Archive for July, 2009
Jackson Hole is now the home of the International Film Academy (IFA), a school on a mission to teach professional filmmaking. The valley’s relatively isolated geography makes it an improbable location for such an institution, but its unparalleled natural beauty and proximity to two national parks provide visual inspiration and myriad topics.
Recently the Journeys School campus served as base camp for the IFA’s week-long pilot course. Film director Danny Ledonne, aided by Jackson media expert and instructor Carl Shuptrine, led the class. Ledonne is a third-year MFA candidate at Washington D.C.’s American University. The week’s course, geared for adults, included former JH Film Institute staff, Teton County Library employees, college students and broadcast media grads looking to improve skills. Students got hands-on experience with cool, high-end Panasonic P2 tapeless HD cameras 
and Final Cut Pro editing systems. With only a week to plan, shoot and edit, the class began shooting on Day 2, spending the first day considering possible topics, viewing documentary film clips and discussing story lines and emerging trends.
What is the definition of a documentary? Ledonne says that as long as a film’s topic is non-fictional, it’s a documentary. “There are as many possibilities for documentary topics as there are topics in a library’s non-fiction section. Biographies, auto-bios, opinions, history, nature, it’s endless.”
For instance, March of the Penguins is more about people than it is about penguins,” notes Ledonne. “The film’s nuzzling penguins suggest they’re romancing each other. In fact, they might just be cold.”
The class discussed Blue Vinyl, a story told by a daughter trying to convince her parents not to vinyl-side their home, a large issue observed as personal experience. Michael Moore, on the other hand, is a great example of an essay-style filmmaker, with one over-arching voice: his own. By contrast, director Alex Gibney’s Taxi to the Dark Side portrays the life of an Afghanistan taxi driver we know almost nothing about. But the film tells the story of his fate at the hands of U.S. government policies.
Jackson’s IFA class filmed and edited three short films: Paragliding the Tetons, Jackson Hole Rodeo Princesses and Yurt Simplicity, films touching upon three Jackson Hole lifestyle anchors: adrenaline pumping adventure, historic cowboy culture and sustainable lifestyle. The films artfully encapsulate each topic; all have potential for extensive story lines. And, the short films spotlight places and people many Jackson Hole residents experience less often than we like to admit. Rodeo is alive, thriving–and women aren’t rodeo window dressing; they’re competitors and expert riders. Yurt life appears serene, beautiful and communal. Paragliding presents as a bit terrifying, but in the hands of experts leaping off Rendezvous Mountain, paragliding is an “uplifting,” mystical experience.
Voice and perspective affect story tone. Point of view is the point of a documentary. Considering a film’s plot and direction, a filmmaker intuits audience.
Danny Ledonne emphasizes knowledge of material. “Ask yourself large questions about your topic’s appeal. What are the big unknowns? Who are you speaking to? What’s compelling? Above all, know your story.”
For information, contact the Film Academy of Jackson Hole via info@internationalfilmacademy.com or phone 914.774.1323.
Item #2
The University of Wyoming Art Museum has posted the date for its next 20:20 event: Wednesday, September 23, 7-9 pm, at Cheyenne’s Little America. This event is open to all Wyoming artists, arts organizations and educators. 20:20 is held in conjunction with the Wyoming Arts Council’s Arts Summit.
The program provides a super speedy platform for arts practitioners to alert the state to their own projects and ideas. Presenters use Powerpoint, showing images for 20 seconds. As the University notes, this is a great networking opportunity. Sign up is first come, first serve and is open to all writers and performing artists as well as those in the visual arts.
Deadline for submissions is Wednesday, September 9. For more information or to sign up, please contact Art Museum Assistant Curator Rachel Miller at 307-766-6621 or rmiller@uwyo.edu.
Item #3
(The following is reproduced from Cayuse’s release! Time is/was of the essence.)
Event Info: The show will be on view until August 15th.
BOING!
Buoyancy. Bounce. Balloon. Toy photographer Brian McCarty revives all the fun, imaginative “B” words related to toys and childhood in his exuberant photos. This came to mind as my friend (NYC artist Ricki Arno, grandma with an urban art fetish) and I recently took in a show of McCarty’s work.
What a pleasure to laugh giddily, laugh out loud, at art. And to know it’s okay. It’s okay because with truly great toy art photography, one laughs with the toys. Toy art photography lightly and blithely takes shooting’s potentially voyeuristic aspects to a new level. 
I didn’t get it until I saw this show. And I’m still not certain how toy art photography came into being, but it’s very big. And McCarty,– step-son of local arts enthusiast and philanthropist Mickey Babcock– is one of the art form’s masters. He’s in love with art toys, creating images that “…blur the lines between art and commerce.” McCarty brings designer toys to life, placing them in fantasy situations and photographing them. Think back to the days of playing in the sand with those miniature olive green army men. We set them up in sand dunes, my siblings and I, making believe we commanded our tiny camouflaged troops, tossing dirt bombs, creating mini ambushes, tiny rescue missions. The little figures took on a life of their own, and today’s toy photography movement riffs on that era of play.
Today’s toys are made of plastic, vinyl, plush fabrics and other materials. They’re highly graphic and cartoon-like and have been in production since the 1990’s. McCarty’s work connects to many enterprises such as advertising, music, publishing, and toy manufacturing. Toy manufacturers often send McCarty prototypes; the toys allow him to push boundaries while creating on multiple levels. McCarty works with a variety of artists who have also chosen to view plastic and plush as a means of artistic expression.
What got him started on the tiny toy picture path?
“About the time I was supposed to grow up and stop playing with toys, they transitioned into subjects for my early, fumbling experiments with photography,” says McCarty. “It felt natural to communicate through these objects that carried so much emotional and cultural weight. Toys are not just fun, they are how every child begins to find his or her place in the world. Through play, reality is deconstructed and recreated in smaller, safer bites. With this in mind, toys for me became a purposeful mechanism for perspective and artistic exploration. They have remained at the core of my vision.”
Each photograph tells a tiny story that is really a commentary on humanity, pairing up seemingly unrelated objects and place. Even as we laugh at McCarty’s work, we wonder if we should be amused at certain messages. Should we laugh at the plush, smiling Kaiser-Nutcracker-faced hand grenade being tossed into the air by a guy dressed in army fatigues? We do laugh, but we get the intimation. I laughed at the vinyl tree frog’s near escape from becoming road kill, I laughed at the happy-go-lucky, candy-colored toys raining down on a sun-baked earth, engaging in a happy little invasion of their own.
McCarty is making fun of us, of our deepest foibles, our inconsistencies, our 
self-stereotyping. We’re ridiculously silly, like really good toys. We’re white rabbits on a lonely planet, we’re kinda ugly grunge musicians making music in the subways, we’re snaggy-toothed aliens landing–”kersplat!”–in chocolate cake.
How did we get here? And where will we go?
Item #2:
Mark Nowlin, The Master’s Studio proprietor, opens his first solo show of recent drawings, paintings and “constructions” at the Artspace Theater Lobby tonight, at the Center for the Arts.
I haven’t seen his work, and I can’t match Nowlin’s own description of his art, so I paraphrase his summary here:
“The heads of Barbie dolls are replaced by weather elk vertebra for a macabre but humorous juxtaposition of the socially complex and naturally simple. A work of 18th-century music is seen through a rack of glass test tubes…. The rack of a deer is attached to a beautiful antique sewing machine, a provocative mounted specimen. Old and new, nature and science, the mundane and the sublime converse within Nowlin’s glass cases…”
The opening reception runs 5:30-8:00 pm tonight, at the Center’s Artspace Gallery. For information, phone 307.733.6379
Oh, to be able to split this screen. So many happenings out there, so many stories to tell, talent everywhere, good causes, new spaces and lots of electricity. Here’s what’s happening tomorrow night, Thursday, July 23, in and around Jackson Hole’s art galleries:
Trio Fine Art’s September Vhay puts her new show, “Passages,” up tomorrow 
evening; the exhibition kicks off with an artist’s reception 5-8pm, at Trio. From 5-6 pm, Vhay will give a talk, and host a discussion, on the topic of creativity. Refreshments will be served. Vhay notes her new website address: www.vhay.com. Click on the small “i” to view images included in her new show.
Trio Fine Art is located at 545 North Cache, across from the Visitors Center. Phone: 307.734.4444.
Item #2: Squeak Carnwath’s “Loose Change”
Meet nationally recognized artist Squeak Carnwath this Thursday evening at J.H. Muse Gallery, 62 S. Glenwood. Carnwath will be signing copies of her new book, Squeak Carnwath: Painting is no Ordinary Object. The book is published in conjunction with this exhibition, and organized by the Oakland Museum of California.
The reception honoring Carnwath takes place 5-8 pm, and I’m certain refreshments will be on hand. For info: 307.733.0905.
Item #3: What is the Diehl?
Clarification on Diehl Gallery & Ashley Collins: Tonight, Wednesday, June 22, a fundraising event for the Community School takes place. Collins is on hand; see previous blog post for details–flip back a page! Tomorrow evening Collins is again on hand. Stop in and meet meet her during the artist’s reception, 5-8 pm. Diehl Gallery is located at 155 W. Broadway. Info: 307.733.0905.
Item #4: Eliot Goss: New Works on Display
Eliot Goss is an architect; he’s also an accomplished painter. Goss, a familiar presence at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and Ciao Gallery, has new works up around town.
The Wine Loft at The Liquor Store, adjacent to Albertson’s, now has an exhibition of Goss’ exceptional landscapes; they remain on display through July.
And, two miles north of town at NMWA’s Rising Sage Cafe, more works are on display; these will remain up through summer. Goss has an excellent, easy-to-navigate website.
Goss paints with an eye to the Arts and Crafts movement; there’s a certain 
structural organic touch; a simple power.
Another Goss venue: Galleries West Fine Art’s Body and Soul exhibition, opening at that gallery August 20.
A number of Jackson Hole area artists are experienced in working for our two parks, Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Ed Riddell, Greg McHuron, and Dan Burgette are three examples. Riddell and McHuron conduct workshops, often taking their students into the wilderness or abroad.
This month and next, sculptor Dan Burgette is the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Lanford Monroe Memorial Artist-in-Residence. Burgette will be on hand in Johnson Hall on Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm through August 1. Demonstrations are free and open to the public.
Burgette’s artistry springs from his three decades as a Grand Teton National Park backcountry ranger. He is a sculptor inspired by wildlife, particularly by birds and the aerodynamics of flight. Burgette creates dynamic works depicting indigenous birds in flight; he visualizes spiraling air currents of beating wings, dissolving any separation of a bird and the air around it. In some instances, Burgette’s birds become the air. Burgette works primarily with wood, metal and stone–materials seemingly too weighty to produce a sense of flight. Seemingly. Burgette smashes barriers, suggesting speed, grace and space with every work. For information, visit www.wildlifeart.org.
Item #2: A New WSJ Culture Section?
Columnist Laura Collins-Hughes reports that the Wall Street Journal is working on
a new NYC-only culture section. The new section would compete with the New York Times’ predominant arts coverage. Collins-Hughes reports that a budget is being worked up and the new section could debut as early as 2011. She quotes one WSJ staffer as saying that the new section will be “…arts-and-culture-oriented…The ad side thought they could sell ads on a local New York basis, given the Broadway scene and the arts scene overall.”
Arts sell ads, baby. By the way, did I tell you about the J.H. Art Blog’s incredible visitation stats?
Item #3 Altamira Fine Art Bends It
Altamira Fine Art has moved into its new, 172 Center Street (Suite 100) space. And it’s pretty cool. Altamira opened its doors with a Nieto ( check out the fancy dancer canvases, they are spectacular ) exhibit and now Amy Ringholz’s Storytellers is the gallery’s focus, through July 28. Ringholz’s opening reception night was pretty rockin; music on 172′s street front plaza brought the crowds in. Ringholz’s artwork kept them there, and Altamira’s relatively dark-hued interior creates a clubby atmosphere. Check it out.
Next up at Altamira: Mary Roberson’s “Nature is Life in the Dream” opens August 5. Info: 307.739.4700 & connect@altamiraart.com.
Item #4:
Artist Ashley Collins is the focus at the Diehl Gallery this week. See previous posts 
about her work, exhibit and resume. Wednesday evening a special opening benefitting the Community School takes place, 6-9:00 pm. 20% of all purchases go to the school, supporting educational initiatives for children. Call Karen Hodges at 307.733.5427 for more information on this special preview event.
It’s all about the light. Landscape painter and pastel artist Jennifer Hoffman’s work is, as I’ve said many times, imbued with light so delicate it’s,…okay, I’ll say it: heavenly.
Hoffman, represented by Galleries West, debuts her new exhibit, “Transcending,” this month. The show runs July 16-August 5 and is a compilation of new regional landscapes, as well as works depicting views of places recently visited by the artist. The show includes oil paintings and pastels. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, July 16 from 5-8 PM during the Jackson Hole Gallery Association ArtWalk.
A painter and a sculptor, Hoffman first made her mark with her feminine, poetic pastel compositions. She calls her palette muted, a description that under-serves her mastery of light. It is, as she says, meditative.
“I’m a big fan of the Tonalists. I love the glowing light of dawn and dusk, and the 
subdued values of rainy and foggy days. I’m much more interested in the subtleties of a scene than in big contrasts. I am equally interested in communicating the internal and external in my work. I think subject, composition, and palette are often more reflective of my internal state than the physical environment. Creating a work of art is, for me, a transcendent experience,” says the artist.
Hoffman has a devoted following, and Galleries West owner Debbie Bunch notes that Hoffman’s painting style is quiet and unassuming; it stands apart from most local painters’. Hoffman often works alongside landscape painters Ned Jacob, Scott Christensen, Kathy Wipfler, Greg McHuron and others.
And, Hoffman’s pedigree is as long as my arm. Her work has been included in the NMWA Western Visions Miniature Show, the Western Regional Juried Exhibit, the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters National Exhibition, and the 9th Annual Pastel 100, an international competition where she was awarded 3rd Place. Hoffman is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and an artist member of the Oil Painters of America and the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters.
For more information or to see additional artwork by Jennifer L. Hoffman, contact Galleries West Fine Art at 307-733-4412. Or, visit www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com and www.jenniferhoffman.com.
Item #2: JACKSON HOLE ART FAIR!
Hey, it’s July!
So it’s time to share
‘Bout that annual gig
The Jackson Hole Art Fair!
Or “Art Fair Jackson Hole”
As it likes to be called;
Nobody asked me—I’m not involved.
No matter the title
It’s a time we’re aware
Of Art that is new,
And Art that is rare.
If it suits you, please dine
On big chocolate éclairs.
Hey, man
Don’t be bored;
Sometimes Harrison Ford
Comes to check out the art
And he brings Flockhart!
Buy ceramics, toys, fiber!
This poem’s the town crier
For an art fair weekend
Come rain or come shine-er.
Paintings, baskets, jewels, tents;
Sunscreen and some fivers
All make for a day
The whole family could die for!
See the Fair! Have fun.
This poem is so done.
What: Art Fair Jackson Hole 2009
When: July 17, 18 & 19
Friday and Saturday 10am- 6pm, Sunday 10am-4pm
Where: Miller Park, 2 blocks west of the Town Square
Admission is $3 and all proceeds support the Art Association
307-733-8792
amyf@artassociation.org
