Culture Surfing

"SEOUL ON ICE": Featured in Dawolu Jabari Anderson’s current exhibit

Through an adventurous combination of kung fu heroism, Civil Rights struggle, pop culture humor, and political self-empowerment, Dawolu Jabari Anderson’s current exhibit at Saltworks Gallery creates a fictional story that’ll make you think twice about real-world history.

Ten Panthers of Kwangtung begins with Anderson’s “Frederick Douglas Self-Defense Manual,” a series of drawings of six fictitious fighting techniques secretly developed by slaves on Southern plantations. The crinkled, artificially aged pages each bear a ridiculous title, such as “2nd Technique: Fetch’n Calamus Root and Chinkapins” and “6th Technique: Duck’n Behind dis Here Oak so’as Patter-rollers Don’t Sees Me.” The turns of phrase poke fun at stereotypes of black speech, and situate Anderson’s Asian fantasy within a familiar black history. The figure in “3rd Technique: Negro Picks Cotton” strikes a praying mantis pose; his fingers gather to a deadly point, turning a lowly plantation chore into a proud weapon of liberation.

Continue Reading “Dawolu Jabari Anderson makes Saltworks his dojo”

(Photo Courtesy Dawolu Jabari Anderson)

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"Frame 18," from the Explosure series, 2008

In photographer Tierney Gearon’s latest series EXPLOSURE, currently on view at Jackson Fine Art, boulders are rendered lighter than air, shadows crawl toward the sun, and ghostly forms cheerfully mingle with the living. “Frame 18″ watches two worlds collide within a single image: A gray-haired businessman gasps as the sidewalk dematerializes into thin air, while a bikini-clad swimmer stands unaware that her local pool has just merged realities with Wall Street. Double-vision continues throughout the series as each photo unites two scenes shot in different locations ranging from Cape Town, South Africa, to Kanchipuram, India.

A busy single mother and internationally known artist, Gearon took a recess from her life traveling the globe to give a sold-out lecture at the High Museum during last month’s Atlanta Celebrates Photography festival. The Atlanta native caused a stir in 2001 with her exhibit I Am a Camera at London’s Saatchi Gallery. Some viewers bristled at the work, which included shots of her children playing in the nude, while other voices including the Guardian newspaper, launched campaigns to protect her from censorship.

Continue Reading “EXPLOSURE brings the world home”

(Photo Courtesy Tierney Gearon)

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iPOD, iPHONE … iBEAUTIFUL: Terry Stephens' photo response to "Water," the group assignment for Week No. 2.

The official ACP blog reports that What’s Happening Now: A Cell Phone Photography Project will be the festival’s second largest exhibition this year in terms of artist participation. That means: more than 45 photographers + camera phones = lots of cool photos.

Coproduced by Christian Bradley West and Susan Todd-Raque, the show is limited exclusively to images shot “on the go” that were contributed over the course of eight weeks of episodic “homework” assignments. What’s Happening Now debuts at Cherrylion Studios this Sat. Sept. 19, from 5-10 p.m. Click here for directions.

Meanwhile, Christian Bradley West’s CelphPortrait at Eyedrum is another cell phone project, albeit of a more focused and introspective kind. The show returns to Eyedrum’s Small Gallery this weekend, and continues through Oct. 10.

(Photo courtesy ChristianBradleyWest.com)

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MIND AND SOUL: Alejandro Aguilera's 'Aurelio, Life After Death' will appear at Saltworks Friday.

Art recommendations can be tricky. The hardest part is finding events that will both entertain and educate, that is, art shows that are genuinely fun without compromising standards of taste. You shouldn’t have to check yer’ brain at the door, nor should we needlessly, endlessly suffer for the sake of “civilized” culture.

With that caveat in mind, I can confidently direct you towards two openings on the Westside this Friday. Saltworks Gallery and Get This! Gallery are literal next-door neighbors, located in a grayish block of storefronts on 11th Street near Georgia Tech (across the street from Six Feet Under, the popular pub and fish house). The two venues jump-start the fall visual arts season this weekend with a Friday double feature: Get This! opens Bill Daniel’s solo exhibition, Ground Score, alongside Everything In-between, a new group show at Saltworks.
Continue reading “Get This!/Saltworks Gallery double feature Friday” »

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WE'VE SAVED SEATS FOR ALL OF YOU: Jerry Siegel's 'Tent Revival' is just one of many photos in his solo at Barbara Archer Gallery, one of the first events in this year's Atlanta Celebrates Photography festival.

This photograph is so crisp and luminescent, and so warm despite its silence, I’ve decided to post it at the maximum size. The moment anticipates a miracle — an event that’s special not necessarily because of divine intervention, but because human beings have gathered to celebrate and partake in something beautiful.

I have five reasons to expect new life for arts in Atlanta:
Continue reading “Weekend arts agenda: New life” »

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I never expected the Green’s Beverage Newsletter to be a valuable source of A&E news. This morning I was proven wrong.

This is for real:

Come meet Dan Aykroyd and get a signed bottle of CRYSTAL HEAD.
FRIDAY, SEP. 18
2 pm – 4 pm
2614 Buford Hwy NE
GREEN’S …
Where shopping is always an experience!

(That’s Green’s on Buford Highway. Don’t go to the one on Ponce.)

And it gets better. Aykroyd puts Billy Mays to shame (and Dan Brown, too):
Continue reading “Shenanigans! Dan Aykroyd, aka vodka pimp” »

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The last painting I saw by Sarah Emerson resembled a mashup of Disney’s Bambi and the famous tidal wave design by Hokusai, the Japanese woodblock master. The combination might sound chaotic, like a messy Photoshop collage, but Emerson makes it work. She reduces each element into solid areas of color which puzzle together cleanly like a paint-by-numbers fantasy of delight and danger.

Tonight, from 7-10 p.m., Whitespace Gallery debuts new work by Emerson and sculptor Jeff Grant. More from Whitespace:

Atlanta painter, Sarah Emerson, is inspired by the tragic romanticism of a decaying environment and civilization … Emerson’s newest body of work is a nostalgic projection of a “future Eden” filled with fear and awe. These paintings are uniquely haunting in their whimsy and playfulness, effectively blurring the line between fairy tale and horror story.

In addition to the paintings, a collection of drawings titled “The Final Girl” is on display. The collection emerges from a concept explored by author Carol Clover on the last surviving girl in horror films.

Emerson’s work is often big; the one I mentioned above was a mural at least 15 feet long. I’m crossing my fingers to see more, especially since it sounds like her imagery has taken a more sinister turn.

(Art by Sarah Emerson/Courtesy Whitespace Gallery)

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IS THIS YOUR CHILD? The designer known as Doktor A created this vinyl art toy as a Dragon*Con exclusive. For more aquatic horrors, check out the Titanic Ghost Tour at the Georgia Aquarium.

Despite the marketing buzz for staycations, the idea of getting blissfully lost in your own city seems unlikely, especially when the yard’s still overgrown and a day at the office is still just a phone call away. Fortunately, CL’s Fall Guide ‘09 hit newsstands this morning! And Labor Day weekend is only days away, which means:

1. Dragon*Con. Please understand that this is some of the best people watching on earth. Even if you have zero interest in comic books, games or the special Star Trek shenanigans this year, there’s still plenty to see. I can’t think of a more effective way of “feeling transported” than wading through a crowd of 35,000+ people dressed like walking Tetris blocks or sea captains with tentacles instead of beards. (Click here for ticket options.)

2. Free admission to the High Museum! On Saturday, the High will treat residents of Fulton County to a free day at the museum. All it takes is a proof of residence, or a student ID from a school, college or university in Fulton County. What’s more, Bank of America customers also get free admission on the first full weekend of the month. Just show your BoA credit, check, or ATM card for passes on Saturday or Sunday.
Continue reading “Staycation in Atlanta? 5 other ideas for Labor Day weekend” »

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LUVVY DUBBY, DRIPPY WIPPY? Dosa Kim's 'Nurturing' is just one of several works in Alan Avery Art Company's 'Ones to Watch.'

The Ones to Watch at Alan Avery Art Company makes its boldest statement up front, by pairing the works of Meg Aubrey and Dosa Kim. The former creates austere landscapes of endless manicured lawns; Aubrey lives in the suburbs and paints what she knows. The latter paints cuddly Asian-esque teddy bears. In one stroke, the room unites two artists from wildly different backgrounds.

The exhibit is gallery owner Alan Avery’s snapshot summary of what’s hot in Atlanta art today. Perhaps coincidentally, it’s also a nod to veteran art dealer Fay Gold, whose final show before closing her gallery in April was titled Four Artists to Watch. Similarly, with only four artists, Avery’s Ones to Watch each have ample space to fully articulate a moment of their career.

At 14 feet in length, Daniel Biddy’s Monomaniac, Ahab (Poor Bastard) features behemoth whales surfacing an ocean of magazine clippings and rainbow paint. Monomaniac is powerful, but Biddy seems a little too eager to fill space. His smaller works are more smartly composed. In Sacred Rites, Biddy achieves a shabby-chic kudzu garden of paper and abstract dots, while Pugilisticism features a pair of dueling Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
Continue reading “Ones to Watch shows ATL as a dialog of differences” »

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LOVE MACHINES: Matthew Barney's 'De Lama Lamina' fathoms the depths of 'biomechanical erotica.'

Artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney is best known for his epic vision of the beautiful and the utterly weird. Jonathan Jones, art critic for the Guardian, provides a fine summary of that vision in his review of Barney’s five-part Cremaster Cycle (1994-2002):

What is apparent is that this is The Waste Land for a generation that grew up with Star Wars. Like TS Eliot’s poem, this series of films tries to salvage what in myth, ritual and art is still accessible to the modern world. Eliot’s modern wasteland was the London of the early 20th century, with its fogs, crowds of commuters on London Bridge and a typist waiting for “the young man carbuncular”. Barney’s modern world, however, is defined by death metal and Vaseline, and his myths all have their point of origin and their destination in the cremaster, a muscle that connects the scrotum to the male body.

Of course, the films’ imagery helps to sharpen the point.

To mark the closing of its Summer Falls exhibition, Whitespace Gallery will host a screening of another Matthew Barney film, De Lama Lamina, this Fri., Aug. 28. Although there will be two showings, at 9 and 10 p.m., the gallery advises that everyone arrive early enough to find a seat. You can RSVP directly by emailing susan@whitespace814.com. (Entry is a $5 donation.)

(Photo courtesy Whitespace Gallery)

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City Hall East hosts the Young Architects Forum (YAF) this Thurs. Aug. 27 from 7-10 p.m. for the final installment of their Summer Salon showcase. Architecture students and professionals will share their visions of the future. The YAF blog promises refreshments and even ghost tours, provided by the Medici Foundation. Click here for the full flyer.

The Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition (MAACC) has rescheduled their Mayoral Forum on public art for Mon., Oct. 12 from 6-8 p.m. The participating candidates for mayor are Lisa Borders, Mary Norwood, Kasim Reed, and Jesse Spikes. MAACC requests that RSVPs be emailed to advocacy@metroatlantaarts.org.

This Saturday is the third and final installment of Artspalooza, the first of many youth education initiatives by the Woodruff Arts Center funded by their recent $12 million grant. If you or your kids are into mural painting, African dance, or cartooning, why not treat the fam’ to a day of culture, courtesy the Goizueta Foundation?

And the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs proudly announces the restoration of the S. Truett Cathy monument, aka the No Goal Is Too High If We Climb With Care And Confidence sculpture. Samuel Truett Cathy is the 88-year-old founder of the Chick-fil-A fast food chain. He built his first restaurant when he was 25.

(Photo courtesy Young Architects Forum of Atlanta)

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In its official announcement last week, Dragon*Con confirmed William Shatner as yet another Star Trek celebrity guest during this year’s Labor Day convention. Shatner headlines an “away team” of none other than Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, and Kate Mulgrew. That means they’ve successfully booked Captain James T. Kirk and Spock of the original series — and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager).

As the AJC reported yesterday:

Dragoncon chairman Pat Henry said he has seen a spike in sales since the Shatner announcement. The 10 a.m. joint appearance, he said, will be first come first serve. He anticipates weekend attendance to be comparable to last year, at 35,000 to 40,000, recession notwithstanding.

The convention unfortunately continues to stubbornly spell its name with an inexplicable asterisk — hence the Dragon*Con website. But at least someone had the comedic foresight to make it rhyme with Shatner’s immortal line: KHAN!!

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And Lil Wayne would be proud.

MINT Gallery celebrates its 3rd annual MIXT show this Saturday, August 22 from 8-11 p.m. Each year the exhibit gathers a swarming list of local artists (some of whom are also noted music personalities) and crowds the room with two-part installations: an original work of art paired with a mix tape created as its “sound track.” That’s right: There will be a Walkman and headphones hanging next to each painting, sculpture, and video. (The press release promises animation in addition to traditional still artworks.) And if you buy the art, you get the audiocassette, too!

This year’s show will feature the talents of over 30 working artists, students, professors, and musicians, including Bean Summer, Emily Maxwell, Saint, Rachael Spiewak, Kelly McKernan, Jason Travis, Chris Hamer, Travis Thatcher, Sunni Johnson, and many more. Last year’s MIXT was a riot, so I’m sure it won’t disappoint.

Otherwise, I plan to check out the screening of Koolhaas Houselife at Whitespace Gallery. The film starts tonight, Friday, August 21 at 9 p.m., and is part of the gallery’s Summer Falls programming, a multimedia “intermission” masterminded by John Otte. It’s a chance to see cool sculptures and cinema in one night.

And look out for the Methane Studios poster show at Alcove Gallery on Saturday!

For more local arts events, visit clatl.com/events or, check this week’s visual arts To Do List at BURNAWAY.ORG.

(Photo courtesy MINT Gallery)

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Those fellas at Art Relish have been picking up the slack in coverage at the High Museum. I’m curious to see Alec Soth’s entry to Picturing the South, an ongoing program of regionally-inspired photography commissioned by the museum. Soth’s title, Black Line of Woods, is a quotation by Flannery O’Connor; his images are intended to capture something essential about the South. And for that reason, I appreciate Jason Parker’s question: Does it matter that the photographer was born in the North?

Art Relish recently shot another video on Richard Misrach’s exhibit, On the Beach, which shows concurrently with Monet’s Water Lilies. Both Monet and Misrach close this Sunday, August 23. Check the High’s website for more info.

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