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PERFORMED SURGERIES ON OVER 4,000 DOCTORS Dr. Ming Wang, Harvard & MIT (MD, magna cum laude); PhD (laser Physics), is one of the few cataract and LASIK surgeons in the world today who holds a doctorate degree in laser physics. He has performed over 55,000 procedures, including on over 4,000 doctors (hence he has been referred to as “the doctors’ doctor”). Dr. Wang currently is the only surgeon in the state who offers 3D LASIK (age 18+), 3D Forever Young Lens surgery (age 45+) and 3D laser cataract surgery (age 60+). He has published 7 textbooks, over 100 papers including one in the world-renowned journal “Nature”, holds several U.S. patents and performed the world’s first laser-assisted artificial cornea implantation. He has received an achievement award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Chinese Physician Association. Dr. Wang founded a 501c(3) non-profit charity, the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration (www.Wangfoundation.com), which to date has helped patients from over 40 states in the U.S. and 55 countries worldwide, with all sight restoration surgeries performed free-of-charge.
AMNIOTIC MEMBRANE CONTACT LENS Dr. Wang’s invention • U.S. patents: 5,932,205 & 6,143,315
Used by over 1,000 eye doctors to restore sight.
INVENTIONS & PATENTS 1. LASERACT: All-laser cataract surgery U.S. patent filed.
aberrations U.S. Utility Patent Application Serial No. 11/642,226.
2. Phacoplasty U.S. patent filed. 3. Amniotic membrane contact lens for photoablated corneal tissue U.S. Patent Serial No. 5,932,205.
4. Amniotic membrane contact lens for injured corneal tissue U.S. Patent Serial No. 6,143,315.
5. Adaptive infrared retinoscopic device for detecting ocular
6. Digital eye bank for virtual clinical trial U.S. Utility Patent
Application Serial No. 11/585,522.
7. Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy for non-healing corneal ulcer U.S.patent filed. 8. A whole-genome method of assaying in vivo DNAprotein interaction and gene expression regulation
Amniotic membrane Is obtained after the baby’s birth
U.S. patent filed.
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THE RYMER GALLERY 233 Fifth Avenue North | 615.752.6030 | www.therymergallery.com
FROMTHECUT
dan oglander & casey pierce two new collections of paintings
May 2–30, 2015 Open Reception: Downtown First Saturday Art Crawl/ Saturday May 2, 6–9 pm
5 T H AV E N U E O F T H E A R T S DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE
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PUBLISHED BY THE ST. CLAIRE MEDIA GROUP Charles N. Martin, Jr., Chairman Paul Polycarpou, President Ed Cassady, Les Wilkinson, Directors
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COLUMNS EMME NELSON BAXTER Paint the Town MARSHALL CHAPMAN Beyond Words JENNIFER COLE State of the Arts LINDA DYER Appraise It RACHAEL McCAMPBELL And So It Goes JOE NOLAN Critical i ANNE POPE Tennessee Roundup JIM REYLAND Theatre Correspondent MARK W. SCALA As I See It JUSTIN STOKES Film Review RUSTY WOLFE Pieces & Parts TONY YOUNGBLOOD Art in Formation
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 $5.05 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.
M2O15 ay
on the cover:
Tyler Hildebrand, brb 2015, Mixed media on paper, 14” x 17” Article on page 32
FEATURES
COLUMNS
12 Ed Nash at Customs House Museum
24 5th Avenue Under the Lights
48
18 Mel Ziegler Sticks and Stones May
by Rachael McCampbell
60 As I See It by Mark W. Scala
32 Tyler Hildebrand Takes the Lumberjack Road at David Lusk Gallery
80 Public Art by Van Gill Maravalli
40 Double Vanity Wendy White at Sherrick & Paul
94
56 And So It Goes...
Break My Bones
32
82 Poet’s Corner by Cassidy Martin 48 Sculptured Couture John Petrey at The Arts Company
84 Film Review by Justin Stokes 86
The Bookmark
50 Cristina Spinei Music City Classical Debut
87
Art in Formation
52 Phillip Crowe Eyes on the Horizon
89
Art & the Business of Art
58 Casey Pierce and Daniel Oglander
at The Rymer Gallery
62 The Real McCoy Our interview with
98 Art Smart by Rebecca Pierce
66 Ernest A. Pickup Nashville’s Master Printmaker
74 Intersection A New Musical Chapter
Arts and Business Council of Greater Tennessee
94 Theatre by Jim Reyland
Charlie McCoy
68 Stray Dogs of Santiago Photography by David Morel
90
by Tony Youngblood
68
104 Art See 106 Paint the Town by Emme Nelson Baxter
103
108 NPT
77 Kelly Maxwell Littlebranch Farm
113 Beyond Words by Marshall Chapman
90 Q&A Stephanie Silverman Executive Director, The Belcourt Theatre
114 My Favorite Painting
92 Creek Art Collective at 40AU and Marina Street 8 | May 2015
52 NashvilleArts.com
THIC KET N EW W O RK BY A NNA J A A P
APRIL 25 - MAY 27, 2015
T IN N E Y CO N T E M P O RA RY 237 5TH AVENUE NORTH | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | 615.255.7816 | WWW.TINNEYCONTEMPORARY.COM HOURS: TUESDAY - SATURDAY, 11 AM - 5 PM, AND BY APPOINTMENT.
5 t h Av e n u e o f t h e A r t s Downtown nAshville
Bennett Galleries introduces
Kathy Cousart
PUBLISHER ' S NOTE
Art Creates a City
I
have a bucket list. Not very long but there are a few things I would like to get done before all is said and done. I have always wanted to see the Taj Mahal up close and personal. I’m working on that one. The idea of sitting down with the Dalai Lama for a little tea and sympathy has always appealed to me. I’ve gotten close but not close enough. And I’ve always wanted to have my photograph taken by Señor Jim McGuire. I have been a fan of the man and his work ever since I saw the incredible photo he took of Bill Monroe cradling his mandolin like it was a baby. In my opinion it’s one of the greatest images ever to have made its way through a camera lens. Mission accomplished. I can cross one off the list. Standing in front of that famous canvas backdrop it became clear why Señor McGuire has earned the trust and respect of just about every celebrity in this town. There were no histrionics with the lighting, no urgent calls for makeup, no huffing and puffing to find the right angle. His approach is as smooth as Tupelo Honey. Most of the time you don’t even know he’s taking the shot. And before I knew it the session was over. Thank you, Jim.
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum to all involved with The Pirates of Penzance at TPAC! A truly wonderful evening of song, dance, and some of the cleverest uses of the English language courtesy of Gilbert and Sullivan. Before the show Mr. John Hoomes, Artistic Director, was presented with an award recognizing his twenty years with the Nashville Opera. A wonderful painting by Bill Myers was presented to him along with a declaration from Governor Haslam proclaiming April 9, 2015, as John Hoomes Day. Congratulations to John and his team for making opera accessible, fun, and meaningful to all of us. I was not quite prepared for the reaction to my last column about the rapid growth of Nashville. Seems everyone is being affected in one way or another. The bottom line ultimately is that Nashville will become the city that we allow it to become. The mayoral race is warming up—please feel the heat and get involved. I’ll leave you with the three most important words in my current lexicon: Plensa is coming!
2104 Crestmoor Road in Green Hills Nashville, TN 37215 Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30 to 5:30 Sat 9:30 to 5:00 Phone: 615-297-3201 www.bennettgalleriesnashville.com
Paul Polycarpou Publisher
PHOTOGRAPH BY JIM MCGUIRE
Special Occasions, Oil on linen, 36” x 36”
Trunk show May 14th -16th 4317 Harding Pike Nashville, Tennessee 37205 | 615.292.4188 | jamienashville.com
Ed Nash
Exploration Customs House Museum • May 1 to 31
by Rebecca Pierce
L
ate last year the Customs House Museum asked Nashville Arts Magazine to curate a year of monthly exhibits for the museum’s Planter’s Bank Peg Harvill Gallery. The call for entry brought in submissions from across Middle Tennessee that were juried into eleven solo shows. Opening on May 1 is Ed Nash: Exploration. “This series of paintings is my response to modern day society’s view of visual perfection. They seek to celebrate and glorify the patina produced through the passage of time and exposure to the elements. The works in this series boldly embrace the journey—finding beauty in the imperfections, the cracks and crevices acquired along the way,” Nash explains. Nash is very interested in the Japanese aesthetic Wabi-sabi, which can be described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete or, more simply put, flawed beauty. The work in this exhibition reflects many aspects of that worldview with asperity—unevenness of surface, roughness, or ruggedness being the most obvious. In this new body of work, the surfaces of his paintings are topographical and appear to be more raised than they actually are. The effect wasn’t necessarily intentional. Nash has been using palettes from previous paintings and incorporating them into new paintings, which adds an accidental element and movement. Much like worn sculpture, the paintings have a surface that entices the viewer to touch them. As in his earlier work, these paintings balance positive and negative space, as well as the chaotic and the organized. The squares he used to render to represent the heart have evolved into circles. “The circle
Breaking Through, Acrylic on canvas, 72” x 48”
can’t be accidental. It has to be intentional; it ties everything together and is an ancient symbol of the void. The circle becomes a focal point and balances out the piece,” says the artist. Recently, Nash installed three paintings at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, and Virtual Spaces, part of the Bonnaroo Exhibit, is on view at the Nashville International Airport.
Gravitate, Acrylic on panel, 48” x 72”
Ed Nash: Exploration will be on view May 1 through 31 at the Customs House Museum’s Planter’s Bank Peg Harvill Gallery in Clarksville. For more information, please visit www.customshousemuseum.org. To see more of Ed Nash’s art, please visit www.ednashart.com, www.bennettgalleries.com.
12 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
TYLER HILDEBRAND
DLG MAY 2015 lumberjack road
DAVID LUSK GALLERY
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MAY CRAWL GUIDE The Franklin Art Scene
First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown
Gallery 202 is showcasing a variety of whimsical animals in bronze by Laurel Peterson Gregory. Jack Yacoubian Fine Jewelry & Art Gallery is featuring recent work by Randy L Purcell, who uses a unique method of transferring ink from recycled magazines onto a thin layer of beeswax. Boutique MMM is displaying the colorful paintings of artist Jay Holobach. See a r t w o r k by M a k e - A -W i s h Foundation at Parks on Main. Wendy Fiedor’s work is on view at Landmark Community Bank. I Love Juice Bar is Randy L Purcell – Jack Yacoubian Fine Jewelry & Art Gallery presenting paintings by Denise Michelle. Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church is hosting photographer, painter, and writer Tommie Flannery Baskis. Shuff ’s Music and Piano Showroom is showing the pastoral paintings of Wanda Wright. Hope Church Franklin is exhibiting paintings by Marjorie Mullen. Pedego Franklin is showcasing photography by Michael Edwards. Landscape paintings by Michael Poindexter are on display at T. Nesbitt and Company. Stites & Harbison is unveiling new work by Joseph Dzuback Bibb, Essence DeVonne, and Polly Bibb Douse. Franklin Visitor Center’s featured artist is Jackie Perry, who is currently concentrating on a series of modern floral and animal paintings with acrylics.
The Arts Company introduces John Petrey in his inaugural Nashville exhibit featuring figurative sculpture pieces of clothing (see page 48). Daryl Thetford – Premiering New 2015 Photography Series is also on view. The Rymer Gallery opens From The Cut, two new collections of paintings from Dan Oglander and Casey Pierce (see page 58). Tinney Contemporary is unveiling Thicket, new works by Anna Jaap.
Friday, May 1, from 6 until 9 p.m.
Saturday, May 2, from 6 until 9 p.m.
In the historic Arcade, Corvidae Collective Gallery is continuing with their anniversary show, which includes works by artists who have participated in the inaugural year. WAG is featuring Victory Laps, which examines anxieties about youth, by Watkins students Mati Hays and Blake Holland. COOP Gallery is presenting RGB.VGA.VOLT, a real time audio/video performance by new media artist James Connolly.
Hatch Show Print’s Haley Gallery is showing new “single figure” re-strikes alongside the original print blocks. The collection of wooden typeface is from the 1880s and was used for broadsides and billboards.
Arts & Music @ Wedgewood/Houston Saturday, May 2, from 6 until 9 p.m.
Sherrick & Paul Gallery is showcasing Double Vanity by Wendy White (see page 40). Channel to Channel is presenting The Silver Seed Project: Part 1 by Olivia Hill. Zeitgeist is exhibiting New Personal Best! by John Donovan and Letting Go by Jessica Wohl. The Packing P lant is displaying Bits and Pieces, dyed fabric paintings by Cody Tumblin. CG2 Galler y is showing Recent Works by Fred Stonehouse, a series of works on paper, book covers, and 3D wood cutouts. Seed Space is featuring All the Lights in My House by Rocky Jessica Wohl – Zeitgeist Horton and a one-night performance of Nathan Sharratt’s Be My Blood Brother. Julia Martin Gallery unveils Three Dimensional Stroll, works by Julia Martin including her new ventures into woodcarving. David Lusk Gallery is exhibiting Variations on a Theme by Mark Bradley-Shoup and Daddy Missed My Birthday by Dwayne Butcher.
East Side Art Stumble
Saturday, May 9, from 6 until 10 p.m.
Anna Jaap – Tinney Contemporary
KT Wolf Galler y is opening Immodest Creatures by Amber Briggs and Laura Praseutkoun. Sawtooth Print Shop is hosting printmaker and book artist Mary Sullivan. Zachary Gray’s Vacation, a photographic study of object, isolation, and the feel of vacation, is showing at Main Street Gallery. The Building is featuring abstract painter Garrett King. Idea Hatchery is featuring hand-pulled lino prints by Julie Sola of Fat Crow Press.
16 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
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COURTESY GALERIE PERROTIN
Rock Hard Individualism, 2010, Rocks, aluminum, 33” x 65” x 5”
Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones Mel Ziegler Debuts Solo Exhibition in Paris Galerie Perrotin, Paris • Through May 30
M
el Ziegler ’s first solo exhibition in France, Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, offers social commentary, American iconography, and a little light-hearted humor, and reunites two old friends.
thought I should look up Emmanuel and have a conversation with him, and I did. There was a reconnection, and before I knew it Emmanuel started talking about working with me again,” Ziegler recounted.
“When Kate passed away I kind of lost that relationship. A few years ago, my family and I went to Paris for Christmas, and I
The other three rooms of the exhibition are all Mel Ziegler with a little help from his family. Rock Hard Individualism, a large
In 1992, novice dealer and gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin invited Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler to exhibit in his small space. The couple spent about eight weeks in Paris cramming for their exhibition, and during that time, they became friends with Perrotin.
That led to an exhibit of Ericson/Ziegler work at Gallery Perrotin, New York last summer and on to Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones opening this month in Paris. While the latest exhibit is a solo Mel Ziegler show, one of three rooms features Ericson/Ziegler work. Two pieces from the 1992 exhibit are included, and a large piece America Starts Here makes its Paris debut.
18 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Mel Ziegler and his companion, Sister
PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMARA REYNOLDS
by Rebecca Pierce
PHOTOGRAPH BY CLAIRE DORN/COURTESY GALERIE PERROTIN
Carry a Big Stick, 2015, Fetch sticks, antique ammo boxes, silk
About Rock Hard Individualism, he says, “In America, we often get this idea that it is all about me, and we’re not thinking about the fact that whatever we do affects a lot of other people as well. So there’s individualism of each stone, but together it becomes a community of faces. And so it goes back and forth between the idea of individualism or community.” American iconography was a theme in Ericson/Ziegler work, and he continues with some of that, but his current work is looser and allows for a new degree of humor and serendipity. Part of that is due to the fact that his earlier work was based on in-depth research, whereas now, he often involves his family.
An untitled installation is an arrangement of a few dozen brightly colored toy guns handmade by the artist’s sons. The project started several years ago when Ziegler and his wife, Lisa, refused on moral grounds to purchase toy guns for their boys. To the parents’ chagrin, they found their children using imagery from the Internet to make guns out of paper, cardboard, and tape. “Then they started making these videos that were extremely violent, and I was pretty upset about it. I loved the fact that they were doing videos and creating these things, but I wasn’t happy about the violence.” Ziegler wanted to do something different with his
PHOTOGRAPH BY CLAIRE DORN/COURTESY GALERIE PERROTIN
Levity, family, and politics also carry through into Carry a Big Stick, a title that makes a reference to President Teddy Roosevelt’s
foreign policy of “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick.” Antique ammunition boxes, each lined with red silk, have been filled with “fetch sticks,” which Ziegler and his family have collected and used to play fetch with their American pit bull, Sister. The sweet, affectionate animal is no more inherently vicious than the sticks nestled in luxurious softness in the disarmed ammo boxes. Ziegler expresses the intrinsic value of the fetch sticks in an installation in which each stick is displayed in a single row like delicate, cherished objects.
Untitled, 2009–2013, Paper, cardboard, tape
NashvilleArts.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY CLAIRE DORN/COURTESY GALERIE PERROTIN
installation of rocks arranged in the shape of the United States, uses rocks collected by Ziegler and his family. “I’m an artist who really ultimately doesn’t make things. I respond to things that I find and then create, and now it involves the family. We hunt for rocks—face rocks, heart rocks, all kinds of different rocks.”
Untitled, 2015, Wood, glass, straw, 119” x 44” x 19”
sons’ creations and change the conversation to “ideas like gun control, guns in America, and all the violence that happens with guns.” Ultimately Ziegler commissioned his sons to make 35 guns for an installation piece at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, Nebraska. By the time they had completed 28, the boys were tired of guns. The conversation had changed. Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones by Mel Ziegler is on view through May 30 a t G a l e r i e Pe rro tin, Pa r is . Fo r m o re information, visit www.perrotin.com. May 2015 | 19
Channel to Channel new gallery takes a fresh approach to promoting art
by Erica Ciccarone
H
ow do you measure the vitality and sustainability of a city’s art scene? There are all kinds of vitality indexes for the arts, but the best indication is if artists themselves are engaging on their own terms from the ground up. Dustin Hedrick recently converted his studio into a contemporary art gallery. Like many people, he’s hoping to have a hand in the direction of Nashville’s art scene, and he just might. There are plenty of reasons why I like the Wedgewood/Houston art crawl. The neighborhood has so far offered low rent for artist studios and a small roster of land-owning do-gooders who believe in progressive, experimental art. Just as important as white-wall galleries with top-notch curators, smaller, nontraditional spaces allow for a diverse grouping of media, tastes, and points of view. In no other Nashville neighborhood can I imagine an artist
Weekly Drink n’ Draw art class
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANTHONY SCARLATI
“
How do you
make relevant contemporary art in a city that doesn’t have the type of background that a lot of bigger art cities do?
”
converting his studio space into a gallery, showing (and selling!) work by his peers, and hosting visual artist-centered events. Enter Hedrick, a Mississippi-born, Los Angeles-influenced painter who rented a little studio in the May Hosiery Mill on Chestnut Street in 2011. Parts of the building are in desperate need of repair, yet it has housed artists and artisans since it stopped production in the 80s. Hedrick hunkered down for two years, working on oil paintings that are richly pigmented and dense, with thick, caked-on layers. When a larger space opened up next door to Hedrick’s studio, he took it. All around him in Wedgewood/Houston, galleries and artist spaces were opening. Things were changing from the Nashville he relocated to from L.A. in 2011, back when the just-opened Zeitgeist was the only gallery that jived with him. “I thought there needed to be another place for somebody like me to show, somebody that has a BFA and is thinking about going to grad school but is still here in Nashville, who’s really interested in bold, contemporary, experimental art,” Hedrick says.
He even lived in his studio for a time, and it has a casual, comfy feeling that, when coupled with his easygoing nature, makes the space more than linger-worthy. It seems a natural evolution that Hedrick converted it to an art gallery. Calling it Channel to Channel, Hedrick has hosted new 2D work every month this year, such as established local artists Robert Scobey, Amanda Brown, and K.J. Schumacher, as well as recent grads Alex Wurts and Cynthia Sukowatey. Hedrick is keeping commissions low, which is good for artists and buyers and is helping the work to sell. Financially, he’s just breaking even, which is fine in his view. He shows work that he likes by artists he can learn from. It’s not market driven, and it doesn’t cater to the norm. The gallery hosts uninstructed figure drawing sessions on Wednesday and Thursday nights for $10 complete with beer and hip-hop. He’s had a great turnout, and he’s planning more artist-centered events to come.
Cynthia Sukowatey, Screen print, 28” x 20”
O ur conversations usually circle around legitimizing and growing the art scene in Nashville, a topic with which I’ve been obsessed since I moved here. “How are we going to develop an art scene in Nashville that is so rooted in country music? One part of me wants to figure it out,” Hedrick says. “How do you make relevant contemporary art in a city that doesn’t have the type of background that a lot of bigger art cities do? Then another part of me is, like, I just want to get the art that I like in here. Fortunately, it’s worked.” Whether Hedrick knows it or not, his labors are not lost. In a short time, he’s planted roots and found an audience, and he’s committed to Nashville’s future. Lear n more at www.channeltochannel.com, visit dur ing A r t s & M u s i c @ We d g e wo o d / H o u s t o n , o r s t o p i n d u r i n g gallery hours on Fridays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY ANTHONY MATULA
Nashville Ballet’s Sadie Bo Sommer Delivers Final Performance
S
adie Bo Sommer has been with the Nashville Ballet since 2001 performing lead roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy in Nashville’s Nutcracker, Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Chosen One in Salvatore Aiello’s Rite of Spring, the title role in Giselle and in Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort. In late April, Sommer announced her retirement and danced in her final main stage performance as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Sadie represents Nashville Ballet in a most perfect way,” Nashville Ballet Artistic Director and CEO Paul Vasterling said. “She’s been with us for a long period of time, and we’ve had the pleasure of watching her develop as an artist and experiencing these wonderful performances she’s given us.” Sommer is the current recipient of the Patricia Taylor Bullard Endowed Scholarship Fund at Belmont University, where she will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in August 2015. She plans to relocate to Atlanta and pursue a master’s degree in Public Health.
“Nashville Ballet has not only been my career for the last fourteen years, but my way of life,” Sommer said. “I am forever grateful for the opportunities I have had and the relationships I’ve built. I’ll always look at this part of my life with such fondness, and I’m excited to see what lies ahead for this new chapter.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY KARYN KIPLEY
Fans are encouraged to send Sadie Bo Sommer their well-wishes with the hashtag #FarewellSadie on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Sadie Bo Sommer in the 2014 performance of Swan Lake
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY PARK
Sadie Bo’s Swan Song
5th Avenue
Under the Lights
Nashville Takes Flight
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ashville’s economy is booming, sparked by a thriving cultural scene. As you walk the streets of our city, you see creativity of all kinds everywhere. Music has always been the cultural background of Nashville, and we have evolved into a city that embraces creative growth of all kinds—not only music, but also culinary experiences, performance art, and visual art. As evidenced by the Cultural Vitality Index, which ranked Nashville #2 in the nation, we are leaders, and now is the time to elevate visual art to the next level by attracting and retaining artists and art collectors alike. Thanks to Mayor Karl Dean, Jen Cole, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Partnership, Nashville art galleries, and all of the local talent, creativity is thriving here. As neighborhoods all over town are in explosive phases of vitality, the time is prime for Nashville to join the national art conversation and make it known that we have an incredibly strong visual arts scene. One way to increase visibility of contemporary visual arts is to create a street art event, similar to Open Walls in Baltimore and Wynwood Walls in Miami. Enlisting internationally renowned artists to use public and private spaces as giant canvases on which artists play would raise the city’s collective art power and consciousness. Nashville is already a destination Herb Williams, Call of Couture: Louis Vuitton for music and food. An Doberman, 2015, Crayons, archival event such as this would adhesive, 40” x 38” put Nashville on the map as a visual arts destination, attracting more art patrons, both locals and visitors. Nashville has the reputation for being the IT city for music, food, and friendliness, and we should add visual art to that list—Nashville Is Ready. The thousands that come to the First Saturday Downtown Art Crawl each month and support other neighborhood art events are an indicator of the art scene reflecting the huge amount of growth in our city. The message is clear: Nashville galleries offer the scope and range of contemporary fine art. Collecting artwork no longer means leaving home. It becomes a first thought, not a last resort.
by Jeff Rymer Owner, The Rymer Gallery
24 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
HISTORY EMBR ACING A RT
Doxie Bump, Bronze 13.5” x 14” x 8” Other Bronze Works Available
L AU R E L G R E G OR Y Visit Us During “Franklin Art Scene” May 1, 6-9 pm 202 2nd Ave. South, Franklin, TN 37064 • www.gallery202art.com • 615-472-1134
Nashville Repertory Theatre’s
New Works Festival
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Studio A, NPT, Rains Avenue • May 6 to 16
ashville Repertory Theatre’s Ingram New Works Festival f eat ures staged readings of five plays, including the debut of a piece from Pulitzer Prize winner and Ingram New Works Fellow Donald Margulies.
PHOTOGRAPH BY SHANE BURKEEN
The project gives playwrights an opportunity to develop plays while in residency at Nashville Rep. Each year the Project selects a Fellow and three Lab playwrights who all work together with Nashville Rep’s Playwright in Residence. For Nashville Rep’s 2014–15 season, the Ingram New Works Fellow is Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Marguiles, the Lab playwrights are Tori Keenan-Zelt, Bianca Sams, and Gabreille Sinclair, and Nashville Rep’s Playwright in Residence is Nate Eppler.
PHOTOGRAPH BY SHANE BURKEEN
Gabrielle Sinclair, Bianca Sams, Nate Eppler, Tori Keenan-Zelt
celebrate!
Tori Keenan-Zelt
Supported by Media Sponsor Nashville Arts Magazine, the New Works Festival includes two readings of each of the five plays: The Ice Treatment by Nate Eppler, May 6 and 16; Showing by Gabrielle Sinclair, May 7 and 11; Simply Bess by Bianca Sams, May 8 and 12; Air Space by Tori Keenan-Zelt, May 9 and 15; and a new work by Donald Margulies, May 13 and 14. The Ingram New Works Festival runs May 6 through 16 at Nashville Rep’s rehearsal hall, Studio A at Nashville Public Television. Readings begin at 7 p.m. each evening and will be followed by a talkback. Tickets are $10 per person, or a Festival Pass to see one performance of each play is available for $35. For more information and reservations, visit www.NashvilleRep.org.
Mother's Day May 10
A L L
T H E
B E S T
I N
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
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Music City’s
d n a B t Bigges
Your Nashville Symphony | Live at the schermerhorn
Symphonie Fantastique
ABBA THE CONCERT A TRIBUTE TO ABBA
with the nashville Symphony May 14 to 16 + 10:30 am Fri. concert
May 12
BR IT TEN’S
EQUIEM WAR r with the NA SH V ILLE S Y MPHON Y & CHORUS
WITH THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
May 29 & 30
June 2 & 3
w it h t he NASHVILLE SYMPHONY June 12 at 1 & 7 pm
June 17
THE QUEEN OF SOUL
IN HD WITH THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
ARETHA FRAN KL IN WITH MEMBERS OF THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
June 25 at 1 & 7 pm • June 26 at 7 pm
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The
Pryor Art Gallery
American Watercolor Society C o l u m b i a S tat e C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e PRESENTS THE
A nnuAl T rAveling e xhibiT
July 1–29 There will be a recepTion on
Friday, July 10 6–8 p.m.
The Pryor Art Gallery is located on the campus of Columbia State Community College, Columbia, Tennessee, in the Waymon L. Hickman building. The gallery is free and open to the public Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
all are welcome!
28 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CHEEKWOOD
Cheekwood’s Historic Revival
by Linda Leaming
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heekwood isn’t just beautiful gardens, great art, and a place for lavish weddings. As one of the most important surviving examples of American Country Place Era estates, it’s positively royalty, and it was once the magnificent home of the Cheek family. Soon, visitors will be able to see how the family lived and even walk among some of their fabulous possessions. The revival of historic Cheekwood is slated for completion in 2017. Several rooms in the lower level of the mansion will be refurbished to their former 1930s-era glamour originally conceived by architect Bryant Fleming and resided in by Mabel and Leslie Cheek. Heading this fascinating and complex project is Leslie B. Jones, Curator of Decorative Arts & Historic Interpretation. Jones has some experience with big houses, having served previously as the Curator and Director of Historical Resources and Programming for the White House Historical Association in Washington. She will oversee the restoration of Cheekwood’s historic interiors, assisting with the curation of exhibitions, acquisitions, and interpretative programming. She will have to be something of a detective. “Cheekwood does know the location of various items from [the home] while it was inhabited by Leslie and Mabel,” she says. “However, it is still unclear where the majority of the furnishings and fine art went. We hope to collaborate with family members, the community, and anyone who has information on these missing items to see if they can be used as a part of the new Furnishing Plan.” First floor and ground floor rooms identified for restoration include the Drawing Room, Library, Dining Room, Loggia, Morning Room, Recreation Room, and Bedroom Suite. The upper level Museum of Art galleries will continue to serve as art exhibition space. Each interpretation will consider the interior-exterior relationship of Fleming’s design, incorporating the rooms’ intended landscape views as well as furnishings that would have been purchased and placed in each room by the Cheeks. Contact historicinitiatives@cheekwood.org if you have information on furnishings or objects from the original Cheek residence that could be available for long-term loan.
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 29
LOCATED AT T R A C K 1 1211 4TH AVE SOUTH - NASHVILLE, TN 37210
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Our Town Fond Object Mural
Mayoral Candidates Speak on the Arts Nashville Children’s Theatre • Thursday, May 14
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ith the mayoral election coming up in August, citizens from all walks of life are curious as to where the candidates stand on the arts in Nashville. This month the Nashville Arts Coalition (NAC) is hosting a Mayoral Arts Forum to give residents the opportunity to hear seven mayoral candidates address the most important and pertinent topics in the arts.
“Everyone is invited to submit their questions at the Nashville Arts Coalition website, to sign on to the Creative Edge platform, and to come to Nashville Children’s Theatre on May 14 to hear the candidates for themselves,” says Kathryn Colegrove, Managing Director at Nashville Children’s Theatre and Coalition co-chair. Members of NAC will be active on Facebook and Twitter in the weeks preceding the forum and plan to live-tweet the event to involve the broadest possible audience. Candidates are Megan Barry, Charles Robert Bone, David Fox, Bill Freeman, Howard Gentry, Jeremy Kane, and Linda Eskind Rebrovick. Nashville Business Journal reporter for tourism, hospitality, and music E.J. Boyer is moderating the forum. The Nashville Arts Coalition is a volunteer organization that advocates for public policy and public funding to support the arts. Nashville Arts Magazine, 5th Avenue of the Arts, the Arts & Business Council, Nashville Fashion Alliance, and the Film Television Transmedia Council have joined NAC in sponsoring this event. The Mayoral Arts Forum takes place on Thursday, May 14, at Nashville Children’s Theatre. A reception begins at 5:30 p.m., and the forum runs from 6 until 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit nac.nationbuilder.com.
Paul Vexler, From the Four Corners, Southeast Library and Community Center
Tyler Hildebrand Takes the Lumberjack Road David Lusk Gallery • May 6
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by Daniel Tidwell
t’s hard to predict what the motley cast of characters in Tyler Hildebrand’s vivid, no-holds-barred paintings will do next. Some writhe across the canvas in various states of undress—like degenerate odalisques, others lumber about to unknowable ends, while others brawl in bloody melees, the cause or point of which remains elusive. It’s as if Hildebrand has demilitarized Leon Golub’s monumental figures and set them loose across his canvases—to borrow a phrase from Gus Van Sant, to “twist . . . like an antic fried chicken wing.” 32 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
And like the Harmony Korine film Gummo that Van Sant was referring to, Hildebrand’s work revels in the seamy underbelly of contemporary America—taking an unflinching look at the harsh realities of a debauched demimonde that is all but invisible to mainstream society. “I use my characters and archetypes as metaphors for violence, addictions, the disenfranchised, or the depraved,” says Hildebrand. “Sometimes I portray it more indirectly, and sometimes it’s in your face.” H i l d e b r a n d ’s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o d e b a s e d a n d marginalized culture developed at an early age.
(left) Nicky, 2015, Mixed media on canvas, 108” x 72”
“My father was a Cincinnati cop, and my mother was a crime reporter for the local news station,” according to the artist. “They met at the scene of a murder . . . and would come home from work with stories of murders and fights and shootouts—characters both good and bad. It was intriguing to me and exciting in a weird way.” The true crime stories he heard at home were a powerful influence, instilling a deep, personal connection to his often-violent subject matter and giving birth to the rough, unsavory characters that populate his paintings. “I was recently looking through a box of my childhood drawings,” says Hildebrand. “Many of these works were elaborate, graphic drawings of the Alamo and Civil War battle scenes. I was amazed at how I am still interested in many of the same subjects, just through a different lens.” Hildebrand’s painting process strikes a balance between his conceptual framework and the formal constraints of the picture plane. “If there is no idea...it falls flat, and if the formal, compositional stuff doesn’t work, then it’s not interesting enough for anyone to care about. Probably about 80 percent of the time that I start a piece with an idea in mind . . . it takes a totally different turn. I will work and rework a piece . . . leaving some of the process and mistakes. A lot of times that’s the most interesting part.” Working on a large scale informs many of the compositional choices that the artist makes in his paintings, including his use of large color fields and unexpected color palettes.
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Swivel, 2014, Mixed media on cardboard, 72” x 48”
I
use my characters and archetypes as metaphors for violence, addictions, the disenfranchised, or the depraved.
NashvilleArts.com
”
May 2015 | 33
(below) Sandy and Rizzo, 2015, Mixed media on paper, 14” x 17” (right) Old Bradenton, 2014, Mixed media on canvas, 78” x 48”
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n the painting Victory or Death (see page 36), Hildebrand depicts Davy Crockett walking a tiger, machine gun in hand, firing at bloodied Mexican soldiers. The violence of the image is offset by the expansive light-pink field that Crockett struts across, while rainbow stripes in the background add another visual twist. For Hildebrand, these unexpected elements provide a different perspective on the violence he portrays and “enhance the uneasiness that already exists within the image . . . throwing everything off, in a good way.”
Hildebrand works almost exclusively with house paint, lending the surface of his work a unique physicality. “I started doing that when the scale of my paintings grew past eight feet,” he says. “It was the only thing I could afford, but as I began to work with it, I liked the different sheens—satin, semi-gloss. I like to mix them up throughout the painting” to make elements really pop.
34 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 35
Some of Hildebrand’s major artistic influences include Paul McCarthy, Ed Kienholz, and Martin Kippenberger along with Harmony Korine and Johnny Cash. But one of his most important early influences was Cincinnati Enquirer editorial cartoonist Jim Borgman. “I studied how he captured likenesses, how he weaved narratives, and how he utilized the art of subtle metaphors. It’s not only how I learned about art, but really how I learned about the events and politics of the world at a very young age.” In the same way that an editorial cartoonist draws from topical events, Hildebrand’s cast of characters has morphed along with his own experiences and evolved into metaphorical locations where his cast of personalities act out their fictional narratives. Mohawk Blvd., named after a gritty side street in Cincinnati, is home to many of the eccentrics in his previous work.
“
My new show, Lumberjack Road, is a different kind of Mohawk Blvd.,” says Hildebrand. “It’s influenced by my time here in Nashville, more specifically Donelson. I am always interested in my surroundings. I soak it up and feed off of it.
”
Ultimately Hildebrand’s work is coming from a wild and intuitive place, confronting the status quo with aggressive imagery and biting satire. “My work is more visceral than intellectual,” says the artist. “It always has been, and it always will be. At the same time there are layers of social and political commentary throughout the works, and you can choose to go as deep or as surface level as you want.” See Tyler Hildebrand’s Lumberjack Road at David Lusk Gallery May 6 through 30. Visit www.davidlusk.com for more information. For more images of Tyler’s work please visit www.nashvillearts.com.
(top) brb, 2015, Mixed media on paper, 14” x 17” (left) Victory or Death, 2015, Mixed media on canvas 108” x 72” 36 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Through June 7 The Frist Center for the Visual Arts gratefully acknowledges our Picasso Circle Members as Exhibition Patrons.
Organized by the New-York Historical Society
THE FRI ST CENTER FO R THE VISUAL ARTS I S SUPPORTED IN PART BY
DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE 919 BROADWAY FRISTCENTER.ORG
William Sidney Mount (1807–1868). Farmers Bargaining (later known as Bargaining for a Horse) (detail), 1835. Oil on canvas. The New-York Historical Society, Gift of The New-York Gallery of the Fine Arts, 1858.59
Brian Tull Steps Back in Time with His Latest Work
B
rian Tull has always wanted to have an artistic photograph of himself with one of his paintings. When he completed this recent commission for a couple in Chicago, he contacted Nathan Chapman.
While the painting is rich and sexy like his other work, it is set in the 1930s, a few decades earlier than previous work. Brian asked Nathan to find the location and set the tone. “I told him that I wanted a speakeasy feel, and that it would be good to find a location with an old floor,” he said.
Chapman suggested a room at Big Machine Records, not knowing that the floor matched the floor in the painting. All the props, poses, and staging were Nathan’s doing. It was left for Brian and his wife, Laura, to dress up, show up, and get into the mood.
PHOTOGRAPH BY NATHAN CHAPMAN
“I’ve been a big fan of Brian’s work for a few years. My wife and I have one of his paintings in our home. When he asked me to do a portrait, I wanted it to be artistic. It really turned out to be life imitating art and art imitating life, and something ethereal is going on,” Chapman said.
Nathan Chapman is a big-time record producer (Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Point of Grace, Shania Twain, Lady Antebellum, etc.), and spending time with his camera is like playing a round of golf. It helps him disengage from his day job and stay fresh. To see more of Brian Tull’s work, visit www.briantull.com. To see Nathan Chapman’s photography, visit www.nathanchapmanphotography.com.
Untitled, 2015, Oil on panel, 60” x 43”
38 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Double va n i t y
Wendy White
Sherrick & Paul • Through June 13 by Erica Ciccarone | Photograph by Jeffrey Graetsch
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rtists and athletes. From the outside, they have nothing in common. They live in two different worlds: one of the mind, the other of the flesh. Wendy White doesn’t see it that way. Her work is informed by the unmitigated experiences of sports, the visual cacophony of Chinatown, and the insistence of street graffiti to assert that its artist exists. White’s paintings have a muscular energy that flattens the viewer. That’s how I felt, anyway, when I saw two of her paintings in the inaugural Sherrick & Paul exhibition last year. Asymmetrical, unbelievably smooth, and of ten huge in scale, her
abstract acrylics offer panoramic views of her experience in the world. This month, White presents Double Vanity, a series of new work at Sherrick & Paul. Although this series is not as overtly sports centered as other of the artist’s work, it captures the same kind of in-the-moment, untempered bursts of action that White likes.
“There’s hardly anything in life that isn’t planned,” she says. “But games happen and people win and people lose, and it’s one of the only things that’s like that anymore.” It’s similar, she says, to the art-making process. “You can’t prepare for it, and then it’s over and the work goes somewhere else. Everybody assumes that artists can’t play
40 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
sports. There’s been this division for so long, and I think the headspace is really similar. The potential for failure, the greatness of failure . . . ” Listening to White talk is convincing. The discipline of the athlete and the artist surely requires the same kind of solitude, and, like an athlete going into a game, White knows that anything can happen in the art-making process. “You’re creating a problem for yourself to solve every day that really doesn’t matter to anyone else. It’s similar to trying to up your game or shave a second off of your time.” This led White to think more about the way emotions are enacted in sports. In a recent exhibition at David Castillo Gallery
in Miami, White fused inkjet prints of athletes with acrylic painting to show how gender informs emotional moments on the field. Her critique is playful but revealing. She relegated the male athletes to a space in the back of the gallery that she called the man cave.
“That got me thinking about the splitting of the domestic space based on gender-based desires,” White says. She noticed how on shows like House Hunters, where couples scout their perfect home, the men and women often have very gendered needs. The woman always wants a bigger closet; the man needs a place of his own to play music or pool.
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There’s hardly anything in life that isn’t planned . . . But games happen and people win and people lose.
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AC, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 60” x 60”
Bitch Move, Oh Well, 2015, Hand-painted rug, 96” x 144”
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 41
“In such an increasingly non-gendered world where the line should be blurred, television and mainstream media tell us that we should still be defined by it.” Double Vanity will delve into this theme using the architecture of the gallery itself. Sherrick & Paul is divided in two by a freestanding wall, giving it a mirrored effect. White is carpeting the floors in white and using the mirrored spaces to reflect the two domains of the home: male and female. The paintings in the show have names like Sure, Scumbag and Crybaby and use a decorative palette of pastels. Many of the pieces include text, which is inspired by White’s neighborhood in Chinatown, Manhattan. She stencils letters into her work that reflect the neighborhood’s signage, awnings, and canopies that are teeming with English, Cantonese, and graffitied text.
Sure, Scumbag, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 60” x 60”
Though the text in White’s paintings does not usually have a discernable meaning, it reflects the human need to leave a mark on the world. Rather than trying to force meaning into a work, White relies on the vagueness of abstraction. “Meaning,” she wrote in a catalog piece, “doesn’t breathe outside of a moment.”
The Midge Game, 2015, Inkjet and acrylic on UV vinyl, wood and gold Mylar frame, custom-shaped and hand-painted rug, 97” x 73” x 54”
As an athlete who practices every day year round knows, the moment will pass if you don’t seize it. White finds it in her studio practice when she starts trusting a different part of the brain and the work takes over. “That’s the moment. It’s a glance. It’s a flicker. That’s the moment that keeps you making more.” Wendy White: Double Vanity will be on exhibit at Sherrick & Paul through June 13. Visit www.sherrickandpaul.com for more information.
Oh Well (Green) (detail), 2015, Acrylic on canvas, wood and enamel frame, 26” x 32”
42 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Rachael McIntosh Photography
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John Hoomes Honored for Twenty Years with the Nashville Opera needed to hire someone full time if they wanted to take the next step. A national search for opera professionals led them to recruit Hoomes and Penterman. Through their stewardship and creative excellence, the opera has grown exponentially.
ust before the curtain went up on Nashville Opera’s performance of The Pirates of Penzance, Artistic Director John Hoomes was recognized for his mammoth contributions to the growth and artistic excellence of this Nashville treasure. Joining him on stage Hoomes’s wife, Carol Penterman, former chief executive officer of the opera, read a proclamation by Governor Bill Haslam declaring April 9, 2015, as John Hoomes Day!
Myers went on to say, “John Hoomes produced and directed many spectacular operatic performances such as Verdi’s Aida, Puccini’s Turandot, Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman during these last two decades. He has had the vision to bring us many newer innovative works by living composers such as Philip Glass, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, and Michael Nyman, and two world premieres—Surrender Road by Marcus Hummon and Elmer Gantry with music by composer Robert Aldridge and Librettist Herschel Garfein, which went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.”
Bill Myers, artist, illustrator, and storyboard artist for ABC’s Nashville then presented him with a portrait. “It is my oil and color graphic portrait of John Hoomes on canvas that is in the theatrical style of my Nashville Opera posters done during his twenty years as Artistic Director and displayed as a grid in the background,” explained Myers.
Up until 1995, the Nashville Opera was run by a non-paid board of directors, and while they were doing well, they knew they
J. William Myers, John Hoomes, 2015, Colorgraphic print on canvas in oil, 40” x 30”
See the Nashville Opera’s 2015–2016 season at www.nashvilleopera.org.
Kim Barrick Two Nashville shows
COLORING Local Color Gallery through June
New Tricks
Centennial Arts Center opening reception Friday, June 5, 5-7 pm For details visit www.kimbarrickstudio.com • FB Kim Barrick Studio
NashvilleArts.com KimBarrick.indd 1
May 2015 | 45 4/20/15 1:46 PM
“Pilgrim” 24x30
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www.stephaniejeanne.com
425.890.9211
Bennett Galleries, Nashville
Case Antiques
Free Appraisal Friday T
Beginning in May
o celebrate the opening of their satellite office in Brentwood, Case Antiques is offering Free First Fridays. Individuals seeking evaluation of their art, antiques, and jewelry for auction consignment or for appraisal purposes are invited to come in for a free appraisal on the first Friday of every month beginning on May 1. Case entered the Nashville market in 2007 when it gaveled the contents of the historic Glen Leven Plantation on Franklin Road (today the headquarters for the Land Trust of Tennessee). Case Antiques made national headlines for selling historic twentieth-century objects such as a Beatles album, autographed by all four band members the night before their 1964 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, for $75,400, and a Colt pistol owned by outlaw Bonnie Parker for $99,450. Sarah Campbell Drury, Case’s Vice President for Fine and Decorative Arts, heads up the Brentwood location. She is an accredited appraiser of art, antiques, and residential contents through the International Society of Appraisers.
Herman Ottomar Herzog, Twilight on The Venetian Lagoon, Circa 1900, Oil on canvas, 22” x 27”
Free First Fridays begins May 1 at Case Antiques in the Brentwood Office Building, 116 Wilson Pike Circle. Appointments are required. For more information, visit www.caseantiques.com.
The Great Wall of Charlotte
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According to T insley Anne Dempsey, project manager and president of Off the Wall, this group of contemporar y art enthusiasts plans to invite a combination of local, regional, and international muralists to decorate 50- to 100-foot sections of wall in their own style.
NINA KUZINA GALLERY PRESENTS
BRIAN LENSICK
PHOTOGRAPH BY BLU SANDERS
fter over a year of planning, painting on Nashville’s newest urban mural Off the Wall Charlotte Avenue has begun. Organizers are revitalizing the 1,000-foot wall stretching from 28th Avenue to 31st Avenue with the creation of a world-class contemporary art installation.
Tinsely Dempsey helps Seth
Seth Prestwood, surrealistic artist Prestwood with the first panel of and mural painter and graduate the mural of Watkins College of Art, Design & Film, designed and painted the first panel. It will serve as a teaser to jumpstart an Indigogo community-based funding program. Beginning in mid May, Chicago artist Sentrock will create the next section of the mural.
Purple Heart, Curly Maple. Diameter: 12-1/4” Height: 8”
Off the Wall Charlotte is a sponsored project of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. For more information, please visit www.offthewallnashville.com.
RJ BLACK
Eve
4231 Harding Pike | Nashville, TN 37205 Stanford Square, Across From St. Thomas Hospital 615-321-0500 | 615-483-5995 | ninakuzina@comcast.net | www.ninakuzina.com open daily 10 am–6pm
NashvilleArts.com
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Sculptured Couture The Subtle Armor of John Petrey’s Art The Arts Company • May 2–27
by Gracie Pratt
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s it fabric? Is it metal? Wait, is that a bottle cap? What is it exactly? Since the beginning of his artistic career less than a decade ago, John Petrey has been turning heads and challenging preconceptions with his profound yet whimsical nod to fashion. John Petrey’s turn to art has been recent. He spent the first two decades of his professional career as a food and beverage photographer and TV commercial director. He was a marketer and a businessman. But nine years ago, Petrey sensed the need for a change. As a hobby he had always enjoyed building racing motorcycles and repairing vintage cars, so he started working with his hands again. He began exploring the pliable components of usually resistant materials. He experimented with copper, steel, aluminum, wood, vintage materials, and repurposed industrial materials, fashioning the unexpected: clothing. This interest in clothing, Petrey admits, came from watching shows from the 1960s like Leave It to Beaver and I Love
Vegas Baby, 2009, Poker chips, dice, playing cards, 72” x 35” x 29” 48 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Lucy and noticing the perfect ideal represented by characters’ clothing. “I have yet t o m e e t a n y o n e w h o s e m o t h e r made breakfast in pearls and an apron,” Petrey says. But on television “women were always perfectly dressed, the men pretty much always had a tie on. [I was interested in] that whole perfection that television had in the midst of the Vietnam War, a drug culture, [and] racial issues in the country. Everything was perfect on television.” Petrey’s sculptures provide insight into the fascinating capability of clothing to mask, to protect from, exposure to suffering, difficulty, or pain. While alluding to the soft, pliable materials such as fabric in his designs, the materials used are harsh, defensive, and strong. It is a paradox of what is expected contrasted with what actually is. Petrey acknowledges this juxtaposition, especially when it comes to the articles of clothing he designs for females. “I enjoy playing with the lure that women
Chloé, 2013, Tiffany patina, copper, dried willow branches, 70” x 34” x 34” Lindsey, 2014, Embossed aluminum, graffiti painted and aged steel straps, 55” x 20” x 20” Liz, 2014, Black bottle caps, graffiti painted aluminum, vintage steel stand, 55” x 22” x 22”
use with fashion to attract a mate. But by doing it with metal, I’m also creating armor. So, in other words, the work says come close, stay away.” Yet the symbolic nature of Petrey’s work does not at all take away from its sheer beauty and intrigue. Any of Petrey’s sculptures might contain flattened bottle tops, copper plates, colored silverware, roofing shingles, and old soda cans, radically transformed into trim bodices, flaring skirts, ridged suits, and ruffled collars. The most rewarding part of his work, Petrey says, is knowing the surprise people experience when they realize things are not as they appear. “I make them smile. I make them discover that it is not fabric.” He’s inspired by the “wonderment in a child’s eyes when they look at what I do. You can see the wheels in their head turning.” The Arts Company will be featuring works by John Petrey beginning on May 2, from 6 to 9 p.m., during the First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown. The exhibit will continue until May 27. The Arts Company is located in the historic downtown area at 215 5th Avenue North. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit www.theartscompany.com.
Cristina Spinei
From Juilliard to Nashville this composer makes her Music City classical debut with the Nashville Composers Collective at Lipscomb University June 7 50 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
by Bob Doerschuk | Photography by Gina Binkley
“N
o way! I am NOT an East Nashville snob!” Cristina Spinei laughs at the very idea. Never mind that she lives near Five Points. And sure, she loves eating out at Margot and Marché. And even as she speaks, the clatter of cups and the buzz of caffeinated discourse fill the air around her at Ugly Mugs. Still, she insists, she doesn’t fit in. Her hoop earrings are more East Coast than East Side. And with her preference for high heels, she’s more apt to drive than schlep to the neighborhood’s hipster hangouts.
What is beyond dispute is that Spinei has been an asset to the city’s cultural scene since arriving in October from New York City. Her flair for glamour and upbeat personality belie her renown as one of America’s most promising young composers. Cultural arbiters have honored her with grants. She has written for orchestra, solo performers, duos, trios, quartets, and other ensembles including electronic music. Regardless of the instrumentation, Spinei aims for and achieves an ideal balance between accessibility and sophistication. Her harmonic textures are often dense. On works such as the string quartet Bootleg Sugar Lips they swirl like bees in a hive, though always with a clear or somewhat abstract melodic idea at the center. On Drunken Birds, for piano and string quartet, her rhythms are even more forceful, with all five instruments emphasizing their percussive characteristics in jagged dissonances reminiscent of Bartok and Stravinsky. (She pays an especially transparent homage to Stravinsky in the third of her Aqeul Momento songs for soprano and orchestra.) Spinei admits to being an odd kid while growing up in Stamford, Connecticut. While her friends in school were clamoring over the Spice Girls, young Cristina was in love with distinctly non-adolescent types of music.
“That comes from being exposed to all types of music at home but also from having a background in dance. I’d studied ballet, and while I stopped eventually because I didn’t have the right body for it, I really loved the music in the ballet classes. So I started taking piano lessons at 9 and just kept going. By the time I was in middle school, I was listening only to opera and Latin music. I wasn’t into pop music until high school, when Enrique Iglesias became big—but that made me actually ahead of the trend,” she adds with a smile.
Spinei began writing music in fifth grade. Later, for two years in high school, she spent each Saturday in New York, studying in the Juilliard School’s pre-college program. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the prestigious institution and began work there on a doctorate. The experience was pivotal, but at a certain point it was time to move on.
“One of the great things about Juilliard is the people you’re in school with,” she says. “The musicians I knew in pre-college, when I was 15 or 16, I still collaborate with today. But you go to Juilliard to learn how to become a great composer, not how to become a businessperson. So I think it was the right idea for me to stop after my master’s because I want to compose. I don’t want to be in a university, teaching composition. I’m not a super-academic person. I want to be out, writing.”
Spinei got a great start in New York, where, among other things, she co-founded the Blind Ear Music collective, dedicated to improvisational composition through a combination of electronic technology and live performance. But after a while, she began to notice that the same folks kept showing up at each performance. Sensing it was time to expand her horizons, she made the same decision others in her situation had made before her—to check out Nashville. But not necessarily for the same reason.
“My sister and I had this vague Nashville awareness from reality TV shows and news,” she admits. “So we said, let’s go see what it’s all about. Why not?” NashvilleArts.com
They began by heading down to Lower Broadway to check out the honky-tonks. “But the Mardi Gras Y’all Festival was happening, so we stayed outside and eventually we wound up at the Basement.” That visit proved fateful, as S pinei met Dean Jackson, the club’s manager. Eventually, they began their relationship, and he became one big factor in her decision to settle in Music City. Since her arrival, Spinei has ventured into new territory by arranging “Cheek to Cheek,” “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” and three other songs for Caitlin Rose’s Valentine’s Day performance at the Canner y Ballroom. The Intersection ensemble has named her its “composer ambassador.” She will also play the piano accompaniment at the first local concert featuring her work, the song cycle Desde las cenizas, based on the poetry of Steve Clark, on June 7 at 3 p.m at Lipscomb University’s Ward Hall.
“I just love the city and the art scene,” she explains. “There are so many more chances to create here than in New York. I’ve written more here in six months than I did for a year when I was in New York. I feel that some unwritten restrictions have been lifted because I’m not in a huge, contemporary classical music scene. So there’s more artistic f reedom here. I’m writing all the time, which is a composer’s dream.” For more information about Cristina Spinei visit www.cristinaspinei.com. May 2015 | 51
Mallards at Marks, 2004, Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40”
Eyes on the Horizon Phillip Crowe’s Wildlife Paintings Thrive Through Observation
by Megan Kelley
T
he space is filled with paintings, their tight, photorealistic acrylics nonetheless airy with lines that translucently weave through intricate layers of color. Several are framed, showcasing the tiny minutiae of stamp designs, while others lean against the wall, creating a sense of depth and a blur between the cozy, handsome workspace and the breathless light of lakefront dawns, dense woods, and tufted grasses.
Phillip Crowe is likewise an intricately woven man whose career took him from baseball and the military into graphic arts and painting and from the crowds of cities and corporate clients into a self-motivated adventure as internal as it had been external. Moving into painting as a path into that journey was a natural move. Crowe’s past as a designer instilled a healthy work ethic and an innate sense of composition that has fueled his prolific career, and his early life hunting with family encouraged not only a love of the outdoors he depicts, but a need to thoroughly understand a place by experiencing it firsthand. This dedication to “truly knowing” is reflected in Crowe’s work, giving him the expertise to spotlight the tiniest of quills with a single, intentional stroke, as well as the restraint and excitement to explore ground and light through expressive mark-making and suggestions of forms. Often this deep connection happens through observation, and it’s important to Crowe that he have the freedom to wander the solitary spaces he paints. Many of his days are spent traversing the world both local and afar. His daily working routine often includes outdoor trips for sketching and photographic note-taking in addition to the seclusion within the studio, creating a broad series of field notes that provide reference for the behavior of the wildlife he depicts and the atmospheres they inhabit. This familiarity, born of years of focusing, allows Crowe to insert drama into his wildlife images, engaging scenes that pull together as vignettes of color and quiet, poetic phrases. Misty Morning Woodies, 2010, Acrylic on canvas, 22” x 16”
It’s not just natural spaces that can catch his attention. Crowe is always on the hunt for the unexpected and rarely seen, looking
After the Storm, 2012, Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36” 54 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Mark’s Mallards, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”
for a sense of personality—a fluid, natural ownership and sense of self-possessiveness—in whatever he seeks, whether animal, object, or crafted image. Even in looking at artwork, Crowe’s eyes light up as he describes the perfect find, stumbling across a painting of a cathedral whose surface captured a perfect slant of light, while on a trip to Florence, Italy. “There was such an attention to detail and intention in the painting: how many times must have the painter visited the cathedral to work from life, with just that right moment of light, for the ten, twenty minutes while the sun passed just right? And how many moments before that must have he spent there, just looking, waiting to see exactly what it was he wanted to paint?”
helping them appreciate the animals and unique environments. He has a track record of helping to protect wild spaces through his work, and many of the proceeds from his painting and printed products return to support the conservation of these natural spaces, as well as quality-of-life services such as hospitals and cancer care. Crowe is emphatic as his eyes grow bright again: “We as artists have a gift, and a responsibility to use that gift, not just to make art in the first place, but to do good with it.” Examples of Crowe’s work can be seen at www.phillipcrowe.com. Phillip Crowe is the featured 2015 Steeplechase artist. For more information visit, www.iroquoissteeplechase.org.
Knowing the vitality and necessity of these experiences, Crowe paints as a way to connect others to the natural world around them,
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANTHONY SCARL ATI
Whether owed to his hunting background or his artistic eye, Crowe is a master at this attentive waiting. His latest work, following racehorses, required intensive studies at Lexington racetracks, watching the horses and riders train together. “I was told that if I understood the marriage between horse and jockey, then I could really begin to paint horses, and it was true.” The time he spent allowed Crowe to begin to “understand these huge, incredible animals—and the trust relationship that exists” and to really see them for what they were: powerful figures twisting in space, translated to painting through bold textures and expressive strokes, articulating suggestions of background and light through scraped color and visual tension. “I needed to be there, to breathe the dust of the tracks, in order to know.” It’s a mode of working that allows Crowe to engage the work, turning a painting from a simple image to an evocative experience. Phillip Crowe
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 55
And So It Goes...
a l o o k at w h y w e c r e at e
t’s amazing to think that visual and sculptural arts were around almost 30,000 years before the first language was recorded. Humans have always possessed an inherent need to express ourselves through art. Before the majority of the world could read, or the invention of the printing press, visual art was often the platform used to illustrate stories and communicate ideas to the masses (think of medieval narrative paintings of Biblical stories by Cimabue and Giotto and, later, cartoons). Art commissioned by the Catholic Church lead to private commissions by wealthy patrons of portraits, neoclassical themes, and scenes of ordinary life. Romanticism of the late-eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries opened the doors for artists to express what they wanted to paint—their personal thoughts, observations, and feelings. This was a pivotal change that lead to all the “isms” and art movements we have today: Impressionism, S ymbolism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, Constructivism, Minimalism, Neo-expressionism, along with Instal lation, Per f or mance, and Conceptual Art, to name a few.
Part of the Cave of the Hands in Santa Cruz, Argentina. ca. 9,300 BP
So why do we make art today? Here are some reasons: To add beauty to a space To tell a story To make a political statement To express personal thoughts or feelings To initiate and document societal changes To honor a religion To decorate or adorn objects To make a living To spotlight environmental issues
Of course when I say “art,” I don’t mean just visual arts. This term covers all forms of expression from music, dance, literature, poetry, storytelling, to filmmaking and more. Sometimes I wonder what our lives would be without art. Imagine not having music or stories in your life or visuals of any kind. I believe that the arts help us engage in our whole selves so that we may experience our fullest range of human expression. Partaking of the arts also helps us better understand ourselves as individuals within a society and connects us to our culture and to cultures throughout the world.
Aggie Zed, They Aren’t Gonna Take Any Butterball Cats, Pastel, ink, and acrylic on paper, 40” x 26”
I asked some artists why they make art. Nashville artist John Jackson said, “I’m compelled to make art and paint because it gives purpose to my life. I paint because it motivates and pushes me to reach my
56 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
potential—to think, expand, and progress. Without painting I’m just a stagnant animal.”
The whimsical artist Aggie Zed said, “Mostly I build the things I build and paint the things I paint because I am curious. I want to see what the characters in my drawings and paintings will do next. I never know when I start a drawing who will show up and what animals they will have. I always hope they will make me bust out laughing.” Leslie Satcher, a highly successful Nashville songwriter and painter, says she writes and paints because “I can’t help myself—it just pours out of me. Even when I was working a 9-to-5 job, I had to find ways to express myself. Now I make my living 100 percent through art. It’s my haven. I find peace through making art.”
As I look at the cave paintings “Cueva de las manos” in Argentina and see all the stenciled hands left for eternity there, I wonder what their motivation was to make art. As we face our inevitable mortality, perhaps the ultimate reason we make art is simply to say, “I Was Here.” PHOTOGRAPH BY RON MANVILLE
I
by Rachael McCampbell
I Was Here
Rachael McCampbell is an artist, teacher, curator, and writer who resides in the small hamlet of Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. For more about her, please visit www.rachaelmccampbell.com.
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Casey Pierce and Daniel Oglander Two Artists One Gallery by Cat Acree
D
aniel Oglander and Casey Pierce bring bold, fresh smacks of color to The Rymer Gallery with the exhibition From the Cut. Both young artists share a provocative sense of texture and a fearless ability to experiment with contemporary culture, and for both artists this show reflects a turning point, so it should come as no surprise that they’re actually longtime friends.
The Rymer Gallery will display a selection of works Oglander produced last summer, a high-concept period when he forced himself to explore his own neuroses. “I found myself not opening up to people, not even strangers,” Oglander says from Brooklyn, New York. To bring this alienation to light, Oglander constructed his own exercise and began keeping a record of any prejudiced thought that popped into his head as he rode the train. He then obscured these shameful phrases beneath “leafy, neo-camo” paintings, created by stapling canvas into bunches and painting all available space, like tie-dye for your worst thoughts. “Some of them you can’t read at all,” Oglander says. “I don’t really want anyone to know what I was thinking.”
Casey Pierce, Play the Queen, 2014, Oil and acrylic, 60” x 48”
The artist calls the series My Admission, and it was an experience he describes as painstaking and cathartic. But it got the poison out, and afterward he began to explore painting from a more natural, “fun” place. Inspired by a recent trip to Nashville when he unearthed some of his paintings from when he was 14, Oglander is currently digging at the concept of comfort through scraps of metal and fabric. “It’s blossoming and turning into something that’s much more from the heart and much more genuine.”
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Daniel Oglander, Learning How to Look Bored, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 72” x 48”
Leaping Carp gaLLery
While Oglander used his high-concept work to excise some demons, Pierce, on the opposite pole, seems right at home morphing concept into art. Pierce, who moved to Nashville in 2006, features portraits of famous and infamous people in his new body of work How to Live Forever, Well, Forever Enough. “To be remembered, you do something great or you do something terrible,” Pierce explains as he surveys oversized paintings in his studio in Berry Hill. “Immortality [is] in the memory of humans.” For example, Mark Twain sits in a classic portrait, rendered in low-contrast, pretty pastels, but Pierce has sliced cleanly across his face, and several inches of plush wool are pulled back to reveal a black underbelly with the impression of a fence and symbols of war. “[He was] a very dark figure even though he concealed it with wit and humor and children as characters. [This is] the grandfatherly portrait that we all have of Mark Twain, and then underneath [it hints] at the salty dog he was.” Pierce is exploring figures who are larger than life, but in paintings like this, his materials make us want to touch them, maybe even mess with them, pick and pull at their fabric. In a similar vein, Pierce will be showcasing some three-dimensional paintings that offer glimmers of the artist’s growing fascination with video and sculpture. With these two artists, it’s all fun and games till someone tells the truth.
www . LeapingCarpgaLLery . Com
Their exhibition will run at The Rymer Gallery from May 2 through May 30. For more information visit www.therymergallery.com.
NashvilleArts.com
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May 2015 | 59
As I See It
War in Eastern Congo Invisibility and Ethics by Mark W. Scala
R
ichard Mosse’s The Enclave (2013) is an immersive video environment that captures up close the war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in which an estimated 5.4 million people have been killed over seventeen years. The installation consists of six two-sided projections, in which the documentary photographer and his crew follow the movements of rebel groups fighting each other and government troops. Chilling in the way it shows the combatants’ almost nonchalant approach to the business of war, Mosse’s film records them patrolling the bush, preparing for battle, and intimidating civilians through the threat of pillage, massacre, and rape.
As a device for exposing the unseen, the infrared film closes the gap between documentation and art. The saturated pinks instill a sense of the hallucinatory, clothing a realm in which nature and people are seen in ghostly counterpoint to each other. The palpable strangeness is intensified by Ben Frost’s haunting soundtrack, composed from field recordings of voices and songs made in the region.
Richard Mosse, The Enclave, installed at The Irish Pavilion, 2013 Venice Biennale, June 1 – November 24, 2013
Does seeing war at this high psychological pitch move us so profoundly that we demand some sort of action to put an end to it? Mosse hopes so; in an online talk, he cites other genocides in which the international community intervened.1 But, however emotionally engaged they might be, viewers may also feel that it would be pointless to try to convince politicians and the news media to pay attention to the crisis, which occurs in a region Westerners consider remote and which has little obvious bearing on our geopolitical interests.
Richard Mosse, Vintage Violence, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011, Digital c-print, 40” x 50”
If we cannot improve the situation, is The Enclave, then, simply to be seen as an invitation to appreciate the beauty of the abject? Mosse hopes that the work will trigger the sensation of the sublime, reminding us of the philosopher Edmund Burke’s observation in a discussion of the sublime that people take delight in the pain of others. But for Mosse, beauty is a tool, the best an artist has, which causes the war’s imagery to linger in our minds and hearts long after the empathy inspired by conventional documentaries dissipates. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag notes that a measure of “moral and psychological adulthood” is to be able to witness “how much suffering caused by human wickedness there is in the world we share with others.”2 This idea of sharing with others is at the core of Mosse’s enterprise. The Enclave deserves a place in the library of the inhumane. And like other works of art and literature on the ‘tragedy’ shelves, the film encourages viewers to perceive themselves within a humanist spectrum. It may slightly enlarge us, leading to a shift from an insular, self-absorbed view of the world to a fatalistic sorrow about that which seems intractable. It might even give us the courage to use our gifts transformatively, as Mosse himself has done, to challenge complacency and imagine how we might alleviate pain.
Endnotes 1 See http://portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/enclave/ 2 Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others, (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2003), p. 114 IMAGES: ©RICHARD MOSSE. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY ATNIP
Mosse does more than document a war that nobody outside central Africa seems to care about. He seeks to reverse the conflict’s invisibility, both as a humanitarian crisis and in terms of the secretive nature of guerrilla warfare. The Enclave was filmed with Kodak Aerochrome, an infrared film developed by the U.S. military in the 1940s and used extensively in Vietnam to enable soldiers to see the enemy in the jungle (infrared light is reflected by the chlorophyll in plants, appearing in the developed film as red or coral-pink; inanimate objects and people are seen in their real colors).
60 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Mark W. Scala Chief Curator Frist Center for the Visual Arts
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The Real McCoy The Dylan, Cash and the Nashville Cats exhibit opened last month at the Country Music Hall of Fame to rave reviews. We caught up with one of those Cats, the harp maestro Charlie McCoy, to reflect on life, country legends, and the Nashville sound he helped create.
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“
. . . the drummer reaches over to get a pickle from a big bowl of spears, and from out of nowhere a hand grabs him by the wrist and a voice says, ‘Those are Elvis’s pickles.’
”
by Melissa Cross | Photograph by Bob Delevante
E
lvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel, Ringo Starr . . . This could be a list of notable Grammy winners. But it’s actually a list of people that super session player Charlie McCoy has worked with. Start naming country artists: George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Wynonna . . . and, well, it would be easier to list who Charlie McCoy has not worked with!
For several decades no matter what genre of music filled the studios of Music City, Charlie McCoy was part of it. It’s a cliché that’s been used before—in fact, as the title of his own Grammy-winning album The Real McCoy—but when you look at his musical credits, there’s no doubt that Charlie McCoy is indeed the real deal. I first met Charlie when I was hired as the music coordinator for the syndicated Hee Haw television series, where Charlie was the music director. He was a music machine, working deftly with hundreds of singers and musicians during each production season.
My first perk of the job was watching him in action using the “Nashville Number System,” an ingenious and speedy system of using numbers to write chord charts and melodies. Charlie is credited with making the Nashville Number System a standard for music notation in Nashville. As Charlie tells it, he first heard about it in an advanced music theory class in high school and then in 1959 when he was at a recording session with The Jordanaires and Neal Matthews. “I noticed this piece of paper on his music stand, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it,” Charlie explains. He then showed it to fellow musicians Wayne Moss and Harold Bradley, brother of hit producer Owen Bradley, credited with developing the “Nashville Sound” in the late 1950s. They all loved it, and from then on it was what all the studio musicians and producers in Nashville used. To this day Charlie still shows it to people around the world. This and many other fascinating stories about the Nashville music scene are in Charlie’s soon to be released book 50 Cents and a Box Top, referring to how Charlie NashvilleArts.com
got his first harmonica at age eight when his mother sent in a cereal box top for the promotional prize. With that the music bug hit and sealed his fate. Hoping to be a rock ‘n’ roll star like his idols Elvis, Fats Domino, and Carl Perkins, the eighteen-year-old Charlie actually came to Nashville in 1959 to audition as a singer for Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley. Fortunately, he says, they turned him down but invited him to a recording session—which happened to be Brenda Lee recording her first hit. Watching that is what changed Charlie’s life. Soon after, he had his first recording session as a professional Nashville musician, and he has never looked back. The world-class harmonica player, who also plays guitar, bass, keyboards, and various percussion and wind instruments, took part in an astonishing 400-plus recording sessions a year in the 1970s, and his own album The Real McCoy won a Grammy in 1972. In 2009 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Barbara Mandrell and fellow Hee Haw member Roy Clark. May 2015 | 63
N a s hvi l l e A r t s M a g a z i n e ( NAM ) : When you were working on Bob Dylan’s iconic albums including B l o n d e o n B l o n d e a n d N a s hvi l l e Skyline did you imagine seeing your work celebrated in a museum nearly forty years later? Charlie McCoy (CM): We didn’t have a clue of what was to follow. We were just musicians doing what we loved. NAM: You worked with the legendary Bob Johnston who produced albums by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon and Garfunkel. What was he like? CM: Bob Johnston was a songwriter. I met
him leading his demos as he tried to get his songs into Elvis movies. He became very good at hiring musicians he trusted and letting them do their thing. He was also a good influence on everyone, artists, musicians, and engineers.
NAM: Can you give us a tidbit about working with Elvis? CM: Of course Elvis would sleep all day
and work all night, and his Memphis Mafia was always hanging around. So we took a break at midnight, and they brought in food, hamburgers and fries and all that stuff. And we’re all going through the food line, and the drummer reaches over to get a pickle from a big bowl of spears, and from out of nowhere a hand grabs him by the wrist and [a voice] says, “Those are Elvis’s pickles.”
NAM: You’ve played with everyone in Nashville. What musicians do you most admire? CM: The best session player I’ve ever
known is Pig Robbins. And the guy that was for me, from early on, the real rock in this town was Grady Martin. He was the session leader on most sessions when I started working. He was like an interior decorator. He could look at a blank room and picture the finished product, you know. He’d listen to a song and ninety percent of the time the very first thing he played, while you were practicing, was what he played on the record. I mean he just knew what to do. His work on Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” is absolutely the greatest piece of session work I’ve ever heard. I mean, think of the talent: you’ve got a four-minute record. He had the intro, he had all the fills, he never repeated himself, it was always tasty, it was always interesting . . . and he did it on a borrowed guitar! And it was live, you know, back in those days. It’s not like the stuff they can do now. They can put an “s” on a word now. This was live, and it’s just incredible.
Charlie McCoy and the Escorts, Wayne Butler, Jerry Tuttle, Kenny Buttrey, Mac Gayden, and Charlie McCoy, circa 1965
NAM : You were part of the Million Dollar Band with Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, Boots Randolph, Floyd Cramer, D a n ny D avi s , J et h r o B u r n s , a n d Johnny Gimble. That’s a lot of talent to have in the same room. CM: Yes, all these guys, they came up at about the same time together, and they had a lot of respect for each other. That’s what makes it work. It’s true with almost any session here in town, not only years ago but today. People from Europe always tell me, “Man, it’s amazing. These guys come into the studio and the respect they have for each other. They all leave their ego at the door and play what the record needs.” And really, that’s the key to Nashville’s music success. NAM : You played on Ween’s 12 Golden Country Greats, which was recorded in Nashville at Bradley’s Barn. What was it like working with this experimental band? CM: I’m not sure how Ween came about.
I received a call to book me. We were impressed about how much these two young kids knew and respected about what we had done. We were also a bit shocked at some of the lyrics that were a bit raw for Nashville standards.
NAM: And how has the recording business changed over the years? CM: Today when I do a session I never see
another musician. It’s always over-dubs, and that’s kind of sad to me. That’s one of the reasons that I still do a lot of the independent sessions, especially people f rom Europe, because their budgets
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demand that they still do it the old way, with all of the musicians together. That’s the way I like to record—you get the best music that way. NAM: Who do you listen to and like these days? CM: Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, I think the y ’re great. I saw R asc al Flatts once, and they really showed me something. They did that a cappella thing, and it was amazing. I loved it. And, of course, I’m a huge fan of Alison Krauss. Yes, there’s some good talent out there, like Lady Antebellum. In fact, I asked Linda Davis (1993 Grammy recording artist and mother of Lady’s Hillary Scott), “How is it now that the world is so interested in Hillary and Lady Antebellum?” She said, “Payback is hell!” NAM: Is there anyone that you haven’t worked with that you’d really like to? CM : Yes, I have three: Alan Jackson,
Martina McBride, and Alison Krauss. I got a glimmer of hope when Alison Krauss came up to me after a show. She was just raving and said, “Man oh man, that’s good,” and later her manager got my phone number. So maybe something’s gonna happen there.
Dylan, Cash and The Nashville Cats is open at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum through December 31, 2016. Visit www.countrymusichalloffame.org for ticket and exhibit details. For more information about Charlie McCoy visit www.charliemccoy.com.
YORK & Friends fine art Nashville • Memphis
G I N G E R O G L E S BY MAY 1-30
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107 Harding Place • Tues-Sat 10-5 615.352.3316 • yorkandfriends@att.net • www.yorkandfriends.com Follow us on at Ron York Art
Joy to the World (Street Singers), 1939
Ernest A. Pickup Nashville’s Master Printmaker by Jesse Mathison
“I’d like to think that no print that I have made is like another, or stirs the same memories of another print. Each one is individual, and carries its own message.”
E
rnest A. Pickup, born in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in 1887, was among the first printmakers and commercial artists working in Nashville, as well as the first commercial artist in Tennessee with his own office. He is perhaps best known for his woodcuts, a medium through which he faithfully rendered many cultural landmarks in and around Nashville (the Parthenon and Scarritt Tower among them), as well as many pastoral scenes that depict a quickly diminishing past. Mr. Pickup began engraving on wood “simply because he admired the craft,” his daughter, Beverly, recollected. He wanted to hone his skills, and so he started making prints on the side.
Ernest A. Pickup, Master printmaker
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Anticipation, 1938
venues, and new shops. Of course, prints have continually supported the musical presence of Nashville, helping to promote shows at nearly every venue in town and also the occasional house show. As design and printmaking are becoming only more relevant to the overall aesthetic of Nashville (and to the aesthetics of contemporary life), it is important to remember how these traditions were begun and under what circumstances.
The work of Ernest Pickup, in both its commercial and artistic aspects, played a large part in establishing a new dimension in our local culture. His work was (and still is) an homage to the Southern tradition, reflecting our more agrarian past and the gradual process of modernization. It helped shape earlier conceptions of what Southern art could be and established a solid platform for the growth of both our community and our culture. Ernest Pickup’s work and biography The Life and Work of Ernest A. Pickup are available at Paul LeQuire and Company. For more information visit www.paullequireandcompany.com/ernest-pickup. Beverly, 1938
Prior to the beginning of his career in the commercial arts in 1912, Mr. Pickup had apprenticed at the Organ Printing Company in Brooklyn and had also worked with his father for their rubber stamp business, G. A. Pickup & Son. He flourished as a commercial artist until the Depression of the 1930s, when the economic downturn would dramatically alter the commercial and artistic landscape of America, which in turn made it difficult to secure work as a commercial artist.
With the Second World War and the subsequent revival of the economy, Mr. Pickup would again find more commercial success, but in the intervening years, with time on his hands, he was able to focus on his woodcuts. During this time he took part in group exhibitions across the United States, such as the Exhibition of Lithographs, Woodcuts, and Block Prints held in New York City in January of 1937. From that show, one of his etchings was selected to travel with the Society of American Etchers, which toured European Galleries, starting in Stockholm, Sweden, in the winter of 1937. In that same year, Mr. Pickup’s work was also featured at the Sixth International Exhibition of Lithography and Wood Engraving, held at the Art Institute of Chicago, and he was once again featured internationally at an exhibition held in Scotland in 1939. The importance of Mr. Pickup to Nashville perhaps lies in the tradition he helped establish, more so than any particular piece of art. Printmaking is becoming an ever more accessible art form, and in the past few years more and more outlets have been created to showcase the varied aesthetics of the craft: new publications, new
Sentinel by the Gate (detail), 1934
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Stray Dogs of Santiago Nashville photographer David Morel found himself, camera in hand, in Santiago, Chile, confronted by man’s best friend—thousands of them PHOTOGRAPH BY CHANDLER MOREL
Photography and story by David Morel
W
hen visiting Santiago, Chile, last February at the end of their southern hemisphere summer, I was struck by many differences from other large cities I have known. The city was filled with friendly and caring people; no less than six different individuals stopped me on the street to instruct me on the proper way to carry my camera gear to avoid theft. The streets were busy with cars doing their best to flout safe driving practices. City parks were filled with families and ice cream vendors—surely not a coincidence. But the thing that made the biggest impact on me were the stray dogs, some say hundreds of thousands of them, roaming everywhere in the city.
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No street corner, no outdoor restaurants, no subway entrances were without a dog, or two, or three. They were everywhere. They would tempt fate crossing busy streets. They would sleep in the shade of a dumpster. They would seek out food, water, or a scratch of their knotted fur from passers-by. They were everyone’s, and yet no one’s.
Against the advice of my local friends, in my first days in the city I was drawn to rescue these dogs. Some looked like they were in their last days and in great need of care and love. I was saddened that they were on the streets, drinking from puddles and scavenging for every meal. How could they make it another day without my help? I felt pity for them, and I photographed them that way. Of course, they have survived before my arrival and will long after my departure.
A few days into my trip, I began to realize they were not the needy wretches I initially saw. They knew to cross streets at the corner when the crowds did. They knew which entrance/exit to the subway was best at different times of the day for a chance at a commuter’s leftovers. They struck up partnerships with other dogs, large and small, quiet and loud, to better navigate the perils of the large city. The dogs knew how to find shade to get a quick nap out of the midday sun. They knew which shopkeepers or security guards were generous with treats and water. It was then that I began to capture these wonderful creatures as what they really were, active participants in the life of the city, not just survivors. For more information about David Morel, please visit www.davidmorelphoto.com. To see more photographs from this series visit www.nashvillearts.com. 70 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
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B ar Bara a llen
Fontanel Mansion’s First Art Show
Watercolor Exhibit Through May 31 www.BarbaraAllenArt.com Behind the Brush Collections 4225 Whites Creek Pike • Whites Creek, TN 37189
4/16/15 3:31 PM
PHOTOGRAPH BY YASMINE OMARI
BarbaraAllen_0515.indd 1
The Castle, 2014, Wool, cotton and silk thread on tulle fabric, 43” x 34”
72 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Portrait Paintings & Works on Tulle Visit www.meghanvaziri.com or call (901) 246-4250 for portrait commissions or other inquiries.
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ARTIST — The World’s Oldest Profession
Angels Aren’t For Sale She used to ride the plastic pony in front of the grocery store Put another quarter in and she would ride some more Everyone called her Angel she was the sweetest girl in town It wasn’t long till all the boys started coming around They would try to impress her with things money could buy She would just ignore them they would wonder why Momma said son I’ll tell you something something that’ll never fail Can’t buy no angel cause angels aren’t for sale Now she drives an old blue mustang works at the grocery store I give her all the love I have but you know she gives me more My friend I’ll tell you something something that’ll never fail Can’t buy no angel cause angels aren’t for sale No, no you can’t buy them cause angels aren’t for sale J. Schrantz
©2015
Standing Ovation ©2015 Tribute to Janel Maher, the best horse sculptor I know. Simulated bronze 15” x 23”
John Schrantz
Fernvale, TN
standingbear6@netzero.net
New Dialect’s E mma Morrison a nd Tony Montalvo performingwith Intersectionat The Porch
intersection A NEW MUSICAL CHAPTER by Joseph E. Morgan | Photography by Eden Frangipane n Thursday, March 27, o ver three hundred people gathered in the Platform, an industrial warehouse, to experience the remarkable premiere production of Intersection, Nashville’s newest music ensemble. The concert, titled Transfiguration and led by director Kelly Corcoran, featured five works by contemporary composers and an interdisciplinary collaboration with both the
O
Zeitgeist gallery and New Dialect, Nashville’s new, contemporary dance ensemble. The event was intimate, severe, and intellectual with a pronounced sense of urban chic—a world apart from the backbeat-driven kitsch of lower Broadway. The interdisciplinar y aspect of the concert sought an expression of how the transfiguration theme intersects in these art forms. The dances, both choreographed by Banning Bouldin, director of New Dialect,
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lent a moving physical manifestation to the score but maintained an ambiguity that allowed for personal interpretation. For example, in Murmuration, the choreography for S ofia Gubaidulina’s tense and contrapuntal Concordanza (1971), Bouldin sought a contrast between a starling-inspired sharp and delicate individual movement and the fluidity of group migration. However, seeing the human forms enact these instinctual, animal movements gave the choreography a primal, ritualistic feature.
On the other hand, Bouldin’s Bside (kill your darlings) was more intimate, featuring a poetic “movement vocabulary,” often in duet, that matched Ned Rorem’s tonal, neo-Romantic Eleven Studies for Eleven Players (1959). The only difficulty here was one of riches—the dance was interesting enough that it could distract from the music, itself realized by Corcoran’s players with an extraordinary virtuosity and nuance. One of the most intense and stirring moments of the concert was when Jeff Bailey (trumpet) and Curt Dallace Miller (clarinet) separated from the ensemble and climbed opposing platforms to play complementary solos.
Z e i t g e i s t ’s t w o v i d e o p ro j e c t i o n s , accompanying Jonathan Harvey’s Valley of Aosta (1988) and Sean Shepherd’s Metamorphoses (2004), began with projected photographs that captured moments of change and then evolved, in real time, in a process derived directly from the aural parameters of the music. In what may be a first in music history, the performance of Shepherd’s extremely concise, even Webernian, Metamorphoses was recorded live and made available on iTunes immediately after the show. Director Corcoran’s extensive experience with contemporary music was not only apparent in her relationship with the ensemble and her interpretation of the music, but also in her programming. In particular, her decision to open the evening with the ensemble playing Arvo Pärt’s delicate Fratres alone was inspired. The work is a deceptively accessible piece featuring Pärt’s signature tintinnabuli and a timbral contrast of strings and
Intersectionperforming at The Porch
percussion. The deception was in the ease of interpretation—Fratres requires a nuanced balance between precise articulation and musical warmth, a balance that played directly to the strengths of Corcoran and her ensemble, giving witness to her announcement in the program that “We are entering a new chapter for Music City.” Although, as a flexible, contemporary music ensemble, Intersection may be blazing a new trail in the “music city,” there is a record of success for contemporary music ensembles in cities of similar size. Boston’s “A Far Cry” and Baltimore’s “Sonar” are just two examples. Yet, Intersection is different. With its stated interest in collaboration
and dedication to presenting performances for all ages, they are not just cultivating a contemporary audience, but also an audience of the future.
Indeed, their next concert, Pooh, Zoo, and a Dino Named Sue, to be held at Green Door Gourmet, is a family affair featuring “selections inspired by Winnie the Pooh, animals, and dinosaurs” as well as “food trucks, honey vendors, and hands-on connections with animals and dinos.” The music on the program, featuring works by Luciano Berio, Oliver Knussen, and Bruce Adolphe, are in the tradition of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, or Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, seeking to cultivate the musical tastes of the young but written in the most sophisticated languages of contemporary music. Ultimately, in a contemporary music concert it is rare that one will enjoy every piece on the program. The music is usually just too stylistically diverse to meet such an expectation. But what one can expect is a quality performance of the repertoire that will allow the listener to decide for herself. But when done well, as Intersection Cellist Michael Samis has noted, this repertoire can “transcend words to convey the stories of our time.” With Transfiguration Corcoran has demonstrated that if transcendent contemporary music is going to be heard in Nashville, an Intersection concert is likely the place you will hear it. For more information about Intersection and upcoming performances, please visit www.intersectionmusic.org.
Kelly Corcoran conducting Intersection
NashvilleArts.com
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Littlebranch Farm
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY ATNIP
Kelly Maxwell
Across from 3rd and Lindsley and behind a rather ordinary-looking facade, wooden works of wonder are being crafted by Kelly and his team of master woodsmiths. Come on in.
T
by Bob Doerschuk
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY ATNIP
he name Littlebranch Farm might be a little misleading. After all, it conjures a pastoral picture—grassy pastureland, maybe a weathered barn. In fact, this Eden lies behind showroom doors at 901 Second Avenue South in a cavernous workspace where Kelly Maxwell spends a lot of his time. Today, he’s stirring a pungent resin epoxy mix, his hands sheathed in blue rubber gloves. Once it’s ready, he’ll pour it into an indentation in the big hunk of redwood before him and then smooth it out so that it blends into the finish of the bar top it will soon become.
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May 2015 | 77
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY ATNIP
People took notice. Maxwell’s boss and best friend persuaded him to take some of his creations to a craft show. Every piece sold. Without any formal training, sharpening his skills through trial and error, he built some more, set up a website, and, most important, discovered something valuable about who he is.
“I didn’t know that I had any kind of aesthetic sense,” he says.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RODGER WADE
Maxwell’s love affair with wood began with the wedding of his elder daughter, Cathy. “She asked me if I could build her some furniture.
I said, yeah, I think so. I didn’t have any tools at the time. I couldn’t even cut a straight line. I couldn’t use a hammer. That’s why I’ve got a flat thumb now,” he said with a laugh, holding up the pancaked digit. “But I picked up some wood from the forests around our property in Hamilton, Georgia. Then I built some furniture.”
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PHOTOGRAPH BY KELLY MAXWELL
Eight pieces of furniture stand nearby, in various stages of progress. These range from small, buckeye-burl end tables to a lace-burl redwood bed with a headboard that stands nearly seven feet tall and fans out like petrified feathers from a prehistoric ostrich. When finished, it’ll be shipped to a buyer who wants to install it in his new house on Lake Tahoe. (Purchase price: $10,000.) Further, against the back wall, more than five hundred pieces of raw wood—old-growth redwood, cypress, big-leaf maple, Western juniper, walnut burl—are air-drying on massive metal shelves.
“I was perfectly content as a paramedic. But I retired my paramedic license about two years ago because I’m so committed to this.”
“It’s great because, number one, Nashville is a central hub. Since we came here, several clients now fly regularly into town just to look at pieces of furniture in the gallery here. There’s also a large community of local artists. For example, I’ve started working with Red Tail Forge Works (in Fairview, Tennessee). The blacksmith there, Anthony Martin, does phenomenal work, and we’ve done a mantel and a couple of tables together.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRANDON CAWOOD
When his wife, also named Cathy, found work as a nurse in Nashville, they relocated. Though they miss their old sixteen-acre spread at the foot of Georgia’s Ross Mountain, Maxwell insists that the move has opened several doors, not just toward new customers but also into a network of like-minded visionaries.
He pauses, smiles, and adds, “Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a sterile environment.” Nothing at all—especially when it is brought to life by elements made from nature, with skill and above all with love.
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRANDON CAWOOD
Littlebranch Farm is located in downtown Nashville. For more information visit www.littlebranchfarm.com.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY ATNIP
The Littlebranch look can fit into a room whose look is more modern than rustic. “It’s pretty common to have a room that’s totally black and white,” Maxwell observes. “But if you add buckeye or redwood or black walnut, it softens everything. It makes the room a lot richer, a lot warmer. It’s like a ray of light shooting into a sterile environment.”
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Public Art
T he Gathering P lace by Van Gill Maravalli, Public Art Project Coordinator, Metro Nashville Arts Commission
Oftentimes community art projects allow the community to participate in the final stages of the project only, and volunteers are limited to using one or two rudimentary mediums. However, the volunteers assisting Hunter were treated more like apprentices. Under her careful supervision, volunteers of all ages learned how to cut tile, mix grout, and carefully apply thousands of multi-colored ceramic and glass tiles to the surface of the sculpture. For ten years The Gathering was located on Music Row in front of the Oasis Center’s former 16th Avenue South building. In 2013, the Oasis Center donated the sculpture to the Metro Nashville Arts
Sherri Warner Hunter’s The Gathering at Edmondson Park
Commission’s public art collection. Metro Arts worked with Hunter to restore and relocate The Gathering to Edmondson Park to ensure that the sculpture would be enjoyed for many years to come. Hunter’s award-winning work is included in numerous private and public collections across the country. She continues to teach workshops at her studio in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, and around the country on concrete, mosaics, sculpture, and professional practices for artists. Edmondson Park is located on Charlotte Avenue between 16th and 17th Avenue North. Visit publicart.nashville.gov for more information.
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ne could argue that no other space in Nashville exemplifies the power of community-inspired artwork quite like Edmondson Park. The Gathering—one of three public artworks located within the park—was created by artist Sherri Warner Hunter in 2001 with the help of students and staff from the Oasis Center and dozens of community volunteers. The Gathering consists of four amorphous figures, ranging from two to eight feet tall and covered in brightly colored mosaic tiles. The abstracted forms of the oversized figures act as a seating area and community gathering place within the park.
“People . . . Like Trees”
View More Work At: www.hamptonhomefurnishings.com/james-andrew-hearn Contact Patrick: (615) 579-0330
80 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
FLOW ERS FOR EV ERY OCCASION
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Poet’s Corner FEATURING THE YOUNG POETS OF SOUTHERN WORD
From Victim to Villain by Cassidy Martin
Cassidy Martin is a freshman at Big Picture High School. She is a two-time middle school slam champion and was a finalist for the first Nashville Youth Poet Laureate competition. Learn more at www.southernword.org. 82 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANTHONY SCARLATI
When I started asking him “who are you?” He stomped my courage with a six foot fear. He picked up my vulnerability with his teeth, and chewed it like bubble gum, and it stuck to the yellow and black stubs in his mouth. He spread it with his tongue, and expanded it with his putrid breath that smelled like burnt flesh ignited by cigarettes until my vulnerability burst. He plucked every piece from his cracked crusty lips and jammed it into the ash tray. So instead of being burned, I disconnected from my heart… and left it there. I was a victim, losing parts of myself just to go on; giving up on something I couldn’t save, to save myself… until saving myself meant hurting someone else. Taking the bullet that was meant for me and shooting my best friend. I backhanded her with sudden anger— I was a volcano that missed its chance to erupt and explode in an ice age. She never gave me a chance to apologize. I was the abused becoming the abuser. Because I was so tired of being alone in my grief. I was a victim that turned into a villain.
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Film Review
Buskin’ Blues
by Justin Stokes
t times, the only reward for being an artist is the satisfaction of the art. But what if that’s all you needed?
Buskin’ Blues, presented by The History Boutique and directed by Erin Derham, features the musical stylings of The Resonant Rogues, The Stillwater Hobos, To All My Dear Friends, Lyric, Celestially Rooted, Big Nasty Jazz, and many other musical acts with whom viewers will want to familiarize themselves. These are the musicians that are giving Asheville, North Carolina, a reputation for street performance that’s spawned several festivals and events. The documentary is an hour-long “slice of life” look at musicians performing on the sunshine-soaked streets of Asheville. Not quite cinéma vérité, there’s a natural feeling that connects the subjects and the audience that clicks with admirers of outdoor music. This means a trade in the expected drama for a much more pleasant, tempered tone that fits.
There are bits and pieces of really interesting knowledge here. The presented image of Asheville buskers is the antithesis of vagrancy. These are all working professionals with niches in music, playing spoons, didgeridoos, and dulcimers. These artists treat the city the same way as performers in Europe, putting beauty on the streets that wouldn’t otherwise be there. Among the artists, there’s also a very strong sentiment against regulation for the artists. These people have
Musician Marc Hennessey of the electro-classical duo To All My Dear Friends draws a large crowd of passersby in Pack Square
developed their own policing code to continue playing for people while keeping the peace by the storefronts. It does feel like something’s missing from the story here. Perhaps it could have expounded upon the buskers’ importance to Asheville’s tourist economy. But what we have is a cool little documentary that doesn’t overstay its welcome. F o r m o re i n fo r m a t i o n a b o u t B u sk i n ’ B lues plea s e vis it www.buskinblues.com. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTY SIMMONS
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LOCATED ON THE MAIN FLOOR OF SARRATT STUDENT CENTER AT 2301 VANDERBILT PLACE, NASHVILLE TN 37235 Visit us 7 days a week from 9 a.m–9 p.m. during the academic year Summer and holiday schedule hours are Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
www.vanderbilt.edu/sarrattart 84 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Justin Stokes is the founder of the MTSU Film Guild, a student organization which functions as a production company for student filmmakers. He is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and social media manager.
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The Bookmark A Monthly Look at Hot Books and Cool Reads
For more information about these books, visit www.parnassusbooks.net.
supporting our cause, strengthening yours.
It’s a Long Story: My Life WILLIE NELSON Here’s Willie in Willie’s words. Now in his 80s, Nelson has decided it’s time to tell some more of his stories, and they are as Willie Nelson-ish as you could possibly imagine. His anecdotes are star-studded, sometimes funny, and his ruminations on issues ranging from privacy to marijuana legalization (you knew he’d go there) are thoughtful. Nelson has been making music since he was big enough to hold a guitar, and he’s seen quite a lot as the music scene has changed. Fans will want to snap this up.
Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs SALLY MANN Event May 21 at the Frist
For more information on how your business can benefit from supporting the Nashville Symphony, contact Robert Ketter at rketter@nashvillesymphony.org or 615.687.6531.
According to Ann Patchett, “In Hold Still, Sally Mann demonstrates a talent for storytelling that rivals her talent for photography. The book is riveting, ravishing—diving deep into family history to find the origins of art. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.” It’s always hard to look away when someone spills family secrets. An autobiographical mix of prose and photos, Hold Still is thoroughly enchanting. (Meet Mann in conversation with Ann Patchett at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts on May 21.)
On the Move: A Life OLIVER SACKS Sacks has a way of telling true stories that’s as fascinating as fiction. If you liked The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, in which he describes some of the more bizarre neurological disorders he has treated in his career as a neurologist, you’ll love it when Sacks turns his focus to himself. On the Move picks up where his boyhood memoir, Uncle Tungsten, left off and describes how he came to be the doctor he is today as well as the personal struggles, addiction, and relationships that colored his life at various points. What an interesting life he has led.
God Help the Child TONI MORRISON It’s a new Toni Morrison novel—what else needs to be said? Well, perhaps this, from Elle magazine: “Once again, Morrison thrillingly brings the storytelling moxie and mojo that make her, arguably, our greatest living novelist.” This is the first novel Morrison has set in the present day, and it centers around a young woman called Bride and her interactions and relationships with the people in her life. Morrison knows how to write a book that makes you think, and this one will definitely do that. She’s brilliant.
(615) 646-2422
www.natchezstone.com
Art in Formation
Stirrings from the Nashville Underground
JOHN DONOVAN
new personal best!
letting go
Opening Reception May 2, 6-9pm 516 Hagan St | Tues-Sat 11-5 | zeitgeist-art.com
Make this Mother’s Day Memorable . . .
Fallen, 2013, Felt and thread
by Tony Youngblood
E
mily Sue Laird has one foot planted firmly on the ground, and the other is kicking a hole in the sky. Her sculptures, textile art, and paintings juxtapose the organic with the artificial, the traditional with the cutting edge. In her show, Token, at 40AU and 444 Humphreys, she crafted artificial leaves in fall colors out of felt and thread. At the Replication show at Fort Houston last December, she 3D printed geometric shapes around living plants. “I have loved nature my whole life,” Laird says, “and although most Americans seem to think of math as a strange foreign language, the rules of geometry come directly from the forms and structures of the natural world. Organic shapes have geometry, and geometry is completely organic. I guess I like to play with that idea so much that it has seeped into everything I make. Emily Sue Laird That’s what happens when you read books on botany and sacred geometry for fun.” PHOTOGRAPH BY HANS LAMBERT, STUDIO 16
JESSICA WOHL
Her work is currently on display at Turnip Green Creative Reuse through May 16, and her two-person show with Ross Denton opens at Watkins Arcade Gallery (WAG) June 6 during the First Saturday Art Crawl. She’s organizing a second edition of Replication, Nashville’s only juried 3D printing show, at the Mini Maker Faire at Adventure Science Center on September 12.
bittersweet jewelry
Exclusively at Paul LeQuire & Company
Laird says, “3D Printers could easily be the most important technological advancement of this century. I’m also interested in exploring applications for wearable designs and ways to incorporate LEDs and other experimental lighting into costumes, props, and sculptures for stage shows.” Laird recently started teaching Paper Circuitry to teens at the Nashville Public Library. “It’s such a joy to watch students connect to design and technology through simple circuitry and 3D printing,” she says.
3900 Hillsboro Pike | Nashville, TN 37215 | 615-739-6573 paullequireandcompany.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN SCARPATI
Learn more about Emily Sue Laird at www.artistnashville.com.
NashvilleArts.com
Tony Youngblood is the founder of the Circuit Benders’ Ball, a biennial celebration of free culture, art, music, and the creative spirit. He created the open-source, multi-artist, scalable “art tunnel” concept called M.A.P.s (ModularArtPods.com) and runs the experimental improv music blog and podcast www.TheatreIntangible.com. May 2015 | 87
B lair S chool of M uSic PRE-COLLEGE MUSIC PROGRAMS FOR SUMMER 2015 Nashville Summer Orchestral Institute (grades 7-12, college students, adults). Intensive orchestral experience, Concerto Competition, master classes, celebration concert. May 29June 2, $105. Contact: carol.nies@vanderbilt.edu
Kindermusik Explore the world of music! For children (newborn to age 5) and their parent/ caregiver. 5 weekly classes, June and July, $155
Private & Group Lessons in many instruments for children as young as age 3 (and as old as the hills.) blair.pca.academicservices@vanderbilt.edu Blair.vanderbilt.edu/precollege-adult
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The Southern Watercolor Society’s
38th Annual Juried Exhibition
May 12—July 5, 2015 at the
Customs House Museum Located in Historic Downtown Clarksville, Tennessee 931-648-5780 www.customshousemuseum.org Image shown: Stair by Kathleen Haynes 88 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
FOUND ART
by John Murdock
W
e built a dream factory. Most people know us at the Entrepreneur Center for our work helping entrepreneurs turn their dreams into investable businesses. The sixty-five million dollars our graduates have raised certainly indicate that we do a lot of that. But we do a lot more: We help dreamers of all types apply an entrepreneurial mindset to turn their impossible into their inevitable. In Periscope, we help artists apply an entrepreneurial mindset and toolkit to move closer to their own definitions of success.
27” x 35”
Teak Root, Inspired by Nature, Found by Jalan-Jalan, West Java In the style of Yasukazu Nishihata, the only one in the world.
Jalan-Jalan Showroom and Gallery
Periscope is a natural fit for us because these super-awesome artists already share three of the critical traits we search for in the entrepreneurs we work with:
615-780-2600 • www.jalanjalanantiques.com
The Graduate . . .
Jalan_0515.indd 1
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Perfect for her
Perfect for him 3900 Hillsboro Pike | Nashville, TN 37215 | 615-739-6573 paullequireandcompany.com
They burn hot. We look for passionate people. People whose passion borders on obsession and whose mission, be it art or business, is so important to them that it’s not something they choose to do; it’s something they have to do. Artists and entrepreneurs know this force well.
They show us another way. We look for people who sit at the intersection of fantasy and fact. People who not only have dreams but birth dreams. People who don’t just live in the world but share something new with the world. Something new that is uniquely theirs but forever changes us. Artists and entrepreneurs pull us forward.
They overcome. We look for people who won’t be denied. Rejection is everywhere. There will always be people who don’t get it, don’t like it, and don’t want it. We look for people who get up every time they’re knocked down and keep doing it anyway. For artists and entrepreneurs, it may sting a little or a lot, but they keep getting back up.
The goal of Periscope isn’t to turn artists into business people; it’s to arm artists with another approach to help them get wherever they want to go. The first step is realizing how entrepreneurial they already are. The second step is accepting that’s okay. The third step is learning how to refocus that natural entrepreneurial spirit not just on the creation of the art but the success of the art. The language and tools are a bit different, but the journey has already begun. John Murdock serves as Director of Education at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and is lead teacher for the Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training program. For information about the Arts and Business Council Nashville, visit www.abcnashville.org.
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 89
S tephanie Q&A Silverman S
Executive Director, the Belcourt Theatre
eems like the Belcourt Theatre is as old as Nashville itself. I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t there and that’s good news for all of us who enjoy a good film in a stunning Art Deco setting—I know I do. The building has been through many iterations and even survived the wrecking ball, thanks in part to this lady, the silent siren of the movie screen. She’s quick to laugh, quick to be serious, and quick to get the job done. She’s a fiery redhead with a vision that cannot be extinguished, and that, once again, is good news for all of us.
by Paul Polycarpou | Photography by Eric Brown Nashville Arts Magazine (NAM): Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
NAM: What characteristic do you most like about yourself?
a lot.
Stephanie Silverman (SS): I feel like I say “It’s all good”
SS: I’m sure it can be annoying to people around me, but my positivity. I tend to look on the bright side.
NAM: What is your greatest fear?
NAM: What would you like to change?
SS: Screwing something up . . . really blowing it on something.
SS: I would love to be more disciplined about exercising.
NAM: Which living person do you most admire?
I can be easily distracted by the next shiny thing. I’d like to be more focused.
SS: I really love Ruth Bader Ginsburg. NAM: A person you want to have coffee with? SS: I have always been fascinated with Anjelica Huston. I imagine she has amazing stories. NAM: What do you sing when you’re alone in your car? SS: I love Patty Griffin. NAM: What are some things that you can’t leave the house without? SS : My husband makes me a great cappuccino every morning, has a heart on it. NAM: If you weren’t living in Nashville where would you be?
NAM: What was the last book you read?
SS: I like the good arts-funded cities, Minneapolis, Seattle. I
SS: When I finally sat down and read The Goldf inch, I
NAM : Wha t ot her profes s ion would you have considered?
NAM: What about you would most surprise people?
SS: I’m a real geek over radio at the moment, so
I learned how to count money from old gamblers.
lived in Chicago for many years; I love it there.
something on public radio probably.
NAM: If you could go back and find the 12-year-old you, what would you tell her? SS: I would tell her not to be afraid to ask for what she wants or needs. I would also tell her that all the successes and failures are all critical, and it’s not the end of the world.
was amazed. Talk about cinematic!
SS: That my first job was selling tip sheets at a racetrack. NAM: Who has most inspired you along the way? SS: Early on I worked for a woman, Amy Lamphere, who taught me the core of being an arts administrator. NAM: Who is your favorite artist? SS: Terry Rosenberg. Beautiful work based on dancers.
NAM: Are you a night owl or morning person?
NAM: Why Nashville?
SS: Definitely not a morning person. I can barely get out
SS: I moved here because my husband was here. He could
the door.
90 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
be a musician in Nashville and still raise a family here.
NAM: What are you most proud of? SS: Making a path for myself that allowed me to live a life in the arts on my terms. NAM: Are you happy with where you’re heading? SS: We’re in a great place, at work and at home. There are big things to tackle, but they are achievable. NAM: What is something that you do really well? SS: I take in information and process it pretty well. I’m good at settling in with ideas. NAM : H ow d o yo u f e e l a b o u t Nashville’s explosive growth? SS: You can see where the strengths are
and where the weaknesses are. We’re feeling the pressure in neighborhoods. We’ve got big infrastructure issues to deal with. It needs to be a thoughtful evolution.
NAM: What talent would you most like to have? SS: I’d love to be a cabaret singer, really work The Great American Songbook. NAM : What is your most treasured possession? SS: My husband [Tracy Silverman] has a lot of
instruments. One of the instruments is a viola that was my mom’s. It was incredibly precious to her, and it is to me.
NAM: Any regrets? SS: I live a long way away from family. I’d like to be closer to them. NAM: What do you want to be remembered for? SS: For adding meaningfully to the cultural life of Nashville. NAM: When and where are you the happiest? SS: I really love this theatre, and coming to work here is pretty special. NAM : W h a t i s yo u r g r e a t e s t extravagance? SS: Groceries. Buying good food is important to me. NAM: What film have you seen recently? SS: I really loved the Turkish film Winter’s Sleep. It was long, contemplative, but it really stuck with me.
For more about the Belcourt Theatre visit www.belcourt.org NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 91
Aaron Martin, Untitled #2 alternate crop, 2013, Pen and Ink
CREEK CONVERGENCE Local Art Collective Collaborates on Large-Scale Ambitions by Joe Nolan
T
he Creek art collective first flashed across the local radar a year ago in May 2014 when their inaugural exhibition debuted at the then-just-opened Frothy Monkey café downtown. Priorities was a collection of work featured in a book of poems and art images written and curated by local polymath Jesse Mathison.
“Our second book explores two ideas, reflected in the title,” says Mathison. “It’s an attempt to synthesize a new ideal from these concepts, but also to explore the inherent dichotomy existing
PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIEL MAX STARNER
Creek’s new book is titled trip {} frisson and will be accompanied by another exhibition of art and poetry at 40AU debuting May 2 during the Downtown First Saturday Art Crawl. In addition, Creek will also be ramping up its new mural-making projects as the warm weather months offer more ideal outdoor conditions for high-profile painting in one of Nashville’s most foot-traffic-friendly neighborhoods.
Jesse Mathison, Aaron Martin, Casey Pierce, and Daniel Holland
92 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
between the two, all while broadening the accepted tropes and taboos of art, especially within Nashville. It is a mixture of mediums and techniques, including painting, photography, writing, drawing, and design.” Like all collectives, Creek is also a meeting and a mixture of talents and personalities. This time around, Mathison’s book and the accompanying show will include contributions from Amanda Joy Brown, Marta Djourina (Berlin), Richard Feaster, Daniel Holland, Aaron Martin, Jesse Mathison, Casey Pierce, and Ann Catherine Carter. “We’ve been hanging out for a couple of years now, talking about different ideas,” says Mathison. “It’s all of us working together loosely with our own abilities and our own networks. I’m more of a writer/curator/editor, but Casey and Daniel and Aaron are visual artists. We’re all getting more opportunities by working together even though we’re all individualistic.”
Richard Feaster isn’t exactly a formal member of the group, but he’s been asked to participate in the upcoming book and the 40AU exhibition. “I’m planning to have two paintings in the exhibition: Castle and Me and My Arrow,” says Feaster. “Jesse’s using a whole bunch of images in the book—the imagery
Daniel Holland, Untitled, 2015, Acrylic on canvas
progresses from black-and-white to color. When it comes to the images, he thinks about their titles, which is refreshing. He thinks about titles as a chance to be poetic or even psychedelic. I’m happy to be a part of it.” While not working on the book or the exhibit, a number of the Creek crew have been lashing together a series of mural projects they hope to realize in the next few months. Creek’s first mural was created on a cinder-block garage on Marina Street in East Nashville. It’s an out-of-the-way location, but the project helped Creek’s muralists get organized, experiment, work out their collaborative choreography, and create a portfolio they’ll use in the coming months to land more lucrative, higher-profile projects. Casey Pierce, Daniel Holland, Aaron Martin, and Mathison collaborated on the Marina Street mural; graphic designer Kristin “K.B” Beck has since joined the team. The results are a vivid, energized convergence of the artists’ individual styles. It looks more like a collage than a painting of a single scene, occupying a particular plane, but it all connects into a convincing, cohesive whole that includes Holland’s palette and angular lines, Pierce’s figurative elements—a pair of giant, beckoning hands—and Martin’s stoner psychedelia. “The next mural will be at Halcyon Bike Shop,” says Mathison. “We’re hoping to unveil it in about six weeks. We want to put our energies into this next one and then see what opportunities might come up.” Mathison says this last sentence with the calm confidence of a raft in rising water.
Richard Feaster, Actual Proof, 2013, Enamel and Mylar on canvas, 50” x 30”
trip {} frisson opens with the Downtown First Saturday Art Crawl at 40AU located within the Arcade. For more information about the group and the exhibit please visit www.creekspace.com and www.hausrotations.com.
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 93
Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale from the original Broadway production of The Bridges of Madison County
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW MURPHY
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOAN MARCUS
Theatre
Jillian Mueller (Baby) and Samuel Pergande (Johnny) in Dirty Dancing — The Classic Story on Stage
T PA C PHOTOGRAPH BY JOAN MARCUS
Jillian Butterfield (Belle) and Ryan Everett Wood (Beast) in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Mamma Mia! North American Tour 2014
The Broadway cast of Matilda the Musical
94 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOAN MARCUS, 2013
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW MURPHY
BROADWAY AT
I
by Jim Reyland f you’re like me, you wonder about things. “Why are bagels round, and if they didn’t have holes, would they still be bagels? Or how does a musical make it into the 2015–16 HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC series?” These are mysteries of life, until now.
Obviously a show like Dirty Dancing, featuring the hit songs “Hungry Eyes,” “Hey Baby,” “Do You Love Me?” and the heart-stopping “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” is a natural. It’s fast and beautiful and kicks off the season. September 22–27, 2015
“
This September, we will celebrate TPAC’s 35th birthday, and I can think of no better way to mark the occasion than with the return of one of our biggest and most beloved titles,
The Phantom of the Opera.
”
— Kathleen O’Brien,
And then there’s Bullets Over Broadway—that’s a no-brainer. The New Yorker calls it, “A Fun Machine from Start to Finish!” Loaded with big laughs, colorful characters, and the songs that made the ’20s roar. November 10–15, 2015
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW MURPHY
TPAC president and chief executive officer
Kathleen O’Brien, TPAC’s President and CEO, has the final word. “Each year we curate our Broadway season with some very specific criteria in mind. We first look at what shows are hot on Broadway that will be launching national tours the next season—particularly the Tony Award winners.” That’s why Matilda the Musical is up this year. TIME Magazine’s #1 Show of the year! Winner of 50 international awards, including four Tony Awards® and a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards, including Best Musical. January 26–31, 2016 Go on, Kathleen, more secrets please.
Katie Travis and Chris Mann in The Phantom of the Opera
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOAN MARCUS, 2014
“We factor into that mix other first national tours that have yet to come to Nashville. We survey our audiences in the fall for their input. And from those titles we put together a season that includes at least one anchor show—the “jewel” within that season that we know will be exciting and well received.”
Reed L. Shannon as Michael Jackson (center) with the Jackson 5 in Motown The Musical First National Tour
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 95
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW MURPHY PHOTOGRAPH BY CAROL ROSEGG
Yes, Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera. Critics are raving that this breathtaking production is “bigger and better than ever before” and features a brilliant new scenic design and new staging. The beloved story and thrilling score—with songs like “Music of the Night,” “All I Ask Of You,” and “Masquerade”—will be performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this Phantom one of the largest productions now on tour. March 11–17, 2016
Bullets Over Broadway
So what happens after lunch, Kathleen?
“Building around that, we add other popular titles, trying to have a good mix of at least one family-type show, several traditional Broadway shows, one classical revival of an “art” show.” Like Motown The Musical, Berr y Gordy ’s journey f rom featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, and many more. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives, and made us all move to the same beat. February 16–21, 2016
“Then we step back and assess how each show contributes to the overall series. Once we decide on the titles we want, then it’s a matter of working with the booking agents to see if they are available during the times we have held. We also look at price to make sure that we haven’t built a season that is cost-prohibitive for the public.”
Bring on The Bridges of Madison County, an unforgettable story of two people caught between decision and desire, as a chance encounter becomes a second chance at so much more. This stunning new production features gorgeous, soulful music that draws upon the rich textures of Americana and folk and the sweeping, expressive balladry of classic Broadway. May 10–15, 2016 And finish with If/Then, a contemporary Broadway musical about living in New York today—and all the possibilities of tomorrow. This “fascinating, ambitious, and original new musical” (New York Post) simultaneously follows one woman’s two possible life paths, painting a deeply moving portrait of the lives we lead, as well as the lives we might have. June 7–12, 2016 If that’s not enough, TPAC will also sweeten the season with a few extras: Cinderella—October 20–25, 2015, Mamma Mia!—April 26 to May 1, 2016, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast—May 31 to June 5, 2016. Well done, TPAC. It promises to be a great season.
Finally, never let anyone tell you what is or isn’t a Bagel. It’s a personal choice.
For more information on the 2015–16 HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC series, visit www.tpac.org/broadway, where you can purchase individual or season tickets.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella 96 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Jim Reyland’s STAND, starring Barry Scott and Chip Arnold and voted Best New Play by the Scene in 2013, returns to TPAC September 24–27, 2015, to kick off its HCA National Tour. www.writersstage.com
ART
SMART A MONTHLY GUIDE TO ART EDUCATION
KEEPING THE MUSIC ALIVE
A charter school and an after school academy targeting at-risk youth are having remarkable success in South Memphis. And it all started with music. COURTESY OF THE SOULSVILLE FOUNDATION
by Anne B. Pope, Executive Director, Tennessee Arts Commission
D
In the late 1990s, a group of concerned Memphis citizens, including Deanie Parker, music executive for Stax Records who later became the President and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, created the Foundation with the mission of opening a museum to preserve the legacy of Stax Records and a music academy to see that the tradition and Memphis sound would live on in future generations.
“The needs were so enormous for the children in this community that we decided to open the Stax Music Academy first,” says Parker.
Then, in 2003, the museum opened to preserve the legacy of Stax, and in 2005, the Soulsville Charter School was opened to “prepare students for success in college and in life in an academically rigorous and music rich environment.” Both the Music Academy and the Charter School are successfully reaching the South Memphis community and have made measurable impacts. The school currently serves 626 students in grades 6–12, and of the four classes that have graduated thus far, it boasts a 100 percent graduation rate and 100 percent college acceptance rate. Collectively, the graduating seniors have received over $20 million in grants and scholarship offers.
Today, thanks to Stax and its legacy, Soulsville youth are developing their academic and music potential; a community is being revitalized, and the Memphis sound lives on. Stax Museum of American Soul Music was a recipient of a 2015 Arts Leadership Governor’s Arts Award. For more information about Stax, the Soulsville Charter School, and the Stax Music Academy, visit www.soulsvillefoundation.org.
COURTESY OF THE SOULSVILLE FOUNDATION
In 2000, the Foundation launched the Stax Music Academy to provide the area youth the opportunity to develop their music capabilities, gain performance experiences, and carry the torch of soul music. Most children come with little or no music experience.
The Academy has an after-school program that operates during the school year, as well as a four-week summer program.
Students study under GRAMMY–winning musician and performer Kirk Whalum
Andrew Saino (left) jams with comedian Sinbad
98 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
COURTESY OF THE SOULSVILLE FOUNDATION
The Stax Music Academy students perform in the Stax Museum’s Studio A
On a 2011 Summer Soul Tour to perform at New York City’s Lincoln Center, Stax Music Academy students perform an impromptu number on Broadway, after performing backstage at the famed Shubert Theater for the cast of MEMPHIS, the Tony Award-winning musical
COURTESY OF THE SOULSVILLE FOUNDATION
COURTESY OF THE SOULSVILLE FOUNDATION
uring a 15-year run in the 1960s and 70s, Stax Records scored more than 167 songs on the Top 100 pop c har ts and an astonishing 243 hits on the Top 100 R&B charts. It was responsible for launching the careers of many iconic singers, including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.s, Sam & Dave, Albert King, and the Staple Singers. However, in the mid 1970s Stax suffered the blow of the recording industry boom and bust, ran into financial difficulties, and its doors were closed.
Christen Dukes
TEEN ADVISORY GROUP PLANS MAQ ATTACK! EURO GLOW FEST FOR FRIST CENTER by Anne Henderson, Director of Education and Outreach, Frist Center for the Visual Arts
Teens posing for selfies in their “Manga Masks” as part of a MAQ Attack!
to them as an audience. The Frist Center belongs to the community. It’s my hope that by creating programs by teens for teens we’ll be able make a space where they’re comfortable and invested.”
The TAG’s first event was canceled in February due to weather, but all energies now are directed toward a successful MAQ Attack! Euro Glow Festival for Friday, May 8, 2015, from 6 to 9 p.m. The MAQ Attack! program was launched during the 2013–2014 school year as an opportunity for teens to come to the Frist Center, enjoy hands-on art experiences in the studios and galleries, and experience the Martin ArtQuest Gallery (MAQ) for a teen-only evening. The upcoming May Euro Glow Festival will provide teens
PHOTOGRAPH BY QUINTON CREASY
Ms. Jhaveri summarized the importance of this audience for the Frist Center: “As a forum and resource for the visual arts in Nashville, it’s important for the Frist Center to engage the teens in our community and help them connect with art as a means of visual expression. The Teen Advisory Group is a great way to recognize their voice and what’s important
PHOTOGRAPH BY QUINTON CREASY
T
he Frist Center for the Visual Arts recently developed several programs to engage youth fourteen to eighteen years old. To guide the Frist Center staff in these initiatives, a Teen Advisory Group (TAG), coordinated by youth and family educator Keri Jhaveri, was formed this past fall. It immediately sparked enthusiasm from area high school students and art teachers. Interested youth submitted applications, with a teacher recommendation, for the advisory group. Seventeen students from eight public and private schools in the area were selected for the TAG. They found a common interest in art and are personally energized by the group. Having the opportunity to be “behind the scenes” and gaining a greater understanding of how programs and exhibitions are planned at the Frist Center has been engaging for the TAG members. The teens shared that they feel valued and treated with respect by staff and appreciate the staff ’s mentorship as they develop activities. They enjoy the creativity and fun of seeing their ideas become reality.
Participants during 30 Americans exhibition MAQ Attack! with Spoken Word facilitators
NashvilleArts.com
with free access to the Frist Center and special activities. Planned activities by the TAG include a Glow Stick Regatta in the Turner Courtyard, a Glow Stick sculpture activity, and access for teens only to the Martin ArtQuest Gallery. A local DJ will provide music for dancing in the auditorium.
The evening will also serve as a concluding event for the Hume-Fogg Academic High School seniors involved in the school’s Stop! Take Notice initiative launched this fall. MAQ Attack! attendees will be invited to make glow-in-the-dark flowers to hang in the Turner Courtyard in remembrance of personal loss. The project was created to increase pedestrian safety and driver awareness.
Ms. Jhaveri said that “the best part of working with the teens is facilitating their ideas, having them plan a unique program or activity, and then helping them understand the steps or adaptations to make it happen. Not only do they learn about working collaboratively, but they learn how the Frist Center functions internally. It’s a great experience for me as an educator, but also for the students developing their own professional skills.” The members of the TAG are excited to share their enthusiasm for the arts with other teens in the area and invite interested teens to participate in the free MAQ Attack! Euro Glow Festival.
For additional information on educational o p p o r t u n i t i e s a va i l a b l e a t t h e F r i s t Center for the Visual Arts, please visit www.fristcenter.org/learn/martin-artquest. May 2015 | 99
NASHVILLE SCHOOL OF THE ARTS JURIED COMPETITION Visual Art Students Illustrate the Poem The City That Never Stops Giving by Walter Schatz, Art Collector and Competition Judge
T
he poem The City That Never Stops Giving b y Nashvil le Youth Poet Laureate, Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay was handed out to the students of Martha Profitt-Streuli and Camilla Spadafino, Visual Arts Teachers at the Nashville School of the Arts. These 9th through 12th grade students, including levels Art AI-IV, Painting, and AP Studio, were charged with illustrating Mukhopadhyay’s poem in a visual form. Each student was given the option of responding artistically to the whole poem, individual lines, or ideas drawn f rom the poem. Students were additionally motivated knowing that their work would be judged and selected for inclusion in Nashville Arts Magazine. Sixty-five works of art were submitted for judging, embracing a variety of styles—painting, digital programming, graphics, and photography.
FIRST PLACE (above) : Neil Mothershed, Untitled, Watercolor and pen, 7” x 10 5/8” FROM THE POEM: “Every step falls into the heartbeat of a million lonely people.” By having the colors of the individuals cloud together, the artist was going for a depiction of a collective and vibrant society. The grey exterior’s purpose is to contrast with the commotion of the city, and to help convey the message that life brings color.
Often a critical examination of an artwork lacks any knowledge of the artist’s intent and relies on the interpretation of the work by the observer. The play of social and political forces, the imagined or perceived experiences and motivation of the artist at the time of an art work’s execution does, however, give depth to the understanding of a work of art. For this exercise, students were required to append a written explanation of what influenced and gave inspiration to their artistic efforts. Judging these submissions was particularly enhanced by an understanding of the stated deliberations and paths students took to better illustrate what captured their interest and of how they approached their artistic interpretation of aspects of Mukhopadhyay’s poem. The work of the ten finalists rose above the others in execution. When considering the task of artistically rendering notions contained within the poem, these images are felt to be the most compelling. It was a fascinating opportunity to see the collective efforts of these students. Their works speak well of the direction and guidance given by the Nashville School of the Arts faculty. 100 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
SECOND PLACE (left): Jenice Williams, Veins of the City, Watercolor, pen and ink, 15 ¼” x 6 ½ FROM THE POEM: “The paths of headlights mature into veins of a breathing atmosphere.” The artist depicts two distinct sides of the City: the human emotional aspect and the industrial, physical aspect. THIRD PLACE (detail above): Cassie Chandler, The Green Light, Watercolor and graphite pencil, 16” x 10” FROM THE POEM: “. . . when the light turns green, it doesn’t always mean go.” The artist felt a deep emotion of sadness and loss in reading that line of the poem.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANI BING
Third Place Winner Cassie Chandler, First Place Winner Neil Mothershed, and Second Place Winner Jenice Williams were awarded gift certificates from Jerry’s Artarama.
The city never stops giving on the corner of 6th and Broadway where downtown traffic is a harrowing consistency, when the light turns green, it doesn’t always mean go. Where Roy Orbison wrote “Oh Pretty Woman,” emboldened by the femme of mercy below his apartment balcony where tourists and the music leave a warm taste of affinity, by the Starbucks in the Renaissance that snags money from teenagers who rendezvous before school. They never spell my name right on the little cups filled with magic. From this crosswalk, electricity ripples through the crooked streets of the city. The paths of headlights mature into veins of a breathing atmosphere. The wait is forgiving, and when we don’t like what we see and all significance is lost, we turn around softly and walk the other way. A newfangled story in a blink and a sigh, blinkers signaling a right turn, people staring straight ahead, headlong into the bright eyes of a symmetrical world. So begins the journey across the black and white, when everyone becomes familiar and nothing feels strange. Every step falls into the heartbeats of a million lonely people, and when the crosswalk ends, so does another chance encounter with a supreme stranger that you never would have otherwise met— a James, a Taylor, a small life changer, the old love of a never ending family meets the new love of a never ending home, and the city never stops giving.
— Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay Nashville Youth Poet Laureate
PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANI BING
THE CITY THAT NEVER STOPS GIVING
Finalists (descending) Jenice Williams, Zamora Vacek, Elijah McKissack, Dylan Camp, Cher Von Tiedemann, Neil Mothershed, E. J. Terry and Cassie Chandler (Not pictured Sophia Bruce, BreAnna Anderson)
Jerry’s Artarama of Nashville generously sponsored this arts competition and gave gift certificates to the top three finalists. “We love Nashville School of the Arts, and we wanted to show our support for the work they do in educating student artists in our community,” said Jerry’s Manager, Amanda Micheletto-Blouin. NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 101
FARZIN DEHGHAN: MUSICAL JOURNEYS by DeeGee Lester
A
The Persian music from his homeland in Iran passed through the centuries, from musician to musician, until it was collected and compiled into sheet music over the past seventy to eighty years, providing musicians such as Farzin an opportunity to share this rich musical heritage. As his own musical talents developed, he has expanded beyond these classical jewels to improvise and create his own music. Like the novelist whose characters “take over,” carrying the author’s words in unexpected directions, the appeal for Farzin of musical improv is that the music takes on a life of its own. “I smile in improv, because something comes to me, encouraging me to do more.” Starting from the basic structure, the music can break off into sub-modes, which can divide again, he explains. “Yet even in improvisation, the music is a journey that always leads back to the starting point; back home.” Farzin’s own journey took him and his family as refugees from their home in Iran to Turkey and to Nashville. When he arrived four years ago and enrolled at Overton, he knew no English. As his teachers worked with him to master the English language and attain
PHOTOGRAPH BY JANET SUE MCQUIRK
talented international musician is emerging from the rich musical exchange and interaction created by Nashville’s increased cultural diversity. Farzin Dehghan, a 2015 Overton High School graduate, connects emotionally with his audience through the haunting strains of the stringed kamancheh or the multi-layered rhythmic sounds of the daf, considered the most spiritual Middle Eastern instrument. These are old sounds from ancient instruments.
academic success, his soccer expertise connected him with teammates and classmates, and his music provided a bridge to his cultural roots. Music also built bridges into the community. An internship with the Nashville Symphony led to presentation of a TED Talk and a performance at the Symphony’s Free Day of Music last fall. He has accepted an invitation to participate in a Silk Road Ensemble summer workshop, which explores the common language of music under the direction of maestro Yo-Yo Ma and leading musicians from around the world, including his own mentor Kayhan Kalhor, composer and kamancheh maestro. This spring, Farzin was accepted to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and received a scholarship based upon audition. Watch Farzin at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km6KMc28npQ.
OLDE WORLDE THEATRE PRESENTS JACK AND THE BEANSTALK Belcourt Theatre Saturday Mornings in May
F
ee–F i–Fo–Fum! Enjoy Jack’s adventures as Olde Worlde Theatre takes you back in time on a magical journey full of colorful characters, farcical whimsy, and hysterical dialogue.
Performed in the spirit of a traditional English pantomime, this endearing and lively interactive comedy appeals to folks from 3 to 103. Be prepared to boo the bad guys, cheer on the good guys, and help the characters make moral decisions. Richard Stein, the company director, explains the troupe’s creative process. “We don’t start out with a formal script, but we do have a formal story. We get the group together before each scene and talk it through. I encourage the actors to develop their character out of their strengths. In this way the play sort of writes itself, and we end up with a script.” Richard plays the giant and his real-life wife Lisa Larson plays his wife. They model their characters after Edith and Archie Bunker. Actress Lin Folk, who is 98 years old, plays the Golden Harp, and several child actors are also involved. Olde Worlde Theatre performs Jack and the Beanstalk at 10 a.m. on May 2, 9, 16 and 23 at the Belcourt Theatre. General admission is $8. For information and tickets, please visit www.oldeworldetheatre.com or www.belcourt.org. 102 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
SECOND GRADE ART STUDENTS EXPERIENCE MADONNARI by Cassie Stephens, Art Teacher, Johnson Elementary | Photography by Tiffani Bing
T
PHOTOGRAPH BY JUAN PONT LEZICA
he histor y of sidewalk chalk festivals, or, for those of you in the know, street painting, surprisingly goes back to sixteenth-century Italy. The Madonnaro were homeless artists who created lavish images of the Madonna, their namesake, in front of cathedrals in hopes of earning spare change from passersby. From this, Madonnari, or street painting events, evolved all over Italy. Twenty years ago, street painting made its debut right here in the US, and it’s been growing into a movement of performance-meets-fine-arts since. I was fortunate enough to host Madonnaro Lee Jones at my elementary school for two days. Lee has traveled to Italy to participate in Madonnari events as well as working right here in the States. You can often find her chalking her elaborate designs for Disney in her hometown of Orlando as well as street painting events near and far. Her largest street painting to date? A massive 25-foot image of Marvel super heroes in 3D.
When Lee agreed to come to my school, speak with my students, and engage my second-grade artists in a street painting event, I was ecstatic. My students often learn about artists who are dead dudes: from van Gogh to da Vinci, they can name
them all. But to introduce a contemporary female artist was a thrilling thought—not to mention one that was a performance artist, as the art of street painting is one part performance. What more authentic and unique experience could I provide?
And then, I looked at the projected forecast: RAIN. Lots of it. What to do? After some big-time brainstorming, I came up with the idea of the children chalking on ceiling tiles. We have removable ceiling tiles in my school, as most do, which have a surface and
NashvilleArts.com
texture akin to that of a sidewalk. So with the help of our incredible custodians and parent volunteers, we got enough ceiling tiles, chalk, and supplies for eighty second-grade students to create their very own chalked butterfly masterpiece. Butterflies play a big part in the second-grade curriculum, so this was a big hit with the children and their teachers alike. W hile the children worked on their masterpieces, which will be permanently installed in the ceiling of our schools, Lee worked on her image of our school mascot, the tiger. What an incredible memor y Lee provided for my students—all of us working with the same supplies and a common goal: completing a chalked masterpiece. We all became Madonnaro on that day. And rain, no shine, it was an experience they won’t soon forget.
May 2015 | 103
Morgan McFarland at Conscious Camouflage in Track One
Meet the Seavers band on 5th Avenue
SEE ART SEE ART SEE
Cynthia Sukowatey at Channel to Channel
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Paul Polycarpou and Anne Goetz at The Arts Company
PHOTOGRAPH BY CK PHOTO PHOTOGRAPH BY MADGE FRANKLIN
Cherry Blossom Festival
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN JACKSON
The Video Show at WAG
Mercedez Longeber, Dawna Qualls at the CMHoF Museum
PHOTOGRAPH BY KRISTIN MOORE
Jenny Alexander, Pamela Johnson, Lee Boulie at the CMHoF Museum
The Rymer Gallery
PHOTOGRAPH BY CK PHOTO
Caroline Tate, Jerry Phillips at the CMHoF Museum
PHOTOGRAPH BY CK PHOTO
Nina Covington at Channel to Channel
PHOTOGRAPH BY MADGE FRANKLIN
Anne Goetze, Joy Mercy Liddle, Tim Liddle at The Arts Company
Nashville Cat Charlie Daniels at the CMHoF Museum
Demonstration at Cherry Blossom Festival
PHOTOGRAPH BY KRISTIN MOORE
Tori Fulton at WAG
PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON DAVIS, GETTY IMAGES
Brad Sells and Steven Tyler at The Arts Company
Hope Fisher, Jessica Willis, Sean Fisher, Pete Fisher at the CMHoF Museum
Jacob Gregory, Michael Barger at Abrasive Media
Alan Stoker, Alexandra & Peter Guralnick, Mick Buck at the CMHoF Museum
Cherry Blossom Festival NashvilleArts.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY CK PHOTO
Anna McKeown at Corvidae Collective
PHOTOGRAPH BY KRISTIN MOORE
PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON DAVIS, GETTY IMAGES
Crowd at Downtown 5th Avenue of the Arts Crawl
Blake Tidwell, Jaclyn Tidwell, Danny Broadway, Rebekah Barger, Randy Purcell at Abrasive Media
PHOTOGRAPH BY CK PHOTO
Newman and Johnathan Arndt at the CMHoF Museum
PHOTOGRAPH BY MADGE FRANKLIN
SEE ART SEE ART SEE
Paul Collins, Charlie Blau at The Rymer Gallery May 2015 | 105
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in grand Houghton Hall itself. For t he mid-Febr uar y p a t r o n p a r t y, t h e chairmen had assists from Jayne Bubis and Mark O’Br yan of The Tulip Tree. Hosting the 125 patrons were Christi and Jay Turner, Beverly and Jay Wallace, Amy and Frank Garrison, and Noel Williams.
WITH EMME Emme is a seventh-generation Nashvillian and president of Nelson Baxter Communications, LLC by Emme Nelson Baxter | Photography by Tiffani Bing
frist gala Buddy Best and Frist Gala Chairman Debbie Best with Frist Gala Chairman Caroline McNeilly and Rob McNeilly
The ladies and gents were charmed to be in the presence of royals for the evening, as Lord David and the stunning Lady Rose, the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley, were on hand to view the exhibition of paintings, furniture, and objets d’art from their ancestral home in Norfolk, England. The 18th century residence boasts 106 rooms and was the original home to England’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole.
Everything came up roses at Frist Gala 2015. Chairmen Debbie Best and Caroline McNeilly took their inspiration this year f rom the Frist Center’s exhibition Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House. The duo cleverly rendered their patrons party “a n outdoor party brought inside” and their tented gala “an indoor party brought outside.” Both events gave guests the impression that they had experienced a night
After touring the displays, it was off to dinner for the royal pair—along with American Darryl and Carol Yoachem photographer Tina Barney, whose work was also on display. They joined the patrons for a Kristen Winston-prepared dinner of traditional English delicacies in the auditorium rendered proper English garden.
The Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley
Billy and Jennifer Frist
Photographer Tina Barney viewing her art on exhibit
The chairmen evoked the al fresco look by carpeting the floor in verdant Astroturf and placing a formidable fountain in the center of the room. Walls were disguised by vine-crazed white lattices with subtle, leafy light projections enhancing the effect. Massed roses were everywhere.
Tom and Judy Foster, Margie and Bert Dale
106 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
mimicking the rich, teal Chinese wallpaper f rom a Houghton Hall bedroom. A clear side of the tent showed off perfectly plump cherry blossoms in the courtyard’s allée. The airy, white blossoms enhanced the look of the dozen or so crystal chandeliers hanging from the tent’s draped ceiling. Very, very pretty indeed.
Dallas and Fleming Wilt, Steve Nelson and Edana Hough
Bob and Julie Gordon
The pièce de résistance w as a tremendous mural by local artist Lorne Quarles, who had also painted the entr ance panels. The scene recreated the look of the Houghton Hall dining room with its elaborate stone fireplace and carved surroundings.
Rick and Vandana Abramson
Spotted out were Trish and Tommy Frist, Karyn Frist, Martha Ingram and Gil Merritt, Susan and Luke Simons, Donna and Jeffrey Eskind, Carlana and Aubrey Harwell, Bernice and Joel Gordon, and Anne and Tommy Nesbitt.
Perri Crutcher, Gloria and Darrell Freeman
Enjoying a fine evening were Laura Tina and Hale Hooper with Tawnie and and John Chadwick, Vic Campbell Julie and Tommy Frist, Dana and Tom Sherrard, John Colton, Mary and Lee Barfield, Jean Ann and Barry Banker, Katie Best and Alex Hardy, Tate McNeilly, Robert McNeilly, Margaret and John Thompson, and Carolyn and Jim Beckner.
Chuck Elcan, Ellen Lehman, Karen Moore, Trisha Elcan, and Thomas Woltz
The Frist Gala itself was held at the center on the last Saturday evening in March.
Susan Edwards with Gerry Nadeau and Ellen Martin
McNeilly and Best again fashioned a well-curated party with choice design elements. Lush roses in silver urns were hallmarks of the Grand L obby where cocktails were sipped. Dinner took place on the tented outdoor plaza. The 454 guests entered the tent through a formal doorway flanked by hand-painted scenes
Anna and Jim Shaub
Overton and Amy Colton
Cathy & Martin Brown, Jean Ann Banker, Bruce & Karen Moore
NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 107
Arts Worth Watching
American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet in La Bayadere
DAZZLING DANCE
Monday, May 11, at 9 p.m. on Independent Lens, filmmaker Catherine Gund explores the extreme choreography of Elizabeth Streb, the woman who has been called the “the Evel Knievel of dance.” As chronicled in Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity, Streb sends dancers high above the sky to walk on walls or dangle from scaffolding. STREB in Speed Angels, during The dancers are no safer on the “One Extraordinary Day” in ground, where Streb has them London 2012 duck and dive to avoid steel girders and other obstacles.
COURTESY OF FILM STILL
May on NPT is made for dance lovers. First, we have the last two episodes of America’s Ballroom Challenge, 8 p.m. Fridays May 1 and 8.
concert airs Sunday, May 24, at 7 p.m. and will be repeated at 8:30 p.m. Performers include Gloria Estefan, Tessanne Chin (winner of The Voice 2014), and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Jack Everly.
Tune in Friday, May 22, at 8 p.m. for The Lincoln Awards: A Concert for Veterans & the Military Family. Then, at 9 p.m., Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House features performances by Mary J. Blige, Common, John Fogerty, Willie Nelson, and Romeo Santos. Friday, May 29, at 8 p.m., Great Performances presents Boston Symphony Orchestra: Andris Nelsons Inaugural Concert, marking the debut of the orchestra’s new music director. The concert begins with Wagner’s Tannhauser Overture, the piece that inspired a five-year-old Nelsons to pursue a life in music. Later soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Jonas Kaufmann sing Wagnerian and Italian pieces.
A LITTLE DRAMA
In Road to the Globe, Monday, May 18, at 11 p.m. see how New Zealander Rawiri Paratene formed a company with the express purpose of participating in a major Shakespeare festival at London’s Globe Theatre. Paratene’s troupe aims to perform Troilus and Cressida in Te Reo Māori. This award-winning documentary is part of the Pacific Heartbeat series we’re airing Mondays at 11 p.m. in observance of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. Tuesday, May 19, at 11 p.m., Penelope reveals how the residents of a nursing home team up with a playwright to create a new version of Homer’s Odyssey told from the perspective of Odysseus’s wife. COURTESY OF CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND
COURTESY OF BUDDY SQUIRES
Wonderful things are in bloom on NPT this month. Our big Sunday night dramas conclude, and performing arts programming flourishes all over the calendar.
We have more dance programs later that week, starting Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m. with a special edition of American Masters. American Ballet Theatre: A History, a film by Ric Burns, honors the ballet company’s 75th anniversary and includes interviews, performance clips, and intimate rehearsal scenes featuring ballet stars Misty Copeland, Gillian Murphy, Marcelo Gomes, and Hee Seo. The company’s rich history is illustrated through still images and rare footage of dance icons Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Twyla Tharp, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Most impressive of all is the stunning cinematography of Emmywinner Buddy Squires. Using cameras that record up to 2,500 frames per second, Squires and his thirty-person team captured the subtlest of movements to show how dancers use every inch of their bodies when performing. At 9:30 p.m. that evening, watch Loopdiver: The Story of a Dance, about the Troika Ranch dance company’s creation of a challenging experimental work.
STIRRING MUSIC
Once again we’ll be bringing you the National Memorial Day Concert live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. This year’s
Cast of Troilus and Cressida
NPT REPORTS
We’re premiering a new NPT Reports original documentary Thursday, May 28, at 8 p.m. Aging in Place, the latest in our Aging Matters series, explores how where we live as we age affects our quality of life and whether aging in place is really an option.
We hope you’ll support quality public television this spring. Go to wnpt.org and click on the “donate” button. We also hope you’ll join us Saturday, June 20, for our annual NPT Appraisal Day at the Factory at Franklin. Details are on our website.
108 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Weekend Schedule Saturday 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
am Martha Speaks Angelina Ballerina Curious George Curious George Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Sesame Street Dinosaur Train Sewing with Nancy Sew It All Garden Smart Mexico: One Plate at a Time Simply Ming Cook’s Country noon America’s Test Kitchen pm Victory Garden Edible Feast Mind of a Chef Martha Bakes Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting Best of Joy of Painting Woodcarving with Rick Butz American Woodshop Woodwright’s Shop This Old House Ask This Old House Hometime PBS NewsHour Weekend pm Tennessee’s Wild Side
Sunday 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:30 12:00 12:30 1:00 1:30 2:00 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:00 6:30
am Sid the Science Kid Peg + Cat Curious George Curious George Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Word World Sesame Street Tennessee’s Wild Side TN Capitol Report (May 31) Volunteer Gardener Tennessee Crossroads Nature Washington Week with Gwen Ifill noon To the Contrary pm The McLaughlin Group Curious Traveler Family Travel Globe Trekker California’s Gold Wild Photo Adventures America’s Heartland Rick Steves’ Europe Antiques Roadshow PBS NewsHour Weekend pm Charlie Rose: The Week
May 2015
THIS MONTH Nashville Public Television
The latest documentary in NPT’s original series examines the challenges of aging in place and how where we live impacts our quality of life as we age.
Thursday, May 28 8:00 pm
#AgingMatters
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 Odd Squad Wild Kratts Curious George Curious George Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Sesame Street Dinosaur Train Super Why! Peg + Cat Sid the Science Kid noon Caillou pm Thomas & Friends Sesame Street Shorts The Cat in the Hat Clifford the Big Red Dog Curious George Arthur Arthur Wild Kratts Odd Squad Martha Speaks WordGirl pm PBS NewsHour
Nashville Public Television
Nature Animal Childhood Young animals all over the world prepare to leave home. #PBSNature Wednesday, May 13 7:00 pm
National Memorial Day Concert Co-hosts Gary Sinese and Joe Mantegna joined by Gloria Estefan and the National Symphony Orchestra. Sunday May 24 7:00 pm & 8:30 pm
wnpt.org
7:00 Antiques Roadshow Charleston, Hour 1. 8:00 Antiques Roadshow Washington, D.C., Hr 1. 9:00 Independent Lens Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity. Daredevil choreographer Streb challenges assumptions about human possibility. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Pacific Heartbeat Na Mele: Jerry Santos. The legendary musician is joined by K. Kimokeo and Hoku Zuttermeister.
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7:00 Call the Midwife Season 4, Episode 7. Old school friends reunite. 8:00 Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece Season 3, Episode 7. 9:00 Wolf Hall Episode 6. In the conclusion, Anne Boleyn’s enemies gather as Henry seeks to lose her. 10:00 Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine Conclusion. 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Scully/The World Show
Tuesday
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7:00 Roosevelts: An Intimate History In the Arena (19011910) Teddy is in the White House, FDR courts and weds Eleanor. 9:00 Frontline The Trouble with Chicken. Dangerous pathogens in meat. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Above and Beyond The crash and escape of the crew of B-17 Damn Yankee behind Nazi lines.
7:00 Roosevelts: An Intimate History Get Action (1858-1901) An encore presentation of Ken Burns’ look at Theodore, Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt. 9:00 Frontline Outbreak. The Ebola crisis. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine Hey, Big Vendor. 11:00 Wing and a Prayer WWII veterans and the newborn state of Israel.
NOVA Nazi Attack Wednesday, May 6 8:00 pm
7:00 Antiques Roadshow Santa Clara, Hour 3. 8:00 Antiques Roadshow Biloxi, Hour 3. 9:00 Independent Lens Kumu Hina. An allmale hula troupe and a native Hawaiian mahu (transgender) teacher. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine The Missing Bus of Mrs. Avery. 11:00 Pacific Heartbeat Splinters. Papua New Guinea’s national surfing team.
Monday
7:00 Call the Midwife Season 4, Episode 6. A pregnant teen with a health condition. 8:00 Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece Season 3, Episode 6. 9:00 Wolf Hall Episode 5. Anne is expecting; Henry eyes Jane Seymour. 10:00 Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine Pagans and the Cult of Martyrs. 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Scully/The World Show
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Ken Burns The Roosevelts Tuesdays starting May 5 7:00 pm
Sunday
Primetime Evening Schedule
May 2015
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13 7:00 Nature Animal Childhood. Baby animals learn to survive. 8:00 Nova Lethal Seas. Silent killer carbon monoxide is killing the oceans. 9:00 Super Skyscrapers The Vertical City. Shanghai Tower. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine Coming of the Beast. 11:00 Austin City Limits. Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples.
7:00 Nature Parrot Confidential. 8:00 NOVA Nazi Attack on America. Titanic discoverer Bob Ballard investigates the wreck of a German sub near New Orleans. 9:00 Super Skyscrapers Building the Future. London’s Leadenhall Building. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine Enter the Hawk. 11:00 Austin City Limits Beck.
Independent Lens 1971 Monday, May 18 9:00 pm
Wednesday
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14 7:00 Tennessee Crossroads 7:30 Volunteer Gardener 8:00 Jewel in the Crown Pandora’s Box. 9:00 Midsomer Murders Who Killed Cock Robin, Part 2. All’s not well when there’s a body in the well. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Sand Creek Massacre The 1864 attack on Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians in the Southwestern Colorado Territory is revisited through oral histories.
7:00 Tennessee Crossroads 7:30 Volunteer Gardener 8:00 Jewel in the Crown The Moghul Room. 9:00 Midsomer Murders Who Killed Cock Robin, Part 1. A horse whisperer disappears. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine Gnome and Away. 11:00 Homes on the Range: The New Pioneers A grassroots effort leads to a nonprofit skilled nursing facility in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Thursday
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15 7:00 Music City Roots: Live from the Loveless Café Singer and dancer April Verch; Black Violin. 8:00 American Masters American Ballet Theatre: A History. Ballet stars celebrate ABT’s 75th anniversary in this Ric Burns documentary. 9:30 Loopdiver: The Journey of a Dance Award-winning dance company Troika Ranch. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Live from Artists Den Damien Rice.
8 7:00 Music City Roots: Live from the Loveless Café Sister Sadie, The Lonely Biscuits. 8:00 America’s Ballroom Challenge The grand finale. 9:00 Caring for Mom and Dad Caring for an aging population. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine A Hair of the Blonde That Bit You. 11:00 Live from Artists Den Cage The Elephant.
7:00 Music City Roots: Live from the Loveless Café Honoring country icon Eddy Arnold. 8:00 America’s Ballroom Challenge International Standard and International Latin. 9:00 Voces on PBS El Poeta. Javier Sicilia started an international peace movement. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine The Art of the Shorts. 11:00 Live from Artists Den The Alabama Shakes.
Friday
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7:00 Lawrence Welk Show April Showers. 8:00 Keeping Appearances The Memoirs of Hyacinth Bucket. 8:30 Dust Bowl Reaping the Whirlwind. Families of the plains seek new lives in California; government conservation efforts. 10:30 Film School Shorts Separation Anxiety. Projects by film students. 11:00 Globe Trekker Antarctica.
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7:00 Lawrence Welk Show Springtime in the Rockies. 8:00 Keeping Appearances The Memoirs of Hyacinth Bucket. 8:30 Dust Bowl The Great Plow Up. Survivors recall the terror of the dust storms and the desperation of hungry families. 10:30 Film School Shorts Final Ascent. 11:00 Globe Trekker Myanmar.
7:00 Lawrence Welk Show Spring. 8:00 Keeping Appearances 8:30 Masterpiece Mystery! Grantchester Part 5. Sidney and Geordie in London. 9:30 Masterpiece Mystery! Grantchester Part 6. Geordie fights for his life. 10:30 Desperate Days: Last Hope of the Confederacy TN Civil War 150 11:00 Globe Trekker
Saturday
Nashville Public Television
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7:00 Brian Wilson and Friends: A Soundstage Special Event The Beach Boys cofounder performs classics and songs from his new album. 8:30 Joe Bonamassa: Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks 10:00 Aging Backwards with Miranda Esmonde-White 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Scully/The World Show
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7:00 National Memorial Day Concert Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise co-host this concert from the U.S. Capitol. Performances include Gloria Estefan, “The Voice” 2014 winner Tessanne Chin, and the National Symphony Orchestra. 8:30 National Memorial Day Concert 10:00 Aging Matters Overview. 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Scully/The World Show
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7:00 Call the Midwife Season 4, Episode 8. A deaf expectant mother. 8:00 Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece Season 3, Episode 8. Conclusion: With Harry’s future hanging in the balance, the store throws the sale to end all sales. 10:00 Aging Matters End of Life. 11:00 Tavis Smiley 11:30 Scully/The World Show
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JUNE 7:00 Roosevelts: An Intimate History Get Action (1858-1901) Teddy overcomes asthma and becomes the youngest president in U.S. history. FDR follows his cousin’s career closely. 9:30 Ed Slott’s Retirement Roadmap! 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine
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7:00 Jackie Evancho Awakening – Live in Concert Jackie Evancho and Cheyenne Jackson perform classical pieces, sacred music, Broadway tunes and pop songs. 8:30 The Texas Tenors: You Should Dream Country, folk, opera and Broadway music performed with cowboy charm. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine
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7:00 Nature My Bionic Pet. Animal prosthetics. 8:00 Nova First Man on the Moon. A portrait of Neil Armstrong. 9:00 Secrets of the Dead The Man Who Saved the World. The crew of the B-59 and the Cuban Missile Crisis. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Austin City Limits. The Lumineers/Shovels & Rope.
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7:00 Nature The Sagebrush Sea. An ecosystem stretching across 11 states in the American West. 8:00 Nova Rise of the Hackers. Keeping our data safe. 9:00 Super Skyscrapers The Billionaire Building. Manhattan’s luxurious One57 condos. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine Beware of the Hot Dog. 11:00 Austin City Limits. Bon Iver.
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7:00 Rock My Soul Gospel legends The Fairfield Four are joined by The McCrary Sisters, Amos Lee, Buddy Miller, Lee Ann Womack, Van Hunt and Lucinda Williams, backed by an all-star band led by Buddy Miller. 8:30 To Be Announced 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine
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7:00 Tennessee Crossroads 7:30 Volunteer Gardener 8:00 Aging Matters Aging in Place. Premiere of NPT original documentary. 9:00 Midsomer Murders Dark Autumn, Part 2. Barnaby looks for a murderer scarred by childhood memories. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Omaha Beach: Honor and Sacrifice The personal stories of veterans.
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7:00 Tennessee Crossroads 7:30 Volunteer Gardener 8:00 Jewel in the Crown A Division of the Spoils. 9:00 Midsomer Murders Dark Autumn, Part 1. Death of a postman. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine In Search of Childlike Joy. 11:00 Shaolin Kung Fu Monks Kung Fu practitioner Adam McArthur follows Shaolin Temple’s Warrior Monks on a world tour.
Nashville Public Television
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7:00 My Music: Big Band Years The music of the World War II era with vintage footage. 9:00 My Music: Sister Acts The Andrews Sisters, The McGuire Sisters, The Lennon Sisters. 10:30 Skinny Gut Vibrant You with Brenda Watson Best-selling author and digestive expert Brenda Watson, C.N.C., discusses the solution to weight and digestive problems.
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7:00 Lawrence Welk Show Los Angeles. 8:00 Keeping Appearances The Memoirs of Hyacinth Bucket. 8:30 Brit Floyd: Live at Red Rocks Pink Floyd tribute band in concert. 10:00 Ed Slott’s Retirement Roadmap! 10:30 Film School Shorts On the Prowl. 11:00 Globe Trekker Tough Trains: Siberia.
Saturday, June 20 The Factory at Franklin Tickets: wnpt.org
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7:00 Music City Roots: Live from the Loveless Café Amos Lee; Tim O-Brien and Darrell Scott 8:00 Great Performances: Boston Symphony Orchestra Soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Jonas Kaufmann help welcome music director Andris Nelsons. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Aging Backwards with Miranda Esmonde-White
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7:00 Music City Roots: Live from the Loveless Café Alanna Royale, Wood & Wire. 8:00 The Lincoln Awards: A Concert for Veterans & the Military Family 9:00 Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House Mary J. Blige, Common, John Fogerty and Willie Nelson. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Live from Artists Den The Alabama Shakes.
Visit wnpt.org for complete 24-hour schedules for NPT and NPT2
7:00 Antiques Roadshow Washington, D.C., Hour 3. 8:30 Mannheim Steamroller 30/40 Live Recorded in December 2014 in Omaha, Neb., this concert includes early works from Chip Davis’ “Fresh Aire” series. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine
7:00 Roosevelts: An Intimate History The Storm (19201933). FDR gets polio, becomes New York’s governor and later president of the U.S. 9:00 Frontline Obama at War. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine Sadly, Madly, Bradley. 11:00 Quietest Place on Earth The massive crater at the center of Maui’s Hakeakala volcano.
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7:00 Antiques Roadshow Charleston, Hour 3. 8:00 The Homefront Intimate portraits of America’s military families. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Pacific Heartbeat Na Loea: The Masters. Native Hawaiians who have dedicated their lives to preserving traditional language and arts, sustainable fishing and land management practices, etc.
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7:00 Roosevelts: An Intimate History The Fire of Life (19101919). Teddy leads a crusade; FDR becomes Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Eleanor discovers an affair. 9:00 Frontline Secrets, Politics and Torture. CIA interrogation methods. 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Last of Summer Wine The Incredible Ordeal of Norman Clegg. 11:00 Penelope
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7:00 Antiques Roadshow Charleston, Hour 2. 8:00 Antiques Roadshow Washington, D.C., Hr 2. 9:00 Independent Lens 1971. In 1971, eight citizens broke into an FBI office in Media, Penn., took hundreds of secret files and shared them with the public and the press. A film by Johanna Hamilton. 10:30 Last of Summer Wine 11:00 Pacific Heartbeat Road to the Globe.
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112 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
Beyond Words
by Marshall Chapman
1932–2012 ®
Are you kidding me?
I
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANTHONY SCARLATI
keep files of things I find interesting. People, inspirational quotes, photographs, family letters, and so on. One of my favorite files contains newspaper articles about strange things. Often, it’s the headline that catches my attention. Like this one from a local newspaper—“Walk on water cancelled.” A title like that invites further scrutiny. Evidently, some preacher out in the boonies announced he was going to walk on water to prove his faith. Quite a crowd gathered to witness this. But alas, at the last minute, the preacher failed to show. No explanation was offered. Mixed Media on canvas
48” x 36”
Visit our Nashville area location by appointment - (815) 347-9698 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
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Here’s another favorite. “Plane crash victims were nude, sheriff says.” In this scenario, a man and woman died when their single-engine plane crashed in West Tennessee. “They were nude prior to the crash,” the sheriff said. “We understand they had been dating, but I don’t know for how long.” Well, however long it was, it obviously wasn’t long enough. Then this, from my hometown Spartanburg Herald-Journal: “Burned man found running away from a bad ‘date’.” Lest some of the details 10:03 AM be deemed inappropriate for Nashville Arts Magazine, I’ll simply quote the first paragraph: A Spartanburg man’s early morning “date” took an unexpected turn Saturday. He told police that four women tied him up, burned him with an iron, then drove him naked around the city. I’ve heard of driving people crazy, but driving people naked is a whole ‘nother thing altogether. Finally—and this may be my favorite—an Associated Press story filed in Knoxville with the headline “Brain found on porch has police stumped.” Now being a Vanderbilt sports fan, I could speculate on why that brain was on somebody’s porch, rather than in somebody’s head (where brains are supposed to be), but for once, I’ll refrain. In closing, I’d like to share one of the most poignant lines I’ve ever read in a newspaper. This, from an obituary for a retired roofer. He had a lot of demons and was often self-destructive, but he also touched a lot of people and his character flaws did not render untrue what was wonderful about him.
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NashvilleArts.com
May 2015 | 113
My Favorite Painting
R enée W hite Curator, Tennessee State Museum
ARTIST BIO Suzanne Stryk Mixed media artist Suzanne Stryk creates artwork that connects her interes ts in fine ar ts and nature. Her drawings, mirror paintings, oil paintings, and works on paper reveal an iconography of elements that Stryk uses to understand and represent the world around her. She is a Chicago native who currently resides in Virginia. Her art is frequently exhibited in solo and group exhibitions, including the National Academy of Sciences (DC), the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta (GA), the Eleanor B. Wilson Museum in Roanoke (VA), and Gallery 180, the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago. The Smithsonian (DC), the David Brower Center (Berkeley, CA), Bank of America’s Southeastern Collection (Charlotte, NC), and the Taubman Museum of Art (Roanoke, VA) hold her art in their collections. She received the 2007 George Sugarman Foundation g r a n t a n d a 2 0 1 0 – 1 1 Vi r g i n i a Commission for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship for her project “Notes on the State of Virginia.” Suzanne Stryk, Birdhouse, 2007, Mixed media and acrylic on board, 38” x 36” 114 | May 2015 NashvilleArts.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY ATNIP
T
he painting Birdhouse by Suzanne Stryk represents home and family to me. The feathers have an obvious nesting feeling, while the concept of the painting is beautifully executed. I enjoy the planning of the structure with the floor plan, measurements, and rooms delineated. At the same time the variety of colors and numbers of the feathers depict the various beings within the home and the collective experience of living in the home. The numbers at the bottom of the painting signify ages or years. Looking closely at the piece you see letters scraped into the surface of the paint. These could be thought of as names or signatures of relatives within the home, or history of the people who lived here. It makes me think about the beauty of life versus the technical aspects of building a home. Both become one. I have it hanging in my office, and it reminds me daily to appreciate home and family and the lives of others.
H AY N E S G A L L E R I E S P R E S E N T S
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JAUME PLENSA
May 22 – November 1 Experience the dramatic sculptures of internationally acclaimed Spanish artist Jaume Plensa in the debut of Human Landscape. The exhibition, which marks Plensa’s largest in the United States to date, will be on display throughout the cheekwood.org
estate’s historic grounds and Museum of Art.
P R E S E N T E D BY: This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
P R E S E N T E D I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H T H E F R I S T C E N T E R F O R T H E V I S UA L A R T S . Jaume Plensa, Spiegel, 2010, Painted stainless steel, 148.4 x 92.5 x 96.5 inches (377 x 235 x 245 cm) each, Collection: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Installation view: Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, England, 2011, Photo: Jonty Wilde. All images © Jaume Plensa. Courtesy Galerie Lelong, New York