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Visual Arts

Antioch College’s Herndon Gallery Hosts Night Of Performance To Close Currencies Exhibition

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Gabrielle Civil performs at Antioch College's Herndon Gallery

Gabrielle Civil performs at Antioch College’s Herndon Gallery

The Herndon Gallery on Antioch College’s campus will host an evening of performances on Friday, February 14, beginning at 7:00 p.m.  This event will close the current exhibition, Currencies, which presents the work of current Antioch arts faculty and resident scholars.

The evening will include dance performances by Jill Becker, associate professor of dance at the former College, and a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer’s Fellowship recipient, and Melissa Heston, a collaborative dance and theatre artist who performs regionally and internationally. Becker and Heston will begin by performing solos and duets improvised with a  “love” theme—sappy, romantic, dreamy, love-sick, love-lost, melancholy, first love, etc.  In addition, Heston will perform an excerpt from Bon Voyage, a piece choreographed in 2003 with music by Yann Tierson. Becker will be performing a solo piece, “What I want to say is…,” that moves between the private and public self.

Louise Smith, an actor, writer, and educator, and currently Antioch’s dean of community life, will be performing One Don’t Operate Without the Other, a performance poem about darkness. This piece premiered in Cincinnati last year at the Time Arts Series, and is inspired by Jungian ideas about the unconscious mind and how it expresses itself through language, the body and the world around us. Smith is a 2003 Obie Award winner for her work in A Painted Snake in a Painted Chair.

Gabrielle Civil, a poet, conceptual and performance artist, and associate professor of performance at Antioch College, will be performing “and then . . .” This piece features Nicolas Daily, resident life manager, with video by Cristian Perez Lopez ’17. Civil writes of this new piece, “Break out the Happy Meal, it’s Valentine’s Day. What to do with the space before, during and after love? With loud sound, movement, video, naughty texts and more, this work offers upside down roses, black kisses and trying to cry. There is a parental advisory due to its explicit content. Not for the faint of heart.”

The evening of performances is free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Dennie Eagleson, creative director of the Herndon Gallery, at 937 768 6462 or e-mail her at [email protected].

 

A Juried Alumni Exhibition: Call For Wright State’s Art and Art History Alumni

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alumni_2007In recognition of the Robert & Elaine Stein Galleries’ 40th Exhibition Season, the Galleries are extending to the Alumni of the Department of Art and Art  History an invitation to submit artwork for a juried Alumni Exhibition, to take place in the Stein Galleries May-June, 2014. All media will be considered, including installation, performance, and new media. At least one work from each entrant will be accepted and there is no cost to enter.

Entries are being accepted now through March 2, 2014.

The exhibition is open to any graduate of Wright State’s Art and Art History program.
Important Dates
Application deadline: March 2 (email); Feb. 28 (mail)
Notifications: March 31, 2014
Accepted works due: May 6, 2014
Exhibition: May 19 – June 13, 2014
Juror
Susan Byrnes is a visual artist, curator, and independent audio producer whose studies in photography, sculpture, and audio production result in conceptually-based art that encompasses a variety of media.
Susan received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from Syracuse University and her Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Eastern Michigan University.
How to Apply
Download the exhibition prospectus for complete information and application form. Adobe Acrobat Reader required.

For questions or to have the prospectus sent to you, contact Tess Cortés, Gallery Coordinator

Kettering Cultural Arts Manager Picks Her Top Moments in Dayton Visual Arts 2013

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Dayton was home to numerous amazing art exhibitions, collaborations and projects in 2013. Although there were many, many more superb events that are not on this list, the arts listed below serves as a glimpse into the vitality of the Dayton region’s creative folks and spaces! Enjoy!

CIRCUS!
Dayton Visual Arts Centre

January 2 – 11P1100868
A collaborative project between artist Leesa Haapapuro and the Young People’s Homeschoolers program at K12 Gallery culminated into a short show at the Dayton Visual Arts Center. The young circus performers next to their murals, sculptures and paintings, created an incredible new world of possibility and magic for youth and adults.

Jud Yalkut: Visions and Sur-Realities
University of Dayton
Jan. 31 through March 7

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Nam June Paik and Jud Yalkut, Beatles Electroniques, 1969

One of Dayton’s most treasured artists, Jud Yalkut was revered for his advocacy of the arts, his pioneer video works, his collages and his writing.  The exhibition captured many of his artworks, including special screenings of his film and video works, many of which hadn’t been seen by the public in decades.  Jud passed away in July 2013, marking an end of an era and a huge loss to the Dayton arts community.  Learn more about the his timely retrospective and career here.

The week of May 4 – 12
Urban Nights, Sideshow 8, Art on the Playground and AIA Architecture Week
Throughout Dayton and Kettering

 

The high quality and numerous events that took place over the first and second weekends of May was inspiring; Dayton’s Urban Nights, The Circus Creative Collective’s Side Show 8, Kettering’s inauguralArt on the Playground and AIA’s Architecture Week brought thousands of people out to participate in Dayton arts and culture.

Reinvention Stories
Dayton Art Institute
June 30 – September 29

dcp_Twin Towers Portrait_Emily Evans

Emily Evans, Untitled (Twin Towers), 2012

As evidence of Dayton’s vitality, a special project launched in January captures the city’s pulse. Local radio station WYSO 91.3 and filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar teamed-up to create the multi-platform media project Reinvention Stories, a series of audio stories and short films of Dayton and its residents. The project, instigated by WYSO’s general manager Neenah Ellis, is based on a series of questions: how does a city of inventors reinvent itself? How are individuals reinventing themselves? How are people dealing with the economic turmoil of recent years? How is Dayton doing? Through this documentation, a collection of videos and photographs were selected by Eva Buttacavoli, Executive Director of the Dayton Visual Arts Centre, and partnership with the Dayton Visual Arts Center and WYSO 91.3. Learn more bout the project at http://www.reinventionstories.org.

Inside Out 11M
August 4
Missing Peace Art Space and Synergy Incubator

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Inside Out 11M at Missing Peace Art Space

Inside Out 11M is a project based on Jr’s Inside Out with a focus on the question of immigration. Focusing on the residents of Dayton, the project captured portraits of hundreds of kids, adults and seniors. From the website: “A nationwide participatory art initiative aimed at creating a portrait of America that includes immigrants and the descendants of immigrants alike.”  Learn more about the project here.

HWD: Regional Sculpture Exhibition
August 26 – September 27
Rosewood Gallery

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Roscoe Wilson, Austere Consumption

HWD, or Height x Width x Depth, featured dozens of artists working in three-dimensional form. Participating artists were featured from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virgina, Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana.  Highlights included the work of  Don Williams, Terry Welker, Rebecca Emrick, Courtney Kessel, Carrie Longley, David Kenworthy, Erica Wine, and so many more. Learn more about the exhibition here and photos are here.

Soo Sunny Park
Unwoven Light
Wright State’s Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries
September 15 – October 13

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Image courtesy of Wright State University

Exploring the boundaries between drawing and sculpture, Park’s chainlink fence and plexiglass transformed the Stein galleries into a moving experience.  Originally commissioned by Rice University, Park’s beautiful installation has been traveling to galleries around the country.

National Bronze Sculpture Symposium
October 13 – 26
Yellow Springs Arts Council

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Image courtesy of Bernie Carreno

The Yellow Springs Arts Council launched its first symposium in October, focusing on the process of lost-wax bronze casting.  Commissioning four sculptors, including D’jean Jawrunner (New Mexico), Susan Byrnes (Cincinnati), Brian Maughan (Yellow Springs), and John Weidman (New Hampshire), the artists created works on site for two-weeks, culminating in a live pour of their molds.  Exhibitions, lectures and artist talks complemented the artmaking daily.  More info is here.

Object of Devotion:
Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum
Dayton Art Institute
October 26  – January 5, 2014

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Anonymous, English, The Fifth Sign of the Last Judgment, c. 1440-1470. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

A stunning collection of medieval alabaster sculptures, on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, demonstrate the dramatic, narrative and intricate scenes interpreted from biblical texts.  An art form popular in the 15th and 16th centuries, alabasters were considered a low-end of medieval craft for centuries. Over 40 examples at the Dayton Art Institute show the merit of this art form, which finally gained recognition by scholars and collectors in the twentieth century.

Bullet: Who Pulls the Trigger?
Art Street, University of Dayton
September 24 – November 3

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James Pate and DECA students collaborative drawing

Art Street presented a complicated, difficult and important question within the multi-faceted collaborative art installation with artist James Pate, Dayton Early College Academy, South Chicago Art Center and Newtown, CT artists. Focused on creating a dialogue on issues of gun violence with a focus on South Chicago, Newtown and Dayton, panel discussions were a major component to the gallery exhibition. Artworks included New York artist S.B. Woods’ Meditation on Mourning, paintings made by Sandy Hook shooting survivors, Dayton-based artist James Pate and a group of DECA high school students. From the website: “This piece was conceived in part by James Pate, and in part by the students. After a conversation about gun violence, the students came to the consensus that ‘we as a society pull the trigger.’” Chicago artist Sarah Ward and students from the South Chicago Art Center created etchings of bullets to symbolize one for every person affected by gun violence on a daily basis. Read more about the exhibition here.

Dia de los Muertos
November 1

 

Dayton’s Day of the Dead parade and celebration took place on Friday, November 1, from the Oregon District to the historic St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood.  Hundreds of folks participated, many donning costumes and painted faces as music, art and food commemorated our loved ones. Stivers School for the Arts students, professional and emerging musicians and artists contributed to the celebration.  Spearheaded by volunteers, including Jean Howat Berry, MB Hopkins, Tonia Fish, Lisa Grigsby, and several others, the event found support from the community in its crowdsourcing fundraiser, as well as Welcome Dayton’s sponsoring of the parade, and Missing Peace Art Space and the Unitarian Fellowship for World Peace hosting.

Looking Back At The Best In Visual Art For 2013

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It’s not too late to look back at the best in visual art for 2013. Here are some of my favorites

 

Longing: Sculpture and Photography, curated by Francis Schanberger, Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors (DSPS)
I wanted to somehow use the terms languid, languorous and louche to describe the photos in this show paired with coy, clever sculptural counterparts. And just lovely in the elegant setting of the recently gussied-up High Street Gallery.

 

Jud_Yalkut_240x162Jud Yalkut: Visions and Sur-Realities, curated by Jeanne Phillip, Gallery 249, Roesch Library 1st & 2nd floor Galleries, and Art Street Gallery, University of Dayton
Almost too much to take in. Heady.

 

Meme: Culture in Transition, curated by Dennie Eagleson and Susan Byrnes, Herndon Gallery, Antioch College
“Artists coming as close as one can to grasping such a speeding concept.”

 

Works on Paper 2012, juror Robert Robbins, Rosewood Arts Centre
Ongoing proof of the region’s artististic mastery of watercolor, drawing, printmaking and photography. Oceans of achingly good lines.
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Construction of Space: Tess Little and Jennifer Rosengarten, self-curated, Dayton Visual Arts Center
Enveloped by swirling jewel and pastel-toned flowers, grasses, weeds and scribbles embedded in a forest of earth, stone, metal. Preternatural.

 

The Fixed Shadow: Camera–less Photography, juried by Carol Panaro-Smith and James Hajicek, The Robert & Elaine Stein Galleries at WSU
How do I love thee, let me count the ways: photograms, scanograms, lumen prints, chemigrams, and photogenic drawings. Mysterious and beautiful.

 

Storm: Paintings by April Gornik, curated by Jane Black, Dayton Art Institute
Spectacular. Too few of these roaring waterscapes by this underappreciated Cleveland-born nationally recognized painter.

 

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Jack Earl: Modern Master – A Retrospective, curated by Charlotte Gordon, Springfield Museum of Art
A keen sense of humor, magical tableaus, regional references, family values. In porcelain. Turned this painting snob into a ceramic stalker.

 

Your Turn: A collaborative exhibition by Bridgette Bogle and Francis Schanberger, self-curated, organized by Peter Benkendorf and Mark Chepp, The Collaboratory
Obvious and not-so-obvious quietly trippy photo and explosive painting pairings by this husband-wife team that made you so fascinated by their shared visual vocabulary that you poke your significant other and say [insert random snarky spousal barb here] as a reality check.

 

TODT: Heartland, presented by Gallery 249 and ArtStreet, University of Dayton
A retrospective of the Cincinnati-born, globally exhibited anonymous artist collective of works depicting a futuristic world controlled by science and government. Possibly on this list for the mere fact that it surprised the students that such bad-ass work was happening in the 90s.

 

Where is the Love I Playing for Change, Video, produced by CityFolk, Music by Puzzle of Light, various Dayton performers.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cABVKIPk_u0′]
Warm, dance-like-nobody’s-watching, beautifully shot.

 

Stanley Lewis: Works on Paper, self-curated, The Robert & Elaine Stein Galleries at WSU
A beautiful mess of the best kind of sure-handed mark-making. Like peering at the world through a “sketchbook” filter. Wonderous.

 

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Streets of Dayton, Video, Reinvention Portraits, Steve Bognar, Julia Reichart and the Reinvention Team, Dayton Art Institute and www.reinventionstories.org.
A riveting looped video that merged three perspectives of travelling up and down the city streets. Literally unraveling and then raveling the city up again and again. Heartpulling. Spectacular.

 

The Dayton Visual Art Center Presents Close to the Edge: Paintings by Vera Scekic

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Vera Scekci, Untitled (brilliant blue cell), 2012, acrylic, pouring medium, drafting film on canvasAlthough some critics argue that painting is an obsolete art form, artists like Vera Scekic are demonstrating that contemporary work can reference 2D works on canvas yet encapsulate the physicality of other media; it can challenge traditional applications propelling it into new territory. Scekic’s inventive manipulation of this fluid medium allows her to explore textures and a vibrant palette of “unnaturally natural” colors in assemblages that become sculptural. Her interest in biology finds form in metaphoric images evoking cells, the fundamental building blocks of all nature.

Scekic pours viscous acrylic paint onto prepared surfaces and then either air-dries the wet layers to create cracks and fissures or waits for natural processes to dry the paint into smoother finishes. After the pours have dried, she cuts and layers shapes to compose new combinations of color and form that she affixes to wood panels, canvases or walls. She juxtaposes nature’s hues with chromatic, chemically-produced colors to reference the endemic condition of our environment in which we accept that organic and manufactured exist side-by-side, seamlessly intermeshed; whether it is in the food we eat, the dye-infused flowers we buy, the pharmaceuticals we ingest, or the genomes we alter in labs.

Imagery from the biology lab fuels Scekic’s work. She states that she is “interested in not only what is presented (cells and their constituent parts) but how that 10. Untitled (cobalt turquios cell)information is presented: in isolation from the whole organism, magnified, backlit, colorized, on a monochromatic background and typically framed by a clean circle or square. This act of isolating and framing irregularly shaped, highly particular contents generates a compelling visual and conceptual tension. Cells have been analyzed and manipulated extensively, and they are at the forefront of recent developments to synthesize novel life forms.”

DVAC is thrilled to present Scekic’s paintings as form and content in her explorations are fused so deftly to express ideas at the confluence of representation and abstraction; painting and sculpture; science and art; natural and synthetic; traditional and contemporary.

Vera Scekic’s work is a 2012 Biennial Call for Submissions juried selection. 

This exhibit will be on display through December 21st.

Contributed by Lesley Neufeld, Guest Essayist

 

Multimedia Artist J-Walt’s Spontaneous Fantasia Comes To DAI

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The Dayton Art Institute’s visual arts theatre series, Fifth Third Bank Arts Night Out, wraps up its 2013 season on Thursday, December 5, with the visual spectacle, Spontaneous Fantasia.

 

Spontaneous Fantasia is a live, musical visual experience that incorporates elements of animation, theater, dance, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, and interactive art into a seamless new art form that amazes audiences.

 

Spontaneous Fantasia is the digital live performance work of pioneering multimedia artist J-Walt. He utilizes the latest in interactive computer graphics techniques to bring paintings to life. The result is an improvised real-time immersive animated movie that unfolds before audiences.

 

“With my performances, I take literally the meaning of the word ‘animation’: making images come to life,” says J-Walt. “I use my drawing skills to give directions to computer programs I’ve written. I aim to capture the sensitivity of gesture, but I also use techniques which amplify and augment the gestures. The wave of the arm or the stroke of the pen is my foundation, but the effect is much more. My creative process for these pieces is to continually shift between painting, programming, composing music, and performing. My goal is to create a wholly integrated experience for the eye, ear, and mind.”

J-Walt-Performing-with-HydraJ-Walt is a performer, interactive designer, filmmaker, graphic artist, and composer. For 25 years, he has been at the forefront of interactive art and computer performance, expanding the uses of computer animation into uncharted territories. He is an award-winning pioneer of computer-generated puppetry, having created many digital puppets over the years. In March of 2006, he won a Technical Academy Award for his development of a real-time pre-visualization system.

For a sample of J-Walt’s work, go to www.spontaneousfantasia.com/videos.

 

Spontaneous Fantasia takes place in The Dayton Art Institute’s NCR Renaissance Auditorium on Thursday, December 5, at 8 p.m.

 

The Dayton Art Institute’s Leo Bistro will be open for dinner on December 5, 4:30-8:00 p.m., offering a special menu for the show. Advance reservations are recommended, by calling 937-512-0146. Go to www.leobistro.com for more information about the menu.

 

Tickets for Spontaneous Fantasia are $30 for adults and $26 for seniors. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased by phone, at 937-223-4ART (4278), in person at The Dayton Art Institute’s Guest Services Desk during regular museum hours, or online at www.daytonartinstitute.org/artsnightout.

For more information about this and other programs at The Dayton Art Institute, please visit www.daytonartinstitute.org or call the museum at 937-223-4ART (4278). Be sure to also connect with The Dayton Art Institute on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for additional information, behind-the-scenes photos and exclusive offers.

Dayton Visual Art Center Puts Fine Art and Fine Craft Into Context

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lAs a complementary exhibition to DVAC’s wildly popular SHOP LOCALSHOP ART-themed  annual ARTtoBUY: Holiday Gift Gallery, DVAC is presenting selections from the Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s “Best of 2013.”

 

While ARTtoBUY provides a showcase for the finest of our region’s contemporary craft artists, these additional works by members of the ODC provide an opportunity to extend the conversation beyond the Miami Valley. For this exhibition, DVAC chose pieces by artists who integrate traditional craft and contemporary art-making concepts; whose work commands unique and bold mastery of materials and techniques; and whose ideas are declared in artful interpretations.

 

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Cynthia Cetlin’s wool sculptures resemble deep-sea creatures. Collar, echoing the shapes found in coral reefs, is wearable.

Many of these artists fuse function with fine craft, such as in the delicate wool and silk “Collar” by Cynthia Cetlin, the dynamism of “Storm’s Eye Ring” by Sharona Muir, and the intimacy of “Relations” by Rebecca Szaparagwoski. Others inject fresh perspective into time-honored craft materials in decorative objects, such as fiber in Deborah Bewley’s “House with 37 Balls III” and ceramic in Denise Romecki’s “Super Storm.”

 

Juror of the ODC’s Best of 2013, Michael W. Monroe, a renowned expert in the field of fine art craft, and director emeritus of the Bellevue Arts Museum, (Washington) stated that the objects he selected “were those in which the artists made conscious attempts to add fresh ideas to our visual world rather than merely restating previously existing ones. I was attracted to pieces presenting original emotions and ideas—emotions and ideas that encouraged me to respond in unanticipated patterns of thinking and feeling.”

 

DVAC honor’s the spirit of Mr. Monroe’s curatorial intent, that “visitors to the ‘Best of 2013’ exhibition will find new visual expressions, both provocative and pleasurable.”

 

DVAC is pleased to partner with the Ohio Craft Museum and the Springfield Museum of Art in presenting selections from the Ohio Designer Craftsmen Best of 2013 Annual Juried Exhibition, now in its 30th year.

 

This traveling exhibition of more than 100 works by ODC members from 44 states and Canada was first shown in Columbus, Ohio from May 5 to June 23, 2013; in Portsmouth, Ohio from July 12 to September 20; and is now on view in the Springfield Museum of Art from October 8 to December 1, 2013.

 

Organized for DVAC by guest curator Lesley Neufeld

Art in the City- A Senior Art Student Celebration of Space

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3qgi3zd25l3jt9q85p58rfpgn6worhojA group of University of Dayton Fine Arts majors will be exhibiting their artwork at the Mike Elsass Gallery on Front Street Friday, November 15, 2013 thru November 22. With the assistance of their department Chair Judith Huacuja, these current UD senior painters worked collectively to organize the show entitled “Art in the City – A Senior Art Student Celebration of Space.” All the students are scheduled to graduate May 2014.

An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, November 15, 2013, 6 – 9 pm. with a brief program by the students at 6:30 p.m. including an interactive discussion with visitors. The public is invited to attend this reception and also participate in the Fall Into Art event, which will be taking place at the Front Street venue during this time.

Local painter and community philanthropist Mike Elsass has donated the use of his recently completed Front Street Galley to support the students and has assisted with technical and artistic advice. Mr. Elsass’ support of young artists includes providing internships and marketing assistance as they begin their careers.

Local community art supporters have joined the effort as “guest curators” to further assist the efforts of these students. Jim Dicke, II of New Bremen, well known in our community as a philanthropist and an artist is one of those supporters. “It is exciting to have these students embrace the community where they are pursuing their education. They’ve taken the initiative to share their talent with the greater Dayton area, enriching the lives of everyone around them.” he said.

According to student Abby Maurer, their work has an amazing range of styles from hyperrealism to free-form abstraction, all of which will be of interest to visitors to the gallery.

Featured artists include:
Abby Rose Maurer, Sidney, OH
Chloe McEldowney, Russia, OH
Jed Helmers, Dayton, OH
Niky Motekallem, Centerville, OH

Guest curators include:
Laura Reed Myers (representing Mr. Dicke)
Mike Elsass, Artist
Judith Huacuja, Chair, UD Visual Arts
Jeffrey Cortland Jones, Associate Professor, UD Visual Arts
Ginny Strausburg, Community Volunteer
Ron Rollins, Cox Media Ohio
Mike Houser, Houser Asphalt
Deb Norris, Sinclair Community College
Belinda Kenley, Centerville City Council
Maha Kashani, Dayton City Paper

ArtPrize 2013 Day 1 & 2

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imageAmway/Rick DeVos funded (1 prize $250k to 1 artist; 20k to most popularly voted venue, 560k in prize money total) + 1,524 artists and 168 venues who sign-up to partner via a to a “speed-date system + vibrant, walkable downtown who welcome an additional 500k visitors for 2 weeks (bringing an estimated 15m economic impact) + ANYBODY can vote for their fave, not once (“ugh, don’t make me feel dumb by asking me to pick the best work of art!”) but vote for as many things that float your boat + really high production value in graphics, wayfinding, “info hubs,” and apps (google Grand Rapids impact history of design) + a guiding principle to spark conversations about and around art = a one of a kind art experience / social experiment. That’s gotta be good right?

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But what about the art?

I arrive in Grand Rapids Thursday afternoon by driving up one of the main drags downtown that curves around right in front of the Grand Rapids Art Museum – a very modern multi-level glass and angled thing sprawled in the center of park, nestled with food trucks, a Maya Lynn public amphitheater and bustling small town/downtown city sidewalks. And I mean bustling. Folks with maps in their hands. Wait. With smartphones in their hands. Hundreds of “em. Voting via the geo-targeting ArtPrize app. Right there in broad daylight in the middle of the street.

And thus begins the adventure.

As a guest of my former colleague (read: my old boss invited me to tag along) I enter the staff side of the museum, intros all around and we’re off. Up the street we run, past many more Amway-funded entities to DeVos Hall – basically a convention center filled with art. Atrium, hallways, you name it. Hours. Hundreds of pieces. Hundreds of people voting. Everywhere.

On a Thursday afternoon. Some artists sitting near their works like at art shows/festivals, some with short list, top 25, popular and guest juror designee signage. All with clear, distinct signage, artist info (international but 90% of what I saw US/Midwest) artists statement, info about media. Some good art. Some bad art. Some artists I recognize. Or recognize what they are trying to do. I’m told the first few years works had to be no more than 1 year old to keep things fresh, contemporary.

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After a few enterprising artists re-purposed works year after year, organizers figured screw it and opened it up to any year by living artists. Nice dinner with a group of collectors and then a pub tour of sorts, including stops at a burning man type outdoor street party and a few brew pubs (note Dayton: GR calls it self the beer city). Did I mention hundreds of people voting? everywhere. After a walk back to the hotel, a nightcap and a slide show to complete strangers in the hotel bar of my top 40 of the day, I called it a night.

Friday began with a tour of GRAMs Top 25 ArtPrize show in which contenders were paired w notable works from the collection, a brunch with the artists and ArtPrize DirectorChristian Gaines (4 mos new from the LA independent film scene) and we’re off again. This time via trolley to Kendall College, a stop to see last year’s winner “Elephants,” a monumental graphite on paper allegorical “Peaceable Kingdom” type drawing (installed amidst a plethora of clever merchandising (My 2 cents about that maybe tomw)), to the sleek, expansive LaFontsee Galleries (good regional contemporary, framing and design-y merch and then to meld food and art culture at the Downtown Market (25 varieties of pink salt and almond biscotti ice cream).

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We finished our evening at the home of the city’s most eclectic private art collection. What can you say about collectors like this? Old masters hung salon style along side graffiti art above a custom case of Japanese netsuke, a Van Gogh drawing in the atrium a Wolf Kahn in the bedroom and rows upon rows of unknown, but compelling to the owners small, medium large, accomplished and a bit raw, paintings. My favorite kind of collector is what I say. Just a great reminder of living with art you love.

So. Wildly liberating to view art in museums, galleries, hotel lobbies, an auto-body shop, a few brew pubs, a yoga studio, cathedrals, community centers, sidewalks, Starbucks, pizza joints, a sports arena,

city parks, Buffalo Wild Wings, a courthouse, a presidential museum, a bank and a nice cream parlor, huh? And did I mention hundreds of people … you know.

Here’s a smattering of pics in no order. See what you thin and tom’w Ill tell you more about what the artists think of all this and how it all may benefit Dayton.image

 

Music for Teacups: Melissa Haviland & David Colagiovanni

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teacupsA composition in image and sound, the exhibition “Music for Teacups” employs video, sculpture and installation that utilize one object —the teacup—as a whimsical metaphor through which to explore and subvert notions of class and etiquette.

 

The video Music for Teacups, 2013 is a composition in image and sound that recombines captured footage of falling and breaking teacups. Like the “Drop Art” movement of the early 1960s and more recently a 1995 photographic triptych by prominent dissident Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei in which he is shown dropping a Han dynasty urn in an irreverent gesture to the worship of China’s past, the artists are in good company making art that expressive and even beautiful in its destruction. Central to Music for Teacups, however, are the sounds you are hearing as a direct representation of what you are seeing. Watch how the artists have captured both the image and sound of the moment a teacup or bell opens up, bounces on the ground or violently shatters and find the musicality hidden within these transformative events.

 

A Host of Options (wallpaper), 2013 is an installation of 2,400 small laser cut teacup shapes to create a fluttering wallpaper effect in the gallery. Installed with mother-of-pearl headed corsage pins, the teacups dangle by the handle—shifting as the viewer walks through the space. The black silhouette emphasizes the patterns that begin to develop as well echo true multiplicity available in porcelain production.

 

In addition, the video For Best, 2013 and the installation, To rend and to mend, 2013 document a performance in which the artists walk a simple, oval shaped balance beam (12′ long by 5′ wide) while Haviland balances china on her head. After balancing and breaking five full sets of china the remnants of the performance are mended and presented as sculpture. Haviland and Colagiovanni have said “Porcelain for us isn’t precious and neither are the roles associated with its use. We hope our work can communicate the fragility of both.”

 

Haviland and Colagiovanni are artists who live and collaborate in Athens, Ohio. Haviland, who is Associate Professor of Art, Ohio University, straddles the boundaries between printmaking and installation-performance exploring lineage, ritual, and practice within objects that are gendered and classed. Colagiovanni, who also teaches at Ohio, is a video and sound artist with interests in the reconfiguration of image and sound and the effects of gravity and immersion in virtual and physical space. They have exhibited nationally both singly and as a duo; been awarded numerous grants, fellowships, and residencies and have works in several permanent collections. In October, Music for Teacups will be included in the 2013 British Ceramics Biennial in England’s former Spode factory.  You can learn more about the artists and their work on their websites: www.colagiovanni.net  and www.melissahaviland.com.

 

The exhibition was selected from 117 applications through DVAC’s 2012 Biennial Call for Exhibitions.

 

You can check out this exhibition through October 19th at DVAC, located at DVAC 118 North Jefferson, downtown Dayton.  The galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm.

Experience the Best of Downtown During the Aug. 2 First Friday

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Roaming performers, saxophonist Tyrone Martin and steel drum player Joseph Glenn, entertain the crowd during the July First Friday.

Art. Music. Shopping. Food. Fun. First Friday in downtown Dayton is about all of these things.

This free event will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, throughout downtown. The August First Friday is always one of the year’s largest, and this year promises to be the same with the range of activities taking place. Roaming performers — the McGovern Ceili Dancers, acoustic duo Pourover and juggler Tony Steinbach — will provide entertainment throughout downtown.

If you plan to enter the Downtown in Focus photo contest, be sure to bring your camera along. From 8 to 11 p.m., most of downtown’s buildings will be lit for photographers who would like to capture city nightscapes to enter in the competition.

Just a few events taking place during the Aug. 2 First Friday are listed below:

Are you ready to rock? Canal Street Tavern (308 E. First St.) is presenting a tribute show by American Pink Floyd. The show starts at 9 p.m. and tickets are $12. Call 937-461-9343.

In honor of the second anniversary of Clash Consignment (521 E. Fifth St.), the store will throw a party to celebrate with all its customers. Entertainment will be provided by DJs Mike Wishnewski and Matt Freeman and henna artist Lily Whitehead. Boston Bistro will cater, and a $2 sidewalk sale will be held. Work by artist Robert Walker also will be featured. Call 937-241-9434.

The monthly Courteous Mass Ride will meet for two rides this month at Don Crawford Plaza in front of Fifth Third Field, (220 N. Patterson Blvd.). The first will ride leaves at 5:30 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m. Rides are free of charge and all skill levels are welcome. This month’s route will go past the downtown dog park, hit spots in Old North Dayton and surrounding areas (DATV, Mike Sell’s Potato Chips, Charlie’s Deli and Whitewater Warehouse) and head down the Mad River bike path back.

Synergy Incubators  will produce their fourth  First Friday Food Truck Rally.  Street Food is all the ragea and Dayton Food Park  (2oo S. Jefferson St.) will have 14 of Dayton’s food trucks lined up from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  After you grab some grub, browse through the booths of local artisans that include jewelry, homemade soaps, pottery and other crafts.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Great Dayton Flood, the Dayton Visual Arts Center (118 N. Jefferson St.) is showcasing artwork by local artists around the theme “Water, Water Everywhere.” Visitors can talk to the featured artists from the exhbit. The gallery will be open until 8 p.m. Call 937-224-3822.

Green Baby (31 S. St. Clair St.) will exhibit work by local artist Bley Hack, offer free chair massages to visitors and host a sale on select children’s items. The store will be open until 8 p.m. Call 469-8665.

Miami-Jacobs (110 N Patterson Blvd.) will host a Summer Block Party. HOT-FM 102.9 and WROU-FM 92.1 will broadcast live from the event, and entertainment includes a photo booth, indoor cornhole tournament and outdoor games. Call 937-668-0213.

As part of the First Friday Salsa Music Series, Son del Caribe will play live music from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at RiverScape MetroPark (111 E. Monument Ave.) on the MetroPark Pavilion Stage. Experience sounds that include salsa and other styles of Latin dance music. Call 937-274-0126.

Sew Dayton (16 Brown St.) will showcase artist-of-the-month Craig Galentine, creator of the The Kokeshi Clan. A group of local children will be selling lemonade for Hanna’s Treasure Chest outside the store and the winner of the “Make It Work” contest will be announced, along with the next challenge. Call 937-234-7398.

Wiley’s Comedy Niteclub (101 Pine St.) presents Cutthroat Freakshow by Dirty Little Secrets. This off-the-beaten-track show begins at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 for 18 and older. Call 937-224-5653.

First Friday is presented by the Downtown Dayton Partnership with support from the Oregon District Business Association and Rev. Cool’s “Around the Fringe” show that airs on Fridays from 8 p.m. to midnight on WYSO-FM 91.3. The Downtown Dayton Partnership’s website has a complete list of downtown’s arts and cultural amenities, as well as a dining guide, parking map and much more. Download the Find It Downtown mobile search tool for smartphones at http://mobile.downtowndayton.org.

A complete list of what downtown businesses have on tap for First Friday is available on the DDP website. Call 937-224-1518 or email [email protected] for more information.

Lights, Camera, Dance!

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Lights Camera Dance

Photo by Andy Snow”

Lights Camera Dance is a brand new idea – Gem City Ballet is opening up their ballet performances this season to photographers of all stripes or experience levels, and then hosting a juried show &  sale at the end of the season.   Earn money and support Gem City Ballet at the same time.  You’re probably saying – “You can’t take photos during a performance; that’s just wrong!”  But they’ll make it right.  Live dance can be one of the most exciting and challenging subjects for a photographer – beautiful dancers moving in colorful costumes under intense lighting.  This project will give photographers  a chance to explore this subject area with an intimacy and freedom seldom available.

The schedule of events includes:

  • Essentials of Dance Photography – an optional seminar taught by Andy Snow and held in the performance space, Sunday September 8, 2013, 2 pm.  A bargain at $20.
  • Performances to photograph – October 12, 2013 and/or February 8, 2014.  Please register!  Registration Deadline is September 13, 2013.
  • Access to rehearsals in the weeks prior to performance to become familiar with the dances and plan your photos.
  • Submit 3-5 framed prints of your choosing and/or up to 20 digital prints, submission deadline March 7, 2014.
  • Display at the GCB studio and at area galleries and art venues in Spring of 2014, including the final GCB repertory show of the season, April 25-27, 2014.
  • Online and live sales, March 15-April 30, 2014, will be split 60% to the photographer and 40% to Gem City Ballet, with copyright retained by the photographer.

Details and the registration link can be found at http://www.gemcityballet.org/LCD.html

Annual Downtown Dayton Photo Contest

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998702_10152509198158840_814700363_a Amateur and professional photographers are invited to participate in Downtown in Focus, a photo contest aimed at finding new and distinctive shots of our downtown. The City of Dayton, Downtown Dayton Partnership, Kaplan College and Dayton Daily News are sponsoring the contest.

One amateur winner and one professional winner will be selected in each of the following categories:

  • Downtown Living:  You know that place you and your friends go to every Saturday night downtown? Now is your chance to win some money for being a regular! Take photos showing off Dayton’s vibrant dining and nightlife scene, urban housing or anything else unique to living and playing downtown.
  • I Heart Downtown: The architecture of one of the historic buildings you have always admired. Your favorite spot along the river. That coffee shop where you buy your morning brew — this category is wide open to photograph anything and everything you love about downtown Dayton.
  • Skyline: It’s hard to single out the best thing about Dayton, so why not just capture the whole city? Show us your best shot of our downtown Dayton skyline!

A panel of judges ― consisting of professional photographers, photography editors and instructors, and arts community leaders ― will select the winners in each category and award a $250 cash prize to the Best in Show winner in each division. Honorable mentions also will be awarded at the discretion of the judges. In addition, City of Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell will select one photo that best represents the City’s “Dayton Originals” motto. This photographer will receive a gift basket from the City of Dayton. Contest winners will be recognized at the Sept. 20 Urban Nights, and all entries will be displayed in a special exhibit during Urban Nights.

From approximately 8 to 11 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, during First Friday, many of downtown’s buildings will be lit for photographers who would like to capture night shots of the city.

The deadline to submit photos is 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, 2013. There is no fee for application or participation.

Photographers are not required to be Dayton-area residents, but winners must be age 18 or older. Photos must have been taken in Greater Downtown ― which includes the Central Business District, Oregon Arts District, Webster Station and the ring of neighborhoods that surrounds downtown ― within the past calendar year. Official contest guidelines and entry forms are available at www.downtowndayton.org and www.daytonohio.gov.

For more information, contact:

Kristen Wicker: 937-224-1518, ext. 228, or [email protected]

Courtney Deutsch: 937-224-1518, ext. 231, or [email protected]

For contest submission details and entry forms: www.downtowndayton.org

 

 

New Street Art To Debut Today

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Kids_Murals_1On Tuesday, May 21st at 6:00 pm there will be an unveiling of 4 new pieces of art on East Third Street at Sears St. in downtown Dayton! These master replicas have been created by young people in the HAALO (Helping Adolescents Achieve Long-term Objectives) Program. This program is a partnership project between Montgomery County Juvenile Court and K12/TEJAS Gallery which focuses on young people who are Court-involved.  The goal is to expose Court-involved youth to different mediums of art while also teaching them life skills that will assist them in being successful members of our community; from critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills to creativity, motivation, and patience, the therapeutic process of the HAALO Program has endless benefits for the young people involved.

In its third year, this program has been successful at generating artwork for the community, but more importantly, in helping young people learn that the choices they make have consequences in the future. They work alongside a local artist who guides them through the creative process and teaches them about the lives of the Great Masters as they recreate their artwork.  The youth learn that great artists have had to struggle with the same kinds of difficulties and situations in their lives that the youth face today.  Local Judges and attorneys support the program because it is showing signs of reducing recidivism for the young people involved. Supported by the Ohio Arts Council, the Iddings Foundation, and the Dayton Foundation, the HAALO partnership is successfully bringing art to the Dayton community!  Join K12/TEJAS Gallery at 510 East Third Street on May 21st to help unveil the new additions to the Museum on the Street!

Love art. People watch. Buy art.

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Deal

“Think No More” by Amy Deal, Mixed Media on wood 24×24  In her most recent series of work, Amy Deal explores layering typography to create visual texture and pattern. She appreciates typography as an art form that lends itself to affecting imagery and enjoys the balance that can be achieved between visual and verbal designs. Deal is a national award-winning, professional visual communicator living in Oakwood, Ohio. She took a break from fine art to raise a family for the past 18 years, but is now reuniting with her love of painting.

 That’s the word on the street about DVAC’s annual gala Art Auction, which will be held April 26th at the Ponitz Center at Sinclair, silent auctions starting at 6:30pm, live auction begins at 8 pm.

For the 19th year, the Dayton Visual Arts Center is calling on members of the community to help celebrate the vibrant art and artists of the Dayton region. Gear up for an evening of exciting silent and live auctions, good friends— new and old— abundant hors d’oeuvres, wines, and lively music by Puzzle of Light.  And above all: a night of making a big difference to DVAC’s ability to provide programs and exhibitions that support area artists. Of all the fundraising events in town, DVAC’s Art Auction is the only one that features art and only art. It’s the biggest art buying party of the year and DVAC’s most important fund raiser.

This year, 118 DVAC member artists have generously donated work for the auction. This adds up to a genuine feast for the eyes and soul: paintings, photographs, sculptural pieces, and works in ceramic, glass, metal and mixed media. Simply viewing everything in this exhibition is a treat; but it’s even more fun to bid and win a piece or two to grace the walls of your home or office, give as a gift, or wear with style.

If you haven’t already purchased your tickets to the best art party of the year, call DVAC at 937.224.3822 or visit dvacartauction.com to get in on the excitement. See you there!

Dayton Art Institute Commemorates 100 Year Anniversary of the Great Dayton Flood of 1913 with Three Exhibits + TICKET CONTEST

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April Gornik, The Horizon, 2008

April Gornik, The Horizon, 2008

Next week will be the 100 year anniversary of the Great Dayton Flood, which was not only the biggest natural disaster to happen to Dayton and other communities along the Great Miami River – it was the worst natural disaster to happen in the entire country.  Local media is covering this historic event, including here on Dayton Most Metro (check out our five-page feature by Joe Aiello), and several local organizations are recognizing this anniversary this month, including Dayton History, The Miami Conservancy District and Dayton Art Institute.  The latter opened up a brand new three-part exhibit almost a month ago that runs through May 5 which I had the pleasure of previewing.  (See our ticket contest at the end of this article!)

The first exhibit at DAI is called “Storm: Paintings by April Gornik“, with large-scale pieces that greet you and evoke the feeling one may have had watching those storms from a hundred years ago roll in over the Miami Valley.  Gornik,  an internationally renowned artist and Cleveland native, uses horizons, light and clouds to create an ominous atmosphere in each of her paintings that set the tone beautifully for the rest of the exhibit. She will be at DAI on Saturday 3/23 at 3pm to discuss the genesis and development of her work in the talk Landscape and Metaphor.

After you experience the larger-than-life paintings by April Gornik, you then begin “Watershed: 100 Years of Photography along the Great Miami River” and step back in time as you first view old photographic equipment that was used a century ago, putting into perspective the amount of work it took to carry these cameras around and capture those frightening scenes from the great flood.  A far cry from today’s cameras that are simply part of our everyday smartphones that we slip into our pockets!  From there you experience stunning historic photographs taken at all stages of the great flood, from the beginning rising waters to the height of the flood and desperation of those trying to escape, and finally to the mind-blowing aftermath that took an unprecedented community effort to not only rebuild, but rebuild in a way that avoided such a disaster for the next century and beyond.

Looking North on St. Clair St. in Downtown Dayton (1913)

Looking North on St. Clair St. in Downtown Dayton (1913)

The unique thing about the photos in this exhibit is that each is paired with a modern-day photo taken at each of the same locations by Dayton photographer Andy Snow.  Andy painstakingly reviewed hundreds of historic photographs from the great flood and then went out and shot on-location over the course of several months to re-capture those moments in time one hundred years later.  Andy happens to be a good friend of mine (his Downtown Dayton skyline image continues to serve as our social media profile backdrop) and I had a chance to ask him recently about his experience with this project.

Dayton Most Metro: The pictures you took for the Watershed exhibit at DAI are amazing. How long did this project take you?

Andy Snow: When the exhibition closes on May 5 it will be one year since I began the project. My mission was not necessarily to precisely match the old with the new, though you will see in the exhibition and the new book some images that are quite astonishingly close. The overarching concept that we (the MCD and I) worked on was to return to the sites of selected 1913 photos and create a representation of what exists at the site today in a fashion that resonates and informs not only how the Miami Conservancy District has helped us stay safe from a repeat of the disaster, but also how communities have returned with vibrancy and development along the Miami River without worry about such devastation happening again. Identifying exact locations is more of an art than science given that our only reference is the photos themselves. No GPS tagging back then. Often all I had to work with in the field was a small thumbnail of the 1913 image on my iPhone. I approached this as a documentarian. Record what was in front of the camera. No Photoshop post processing. I often made repeat visits to specific sites to get the light and the location just right. Having so many blue-sky days last summer and fall was an incredible bonus. I had many moments of serendipitous synchronicity.

Looking North on St. Clair St. in Downtown Dayton (2012) Photo by Andy Snow

Looking North on St. Clair St. in Downtown Dayton (2012) Photo by Andy Snow

DMM: Looking at the historic photos that were part of the exhibit, it doesn’t take much to imagine the horror that people went through during those terrifying days of the flood and the weeks and months that followed. Which historic photos had the biggest effect on you personally before you started shooting?

AS: The 1913 panorama view from hill where the The Dayton Art Institute was built in the 1920s, in my mind, one of the most iconic views. The glass transparency on display of this view is a treasure that we found in the MCD archive. It’s hand-tinted from the original B/W photo. I printed most of the prints in the exhibition; not just the new pictures but also the 1913 images from scans or high res digital photos I made of the postcards that were loaned from Historical Societies and collections.

Seeing photos of people standing on the remains of bridges to rescue poor souls clinging to pieces of houses coming downstream has impacted me for life.

DMM: And as you were photographing all of those same locations and vantage points, were there any that took on a new meaning once you stood in that spot?

AS: One favorite example would be how I was able to bring up more detail from the scan of the 1913 panorama (pictured below) so you can see more detail of the City of Dayton across what I have come to call “Lake Miami” which is what the Great Miami came to look like. The part of the picture that shows just how much McPherson Town was totally underwater is astonishing. The 2012 photo is now already an historic artifact because of the new work on I-75. The view has changed! As they rework the exits to downtown Dayton, the steel girders visible in this “new” photo have been removed. Lesson: nothing is permanent.

E. Third Street at St. Clair looking west 1913 & 2012 (Andy Snow)

E. Third Street at St. Clair looking west 1913 & 2012 (Andy Snow) Click to enlarge

DMM: It is one thing to read about the flood, but it must be quite another to have studied those historic photos and then shoot modern-day photos in all of those same locations. What did you take away from your experience that you didn’t know or feel before you started?

AS: The big thing was how much the entire region was affected. Many Hamilton industries, for instance, along the Miami River were lost forever. Piqua was flooded first and the water traveled for several blocks to the downtown square. We knew about the impact here in Dayton. The revelation was how much wide-spread impact there was to other communities up and down the River, from farm lands to all kinds of businesses and neighborhoods.

Another big revelation came at the end of the photography process when I learned that a cousin of mine made some of the very photos from 1913 in West Carrollton that I referenced for the new photos there. We are descendants of a common ancestor that settled near the Great Miami along Bear Creek (north of Miamisburg) in 1804. Jacob Weaver was one of the region’s pioneers. His farm was a land grant received for fighting in the Revolutionary War for the Colony of Pennsylvania. (I love to say those last 3 words.) Noah Elwood Weaver was a photographer who worked for the West Carrollton Envelope Company as well as NCR. Yeah, his name was Noah. Photographing the Great Flood.

DMM: What do you hope people will take away after seeing the Watershed exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute?

AS: The Great Flood left a stamp, a watermark if you will, of caring and giving that makes living in this exceptional community such a joy and such a motivator of humanitarian deeds and great work for the good of all.

We have become stronger by evolving into a region of people that help their neighbors make a better place, a safer place for prosperity and growth. And I’m really proud to be a part of such a community.

The level of cooperation and collaboration between the cities and communities along the Great Miami is now at an all time high thanks to the anniversary of the Great Flood. It’s an historic moment and we can all benefit from the interaction and new growth possibilities and amenities that every community is working to complete. Fear of the River has subsided immeasurably. There’s really nothing quite like this return to the River anywhere else in the country.

Andy Snow will be at DAI on Saturday 3/23 at 4pm to present the talk Sherlock Holmes Meets Ansel Adams, a discussion of how he used cues and clues from 1913 photos of the flood to create new images that inform us about life and culture in the Miami River Valley, past, present, and future.

The last part of the exhibit is titled “Riverbank: Exploring Our River-Centered Development” and consists of images and information that capture development concepts and realities along the Great Miami River. You can revisit earlier concept plans for development of the area at the foot of The DAI’s grand staircase that runs along the northwest bank of the Great Miami, and current developments on the river are shown. Historical plans generate the basis of an interactive display that captures visitors’ ideas about ways in which The Dayton Art Institute might connect with kayak/canoe runs, bike and walking paths, public transportation routes and newly opened freeway access at their front door.

The three part exhibit at Dayton Art Institute is open now through May 5th.  Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, students and active military, $6 for youth (7-17) and free for DAI members and children under 7.

1913 panorama view from the hill where DAI now stands

1913 panorama view from the hill where DAI now stands

TICKET CONTEST CLOSED

Congratulations to our ticket winners!

Rachael Sizemore
Susan Steinmetz
Bettina Back
Matt Langdon