August Issue 2000
Noel Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Hosts Exhibit by Willie Little
New Works by Willie
Little, Through the Window Into My Grandmother's Garden
and Baggage, works from Little's Caversham Press residency
in South Africa will be on view at the Noel Gallery in Charlotte,
NC, through Aug. 31. The gallery will be closed for summer vacation
Aug. 6 - 21.
Like the spring buds of his grandmothers garden, the art of Willie Little has burgeoned with new delights to indulge our eyes, heart and soul. The seed for the stories was planted in his youth, growing up in Pactolus Township in rural NC. The harvest, however, took place in the heart of Charlotte, NC's cultural corridor during his 1999 inaugural artist-in-residency at the Tryon Center for the Visual Arts.
Through the Window Into My Grandmother's Garden is the title of his newest series. In the tradition of his national touring installation Juke Joint and successful narrative assemblages Kinfolk, this body of work is inspired by true stories and fond memories; specifically the magical garden of his grandmother Flora Ann. Little says, "Grandma had the Midas touch with all things, inside and outside of the confines of the garden fence. Gigantic, tall and hearty were her Zinnias. 'Queen of Zinnia' I called her. I thought Zinnias were the quintessential old lady flowers, 'cause for as long as I had known grandma she was old. Miss Jane Pittman and Eudora Welty old!, with the sweet smell of magnolia, jasmine and a hint of Pee!"
The words and the work reveal Little's humor, his love for Grandma Flora Ann and his understanding of the source for her bountiful garden. We can observe his artistic maturation which he attributes to the TCVA residency. His robust use of 3 dimensional found objects continue to distinguish his characteristic style however the underpaintings in this series mark an exciting new territory for his artistic expression. His lush painterly surfaces of oil on canvas, create a textural backdrop which set the tone and hold the assemblages in surreal sunsets, and rich soil.
"The collage/assemblage is after all, a process of resurrecting the abject, of providing a physical object that seems to have fallen irretrievably into disuse with new, more exalted life in the abstract realm of art." Little's assemblages contain and protect lost, damaged, discarded and forgotten remnants of his grandmother's garden. Grandma Flora Ann has become his muse and her garden a metaphor for realized dreams, exceeded expectations and succeeding against the odds.
Baggage is the culmination of works from Little's trip in May of 2000, co-sponsored by the Tryon Center for Visual Art and the Fulton County Arts Council in Atlanta. Two artists were sent for a four-week international printmaking residency at The Caversham Press in Durban, South Africa. Little was awarded one of the residencies and the prestigious opportunity to work on an exciting thematic project at Caversham Press with Atlanta artist, Kojo Griffin and two South African artists. The $8,000 award included the residency fee, an artist stipend, airfare, supplies, and production costs for the prints. The Caversham Press was established in 1985 to offer artists the facilities of a professional printmaking studio for the exploration of processes which result in traditional limited edition prints.
The artists created a minimum of two prints based on the theme and interpretation of "baggage" - personal, functional, literal, political, social, etc. The collective work of the Little and Griffin will be exhibited in Charlotte and Atlanta in 2001. The artists were also placed in residence at South Africa community centers, universities, and/or other artists' studios to work with the community for the fourth week of the residency. This public component is directly related to the vision of master printmaker and founder of the Caversham Press, Malcolm Christian, who believes in the role and responsibility of the modern artist in society and the idea that artists must give back to the community.
For Little, born and raised in the South and living in Charlotte, art making is a very personal and spiritual process. His goal is to document a fading part of a rural lifestyle, a snapshot of time. He also evokes new perspectives by placing objects familiar in everyday life into a new context, causing the viewer to reassess their relationship to them. Little describes his work as "a tableau which connects my story with your story. I tell stories of a Childhood memory, but I use the persona of an old soul." For this reason he uses the African term "griot" or wise tribal storyteller to characterize himself and his process. "Because of the spiritual journey the work takes me on, sometimes I value the process more than the finished product. You see, many times the found objects find me. And while writing narratives, it is as though I am 'channeled' through my ancestors. This process sometimes leaves me filled with emotion, so after the work is completed, I set it free," says Little.
For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings or call the gallery at 704/343-0050 or visit their website at (www.noelgallery.com).
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