antiques Roadshow history. Melissa Cross has written television shows and segments on art, antiques, collectibles and decorating for Home and Garden Television (HGTV), the DIY Network and Fine Living.
What advice do you have for people who want to buy
Resources:
antiques or art?
Glossary Term of the Month: Provenance refers to the his-
Buy what you have a passion for, and buy the best you can afford. You can come to experts like me to help you find pieces, but there are also great resources in any city. Go to art institutions and look at what they have in that category. Fine museum pieces will tell you a lot about what to look for. We have some great resources in Nashville, too. The Frist Center always has some wonderful exhibitions. They just had an impressive collection of Medieval Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
tory of the specific item—its origin, who owned it, when and where it came from, unique stories that are associated with it, and how that can be verified. Provenance can add significant value to the item just for that particular history. For instance, a carved box that may normally be worth $1,000 might be worth much more if it belonged to a famous person and there is a photograph of that person with the object. Provenance can often add 10–30% more in value.
What about collecting in today’s economic situation? Nashville Arts Magazine | August 2009 | 65
Around Town
Social life in Nashville is rather
during the long dog days of summer—kids at camp, charities gearing up for fall, families vacationing, college grads seeking jobs. Around Town with Ted Clayton All in all it is the quiet before the storm for fellow social composers and myself. Summer is Nashville’s equestrian season, first with the Music Country Grand Prix that was held in late May at Brownland Farm. This was the 21st Annual Grand Prix benefiting Saddle Up! (a fun, therapeutic, horseback-riding program for children with mental and physical disabilities). Patrons were seated under a large, rectangular white tent, lunching and mingling with fellow equestrians. The buffet was by The Wild Iris and Nero’s Grill, which was quite pleasant, and the weather was the same. Sarah Ingram, as always, did a grand job chairing the event. The Grand Prix is not an event to show off your best hat or dress, but just good comfortable fun with friends like Joni Werthan, Robert Lipman, Sue and Douglas Joyce, Julie Bush, Theresa and Albert Menefee, Alex and Mary Wade, Gloria Hougland and Chuck Welch, Emily and Hill McAlister, and Theresa Payne. quiet
As long as I am up in the saddle, let me tell you about the polo match a few weeks ago. Lee Ann and Orrin Ingram hosted a lovely hot afternoon out at their farm for the polo match known as Chukkers for Charity. This was the 13th annual Chukkers benefiting Saddle Up! and Rochelle Center. Honorary chair Cathy Brown and the event co-chairs DeeDee Wade, Campbell West, and Falon Veit did their best to keep their cool as well as the patrons—it was hot! Besides a wonder day of polo, these creative ladies put together a most interesting automobile show of vintage cars. Ridley Wills with his grandfather’s 1941 Packard, John Campbell with wife Lisa’s vintage 1928 Cadillac convertible sedan “The Blue Baby,” and Nick Munn with a 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago belonging to owner Brent Ware—these were a few of the big boy toys on show. OK, back to the polo. Polo is a team game like no other. Although the basic pattern is much like soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey or basketball, it takes two heads, six legs, and a pair of arms to play. There you have it. I did try this, and the mallet part I got down; it was how to manipulate that four and a quarter-inch ball! (Also, did I mention you have to be on a horse?) The food was great, prepared by Nero’s Grill. I may suggest next year, instead of the hot dinner, have a cool summer supper. Enjoying the Chukkers were Jean Ann and Barry Banker, Will Clayton, Bob Deal and Jason Bradshaw, Ruthie and Chuck Cherry, Jessica and James Adams, Susannah and Zulu Scott-Barnes, and, of course, Middle Tennessee’s equestrian couple, Mary and Alex Wade.
Pottery by Evamarie Oglander
From horseback to the airport—art in the airport? Yes, by the Amazing Oglander Family! (Sounds like a flying trapeze show, doesn’t it.) If you do not know the Oglanders, let me introduce you. First of all, I met this family a few years ago and have since dined at their home and am proud to say we have become close friends. There is father bear, Gary; he has been painting contemporary art for 30 years. The largest painting hanging by the Southwest counter is by far Gary’s largest project, 19’ x 16’. Gary hopes that travelers will feel attracted to the painting and stop a moment to engage themselves in the work. The artist said he wanted the piece to be spontaneous and full of movement. Next we have mama bear, Evamarie. Eva is a self-taught potter/ sculptor and mentor to the Oglander “boys.” Her work is strongly influenced by pottery from antiquity, especially Minoan and early Greek. Eva says she wants her pots to look as though they have recently been discovered after thousands of years in hiding, with a touch of modernity. And there are the two little bears, Daniel and Eric. Daniel is currently in New York developing his French culinary skills (believe me they are good!). Daniel’s art hinges on his ability to discover new material by transforming images to canvas. The piece he did at the airport is a study of past flight attendants, to transport viewers back to the “golden age” of flying. I must remind Daniel that at the age of 24 his memories of that golden age would be “take a ticket, take a seat!” I am the proud owner of a Daniel Oglander original; stop by on your way to the airport. Then there is baby bear Eric, the 21-year-old mixed-media artist. Eric says he never wants his art to become a monotonous process that appeases buyers but lacks soul. It must remain a learning experience. To sum up the Oglanders, they say that they make art because it “feeds our spirit and hopefully imparts the joy we feel as we create it.” This show is a must and runs through the end of August at the airport. (P.S. Do you remember those “golden days” of flying?)
68 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
Op e n i n g s & R e c e p t i o n s
Shakespeare in the Park: The Complete Works of William publisher’s note:
All openings and receptions are supplied by
Now Playing Nashville. Please contact them with your event
Shakespeare and The Taming of the Shrew August 13–September 13
information. Also, this is only a sampling of local events.
Centennial Park Bandshell
No entries are guaranteed.
Enjoy an enchanting evening of theatre under the stars at The Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s 22nd Annual FREE Shakespeare in Centennial Park featuring The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), and The Taming of the Shrew. For 22 years the Nashville Shakespeare Festival has entertained and educated the Mid-South community with its energetic and family-friendly productions and innovative educational outreach.
For a more complete list of Nashville area events please see www.nowplayingnashville.com.
The Mikado
Highballs & Hydrangeas
August 7–22
August 14
Darkhorse Theater The Mikado is a presentation by ACT I and was written by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art Don’t miss a Friday night cocktail fling, designed to introduce Nashville’s downtown denizens, media/art/music/film people, budding art collectors, and urbane professionals to a contemporary, hipper side of Cheekwood.
Lee Hamblen, Joan Lawler and Brenda Stein August 7–September 25 Centennial Art Center Gallery Metro Parks’ Centennial Art Center Gallery presents an exhibition featuring the works of Lee Hamblen, painting; Joan Lawler, painting; and Brenda Stein, woodturning. Fame, The Musical
NJW All-Stars August 14 Nashville Jazz Workshop
Enjoy a mellow Friday evening listening to the Nashville Jazz Workshop All-Stars. below:
Through August 9
Chuck Close, EMMA, 2002. 113-color Japanese Style
ukiyo-e woodcut, 43” x35” Edition of 55. Part of the Frist Exhibit
Looby Theatre
The Circle Players present Fame, an award-winning musical about a group of teenagers at a performing arts high school in New York. Fame was first a movie and later became a television series before it opened as a stage production in London in 1995. In 2003 and 2004, the show ran for 304 performances in an off-Broadway theatre in New York. Director Tim Larson has picked Kate Adams-Johnson for the choreography in this high- energy teen show. This show is rated PG-13 due to subject matter.
Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration
Artist’s Forum: Off the Wall Artists’ Group August 13 Frist Center for the Visual Arts
Artist’s Forum is a program in which local and regional emerging and recognized artists discuss the thoughts and processes behind their work. The six members of Off the Wall (Quinn Dukes, Mahlea Jones, Janet Heilbronn, Jaime Raybin, Jenny Luckett, and Iwonka Waskowski) met and formed their group while they were students at Watkins College of Art, Design and Film. The members all share a similar artistic language, involving a foundation in conceptual art, a curiosity about materials, and an interest in making work with personal resonance. 72 | August 2009 | Nashville Arts Magazine
puzzler
Nashville Arts Magazine August 2009 Crossword Across
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 14 16 21 22 25 26 27 29 30 31 33
Cheers name With (Fr.) Kin’s partner Notions TV’s Flamingo Road actress Stevens Less taxing Abbey area Darjeeling and oolong, e.g. Play locale Painter’s tripod Warble Swedish shag rug Bridge call Spiritual leader Sports group (Abbr.) Stomach woe Stepped Feel angry Kentucky college Tokyo, formerly Gun, as an engine Chess pieces
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47 TV watcher 48 Fmr. TV anchor Murrow 50 US (Abbr.) 51 Sorcerer’s Apprentice composer 52 Ryan of Hillbillies fame
53 Frasier dog 55 Catfish lookalike 57 Movie co. inits. 58 Pensive sound 59 Golf aim 60 Genuine 61 De Valera’s land 65 Conducted
1-saki 5-seat 9-set 12-avid 13-taper 15-tarp
25
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across:
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