Picasso at the Seattle Art Museum: A Date with Destiny

There's something about Picasso that just knocks me out. Maybe it's the bit of trivia I still remember from high school days about his prolific output: "Adding up all the works he'd made in his lifetime equated to more than 1 per day of his artist career." Whether or not this is true is another matter entirely; what impressed me most was the truth to the adage about the WORK in artwork.

I also have come to appreciate just how inventive Picasso was/is. He was able to converse fluently in numerous different, parallel and yet equally fascinating visual languages. Exceptionally skilled at realism, he nonetheless delved into the esoterics of abstraction, excelling the artform to a standard that has held up in modern times like few others.

And Picasso was also fluent in multiple media, which suits my style of artmaking (no, I'm not comparing myself to a Picasso) in that an artist does not have to/should not have to be defined by what they "do," meaning paint, sculpt, photograph, etc. The media is not the message or the measure of the man; an artist can (and I believe should) explore things from multiple vantage points.

So what if I almost got tossed from the Museum (not really) for snapping this photo? I was actually after the quote on the wall, not the image.

"Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth."

Art and Science of Things: Malcom: Renfrew at Third Street Gallery

Art and science, to me, seem kissing cousins. Add religion and you have the trifold foundation of a whole lot of human thought and activity. So it interests me that Malcolm Renfrew is an artist and chemist (and researcher). I like the synergy of that kind of brain, that kind of artist. And these watercolors remind me of Charles Scheeler, which I've always liked.


Third Street Gallery is located at 206 E. Third Street, Moscow ID hours are M-F 8-5 pm.

For more information contact us at kbruns@ci.moscow.id.us or dscallorn@ci.moscow.id.us or call us at 208-883-7036.

Saranac Arts Projects: Jamie Hahn and Roger Ralson

Roger Ralston: I am investigating the line between implicit and explicitly created. I have looked through a number of lenses to find and to search out the possibilities of seeing, and looking.

One way I search out possibilities is walking. I am documenting my experience of the walks, and have assembled these as meditations on the experience. Many times the walks include reflections, and wanderings into memory. In videos I am working on, I am searching for a method to enable these experiences to be viewed.

Jamie Hahn: Rhythm is a concept I've developed in my research of making interdisciplinary work. I'm interested in directing a sense of orientation as a figure (the viewer) transitions in response to the
ground (the environment). In four dimensions, time meets the moment to integrate with tactile and visual perceptual systems, shifting the figure to ground rhythm into a moment of difference within similarity.
Exterior surfaces merge with internal spaces of contemplation in an attempt to re-identify and reveal the transformative effect of moment-to-moment perception through still and moving imagery.

Dates: November 5-27, 2010
Reception: November 5, 5-8pm

Saranac Art Projects
25 W. Main Ave
Spokane, WA

Hours:
12-5 Thursday
12-8 Friday
12-5 Saturday  

Gordon Wilson in November, Tinman

I like Gordon Wilson. He's got such a calming manner, an ever-present thoughtfulness in his face. Energy, yes, yet more of a constancy. That shows in his work, I think, although these images were a bit of a surprise. 

From his plein air experiences painting in Venice and Southern France, these are more exuberant, saturated, gooey with color and joy. 

Artist's Reception: 5-9pm

TINMAN GALLERY LLC
811 West Garland Ave
Spokane WA 99205
509-325-1500

Visual Arts Tour Fall 2010

KOLVA-SULLIVAN
The Ninth Annual "Archie Bray" show at Kolva-Sullivan was definitely worth the slog through sooty, torn-up streets resulting from Spokane's current reinvention of the Second Avenue area. What these exceptional artists do with clay is nothing short of amazing, and a testimony to the necessity and vitality of structured or critical review of one's work.

ON TO TERRAIN

Austin Stiegemeyer

They've struggled in the past with quality and capacity. Where some artists exhibiting might have really strong work, they didn't show enough to truly represent any range. Or the craftsmanship was sub-par, which can be true for any artist, even those who are studio-tested. This year, there were only a few works that truly fit the bill of "emerging" artist while many showed new talent that clearly were honing craft, content and concept. Some very good to really, really good stuff. 

I knew a fellow educator's son had work there (shown at right) but wasn't prepared for how strong his work was. Way to go Austin. I'd be thrilled to think he learned at least some of that from his high school art teacher, the incredibly-talented and so-much-more-even-tempered-than-myself, Mary Maxam.

And, following in no particular order, are other works that struck me. I could kick myself for not having a pen to write down names. But the images made an impression.

Listen to the Saranac Arts Project podcast of the Visual Arts Symposium

Saranac Symposium podcast PART ONE

Saranac Symposium podcast PART TWO

Click here to listen to the podcast of the Visual Arts Symposium from Saranac organized by our own Scott Kolbo. Good conversations.

Art in the Making in Coeur d'Alene, 2010

You might not think watching someone draw is all that exciting, but it is. It's the creative process unfolding, stroke by stroke. It's the sound of creativity, in exhalations, sighs, pauses and the scuffing and sliding across the page that results in the final image. It's the feel of creativity, and even more so, of technique, a kind of tension that exists in the delicate balance between artist and subject, and even the onlooking audience.

Art in the Making will take place in the Cda Resort Plaza and features artists like Victoria Brace, Terry Lee and Pat Parsons. 1-4pm, free admission. Sponsored by our friends at The Art Spirit Gallery.

And part of the overall arts festivities for Art from the Heart. For more info, click here.