THE ARTS MAGAZINE OF THE ART STUDIO, INC.
NOVEMBER 2013
FAMILY AFFAIRS PAGE 4
30
T A SI a t INSIDE: TEXAS IMPRESSIONISM, REMEMBERING HERMAN, NOLA AT THE DISHMAN, AND MORE
S p ec i a l Se c t i o n
CALL FOR ARTISTS
The Holiday Shop-O-Rama Extravaganza will soon be upon us and we’d love for you to participate. The Art Studio, Inc. will host its annual art sale that offers one-stop shopping for a unique, funky, artistic and inexpensive gifts created by local artisans. This event is your opportunity to present your work for sale during this holiday season. All work must be handmade and original by the presenting artist, no kits allowed and work must be constructed with quality and integrity. • Paintings, illustrations and photographs must be the work of the presenting artist and must be appropriately matted and placed in cradles or other retaining stands, as there is not enough room to hang all flat work. Limited editions of
prints are acceptable but photocopy reproduced work is not allowed. • Tables and displays are the presenting artists’ responsibility. All work must be listed on an inventory form provided by TASI. The artist will assign each work a unique number and description, with a corresponding number and your initials on the price tag on the item being sold. • The Art Studio will handle all sales and tax collection in exchange for a 25 percent donation from the artist on all sales of their work. • All contributing artists must be members in good standing with The Art Studio, Inc., and all work must remain on display for the duration of the show. New work will be accepted throughout the month.
DATES TO REMEMBER: December 3-6: Bring work and set up displays. December 7: Sale opens noon-5 p.m. Reception, 7-10 p.m. (Treat for the food table greatly appreciated) December 20: Final day for sales. December 21: Unsold work to be picked up by artist. If you have questions, please call The Art Studio at 409-838-5393, or send us an email through our contact page at www.artstudio.org.
A View From The Top Greg Busceme, TASI Director
IT’S HERE! THIRTY YEARS have come and gone and we hope to steep you in a nostalgic tea of memories and surprises about The Studio and it’s fascinating past. A party that only The Studio can bring you is in store, and I hope to be in rare form as this night will not be a time to worry about tomorrow, but to celebrate. That being said, I don’t want to be the only one dancing to the bands, so join us at the party to have a great time and support The Art Studio and all that entails. In other words, see you there. Classes are picking up for the first time in about eight years. We feel that the economy is bouncing back, and that accounts for the increase in activities and sales. The Studio is like the canary that is taken into the mines — it indicates trouble before anyone else feels it. On the other hand, we also indicate the growth of the economy — unlike the yellow bird that sits dead in a cage. We are survivors. The Studio has gone up against many obstacles and turns in the road, but survive we have, and are stronger for it. I strongly support The Studio’s direction as a diverse and open book ready to allow all the arts to thrive under our roof and grow from there. Your support allows us to do more for the artists and expand the facility to accommodate the great influx of amazing ideas and creative groups who need representation. Our poetry group, life drawing (which
ISSUE Vol. 20, No. 3 Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Art Studio, Inc. Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy Coughlan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracy Danna Contributing Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . Elena Ivanova, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacqueline Hays Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chelsea Henderson 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: . . . . . . . . . . . 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 Blue and Permanent: Abigail McLaurin . . . . Page 4 Texas Impressionism at AMSET. . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Herman Hugg: 1931-2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 Dishman Hosts NOLA Artists. . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Around & About. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10 Thoughtcrime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11
ALSO INSIDE Special TASI 30th Anniversary Pullout Section Cover photo of Abigail McLaurin by Andy Coughlan
has moved to Sundays), darkroom, theater productions and clay classes all bring new people into the arts and expand our creative community. I would like to honor three recently departed souls close to The Art Studio: Barbara Paret passed away Sept. 22. She was dedicated to youth in all capacities, but especially in art. She established the Performing and Visual Arts Council of Silsbee in 1992, which funded artists and performers to present programs to children in the schools. I was honored to be one of the first artists on the roster and continue to be involved today. The Ice House Museum is another accomplishment near to her heart, and contributions can be made in her name there or to PVAC. Herman Hugg, patriarch of the arts community of Southeast Texas, teacher, inventor and arts advocate, died in Houston, Oct. 2. He was 92. Herman had long and wonderful stories he would tell. He never saw a material he didn’t like. Especially adept at stone carving, he presented a show at The Art Studio called “Please Touch,” a phrase you rarely hear in an art gallery. But that was Herman — he lived outside the box. Sadly. we also have to remember our dear friend Harding Sylvester, otherwise known as “The Candy Man,” who passed away Aug. 11. We will miss the best pralines this side of heaven, as he would say, and only hope that he finds a place to continue making his famous pralines.
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART STUDIO NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
“Blue and Permanent”: Paintings by Abigail McLaurin Holiday Shop-O-Rama Extravaganza Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November 2 Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 7
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4 • ISSUE November 2013
Volume 20, No. 3
American family dreams TASI TENANT MCLAURIN TO HOST ‘BLUE AND PERMANENT’ IN NOVEMBER IT IS FAIRLY EASY to spot Abigail McLaurin at The Art Studio. She is the slim girl with clothes covered in colored blotches with streaks of charcoal and chalk across her face. She resembles a Dickensian urchin most times, but she isn’t begging for change — she is normally in the middle of a creation. “Creation” is a better term than painting to describe her work. Her large panels are paintings, but they also include chalk, pigment, ink and found objects — and possibly the odd footprint or two that may have found their way in there. Ironically, Abby’s work often deals with women who look exactly opposite — housewives from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, prim and proper with their aprons on, performing the “womanly” duties as wives and mothers. “It’s that sort of cliché American dream,” she says. “Mom dressed up in the apron, working in the kitchen and dad coming home from work — that housewife role that she played. I’m interested in family and how it’s evolved over the past 50 years and where it’s going.” Abby studied sociology in school and says she is interested in the changing dynamic of the family, with divorce rates rising and both parents having to work. “I know it’s part of the female right that she can work, that she doesn’t have to be a housewife, but it’s also a forced condition because you can’t afford to live off one income anymore,” she says. Abby’s work often features a “Leave It To Beaver” type of mother image, but she says her work has a feminist viewpoint. “I can’t help but see through my own eyes. I don’t have a penis — that’ll be the day,” she says, laughing. “I’m not against men or anything, but I am exploring that female role. As I get older I keep thinking about whether I want a family or not and I think that emerges within the work — that instinctive urge to settle down and what does that entail as a woman, you know?” Abby will display her latest works at The Art Studio in November, in a show titled “Blue and Permanent.” The show opens with a reception, 7-10 p.m., Nov. 2, and runs through Nov. 29. The title is taken from “The Drowned Children,” a poem by Louise Glück. “It’s one of my favorite poems,” she said. “It’s very dark, but what I love about it is the way she uses metaphors to describe this horrific event, but it’s also beautiful, in a way. One of the last lines is ‘…blue and permanent,’ referring to the children being blue — drowned — and the fact that death is permanent. “I thought that it would be a great metaphor for the work, because right now it seems my main subject matter is children exploring violence, adult violence, in some manner. We do it all the time, whether it’s through tearing down a sandcastle or pretending to shoot our sister, we explore violence. We don’t understand the real implications of what it is until we are much older.” Abby says she is nervous about the show’s title. “It comes from a really dark poem, but not all my work is dark,” she says. “I think a lot of childhood — just like any person — it’s not all happy fairytales, but it is what makes life special. It’s those struggles and conflicts that make life beautiful, in a way. I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s the best way to describe it.”
Story and photos by Andy Coughlan
Abigail McLaurin plays housewife in her space at The Art Studio, Inc. Abby’s work evokes the nostalgia of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s by using found family photos as inspiration.
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Abby says she has had friends who were concerned that her work was too dark and that she was purposefully trying to create a conflict with the viewer. “I said no, I was not drawing from personal experience,” she says. “I see myself as more of a story collector — hearing other people’s stories, gathering images, trying to interpret what’s going on. So the work is very personal in that it’s trying to make sense of what’s has taken place. But it’s sharing a story.” The idea of children and violence comes from a letter she found while exploring an old photo album. It was written by her great-grandmother and describing an incident with her great-uncle. “When he was a boy, he was playing Cowboys and Indians and one of the kids accidently hung himself,” she said. “They made a noose and hung him, but he accidently choked on his gum and died of asphyxiation.” “Sometimes our play time can become more serious.” McLaurin said her great uncle never really recovered from the experience. “He always had problems,” she said. “I think that’s where the title comes from — the things we experience in childhood can be permanent in our consciousness and can affect us as adults.” McLaurin said the letter will be on display at the exhibition. While her latest body of works deals with children’s experiences with violence, Abby says she just finds themes that reflect the area of the photos she gathers. She is already shifting to her next series which will explore a certain aspect of religion. “I am really fascinated by talking in tongues and
November 2013 ISSUE • 5
Pentecostalism the Southern Bible belt,” she said. “It’s where I grew up. I’m not a churchgoer but I am interested in exploring that side of my background.” Abby is quick to point out that while some of the work’s subtext may be dark, the work itself also has a sense of fun. “It’s very colorful,” she said. “For most people, it brings them back their childhood, playing Cowboys and Indians — it seems quite fitting for more of a mature audience, I would say 40 or 40 plus, because that time period that I’m dealing with tends to be the 1950s1960s.” It’s the sense of nostalgia for those decades that Abby finds fascinating. She begins most of her paintings by collaging images from old “found” photographs that she collects. “I worked at a Starbucks for a while and one client brought in two boxes of colored slides that somebody was throwing out, a family photo album from 1945 to 1972” she said. “They knew my work and that I was collecting them so they brought me photos. “I’m a slight hoarder of other people’s family photo albums.” She said she really looks for photographs that are slightly strange or capture the awkwardness of a long past situation. “It is interesting that I can look at slides from Fort Worth and then look at a photo album from one of my friends (in North Carolina), and you can see a cultural difference in not just the time period, but also in how the family behaves, the setting, the kind of stuff they collect on the walls — Southeast Texas is unusual, especially here in Beaumont. It’s right on the border of Texas and
Abigail McLaurin poses in front of a painting in progress in her space at The Art Studio, Inc.
Louisiana, so it’s a unique culture that takes place here.” The 26 year old is a native of Charlotte, N.C. and has been in Beaumont for just over a year. One of the first things she did when she arrived was become a tenant at The Studio. She attended Coker College in Hartsville, S.C. where she earned a bachelor’s in art. “I’ve always known I wanted to be an artist,” she says. “It’s not a question of what I wanted to be, it’s who I am.” Abby says that she has always been interested in the figure. “Gosh, it goes back to my first drawings as a kid,” she says. “When you look at the work you did as a child, you can make relationships between the work you did then and your adult work. Mine has always been narrative.” Abby’s work, it can be said, is both accessible and off-putting. How one sees the work depends greatly on the viewers state of mind. “I’m not trying to persuade the viewer in any way, I’m more of an observer,” she says. Much of her work is also quite substantial, comprising large panels pieced together. “Part of it goes back to the idea of memory,” she says. “When we think of things, we remember bits and pieces, so it’s that kind of idea. It’s also a play with composition. I want to break out of that square or rectangle. “We refer to the family of many parts as one, and that’s part of why the image is all broken up.”
See MCLAURIN on page 9
Beyond Bluebonnets
6 • ISSUE November 2013
AMSET EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS TEXAS IMPRESSIONISM
IMPRESSIONISM IS ARGUABLY THE most popular art in the world. Impressionist works are pleasing to the eye, romantic and unpretentious. We easily relate to these paintings because they evoke memories that we all have — memories of a sunny day when time stood still and we suddenly became acutely aware of beauty around us, be it a gorgeous view, a dewdrop on a blade of grass, or a colorful pattern of shadows on the ground as the sunbeams weave their way through the foliage of a tree. It is hard to imagine that in 1874, when Impressionism made its debut in Paris, it was not well received by the public. People were appalled by the paintings in which shapes seemed to have no volume and, at a close examination, disintegrated into separate brushstrokes. However, it was not too long before the shock of the new passed and the public fell in love with the paintings which made them not just see what the artist saw, but virtually re-live the experience of being “there” with him. In the United States, Impressionism had the same history as in France and in the rest of the world. One of the earliest shows, which featured 250 French Impressionist works in Durand-Ruel Gallery in New York in 1886, generated a controversy unlike any other exhibition in the United States, according to William H. Gerdts. While the overall attitude was negative, certain works were received with “tempered enthusiasm” — namely, the landscapes by Claude Monet and the figural
Review by Elena Ivanova
works by Edgar Degas and Auguste Renoir.1 Landscape painting quickly became the most popular genre in American Impressionism. The exhibition, “Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885-1935,” at AMSET is a testimony to this fact. The show amazes, soothes and mesmerizes the viewer with the breathtaking views of boundless plains covered with a carpet of wild flowers, quiet brooks in the forest and blazing sun-drenched desert with a lonely cactus. The geography of Texas seems to be perfectly suited to showcase the strength of the Impressionist approach to nature which focuses on capturing the flickering light and vibrating atmosphere. For those of us who are not intimately familiar with the history of Texas Impressionism, the sheer scope of the exhibition, which features more than 100 works by dozens of artists, is a revelation in itself. Bluebonnet paintings by Julian Onderdonk, as one may expect, are a part of the show, however, they do not dominate the scene. As we move from one work to another, we find ourselves irresistibly drawn into an illusory world masterfully recreated by yet another unfamiliar artist. But don’t be hard on yourself, this ignorance is not entirely our fault. Despite the proliferation of work by highly talented artists, Texas Impressionism has not received its due attention in American art scholarship. This exhibition, organized by Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas, is the first one to bring into the spotlight this important era in the history of Texas art. The catalog of the exhibition provides ample information on the subject. Written by Michael R. Grauer, the associate director for curatorial affairs and curator of art at Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the catalog is an exciting read and there are some enlightening facts. The first mention of Impressionism in Texas dates
Harold Dow Bugbee (1900-1963), J A HORSE WRANGLER, circa 1925, oil on canvas, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Gift of Don Scott Hagy in memory of Lawrence Hagy
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back to 1884 when the Galveston Daily News reprinted an article from New York about the exhibition at the National Academy of Design on Jan. 2, 1884. However, it was not until the 1890s that Texas artists started actively painting en plein air, which is essential for the Impressionist art process. This slight lagging behind compared to the East Coast is understandable within the historical context. Texas was still a frontier state and, as Esse Forrester-O’Brien wrote in 1935, “Art is especially slow where scalping is in style.”2 The trailblazers in Texas Impressionism were Emma Richardson Cherry and Frank Reaugh. Both were educated in well-known American and European art schools and spent time at the art colony in Giverny, France. This little place near Paris became synonymous with Impressionism because Claude Monet lived and painted there for the better part of his life. Upon their return to the United States, both artists became actively involved in promoting Impressionism through exhibitions and teaching. The list of Texas Impressionists is long and includes artists of many nationalities. Among them is an Englishman, Dawson Dawson-Watson; a Spaniard, Jose Arpa; and a German, Paul Schumann. Texas also attracted artists from different states who found here their source of inspiration. At the same time, aspiring Texasborn artists typically went to study art in New York or Chicago and then Europe. Upon completion of their studies, some of them preferred to live outside Texas, but, nevertheless, played an important role in the history of Texas Impressionism. One such artist was Lucien Abrams from Dallas. Having studied at the Art Student League in New York and then at the Académie Julian in Paris, Abrams lived and traveled in Europe between 1894 and 1914. With the onset of World War I, he returned to the United States and settled in Old Lyme, Conn, which had a burgeoning art colony known as the “American Giverny.” Abrams divided his time between Old Lyme, his family house in Dallas and a winter residence in San Antonio. As Grauer points out, “A ‘rediscovery’ on the Texas art scene through his work exhibited in Texas, his own collection of French Impressionist paintings, and his connections to France proper, Abrams may have been the most direct conduit from French Impressionism to Texas.”3 It seems fitting to end this review with another quote from Grauer, “...Texas Impressionists branded their paintings with brushstrokes and color unlike those found anywhere else. Even without official affirmation, ‘It’s been quite a party, ain’t it?’”4 The exhibition “Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885-1935,” is on view through Jan. 5. AMSET is located at 500 Main in downtown Beaumont. For more, visit www.amset.org.
1 William H. Gerdts, “The Golden Age of American Impressionism” (New York: Abbeville Press, 1984):15-16. In: Michael R. Grauer, Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885-1935 (Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas, 2012):13-14. 2 Esse Forrester-O’Brien, “Art and Artists of Texas” (Dallas: Tardy Publishing, 1935):4. In: Texas Impressionism:11. 3 Michael R. Grauer, “Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885-1935” (Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas, 2012): 24. 4 Ibid., 35. The included quote is Augustus McRae’s final words in Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove.”
Volume 20 No. 3
November 2013 ISSUE • 7
Story’s end Artist, teacher, storyteller Herman Hugg dies at age 92 IF ONE HAD FIVE minutes to spare, one did not pop by Herman Hugg’s house. However, if one had an hour to spare, popping by Herman’s was a very good idea. That five minutes would turn into at least an hour anyway. Herman would start on a story and the time would just drift away as that story led to another, which led to another. It wasn’t a question of not being able to get away. It was a question of, “Where else would I rather be?” Herman was an excellent artist and hugely influential teacher who inspired hundreds of children throughout a long career at South Park High School. His passion for art — for all the arts — shone through in his conversation. He was proud of the various projects he designed to encourage his students to play and find the possibilities of their creativity. His house was filled with photocopies of newspaper articles, photographs, aphorisms — he was a hoarder, but in a really cool way. He was also an evangelist. He didn’t preach the traditional gospel, but he was always in the pulpit of the church of art. Rarely a conversation went by when he would not, at some point, rail against the paucity of arts coverage in the media — especially as it compared to sports coverage. He would pull out the newspaper and start counting pages and column inches from the sports section. “Now,” he would say, “let’s count how much arts coverage there is.” Of course, there was little, if any, in that day’s paper. I was grateful that Herman appreciated the ISSUE. He loved that there was a place that promoted not just the visual arts, but the arts in general. Visitors to “the church of Herman” were always amazed at what they found. I loved taking friends there. I would take them in, introduce them and then stand back as Herman worked his magic, leading them through the piles of paintings, sculptures, found objects, and boards on which he had written quotations that inspired him. His house was a delight. Part art museum, part junk yard — with something interesting to see at every turn — the house was also a monument to the power of creativity. And each object had a story, or would inspire him to tell a story about something else. Herman also had an eye for a pretty girl. I took a friend of mine to visit him for the first time and at the end of the two-hour visit, she thanked him and gave him a big hug. Herman then talked for another few minutes before he asked if he could have a hug. I could tell my friend assumed that Herman, being 88 at the time, had simply forgotten the hug of only a few minutes previous. She stepped over and hugged him again. Herman looked over her shoulder at me and I laughed at his grin and the large twinCommentary by Andy Coughlan
kle in his eye — clever old dog. I would always smile when I knew a story was coming. It normally started with something like, “Let me tell you, back nineteen and fifty seven, old Herman Hugg was….” And as he told the story, he would wander around and pick up objects, transgressing from the main thread, sometimes losing it forever. It didn’t matter. The telling of the story was another side of Herman’s art. I think that probably was Herman’s great gift. He was an accomplished artist, but for me, it was the telling of the story — the story of art, the story of the artist, the story of the teacher. Herman died Oct. 2 at the age of 92. He was born on Jan. 19, 1921 in Strawberry, Ark. He got his bachelor’s at West Texas State and a master’s at Stephen F. Austin. He was married and had two sons. He was a Navy Seebee in the Solomon Islands in WWII, and there were stories about that. The stories remain in the memories of those who met him. The lessons remain in those he taught — whether they are in the arts or not. Herman was a small man, though strong (he had been a body builder as a young man), but in his influence on the arts in Southeast Texas he was a giant. And as a storyteller, he was simply wonderful. Whatever you believe about the afterlife, one thing is for certain: if there is one, Herman is telling a story — and there is a host of listeners hanging on every word.
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Volume 20, No. 3
Dishman hosts NOLA artists New Orleans is a unique place. The Crescent City is a combination of the sacred and the profane — the exact percentages of each seem to vary according to whom is being asked to judge. The Dishman Art Museum on the Lamar University campus, in collaboration with the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, is hosting “Crescent City Connection,” an exhibition of work by New Orleans-based artists. This work on display is diverse in style and media, but all of it shares a stunning attention to detail. The professionalism of the workmanship alone would be enough to recommend a visit. But more than that, the artists all seem to address the idea of connection — be it time, place or culture — often with a sense of humor. All the artwork in the show is of a high quality, but the exhibition kicks off with a “Wow!” factor. As soon as the visitor turns into the gallery, one is confronted by Gina Phillips’ epic “Holt Cemetery.” The immense mixed media piece, which incorporates quilted fabrics as its central media, literally fills a gallery wall. Phillips, in her artist statement, writes that her work deals with nostalgia. But she states that in its original definition, it applied to the medical condition of soldiers who experience a sense of longing to be home. Not for her does nostalgia evoke the rose-colored tint of picket fences and apple pie. The piece requires careful study. Part quilt, part drawing, “Holt Cemetery” is a surreal combination of images. In the lower right, two dogs appear to be in a standoff over a pile of severed limbs. They are both menacing and playful. In the lower left, a cute toddler squats atop a mound of giant, pulled teeth — not exactly the kind of image that leaves one with a smile. The upper torso and head of a man hang from an arm that clings tight to an eagle’s talon. And all these things are dwarfed by a giant quilted tree that fills the wall. — the tree of life, perhaps?
Bob Snead’s “Stock,” left and Gina Phillips’ “Holt Cemetery,” below, are on display at the Dishman Art Museum on the Lamar University campus thjrough Nov . 29, in the exhibition “Crescent City Connection: Collaboration with the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery.”
Review by Andy Coughlan
ISSUE photo by Xenia Herrmann
The quilted textures and the colors of the fabric give the piece a richness and depth that is both inviting and disconcerting. The Dishman’s upper gallery features some beautiful collage/printmaking combinations by Michael Pajon. These pieces are bright and colorful, and evoke the rich and lavishly illustrated childrens’ book of the early 20th century. Yet they are not quite “right.” They are surreal and, because of the juxtapositions of images, slightly disturbing. In his artist statement, Pajon writes of collage as being a “scavenger’s medium,” and he has found and reassembled images to suggest that the illustrations of our childhoods were not exactly what they seemed. Pajon, on his website, states that the works evoke a sense of place and history. “They entice the viewer to slow down and take in a landscape of information and clues,” he states. “The work offers a roadmap of an America that seems both imagined and real, a blending of true artifact and an artificial past, a fleeting glimpse and a memory not quite placed.”
By reworking the images, he re-invents their history. The combinations of each part’s individual history is altered to give it new life. “Liar, Lovers and Backstabbers” reminds one of a board game that is spilling out of control. There is a chaos as animals move around, people have animal heads — in this way Pajon echoes Max Ernst’s collages of the 1920s and ’30s, although they are much more colorful. A flapper with horse legs, a young girl in a blue dress with the head of an elephant — and the hunter shoots not at an animal, but at a running man. Pajon’s work demands careful scrutiny, such is the amount of information in each piece. One could argue that a wry sense of humor would also be a valuable viewing tool. Generic Art Solutions (Matt Vis and Tony Campbell) offer us recreations of classical paintings, again with a twist. The pair play all the characters as they pose for photographic renderings of Gericault’s “The Raft of the Medusa,” or Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People.” The photographs are immaculately done and from the distance one is fooled. The highlight of their work at the Dishman, however, is the tapestry of the last supper. Set at a series of folding tables outside of a trailer, the pair transform the classical to the modern, and we see the thread that runs from the Renaissance to the present day. It is in these epic classics that we find the simplicity of the human condition. Dan Rule’s “Upward” and “Authentically Lived Their Lives on Camera” are videos that challenge us to question what we are seeing. In the former, nothing is really going up, but layers of clouds and the walls of the building are going down. In “Authentically,” a variety of objects defy gravity — clothes, golf bags, bottles, suitcases — drawn in such a way as to be refugees from one of Herge’s “TinTin” books. It is almost a “Where’s Waldo” of the products of our existence. And the sound of wind whooshing by reminds us that like everything else, one day it will all just float away. Other artists included in the exhibition are Anita Cooke, Hannah Chalew, Bob Snead, Justin Forbes, Skylar Fein, Adam Mysock, Jonathan Ferrara, Sidonie Villere, Christopher Saucedo and Dan Tague. “Crescent City Connection: Collaboration with the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery” is on display through Nov. 22. The Dishman is located at 1030 E. Lavaca in Beaumont. For more, call 409-880-8959.
Volume 20, No. 3
November 2013 ISSUE • 9
MCLAURIN from page 5 When it comes to a style, Abby says she doesn’t really think she has a particular one. “Right now, it’s working with really bright colors, I’m playing around with fluorescent colors,” she says. “I use a lot of different things, it’s more of a mixed media. I use acrylics, enamel, oil, watercolor, dyes, wallpaper, toys — sometimes you’ll find underwear in it, just bizarre things. “Usually, the objects that I incorporate within my work are very domestic, things that you would find around the home. All my work is about the home, the interior struggles of family life and the idea of unity within the family unit.” Abby’s work seems to hold a dynamic tension between the modern and the classical. Her paintings, focusing on the figure and the domestic as they do, also incorporate splashes of paint, streaks and slashes — she even distresses the surface of some of her pieces. “I enjoy sanding and tearing it down,” she says. “Some more than others. It has to do with the content and composition.” Abby is hesitant to suggest anything to visitors to the show, saying that she doesn’t want to influence what they see in the work. “I don’t know if they can take away anything,” she says. “I want them to experience it, for the work to bring up a memory of some sort. A lot of times that’s what happens.” She tells a story about a previous piece that, on the surface, seemed to be a happy piece. “There were kids playing in the water, but in the background there was a creepy dude holding his crotch,” she says. “There was this underlying theme of
something really dark taking place in this happy scene. “It brought up a memory for one particular viewer. That happens sometimes within my work. It’s not necessarily my intention when I start the work, it just happens to emerge within it.” Most of the time, Abby says, the story reveals itself as she collages the photos. It is not unusual to see her painting look a certain way, only to visit her studio space a few days later and find it changed — sometimes slightly, sometimes in a major way. Panels will be moved or dispensed with entirely. That’s not to say they won’t
return after that. “It’s all based on the story,” she says. “Just like in any story, there’s a conflict. You can look at the ‘happy ever after’ scene, but there’s also a conflict, there’s a villain — multiple elements are taking place in it. It’s not hitting you over the head with it, you do have to look for them.” So plan a visit to “Blue and Permanent” — there’s a story for everyone. The Art Studio, Inc. is located at 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont.
Abigail McLaurin surrounded by her paintings in her space at The Art Studio, Inc.
WE WANT YOU FOR BAND NITE Hear original music by local musicians at
, t r A e n i F Food e n i F Two Magnolias r e s t a u r a n t in the Art Museum of Southeast Texas
Weekday lunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wedding Receptions • Rehearsal Dinners • Meals to go For upcoming gigs, visit The Studio’s facebook page
$5
10 % di scoun t f or art ists 500 Main Street in downtown Beaumont, Texas
admission
All ages welcome • 21 and up BYOB and have your ID.
409-833-5913 www.2magnolias.org • www.facebook.com/TwoMagnolias twomagnoliascatering@gmail
10 • ISSUE November 2013
Volume 20, No. 3
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 BEAUMONT ART LEAGUE announced the winners of the 2013 MEMBERSHIP SHOW at a reception, Oct. 12. Best in Show was awarded to Andy Coughlan for his painting “Curl.” Coughlan is awarded a solo show at the League in September 2014. First place was awarded to Victor Higginbottom for “Coyote Noon.” Second place was awarded to Nathan McCray for “Secret Agent Man,” and third place went to Carey Lombardo Hoffer for “Downtown River.” Honorable Mentions were awarded to Betty Iles, Richard Spinney, Lief Wallace and Amy Faggard. This year’s judge was Lamar University graduate printmaker Maurice Abelman. BAL is located at 2675 Gulf St. in Beaumont. For more information, visit www.beaumont artleague.org. ________________ Friends of the TRIANGLE AIDS NETWORK invite supporters to come to the “Cabaret” for TAN’s annual PAINT THE TOWN RED gala, Nov. 7, at the Beaumont Country Club. “A scintillating soiree at the famed Kit Kat Club awaits revelers as they delight in a divinely decadent evening of art, auctions, entertainment and fine dining — the major annual fund-raiser to benefit TAN. Festivities begin with a champagne-cocktail reception, hors d’oeuvres and silent auction at 6:30 p.m. The live auction begins at 7:15 p.m., with a buffet at 8 p.m. and the live auction to resume as guests continue dining. The Innovators will provide music for the event. Dress is after-five. Proceeds support client services and educational efforts of TAN. Reservations are $90 per person. ($900 per table of 10) or $1,400 ($175 per person) for Dress Circle seating at a premium table for eight. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For reservations or to become a Paint the Town Red sponsor, call 409-832-8338, extension 231. ________________
K R O W T R A
The MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST will host MYSTERY NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: ROBBERY AT THE PORT ARTHUR TRAIN STATION, Nov. 9, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The premise centers around the museum’s exhibition of Kanas City Southern artifacts and train photographs by David Plowden. “One of the artifacts, the conductor’s gold pocket watch that he lent for the exhibition, has been stolen,” the website states. “Come be a super sleuth and solve the mystery.” Scheduled activites include the Port Arthur Police department who will be processing the crime scene at 5:30 p.m., and a free screening of the movie “Back to the Future 3” at 6:30 p.m. Participants can sift through the evidence that the Port Arthur CSI found to identify the criminal, and write secret messages, take finger prints, mug shots and more. The cost is $4 for all detectives three and over (under 3 are free). All visitors will receive a free super sleuth souvenir. The first 50 detectives who pre-register will receive a free detective kit. To register, call the Education Coordinator at 409984-6453. ________________ BEAUMONT COMMUNITY PLAYERS will present ANNIE, Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, in the McFaddin-Ward Auditorium “The popular comic strip heroine takes center stage in one of the world’s best-loved musicals,” BCP’s website states. “With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s heart. She is determined to find her parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous and magical world of NYC. For tickets and showtimes, visit www.beaumontcommunityplayers.com. ________________
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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.
AC X T SE ORG .
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 20, No. 3
November 2013 ISSUE • 11
Thoughtcrime 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 and may be sent to TASI by email or by messaging the ISSUE Facebook page. 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: ISSUE 720 Franklin, Beaumont, TX 77701 or e-mail issue@artstudio.org Authors must submit a daytime telephone number and email along with all submissions. Pen names are acceptable, but authors must supply real names for verification. All printed works are protected by copyright. The author retains rights to any published work. ISSUE does not notify of rejection by mail or telephone.
POETRY RENAISSANCE Dorothy Sells Clover (poet and author) presents open mic, spoken word, selected reading. Every third Thursday at The Art Studio, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Cost is $5. For more information, call 409-363-3444.
Voices in the Background Voices in the background… buzzing like a mosquito against a window pane, humming like a car as it comes closer… then speeds past on a lonely street, creaking like a rocking chair left in motion on a country porch, Rustling like trees in the midst of a threatening storm, Screeching like the springs under the seat of a bicycle as you peddle along a bumpy road. Voices rising up and down…going in and out. There is a sudden outburst of laughter that strikes like a blast of a trumpet, Then silence. Voices in the background…
Walked Out Walls are closing in, I’m all alone. He’s questioning me From his throne. I’ve heard this voice Too many times. His dignity and pride Are on his mind. His voice is ringing In my ears, The voice that caused All of my tears. The first time I heard it I cried and cried. The next time I heard it I thought of suicide. Why should I suffer If he is to blame? Why is causing me All of this pain?
Children learning…
No, this cannot be, For he’s the one Who walked out on me.
Dorothy Sells Clover
Chelsea Henderson
Thanatocoenosis, Corpus Christi (A Suicide Note) He was here, a while ago, fishing off the shore, I believe, someone like me, beside the sea shells, at the sea shore. She sells, at the sea, shells at the sea — deciding such a thing! A scape of ocean notions, doting here at some indecisively demarcated line, where froth meniscus blocks out the graduated mind, leaving questions only estimated, rounded, guessed. But, if an answer’s to be had, what other madman can we ask? Challenge, if we dare, to prove his mathematics? Debate? Dispute? I say: Present your teleology to only oceaned air and sea,
and if the moment can be stopped, and if momentous forces stop. and if ceased sea will answer — heed. Damn it! Where did he go? Where the sun is glaring, did he go? On the beach, we are alone, with every epoch gone and every futured way here, or not at all, or not the truth, or alive, or dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. And here’s another one that’s dead. And that one’s dead, too. The end of stars. A million dollars lost today. And men-of-war turned into maggots’ jelly. Fish for the living. Step on the dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
And that one is alive. Step. And that one is no longer. And that one floats, and that one sinks, and here bobs another. One bubbles; one crawls; one claws in pairs; one eats another. What is going on? What is this roiling? What is this rock here for? What is this rocking in the roil? A princess ant within a stone (fossiled from a wounded tree long before there was antiquity to measure out a time unknown) sits pensively alone. Her swelling, stormed-filled sea is swallowed in eternity, amber silent, still, and blown well beyond that busy afternoon along the pleasant Pleistocene. Tell me, did you, or did unseen direction, work the rune?
Ancient ant, explain to me your pebbled immortality. I beg you, please, explain it. God, can you? Tell me. Can you tell? Dead. Please. Dead. Dead. And whose primeval ooze is this beach I walk along? Dead, if I am found within some upthrown anticline? Dead, in the sedimentary outline? Portraited in stone, with you, fisted as my own? Dead? Immortality? Where did he go? She sold her shells? And this one is alive? Oh, for Christ’s sake — Will someone stop the sea? Jesse Doiron
720 Franklin, Beaumont, Texas 77701
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INSIDE • ABIGAIL MCLAURIN: BLUE AND PERMANENT • THOUGHTCRIME: MUSINGS FROM AREA POETS • TEXAS IMPRESSIONISM AT AMSET • REMEMBERING HERMAN HUGG
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. Elizabeth Fontenot Bryan Castino Heather & Adam Butler Andy Ledesma Rhonda Rodman Sue Wright Cyndi Grimes Rhonda McNally Andy Coughlan Ben Jennings Beth Gallaspy John Roberts Beau Dumesnil Karen Dumesnil Sheila Busceme Kailee Viator Haley Bruyn Bryan LaVergne Gabe Sellers Ian Grice Abby McLaurin Samantha Wheeler Scott & John Alexander Heather Adams Terri Fox Avril Falgout B.J. Bourg Michelle Falgout Dana Dorman Reagan Havens Anna Buchele Nick Wilcox Stacey Haynes
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blue and permanent Abigail McLaurin
THE ART STUDIO, INC.
720 FRANKLIN
ART MUSEUM OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS
GALLERY RECEPTION IS NOV. 2, 7-10 P.M.
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
JERUSALEM HOOKAH CAFÉ
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NEW YORK PIZZA & PASTA
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SETAC
701 NORTH STREET, STE. 1
STARBUCKS
EDISON PLAZA
TEXAS ENERGY MUSEUM
600 MAIN
SOUTH END/LAMAR UNIVERSITY CARLITO’S RESTAURANT
890 AMARILLO @ COLLEGE
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DISHMAN ART MUSEUM OLD TOWN
ANNA’S MEXICAN BAKERY
2570 CALDER
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7TH AND CALDER
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NOVEMBER 2-30
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BABE DIDRIKSON ZAHARIAS MUSEUM
112 GATEWAY SHOP CNTR
KATHARINE & CO.
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2596 CALDER
SIGN INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS
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SWICEGOOD MUSIC CO.
3685 COLLEGE
THE TATTERED SUITCASE
2590 CALDER
CENTRAL/WEST END BASIC FOODS
229 DOWLEN
BEAUMONT VISITORS BUREAU
This project was funded in part by the B.A. & E.W. Steinhagen Benevolent Trust through the Southeast Texas Arts Council.
IH-10
COLORADO CANYON
6119 FOLSOM
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4381 CALDER
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3805 CALDER
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STARK MUSEUM OF ART
712 GREEN AVE.
special supplement
2 • TASI 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
TASI to the Max: 30 Bodacious Years Art exhibitions, poetry, theater space and original music venue, The Art Studio, Inc., has survived the weather, politics and a recession to make it to its 30th birthday. To celebrate this momentous milestone — one that no one was sure would ever be reached — The Studio will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a 1980s-themed party, “TASI to the Max: 30 Bodacious Years,” Nov. 16, 7 p.m. to midnight. “This promises to be the social event of the year,” committee member Stephan Malick said. Guests are encouraged to dress in their favorite ’80s attire, he said. “That can be anything, from Valley Girls to punk, ‘Dynasty’ to ‘Dallas’ and anywhere in between,” Malick said. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.artstudio.org. Tickets will also be available at the door. The event will include live music from local bands, many of whom got their start at The Studio’s Band Nites. Acts scheduled to appear include Buffalo Blonde, Mad Maude and the Hatters and Killawatts. The event will also see a reunion of a legendary local band. “The Put Downs are reuniting for the event,” Olivia Busceme, band coordinator, said. “The Put Downs are one of our old punk legends, and they played The Art Studio forever.” They haven’t played shows in quite a while. “We asked them to come together for a good ol’ time like the olden days — the ’90s,” Busceme said. “Art and music have always gone hand-in-hand at The Studio,” Malick said. “We’re excited to be able to have these folk come together and bring back some memories — as well as create a level of excitement to attract people to the event.” Space Capsule will present an audio/visual retro extravaganza, Elizabeth French, TASI assistant director, said. “So many great musicians got their start with us, and it is great to see so many of them come to help us celebrate our anniversary,” she said. While participants are expected to have fun, the party will also serve as this year’s major fundraiser. Currently, there is a lot of interest in The Studio, but they need money to keep things going.
“It has been really hard,” Busceme said. “Sometimes you have to just work with what you got, but we are in an upswing.” The event will also include a silent auction, featuring art, photographs, services and more. Food will be provided by local eateries, including Katherine & Co., Abbie’s Imports, Two Magnolias and Tacos La Bamba. “We are pleased that so many people and businesses recognize the contribution that The Studio has made to the community and are willing to help out,” French said. There will be a cash bar. The event will also feature a surprise Re-create happening. “I think patrons will be surprised by what they have planned,” French said. “It will be some time between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., but that’s all we are saying. Attendees should just plan to be there all evening, so they don’t miss a thing.” The Studio will be dressed up and ready to show off, Malick said. “Visitors will be able to visit the tenants’ spaces and see how we work,” he said. “Over the years, The Studio has been a vibrant hub of arts activity, and we really want to show that off.” The event will be spread out over the entire Studio property. “It will be a great event, rain or shine,” Malick said. “We will have a giant tent in the back yard for bands and dancing. The gallery will feature the November exhibition by tenant Abigail McLaurin, and there will be plenty of room for socializing.” The Studio will have a range of special merchandise commemorating the anniversary, including T-shirts, koozies, stickers, pins and more. “Come party with us — it promises to be legendary,” French said. “For a non-profit art community to survive for 30 years is amazing. If that isn’t worth a blow-out celebration, nothing is.” For tickets and information, call 409-838-5393, visit www.artstudio.org or facebook.com/artstudio.
Special section story and layout by Jacqueline Hays Section cover design by Andy Coughlan
TASI 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT • 3
Where we came from The Art Studio, Inc. is a staple of Southeast Texas. It may continue to reside on the fringe of the community, but is a main stay of the arts scene. If one wants to make art, look at art, sit back and listen to poetry or rock out to local bands — but certainly not beat the Texas heat because they don’t have air conditioning — The Studio is the place to be. “TASI the conception” became “TASI the reality” in 1983. And after three locations, a few hurricanes, some wild band nights and multiple generations of tenants, board members and patrons, The Studio remains the “redheaded stepchild” (loved, but not wholeheartedly accepted) of the Southeast Texas art community — and is stronger than ever.
In the beginning... “This began with my, at the time, wife Angie, and myself,” Greg Busceme, executive director, said. Busceme graduated from Lamar University before heading to Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned his MFA. After grad school, he returned to Beaumont to settle down, get married and start a family. When he returned, he found he missed the cooperative work space that was prevalent when he was at art school in Missouri. “I wasn’t happy with what was offered, and I thought artists should have a space to work. That is where we began the idea of a work space,” he said. Busceme said artists were leaving town because they had nowhere to work. They were looking at other places, houses and apartments, but with one person paying rent, it wasn’t feasible. “That’s why we figured we could open a space up — it was something that happened in St.Louis a lot. People would get together and have a spot for six or eight months while they were working on a show,” he said. “You know, get in there, work together and split the cost, and then bug out.” The idea of tenant artist workspaces seemed doable. “And, of course, I had that support,” Busceme said. “If I was just on my own, I don’t know if I could have done it.” He notes that it was difficult to navigate the process of creating a non-profit. At the time of its inception, TASI’s non-profit journey was a manual paperwork expedition. “We cut through it pretty well — it took some accountants,” Busceme said. He said everything is online now. “But back then, it was all about mail, and you had to wait for it to come in and go back and forth,” he said. “We were filling out the forms manually on a type writer — there were electrics, we heard.” TASI members chose to be a public organization as opposed to a private one. A private non-profit can get money from any single source if they wish, and they don’t really have to prove the public supports what they do. As a public organization, The Studio has to have a certain amount of public support for it to get any other kind of support from corporations or any conglomerate. “You have to show that you have a certain percentage of people involved in your organization,” Busceme said. “You can’t be like a 51c4, where you can have one person drop a bunch of money in and it
has to go to a certain cause — but those causes can’t be political anymore.” A non-profit takes three years to process, but it is all retroactive. “So once you apply, you can start being a non profit, and in three years you get your final designation, Busceme said.” Sandra Laurette, retired curator of education at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, met Busceme almost within hours of moving to the Golden Triangle, and then they ended up being classmates. Laurette continued at Lamar as Busceme left for grad school. When he returned to organize TASI, Laurette said, “I am there.”
The Casket Company... TASI’s first location was in a former casket company located at Neches and Milam. It was rather small, but members and the few tenants that were possible because of the space, went to work. They built pedestals, tables and shelves, and things to teach classes. “We had one set of shelves and tables inside of this big space,” Busceme said. “We had to make partitions for the walls to be built for the gallery, because it didn’t have any walls.” They didn’t have any money to build, so the volunteers constructed movable 4-feet x 8-feet standup partitions. “It worked pretty good for a long time,”
TASI 30 see page 4
4 • TASI 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
TASI 30 from page 3 Busceme said. “We still have one upstairs.” Soon volunteers were helping hook up electricity and kilns, and even using donated paint to cover the walls — which ended up being “golden bean” and “margarita green.” That’s what you get with free paint, Busceme said. Laurette said her favorite opening reception was at the first location. “The whole Neches Street face of the building was windows, and about twenty feet back a wall was laid out to make a gallery space,” she said. An artist from Orange, she describes as “kind of a little bit different — not a painter,” was the first to have a solo show. “He was not a sculptor that worked on cast iron or anything like that — he worked in trees,” Laurette said. She said he brought in big trunks of trees and did many things to them, such as inscribing enormous litanies all around the wood. He positioned nearly a dozen big tree installations from floor to ceiling along the wall. He had dimmed the lights around the exhibition, but the lights were very bright in the refreshment area located at the end of the wall, past the trees. “You could watch a bunch of people come in the front door and look up (suspiciously), and then head straight back to the light,” Laurette said. “Because he had created such a scary space, it felt like woodsmen and the gingerbread house — Hansel and Gretel. It was really a spooky kind of thing.” Usually patrons would meander around, read and talk. “But there was no talking going on in the gallery,” Laurette said. “And it is probably the most amazing opening we have had — and we have had lots of very interesting openings.” Getting TASI up and running enabled members and tenants to teach classes, but outreach programs were soon thrown into the mix. At the time, there weren’t a lot of after-school programs, Busceme said. “Strangely enough, we got with the hookers in the neighborhood because they were all over the place at the time,” Busceme said. “We said, ‘Do you have kids?’ And they said, ‘Sure we have kids.’” So TASI invited the
neighborhood children to art classes, and the idea of outreach became evident. “We can teach all the rich kids we want, but here were kids that really needed it,” Busceme said. “Some kind of expression than what they are getting at home — and the hookers recognized that.” The Studio became very well known with the surrounding community and, rather quickly, area schools made it possible for students to come to workshops. “There was also career ladder, where if teachers improved their work they would come in,” Busceme said. So TASI was booked all summer with teachers and all school year with kids. Things were going well, except the space wasn’t large enough, and TASI wanted to own rather than lease.
The transitional period… “We really weren’t able to generate enough money — and we were charging $100 plus a split of the bills, and that was the best we could do,” Busceme said. “So we went over and found the first floor of The White House building — which is the Municipal Court now — on Forsythe and Orleans.” It was 1989, and The Studio now had 20,000 square feet compared to 8,000. “So we had all the space in the world — that is why we opened up a whole bunch of studio space and made a big gallery in the middle,” Busceme said. “We could kind of generate some money.” DJ Kava, retired weatherman and longtime TASI member, helped make the move. “It was a funny place when you walked in the door, because it had housed fabric,” he said. “There was a humongous mechanism that covered the ground floor where they had a barrel hanging on hooks, and you could slide it and move levers to ship them out to trucks.” Members had to remove the contraption to create work space and a gallery. “They gave it to us to get rid of it, but I think we had more than a couple of bruises from people riding down those rails,” Kava said. The White House was a place for development. TASI applied for grants, started a square-foot campaign and began applying to the Meadows Foundation. Classes and openings were regular, the census was up, and they started hosting live events.
TASI 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT • 5
“We were aiming at The White House,” Busceme said. “But it was a bit too large to manage, there were building issues and the price tag was too high. Eventually, the idea was canned.” The four-year search for a permanent residence for The Studio was on.
A home is found… It took four years of serious hunting, but finally a space to purchase was found. Busceme credits a real estate agent, Marlin Williford, for the find. Although Williford was not associated with TASI, he heard about their plight and offered to help. Busceme and others had to do the leg work, but Williford guided them through the process. “It takes effort to build it, time and energy. It takes materials,” Laurette said. “There are some lovely members of our community that call and say, ‘Hey, do you need some fire bricks?’” She said the best times are when 40 square feet is filled up with pieces from all the people working in clay, after approximately 27 hours of firing. “It is like Christmas,” she said. Dana Dorman, longtime member and current tenant, said there are people working at The Studio all the time, and it is really a creative energy. She said the mixture of all the different artists sharing the same building is exciting, especially since they are of all different backgrounds and ages. There is even a 12 year old working with clay at The Studio. “It is just really neat that there are a lot of artists here doing stuff, and it hasn’t always been that way — it has kind of ebbed and flowed,” Dorman said. Kailee Viator, TASI apprentice, came to The Studio for the first time as a teenager, checking out Band Nite. While attending art school at Lamar, she began frequenting art shows. Soon, she was asked to volunteer. Her first task was to assemble a cooler for refreshments. “I think it was a testament about, ‘Can she use a screw driver?’” Viator said. “And I could — funny thing though, it has a little bottle opener on the side, I put it on upside down. I didn’t know — I wasn’t even 21 yet.” Since then she has tried out a plethora of hand tools to hang shows and build pedestals. She has also been receiving framing and matting lessons from administrator Elizabeth French — something she would normally have to pay for. “I have learned life at The Studio,” Viator said. She said the group is made up of all generations, transcending age and race. “We don’t care who you are or what you are —some are even born into it like Olivia (Busceme, Greg’s daughter).” Viator said there have been a long line of apprentices, and one even got married there. “It is such a magical place.” Busceme said it warms his heart when apprentices and children of members want to have parties or weddings at The Studio. Bridie Coughlan, daughter of tenant and ISSUE editor Andy
Coughlan, has her wedding scheduled for TASI in January. She now lives in New York, but is coming home with her friends for the nuptials. “I always assumed I would have my wedding at The Art Studio, just like most people assume they’ll have their wedding at a church,” she said. “If a church is a place where you find community and search for the meaning of life, then it makes a lot of sense to me to have the wedding take place at The Art Studio, because in my family, we’ve always used art to creatively connect and find enlightenment.”
Hard times… Through six years in the first building and four years at The White House, with the remaining time spent on Franklin, things haven’t always been prosperous for The Studio. “Every month I thought we weren’t going to make it,” Busceme said. “Until we bought the building (on Franklin), I really did sweat it out to make the note.” “There are often tough times,” Laurette said. “There were times when it was hard to pay the bills. Times when the census was very low — times when the buildings next door (fell down and) smashed our kilns — any number of things.” Their most difficult time was when the economy plummeted during the past decade — for more than one reason. “Suddenly, the bottom dropped out because all the residents had to quit. They didn’t have any money, and we weren’t having any participation,” Busceme said. “All the schools were stopped up, so we were siting around dead — doing shows, doing Band Nite, but that is about
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Art, Music: Good Marriage A mob of teenagers gather in the dry, warm Texas night in downtown Beaumont. Death metal radiates from amps and speakers as the rock band thrashes their instruments. Sweaty bodies crash into one another and stringy hair whips into the darkness as heads bang to ear-piercing reverb. Suddenly, there is a rumble — purple flames shoot into the blank sky with poofs of white smoke canvassing darkened heavens, blocking out the troposphere. “It was just dramatic,” Greg Busceme, executive director, said as he recounts one of the more memorable Band Nites of the infamous 1990s. “It required shooting salt into the kiln, which causes a whole lot of smoke and a big purple flame comes out of the stack,” he said. “I shuttered down, and flames blew out of all the holes.” He said working on his ceramics became part of the music show with patrons coming by to look at the whitehot insides of the kiln and gasping as flames shot in the air. “It was just, really, a cool night — it was a lot of fun,” he said. Busceme said everyone got very involved and were excited to be watch-
ing the kiln and have bands play at the same time. “Usually, it is dead quiet, and I am by myself — alone,” he said. “And this time, they were with me until midnight1 a.m. It created a lot of smoke, flames — everything.” In the late ’90s, before the hurricanes, The Studio hosted band nights that were always held outside. They are now inside the pit, like a real gig, so there is a guarantee they won’t rain out. Band Nite has gone through many changes. According to Busceme, it originated with local kids needing a
TASI 30 from page 5 it — there weren’t any classes.” Nobody was coming in except for art shows and Band Nite. “That is what kept us alive,” Busceme said. “The only thing that saved us was a very good friend of ours passed away and left us money.” Seven years before the mortgage was due, in the early 2000s, the bank raised the interest rate and said it would continue to do so each year. Busceme said he felt they were trying to foreclose, dumping the loan before the bubble burst on the housing market. “We had big damage from the hurricanes,” Busceme said. “It felt like we were getting beat up by everything.” The Studio, the building TASI was struggling to pay off, was damaged by a succession of three hurricanes. “Rita flooded us out and Ike did the same thing — but it also knocked our back building down,” Busceme said. “With Umberto, our kilns got damaged. It dropped our barn over on top of our kilns and another building flipped over.” Despite the adversity, Busceme said he believes The Studio has turned a corner. It is currently at full
place to practice. While he had been working on a series of metal sculptures, he was approached by novice musicians about a practice space. He warned that he would continue grinding even if they were to practice in the space. The budding musicians didn’t care about the noise or sparks, and began to gather to jam at The Studio, then located at Neches and Milam. “They would come and rehearse while I was grinding, so it began the idea that this could work,” Busceme said. “It sparked it in my head — but it
wasn’t until we were in The White House we started doing (legitimate) shows.” Ritchie Haynes, formerly of the Beaumont band Train and Vain, was one of those “kids.” “That was the first Band Nite to me,” he said. “We used to go with a whole crew of people on Sunday afternoons and evenings at the very original location.” He credits Clint Deerborn, who rented a garage apartment from Busceme at the time, with getting miscellaneous musicians together for what was eventually dubbed the Sunday Jam Session that began in 1986. Haynes said TASI was the first place he ever played. The sessions were a “free jam” of sorts, he said. Some nights it might be 10 people, and some nights there was a crowd of spectators. Some nights it was just drums and guitars, and some nights they experimented with harmonicas and even toy saxophones. “It was a freestyle, noise experiment,” Haynes said. “Everybody was just learning to play, and it was a venue
MUSIC see page 7 capacity, full of artists who are expected to be around for a while. “I feel like I have the backup of people who are willing to support us,” he said. “Because during the time when the economy was so bad, I was here by myself.” Busceme said he finally breathed a sigh of relief when the mortgage was paid off, and he feels that TASI is finally in Beaumont to stay.
Forever fringe… The Studio currently has a packed house of tenants, monthly openings, monthly band nights, monthly poetry readings, and students eager to take classes. Members of The Studio still feel slightly different than the average art studio, though. “I think we shake things up a little bit,” Busceme said. “I think we gave people the opportunity — especially folks that don’t really feel connected to society — a place (where) they can connect.” He said he thinks most of them were “Creatives,” and they don’t really have somebody to see eye-to-eye with. TASI is where they will find someone to talk about making art or appreciating it. “A big part of our goal is connecting the artist with the community and finding out what the artist can offer
them,” Busceme said. TASI makes the art that will eventually end up in the museum, Kava said. “We are the manufacturers, in a crude sense,” he said, adding that a number of artists have gone off and done pretty cool things. “This is a place where you can do a museum-quality exhibition,” Laurette said. “It has always had an influence in the community, because it lets young people know there is a way you can stay here and still be part of an amazingly artful community, and do work that you want to do.” Viator said TASI is a collective that supports the artist first, without judgment. “It is not about The Studio — it is about the community,” she said. She said it is amazing that a place like TASI exists, especially in a Southeast Texas town. “I guess when you come here, you don’t expect to see things like it,” Viator said. “It is such an underground sort of thing — we are still the redheaded stepchild of art museums of Beaumont.” Elizabeth French, TASI assistant director, contributed to the history of The Studio.
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MUSIC from page 6 where you could kind of find your feet. Most of us could play somewhat, but we didn’t have that much experience playing with other people.” People interested in the same kinds of music could get their feet wet in the process of playing. Some didn’t continue past jamming, but some continued and formed bands, he said. Train and Vain was formed out of the Sunday Jam Sessions. When TASI moved to The White House location, the band actually rented a practice space at The Studio. “That didn’t go too well,” he said. “It was too loud for the other artists. I think they were traumatized by us.” Haynes is pretty sure his band was the first to play an actual gig at The Studio. “Train and Vain came during the Alternative Show, which is kind of an outlandish kind of show,” Busceme said. “We realized it was a good marriage between the two.” Haynes said they played toward the end of the opening while people were still looking at the art. “It was majorly loud,” he said. “It was kind of a problem — but fun. There were a lot of older people that were tripping out because it was so loud. “That was part of the art of it — we were a sonic assault.” Haynes said that Busceme may not have known what was going to happen when he agreed to let the then-very-young rockers perform. It became a crazy experience, because there was a clash as art patrons were still looking at art when the music lovers showed up specifically for the band. “It was actually a good thing — bringing together two types of people — that is what The Art Studio is all about anyway,” Haynes said. The White House location is where musical performances started picking up, and eventually Band Nite was formed and officially put on the calendar as a once-a-month event. “It was also something to sell a ticket to,” Busceme said. “So we could make money off it, too, and let all the local bands play. They wanted to play no matter what, so we said sure.” He said many of the local bands started at TASI at a very young age. The Studio decided the performers had to play original music. Busceme recalls one musician saying they only had one original song. “We were like, ‘Well, play it — now next time you get two songs, and you can stay up there longer,’” Busceme said. Playing covers did not serve The Studio’s purpose. “We want to hear your music, just like we want to see your art,” Busceme said. “So why would musicians play other people’s stuff? We don’t have artists showing other people’s art. So, if you are going to come in, write your own stuff.” Busceme said Band Nite was held regularly every month. “We had two stages with backdrops and films at the same time,” he said. “It was a crazy thing — now it is a little more organized.” Just because there was an exclusive music night, doesn’t mean it was always smooth sailing. “It was such a terrible mix in some ways,” Busceme said. By the time The Studio moved to its current location, Band Nite seemed to be getting out of hand. “It got to the point where the punkers were breaking things in the buildings and stuff,” Busceme said. “We stuck them out in the barn — we never let them in the building. In the barn or outside.” He said for a while, there was such a drought that it was easy to have the bands outside without fear of a rain out. When the rain started happening, they sent them to the barn. Although patrons still had to walk more than 100 feet
through downpours to see the shows, most were kids and didn’t mind. But live music being created in the barn also lent to the walls shaking and rust and dust covering everyone. The Studio found bouncers to come and help out with unruly kids and underage drinking. The big change in atmosphere happened when Greg’s daughter, Olivia, took over — as a teenager. “She came in, and she had been living through all this hell of Band Nite,” he said. Olivia Busceme said her dad told her he used to bring her and her brother to Band Nite when they were “babes in arms.” “So we did grow up wearing earplugs to Band Nite,” she said. By the time Olivia was a teenager, antics were escalating. She was approximately 16 when she took over Band Nite. “We banned alcohol and made it like a teen event,” she said. “It was a safe place to be.” Everyone at The Studio agreed, and at that point they lost all the drinkers. The Studio still has punk bands play, but it is not as crazy as it once was. “We are more interested in Band Nites being based around music instead of getting wasted,” Olivia said. The Studio has eased off the alcohol ban as music appreciators have emerged, but nobody is getting out of control. “And we haven’t had a problem since,” Greg said. Olivia said TASI is the place to go to show off your stuff if you are starting a band with original music. “Any band that wants to play at The Studio can play,” she said. “We don’t have an elimination process. They don’t have to be good — we don’t have to like them.” Families are invited to Band Nite. “We are like, ‘Yes, bring your kid,’” Olivia said. “It is not some weird place you don’t want your kid going to. Your kids are OK in our hands. You can be an adult or a kid — it is nothing to be afraid of.” Greg said each person who took over the monthly event has lent a certain flavor to it. “It did evolve, and it turned out to be wonderful thing,” he said. “But it had to go through that process.” Band Nite is the last Saturday of every month with a $5 cover. Typically, three to five bands play each event. For lineups, check out The Studio’s Facebook page.
Special Thanks
, t r A Fine Food e n i F Two Magnolias r e s t a u r a n t in the Art Museum of Southeast Texas