Jackson Hole Art Blog

To bring you a great link.    Posted this on Facebook today, and will post it here, too.    I’ve become a bigger fan of the opinions of columnists considered, traditionally, as “conservative.”   The energy and tumult of the world is shifting values of liberals a little to the right, and the values of conservatives a little to the left.   More meeting in the middle.   If you didn’t see it, newly appointed Democratic State Chairman Chuck Herz just recently had his letter to the Op-Ed page of the New York Times published.  In the letter he praised the views of David Brooks, who spoke of the situations humans create for themselves that are too big to solve when the worst happens.   And when the worst happens, it is catastrophic.

Thomas L. Friedman, in this column, is saying that the worst has happened many times over and both political parties are culpable.  And that means the population at large is culpable.

A pull quote: ” It is not your imagination,” says corporate strategy consultant Peter Schwartz – there is a lot more scary stuff hanging out there today.   Since the end of the cold war and the rise of the Internet, we’ve lost the walls and the superpowers that together kept the world’s problems more contained.  Today, smaller and smaller units can wreak larger and larger havoc – and whatever havoc is wreaked now gets spread faster and farther than ever before.”

We’re at the watershed; we need to consider good ideas, where ever they come from.   To read the full article, click here.

This is a lesson we in Jackson could learn; I hope we are learning.  The truth expressed in Friedman’s article is applicable to Jackson’s economic woes:  we’ve put our eggs in one or two baskets.   We have crashed hard.   We need more baskets.

(“You know… more money funds — flows through the private capital markets in a day than through all the world’s governments in a year. So, there’s no question that this job, this transition, this move of America and the world to a clean energy future is not going to be done by our governments. It’s going to be done by our entrepreneurs, by our investors, and — and by our business leaders.”- John Doerr )

An “up” note:  I applaud Jackson’s resilient, ever-expanding and brave arts community.  So much positive energy and ideas are hatching (from the arts basket), and growing!   We stumbled, but in recent months I see one of our private sectors taking up the challenge and running with it.   Congratulations, all you entrepreneurs, new galleries and public art pushers!   You are picking up on ideas and bringing them forward.  It’s a beautiful thing.  I love hearing about new ventures, so do send news to me via my email:  tammy@jacksonholearttours.com. I don’t always pick up info from Facebook, because I rarely scroll past the first page of posts on my wall.     Direct mail is best.

The tide rolls out, the tide comes back in.

Lots of closings around town lately, and people moving on.   So sad.   But there is new growth as well, buds of activity and new operating models.   Two new galleries are opening; one, Heather James, I’ve mentioned and will write more about soon.

The other is a gallery with good potential for locals:  MADE. (Brilliant name!)  It opens soon, in Gaslight Alley, just down from Valley Books and Brookover Photography, across the alley from Crazy Horse Native American Jewelry and next door to Bet the Ranch.

MADE’s proprietor is John Frechette, owner of Strapped, his own line of belt buckles fashioned from colorful, translucent fused glass.  Frechette plans to load up the shop with handmade “products from around the country.”  I take that to mean his goods are manufactured in America.

Frechette’s space will be home to Strappedglass.com.  It will also be a new venue for local artists, with space dedicated to local work.  Frechette plans to feature local artists on a rotating basis, spotlighting products for week-long intervals during peak tourist seasons.  Artist “weeks” begin Thursdays and end the following Wednesday.  Opening night parties happen on Thursdays too.   Frechette says it’s mandatory for artists to attend their own opening nights, but they are not required to be on premises for the full week.

Artists need to apply to Frechette to be considered.   Those who are scheduled pay $175 rent for the week, and all sale proceeds go directly to the artist; no commission is paid to MADE.   The fee also pays for opening night refreshments, e-invites and flyers advertising the event.  Extra ads beyond what MADE supplies are at the expense of the artist.

Interested?  Contact Frechette by emailing him:   info@strappedbelts.com. Provide the following information:  Name, Business Name, Website, Mailing address, Phone, email, estimated number of invitees for your opening night, and your first three choices for an exhibition week.

Hurry, because as you might imagine, slots are filling fast.

A phone number has also been supplied:   307.690.9019

At this writing, May 20-27 is the first available artist exhibition week; Frechette has dates available into September, 2010.

Item #2

The Cultural Council of Jackson Hole has announced that 2010 Arts for All grant applications are currently available.   The Cultural Council is a non-profit arts organization that “strives to bring together arts and cultural organizations that are supporting the communication, collaboration, and promotion of cultural life in our valley…”   The Council administers the program.

Grants are available to both arts and culture organizations and individual artists.   All!

Potential grant awards are generous.  Up to $6,000 may be awarded to either an individual or a group, but all grants must be matched 1:1 by the applicant.   Arts for All distributes social service tax dollars from the Town of Jackson and Teton County for arts education, says the Cultural Council’s Alissa Davies. The program’s mission includes “producing and presenting opportunities and public projects by artists that have a strong community benefit.”

Completed applications are due by June 1, 2010; there are no exceptions for late applicants.

Davies notes that no support will be provided to organizations already receiving public support from Town or County funds. Arts for All funds are allocated to the Cultural Council at the discretion of the Jackson Town Council and the Teton County Board of Commissioners.

Davies emphasizes that there are no guarantees elected officials will fund beyond this cycle.

For more information about the Arts for All program, to receive an application and guidelines, or for information about the Cultural Council, please contact Alissa Davies at 307.690.4757,  or email culturalcounciljh@gmail.com.

Two items from the Art Association:

Having just read a Jackson Hole News and Guide profile on  Art Association new Executive Director Jennifer Crawford’s feeling for space between art and its viewer, it really seems like kismet that a new show, Redefining Space, has opened at Artspace Loft Gallery.  Kismet, or great marketing coordination…you decide!  Whatever the force, this exhibit does something new.  Creative personalities fall into ruts; our spaces can rot, and worn space often sabotages creativity.   It creates resistance, a monumental foe for artists and writers.

Gallery and museum spaces manipulated to make the best of any display are not as common as you might think. In that spirit (and not because there’s worn space to rectify) Redefining Space aims to flex and stretch existing concepts about gallery space in particular.  Former Art Association board member Cindee George flexes her own creative biceps by reinterpreting Artspace’s  Donnelly Photography Loft Gallery.   The result is an exhibit within an exhibit, as George’s redefinition of gallery space is the backdrop for a current art exhibition.

The Art Association notes, too, that its Summer Class Registration process begins March 15, 2010.    Log onto the Art Association’s website, www.artassociation.org, to see this year’s offerings.  There are classes for all ages and artistic predilections.   A variety of levels of expertise are accommodated.   The roster includes loads of childrens art classes, so keep your little ones in mind when signing up.

Item #2:

Death, Debt and Divorce. Those are the three certain facts of life continuing to drive the art market, even in an economic downturn.  So says Christie’s CEO Edward Dolman in a business profile on the arts, published in Newsweek’s February 22, 2010 issue. (page 52.)

Last month, a Sotheby’s auction sold  Alberto Giacometti’s 1960 sculpture of a needle-thin man, “Walking Man I” for $104.3 million.  The price broke the previous record fine art sale, $104.2 million.  That record was also set at Sotheby’s, six years ago.  The hammer price bought Pablo Picasso’s 1906 work “Boy with a Pipe.” Prompted by the shockingly robust Giacometti sales price, Newsweek probed Doleman on the “hows and whys” of the sale.  With the collapse and confusion in current world economies, where does a sales price like this come from?  Is there no tactful reluctance, even when art up for sale is renowned?

According to Dolman, the answer is “no.”   Top of the market art sales flourish because of rare supply and rare personal fortune.  Dolman notes that as the Asian and Middle East art markets have grown, so has Christie’s investment in their sales bases.  “Our Asian works of art department is now the single biggest revenue-generating part of our business, superseding impressionist (darn it!) and modern pictures, postwar and contemporary art,” says Dolman.   He adds that when the most expensive art is involved, only a small number of people have the funds to buy it.  Those buyers have so much wealth it is almost impossible to put a dent in it.

The bottom line on “bargains,” says Dolman, is that death, debt and divorce happen no matter how wobbly economies become.   Death often piles debt onto family fortunes, and selling art that has accumulated high value is a handy way of paying off that debt.  Even then, top works of art are scarce.  So when a great work comes on the market Christie’s and Sotheby’s alert their best collectors and encourage them to bid while they can.

Supply and the ability to demand.   Can’t help but think about Jackson Hole’s plunging real estate market, a market with limited pinnacle supply and that only the wealthiest can buy.   Jackson’s real estate market has dropped near 80% in the last year, plus.   Since the recession began, according to Newsweek,  Christie’s sales have dropped from a reported $6 billion to less than $3 billion.  A very few of the highest end valley properties have sold recently;  “moderate” priced home sales remain fallow.

Here in rural Connecticut, I can’t find a ding dang movie theater inside of 12 miles.  But the New York Times is sold in every nook and cranny;  weekends, I get it delivered.

Sitting in bed with the Sunday Times at 7:30 am, watching yet another raging New England gale blast the landscape, is one of life’s great pleasures.   Sorry, I’m still a hold-the-paper-in-your-hand kind of girl.  When I can be.   It’s civilized.  And so much more interesting in a sensory way.

I do recycle.  And my rabbits, Minnie & Pearl, make good use of old newspaper for certain projects of theirs. We’re efficient with our newspapers, o.k.?

Getting to the point, I want to make a point about the deep devotion the N.Y. Times has towards the arts.  It’s HUGE.  Of course, it is huge because New York is swimming in arts. You could spend a solid month viewing art in NYC and not come close to seeing everything.   More arts there than there are grains of salt in the ocean.

The arts are struggling, but for those cities and towns committed to their arts, they are a giant economic engine.  Stop and think.  How interesting is any city or town without its arts?  Without expression of environment and culture?   What would Jackson Hole be  without its galleries, without Dancers Workshop, Grand Teton Music Festival,  NMWA, the Art Association, the Center? Without pARTNERS?  Without Nicole Madison? Without Candra Day?  Tina Close? Without Rocky Vertone? Without David Swift and Tom Mangelsen and Jon Stuart and the Riddells? Teton Art Lab? Off Square and Jackson Community Theatres? Without venues like the Brew Pub and Pearl St. Bagels and Koshu and Elevated Grounds? Charlie Craighead? Without Missy Falcey, our fabulous Library and its programs and exhibits? Without our movie and playhouses?

We’re already finding out what it’s like without McCandless; we’ve found out what it’s like without other galleries that didn’t make it, and we’ll find out what it is like without a few more.

Well?

I wouldn’t live here.  Who’d want to? We’re not exactly ethnically diverse, so there’s no interest there.  If town didn’t exist and we were a park only, that would be one thing.  But we’re not.  We’re an urban center, we’re Wyoming’s equivalent of Connecticut’s Fairfield County. (Hey, I’m a hugely boring WASP…self-deprication here! And actually, Fairfield Co. is now much more ethnically diverse than Jackson…) What can keep us from being just another snow village country club? Art, for one thing.  All kinds of art.

This weekend, the New York Times has four sections devoted to the arts. A reflection of a reflection of commitment.  Here are a few items from those pages–along with one item from the Travel Section, often packed with arts news from around the globe.  (Because when people travel, they usually enjoy visiting regional art and architecture!):

The Whole Earth Catalog: The Prequel. The article reviews “Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe,” on view at the Rubin Museum of Art. Pull quote: “Western science and Eastern religion imagine the beyond.”

Time, the Infinite Storyteller. The article discusses the many ways that great institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, takes a visitor through time’s linked histories.

Growing Up Biracial Before Obama: Years of Pain and Eventual Progress. A theater review of a one-woman show at the Roy Arias Theater Center.

Nothing about “NINE.”

A 1965 film, Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, is on view at MOMA.

George Orwell was born in…India?  A small article about restoring the author’s birthplace.

A music review of the band Soulive, on the occasion of the band’s 10th anniversary.

Small Museum Captures a Rare Chagall. London’s Jewish Museum of Art has acquired a rare depiction of the Holocaust, by Chagall.  The work is entitled “Apocalypse in Lilac: Capriccio.”  The work is perhaps the most “brutal and disturbing ever created by an artist primarily known for his brightly colored folkloric visions.”

A review of the show “Struttin’ With Some Barbeque,” featuring musicians Henry Butler and Donald Harrison.

Carmen.

36 Hours in Mountainous, Multicultural Tucson includes a mention of a great collection of American Photography, the Center for Creative Photography. You can also check out “Jet Age Graveyards” and the Titan Missile Museum—a largely underground nuclear silo not demolished, where you can get a quick view of a warhead “700 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.”

Degas Work Stolen from French Museum. Swiped while on loan from the Musee d’Orsay. (By the way, did Jackson’s police ever solve the mystery of the artworks stolen from galleries this past summer?)

Struggling Actor Tweaks Script, Buddy and Bodies.  A review of the movie “Film With Me In It,” a “…slender, supple comedy graced with appealing performers and laced with agreeable poison.”

So, Jackson Holers–next time you bump into one of our town’s creative souls, give them an extra big “Thankyou.”   And contribute what you can.  Maybe we can expand our arts coverage, and I and my rabbits will like that.

“Years later I’m going back and looking at the projects we did.  My critique is, they are pastiche.  They are cardboard facades.  The real town is a block behind them, and it’s still awful, in trouble. So we didn’t help the people who live there, the thing that was supposed to be helped.” – Walter Hood

Finding what is particular and special to a community is part of what urban landscape designer Walter Hood does; over the years it has become clearer to Hood that urban centers require different formulas for renewal, depending on relevant measurable goals.

Pittsburgh, with its steel industry history, at one time existed for opposite reasons than Jackson exists.  But, says Hood, Pittsburgh  (sort of a sister city for me, and a great example in urban renewal) has found itself again. Like other mid-west industrial towns Pittsburgh fell on hard times; hard enough that a few decades ago many were giving it up for lost.  Jobs disappeared, people left in droves, and the city was gritty and depressed.

Jackson and Pittsburgh have traditionally relied on single industries. Jackson’s magnificent beauty and location have made it an economy inflated by landscape;  Pittsburgh’s economy relied on steel.

Now Pittsburgh’s economy is strong; it has weathered this recession relatively well, in large part because the city has taken pains to attract diverse market sectors.  Healthcare, education, technology, financial jobs play a large role. City parks are being restored. Abandoned spaces are recycled into new housing and businesses.

Hood opines that whatever direction Jackson takes in shaping its future, keeping traffic in check is crucial.   Open space cannot be fully protected unless we control congestion and emissions.

“I think where we are as Americans, things are hitting the fan.  We will have to make some really serious decisions about the land.  I have a lot of projects where people are investing in alternative transportation modes; they are starting to say “we don’t need that much parking.”  They are beginning to say we want to be greener—it will force them to act differently.”

Its community locking horns over a new Comprehensive Plan, Jackson’s town and county officials are attempting to correctly address a demand for affordable housing.  The risk of over development is very real.  To date, officials are treating mass transit as a finishing touch for building more units;  most urban planning takes the opposite approach.

Whenever I return to Jackson from the east coast, my immediate sense is Jackson’s traffic is under control.  Then summer arrives.

“In the winter it is really fantastic to be here—you could drive and everything goes back to scale,” says Hood.  “When spring comes the scale gets smaller but it is still big.  You see more in Jackson.  It’s sensory overload.”

A national park’s purpose is defeated, says Hood, when 4,000,000 tourists a year jam the roads and the scenery is…”unseeable.” If you want to reduce traffic, and impact, you make roads smaller and narrower. Cars then have to get smaller.  Discourage, don’t encourage, more traffic.

We agree that the town of Jackson should be about this place.  That gentler transitions from park to town are optimal, but not planned.  Approaching downtown Jackson, there is a sense that our open spaces are chopped off at the knees.  It’s good, we conclude, that the National Museum of Wildlife Art is one of the first things you see.   But many buildings and landscapings closer to town are visually harsh.  Lots of aging concrete, signage, little shoulder softening, no real thought to the landscape.

And simply as a marketing concept, in addition to the conservation benefits, planning should accentuate sensitivity to place.

But what about helping a community through recession?  Hood may not have Jackson’s specific economic remedy, but he does have experience with plans that didn’t work.

Hood says that collectively, we often make big mistakes when trying to “save” community.

“There are some amazing places, but the way we act in those landscapes is still the freakin’ same way,” he notes.  “I worked for a firm in the 90’s that would go to lots of small towns, particularly in Washington state. There was, at the time, the whole notion that you can go to these communities and save them by design.  A lot of them have lost their industries; they were river towns and people logged, or fished…those economies died.

The community then dies.

So we’re in this amazing valley or setting and what do we do?  Tourism. Immediately the main street programs help fortify the preservation of these towns—and I was into it.  At the time it seemed like the right thing to do.

Years later I’m going back and looking at the projects we did.  My critique is, they are pastiche.  They are cardboard facades.  The real town is a block behind them, and it’s still awful, in trouble.   So we didn’t help the people who live there, the thing that was supposed to be helped.”

Hood says the reasons people do choose to live in Jackson Hole are clear.  Safety is big, he says, and that feeling of safety springs in large part from how we control growth.

“It is a gift to have the ability to just walk around without fear and collision.  Last night I saw a woman running in the near dark, without street lights, without fear.  Wow.  She’s safe, there’s no traffic, the landscape is still visible, and she wants to be there.

I could not do this where I live.  Those are the kind of experiences to save.   The ability to navigate the landscape at night!  But more people, more traffic—more security and more lights come in. Success breeds more demand. It’s a circle.   I asked for a room on the upper floors of my hotel, facing the mountains, so I could take that in.  That’s the experience!  I know why people live here.”

To find out more about Walter J. Hood and his work, log onto his website here.

Post Script:  The Jackson Hole Art Blog is VERY happy to hear of Blaize Oswald’s encouraging progress as he recovers from a bad fall from a ski chairlift.   Our prayers and best wishes go out to the Oswald Family.

I don’t have many answers, but I do have lots of questions. Jackson’s sustainable and artistic efforts should fuse. But how? What models are out there in the world that we can study, even emulate?

Jackson’s future, in many ways, depends on the questions we ask. We should be asking more “baby step” questions and the larger ideals will naturally evolve. Just the other day, the Grand Teton Music Festival announced some news: Anonymous pledges (signaling that donors  don’t wish to be placed on pedestals for their contributions) totaling $3.5 million will establish a Housing Fund that will support its participating artists and stabilize “the largest line item in the Festival’s budget.”

The money is out there. Affordable housing, one of our biggest crises, will be available where the Festival is, in Teton Village. Where the artists actually work. In theory, not a lot of additional traffic. Green.

If we’re not going to create better mass transit opportunities, we’d better put housing where workers work.

I did not attend Jackson’s recent Energy Summit. No doubt I missed a lot of cool interaction, scintillating discussion, theory, science, inspiring vision, good networking and even a photo op or two.

The questions that formed in my mind, that weren’t answered to my satisfaction prior to the Summit, are these:

What was its cost?  Will Summit organizers offer up a financial report of this and any subsequent summits, as it is “for-profit” and not “non-profit?”

Who receives any fees the community pays out to the Summit? Why should the community contribute to it now, rather than to established initiatives? Perhaps it’s simply a choice, but am I the only one feeling stretched?  And kind of guilty just for sometimes having to say “no?”   In this economy, I’d love a time line for practical Summit results related to Jackson.

How big was this summit’s carbon footprint?

Are our new, empty buildings green? Are they going to be made green before or after they’re occupied?  What is the plan to fill all these empty spaces?  Is anyone considering reducing rents in exchange for tax credits, in order to attract new businesses that would provide good jobs?

How do such summits aid or detract from efforts to resolve, in a financially prudent way, our Comprehensive Plan?  Do they address land use? What is the interface with the planning process?

Will we price out middle class families looking for memorable, but affordable experiences here? If we can’t offer lodging under $400 a night, “regular” people can’t visit. And if they don’t visit, they won’t know the valley, or feel any impetus to protect it. How can we move forward with being green and ensure keeping it “real?”

Many less sexy communities without real estate hyper-spikes haven’t crashed as hard as Jackson.  How will we address that?

A tunnel running under Teton Pass would provide safer and faster commutes, run beneath habitat, and balance real estate values. On this side of the Pass, values would come down a bit.  Over in Idaho, they’d go up a bit because Jackson Hole would be more accessible. We’d give the mountain back to wildlife.  Mass transit would operate more efficiently.  That road is treacherous.  Avalanche emergencies and related deaths would be reduced.

Ted Kerasote once suggested a tunnel, in lieu of a bridge, for GTNP. How about a tunnel to go under that freakin’ Pass?

Man, I am so old.  I go lookin’ for images to post up for Teton Art Lab’s call to artists, for its upcoming “Wallpaper” exhibition, and I think I will find oodles of gorgeous decorator wall papers.  Grass paper, Ralph Lauren patterns, accents, borders, stenciling, flocks; and themes like “The Hunt,” “Jungle,”  “Rose Garden,” “Zen,” “Star Wars,”….

But no.  It’s all about “Anime” and desktop and video games and such.

Teton Artlab is seeking entries for its second annual “Wallpaper” exhibition, to be held from December 4th – 23rd, 2009.

All works on paper are eligible, provided they are UNFRAMED and under 48″ on the longest side. Submissions must be dropped off at Teton Art Lab (up on the third floor of the Center for the Arts) by November 27th. This is a juried show, and works that are not destined to be part of the show will be returned by December 3rd.

Entries should have the artist’s name, phone number, and email, either on the back of the work or included with a portfolio.

For information, send a note…not written, but emailed…to :info@tetonartlab.com.

Item #2

Lyndsay McCandless has announced she is “pushing the pause button”  on SLAM, Jackson’s grass roots artist market modeled on the town’s Saturday Farmer’s Market.  She will also cease producing First Fridays, music events and all parties for now.

McCandless says the Town of Jackson has deemed her gallery space “not up to code,” and has notified her that the gallery may not hold gatherings with more than 45 people.

Well, that’s huge, because McCandless has transitioned the gallery space into the local contemporary art community’s primary gathering place.  She has been the heart, the Energizer Bunny, for young visual artists here.   The ceasing of McCandless events leaves a big black hole in our arts scene.  I don’t know the extent of SLAM’s effect on our local arts economy, but any slice taken out of our artistic family’s financial pie is a painful loss.

I call again on commercial property owners to offer up empty store front space to local artists!   This is ridiculous!

McCandless says the shut down forces her to reevaluate LMC’s future.  Stay tuned.

I’ve asked McCandless why, after occupying the space on Jackson Street for as long as she has, the space is suddenly deemed not up to code; if it’s printable, I’ll give you the answer when I receive it.

The Art Association has named a new Executive Director: Jennifer Crawford. Karen Stewart, outgoing director, says Crawford has strong arts credentials, “infectious energy and ideas.”  Crawford takes over in January, 2010.  She replaces Stewart, who led the Art Association through 16 years of growth.  She guided the Association’s transition to its current home at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. Stewart will retire at the end of January.

Congratulations to Jennifer Crawford, and KUDOS, KUDOS, KUDOS to Karen as she begins the next phase of her life with family, friends and great projects.

NOW….

Jackson artist Jenny Dowd is being honored at her alma mater, the University of Missouri. The university’s first Alumni Exhibition features Dowd’s sculptural aged forms…forms that look like teeth and books.  We wrote about that, and we are proud to have collaborated with Dowd on her Blurb Book, “Collection.” Dowd and her husband Sam work for Jackson’s Art Association, and are noted for their sculptural works;  Jenny is inspired by history, data and nature, while Sam creates fanciful, orbital and aerial inspired-forms, forms that would transfer very well to claymation.   Jenny’s work was also featured in the Premio Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro International Competition for Young Sculptors in Milan, Italy.

Item #2: Charlotte’s Arts – Why Not Here? Connect the Dots!

Charlotte, South Carolina’s arts, that is.  Charlotte’s Mayor Joseph Riley is solidly behind public arts initiatives in his city—and he’s been re-elected for NINE terms!  I’m excerpting some highlights from an article on the subject, compiled by various Gazette-Virginian staff, here:

“The arts, public grounds/parks and historic preservation are “the three basic reasons, the initiators” of Charleston, S.C.’s phenomenal change, keynote speaker Mayor Joseph Riley told Art & Creative Economy Conference guests, town and county officials Wednesday.”

Oh heck.  I’m crunched for time.  Here’s the rest of the article, and it’s a good one. I’ve italicized major points.

“Riley described downtown Charleston as almost dead in 1977, the year the Spoleto Festival USA debuted there. “But the arts, all those people coming, and all the flowerings started” igniting the rebirth of the downtown district.

However,  the seminal course change almost floundered.

Initially composer Gian Carlos Menotti started an arts festival in Spoleto, Italy in 1958, and a North American “sister city” was sought.

Charleston went courting, but some on the committee were not delighted with all aspects of the Italian festival – finances were described as a mess – and worried a similar event in Charleston might have a negative impact on the community and the existing arts.

Riley – backed by the committee’s 6-5 vote tabling the disbandment motion – fought for Spoletto Festival USA, “to make ourselves a stage for the arts.”

The city began raising money and cleaning up for the event.

Today, the 17-day Spoletto’s phenomenal impact on the arts and economy continues. “Spoletto began the artistic renaissance of Charleston. It’s never been so robust, but it goes so far beyond that,” he added, naming development of magnet schools for the arts at the high and middle school level.

The arts also are being used as a unifying theme to reach kids in an inner-city school.

“We are teaching everybody,” added Riley, describing the wonderful spectrum of the city.

The quality of life in Charleston also makes recruiting easier for businesses, Riley noted, with one businessman naming that asset as making it easier for him to recruit the employees he needs.

Historic Preservation
In the early 20th century, some wanted to tear down Rainbow Row, recalled Riley. “The ladies rose up, taking a stand for preservation,” he recalled.

Today, Charleston boasts the first Preservation Ordinance in America.

When the historic buildings are preserved for adaptive reuse, the structure takes on a forever aspect, according to the mayor. “You can’t create this from scratch,” he added, emphasizing the city’s historic preservation as one of the three basic reasons for its great revival and success.

Public Parks
“It is very important that there be public places,” emphasized Riley. “The more the better. The public realm is so important,” he repeated.

Vision, a hefty $750,000 private donation and creative negotiations with a property owner ultimately resulted in the city’s Waterfront Park.

“No one can imagine Charleston without Waterfront Park,” added Riley. “The community adores it. The moral imperative is that we make sure the city is an inspirational place for everyone,” he said.

The park also elevated the notion of the public realm, going to the extra effort to create beautiful places for the public, according to the mayor.

Charleston also fought for a bridge with bike and pedestrian paths, opening yet another avenue to the public, recalled the mayor.

“Great towns or cities, the size doesn’t matter, these principles are universal,” said the mayor, who speaks with almost 34 years experience as a master of transition in Charleston.

Prior to Mayor Riley’s introduction, one county businessman and civic leader observed: “I hope people can connect the dots linking the arts and the economy and ask, ‘Why not here?’”

Two things tend to happen when I’m away from Jackson and checking out cultural venues in other cities: I compare our arts scene to those of the places I’m visiting, and I talk a lot about our arts scene to the people I’m with.

I talk a lot about Jackson’s arts because my friends and family ask me about them.   Many of them have never been to Jackson Hole or either of our neighboring parks, and they want to understand more about what an arts culture in a town our size, in a magnificent and relatively remote region is like.   It’s not easy to describe, but when I finish trying to paint a picture (as it were) of all Jackson’s energy, initiatives, venues and artists, listeners seem impressed Jackson’s art scene is as vibrant as it is.

I’ve just returned from St. Louis. I attended my high school’s reunion, and we had a blast.  I and my friends spent an afternoon exploring the Best of Missouri Art Fair, at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens. Nori Obata, a classmate and a member of one of St. Louis’ most prominent arts and architecture family legacies, had a booth.   St. Louis has a bit of a stodgy rep, but let me tell you:  that city’s arts scene is ripping.  Over the past couple of decades millions of dollars have been poured into building the city’s public arts and gardens. And the city’s public has responded enthusiastically. They are engaged, and the Best of Missouri was mobbed.  It was such a big venue, we literally could not find the end of the thing.  And people weren’t just milling, they were spending.   Money was changing hands all over the place.

We weren’t just happy to see a successful art fair, though.  We were all enchanted by the setting, the Botanical Gardens, a bit of Paris in the heart of the Midwest.  Acres of landscaped gardens are made even more magical with the addition of Dale Chihuly glass sculpture installations.  Rather than detract from the traditional and contemporary gardens and plantings, these bubbly, fantastic sculptures enhance.  They are unforgettable.   We didn’t want to leave.

Just thought I’d mention it.

So what happened here in Jackson?  Good stuff!

Results came in from the third annual Jackson Hole Art Auction, for one.  Because I was asked about the auction so much (its reputation is growing, growing!), I’m posting that info.  Seventy-six percent of the 235 lots sold, and the auction–which features Western Art and is jointly hosted by Trailside and Gerald Peters galleries–realized just under $6,000,000 total.   The auction says collectors represented more than 30 states and several foreign countries.  Highlight sale: Bob Kuhn’s painting, “Like the Down of a Thistle,” estimated at $75 – $100K, sold for $299,000.

You can view all the results on the J.H. Art Auction website, www.jacksonholeartauction.com.

Lynday McCandless SLAM update: More artists needed!  Send the word out to your peeps, she says.  Use the Facebook, use the email, Twitter.   Time slot will change to afternoons, 1-5 pm. Additionally, LMC gallery will host artfilm screenings every weekend this month.    PBS’s Art 21 series has a new season, and LMC will screen them Fridays at 6 pm, and Saturdays at 2 and 4 pm.   The series features interviews with contemporary artists working in all mediums. Themes include: compassion, fantasy, transformation and systems.

And, artists, you have homework:  Watch at least one of the videos, then create a work in response.  Next month’s First Friday will feature your creations.   For information, email lyndsay@lmcontemporary.com.

Onion Skins…

National Museum of Wildlife Art Chief Preparator Ron Gessler sends this arts related spoof from “The Onion.” Anything to jump start the arts economy…now, it’s o.k. to touch, scratch and smell the art at the Met.  Read the article here.

2009 Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival Schedule of Events

(Note: This calendar reflects ongoing and slated events beginning Wednesday, Sept. 16.  For a complete calendar of events,  visit www.jacksonholechamber.com)

SPECIAL NOTE:  R. Tom Gilleon, 2009’s Fall Arts Festival Poster Artist, will sign posters of his painting “Yellow Leaves Moon” (50″x50″ oil), above, at ALTAMIRA FINE ART, a change from original venue plans.  Prior to the Fall Arts Festival, the painting is on display at the historic Wort Hotel, in Jackson.  See details below for Wednesday, September 16. Galleries West Fine Art

7th Fall Round Up
This annual Fall Arts Festival group show features new works by all of Galleries West artists. Please note:  Artists’ reception takes place during the Wednesday (September 16) night ART walk.

Galleries West Fine Art, 307-733-4412 www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com

The Best of Astoria, September 11-20th
Includes the 2nd Annual Greg Beecham Wildlife Showcase. Astoria Fine Art, 307-733-4016, www.astoriafineart.com

J.H. Art Association: Members Only Exhibition
View  an eclectic and extensive body of work by hundreds of talented Art Association members.   On display through November 30.    Check it out at the Artspace Lobby Gallery, Center for the Arts.

Mountain Trails’ “American Visions Group Show”

Running Sept.  1-20.  The show features all Mountain Trails artists, with several being on hand and demonstrating throughout the Festival.  These artists are:  Carrie Fell (Grand Opening), Ken Rowe, Buckeye Blake, Jeff Ham and Vic Payne. Call Lisa Shannon for details!  Her phone:  307.734.8150.

A Horse of a Different Color Gallery:
Toland Sand
Celebrate Toland Sand, an internationally known glass artist. His medium is cold-worked glass, the creation of glass sculpture by constructing three-dimensional forms. On display through September 30.  307-734-9603

Wednesday, September 16

Jewelry and Artisan Luncheon at Teton Pines

In conjunction with the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions Show & Sale, enjoy an elegant luncheon at Teton Pines Resort & Country Club. Artisans (jewelry, fiber and leather) preview and sell their handmade goods. Ladies only! Register by September 10, 2009 by calling 307-732-5412.

11:00am – 4:00pm.
$100 per person or $500 per person for a package including Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday plus other Western Visions events.
www.WesternVisions.org

Gallery ARTWalk   5:00-8:00 pm
Join more than 30 Jackson art galleries for the special Wednesday ARTWalk. Enjoy fine art and experience the vibrant Jackson art scene. Look for the ART walk banners!  Various locations, see gallery map, 5:00-8:00pm, open to the public.

Poster Signing with Tom Gilleon at Altamira Fine Art
3:00-5:00 pm
Meet Fall Arts Festival poster artist Tom Gilleon and receive a personally signed poster of his featured painting, “Yellow Leaves Moon.” Altamira Fine Art, 3:00-5:00pm, open to the public.  An artist’s reception follows immediately after.   307-734-8150.

Galleries West Fine Art, 5:00-8:00pm
Reception for the 7th Fall Round Up. Meet and visit with many Galleries West artists.
307-733-4142, www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

Thursday, September 17

Wild West Preview Party 6:30-10:30 pm
As part of the 22nd Annual Western Visions, artists and patrons have an opportunity to view the art, place their ballots, and mingle. The Jewelry and Artisan Show & Sale, Photography Show & Sale and Sketch Show & Sale are also open to the public during this event and the artisans are in residence. The evening includes delicious fare, a full bar and entertainment. Register by September 10, 2009 by calling 307-732-5412.

Location: National Museum of Wildlife Art
$100 per person or $500 per person for a package including Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, plus other events.
www.WesternVisions.org

Center Street Gallery, 5:00-8:00pm
Marshall Noice and Robert Deurloo Show
Marshall Noice is a contemporary landscape oil painter from Kalispell, MT. Robert Deurloo is a wildlife sculptor working in bronze and exotic patinas from Salmon, ID.
307-733-1155, www.centerstreetgallery.com

Friday, September 18

22nd Annual Miniatures and More Show & Sale,  5:30-9:30pm
This is the final opportunity to place bids prior to the evening’s drawing and auction. The evening features hors d’oeuvres and beverage, and most importantly, the names of the winning bidders are drawn. The Jewelry and Artisan Show & Sale, the Photography Show & Sale and the Sketch Show & Sale will be on display and guests are invited to make purchases. Call 307-732-5412. Register by September 10, 2009. Call 307-732-5412.

Location: National Museum of Wildlife Art, 5:30-9:30pm.
$100 per person or $500 per person for a package including Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, plus other events.
www.WesternVisions.org

Legacy of Nature Group Show, 1:00-4:00pm
The Legacy of Nature Group Show featuring wildlife and sporting art. Artists include paintings by Ken Carlson, Luke Frazier, Michael Coleman, Brian Grimm, Chad Poppleton, Julie T. Chapman, Trevor Swanson, Jan Martin McGuire, and sculptures by Ken Bunn and Tim Shinabarger.

Legacy Gallery.  307-733-2353, www.legacygallery.com

E.I. Couse, (1866-1936), "Moonlight"

Jackson Hole Art Auction Preview 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
The Jackson Hole Art Auction is a premier Western Art Auction featuring art from Past and Present Masters of the American West. Historically recognized Western American Art is the focus, including works by the Taos Society of Artists, Deceased American Masters and Top Contemporary Western and Wildlife Artists. The Jackson Hole Art Auction is presented in association with Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery.

Location: Center for the Arts
866-549-9278; www.jacksonholeartauction.com

Saturday, September 19

14th Annual Jackson Hole QuickDraw Art Sale & Auction
9:30 a.m.
Nationally, regionally and locally recognized artists paint and sculpt while spectators look on. Each new artwork will be auctioned off following an hour-long “draw.”  “Yellow Leaves Moon,” 2009’s featured poster artwork by R. Tom Gilleon, will also be auctioned.

Location: Jackson Town Square, 9:30am, open to the public.
Please note 2009’s earlier time slot for this event.

Jackson Hole Art Auction Start: 1:00 p.m.
The Jackson Hole Art Auction is a premier Western Art Auction featuring art from Past and Present Masters of the American West. Historically recognized Western American Art is the focus, including works by the Taos Society of Artists, Deceased American Masters and Top Contemporary Western and Wildlife Artists. The Jackson Hole Art Auction is presented in association with Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery.

Location: Jackson Hole Center for the Arts
866-549-9278; www.jacksonholeartauction.com

Galleries West Open House, All Day
Visit the gallery any time throughout the day for hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Many Fall Round-Up artists will be on hand during the day.

Galleries West Gallery
307-733-4412, www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com

Trailside Galleries Fall Gold Show, 3:00-6:00pm
This annual event will show new works by all of their gallery artists with special showcases for Kyle Sims (wildlife painter), Lindsay Scott (wildlife artist), Bonnie Marris (wildlife painter), a small grouping by Mian Situ (Chinese figural painter) as well as a small grouping by wildlife painters Adam and Dan Smith.
307-733-3186, www.trailsidegalleries.com.

SPECIAL EVENT:  JACKSON HOLE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS WITH “THE ART OF CONSERVATION: 30 ARTISTS, 30 YEARS.”

This event coincides with Jackson’s Fall Arts Festival.   The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance’s 30th Anniversary gala takes place at the Jackson Lake Lodge this evening, beginning at 5:30 p.m.   A live and silent auction featuring works by renowned artists follows, and benefits the Alliance’s across-the-board conservation efforts.   Participating artists want to make a difference, and you can, too.

A highlight of the auction is Robert Bateman’s “Bison,” a limited edition print not commercially available.  A great American icon, the bison remains under stress, a symbol of conservation controversy.  Two works by Bateman, including “Bison,” will be auctioned at 7:15 p.m. The  auction includes oil paintings, watercolors, photography,  bronzes, hand blown glass, ilfochrome, pastels, and more.  Participating artists include:

Huntley Baldwin, Robert Bateman, Elke Bieber, Tina Close, Luke
Frazier, Natalie Goss, Eliot Goss, Jeff Hogan, Henry Holdsworth, Kal
Kallaugher, Fred Kingwill, Thomas Mangelsen, Mimi Matsuda, Pamela
McCool, Greg McHuron, Dee Parker, Mary Rasmussen, Audrey Roll-
Preissler, William Sawczuk, Kay Stratman, Lee Stroncek, Laurie Thal,
Shannon Troxler, Amy Unfried, September Vhay, Mary O. Waid, and
Andrew Weller.

Bidders may register for absentee bidding.  Post-dinner admission is also available.  For information, contact the Jackson Hole Conservation
Alliance office at (307) 733-9417.

• Sunday, September 20

Art Brunch Gallery Walk,  11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Join Jackson’s 30-plus art galleries for brunch and festive beverages at this Fall Arts Festival closing-day celebration!  Brunch, Bloody Marys, and spectacular art.

Various gallery locations, see gallery map, 11:00am-3:00pm, open to the public.

West Lives On Gallery Open House, 10:00am-4:00pm
Featuring over 12 of West Lives On Gallery artists.
307-734-2888, www.westliveson.com.

Monday, September 21

Sleep…………….(All Day)