MAGAZINE
MA R C H 14 - 16 Featuring music from the hit film, along with Elgar’s evocative Enigma Variations.
BUY TICKETS AT: NashvilleSymphony.org 615.687.6400 2 | February 2O13
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CLASSICAL SERIES
LESLIE SHIELS
Three Couples and Robin
60x60 oil on panel
LEIPER's CREEK GALLERY in Historic Leiper's Fork www.leiperscreekgallery.com
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February 2O13 | 3
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3d laSik & laSer cataract Thurs, Feb 7, 5:30pm Thurs, Mar 7, 5:30pm 615-321-8881 Each seminar attendee receives up to $1,860 in savings!
Dr. Ming Wang, Harvard & MIT (MD, magna cum laude); PhD (laser physics)
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1801 West End Ave., Suite 1150 | Nashville, TN 37203 drwang@wangvisioninstitute.com NashvilleArts.com
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February 2O13 | 5
TM
February 2O13
Spotlight.........................................................................................................................1O Brian Tull Holding Out for a Heroine.......................................................................... 29 Wanda Choate Artist Profile........................................................................... 34 Tamara Reynolds Love and Shame................................................................... 41 Judy Nebhut This Must Be a Judy Nebhut!....................................................... 45 Shelly Colvin Up the Hickory, Down the Pine................................................... 5O NPT Arts Worth Watching.................................................................................................. 54 Helli Luck Artist Profile................................................................................................ 58 ArtSmart A Monthly Guide to Art Education......................................................... 6O Molly Ledbetter Intersection of Loss and Beauty............................................. 66 Ken Walls The Way It Was........................................................................................... 68 The Stones Align for Randi Williams ............................................. 71 Hunter Armistead The Undomestication of Women........................................75 Melodie Grace Raku to You.............................................................................. 8O David Compton Mr. Versatile............................................................................ 82 Beyond Words................................... 84 Appraise It with Linda Dyer............. 85 Critical i.............................................. 87 On the Town...................................... 88 My Favorite Painting........................9O on the cover :
Brian Tull, The Highway Has Always Been Your Lover, Oil and acrylic on panel, 60" x 60"
Published by the St. Claire Media Group Charles N. Martin, Jr. Chairman Paul Polycarpou, President Ed Cassady, Les Wilkinson, Daniel Hightower, Directors Editorial Paul Polycarpou, Editor and CEO Sara Lee Burd, Production Manager, sara@nashvillearts.com Madge Franklin, Copy Editor Ted Clayton, Social Editor Linda Dyer, Antique and Fine Art Specialist Jim Reyland, Theatre Correspondent Contributing Writers Emme Nelson Baxter, Beano, Lizza Connor Bowen, Judy Bullington, Nancy Cason, Marshall Chapman, Jennifer Cole, Melissa Cross, Greta Gaines, John Guider, Beth Hall, Beth Inglish, MiChelle Jones, Demetria Kalodimos, Nicole Keiper, Beth Knott, Linda York Leaming, DeeGee Lester, Joe Nolan, Joe Pagetta, Karen Parr-Moody, Robbie Brooks Moore, Rebecca Pierce, Currie Powers, Ashleigh Prince, Alyssa Rabun, Sally Schloss, Molly Secours, Daniel Tidwell, Lisa Venegas, Nancy Vienneau, Ron Wynn Design Lindsay Murray, Design Director Photographers Jerry Atnip, Lawrence Boothby, Sophia Forbes, Donnie Hedden, Peyton Hoge, Rob Lindsay, Jennifer Moran, Anthony Scarlati, Bob Schatz, Meghan Aileen Schirmer, Pierre Vreyen Budsliquors9.16.09.indd 1
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It’s aLifestyle...
400 Acres • Five Homes • 40 Minutes From Downtown Nashville $5,999,000 Call For Private Tour Fiona King • 615-417-3434 • FionaPKing.com • Nancy Brock • 615-406-6083 615-250-7880
S O U N D A DV I C E , P ROV E N R E S U LT S
publisher's note
Art Creates a City
W
e will miss Sylvia Hyman a great deal. She was a constant source of
encouragement and inspiration to all of us here at the magazine. Her presence lit up the room and sparked our creativity with her infectious energy and enthusiasm. She was also very funny. We were in stitches the day she told us that she had been fooled by one of her own clay pencil creations and stuck it in the pencil sharpener, sending shrapnel everywhere. Sylvia was a true artist, a wonderful human being, and a treasure to the Nashville art community. She will be missed, but her work will continue to remind us of her amazing talent. We're always happy to present Hunter Armistead's photography, a quirky mix of thought-provoking intelligence and playfulness. His new series Undomestication of Women hits the nail squarely on the head as he explores women’s changing roles through his camera lens. Check out page 75. Tamara Reynolds takes us on a revealing and atmospheric journey through the South with her Love and Shame series. Her images are both beautiful and challenging and raise questions that are still begging for answers. February is Valentine’s month, and with that we thought we would showcase the romantic realism of Brian Tull. What a talent this young artist is. We find his bold, sexy, and expressive work irresistible.
New Works by HELLI LUCK
Toward the Louvre, oil on canvas, 24” x 18”
DAVID KIDD
The Emancipation Proclamation comes to our very own Tennessee State Museum this month. The lines will be long and for good reason. A chance in a lifetime, not to be missed. Be there! Paul Polycarpou Editor in Chief
Editorial & advertising Offices 644 West Iris Drive, Nashville, TN 37204 Tel. 615-383-0278 Advertising Department Cindy Acuff, Beth Knott, Keith Wright All sales calls: 615-383-0278 Distribution: Wouter Feldbusch
Slow Burn, mixed media on board, 60” x 48”
Subscription and Customer Service: 615-383-0278 Letters: We encourage readers to share their stories and reactions to Nashville Arts Magazine by sending emails to info@nashvillearts.com or letters to the address above. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. Business Office: Theresa Schlaff, Adrienne Thompson 40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37215 Nashville Arts Magazine is a monthly publication by St. Claire Media Group, LLC. This publication is free, one per reader. Removal of more than one magazine from any distribution point constitutes theft, and violators are subject to prosecution. Back issues are available at our office for free, or by mail for $5.00 a copy. Email: All email addresses consist of the employee’s first name followed by @nashvillearts.com; to reach contributing writers, email info@nashvillearts.com. Editorial Policy: Nashville Arts Magazine covers art, news, events, entertainment, and culture in Nashville and surrounding areas. The views and opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available at $45 per year for 12 issues. Please note: Due to the nature of third-class mail and postal regulations, issues could be delayed by as much as two or three weeks. There will be no refunds issued. Please allow four to six weeks for processing new subscriptions and address changes. Call 615.383.0278 to order by phone with your Visa or Mastercard number.
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2104 CRESTMOOR ROAD NASHVILLE, TN 37215 HOURS: MON-FRI 9:30 TO 5:30 SAT 9:30 TO 5:00 PHONE: 615-297-3201 www.bennettgalleriesnashville.com
Rippling, Mixed media, 60" x 112"
Min Xu Looks West F
or decades Min Xu has divided her life between China and the United States, and you can see the influences of both in her work.
Like Chinese masters she follows the ancient tradition of painting on bark paper, but stylistically you see influences of art nouveau and art deco. She explained that bark paper is thin and tough, pliable yet strong, and helps create wonderful textures. Unlike canvas, bark paper absorbs ink and paint unevenly and unpredictably, creating its own artistic effect. Working on a grand scale, Min Xu applies paint and ink to the bark paper using brushes, plates, cups, and spoons moving it around in the process. Then she adds layers of color and sometimes images created in Photoshop. Some pieces end up having up to twenty layers of color. Along with the rigors of her process, her use of color defines her work. She explains, “Sometimes richness is dark, heavy, and ornate. Sometimes it is light, bright, and minimalistic, but sometimes it contains aspects of both approaches. Some color combinations suggest sport, travel, and excitement. An exaggeration of natural hues can convey a sense of the outdoors and the exotic.” Born in Shanghai, Min Xu studied art at the best schools in China. She received her MFA from Maryland Institute’s College of Art and has studied with dozens of professors, including Wu Guanzhong and Grace Hartigan. Recently retired, Min Xu was a graphic designer at LifeWay for almost nineteen years. She has had numerous shows, won awards, and is recognized internationally.
Garden of Eden, Mixed media, 60" x 60"
“After decades in Nashville, people call me Southern Chinese. I love the countryside, horses, sheep, cows, dogs, people, farmers, the Smoky Mountains, churches, air, blue sky, white clouds . . . ” www.joyxumin.wix.com/kaixing
10 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Gallery One, LLC LLC Gallery One,
a
5133 Harding Harding Pike Pike 5133
STE STE 1A 1A
Nashville, TN 37205
Nashville, TN 37205
(o) 615.352.3006 (o) 615.352.3006
Sebastian Picker, On Top of the News, oil on canvas, 100 cm x 80 cm
Tues-Sat 10A-5P (c) 865.250.1358
Sebastian Picker
www.galleryonellc.com
An Examination of Distopia March 2–23
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 11
Stitched in Time (detail), Mixed media (oil and sewn paper), 24" x 48"
Mark Cowden Sewn Together, Mixed media (oil and sewn paper), 24" x 24"
Reaping What He Sews by Stephanie Stewart-Howard
P
ainter Mark Cowden’s home studio is a warm and soothing place, with clean, light-pine floors, plenty of crisp light, and ready access for his wife, Yvette (a painter and stained glass artist), and their daughter, Skye (not yet 2, but already showing a predilection for art), and his talented older children, Ben and Emily.
This elevated, moderately sized home in the heart of West End was built after the 2010 flood, which destroyed the Cowden’s original house. Rebuilt with the aid of an architect friend of Cowden’s mother (also a painter), the intimate studio became a crucial element. The flood necessitated a half-year hiatus from his artistic work, but he’s since come back in full force. Cowden is that rarest of persons, a native Nashvillian. He attended Hillsboro High School, and while he began his college education at the Art Institute of Chicago, he finished at UT Knoxville. Cowden makes his living as a graphic designer, but painting with oils has always been his passion—not acrylic but oil, he says, “being a creature of habit.” On the studio’s walls, you’ll see older works, intriguing landscapes and still-life pieces imbued with just a hint of surrealism—a ripe pear floating above a green field, for example, or a tree branching out across a darkened sky, roots and leaves both stretching, while elements of his growing interest in abstraction demonstrated with Mondrianesque color blocks seep through the trunk and lower branches. Currently on his easel is a piece from his newest series—his own guitar traced lovingly onto brown-paper Kroger bags, stitched with heavy hemp cord, and glued to a canvas, then layered with intense, geometric bands of color in shades of cerulean, azure, mallard, and pale gold. While these are his first efforts with guitars, the style in which he creates his works follows a similar formula these days. “I usually build my canvases out of wood, but a few are fabric canvas,” he says. “I really like the idea of sewing the pieces together and the sense of the sewn, even though the sewn pieces are glued to the canvas ultimately. I can sit in front of the TV and sew paper together for hours.” The intricacy and the tight symmetry of his stitches are thus explained. Cowden doesn’t aim for a lot of competing colors. His truly non-representational work makes similar use of hue, though a mini prototype for his guitar pieces teases with a pop of red. Shades of Blue, Mixed media (oil and sewn paper), 48" x 24"
To inquire about Cowden’s work, contact him via www.markcowden.com.
12 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
spotlight
Etruscan Echoes
Tanya Tewell The Parthenon Museum continues to explore contemporary interpretations of classical themes with an exhibition of paintings by artist Tanya Tewell. A professor of art at Middle Tennessee State University, Tewell divides her time between Tennessee and Tuscania, Italy. While abroad, the artist has visited Etruscan tombs and ancient sites which have become the inspiration for her new work. Tewell found herself strongly attracted to the degrading patina of the frescos that decorate the tombs at these sites, and her work evokes the tones and textures of these aged wall paintings. She has also had a longtime interest in cultural mythology, and her paintings are greatly influenced by dream images and magic realism. Through her intense and evocative paintings, Tewell presents the story of the many unnamed Etruscan characters that haunt the tombs: the sorceress, the matriarch, the wounded pilgrim, and more. Through their stories, Tewell attempts to relate humanity’s endless struggle with the cycle of life, change, spirituality, magic, and death.
The Center of the Hive, 2012, Oil on panel, 60" x 42"
Etruscan Echoes: Tanya Tewell opens with a reception on Friday, February 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. The show runs through June 1. The Parthenon is open Tuesday–Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. www.parthenon.org
Reality Unexpected
Imagine gallery +
academy
Feb 28—March 30, 2013 Opening Feb 28 | 6-8:30PM Group show featuring: Dennis Nechvatal
Passage III, Dennis Nechvatal, 2011–2012. Acrylic on wood panels, 24” x 18” (each).
The Factory | Upper Mezzanine Level | 230 Franklin Road Franklin, TN 37064 | 615.794.7997 | www.imagine-gallery.net
spotlight
President Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives.
Emancipation Proclamation
72 Hours at the Tennessee State Museum by Joe Pagetta
I
t's nearly impossible these days, with the Academy Awards at the end of this month, to discuss the Emancipation Proclamation without also talking about Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln, which goes into the awards with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), and Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field). Based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals:
the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, there’s a pivotal moment in the film when Lincoln discusses the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed those slaves in Confederate states still in rebellion, and his fear that he may not have had the complete authority on January 1, 1863, to issue it. Hence his strong desire to pass the 13th Amendment before the war’s end and the possible questioning of the Proclamation. It’s a fascinating scene, played with honesty and humility by DayLewis that underscores Lincoln’s penchant for risk for the sake of conviction. The 13th Amendment was passed, of course, and the Emancipation Proclamation one of the most important documents in American history. The chance to see in person the original document, signed by Lincoln, is a rare opportunity. To see it in Nashville is a once-in-a-lifetime one. Middle Tennesseans and people throughout the Southeast will have that chance when the document comes to the Tennessee State Museum (TSM) on February 12, 2013, to open the Discovering the Civil War exhibit, on loan from the National Archives in Washington, DC. The document, which is making its only Southeastern U.S. stop here, will be on view for only 72 hours spread
over seven days from Tuesday, February 12, to Monday, February 18. After that date, a facsimile of the document will be in the exhibit. Admission is free, but because visitors to see the document in Michigan stood in line for up to seven hours, TSM officials are using a reservation system. Reservations can be made now for $1 at www.tpac.org or by calling 615-782-4040. The last fifteen minutes of each hour will be given to walk-ins. Special museum hours during the viewing, including earlier openings and later closings, are also available at the website. Organizers estimate that 300 people will be able to see the document each hour. “The National Archives are very strict about controlling the amount of light which is shown on the document. We have 72 hours of viewing, no more, so we have to make sure everyone who buys a reservation gets in to see it,” said Lois Riggins-Ezzell, TSM Executive Director. Once the Emancipation Proclamation moves on, Discovering the Civil War, an exhibit made possible in part through the collective efforts of Senator Lamar Alexander and his wife, Honey, Governor Bill Haslam, and the Tennessee State Legislature, will continue at the museum through September 1, 2013. Many of the rare items on display include the original copy of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery and South Carolina’s 1860 declaration of secession. For more information on the Tennessee State Museum and the Discovering the Civil War exhibition, visit www.tnmuseum.org.
14 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
photo: Courtesy of 5th Avenue of the Arts
spotlight
Filmmakers' Call for Entries Nashville Film Festival and 5th Avenue of the Arts are jointly presenting a new video competition for Tennessee filmmakers. “Nashville Unveiled – Take One Video Festival Contest” offers professionals and amateurs a chance to create a short film or video illustrating the theme “Visual Arts Scene in Nashville.” Filmmakers will be given complete artistic latitude to interpret how Music City is being impacted by the visual arts. Nashville Arts Magazine is thrilled to sponsor this contest that encourages entrants to create an original story idea and shoot the video with their phone or any other video recording device. The videos can be one take, and silent films are allowed. Entries will be judged on content originality, production, and overall impression. The first-place winner will receive a full-festival laminate for the Nashville Film Festival in April (value $499). In addition, 5th Avenue of the Arts will provide a $500 gift certificate for The Arts Company, The Rymer Gallery, or Tinney Contemporary. The winning film will be screened during the March 2 First Saturday Art Crawl and will be showcased on the Nashville Film Festival website. Nashville Arts Magazine will highlight the winner in
its April issue. The grand prize also includes a one-year membership to the Frist Center. The second- and third-place winners will receive tickets to Nashville Film Festival film and/or panels, $50 gift certificates to the 5th Avenue of the Arts anchor galleries, and one-year memberships to the Frist Center. Top honorable mentions will have their films screened at the April 6 First Saturday Art Crawl during the Nashville Film Festival preview at The Arts Company. Deadline for entries is Monday, February 18. Winners will be announced during the First Saturday Art Crawl on March 2. For complete entry guidelines visit www.nashvillefilmfestival.org www.5thAvenueoftheArts.com www.nashvillearts.com
summer camp Drawing, Painting, Clay, Gardening & Much More!
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN June 3 – August 2
Ages 2 – 18
c h e e k w o o d . o r g | 615 . 3 5 6 . 8 0 0 0
spotlight
The Ball Player, 2012, Mixed media on panel, 38" x 54"
David Douglas A Memory Not Forgotten
Tammy Parmentier, who took ownership of Nashville’s Gallery One in December, kicks off her first show as proprietor with a solo exhibition by East Coast photographer and mixed-media artist David Douglas. Douglas, of Alexandria, Virginia, creates haunting, layered, blackand-white images that meld disparate images, spark imagination, and challenge perception. “Douglas’ works evoke a dreamlike feeling that draws you in,” says Parmentier. “When I was looking over his new body of work I found myself challenged imagining what the subjects were thinking and feeling, and it brought about a sense of nostalgia that will resonate with a lot of people.” Douglas’ photographic works are in many institutional, corporate, and private collections, including those of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Chrysler Museum of Art, James Madison University, and Marriott Hotels, among others. Douglas’ work will remain on display at Gallery One through February 9. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. www.galleryonellc.com
Landscape with Ibby at Jones Point, 2012, Mixed media on panel, 48" x 85"
spotlight
Jewelry Trunk Show
Art Makes the Music City Center
r Saturday February 23rd r 10am-5pm
This month we continue our preview of the art set to adorn the Music City Center by introducing the work of Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues, of Ball-Nogues Studio in Los Angeles, and Alicia Henry from Nashville. Ball-Nogues Studio is creating Euphony, a cascading curtain of individual lengths of metallic bead chain hanging under selfBenjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues, Euphony weight to form a matrix of catenary curves. Euphony will be attached inside the east concourse of the building facing the Omni Nashville Hotel and will be nearly 140 feet high.
CONNIE ULRICH
According to Brian Downey, Art Consultant for the Music City Center, “Euphony is the largest suspended installation in the entire Music City Center and will be an incredibly dramatic element of this building. You can ride the escalators to every floor and literally travel the entire length of the piece, seeing it from every possible angle.” Nashville artist Alicia Henry, an associate professor at Fisk University, examines culture, gender, race, and societal differences in her detailed work. For the Music City Center, Alicia will create a multi-panel wall installation, Intimacy and Peace, which explores the themes of her title. The work is mixed media composed of dyes, stains, fabrics, wood, clay, and yarn on canvas and wood panels and will be on level one of the east concourse. “As a local artist, Alicia has received a lot of attention and exposure from the Nashville arts community,” says Downey. “Anyone who Alicia Henry, Intimacy and Peace (detail) is a fan of her work will be very excited to see it showcased on such a grand scale.” www.nashvillemusiccitycenter.com
GLEN & EFFIE
A FINE-ARTISAN GALLERY LOCATED IN THE HISTORIC VILLAGE OF LEIPER’S FORK, TN 4136 OLD HILLSBORO RD • 37064 WWW.THECOPPERFOXGALLERY.COM
photo: Martin O'Connor
spotlight
2O13 C3 Conference
Keeping Faith in a Messy World Thursday, February 28, St. George's Institute of Church and Cultural Life will host their 2nd Annual Arts Festival, celebrating visual art, music, food, and more as the opening for the 2013 C3 Conference. Author Lauren Winner will be the speaker for the evening with Phil Keaggy in concert. This year’s juried show, which organizers expect to be even more robust than last year’s, will feature painting, photography, hand-lettered Lauren Winner illustration, needlepoint, cast stone, and mixed media works from artists across the Southeast. The artists were challenged to illustrate, in their own way, the theme of the conference, "Keeping Faith in a Messy World." The C3 Arts Festival will take place from 6 to 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 28. www.C3Nashville.org
Ballet Muses In early March, Dance Theatre of Tennessee is presenting Muses, a celebration of the works of George Balanchine, Ma Cong, and Darrell Grand Moultrie, three of the best choreographers in the country. Muses will include DTT’s premiere of a George Balanchine piece set to music by Gershwin called Who Cares? (concert version). In 1937, George Gershwin recruited Balanchine to work with him on Samuel Goldwyn’s Follies. Tragically, Gershwin was felled by a brain tumor before he completed the ballet music. Thirty-three years later, Balanchine choreographed Who Cares? to songs Gershwin composed between 1924 and 1931, including “The Man I Love,” “Build a Stairway to Paradise,” “Embraceable You,” “Who Cares?” and “I Got Rhythm.” Passion, There choreography by Ma Cong is Ma’s take on different relationships to the scintillating beat of tango music. Growing up with National Ballet of China and now a resident principal dancer and choreographer with Tulsa Ballet, Ma has been recognized for his diverse perspective and ingenious creativity. New York native Darrell Grand Moultrie brings to Dance Theatre of Tennessee his unique vocabulary and sense of style that have endeared him to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Juilliard, and other companies nationwide. In his yet-to-be-titled piece, Darrell experiments with movements and music that evoke classicism with a contemporary edge. Performances will be on Saturday, March 2, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 3, at 2 p.m. at Father Ryan High School Auditorium. The Saturday night performance will include a pre-show discussion with the choreographers at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting www.ticketsnashville.com. Muses is presented in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville Arts Magazine, and Hotel Preston. For more information visit www.dancetheatretn.org. 18 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
spotlight
Della Wells
Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly
TOP PICKS
2013
A new year is ushering in new styles and trends. Here are a few of Keith's favorites and new ar rivals, which I am sure will end up in some of Nashville's HOTTEST HOMES!
Metro Arts Gallery is presenting an exhibition of work by collage artist Della Wells in collaboration with Nashville Children’s Theatre’s regional premier of the original play by Y York. Commissioned by First Stage, the play, Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Fly, was inspired by Wells’ life and art. Wells, a native of Milwaukee, sold her first work when she was thirteen, but she was more interested in pursuing a career in psychology. She was forty-two when she finally began to work seriously as an artist. She has shown throughout the United Bring an Appetite to Regina's House States and abroad. Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Fly will be on display through March 2 at Metro Arts Gallery, 800 2nd Avenue S., with an artist’s reception on February 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. The play runs through February 10. www.artsnashville.org www.nashvillechildrenstheatre.org
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6608A Highway 100 • Nashville, TN 37205 • 615.352.5050 • info@stanfordfineart.com • www.stanfordfineart.com NashvilleArts.com February 2O13 | 19
spotlight
Mark, Floyd, and a
Donkey in Trainers It wasn’t all that long ago that there were more people in the Leiper’s Fork Christmas parade than there were spectators. Not so these days. This little hamlet’s parade can now compete with that of most any big city. Their rendition of this Christmas tradition is quirky and fun, with a lively variety of people, floats, chickens, and goats.
Floyd
Nashville photographer extraordinaire Mark Tucker spent the day capturing the faces and fun during Leiper’s Fork’s 2012 parade and shared these fabulous images with us. www.marktucker.com
20 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
spotlight
Fit to Print
Nashville Print Revival finds the art scene's ink brigade showing their colors. by Joe Nolan
Laura Berman, All She Ever Wanted Was Everything: Laura Berman's Rock Collection
Touted as a central Tennessee printmaking symposium, Nashville Print Revival is already being called out by Nashville's critical writing community as the arts event of the winter season. We cultural critic types try to predict the best shows, and this three-day printing event is the one that's got everybody excited at the beginning of 2013.
Nashville's printmaking community is one of the most high-profile groups within the Nashville art scene as a whole, and it’s these artists, making work within the greater tradition of printing, that are currently most responsible for crafting Nashville's visual identity. The Nashville Print Revival puts this community on display while simultaneously welcoming out-of-town artists to join in on the fun. The event is hosted by a group of regional printing stars including Mark Hosford, Brady Haston, Jessica Owings, and Lesley Patterson-Marx. Visiting artists
include Tim Dooley and Aaron Wilson of Midwest Pressed and Laura Berman whose colorful, geometric, abstract prints evoke moods I normally associate with looking at color field paintings. This three-day event features:
Tim Dooley and Aaron Wilson of Midwest Pressed
Thursday, February 21 – A live printing event during the reception for Laura Berman's exhibition at Belmont University's Leu Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, February 22 – Watkins College of Art, Design & Film hosts an open portfolio event from 3 to 4:30 p.m. A series of short talks by the visiting artists starts at 6 p.m. Saturday, February 23 – At a location TBA, the event will culminate with a print and poster show that has confirmed Isle of Printing, Hatch Show Print, Boss Construction, Sawtooth Printhouse, and Laura Baisden among its all-star lineup. Go to www.orangebarrelindustries.com/nashvilleprintrevival for up-to-date information.
featuring
Marilyn Murphy and James Lavadour February 23 April 6 Marilyn Murphy, Twilight Engineer, 2010, colored pencil on paper, 30 x 22 inches
CELEBRATING THE WORK OF GEORGE BALANCHINE, MA CONG, AND DARRELL G. MOULTRIE
MARCH 2, 7PM
MARCH 3, 2PM
FATHER RYAN AUDITORIUM, NASHVILLE W W W . D A N C E T H E A T R E T N . O R G 4107 hillsboro circle, nashville, tn 37215 615.297.0296 www.cumberlandgallery.com
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 21
photo: sophia forbes
spotlight
skin(scape):oi, Mixed media, 31" x 32"
Bataille and spider
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We’re always searching for emerging talent, and when we learned that one of our delivery guys is exhibiting his work, we wanted to share it with you. We knew that Philippe is an intern at the Frist, but we didn’t know just how serious he is about his art. Philippe told us, “I'm applying to graduate school this year, and this show will reflect my current portfolio and vision for the upcoming years. The following quote by Georges Bataille is the premise of my show.”
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“… affirming that the universe resembles nothing and is formless amounts to saying that the universe is something like a spider or spit.” – Georges Bataille For the month of February, Philippe Pirrip’s show Bataille and spider will be exhibited at Blend Studio in the Arcade. www.philippepirrip.wordpress.com www.blendstudio.wordpress.com
Il Carnevale
East-Centric is bringing Italy to the South with the lively celebration il Carnevale! Modeled after the infamous Venetian festival, which lasts for weeks and is known for its distinctive masques, il Carnevale will serve as a sensory transport to the timelessness and mystery of one of Italy's most anticipated celebrations. Il Carnevale will offer Italian-inspired cuisine and libations, a visit from the gypsy wagon, performances by Magic's Royal Duke, Sammy Cortino, and other mysterious surprises. “For so long, we have been wanting to host a masquerade. I simply cannot wait to watch the magic unfold.”
6027 highway 100 Nashville Tn 37025 615-352-9696 anatrajewel.com
– Courtney McCarley, Communications Manager at East-Centric Pavilion Grab your most ornate masque and enjoy a night of revelry on February 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. at East-Centric Pavilion in Historic East Nashville. Il Carnevale is sponsored by Nashville Arts Magazine, East Side Smiles, and Nashville Scene. Tickets are $35 in advance, $45 at the door. www.east-centric.com
22 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
photo: Nancy Lee Andrews, makeup: Emmy Harris
spotlight
Warrior Women in the Arts by Mary Unobsky
Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art. – Remy de Gourmont
T
he above quote is from the nineteenth-century Parisian poet and influential critic Remy de Gourmont. It
describes the women we are embracing in this series, an innovative group who learned that when they sought to discover the best in others, they brought out the best in themselves. They are the unsung heroines who have kept the faith, fought the good fight, captured something unique, gone against the grain, made inroads, given an extra turn of the screw, and led with their passion. These women are as diverse as they are ardent—an assortment of artists, political activists, museum mentors, donors, and trailblazers who have an involuntary reaction to excellence and have unselfishly lifted up others by their actions.
photo: Brad Kavan
These warrior women don't often get the spotlight and are like beautiful birds flying under the radar. We've assembled a list, which is by no means definitive, of this spectacular species in Nashville. This month we spotlight Lisa Hester.
Being the Director of Arts Access, a position mandated by the state legislature, gave Lisa Hester an opportunity to nurture an underserved population during her sixteen years at the Tennessee Arts Commission. “There was a time when art produced by people with disabilities was considered subpar. The art scene in Nashville has become much more inclusive,” reports Hester “and the funders place more value on the work.”
After receiving a degree in Arts Education from TSU, Hester worked in her early years at the Nashville Artist Guild with Louise LeQuire in a placement supported by an NEA grant. In her next job, she traveled the state looking for handmade craft items when she managed the gift shop at the Tennessee State Museum. For the next nine years she carried on her deep dialogue with artists in every nook and holler of the Volunteer State in her search for original art. She returned to the state museum to co-curate the first statewide African-American art exhibition, Visions of My People, which became a groundbreaking effort for people of color in 1997. Hester historically sought out a multitude of artists from the immigrant communities, as well as seniors, the disabled, and even the incarcerated for a Prison Art Project which is now in its second year. One of the artists she encouraged—Estelle Condra, an artist, actress, and storyteller with a disability—went on to win the Governor’s Award, the state’s highest honor. “Life is art, art is life, and you can’t grow, live, or exist without it. It’s our essence,” adds Hester.
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 23
public art
Finalists Announced by Caroline Carlisle-Vincent, Public Art Project Coordinator
T
raveling to and from downtown just became a bit easier with the addition of a new roundabout at the intersection of Korean Veterans Boulevard, 8th Avenue South, and Lafayette. Christian Moeller, Daisy
The finalists recently visited Nashville to view the project site and will return in April to present their site-specific proposals. The artwork will be a new icon for Nashville and will define this major gateway into our growing downtown. We hope the artwork will inspire further development south of Broadway and usher in new economic activity throughout the area. While we don’t know what will ultimately be selected for the space, we can rest easy knowing it will be an exciting new work by a world-class artist! www.artsnashville.org
Donald Lipski, The Ziz Photo courtesy of R&R Studios
Last year, Metro Arts announced an international call to artists for this project. More than 130 artists responded to the call, and a citizen selection panel narrowed the group down to four finalists: Donald Lipski, New York; Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt/R & R Studios, Miami; Christian Moeller, Los Angeles; and Ursula von Rydingsvard, New York. All are well-known public artists who have completed large-scale projects all over the world.
Photo courtesy Jerry L. Thompson
It is also the future home of a new public artwork.
Photo courtesy donald lipski
Photo courtesy Christian Moeller
KVB Roundabout Public Art
Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt, The Living Room
24 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Luba
OSHi FLOW ERS
Photo: McLellan Style
A CONFECTION OF GRACE
FLOWERS | ORCHIDS | TRUFFLES | OSHI CANDLE WWW.OSHiFLOWERS.COM Music City Center 615.254.6744 217 A. Sixth Ave. North Nashville TN
The Pinnacle at Symphony Place - 615.259.0444 150 Third Ave. South (Main Lobby) Nashville TN
Direct to Perri (OSHi) 615.972.5425
WHERE EVERY BLOSSOM LEAVES YOU HUNGRY FOR MORE
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 25
spotlight
Emily Leonard Nashville Ballet is presenting Attitude February 15 through 17, three works from some of the country’s most cutting-edge choreographers. Attitude includes Ploughing the Dark from Sarah Slipper, The Whistling from Dominic Walsh, and a brand-new, yet-to-benamed world premiere from Gina Patterson, set to live music from singer-songwriter Matthew Perryman Jones with visual art produced on stage by Emily Leonard.
photo: rebecca sullivan
Paints the Ballet
Leonard, who loves dance and moves a lot while she works, explained, “Matthew, Gina, and I have spoken about this performance being a bit of an exploration into the idea of duende, which is an elusive term applied to the authenticity of expression in a work of art, particularly of music and dance.” Leonard will create a 7 ½’ x 22 ½’ painting during the course of the three performances. Tickets to Attitude can be purchased in person at the TPAC box office in downtown Nashville or online at www.nashvilleballet.com.
Jalan-Jalan
Ancient Culture • Modern Design • Contemporary Art
Visit Jalan-Jalan at the Antique and Garden Show, February 8-10, Booth H-30 25 03 W I N F O R D AV E N U E • N A S H V I L L E , T N 37 211 • 615 -78 0 -26 0 0 • W W W. J A L A N J A L A N A N T I Q U E S .C O M
26 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
H AY N E S G A L L E R I E S P R E S E N T S
H AY N E S G A L L E R I E S PRESENTS
ORDINARY OBJECTS: EXTRAORDINARY STILL LIFES FEBRUARY 8 TO MARCH 2, 2013 RECEPTION : FEBRUARY 8, 6 TO 8 PM
HAYNES GALLERIES
LEA COLIE WIGHT
HAYNES GALLERIES ON THE MUSIC ROW ROUNDABOUT IN NASHVILLE
RENEE FOULKS
1 6 0 0 DI V I S I O N S T RE E T S UI T E 1 4 0 . NAS HV I L L E , T N 3 7 2 0 3 . V I S I T: HAY N ESG A L L ER IES.C O M . E MAI L : G ARY HAY NE S @HAY NE S G AL L E RI E S . CO M. T E L E P HO NE : 6 1 5 . 3 1 2 . 70 0 0 O R 6 1 5 .4 3 0 .8 1 4 7 . G AL L E RY HO URS : T UE S - S AT. 1 0 A. M. TO 4 P. M. AND BY AP P T. VAL I DAT E D F R EE G A R A G E PA R K IN G . NANCY DE P E W. RE V E L AT I O N. O I L O N CANVAS . 4 8 X 3 4 I N C H ES.
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 27
spotlight
The Crawl Guide February Art Crawls begin with the Franklin Art Scene on Friday, February 1, from 6 to 9 p.m., where nearly 40 sites will participate. Here are just a few of the highlights. Rare Prints Gallery will feature prints from Sir William Hamilton's work on Greek vases, which was published in the late 1700s. Handy Hardware, Sir William Hamilton a new site on the circuit, will showcase photographer and writer Donna O’Neil. Award-winning photographer Jim Booth will be featured at Creative Find-N-Design. Boutique MMM will host abstract artist Philip Terhune. Franklin Mercantile Deli will display the work of Joseph Dzuback Bibb. Gallery 202 will show the works of painters Tané Miller and Betsy Ingalls and jewelry artists Susan Parry and Carol Evans. A $5 ticket gives you an unlimited Art Scene wristband to the trolleys that circulate throughout the evening. Donna O’Neil Head downtown on February 2 for the First Saturday Art Crawl from 6 to 9 p.m. The Arts Company will present Jane Braddock’s Liberated While Living and a new series of encaustic paintings by Charles Ivey. Tinney Contemporary will host an opening reception for Jane Braddock Southern Abstraction, an exhibition showcasing new abstract paintings by Martica Griffin, Mary Long, and Lisa Weiss. The Rymer Gallery will debut its new exhibition Give and Take featuring new work by L.A. Bachman and Susan Maakestad. Collectors Art Night on 5th Avenue of the Arts is scheduled for Friday, February 1, with Nashville Arts Magazine Editor Paul Polycarpou hosting. Don’t forget to stop by Blend Charles Ivey Studio in the Arcade to see Philippe Pirrip’s show Bataille and spider, which is spotlighted on page 22. The Second Saturday at Five Points happens Saturday, February 9, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Bryant Gallery will present work by Solomon Behnke and Art & Invention Gallery will showcase New Work for a New Year.
NEW EXHIBIT
Jasmine and Joe:
the art of coffee and tea National Juried Art Exhibition of Art on a Theme
Jennifer Hines: Tea Rorscharch #3
February 24 – April 5, 2013 Artists’ Reception Sunday, February 24 • 3-5 pm Marnie Sheridan Gallery Harpeth Hall School, Nashville, TN Gallery open Monday • Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm for more information call 615.297.9543 3801 Hobbs Road, Nashville, TN 37215 enter gallery from Esteswood Drive
Susan Maakestad
Solomon Behnke
28 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Brian
Tull
photo: nathan chapman
Holding Out for a Heroine by Stephanie Stewart-Howard
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 29
For We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight, Oil on panel, 36" x 60"
Brian Tull offers a thoroughly contemporary take on the pinup-girl aesthetic.
T
he pinup has returned to pop culture. These days, however,
the pinup girl is a killer angel, not just a sex object. Strong, liberated women are celebrating their innate sexiness with judicious application of high heels, crinolines, and retro, form-flattering apparel. Likewise, when a contemporary artist takes on that aesthetic, he had best showcase the dichotomy. Brian Tull does, in photorealistic style.
The Selmer, Tennessee, native has drawn constantly since he was ten years old, trying to get an image “as real as I can.” At the University of Northern Alabama, he learned to emulate and admire other styles of painting, but his own painting always gravitated back to the exquisite and painstaking detail of the photo realistic.
Small Town, Oil on canvas, 29" x 64” 30 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
“I tried to work every detail into everything I ever did. I didn’t try to interpret it; I just saw it as it really was and tried to get it all as real as possible,” he says. His focus comes down to “hot cars and hot women.” That translates roughly into an obsession with times he didn’t grow up in and affection for a time that valued the physical act of making things with one’s hands. “It just seems like they put more care into things,” says Tull. “From architecture to pencil sharpeners, it’s classic design. They took time with it, they hand drew everything.” The self-proclaimed thrift-shop junkie takes inspiration from old things. An old iron from a local Goodwill, for example, plays a role in a recent painting. His glorious images of women, often incomplete—a well turned ankle in a shockingly high heel, a piece of a face gazing out a car window, or a fiercely dangerous, gun-toting hand, welcoming in an unseen [male] guest in the mode of Barbara Stanwyck to Fred MacMurray—always leave a story unfinished, asking the viewer to fill in myriad blanks.
Searching for Sustenance, Oil on panel, 27 1/2” x 57"
Particularly compelling, a piece called The Highway Has Always Been Your Lover showcases a woman’s feet in crimson Mary Jane heels hanging out the window of a vintage Chevy driving into the sunset, the world at her feet in a most unconventional way. “I try to stage my own references,” he says. “I find a location, shoot about 200 or so photos to get one good one; then I zoom in, crop, do what it takes to make it interesting. I take out the clutter, give it a narrative—the viewer can fabricate their own story.”
Morning of the Storm, Oil on unprimed birch panel, 35" x 60”
You Could Have Told Me Sooner, Oil and acrylic on panel, 26" x 45”
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 31
Never Was, Acrylic on canvas, 29" x 55”
Tull’s women are a positive force, moving forward in their own stories. The images are often inspired by his wife, who, he says, is made for the glories of vintage clothing and is sometimes his model. Their power is often in the intentional absence of a visible facial
tune in to nashville’s burgeoning visual art scene
expression or complete physicality, allowing us to write the subject’s story—something the best art often encourages from us. Brian Tull will have a showing at Tinney Contemporary Gallery in 2014. To see more of his work, visit www.briantull.com.
The Arts Company theartscompany.com
Local Color Gallery localcolornashville.com
The Parthenon parthenon.org
Bennett Galleries bennettgalleriesnashville.com
Midtown Gallery & Framers midtowngallery.com
The Rymer Gallery therymergallery.com
Bryant Gallery bryantgallerynashville.com
Richland Fine Art, Inc richlandfineart.com
Tinney Contemporary tinneycontemporary.org
Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art cheekwood.org
Sarratt Gallery at Vanderbilt vanderbilt.edu/sarrattgallery
Two Moon Gallery twomoongallery.com
Cumberland Gallery cumberlandgallery.com
Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery arts.state.tn.us
Frist Center for the Visual Arts fristcenter.org Gallery One galleryone.biz LeQuire Gallery lequiregallery.com Leu Art Gallery belmont.edu
Tennessee Arts League & Galleries tennesseeartleague.org Tennessee State Museum tnmuseum.org Tennessee State University: Hiram Van Gordon Gallery tnstate.edu/gallery
Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery vanderbilt.edu/gallery Williams 19th &20th Century American Art Galleries williamsamericanart.com York and Friends Fine Art yorkandfriends.com Zeitgeist zeitgeist-art.com
HISTORY EMBR ACING A RT
Susan Parry
Tané Miller Visit Us During “Franklin Art Scene” February 1, 6-9pm
202 2nd Ave. South, Franklin, TN 37064 www.gallery202art.com • 615-472-1134
Carol Evans
artist profile
Wanda Choate “I have been the one being changed and molded and created,” she observes with devout sincerity. by Emme Nelson Baxter
W
anda Choate is a work in progress. Curious, observant, she
is on a quest to create beauty. The painter is drawn to horses, wheels, bicycles, buggies, trucks, and gears. She is attracted to “beautiful although plain people, and how I see them when I'm not thinking, only seeing.” The award-winning artist produces stilllife, figurative, and landscape oil paintings at her studio in Springfield, Tennessee. She is inspired by the works of Mary Cassatt, Andrew Wyeth, and illustrator Tasha Tudor in addition to contemporary painters Nancy Guzik, Ron Hicks, and Dan Gerhartz. But becoming a painter was an evolution, a calling of sorts instead of the typical natural talent identified at an early age. She maintains that she benefitted from a bit of divine intervention to find her way to the brush. But the indicators of a discerning eye and able hands were there at an early age. Choate was raised on a farm in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Part mischievous tomboy, part contented loner, she relished making things. “My desire to create probably began flat on my back, lying in a crib, critiquing the colors of the nursery,” she notes, somewhat facetiously.
Dogwood Crown, 2009, Oil on board, 28" x 19"
Creating as a child had little to do with traditional artist’s materials; rather, she fashioned nature into sculpture. Beyond the crude mudpie manipulation of small children, in Choate’s youth a fallen tree became a spaceship. Hay bales in the loft could be rearranged into buildings. Rocks in the creek could be moved to form complexes for crawdads. Maturity did not quash her zeal to wonder and create. She married at 19. With her husband, a plumber by trade, she began what today could be considered “flipping” houses. In their case, renovation was born from necessity. The newlyweds needed a place to live, and her father offered them what was essentially a shed on his property. The doorless, windowless structure was used for storing corn and hay. Yet over weeks, the couple converted it into a home. The building process not only alleviated a creative itch but also provided tax benefits and kept them mortgage free. In addition to raising the family, she was busy with ubiquitous home renovation, gardening, and helping with her husband’s business. In the meantime, she taught herself how to make stained glass, quilts, and baskets as well as to embroider and to glaze walls with faux finishes. The family rehabbed homes for fifteen years, moving every two or so years. Likewise, Choate jumped from artist medium to medium frequently after reaching a level of proficiency in each. “You can get to the end of those things, but if you’re into fine art, you’re not ever going to get there,” she said of her earlier pursuits. Choate’s epiphany came at age 30. She was leafing through a book of impressionist art when she was moved to tears by a painting of a young
Magdalen, 2008, Oil on board, 38" x 19"
girl. She asked God to help her paint beauty. That set the course for her immersion into fine art. Mostly self-taught, Choate copied masters, drew, painted, studied, and took workshops. Choate began competing in juried shows, including the Oil Painters of America exhibitions that attract up to 2,700 entries competing for ten to twelve awards. Choate won OPA Awards of Excellence in 2006, 2007, and 2008. “That national exposure can pull you up from obscure Robertson County,” she laughs.
Mary's Lamb, 2012, Oil on board, 20 1/2" x 15 1/2"
Today she is represented by Bennett Galleries in Nashville and by Whistle Pik in Fredericksburg, Texas. She has received numerous accolades for her work: Best of Show at the Central South Juried Exhibition, People's Choice Award at the Equine of America Exhibition, and Best in Show for her painting Magdalen in the American Women Artist Show in Easton, Maryland. NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 35
Bennett Galleries is pleased to represent
WANDA CHOATE
Wanda Choate
photo: Randy Hughes
Idle Hours, 2011, Oil on board, 22" x 25"
Choate paints from her custom studio behind her house. The garden retreat features a tin roof, salvaged beams, local stone, and stained-glass windows. A brick pathway winds past a koi pond to the structure where a wood stove keeps the place comfortable in winter. In addition to her own working materials, the studio houses numerous life souvenirs.
Music Man, oil on board, 23” x 27”
“This is where we stopped,” she says. “After years of building, I know what I really love.” Indeed. Choate is usually in the studio by 5 a.m., sipping her cappuccino before the fire and having her devotions. She cherishes her family and her solitude. Always at hand are fresh flowers, good teas, seed for the birds, the scent of rose and clary sage oils, firewood, and music by Eric Church. On her easel recently: a work in progress of two Amish girls sitting in the back of a wagon. Choate likes to attend auctions in Amish country, using her camera to capture the “jaw-droppingly beautiful” vignettes with families, wagons, and myriad animals. She is still searching, still curious, still creating. “I follow these back roads out here in rural Robertson County,” she muses, “following and chasing what wishes to be painted.” Wanda Choate is represented by Bennett Galleries. For more information visit www.bennettgalleriesnashville.com and www.wandachoatefineart.com.
2104 CRESTMOOR ROAD NASHVILLE, TN 37215 HOURS: MON-FRI 9:30 TO 5:30 SAT 9:30 TO 5:00 PHONE: 615-297-3201 www.bennettgalleriesnashville.com
u n i q u e l y. . .
2160 Bandywood Dr | Nashville, TN 37215 615-298-1404 | www.ward-potts.com
GASLAMP ANTIQUES And
Gaslamp Too
TWO stores full of Fine Antiques, Vintage, Industrial, Jewelry, Home Furnishings, One-of-a-Kind Gifts & More Sign up for “Tea@Two@Too:” Feb 12th: Restore-a-Finish 100 Powell Pl, Ste 200 & 128 Powell Pl, 37204: M-Sat 10-6, Sun 12-6 615-297-2224 or 615-292-2250 or visit GasLampAntiques.com
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Photo: Dario acosta
Blair Presents
1 932–2012
Eric Owens bass-baritOnE with
Warren Jones pianO
saturday, February 23 8 pm • ingram Hall Grammy-winning american bass-baritone Eric Owens, currently starring as alberich in the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Wagner’s ring Cycle, performs classics of the opera repertoire. Free tickets are available in the blair office – details at blair.vanderbilt.edu Eric Owens appears by arrangement with iMG artists. sponsored by the Mary Cortner ragland Master series Fund and Hutton Hotel. all concerts at the blair school of Music are free and open to the public unless specifically stated otherwise. For a complete details about all the upcoming events at blair, visit our website at blair.vanderbilt.edu
Blair school of Music
2400 Blakemore ave. nashville, tn 37212
Mixed Media
48” x 36”
Nashville hours by appointment Contact Gerard Vanderschoot, exclusive Regional Representative of the work of International artist Matt Lamb for the Nashville, Dallas, and Chicago regions (815) 347-9698 • jerryvanderschoot@gmail.com • www.mattlamb.org
Michael Griffin
Charleston Awakening, Oil on linen, 28” x 48”
615.428.7227 • michaelgriffinstudio.com • michaelgriffin44@yahoo.com
40 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Love and Shame Tamara Reynolds Takes a Photographic Journey Through the South In her own words
T
photo: john guider
his project, Southern Route, is about exploring my feelings of love and shame as a Southern white woman. Rather than turning away I want to look squarely at
it and come to embrace my Southernness without reservation. Maybe my path to healing is facing the secrets, understanding the meanings, and accepting the reality of the South as it is. I loved my home, but I am at times embarrassed to claim it. I loved my childhood but have learned to hide it. So I am a contradiction and my feelings conflicted. I was born into an upper-middle-class Southern family in 1960. I was privileged, but I wasn’t aware of it as a child. I just knew we had a maid. I loved her. And she loved me. Although I was taught at home, in school, in church, to respect and love everyone, I couldn’t help but see that something wasn’t consistent. There were too many unanswered questions, poorly
Tamara Reynolds
reasoned arguments, and my conflicted feelings and confusion took root. And rightly so, I lost my innocence during the most momentous period of the country. I learned that things were not as they seemed.
above: The young girl with the “Fly Free” t-shirt was in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She was like a demure little princess lost in the tiny Southern town. It was a hot summer day, and we both were just wandering around looking for company.
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I returned to Mississippi at harvest time to capture the cotton fields. I wanted to get as close to the cotton as possible. I wanted the cotton to loom over me. Southern cliché aside, I wanted to get some sense of its domination.
I stopped to talk to an old woman, and she wanted nothing to do with me. She was “tired of you people coming down here to Mississippi to make money off of us.” Our ways are relaxed, kind, friendly. But I am bothered by our obstinacy to sometimes hang on to behavior that only perpetuates the shame. We are together yet still segregated in many ways, maybe not by law but by custom. We are loving yet judging, if not openly, secretly. There is evidence under the surface of things, hidden along back roads, that shows this contradiction of our hospitality and congeniality, our prosperous land, our easy living. Like kudzu, things look pretty, healthy, and rich on the surface,
Nashville Veterans Day Parade. I had been listening to lectures on the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction so this reenactor carrying the Confederate Flag attracted me. His happy-go-lucky mood illustrated the naiveté of those young, confident Confederate soldiers 150 years ago.
but what lies beneath is another thing entirely. My desire for this project is to create a traveling exhibit to stimulate a discussion within schools and the general public to address the prejudices that many are still too frightened to face. It is my continued desire for finding my voice as an artist that has taught me that we are all in need of being heard, and in that process we can be healed. www.tamarareynoldsphotography.com
I came across a group of men in Holly Springs, Mississippi, outside a salvage store just off the town square. They were playing checkers, laughing, talking, smoking, and drinking. I loved how it had a community feel to it, and they had no problem including me among the group.
South of Lexington, Kentucky. Hunters are a mystery to me. One would have to have a hard heart to kill. But the relationship this hunter had with his coon dog was gentle and soft.
Lester Middle School, Memphis, Tennessee. This is the same community that produced the State Basketball Champions coached by Anfernee “Penny� Hardaway.
I photographed this young woman along Jefferson Street. I loved how sexy she was in those short shorts and her tomboy baseball cap. She was very sure of herself. She had an air of confidence that had no reservations and a posture of complete impartiality.
Erin, Tennessee. An avid gun collector, this guy had a makeshift range at the back of his property. He acted pretty cocky holding that gun, but the sandals took away from his intimidation.
Wearing his hat and with cigarette in hand, this lawn-care worker had just finished his day and was covered in grass clippings and sweat. Even so, he looked sophisticated to me.
NashvilleArts.com
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THE FINEST GIFTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS
SUSANNAH ELLE DESIGNS
THEATRE The Gaslight Dinner Theatre Feb 14 – March 16
BRIDAL REGISTRY
‘S Wonderful,
May 2 – May 24
The New Gershwin Musical Special Valentine’s Dinner & Show: Feb 14 & 15
Life Is So Good
6025 Highway 100 in Westgate Center www.ibizafinegifts.com | 615.279.8000
The inspirational story of George Dawson and a look at the Civil Rights history – Featuring Bill Oakley and Pacer Harp.
ART EXHIBITIONs In Our Galleries February – May: Alan LeQuire’s Cultural Heroes Little Masters - Dickson Co Schools Nan Kennedy - Mixed Media Nathan Evans - Jazz Portraits Civil Rights Photographs Nashville Public Library
Free Reception: Saturday, March 2, 3-6pm
TELEVISION
Don’t miss a single issue.
A special series about the arts, artists and arts education across Tennessee.
www.creativelicensetv.com
Have Nashville’s most beautiful magazine delivered to your door each month for only $45 per year.
A new season of Creative License airs on NPT and PBS stations across Tennessee! WNPT: Sundays at 10:30pm • WCTE (Cookeville): Thursdays at 7pm East Tennessee PBS: Sundays at 4pm • WKNO (Memphis): Thursdays at 9pm WLJT (Martin/Jackson): Thursdays at 9:30pm
www.rcenter.org • (615) 740-5600
www.nashvillearts.com
Call 615-383-0278 or email subscriptions@nashvillearts.com
photography
This Must Be a
Judy Nebhut
Memphis Blues
by Marshall Fallwell, Jr.
J
udy Nebhut is a photographer—nice equipment, including a Canon printer that houses the nine or ten tubs of ink necessary to produce more shades of gray than I can count. But Judy says she’s not a techie. I believe her—she’s
too busy taking pictures and making prints the way she wants to. Upstairs, in her minimal office and flanked by her adequate but not cutting-edge equipment, are X racks of prints, matted and ready for the next show. As I walk my fingers through them, I realize that words like “nice” and “cutting-edge” don’t work to describe her art. At first glance, her images seem unassuming to the point of shyness. Utterly familiar objects and settings on pause in time. A bunch of white asparagus, oranges on plank shelves, figs and potatoes in bowls, apples on a tablecloth, white gourds, books wrapped neatly in newsprint. Still lifes, pure and simple.
But then she teases you with satirical titles, as if her pictures are just for fun. Figs in a bowl titled In the Shade. Potatoes in a bowl, Add Butter. A sprawl of white gourds, Walk Softly. A bunch of asparagus on a Chinese stand, The Chop. Two oranges on a white linen cloth, Nothing More, Nothing Less. Titles almost riddles suggesting levels of meaning sure to provoke clever conversation at gallery openings, glass of white wine in hand. Lots of artists use titles cryptic or meaningless or satirical just to throw you off balance, but interpret these titles carefully, if at all, lest you say something too glib or Freudian or Greenbergian for what’s really going on in Nebhut’s pictures, or in her mind. Another caveat. Some say Judy Nebhut’s pictures evoke serene memories of Vermeer, Cezanne—and they do, on a none-too-
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 45
relevant level. But don’t stray too far down that path or you might succumb to the quicksand of comparative evaluation of artists, which is okay for high-school art class but ends up being no more than an exercise in taxonomy, Vermeer in this drawer, Chardin in that one. The revelations begin as you free your mind of the futility of explication and you study the images on their own terms. Sure, the oranges are oranges and the figs are figs, but, you boot yourself up, what she is offering is light itself, and who cares where it comes from? So that’s her secret. Could this polite, unassuming Nashville lady have discovered how to capture not things but light itself? And so gently. By comparison, even Edward Weston has a heavy hand.
Down Home
Of course, ever since the abstract expressionists, artists have attempted to give expression to the idea of pure form by deleting content from the algorithm. But they have done so by drawing pictures of it, pictures of nothingness—non-representational shapes, blotches of color, even blank canvases. By banishing content, they have become obsessed with content, rubbing our and their own noses in it, all the while insisting that it’s simply not there. Judy Nebhut may not even know she is something of a savant. As you stare and stare at Judy Nebhut’s pictures, you find yourself falling into the great stillness these pictures hold, which is in the light they emit.
Gold Pears on Copper
Her grays and shadows mesmerize. Familiar things such as folds in a tablecloth take your breath away. The architectural angularity of the oranges and shelves, the mundane sheaf of white asparagus reveal themselves as nothing more than vessels leaving just the light and shadows they project as the true vision Nebhut shows us.
photo: john guider
Add Butter
The Chop 46 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
How? Not by pretending content isn’t there along with all its implications, but by ignoring content and whatever literal or symbolic substance it might have. How better to do that than by gentle misdirection—oranges qua oranges frivolously titled?— and then leading us through the looking glass to see what she has found. Judy Nebhut is represented by The Arts Company. www.theartscompany.com
Nothing More, Nothing Less
Walk Softly
In the Shade
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 47
RADICAL ART PRESENTS 1st Annual
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It Takes A Village, Oil on Canvas, 16” x 16”
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Geraniums, Sarlat, France, Oil/panel, 10x8
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photo: joshua black-wilkins
music
Shelly Colvin Up the Hickory, Down the Pine by Holly Gleason 50 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
photo: Erica Goldring
A duo record produced by Jimmy Bowen (George Strait, Frank Sinatra), who was doing Merle Haggard at the same time, came together then fell apart when her friend quit, but it led Colvin to Nashville. And Nashville led to producer Frank Liddell, who encouraged her to write and find her voice. “There was ‘Waiting for You to Die’ . . . ” She begins, “The lyric is ‘It feels like I’ve been cutting myself open to see you bleed/while you’re out living your life oblivious/ to this blood running down my sleeve/If I could only unclench my fist/Maybe I could figure out why/I keep drinking from this bottle of poison/waiting for you to die.” Not your basic 6-1-5 bromide. Nor a reflection of her life. Colvin, who understands the starkness from watching her parents be judged by the church following their divorce after twenty years of marriage, lives in an East Nashville log cabin with her husband, Jeff, and a dog named Emmylou. “I’ve always been patient. I try not to force anything. But I knew I’d know when it was right. I knew I was open to something bolder . . .
"I
do have this bizarre style," Shelly Colvin says of her unorthodox guitar playing. “It’s very chunky . . . It’s not pretty—and I can hear it
all over the production. The boys really rode that during recording.” Shelly Colvin sits in a puddle by the dying day’s last sunlight, a tangle of badger blonde curls tumbling down. Up The Hickory Down The Pine, her crunchy organic meditation on the South, realizing a journey from rural Alabama church kid to collegiate hippie, Southern California MTV employee returned to songwriter to Nashville émigré and soul excavator.
String wizard Gibb Droll (Eaten by Dinosaurs) and drummer Ken Coomer (Wilco) helped Colvin distill Neil Young’s Crazy Horse rock on “Loose Change” with his more acoustic yearning for “Alright Now” and “Holding Steady.” She evokes the emotional vistas of the L.A. County’s canyons: yearning, warmth, a desire to stay, sketches of people seeking but okay where they are. “These songs are folk songs, and they’ll always be folk songs,” she demurs. She’s a true Southern girl, and the drawl drifts through her extended notes, floating over the loping beats and Appalachian acoustics. Slightly breathy, wildly earthy, Colvin’s voice balances heat with inner grace, walking a line between unlikely poles of Jerry Garcia’s languidness and Gillian Welch’s haunting specificity.
Growing up as the daughter of a Baptist music minister, I had this voice in me I hadn’t used in years.” In the time between walking away from a progressive Music Row career and Up Hickory, she settled in at Billy Reid as a music ambassador. Curating their SXSW Show and later Reid’s Shindig Music Fest in Florence, Alabama, she found a supportive soul keeper and he an ad hoc muse. “We sat one night in the store after a little show,” Colvin remembers. “It was one of the first times we’d met, and we just swapped songs ’til 2. He can play and writes songs, so he gets it . . . and has been so kind. He knew I had my dream too, and we kept expanding what we were doing. It was amazing how much our dreams overlap.” For more visit www.shellycolvin.net.
“Wishing Well” is a dreamer’s reckoning with the world as it is, while “To the Bone” offers a weightlessness in the inertia of how heavy life can be. For a girl who started singing in forty-people churches as soon as she could talk, watching her music minister father change outlying parishes every two, three years, faith in the drift comes naturally. “We’d travel as a trio,” she remembers. “My mom plays and sings too. I was tiny when I started . . . singing ‘I’m a Promise’ by Bill Gaither, who’s the Elvis of that world. I’ve been to churches where they speak in tongues, but that’s not how we worshipped. It was pretty simple and really sweet.” She gave up music in college—“the singing always made me different from my friends”—to follow bands like Widespread Panic and Phish. Content to be around the music, it was her stint at MTV that drew her back to writing. “I was around musicians all the time, and it made me miss it.”
NashvilleArts.com
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Antique African Art for the Discriminating Collector Artworks include statues, masks & ceremonial regalia from all major ethnic groups of Sub-Saharan Africa.
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52 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Renowned “Mountain Man” climbs to new heights in the world of fine art.
William Lee Golden is one of the most recognized personalities in country and gospel music as a member of the legendary group The Oak Ridge Boys. Looking beyond the music accolades, the bearded audio and visual artist has always taken time to observe God’s handwriting in nature. “In my travels around the world, I see the beauty and majesty in each country’s landscape. I try to capture my surroundings on canvas as I see them. My paintings are the backdrops from my life.” Critics and collectors commend his exceptional vision and distinctive approach to color and light. The William Lee Golden collection has appeared at prominent art venues around the country, and his work has even been acquired by the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. www.williamleegolden.com
Arts Worth Watching up the show. Adam McKay (Anchorman, Funny or Die) and Shira Piven (Fully Loaded) follow former MC5 guitarist and punk pioneer Wayne Kramer, who finds hope and comfort through music. Oscar nominees Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert (The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, A Lion in the House) observe African-American dancer Sheri "Sparkle" Williams, one of the oldest female professional dancers still practicing in the U.S., and Emmy nominees Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly (The Way We Get By) share the story of Albert Hurwit, a retired doctor who couldn’t read or write music yet composed an award-winning symphony.
This month on NPT, one of the most celebrated documentaries of last year comes to Independent Lens on Monday, February 25, at 9 p.m. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry profiles Ai Weiwei (pronounced I-Way-Way), China's most celebrated contemporary artist and its most outspoken domestic critic. Named by ArtReview as the most powerful artist in the world, he first rose to international prominence in 2008 after helping design Beijing’s iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium—and then publicly denouncing the Games as party propaganda. Since then, his critiques of China’s repressive regime have ranged from playful photographs of his raised middle finger in front of Tiananmen Square to searing memorials to the more than 5,000 schoolchildren who died in shoddy government construction in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Against a backdrop of strict censorship, Ai has become a kind of Internet champion, using his blog and Twitter stream to organize, inform, and inspire his followers, becoming an underground hero to millions of Chinese citizens. He disappeared in April 2011 while in police custody, for three months, quickly becoming China’s most famous missing person. Likely one of the most inspiring programs coming to NPT this month is Lifecasters (Thursday, February 7, at 9 p.m.), a show that unites successful fiction and documentary filmmakers to tell the stories of Americans who use their strength, creativity, and determination to reach their goals—a bit later in life. Three short films make
Lovers of the American Songbook will enjoy Live from Lincoln Center: Ring Them Bells! Rob Fisher Celebrates Kander & Ebb airing on Saturday, February 16, at 9 p.m. The special concert from Lincoln Center’s 2013 American Songbook series celebrates the legendary songwriting duo of John Kander and Fred Ebb, who wrote “All That Jazz” and “New York, New York.” Broadway stars Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley perform, alongside theater legends Joel Grey and Chita Rivera, in a review conceived and conducted by Rob Fisher. The special will be followed at 10:30 p.m. by an encore broadcast of the NPT original production The Gift: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection at Fisk University. The half-hour documentary tells the story behind the gift of 101 pieces of modern art that Georgia O’Keeffe gave the small, historically black college in Nashville—a collection that includes works by some of the giants of American and European modernism such as Picasso, Cezanne, Renoir, Diego Rivera, Toulouse-Lautrec, Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Arthur Dove, O’Keeffe, and Stieglitz himself. Also of note this month on NPT, Shakespeare Uncovered continues on Saturdays, February 2 and 9, at 9 p.m. Bluegrass Underground, Sundays at 10 p.m., includes performances by the Time Jumpers, the Del McCoury Band, Vince Gill, and the Black Lillies, while Austin City Limits, Wednesdays at 11 p.m., has Tim McGraw, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Gary Clark Jr., and Esperanza Spalding.
Weekend Schedule 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 1:00 1:30 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30
Saturday
am Bob the Builder Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Curious George The Cat in the Hat Super Why! Dinosaur Train Thomas & Friends Angelina Ballerina Sewing with Nancy Martha’s Sewing Room Victory Garden P. Allen Smith Lidia’s Italy in America Cook’s Country noon America’s Test Kitchen Mind of a Chef Martha Stewart’s Cooking School Growing a Greener World Fon’s & Porter’s Love of Quilting Best of Joy of Painting Woodsmith Shop The Woodwright’s Shop For Your Home This Old House Ask This Old House Hometime Saving the Ocean pm Tennessee’s Wild Side
ThisMonth
February 2 013
Nashville Public Television
Sunday
5:00 am Sesame Street 6:00 Curious George 6:30 The Cat in the Hat 7:00 Super Why! 7:30 Dinosaur Train 8:00 Sid the Science Kid 8:30 Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood 9:00 Tennessee’s Wild Side 9:30 Volunteer Gardener 10:00 Tennessee Crossroads 10:30 A Word on Words 11:00 Nature 12:00 noon To the Contrary 12:30 The McLaughlin Group 1:00 Moyers & Company 2:00 The Desert Speaks 2:30 In The Americas with David Yetman 3:00 California’s Gold 3:30 Travelscope 4:00 Southern Accents 4:30 Rick Steves’ Europe 5:00 Antiques Roadshow 6:00 pm Globe Trekker
The story of how women have helped shape America over the last 50 years. Tuesday, February 26 7:00 PM
Daytime Schedule 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 1:00 1:30 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00
am Classical Stretch Body Electric Arthur Martha Speaks Curious George The Cat in the Hat Super Why! Dinosaur Train Sesame Street Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Sid the Science Kid WordWorld Wild Kratts noon Caillou Thomas & Friends Super Why! Dinosaur Train The Cat in the Hat Curious George Clifford the Big Red Dog Martha Speaks Arthur WordGirl Wild Kratts The Electric Company pm PBS NewsHour
Looking Over Jordan Tennessee Civil War 150 The Civil War began as a means of preserving the Union. But to nearly four million African Americans, it held a much more personal promise.
Thursday, February 21 7:30 PM
Wednesday, February 27 8:00 PM
wnpt.org
Nashville Public Television
Battle for the Elephants Earth’s most majestic land animal today faces market forces driving the value of its tusks to levels once reserved for gold.
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7:00 Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, Season 3 - Part 5. 8:00 Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, Season 3 - Part 6. Change arrives in a big way for several key characters at Downton Abbey. 10:00 Bluegrass Underground The Del McCoury Band. 10:30 Creative License 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Inside Washington
7:00 Antiques Roadshow Boston (Hour Three). 8:00 Market Warriors Antiquing in Chantilly, VA. 9:00 Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange Dear Madela. Three friends refuse to be moved when the South African government promises to “eradicate the slums.” 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 NCRM Freedom Award
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7:00 Frontline Cliffhanger. Washington’s failure to solve the country's problems of debt and deficit. 8:00 State of the Union Address: A NewsHour Special Report President Obama delivers his State of the Union Address before the joint session of Congress. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Rick Steves: Symphonic Journey
7:00 Pioneers of Television Miniseries. Among the highlights, Louis Gossett, Jr., LeVar Burton and Ben Vereen discuss “Roots,” while Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward reflect on “The Thorn Birds.” 8:00 Andrew Carnegie: American Experience 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange A Lot Like You.
13 7:00 Nature Cold Warriors: Wolves and Buffalo. The life-anddeath relationship of wolves and buffalo in Canada. 8:00 NOVA Earth from Space. A spectacular new spacebased vision of Earth. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Austin City Limits Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes/TuneYards.
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7:00 Nature Attenborough’s Life Stories, Our Fragile Planet. 8:00 NOVA Building Pharaoh’s Chariot. Follow a team of experts who build and test two accurate replicas of Egyptian royal chariots. 9:00 Life on Fire Pioneers of the Deep. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Austin City Limits Tim McGraw.
Wednesday
14 7:00 Tennessee Crossroads 7:30 Volunteer Gardener 8:00 Doc Martin The Holly Bears a Prickle. Doc Martin and Louisa are finally going on their first date. 9:00 The Blue Ridge Parkway: A Long & Winding Road The conflicts inherent in building the 469-mile parkway. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Over Hawai’i
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15 7:00 God in America Soul of a Nation/of God and Caesar. In postWorld War II era, a religious revival fused faith with patriotism in a Cold War battle with “Godless Communism.” Also, the moral crusade over divisive social issues. 9:00 Washington Week with Gwen Ifill 9:30 Need to Know 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Moyers & Company
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7:00 God in America A New Adam/A New Eden. The first hour explores the origins of America’s unique religious landscape. The next hour considers the origins of America’s experiment in religious liberty. 9:00 Washington Week with Gwen Ifill 9:30 Need to Know 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Moyers & Company
Friday
7:00 Tennessee Crossroads 7:00 God in America 7:30 Volunteer Gardener A Nation Reborn/A New 8:00 Doc Martin Light. As slavery split the The Admirer. Louisa nation in two, Northern Glasson is furious to disabolitionists and Southcover she has a rival for ern slaveholders turned Doc Martin’s affections, to the Bible to support a glamorous divorcee. their cause. Then the 9:00 Lifecasters forces of modernity chalFollow three inspiring lenged traditional faith. 9:00 Washington Week artists who use strength, creativity and determinawith Gwen Ifill tion to reach their goals. 9:30 Need to Know 10:00 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Alaska Statehood 11:00 Moyers & Company
NOVA Earth from Space Wednesday, February 13 8:00 PM
Thursday
Television worth wa tchin g.
Tuesday
Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey Sundays, February 3-17 8:00 PM
7:00 Antiques Roadshow Boston (Hour Two). 8:00 Market Warriors Antiquing in Long Beach, CA. 9:00 Independent Lens As Goes Janesville. Amid a showdown at the state capitol, this film traces the impact of the economic crisis on the people of Janesville, Wisconsin. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Mountain Talk
Monday
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7:00 Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, Season 3 - Part 4. 8:00 Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, Season 3 - Part 5. Things go badly amiss. 9:00 Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, Season 3 - Part 5. 10:00 Bluegrass Underground The Vespers. 10:30 Creative License 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Inside Washington
Sunday
Primetime Evening Schedule
February 2013
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16 7:00 Lawrence Welk Show 8:00 Keeping Appearances 8:30 Outnumbered 9:00 Live from Lincoln Center Ring Them Bells! A Kander & Ebb Celebration with Rob Fisher, Joel Grey & Chita Rivera. Celebrate some of musical theater’s songs. 10:30 The Gift: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection at Fisk 11:00 Globe Trekker Papua New Guinea.
9 7:00 Lawrence Welk Show 8:00 Keeping Appearances 8:30 Outnumbered 9:00 Shakespeare Uncovered Hamlet With David Tennant. David Tennant and fellow Hamlets compare notes on the challenge of playing the iconic role. 10:00 Shakespeare Uncovered The Tempest With Trevor Nunn. 11:00 Globe Trekker Planet of the Apes.
7:00 Lawrence Welk Show 8:00 Keeping Appearances 8:30 Outnumbered 9:00 Shakespeare Uncovered Richard II With Derek Jacobi. Find out why the play could have cost Shakespeare his life. 10:00 Shakespeare Uncovered Henry IV & Henry V With Jeremy Irons. 11:00 Globe Trekker Turkey.
Saturday
Nashville Public Television
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7:00 An Evening with Jerry Lewis: Live from Las Vegas A live performance taped in November 2012 and rare and never-before-seen film and TV clips. 8:30 Brit Floyd Against a visually stunning backdrop, the world-renowned Pink Floyd tribute band performs. 10:00 To Be Announced
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7:00 Aaron Neville: Doo Wop: My True Story Neville performs songs from his new Doo-Wop inspired album. 8:30 Introducing Nathan Pacheco Pacheco performs beautiful original compositions along with newly created renditions of a few beloved classics in this new special. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 To Be Announced
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American Masters Sister Rosetta Tharpe Friday, February 22 8:00 PM
7:00 Tennessee Crossroads 7:30 Volunteer Gardener 8:00 Doc Martin Happily Ever After. Martin offends the local vicar who is due to conduct Martin and Louisa’s wedding ceremony. 9:00 Looking Over Jordan: Tennessee Civil War 150 9:30 NPT Reports: Children’s Health Crisis Mental Health. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 The Clinton 12
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7:00 Nature Echo: An Elephant to Remember. 8:00 Battle for the Elephants Join National Geographic to uncover the criminal network behind ivory’s supply and demand. 9:00 NOVA Japan’s Killer Quake. The 2011 earthquake. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Austin City Limits Esperanza Spalding.
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7:00 Nature 7:00 Tennessee Crossroads A Murder of Crows. 7:30 Looking Over Jordan: 8:00 NOVA Tennessee Civil War 150 Mind of a Rampage 8:00 Doc Martin Killer. New theories sugNowt So Queer. gest the most destructive Portwenn is buzzing with rampage killers are the news of the engagedriven most of all, not by ment of Dr Martin and the urge to kill, but the Louisa Glasson. wish to die. 9:00 The Clinton 12 9:00 The Path to Violence In1956, black teenagers 10:00 BBC World News changed history in Clin10:30 Last of Summer Wine ton, Tennessee. 11:00 Austin City Limits 10:00 BBC World News Gary Clark Jr./Alabama 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Guns USA Shakes.
Visit wnpt.org for complete 24 hour schedules for NPT and NPT2
7:00 Antiques Roadshow Spokane (Hour One). 8:00 My Music: Hullabaloo – A ’60s Flashback This first-ever retrospective of the 1965-66 TV series includes appearances by The Rascals, Nancy Sinatra, The Four Seasons, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Lovin' Spoonful and The Byrds. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 To Be Announced
7:00 Antiques Roadshow 6:00 Masterpiece Classic Myrtle Beach (Hour 2). Downton Abbey, Season 8:00 Market Warriors 3 - Part 7. Antiquing in Oronoco, 8:00 Masterpiece MN. Contemporary 9:00 Independent Lens Page Eight. An aging Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. spy stumbles on a scanChina’s famous artist dal that could bring and outspoken critic exdown the government. presses himself and or10:00 Bluegrass ganizes people through Underground art and social media. The Black Lillies. 10:30 Looking Over Jordan: 10:30 Last of Summer Wine Tennessee Civil War 150 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 American Graduate: 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Inside Washington Graduation by Numbers 7:00 Makers: Women Who Make America The story of how women, including Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Ellen DeGeneres, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters and Katie Couric, have helped shape America over the last 50 years. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 The Path to Violence
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7:00 Billy the Kid: American Experience 8:00 Guns USA With an estimated 300 million firearms in circulation, the nation is saturated with firearms and the human toll they’ve taken. 9:00 Frontline Raising Adam Lanza. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Frank Lloyd Wright’s Boynton House: The Next Hundred Years
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7:00 Antiques Roadshow Myrtle Beach (Hour 1). 8:00 Market Warriors Antiquing in Greenwich, NY. 9:00 Independent Lens The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights. Young’s journey from segregated Kentucky to head of the National Urban League. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Black Kungfu Experience
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6:00 Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, Season 3 - Part 6. 8:00 Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, Season 3 - Part 7. The Crawleys head to a Scottish hunting lodge. New romances flare up. 10:00 Bluegrass Underground Vince Gill. 10:30 Brooks - The City of 100 Hellos 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Inside Washington
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Nature Cold Warriors Wednesday, February 13 7:00 PM
Nashville Public Television
7:00 Daniel O’Donnell from the Heartland In this new special O’Donnell pays tribute to some of the greatest artists of all time. 8:30 My Music: Hullabaloo – A ’60s Flashback This retrospective of the 1965-66 TV series includes appearances by The Rascals, The Four Seasons, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Lovin' Spoonful and The Byrds. 10:30 To Be Announced
MARCH 1
7:00 Suze Orman’s Money Class Financial expert Orman provides advice for moving forward on the most important financial fundamentals: saving and investing, building a career, planning for retirement and more. 9:00 Washington Week with Gwen Ifill 9:30 Need to Know 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Moyers & Company
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7:00 Lawrence Welk Show 8:00 Keeping Appearances 8:30 Outnumbered 9:00 To Be Announced 11:00 Globe Trekker Food Hour: Brazil. Merrilees samples “cachaca” (Brazil's answer to rum), celebrates Easter at a spectacular open-air reconstruction of old Jerusalem, enjoys a festive barbecue and ends her experience in Rio de Janeiro, where she samples the national dish.
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7:00 PBS Arts from Cleveland: Women Who Rock Women musicians from the 1920’s to the mega stars of today. 8:00 American Masters Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll. 9:00 Washington Week with Gwen Ifill 9:30 Need to Know 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Moyers & Company
photo: jerry atnip
Helli Luck by Beth Raebeck Hall
A
n erudite painter, Helli Luck lives life through a sentient lens that continually captures images, colors, and the all-important light. “Everything I see is a painting,” she says.
This striking and articulate artist immediately draws one into the warmth of her demeanor and mellifluous Downton Abbey accent. Impressive art, beloved bibelots de la mer, antiques, and many Buddhas fill her home, evidence of a life well lived. A second-floor studio is obviously in use, filled with Luck’s plein-air paintings. Born in London, with the artistic DNA of her parents, Luck spent her formative years visiting museums and studying the Old Masters throughout Europe. At 14, her work was exhibited in mall galleries near Buckingham Palace. “London allows people to see the best art there is, anytime, for free. Children develop an appreciation for art and culture early; it’s just part of living there. You can imagine how fabulous it was for a young artist like myself. Sargent, Sorolla, Monet . . . they were all so accessible.” Nashville has been home for twenty years and remains a favorite place to be—and be involved. Luck is excited about the burgeoning art scene and thinks the galleries are top-notch.
Market Day, Oil on canvas, 15" x 30" 58 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
happens when I stay with it, until I’m done. During the first few seconds, I don’t know what I’m doing. I throw down an impression, loose little pieces of paints, and at the end it all makes the image.” Luck views color as a language. “I start with the darks, massing in very loose shapes. They keep things quiet and vague, allowing the painting to emerge so when I get to the vivid colors, they really sing,” she says. But tripping the light fantastic is undoubtedly the single most important element of her work. “How the light falls on something, what it does to the shapes and the colors is what’s magical. The light is always moving. The movement of light on an animal gives it energy, a dynamic the viewer becomes engaged with,” she explains. Painting trips with other artists inspire Luck. “I love to pack up my paintbox and travel, especially with other painters,” she notes. “It feeds me, and I learn so much from each one. Whether it’s great artist/teachers such as Quang Ho, Ron Hicks, and Nancy Guzick or local friends, these experiences further the wonderful journey I am on of learning and evolving.” Her artistic goal is to be really proud of her work and to hang next to the people she admires most in the country. “Quang Ho is my most favorite artist on all levels. We paint together in Denver. He is a genius intellectually—the way he talks about art, approaches teaching, his style . . . I love everything he does. When he asks me to trade a painting with him I’ll be happy,” she laughs. Musée d'Orsay, Oil on canvas, 14" x 11"
Helli Luck is represented by Bennett Galleries and Imagine Gallery. She has a show opening at Two Moon Gallery on February 14. www.bennettgalleriesnashville.com www.helliluckfineart.com www.imagine-gallery.net www.twomoongallery.com
End of the Day, Oil on canvas, 24" x 18"
The experiences of global foxtrotting leave their indelible fingerprints all over Luck’s paintings. Whether showing a misty-morning London streetscape or a group of thundering steeplechase horses, Luck’s pieces are imbued with an aesthetic energy and straightforward imagery. Painting is a singular pursuit for Luck. “I stick with one and see it to the end,” she says. “I can’t wait to see what
Parasol, Oil on canvas, 24" x 30" NashvilleArts.com
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a monthly guide to art education photo: nashville children's theatre
State of the Arts by Jennifer Cole, Executive Director at Metro Nashville Arts Commission
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photo: jerry atnip
hink back to 7th grade. No, really. Think of the mix of emotion, pressure, hormones, and confusion that tumbles in the mind of the average 13 year old. My recollection of that time is a blur of Duran Duran, my Van’s shoe collection, my crush on Michael J. Fox, and an overwhelming fear of gym class. Researchers the world over have identified the transition from elementary to middle grades as one of the most critical for students academically and socially. For those students who lack financial or language resources, this transition is even tougher. I can’t imagine getting to high school without great parents, teachers and constant support—a reality that simply doesn’t exist for thousands of students in our city. Three years ago, Mayor Dean launched the Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA), a network of high-quality after-school programs that provides structured tutoring and quality enrichment programs from 3 to 6 p.m. for those students most at risk of not making the transition. One of the goals of NAZA is to leverage the resources of community groups to provide quality programming for students that expands their connection to caring adults and their understanding of the world around them. For the last two years, Metro Arts has targeted dollars designed to link qualified artists of all backgrounds—dance, theatre, spoken word, visual—to students in NAZA. The grants range in size from $3,000 to $5,000. The idea is simple. Expose students to professional artists. Have them practice or create their own works of art. Have them perform or show those works to peers, parents, and other community supports. Build their confidence. Build their creative practice. Create connections to others. Create connections within themselves.
Mural at Cameron Middle School
ArtSmart is sponsored by the Ayers Foundation and FirstBank. www.firstbankonline.com www.theayersfoundation.org
Nashville Children’s Theatre Girls Inc program
Mural at McMurray Middle School
The grant-making program builds internal elasticity within kids by building confidence and competence through targeted arts education. What’s more, it allows arts organizations to re-imagine how their traditional field trip-based or in-school programming might meet a more pressing need in the after-school space. I’ve seen local artists blossom with a whole new audience for their work. In the last two years, I’ve seen art shows, culinary exhibits, an integrated personal theatrical and dance performance. I’ve seen students on the autism spectrum light up and create new ways of communicating on stage. I’ve heard students who are struggling to learn English utter some of the most beautiful and devastating spoken word pieces. I’ve seen moms, aunts, and grandmas come out to see their student perform publicly for the first time, ever. What I think every time I talk to the NAZA art students is this: they are safe, they are learning, they are really excited about art! That little bit of excitement and support and coaching might just be the ticket to keeping them in school and in the community. Right now, more than 900 students participate in NAZA, but far more are in parochial, faithbased, and community after-school programs. For these students art should be a necessary part of the journey, not just through school but through life. As you think about opportunities to give back, consider volunteering as a teaching artist after school. Consider donating supplies to organizations that teach after school, or simply come out to the next school arts showcase. Think back to 7th grade. Really. Now think about your journey without the arts and act. To find out more about NAZA and how you can volunteer: www.nashvillez.org. To learn more about Metro Arts After-School Arts grants, contact Leigh Patton, http://bit.ly/grantsinfo14.
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The Gordon Jewish Community Center Adult Art Classes
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dults and teens wishing to continue their art education should definitely check out the expanded offerings at the Gordon Jewish Community Center. Classes will be small and intimate and are meant to provide an experience that is both educational and enjoyable. Fees are modest, and all instructors are experts in their fields. Advance reservations are required, so you’ll want to go ahead and sign up now. Here’s what’s coming up.
Oil Painting for All Levels
Thursdays, Monthly Sessions, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The class includes instruction in painting and drawing. Instructor: Rhonda Wernick, Professional Artist
Cocktails and Canvas
photo: Susan Walker
Monday, February 4, 7 to 9 p.m. Sip and paint with friends. You’ll paint your own version of an original painting by professional artist and instructor Rhonda Wernick.
Kim Phillips, Big h, Hand-cut from archival-quality paper, with handmade accent paper, 8” x 8”
Papercutting Art Workshop
Sunday, February 17, 1 to 5 p.m. The art of papercutting dates back to at least the sixth century in China. Join artist and teacher Kim Phillips for an afternoon and learn to make cut-paper art.
Art Studio Tour & Demonstration at Evamarie and Gary Oglander’s
Friday, February 22, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Enjoy tours and demonstrations with clay artist Evamarie and painter Gary. They will show how they produce their outstanding pieces and answer questions.
“Everyone Has a Story and a Legacy. What’s Yours?”
Tuesdays: February 12 & 26, March 12, April 9 & 23, May 14 & 28, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Learn how to share your stories in writing or on video. Instructor: Molly Secours, founder of Lasting Legacies Video and One Woman Show Productions. For more information and to make reservations visit www.nashvillejcc.org.
Artist and instructor Rhonda Polen Wernick, Sun Kissed Petals, Mixed media, oil on wood and canvas, 38" x 48"
Gallery Tour of Judaic and Netsuke Art, the Fox Collection Friday, February 8, 1 to 2 p.m. Visit and enjoy the Netsuke and Judaic collection. Docent: Gil Fox, art collector
Mosaic Stepping Stone Workshop
Join world-renowned mosaic tile artist Sherri Warner Hunter and produce a family or individual masterpiece. The class will include her expert instruction and all materials. If you are interested in this class, please email meryl@nashvillejcc.org.
Gary Oglander, Tropicalia, Acrylic, 45" x 60”
NashvilleArts.com
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New Visions: Young Tennessee Artists at the Frist Center by Dee Gee Lester
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ust when we think our kids aren't paying attention, aren't taking time from their smartphones and video games to notice the important details of life around them, they amaze us. They demonstrate a breadth of interest and a depth of awareness that awaken us to aspects of the world that we had failed to see or consider. This is the power of art in the creative hands and eyes of Young Tennessee Artists: 2012 Statewide Upper-Level Studio Art, currently on exhibit (through April 21, 2013) in the Conte Community Arts Gallery at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. This, the fourth biennial exhibition, attracted submissions from high school students across the state. Guided and encouraged by their teachers in Advanced Placement® and International Baccalaureate®* studio art classes, students created works reflecting a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, photography, and mixedmedia. A committee comprised of Mark Scala (chief curator, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts), Brady Haston (associate professor of art, Watkins College of Art, Design & Film), and Sisavanh PhouthavongHoughton (associate professor of studio arts, Middle Tennessee State University) selected thirty-four works from over 800 submissions. Prowling the gallery, we encounter thirtyfour unique artistic voices, demonstrating remarkable insight and artistic development. Without a word, they engage us in visual dialogue, reflecting the emerging stories of their Gabe Diaz-Barriga, Tropical Island, 2012, lives and showing a selfDigital print, 7 1/4" x 10 3/4" awareness and growing confidence. Each of these submissions is part of a body of work that was developed over the academic year and incorporated into a personal art portfolio. In addition to individual submissions to the Young Tennessee Artists exhibit, students Emma Kimbrough, Great Grandparents, 2012, Drypoint engraving on paper, 8" x 11" could also submit their portfolios to AP College Board or IB examiners for review and possible college credit.
Relationships and personal reflection are embraced by Emma Kimbrough in a touching tribute entitled Great-Grandparents. Drypoint engraving became her chosen method for capturing the various markers of age in detail. Her artist text reinforces the poetry of the work: Rashidat Momoh, Kitchen Appliances, 2012, “Every wrinkle and Charcoal on paper, 18" x 24" sunspot is a dog-eared page in a book that is their aging bodies, and I think the piece reflects that.” In contrast, Arlington High School student Rashidat Momoh engages the viewer and challenges our concept of the ordinary in Kitchen Appliances. With a charcoal-on-paper work so precise that it resembles a photograph, Rashidat “wanted to focus on the form and value of the appliances to make them look real. I chose the checkered cloth as the background because the patterns in the reflections of the appliances are interesting.” *Advanced Placement is a trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this exhibition. International Baccalaureate is a registered trademark worldwide by the IB Organization, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this exhibition. www.fristcenter.org
Cups of Co-opportunity
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nce again, The Clay Lady® and The Artists Co-op are hosting their Cups of Co-opportunity fundraiser for VSA Tennessee. Choose a handmade cup or mug made by co-op artists, students, and potters from across the state and make a suggested donation of $15. Enjoy free hot beverages, breakfast snacks, and live music by VSA. Visit the artists’ studios and be there for the gas kiln opening at 8:30 a.m.! According to the Clay Lady, Danielle McDaniel, “This is our favorite community outreach of the year. The past two years we have had over 150 cups to choose from and raised $3,000 for our beloved VSA Tennessee, an international non-profit organization providing and celebrating the power of the arts in the lives of individuals with disabilities.” Cups of Co-opportunity happens Saturday, February 9, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at The Artist Co-op, 1416 Lebanon Pike. 615-242-0346 www.theclaylady.com
Areas of artistic concentration can highlight and explore issues of concern in creative ways. For example, in the digital print Tropical Island, Gabe Diaz-Barriga (Hume Fogg Academic High School) effectively uses a casual photograph of his father and grandfather from a family wedding to insinuate notions of censorship or sinister events and demonstrate the potential power in photo manipulation: “By adding the blurry filter to their faces, it makes it appear as though their conversation is evil.” 62 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Tristan Higginbotham and Jack Prince, Untitled
Kerolos Eskander and Ava Kashani, Untitled
Getting in the Loop: 21st Century Skills at Cheekwood by Dee Gee Lester
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hen the public questions the value of arts education with regard to future employment opportunities for students, take a few moments to consider the in-demand twenty-first-century skill sets. A quick inventory would include creativity/innovation, initiative, collaboration, project management, flexibility, communication, and presentation. All of these skill sets are evident in an exciting arts education project currently on exhibit (through February 10) at Cheekwood’s Frist Learning Center. The brainchild of Karen Kwarciak, School and Outreach Coordinator for Cheekwood, the Loop Project brings together sixteen high school students in the creation of collaborative art.
During his 2012 solo exhibit of an installation piece called Anthology, Kwarciak started working with Hans Schmitt-Matzen, and they talked about his past Loop Series project with Gieves Anderson, a Brooklyn, New York-based photographer. It was then that Kwarciak approached him about doing this type of work with students. The Loop Project is based on the premise of cause and effect as two artists, often working in different locations and in different mediums, alternate working on the same piece. At the first meeting with students at Cheekwood, Schmitt-Matzen Skyped with Anderson as they explained the process of collaborative art making. Students were then paired up, and over the following weeks each paired team worked together, building the piece in a backand-forth rotation, while learning how to open up to the ideas and contributions of their team partner in creating a unified vision. Participating students from Antioch High School included: Liz Savayvongthong, Tristan Higginbotham, Sara Watkins, Angie Gonzalez, Rachel Herbert, Sergio Pacheco, Kerolos Eskander, and Kaila Wells. Participating students from Hillsboro High School included Emma Kimbrough, Emma Rice, Jack Prince, Brissedy Vega, Heather Healy, Ava Kashani, Dani Davilla, and Devon Harmon. www.cheekwood.org
Brissedy Vega and Sara Watkins, Untitled
Heather Healy and Liz Savayvongthong, White Lace and Strange NashvilleArts.com
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FEBRUARY 14 - MARCH 14
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FEBRUARY 15, 5:30 – 7:30 PM Ghost Ballet
3900 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 34 • Nashville, TN 37215 • 615-739-6573 • info@lequireandcompany.com
Photo: Jimmy Abegg
artist profile
Molly Ledbetter
Intersection of Loss and Beauty by Beth Raebeck Hall
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s a little girl, artist Molly Ledbetter was always messy. Frequently, she could be found with green paint or food in her hair. Today, this well-educated and well-travelled young woman is happiest working on a tactile level—when she is covered in paint.
Ledbetter’s paintings are filled with bright color, something she admits being drawn to. A capricious spirit imbues each work, letting the viewer know the artist does not take herself too seriously. “I like to indulge in the visceral quality of the paint. Through the physicality of painting, the actual work comes to fruition when it is reduced to the basic elements,” she says. According to Ledbetter, the work captures one moment in time. “If the viewer responds to that moment, then I feel I have been successful,” she adds. 66 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
are all likely to be found in her work. Upon completion, she feels it vital to take each work out of the studio and let it sit. After an indeterminate amount of time, the painting will dictate if it is finished or not. Ledbetter immerses herself in the art of today. She is a fan of many contemporary artists, especially Amy Sillman. “She says that you should do two things at once: what you do and what you don’t do. My work is about exploring that point of intersection.” Looking towards the future, where might that point of intersection occur for Ledbetter? “I am looking forward to putting myself right in the center of conversation about contemporary art,” she says with a laugh. For more information visit www.mollyledbetter.com.
Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, Mixed media on board, 80" x 96"
Currently ensconced in an MFA program at Rutgers, Ledbetter celebrated her thirtieth birthday globe-trotting in preparation for the next phase of artistic pursuit. “I am at a pretty significant point where I feel I am coming into a new level with my work,” she said. Ledbetter is excited about being able to work in a large studio at school. She plans to expand her scope to include other materials and forms such as sculpture. Here Ledbetter intends to bring her travels, experiences, and education together through her art. She also hopes to illuminate some sort of truth in herself. “I am always doing battle with my paintings,” she says. “I always want to know how far I can push it.” Her unique artistic voice is driven by the belief that one can feel nostalgia for something one never had. For Ledbetter, the physical act of painting ultimately drives the narrative content. “I am compelled by those moments when the head and heart seem to align, when loss (what is lost) becomes beautiful and vice versa,” she explains.
Try Harder, Mixed media on wall, 67" x 72"
Words literally surround Ledbetter when she works. Thoughtprovoking phrases and verbal snippets of her interior dialog are scrawled across every surface of her tiny studio. She admits to constantly thinking of titles. “As I’m painting, titles might be going through my mind. It is the paint and motion that bring a painting to fruition.” At first glance, Ledbetter’s painting could appear simple. However, when one connects the title to the image itself, the true nature of the work emerges and, in some cases, explodes. It’s lovely out in the woods today but safer to stay at home, I wish I was a headlight, grasshopper pie, and goochy goochy are all titles inspired by her psyche and artistic process. For example, Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum (mixed media on board) holds limitless interpretations within its composite of myriad shapes, lines, shades, and hues. That is the beauty of Ledbetter’s creation. As her art moves forward, many new works involve triangles cut by hand. Spray paint, the uses of black light, pastels, and pencils
Dark Hollow, Oil on canvas, 48" x 53"
NashvilleArts.com
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Ken Walls
The Way It Was by Daniel Tidwell
photo: amy walls
Farmer Tan Chic, 2011, Oil on panel, 48" x 72"
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conic American signage lives on in the recent work of Ken Walls, whose paintings preserve the rapidly disappearing landscape of roadside signage and neon marquees that reached their peak during the ’50s and ’60s and helped define the Route 66 aesthetic that has a permanent place in the collective consciousness of American pop culture. Walls’ own interest in this imagery was sparked during childhood
family vacations through the heartland and was rekindled during a post-Katrina trip to New Orleans. While there he realized that many of these pop treasures were “in danger of disappearing forever, not only from New Orleans but from other cities and towns and from memory as well. So I felt compelled to commit them to canvas. I guess you could say I’m part historian and part preservationist.” 68 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Sleep in a Wigwam, 2011, Oil on panel, 48" x 36"
of photorealist painters such as John Baeder, Robert Bechtle, and Richard Estes are also readily apparent. Walls also admires Nashvillebased artist John Jackson for his “realist approach to communication” and Randy Purcell “for his approach to memory.” Walls has always been a figurative artist but has only recently begun to explore a range of emotions in his work. The street-level view of signs that Walls employs plays a key role in making his paintings so instantaneously recognizable to viewers. “I approach subjects just as other people would see them in a daily encounter, street level, looking up . . . just as they have always been viewed,” says the artist. In Walls’ aesthetic, thematic subjects take precedence over formal concerns. “I paint what I feel compelled to paint,” says Walls. Through this intuitive approach, he has realized just how critical the idea of “shared memory” is to his work. Through his depictions of neon and roadside signage Walls hopes to touch his audience in unpredictable and intangible ways, opening the door for viewers to bring their own personal experiences to his paintings. Ken Walls is represented by Picture This Gallery. His work will be featured at Picture This in the Arcade during the Downtown First Saturday Art Crawl in February and October. Throughout the month of February his paintings will be on view at Picture This in Hermitage, 4674 Lebanon Pike. www.picturethis-gallery.com www.kenwallsart.com
No More Joy, 2010, Oil on panel, 72" x 48"
The retro images in Walls’ work resonate on many levels, and the artist soon realized that his paintings needed little interpretation but “were speaking for themselves through the shared memories of those who viewed them.”
Walls has found that his paintings “take on a life of their own, as viewers recount their experiences . . . turning images of vacant theaters, rusting marquees, and broken tubing” back into “vibrant, glowing spaces” in the “hearts and minds of those who have spent time in these grand places.”
Closed for the Season, 2010, Oil on panel, 36" x 48"
Walls’ painting of the Joy Theater in New Orleans is an image that holds particularly rich memories for many, resulting in a fertile dialogue between the artist and his audience. “One woman told how her mother worked at the Joy during her youth and how she would spend weekend matinees in the cool of the airconditioned interior with unlimited Coke and popcorn. Another gentleman, a member of a Nashville-based band, identified the Joy in my painting and told how he participated in a photo shoot in the Joy's darkened interior.” Through conversations such as these Walls’ paintings are resulting in what could be described as an impromptu oral history of these vanishing landmarks. Edward Hopper and his depictions of the growing isolation of Americans during the first half of the twentieth century is one of Walls’ major influences. The subjects and techniques
Ginger Mint Julep, 2012, Acrylic on panel, 36" x 40"
NashvilleArts.com
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Ev NiEwoEhNEr Painter of Music
Rosemary Frank
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specs opTical
The Mall at Green Hills Cuban Spice, oil, 36x36
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First Saturday Art Crawl
Picture This on 5th, #44 Downtown Arcade
February 2 • 6PM to 9PM
Vacancy: New Works by Ken Walls
4674 Lebanon Pike, Hermitage • 615-889-5640 • www.picturethis-gallery.com
jewelry
The Stones Align for
Randi Williams by Karen Parr-Moody | photography by Jerry Atnip
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xactly 203 Burma ruby beads slip through Randi Williams’ fingers, each one glistening with the clear, claret hue of a pomegranate seed.
The three-strand necklace they comprise is deemed, in the parlance of the upscale jewelry world, “highly important.”
Each of the rubies is separated, discretely, with one of 200 faceted diamond rondelles. A white gold clasp holds the stones together, its geometric shape encrusted with two cabochon rubies and a smattering of diamonds. The sheer volume of stones is breathtaking. And yet the stones’ cut and the
Spectacular Art Deco Brooch (French, ca. 1930), 51mm x 37mm, Burmese ruby and diamond in platinum
clockwise from left: Art Deco Fringe Pendant (American, ca. 1920-25), Diamond and platinum, drop 88mm x 39mm Art Moderne Ring (American, ca. 1935-40), an old European-cut diamond of approximately 7 cts., accented by baguette diamonds, in platinum Burma Ruby Necklace, contemporary necklace comprised of "old material" Burmese ruby beads (ca. 1920), alternating with faceted diamond beads, with a vintage ruby, diamond and 18k white gold clasp, 609.6mm Aquatic Flower Brooch by Jean Schlumberger (French, ca. 1950), fancy-colored & white diamonds in 18k gold, 43mm x 40mm
necklace’s setting are refined. If the rubies were faceted or the diamonds more prominently placed, the piece would possess a louder soul. And Williams wouldn’t hold it as lovingly. Williams’ passion for jewelry goes beyond mere carat weight. Instead, hers is a love for the artistic, esoteric pieces whose worth is greater than that of their raw materials. “The value of the piece is in the success of the design,” she says. Williams specializes in fine period jewelry—she favors Art Deco and Art Moderne—at Williams Galleries in Green Hills, which she operates with her husband, art dealer Jim Williams. Her customer is specific: that rare person who has as much taste as money. One might expect to find a certain type of woman among the diamonds and rubies at Williams Galleries—perhaps a Southern belle with a butter-blonde mane and an air of slight remove. Instead, one finds the downtown cool that is Williams. It is the weekend and Williams stands before a glass case, her lithe frame layered in black: a blazer with leather lapels, a semitransparent shirt and a Nina Ricci skirt with an asymmetrical zipper slashed across the front. Her black hair is tousled, sexily, into a partial ponytail.
“It’s the only sore subject between me and my darling husband,” she says of a shopping habit honed at H. Audrey and Nordstrom. Her ensemble is topped by an Art Deco onyx and diamond bracelet and matching ring. Around her neck is the pièce de résistance: a strand of diamonds—about 54 carats—that look as appropriate at 10 a.m. on a Saturday as they would at an evening gala. “It’s a lot of diamond weight, obviously,” she says. “But the design allows it to work in any number of different ways, casual or dressy.” As she pulls out tray after black velvet tray of dazzling pieces, Williams rattles off the names of famous houses and designers that regularly appear in her collection. Many hail from France, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, LaCloche Freres, Boivin, Fouquet, Belperron, Boucheron, Chaumet, Schlumberger, and Mauboussin. In one tray, a diamond Cartier bracelet from 1931 is graced by an emerald, ruby, and sapphire cut in the cabochon style, a particularly European touch. In another, an Art Deco emerald and diamond bracelet from 1935 possesses a deeply sculptural form. “It never looks dated,” Williams says of Art Deco and Art Moderne. “It was made by jewelers and artists who were cognizant of the fact that they were breaking from tradition. They set out to make eye-catching pieces.”
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Gusts of fresh air blew through the doors of venerable jewelry houses during the ’20s, ’30s, and early ’40s when the Art Deco and Art Moderne movements influenced design. Antiquity joined modernity to inspire the resulting jewelry. In 1922 the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb popularized the ziggurat, a stepped pyramid design that became an Art Deco trademark. Speeding cars, planes, and trains crisscrossed the earth, inspiring Art Moderne’s sweeping curves. Platinum became designers’ metal of choice. Original fans of Art Deco and Art Moderne jewelry were an “artistic crowd . . . a bohemian crowd,” Williams says. “It really wasn’t about the money,” she explains. “It was about style. And that holds true today. When they were first made, these pieces were made for the same clientele I sell to now: educated, well-traveled, artistic, sophisticated.” Jewelry designers of the period playfully blended precious gems with materials of less intrinsic value, such as enamel. “Their motivation was not to get the highest carat weight they could cram into a brooch,” Williams explains. “It was to make a brooch that was exciting to look at.”
center: "Atomic" Day/Night Earclips by David Webb (American, ca. 1950), Diamond and platinum, 76.2mm x 25.4mm Art Moderne Necklace by Chaumet (French, ca. 1935), Diamond and platinum, 390mm x 19mm
Originally from Long Island, Williams studied film production at Rhode Island School of Design. She spent the early portion of her career as a set decorator on Broadway then segued into dealing in Arts and Crafts furniture and collectible Mexican silver. It was her husband who convinced her to take the leap into a world where a period Art Deco Cartier watch can sell for $65,000—and a “highly important” ruby necklace can sell for much, much more. The places where Williams searches for period jewelry—“Geneva, Monte Carlo, London, and, of course, Paris”—are the same spots where tastemakers first wore Art Deco and Art Moderne jewelry with their haute couture. The Europeans who also seek and sell such period jewelry there, she notes, are typically third- or fourth-generation dealers. “I’m proud of the fact that within a very short period of time—fifteen years—I’ve been accepted into that group,” she says. Williams can easily explain the origins of any piece. The beads of the ruby necklace, for example, were cut sometime in the early twentieth century “when the famous mines in Burma were quite active,” she says. The diamond clasp dates to the 1950s or 1960s. And the faceted diamond rondelles were added recently, when the necklace was re-strung. “It never gets old; it never gets tired,” she says of her work. “It gets my heart pounding every time I see something fabulous.” Williams American Art Gallery is located in Green Hills, 4119 Hillsboro Road. www.williamsamericanart.com/home.cfm Architectural Art Deco Bracelet (French, ca. 1935), Diamond and emerald in platinum, 195mm x 30mm Art Deco Wrist Watch, by Cartier Paris (French, ca. 1918) Diamond, onyx and platinum
Art Deco "Sunburst" Bracelet (American, ca. 1930), Diamond and platinum, 186mm x 24mm NashvilleArts.com
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Every First Friday... Friday, February 1, 6-9 p.m. More than 30 galleries and working studios in a 15-block area, featuring artists at work, live music, wine and more! There’s no cost to attend, but a $5 wristband provides unlimited transportation on trolleys circulating during the event.
Jose Santisteban
A L L
T H E
B E S T
I N
Painted Barn & Co.
Ken Walls
Event & Interior Styling
www.paintedbarnandco.com
Shell Powers & Laurie Cooper 615.886.8152
Franklin Art Scene
F I N E
J E W E L RY
5 1 0 1 H a r d i n g R o a d N a s h v i l l e , Te n n e s s e e 3 7 2 0 5 6 1 5 . 3 5 3 . 1 8 2 3
Josephine Getz
www.FranklinArtScene.com Sponsored By:
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Owners
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photography
Hunter Armistead's New Photographic Series Explores the Undomestication of Women
Kicking Down the Kitchen Door
Maybe You Should Wait with Mia McMahan "I don't think now is a good time . . . to make any advances." My idea. – HA
by Alyssa Raybun
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he profile of a young woman whose porcelain skin is pierced by a pencilthin ring holds sharpened nails between her lips like missiles ready for firing. This fierce image is part of commercial and fine art photographer Hunter
Armistead’s Undomestication of Women conceptual portrait series which encourages women to “kick down the kitchen door.” Armistead, whose photographs are printed in publications from The New York Times to The Huffington Post, collaborates with local women, and together they address the question, “How do we express female empowerment in the face of expiring maxims like ‘a woman’s place is in the kitchen’?” The result is a clever series where image, title, and prop weave a social commentary that incorporates humor with a fresh look at femininity. Armistead describes the series saying, “Even though women are becoming more equal in the Animal Farm sense of the phrase, there are still vast social and economic inequalities between men and women. In this series I am working alongside women to stylistically blend symbols of domestication with elements of strength to capture the essence of ‘undomestication’.”
Armistead juxtaposes objects like brooms and irons, traditionally used in domestic settings to reinforce subjugating gender roles, into settings that scream “I am woman, hear me roar!” Pumping Iron with Jennifer Morrison The piece itself is a takeoff on Winged Victory, the classic statue of power and femininity in the Louvre. – HA
From a German housewife posed as a huntress with a broom as a spear to a woman with arms spread like an angel standing on her ironing board with irons for wings, the imagery is striking and the message clear—within the entire ideological superstructure that reinforces the fiction that the woman’s place is in the home, there is room for protest. NashvilleArts.com
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Power V. with Voodoo Valentine A chef by day, Voodoo brought the cleaver. We cut the background on the spot. – HA
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Eek. A Mouse with Maisie McInerney Maisie is a very smart girl, a very inspirational 18 year old. She loves cats. I love Maisie. – HA
Sue Lou with Nadine Bracht Mostly Nadine's idea. She's German, is wearing a German housedress: Broom Hilde. – HA
The Undomestication of Women Title also plays an important role in the series. Pointing at the image titled Pumping Iron, Armistead jokes that every piece has “some combination of irony.” In this particular piece, which is a collaboration with musician and model Jennifer Morrison, the title Pumping Iron is a play on the classic bodybuilding movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The piece itself is a takeoff on Winged Victory, which is the classic representation of femininity and strength housed in the permanent collection at the Louvre. Armistead is successful in blending lighthearted humor with a thoughtful focus to round out the series.
Take My Order, Sir with Amber Williams Chapman She brought the props. I posed her. – HA
Model and collaborating artist Ivalee Pitts worked closely with Armistead to connect concept with finished product. She describes the importance of the term undomestication, defining it as “the courageous act of breaking free from the emotional and/or physical bonds from individuals and/or society . . . the ability to demand respect, think for myself, protect myself, and express all of the beauty, love, and strength in my heart as I see fit.” For more information, visit www.hunterarmistead.com or E.T. Burk Furniture Gallery located in the Gulch.
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 77
NeLLie Jo ...is art!
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78 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
The FACTORY S H O P,
AT FR ANKLIN
D I N E
&
U N W I N D
KURT ELLING Q UINTET LIVE at Liberty Hall
February 15 • 8pm
THE FACTORY AT FRANKLIN
Imagine gallery +
academy
Camille Engel, Titmouse
On Sale Now at www.Etix.com Charge by phone: 800-514-3849
Reality Unexpected Opening Feb 28 | 6-8:30PM
615.794.7997 | www.imagine-gallery.net
M A NC U S O E N T E RTA I N M E N T, L L C
Every Day is a Fashion Show and The World is Your Runway.
THE HISTORICAL FACTORY MALL BUILDING 11 230 Franklin Road Franklin, TN
615.595.2020
M-Th 10-5 | F-Sat 10-6 | Closed Sunday
& The Factory
Abide Studio • Act Too Players • Advantage Model & Talent • Always In Bloom • Amish Excellence • Annette Charles Fashion Boutique • Antiques at the Factory Art Row at The Factory • Artisan Guitars • Boiler Room Theater • Boxwood Bistro • Constant Craving Caterers • Dave’s Barber Shop • Embroid Street • Essy’s Rug Gallery Fancy Vents • Franklin Farmers’ Market • The Glass Touch • Gro-Nails • Gulf Pride Seafood • Happy Tales Humane • Imagine, Fine Art Gallery • ISI Defensive Driving J. Chastain Photo • J Kelley Studios • Jeremy Cowart Photography • Journey Church • Little Cottage Toys • Little Cottage Children’s Shop • Liz & Bella Gift Shoppe Mark Casserly Architectural Woodworking • Music City Dog House • Nature’s Art • Nature’s Greenlife • O’More College • Robinson Taekwondo Academy Saffire Second Impressions Clothing • South Branch Nursery • Southgate Studio & Fine Art • Springtree Media Group • Stoveworks • Stonebridge Gallery • The Sweet Shoppe Tala Jewelry • Third Coast Clay • Timberwolf Designs • Times Past & Present • The Viking Store • Vintage Remedies • Tuscan Iron Entries • Wedding 101
www.factoryatfranklin.com |
230 FR AN KLIN ROAD NashvilleArts.com
|
615.791.1777 February 2O13 | 79
photo: John Guider
pottery
Feeling both rejuvenated and present, Grace reenergized and redirected her efforts to crafting pottery. She secured a pottery studio in an artist's co-op and started building inventory with new pieces touching upon themes close to her heart, such as growth, freedom, peace, and rest. With little formal training, Grace relied on blending technique she picked up in local, community classes with her self-taught methods. “By combining my personal style of etching and carving with traditional and slip-resist raku, I created a look that is totally unique, totally me. Melodie Grace Pottery was born.”
Melodie Grace
Raku to You! by Alyssa Raybun
I
n 2011, Melodie Grace began to experience what she calls “divine discontent.” After ten years in fast-paced sales
roles, she “felt a calling to do something different.” Little over a year later, Grace has established herself in Nashville as a dazzling potter, best recognized for her hand-carved and slip-resist raku fired pieces. Grace is a spiritual, kindred spirit. In a sing-songy tone, she tells of her bold lifestyle transformation: “Armed with fierce faith and determination, lots of ideas, and a bit of savings, I set out to pursue my heart’s desire of becoming a potter.” First item on the agenda— clear the agenda. Grace set out to make a gradual, natural shift by immersing herself in a six-month rest and rebirth. “I took walks, slept, met friends for conversation, read, took pottery classes, spent time with family . . . I was learning to be still again,” says Grace. Following this restoration period, she experienced “a fog being lifted.” She appreciated this time and space as a transition from “human doing to human being.”
Due to the unpredictability of crackle and smoke patterns in raku, Grace refers to these as “kiln magic.” Slip resist is a raku technique in which slip and glaze are applied to a bisque fired piece before the raku firing. When removed from the kiln at peak temperature, the slip and glaze shrink and crack, smoke traps in them and in the etchings, allowing fascinating and irregular smoke patterns to develop from the post-firing reduction. The final piece has no glaze but is left with only the smoked pattern. Grace describes the irregularity of this process, saying, “This technique is challenging and risky. Taking a piece out of the kiln at over 1,300 degrees creates thermal shock and is asking a lot of a piece of pottery, but the results are worth it. In my pieces you'll find the clean and controlled combined with the raw and rustic. The piece will become what it becomes.” Grace’s pieces include hand carving and a selection of black-andwhite silhouetted images. Three black birds sitting on a curved wire are silhouetted against a white milieu vase, or deeply carved layers jut from a vessels surface. Grace’s visual talent was honed throughout her life and experience, and the motifs she creates reflect inspiration gathered from various corners of the world. “Whether it's from the jade markets of Burma, the beaches of the Caribbean, or the exposed rock cliffs of Tennessee, my work echoes my affection for natural beauty,” says Grace. With just over a year under her belt, Grace has certainly made a name for herself as a gifted potter. Honored with “Best New Exhibitor” at the 2012 Tennessee Association of Craft Artists (TACA) Spring Craft Fair and showing work at notable gallery spaces including Art & Invention Gallery, The Clay Lady, LeQuire & Company, and The Copper Fox, she describes her fresh lifestyle by saying, “I am abundantly blessed. I am thrilled and grateful to make a living doing what I love.” For more information visit www.melodiegrace.com.
80 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
photo: Jerry atnip
photo: Jerry atnip
photo: Jerry atnip
photo: Jerry atnip
Boon
Gina
Untitled
Midge
“
By combining my personal style of etching and carving with traditional and slip-resist raku, I created a look that is totally unique, totally me.
Fiero
photo: Jerry atnip
photo: Jerry atnip
photo: Stacey Huckeba
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Alice NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 81
theatre
David Compton, Mr. Versatile by Jim Reyland hen I called David Compton last year to talk about directing my new play STAND for Writer’s Stage, I’m not sure how he got to his cell phone.
photo: Harry Butler
W
I’m pretty sure he was working in hundred-degree heat, wearing a protective suit in someone’s attic. He’s an actor after all, and actors survive doing whatever they can do between roles.
photo: Harry Butler
Since re-entering the performance world, David has accumulated an impressive list of starring rolls with Tennessee Rep and other theatres in town including Nashville Children’s Theatre, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, and Blackbird Theatre. You’ve seen him on the Rep stage in A Christmas Story (three years running now), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, To Kill a Mockingbird, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Superior Donuts, where he and Brian Russell staged possibly the best fight scene ever endured on a Nashville stage, expertly choreographed by Eric Pasto-Crosby. David has also collected hardware as Best Actor, Tennessean Toast of Music City Awards (2012), Best Ensemble for Superior Donuts, Nashville Scene Best of Nashville (2012), and Best Actor, Nashville Scene Best of Nashville (2011).
A Christmas Story, Jamie Farmer and David Compton 82 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
To Kill a Mockingbird, Matthew Carlton, David Compton, and Bobby Wyckoff photo: Harry Butler
David Compton, a child of the ’60s, is the youngest of four children, his mom a nurse and active in community theatre, his dad a businessman. “Growing up in Badin, North Carolina, was like Mayberry. Still to this day there is no stoplight.” David graduated from North Stanly High School, was the drum major, voted most school spirited, and then worked as a projectionist before graduating from UNC-Greensboro with a BFA in acting. David moved to Nashville in the ’80s and was a resident actor at Nashville Children’s Theatre while he worked as a bartender, waiter, dishwasher, painter, plumber, carpenter, and grass cutter, which brings us back to the attic. “I gave up acting to be an ‘adult’ and was a high school drama teacher for eight years . . . It practically killed me.”
Glengarry Glen Ross, David Compton, Henry Haggard
“
photo: Britanie Knapp
I have known David for an unspeakably long time and can think of few actors that possess the talent, versatility, and fearlessness that David Compton does on stage. Nashville audiences are in for a surprise, I think, to see the unique sensibility David will bring to this classic musical.
”
Superior Donuts, Brandon Hirsch, Joe Robinson, David Compton
This Valentines Day we’re all invited to the Kit Kat Klub as emcee David Compton leads an all-star cast in the Tennessee Rep’s production of Cabaret. “I didn't see myself in the role at first because of my age, and it is way out of my comfort zone . . . which makes playing the role a good thing because I love challenges and growth as an actor.” Joining David is Jenny Littleton as Sally, along with Mike Baum, Vanessa Callahan, Ruth Cordell, Marin Miller, B.J. Rowell, Patrick Waller, Derek Whittaker, and Martha Wilkinson. Cabaret is directed by René D. Copeland, co-directed by Martha Wilkinson, musically directed by Paul Carrol Binkley, and choreographed by Pam Atha. It is dedication to the craft that makes an artist special. It was a wonderful experience working with David on STAND. His versatility is amazing. He’ll create your character, direct your play, build your set, and sweep up. I encourage you to attend Tennessee Rep’s production of Cabaret and find out if David can dance too. Previews of Cabaret are February 14–15, performances February 16–March 9 at the Andrew Johnson Theater, TPAC. Tickets starting at $42.50 at www.tennesseerep.org, by calling 615782-4040, or by visiting the TPAC box office. Of course, cabaret tables are also available. Appropriate audience is high school age and older.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, David Compton and Amanda Card
Singing Cats! No, it’s not the newest YouTube sensation. It’s Street Theatre Company’s presentation of the Broadway smash hit Cats for a one-weekend In Concert performance. It’s the first of its two 2013 In Concert productions. The musical Cats is based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. A show without a book makes for a perfect concert-style performance, and the classic “Memory” is worth the price of admission. At each performance, Nashville Cat Rescue will have cats available for adoption, and thanks to partnerships with the Nashville Humane Association and Pet Community Center, there will also be information on other pet resources. Cats In Concert runs February 20–24 for six performances only. Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for students and seniors. For specific show information and to purchase tickets, visit www.streettheatrecompany.org. Performances are at Street Theatre, 1933 Elm Hill Pike, just off Briley Parkway. For more information, call 615-554-7414. photo: Heavenly Perspective Photography
photo: Harry Butler
– René D. Copeland, Director, Cabaret
Cats, Michael Kitts, Mallory Gleason, Shawn Lewis, Monykah Tyson, Tyler Evick; front: Meciah Powell Jim Reyland is the owner of Audio Productions, a production facility in Nashville, and is the artistic director of Writer’s Stage Theatre. His new play, Used Cows for Sale, and a new musical, I’ll Take the Crowd, are currently in development. jreyland@audioproductions.com
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 83
beyond words by Marshall Chapman
Photo: Anthony Scarlati
Hold on Tight to Your Dream! Y
ears ago, back when my rock & roll star was on the rise, I happened to be in New York at the same time as my father and my Uncle Marshall. They were
there on business (textiles). I was there on business of a different sort—music. They were staying at the staid University Club in Midtown. I was ensconced at the Gramercy Park Hotel downtown, where my record company had arranged for me to meet with potential managers. Faced with a rare night off, I was pleased when my father and uncle offered to take me to dinner. The University Club was out, since women weren't allowed in the dining room. So my father suggested 21 [Club]. Fearing my skintight faded jeans, white jazz oxfords, and flowing scarves might set off 21's dress-code alarm, I made a counteroffer. "Why don't y'all grab a cab and meet me downtown. Alberta Hunter's singing at The Cookery. We can have dinner and catch the show." To their credit, they agreed, though neither had heard of Ms. Hunter, nor The Cookery, for that matter. My reasons for suggesting The Cookery weren't entirely culinary. But first, some background:
Alberta Hunter (1895–1984) was a world-renowned jazz and blues singer who made her mark in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. In 1954, following the death of her mother, she abandoned music to become a nurse. Decades later (1977), she was forced to retire after it was discovered she was years past retirement age. (She had lied about her age to get in nursing school.) As might be expected, she became bored. Soon friends conspired to land her a gig singing at The Cookery. Her performances became wildly popular. Legendary producer John Hammond (who discovered Bob Dylan) signed her to Columbia Records. Her 1978 album, Remember My Name, had just been released when I met my father and uncle at The Cookery. In short, Ms. Hunter's performance blew them away. "What'd you think?" I asked after the show. "Oh my goodness, that was GREAT!" my uncle gushed. My father couldn't stop smiling. "Well, you know," I said, shifting my gaze to my father, "if I'm lucky, that's what I'll be doing when I'm eighty-three.” Not a word was ever spoken again about my moving back to South Carolina. www.tallgirl.com
PHOTO: JERRY ATNIP
My father had always had ambivalent feelings about my being in the music business. He once flew to Nashville to remind me, "Marshall, you said you were going to give this thing two years. Well, it’s been two years. Don't you think it's time you came on home?" It broke my heart to tell him I was staying put.
YEOMAN’S IN THE FORK
A Rare Book & Document Gallery Located in Historic Leiper’s Fork, TN R ARE BOOKS & DOCUMENTS BOUGHT AND SOLD Wednesday thru Saturday 10-5 | Sunday 1-5 4216 Old Hillsboro Road | Franklin, TN ph: 615.983.6460 | fx: 615.515.9060 www.YeomansInTheFork.com
appraise it
Mexican Saltillo Serape, last half nineteenth century I recently visited a home where the owner proudly started sharing her textile collection with me. The opened trunk held many exquisite textiles from around the world. Each was lovely and labor intensive but also difficult to apply anything more than modest value to. However, at the very bottom, under all the rest with about two inches of one edge showing, there laid the subject of this appraisal. It would be easy to imagine the uninformed eye dismissing this blanket as a commonplace souvenir from a trip to Mexico. What I saw was a nineteenth-century Mexican Saltillo serape. The Saltillo serapes of northern Mexico were among the most flamboyant textiles woven in North America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In their time, the period from 1750 to 1850, they were a prestigious symbol worn by Spanish colonial gentlemen. Saltillos were woven all over "New Spain" but they take their generic name from the town of their supposed birthplace, Saltillo, in the present state of Coahuila. The textile took on nationalist overtones after Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. Horse culture and its accoutrements, from fine horse to fine serape, became distinctively Mexican as well as the epitome of male fashion. The prized outer garment could be worn over one shoulder, wrapped and draped like a shawl during the day, or could serve as a blanket at night. A neck slit permitted it to be worn as a poncho. As the Spanish cult of the horse became entrenched in the New World, the serape took on another identity, rolled and tucked behind the saddle.
Linda Dyer serves as an appraiser, broker, and consultant in the field of antiques and fine art. She has appeared on the PBS production Antiques Roadshow since season one, which aired in 1997, as an appraiser of Tribal Arts. If you would like Linda to appraise one of your antiques, please send a clear, detailed image to antiques@ nashvillearts.com. Or send photo to Antiques, Nashville Arts Magazine, 644 West Iris Dr., Nashville, TN 37204.
all Photos: Jerry Atnip
Saltillos were produced by a combination of Spanish and native Indian labor. Woven of cotton and wool in two panels with distinctive design structures, a serape required as much as two years to weave and was an expensive purchase. The unique workmanship of handwoven serapes preserved their high value past the mechanization of wool weaving. They were made by traditional craft as late as 1850. Each Classic Saltillo possesses three distinct elements: the outside border; the field containing either a vertical mosaic, diagonal grid, or a spot repeat; and the all-important center, which contains either a concentric diamond or a scalloped round center. As in this example, Classic Saltillos are woven in stunning spectrums of combined vegetal and other natural dyes in combinations of blue (indigo), red (cochineal) and (Brazil wood) yellow and green.
Note of Interest: I have always been fascinated by how material survives at times and the wonderment of how an object makes its way from point A to point B. A similar Saltillo serape can be found on display at New Orleans Confederate Memorial Hall as part of their “Arms and Equipment of a typical Confederate Cavalryman used in the Civil War...” collection. Their serape may have been collected as spoils of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). That war of two neighbors was not only a defining event for both nations, transforming the North American continent, but it also unknowingly served as the war college for the United States officer corps, as their main preparation for command in the American Civil War. Years later these men, who once fought together against the Mexicans, would become the great commanders of the American Civil War. Leaders such as Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and Stonewall Jackson to mention a few, would find themselves fighting against one another on the battlefields of the War between the States.
Their varied use as garment both in everyday use and on special occasions has meant that surviving examples of these finely woven textiles frequently show some wool loss or damage. While this particular serape, which would not be considered a “Classic” due to the central “aggregate diamond,” the design is the best of type from its time (the second half of the nineteenth century). It is rare to find a Saltillo of this type with all natural dyes so, in my opinion, despite areas of wool loss, this history-laden textile would have an auction estimate of $1,600 to $1,800. This qualifies it as a great parlor find!
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 85
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86 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Critical i by Joe Nolan
I
n his book Catching the Big Fish, director/artist David Lynch addresses the crucial role a space for making plays in the creative process: “This idea comes to you, you can see it, but to accomplish it you need what I call a 'setup.' For example, you may need a
working shop or a working painting studio. You may need a working music studio. Or a computer room where you can write something. It's crucial to have a setup, so that, at any given moment, when you get an idea, you have the place and the tools to make it happen.” Photographer Jerry Park's WorkSpaces: Artists' Studios documents Nashville creative spaces, collecting forty images in a show that spills across two floors of The Arts Company. There is nothing particularly artful in Park's photos—they're detailed documents more than creative snapshots, but that seems to be the point. And it's the questions that these images raise that give the show its appeal: What does this space say about this artist's process? What does that process say about this artist?
Photographer Bill Steber's movable darkroom is Bill Steber a space of a sort but a highly mobile one. Sylvia Hyman's work table is scattered with her trompe l'oeil ceramics, and viewers not in the know would surely mistake the blueprints, baskets, pens, pencils, and sheet music for the things they're pretending to Sylvia Hyman be. Like nearly all of the photographs in the show, the artist isn't pictured in this shot, and Park's photograph feels like a memorial in light of the news of Hyman's passing on December 23, 2012. Jerry Park’s exhibit, Workspaces: Artists’ Studios is on view at The Arts Company. www.theartscompany.com www.jerryparkphotography.com
NashvilleArts.com
February 2O13 | 87
on the town with Ted Clayton
T
raditionally in Nashville January is a slow social month after a year of black-tie and white-tie galas, art events, and charity benefits, plus most of the socials have flown south to homes
With this in mind I thought it would be amusing to find out what comfort foods the socials enjoy when not being seen and heard but at home, maybe in their pjs. Comfort foods are ones, prepared traditionally, that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal or simply provide an easy-to-eat meal rich in calories and high in fat and carbs, thus leaving us with a feeling of well-being. in Naples and Palm Beach, etc.
We socials do love our comfort food. I remember the long lines in the drive-thru at the Belle Meade Krystal early on Sunday mornings after many a Swan Ball evening—an annual social gathering place, Krystal was, and is today. I think they should do an annual "Tails and Gowns" special, LOL. It has been a hoot to talk with many socials about their favorite comfort foods, and I shall share with you. Julie Frist: roasted chicken, spaghetti Bolognese. Joni Werthan Ming Wang: Chinese instant noodles (now that’s a given). Dianne Neal: creamy soup, mushroom, chicken, tomato, and meatloaf. Joni Werthan: banana pudding. Jennifer Frist: spicy chicken wings. Betsy Wills: frozen grapes (I would starve if I lived with Betsy and Ridley). Donna Kestner: mashed potatoes and a 90-minute massage. Mac Pirkle: homemade vegetable soup, pb&j. Laura Allen: Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra ice cream, celery stalks (so do you dip the celery into the ice cream?). Gary Odom: fried chicken, turnip Gary Odom greens, peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Sandra Lipman: twice-baked potato, pimento cheese, caramel cake, and a big ole cheeseburger with grilled onions (now Sandra, from looking at you, you must have eaten these in your dreams!). Bill Knestrick: blueberry cornmeal waffles with grilled spicy chicken sausage and "white trash hash" (yes, that’s my buddy Bill for sure!). Barbara Daane: French fries; Jane Coble: Anna Mary Lenderman's Sandra Lipman pimento cheese. Vicki Horne: chicken spaghetti. J.R. Roper: any Italian food from Sole Mio. Brenda Steakley: homemade beef stew. Kate Grayken: fettuccini Alfredo. Laurie Eskind: mocha almond fudge ice cream, anything with a nut! (I knew I loved Bill Knestrick this gal!). Owen Joyner: waffles, hot oatmeal (wonder if he eats this in his bow ties?). Nancy and Billy Ray Hearn: meatloaf and mashed potatoes with red wine (this is what Billy Ray cooked and served Nancy when he asked her to become Mrs. Hearn). Amos Goss: tomato soup with grilled cheese—nothing better than to dip grilled cheese into the soup (now Amos, we don't dip at the formal parties you create!). Madonna: deep-fried Mars bars and KFC (bet you are wondering how I found that out, aren't you). Julie Boehm: a Krystal alumna after
Brenda Steakley
Kate Grayken
Nancy and Billy Ray Hearn
many balls. Julie Walker: anything Mexican! Sissy Wilson: Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream, has to be right out of the carton! (my kind of gal!). Bill Clinton: greasy jalapeño cheeseburgers with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, pickles, and onions (Madonna told me that, LOL). Shirley Harvey: loaded baked potato. "Actually, I never met a potato I did not like!" Tish: bread pudding (she and Joni could have a pudding fest!). Keith Urban: chocolate (I mentioned to Keith that chocolate has a way of inspiring affection; he smiled). Neil Parrish: overcooked leg of lamb, lots of mint jelly, peppermint ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce (this is a favorite of Neil’s that was always prepared by his mother’s cook, Maggie—I remember those meals!). Sara Bovender: lasagna. Queen Elizabeth: cucumber sandwiches, roast grouse Julie Boehm sprinkled in cornflakes (I did not make this up!). Fletch Foster: "I'm from Kansas,” anything with beef, Fritos and dip. Jason Bradshaw: Waffle House hash browns (Jason, you must really join the socials at Krystal!). Anne Russell: mashed potatoes, “shows my Irish green!” Leigh Hendry: homemade brownies with thick chocolate icing, vanilla ice cream with decaf latte. Frank Sinatra: loved Nancy Sr.'s eggplant parmigiana. Emme Baxter: "Garden Club" vittles—asparagus sandwiches on white bread with homemade mayo, round tomato sandwiches, tiny beaten biscuits with country Keith Urban ham (such a true Southern gal; she should take country ham and have tea with the Queen!). Mary Ruth Shell: fried chicken from Something Special. Demetria Kalodimos: my husband’s pepper and veggie soup, with Spanish wine. OK, the number-one comfort food is mac ‘n’ cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches, chosen by Adam Dread, Sharon Pigott, Phyllis Fridrich, Laura Heatherly, and Grant Smothers (Grant did add that it has to be Velveeta!). FYI, Thomas Jefferson, purportedly a great lover of both cheese and Italian foods, bought macaroni made in Italy and served it with cheese at many of his dinner parties. American cheese melted into a traditional British white sauce over Italian pasta was his favorite comfort food. So now, you ask, what is Ted's favorite comfort food? Well, anything and everything that does Jason Bradshaw Anne Russell not move!
88 | February 2O13 NashvilleArts.com
Don and Anita Baltimore, Ashley and Douglas Henry – Ballet Ball Committee Party
John and Nancy Cheadle – Ballet Ball Committee Party
Vicki Horne and Laurie Eskind – Ballet Ball Committee Party
Morel and Howard Harvey, Patsy Weigel – Ballet Ball Committee Party
The 2013 Ballet Ball will be held on February 1, so you will have to wait till the March issue for coverage of what is always a wonderful, chic party. The Gentlemen's Committee and Table Hosts for the Ballet Ball gathered for quite a festive cocktail party recently at the lovely home of Cathy and Howard McClure, with additional hosts Emily and Lee Noel. All of the Gents committee were present chaired by David Bailey, Chad Greer, Gerry Hayden, and Chris Keaton. Attending without tutus were Marci and Steven Houff, Anita and Don Baltimore, Ashley and Douglas Henry, Patsy and Bob Weigel, Nancy and John Cheadle (John looking quite dapper in a custom suit by yours truly), Laurie Eskind and Vicki Horne, Morel and Howard Harvey (Morel has to be the cutest gal in town!), Lucie and Lucius Carroll. The invitation was hysterical—the four chairmen that I mentioned above all sitting around a poker table with "The Joker" Chris Keaton wearing a pink tutu. It should be quite a ball! Intrigue, romance, crisis, and change took place in the premiere of Season 3 of Downton Abbey. Lady Beth Curley, President and CEO of NPT, welcomed guests for the private viewing of the premiere. Guests attired in vintage clothing had a rather marvelous evening of wine by Vicki Turner, lovely food by Bacon & Caviar, and music by Jim Hoke and the Hot Three. Ladies clad in lace gowns and men in tails and waistcoats were seen
Lee and Emily Noel, Cathy and Howard McLure – Ballet Ball Committee Party
Chris and Gina Keaton, Marci and Stephen Houff – Ballet Ball Committee Party
throughout the studio, which was transformed into the Crawley's fine dining room. Entering NPT from their motor carriages were Mark Lee Taylor and Steve Hyman, Donna and Pickslay Cheek, Sallie Mayne, Daniel Tidwell, Shawn Burkeen, Camille and Charlie Biter (Charlie dressed as if on a grouse hunt), Jennifer Spriggs and Bryan Edwards, Lady Priscilla and Sir Walter Jervey. Lady Priscilla, I thought, was so perfectly dressed in her British day suit complete with bustle. Priscilla Jason Facio and Paul Vasterling – Ballet Ball Committee Party said to me that now she understands why they had to have help dressing in that era. This was such a jolly evening, I cannot wait until the next Crawley dinner party at Downton Abbey, which is scheduled for later in March at Cheekwood, celebrating the conclusion of Season 3. Believe me, this will not be a dinner to miss, mates! Looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming Antiques and Garden Show!
Daniel Tidwell, Beth Curley, Denice Hicks - NPT Party
Jason and Katie Galaz - NPT Party
NashvilleArts.com
Walter and Priscilla Jervey - NPT Party
February 2O13 | 89
photo: jerry atnip
my favorite painting
Barbara Laszewski Garner Emmy Award Winning Graphic Animation Designer
T
rain…Train… by Kathryn Schoepflin was my immediate response when asked if I had a favorite painting.
Some things in life are just meant to be, and my acquiring this special work of art falls into that category. I love this painting not only because of its beautiful artistry but also because of its historical significance to Nashville. The subject of the painting, a train shed built by L&N in the late 1890s, was reputed to be the largest single-span gable-roof structure constructed in the U.S.A. The U.S. National Register of Historic Places designated it a Historic Landmark in 1975. However, a fire in 1996 compromised its safety and led to its demolition in 2001. Before moving to New York City in the late ’90s, Kathryn sold the painting to the gallery owner Anne Richardson Williams. Fast-forward a few years to 2004: while attending a bookbinding workshop, Anne came in and sat next to me. She asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in buying Kathryn’s painting. I knew many people would want to acquire it, so the information went no further than the seat next to Anne. Today Train…Train… hangs at the end wall of our elongated living room and, when looked at from the other end of the room, pulls you into another spatial dimension. The perspective, bold paint strokes, and beautiful attention to light give the painting the haunting feeling of standing inside the shed and experiencing its vast expanse.
Kathryn Schoepflin, Train…Train…, Oil on wood, 48" x 60" artist bio Kathryn Schoepflin earned her MFA at Cranbrook Art Academy. She lives and works in New York via Detroit, Nashville, and Philadelphia. The post-industrial landscape of America is her primary subject matter, and she has mined these great post-industrial cities for their gritty visual treasures. Of principal interest are her transportation series which include train stations, highway systems, and great feats of engineering that dominated the wild landscapes of the earlytwentieth-century U.S. These structures, built for industries that passed their “use-by” dates, were repurposed repeatedly as technology changed. Their multiple histories become characters in Schoepflin’s psychologically charged paintings. The Union Station, Nashville series was painted 1990-1992. Images from this series were shown in two two-person shows in Nashville: at Belmont University's Leu Gallery in 1991 (Train… Train… was shown here) and at the Greater Nashville Arts Commission Gallery in 1993. Her works have been widely shown in the U.S. and abroad and published in print, DVD, and on the Internet. They are included in the collections of the Tennessee State Museum, DMB&B/ Publicis, Ironware International, DET Distributing Company, and many private collections. www.kschoepflin.com
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THROUGH MAY 19, 2013 DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE | 615-244-3340 | FRISTCENTER.ORG Members/Youth 18 and younger FREE. This exhibition was organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts.
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Gerard Ter Borch (Dutch, 1617–1681). Lady at Her Toilette (detail), ca. 1660. Oil on canvas, 30 x 23 1/2 in. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Eleanor Clay Ford Fund, General Membership Fund, Endowment Income Fund and Special Activities Fund, 65.10
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