Carolina Arts Unleashed

Each month a few days after our deadline (25th of the month) for inclusion on our website version of the paper, Carolina Arts Online, goes by, our e-mail runs like an open water tap – the late press releases just flow in. They all start the same way – “I think we may have missed your deadline, but if there is any chance you can fit this in…”. That kind of logic always hits me in a funny way. If you think you may have missed the deadline, it means you might have a clue as to when it is, and if so – you know you missed the deadline. Some would plead – why have a deadline for things that will only go on the website anyway? They understand when it comes to the printed version of the paper, but they think of the website as something that’s continuous – in a process of constant updating. But, if we did that, there would never be another printed version of the paper as we would always be updating the last issue. So we have to have deadlines and we have to stick to them.

So, why am I doing what I’m doing? You got me. Occasionally something comes in late that is a shame it didn’t make the deadline and you try to do something to give it some life. I have no idea these days if any other media will publish any of this info and our readers are a different brand all together – so I make an exception and then it just snowballs until you get to the point and say – no more.

I wish people did a better job with publicity, but most just don’t get it. What good does it do to offer a great event, an interesting exhibit or an important gathering and wait till the last minute to tell people about it? No good at all and if you still think it’s the media’s responsibility to go out and gather this info – get real, step aside, and let someone else do the job.

So, here is a few things we might have missed.

“Phillip’s Gate”

Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, is presenting the exhibit, Leo Twiggs’ Hurricane, on view in the Milliken Art Gallery through Sept. 24, 2009. The exhibition commemorates the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Hugo.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is East Wind Suite: The Hugo Series, 1990, a series of nine batik paintings which Twiggs created the year following Hurricane Hugo’s devastation of the South Carolina lowcountry, his childhood home. In addition to this series, the Milliken Art Gallery will display fifteen of Twiggs’ batiks from his personal collection.

The East Wind Suite paintings have not been shown together publicly since their premiere at the Hampton III Gallery in Taylors, SC, in 1991, at which time the series was purchased in its entirety by Greenville businessman Jack Shaw and his wife, Jane, who have loaned the works for the exhibition.

“Converse College is honored to celebrate the masterful skill and emotional power of Dr. Twiggs’ creative expression. When Hurricane Hugo devastated South Carolina’s lowcountry twenty years ago, this talented artist and visionary educator found beauty, hope, action and inspiration in the destruction. His work is much like a phoenix rising from the ashes. With our focus on creativity at Converse, Dr. Twiggs’ life and work are exemplary models,” said Converse president Betsy Fleming, who authored the forward of the exhibition catalog. “Dr. Twiggs and his layered creations involving signs and symbols, people and places of South Carolina are authentic and original. His life’s story, his painstaking creative process of batik, and his determination and skill as an art educator reveal a pride, purpose and passion for South Carolina.”

“First Breeze”

Leo Franklin Twiggs was born in St. Stephen, SC, in 1934. From early on he knew great responsibility; he was in junior high school when his father died and, as the oldest of seven children, he began working to help support the family.

He was a bright student and a hard worker. Encouraged to pursue a college degree, Twiggs worked odd jobs to finance his education. In 1956 he became the first person in his family to graduate from college, receiving a BA summa cum laude from Claflin College in Orangeburg, SC.

At the time Twiggs graduated, South Carolina graduate arts programs did not admit African-American students. So Twiggs left the South, studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and then at New York University, where he received his MA and studied with Hale Woodruff, the acclaimed African-American painter and muralist.

In 1964 he returned to South Carolina and joined the faculty at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, where he would remain for more than three decades. He was instrumental in developing the university’s Art Department and I.P. Stanback Museum. Twiggs was named Professor Emeritus in 2000.

During his time at South Carolina State, Twiggs also completed a Doctorate in Arts Education at the University of Georgia. He was the first African-American person to do so.

In 1981, Twiggs received the Verner Award (Governor’s trophy) for outstanding individual contributions to the arts in South Carolina, the first visual artist so honored.

Twiggs has presented over seventy-five one-man shows and his work has received international recognition, with exhibits at the Studio Museum and the American Crafts Museum in New York and in US Embassies in Rome, Dakar and Togoland among others. His work has been widely published in art textbooks and featured in several television documentaries. He was selected to design an ornament for the White House Christmas tree in 2001 and 2008.

Hampton III Gallery represents him in the Southeast and his studio is located in Orangeburg, where he is Distinguished Artist in Residence at Claflin University.

“Twiggs’s art is intensely personal but never strident. Whether through depictions of the violence of a hurricane, the complexity of racial relations, the romance of southern rivers, or the bonds of family, he interweaves his experiences into a coherent narrative, because most of his works occur in series, where his symbology of that experience becomes recognizable and revelatory,” writes William Eiland, director of the Georgia Museum of Art.

Twiggs began experimenting with batik, an ancient process that uses dyes and hot wax to decorate fabrics, in 1965. He demonstrated the process during a classroom exercise with students, became intrigued, and began to innovate. It has remained his medium of choice for four decades. “From the outset my aim was to control the viscosity of the dyes and orchestrate the crackles to make them work as plastic elements in the design of my paintings. It is a long and tedious process, but, like jazz, it embraces improvisation and contemplation, important elements in my creative efforts,” Twiggs explains.

According to Sandy Rupp, director of Hampton III Gallery, the medium is one reason Twiggs’ work is so unique. She said, “The batik process is slow. It can take weeks, even months to produce a work. So he never has an abundance of work on hand. It is a unique medium, and no one has used it in the way Leo does. His is a painterly way.”

She added, “He is one of the top African-American artists in the country. He could have established himself anywhere, but he chose to come back to South Carolina and contribute here. We are lucky to have him.’

“It is evident that East Wind Suite: The Hugo Series, 1990, like many of Leo Twiggs’ series, comments on the ways in which humanity is challenged,” writes Converse art history major Erin Cramer, who authored the exhibition catalog under the direction of associate professor of art history, Dr. Suzanne Schuweiler. “It exemplifies Twiggs’ tendency to create art that comments on issues or events that have the capability of exhausting the human spirit, while simultaneously expressing optimism, resilience, and inevitable growth that is born out of adversity and despair.”

For more information, contact Beth Lancaster, director of communications for Converse College, at 864/596-9705 or e-mail to (beth.lancaster@converse.edu).

Furman University in Greenville, SC, is presenting the exhibit, Ruminations with a Charred Vine, featuring works by Glen Miller in the Thompson Gallery, located in the Thomas Roe Art Building, on view through Oct. 5, 2009.

Miller’s drawings were created at the Sheffield Wood Gallery located at the Greenville Fine Arts Center. The materials used were charcoal and paper. The drawings took 18 working days and allowed for public viewing as well as help from Fine Arts Students.

Miller is from Tennessee and received his bachelor’s of Fine Arts in drawing and painting from East Tennessee State University. He continued his art education for a master’s in Art and Education from the University of South Florida, and furthered his graduate study at University of Tennessee.

Since 1979, Miller has been teaching South Carolinians art, including teaching at public high school for 16 years. Currently he is a professor at Furman University and Converse College. He is also a faculty member at the Greenville County Museum of Art. Several of Miller’s exhibitions have shown in Greenville.

For more information contact Furman’s Art Department at 864/294-2074.

Celebrating the artistic talents of older adults in our community is the focus of Senior Action’s 13th Annual Arts Alive Art Exhibition & Festival to be held Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, held from 10am to 4pm, in downtown Greenville, SC’s McPherson Park.

“We seek to celebrate and recognize the talents of the seniors in our community by providing a venue to display their works through the Arts Alive Exhibit & Festival,” says Andrea Smith, Executive Director and CEO of Senior Action, the charitable recipient and sponsoring agency for the event. Arts Alive was established in 1996 by Senior Action to promote and bring awareness to the artistic skills and talents of older adults. Arts Alive is also meant to encourage other aspiring senior artists to “pick up a paint brush” or discover an alternative art medium and begin creating works of art.

Artists are invited to submit original works of art in the following categories: painting, watercolor, pottery, sculpture, photography, stained glass, and other three-dimensional design. Artists must be over the age of 55 to exhibit in this event.

An additional, but important, aspect of Arts Alive is that funds raised from this festival serve to support programs for seniors at Senior Action – including the Open Studio art program at the Sears Shelter in McPherson Park. Senior Action strives to meet the needs of the older population of Greenville County and the Arts Alive event and art programming assist Senior Action in meeting these needs.

Artists may request an Exhibitors Application by calling Senior Action at 864/467-3660 or downloading one from Senior Action’s website at (www.senioraction.org). Sept. 11, 2009 is the deadline for submission.

For more information about the 13th Annual Arts Alive Art Exhibition & Festival visit (www.senioraction.org) or call 864/467-3660. To become a sponsor in support of this event or to inquire about vendor availability please call J.J. Swartz at 864/467-3660 or e-mail to (JJ.Swartz@senioraction.org).

You may have noticed that these first three releases were from Upstate SC – believe me, they don’t have the sole license for being late. And, finally, we have an entry from the Florence, SC, area where they were not late, but they have just discovered us – again. I’m not sure how many times we have re-discovered them in the last 15 years.

The Florence Regional Arts Alliance will continue its 25th Anniversary Celebration with the exhibit, Fry-Grissette Show, featuring works by Francis Marion University Visual Communications Associate Professor Gregory G. Fry and local lifestyle photographer Christina Grissette. The exhibition is on view through Sept. 21, 2009, in the Arts Alliance Gallery, located at 412 South Dargan Street in Florence, SC.

Gregory G. Fry’s collection, Imprinted Aspirations, is reflective in nature. Fry indicates, “In my latest work, much of the content comes from aspects that are happening in my own life, aspects that include external events which happen in the larger world and internal events over which I like to think I have control. One of the issues I am dealing with is terrorism and the impact it is having on the environment and those living in that environment.”

But Fry also turns back the pages of history to the world of ancient Greece. He observes, “There are a number of Greek references in my work that make a strange connection between Greek mythology and the nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare environment of today’s world.” He points out that although his work connects to the environment in which he lives, some of his art remains somewhat esoteric. He also adds, “Much of my work contains typography, which connects the content in a non-linear fashion while still allowing the presentation to remain traditional.”

Fry uses processes such as digital, lithograph, serigraph, collagraph, and monotype in addition to other techniques, both printing and traditional, that may be included depending on the design. His work includes small edition prints as well as one of a kind works of art. Fry indicates that the process of printmaking is very important to him in terms of being systematic and having a personal connection, but he does indicate that “by using multiple techniques in his prints he can find the true nature of the print itself.”  In addition to teaching at Francis Marion University, Fry maintains a studio in Florence, where he works in print and drawing media.

Christina Grissett is a Florence portrait photographer. Her work is distinctive because of her unique use of bright colors and textures. She is motivated by the art of imagery more than mere sales. When asked how she approaches her work, she replies, “I discuss the need of my client, with particular attention to the kind of image desired. My style evolves from selection of clothing to location and lighting.” She further indicates, “Clothing choice elevates the image away from the ordinary. I try to choose a location that is unexpected and that will add to the art of the photograph. Lighting is good old fashioned sunshine, low in the sky and reflected off the clouds. The joy of a unique, intriguing capture is priceless, and I so enjoy offering a tailored experience to my clients.”

In commenting on Florence, Grissette observes, “I love my city, especially downtown. There are so many interesting people, buildings, and stories.” Returning to the subject of photography, she adds, “Photography allows me to be in places I never thought of being and talking to people I don’t know. I get the opportunity to meet some fabulous families and funny children, visit interesting farms and rustic buildings, and make connections.”

For Grissette, connecting with people is what “makes my work an adventure.” Originally from Birmingham, AL, she is married to Russell, and they are rearing a family that consists of three children. She also holds a masters degree in speech-language pathology.

Gallery Director Uschi Jeffcoat reminds theatergoers who will be attending the Florence Little Theatre production of The Producers that the Arts Alliance Gallery will be open an hour and a half prior to each performance.  She indicates, “We invite theatergoers to come a little earlier, park in The Arts Alliance parking lot, and enjoy the works of Gregory Fry and Christina Grissette before walking across the street to Florence Little Theatre. It’s so wonderful that we are all developing downtown and can work together.”

Operating from its base at 412 South Dargan Street in the evolving Arts and Cultural District of downtown Florence, the Florence Regional Arts Alliance is as the “chamber of commerce” for artists, arts organizations, school arts programs, and school arts teachers in the City of Florence and Florence County. The Arts Alliance is committed to preserving, supporting, and promoting a vibrant arts community by providing grants to artists, organizations, schools, and teachers; by recognizing students, individuals, and businesses through a comprehensive program of awards and scholarships; by offering community programming that showcases the visual arts, the performing arts, and the literary arts; and by serving as an advocate for the arts to business, civic, and governmental leaders. All initiatives of The Arts Alliance are premised on the basic organizational core value and guiding principle that a vibrant arts community is fundamental to quality of life, education, and economic development as demanded by today’s knowledge-based economy, an economy that will require innovative, imaginative, and creative solutions to a broad variety of issues that will face the 21st Century.

For further info call the Alliance at 843/665-2787.

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