Cindy Wingo - White River Gardens - June 28, 2001 - 2 stars

Wingo's large, splashy acrylic paintings look as though they were executed with hesitation in her first one-woman show. There is a certain naivete in the way she puts paint (out of the tube?) to her 48-inches-by-48-inches canvases. Quality-wise, the work is unbalanced, though there is a great sense of color and shape. "Guitar" was particularly striking and crossed from the decorative to the painterly with blocks of flat, unfinished color slapped together. "Grand Piano" achieved maturity in its composition and demonstrated freedom in style. Several paintings featured scapegoat techniques: letting paint dribble heavily for no intended effect and scratching through the layers to draw something in. Overall, these works were pleasing and cheery to look at, but fell short otherwise. A predominantly white untitled piece appeared as if it had been pulled off by painting over an old piece she didn't like. Some labels about influences should have been reserved for an artist's statement. Wingo's nifty signature was consistently in the lower right-hand corner of the paintings with one exception: It fell vertically in the top right corner of one canvas making the piece look like it had been hung wrong. Through July 1, 2001; (317) 630-2001 - Mary Lee Pappas

Amy Falstrom - Woodburn and Westcott - June 28, 2001 - 4 stars

Falstrom's work evokes a meditative peace bemused with fantasy. Earthy, golden yellows trickle in layers over simple, analytical, animated brushstrokes. Cross-hatched, teal blues form a muddied, fertile earth ripe with June blooming flowers in "Silent Meeting." Transparent, filmy paint gradations reveal sketched petals of individual blossoms peering from the somber, sparse ground above which two bricklike feet stand - or float? A clay-toned, still waterscape, "Floating Stones," is suggestive of Monet's nympheas murals, but careful and atmospherically faery-touched. A small-scale diptych, "Little Mountains Sant Angelo," achieves depth and realism with masterful half-inch wide strokes - every brush bristle leaving a tale-telling testament to the artist's intentional yellow, green, blue and purple mountain landscape. Falstrom's warm oil paintings are illuminated with yellow hues, evoking a comfortable serenity and a spiritual tranquility. The soft gallery lighting compliments the calm mood of the work. The "Tangle" series of solitary, abstract, tangled, pseudo-organic masses breathe a life of their own. Falstrom's oil paintings, graphite and charcoal drawings are sublimely delightful. Her etchings are superb. Through July 7, 2001; (317) 916-6062. - Mary Lee Pappas

William Austin Rent - College Ave. Library - June 12, 2001 - 3 stars

Rent, a Shortridge and Herron School of Art graduate, is a talented portrait painter creating crisp African-American-themed images steeped with religious overtones. His pieces are elegant and conservative much in the same vein as the new library currently displaying his work. Grace and sweetness prevail in these provincial, pretty portraits. Idealized subjects lack individual personality with straightforward, full-face poses. They are proud and expressionless - part folksy, part fundamentally formal with urban austerity. Personalities are suggested with symbols and visual clues. Features are smoothed out and sharply defined with very intentional and calculated brushstrokes. Colors are strictly true to life, though the environments of distant backgrounds are sometimes heavenly, misty and imagined. Despite, or perhaps because of, perfectionist painting tendencies, some of Rent's subjects have an off-sense of proportion. His style and technique are unquestionably his own. Through June 30, 2001; (317) 269-1732. - Mary Lee Pappas

VSA Arts of Indiana Group Show - The Bungalow - June 21, 2001 - 3 stars

Freedom and joy in the self-expression experience is evident in the furious finger marks in the clay art made by VSA program participants. My immediate reaction: VSA participants must be very at ease with their teachers because of the abandon and uninhibited independence demonstrated in their art. They feel it and create it. The Bungalow's eclectic, sleek and whimsical store environment befits the spirited show. The clustered clay masks, bowls and small people figures are, however, arranged too tightly together. An arm-locked, sitting, headless, clay people trio made with happy abandon gets lost alongside the throngs of other imaginative small figures. Of particular beauty was a hazy purple landscape executed on a small swatch (10-inches-by-10-inches) of untreated canvas; a blue structure sits on an impulsively-imagined orange-touched green foreground, flat against a lavender sky. This artist understands color. Another piece we'll call "bust of a white kitty" was very impressive as were the clay life-size, and proportionately correct masks. Nurturing self-expression with technique is freely balanced in this show. www.vsai.org. Through June 27, 2001; (317) 253-5028. - Mary Lee Pappas

Marc Jacobson - Indianapolis Museum of Art - June 14, 2001 - 3 stars

Jacobson, a Herron associate professor, creates stock urban landscapes on paper using gesso and pastel. Some ooze jazz, while others catch a nasty funk. Fortunately, a light and fiery jazz number of the steam plant on West Street (I think) will greet you as you exit the elevators onto the third floor of the IMA. Jacobson's work ordinarily looks as though it was produced using a recipe for proportion and depth of field with a dash of color instinctively thrown in. This single piece depicting urban industrial Indianapolis was splashed with soft blues and pinks to create a chalky, furious, foggy, mundane, familiar moment in an appeasing fashion. A nasty, ugly, polluting machine aesthetically radiates with Jacobson's magical, artistic interpretation. Cool tones and smooth flowing impromptu black lines from the turn of his wrists are delicate, but ever-present. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, teh Jacobson must be high on life. Through July 1, 2001; 317-923-1331. - Mary Lee Pappas

Justin Cooper - The Monon Coffee Company - June 14, 2001- 4 stars

Fourteen works from a 22-piece series depicting Mayan gods of thunder and rain, maize and the merchant are the latest creations from Justin Cooper. The square and diamond-textured acrylic paintings are hung together, as if they were one large piece, along the coffee shop wall. Cooper's signature subject - soft and stoic, fluid, nude women - strike kneeling, lounging and standing poses suggesting bas-relief plaques from Chiapas or Copan, while still retaining his very distinctive modern look. Random Mayan numeral symbology surrounds the blue (thunder and rain), red (maize), and grey (merchant) women and compliments Cooper's elemental patterned style, creating a fantasy world with a new cosmology. Layers of paint build up the surfaces in small strokes over rich gold underpainting, illuminating the pieces and giving them a depth that glows and shimmers under the low light of the Monon. Through June 30, 2001; 317-255-0510. - Mary Lee Pappas

"2001 Herron Alumni Show" Herron School of Art - June 14, 2001 - 2 stars

The Herron Alumni Association's second annual alumni show showcased a hodgepodge of alumni art, making one question the juror's sensibilities. Unlike the first alumni show, this second incarnation was juried (to veto macrame?) and featured Herron grads from 1943 to 2000. Miraculously, Jack Monninger Jr.'s "Adrift," a poor man's seascape mightmare of crap glommed onto canvas, managed to find its way into the show. Kelly Spangler Mallaby's "Flight," or as the label read, "Filight," was nothing more than handmade white paper goop delicately dripped with green color and pink iridescent party confetti. In contrast, wispy, wispy painted chunks of flesh and shadow made Teruko Schutte's "Figure S" a beautiful standout and a show-saver. Depth and movement made by sweeping, curving vut lines and cool color tones created soft but strong images in tow wonderful woodcuts by Judy Leiviska. Pat Cotton's traditionally Impressionistic "Witness" was easily the most refined piece in teh show. Five flattened figgures became fields of green and white offset by layers of undercoating. The illusion of depth is decoratively precise. June 6-13; 317-920-2420. - Mary Lee Pappas

"The Human Form Divine" Antonio Criscimagna - John Domont Gallery - May 31, 2001 - 4 stars

Antonio Criscimagna's debut consists of figurative works. Criscimagna is a creator, rather than painter. Adrenalin and instinct make these unplanned paintings about basic human intimacy and companionship very effective, some more than others. 

He produces large, untitled paintings (most in the range of 60-inches-by-42-inches) in a hunter-gatherer vein, foraging for paint tubes in his boiler room studio cave. Thick layers of black acrylic paint frame stark grey and white nude human forms. The simple effect is eerie and calm. 

Criscimagna doesn't use models, and so his figures are gutteral and take on earthy forms. Soft lines, abstract proportions, and featureless oval heads all recall a rhythmic, organic, Old Stone Age sophistication, yet elegantly convey contemporary beauty and man/woman/earth unity. The 2000 A.D. angular bodies look chiseled from stone, vaguely reminiscent of Cycladic marble idols c. 2000 B.C. Two biblically themed pieces push his human abstractions to obvious Picasso proportions. 

Overlapping shapes energetically engulf each other to perfectly portray Eve emerging from Adam's rib. Distorted lines create the readily recognizable story in an effective modern icon manner. 

Through June 30, 2001; (317) 685-9634.

NUVO Newsweekly, May 31 - June 7, 2001

Page 23

Mary Lee Pappas

"Remembering the Ladies: The Early Years of the Indianapolis Retirement Home" - May 31, 2001 - 1 star

The Indianapolis Retirement Home is a very lovely facility that has played an important and unique historical role in our community. Founded in 1867 as the Home for Friendless Women by two Civil War nurses, the home rescued women destitute, widowed adnd some "fallen" after the war. The hom's name has been modified many times in the last 134 years as the home's role distinctivly evolved from originally assisting the transient to its current function as a charming retirement community. 

"Remembering the Ladies," an exhibit by IUPUI museum methods students, unfortunately only weakly brushes (and chops) the surface of this altruistic and generous organization that has remained philanthropically bighearted. Regardless, it is a viable history lesson about a remarkable institution. Rich with its own utilitarian antique finery - portraits of the founders, aged bronze plaques and gorgeous furnishings - the home is a natural, spontaneous history lesson in itself. The student work is a diminutive and mildly interesting accent to the already significant space. 

For more information about he Indianapolis Retirement Home located at 17th adn Capitol, visit www.indianapolishistory.org, www.indyretirement.org. Through summer 2001; (317) 924-5839. - Mary Lee Pappas

NUVO Newsweekly, May 31- June 7, 2001

Page 23

Mary Lee Pappas

April Show - April 27, 2001

 This is the program from The April Show, April 27, 2001

David Hittle, Harry Bloome, Zara Stephens, Thomas Curtis, Jeanette Tibbs, William McKenna, Berry Connell, Jerome Neal, The April Show, Painter, artist, Indianapolis, Naive, outsider

Sunsets and sunrises - 77th Hoosier Salon Annual Exibition at the Indiana State Museum - April 14, 2001

Sunsets and sunrises 

 Pictured: ‘Serenity’ by John Domont, one of his two paintings that will reside in the Indiana State Museum. 

The Hoosier Salon stepped out of the doldrums and into the 21st century with its 77th annual exhibition of Salon artists at the Indiana State Museum. The paintings of kitties, doggies and uninspired Indiana landscapes normally found in this show were still present, but carried an eclectic and acceptable charm when shown alongside their new, dynamic counterparts. 

Illia Raha's "When I Was a Child," an abstract oil of fluid, radiating gold and purple, dreamlike hues, virtually exploded off the wall — especially when juxtaposed with the subtle foliage of its painted neighbors. "A Story of Stones," by Sam Sartorius, was another wonderful large-scale abstract with a subdued earth palette. 

Patricia Rhoden-Bartles’ "Visions Upward" takes the typical Indiana landscape in a new direction — literally upward. The view/composition is unusual. You peer through bare, golden-orange-touched branches into a robin's egg blue sky. Her brushstrokes are furious and inspired. 

John Domont's farm landscapes, "Serenity" and "Contentment," radiate with an ethereal heat unique to Indiana sunsets and sunrises. A familiar red barn is blue in shadow against the glow of a hot red twilight. This stylistic break from the Hoosier Salon norm still reflects Indiana’s sense of place. 

The diversity of the Hoosier Salon exhibition is traceable to Ginger Bievenour, the Hoosier Salon's executive director of three years, and a renewed board of directors. Artist recruitment has been pushed and varied aesthetics have been encouraged under this new leadership. "I love abstracts," Bievenour said in discussing the current Salon show. "I was truly euphoric when pieces started coming in." 

This show solidifies the fruitful collaboration between the Indiana State Museum and the Hoosier Salon. Both entities are anxiously looking toward the future of art education and heritage in Indiana. Proof in point: Domont's two atypical Hoosier Salon works were purchased for the Indiana State Museum's fine art collection by Douglas L. Tillman, a Hoosier Salon vice president, and will be displayed prominently in the museum’s future 50,000-square-foot Permanent Gallery. Caroline M. Mecklin's figurative oil, "Sleeping Man," and Angel C. Mercado's "Morning at the Light House" were also purchased by the Indiana State Museum Foundation from the show for the Indiana State Museum's permanent fine arts collection. 

"We want a more comprehensive grouping of Indiana artists," Jim May, fine arts curator, said of the Indiana State Museum's fine arts collection. The quasi-Impressionistic Hoosier Group replicas thought of as the traditional meat-and-potatoes of Indiana art are not an accurate representation of art produced here since 1940. "We are making every effort to cover those years," May said. 

May became curator in 1993 and shortly thereafter something wonderful happened at the Indiana State Museum: The paintings along the staircase finally rotated. And now, the rest of the 20th century in Indiana fine art is being investigated and displayed. A 10,000- to 15,000-square-foot gallery in the new facility will survey Indiana's art history in addition to the 50,000-square-foot Permanent Gallery. Attention potential art donors: Pieces by Mary Beth Eddelson and John Chamberlain are desired. 

The efforts of Bievenour and May certainly will continue to move Indiana art forward. As Bievenour said, "The courage of an artist’s convictions to do new work must be applauded and encouraged." 

 Select works from the 77th Hoosier Salon Annual Exhibition will be featured in a statewide traveling tour. Call the Salon for details at 253-5340. mpappas@nuvo.net

NUVO Newsweekly, April 19-26, 2001

Mary Lee Pappas

Hoosier Salon, John Domont, Indiana State Museum, Jim May, Illia Raha, Sam Sartorius, Patricia Rhoden-Bartles, Douglass Tillman, Ginger Bievenour, Hoosier Salon Annual Exhibition, Caroline Mecklin, Angel C. Mercado, Mary Beth Eddelson, John Chamberlain, landscapes, paintings, art, artwork, museum, Dane Love, abstract paintings, abstract art, 77th Hoosier Salon Annual Exhibition

Allotropy Trois

Primary Colours, a local arts organization, will present their third benefit art exhibition, Allotropy Trois, Friday, April 13, 5-10 p.m., and Saturday, April 14, 3-9 p.m., at the newly renovated Harrison Center for the Arts at 1505 N. Delaware St. You can eat ribs and drink beer compliments of Rock Bottom Brewery and indulge in the crazy revelry that will be going down at this artsy engagement.

It's your chance to sneak peak at the rehabbed church reinvented into beautiful artists studios and performance spaces. You can be seen, be cool and contribute to local arts for a measly $5 admission. Proceeds from admission and art sales benefit AYS (formally At Your School Child Services, Inc.), an after school arts suppler program that holds three-week intensive art camps called Reach for the Stars. 

Twenty-seven local artist will fill 8,000 square feet of the Harrison Centre with their creations available for you to acquire and beautify your habitat. Mingle while Mpozi merry-makes by spinning dub Reggae. Blend in with the scene while blues duo Los Daddios delights with melancholy mandolins. Incidents of martial arts dance madness (Karate Kid meets Electric Boogaloo?) will occur with the group Capoerira. Imagine, in slow motion, aromatic karate chops with a break dancing edge accompanied by sluggish drum grooves - that's the innovative Capoerira. The contemporary dance company Sussurus will also be performing the same night.

AYS will display work by their talented staff as well as provide a glimpse into their summer camp world. You can register your first through fifth grader for the AYS camp at Allotropy Trois also. The camp will be held at Broad Ripple High School and the Harrison Centre for the Arts in two sessions spanning June 18-July 6. Camp fee is $330. Call (317) 283-3817 to register for camp or get more camp information. Call (317) 916-2874 for more Allotropy information. 

NUVO Newsweekly, April 12-19, 2001

Mary Lee Pappas

 

"Fascinating Fascination" Bill Mack - Wheeler Arts Community - Feb. 4, 2001

Fascinating "Fascination"

The unveiling of “Fascination,” a large limited-edition bonded bronze relief sculpture, Feb. 4 was clumsy, at best, as people huddled to get a glimpse of it down a dimly lit hall on the second floor lobby of the Wheeler Arts Community near Fountain Square. I thought this was an awful spot for such a bulky work. 

Frank Basile, a man devoted to and actively, generously supporting Indianapolis arts, donated the piece to the new Wheeler Arts Community because it was simply too big for his new home. Besides, he had to have the wall in his previous residence reinforced just to hang the bronze. The sculpture, by California artist Bill Mack, is quite commercial and yes, cheesy, by all appearances. The good-humored Basile said he purchased the piece on impulse at Trump Towers and recounted how his family reacted when it was shipped home. They didn’t like it. In the future, I would recommend local sculptor Pat Mack (absolutely no relation!) for your one-of-a-kind, large-scale bronze figurative needs. The $7,500 current retail price of “Fascination” would have fed a few Indianapolis artists. 

Bill Mack is a virtual McDonald’s of an artist, serving up more limited editions (available on eBay) of idealized, naked seductress, romance novel cover-type women with 1980s hair than any pubescent wet dream could handle. They easily date circa 1990s because the breasts are so obviously augment-inspired. With titles like “Sultry,” “Passion,” “Elvis, Elvis,” “Stallion,” and “Fantasy,” it’s no wonder that Kenny Rogers and Bill Clinton are Bill Mack art owners. 

Three cheers to Basile! He was a delightful host at the ceremony, enthusiastically shaking hands and chatting with everyone. 

The Indianapolis Star refused to print a photo of the sculpture because they said their paper is family-oriented. Running it would be inappropriate. That’s what Basile told me anyway. You can access the image at www.artbrokerage.com/retail/mack/mack_fascination_bronze.html or www.divart.com/graphics/mack/fascinationBr.jpg. 

Or feast your eyes right here ... mpappas@nuvo.net

For contrast...from the Indianapolis Star. 

They wouldn't publish an image of the sculpture.

Bronze, female nude, Frank Basile, Wheeler Arts Community, Bill Mack, Fountain Square, sculpture, Indianapolis Star, censorship, Nude,

Expelled From the Gardens - White River Gardens - Feb. 1, 2001

White River Gardens is a glorious facility. They have orchids, butterflies and now they have art. Local galleries regularly rotate work in the Schaefer Rotunda and Grand Hallway, adding another aesthetic dimension to the Gardens experience. Earlier this month, I visited the Gardens to see two quirky oil portraits by Claudia Rush, a friend, whose work is part of the current exhibit from Byron and Sons Galleries. The largely flora and fauna paintings perfectly suit the environment. 

On a sunny Thursday afternoon, I sat on a bench and observed visitors (all aged 50 plus) chattering about the art. Most were fascinated by Claudia’s unconventional work. A painting called “Wired” depicting a serene young woman wearing a chicken wire cage contraption around her head was affectionately termed “strange” by one fascinated visitor. “Not Alone” depicts the same woman sitting at a dressing table cluttered with mementos. Intrigued, one man said, “I bet there are 50 levels of interpretation to this piece.” I was thrilled to see local art displayed so successfully at this bustling civic venue. 

But when I called Claudia to relay the active interest Gardens audiences had taken in her work, I learned that a painting of hers was censored from the show for its nude content by White River Gardens administrators. Curious, I went straight to Byron and Sons Galleries to view it. 

This was it? This was expelled from the Gardens? I expected something explicit, obscene, vulgar. This little painting of a nude pregnant woman seemed modest and subdued compared to more traditional nudes — for instance, “Glow of Gold, Gleam of Pearl” by William McGregor Paxton, on view in the American Gallery at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. 

I wondered: Who is responsible for this censorious insecurity and for what reason? How unsophisticated do White River Gardens administrators believe their audience to be? As lovely as the White River Gardens exhibit is, it’s a burning reminder of how artistically unprogressive Indianapolis is — and not by the fault of its artists. 

The White River Gardens exhibit, Seasons, will continue through March 4; 1200 W. Washington St. (630-2001). Byron and Sons Galleries is located at 876 Massachusetts Ave. (916-2465). mpappas@nuvo.net

 

Honest Arrogance

Sherman Alexie tells it his way

By Mary Lee Pappas

Sherman Alexie is a normal dude for a hugely successful, young author. He wakes up late, watches TV, plays basketball, hangs out with the family and drinks too much diet Pepsi. He even had a mullet hairdo for a time. His abnormality may be his talent. “I get accused of being arrogant. That’s a word that always gets thrown in my way as if it was an insult – and it’s a compliment.“

“Every artist on this planet is an arrogant bastard. The creation of art is an arrogant process. To believe that other people would somehow be interested in your opinion of anything is arrogant. It’s hugely arrogant, so I am arrogant, but then so is everybody else. At least I’m honest about it and I’m ambitious and I’m honest about that.“

During our interview, Alexie is honest about Bobby Knight – he’s a fan. He’s honest about Indiana – “It’s extreme Bible Belt. It’s not the hotbed of intolerance. It’s the birthplace of the KKK. It’s not Wisconsin. It’s funny that a state named after Indians has a reputation for intolerance.“ He was honest about his favorite color – blue and varied derivations of blue.

Alexie's honesty extends into his works. His characters are believable people mostly Spokane and Coeur d’Alene Indian like himself. His straight narrative exposes the naïve, humble side of people – their insecurities, their quest to be true to themselves. “Everybody has that same struggle for identity regardless of their race, their culture or class. You know, Hemingway‘s white guys are struggling for their identity.“

Alexie found main stream success while breaking down popularly defined themes of the West and Indian people. He explains that what usually happens with Indians is that non-Indians represent them “whether it be painting, photography, music, movies, books whatever… they’re always portrayed as the experts and Indian artist never get that designation… we’re just the Indians. It all relates back to Indian images. Indian images have always been owned and determined by non-Indians." He describes the role famed Western artist, Remington and Russell, have had as “uncomplicated, unquestion images about what Indian is. It’s all the same damn image of that stoic, big-cheeked, big-chinned, Indian warrior and that’s still the case in mascots. We don’t get to smile!“

He goes on to say that “Pop culture has not changed its treatment of Indians very much. Tonto is still alive. The national idea of what Indians are hasn’t changed very much. I mean, there are only two kinds of Indians allowed in the national consciousness: the environmental savior or the hostile warrior. And it’s been that way since the very beginning."

A bad-guy cop reads a Tony Hillerman mystery in Alexie ‘s novel Indian killer. Hillerman's a popular non-Indian author, setting his mysteries on the Navajo Pueblo. "He writes good mysteries, but they’re pretty much Navajo 101,“ Alexie says.

Hillerman‘s fans perceive him as an expert. “I don’t think he does a whole lot to contradict that image. I’d be curious… he’s made millions of dollars writing about Navajos. I wonder how much of that money Navajos have benefited from?“

In contrast, Alexis‘s characters are complex, normal people, not generic Indians. They do not mirror or feed the stereotypes, nor do they except them. They struggle with the stereotypes.

So where can people who don’t want to be colonizers get a proper idea of history? “Stay away from anything that has spirituality associated with it." Alexie recommends turning books over to check the category. “If it says spirituality, self-help or New Age don’t read it.“ No medicine bundles from the 7-Eleven either. “Stay away from any spiritual text involving Indians, including those written by Indians.“

So what resources should someone with any interest in anything Indian turn to? Alexie rattles authors off with whippet speed, “Read fiction written by Indians. Stay away from history books." He recommends Simon Ortiz, Joy Harjo, Scott Momaday, James Welsh, Adrian Lewis, Linda Hogan, Louis Erdich.

Speaking of spirituality, we have mascots. Alexie explains that mascots shouldn’t be talked about in terms of race: (P)eople get defensive because they think they are being accused of racism and nobody wants to be accused of that, not even racist.“

He suggested mascots be viewed from a religious standpoint. “Those feathers, those beads, those songs, that warpaint… all of that is Indian religious iconography. Mascots are not racist, they’re actually blasphemous. I would think that religious organizations - you know Christian, Buddhist, what have you - would actually be on our side in this. You would never see a Catholic priest running around the floor of the gymnasium throwing Communion wafers into the crowd. It’s the commercialization of somebody’s religion. I would think that religious people wouldn’t tolerate that. I’m interested in portraying this in a more common light and trying to appeal to peoples better instincts. And the fact remains that nobody wants their religion ridiculed. They got rid of the Sambo imagery, they got rid of Frito Bandito imagery and now they have to get rid of Chief Wahoo."

I ask him what he thinks people are looking for in his work. “I have no idea.“ I say that I know they don’t get all of his jokes because I don’t get all of his jokes. “I don’t get all the jokes,“ he says downing Diet Pepsi from a liter container. When I ask him what he wants people to know about him, he gives me an arrogant, honest answer. “People are going to think what they think I have no control over that.“

"So Long Owen Findsen, Hello Descriptivism" by Steve Ramos - City Beat - 11.16.2000

So Long Owen Findsen, Hello Descriptivism
By Steve Ramos
City Beat

On one level, this column is a sincere farewell to Cincinnati Enquirer visual arts critic Owen Findsen, whose retirement from the morning daily is impending. A good-luck party is planned Friday at The Carnegie in Covington.

Now, I need to make somewhat of a disclaimer. I really don't know Findsen. We've been introduced on a few occasions, but I wouldn't refer to us as even friendly acquaintances. Still, I wanted to publicly recognize Findsen and his work at The Enquirer.

It's my hometown newspaper, too, so when the visual arts critic at the city's dominant media outlet steps down I wonder what's going to be done to replace him. I value the arts community in Cincinnati. More importantly, I'm aware how crucial it is for The Enquirer to cover the arts in a substantial and serious manner.

All of which explains my farewell to Findsen. I'm a little uneasy that the paper's visual arts critic is stepping down with no replacement in sight. My guess is that local artists and art administrators are uneasy, too.

Decisions by Enquirer editors are none of my business, of course, though I've heard that Findsen's job has been posted. But in light of the recent downsizing of arts coverage into the Sunday food section -- the result being an embarrassing section called Tempo-Taste-The Arts -- I find it hard to believe that Findsen will be replaced in a competent or professional manner.

People might find fault with the editorial assignments given Findsen -- Big, Bigger and the Biggest Pig Coverage -- but there was never any doubt about the experience and the knowledge behind his writing. Now, at a time when many daily newspapers hire critics with no knowledge of the subject they're reviewing, you have to wonder who will take Findsen's place.

"I think it's important for the public to have an experienced critic who can break it down and make an impact," says Dialogue Executive Editor Meg Galipault. "A lot of newspapers hire critics with no knowledge, and that's really a shame. Instead of getting a full understanding of the visual arts, esthetics and some kind of humanity lesson, the readers get what I call descriptivism: 'This is a painting with a blue box and the blue box sits on a green field.' "

At Dialogue, a bi-monthly arts publication focusing on Midwest artists and exhibitions, Galipault knows first-hand how important local coverage is to a city's cultural scene. She also understands the impact an arts critic can make on the local arts community.

"My experience, based on the Columbus scene, is that the local arts critic is vital to the community," she says. "They raise the profile of local artists. Granted, the level of criticism is not what it should be, but at least it's there.

"Daily newspapers have a great responsibility to the community regarding the arts. You're not going to see it on television. And if you are at all concerned about a city's cultural life, you have to report on it."

Some Cincinnati artists currently are planning a letter-writing campaign to protest the recent downsizing of The Enquirer's arts coverage. Key arts administrators hope for a personal meeting with Enquirer Editor Ward Bushee, though it's not clear what their impact might be.

As I said, I care about the quality of arts coverage in The Enquirer. Most Cincinnatians don't subscribe to Art in America or Dialogue. The New York Times covers just the New York arts community and national stories. A weekly newspaper like CityBeat can only do so much when it comes to comprehensive coverage of the visual arts community.

Like it or not, Cincinnati artists and arts institutions need Enquirer coverage. On the eve of Findsen's departure, one wonders what that coverage is going to be from here on out.


Contact steve ramos: sramos@citybeat.com
E-mail Steve Ramos

 

Allotropy Dos!

Primary Colors, an inspired brotherhood comprised of artists Fred Shields, Jeff Martin, Tony Garcia, Robert Evans, III and Dane Sauer, presents Allotropy Dos, their sequel benefit for the Urban Arts Consortium. Their mission: to pursue positive changes in our community through awareness of cultural diversity, education of children, as well as adults, and artistic expression. Your $5 donation/access fee to the hoopla production will included beer and hearty grub compliments of Rock Bottom Brewery. Original art available for purchase. Follow the search light to Rock Bottom Brewery at 10 West Washington St. - the exhibition takes place on the floors above! October 13, 5 to 11 p.m., October 14, 3 to 9 p.m. Advance tickets are available at The Bungalow, MT Cup, The Monon Coffee Co., Northside News, and NUVO.

Gruesome Gallery

On the first day of Halloween, my arch foe gave to me...very pretty decoupage, swirly, mosaic painted frames, vases and decorative items for the home from the Bungalow. My arch foe has great taste. Intricate images of creepy cats, icky witches, sardonic Satans and other patrons of THE Hallowed Eve embellish everything that artist Gretchen Banning can get her hands on. Tiny spooky images twist into tricky tangles. A complex of dinky demonic deviance cover her glassware, furniture and paintings. Said objects of temptation (treats if you will) will be featured at the Bungalow for your All Saints Day decorating needs during the month of October. Mr. E. DJ will spin appropriately dark music 6 to 9 p.m. at the appropriately ominous opening reception on October 6. The Bungalow is located at 924 E. Westfield Blvd., (317) 253-5028.

 

Bizarre and all true: Greg Brown

Greg Brown of Utrillo's Art is an intellectual social historian wild man. Two-D specimens of mundane popular “art" pieces of the 20th century - every man’s art – fill the crotchety confines of his rather unarchivally sound gallery space. Fashionable wall art of the middle classes, and then some, is staggered about. Kitsch. Campy. Bizarre and all true. Once upon a 1963 suburb, someone’s Aunt Lula displayed a self-generated paint-by-numbers of kittens on black velvet. These cheaply framed relics are again appreciated, salvaged from salvage stores, shedding a new dim and dusty light on how our culture has perceived art and the length (Mother, may I take one giant step to the craft aisle at Walmart?) we’ve gone to do it ourselves in our instant coffee worlds. Greg knows this. He is a cultural historian. A thinker.

Brown is also an apt painter, a good one at that, putting his pop collections to shame. A series of monumental wood panels (15 major groupings, containing a total of 126 panels) inspired by “The Secret Kingdom,“ a pamphlet written by Brown, the thinker, will open Friday, September 1 with a reception beginning at 7 p.m. The body of work is called The Kingdom of Heaven is like the Psychological Realm. Pieces have a religious orientation. They resemble stained glass windows with deep cobalt hues and geometric patterns. Arches of light look like doorways to heaven and or entries into a lion filled arena. The exhibit will run through September 4 in the Legion Hall directly across from Utrillo's Art, 3318 E. 10th St. Call (317) 684-3883 for info. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

*Artist, Utrillo's Art, Greg Brown, Visual artist, Indiana, The Secret Kingdom, Painter, Indianapolis gallery

Brian Sewell quote on contemporary art criticism, Evening Standard, November 10, 1994

Brian Sewell quote on contemporary art criticism - Nov. 10, 1994

"Art criticism everywhere is now at a low ebb, intellectually corrupt, swamped in meaningless jargon, distorted by political correctitudes, anxiously addressed only to other critics and their ilk."

Brian Sewell (contemporary), British writer, Evening Standard, November 10, 1994.