From: @a_rodch got a lot on my mind. need to get to studio to relax. membership one more thing to remember.
SEE MEMBERSHIP FORM ON PAGE 3.
A View From The Top Greg Busceme, TASI Director
ISSUE Vol. 18, No. 2 Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Art Studio, Inc. Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy Coughlan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracy Danna Contributing Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . Elena Ivanova, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peyton Ritter Contributing Photographer. . . . . . . . . Josh Reeter, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peyton Ritter Distribution Volunteer . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Pearson The Art Studio, Inc. Board of Directors President Ex-Officio . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Busceme Vice-President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angela Busceme Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Roberts Treasurer/Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth Gallaspy Members at large: . . . . . . . . . . . . Kimberly Brown, . . . . . . . . Sheila Busceme, Elizabeth French, . . . . . . . . . . Andy Ledesma, Stephan Malick, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Butler
The Art Studio, Inc. 720 Franklin Beaumont, TX 77701 409-838-5393 www.artstudio.org artstudio@artstudio.org The ISSUE is a monthly publication of The Art Studio, Inc. Its mission is to publicize The Art Studio and its tenants, and to promote the growth of the arts in Southeast Texas. ISSUE is also charged with informing TASI members of projects, progress, achievements and setbacks in TASI’s well-being. Further, ISSUE strives to promote and distribute the writings of local authors in its “Thoughtcrime” feature. ISSUE is provided free of charge to members of TASI and is also available, free of charge, at more than 30 locations in Southeast Texas. Regular features include local artists of note and reputation who are not currently exhibiting at TASI; artists currently or soon to be exhibiting at TASI; Instructional articles for artists; news stories regarding the state of TASI’s organization; and arts news features dealing with general philosophical issues of interest to artists.
Contents Long Live Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 ‘Marching on the Left’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Words & Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Page Laughlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10 Around & About. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12 Thoughtcrime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 13 Cover photo of Kailee Viator by Andy Coughlan
THE STUDIO HAS BEEN suffering, lately, under the pain that every organization craves — Growing Pains. Eli French and I have been delightedly swamped with interest in classes, studio space, volunteer opportunities and apprenticeships. We are up to the challenge, but don’t be surprised if we grab you with a desperate but happy grin and ask you to pitch in for one thing or another. If we are slow to respond, please be patient, we are on it. It is our goal to serve this community by providing a haven for visual artists and musicians to contribute to the cultural conciousness. In other words, a place to make stuff! The Art Studio is simply a pile of bricks without participation from the community, and I can be no happier than when I see people enjoying and using what The Studio has to offer. We still have lots to do and we are looking for people with the skills to accomplish them. We currently have two grants for facility improvements. The Stark Foundation donated $1,000 to assist in building a fence to secure The Studio property, and a $2,500 Foundation for Southeast Texas grant to rebuild the overhead door in the gallery that was damaged by Hurricane Ike. We’ll put out an APB when the bulk of the work
comes up. Classes are growing as our Saturday kid’s class is becoming a big hit, with Andy Ledesma and Sheila Busceme as instructors. Tuesdays offer a chance to rev up your energy and swing like you’ve never swung before with our hoola hoop classes which begin at 7:30 p.m. These are hoops on steroids! Your guide through this new experience is hoops mistress Ali Gillette. She will show you the ins and outs of this great activity. It burns calories, aides balance, coordination and a sense of well being. Ali’s a doll, too. Another wellbeing program is Tai Chi practiced every other Wednesday. The next group starts Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. Wear loose clothing. An adult clay class offering basics in handbuilding, glazing and firing is scheduled for Oct. 22 , 1:30 to 3 p.m. If you have an idea for a class, tell us about it. We’d love to hear from you. If The Studio looks less abandoned these days, it is because we have Fernando Fernandez to keep the weeds down and the walks trimmed. That and the new front door has encouraged impulse visits from new patrons. All
See VIEW on page 15
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART STUDIO OCTOBER NOVEMBER “How In A World” — Group show inspired by the poetry of George Wentz Cynthia Perkins — “Immersed in Illusions” Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . October 1
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November 5
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ART STUDIO Membership in The Art Studio, Inc., provides invitations to all exhibitions and one year of ISSUE, the monthly arts magazine of The Art Studio. It also gives free eligibility for members to enter the annual membership art exhibition (TASIMJAE) and participate in various exhibitions throughout the year.
Name(s) Address City/St/Zip Phone
Credit Card Type: Visa MC Amex Disc Number
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO:
THE ART STUDIO, INC.
Exp Date Day Phone
e-mail SUGGESTED MEMBERSHIP AMOUNT
Individual: $35 Family/Group: $50 Friend/Business: $100 Sustaining: $250 New?
Renewal?
Patron: Angel: Benefactor Life Member: Artist?
$500 $1,000 $2,000 $10,000
for office use pd in comp issue thanks
If yes, list medium
The Art Studio, Inc. 720 Franklin, Beaumont 77701
$
4 • ISSUE October 2011
Volume 18, No. 2
Live Theater is Dead? THEATER’S LIFE SUPPORT; NEW BLOOD, LOCAL COLOR
FOR MANY YEARS, PEOPLE have been claiming that theater is dead. From outside influences of TV and film, to internal debates over the use of microphones, the theater has struggled. But still it engages audiences. And even though some people have gone so far as to write its obituary, theater survives, as it always will. But in what form, at what price and with whom sitting in the audience? Jerry Herman, the Tony award-winning composer, writes, “The musical theater will go on, and the show tune will never die. But I don’t think we will ever have that special kind of American entertainment in quite the same way,” Theater still has a long-lasting appreciation from fans in America, even with the developments in TV and film. “I love films and TV, I enjoy them very much, but what makes theater special is that direct exchange that happens between the actor and the audience. You don’t get that on film and TV,” says Judith Sebesta, Lamar University’s Theatre and Dance Department chair. “With a person viewing a film or TV show, what they do doesn’t effect what they’re seeing. Whereas an audience member can, in very concrete ways, effect what can happen on stage, sometimes in very subtle ways.” It is that live exchange that separates TV and film from theater, she said. “The community happens amongst the audience members, but it also happens among the actors on stage,” she said. “But then, between and among the performers and the spectators, you get that wonderful sense of community that we are unfortunately not getting as much anymore.” Somewhere down the line a disconnect between fans and theater has taken place. “I think theater is in a bit of a crisis right now,” Sebesta says. “I think it’s always going to exist, but I think it really does need to, in many contexts, redefine itself in relation to mediated performance and mediated entertainment forms, be it on Internet, TV, what have you. “It’s been doing this for the past 30 years. Many theater artists have been figuring out what makes us different, what makes us special, and attempting to capitalize on those things that set them apart from other mediated forms of entertainment.” It’s easy to see where technology plays a role in theater’s steady fall through the Story and layout by Peyton Ritter
Joel Grothe, above, rehearses a scene from the recent Lamar University production of “An Inspector Calls.” Steven Hoffman, Jr., right, plays Eric in a rehearsal scene from “An Inspector Calls.”
Photos by Josh Reeter
Volume 18, No. 2
October 2011 ISSUE • 5
Long Live Theater! Allison Underhill waits for her cue during a rehearsal for “An Inspector Calls,” a play by J.B. Priestly, presented by Lamar University in September.
Photo by Peyton Ritter
ranks of popular American forms of entertainment, but it’s much easier to find that problem than to create its solution. “Since the advent of TV and film, less and less people can make a living, or more and more artists realize they can make a better living through TV and film,” says Sebesta. “To me, it’s sad, in a way, that you have so many talented artists who for very pragmatic, economic reasons can’t afford to work in theater and live performance. It just isn’t very practical.” There is more to theater’s dilemma. Theater, being based off of live-audience interaction has a way of reaching audiences that no other medium can claim. This adds a unique perspective that local theater must be willing to take advantage of. “I think that theater can become more relevant by addressing more local geographic content in ways that maybe film and TV can’t,” Sebesta says. “Occasionally, you get a film that’s set in Texas, but even less frequent is getting a film set in Southeast Texas. Theater could successfully offer something more relevant.” Technology has been around theater since its conception; the Greeks introduced a number of technologies. Although more and more theater artists accept the technology today, there is still a segment that rejects the introduction of these kinds of mediated technologies like microphones.
“Just the very use of the microphone is controversial,” says Sebesta. “People argue that that means it’s not live. When the voice is mediated like that by technology, it is no longer live. A lot of more old-school people say, ‘We shouldn’t even be using microphones in live performance.’” “Glee,” the popular television musical show, must take some of the credit and some of the blame for changing the trajectory of musicals. “You’ve got more young people who are interested in majoring in theater, majoring in music and in the arts in general, and that can’t be anything but a positive thing,” says Sebesta. “Audiences…are more interested in going to theater. They hear songs from the theater because ‘Glee’ not only has artists from rock and pop, but they regularly have Broadway stars on, and they regularly have show tunes. There’s this wonderful mingling of pop culture, mediated performance, theater and live performance in that show. That influence is a great thing.” Although “Glee” has had a major impact on the state of theater by opening it up to entirely new audiences, it’s not without its negatives. “Audience expectations are being shaped by that show’s production values and vocal quality,” says Sebesta. “Less and less students are learning, or are interested in learning, how to project, because what
they expect is that it’s going to be a miked performance.” Higher audience expectations translate directly to larger production costs and more expensive ticket prices for the audience. “Theater has to get more relevant and in many contexts more affordable,” says Sebesta. “I absolutely love going to New York, and I usually go once or twice a year and see a Broadway Show. But your average person can’t go and do that because Broadway shows cost $100, $200 or beyond. So, I think in some contexts, theater artists need to get more real about how expensive the live product has become.” This is a problem theater must deal with it if wishes to stay relevant in the future, she says. Part of the problem is getting people to understand that there is quality theater outside of New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. “Professional theater does happen all over the United States, particularly through the regional theater movement,” says Sebesta. “The League of Resident Theatres is an umbrella organization over many professional theaters which are located throughout the United States — and it’s high quality theater.
See THEATER on page 14
M RCH NG
6 • ISSUE October 2011
N TH
Volume 18, No. 2
A GEM OF RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE ART BY MAYAKOVSKY AND LISSITZKY
The cover for the book “For the Voice,” above, a collaboration between the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, top right, and the artist El Lissitzky.
On the world’s throttle tighten the proletariat fingers! Chests out with pride! Stick flags on heaven! Who marches by the right? By the left! Left! Left! Left! Vladimir Mayakovsky, “Left March” English translation by Peter France IT WAS THE YEAR of 1922…. Europe was slowly coming out of the economic and spiritual depression inflicted Layout by by World War I. Andy An incessant flow Coughlan of Russian refugees added to the general turmoil and political unrest. The majority of them were nobility, middle class professionals and cultural elite who fled from their home country following the aftermath of the October Revolution. Many of them found a temporary shelter in Berlin. Postwar Germany was stripped bare by the reparations to the Allied Forces and embroiled in one of the most devastating political crises. Yet, for Russian emigrants, living there was safer than facing the imminent annihilation in Bolshevik Russia. At the same time, the emigrant community was hopeful that things would come back to normal and looked forward to the day when they could return. As for Europeans, who were deeply affected by a bitter disillusionment in the values of the western civilization, many of them believed that Russia, despite the horrors of the revolution and the Civil War, social havoc, famine and struggling economy, was on the brink of leading the world into a bright new future. A strong boost to this belief, as well as to the hopes of
Story by Elena Ivanova
L FT Volume 18, No. 2
the Russian emigrants, was given by the first exhibition of art of RSFSR, the acronym for the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, which opened in Berlin in 1922. It showcased ground-breaking work that rivaled, and in some ways surpassed, any cutting edge modernist art created in the West. Among the most well-known guests from Russia who visited Berlin at the time of the exhibition was poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. His fame as a brilliant innovator of poetry equaled his notoriety as a belligerent iconoclast who reveled in provoking anger of the “respectable” public by denouncing everything that was conventionally considered sacred and revered — traditional love and moral values, art and religion. Mayakovsky was a member of the modernist group called the Futurists since 1912. Together with other avant-garde artists, the Futurists spearheaded modernism in Russian culture at the same time when the social revolution was gaining force in the country’s political life. As the two revolutions grew stronger, they joined forces in bringing down the “corrupt bourgeois world.” Although the majority of avant-garde artists were satisfied with verbal attacks on traditional values and outraged society with their bold artistic experimentations, some of them, including Mayakovsky, took part in political action. He wholeheartedly embraced the October Revolution and immediately enlisted himself in the service of the Bolshevik government. Therefore, when he traveled to Berlin in 1922, the Russian emigrant community regarded him as a spokesperson and an unofficial ambassador of the Soviet state. They were right. Although Mayakovsky did not hold any official post in the government and traveled as a private citizen, his visit was politically motivated. In his report on attending the exhibition he stressed that “the art of the left artists abroad appears as an original art and that the artists are perceived as defenders and propagandists for Soviet Russia.” Like the purpose of the exhibition on the whole, the purpose of Mayakovsky’s visit was to convince the Russian emigrants that the young socialist state was a stable and viable society which encouraged artistic experimentation and freedom of expression. Mayakovsky gave a series of lectures and poetry readings, in which he lashed out, with his razor-sharp satires, at the capitalist world’s ignoble attempts to destroy Soviet Russia. During his stay in Berlin, Mayakovsky also published a new book, a collection of thirteen poems, which he created together with famous constructivist designer El Lissitzky. Lissitzky was already living in Germany, having been delegated by the Soviet government to make contacts with German artists, and was a prominent figure in the Russian emigrant community. The result of their collaboration, the book titled “For the Voice,” was destined to become one of the most famous books in the history of Russian avant-garde book publishing and graphic design. It is necessary to take a step back and describe the environment within which this collaboration took place. The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century were marked by a heightened interest in the book as an art form, both in European countries and in Russia. In France, around 1900, a new notion emerged, known as “le livre d’artiste” (the book of the artist). These books were comprised of hand-pulled etchings, lithographs, screenprints or woodcuts printed on specially
October 2011 ISSUE • 7
chosen paper. Other examples included books in which images were wrapped around the text and formed a graphically united whole. In Germany and Holland, at the beginning of the 1920s, artists were beginning to use geometric abstraction in typography and page layout, which lead to the creation of highly ordered yet
See VOICE on page 11
8 • ISSUE October 2011
Volume 18, No. 2
Words &
ARTISTS INTERPRET THE LINES, ‘HOW IN A WORLD GILT WITH LOVE/MAY Story and photo by Andy Coughlan
VISITORS TO THE ART Studio this year may have noticed two lines of poetry pasted up around the facility. It seems that wherever you turned, it was hard to avoid seeing the lines: How in a world gilt with love May I thank you beyond this human cadence.
If you pondered their meaning, ponder no more. TASI’s October exhibition is a group show featuring works by more than 20 artists who chose to accept the challenge to interpret those lines through their own particular media. The show opens Oct. 1 with a reception from 7-10 p.m., and runs through Oct. 29. “Nathan Jones, Kimberly Brown and I were having a discussion during an opening about having a show with the same theme with dif-
ferent artists and observing how they approach the subject matter,” Elizabeth French, TASI administrator, said. “Each interpretation would be as different as each artist. We just thought that would be an interesting show, one that hadn’t been done in a while. “It’s self-curating, because we just allowed anybody who was willing to make a piece for the show enter as long as they were members of The Studio.” Once the idea was decided upon, the next thing was to select a theme. Artist and long-time Studio member George Wentz, who died in 2009, contributed poetry to the ISSUE’s “Thoughtcrime” poetry page for years. It was decided to choose lines from a poem that could lead to a broad range of interpretations. “It wasn’t a literal thing that someone could just do an illustration of,” French said. “It’s thought provoking and I really liked the ‘human cadence’ part.” French said that being able to relate a piece of artwork to its inspi-
Kailee Viator works on her painting for the October poetry show at The Art Studio in the senior painting lab at Lamar University.
Volume 18, No. 2
Images I
THANK YOU BEYOND THIS HUMAN CADENCE?’ IN
rational source will be interesting for viewers. “It’s about knowing what the basis of this art piece is and being able to interact with the artist through the piece — what it means to them,” French said. Several of the artists will attend the opening and visitors will be able to discuss the works with the artists themselves. Kailee Viator, an apprentice at The Studio, said she is working on a piece that incorporates flowers. She interpreted the lines to pay tribute to some of her artistic influences and supporters. “I’ve been repeating (the lines) to myself a lot, just trying to get an emotion out of it,” she said. “My work features a flower for every artistic influence I have had in my life — a daliah for my Paw Paw, a hibiscus for my mom. There’s a venus flytrap for Greg (Busceme), a gardenia for Elizabeth (French). I’m being very sweet and sentimental with it.” Viator did not know Wentz, but the connection seems to be there. Wentz was a fervent supporter of young artists and also explored a floral theme extensively throughout his career. Sherry Tiger-Landry knew Wentz and said she really looked forward to creating a piece for the show. “I thought it was such a challenge to my brain to interpret what his life and work were like,” she said. “It is a very unique idea to have a show regarding his writing — it was always so profound. His poetry inspired me to paint.” Her painting was not finished as of press time. “It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” she said. “I really have to think about it.” Photographer Lief Wallace said he drew on his life experiences and projected them forward to the specific theme. His entry, titled “The Wait,” features a woman in stark black and white contrast. “We are looking through the shadows at a woman in contemplative thought,” he said. “Is she waiting for someone to arrive? Did they just leave or maybe still there just beyond the darkness? Which of these is correct, I will not venture to say. The observer will know. “We are looking into a space we may or may not want to traverse.” Wallace said he was surprised at the challenge working with the lines set for him. “Working within a set criteria turned out to be a more expansive milieu than I originally envisioned,” he said. “I am looking forward to seeing the diverse representations of the interpreted lines of the poem.” The Art Studio, Inc. is located at 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont. For information, call 409-838-5393.
October 2011 ISSUE • 9
OCTOBER
EXHIBIT
Leif Wallace’s ‘THE WAIT” will be part of the exhibition “How in a world gilt with love/May I thank you beyond this human cadence” at The Art Studio in October.
10 • ISSUE October 2011
Volume 18, No. 2
‘HIDDEN WORLDS’
LAUGHLIN’S PAINTINGS REVEAL INNER WORLD OF INTERIORS TO VIEW PAGE LAUGHLIN’S work is to enter a world of illusion. On the surface, her lush, visually sumptuous paintings are decorative and colorful. But what lies below the surface is one key to discovering the illusions on offer. Instead of the usual canvas or panel, Laughlin’s rich oil rests uneasily on a thin surface of Mylar, a fragile plastic most usually found in food packaging. “The vast majority of my work has been on canvas and on panels,” Laughlin said, in an email interview. “I was searching for a presentation for my paintings that would bring a ‘light-ness’ that serves as a counterpoint to the lush surface, and as a foil to the illusion of depth in the paintings. As a painter, I am always interested in creating illusions and breaking them, as well.” “Hidden Worlds; Paintings by Page Laughlin,” a 15piece exhibition, is on display at The Dishman Art Museum at Lamar University through Oct. 21. The paintings are inspired by photos of interiors culled from popular homes magazines. Jessica Dandona, director of the Dishman, worked at North Carolina’s Wake Forest University where Laughlin teaches. “I have always been very drawn to her work, both in terms of their beauty and in terms of the intellectual questions they pose,” Dandona said. “Page starts with the glossy high-end home magazines that we like to peruse over coffee on the weekends. She starts with something like “Architectural Digest” and she re-interprets the scenes she finds there.” Dandona said Laughlin works on a couple of different levels. “On one hand she creates this very finely crafted, hand-made work that is in and of itself a luxury product, like the products that are in these magazines,” she said. “But she then subverts that in a couple of interesting ways. First of all, she chooses to do oil painting on Mylar, a kind of plastic which is inherently fragile and is also relatively inexpensive. It’s something that we associate with commercial products and industrialization. So already you can see her getting away from this idea of a precious, rare object and playing with that idea. “The Mylar makes the work seem less substantial. So you have these layers and layers and layers of paint accumulated over a year or more — so much time and effort has gone into this work — and yet it is on this very impermanent material that can be easily creased. It’s fragile.” Dandona said her interpretation of Laughlin’s work is to think of these interiors as not an actual inside, as an expression of what the people who actually live in them are truly like, but, in a way, as a kind of elaborate façade — a reversal of inside and outside. “She underscores the artificiality of these created spaces through the pictorial choices that she makes,” Dandona said. “The other thing that she does is to focus in on the telling detail of the scene. Often, these will be decorative details that employ the bodies of people of color in a decorative way. I know that sounds mysterious, but what I mean by that is that she makes us aware of the strangeness of choice to have a candlestick in the
Story by Andy Coughlan
PARROTS AND PLATES by Page Laughlin shape of a black woman’s body, and thus prompts us to consider how objects construct meaning all around us. “Her challenge to the viewer, then, is to consider how the choices we make about our own visual environment might sometimes produce meanings that, upon reflection, are problematic.” Laughlin sends messages about how our environment sends messages about who we are and what we believe. Some of those messages can be destructive, Dandona said. “It’s not about any particular race, it’s about why we would consider it quaint to turn another person’s body into wallpaper as a sign of refinement. In fact, it’s asserting a position of power in relationship to that body. You are suggesting that you can use it for your own pleasure, just as we might use an actual body.” Even though Laughlin’s work gives the appearance of thickness, there are sometimes small areas of the
Mylar that are left unpainted so viewers can actually see through to the wall behind. “I love that because it creates that sense of insubstantiality, that these are images, that they are illusion — it takes their sense of presence and solidity and permanence away,” Dandona said. “It says these are illusions that we create and throw up to evoke an aura of refinement. But they are impermanent, like all things.” Mylar is non-absorbent so it may take a year for the oil paint to dry. Laughlin had to make the decision on which ones to send to the Dishman based on whether they were dry or not, Dandona said. Laughlin’s work is lush and richly detailed. “I have always been attracted to seductive paintings,” she said. “I love the process of painting and
See HIDDEN on page 14
Volume 18, No. 2
October 2011 ISSUE • 11
VOICE from page 7 dynamic compositions. In Russia, artists and poets often were members of the same art group, and, therefore, collaborations between them were common. The text was often experimented with in the same way as objects of the material world in painting. Words were broken up into rudimentary components and then reconstructed in a new fashion, like objects in a Cubist work. Some artists focused on the graphic image of the word or letter and re-shaped it in search of a new meaning. Others focused on the phonetic characteristics and experimented with fonts to achieve a number of visual and audio effects. In this context, “For the Voice” should be seen as one of the ultimate achievements in book design which characterized the Russian avant-garde movement and also one its final achievements. The time of the freedom of artistic experimentation was running out as the Soviet state continued its imminent course towards dictatorship. What is it that makes “For the Voice” so special? The first thing that most writers on this subject point out is the amazing unity between Mayakovsky’s poems and Lissitzky’s design. While in most illustrated books images serve to complement the text, Lissitzky’s imagery is an integral part of Mayakovsky’s poems and is intertwined with the words and the structure of the verse. Creative use of fonts, transformation of words into pictograms, colorcoding of words and letters to convey the intonation with which they should be read, visual metaphors and icons which guide the reader from page to page — these are only few devices used by Lissitzky. “My pages stand in much the same relationship to the poem as an accompanying piano to a violin. Just as the poet in his poem unites concept and sound, I have tried to create an equivalent unity using the poem and typography,” wrote Lissitzky about collaboration with Mayakovsky in his book “Typographical Facts” (1925.) A distinctive feature of the book is the thumb index along the right margin of the page. This is a standard codex book form which has existed for centuries, and is mostly familiar today by such prosaic publications as phonebooks and catalogues. The thumb index serves a practical purpose, making it easy to find each poem. However, it is also a powerful metaphor which expresses the modernist nature of the book. Little squares with abbreviated titles and icons that convey the main idea of each poem bring to mind simultaneously fragmented Cubist paintings and the constructivist spirit of the time. To better understand the ingenuity of Lissitzky’s design, let’s take a close look at the opening poem of the book, titled “Left March.” Here is the beginning of the poem: Form ranks! Forward march! No squabbling ad nauseum. Silence, speakers! Your password is Comrade Mauser. No more ancient laws! Eve and Adam are dead. We’ll break history’s old horse. By the left! Left! Left! “Left March” was written in 1918 when
The poem “Left March,” above, in “For the Voice,” a collaboration between the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, and the artist El Lissitzky. Mayakovsky was on the way to address a group of sailors. This is a revolutionary poem in which the structure and the rhythm of the verse conjure visual and sound effects of a military parade: lines and lines of marching sailors, the drumbeat, the abrupt “barking” of the military commands. Included as the “banner poem” in the book published in 1923 in Berlin, it was supposed to impress the Russian emigrant community with the might of the young socialist state as well as to alert them — and Europeans — to the inevitability of the world revolution. Lissitzky conveys associations with a military parade by designing the capital letter M of the word “march” as a whimsical triumphal arch: two monumental columns with an elegant v-shaped connection. For the Russian public, as well as the emigrant community, this image immediately evoked memories of celebrations of the October Revolution anniversary and other socialist holidays, with columns of soldiers and sailors passing under historic triumphal arches as they marched down ancient squares of Moscow and Petrograd. In the next stanza, Mayakovsky references the realities of the sailor’s life, which, like ordinary objects of everyday life in a Cubist composition, are separated from their context and elevated to the level of a symbol: Hey, blueshirts, stride the seas! Soar high! Or else have your battleships’ keels lost their cutting edge? Let the crowned British lion snarl and roar his best. We’ll defend the Commune. By the left! Left! Left! Following Mayakovsky’s “marine” motif, Lissitzky illustrated the poem with a simplified geometric draw-
ing of a battleship, with the flag bearing the inscription “RSFSR” (Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic.) The repeated word “left” echoes the frequent repetition of this word in the poem. The word itself is broken into two parts and is inscribed along the jagged lines on the left side of the ship, creating a visual counterpart to the acoustic evocation of the “barking” sounds of the military command in the poem. The most curious effect created by Lissitzky is, unfortunately, “lost in translation.” The Russian word “left” (“levoi”), when broken into two syllables, sounds like two separate words: “lev” (lion) and “voi” (roar.) Mayakovsky exploited this plasticity of the language to create the metaphor of the snarling and roaring British lion. Using the Cubist device of fragmentation, Lissitzky spelled the two syllables separately, thus making it a realized metaphor. Each of the thirteen poems has its own intricate graphic devices which make the reader pause and contemplate. As Lissitzky stated himself, “the possibilities of two-color printing (overlays, cross-hatching and so on) have been exploited to the full.” He realized that the poems were meant to be read aloud and searched for the best ways to indicate to the reader what words should be emphasized, where the voice should be toned down and where it should rise in crescendo almost to a shout. Almost 90 years have passed since “For the Voice” was published. Today, with the benefit of knowing what happened in the Soviet Union during the 60 years of the socialist regime, few people will agree with Mayakovsky who furiously attacked Russian emigrants in Berlin, most of whom did not deserve accusations of being unpatriotic and were literally forced out of the country. Those who chose not to return to Russia, despite the success of the Berlin exhibition, chose wisely. However, the cadence of Mayakovsky’s verse combined with Lissitzky’s ingenious graphic design continues to serve as an example of one of the highest artistic achievements in the history of the avant-garde book.
12 • ISSUE October 2011
Volume 18, No. 2
Around & About If you come across any interesting exhibitions, museums or other places on your travels, share them with us. Call 409-838-5393, or contact us through our web site at www.artstudio.org. Be sure to include the location and dates of the subject, as well as any costs. The ART MUSEUM OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS opens its exhibition season with OBSESSIVE WORLDS, a group exhibition of work in a variety of media by 15 contemporary artists on view through Jan. 8. “Obsessive Worlds” comprises nearly 50 works by artists whose art embodies and embraces obsessiveness in one form or another. This obsessive aesthetic is a product of a repetitive, excessive, laborious, and meticulous use of a particular material, idea and/or process. Austin-based artist, Lauren Levy, exemplifies this obsessive aesthetic in her intimate, distinctive and highly emotive sculptures created with hundreds of shiny buttons strung on wire forms. “We are pleased to present this pivotal exhibition to the Southeast Texas community,” said AMSET Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Sarah Hamilton. “‘Obsessive Worlds’ engages museum goers with the work of these extraordinary artists — many of whom are highly-notable in the Texas Contemporary art scene — to contemplate the notion of an obsessive aesthetic or visual quality.” The 15 artists whose work will be featured include: Charlotte Smith, Shawn Smith, Ellen Frances Tuchman, Paul Booker, Marco Maggi, Gabriel de la Mora, Jonathan Whitfill, Susie Rosmarin, H.J. Bott, Beili Liu, Elisa D’Arrigo, Vincent Falsetta, Mary McCleary, Lauren Levy and John Adelman. These artists fall into what is considered an obsessive world which will be united in one exhibition at AMSET to explore their shared and individual forms of obsessive creativity. For more information, visit www.amset.org or call 409-832-3432. ______________ Fossils are all around us. That’s the message paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll share in the traveling exhibit CRUISIN’ THE FOSSIL FREEWAY at the MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST. Fossils have long been a subject of fascination and are used by paleontologists to help answer questions about early life on Earth. But how much can the fossil record tell us about prehistoric creatures, extinction,
and geologic time? “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” features color prints and large-scale murals of Troll’s whimsical, fossilinspired artwork, which were created for a book of the same title, published by Troll and Johnson in 2007. “The exhibit combines stunning and humorous visuals with stories from the book to record the ‘epoch tale’ of the duo’s 5,000-mile road trip through the American West as they sought to explore the fossil record,” according to a release. In celebration of Texas Archeology Awareness Month, “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” will open to the public with a free Family Fun Day on Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day will feature hands-on activities and crafts for all ages inspired by the temporary exhibition as well as the museum’s permanent exhibits on paleontology and archeology. Family Fun Day will also feature film presentations in the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Discovery Dome Theater and a visit by children’s book illustrator Bill Megenhardt, featuring his latest books “The Great Dinosaur Race” and “The Fun Dinosaur Day at the Beach.” The exhibition will remain on view in the Museum of the Gulf Coast’s Dunn Gallery through Dec. 30. The museum is located at 700 Procter Street in Port Arthur. For information, call 409-982-7000, or visit www.museumofthegulfcoast.org. ______________ In the early 20th Century, Surrealists were enchanted by “outsider art,” as the work of those with little to no contact with the mainstream art world has come to be known. They believed artists with no formal art training or those who drew in altered mental states could more successfully access the subconscious, achieving a greater clarity and authenticity of expression. In 1949, artist Jean Dubuffet invented the term Art Brut, to define this aspect of art making, and went on to champion creators who “draw everything (subject, choice of material, expressive means, rhythms, spellings, etc.) from their own inner selves and not from the common-
“Cruisin’ The Fossil Freeway,” an exhibition of work by Ray Troll and Kirk Johnson will be on display at the Museum of the Gulf Coast through Dec. 30.
Bill Traylor, FIGURES, ANIMALS, GUNS (EXCITING EVENTS) ca. 1939–1942, Crayon on cardboard The Menil Collection, Houston places of classical or currently fashionable art.” Showcasing a unique and rarely exhibited facet of the MENIL COLLECTION’s works on paper, SEEING STARS highlights drawings by artists that can be called visionary, folk, naïve or self-taught. Defying traditional and academic methods of representation and mark making, the works share formal and stylistic tendencies such as repetitive and laborintensive processes, experiments with chance, automatism, and psychoanalysis, and the construction of imaginary landscapes, creatures, and machines. The exhibition’s title, taken from the vision-altering concept of “seeing stars,” refers to a physiological anomaly in which the stimulation of the retina by the brain creates the illusion of points of light, colors or shapes. Like the works on view, the phenomenon suggests that creative vision is perhaps most interesting when the eyes are shut and inspiration comes from within. The exhibition features a selection of Charles A. A. Dellschau’s watercolors and collages of fantastic flying machines, discovered in a Houston junk shop, and two drawings by surrealist artist and author Unica Zürn. Her compulsive line drawings, many completed while she was institutionalized, have been described as “sitting on the brink of sanity.” The show also includes work collected by John and Dominique de Menil from the Prison Museum in Huntsville, Texas; a doublesided scroll by Henry Darger depicting a magical universe he called the “realm of the unreal”; and work by Bill Traylor, Joseph Elmer Yoakum, and I. E. Reiquer. The Menil is located at 1515 Sul Ross in Houston. For more information, visit www.menil.org.
Volume 18, No. 2 Untitled My Angel I have not seen you
October 2011 ISSUE • 13
Tho ughtcrime Submission Guidelines and Disclaimer ISSUE solicits and publishes the work of local authors. Poetry, short fiction, scholarly works and opinion pieces may be submitted for review. All works must be typed or submitted on a disk (using approved word processing software), or may be sent to TASI by e-mail. All works are subject for review by our editor, and may be rejected or edited on the basis of grammar, spelling or content. The opinions expressed in “Thoughtcrime” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TASI, its Board of Directors, ISSUE’s editorial staff, or donors to TASI. Send typed works to:
In so long Have I lost you Because of my lost faith? I miss you dearly I loved you
ISSUE 720 Franklin, Beaumont, TX 77701 or e-mail: artstudio@artstudio.org Authors must submit a daytime telephone number along with all submissions. Pen names are acceptable, but authors must supply real names for verification. All submitted works become property of TASI, and whether rejected or accepted, are not returned to the author. ISSUE does not notify of rejection by mail or telephone.
I told you You shied away beautifully You weren't sure if you
Sixteen
Advice to Poets Who Write the Winter Way (Homage to Patrick Wright)
Were ready to venture into My world So I let you go
But what about my dreams? I have yet to seek nor Witness a thing in this contemporary world.
for God’s sake, do not be subtle about it.
And you came back to me Fancifully I believed you were Mine Now distance and time break My already cracked heart
I don’t have to tell Mom or Dad. Maybe I should just go… and forget everything. But, will it come back to haunt me? Will I see the ghosts of my immoral past?
Fly back to me my Angel Love me and help me mend my heart And my black, broken wings I want to fly with you...
If you must write that way,
“Dammit.” I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do. I’m scared and so not ready….
God, after all, has not implied your freezing ass. Do you presume to better him?
And don’t talk about the deity, and no praise for the bastard either. If he really existed, there would be no winter and no poets frozen.
But, is it right? And will someone one day regard me
Keep your pink, chilblained hands in your pockets
With that same thought? Because they care not and
because such hands are really better tempered and behaved all curled up and snoring
Bethany Eldred Lack the foresight of knowing the irreparable damage
than hanging icily upon a thought.
That it would cause? “See” … My dilemma is real. Never, And… I know how I feel, but…
never refer to ice.
Deep
But… “I’m only sixteen.”
Never refer to birds, nests, warm suns, treetops,
nnnnnnnnnnnnn
Jaimé E. Cantu, Jr.
morning, windowpanes, or brisk blue days.
hhhhhhhhhhh
this time of year.
hhhhhhhhhhh wwwwwwwwww? kkkkkkk. eeeeeeeeeeeee sssssss aaaaaaa mmmmmmm. o.
Andy Coughlan and Tracy Danna
These things are fairly depressing around
QUOTABLE
“Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I don’t believe that only art matters, I do believe in Art for Art’s sake. E. M. Forster
Gauge the coolness of the dead, unnamed thing still lying in the garden. Bundle up according to the attitude of the weather outside.
Do this in memory of me. And you will not.
Jesse Doiron
14 • ISSUE October 2011
Volume 18, No. 2
Joel Grothe, left, Andy Coughlan and Steven Hoffman, Jr., rehearse a scene from the recent Lamar University production of “An Inspector Calls.”
Photos by Josh Reeter
THEATER from page 5 The Alley Theatre is our regional theater, and the quality at the Alley is just absolutely exceptional. Even though people talk about the death of theater, it’s happening all over the United States. “In New York City itself, Joseph Papp began ‘Shakespeare in the Park.’ It’s free and anyone can go and see that regardless of economic class, race, whatever,” says Sebesta. Shakespeare festivals occur in Texas, in major cities like Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as the Texas Shakespeare Festival in Kilgore. These festivals offer an excellent opportunity to see quality theater, Sebesta says.
HIDDEN from page 10 embrace the fullness of color and materiality afforded by painting.” Laughlin draws her influences from a variety of artists, including Giotto, Vermeer, Heade, Guston and Richter, but she also credits the, “hundreds of unnamed artists and artisans who make the wallpaper, painting, rugs, fabric, etc., that are embedded in interiors.” While Laughlin’s paintings capture the essence of the perfectly designed interior, she said her own house is fairly “undone.” “My husband and I have restructured our house over time to open up spaces and to create large spaces filled with light,” she said. “I have arranged watercolors to relate to each other and create ‘vistas’ for looking through doorways.” She hasn’t collected many things, she said, but she has filled her house with space, light and color. “I do have one very crowded wall that is floor to ceiling artwork by friends, family, former students, unknown artists — a few famous ones as well,” she said. “I call this my ‘Hall of Fame.’ Close examination of the objects reflects Laughlin’s obsession with looking at objects.
“The directors are really working to ensure they’re making Shakespeare relevant to the common person,” says Sebesta. “Shakespeare wrote for the common person. You had all kinds of people in these public theaters, (which were competing for audiences with) bear-baiting and public executions, the primary forms of entertainment during their day. He wrote for the common man. There’s the misconception nowadays that views Shakespeare as this highclass culture elitist thing, but that’s not how it was intended. If a director is doing their job right, they can make it very accessible to anybody.” Theater isn’t dead, and although it might be struggling to find its foothold against the juggernauts of popular mass entertainment today, theater still lives by its most important motto. The show must go on.
“I love going to homes that are filled with ‘selected items,’” she said. “These might be high-end collections or simple assemblages of someone with a ‘good eye.’ I love looking in junk shops as well. I like seeing the anonymous pieces that are seeming ‘decorative’ but are more potent than that dismissive term would indicate.” Laughlin has exhibited widely and is well respected, Dandona said, adding that Laughlin was also featured in an article in “Traditional Home” magazine. “It’s so ironic, because her work straddles that strange line between being so lusciously colorful and beautiful and sensual that, of course, you want to own one and possess it put it in your perfectly appointed interior, and at the same time it is a commentary on the idea of having an interior like that,” Dandona said. “But it’s a good point about the multivalency of artworks, that we really bring our own interpretations to them. So it’s perfectly possible to enjoy Page’s work on a purely visual level without worrying too much about the intellectual content.” The Dishman Art Museum is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is located at 1030 E. Lavaca in Beaumont. Free museum-dedicated parking is available during museum hours. For more, call 409-880-8959 or visit lamar.edu/dishman.
Mission Statement Founded in 1983, The Art Studio, Inc. is devoted to: providing opportunities for interaction between the public and the Southeast Texas community of artists; furnishing affordable studio space to originating artists of every medium; promoting cultural growth and diversity of all art forms in Southeast Texas; and providing art educational opportunities to everyone, of every age, regardless of income level, race, national origin, sex or religion.
PURPOSE The purpose of The Art Studio, Inc. is to (1) provide educational opportunities between the general public and the community of artists and (2) to offer sustained support for the artist by operating a non-profit cooperative to provide studio space and exhibition space to working artists and crafts people, and to provide an area for group work sessions for those artists and crafts people to jointly offer their labor, ideas, and enthusiasm to each other.
GOALS 1. 2. 3. 4.
To present public exhibitions To provide educational opportunities To provide accessible equipment for artists To provide peer feedback through association with other artists and crafts people
OBJECTIVES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
To present 10 art exhibitions per year To maintain equipment for artists in a safe working environment To provide better access to artists for the public To offer regularly scheduled adult and children’s classes To develop and maintain public activities with all sectors of the community To develop and maintain equipment to aid artists in their work To provide a display retail outlet for artists To expand programming and activities with increased facility space
Volume 18, No. 2
October 2011 ISSUE • 15
VIEW from page 3 summer, folks would walk in just to see what was here. A quick tour and info laden, they left happy to find another treasure in their community. In fact, we are rearranging studio spaces to accomodate two more artists in the resident clay space as demand has outstripped space. A good pain. Elizabeth French is taking command of The Studio helm as I move to work on redeveloping the ceramics area, foundry facility and to manage general repairs. Eli began her association with The Studio as a student in the Lamar art department. She started as an apprentice and later would come to my rescue as interim director on occasion as she continued her development at Museum of the Gulf Coast and still later the Aviation Museum in Galveston. It was in Galveston that Hurricane Ike did something right — he blew Eli back to Beaumont and to the aide of The Art Studio. Elizabeth is an impeccable administrator and will be able to advance The Studio into a new level of accountability and organization. She’s also a great friend. Help her out and do what she says. Show her your appreciation like you’ve shown me throughout the years.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Art Studio is looking for energetic people who have a few hours a month to help us in the following areas:
OFFICE SUPPORT • BUILDINGS & GROUNDS SPECIAL EVENTS • MAILOUTS If you are interested in one or more of these opportunities or if you know of anyone who might be, give us a call at 409-838-5393
WE WANT YOU FOR BAND NITE Hear original music by local musicians at For upcoming gigs, visit the studio’s facebook page
$5
admission
All ages welcome • 21 and up BYOB and have your ID.
720 Franklin, Beaumont, Texas 77701
Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit #135 Beaumont, TX
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
INSIDE • POETRY-INSPIRED GROUP SHOW • THOUGHTCRIME: MUSINGS FROM AREA POETS • RUSSIAN AVANTE-GARDE BOOK • THE STATE OF THEATER
When you support The Art Studio with your membership, you receive ISSUE, Southeast Texas’ and Southwest Louisiana’s alternative press as well as class schedules, invitations to opening receptions and various Studio functions.
Volunteers These people are the life blood of our organization. WE COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU! To volunteer, drop by The Art Studio, Inc., or call 409-838-5393. Bryan Castino April Ringland Heather & Adam Butler Andy Ledesma Rhonda Rodman Sue Wright Cyndi Grimes Rhonda McNally Andy Coughlan Olivia Busceme Greg Busceme, Jr. Brianna Grice Ben Jennings Jordan Johnston Beth Gallaspy Kimberly Brown Kim McLothlin Elizabeth Pearson John Roberts Philip Grice Beau Dumesnil Karen Dumesnil Sheila Busceme Kailee Viator Tyler Bach
JOIN US FOR ART OPENINGS ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH THIS MONTH:
‘How in a world gilt with love May I thank you above this human cadence’ A GROUP SHOW INSPIRED BY THE POETRY OF GEORGE WENTZ
OCTOBER 1 GALLERY RECEPTION IS 7-10 P.M.
ISSUE
DISTRIBUTION POINTS DOWNTOWN THE ART STUDIO, INC. 720 FRANKLIN ART MUSEUM OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS 500 MAIN BABE DIDRIKSON ZAHARIAS MUSEUM 1750 IH-10E BEAUMONT CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU 801 MAIN (IN CITY HALL) BEAUMONT ART LEAGUE (FAIRGROUNDS) 2675 GULF ST BOOK BAZAAR 1445 CALDER THE CAFE 730 LIBERTY CAVE INTERIORS 1425 CALDER JERUSALEM HOOKAH CAFÉ 3035 COLLEGE NEW YORK PIZZA & PASTA 790 NECHES ONLY ONE VASES 1455 CALDER SETAC 701 NORTH STREET, STE. 1 TEXAS ENERGY MUSEUM 600 MAIN SOUTH END/LAMAR UNIVERSITY CARLITO’S RESTAURANT 890 AMARILLO @ COLLEGE DOS AMIGAS 1590 FRANKLIN LU ART DEPARTMENT DISHMAN ART MUSEUM OLD TOWN HAIRY BUSINESS SALON 2121 MCFADDIN JASON’S DELI 112 GATEWAY SHOP CNTR JEFFERSON CO. DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICE CALDER KATHARINE & CO. 1495 CALDER RAO’S BAKERY 2596 CALDER SIGN INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS 2835 LAUREL SUNRISE 2425 S 11TH SWICEGOOD MUSIC CO. 3685 COLLEGE THE TATTERED SUITCASE 2590 CALDER CENTRAL/WEST END BASIC FOODS 229 DOWLEN BEAUMONT VISITORS BUREAU IH-10 CHRISTIAN MYERS-RMT 6755 PHELAN BLVD 24E COLORADO CANYON 6119 FOLSOM GUITAR & BANJO STUDIO 4381 CALDER LOGON CAFE 3805 CALDER THE MASSAGE INSTITUTE 2855 EASTEX FRWY, SUITE 1 (@ DELAWARE) NORTH END CYCLE HWY 105 PACESETTER COLONNADE CENTER QUIZNOS 3939 SUITE 9 DOWLEN RED B4 BOOKS 4495 CALDER REED’S LAUNDRY 6025A PHELAN @ PEYTON STUDIO 77 6372 COLONNADE CENTER TRENDY’S 5905 PHELAN, STE. E WEST END MEDICAL PLAZA 2010 DOWLEN WILSON CHIROPRACTIC 7060 PHELAN BLVD. PARKDALE RAO’S BAKERY 4440 DOWLEN ORANGE STARK MUSEUM OF ART 712 GREEN AVE.
