Carnegie Center for Art and History | Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Posts Tagged ‘Carnegie Center for Art and History’

From the River’s Heart

Posted in Art, art and the environment, nature, Photograpy, tagged Absurd, Art, art and nature, art and the environment, art journey, art process, art studio, artist at exit 0, bottle of pebbles, Carnegie Center for Art and History, creative process, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, lost and found, plastic, plastic heart, railroad bridge, sense of place, Styrofoam on January 19, 2015| 20 Comments »

Happy 2015 to all from the Falls of the Ohio State Park! This is my first post of the new year which has started auspiciously for me. I am happy to report that I found a new day job! I am the new Coordinator of Public Programs and Engagement at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana. About this time last year I was showing my own river art at this organization. It’s funny how things worked out…I had a feeling that my opportunities were leading me to the north bank of the Ohio River and that’s what happened. I found this plastic heart in the mud of the Indiana riverbank about a week before I was offered the job. I wonder if it has significance?

My relationship with the Carnegie Center for Art and History goes back to the early 1990’s when as a staff member at the Louisville Visual Art Association I helped to install the Indiana version of the Children’s Free Art Classes on the Carnegie Center’s gallery walls. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to have exhibited my own work here with the latest being the Potential in Everything show with Michael Wimmer that was up this time last year! There has to be a lot of serendipity in play here for all the stars to line up as they did and so I am feeling it was meant to be. I will be creating new workshop opportunities and other programming to help the center with its community-minded mission. It’s a new challenge for a new year!

With the new job and a recent cold spell I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the river until this three-day weekend. I heard that 2014 was the warmest year ever recorded across the globe. Today our temps are in the low 50’s which is quite a change from the teens we just experienced. I grabbed my walking stick and collecting bag and made a day at the river. I have been doing various bottle projects and here is a new one. I found a plastic liquor bottle that still had its cap on it. It’s interesting to note that most bottles I find with screw-top bottle caps are discarded with their caps on. By a deposit of Ice Age gravel, I was able to fill the bottle with river-tumbled white and pale yellow quartz pebbles. Not sure how I will use this, but will probably factor into a new artwork soon. Being outside on such a fine day is something else I wish I could bottle for future use when the cold, damp, and gray returns. For now I place the bottle in my collecting bag and move on. There are other things to find and discover.

Next to the flattened top of an aluminum can I found this small, partial jaw bone. I think it’s from a skunk or some other small carnivore, but will need to check the dentition more carefully. After taking this picture, I picked the mandible up and placed it into my bag. This find will factor into something else I put together before day’s end.

The mud and melting ice made checking out the river’s edge problematical and so I headed up the riverbank and into the willow trees. I visited my outdoor atelier and decided to do a little “house cleaning”. I swept the leaves and dirt off of the circular metal platform that has been here for several years. If I could have figured out how to get this object home, I probably would have done so by now. As it is, I like using it as a work surface and place to sit. My other stashed materials are nearby. To me, the platform is still a “U.F.O.”…which stands for “Unknown Floating Object”. I think it has something to do with mooring barges, but could be wrong about that. I also like that it adds a stage-like presence and helps define one small area at the Falls.

Standing on the platform and facing the river, if I look to my left I see the old railroad bridge. There were several trains that went back and forth while I was occupied. The railroad is part of the atmosphere of the place. A large and partially burned log occupies the space between the platform and the bridge. I straightened out my stick and root collection and sorted them on the platform. I then rediscovered my Styrofoam collection. Every time I walk the river, I find new river-polished pieces and add them to this assemblage. There is simply more here than I can use at a time and so anyone is welcome to try making something from what has been gathered.

I grab a few rounded pieces from the collection and decide to construct a figure from what I have here and in the bag. I decide which shapes and forms would make good heads and bodies and set them aside. Once in a great while, some other creative souls find my larder and make something of their own from this junk. I like it when people see the opportunity here.

I usually like starting with the head first. It’s where the most information is focused and my Styro-figures share this with archaic works and folk art. In the case of this figure, I decided on another shape for the head. Collected bits of plastic and potential facial elements are placed into a found plastic bowl. I will decide the features of today’s figure from what I’ve gathered today. Here’s a sequence showing the progression of how the head evolved including what already looks like a found face in the bowl.

The found mandible has a new home on this piece. I split the bottom from an aluminum can to make the ears which does give this figure a monkey-like quality to it. The eyes are a white, plastic bottle cap and the green, plastic bead from a child’s toy. I found two expressive sticks for arms and set the figure up as though it were sitting down with crossed legs. Here are images of this piece finished on site.

I had the best time today. There is still lots of winter before us, but this weekend’s respite helped connect me to the river for the first time this year. I will be curious to see if we even have one decent snow fall this season? Whatever happens during 2015, I will take it all in stride. The year is already off to a positive start! I think I will leave it at that and sign off until next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Big Spool and Tiny Willow Island

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged absurd art, Art, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, Carnegie Center for Art and History, culture and nature, driftwood, ecological art, Falls of the Ohio, figurative art, flotsam and jetsam, found materials, found objects, material culture, nature, photography, repurposed art, Styrofoam sculpture, willow on March 31, 2014| 13 Comments »

It’s a sunny Saturday and warm for this time of year. One of those days I can’t wait to get to the river. Spring is still slow in developing, but it can’t be much longer now. I spent a good part of the day just filling up my canvas collecting bag with all types of odds and ends both man-made and natural that have washed up on these fabled shores. I’m finding so much stuff that for practical reasons I decide to see if I can find a spot up the bank and under the willows that might make a good location for a temporary outdoor art studio. I can offload some of my larder for future use while continuing to walk the edge of the river. I’m enjoying the sunshine and taking deep breaths of the fresh air.

I chose a spot bordered by a large log that keeps most of the driftwood at bay and what I call the U.F.O. or Unidentified Floating Object which is circular metal platform that was once painted white with blue trim. It’s starting to show some rust now. This large object washed over the dam during a high water moment three or four years a go. Since then it’s changed positions with the rising and falling river levels and was once completely buried under driftwood. The U.F.O. is a platform that normally would be anchored out on the river. Barges and other water craft can tie on to it if necessary. Some how this one got loose and relocated to the park. When I first discovered it here I also imagined that it was a giant bathtub plug that helped keep the water in the river. I was lucky that I had the same outdoor studio for many years before this winter’s high water rearranged the landscape again and floated all my collected materials away. I spent a few hours walking the river collecting Styrofoam and sticks and can’t wait to make something new.

The first figure I make here is from the largest chunks of polystyrene I had found on this excursion. I used two fishing floats (one larger than the other for expressive effect) for the eyes. The nose is a plastic piece from a fooseball table. The mouth is a red reflector. My figure has ears, arms, and legs that are pieces of driftwood. The figure has a benevolent feeling to it and I can’t wait to photograph it by the river. I did run into a young sculptor attending the Kentucky School of Art who was collecting driftwood for her own project. Her name is Jenn and she approached me asking if I was the person with the show at the Carnegie Center for Art and History? She and her classmates had seen the exhibition. Jenn is building an installation at the school and promised to let me know when she completed it. It will be fun to see art made by someone else from materials collected within the park.

When I first meet the river, I spend a little time looking around and scouting out potential locations to create the photographs that will represent this day in my project. I decide that I like this tiny “willow island” which consists of clay and sand bound together by the living roots of this tree. Waves and water wash all around it and at times it does look like an island. As the river recedes to its normal pool, this tree will be high and dry at last. It’s amazing what it takes to keep this tree in place with such a dynamic river always testing its resolve to survive. During the highest river levels, this tree would be completely submerged underwater. Many of the willows along this stretch of the river bear scars and wounds from large logs battering them, breaking branches, and grinding bark away. I pose the figure on the root mass and move to the next shot which isn’t too far away.

Near tiny willow island is a large wooden “spool” for wire line or cable. I’m amazed by this object’s heavy-duty construction. This spool floated into here and is now partially sunk into the sand. Small waves lap the shoreline and you can also see black coal dust swirling around the water’s edge. Later when I see my pictures I’m struck by how similar this spool is to the circular platform that now forms part of my latest outdoor studio. This new area to cache my materials is very visible and hence ultra public, however, if we have heavy spring rains…it’s very possible that all this will be washed away and rearranged again. I often wonder what might go through people’s minds when they stumble upon my outdoor atelier? It’s an odd archeological site of Styrofoam boulders, small piles of plastic toys, and a tangle of found roots and driftwood. All the stuff you need to make an absurd figure! I left my latest Styro-creation next to the spool. I will go a head and tell you…I returned a week later and all I could find of him was his body and legs. There must be headhunters out here? I searched the area, but found no further trace of my figure. As with most of my Falls projects, they continue to “exist” as images. The exhibition that Michael Wimmer and I are participating in at the Carnegie Center of Art and History is entering its last week. I’m so appreciative of the positive response I’ve received for my work. The show will end with a tea and cookies closing. If you are in the area, please stop by.

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Gallery Talk at the Carnegie Center

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collecting art, creativity, Ohio River, recycled art, Styrofoam, tagged Art, art exhibition, artist at exit 0, Carnegie Center for Art and History, Falls of the Ohio, gallery talk, homemade balls, New Albany, photography, R. Michael Wimmer, sculpture, softball cores, Styrofoam, The Potential in Everything on February 9, 2014| 9 Comments »

Our first gallery talk about the”Potential in Everything” exhibition happened yesterday. Through a light dusting of falling snow, about 20 people braved the elements to hear R. Michael Wimmer and myself talk about our respective projects. I was delighted by the turnout and had a great time too. I am glad to have had this gallery opportunity because the river has been so high of late that getting to my usual spots at the Falls of the Ohio has been a challenge. Perhaps this is nature’s way of redirecting me?

It was a nice mixed ages group and a few local artists attended as well. People were very respectful and asked some interesting questions. Michael and I have very different processes, but the end results involve using something that has already functioned in the world and making something new from them. For me, that shift took many years of transition because my formal artistic training involved “staring down” a blank piece of paper or canvas and making something happen in a more traditional way. Although my old drawing professor might disagree with me about this…so much of the work I now do comes out of the conceptual concerns I first encountered through drawing.

When I get the chance to talk about art and creativity in general, I like to mention how important it is for all of us to cultivate that impulse to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Sadly, I hear far too often from too many people how they aren’t artistic or have any business being involved with creative acts and I know this to be untrue. I feel that part of my role is to get folks to expand their definitions of what is creative or aesthetically minded. Creativity is a precious, universal resource and available in everyone and may represent much of our hopes for a better future. We need to get people turned on to their own potentials instead of emphasizing the consumer in them. Too help illustrate this I brought my Homemade Ball Collection with me and placed it upon the pedestal that my “Flat-faced Cat with Bird” is sitting on. I found all these “balls” at the Falls and they are made from electrical tape, duct tape, cellophane tape, and aluminum foil. Rolling these waste materials into balls is not necessary for their disposal, however, I was struck by the artistic impulse I perceived in them by their anonymous makers to shape and form. There is obvious care in their making and rolling something into a cohesive ball has a satisfying side to it. After this sidebar and when the talk ended, I went outside to see how my “other” ball piece in the tulip poplar in front of the center was doing?

“La Belle Riviere” seemed to be in good shape. I was curious to see if any ice would be decorating it, but not this time. Ice can contribute a lot of weight which might take my nylon line beyond its limits. I look forward to spring’s arrival and how the appearance of this piece will change as the tree transforms. New Albany, Indiana is just a few miles downriver from Louisville. The town has an extensive riverfront and I took the opportunity to check it out in greater detail.

There is a large earthen berm that protects the New Albany from the adjacent Ohio River. A key feature of their riverfront is this structure used for concerts and special events.

One way to reach New Albany from Louisville is to cross the river over the Sherman Minton Bridge. Bridges in our area are a usual and often contentious topic of conversation. This one was closed down recently for much-needed repairs, but caused a headache for commuters while it was being fixed. Bridges are vital to river towns and a new one is currently being constructed near Louisville’s downtown. This new bridge was years in the planning and much of the controversy surrounding it involved where exactly would it cross the river and how would it tie into the existing interstate highway systems. The Ohio River has been high due to snow and rain in the upper part of the valley, but I walked down to the river’s edge and guess what I found?

Yes, it’s river polished Styrofoam. There’s goes my main art material floating towards the Gulf of Mexico. There are a couple other events associated with “The Potential of Everything” exhibit including a family workshop I will be leading on March 1. I have enough collected sticks and polystyrene that it will be fun making things with other people. I will also be giving a solo gallery talk on March 4. Michael will be doing a studio talk and welcoming people to visit his place on March 25. And, there will be a closing tea and cookies event at the Carnegie on the exhibit’s last day on April 5. So, if you are in the area and haven’t seen the show…there are other opportunities coming hopefully in beautiful weather! If you want to see my found homemade balls in more detail, I did a previous post about it entitled “The Need to Form: Handmade Balls from the Falls of the Ohio” and can be found in this blog’s search feature. Speaking of balls, I did find one other item by the river in New Albany and I’ll end this post with it. Stay warm out there!

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The Potential in Everything

Posted in animal art works, Art, creativity, Green, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Albertus Gorman, Art, art exhibition, artist at exit 0, Audubon art, Carnegie Center for Art and History, found materials, Indiana, New Albany, R. Michael Wimmer, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, The Potential in Everything, upscaled art on January 26, 2014| 26 Comments »

On January 24 our long-awaited exhibition at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana opened with a big reception. I say “our” because this is a two person show featuring work by R. Michael Wimmer and yours truly. The exhibition in entitled “The Potential in Everything” because both Michael and I utilize a diversity of materials to make our art. While I depend on what I find at the river, Michael goes much further afield to locate objects that project a certain “aura” and associative power for him. Following are some images from the exhibition which will be up until April 5.

I brought about 25 pieces that I had saved from the river and park visitors. I have gotten into the habit of keeping some of my better creations for events like this. It’s such a big leap first seeing the work at the river and then in a more formal art space where everything is displayed, labelled, and illuminated with care.

The other extreme is having several rooms full of friends, family, and assorted art lovers coming out on a very cold night to take in this exhibition. A wonderful jazz band provided music. At times, it was hard to see the art because of the people…which is a great situation to be in and I felt very lucky. I know I did a lot of talking and meeting people who said that they knew my work through this blog. This happened more than once and it made me feel good that local people were checking out my river adventures online every now and then. I returned to the center the following day so I could get a better look at the show and to take a few more pictures. Overnight, it snowed two to three inches while we slept.

Both Michael and my sculptures are assembled. He favors a wider variety of materials and I have over time evolved a vocabulary of forms and found materials that I prefer. The pieces I’ve saved function for me as mostly a means to an end. The story telling aspect of my work has been the biggest shift in what I do over the years and it has caused me to reassess my priorities when I go on location. I was pleased that people thought the stories added something extra to the artworks. Wall labels had excerpts from my river tales and I supplied a binder with printed stories that accompany many of the objects on display. It takes the pieces away from being strictly artworks as usual. I do, however, try to make compelling sculptures to help activate the spaces I work in and to assist in creating interesting images. The tall figure in the foreground is entitled “Cycladic Oarsman” and was made specifically for this show. I gave it this title because the face has some similarities with very early Greek marble statuary.

Karen Gillenwater, the Carnegie Center’s curator did a fine job of pairing artworks together and finding what Michael and I have in common artistically. Both of us have channeled John James Audubon and bird imagery. The naturalist’s earliest attempts at drawing birds happened in the Kentuckiana area during the early nineteenth century. Over the years I have made several Audubon figures and most of the birds I’ve created are creatures he never encountered in America’s pristine wildernesses.

The Styro-fish I’ve made stand near a wall piece that Michael did about the deteriorating marine environment where he lived for a while in Florida. My fish are made with some of the junk I’ve removed from the Ohio River. Michael now makes his home and studio in New Albany. Both of us are also fond of time references. My stuff flirts with time on a number of levels including quantum mechanics. Clock faces and dials appear in many of Michael’s Carnegie pieces and some of his sculptures are also working clocks. A good friend of mine once told me that much of life is what we decide to spend time on and that seems true for both artists in this exhibition. I appreciate that the Carnegie Center for Art and History believes it is important to generate good quality materials to help supplement an exhibition. The staff at the center produced a wonderful gallery guide, show announcement, a banner that hangs from the building’s facade, a poster, and both Michael and I have the opportunity to give gallery talks and lead workshops. I may never have a chance like this again where the hosting institution helps the artists out as much as the Carnegie Center for Art and History does. I know of many regional and local artists who feel that this is what makes showing at the Carnegie such a treat. The exhibition continues outside and both Michael and I have works positioned in front of the building. Here is Michael’s piece and all the work’s components find similarities with details and materials on the building.

My piece is my long, beaded necklace made from softball cores and is entitled “La Belle Riviere” which I originally displayed at the Falls of the Ohio in October of last year. It was quite a production and required a bucket truck and a worker supplied by the city to hang the piece in the tulip poplar tree outside the center. For now, I will close with this image and look forward to my next post as the Artist at Exit 0. Stay warm everybody.

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Project Reclamation…Views from an Exhibition

Posted in Art, art and environment, collecting art, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, nature, recycled art, watershed, tagged Appalachia, Appalshop, Art, art and the environment, art exhibition, Carnegie Center for Art and History, coal, coal mining, ecology, Mountaintop Removal, nature, needle and thread, Project Reclamation on November 23, 2012| 12 Comments »

I have had a few folks ask about the Project Reclamation exhibit I’m participating in and I thought this post would be a good place to feature this. The exhibit opened a couple of weeks a go on November 2, 2012 and will run through January 12, 2013. About a year and a half have passed since curator and artist Mary Margaret Sparks asked me to participate in this invitational exhibit. There are thirteen artists represented in this group show with a nice cross-section of projects in various media addressing the complex topic of coal its use and extraction. The Carnegie Center for Art and History located across the Ohio River from Louisville in nearby New Albany, Indiana has done a fine job of installing and interpreting the works and has planned many activities that the public can engage in to learn more about the controversial topic of coal mining through the practice of Mountaintop Removal or MTR. This is a highly destructive way to extract coal from southern Appalachia’s mountains which also endangers some of the greatest biodiversity in our part of the world in pursuit of cheap and reliable energy. To further spur the artists along, the not for profit organization Kentuckians For the Commonwealth invited the participants to Whitesburg in Letcher County, Kentucky to tour Appalshop and watch a few coal-themed documentaries. A guided tour into coal country provided additional impressions of the mountains and the folks who call this place home.

All of the participating artists had some prior interest either working with coal as a social issue or material substance before accepting the invitation to show. There is a unity in the belief that the more we degrade the environment, the more we change ourselves and not for the best. For me, my entry came through the related issue of clean fresh water which is also our number one vanishing resource. I frequently find river-altered coal at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Combining this coal gravel with discarded and river found booze bottles gave me an opportunity to work with ideas about consumption and addiction. The result was my “Mountaintop Mini-bar” sculpture, but I also have six photographs from my “Coal Flake Series” on view as well. My impression of our guided trip to coal country reinforced what I’ve previously seen and experienced. It seems to me that the people who were sacrificing their land and culture were not receiving much in the way of compensation for our quest for coal. Regrettably, this is an old tale seen time after time across the globe. People might think that this is something that only happens in distant poor countries, but we have our own share of material poverty in our own backyard.

Most of the participating artists took considered approaches that referenced and respected the uniquely rich culture of coal country. Several artists worked with traditional fiber and or needle and thread to produce their statements. Julie Yoder created a large wall installation, “Appalachian Patchwork”, assembled with woodcuts on handmade paper. Patchwork quilting is an important Appalachian art form and Yoder’s piece represents the landscape and local culture as being a composite of unique designs that have come together over time to form a whole. Mountaintop removal has a way of fragmenting this landscape and disrupting the continuity that life here depends upon for survival.

Other artists utilizing fabric, needle, and thread include Jo Ann Grimes with her sympathetic portrayals of miners. Joel Darland and his marvelous hand-embroidered quilt squares. Rachel Brewer’s two embroideries of song birds on dirty furnace filters. Mary Margaret Sparks’ imposing “Lest We Forget” hand-embroidered and sewn re-purposed fabric waterfall that is a memorial to lost mountain streams and creeks that were damaged by coal mining. Also in this group is a fascinating video entitled “Harriman” which is the work of Denise Burge and incorporates video, fabric, and thread. Burge’s video is a statement made in the aftermath of a disaster. A broken coal slurry dam in Tennessee had poisoned the surrounding watershed and imperiled the health of a community living in the area. Burge’s video documents some of the clean-up involved and how protective the coal industry is in guarding its own image.

Photographs by Joshua Howard contrast the natural beauty of coal country with the grim realities of the industry. A more overt political statement comes from Wayne Ferguson who sees Kentucky’s senior senator as being in cahoots with the industry that helps bankroll his re-election campaigns. Ferguson’s drawings chart the corrupting influences of money and power at the expense of the land and the best interests of the people.

The sense that mountaintop removal is a great calamity for nature at large comes through the works of two artists. Ceramic sculptor Alex Adams’ piece entitled “Wounded” suggests that MTR mining disrupts the very living tissue of the mountain range. He does this by representing two mountains that have had their peaks literally removed revealing raw, open wounds.

Painter Michael Koerner’s approach is equally reductive and he comes to a similar conclusion about the fate of the mountains. His diptych entitled “After the Canaries Left the Coal Mines, the Mountains Began to Leave Appalachia” is an argument reduced to its essential points. For example, in Koerner’s landscape, the painting is physically divided into two parts suggesting man’s indifference towards nature. The bare slopes past the forested mountains are a warning of what could occur with unchecked mountain top removal.

One last artist before closing. Aron Conaway’s work lies at the heart of our culture of consumption. His work entitled “Billions and Billions Served” features a Ronald McDonald clown driving a toy front loader on top of a large pile of coal. In his work, Conaway makes it obvious that we are all implicated in the big issues of our day. The demand for coal exists because we demand the energy to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer time heat. If we don’t like the side effects of coal mining, perhaps we should speed up our search for alternative energy sources, find ways to curtail our addiction to electricity or both? The demand for cheap coal and energy is what drives the supply.

The Carnegie Center for Art and History has a nice program of upcoming events that expands the breath of this exhibition. I have already participated in one gallery talk that drew an interested crowd. Film screenings, art making opportunities, and a panel discussion on mountaintop removal and renewable energy sources will also be held during Project Reclamation’s run. There is the hope that this show will travel which will be an added bonus. Thanks to Mary Margaret Sparks, Karen Gillenwater, and the staff at the Carnegie Center for their hard work. I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into an exhibition from our area. My next post will be from the Falls of the Ohio!

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Pecha Kucha Kentucky Style

Posted in Art, birds and birding, collecting art, creativity, environmental art, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Originality, public art, tagged Art, Bernheim Arboretum, bird houses, Carnegie Center for Art and History, Murray State University, Pecha Kucha Louisville on August 29, 2010| 10 Comments »

I hustled out to Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest after supper. The evening promised a twin bill of fun and I wanted to reach Clermont while the sun was still out. I was able to take in the “Model Homes and Habitats” exhibition of bird houses and bird inspired art. The show had a strong Murray State University flavor to it with many past alumni and one current professor showing work. Murray grad, Brad White assembled the exhibition for Bernheim. I even saw my old drawing professor Dale Leys there as well which was a nice surprise. Twenty five years goes by fast!

The designs of the bird houses ranged from the traditional to the conceptual. Because the light level was getting low, I’m surprised I had images to work with. Unfortunately, I can’t credit many of the artists because I didn’t see an exhibit guide and some labels were hide to find. This house with the scary back has a more traditional hole in front. I liked this picture once I downloaded it from my camera…the house seems to be suspended in mid air.

My friend Raymond Graf had a nice piece in this show. Inspired by dovecotes and Japanese architecture, this piece looked like a bird skyscraper. The piece is primarily made of wood and incorporates many Louisville Slugger souvenir baseball bats in its construction.

At Bernheim it can be hard to tell how many people are attending an event because the park can accommodate them all. I know I saw several hundred people enjoying the music, food, and art. The bird houses were scattered along a walking trail. Once the darkness fell, the white screen behind the band would become center stage. Folks would concentrate in the informal amphitheater sitting on old limestone blocks from the renovation and expansion of Louisville’s McAlpin Locks and Dam. Kentucky’s first sanctioned “Pecha Kucha” event was about to start.

Now I will confess that I have never heard of Pecha Kuchas before in fact I kept calling it Machu Picchu all week-long! Apparently, two American architects decided that the traditional slide show was too boring and could be shortened and made livelier. The idea is the presenter is limited to 20 projected images and 20 seconds a piece for a total talk of 400 seconds. That’s it. Pecha Kucha is said to be Japanese slang for “chit-chat”. To me, it sounded like it could have some pace to it like a poetry slam.

Fourteen presenters interpreted the idea that “Mother Nature wants me to tell you something…” in very personal ways. Many of the speakers were artists who are aligning what they make and do with the needs of the planet. A concern for where society is going and what should we place value in were common threads in many of the talks. Not all the presenters were smooth during their 400 seconds and you could tell a few less experienced speakers were nervous, but the crowd supported everyone with applause regardless of the performance!

This evening and the one before it were successful because of the collaboration and partnership between Bernheim and the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana. The weekend began with the opening of Julia Oldham’s “Possumhaw Plant Electrics” exhibit at the Carnegie Center which consisted of four videos and a gallery of wonderful line drawings. Julia is the 2010 Artist in Residence for Bernheim Forest and the videos were created during her ten week stay. For those who have followed this blog, Julia is a new friend that I shared a couple of outings with that we posted on our respective blogs. It was great seeing her in Kentucky again! Sometimes it’s a big world and sometimes it’s not…perhaps we will meet again? I hope so. The next Pecha Kucha will be held in December at the 21C Hotel in Louisville. That’s another fine venue to take in an event.

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Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

Posts Tagged ‘Carnegie Center for Art and History’

From the River’s Heart

Big Spool and Tiny Willow Island

Gallery Talk at the Carnegie Center

The Potential in Everything

Project Reclamation…Views from an Exhibition

Pecha Kucha Kentucky Style

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From the River’s Heart

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Gallery Talk at the Carnegie Center

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The Potential in Everything

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Project Reclamation…Views from an Exhibition

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