Posts Tagged ‘Public Art’
Glittering Art World; Wolf Kahn
Pinedale is a Wyoming town working hard to infuse art into its veins; the movement is growing. A blooming flower, its seeds are sewn by local artists, Sue Sommers among them.
Her mural, seen here, is one of two completed in the past two years as part of Pinedale’s public art program. Sommers’ large-scale, whirling, arcing and bright painting, “Our Glittering World,” Â will remain at its current site for two years.
Pinedale’s public art initiative, IN|SITE EX|SITE, hosts an artists reception on Friday, February 8th, 6:30-8:30 pm at the Sublette County Library. Artists contributing work to Pinedale’s community, also to be honored, include Bronwyn Minton, JB Bond, Kirsten and Palmer Klarén, and Sommers.
I asked Sommers about the world she was considering as she created her mural.
Friday, January 25th, San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) curator of painting and sculpture Janet Bishop will visit the Art Association for a free lunch time discussion. As I write this, I have inquiries out as to the precise format this discussion will take. No firm answers yet. The gathering is billed as a “brown bag lunch.” Bishop has her finger on the pulse of contemporary art in one of this country’s most acclaimed contemporary museums, in one of the country’s most diverse and creative cities. My hope is her talk is well-attended and that her time with us is structured; we’ll gain so much more if it is. So will Bishop.
What would YOU discuss with Janet Bishop?
Once again, a very good New Year to everyone! Â It’s quite cold here in Jackson, a wonderful time of year to think about direction, imagine ideals, and understand what brings true happiness. My deepest heartfelt thanks to everyone following the Jackson Hole Art Blog—and a special thank you to those who support the Blog. Last week, the Jackson Hole Art Blog’s Facebook page reached almost 600 people! Â Nice trend, and I’m hoping more of you will “like” the page, and connect with me on Facebook, because the Blog is balanced, informative and provides the broadest picture of what’s happening in our dynamic, ever-diversifying art market. It’s not just about being a market, of course; it’s about a state of mind and our inspirations. Our inspirations are infinite.
As far back as 2009, we wrote about vertical gardens: http://jacksonholearttours.com/ArtBlog/2009/04/20/vertical-gardens-green-public-art/…we wrote about smart growth & urban planning:Â http://jacksonholearttours.com/ArtBlog/2008/07/09/smart-growth-for-jackson-hole/…we wrote about public art, space and environmental stewardship:Â http://jacksonholearttours.com/ArtBlog/2009/01/12/2009-a-year-with-heart-three-things/…we wrote about arts & economy: http://jacksonholearttours.com/ArtBlog/2009/06/05/arts-economy-jackson-hole-wyoming/
It’s a new year for the Jackson Hole Art Blog, too. I’ve been writing this blog for over three years—closer to four. And it’s still my baby, my love, my creation and pleasure. I’m going to change how and what I write. I won’t change everything, and I reserve the right—particularly in the summer months—to veer away from the format I’m about to describe.
“Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world.”  I just felt like starting this post off with that quote from Etty Hillesum, a Holocaust victim, who, it is said, never lost her smile. It’s just so beautiful.
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This season artists are here in Jackson, and artists are there….floating around the country, visiting and working in beautiful locales, making the most of a quiet time, a time that allows them to ignite their own art bonfires, show their work in their own spaces, in their own time. It’s nice.
Shannon Troxler’s “Luminous” is on exhibition at Park City, Utah’s Kimball Art Center, November 16- January 9, 2013, in the Badimi Gallery. She’s offering a “Painters Encaustic Workshop” November 10th & 11th, and she’ll be the featured artist during Park City’s November 30th Art Stroll. Troxler is lucky enough—talented enough, pardon me!!—to be showing at the Kimball alongside Chihuly Venetians: The George R. Stroemple Collection . Luminosity—fall’s light.  http://www.shannontroxlerfineart.com/  http://www.kimballartcenter.org/
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“Softwalks Transforms Streetside Scaffolding Into Urban Parklets,” says Fast Company, “the world’s leading progressive business media brand.” Fast Company’s branding group works with technology innovation, “ethonomics”–ethical economics–, leadership and design. Â Fast Company’s mission is to “think beyond traditional boundaries, lead conversations, and create the future of business.”
So what?  Well, J.H. Public Art has sent word that Jackson’s art student and activist Bland Hoke has garnered high honors for his NYC Softwalks project. Softwalks “is informed by the successful pilot projects the DOT has implemented in the last five years to transform various street scrapes from auto-centric spaces into pedestrian plazas, such as the theater district on Broadway,” says one NYC design website. “These pilot projects, aided by light, quick and inexpensive amenities mitigate risk and lead to incremental improvements. The reality and challenges of improving sidewalk sheds are significant, and this is why we have determined that building on the existing ecology of sidewalk sheds is an appropriate move forward.”
Let’s keep stretching our innovative imaginations, folks! Congratulations to Bland Hoke! Bring us a taste o’ that for Jackson’s downtown streets, okay?
Take a look at the project, via Vimeo, here.
Egrets and the Elephants - Oil - M. Roberson
From the Tetons to the Serengeti–that’s where Altamira Fine Art painter Mary Roberson has been lately. Her new show of works, “From the Tetons to the Serengeti,” opens with an artist’s reception on Thursday, August 16th, 5:30 - 7:30 pm. The exhibition remains up through August 28th.
Roberson’s a free spirit, inspired by the “critters” that teach life’s greatest values. She doesn’t want color getting in the way of composition, because nature’s colors cannot be improved upon. Yet, Roberson plays with color. She uses it to emphasize her earthier tones, adding a little music to dusky backgrounds that range from nut-brown to tawny. She knows how to warm up a scene. Take “Egrets and the Elephants,” pictured above. Roberson’s huge, mystical elephants emerge from the recesses into a cloud of orange-golden dust. Shadows, dark points of elephant eyes, and negative space beneath the elephants’ girth all play across the painting; white tusks and egrets accompanying the herd move us around the piece. Despite their great size, these ethereal elephants are like a mirage.
