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November Issue 2004
Turchin Center in Boone, NC, Presents Contemporary Hispanic and Latino Art
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, which has enjoyed critical acclaim, strong community support and record crowds since its opening in May of 2002, will present its fourth major exhibition, Out of Bounds: Contemporary Hispanic and Latino Art, from Nov. 5 through Jan. 29, 2005.
The unique collection by fourteen of today's most prominent artists will be exhibited in the center's magnificent Martin and Doris Rosen Galleries, and will showcase some of the best Hispanic and Latino work created within the United States today. Artists' home countries include Cuba, Venezuela, México, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, and Spain.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to view a new exhibition in the Turchin Center's Catwalk Community Gallery, featuring an exciting array of works by local and regional Hispanic and Latino artists.
Over the course of the exhibition, the Turchin Center's Community Art School will provide a variety of hands-on education programs for groups of all ages, revolving around the themes of the exhibition programs in the Rosen and Catwalk Galleries.
The exhibition and educational activities comprising Out of Bounds will be further enlivened by a series of local events organized in partnership with the High Country Amigos and ASU's Office of Cultural Affairs. These events are part of a community celebration entitled "Herencia Latina en las Montañas" ("Latin Heritage in the Mountains"). These activities will culminate with a public performance by the musicians of Sol y Canto on Nov. 6, 2004.
Out of Bounds focuses on the work of contemporary artists from Cuba, México, South America and Spain. "Like many communities throughout the country," notes Turchin Center director and chief curator Hank Foreman, "our region has experienced an increase in the Hispanic and Latino population. These new residents positively impact our communities in many ways. Near the top of the list is a cultural infusion including the visual and performing arts." Featured artists include: Tito Alvarez (Cuba), Félix de la Concha (Spain), Rufino del Valle Valdés (Cuba), Richard Garet (Uruguay), Saskia Jordá (Venezuela), Helena (Brazil), Victoria Martin-Gilly (Venezuela), Vivian Massry (México), Ramón Cabrales Rosabal (Cuba), Maria Lucia Sarmiento (Colombia), Jaime Valero (Spain), Ana Flores (Cuba), Waldo Vinces (Peru - Venezuela), and Rodolfo Franco (Brazil). Several of these featured artists currently reside in the United States, but the history, heritage, traditions, and culture of their countries of origin continues to inform and influence their work.
Waldo
Vinces
Writes artist Waldo Vinces of Peru, "Currently, I am working on a series of paintings based on my experience as an immigrant. They're intended to convey a sense of reflection and loneliness. Bits and pieces of my life and collages into surfaces of drawings and notes to myself - they personalize the image and give the viewer a way into my world. While working, I discover meaning and truth, a personal exploration of my surroundings and myself. The drawing of the house represents my family, my childhood in Peru, my high school days in Argentina and the many years in Venezuela where I attended Architecture School before moving to the United States almost ten years ago. The boat is my inner self, representing the person who left everything behind to live the adventure of conquering an unknown world that has now become my home."
Venezuela-born artist Victoria Martin-Gilly notes that "artistic inspiration came to me when I was nine years old. Having a French-Italian mother and a Spanish father, living in Venezuela and traveling constantly to Europe, I started learning fundamentals in ceramics in my mother's studio. The absorption of knowledge was further enhanced with the company of my twin sister, Olga. We learned to concentrate and focus on very detail-oriented work as well as experimenting with different size brushes and apparatuses. After moving to the United States ten years ago, I was no longer in my 'comfort zone' so I started painting on paper and experimenting first with conte and graphite and moving on to inks and acrylics. My work generated during this time was a reflection of an adaptation to my surroundings, as well as part of my identity development as an immigrant in a new country."
Works by Cuban master photographer Tito Alvarez, who died in 2002, will also be part of the Out of Bounds exhibition program. As one art critic put it, "Photography is the least known and yet one of the most revealing and instructive of the arts through which revolutionary Cuba has reflected upon itself." While photographers such as Raul Corrales and Alberto Diaz have garnered acclaim in mainstream photography circles for their depictions of the Revolution, it is Tito Alvarez who has captured the attention of curators and professional photographers for his unique ability to capture the "backbone of the Cuban Revolution - the streets, the people, the less discussed currents of Cuban life."
Félix
de la Concha
Félix de la Concha, a Spanish painter residing in New Hampshire, is known for undertaking outdoor painting cycles in locations such as Columbus, OH; Madrid, Sevilla, and Santander in Spain; and Rome and Orvieto in Italy. He often chooses a location or building, painting it at different times of the year or times of day, and from differing vantage points, thereby building a panoramic analysis of the locations he selects, which become a form of diary.
Helena
Brazilian photographer Helena writes "I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. The images I've included here are a different way of seeing the beauty of my country and its people. Each of the images was taken at various street festivals or parties. Such festivals are frequent and well-attended. Many of these parties are religious in nature, where participants travel long distances to workshop or communicate with Catholic saints. My country takes up almost one-half of South America. We are over 175 million strong, and Portuguese is our native language. We are known for our dominance in world soccer, gorgeous beaches, romantic and soothing music and extremely warm and friendly people. I hope you enjoy my photographs. With luck, maybe they'll even inspire you to leave your troubles behind and hop a plane to Rio you might decide never to return."
The Turchin Center's Community Art School offers a multitude of educational and outreach activities for groups of all ages, in conjunction with the center's featured exhibitions. The mission of the Community Art School is to make the visual arts more accessible to the greater Boone community by providing opportunities to experience the visual arts in a personal and meaningful way.
The Community Art School's "Saturday Sessions" offer fun and creative art activities revolving around the themes of the featured exhibitions. Workshops are scheduled from 10am to noon at the Turchin Center on Nov. 13 & 20and Dec. 4 & 11 and are based on the themes of the Out of Bounds exhibition program. Additional sessions, with a dance focus, will be scheduled for Jan. 15, 22, and 29, 2005.
Saturday Sessions topics include the following:
On Nov. 13 (for children ages 9-12): "Maracas from Dried Gourds," led by Dr. Gaye Weitz's ART 3021 class and friends from High Country Amigos; Participants will be exposed to traditional and non-traditional maracas from Mexico and other places, and will then create their own maracas from dried gourds.
On Nov. 20 (for children ages 6-8): "Make Your Own Box Loom and Weave!" led by Dr. Janet Montgomery's ART 3021 class; The session will provide a brief overview of the history of weaving, concentrating on the unique designs of the Native Americans of the Southwest United States, including the Navajo and the Pueblo. Children will be able to recognize the symbols used by these indigenous peoples that have persisted over time. They will see both physical and photographic examples of weaving. Each child will make a simple loom out of a styrofoam tray and create a striped weaving on it by using different types of yarn to achieve variations in color and/or texture.
On Dec. 4 (for children ages 6-8): "Magic Tales of México" with Josie Bortz, assisted by art education students; This workshop provides a brief background of art in Latin America, focusing on art of México. Participants will paint their own Talavera style tile relating to the Magic Tales of México.
On Dec. 11 (for children ages 9-12): "Drawing Portraits" with Una Pett, assisted by art education students; Drawing inspiration from the Out of Bounds exhibition, participants will create a unique portrait of someone they admire, fictional or otherwise. The session focuses on how to position the body to give the portrait character, and how to create imaginative and interesting compositions. Group members are asked to bring photos or other memorabilia of the person whose portrait they'll be creating - including objects representing the subject's personality, wit, physical presence, and work - to incorporate into the portrait.
On Jan. 15 (for children ages 6-8): "Moves From México" with the Eugino Girls and Emily Daughtridge. Children will step into fun as neighbors from the High Country's Latino/Hispanic community share folk dances from their native México.
On Jan. 22 (for children ages 9-12): "Kicks for Kids" with the Capoeira Group and Emily Daughtridge. Children will learn moves from the High County's own Capoeira group, "Arte e Movimento." Capoeira is a Brazilian movement form that's part martial art, part dance, and all fun!
On Jan. 29 (for teens and adults): "Salsa Saturday" with Ivette Rubio, Marta Perez Virella and Emily Daughtridge. Adults and teens will spice up their Saturday mornings by learning several Caribbean dance styles.
The registration fee for each workshop is $10 for Turchin Center members, and $15 for non-members. To register, call the Turchin Center at 828/262-3017.
The Turchin Center's popular (and free) "Lunch and Learn" Series, scheduled from noon to 1pm on the third Wed. of the month provides an opportunity for community members to bring a bag lunch and attend lectures and presentations on various topics related to current exhibition programs. Upcoming "Lunch and Learns" are scheduled for Nov. 17 (Photography in Cuba with artists Rufino del Valle Valdes, Ramón Rosabal, and Pac McLaurin, who will provide an introduction and translation); Dec. 15 (Hispanic Holiday Foods), and Jan. 19 (Dance Break with Emily Daughtridge and Ivette Rubio).
In addition to the "Saturday Sessions" and "Lunch and Learn" programs, the Community Art School also offers specialized workshop programs geared to a variety of different community groups. These include an Art After School Program for children ages 6-12; a "Young at Art" series for elders; a specialized program called "Express Yourself!" for developmentally disabled children and adults; and "Art in Support of Kids" for students in grades K-12 throughout the region, as well as pre-school children and at-risk youth.
The Community Art School is supported by a grant from the Helen M. Clabough Charitable Foundation. The Out of Bounds exhibition program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, with funding from the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, located in the heart of downtown Boone, is devoted specifically to exhibition, education and outreach programs in the visual arts. Exhibits focus on a blend of new and historically important artwork, and feature works of nationally and internationally renowned artists, as well as many of the finest artists of the region. The spectacular Martin and Doris Rosen Galleries, and the studios and outdoor sculpture gardens which comprise the facility provide a dynamic setting for the viewing and enjoyment of art.
For additional info check our NC Institutional
Gallery listings, or call the Center at 828/262-3017 or at (www.turchincenter.org).
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