Eulogy delivered on 11/4/09 for Mardy Lemmons

The Texas Panhandle lost a great artist and educator last week. Mardy Lemmons, artist and design instructor at Amarillo College, passed away at the age of 49. The following text was shared with Art21onKACV by Jacob Breeden. It is a eulogy, delivered by Jacob, at Mardy's service on 11/4/09. Art21onKACV extends its heartfelt sympathy to Mardy's family members and friends. And thank you, Jacob, for sharing this with the Texas Panhandle arts community.

"So...I’ve been asked to say a few words about Mardy. At the risk of sounding cliché, that is no small task. I want to talk about the Mardy I knew well. Mardy the artist.

I met Mardy several years ago. I was working in my studio, and in walks this big lumbering fella. Unkempt, unshaven, and un-tucked. Grinning from ear to ear like he was up to something. He introduces himself and hands me a small paperback book by some guy named Hermon Garbriel, about composition…

My first thoughts were...who the hell is this guy...and who the hell is Hermon Gabriel.

And that, in a lot of ways, was what I came to know as Mardy. Always with a handshake, a smile, and some archaic unknown artistic genius he wanted to tell you about.

Mardy was an artist in the truest sense of the word. His work, drawings-paintings-design… are a visual representation of his pursuit. He was always exploring, always reinventing, and always challenging himself to find something new. He was a blue collar guy, and he brought that with him into the studio.

His subject of choice was always the figure. Even in the brief time period that he went abstract…the figure was always there. I feel blessed to have one of the few abstract pieces he did…and I think, the only one with a nipple.

His ability to deal with the figure…to understand the figure…and to see past the flesh was like that of few other artists I have ever known. He saw the body…and loved the body…for what it is…

Beautiful for all its flaws. Elegant in its oddity’s. Glorious in its ugliness.

He loved to exaggerate the body…be it the eyes, the pecs, the bum, or the ummmm…well “that certain part of the male anatomy”.

Realism, in a way, was always his objective…but not in the sense that you may think. His objective was not to create a “photograph”…but to capture the essence of the scene in his mind. To make that very real thing…that very real emotion…that existed in his mind…to make it visual and to share with others. He wanted to seduce you into sinful thoughts…especially if you were a bit too pure. He wanted to make it hard to overt your eyes…especially if you wanted to…His women often look you straight in the eyes. They challenge you, as did Mardy.

When the phone rang at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday…I always knew it was Mardy. He had not been to bed yet, wanted coffee, and to talk about art. Always art. Never politics, never world events, or sports…or anything…always art. Sometimes his, sometimes mine, sometimes a show around town…or whatever art history book he happened to be lugging around. He loved art. He loved artists.

But the conversations were not always…well…positive. Nothing made Mardy smirk like a well done show or a newly discovered piece from the past…and nothing made him grumble…and damn could he grumble…like bad art. Now…his tastes ran the gamut from the brutalities of German Expressionism to the quiet landscapes and portraits of Thomas Eakins, and more recently the subdued works of Andrew Wyeth.

What he consider to be bad art…was shallow art. Art made to look like last month’s Art in America…art made to please an audience…art made to sell. Mardy shared a trait with another great man we lost recently, Hunter Ingalls. Mardy and Hunter had the uncanny ability to see through the paint…to see through the bullshit…and to see the real intentions of the artist. And if you were making something bad…something off…neither man would hesitate to tell you. In a town full of critics…they offered genuine creative criticism.

Over the last few months a new Mardy began to appear. Motivated Mardy. Mardy the teacher. The evening before he passed away… Mardy explained his teaching philosophy to me. He did not want his students to mimic his work…he did not want to shove some philosophy of “Art Making” down their throats. He told me that he “looked for what each student did well…and then challenged them to use that strength.” He wanted them to use their own voices...not his…not this month’s cover artist of Art on Paper…but their own voices.

Mardy wanted that for all of us. He wanted to hear our voices and then add his to his to the fray. Mardy always said that it was better to have your work be hated, then ignored. At least it meant your voice was real. At least you were creating emotion. At least your work was doing something.

He longed for Amarillo to learn to support art and artists in a real and meaningful way. That people would learn to see the difference between art and craft. Good art and bad art. Between true creative passion and a hobby.

And for the last few months he talked regularly about wanting to do something big. Something to change the landscape. Something loud. Something powerful. He never got around to saying what he had in mind.

But I do know that Mardy said things lately that might help us understand this idea of his. He talked about the need for artists to support each other…to push each other…to understand that what we do…we do for the sake of ourselves, not for the other people, not for a professor, not for sales…not for the public.

He talked about ways to help the “scene” grow. To bring it life. To make it shout. And Mardy did everything he could to foster that idea. He was a true politician of the art world. He could, and did, walk into any space and talk to any artist…to any lover of art…He brought big egos together at a common table. He was always in the right place, no matter the crowd.

So…I won’t speak for Mardy, but I will tell you what I think might make him smile.

To Amarillo…support your local artists. Guys like Mardy should not have to look out of town for people who are willing to support their work. Go to studios. Ask questions. Look at the work as if it is something more than just an “image”…because it is.

If you are an artist….Never give in to the trend… Never create what you think the “in-crowd” will like…never bend to the whims of the public…trust your own instincts…be bold, be brazen, be ambitious.

Create constantly. Make art that scares you. Make art that means something to you. Use your voice, stand your ground, defend yourself.

Love each other, support each other, push each other. We are all in this together."


Jacob Breeden
artist-designer-misfit

Yinka Shonibare, MBE, and thoughts on Originality

Originality: it's one of the sacred cows of art. No matter how many artists have questioned the centrality of this principle, it just keeps coming up. There's that heart-sinking feeling when you see another artist dealing with similar subjects…especially when you think they're doing it better than you! Let me preface this by saying my own paintings are based on Seventeenth-century portraits, and because I omit the heads, the hands and clothing of the figures have to carry the mood and gesture of the image. The figures are hybrids of male and female forms, and often include deer.

I had read a brief article on Yinka Shonibare some years ago; I believe it was in Vogue. The author's focus was Shonibare's use of fabric in his drawings. Nowhere did it mention some of his other themes, which were featured on Art21's Transformation episode. His phenomenal sculptural work features headless figures in mannered poses, dressed in elaborate historical costumes. They are sometimes accompanied by exotic stuffed animals. In his pieces, he acts as social critic, utilizing and then bending the conventions of historical portraiture. His work makes a bold political statement without having to resort to rhetoric..and he does it through beauty (I don't think art needs to be "beautiful", though I am always impressed when an artist is able to use that tool well).

As I watched the segment on his work, I found myself captivated and irritated. A part of me (the shallow part!) was thinking, geez, there goes my schtick! How could I have not known this man's work? Why didn't I realize I was being derivative? Another voice chimed in: my reasons for choosing my images are different, and just as legitimate as Shonibare's…and furthermore, I have noticed a surge of similar imagery in the work of other artists (pick up the latest New American Paintings): historical costuming and animals, especially deer. Deer are ubiquitous these days. My own fascination began ten years ago when I befriended a pair of captive deer. I visited them every day and found them to be lovely and haunting creatures. I don't want to stop painting them just because so many others are (and have, goodness, since the Paleolithic!) Maybe I just need to keep following the thread of the imagery and see where it goes…

It's not the first time I've noticed that a certain set of images will begin to crop up everywhere, unbeknownst to those producing the images. Art does, it seems, tap into something collective and communal. I suppose one cannot help but be a product of one's time! This phenomenon doesn't mesh well with the notion that artists should be "originals"…which, by the way, is the product of the very culture that Yinka Shonibare critiques in his work…in spite of being made a Member of the British Empire by the Queen herself…

Trusting the Muse

As an art instructor I oftentimes deal with student fears about making art. Young artists, of any age, sometimes find it difficult to trust their ideas. I respond by telling them not to question but to follow where the muse leads. Learning to trust and to follow ones personal muse sometimes requires behavior that others may view as eccentric. This leads to another often asked question: why are artists always so eccentric? These two concepts are really bookends to the pursuit of an artistic path. One is the beginning: trusting the muse and the other is the result of this trust in oneself as an artist.

When I was a kid, I collaged my entire bedroom floor to ceiling because I didn’t like the wallpaper. This idea came naturally and there was no anxiety because I was not trying to be an artist, it was just awful wallpaper. When I began to study art, whenever it was possible to cut and paste fragments of images together that was how I would solve the problem. Now I consider myself a collagist, and photography is my primary medium.

One of the things that I was struck by in the next episode of Art:21 is how the early work of each artist led to a lifetime of images. The footage of Paul McCarthy dragging his young body through white paint reminded me of early William Wegman films of his dog Man Ray drinking milk poured on the floor. Both of these films are silly, and for me, far more interesting for where they lead the artist. Wegman’s dog would not stay out of his films or photographs and so in frustration he lets the dog take the leading role. This eventually leads to a contract with Sesame Street. But can you imagine Wegman telling his parents that when he grows up he wants to make dog portraits? No doubt, they would have suggested something more practical.

Cindy Sherman, another featured artist, never stopped playing dress up and was always enamored with her image on film. I love the little scrapbook where she would circle herself in the picture and write below “That’s me!” Through her love of play acting she has deconstructed stereotypes of women and built a career out of self-portraiture. The history of self-portraits goes back to the refinement of the mirror during the Baroque era with Salvator Rosa and Rembrandt being two of the earliest to explore this genre. It could also be argued that it is an ancient theme dating back to the Greek myth of Narcissus. It has been a genre of photography since the inception but no one has produced a larger body of work than Sherman. Of course now with social networking sites and digital cameras she probably has a few rivals with their cameras at arms length in what I call the My Space point of view.

Albert Einstein once said, "If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." The artists mentioned may be considered eccentric; they are known for pushing art in new directions and for challenging the status quo. What they have in common is that they trusted the muse to guide them. Watch Art:21 this week and get inspired.

Krzysztof Wodiczko: Socio-Political Art in the Private and Public Sphere

In 2005, Polish-born artist Krzysztof Wodiczko, known for his public projections on existing monuments and public architecture in more than a dozen countries, exhibited his first large-scale indoor video projection titled “If You See Something…” at Galerie Lelong in New York City. This series of video projections responded to changes in public policy regarding immigration after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The title, inspired by an ongoing homeland security campaign in New York City subway stations, refers to posters that encouraged suspicion of immigrants by vaguely demanding, “If you see something, say something.” The Lelong exhibition, because of its site-specificity and controlled voyeuristic environment, allowed the artist to manipulate the typical dynamic of communication in the public sphere. He inserts the voices of immigrants, the implicit targets of the security campaign, while silencing those conditioned to fear these “strangers.”

The temporary installation at Galerie Lelong consisted of four life-size video screens in a dark room in which silhouetted figures projected upon the screens appear to be holding conversations behind frosted glass “windows.” The figures, all presumed to be immigrants, act out private dramas of pain through audible conversations that center on themes such as deportation, political harassment, racial humiliation, detainment, and exclusion. The conversations confront the audience with the hopelessness felt by immigrants and racial minorities due to what Wodiczko calls “the assault on civil liberties in the name of war on terror.”

Wodiczko’s work has fascinated me since I first watched season three of Art:21. His childhood and early career behind the Iron Curtain in Poland and subsequent life as an immigrant in America (he now teaches in the Interrogative Design Department at MIT) has inspired his interest in giving a voice to oppressed or struggling individuals (victims of abuse, war veterans, immigrants, etc.). He has projected on over seventy public sites around the world, and his prolific career surprisingly has not received the attention that I believe it deserves. Perhaps, this comes from the ephemeral nature of his installations. The public projections last only one or two nights, and then disappear from the façades of monuments and public architecture forever. His temporary video projections assault the surfaces of static (often increasingly meaningless or ignored government structures) and bring them back to life with the faces, hands, legs, and bodies of living victims of public policy.

I have chosen to focus on his first indoor installation, “If You See Something…” because I am particularly interested in the dialogue created by art in both public and private spaces. The small, intimate setting confronted the viewers in a way that encouraged close listening and transformed the audience into individual voyeurs rather than collective spectators. I am particularly interested in the artist’s process of collecting, editing, and reproducing testimony from traumatized individuals—a process that Wodiczko compares to post-traumatic stress therapy. The production process and poignant final projections carefully critique social injustice and political ideologies while simultaneously giving oppressed members of society a platform for their testimony and a chance to heal by bearing witness to a captive audience.

I had trouble writing this small blog post because there is SO much to be said about the artist and his prolific body of work. Since it is nearly impossible to sum up the importance of his work in a few paragraphs, I hope that you take the time to check out these youtube videos (linked below). The first is from Wodiczko’s episode of Art:21 and provides an excellent overview of his public projections. The second is an interview with Wodiczko conducted by BOMB Live and shows some footage of “If You See Something…” If you have any questions about the artist or any of his works, feel free to post a response. Also, let me know what you think about his work (to many his work is considered controversial) and I have discovered that lively debates can be inspired. So long and happy watching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juq-Z48lY7g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSsCFNBge24

On a side note, if you are interested in contemporary monuments or controversial public art, I recommend a recently released PBS documentary titled "The Last Conquistador." The documentary follows the controversial production of a monument to Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate at the El Paso Airport a few years ago. It was the most interesting art documentary that I have seen in a while, and I highly recommend it.

Ethics and Photography

Photo-manipulation is nothing new. It’s just a matter of where you want to start and how you want to define it. When Hippolyte Bayard posed as a drowned man in 1840, he was stretching the truth by staging the photograph. Oscar Rejlander in 1857 created the seamless combination print, The Two Ways of Life, out of 17 negatives (some say as many as 32). Insertion, adding images to the photograph, has been employed since at least 1865 when Matthew Brady added General Blair, to a photograph of Civil War officers. In the early 20th century, the half-tone printing process brought about a proliferation of photo magazines, and the Dadaist of Germany started making photomontages from the photographs found on the pages.

Digital photo-editing programs like Adobe PhotoShop make the possibility for image manipulation easier and perhaps more tempting. As early as 1990 in his book, "In Our Own Image," Fred Ritchin wrote about the potential of digital images to flawlessly manipulate photographic space and called for a need to label image composites in publications. In the book he gives an example of the pyramids being moved to create a vertical image, out of a horizontal photograph, for the cover of National Geographic.

The power of all of these strategies relies on the inherent nature of a photograph to be perceived as truth by the viewer. The idea that a photograph represents an indisputable truth and the debate about image manipulation starts at the inception of the medium and continues to this day. In Germany, Brigitte magazine has implemented a policy effective 2010 to use normal people (instead of size zero models) for images and not retouching them. In France the politician, Valérie Boyer, advocates passing laws that require enhanced photographs to have warning labels. She says, "These images can make people believe in a reality that often does not exist” which can lead to lower self-esteem and eating disorders. Since most advertising images, and many other images, are frequently manipulated there is naturally resistance to this movement. Currently there is a fight brewing in the blogosphere between the blog, Boing Boing, and a Ralph Lauren advertisement. Xeni, a regular contributor on Boing Boing, criticized the image because the model's head is larger than her pelvis, and Ralph Lauren rather than address the criticism has demanded the blog remove the post claiming copyright infringement.

While these trends are important, perhaps the most effective weapon to use against the persuasive effects of the photographic image is to teach people how to read photographs. In the 1940’s Laszlo Moholy-Nagy said that "... the illiteracy of the future will be ignorance of photography." But over 50 years later, media literacy is still not part of the school curriculum, and considering how many images the average person views in a day, it seems like there ought to be some attempt to teach people how to read those images.

The topic of the next segment on Art:21 is fantasy and features the work of photographer, Florian Maier-Aichen, who creates idealized landscapes by means of digital manipulation. The show will be broadcast at 9 pm, Wednesday, October 14, on KACV.

Additional resources:
Dove Evolution
Top 10 Doctored Photos
Photo-tampering Throughout History

The Art of Collaboration

The former sense of isolation for many artists has faded as they gather both visual and conceptual information from across the world through the Internet. Personal artistic relationships now span the globe through social and professional connections to other artists through networking sites like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Social networking sites have also become a valuable tool for artists to promote their own creative work.

YouTube has been an important venue for me to showcase art-related videos that I create as well as a way for me to share other videos that inspire my work. My “friends” on YouTube and Facebook have given me valuable feedback on my work and many new ideas.

One of my YouTube/Facebook friends named Glideascope (a brilliant musician/composer based in London) asked me to do a video for one of his songs called “CB Radio” from the album “Audio Cinematography.” Here I am in Amarillo, Texas collaborating on a video with a DownTempo, Chill Out and a sprinkling of Trip-Hop dub musician in London!



Concepts for the “CB Radio” video have evolved between Glideascope and me in the past few weeks, as my technical abilities have struggled to keep pace with the visual demands of the project. This video is not the typical music video. Glideascope’s song “CB Radio” is an exquisite layering of audio textures and impressions, and my challenge has been to make the video’s visual impact reflect the visceral qualities and movement of the music. Glideascope has given me suggestions and feedback that have made the video a truly collaborative work of art and music. Our project has inspired me to go beyond what I thought I could accomplish.

Comment from Glideascope:
“I came across Victoria's work on YouTube, and I enjoyed her free-flowing way of putting visuals and sent a casual invitation to her to produce some visuals for the track CB Radio. This wasn't about a big budget, crew or equipment...just the passion of creating something new, and experimenting - taking us both outside our comfort zone.

Our only form of communication has been via email, Facebook and YouTube. Working within different time zones, with very limited time but with constructive criticism, ideas and feedback helping us to create something we are both proud to be associated with.I really enjoyed this collaborative effort and it was a pleasure working with Victoria.” - Glide

The possibility of a collaborative project like this was impossible until social networking sites allowed this kind of international contact and communication. My question to you: What stories of artistic inspiration and collaboration through social networking sites would you like to share with us?

Glideascope Links:
Website: http://www.glideascope.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/glideascope
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glideascope/117500890942
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/glideascope
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/glideascope


Victoria Taylor-Gore Links
Website: http://www.victoriataylorgore.com
Blog: http://www.anartjournal.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/vtg60

William Kentridge: Thoughts on Looking at Art

I remember the first time that I saw a painting in a museum that mesmerized me. It was a Van Gogh self-portrait with acidic greens vibrating on the canvas to the point of screaming out his pain. I had seen this image reproduced in dozens of books, and we had talked about it in art history class. But when I encountered it hanging on the wall of a museum it stopped me in my tracks. I think I must have stood there for at least twenty minutes staring at it. There is no way to explain this in a slide lecture, and there is no way of knowing what images will evoke this type of a response or why. To really understand art, and artists, it is imperative to look at the actual art.

William Kentridge recently had a one-person show at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth and when I first encountered the work; my response was similar to my encounter with Van Gogh’s painting. I was visiting friends in Fort Worth, and although I must confess that I had never heard of Kentridge, I make it a point to go to every show that Michael Auping the Chief Curator installs. I googled and searched You Tube for Kentridge before going and thought I knew something about his work. But I was not prepared for what I found: large scale video installations were behind partitions and drawings from the videos were installed on the outer walls. His drawings alone are world class museum quality work, but what he does with them in his videos is incredible. How can I even explain what a large scale projection of one of his videos is like, let alone describe the experience of seeing seven of them running simultaneously in the same room. Did I have a favorite? Well it would be either the Mozart “Magic Flute” theater installation complete with robots on tracks that run across the stage, the install in the room behind that with seven separate videos running depicting the cultural history of post-revolutionary Russia, or maybe it was that odd piece projected from above, spinning, and reflected onto a polished cylinder (embedded video above).

On the way home, I called all my friends and told them to go. I posted it on Facebook. I arranged a trip with my colleagues for one last look. We spent the weekend at the exhibit. Victoria Taylor-Gore, Chair of Visual Arts, Amarillo College, even went back on Sunday and has the distinction of being the last person in the museum at closing time on the last day of the show. She did not get back to Amarillo until after midnight. It was that good.

William Kentridge’s work is featured in the first segment of Art: 21 this season in a section dealing with compassion in art. It is fascinating to watch him construct frames for his films and listen to him discuss the process. This segment will be broadcast on October 7, and I highly recommend watching it.

Viewing art is crucial to understanding why an artist is significant. Reproductions rarely do images justice; they lack the magnitude, the mark of the artist’s hand, and the experience of the encounter. Some people go to the mountains for vacations; I plan trips to big cities to see art. But I also look at local art. Two monthly local events worth mentioning are First Friday at the Sunset Center, and Third Thursday at the Amarillo Museum of Art. These are both fun events that combine socializing and culture which is always a good mixture. They are also free and kid-friendly.

October = Season 5 of Art:21

Feeling a zing in your step because October’s here? More specifically, feeling a zing in your step because Season 5 of Art:21 - Art in the Twenty-First Century - airs this month on KACV? That’s more like it! Follow these steps for maximum enjoyment.

1. Check out the air dates/times on KACV below
2. Tune in or set your DVRs
3. Take part in discussion in our Art21onKACV online social networking platforms (links are on the upper right hand corner of your screen)
4. Repeat



EPISODE 1: COMPASSION

Wednesday 10/07/09 9:00pm KACV 2.1 57 min. Stereo
(airs again on 10/9 at 2:00 am, 10/11 at 3:30 pm and 10/12 at 4:00 am)

Overview: This episode features artists whose works explore the possibility of understanding and reconciling past and present, while exposing injustice and expressing tolerance for others.
Preview clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaH0n7-Gf3k
Artists featured: William Kentridge (South Africa), Carrie Mae Weems (U.S.), Doris Salcedo (Columbia)


EPISODE 2: FANTASY

Wednesday 10/14/09 9:00pm KACV 2.1 57 min. Stereo
(airs again on10/16 at 2:00 am, 10/18 at 3:30 pm, and 10/19 at 4:00 am)

Overview: Fantasy presents four artists whose works or personal stories transport viewers to imaginary worlds and altered states of consciousness. With works that seem at times hallucinatory, irreverent, and sublime, each of these artists pursues a vision first held in the mind’s eye.
Preview clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIgofzBfe9c
Artists featured: Jeff Koons (U.S.), Mary Heilmann (U.S.), Florian Maier-Aichen (Germany), Cao Fei (China)


EPISODE 3: TRANSFORMATION

Wednesday 10/21/09 9:00pm KACV 2.1 57 min. Stereo
(airs again on 10/23 at 2:00 am, 10/25 at 3:30 pm, and 10/26 at 4:00 am)

Overview: Whether observing and satirizing society or reinventing icons of literature, art history, and popular culture, the artists featured in Transformation capture the sensibilities of our age while at times inhabiting the characters they have created.
Preview clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8wmGSazSWE
Artists featured: Yinka Shonibare MBE (Nigeria/England), Cindy Sherman (U.S.), Paul McCarthy (U.S.)


EPISODE 4: SYSTEMS

Wednesday 10/28/09 9:00 pm KACV 2.1 57 min. Stereo
(airs again on 10/30 at 2:00 am and 11/01 at 3:00 pm)

Overview: Artists invent new processes to convey the attitudes of today’s supercharged, information-based society, examining why we find comfort in some systems while rebelling against others. Systems features artists who realize complex projects through acts of appropriation or accumulation. In some instances, they create projects vast in scope, which almost elude comprehension.
Preview clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn1xNcECU6s
Artists featured: Julie Mehretu (Ethiopia/U.S.), John Baldessari (U.S.), Kimsooja (Korea/U.S.), Allan McCollum (U.S.)

It's blog-tastic.

I’ll start my guest blogging with a short introduction, a few thoughts, and a modest request.

My name is Jacob Breeden…and I’m an Amarillo artist. That’s my introduction.

And believe it or not, Amarillo is an art town.

This town is filled with artists.

Artists who work. Artists who try – then fail – then try again. Artists who are in dedicated pursuit of an idea. An idea they may have been chasing for a few months, a few years, or a few decades.

There are realists and abstract thinkers. There are painters and poets, builders and bohemians, picture makers and picture takers. Men and women. Old and young. We are all different, and yet all the same...our sameness derived from our collective belief in the power of action.

You see…art making is action. Art making is work. As Tom T. once said, “Real work comes from work.” This is something we all know. Art, for each of us, is not a “hobby”. It’s not a “past time”. It’s an obsession. It’s work.

So why do we do it? Ask a hundred artists and get a hundred different answers.

I create because I can’t say what I want to say with words. I create because it keeps me sane. I create because I have a damn good time doing it. I create because I have to. But that’s just me.

Is what I create art? I sure as hell hope so.

With time, dedication and patience, anyone (really – anyone) can learn the skills it takes to paint a landscape filled with happy little trees, model with clay, or take a picture. Do you really think artists are born with the skills it takes to create their creations? We have all spent years learning to speak our chosen “language”.

But is hand-eye coordination really all it takes to make art? Or is there something that separates the art from the other?

Take the time to look at the art being made in our town. Take the time to really look. Then think about this…what you see is not always all there is.

When something moves you…when it makes you stop and think – when you can’t take your eyes off the image, or get the song out of your head, or stop repeating the poem – think about why. Chances are the artist did.

Those are my thoughts for the day.

And finally, here is my request. I am asking you to seek out and support great local art, to stop buying couch sized paintings for $29.00, and that the words, "You should go to Santa Fe!" never again escape your lips.

j. breeden

Chuck Olson at the Amarillo Museum

Let me start by introducing myself, I moved to Amarillo a year ago to teach photography and digital imaging at Amarillo College. One of the determining factors, besides the facilities and people that I would work with, was the art and culture available in the area. The Cadillac Ranch is world famous but what else was here? What kind of resources would be available to my students?

The first thing I discovered was the Amarillo Museum of Art. The museum is housed in a clean, contemporary, and beautifully designed space. Under the direction of Graziella Marchicelli, the museum has enjoyed steady growth while providing the community with exceptional contemporary Art. The quality of the exhibits in the last year has been astonishing.

Currently, the museum features large scale abstract paintings by Chuck Olson. He has a gestural quality to his mark making, a bold sense of color, and his paintings really pull the viewer in. Four of the paintings were made in response to the vast Amarillo sky that he experienced for the first time two years ago.

Olson gave a gallery talk at the museum last Thursday night, and played a few songs with a local band “Gravy.” Friday morning he visited with the art students at Amarillo College, and that afternoon started teaching a 3 day workshop at the museum. On Sunday night everyone met at the Sunset Center for a pot luck dinner and a song circle with local musicians. It was an amazing weekend my battery is charged, I am full of new ideas, and ready to be creative.

These types of events are so important to the culture of an area, and especially to aspiring artists growing up in this community.

This is my first post and I will be writing about being a newcomer to the area, and about the artists featured in this season of Art: 21.

Embracing Art and Education

Help us to welcome our newest guest blogger, Nicole Mahan. Originally from Amarillo, Nicole graduated with her bachelor's degree in Art History at the University of Mississippi. She is now pursuing her doctorate at Florida State University. Nicole's perspective as a Panhandle native pursuing a career path with a contemporary art focus seemed a natural fit for the Art:21 project.


When I was first approached about writing for the PBS Panhandle Art:21 blog, I was ecstatic about the opportunity to express my gratitude for the many institutions in Amarillo that have shaped my career as an aspiring art historian. My path towards what sometimes seems to be a never ending cycle of class and research began in the Texas panhandle where I was born and raised. After graduating from Amarillo High School (where I was inspired by Mr. Gary Biggers to study the history of art and music), I entered the University of Mississippi, more lovingly known as Ole Miss, without any idea what field of study I would pursue. My final decision to study art history may have come as a surprise to my family, but in hindsight, my passion for art began from a very early age. I am currently a graduate student at Florida State University in pursuit of my doctorate. I am finishing my Master’s thesis on Krzysztof Wodiczko, a video projection artist featured in season three of Art:21. It has been over fifteen years since I enrolled in my first art class in the museum school at the Amarillo Museum of Art, and I still live and breathe art like I did when I was six years old and enamored by the beautiful colors, inspiring messages, and messy (but uniquely beautiful) art projects I had the chance to create.

While I’ve been pursuing my passion for Contemporary art from coast to coast, my hometown has evolved into a cultural center where artists, students, patrons, and enthusiasts have more access than ever to a vibrant local art scene. The Amarillo Museum of Art has recently exhibited major artists including Chuck Olson, David Levinthal, Grace Hartigan, Ray Howlett, Carol Feuerman, and many others. The galleries at Sunset Center provide an excellent opportunity to support local artists, Third Thursdays at the Amarillo Museum of Art offer educational films and lectures, and local museum and art schools bring a world of creativity to children and adults alike.

The most recent development in the Amarillo art scene, the partnership between KACV and Art:21, gives Amarilloans an easy way to become involved in the local and global art scene. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity regardless of their prior interest in the arts. The Art:21 DVD series is an excellent way to introduce yourself to the most important artists working in the twenty-first century. No matter what your background or interests are, you can find something inspiring or interesting in either the Art:21 partnership or a local museum or gallery.

I was recently flying back to school from New York City, and a conversation with the man seated next to me made me realize why I feel so strongly about art appreciation. He asked a simple question, “What do art historians study? Do you make art or do you just read about it?” That was when I realized that the vast majority of my art research didn’t even have anything to do with the artist or object I was writing about. I go to the library, my second home, and bounce through the five stories of resources—art on the fourth floor, history and political science on the third, psychology and philosophy on the fifth, and photography and technology inconveniently located in the science library about a twenty minute walk away. And I thought I was studying art…

I tell this story because whether you are an engineer, a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a politician, or any variety of other “non-artistic” occupations, you can find something to learn or appreciate in a museum, gallery, or classroom. Even children can learn so much about the world by taking simple art classes at local museums. Not only are the children creating “masterpieces” they can be proud of, they also learn to “read” a picture, to make inferences about what they see hanging on the museum walls, and to ask questions about the context of a work of art. Just take your child to an art museum and have them tell you all about what they see. You will be amazed by the creativity and imagination that a simple painting or sculpture can inspire. While they may not grow up to be the next Cindy Sherman or Damien Hurst, they will learn valuable lessons that will impact the rest of their lives.

While I would love to keep going on about how important it is to become personally involved in supporting your local art community, I should probably return to my own studies that are calling me from my office. In my next blog, I will be writing about an artist who has not only been featured on Art:21, but has also been the focus of my research for the last year, Krzysztof Wodiczko. The Polish-American artist/professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has produced politically and socially-charged video projections on public monuments and architecture in over twelve countries for the last three decades. Until next time, visit a museum, create an art project with your children, or check out the Art:21 KACV blog/facebook page/flickr, and bring some art into your life!

The Art of Motion

Help us welcome Art21onKACV’s newest guest blogger, Dale Robinson. In addition to shooting, editing, doing graphics and many other unseen aspects of putting television productions together as a Production Coordinator for KACV, Dale is also the station’s web master (and as such, helps with many aspects of this project). Outside his television life, Dale handles special video/web projects, plays guitar, INSERT WHADEVEH… Plus, he’s a really deep guy.


How is video an art form? Or rather how is video its own art form? When I use the word video, I am referring to motion pictures, including film, video, still frame animation, all forms of visual medium which require the passing of time to convey their content. Of course video was immediately adopted for and has exponentially matured in its ability to intensify literature through linier story telling. It is obviously an outstanding medium for that application, but video is much more than just a tool for enhancing artistic characteristics that I feel are primarily the property of other art forms. Video alone has the unique ability of delivering changing or evolving composition.

Several years ago, I was involved in a local production at KACV-TV called “Roundings: Texas Sounds and Symbols.” The project involved the Amarillo Symphony performing an original score based on 5 public New Deal-era murals focusing on 5 regional icons, the windmill, oil well, locomotive, lariat and plow. Each of these was a literal display of the circular shape or motion and could also be used to symbolize the cycle of life. Back to my point, the project was done and promotion began. The print people preparing the package art for the video came to me for still frames of the 5 elements to be composited into one piece for the box label. No problem, until I got to the lariat. And although the video sequence I used in the open to represent the lariat was probably my favorite of the 5, I couldn’t isolate one particular frame of the cowboy rotating the rope at his side that was better than any other at capturing the feel entire sequence.

(use the slider to move through the video one frame at a time)

After 3 of us finally settled on a still, we all agreed it was the circular movement or changing composition of the rope that made the video so aesthetically pleasing. In my humble opinion whether it is a rotating lasso, a butterfly opening its wings, or a dividing chromosomes sequence, it‘s that changing composition or the constant of change itself, that only video can claim ownership to in its ability to convey the expression of true art.

–But this is nothing new. Check out the Muybridge galloping horse photos that were taken between 1878 and 1887 also on Life’s 100 photos that change the world. His pictures were used to create the very first motion photography sequence and could not illustrate any clearer video’s unique ability to display changing or evolving composition.

Photorealism coming to Canadian, Premiere Screening of Art:21 at Amarillo Museum of Art and more...

I just returned from an extremely pleasant visit to Canadian and the newly-opened Citadelle Art Foundation. The two-hour drive couldn't be more spectacular from Amarillo, in my humble opinion. First, the oh-so-flat horizon line with little to disrupt your view, then the land opening up with all of those hills and breaks... Can you tell I've got 'landscape' on the brain?


But back to the art... I'm happy to share that photorealism is coming to The Citadelle. Check out Executive Director Liz Seliger's clip here: http://www.youtube.com/art21onkacv In addition to permanent collection artworks displayed in the 8,000 square-foot mansion (formerly Canadian's First Baptist Church and then home to Dr. and Mrs. Malouf Abramam), the Citadelle brings in special exhibitions which are displayed in a newly-built Gallery on the museum's lush grounds. Super Real: The Different Angles of Photorealism opens September 24th and closes November 29th. The nationally-known artists - Gary Godbee, Dennis Wojkiewicz, Ellen Wagener and Scott Fraser - all approach photorealism from different angles (hence the title) but all have such a WOW-factor in their work, that I'm really looking forward to it. Fall Foliage Festival, anyone?



In other Art21 on KACV news, look forward to a guest blog this week from Rene' West (artist, Art Instructor at Amarillo College, and Texas Panhandle newcomer) who will share, among other things, her thoughts about the Amarillo Museum of Art and their Third Thursdays program. Speaking of which, at THIS Thursday's Third Thursday event (9/17), there will be some really great things going on. Artist Chuck Olson is back in town for a gallery talk on his exhibition, Chuck Olson: Visual Histories, an art activity inspired by Olson's show - mixed media maps - will be available for all ages, the band Gravy will perform and last but not least, the Panhandle's Premiere Screening Event for Art:21's newest season is happening at 7:30! The first full episode of Season 5, Compassion, will be shown featuring artists William Kentridge, Carrie Mae Weems and Doris Salcedo. Visit AMOA's website for more info about their Third Thursdays event: http://www.amarilloart.org/


Also coming up, look forward to guest blogs here from artist and Chair of Amarillo College's Visual Arts Department, Victoria Taylor-Gore, KACV Production Coordinator/Web Master Dale Robinson and video clips from chats with Jason Barrett at The 806 (coffee+lounge+cafe) about art they show, photographer Jim Jordan about his new works, and more! So, become a follower of our blog tell your friends to, too!

Local landscape as art influence: Palo Duro Canyon

Shameless self-promotion? Maybe. Art related? You bet. We can't help sharing that KACV is premiering its newest show, The Natural Wonder of Texas: Palo Duro Canyon tonight on KACV at 8:30 p.m. One part of the show is about the inspiration the canyon has provided to artists, from the past to present. On our new YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/art21onkacv , Producer/Writer Marcie Robinson talks about this aspect of the show. Check it out and subscribe to our channel. We'll also keep you posted if the show becomes available off the station's web site as well - www.kacv.org

Landscape is a frequent source for artistic inspiration in lots of different styles and media. In our first YouTube channel post, Alex Gregory from the Amarillo Museum of Art even talks about this topic in new works by Chuck Olson up now at the Museum.

Artists out there...does the physical landscape of our region influence your work? If so, how? What say you?

Welcome to Art21 on KACV's blog

We're so glad you're here!

What is Art21 on KACV all about, you might ask? Well, this project is a new experiment where KACV (the Texas Panhandle's PBS affiliate) is providing a platform for promoting, discussing and sharing contemporary art in the Texas Panhandle using the PBS program Art:21-Art of the Twenty-First Century- as a springboard. Thanks to a mini grant from Art:21, the project is allowing KACV to use social networking in new ways. By going this route, we hope to not only highlight and pose questions about what's going on in the Panhandle art-wise, but to empower YOU to share, discuss and promote your own work or work you're interested in. Sounds a bit nebulous? Sure. We're still trying to get a grasp on all of this ourselves, but we're definitely excited to give it a try and see what happens. Here's a little Q&A to hopefully spell a few things out.

How do I join the discussion? Follow this blog (www.art21onkacv.blogspot.com) and subscribe to our social networking venues, including:

• Facebook: www.kacv.org/art21


• Twitter: www.twitter.com/art21onkacv


• Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/art21onkacv


• YouTube channel: www.youtube.art/art21onkacv

Who is this project for? Whether you're an artist with Texas Panhandle connections, a classroom educator, college/university professor, art student, collector, museum or gallery professional, or simply someone interested in or curious about contemporary art and artists, we think you'll find topics here worth exploring and discussing.

How do I share my own content or thoughts? Post your own comments/feedback through the social networking discussion threads. Email your contemporary art-related photos, video or suggested topics/artists to highlight at art21onkacv@gmail.com Don't have your own portable web camera and want to use one for this project? Borrow one of ours for use in this project! Contact us at art21onkacv@gmail.com for loan info.

Who else will I be hearing from in this blog? In addition to project staff, you'll enjoy posts by guest bloggers who will share their own points of view about contemporary art in the Texas Panhandle as well as their responses to Art:21.

What is Art:21? Art:21 - Art of the Twenty-First Century - is an Emmy-nominated PBS program that airs every other year. It is the only prime-time television program in the U.S. featuring contemporary art and artists. KACV will air Season 5 of Art:21 on Wednesday nights this October at 9 pm and we can't WAIT! Find out more at www.art21.org

We'll have plenty more to come, but want to sincerely welcome you to the discussion. Let's see what happens together!