Art Focus Oklahoma July-August 2016

Art Focus

O k l a ho m a V i s ual A r ts C oal i t i on

Ok l a h o m a Vo l u m e 3 1 N o . 4

July/August • 2016

Art Focus

Ok l a h o m a

from the editor

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition 730 W. Wilshire Blvd., Suite 104 Oklahoma City, OK 73116 ph: 405.879.2400 • e: director@ovac-ok.org visit our website at: ovac-ok.org Executive Director: Holly Moye director@ovac-ok.org

The time is finally here to announce some exciting changes to Art Focus Oklahoma and the future of art writing from OVAC. This is the last issue of AFO as it is in its current format. We will be

moving toward four quarterly Art Focus Oklahoma print issues, and introducing an accompanying online forum, Art Review Oklahoma. I believe this will do several things for us—we will be able to produce even more content; we will be able to have better responsiveness to art events; and we will have further reach and make our presence known on a national playing field.

The look of Art Focus Oklahoma is also going to go through a few minor changes. We are rethinking the valuable real estate every page provides and aiming to maximize every opportunity. I believe that editorial choices speak for themselves, and don’t always require an introduction from me and so this is the last letter I will be penning. That being said, we will continue to welcome dialogue and opinion, and audiences are always invited to contact us with any questions.

We do still firmly believe in the power of print. There is something inspiring about holding words and images in your hands. So we consider this to be more of a balancing act, rather than a departure. We hope you enjoy the new approach to art writing and continue to grow with us as we move forward.

Editor: Lauren Scarpello publications@ovac-ok.org Art Director: Anne Richardson speccreative@gmail.com Art Focus Oklahoma is a bimonthly publication of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition dedicated to stimulating insight into and providing current information about the visual arts in Oklahoma.

Mission: Supporting Oklahoma’s visual arts and artists and their power to enrich communities.

OVAC welcomes article submissions related to artists and art in Oklahoma. Call or email the editor for guidelines.

OVAC welcomes your comments. Letters addressed to Art Focus Oklahoma are considered for publication unless otherwise specified. Mail or email comments to the editor at the address above. Letters may be edited for clarity or space reasons. Anonymous letters will not be published. Please include a phone number.

OVAC Board of Directors July 2015–June 2016: Renée Porter, Norman (President); Susan Green, Tulsa (Vice President); Michael Hoffner, Oklahoma City (Secretary); Gina Ellis, Oklahoma City (Treasurer); Bryon Chambers, Oklahoma City; Bob Curtis, Oklahoma City; Hillary Farrell, Oklahoma City; Jon Fisher, Moore; Titi Fitzsimmons, MD, Oklahoma City; Ariana Jakub, Tulsa; John Marshall, Oklahoma City; Travis Mason, Oklahoma City; Laura Massenat, Oklahoma City; Amy Rockett-Todd, Tulsa; Douglas Sorocco, Oklahoma City; Dana Templeton, Oklahoma City; Chris Winland, Oklahoma City; Dean Wyatt, Owasso.

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition is solely responsible for the contents of Art Focus Oklahoma. However, the views expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Board or OVAC staff.

Member Agency of Allied Arts and member of the Americans for the Arts. © 2016, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

All rights reserved.

View the online archive at ArtFocusOklahoma.org.

Support from:

On the cover: Steffanie Halley, Muse, 2007, archival pigment print

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contents

R e v i e w s a n d P re v i e w s 4

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Star Stuff & Scherzi: Exploring the Art of James Gaar and Robert James

Kerry Azzarello

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Following the Grain: A Centennial Celebration of Willard Stone

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Savages and Princesses: the Persistence of Native American Stereotypes

Renee Montgomery Alison Rossi

10 Missing Pieces: Leigh Martin Krystle Brewer

12 An Emboldened New Mexico: the Remarkable Watercolors of Cady Wells Corinne Kannenberg

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F e a t u re s 14 I am Woman, Hear my Shutter Click Michaela Slavid

16 Bringing Matisse to Oklahoma Olivia Biddick

20 Cristallum

Elizabeth Downing

22 In the Studio: Interview with Joanna Underwood Blackburn Molly O’Connor

24 Ekphrasis: Art & Poetry

Akiko Jackson and Michael Wright

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Business of Art 26 Ask a Creativity Coach: Muse Magic Romney Nesbitt

27 OVAC News 28 Gallery Guide

­­(pg. 8) detail of Marcus Amerman, Savages and Princesses #1, #2, and #3, collage, 11 x 15” (pg. 10) detail of Leigh Martin, Asperula, fiber (pg. 24) detail of Akiko Jackson, mottainai: part I of III, 2014, artist’s old bed spring mattress, cotton, ink, gold leaf, 72 x 48 x 12”

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STAR STUFF & SCHERZI: Exploring the Art of James Gaar and Robert James

By Kerry M. Azzarello

When was the last time you pondered your place in the universe? Or reminisced about refueling your car? Was it on the same day?

If you’ve recently visited the latest exhibitions in the main gallery at Individual Artists of Oklahoma, the answer might very well be ‘yes.’ That’s because the striking work of these talented artists simultaneously provides glimpses into the vastness of our existence with the beauty of our everyday lives.

Urban Landscapes by Yukon-based photographer Robert James and A Dialogue in Paint by Tulsa-based James Gaar opened May 20 and run through July 12. The abstractions in paint combined with abstractions of the everyday come together for a thoughtful and satisfying experience.

With a prolific and lengthy creative career, Gaar has been a graphic designer, an educator, arts administrator, and fine artist. His work has been included in various group and solo exhibitions, in addition to arts festivals throughout Oklahoma. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from East Central University in Ada as well as a graduate degree in art education from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond and has been living and working in Tulsa for the past 17 years.

Gaar’s work effortlessly crosses genre lines, showcasing his photorealistic abilities in works such as REFLECTION AND CLOUDS and his adept attention to line, color, and composition in more abstract works like BREAKUP. This eclecticism in both style and subject matter is nothing new. As Gaar notes, “Since my college days, I’ve been a devotee of Andrew Wyeth and Franz Kline. To me, these two artists represent the opposite ends of the visual arts spectrum.”

Both ends of the spectrum have always been present in Gaar’s own oeuvre. However, he acknowledges there have been changes over the years, “Early in my career I painted 95% representational subject matter and 5% abstract.

Today that ratio has reversed.” This increased attention to abstraction includes a new series of paintings based on Dr. Carl Sagan’s notion that “we are made of star stuff,” a quote that opens the door for viewers to imagine their lives and existence in relation to the vastness of the universe. There is a commonality of parts and

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James Gaar, FOCUS, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40”

matter, a connectivity that cannot be severed.

This is especially evident in FOCUS. Individual lines, varied in thickness and color, radiate from a focal point in the upper right portion of the canvas. Inherent in the dynamism of the piece are multiple narratives, ones which viewers must create for themselves.

The title suggests these slender bursts of purple,

pink, green, red and black are racing eagerly toward a desired destination. However, one could easily view the rectangular streaks, in Big Bang fashion, as bursting forth away from a powerful center. There is enough order to elicit a legible whole amid the irregularities that mirror the nuances and deviations in life.

Jumping from the cosmic to the micro, the photographs of Robert James present viewers

with scenes that are playful takes on everyday life. James describes himself as slightly eccentric, childish, and never without a camera. He earned a degree in mathematics and has a penchant for classical music evidenced not only in the rhythm of his images, but also in his artistic explanations, which include mentions of Vivaldi and Schubert.

James refers to his images as ‘scherzi’, which in addition to a musical term, is an Italian word meaning jokes or pranks. He stresses his work is not to be taken too seriously. “My own photos are whimsical, absurd, formal and chaotic at the same time, but always playful. I don’t know what they mean, if anything, and I often ask them, but they remain stubbornly silent,” he explains. (top) Robert James, Gas Station, Yukon, Oklahoma, 2016, photograph, 16 x 20” (bottom) James Gaar, BREAKUP, 2013, acrylic on panel, 32 x 40”

All joking aside, there is quiet poignancy in his everyday subject matter that includes fast food establishments as seen in Interior McDonald’s, Yukon, Oklahoma and filling stations like the one featured in Gas Station, Yukon, Oklahoma.

From the low, seated vantage point, viewers are suspended in a moment typically not given much thought. The image captures the pause between two activities. With a directional ambiguity akin to Gaar’s FOCUS, one is not quite sure if they are in the moment right before exiting a vehicle prior to pumping or the

instant following the task’s completion before continuing the journey.

Contained within these “singular, improbable images of nothing in particular” are beautiful compositions that highlight light and shadow, solids and voids. This is both deliberate and delightful to James, “It’s always the play of light on random objects that excites me the most.”

Both artists’ work is strong and stands on its own. However, the true beauty and power of the exhibition resides in the pieces being on display jointly. The vastness of Gaar’s universal abstractions seen side-by-side with the tangible familiarity of James’ glimpses of everyday reality make for an afternoon filled with creative, critical thought.

IAO gallery is located in Film Row at 706 West Sheridan Ave in Oklahoma City. Gallery hours are 12-6pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Learn more about this and other events at Individualartists.org. Additional work by both artists can be found on the OVAC Artist Gallery ovac-ok.org/artist-gallery. n Kerry M. Azzarello enjoys contemplating the universe while eating at Pizza Huts across the country. She can be reached at kerryazzarello@ gmail.com.

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FOLLOWING THE GRAIN: A Centennial Celebration of Willard Stone

by Renee Montgomery

(left to right) Willard Stone (1916 - 1985), The Mighty Colt, maple wood, from the collection of Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Willard Stone, The Appeal, 1943, cherry wood, from the collection of Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Willard Stone, Wood Carver, cherry wood, from the collection of Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Willard Stone (1916-1985) is well known across the state for his accomplished wood sculptures and reliefs. Several works by this Oklahoma hall-of-famer are on permanent display at the Gilcrease Museum and the museum has devoted at least two prior exhibitions to the sculptor. In the Gilcrease’s current retrospective entitled “Following the Grain: A Centennial Celebration of Willard Stone,” the artworks are most engaging in the context of Stone’s own technical notes drawn from the archives—a feature all too lacking in modern exhibitions.

For instance, with The Appeal (1943-48), Stone pointed out that a hairline crack “checked” open on the Chief ’s face, teaching the artist to henceforth have the wood heart milled out before starting. The exhibition label for Modernistic Indian Girl (1946) reveals how it was difficult for the sculptor to control the tools on the oak medium. The reason given for carving The Wood Carver was “because not many people are interested in buying sculptures, but I haven’t talked to anyone who didn’t want to know how it

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was done,” the artist relates. The display of Stone’s well-worn tools adds authenticity to the exhibition too.

In addition to the technical notes, the exhibition should also intrigue contemporary artists for the story of Stone’s residency. The artist’s background reads like a hard scramble Hollywood screenplay. When Stone’s mother was just a girl, her family missed the deadline for enrollment in the Cherokee tribe, which would consequently affect Stone’s upbringing later in life. Stone’s father died when Willard was only one year old, and so his mother, Lyda Headrick, had no choice but to enter a life of sharecropping. It’s possible that had the family been enrolled and received their allotments of land, that his mother would not have fallen into the life of a sharecropper following her husband’s death.

a blasting cap walking home from school.

Rising above adversary, Willard taught himself to handle a pocketknife by age 15 and began sculpting local animals.

From there Stone attended Bacone College in Muskogee under the tutelage of noted Native American artists Woody Crumbo and Acee Blue Eagle—who interested him in stylized Native-American themes and brought him to the attention of collector Thomas Gilcrease.

Gilcrease offered Stone a three-year residency from 1946-48, the first one in the museum’s history. Stone commented on his gratitude for the opportunity, which guaranteed a $200 monthly stipend and $600 year-end bonus, “Tom Gilcrease gave me the chance to find out what I could do with wood and clay, and to develop a style of my own. I would not have been recognized had it not been for him, because he gave me the courage to try.”

From an early age Willard had shown a talent for drawing the natural world around his rural home in Oktaha, East Oklahoma.

However, at age 13 he lost a thumb and two fingers when unwittingly picking up

The two men, who became friends, must have felt something in common in their mixed ancestry. Archival photos show a good-looking, dark-featured Stone in shortsleeve work clothes, posing with the suited

Gilcrease. Certain exhibition labels reveal that the collector sometimes found Stone interesting pieces of wood. Following the residency, it was necessary for the artist to hold full-time jobs at an ornamental iron works facility and at McDonnell Douglas aerospace manufacturing until 1960 when he was able to open a full-time working studio in Locust Grove, Oklahoma—now the site of the Willard Stone Family Museum.

Stone’s oeuvre included some drawings and politically inspired works. At best, Spoils of War (not dated) and War Widows (1946) recall the German Expressionist’s tormented wooden sculptures of World War I mourners. Stone’s Art Deco-style female nudes (e.g., Lady of Spring or Tomorrow) are well handled and elegant but unfortunately evoke the now stereotypical look of Vargas nudes.

Most effective are the subjects from nature or Stone’s Native American ancestry, e.g., Tree Hound (not dated) recalls the charm of Thomas Hart Benton down-home Americana (cf , Benton’s The Kentuckian), or, when Stone applies his stylization to the natural habits of animals owing to his keen observation skills. For instance, Tense Jackrabbit (1943-48) clings close to the ground to avoid a predator, and the upright Mighty Colt (not dated) ‘feels his oats’ standing apart from his mother. The streamlined Road Back (not dated) captures the lines and patterns of a school of fish traveling upstream to spawn. Finally in The Observer (1946), the polished wood emphasizes the Native American’s musculature, the graceful lines trace the fall of the leggings on sturdy limbs, and the symmetry evokes the constancy of this watcher of change.

Slabs and Stitches Photographic Exhibition by Theresa Ganz This exhibition features related bodies of work that are part of an ongoing visual investigation of landscape, nature, architecture and ornament. These works have one foot in 19th century Romanticism, with an interest in the relationship of the individual to the natural world, and the other in the 21st when lived experience happens less and less in the physical body encountering the world. Traditional landscape tends to suggest the conquering vision of man over nature, or conversely nature’s awesome greatness and the smallness of man. This work seeks to undermine these dispositions, offering instead a myopic and ambiguous vision. The viewer is never afforded enough distance to gaze out, but is confronted with a field of warped detail and impenetrable surfaces.

The photographs have been collaged either physically or digitally to either expand the visual field and undermine its coherence. There is tension between the realism of the photographic elements and the fabricated space of the collage.

Exhibition visitors are encouraged to view other works by Willard Stone and videos in an adjacent gallery further discussing the artist’s philosophy and showing one of the artist’s sons discussing the woodworking techniques learned from his father.

Following the Grain: A Centennial Celebration of Willard Stone is on view at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa through January 1, 2017. For more information, visit gilcrease.org. n Renee Montgomery previously worked as the Assistant Director at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, dealing with exhibitions and collections, and now works in Oklahoma museums and institutions teaching children.

Slabs and Stitches, by Theresa Ganz August 25th through September 22nd, 2016 Opening Reception, September 1st - 5 p.m - 7 p.m Alexandre Hogue Gallery

For more information, visit www.cas.utulsa/edu/art/ or call 918.631.2739 • TU is an EEO/AA institution

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SAVAGES AND PRINCESSES: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes

By Alison Rossi

Native culture and art through innovative use of materials and techniques, humorous jabs at stereotypes, and subtle messages about Native archetypes and identity in popular and broader culture.

The controversies surrounding representations of the “Indian” mascot in sports are wellknown. Matthew Bearden, an artist and citizen of Potawatomi heritage who was raised in Hominy, the heart of the Osage Nation, confronts this topic in his “Sacred Mascot” series comprised of acrylic paintings on seasoned football helmets.

The white Cupo di Roma helmet in this series features a portrait of the former Pope Benedict who, like Native holy men or chiefs, dons sacred headwear and seems ill-suited to placement on sports equipment. Another helmet, War Bonnet, depicts the iconic Plainsstyle feathered headdress wearing mascot.

Closer inspection reveals feathers supplanted by knives, grenades and mortar shells.

Bearden’s playful and irony-infused works speak for themselves and though he doesn’t view himself as an activist, he challenges the issue of mascots outright: “It’s not political correctness, it’s right and wrong.”

Shan Goshorn, Study for Vessel, 2015, Arches watercolor paper splints printed with archival inks, acrylic paint, approx. 8.25 x 8.25 x 9.5”

“All cultures keep stereotypes,” asserts America Meredith. “What’s different about Native American cultures is that the stereotypes of Native people by non-Natives are so deeply entrenched and persistent.”

Meredith, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, curated Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes, an exhibition opening at Tulsa’s 108 | Contemporary in August.

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Kathy McRuiz, 108 | Contemporary’s Executive Director, notes that “Having America, a Native woman and celebrated artist, curate emphasizes the idea that this exhibition is seen through the eyes and created by the hands of Native American people.” Works from fourteen contemporary Native American visual artists from Oklahoma are represented in the show and their work addresses misconceptions about

While works such as Bearden’s address offensive representations perpetuated by popular culture, other works in the exhibition aim to generate awareness of overlooked or invisible depictions of Native Americans.

Tom Farris, an artist of Otoe-Missouria and Cherokee descent (and a self-described car enthusiast) created a series of sculptures in the form of “war clubs” that feature hood ornaments of cars named after historical and often mythologized Native figures.

Pedal to the Metal, a ball-headed war club, is adorned with hot-rod flames and topped with an iconic 1953 Pontiac hood ornament: a jet plane with a highly stylized portrait of the 18th century Odawa chief Pontiac at its helm. Farris’ war clubs underscore how, according to Meredith, “Native American historical figures become caricatures and their history as human beings becomes obscured to the point of invisibility.” Farris notes that “nationally, the understanding of native culture is very lacking, and it is understood

as a distant culture, so there is a disconnect between Pontiac being a person and the people of his tribe today who are still around and whose culture is still very viable.”

Eastern Band Cherokee artist Shan Goshorn’s “intention is to present historical and contemporary issues that continue to be relevant to Indian people today, to a world that still relies on Hollywood as a reliable informant about Indian life.” Though Goshorn has explored various media, techniques and approaches in her work over the last thirty years, she has recently become well-known for her visually stunning and cleverly constructed baskets that often include historical designs, documents, letters or treaties.

Her 2015 Cherokee style, single weave basket Study for Vessel incorporates the words of Luther Standing Bear, an Oglala Lakota: “It is the mothers, not the warriors, who create a people and guide their destiny.” An image of a young, pregnant woman featured on the basket’s exterior visually anchors Luther Standing Bear’s words. However, motherhood as the work’s subject serves as a metaphor for the sacred responsibility of all Native people to nurture and sustain traditions.

Other artists like Hoka Skenandore, who is of Oneida-Oglala Lakota-Luiseño heritage, challenge stereotypes about what constitutes Native art. Because he hails from a family of practitioners of traditional Native art forms, Skenandore feels free to explore “more contemporary work that doesn’t necessarily relate to Native imagery or ideas.”

As a painter, muralist, printmaker and graffiti artist, he notes that Native artists are “defining in a broader sense and redefining what we are doing and why we are doing it.”

When asked if there is a relationship between his paintings on vinyl records and the radial geometry of his grandmother’s baskets, he considers the possibility: “If you are Native, you are not going to escape that history or culture; you don’t leave that behind even if you are making contemporary work.”

Parameters for defining contemporary Native art may be nebulous. Like the iconoclastic Fritz Scholder, Matthew Bearden doesn’t

Matthew Bearden, War Bonnet, 2015, acrylic paint on plastic helmet

identify himself first and foremost as a “Native artist” though his work overtly challenges dominant misrepresentations and stereotypes related to Native cultures. Can audience expectations of and stereotypes about what constitutes Native art stifle contemporary artists? Where does that leave viewers of Savages and Princesses?

Bearden, Heidi BigKnife, Mel Cornshucker, Tom Farris, Anita Fields, Kenny Glass, Shan Goshorn, April Holder, Benjamin Harjo, Jr., Juanita Pahdopony, Kira Hayen Poole, Zachary Presley, Karin Walkingstick, Hoka Skenandore and Micah Wesley. The exhibition is funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

When it comes to stereotypes, “what changes an imprint,” according to Meredith, “is strong emotion; the information has to be conveyed with an emotional charge, which we hope the artwork can achieve.”

Savages and Princesses will be shown at 108 | Contemporary from August 5 – September 25, 2016. For more information, visit 108contemporary.org. n

Artists featured in Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes include Marcus Amerman, Matthew

Alison Rossi serves as an instructor in higher education and as a museum consultant.

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MISSING PIECES: Leigh Martin

by Krystle Brewer

Leigh Martin, Tuberosa, fiber

Each living thing, plant or animal, depends on the presence of certain resources to live and flourish in a complicated, yet delicate balance. When one of these components is removed either by shifts in nature or through the intervention of humans, these missing pieces can cause drastic effects. We tend to forget about our interconnectedness with our ecosystem until it has been thrown out of balance to the extent that we see devastating changes.

Through the latest work by fiber artist, Leigh Martin, we are reminded of the impact of our practices through the example of the decrease

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in the monarch butterfly population.

In Martin’s exhibition Missing Pieces, the endangerment of monarch butterflies is highlighted through an investigation of the milkweed plant. In the spring and fall as monarchs migrate to and from Mexico, they lay eggs on the milkweed, the only plant group upon which the butterflies will lay their eggs and complete their larval stage.

Over the last several decades as we have seen an increase in vegetation management near roadways, agricultural growth and development, manicured lawns, and chemical sprays, we have seen a dramatic decrease

in the number of milkweed plants, and by extension, a decrease in monarchs.

“Missing Pieces is a study on the phenomenon of cause and effect in nature, and the way our interactions with and management of our environment can dismantle ecosystems by removing components of a niche—pieces upon which other pieces rely,” says Martin. By trading milkweed in favor of curb appeal, people are removing a crucial piece upon which monarchs depend for survival of their species.

“Few probably predicted when vegetation management was evolving into the practices

of mowing and spraying we have today that it would somehow contribute to a decline in numbers of the iconic monarch, but here we are. Everything that we do has an impact on our environment, to some degree.

Removing one element from an ecosystem can have a detrimental effect on another.”

According to an article published this year by the United States Geological Survey, the number of monarchs decreased by 84 percent from the winter of 1996-1997 to the winter of 2014-2015. Though last year, this number slightly rose due to activists working to preserve the milkweed plant, among other factors, there is still up to a 57 percent chance that the species will become quasi-extinct, reaching unrecoverable numbers, in the next two decades.1 The realization of these staggering facts led to the sculptures and installation of Missing Pieces.

Missing Pieces will open at The Project Box on July 1st during First Friday in the Paseo. Complimentary packets of milkweed seeds will be available for visitors of the exhibition to take in hopes that they will be moved to create more monarch habitat near their homes. The works will remain on view until July 30th.

You can find more information about Martin’s work on her website: leighmartinart.com. n Krystle Brewer is an artist, curator, and writer based in Tulsa. She currently serves as the Managing Director at 108|Contemporary. She can be found at krystlebrewer.com.

Leigh Martin, Amplexicaulis, fiber

Using free-form knitting techniques, Martin creates knitted interpretations of milkweed flowers native to the region. Through these sculptures, she places the plants beneath a microscope to help viewers explore their unique features and role in the monarch reproductive cycle. These soft sculptures of over a dozen different species in the genus Asclepias L., are a playful representation of the plants that are both weed and lifeline.

By drawing attention to these plants and their beautiful intricacies, Martin’s work promotes the importance of the plants in saving the monarch from extinction.

While Missing Pieces primarily advocates for protection of monarch butterflies, it also points to the larger issue of how we are all interconnected and our actions can make a permanent impact on the environment. “Now we are in the balancing act—planting milkweed to create new habitat, changing some of our practices to conserve it… I think it’s an important lesson about land stewardship and coexistence with the natural world. “ 1 United States Geological Survey. “Eastern Monarch butterflies at risk of extinction unless numbers increase.” ScienceDaily. sciencedaily. com/releases/2016/03/160321123812.htm (accessed May 11, 2016)

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AN EMBOLDENED NEW MEXICO: The Remarkable Watercolors of Cady Wells

by Corinne Kannenberg

Catherine Whitney, Chief Curator and Curator of American Art at Philbrook, describes Wells’ early landscapes as his “more buoyant works.”

Once settled in Taos, he studied under Andrew Dasburg, a modernist painter known for his cubist approach. Wells’ early paintings, shown largely in the first section of the exhibition, reflect the cubism of Dasburg on one hand, but also a calligraphic touch that Wells picked up from his travels throughout Asia.

Works such as Untitled (1938), for example, depict a kind of visible kinetic energy. Sprinkled throughout this restlessness are punctuations of bold, dark shapes reminiscent of musical notation, “almost as if Wells could hear the New Mexico landscape,” Whitney remarks.

Cady Wells (1904 - 1954), gelatin silver print, courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives

When thinking of watercolor landscapes — particularly of the American West—one might imagine any number of idyllic and tranquil scenes. Artist Cady Wells (1904-1954) breaks this trope with his energetic and often dark depictions of the New Mexico landscape in watercolor. Following a recent resurgence of interest in Wells’ work, Philbrook Downtown displays twenty-four of his landscapes and other paintings in a compelling exhibition titled, Cady Wells: Ruminations.

Wells was born into a straight-laced, conservative New England family. In many ways, he was the odd one out: he was gay, and he was passionate about music and art—interests his father found too effeminate.

Eventually, Wells was sent to a ranch school in Arizona in an attempt to shift his focus toward more traditionally masculine pursuits.

His stint at the ranch was short, as the plan backfired; instead of helping him to shift focus, the Southwest entranced the budding artist and Wells landed in Taos in 1932 after traveling the world. In New Mexico, he discovered a unique community where he was surrounded by a rich cultural and spiritual history, and where he found belonging both as an artist and as a young gay man.

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Wells later moved on to a darker palette that largely defines his work, though he did not always focus solely on landscapes as subject matter. In the second section of the exhibition, Whitney calls attention to Wells’ deep-rooted interest in New Mexico’s cultural history and in 18th and 19th century Hispano religious art, santos, in particular.

In the 1950s, he also visited France where he discovered the aesthetics of colorful cathedral stained glass and encountered additional modernist influences such as Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault. The result, as seen in works like Santo No. 1 (c. 1948), is almost a mash-up of medieval and modern elements: grotesque religious art with line-heavy contours and bold, bloody color.

Finally, in the last section of the exhibition, Whitney explores the many transformations Wells underwent throughout his life and career. Perhaps the most significant were the changes that occurred after he returned from the European Front. He was deeply traumatized by what he witnessed as a soldier in WWII, and the subsequent pain, guilt, and hopelessness is reflected in the moroseness of his post-1945 work.

Much of this later work also evokes a kind of radioactive glow, as Wells was additionally long preoccupied with the atomic experiments conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratories just miles from his home. His painting, Untitled (c. 1946), for instance, reflects unease and

Cady Wells, Untitled, 1938, watercolor on paper, from the collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art, Bequest of Vivian Sloan Fiske, 1978

anxiety as it practically pulsates with pops of light, color, and reaching lines that grasp at the viewer as if they were outstretched hands.

Wells died in 1954 at the age of 49. All told, he enjoyed some success during his relatively short career, displaying work in dozens of group and solo shows across the United States. His work has received less renown after his death than it did in his lifetime, it seems, and his legacy has long stood in the shadows of giants in modern Southwestern art such as Georgia O’Keefe. Thanks in part to work by scholar Lois Rednick and a series of retrospectives and exhibitions within the last ten years, however, interest in Wells’ unique artistic perspective has rebounded.

In the end, Wells’ artwork is more than merely New Mexico-specific landscapes; it is deeply personal and human as much as it is regional and American. It serves as a lens through which viewers can appreciate particular moments of his life as well as distinct moments in the history of Southwestern and American art.

What is truly significant about Wells’ work, then, Whitney concludes, is not necessarily the landscape he paints, “but what be brings to that landscape.”

Cady Wells: Ruminations is on display from April 2 through October 2, 2016 at Philbrook Downtown. This exhibition is presented in partnership with the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe. For more information, visit philbrook.org. n Corinne Kannenberg wears many hats, but among them, she is a writer, artist, and lover of history currently living in Tulsa. She can be reached at corinnekannenberg@gmail.com.

Cady Wells, Confused Memory, watercolor on paper, from the collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art, Museum acquisition before 1951

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I am Woman, Hear my Shutter Click

by Michaela Slavid

Steffanie Halley’s photographs of men are rare enough to be remarkable. Outside of her series Redheads, (an ongoing exploration begun in 2008, whose subjects are chosen for their hair color) her male subjects seem chosen for their fallibility. An elderly man in khaki uniform might be taken for stern, except that he missed a button on his shirt, thus cracking his veneer. A nude lover with long hair, shown in silhouette, emasculated by his pose and positioned at a distance from the viewer—and therefore the photographer—is held away by her/our power.

“modern day armor,” Halley points out the dual function of representing us to others while protecting us from them.

Men’s hands are sometimes shown—but only as vessels to hold up a skull, or as juxtaposed props like bloody knuckles with a steering wheel. The absence is intentional and powerful, albeit somewhat unusual, considering that most of Halley’s work is portraiture.

Perhaps most similar to photographer Anna Gaskell’s work in this regard, Halley’s

Halley’s photographs, almost entirely depicting women, show her own sex as both inspiration and subject. Each work feels like a piece in a larger story, and in speaking to the artist about her work, I realized that this isn’t a fictional musing of mine. They don’t inhabit a linear storyline, to be sure, but are laden with meaningful objects, personal touches, and layered (often latent) information.

A viewer most likely would not recognize that a young girl’s oversize boots belonged to her mother, whose own mother is best friends with Halley’s. They probably don’t know that the house she stands outside of belonged to Halley’s grandmother, or that Halley spent much of her childhood there. The artist describes her process as “self-portraiture using others as yourself,” acknowledging the layers that develop as “each person brings out that other side of you.” These layers, and their meanings, may be orchestrated before the shoot, but are just as often found in images after the fact.

The relation to fashion in each image is both personal and philosophical, as well. After inheriting a wardrobe from her friend’s grandmother, Halley began to bring these on shoots and realized that they unearthed a realm of meaning for her. Calling clothes

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While a viewer would have no way of decoding any of the background information hidden in Halley’s photographs, the fact that there is meaning hangs heavy in each image.

In other words, it is the stories, unknown and unexplained, which lend intrigue to the works. The visual cues that mean one thing to Halley are so full of symbolism that we feel there is something important to be gleaned from staring at each print.

photographs almost seem to have folkloric references. While Gaskell’s work is dark, a Grimm brothers’ fairytale that we don’t quite wish to enter, Halley’s show the fantasy of every day life. The woman bending slightly forward, underneath a child’s play scape has a secret, yes. In fact, her secret is that she is newly pregnant and wearing the dress of a friend’s now deceased grandmother—but it could be that she has returned to the playground of her childhood, that her own daughter owns the camera, etc. We might not know this—but we know her, we cherish the lives she represents and weave our own meaning into the hints imbedded by Halley in her photographs. In the end, we don’t need

Steffanie Halley, a dream like something, 2009, archival pigment print

to name the folktale; the story is real.

Once Halley felt her work with girls was in danger of feeling formulaic, the Redheads series took shape, inspired in part by her own hair color as well as the folklore surrounding the trait.

Caused by a recessive gene, there is much literature discussing redheadedness, and much of it has been studied by Halley. For instance, the artist told me that she has read that redheads have a higher pain tolerance, but also that they may face becoming an even greater genetic rarity.

The series began as an excuse to carry her camera (a Holga), to meet people, to engage with them and to document the redheads in her own family line as well as those encountered in daily life.

The simplicity of the topic can be seen as a direct reprisal to her open-ended images of women. However, once again, the idea of photographing others as self comes into play as each subject reveals different aspects of being a “redhead.”

My favorite image from the series shows a young girl in a green two-piece and green Crocs, self-consciously placing her hands on her thighs as she stands on some rocks at the side of a lake. A modern Venus, she hasn’t yet grown into Botticelli’s voluptuous ideal, and instead embodies the every-day beauty of Rineke Dijkstra’s similarly posed photographs, captured right at the brink.

Halley says that in finding her camera, she found her identity.

Comparing it to a relationship or a child, she maintains that the camera and the click of its shutter became a part of her self.

Halley’s female subjects, clothed in sartorial armor, surrounded by symbols of womanhood and smack in the midst of the circle of life, are beautiful, mysterious, and strong. Detailed surroundings lend power and dominance to each, since we can guess but never know their history.

(top) Steffanie Halley, Pearl, 2007, archival pigment print (bottom) Steffanie Halley, red head (on the stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art), 2008, archival pigment print

Conversely, male characters are shown devoid of power—faces hidden, clothes that bely their wearer’s weakness rather than strength, with open wounds or with no information at all, simply present in a supporting role or secondary character—a prop in a woman’s story.

The power of the story crafted by a photographer and disseminated by specific chemicals on a specially chosen paper is that it portrays what might be fiction as momentary truth. One can build an identity or find one—in a photograph it’s the same thing.

Steffanie Halley got her BA in arts from OSU in 1998, and MFA in photography in 2008 from Savannah College of Art and Design. For more information, visit steffaniehalley.com. n Originally from New York City, Michaela Slavid is an Oklahoma City-based curator and art writer.

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15

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954), Autoportrait, ca. 1900, oil on canvas. Centre Pompidou, Paris. Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, AM 1991-271. © 2015 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photograph © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Philippe Migeat/Dist. RMN-GP

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Bringing Matisse to Oklahoma

by Olivia Biddick

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA) is currently home to an unprecedented, extensive exhibition featuring Henri Matisse and his peers called Matisse in His Time: Masterworks of Modernism from the Centre Pompidou, Paris. This is the collection’s only stop in North America, with the only other two venues in Europe.

There were many stars that aligned to make this exhibition possible. The Centre Pompidou, one of the largest modern art museums in the world, recently partnered with Oklahoma’s museum. The relationship between the museums, along with OKCMOA’s space and style made sending the collection overseas to this particular location make sense.

Logistically, the Mondo Mostre in Rome provided expertise when it came to getting the masterpieces from point A to point B. Locally, the Inasmuch Foundation, an Oklahoma-based grant-making foundation specializing in education, health & human services, and community enhancement, provided significant funding for the collection . The generous grant was in honor of their founder, art enthusiast Edith Kinney Gaylord, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday this year.

The collection consists of over 50 oil paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints

by Matisse, with approximately another 50 pieces by his contemporaries, according to Michael J. Anderson, Ph.D., Curator of Film and American Art at OKCMOA. When explaining the exhibition’s title and structure, Anderson says: “It is easy to think of artists of Matisse’s stature (that is incomparable masters) as existing outside of history, but this just isn’t so. Artists exist in their own social contexts and circles, which give shape to the art that they produce.

To see Matisse’s art side by side with works by Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, Derain, Vlaminck, Renoir, Gris, and so many more really helps us to see Matisse in terms of the era that his work has come to define. The reason his work is the way that it is, is a combination of his own genius and the time and artistic movements through which he lived.”

Matisse did not happen in a vacuum. He changed the game in art, because he was challenged by it. Inspiration is a two-way street; the artist can reflect and respond to the time while also shaping the world they live in.

Matisse in His Time shows the wide range of his work chronologically (like many artists at the time his art went through phases) juxtaposed with work by his fellow artists to help show how each artist impacted one another.

He came into the art world in France as the revolutionary Impressionist movement was coming to an end. His predecessors and influencers, like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, had rebelliously pioneered a new way of defining art and its value, something that sharply contrasted from the traditional portraits and landscape. Like most things alien, it took time to gain appreciation from the masses. Their movement set the tone for the movements to come in the next century.

Robert Bailey, Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Oklahoma, says Matisse and his peers tried “to take steps beyond their Impressionist and Post-Impressionist predecessors while still continuing the effort to understand and participate in modern life through painting.

While doing that, Matisse demonstrated his supreme gifts as a colorist and a draftsman, setting much of the agenda for his fellow artists in these areas.” Matisse is often credited for being the link for 19th and 20th century art.

At the turn of the century and after studying art classically, Matisse began showing work and socializing with other artists at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. In 1905 he, along with André Derain, spearheaded the Fauvist movement—the beginning of Modern art.

The group of artists was called les Fauves, which is French for “wild beast.” In this movement Matisse “established color as a major concern of modernist painting moving forward,” says Bailey.

Following his Fauvist phase, Anderson says Matisse went through “flirtations with Cubism, classicism, and Surrealism,” but overall is most known for his final phases: Modernism and his innovative paper cutouts.

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso are arguably considered the two most important modern artists of the twentieth century. Their work allowed for the art world to view “ugliness” as beauty. How they are remembered today might depict the two individuals as more distinguishable, separate personalities when in reality, they were perhaps more alike than they were different. Their similarities in talent and style led them to watch each other carefully, almost obsessively.

They were very competitive, rivals even; sometimes making work in response to a work from the other person, says Bailey.

Seeing their paintings side by side will help viewers understand their dynamic and how they chose to acknowledge each other.

While each artist has his own merit, both Matisse and Picasso were inescapable products of the time’s art environment.

Something that does separate Matisse from Picasso, says Anderson, “is the way in which his works, as beautiful as they are, don’t allow our eyes to rest anywhere on the canvases.

They are very challenging, even radically modern in this sense.”

His final artistic embarkation was his famous cutouts. An entirely new medium that still connected with his past, they resemble dress patterns and fabric clippings, commonly found in the textile town in France where Matisse grew up.

Creating his cutouts was described as “carving into color,” and expanded his sculpting tools to include scissors.

Matisse believed “an artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.” This artist always seemed in control of his art, allowing himself to lead movements and respond to them in his own way.

Matisse in His Time, runs through September 18. In addition, OKCMOA hosts a new exhibition in tandem called Our City, Our Collection: Building the Museum’s Lasting Legacy to familiarize the anticipated far-traveling/first-time visitors (continued to page 18)

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(continued from page 17)

with the museum. Our City, Our Collection features staples from the museum’s collection and illustrates its history. n Olivia Biddick is the Office/Production Coordinator at CVWmedia in Norman. She has a BA in journalism with an emphasis on broadcasting and electronic media from the University of Oklahoma.

Contact her at olivia.biddick@gmail.com.

This is the collection’s only stop in North America, with the only other two venues in Europe.

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954). Lorette à la tasse de café, 1917, oil on canvas. Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, AM 2001-214. © 2015 Succession H. Matisse/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photograph © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Phillippe Migeat/Dist. RMN-GP

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1 NE 3rd St

OKC,OK 73104

405.815.9995

“A Hiding Place” A col labora ti ve ex hibi ti on of poet s + vi sua l a r t i st s | Cura ted by J ane Ta ylo r a nd Ben Myers

Opening Rece ption: July 28 at 5 p.m.

POETS:

VISUAL ARTISTS: Cynthia Adler Ashton Arnoldy Sarah Atlee Marjorie Atwood Br yan Boone Sarah Chambers B r yan Dahlvang Samantha Dillehay Nathan Evans

Derek Fitzpatrick Laura Kent Erin Latham Bethany Lee Sarah Leis Katherine Liontas Warren Cindy Mason Beatriz Mayorca Sunni Mercer

Michelle Metcalfe Ric Miller Marissa Raglin Connie Seabourn Alex Stock George W ilson Liz W ilson Claudia Wylie

Jeanine Hathaway Quraysh Ali Lansana Julia McConnell Ben Myers Chad Reynolds Daniel Simon Anita Skeen S Jane Vincent Taylor

For more i nfor mation on r el ated prog r ammi ng, pleas e se nd an email to inf o@ ar tsp ac eatu nt itle d .or g

Please visit our new and improved website at 1ne3.org

OKLAHOMA VISUAL ARTS COALITION PRESENTS

JUNE 3 - JULY 2 3, 2016 Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa Hardesty Arts Center OPENING RECEPTION // Friday, June 3 2016 6-9PM

SEPTEMBER 2 - 30, 2016 The Luminary // St. Louis, MO Encounter artists' current perspectives through a survey and artist exchange with The Luminary, St. Louis, MO.

Guest curated by Adam Welch FOCUS ARTISTS

OKLAHOMA: Glenn Davis, Heather Clark Hilliard , Andy Mattern, Anh-Thuy Nguyen ST. LOUIS, MO: Addoley Dzegede, Meredith Foster, Cole Lu, Catalina Ouyang

SURVEY ARTISTS

C ONCE P T- OK .ORG

Curator Adam Welch selected work by an additional 22 artists to highlight current art making in Oklahoma.

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Cristallum

by Elizabeth Downing

Artist RC Morrison worked with LED for the first time in 2013 when daughter JP Morrison enlisted his help to light a small house as a part of a piece she had in Momentum OKC. After that, he delved deeper and created several Plexiglas edge-lit pieces, boxes, wood sculptures with light integration, and most recently—Plexiglas etchings.

Morrison went on to collaborate with artist Chris Wollard to create a metal sign for the Tulsa Artists Coalition gallery. Light was also pivotal in Lumens, an exhibition Morrison organized at TAC in December 2013 and that involved several other Tulsa artists who were also working with light.

Cristallum is the latest collaborative installation created by Morrison, Wollard, and electrical engineer Andrew Harmon as a commission for Hogan Assessments.

The piece sits amidst the lofty modern architecture of the human resources consulting firm’s new global headquarters in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District.

Transgressing the archetype of “corporate art,” Cristallum exists not only as an artistic and technical achievement, but as a monument to collaboration in the truest sense of the word. It had humble beginnings and started life as a warm piece of Plexiglas coming out of Wollard’s home oven. They draped it around a form built by Morrison to create a maquette. Over the next three months, Cristallum came to life, as the two worked with Harmon to solve technical issues and address the logistics of scaling the piece up to 12-feet high.

In addition to the technical considerations, such as how to heat and form eight-foot sheets of Plexiglas, the team pondered aesthetic considerations as well—most typically over drinks at Mainline Art Bar or at Wollard’s vast warehouse studio containing all manner of metalsmithing tools. The work often called forward several conundrums of artists today, who have an abundance of technological materials and processes at their fingertips—how to accept the limitations of technology and move the creative process around it, and when to

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demand more of the technology to fulfill the complete artistic vision.

This was exemplified in Cristallum when the flexing of the panels under their own weight caused the LED strips to break apart. It

was artistically important that the piece be continuously lit and the edges glowed, so the three artists brought their knowledge of the power and electrical needs and their mechanical expertise to bear. The seemingly simple task of powering the piece fell under

RC Morrison, Chris Wollard, and Andrew Harmon, Cristallum, 2015

Harmon’s expertise, which he saw as the biggest challenge of scaling up—the need for a large amount of current.

As Morrison starts, “LEDs are technically incredible,” and Wollard finishes, “they put out blinding light but use basically no power.” Harmon has been working with LEDs for almost 20 years and fondly recalled his first project building a flashlight and how he saved for it—as LEDs were $4.25 per light at the time.

Harmon says that LEDs have lowered in price, increased in their efficiency, and become much easier to control in the intervening years. This is especially

important for Cristallum being what it is; there are over 2400 LEDs that are controlled with only two wires—something that would have been impossible in the days where having a single RGB LED show a spectrum of colors was difficult.

Cristallum is a beacon on Greenwood Avenue, especially at night, framed by a two-story window and visible from afar.

On working together, Morrison says, “Too often collaboration is seen as an end in itself, as if working collaboratively will magically create good art. In my opinion, it usually doesn’t. To work, a collaboration needs a lead artist and each member must

have talent, be in control of their ego and have a sense of humor.”

Hogan Assessments, the company that commissioned this piece, focuses on the science of personality. So it’s rather fitting that Cristallum is a scientifically-sound piece that successfully represents the work of three very different personalities, abilities, and visions. n Elizabeth Downing may be reached at beth@ bethdowning.com.

Process images of Cristallum, images courtesy of the artists

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IN THE STUDIO: An Interview with Artist Joanna Underwood Blackburn

by Molly O’Connor

As a crossroads for history, culture, and nature, downtown Sulphur is a unique destination where art is both created and celebrated. Located in the heart of Chickasaw country, the charming downtown includes recently remodeled historic buildings and new developments that house creative businesses such as the Chickasaw Visitors Center and the Artesian Gallery & Studios.

Having recently celebrated its third year, the Artesian Arts Festival exhibits the work of over eighty artists and attracts thousands of tourists to the community during Memorial Day weekend.

The vast and lush Chickasaw National Recreation Area, which borders the southern edge of downtown Sulphur, provides a shady, hilly landscape with an abundance of natural springs.

Overlooking the national park, stands a rock plaza known as Oka’Chokmasi (Chickasaw for “beautiful water”). This space, which was once an abandoned lot, was repurposed into an outdoor sanctuary of art and nature through the support, vision, and leadership of the Chickasaw Nation. Today it’s a tranquil location where visitors can pause and learn more about Chickasaw culture. The bronze sculptures and water features include ancient symbols and traditional design that tell the story of the Chickasaw people.

Sulphur-based artist Joanna Underwood Blackburn is the visionary behind Oka’Chokmasi. Trained primarily in graphic design and ceramics, her interest in Southeastern pottery has been a key focal point of her work. In 2011, she made the bold leap from creating traditional clay pottery to designing largescale bronze sculptures for the outdoor space, which is directly across the street from her studio space in the Artesian Gallery building.

How would you describe your work as an artist?

I am a contemporary artist inspired by early tribal culture and designs of the Southeast.

My modern artwork depicts themes of nature, textures, and patterns. I start with a pot from gourd shape, that becomes my open canvas, and once I add the designs it comes to life.

How much time do you generally spend in your studio?

I generally spend at least four hours per day in the shop. If I’m getting ready for a show, then I can spend up to ten hours or more per day. My husband and I recently moved into a new studio space at the Artesian Gallery & Studios where we primarily work on sculpture pieces. Here our work is done in clay as we get them ready to be cast in bronze. My pottery work is mostly done at the home shop, as I need the extra space and outdoors for smoke firing.

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When did you first discover an interest in pottery?

I was first interested in pottery while attending the University of Oklahoma. I was studying graphic design as an art major and we had the opportunity to take other art electives. I was taking a ceramic sculpture class with V’Lou Olivera. She taught us all of the basics and I found that I really enjoyed sculpting out of clay. At that time, I was learning to raku fire and was also interested in creating pottery the way our tribal ancestors once created. After doing some research, I discovered there wasn’t anyone within the Chickasaw Nation making pottery anymore. It became my mission to gather as much information as I could find about our ancient pottery. With the guidance and encouragement from tribal members, I was able to recreate and help revitalize the art of pottery making for our tribe.

How did you begin the research on Chickasaw pottery design?

I asked tribal members and worked with cultural resources at the Chickasaw Nation. They helped me by providing research materials, books, and photographs, and pointed me in the direction of even more resources. I looked at photographs and references from our ancestor’s pottery from the Chickasaw homelands in the Southeast. I mostly discovered the designs on pottery and shell carvings from the Mississippian Cultural Period, as this was the time the pottery was most prevalent. I loved seeing the shapes of pottery and the beauty of the intricate designs—discovering how the designs related to the life ways of our ancestors.

Later, I was able to travel to our ancestral homelands to visit places such as Tishomingo State Park, Shiloh Mounds, and the Natchez Trace Parkway where I walked the old trails, saw the ancient mounds and pottery in the museums.

How did you make the transition from creating pottery to outdoor sculpture?

In 2011, I submitted a proposal to the Chickasaw Nation to create multiple largescale bronze sculptures of pottery and other Southeastern inspired works. My proposal was accepted and I was commissioned to do my first bronze project. Making the transition from pottery to creating several large bronze sculptures was an exciting time, creating ten large sculptures over a three-year period.

Can you talk a little about the design process for Oka’Chokmasi, including the inspiration behind the concept?

It started with an idea to create a large outdoor art piece. I wanted to create a pot that had a bigger

presence than how you normally see pottery and might be more visible to create interest in the Southeast arts. It was also a way to honor all of the Southeast tribes and potters, our families, and our ancestors.

One of my favorite pieces is the Water Jar. The water jar represents women as both ‘water bearers’ and chief pottery makers of the Southeast. The woman water jar features a loksi (turtle) design on the front. The turtle, like so many other animal effigies in our natural world, represented a certain kind of wisdom and strength. Another favorite was creating the water fountain that included three southeastern style pots. One is in the shape of a gourd with woodpecker handles.

Another features a water design and the third pot is in the shape of a fish.

What does the Oka’Chokmasi space provide those who visit it?

The space provides others with a peaceful place to visit and enjoy the water pools, fountain, walkways and art. It also serves as a beautiful place where visitors can see the ancient designs of our ancestors and learn about important aspects of their daily lives. It’s great to have these art pieces exhibited in one central area – all highlighting the designs of the Southeast. This place honors and celebrates our Chickasaw culture, Chickasaw artists, and Southeastern art. Through this sculpture park, the Chickasaw Nation provided a space that shows that Chickasaw art and artists are relevant today and have a place in the contemporary art world.

Do you plan to seek out more opportunities for largescale outdoor and public art projects?

Yes. At the moment I’m working on creating some small bronze works, but also hope to continue doing large bronze pieces for outdoor and public art projects as they come available.

What advice would you give other artists?

To realize you can make a living doing something you love—even in small town Oklahoma. I initially studied graphic design and worked many years in the graphic design field (which I still find fascinating), but I never felt I could make a living as an artist in Oklahoma. It didn’t seem realistic in the beginning, but now I’m glad to have never given up on that dream.

It’s a lot of hard work, but I was fortunate to receive the support of the Chickasaw Nation, my family and friends, and find out it was not worth giving up. Today, there are a lot of opportunities in the art field and especially within the Chickasaw Nation, which has dedicated an entire division to the arts and humanities. It is great to see a rejuvenation of

the Southeastern arts.

Blackburn’s work is included in collections at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, the US National Library of Medicine in Maryland and the office of the Ambassador of the Chickasaw Nation to the US in Washington DC. In addition to the Artesian Gallery, Blackburn has work on exhibition at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur and Exhibit C in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown district. She will also be a participating artist in the Southeastern Art Show and Market in Tishomingo in October 2016. n Molly O’Connor is a multidisciplinary artist from Oklahoma City. She also serves as the Cultural Development Director for the Oklahoma Arts Council. She can be reached at moconnor1122@yahoo.com.

Joanna Underwood Blackburn, Water Jar, 2012, bronze, approx. 48”.

Located at Oka´Chokmasi in Sulphur, OK. Image copyright Joanna U. Blackburn, 2016.

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EKPHRASIS: Art & Poetry edited by Liz Blood

empyrean myriad suns, solar system of the thing created: person plus person in fervid embrace equals three: prime number in the songs of springs— yet nothing, ending in the inexplicable, spoken phrases only ashen shadows of passion, love, no single word for what-we-once-knew-as-light. thus, we, humans, who sought to find, who found, and fell as lava hungrily falls to fire, then tossed away, only to fall again to the lash of heat and thrash and flesh, who met the many suns full on to thrive, expecting all of all assuming infinite arc of light. and yet, still: ash, as everything must come to; a cosmos eats itself, swallows, is gone. once: a map of beings, circumnavigating the cardinal points of desire’s blazing star, kama sutra from the ten directions, blessed as only silence can be clasped and clenched and bitten into within the whitest room. this, we, our sun, us, our alpha to omega come halt at omicron, the shape of our mouths when everything goes nova: our mercator brought to zero, the roundest thing of all. yet, still, flame: our highest heaven, circle of light beyond boundary; nothing quenches that. ever.

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Poet Michael Wright considers fervid, primal passion in his response to artist Akiko Jackson’s work, “mottainai: part I of III.” Mottainai is a Japanese word communicating a sense of regret for waste, while empyrean means “deriving from heaven.” The two make for an interesting conversation.

Poet Michael Wright is a screenwriting and playwriting professor at the University of Tulsa.

His poems have been published in This Land and other magazines and journals. His books on playwriting are used internationally by academic and professional programs.

Artist Akiko Jackson works mainly in

sculpture and installation. The use of black and gold are driving forces in Jackson’s work, informed by theories of otherness, Japanese aesthetic, kintsugi, and mottainai. She is a 2016 Tulsa Artist Fellow. akikojackson.com

Akiko Jackson, mottainai: part I of III, 2014, artist’s old bed spring mattress, cotton, ink, gold leaf, 72 x 48 x 12”

e k p h r a s i s 25

ASK A CREATIVITY COACH:

ASK A CREATIVITY COACH:

Got Talent? Motivation Matters More

MUSE MAGIC

by Romney Nesbitt

Dear Romney, I hear a lot about muses. Some artists seem to carry on a running conversation with their muse. How can I get one?

— Muse-less

Dear Muse-less, In mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses who symbolized the arts and sciences. Salvador Dali had Gala and Andrew Wyeth had Helga. Author Elizabeth Gilbert shares her relationship with her muse in her new book, Big Magic.

Artists and writers depend on their muses for artistic inspiration.

We all occasionally get trapped in an artistic block. Ideas vanish, and time passes.

Danielle LaPorte1, describes it this way— we want back into “the zone, the flow, the magical gap…the place where ahas, creative sparks, strategies, and revelations flow our way.” Could a Muse help? How do you find a Muse?

LaPorte believes the right environment can help surface your muse, “Certain conditions are more optimal for muses than others: interaction, movement, nature, and contemplation.” Think about when and where you get your best ideas. Are you talking to a friend (interaction), driving or running (movement), gardening or hiking (nature) or sitting in reflective silence (contemplation)? LaPorte states that when you know your optimal condition you can “set the stage for your muse to enter,” but the author stops short of telling her readers how to set the stage. Let me fill in the blanks from my own experience.

Place yourself in your optimal condition for connecting. Quiet meditation works for me. Maybe taking a walk is your most

26 b u s i n e s s o f a r t

peaceful state. Now imagine if you could have a muse, what qualities would be most helpful? Wisdom? Clarity? Creativity?

Business Savvy? Have you ever known someone who possessed those qualities?

Then see that person’s face or imagine a friendly stranger. Now ask that person to help you with your creative struggle.

State your problem. Wait quietly for a few minutes and really listen. In this mental space without worry or anxiety, your subconscious mind will begin to mix the ingredients of your artistic life— your experience, training, education and intuition—and a totally new solution will emerge. The answer may come like a snippet of a dream—maybe not immediately, perhaps hours or days later.

When it comes, follow your muse’s advice.

According to Gilbert and LaPorte, muses expect you to at least try what they suggest.

My Muse (who looks and sounds like my college painting professor) helped me find an extra hour a day for writing. He said, “Get up at 5:00 a.m.” I would have never believed I could write a complete sentence in English before the sun comes up, but I can, and I do, five days a week. As a way of recognizing the mysterious nature of my relationship with my muse, I say “Thank you” every day at 6:00 a.m., and just in case my Muse wants to read over my shoulder, there is an empty chair beside me at my writing desk.

The artistic process is hard work and challenges will arise. I’m open for all the

help I can get and maybe you are too. Why not invite a Muse to partner with you? n Romney Nesbitt is a Creativity Coach and author of SECRETS FROM A CREATIVITY COACH. She welcomes your comments and questions at romneynesbitt@gmail.com. Book her to speak to your group through OVAC’s ARTiculate Speakers Bureau.

1 Danielle Laporte, The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful and Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2012), 187

OVAC NEWS

JULY | AUGUST 2016

Anyone is welcome as a member (if you’re not one yet), whether an artist or art fan. Join online at ovac-ok.org or call us at 405-8792400. Save the date for the OVAC Annual Member meeting, which will be held July 23 in Tulsa. This gathering will give people a chance to meet fellow members and have some fun while learning more about what OVAC has been up to this year. Members receive notice in the mail and information will be on our website.

This past May, we held our second Collector Level Membership + Community Supported Art (CSA) Launch Event.

Collectors attended a reception with the artists and received their second piece of original artwork. The program is a new way to connect art buyers with local artists.

Through the CSA Program, collectors will receive 2 original pieces of art annually

by Oklahoma artists and enjoy all of the additional benefits at the Patron Member level. The next Launch Event will be held in May. For more information, or to sign up, please visit ovac-ok.org/become-a-collector.

The 2016 Concept exhibition presents an evocative investigation of contemporary artists in Oklahoma, along with a regional artist exchange. Concept contains two exhibition components. The Survey is a competitively selected exhibition of artwork in all media, selected by guest Curator Adam Welch (Pittsburgh, PA), from artist submissions. Focus is a curated group exhibition of new work by 4 Oklahoma artists and 4 artists from partner city St. Louis, MO. Focus artists are selected by the guest curator from proposals and receive an honoraria and curatorial guidance to create new work to debut at the exhibition. Concept will run through July 23 at AHHA in Tulsa.

The Focus exchange will open in September 2016 at The Luminary in St. Louis, MO.

The next quarterly deadline for all OVAC Grants is July 15. Applications are accepted monthly on the 15th for Education Grants.

All other grant categories are reviewed quarterly. Please visit ovac-ok.org/programs/ grants for a complete list of the available opportunities.

SAVE THE DATE! The 2016 12x12 Art Fundraiser will be September 23 at Science Museum Oklahoma.

Art People

OVAC recently welcomed Joshua Cassella to the team as our new Outreach Coordinator. Joshua has an BFA in studio art with an emphasis on painting from Oklahoma City University. n

24 Works on Paper, the biennial travelling exhibition of work by living Oklahoma artists will return again to the public in Guymon, OK in August 2016 and continue its tour around the state through January 2018. Visit 24Works.org for more information.

Thank you to our new and renewing members from March and April 2016 Molly Murphy Adams Sharon and Jeff Allred Sarika Alvekar Judy Anderson Marjorie Atwood Marc Barker Randall Barnes Felix Blesch Andrew Boatman, Blue Sage Studios Elyse Bogart Irma Braun-Hampton Autumn N. Brown Cynthia Brown and Walt Kosty Jack and Lynn Bryant Sharon Burchett Sarah Burrows Crystal Campbell Jamie Cassell Michele Clark

Elisa Cossey Gayle Curry Leslie Dallam Ebony Iman Dallas Glenn Herbert Davis Anke Dodson Elizabeth Downing and Gavin Manes Kerra Dyreng Alex Emmons Nicholas Enevoldsen Sarah Engel-Barnett Kris Fairchild Sally Flora-French Yiren Gallagher Dan Garrett Marie Gassaway John Gooden Julie Greenwood Katherine Hair Raven Halfmoon

Micah Halverson Carla Hefley Kaylee Huerta F. Bradley Jessop Brittany Johnson Rusty Johnson Curtis Jones Micheal W. Jones Rebecca Joskey Deborah Kaspari Sharyl and Paul Landis Brian Landreth Erin Latham Cayla Lewis Monika Linehan Trace Logan Jordan Long Kayela Lynn Hyman Mandell Andy Mattern Beatriz Mayorca

Ashlyn Metcalf Sara Michael Karen Michno Carla Groschick Miller Nicole Moan Thomas Nesthus Erin Owen Taylor Painter-Wolfe Kathleen Pendley Andrew Phelan Greg Pogue Jr. Mary Jane Porter Saumo Puapuaga Daryl Reimer Karen A. Renfrow Kim Rice Loyal Roach Morgan Robinson Liz Roth Avery Rudolph Mark Sisson

Sue Moss Sullivan Cindy Swanson Julia Swearingen Trisha Thompson-Adams Noel Torrey Debra Van Swearingen Antoinette Vogt Carlene Wallace Randy Watkins David Webber Becca West, Wishbone Gallery and Supply Angela AK Westerman Dean Wilhite Lee Anna Williams Holly Wilson Mark Wittig Micah Wylie

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Gallery Listings & Exhibition Schedule Ada

Davis

Guthrie

The Pogue Gallery East Central University 900 Centennial Plaza (580) 559-5353 ecok.edu

Chickasaw Nation Welcome Center 35 N Colbert Rd (580) 369-4222 chickasawcountry.com

Hancock Creative Shop 116 S 2nd St (405) 471-1951 hancockcreativeshop.wordpress.com Owens Arts Place Museum 1202 E Harrison (405) 260-0204 owensmuseum.com

Alva Graceful Arts Gallery and Studios 523 Barnes St (580) 327-ARTS gracefulartscenter.org

Duncan Chisholm Trail Heritage Center 1000 Chisholm Trail Pkwy (580) 252-6692 onthechisholmtrail.com

Ardmore

Durant

The Goddard Center 401 First Avenue SW (580) 226-0909 goddardcenter.org

Southeastern OK State University 1405 N 4th PMB 4231

Bartlesville

Durham

Peanuts…Naturally Exhibition June 4th - October 9th Price Tower Arts Center 510 Dewey Ave (918) 336-4949 pricetower.org

Metcalfe Museum 8647 N 1745 Rd (580) 655-4467 metcalfemuseum.org

Broken Bow Forest Heritage Center Beaver’s Bend Resort (580) 494-6497 beaversbend.com

Chickasha Nesbitt Gallery University of Science and Arts Oklahoma 1806 17th St (405) 574-1344 usao.edu/gallery/ schedule

Claremore Rogers State University 1701 W Will Rogers Blvd (918) 343-7740 rsu.edu Wolf Productions: A Gallery of the Arts 510 W Will Rogers Blvd (918) 342-4210 wolfproductionsagallery.com

Edmond Donna Nigh Gallery University of Central Oklahoma 100 University Dr (405) 974-2432 uco.edu/cfad Edmond Historical Society & Museum 431 S Boulevard (405) 340-0078 edmondhistory.org Fine Arts Institute of Edmond 27 E Edwards St (405) 340-4481 edmondfinearts.com Melton Gallery University of Central Oklahoma 100 University Dr (405) 974-2432 uco.edu/cfad University Gallery Oklahoma Christian University 2501 E Memorial Rd oc.edu

El Reno Redlands Community College 1300 S Country Club Rd (405) 262-2552 redlandscc.edu

28 g a l l e r y g u i d e

Guymon

Jacobson House 609 Chautauqua (405) 366-1667 jacobsonhouse.org School of Art and Art History Faculty Exhibition June 14th – September 4th Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art 555 Elm Ave (405) 325-4938 ou.edu/fjjma

All Fired Up Art Gallery 421 N Main (580) 338-4278 artistincubation.com

Lightwell Gallery University of Oklahoma 520 Parrington Oval (405) 325-2691 art.ou.edu

Idabel

MAINSITE Contemporary Art Gallery 122 E Main (405) 360-1162 normanarts.org

Museum of the Red River 812 E Lincoln Rd (580) 286-3616 museumoftheredriver.org

Lawton The Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery 620 D Avenue (580) 357-9526 lpgallery.org Art of the Brick: Permission to Play July 1st - September 30th Museum of the Great Plains 601 NW Ferris Ave (580) 581-3460 discovermgp.org

Norman The Crucible Gallery 110 E Tonhawa (405) 579-2700 thecruciblellc.com Dope Chapel 115 S Crawford (580) 917-3695 Downtown Art and Frame 115 S Santa Fe (405) 329-0309 Firehouse Art Center 444 S Flood (405) 329-4523 normanfirehouse.com

LIGHT & GLASS: OIL LAMPS & STAINED GLASS IN THE VICTORIAN ERA June - August Moore-Lindsey House Historical Museum 508 N Peters (405) 321-0156 normanmuseum.org The Depot Gallery 200 S Jones (405) 307-9320 pasnorman.org

Oklahoma City Acosta Strong Fine Art 6420 N Western Ave (405) 453-1825 johnbstrong.com [ArtSpace] at Untitled 1 NE 3rd St (405) 815-9995 artspaceatuntitled.org Brass Bell Studios 2500 NW 33rd facebook.com/BrassBellStudios Contemporary Art Gallery 2928 Paseo (405) 601-7474 contemporaryartgalleryokc.com DNA Galleries 1705 B NW 16th St (405) 371-2460 dnagalleries.com

Drum Show Opening Reception July 9th 2pm - 5pm Exhibit C 1 E Sheridan Ave Ste 100 (405) 767-8900 chickasawcountry.com O. Gail Poole: Rediscovered Oklahoma Master May 12th – July 30th Gaylord-Pickens Museum, home of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame 1400 Classen Dr (405) 235-4458 oklahomahof.com Grapevine Gallery 1933 NW 39th (405) 528-3739 grapevinegalleryokc.com Howell Gallery 6432 N Western Ave (405) 840-4437 howellgallery.com Guest Artist July 1st 6pm – 10pm Caroline Coenhour Photography August 5th 6pm – 10pm In Your Eye Studio and Gallery 3005A Paseo (405) 525-2161 inyoureyegallery.com Individual Artists of Oklahoma 706 W Sheridan Ave (405) 232-6060 individualartists.org/ JRB Art at The Elms 2810 N Walker Ave (405) 528-6336 jrbartgallery.com Kasum Contemporary Fine Art 1706 NW 16th St (405) 604-6602 kasumcontemporary.com

Prix de West June 10th – August 7th Lowell Ellsworth Smith: My Theology of Painting May 27th – December 31st National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1700 NE 63rd (405) 478-2250 nationalcowboymuseum.org Nault Gallery 816 N Walker Ave (405) 642-4414 naultfineart.com Nona Hulsey Gallery, Norick Art Center Oklahoma City University 1600 NW 26th (405) 208-5226 okcu.edu Oklahoma City Community College Gallery 7777 S May Ave (405) 682-7576 occc.edu Our City, Our Collection: Building the Museum’s Lasting Legacy March 12th - August 31st MATISSE IN HIS TIME: Masterworks of Modernism June 18th - September 18th The Modernist Spectrum: Color and Abstraction Through December 31st Oklahoma City Museum of Art 415 Couch Dr (405) 236-3100 okcmoa.com Summer Wheat: Everything Under the Sun Through August Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center 3000 General Pershing Blvd (405) 951-0000 oklahomacontemporary.org Oklahoma State Capitol Galleries 2300 N Lincoln Blvd (405) 521-2931 arts.ok.gov Paseo Art Space 3022 Paseo (405) 525-2688 thepaseo.com The Project Box 3003 Paseo (405) 609-3969 theprojectboxokc.com

Red Earth 6 Santa Fe Plaza (405) 427-5228 redearth.org Satellite Galleries Science Museum Oklahoma 2100 NE 52nd St (405) 602-6664 sciencemuseumok.org Summer Wine Art Gallery 2928 B Paseo (405) 831-3279 summerwinegallery.com Tall Hill Creative 3421 N Villa The Womb 25 NW 9th St wombgallery.com

Park Hill Threads of Time: Cherokee Clothing May 21st - August 20th 21st Annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show and Sale August 27th - August 28th Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc. 21192 S Keeler Dr (918) 456-6007 cherokeeheritage.org

Piedmont Red Dirt Gallery & Artists 13100 Colony Pointe Blvd #113 (405) 206-2438 reddirtartists.com

Ponca City Ponca City Art Center 819 E Central (580) 765-9746 poncacityartcenter.com

Shawnee A Tribute to America’s Combat Artists and Fighting Forces: Art from the U.S. Navy, Marines and Coast Guard May 21st - August 21st Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art 1900 W Macarthur (405) 878-5300 mgmoa.org

Stillwater Intrigue and Impressions: 25 Years of Printmaking June 22nd – Aug 5th Gardiner Gallery of Art Oklahoma State University 108 Bartlett Center for the Visual Arts (405) 744-4143 art.okstate.edu Leon Polk Smith: Back to Oklahoma May 31st - September 3rd Leon Polk Smith: Back to Oklahoma opening reception August 16th 5pm - 7pm Martha of Taos: Broomstick Skirts, Concho Belts, and the History of Southwestern Fashion May 31st - September 3rd Vision of Impressionism: Paintings from the Oklahoma Society of Impressionists June 20th - August 6th Oklahoma State University Museum of Art 720 S Husband St (405) 744-2780 museum.okstate.edu

Sulphur Chickasaw Visitor Center 901 W 1st St (580) 622-8050 chickasawcountry.com/explore/view/ Chickasaw-visitor-center

Tonkawa Eleanor Hays Gallery Northern Oklahoma College 1220 E Grand (580) 628-6670 north-ok.edu

Tulsa Head to Toe: The Weitzman Art Shoe Collection Candace Kling Harriete Estel Berman June 3 – July 24 Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes August 5th – September 25th 108 Contemporary 108 E MB Brady St (918) 895-6302 108contemporary.org

aberson Exhibits 3624 S Peoria (918) 740-1054 abersonexhibits.com West Mexico: Ritual and Identity June 26th - November 6th Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray July 10th - September 11th Gilcrease Museum 1400 Gilcrease Road (918) 596-2700 gilcrease.utulsa.edu

A Place in the Sun: The Southwest paintings of Walter Ufer and E. Martin Hennings May 29th- Aug 28th Oscar Bluemner Through November 6th First Person: Remembering Little Big Horn June 11th – Nov 20th A Bestiary July 3rd - October 23rd Philbrook Museum of Art 2727 S Rockford Rd (918) 749-7941 philbrook.org

Hardesty Arts Center 101 E Archer St (918) 584-3333 ahhatulsa.org

Pierson Gallery 1307-1311 E 15th St (918) 584-2440 piersongallery.com

Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education 124 E MB Brady St (918) 631-4400 gilcrease.utulsa.edu/Explore/ Zarrow

Tulsa Artists’ Coalition 9 E MB Brady St (918) 592-0041 tacgallery.org

Alexandre Hogue Gallery University of Tulsa 2930 E 5th St. (918) 631-2739 utulsa.edu/art Holliman Gallery Holland Hall 5666 E 81st Street (918) 481-1111 hollandhall.org Joseph Gierek Fine Art 1342 E 11th St (918) 592-5432 gierek.com Living Arts 307 E MB Brady St (918) 585-1234 livingarts.org

Tulsa Performing Arts Center Gallery 110 E 2nd St (918) 596-2368 tulsapac.com Waterworks Art Studio 1710 Charles Page Blvd (918) 596-2440 cityoftulsa.org

Wilburton The Gallery at Wilburton 108 W Main St (918) 465-9669

Woodward Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum 2009 Williams Ave (580) 256-6136 pipm1.info

Mainline 111 N Main Ste C (918) 629-0342 mainlineartok.com M.A. Doran Gallery 3509 S Peoria (918) 748-8700 madorangallery.com Lovetts Gallery 6528 E 51st St (918) 664-4732 lovettsgallery.com Cady Wells: Ruminations Through October 2nd Philbrook Downtown 116 E MB Brady St (918) 749-7941 philbrook.org

(continued to page 30)

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Concept is on exhibition now at the Hardesty Arts Center in Tulsa through July 23.

Photo by Kelsey Karper

Become a member of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

Join today to begin enjoying the benefits of membership, including a subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma.

Collector Level + Community Supported Art (CSA) Program $1,000 ($85 a month option) · · · · ·

2 original and quality pieces of art by Oklahoma artists 2 tickets to CSA Launch Events twice a year 2 tickets to 12x12 Art Fundraiser $400 of this membership is tax deductible All of below

PATRON $250 · · · · ·

Listing of self or business on signage at events Invitation for 2 people to private reception with visiting curator 2 tickets each to Momentum OKC & Momentum Tulsa $200 of this membership is tax deductible.

All of below

FELLOW $150 · · · · ·

Acknowledgement in Resource Guide and Art Focus Oklahoma Copy of each OVAC exhibition catalog 2 tickets to Tulsa Art Studio Tour $100 of this membership is tax deductible.

All of below

FAMILY $75

· Same benefits as Individual, for 2 people in household

INDIVIDUAL $45 · · · · ·

Subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma magazine Monthly e-newsletter of Oklahoma art events & artist opportunities Receive all OVAC mailings Listing in and copy of annual Resource Guide & Member Directory Invitation to Annual Members’ Meeting

Plus, artists receive: · Inclusion in online Artist Gallery, ovacgallery.com · Artist entry fees waived for OVAC exhibitions · Up to 50% discount on Artist Survival Kit workshops · Affiliate benefits with Fractured Atlas, Artist INC Online, Artwork Archive, and the National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture.

STUDENT $25

· Same benefits as Individual level. All Student members are automatically enrolled in Green Membership program (receive all benefits digitally).

30

MEMBER FORM ¨ Collector Level + Community Supported Art Program ¨ Patron ¨ Fellow ¨ Family ¨ Individual ¨ Student ¨ Optional: Make my membership green! Email only. No printed materials will be mailed.

Name Street Address City, State, Zip Email Website

Phone

Credit card #

Exp. Date

Are you an artist? Y N Medium?________________________ Would you like to be included in the Membership Directory? Y N

Would you like us to share your information for other arts-related events?

Y

N

Detach and mail form along with payment to: OVAC 730 W. Wilshire Blvd, Ste 104, Oklahoma City, OK 73116 Or join online at ovac-ok.org

Art Focus

Ok l a h o m a

Annual Subscriptions to Art Focus Oklahoma are free with OVAC membership.

730 W. Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104 Oklahoma City, OK 73116 The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition supports Oklahoma’s visual arts and artists and their power to enrich communities.

Non Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Oklahoma City, OK Permit No. 113

Visit ovac-ok.org to learn more.

July 15: OVAC Quarterly Grants for

Artists Deadline July 23: OVAC Annual Member Meeting (Tulsa) July 23: Concept closes in Tulsa Aug 12: 24 Works on Paper opens in Guymon Sep 23: 12x12 Art Fundraiser (OKC)

JRB ART

AT THE ELMS