Nashville Arts Magazine | December 2O1O
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Spotlight Artclectic’s 2010 Best in Show
Nancy Gardner by Kami L. Rice
Photo: Kimberly Manz
Ceramist Nancy Gardner was awarded the 2010 Best in Show award at October’s artclectic, the fourteenth annual fundraising art show at University School of Nashville. Gardner said she was surprised to win the award because “with ceramics usually you can win Best in Category or Best 3D, but to win Best in Show . . . I was shocked.”
A prolific ceramist, Gardner even had a production line in the early 1990s but has since scaled back, and all of her pieces are once again handmade in the studio behind her Oak Park, Illinois, home. Gardner’s colorful earthenware collections include one-of-a-kind vases, jars, cream and sugar sets, teapots, pitchers, cups, bowls, plates, and other unique pieces.
While attending art school for her BFA in the late 1970s, Gardner says, everyone was making brown pottery. But she was teaching art classes to children who were using bright colors and realized that she could use those colors too. Hence the bright designs that have become her signature. “It’s pretty common now, but then it was pretty radical,” she says. Gardner refers to herself as a frustrated painter, which is part of the reason she’s attracted to the use of color and also why she particularly noticed the paintings at artclectic. She finds inspiration in decorative arts, wallpaper, rugs, world ceramics, paintings, and textiles and says she’s constantly collecting ideas as she visits libraries, art museums, and even other artists’ blogs. All of artclectic’s 2010 winners will return in 2011 for artclectic’s fifteenth anniversary show. www.nancygardnerceramics.com
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Covering the walls is a vibrant collection of prints that seem to emit their own energy. Their rich hues spring out like crouching tigers. Every corner holds some unexpected feast for the eyes.
Girl Waiting by Tonnie Jones, Mixed media on paper 36 | December 2O1O | Nashville Arts Magazine
The Wilson Collection Contemporary African-American Art by Deborah Walden
It is tempting to believe that only those with
brush in hand are in the business of making art. But history is filled with examples of dynamic and important patrons. Where would Michelangelo have been without Pope Julius II? Rubens without the Spanish court? Today, Nashville Arts Magazine strolls down a quiet Brentwood street to find a proactive, visionary collector of our own . . . in the most unlikely of packages.
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
Rapping on the door of the Wilson family home, one would hardly expect the atomic explosion of rainbows that hide just beyond the welcome mat. Covering the walls is a vibrant collection of prints that seem to emit their own energy. Their rich hues spring out like crouching tigers. Every corner holds some unexpected feast for the eyes.
Dorothy spoke in a soft, melodious voice that put my gravelly, flu-deepened pitch to shame. In spite of myself, I felt clunky beside such a bright little flower of a woman. She shares with Vanna White the rare power to direct your attention to objects by merely smiling and half-gesturing in their direction. She floated through the house as if borne on a magic hovercraft of Southern charm, while I shuffled behind her feeling more and more like Quasimodo as the day transpired. Dorothy’s demure exterior holds an inevitable surprise. Her life has been characterized by bold choices and an energetic pursuit of her dreams. After telling me that she had been a schoolteacher before she retired, she grabbed my knee, saying I would never guess which subject she taught. “Health and human sexuality,” she laughed. Indeed, I was surprised.
I recently stopped by the Wilson residence to take a look at their impressive collection of contemporary African-American art. Trying to shake off a stubborn head cold, I seated myself on a pristine cream sofa and passed the time by drinking in the artwork and choking through loud, embarrassing coughing fits. Both acts were equally breathtaking.
Throughout her life, she was drawn to colors, but Dorothy did not begin collecting until she was near retirement age. That is one of the most impressive things about her collection—in a relatively short time, she managed to cultivate an amazing eye for good art.
Suddenly, mysteriously, as if borne on a small cloud, Dorothy Wilson breezed into the room. A tiny wisp of a woman, she is as delicate as a china teacup. In spite of her eighty-plus years, Dorothy’s charm lights up her home. Extending a soft hand for a feather-light handshake, she sat down. I immediately adjusted my posture—she has that effect on you.
Born and raised in Nashville, Dorothy moved east to Washington, D.C. later in her life. Determining to teach at the college level, she eventually retired from Howard University. It was during her time in D.C. that her passion for art was awakened. Caught up in the atmosphere of the dynamic D.C. arts scene, she started buying. Soon, her pastime had become a full-blown addiction.
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Joined by her son Lamar, Dorothy immersed herself deeper and deeper into the world of art. They opened an antiques shop on Capitol Hill and began traveling the Northeast in search of emerging artists. Lamar later opened a gallery in Atlanta, and the two of them, mother and son, continued to pursue a passion that has turned into their life’s work. When asked why she started going to galleries or collecting art, Dorothy smiles, “It’s just so much fun.” A truer or more pure reason has hardly ever been uttered.
Through her obsessive and excited pursuit of new and original works, Dorothy has amassed a historic collection of prints by contemporary African-American artists. She claims, “I would see it, like it, and figure out a way to buy it.”
above: below:
The Plow by Joseph Holston, Etching
Amen Baptist Church, by Edwin L. Wilson Jr., Acrylic on board
Despite the fact that collecting is a source of joy for Wilson, her work is not without political overtones. In the 1980s, when the Wilsons began their business, African-American artists struggled for respect in a market that oftentimes pushed their work to the margins. The Wilsons understood that fostering the careers of their favorite artists could help change the climate of the art market in the United States. Dorothy’s favorite artist is Romare Bearden. She began compiling his prints as a tribute to her admiration for his work. Bearden, a father of the Harlem Renaissance style, is famous for his two-dimensional modernist collages and prints. He connected the emerging modernist aesthetic with a particularly African-American voice and perspective. Dorothy and Lamar take every opportunity to exhibit his works as a means of enlightening new audiences about his contribution to American art. In D.C., Dorothy and Lamar were neighbors with a young Joseph Holston. Dorothy would visit his studio, attend his openings, and, of course, add print after print to her growing collection. “He just loved me to death,” Dorothy smiles. Holston’s lyrical, emotive paintings draw from a vivid palette. Over the years, recognition of his work has become more mainstream. His study and celebration of African experience have gained worldwide attention. In their role as sponsors, spokesmen, even, for emerging artists like Holston, the Wilsons’ work has become a powerful force. By acting as patrons and educators about these contemporary masters, Dorothy and Lamar helped spread the word about them. While looking at family photos in her kitchen, Dorothy mused about the roots for her all-consuming passion. “My freshman year in college at TSU, you had to take art appreciation.” She
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Photo: Jerry Atnip
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The music really led me into the color palette and how my art flows: the curves and the shapes. I think there’s a huge link between the music and the art. The two have been such a part of who I am and who I continue to be.
”
previous spread: left:
Juke Joint Jam, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 8’ x 4’
Get Behind the Mule, Acrylic house paint on wood, 32” x 49”
center:
Water Break, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 49” x 32”
bottom left:
30 Miles to Memphis, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 90” x 49”
Through his art, Gray tries to recall the simplicity of a lost generation, particularly of the 1930s and 1940s. Though Gray did not actually grow up in the Depression era, he feels a closeness to the period because it is almost as if his hometown in East Tennessee was stuck in time and that the culture of his youth was closer to what a person might have experienced during the 1930s. Gray feels that, over time, the South has been slowly “dying.” Southerners have “lost a connection to the land and to family,” said Gray. “Development and technology have taken away a lot of the connection people had.”
Because Gray fears that the old South is slowly being lost, he often tries to use in his works found objects from older generations, and he rummages through old barns that are to be torn down for materials to use in his pieces as a salute to the old South. “The old stuff just has a certain feel to it,” said Gray. “It’s like an old leather chair. There’s comfort in it, and it’s been tested.” Gray’s imagination has culminated in a comfortable marriage between his visual art and his work as a musician. And, though he cannot read music, Gray insists that he can play “whatever you got.” As a writer, many of Gray’s own songs have inspired the subjects of his paintings, with his lyrics even written across the background. Many of Gray’s most acclaimed pieces have been pseudo-portraits of musicians, from Johnny Cash to Miles Davis. For The Complete Hank Williams Box Set, which won a Grammy for design, Gray painted the likeness of Williams directly onto a lawn chair, and the image appeared as a postcard in the package. At a more base level, Gray’s art has always had a connection with music, even when he himself was not aware of the connection. As Gray began traveling as a musician throughout the South to cities like New Orleans and Memphis, he realized that he uses a jazz color palette that relates directly to these kinds of places. “An artist from East Tennessee wouldn’t really paint these colors,” said Gray of his own surprise at his fondness for vivid and striking colors. “The music really led me into the color palette and how my art flows: the 44 Arts | December 44 | December 2O1O | Nashville Magazine 2O1O | Nashville Arts Magazine
above :
The Fruits of Labor, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 49” x 32”
right :
Sunday Drive, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 32” x 49”
curves and the shapes. I think there’s a huge link between the music and the art. The two have been such a part of who I am and who I continue to be.” In fact, Gray’s most recent ongoing project has been creating guitars. These instruments are made out of recycled gas cans and are completely playable. Eventually, Gray plans to produce an entire series of these guitars. Gray has also found creative success by making three-dimensional works of art. The idea was brought about when Gray, in his studio, began looking at some of his works that were leaning against each other. Eventually, he began to wonder what it might look like if he were to combine two of his paintings, perhaps taking B.B. King’s head from one piece and placing it on top of the cityscape of another piece. Happy with the results, Gray has continued to make three-dimensional woodcuts. Occasionally, Gray’s 3D style and bright color palette have led to comparisons with Tennessee native and modern artist Red Grooms. When these comparisons first began to spring up, Gray said that he was embarrassed not to be familiar with Grooms’ work. Gray finds it interesting that two artists could have completely different backgrounds and lifestyles and yet be drawn to create similar kinds of pieces. “It’s like you have a kinship with different artists that you don’t even know,” said Gray. “They’re doing a certain element of what you’re doing, and you don’t even know these people.” Nashville Arts Magazine | December 2O1O | 45 Nashville Arts Magazine | December 2O1O
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When Gray finds himself unhappy with his paintings, he discovers a way to unleash his inhibitions and get back in tune with the freeing nature of his art. “I found myself getting kind of locked in and too meticulous in the execution of my painting,” said Gray. “So I did a little experiment and said, ‘I’m going to paint so many dogs, just let it go and [paint] one right after the other as an exercise.’” By the end, he had created over one hundred dogs. Gray’s grand experiment was a clear success and broke his monotonous cycle, but he laughs when he says that afterwards he was contacted by dog owners requesting portraits of their own canines. Ultimately, Gray will continue to find new ways to challenge and inspire himself. By embracing his own liberating style and daring to see his art through different lenses, Gray’s artistic future is open and completely unpredictable. Currently, Gray’s works can be seen at the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis and online at graygallery.net.
above :
Praise Be, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 32” x 49”
below:
Gray’s Lounge, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 49” x 32”
right :
Juke Joint Boys, Acrylic house paint on 3D wood cutout, 32” x 49”
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Photo: Jerry Atnip
Sells’ curiosity has taken him as far as South Africa and Hawaii, “where indigenous people believe the forest is a spiritual place where ancestors dwell.” The cherry and koa wood he found there lend an exotic texture to his work. But it is not just the material he uses that reflects nature. He draws inspiration from the form of the earth’s elements, like his Canyon Style sculptures that came from his travels to the Grand Canyon. There is a sense of profound respect for what comes from the earth in his work. “I try to design a vessel consistent with the flow of life, a repetitive design of nature bursting with cycles and revolutions. My work is observations of science and nature disguised by soul philosophy. I toggle between these realms creating art, hoping to form a sense of connection that is necessary and lasting.”
I can picture Brad Sells at home in Cookeville at his Bark Studio where he doesn’t have to search for wood, but merely has to harvest it from the land where it has grown from sapling till it falls to the earth. And it is there that he can maintain the connection he always feels to wood. “It makes us feel calm and peaceful,” he says, and you can hear the appreciation and anticipation he has for the next harvest of swirling grain and earthen flesh that will come alive under his hand and be transformed—his homage to the beauty he knows is hidden beneath the bark. “Trees come alive after they’re dead,” he says. In his hands they certainly do. Brad Sells is represented by Two Moon Gallery www.bradsells.com
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above :
Street Ends, This was taken in the early ’50s before African Americans
benefited from the Civil Rights Movement, and the feeling was that there was this dead end, and they were blocked from going any further. top left:
Boy & Pigeons, This was taken at the New York Public Library on
5th Avenue. The little boy is so completely enthralled by the pigeons, and the large stone buttress emphasizes his diminutiveness. left:
Gold Mine Peppers, The juxtaposition of this laborer doing back-
breaking work and the lettering of Gold Mine Peppers is ironic. The photograph was made about two a.m. when produce was being assembled for restaurants and food markets to be picked up. I would grab a few hours of sleep after work and go down to the Lower West Side and photograph at the Washington Fruit Market.
“We were a part of the city. When I left the studio, I left with my camera. So it literally became an extension of myself.” His series New York Moments tells this story of life in New York during a beautifully rich time. It’s the memory of his bright energy and open-minded perspective I hope to always retain. With a debonair smile, charm twinkling from his eyes, and a song that seems to swirl about him when he speaks about his love for photography, for his wife, and for tai chi, Lerner is intoxicating. And his photographs are too. Coming from the camera of lifelong photographer Norman Lerner, ordinary scenes have something important to show us. The question is: how does he do it? “I think I have been very fortunate in the sense that my interests have been so very diverse, which has enabled me to explore different aspects of life using photography as that vehicle to explore literally and intellectually these varied places. How 60 | December 2O1O | Nashville Arts Magazine
many photographers can say that they lived in the Georgia Okefenokee Swamp photographing alligators, rattlesnakes, and water moccasins, and then right after that doing a lingerie spread for Glamour magazine, then posing as a model for a fashion spread for Rudder magazine, then doing a white-water assignment shooting rapids on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, then right after that shooting a series for St. Mary’s fashion line, and so on.” He is also professor emeritus of California Polytechnic State University, and that has characterized much of his life. His work has hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, in addition to exhibits throughout the country. “Some artists are satisfied with working in one genre for all of their lives. Others keep moving on. This reminds me of a question posed to Picasso as to why he moved from a literal figurative style in his early years to a more abstract style later on. His reply was that when you have finished the appetizer you then go to the entrée and so on.” His life path is one of fearlessness. He wasn’t afraid to change his course while tenured or as CEO at the height of his company’s success. He always turned to his own personal creative vision and began by saying to himself, “that’s enough” and then moving onward. Currently, Lerner’s projects are floral still lifes, motion studies, and a series of passengers and drivers. After a lifetime of creating breathtaking images, Norman Lerner is still chasing shadows. More of his work can be seen at www.normanlerner.com.
top left:
Roving Eyes, Beware of where your eyes wander, since there are
other eyes that are watching yours. above:
Sheets On A Clothesline, The contrast of the soft, flowing whiteness
against this gritty, garbage-strewn courtyard attracted my attention. left:
Observer, People-watching is part of the enjoyment of being on the
boardwalk at Coney Island, and this gentleman is taking full advantage of it. The man with his foot up on the railing is just about as spare as the lamppost next to him. Nashville Arts Magazine | December 2O1O | Nashville Arts Magazine | December 2O1O | 61
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My Favorite Painting
Mark Wait
High Tide by Deborah Wait (detail)
Dean of the Blair School of Music
High Tide Actually, my favorite “painting” is a mosaic by my wife, Deborah.
High Tide is one of a series of works inspired by the Gulf Coast of Florida and also by Deborah’s earlier years near the ocean in California. I love this work and keep it in my office. The impressionistic interplay of light and water—all created by the arrangement of miniscule, hand-cut pieces of glass and tile—becomes as magical as the ocean itself. And the layers of colors, each with its own identity but intertwined with other layers, remind me of musical counterpoint. This is music for the eyes.
About the Artist Mosaic artist Deborah Wait has earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance at the University of California and the University of Colorado. In 1985, she earned the Master of Architecture degree at the University of Colorado, and she was an architect with the National Park Service for eight years. As a member of the Western Island, Joshua Tree and Saguaro National Parks. Deborah and her family have lived in Nashville since 1993. www.alphamosaics.com
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
Team, she designed buildings at Mt. Rainier, San Juan
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