Art and Artists on the Cheap

Taking advantage of artists and their passion for what they do is at the level of pitiful. There is a little advertised program run through the U.S. Department of State called Art Embassies. The ambassadors and curators attached to the embassies put up exhibitions and sponsor programs to bring a few artists overseas to meet and greet. Do they pay the artists for their work? No, how could we expect them to do that? The embassies also "borrow" artists' work for -- maybe -- three years at a time. This is the shocker: They don't even pay the artist a rental fee. If it were a sofa instead of an original creation, of course they would have to pay for it. No one expects a sofa for free! Not unless it's being thrown out. Original art, oh, that's different. Sure.

Just a few minutes ago, I saw an email from a local artist. I won't give you her name because...well...this is a small town. She is advertising for interns -- people to work for free. Again, that really irritating word. However, to apply for the non-paying jobs -- get this -- there is a $10 fee! Wow!

I don't even want to get knee-deep into the subject of artists being asked to donate their work to charity auctions. How glamorous to have the artists there in person, too. They are teased with the possibility of getting "known." Been there, done that, won't do it again. Years ago, an art teacher told me to NEVER give away my work for free. Anything given for free is considered of little or no value. True.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel -- give it a bag of stars

It was one of those nights -- other things to do -- but I had a pass to see a screening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (also known as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful). It is is a 2012 British comedy-drama directed by John Madden and written by Ol Parker. Based on the 2004 novel, These Foolish Things, by Deborah Moggach, the film stars an ensemble cast, consisting of Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Penelope Wilton, as a group of British retirees staying in an elderly retirement hotel in India.


What a sweet movie it is. Pardon the syrup, but it was the answer to a day that had its rough edges. I am the biggest fan of Maggie Smith and she didn't disappoint. Neither did Judi Dench. They are the royalty of English actresses and they brought their usual punch and style to the roles they played. 


The plot has -- with no apologies -- multiple deus ex machinas, the convenient rescues in the nick of time -- but it all works and is a total delight. In fact, I want to see the movie again -- perhaps on a DVD -- so I can slow down the dialogue and catch every nuance. 


There is also a great impression of the color and zest for life in India. The ability to survive comes through and inspired. This is definitely a feel-good movie and I highly recommend it.

Is elegance enough?

Yesterday our WCAGA book club looked at Ann Truitt's work. So minimal. She said in her writing that she was expressing her emotions. Whew! That had to be her version of what it was like to be emotional. Elegant?
Yes. Definitely elegant in the simplicity of her lines, the avoidance of a curve or a random spot. But emotional? That emotion could be strength, but a canvas with only off-white paint on it, what is that saying? There was a time decades ago when that was original. It makes me wonder whether original is enough. And, yet, I was not in the majority at this gathering. Most of my friends seemed to think that Truitt's work was powerful and did something for them.

Along these lines -- today is supposedly Shakespeare's birthday. It was a shock to hear that major literary figures like Tolstoy had no respect at all for the bard's work. It's hard to imagine anyone dismissing the author who wrote "to be or not to be..." and making small of him. As an English major, I think I need to cover my ears.

As the collectors of "Points of Light" mourn the passing of their famous and extremely wealthy creator, it does give one pause. Does history really sort it out? Maybe, we all agree the ancient cave drawings were brilliant.

The painting below -- an unfinished escape from the tedium of doing what I was supposed to do today. If it says anything, I'm not sure what it is. All I know is that there is joy in the process and it is my ultimate escape. I don't smoke, drink or do drugs...probably need an addiction of this sort.

Alan Avery and the Buckhead Gallery Reflections

Allen Avery's opening last night was, as usual, a very classy event. I like that he has found Harriet Leibowitz -- another woman-- to represent. Her enormous, fabric-wrapped figures are digitally printed on plexiglass. The result is stunning. It made me want to run home and figure out what I had that could print on plexi! The show, however, was really about Pascal Pierme and his remarkable sculptures, most of them puzzles that are cleverly pieced together to hang on a wall. Wandering the gallery, I found some of the most fascinating views through the windows catching the reflections of a unique group of people who come out to a gallery in Buckhead on a Friday night.

Wake up, women!

I am living smack in the middle of a state where women are being denigrated in the Capitol by any number of legislators who would take away our rights. It fills me with a disgust that I cannot even express. Where are the women with backbone who will fight back and take away the offices of these men who do not deserve to be in any position of power anywhere. It is time for women to realize that they have a majority and that they don't have to be humiliated and controlled as if we were, yes, slaves. The slave mentality has not left the South. It has just shifted to women. Bravo, huh? We need to be angry, we need to get involved. This is not just about us. It is about our daughters, our granddaughters and the future. Where is your anger?

Larry Walker Tells the Stories that Drive His Art

Larry Walker's speech was beyond impressive yesterday. I was actually mesmerized. If I could have scooped up his paintings and taken them home with me, the walls in his section of Mason Murer would have been absolutely bare.

As he said, he is in his paintings -- and Walker is a man given to deep thoughts and humble, passionate emotions. In many of the pieces on display, there are multi-level images that speak to the complexity of life. His view of the human condition is even reflected in a masterful, charcoal drawing of a cactus. With mortality on his mind, he pointed out that an aged, dying cactus drops its "arms" and exposes its insides to nourish the young. Walker the professor, the nurturer of artists, is a man who cares and it is part and parcel of his body of work.

At one point, Walker looked at the wall opposite him where three of his drawings were hung. Those are me, he said. Walker, a tall man in his seventies stands sturdy and straight. The figure in the drawings looked much, much older and frail, bent and leaning on a cane. As we age, there is the sense that we are on the downhill slope. Walker expresses without any disguise a deep sadness that the game is coming to an end.

He said that his work always comes back to the figurative, no matter what the medium. Even if you catch him waiting for an appointment or a meeting to begin, Walker is ever the artist who cannot resist sketching the people around him.

Early in life, Walker lived in New York and grew up with buildings and walls around him. These walls show up in a great deal of his work. Negative and positive space,
flawless composition, all elements of Walker's work that ultimately is about the human condition. The tragedy of slavery and the abuse of people who were dragged here from Africa are part and parcel of that view. One painting with shackles hanging from a canvas that is sliced in half reminds us that Walker is very, very aware of the issues that have plagued the South. While there is beauty in his work, thought and meaning drive it.

He admitted that he doesn't start out with a full-blown concept. It develops as he works and titles are attached afterwards. It is a fluid process, one that can easily be compared to the masters.

Art that makes you want to laugh and cry

Friday night I was one of the fortunate people invited to the opening of Alan Avery's exhibit, The Glass Ceiling, and after party. The man knows how to put together a show and he knows how to throw an awesome party.

Dancers from GloATL were part of the entertainment. They wove in and out of the crowd, edgy, opening questions that teased the audience without providing all the clues. This is a company that never has a down performance.

Art by the likes of Louise Nevelson, Helen Frankenthaler and Kara Walker were the impressive attractions for this celebration of Avery's 30th year anniversary of his gallery. A survivor by any measure. I have to admit I was in awe of Nevelson and Frankethaler. History was on the walls.

However, it was Kara Walker's work that took my breath away. This woman manages to create beautiful silhouettes of black people in motion. She exaggerates their features so you know they have to be black. And while their grace and delicacy are literally gorgeous, the stories they tell make the heart ache. These are masterpieces. What Walker has done negates the current trend that elevates the vulgar and the ugly. She has trashed the theory that exhibiting skill and beauty is out of fashion. Not surprisingly, most of her pieces had red dots next to them. Smart collectors? Probably. People who simply fell in love with the work. Just as likely. I did.

Thank you, Allen.