Posts Tagged ‘Conservation’
Art – Out in the Open; Great Apes!
“One spare chromosome | And my offspring next to me | A linear strand.”
I wrote that haiku as a response to Jenny’s piece, “Tooth Diary pg.6″ when we collaborated on a book, “Collection.” Â This particular work suggests new life beginning to supplant older matter.
What’s so much fun about Culture Front is that you NEVER know what’s going to happen. You know who’s on the agenda, and what any given month’s theme will be, but that doesn’t mean we’ll  stick to that theme. You go, you get a drink at the Rose Bar (if you are 21 or older—and the earlier you get there, the better because those bartenders make such complicated drinks that it’s like their composing a full symphony!) and you point your face towards the front of the room where Meg Daly and her guests commence their 90-minute presentation.
Wednesday, May 29th, beginning at 5:30 pm, Culture Front welcomes Jackson artists Jenny Dowd (newly ensconced at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, thank you very much!), Andrew Munz (ensconced at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts,in a bunch of plays and a writer), and Aaron Wallis!  I’m passing out. Wallis, former arts writer at the Jackson Hole Daily and un-censored critic of Jackson’s art scene and the world at large, as well as an artist, is going to be a part of that evening’s talk, “First Impressions: Looking Beyond Initial Impact.”Â
This is just too good! Wallace, as we all know, has seen (and instigated) his own brand of controversy and art dust-ups here in Jackson.
Only last week several of the Town Council and Teton County Commissioners got in such a big fight—a shout-down in public chambers that was so bad the session was tabled. The News & Guide named the major players, so ask them about that. The write-up made the rumble sound much less crazy than it really was, says one observer. Funding issues are tense! Thank goodness that meeting wasn’t taking place at, say, the Virginian bar!
“La Jolla Tree” – A. Wallis
I doubt any knock-downs will happen on May 29th. It’s great Wallis is on the panel. He’s a super smart dude, with prodigious art history knowledge.
“What information do we get from a first impression?” Meg Daly asks. “Often what attracts a viewer or reader to a work is the first impression – some kind of impact, positive or negative. However, closer reading or looking can reveal layers and meaning not immediately apparent. The payoff of a work of art may be far greater than its initial appearance (suggests).”
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Down the Spring/Summer arts road we go~~~
Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 10am – 4pm, the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s (NMWA) “Plein Air Fest” happens at NMWA’s stunning location just north of town. The event is sponsored by Plein Air Magazine, and over 30 artists will be participating, taking four hours to complete their works.  Art will be sold via “Silent Bid.” Lots of good cooking with local chefs, family activities and music to be had!  It’s all free, save the jambalaya tastings, which go for $10 for 10 tastes, $25 for as much as you can taste!  www.wildlifeart.orgÂ
A note: “Plein Air Fest” is not to be confused with “Plein Air for the Park,” a two-week long plein air event taking place in and around Grand Teton National Park July 8-21st. Much more on that event soon!
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WAY out in the future–this is really a Fall event–the Great Apes Summit takes place here in Jackson Hole. Dates are September 21-24th, 2013. It’s possible to register now; the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is a major partner.  “New tools. New ideas. New voices. NO BOUNDARIES.” That’s the hook!  Click here to find out about registration, programs and cost. Heads up: Conservation and the Arts are going to merge more and more here in Jackson Hole as time goes by. We’re taking our original arts history to new levels!
“Life is a journey, not a destination.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Beginning with the end in mind is about examining why life is worth living and being true to your own values and dreams,” says Acton’s MBA Entrepreneurship. ”If you have trouble uncovering these fundamental goals and values, it is time to go back to your basic foundations. Query people you trust and admire. Read great literary works and books on philosophy. Spend time alone in a quiet place. If you are religious, reexamine the fundamentals of your religion. Question, examine assumptions, reflect, and question again.”
In recent weeks I’ve listened as artists and non-artists spoke on the subject of embracing failure as it relates to success; the conversation began at last month’s Culture Front forum. It’s so in the air! Â How do we stay afloat? It’s so easy, even comfortable, to allow our values and true wishes to take a back seat to daily demands. We want the public to invest in us, yet we often avoid digging in to the very problems we must solve in order for that to happen. It’s a conscious effort every day, and it’s a tough go. I’m reading a wonderful book that says the typical mindset of “success” is about “getting.” And “getting” is a fight.
A friend recently said that Jackson is full of wonderful people, and she’s right. We’re a persistent, well-meaning, cause-driven population. In all things creative, we’re on the hunt for that “groove,” and the unknowns are…unknown.
A positive development: Vertical Harvest was unanimously supported by Jackson’s Town Council! Â The next step is sending that proposal to Teton County’s Wyoming Business Council Representative Roger Bower, Wyoming’s West Central Region Representative. Bower’s office is in Riverton, Wyoming. Word is, he does not like the project. However, he’s the man who will approve appropriations. I’ve emailed Mr. Bower a question or two; if he responds, you’ll see it here. If not, assume “no comment” by post time.
Remember the call to artists from the Democratic Party’s crusade to find an artist to design a new poster for the Dem’s 2012 convention in North Carolina? Well, local artists now have the chance to compete to have their art featured on 500 + reusable bags here in Jackson Hole.
Jackson Community Recycling (JCR) is launching its 6th Annual Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (RRR) Campaign, an effort to reduce plastic shopping bag use; a second purpose is served as the bags will become public art…mobile public art.
My sister went to Maui, and I got these cool pictures!
Sarah & Jeff had their belated wedding honeymoon in the Hawaiian Islands. A few cloudy days sent them exploring. These massive willow sculptures are installed on the grounds of Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center, in Maui’s Upcountry. If you’ve visited Maui, you know the island’s landscape changes dramatically, depending on where you are on the island. Upcountry reminds me of Scotland’s Highlands, with its rolling mists, farms, livestock and stone walls. Hard to believe you’re on the slopes
of Haleakala volcano.
Hui No’eau’s art studios are the only public art studios on Maui. The facility offers year-round classes to island residents and visitors. It occupies an expansive historic estate, Kaluanui, designed in 1917, ”by the distinguished architect C.W. Dickey for Harry Baldwin and his wife, Ethel, who founded Hui No‘eau in 1934. The late Colin Cameron, grandson of the Baldwins and former president of Maui Land & Pineapple Co., generously granted Hui No‘eau use of Kaluanui as a visual arts center in 1976.” The center’s website says classrooms, studios, exhibiton space and offices are in the main house, while an “in-house dairy serves as Maui’s only public photography darkroom space.”  Kaluanui’s former den is a gift shop and gallery.  www.huinoeau.com
You had to know an art exhibit inspired by the fracking debate would pop up. Â For every exhibit we hear about, my guess is dozens more exist.
I and my family have friends and colleagues in the oil and gas industries. They’re great people and are very earth aware, work hard, and are damn smart. Â They are scientists, geologists, capitalists and entrepreneurs, and they provide me with a sense of what is going on from their expert-in-the-field perspectives. Â I can only relate what I learn, from both sides of the issue. So, to those good friends: Thank you.
The situation pictured above looks bad, doesn’t it? Â The image, by the way, is courtesy of Exit Art; that organization posted it courtesy of photographer Jacques del Conte.
FRACKING: Art and Activism Against the Drill, opens at New York’s Exit Art on December 7. Â An opening reception takes place 7-9 pm that day, and the show runs through Februrary 5, 2011. Its goal is to explore the myriad controversies surrounding “fracking”, the process of extracting gas from “new shale.” Natural gas weaned from shale deposits is hailed by many as being America’s way out of foreign oil dependency; it’s also considered by the industry and supporting business and governmental entities as an economic saviour for those living in shale-rich regions. The economic benefits of a booming gas drilling industry would build coffers in any state engaged in significant drilling activity. Regions with dense drilling activity tend to be remote, lacking diverse industries capable of providing adequate jobs. Drilling derived income can turn lives around; it can also lower private property values when individuals lease acreage out to drilling.
Take Wyoming, for example.
By the way, a revealing—but still very well balanced—portrayal of the pressures, tensions and dealings connected to drilling in Louisiana and Pennsylvania appeared just a few weeks ago in the Times. Â In New York State, notes Exit Art, a drilling moratorium is in effect until the D.E.C. issues fracking regulation, which could happen as soon as 2011.
Proponents of natural gas drilling say it is safe. Critics say that chemicals used in fracking are dangerous because they contaminate water supplies. In some drilling locales, water is being piped in from other communities–a process draining water from its source. “Fueling” the conflict is the fact that so far, gas industries are not legally bound to reveal the names of the chemicals used in fracking. This new exhibition, a project of SEA, looks to create dialogue and educate the public via “documentary videos, photographs, commissioned works, public responses and literature…” Exit Art issued a call to artists and the public to submit original artwork on postcards, with written statements “verso,” on the topic of fracking. The responses are on view in this show. Submissions are accepted for the show through its duration.
(Hear that, Ricki Arno? Get the Adorables in on the project! Â Love you!)
That invitation is extended to Wyoming artists, of course.
If you are in NYC on January 12, 2011, 7-9 pm, you can attend a panel discussion on fracking and its effects, led by Actor/Activist Mark Ruffalo. In addition to Ruffalo, participants are:
Moderator: Tracy Carluccio, Activist.
Panelists: Joe Levine, Lobbyist / Activist; Michael Lebron, Grassroots Organization; Al Appleton, Policy; Michel Boufadel, Civil Engineer; Christy Rupp, Artist; and a representative from the documentary film, “Gasland”.
Support for this exhibition was provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Bloomberg LP; Jerome Foundation; Lambent Foundation; Pollock-Krasner Foundation; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn; and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Check out www.exitart.org; Â phone 212-966-7745 Â for information.
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