Feature Articles

May Issue 2002

Visual Art Offerings, Before, During & After, the Spoleto Fevtival USA, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and in the Greater Charleston Area

by Tom Starland - some stuff I know and more

Has enough happened between last year and now? Yes! Enough is enough.

This is the first Spoleto Festival since Sept. 11 and everyone is hoping that the American and International art festival-loving public is ready to return to Charleston, South Carolina, and have a good and safe time. We hope lots of people will come and enjoy - the events and offerings associated with the festivals - Spoleto and its "little" cousin Piccolo Spoleto, the city, the great food, the great environment, and the plethora of visual art. And, leave a little money. Well, let's be truthful. We hope people are packing it in and leaving it by the bagful.

But, before we get into the Festival and all that will be offered then, let's get it straight that the month of May is full of visual art offerings. I've seen a lot of Spoleto seasons come and go, but this one is like having all the planets come into alignment. There is something for everyone - no matter what your tastes are - I swear!

The party starts off with the French Quarter ART WALK on Fri., May 3, from 5 to 8pm. I say party, but that's not what it is meant to be. The 30 plus galleries of the French Quarter want people to enjoy themselves, but they want them to see the art being offered and possibly take some home with them at the end of the evening, hopefully paying for it first.

The reputation of being a four-square-block party is somewhat deserved, but not on the galleries' part. It's the fun-loving public who are to blame for that reputation and there seems to be no turning back. So be it. I guess we can all live with it.

Here's some insider info on the ART WALK. It no longer seems to be confined to the French Quarter district. Galleries all over Charleston will be open that evening - even those galleries that have become all the rage of the young and hip - the galleries at Fountain Walk, behind the IMAX theater and next to the SC Aquarium. (That's it folks. The only time I'm going to mention the Aquarium in this issue.) So all across Charleston galleries will be open and inviting you to step in and see the art - and have a good time. You can't keep a good thing contained - not for long.

When you wake up the next morning, hopefully without a throbbing head, you can head out to North Charleston, SC, for that city's Annual Arts Festival at the North Charleston Performing Arts & Convention Center Complex. May 4 & 5 is the Main Event, where several art exhibitions will be offered along with many performances by local groups. The second annual South Carolina Palmetto Hands exhibition will be there featuring a juried show of works by some of SC's finest craft artists. The Festival also presents juried exhibitions by adults and children and photography. It's all offered inside so it doesn't matter what the weather is and the parking is FREE!

After that exhausting weekend of visual delight, you get a little breather before the next event, which is the annual Sculpture in the South exhibition, May 18 & 19, which takes place in Summerville, SC's beautiful Azalea Park. This year's event will feature the works of 20 nationally known sculptors.

Spoleto's Visual Arts Starts Early

Guess What? I lied, you don't get a rest this month. Spoleto Festival USA's three-year Evoking History program starts May 3 - the same day as the French Quarter ART WALK. The exhibition, The Memory of Water, co-curated by Mary Jane Jacob and Tumelo Mosaka, runs from May 3 to June 9. (See full story on page 16.) Evoking History offers installations by a group of international artists, community discussions, and an opportunity for us all to ask ourselves some tough questions about history and how it shapes the present. Heavy stuff.

Lighten Up at the Gibbes

The Gibbes Museum of Art is offering an exhibition which should be easy on the eyes - more like a feast for the eyes. I plan on spending all the time I can gazing at the photographs of Ansel Adams. The Gibbes is offering 50 examples of the best black and white photography ever created in celebration of 100 years of the birth of Ansel Adams - America's true "painter of light". (See the full story on page 1.)

For visitors to Charleston, the Gibbes is a must-stop if you want to understand the cultural history of Charleston.

It's true, to many folks, Charleston is a living museum compared to where they live. With over 300 years of history under its belt, Charleston is a look into the past. And, nobody shows that history through art better than the Gibbes.

Besides the Ansel Adams exhibition, in May you'll be able to see: American works with a Southern perspective from as far back as the 18th century, photographs by George W. Johnson, who photographed Charleston during its recovery during 1886 through 1929, and original watercolors by Alice Ravenel Huger Smith of life on a rice plantation in the 1950s. There's more, but you need to go and discover for yourself.

Get Down and Dirty

While you're checking out Charleston's museums, you might want to stop in at The Charleston Museum to catch the exhibition, The Difference in Dirt: South Carolina Pottery and Ceramic Arts, on view through May 19. The exhibition was organized by the Museum of York County in Rock Hill, SC. The exhibition offers an in-depth look at the history of traditional pottery and ceramic art in South Carolina, as well as, a look at contemporary works being made in recent years.

Big Plate of Art From Piccolo Spoleto

This year, as usual, many visual art exhibitions are found under the big tent at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. Even the Gibbes exhibition of Ansel Adams is listed as a Piccolo Spoleto event - a step down from being a Spoleto Festival event last year. I guess Ansel Adams doesn't carry the same weight as Frank Stella - last year's offering from the Gibbes. No big deal, we've always known that listing the Gibbes exhibitions on view during the run of Spoleto, as a Spoleto visual art offering, was just something to make it look like Spoleto always had a visual art component.

Piccolo Spoleto's big show this year is the exhibition, Larger Than Life: A Second Story Exhibit, featuring billboard-size paintings by local artists hung from buildings around Charleston. (See article on page 26.) There will also be a companion exhibition at the City Gallery at the Dock Street Theater showing original images in smaller scale of the works being presented in Larger Than Life. The gallery will present maps, interpretative statements and other information related to the exhibition. Both shows start May 18 and continue through June 9.

Make sure you get to the City Gallery before May 13 to see the exhibition of new paintings by Emily K. Jenkins before the change over of exhibitions. Jenkins, one of the members of the Tiemaker's Gallery, offers a wonderful exhibition of abstract paintings - not a bunch of pretty pictures of Charleston. More about that later.

Next under the Piccolo banner is the exhibition, Portraits et Personnages: Selected Works from the Collection de l'Art Brut's Neuve Invention, opening May 8 and continuing through June 8, at the Halsey Gallery at the College of Charleston. This exhibition offers 50 works on paper that depict portraits or human characterizations from the internationally recognized museum in Lausanne Switzerland. (See article on page 11.)

Also at the College of Charleston's Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture will be the exhibition, In the Fullness of Time: Island Culture and the Well Rounded Memory, on view through June 12. This exhibition explores ways in which self-taught Jamaican artists reflect their culture's Afro-Caribbean roots and the post-colonial experiences.

Next come Piccolo's two outdoor exhibitions. The Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Juried Art Exhibition takes place at Marion Square in downtown Charleston from May 24 through June 9. Home at last! Short history - these folks have been moved from year to year to just about every space in the city except the infield green of Joe Riley Stadium. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Now, they are finally home to stay - we hope. This is where 80 or so of South Carolina's finest artists set up tents, for 16 days, to offer their art in an open air setting - you might say "plein air". That's a fancy art term for outside. This show is coordinated by Billie Sumner and Victoria Platt Ellis. These two earn every penny of their salary working on this show all year long. That's if they got a salary.

These outdoor shows are a great opportunity to meet the artists outside a gallery setting. Some people are so intimidated by the formal gallery settings. In the park, you can talk out loud, laugh, eat your lunch, wear shorts. Well, I wear shorts in every gallery I go into. In fact, I talk out loud and laugh inside galleries, and the Gibbes Museum of Art even invites you to come eat lunch in their galleries every month. So, what is supposed to be so intimidating about the formal gallery setting? I forget. Frankly, I don't understand why people would feel that way.

The outdoor shows also offer wonderful learning experiences through demonstrations by participating artists in a variety of mediums. (See pages 3 and 42 for a listing of demos.)

Next door to Marion Square on the Meeting Street side is Wragg Square is where the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Crafts Shows will be taking place for two weekends on May 24-26 and May 31-June 2. These shows offer fine craft works by artisans from across the United States, from traditional to contemporary. The show is coordinated by Charleston Crafts Cooperative. It's rated one of the top craft shows around the country. Several demonstrations are offered daily during these two shows. Charleston Crafts will also be offering their own series of craft demonstrations during the Festival at their gallery at 87 Hasell Street. This show costs me money. Carolina Arts is not only a show sponsor, but the family usually purchases something there every year - once we finish the fight over what to get.

While you're down in the area of Marion Square and Wragg Square, you might as well just stroll over to the Charleston Visitor Center on John Street. It's air-conditioned, they have public rest rooms, and cold beverages you can consume. You'll find the Piccolo Spoleto 18th Annual Juried Art Exhibition there, on view from May 24 - June 8. The show is being produced and presented by the Charleston Artist Guild. I can't offer much info on this exhibition as it hasn't been selected yet. But, I can tell you that members of the Charleston Artist Guild will be exhibiting their works on the fence of Washington Park on Broad Street, next to Charleston's City Hall, on weekends through June 9.

We think that the Susanne Kampmann Invitational Exhibition will be taking place at the Bank of America Building at 200 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston. The show takes place from May 21 - June 9 and features works by Susanne Kampmann - this year's official Piccolo Spoleto Poster artist. Kampmann is a German native who recently moved from Europe to South Carolina.

Under the Piccolo banner, the Footlight Players Theatre at 20 Queen Street will offer the exhibition, La Davina: Images of Greatness, from May 24 - June 9. The exhibit features a series of stunning color photographs by Jack Alterman of Hope Gazes Grayson portrayed as Maria Callas in her famous opera rolls, such as Medea and Lady MacBeth.

Over at the Circular Congregational Church at 150 Meeting Street, across for the Gibbes Museum of Art, a group of local artists will be offering an exhibition entitled, In the Spirit: Handful of Dust, which is in response to the aftermath of events which took place on Sept. 11. The exhibit will be on view from May 24 - June 9.

Charleston City Hall at 80 Broad Street is the location for the Patricia O. Carter Memorial Exhibition The Art of Healing, which features works of art by members of the SC Art Therapy Association. This exhibit will be on view from May 24 - June 9.

Finally, the last two entries under the heading of visual arts for Piccolo Spoleto will be located at Fountain Walk, located at 360 Concord Street - behind the IMAX Theater and next to - the place that offers fish and animals on exhibit daily. The exhibition, Eighties Art Stars, featuring original drawings and paintings from the collection of Bob Murphy, including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Robert Hawkins , will be on view in Suite 105, from May 17 - June 16. Fountain Walk is also the site for The Great Art Caper 2002. This event takes place May 25, starting at 6pm.

How should I describe this event? Gee, I don't know. I'm sure this will be the talk of the town, the underground buzz, the were you there? event of the year, but I don't know how to place it in the overall art picture except to say I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. And, I'm sure at some point the artists presenting it will think - "man, we could have gotten a grant from the NEA for this!"

Well that's it for Piccolo Spoleto - of course there are always last minute additions.

Before we get into the offerings from the commercial art community there are a few more exhibitions being offered from the nonprofit sector.

The Main Branch of the Charleston County Public Library in downtown Charleston will be offering an exhibition entitled, Woman, featuring works by Alyssa L. Millard. The exhibition will be on view during the month of May in the Saul Alexander Gallery. (See article on page 21.)

Print Studio South at 77 Wentworth Street in downtown Charleston is offering an exhibition of artists' proofs from their 10th Anniversary Portfolio entitled, New Views of The Lowcountry, from May 1 through June 30. (See article on page 11.)

What's Going on in the Galleries?

Believe it or not - a lot of people who will come to Charleston for the Spoleto or the Piccolo Spoleto Festival will find their inspiration for art in Charleston's commercial art galleries. How do I know? It's a matter of numbers. They spend a couple of hundred dollars on tickets to performances and a few thousand dollars on a painting, work of sculpture, or several fine art craft works. The memory of the performances will fade and become fuzzy, while the artworks they purchase will live on for generations. Some will eventually find their way into art museums. I've seen a lot of memorable performances, but my memory of them is never as vivid or enjoyable as turning my head and looking at a painting on the wall or walking over to a table and picking up a piece of pottery or sculpture and holding it in my hand. No memory can compete with the tactile and visual experience of a work of art - right there in front of you.

OK, here we go. First, we'll mentions some exhibitions which we have articles about in this issue. The Wells Gallery will be presenting new works by Claire K. Farrell and Joseph Cave for the May 3 ART WALK and a special exhibition of works by Bolivian artist Alex Zapata, from May 31 - June 14. (See article on page 20.)

Ann Long Fine Art Gallery will feature an exhibition of American realists from May 23 through June 29. (See article on page 21.) Nina Liu and Friends offers the exhibit, The Food Show, featuring works by *Cynthia Tollefsrud and Lisa-Marie Rousseau, on view from May 3 - June 15. (See article on page 24 - * means if you are familiar with Tollefsrud's work - be there May 3 or be sorry when all the work is sold.)

Smith-Killian Fine Art will be hosting the premier show in Charleston of internationally famed painter Kim English, from May 17-31. (See article on page 24.)

And, in our final entry of exhibits which we have articles for, eyespy, an art and performance space located at Fountain Walk, will be exhibiting the work of Brooklyn-based artist Marty Ackley from May 3-30, in the exhibit titled, Books I Haven't Read, and Kevin Taylor and Ryan Lincicome will present paintings and multimedia work in Identity Crisis which runs from May 31 - July 2. eyespy (no capital e) is relatively new to Charleston, but they are a welcomed addition to Charleston's diverse art scene. (See article on page 25.) I'm sure the other art galleries found at Fountain Walk will also be presenting exhibits or art, but they prefer to fly blind. Some say the excitement is in discovery. I say, when I show up and the door is locked - I don't come back.

Several exhibitions which are already in progress, which we had articles about last month include Coleman Fine Art, Eva Carter Gallery, and Spencer Fine Art.

Coleman Fine Art is offering the exhibition, A Collection of Small and Not-So-Small Intimate Paintings by John Phillip Osborne, which is on view through May 31. This debut exhibition for Osborne at the gallery features scenes of Ireland, Newfoundland, and regional coastal waterways. Osborne is a plein air painter who has garnered a national reputation for his keen handling of light and his attention to atmospheric effects.

Eva Carter Gallery is presenting its annual solo exhibition of new works by Eva Carter entitled, Calculated Risk, which will be on view through June 9. Carter is an Abstract Expressionist who presents bold and brilliant paintings which reveal her ability to couple risk and intuition with precision and logic. Popular in Charleston, Santa Fe, Atlanta and Asheville, Carter's work has recently been discovered on the west coast with representation at Marion Meyer Contemporary Art in Laguna Beach, CA. Now we know that there are signs of intelligence - coast to coast.

Don't forget that Eva Carter Gallery also represents the work of William Halsey, Charleston's most famous modern artist. Although he has been dead for years now, I am always amazed at the (new to me) works that show up in the gallery each time I'm there. Halsey produced work like there was no tomorrow - and he lived a long time.

And, while I'm talking about one of my favorite artists, let me remind you that Halsey's wife and longtime art partner Corrie McCallum - also a favorite artist on her own - will be having an Open Studio on May 25, from 10am to 2pm. The Halsey-McCallum Studio will also be open for viewing during the run of the Festival, May 24 - June 9, from 10am-12:30pm. McCallum was, and still is, a productive artist, so there are years of work available and new ones to discover.

Spencer Art Gallery is presenting an exhibition entitled, Passports, featuring recent paintings by Martha Sharp, on view through May 11. The works in the exhibit are based on the artist's recent European travels.

Can you believe there's more? Yes there is more - much more.

At Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art Gallery on Broad Street, an exhibition of works by Craig Nelson, Lynn Gertenbach, and Carl Belfor, three California Impressionist oil painters will be offered May 3 - June 7.

New works by Mickey Williams will be offered in one of his rare exhibitions, this one entitled, Sky·Land·Water, from May 17 - 31, at the Mickey Williams Gallery, also on Broad Street. I say rare, because Williams exhibitions tend to sell out fast and he is not a fast worker. The principles of supply and demand are at work here too - not enough supply and a lot of demand.

Tiemaker's Gallery, located at 83 Spring Street in Charleston is offering the exhibition, The Figure in Black and White, featuring new photography, drawings, and works on paper by Matt Overend, David Edwards, and Emily Jenkins, which will be on view through May 19. You've heard the phrase - good things come in small packages or don't judge a book by its cover? Well this one is more like - some good galleries are off the beaten path.

Tidwell Art Gallery will once again offer an alternative to the official Spoleto Festival USA poster, with their own Spoleto Festival poster from Miles Batt. Batt annually produces a colorful rendition of Charleston in a festive mood, which is then reproduced in poster form by the Tidwell Art Gallery. They sell both the official version and their own - stop by and see which one you would rather have - or get both. The gallery will also be featuring original works by Miles Batt and his wife Irene Charles Batt throughout the run of the Festival.

Tippy Stern Fine Art on Market Street, across from Saks Fifth Avenue in Charleston, is featuring an exhibition of works by Atlanta, GA, based artist Bridget Dobson, through May 17. It was my understanding that the gallery was going to be offering a major exhibition of works by Brian Rutenberg for Spoleto this year, but I haven't heard anything from the gallery. Maybe we'll be surprised.

That's all we know, and we can't tell you anything else or we would be making it up. I'm sure there is more going on - there always is, but some people just don't seem to get their act together when it comes to publicizing their exhibitions. And, like I always say - if you're not going to publicize your exhibit - why have them?

Now on to image building.

Not Interested in that Charleston Thing

Amazing as it may seem, some people come to Charleston without the lifetime goal of taking a piece of Charleston and the Lowcountry back home with them. These people don't seem to be interested in the "iconic" Charleston image of a marsh scene, Charleston houses in a row, African Americans weaving baskets or selling flowers, church steeples and horse carriages, etc., etc.

And contrary to a well worn opinion that Charleston's art community offers nothing more than "pretty pictures" - there is much more here than that reputation would account for. Frankly, that reputation began to fade ten years ago and in the last five years has almost become a battle cry of only those who live and work in Charleston's competing art markets. They would like the public to think of Charleston as just a place for pretty art. But nothing could be further from the truth.

I'm not going to deny that the majority of Charleston's artists use the city and the Lowcountry environs as their main subject matter - that's what most of the visitors demand. And, there is no reason to go into the laws of supply and demand here. But, even with this thought in mind, many artists paint Charleston in a manner that any high minded art lover would be proud to possess. West Fraser paints Charleston with all its beauty and blemishes. He doesn't subscribe to the Thomas Kincade theory of presenting idealistic worlds that never existed. Mary Whyte paints African Americans in a majestic style in their everyday life-styles.

I'm not trying to justify or defend - "pretty art" - I don't have to and don't need to. I'm just saying that trying to ball all of the art being produced with a "Charleston" theme into the same category is wrong and shows a lack of knowledge of the entire Charleston art community. But, that's not what I want to talk to you about now.

I'm offering that rare Charleston visitor who is looking for something different, something non-Charleston, something "contemporary", something not so contemporary, but different, and not Charleston - a guide of where to look.

The following is a list of galleries presenting art works that fall into the non-Charleston category. Although they may carry some of the images of Charleston - they offer an alternative source of art.

Try checking these places out. Information about all can be found in our Gallery Listings or in advertisements in this paper. They include: African-American Gallery, Addison Hatfield Gallery, American Originals Gallery, Ann Long Fine Art, Charleston ClayWorks Studio & Gallery, Coleman Fine Art, E. S. Lawrence Gallery, Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art Gallery, Eva Carter Gallery, eyespy art, Gallery Joparo, Halsey-McCallum Studio, Karen Vournakis Studio/Gallery, Martin Gallery, Nina Liu & Friends, Raymond Clark Gallery, The Richard James Galleries, The Wolf Contemporary Art Gallery, Tiemaker's Gallery, and Tippy Stern Fine Art.

I'm sure I've left out someone, but after all it's only a suggestion - not scripture. That's 18 galleries offering something different from "Charleston art". The greater Charleston area, including Mt. Pleasant, North Charleston, the Islands, and Summerville features hundreds of galleries. The 18 galleries I've mentioned are a handful in comparison, but that's more galleries than some cities offer in total. So, I think anyone should be able to find something to their liking. And, if you really want something different - we have three (3) Thomas Kincade Signature Galleries - top that!

And, I've just learned that the E. S. Lawrence Gallery on Meeting Street has been authorized to carry original art by Dr. Seuss, or more appropriately, works by the artist Theodor Geisel, who created the Dr. Seuss imagery. There really is something for everyone this year. Let's just hope that old thing about the planets coming into alinement is an old wive's tale.

There you go. Have a good time filling your eyes with all this visual input and if you're not coming to Charleston - go to a gallery in your area and see some art.

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