Sixteen of my shadowbox-framed paper sculptures are currently on display on the Stiles Gallery Wall at Westwood City Hall. The City Hall is located in the heart of the Kansas City metropolitan area at 4700 Rainbow Boulevard, Westwood, KS (see map below).
This is the largest all-paper-sculpture display I have presented so far.
The show runs through March 31, 2011, and is available for viewing whenever City Hall is open to the public, during regular business hours 8-5 weekdays, and during meetings.
This is an installation photo from the Embarrassment
of Riches show, when it was on display at the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
I have become fascinated by the way art exhibitions are put together--and by the people who do that work.
As I see it, a contemporary art curator often functions as a sort of "meta-artist," when creating an exhibit. The best bring together a group of artworks to create something with a meaning beyond the sum of the exhibition's parts.
Fondation Pierre Berge and Yves Saint Laurent, Moujik IV,
Paris, by Alec Soth, from the Embarrassment of Riches
show. Moujik, the bulldog, takes center stage, with his
bodyguard at left. Little noted that Moujik was at the show's opening in Minneapolis, September, 2010.
I jumped at the opportunity to listen to Little's discussion of the thinking behind the show's development, when he visited the campus on February 25. He described his process of realizing that among the great themes in contemporary photography there is rarely any examination of the "cultural impact of wealth."
This led him to seek out images by artists who "have captured the different ways that wealth manifests itself visually," and bring them together into a show. Sub-themes such as "Currencies," "Spaces," and "Ritual, Style, and Fashion" emerged as he gathered the images.
When my husband and I walked through the show after Little's discussion, we interacted not only with the beauty and insights of the individual pieces, but also with the cumulative effect of seeing them brought together in a deliberate way.
A Lunch at the Belvedere, by Luc Delahaye, from the Embarrassment of
Riches show. A group of businessmen join George Soros (center, in brown
jacket) and Pervez Musharraf, to his left, at a luncheon in Davos,
Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum in 2004.
I’ve been in Kansas City science fiction fandom for a long time, so I’d heard of Snowflake, a one-day “relaxacon” billed as a Cabin Fever Fan Party. But they never had an art show, so I never went.
At least, not until I was asked to be their Artist Guest of Honor this year.Well, sure, I said;I’m available on February 19.I held most of my fantasy artwork out of the Antioch Library show, so I could put on a reasonable display.
Bits and pieces of works-in-progress always seem interesting.
I brought along some of my bits and pieces of “works-in-progress,” as I have begun doing with my opening receptions for more mainstream shows.I spent much of the morning demonstrating paper sculpture techniques and having fun conversations with people who came over to my table to watch.
About two weeks before the event, I had started making small “Snowflake Dragon” mini-paper-sculptures.I priced them pretty low, and sold them with their own little boxes so they’d be somewhat protected without having to encase them in small shadowboxes that would raise the price.I spent most of the afternoon happily engaged in selling them to several people.
It's always a delight to get a good review--and this is the second time I've gotten a good one from this reviewer. Please read and comment on Steve Brisendine's "Leaf by Leaf" posting for Review!
Last year, he also reviewed my "Paper Dragons" show. If you'd like to read "Here Be Dragons," click the link!
"Sunset Oak," featured in my latest show
"Treetop Primaries," featured in my "Paper Dragons" show
The show includes ten artworks, nine paper sculpture (mostly non-fantasy subjects) and one earthenware. It is available for viewing during regular library hours. Librarians at the location have selected some excellent books on paper-based arts and crafts, to accompany the show.
Please come see it, if you're in the area and haven't been there yet!
The Antioch branch of the Johnson County (KS) Libraries
This comes right after a rules-change in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in neighboring Missouri, that has made school arts programs voluntary, not mandatory—and anyone who’s seen what a beating school budgets have taken recently, knows what that means.
This is a one-two punch in my own back yard—but no matter where you live in the US, the arts are under attack. Joyless conservative ideology is trumping practical reality in state after state.
Yes, that’s right—practical reality. What the arts-cutters don’t want you to know is that the arts don’t cost. They PAY.
First Friday crowd in the Kansas City Crossroads Arts District
As we've proved in the Kansas City Crossroads Arts District, in Cottonwood Falls, KS, and many other local and regional examples, artists are often pioneers for economic regeneration. Moreover, on nearly every scale of a community’s “livability” and desirability, a vigorous arts community is a “must.”
A concert in Cottonwood Falls, KS draws a crowd.
Missouri’s backward attitude notwithstanding, there also is considerable research to show that a vigorous school arts program can dramatically improve the chance of success for at-risk students. Participation in music programs is positively correlated with math excellence, for instance. I guess all that is irrelevant?
And how about the lament among those who worry about America’s global competitiveness that we need more creative thinkers? Where do you think we’ll find the best training and practice in creative thinking?
Eliminating support for the arts is the lamest kind of false “practicality.” We can’t afford to fall for it. Yet in state after state, it appears that we are.
Images: Sam Brownback from Polichicks website; KC Crossroads First Friday crowd by Jan Gephardt; Concert in Cottonwood Falls from Kansas Sampler Foundation website.
I've been at work developing the Mail Piece Project, as described in the last entry, and I thought you'd like to see a bit more of the new art!
This actually will comprise two panels on the outside of the self-mailer, and the finished piece will be in color.
I am extending the deadline for subscriptions to February 1, 2011, because I'd like to add a few more names to the list. My request is still that subscribers please help me with expenses if they can, by contributing $6. USD. Send a check to Artdog Studio, 4318 Rainbow Boulevard, Suite #143, Kansas City, KS 66103, or use the PayPal "subscribe" button.
If the money is a problem, but you'd still like to subscribe, please email me at jsg4edu@gmail.com and we'll work something out. In any case, I'll need a mailing address sent to the email.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Here is the PayPal option for a $6 (USD) subscription for "Mail Piece Project 2011":
