Posts Tagged ‘Ellen Dressler Moryl’

A First Look at the Two Big 2011 Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibits at Marion Square Park and Wragg Square in Charleston, SC

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

By late Saturday, May 28, 2011, we had the June 2011 issue of Carolina Arts almost in the can, so Sunday morning – after we found out that Linda, my better half wasn’t going to have to go in to work on one of her days off, we decided to go down to Charleston and catch a few of the exhibits being presented by Piccolo Spoleto. She was on call Sunday, but because it was a holiday weekend – no one was going to call out on Sunday. You don’t get paid the extra holiday pay if you miss the day before. Such is the life of a 911 dispatcher.

We got a good start and found a fairly good parking space by about 10:30am. We didn’t expect that the Charleston Farmers Market was going to be operating on Sunday, but I guess everyone wants a piece of the Spoleto/Piccolo action. Money is the mother’s milk of the arts and when it comes to selling an opportunity for anyone to get in on the action – the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, who organizes the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, turns down no opportunity that will put money in their pocket or the pockets of their friends (those special arts groups). I truly expect to see beer vendors roaming the streets of Charleston during the festivals one day. More in character you’ll probably see wine vendors as a tie-in with the Charleston Food & Wine Festival.

I can hear them calling now – “Got your chardonnay here!”

So on that morning, we had to vie for parking with 3-4 church congregations, the Farmer’s Market crowd and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival crowd for a parking space. But, we did all right.

Actually, I think the Farmer’s Market is a plus – they provide the opportunity to purchase readily available food and beverages, with some musical entertainment thrown in. And, I guess every penny the City can generate in vendor fees is less that they’ll have to take from taxpayers. Some might think the arts and craft vendors at the Farmer’s Market might be competition, but the buyer makes that decision.

The minute we hit the 2011 Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit in Marion Square Park, we started to hear how the Office of Cultural Affairs had messed this show up. They have been trying to take total control of this show for years and this year was another bungled attempt at redesigning the show.

To make a long story short, one of the core aspects of this show is that it has had some of the same artists showing in a particular part of the park for years. People who attend the festivals every year know where their favorite artist is located. The artists who have been in certain spots have made close friendships with their neighboring artists.

This year the Office of Cultural Affairs decided that no artists would be “grand-fathered” in and all would have to go through a jury process to get in. What that jury process is and who does it would be one of the biggest blogs I’ve ever written, but we’re not going into that now. So some artists felt unwanted and didn’t go through the process. The jury cut was made and then all hell broke loose and some went to Mayor Joe Riley and complained and as usual he undercut his staff and reinstated the artists who had been cut, except for those who made other plans or didn’t go through the jury process – they were just screwed – twice.

Funny thing – many of the artists who were cut in the jury process won awards from the hand-picked juror Cultural Affairs selected. In fact, the Mayor’s Purchase Award was by an artist who was originally cut from the show. Go figure.

On top of that, Cultural Affairs decided to split these established neighborhoods up and shuffled the deck. So, now visitors to the show have to go on a scavenger hunt to find their favorite artists. It’s a real mess. No one likes change – especially change that isn’t an improvement.

The Office of Cultural Affairs reminds me of the Army Corp. of Engineers. Is there anything they haven’t made worse after trying to fix something?

So many of the artists are not happy campers and if this show is another ho hum year, as far as sales go, they are really going to be unhappy. This could be the last year for some – but that’s exactly what some people may want.

My suspicion is that the Office of Cultural Affairs, headed up by Ellen Dressler Moryl, has been looking at the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit as their future cash cow. I think they envision selling the spaces in the park for $1000 a pop to artists from around the country who would love to be associated with the Spoleto/Piccolo Festivals. They would learn really quickly that visitors to Charleston wouldn’t be interested in artwork made in Santa Fe, Carmel, or Sarasota – they want Lowcountry art. But, it might take them a year or two to learn that and there would always be a new crop of unknowing artists willing to put up a $1000 for the opportunity. The catch is – Mayor Riley promised the local art community that Piccolo would be for them, but the festival has had mission creep in becoming a regional affair – some participants come from way beyond our region.

Now, I’m not saying that this show doesn’t have it’s problems and couldn’t use some shaking up – there is a lot of repetition – artists painting the same landscapes and wildlife scenes. But instead of trying to tear down long standing traditions, why doesn’t Cultural Affairs start a new outdoor art venue – maybe one for emerging artists, just on weekends and in a way that the artists don’t have to make such an investment. Those tents are expensive.

If out-of-state visual artists want a crack at the Festival, set them up in Hampton Park or Liberty Park by the SC Aquarium – the hottest spot in town. But stop messing with the Outdoor Art Exhibit.

It has been rumored that Ellen Dressler Moryl will soon retire and then turn around and become a paid contractor to manage Piccolo Spoleto. What a sweet deal for her. But unless the City is planning on sub-contracting out the whole Office of Cultural Affairs – I can’t see a new head of Cultural Affairs putting up with their biggest plum being outsourced. And, why should the City pay her when she’s not an employee of the City – as far as I know, they don’t pay any of the coordinators who really organize most of the Festival. And, what would Cultural Affairs be doing this time of year if they are not managing the Festival?

Anyhoo – Linda and I spent six hours in both Marion Square and over at Wragg Square at the 2011 Piccolo Spoleto Crafts Fair. I didn’t hear any complaints over at the Crafts Fair, but I knew there were some, but the kind that can’t be helped – at least overnight. One corner of that park is in open sunlight and it was 20 degrees hotter in that section and it was already hot enough that day. I felt sorry for the artists in that section, but trees don’t grow over night. But it’s better than the old days.

The first Piccolo Spoleto Crafts Fair we went to, way back when, was at Marion Square Park in the open sun under a huge olive green Army tent. It was hotter under that tent than outside. I’d take Wragg Square any day over any of the other locations this fair has been in – other than the Gaillard Auditorium – that was a good location (inside and air-conditioned), but Spoleto doesn’t like to share.

We saw lots of good art, had a lot of great conversations – it wasn’t all bitching and when it was over we were really amazed that we had spent six hours there. Of course one hour was taken up by me being a stand-in for a model who didn’t show up for a portrait demo that Steven Jordan was giving.

I had my portrait done by Steven Jordan, The Painter of Bud Light, at Piccolo Spoleto. Now how many people can say that? It’s not finished but we hope to have the final version to show off soon.

We also learned that a lot of people in the park didn’t know that Carolina Arts had gone totally online, which is good and bad. Many are in that camp like to hold something in their hands when they read, but it was also a good thing since many will now be checking us out online. And, we’re not complaining these days as we had over 61,000 people download our May 2011 issue.

The 2011 Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit will go on through June 11, from 10am-6pm and the next 2011 Piccolo Spoleto Crafts Fair will take place June 3-5, Fri. & Sat., 10am-6pm and Sun. 11am-5pm. Both shows offer demonstrations by participating artists. Go down and take a look at all the interesting art being offered and buy something.

Social Media and the Outdoor Art Exhibit

You can keep up with the 2011 Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit with blogs and Facebook. For years Amelia (Mimi) Whaley has been blogging daily from the park on her personal blog (http://www.mimispaintingaday.blogspot.com/) starting after the first day of the festival. This year she has set up a Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit group blog (http://psoaeblog.blogspot.com/) where several people will be adding their observations from the park. You can even log onto the Outdoor Art Exhibit’s Facebook page at this link (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Piccolo-Spoleto-Outdoor-Art-Exhibit-2011/154715674583540).

It was a pretty good day away from our computers, but on the drive home I saw something very disturbing. On I-26, between Cosgrove Avenue and the Montague Avenue exit, there were six billboard signs in a row promoting McDonald’s frozen strawberry lemonade drink. Six billboards needed to show a lemon and a strawberry coming together to make one drink. That’s insane.

I hate billboards, but I realize some are informative to travelers, but this is not information – this was insane. Are people that stupid that they don’t know what you would get when you put lemons and strawberries together in a drink?

I drive into McDonald’s on occasion, but I won’t be doing it while those six billboards are there.

Now, if someone knows the phone number to the numb-nut who is in charge of McDonald’s advertising – we’d be happy to sell them an ad on every one of our pages – of every issue. Just think what a statement that would make. But don’t wait for it. We don’t let anyone advertise whatever they like in our papers. It has cost us at times, but anything and everything doesn’t go at Carolina Arts.

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Visual Art Offerings at Spoleto/Piccolo Spoleto Festivals in Charleston, SC, for 2010

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Every year I try and give interested readers a heads up on the visual arts offered during the Spoleto/Piccolo Spoleto Festivals . I haven’t seen any of these exhibits as most haven’t started yet and I’m getting ready to deliver our June issue of Carolina Arts. But here’s a bit about what’s being offered and what I know.

The Carolina art community in general is fairly focused on Charleston, SC, at this time of year due to the Spoleto Festival USA and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, which takes place from May 28 – June 13, 2010. Most interested in the arts have been reading about Spoleto in their daily papers for weeks if not months. And, let me remind you that you can read in detail about some of these exhibits in Carolina Arts May and June issues and at Carolina Arts Online – in Feature Articles, May and June (June soon to be posted June 1).

During this time period Charleston will see its largest, most art informed, arts audience. Arts writers and members of the art press – those who still have a job – will be here for their annual visit as well as art lovers from throughout the region. At least that’s what organizers are hoping. It’s still too early to tell about that.

First a few pointers, dress for warm temps, wear comfortable walking shoes, and carry some water and maybe an energy bar with you at all times. You may have to park far from the event you are headed for so pick spots you don’t have to keep running back to feed quarters in a meter. Parking at the Visitor Center will place you near four or five exhibits and you can get a day trolley pass which will take you all over downtown Charleston. Then you won’t have to worry about parking tickets at all. And, don’t leave home without your credit cards and cash. You’re going to see something you just have to own, so be prepared.

Let’s start our journey at Marion Square Park, located at King, Calhoun, & Meeting Streets, in downtown Charleston, where the 2010 Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit will be on view from May 28 – June 11, 2010 – rain or shine.  This exhibit features works by over 100 juried exhibitors from around SC, juried by Elizabeth Rundorff Smith – under tents. Demonstrations are offered daily by participating artists at 11am & 2:30pm. The exhibit runs daily from 10am-5pm – rain or shine. This is one block from the Visitor Center.

Many of the artists in this show are also represented by art galleries in downtown Charleston, so if you see a style you like, but not the work that speaks to you – the artists can direct you to the galleries where you can see more work. But, just as many are not represented by any gallery, so this is an annual opportunity to see their new work. And shop early – as the 16 days move along – the selection thins.

Some works in the Carolina Arts‘ art collection have come from artists who have done this show in the past and by some who are still putting in their annual 16 days. Doing this show is bootcamp for the arts. It’s one thing to do a weekend outdoor show, but 16 days! My hat’s off to them who can be that focused.


Photo by Ron Rocz

If you can’t get down there to visit these hearty artists, you can follow the blog of  Amelia (“Mimi”) Whaley at (www.mimispaintingaday.blogspot.com). She gives readers an inside view at what it’s like to sit in the park waiting for viewers and hopefully buyers.

Next, let’s move on to the 31st Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Craft Show and Demonstrations taking place in Wragg Square Park, located at Charlotte and Meeting Streets in downtown Charleston on two weekends: May 28 – 30 & June 4 – 6, 2010. This location is actually closer to the Visitor Center – just 1/2 a block, but it only takes place on two weekends. Admission is $3. Folks 18 and under or 65 and over get in free. If you see me walking around Charleston ask me about free passes – or if you’re in a gallery around town – ask them. But the tiny admission is well worth it. Artists and artisans represent areas from across the US. Media presented ranges from traditional to contemporary expressions; demonstrations by the exhibitors are presented throughout the shows. Hours for both weekends are: Fri.& Sat., 10am-6pm and Sun., 11am-5pm.

This event is hosted by Charleston Crafts, a cooperative fine craft gallery located at 161 Church Street downtown.

Many pieces in our art collection have also come from this annual show.

Point of disclosure: Both these events are regular supporters of Carolina Arts. So, they come first in our book.

Since I’m using the Charleston Visitor Center, located at 375 Meeting Street, between John & Mary Streets, in downtown Charleston as a focus point, I should point out a few other important factors about this location. First and foremost – it has two – listen carefully – two sets of rest rooms. They sell drinks there, it’s air-conditioned, and while you’re there you can take in the 26th Annual Piccolo Spoleto Juried Art Exhibition, on view daily from  May 28 – June 11, 2010. The Visitor Center is open daily, from 8:30am-5pm.


Work by Melissa Gravano from the Juried Art Exhibition

The exhibit, open to artists from throughout SC features works in a variety of media and is sponsored by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs and coordinated by the Charleston Artist Guild, which has their own gallery located at 160 East Bay Street.

The Visitor Center is also a hub for tourist info, tours around the city and transportation – as well as picking up a copy of Carolina Arts and the official Piccolo Spoleto program. And, did I mention they have public rest rooms there?


A previous work by Cory Oberndorfer

Also very close to the Visitor Center, a block and a half, is the Redux Contemporary Art Center, located at 136 St. Philip Street in Charleston. They will be presenting the exhibit, Novelty, a solo exhibition by Redux’s 2010 Artist in Residence Cory Oberndorfer who will create paintings in the gallery space as well as on the façade of Redux, on view from May 26 through July 10, 2010. The Center is open Tue. – Sat., noon-5pm.


Work by Nick Cave

A little further from the Visitor Center, but still within walking distance and only a few blocks from Marion Square Park is the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, located in The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts at the College of Charleston School of the Arts, 161 Calhoun Street in Charleston. They are presenting the exhibit, Call and Response: African to America/The Art of Nick Cave and Phyllis Galembo, on view from May 27 through July 16, 2010. Artist Nick Cave creates sculptural works that he calls “Soundsuits” consisting of brightly colored fabrics, elaborate embroidery, beadwork, raffia, and, other natural materials. Phyllis Galembo’s photographic portraits feature masqueraders from the West African countries of Benin, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. The Institute is open Mon.-Sat., 11am-4pm. This exhibition is an official offering of Spoleto Festival USA.


Work by Phyllis Galembo

It seems that Spoleto Festival USA with this move has finally signaled that they have thrown the towel in as far as visual art offerings and are willing to just take claim to exhibits being offered by the Halsey Institute and the Gibbes Museum of Art. This may be good for these two local institutions, but falls far short of the individual exhibitions – or site-specific installations they once offered. This is not meant to be a negative view of the offerings these folks are presenting, but they just don’t compare to what Spoleto once offered – a long time ago.

While we’re on the subject of Spoleto – the Gibbes Museum of Art at 135 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston is presenting the exhibit, as part of Spoleto Festival USA, JoAnn Verburg: Interruptions, on view in the Rotunda Galleries from May 28 – Aug. 22, 2010. Organized in conjunction with Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, the exhibition features recent portraits and large single and multi-panel architectural prints made in Spoleto, Italy. The Gibbes is open Tue.-Sat., 10am-5pm and Sun., 1-5pm. The Gibbes also offers many other exhibits – the admission here ($9 for adults, less for children and seniors and under 6 free) is the most you will pay to see any visual art offered in association with the Festivals.

The Gibbes is within walking distance to the hearty, but you can take the trolley from the Visitor Center to get there. Parking near the Gibbes is in limited supply during weekdays – a little better during weekends, but then again this is Spoleto time so parking anywhere in Charleston will be a challenge. It’s possible at times to find good spaces, but you’ll have to work at it.

On what seems like the other side of Charleston – overlooking the Cooper River and Charleston Harbor is the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, located at 34 Prioleau Street in Charleston. It may be far from most other exhibits but the gallery has a lot in its favor – public rest rooms, a parking garage across the street and the Waterfront Park in its front yard. On view from May 20 through July 3, 2010, is the exhibit, Contemporary Charleston 2010, a Piccolo Spoleto Festival exhibition presented by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, curated by Erin Glaze, gallery coordinator and artist Max Miller. The exhibit matches Artist/Poet teams including: Timmy Pakron and Carol Anne Davis; Benjamin Hollingsworth and Paul Allen; Scott Debus and Brian Penberthy; Kat Hastie and Katherine Williams; Sarah Haynes and Dennis Ward Stiles; Jocelyn Chateauvert and Carol Peters; Max Miller and Morrow Dowdle; Julio Cotto and Jonathan Sanchez; Hirona Matsuda and Marcus Amaker; and Lynne Riding and Ellie Davis. The gallery is open Tue.-Fri., 10am-6pm and Sat. & Sun., noon-5pm during exhibits.

Again, this is far from the Visitor Center, but you can take the trolley and get off at the corner of East Bay Street and Broad Street – at that point you’re just a block from the gallery.

From the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, you can walk down the park toward Charleston’s Market area to The Art Institute of Charleston Gallery, located at 24 N. Market Street in downtown Charleston. Here you can see the exhibit, Composition & Decomposition, featuring an exhibit of paintings of Tate Nation, 2010 Piccolo Spoleto Festival poster artist along with photography by Sandy Logan, 2010 Piccolo Spoleto Spotlight Concert Series poster artist. This gallery is open Mon.-Thur., 8am-8pm; Fri., 8am-5pm & Sat., 8am-1pm.


Work by Tate Nation

There are other visual art offerings being presented by the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, but if I told you everything you would have nothing to discover on your own. You can get further information by calling the Office of Cultural Affairs at 843/724- 7305, but might have better luck by visiting (www.PiccoloSpoleto.com).

And, while visiting all or any of these venues – if you keep your eyes open, you’ll notice commercial art galleries located throughout Charleston – you’re never more than a few blocks from another art gallery and in some areas of the city – dozens are within a block of each other.

Enjoy.

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Artist on Fire Present “Passing Notion?” During Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Well, it was bound to happen – we received our first press release from the Piccolo Spoleto Festival – five days after our deadline for our June issue of Carolina Arts and a month and five days after the deadline for our May issue. It happens every year – with few exceptions. Publicity – at least sent to us – seems to be the last thing on the folks in charge of the Festival’s mind.

I feel sorry for the artists involved. At this point there is not much we can do as far as our printed papers go, but we do the best we can to distribute this info – as we receive it – as best we can on our electronic media.

And one word of advice. When it comes to info about Piccolo Spoleto Festival events – it’s best to get up to the last minute info, as the festival is very fluid. I even found an updated list of sponsors for this event by checking their website. And, I just received this press release today.

PS – The name, Artist on Fire is the name of the “group” – we’re not forgetting to add the “s”.

So here’s the press release:

Piccolo Spoleto to Feature Artist on Fire’s Passing Notion?

Could there be more than meets the eye to the things we see and the experiences we encounter? Dating back from Moses’ encounter at the burning bush to current day events people have attributed important discoveries, disasters avoided, and decisions they have made, that have not only impacted their own destinies but the lives of many others, to communication from a source outside themselves.

During the internationally acclaimed Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Artist on Fire will present Passing Notion?, a multi-media exhibit that explores the way God may be speaking to us today through moments in our everyday lives. Works including photography, film, installation art, live music, sculpture, live art, landscape art, and painting by more than 12 artists search out the unusual and extraordinary messages that catch our attention as we walk through life. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

In accordance with the vision of Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Piccolo Spoleto, under the direction of Ellen Dressler Moryl, was designed and launched in 1979 by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs together with a group of volunteers from the Charleston arts community. Piccolo Spoleto prides itself in providing access to the Spoleto Festival USA experience for everyone, regardless of their economic, social or physical circumstances as well as for excellent local and regional artists, writers and performers to be showcased.

“The enthusiasm and energy exerted by the wonderful young coordinators of this project was so infectious. Young and idealistic, the co-founders of Artist on Fire are convinced that the creative output of the participating artists in Passing Notion? will unfailingly touch their audiences with all the wonder and the beauty of the arts,” says Director Moryl.

“This show will appeal to such a wide audience,” expresses Artist on Fire co-founder and participating artist Alex Radin, “because it taps into something that I think we all have felt at some time or another – that there are other layers to the things we see, hear, feel and experience.”

Featured artists include painters Alex Radin of Hanahan, SC, and Amelia (Mimi) Whaley of Mount Pleasant, SC; photographers Mahmood Fazal of Mount Pleasant, SC, Kimberly (Kimmie) Krauk of Charleston, Carson (Kip) Bulwinkle of North Charleston, SC, and Ginger Christy of Atlanta, GA; poet Sara Radin of Hanahan; sculptor Pamela Crout of North Charleston; film producers Douglas Fotia of Charleston, Larry Spann of New York City, NY, and Karen DeLoach of Summerville, SC; installation artist Beverly Currin of Charleston; and landscape architects J.R. and Holly Kramer of Remark Studio in North Charleston.

The visual artists will be accompanied by over 15 live art performers and 20 plus musicians playing original compositions and arrangements throughout the entire 17 days of the show. Opening night will feature two ensemble groups and soloists: Drew, Gabby, and Hannah Hadley on guitar, didgeridoo, djembe, keyboard and harmonica and Trey Truluck, Jer DeLoach, Emily Richardson, and Kent McAvoy playing acoustic guitar, Native American wooden flutes, hand drums, and electric guitar and Vicki Marsi playing violin and Pam Dickson on flute.

“It is an honor to be accepted as one of the visual arts events on this year’s Piccolo Spoleto agenda,” states Artist on Fire co-founder Sara Radin. “We are looking forward to our first time participating in such an applauded festival and sharing excellent art from artists who have proven themselves to be not only skilled and talented in their work, but also thought-provoking and genuine in their individual expressions.”

Artist on Fire is an organization founded by Alex and Sara Radin with a mission of seeing and providing more opportunities for artists to fully express themselves in order to be a voice of positivity and change through the creative arts. “Our goal,” says Alex Radin, “is to inspire people to dream, to see the beauty that is around them and to be a voice of hope, truth and life in this world.”

“We are so thankful and excited that so many businesses have partnered with us in helping to fulfill the vision for this show,” comments Sara Radin. “It will be an experience that art lovers and appreciators won’t want to miss and a wonderful opportunity to introduce friends and family to the world of art.”

Sponsors for Passing Notion? include Artist & Craftsman Supply, Carolina Flag & Banner, Fast Frame of Mt. Pleasant, Kim Wallin–composer & pianist, Karen’s Korner, Frametastic, Party City, Mannie Schumpert, Mood Photography, Royall Ace Hardware, FedEx Office, and Healthy Home Foods who will be providing the catering for the opening night artist reception.

From May 28 through June 13, the Piccolo Spoleto Passing Notion? exhibit will be located at Citadel Square Baptist Church, 328 Meeting Street, in the chapel off Henrietta Street, and on the third floor, in downtown Charleston. Exhibit hours are as scheduled: Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

All original artwork and prints will be available for sale, as well as CDs and DVDs from musicians and film producers who participate in the show.

For more information about the Passing Notion? show as well as other Artist on Fire events, visit their website at (www.artistonfire.com) or contact Alex or Sara Radin at (843) 270-3137.

For a ticket brochure and information on Piccolo Spoleto, call the Office of Cultural Affairs at (843) 724- 7305 or visit (www.PiccoloSpoleto.com).

Produced and directed by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs since 1979, Piccolo Spoleto is the official outreach program of Spoleto Festival USA. Piccolo’s mission is to provide access to the Spoleto Festival USA experience for everyone, regardless of their economic, social or physical circumstances and to provide the opportunity for excellent local and regional artists, writers and performers to be showcased in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival venues. Piccolo Spoleto receives support from the City of Charleston, County of Charleston, South Carolina Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Title sponsors of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival are Publix and Publix Super Markets Charities.

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My Magical Mystery Tour of Visual Arts

Monday, June 9th, 2008

On Saturday, June 7, 2008, I headed to Charleston, SC, on one of the last days of the Spoleto/Piccolo Festivals to see as much of the visual art exhibits as I2 could before some closed. This was my one window of opportunity. After this day it was on to the July 08 issue. That’s the way it always is with us – Carolina Arts. By the time we have finished our May ’08 issue the Festivals haven’t even started. By the time the Festivals do start we’ve finished the June ’08 issue and are delivering it throughout the Carolinas. When I’m finished with my 2,000 mile trek – at best, there are a few days left to see exhibitions which end with the Festivals. So it’s a mad dash.

Let me correct that statement. There’s no use mentioning the Spoleto Festival USA – they don’t offer any visual art exhibits – anymore. They did a long, long time ago, but not lately. So we’re talking about Piccolo Spoleto Festival shows and exhibits taking place during that time.

First stop, Charleston Artist Guild Gallery at 6 North Atlantic Wharf, which is near the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, another destination of the day. While I was still delivering papers in Charleston on June 4, one of the Guild’s former Presidents told me to check out their Painted Palettes at Piccolo show. I understood it was on view till Saturday, but I must have been mistaken. That show ended Thursday. If I had only checked my car copy of Carolina Arts, like others do before starting an art trek – I would have known that ahead of time. Don’t leave home without it!

I was shown a few works that had not been picked up by the artists or by people who had purchased some of the creations during the exhibit. It was nice to see that this wasn’t one of those shows where artists were given all the same shaped items to decorate. Just in the few I saw, you could see that some artists were thinking outside the box in putting their own creative touch on the theme of the exhibit. So I was on to the City Gallery at Waterfront Park which is at 34 Prioleau Street – less than fifty steps from the Guild’s Gallery.

The Vanishing Landscapes exhibition was the Piccolo Spoleto Festival’s 24th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, on view through Aug. 8, 2008. This is not the ending date given to us by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs – who operates the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. That’s why in Carolina Arts our May and June issues say the ending date is June 7, 2008. This is pretty typical of the info we receive from – whomever the new intern is each year – way back in April – before our deadline to print the May issue. Our July issue will have the correction, but as I’ve always said in the past – change is what Piccolo Spoleto is all about when it comes to the visual art offerings. Some years we had to promote exhibits where the location was still TBA at printing time. Other times new exhibits show up in the final copy of the official program – exhibits we never received notice of for our publication.

I picked up one of the exhibit catalogs upon entering the building and started looking at the works. Within ten minutes I was beginning to wonder if this was supposed to be a photography exhibition – there was a lot there and I also was wondering about how environmentally connected many of the works in the exhibit were – beyond being photographs taken of nature and an artist working the word “recycled” into the medium offered on the exhibit tag.

It ended up that photography in some form or another represented just under a third of the entire exhibit and that not many of the works in the exhibit would be sending viewers rushing out to change their habits – as far as wasting our environment away.

A photograph of a heron in the marsh is not an image of our vanishing landscape – at least not yet. It could be soon. Look – all our landscapes as we know them are going to vanish eventually – no matter how much conservation we do. I expected more images of what is responsible for the loss of landscapes now. Like an image of a heron floundering in an oil slick with an oil rig off the coast in the distance. I don’t think the Coastal Conservation League, co-sponsors of this exhibit, exactly got the exhibit they might have hoped for.

Hey, don’t get me wrong. There was nothing wrong with the artworks in the exhibit – there was some exceptional work there. And, I have nothing against photography. My background is in photography. I had a photography-only gallery in Charleston in the mid-’80s, but I was also the president of the local Sierra Club and an officer in the SC State chapter of the Sierra Club. Linda (my fair wife) and I did their newspaper before starting up our first arts newspaper. I’m very concerned about our environment and our landscape, but I just didn’t see a lot of imagery which should have made the cut into this exhibit.

It says in the exhibit catalog that 146 artists submitted work for the exhibition. Each artist could have submitted up to three works. There could have been 438 works submitted. I don’t know how many were submitted – it doesn’t say in the catalog, but only 65 were included in the exhibit. Many have little to do with a vanishing landscape other than words in a title. And, that’s too bad.

It’s still a good exhibit, worth seeing, that has a lot of good work and some great examples of the exhibition’s theme. So go see it and see what you think.

So what was the problem?

Well for one thing, contrary to what the written words in the exhibit catalog would lead you to believe, this was not the original exhibit planned for the City Gallery at Waterfront Park. Ellen Dressler Moryl, Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs had planned some sort of exhibit of Cuban works which fell through and the Vanishing Landscapes exhibit was plan B. The only problem was, she still wanted her friend, Dr. Mokhless Al-Hariri to curate this exhibit. It is my opinion that a better, more environmentally oriented curator could have attracted better entries and selected better works to be in the exhibit. Or at least made the exhibit smaller if good works fitting the theme were not submitted. As is, many works in the exhibit dilute the exhibit’s intent.

The exhibit’s Best of Show winner, an oil painting by Carol McGill entitled Scorched Earth, is a good example of this dilution and I’m sure it made the co-organizers cringe. This same work entered in another juried show might have been titled, Colorful Sunset.

Titles don’t make works an environmental work or an example of vanishing landscapes.

Another example is the work, Under the Oaks, an oil on canvas painting by Sally Hughes Smith. I like the image as a stand alone work, but as an example of vanishing landscapes – no. How many large oaks are we losing that are not victims of natural aging? We have laws about cutting trees this size in the Lowcountry. Of course it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. But is it a current threat? Are our oak trees on the verge of vanishing? Maybe underwater if we don’t change our habits fast.

A few good examples are: Monique Morales-Kroll’s digital photograph, Really, Lilies Have No Need For a Couch, which shows a sofa floating in a pond; Katy Perrin’s digital photograph, Recycle, which shows a mountain of compressed plastic bottles; or Karen A. Silvestro’s oil on canvas, Loss and Bloom, which shows a young woman with her head leaning on a large tree’s stump. In her hand is a new seedling. In the background is a forest of tree stumps.

One last thing about this exhibit. I found it strange that in the catalog there is no mention of where these artists are from. I know many are from the Lowcountry, but there was also a rumor going around that some artists were having their works placed in the exhibit by invitation. Rumors are rumors but this same rumor surfaced in another “juried” Piccolo Spoleto show Dr. Al-Hariri handled for the Office of Cultural Affairs. Could this be a reason for not mentioning where the artists are from or was it just an oversight? Who knows. But, it’s not a true juried show if some are being placed automatically.

But again, this is not a reason to not go see the exhibit and enjoy the works as they are. It’s just another opportunity lost in Charleston’s visual art soap opera.

While I was in the neighborhood – I was parked in front of the gallery – I poked my head into the Eva Carter Gallery, at 132 East Bay Street, as I can never get enough of the late, but great, William Halsey’s work and that of Eva Carter’s. After all I am an abstract kind of guy.

Next, I drove over to Nina Liu and Friends gallery at 24 State Street, to get a look at what was left of Aggie Zed’s exhibit, Bestiary. I can’t say this artist’s drawings speak to me but I can never get enough of Zed’s small human/animal sculptures and contraptions.

I then walked down (going South) Queen Street to the Corrigan Gallery at 62 Queen Street to see the exhibit, Celebration, featuring works by Richard Hagerty. This was one of several Piccolo Spoleto Invitational Exhibitions.

I know, I know, I know! In my travels from East Bay Street to Queen Street I was passing lots of other art galleries within an arms reach at times. My mission for the day was to see the Piccolo Spoleto Festival’s visual art offerings and a few things that would be gone by the time I would get back to Charleston next month. Damn me if you will, but there are just so many hours and too little me to get around. And, it’s been a tradition for me to talk about the Festival visual art offerings. At least those I get to see.

Anyway, Hagerty’s work is well known to Charleston’s visual art audience – he has been featured at Piccolo Spoleto several times, but this show was highly promoted so I didn’t want to miss seeing it. I had also promised an artist I would drop off a few exhibit catalogs there from the SC State Museum’s 20th Anniversary Exhibition, taking place in Columbia, SC. (See several blog entries here about this exhibit.) With gas near $4 a gallon, I’m going to make the best of all my travels these days.

Hagerty definitely has more vivid dreams and imagination than most people. His work is colorful and fanciful. His style is noticeable on first sight in any grouping of artworks – if you’re familiar with his work, but I saw – at least new to me – geometric works which I found interesting. By all the red dots (symbols of sold works) it looked as if a lot of other people found Hagerty’s work interesting too. This was an advantage for him – having his show in a commercial gallery. If this show had been in one of Charleston’s institutional exhibit spaces some people would have never considered that the works would be for sale. Yet, many times they can be purchased. Good thing for him and the gallery the City Gallery at the Dock Street Theatre was closed for renovations.

It would be nice if more commercial gallery shows were sanctioned as official Piccolo exhibitions. But then how do you choose and be fair to all?

Next I was off to the Charleston County Public Library at 68 Calhoun Street to return some books on CD – from my nightly travels delivering the paper and to see the exhibit, Intuitive Responses, by members of the Women’s Caucus for Art at the Saul Alexander Gallery – on view through June 30, 2008. This was their second exhibit (during Piccolo?). I don’t remember the first, but this was a really nice exhibit for the small gallery space.

I think many artists in the Charleston area overlook the library’s exhibit space, which is a shame. I think it gets a lot of exposure from library visitors – more than some bigger, more established exhibit spaces.

I want to list the names of the women participating in the exhibit. We didn’t have their names when we were sent info about the exhibit for the paper. They are: L. Jaye Bell, Sandra Brett, Betsey Carter, Leigh Ann Davis, Stephanie Drawdy, Rachel Herbsman, Tina Hirsig, Kate Landishaw, Laura Liberatore Szweda, and Sandy Tedesco. This might have been one of the better surprise exhibits of Piccolo. It didn’t get any press, but then not much of any of the visual art exhibits got much press, other than one or two – which seemed to get it all.

From the library I moved down Calhoun Street to the Addlestone Library (205 Calhoun Street) at the College of Charleston to see the exhibit, Richard McMahan’s MINI Museum, another Piccolo Spoleto Invitational exhibition, presented in the Sanders Rotunda. The exhibit was organized by Mark Sloan, Director of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the college. This exhibit is also on view through June 30, 2008. Make sure you see it.

For 18 years, Richard McMahan, a savant living in Florida, has been creating his own personal museum collection featuring miniature replicas of the world’s greatest works of art from the collections of the world’s top art museums. It’s an amazing sight to see and wonder how someone could spend so much time working on this project featuring over 1,100 works – from modern installation works to Egyptian artifacts. Students with the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston added much to the success of this exhibit by designing and constructing a structure to house and present these mini reproductions of art. Magnifying glasses are provided.

It kind of reminded me of a flea circus of the arts. “Step right up – for just five cents you can watch fleas reproduce the greatest artworks known to man.”

From this library I ventured over to the Redux Contemporary Art Center at 136 St. Philip Street to see, The Constructed Image, featuring works by five American photographers who challenge the concept of truth – as documented by the medium of photography. Photos don’t lie – right?

I ran into a snag here. There was a note on the door announcing – “out to lunch – be right back.” I was beginning to run out of time and this was the last day of this exhibit.

I went back to the College of Charleston to see the exhibit, Calin Dan, at the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art, but this space was already closed for the day. The exhibit is up through June 20, 2008, but I doubt I’ll get to see it. Deadlines!

I went over to Marion Square, at the intersection of Calhoun, Meetings and King Streets to visit the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit 2008, for the third time. I took some pictures and talked to a few artists. Considering how bad things could have been this year for this show – it seems things went all right. Not great, but all right. There were a lot of artists there with works that caught my attention. New artists from the Lowcountry and new artists from around South Carolina. Even artists all the way from the Upstate – Greenville and Seneca. Slowly this show has gotten more diverse – offering anyone something that fits their taste in art. This show is also a great place for me to get a sounding of how the visual art community is doing and what the artists are up to – from year to year. It’s interesting watching the growth of some artists, seeing how some can still surprise you, and catching up on gossip. There’s lots of gossip to be had.

This show is the “Iron-man/woman” event of the visual arts. Imagine spending the span of three weekends – outside in Charleston’s weather – sometime good – sometimes brutal. There are good crowds on the weekends but the middle of the week can be like being stuck on a ship with Ulysses during the doldrums. An artist can begin to wonder if they will ever make another sale, and then they see that familiar face walking their way – a return customer. And, life is good again. They have the wind in their face once more.

For me, a visit to this show can be torture. Linda and I have a great collection of art, but my eye – it feels I’m shortchanging it. It sees things it wants – things it covets. My eye has seen works made by some of these artists and it remembers – I have to walk away in shame. I spend a lot of time convincing my eye – someday – someday things will be different. Someday, you will not just look. But this is a burden I carry everywhere I go. It’s a curse – it’s the eyes are too big for your wallet syndrome.

Back at Redux, the door was open this time for The Constructed Image, featuring works by Luis Gispert, Daniel Gordon, Lori Nix, Chris Scarborough, and Nathan Baker. Talk about being the last hour of the last day – this was the last 15 minutes, but they kept the doors open a little longer. I’m glad they did.

That old saying – photos don’t lie – well, maybe to most people who don’t know anything about photography, but to the people who know – photographs have been lying since the beginning of the camera’s invention. Just like many painters take liberties with their subjects – so have some photographers. Imagine Matthew Brady dragging dead bodies of soldiers from a Civil War battle to make the scene look better for the photograph. It happened.

In this case, some of the photographers constructed the entire image to be photographed – controlling every small detail of the image, where others used modern technology to manipulate the image – after the fact. If you’re good at it – the average viewer will never know – left to wonder how the photographer was so lucky to catch such an image. Isn’t that what cameras do – capture images in a moment of time?

I hope a lot of people managed to see this exhibit – I was glad I did – just in the nick of time. I understand the exhibit got some national attention in Wired magazine which drew some people to Charleston to see this exhibit. How nice that they had the bonus of the Spoleto and Piccolo Festivals too.

That was it – that’s all I could see in my short window of opportunity.

One final thought. It’s a shame that with Charleston being the destination of the most art savvy audience to visit South Carolina each year that more people in the visual arts community around the state don’t take advantage of this audience. It’s a challenge with limited formal exhibition space, but it would be the best time and location for a sampler exhibition of the state’s best artists. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have transported the SC State Museum’s juried exhibition to Charleston during the festivals. Now that would have been a wonderful opportunity for the artists and festival visitors alike.

I’ve always thought that Charleston would be the perfect location for a state art museum. Just thinking out loud.

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