by donald dusinberre imartsyfartsy@gmail.com
Initially, I had a hard time convincing myself that our average reader might be interested in so much art-related content. Being an artist and working in the art world, I automatically assume that people aren’t that interested. But, after I thought about it, I decided that the best approach to this week’s issue would be to assume that some EU readers aren’t experts but want to know more about art and the artists who proliferate it. Even if you’re not someone like that, you may still appreciate this feature as a social experiment. You can compare and contrast the responses to learn who seems genuine and who shovels the manure.
I sent an email to eleven artists in the Jacksonville area who together might represent an approximate cross-section of our local art scene. Many of them are painters, some photographers. Many of them abstract their work significantly, but some don’t. You get the idea.
I gave no indication as to who the other participants might be. I simply stated that I had chosen a few artists to be a part of this feature and they were included. Attached to each email was a questionnaire consisting of five questions, along with a request for images of their work to be printed alongside their responses. Each artist was asked the same five questions, and I asked those questions in the voice of an aspiring art appreciator.
Five of the eleven artists responded, which speaks volumes all by itself. Compare the responses yourself and feel free to let me know what you think.
Brittni Wood is an emerging contemporary artist who is very involved with the young Jacksonville art scene. You can catch Brittni Wood’s work at her solo show at the Jane Gray Gallery. The opening reception will be on Friday, November 2nd. Learn more at janegraygallery.com. She is also currently showing her work in a group show at Pedestrian Projects in San Marco.
EU: Why do you make art? In other words, what is your inspiration or most prominent subject?
Wood: I imagine this answer would be the same for most any artist. I create because it is where my interest lies; because there is nothing else I would rather do. Inspired by artists from the past and present, such as Eva Hesse and Ellen Gallagher, my work is heavily influenced by social issues of today, with an emphasis on ideas of fame, fortune, religion, sexuality, and gender roles.
EU: What is it about your chosen mode of artistic expression that conveys your ideas better than, say, writing or music?
Wood: I suppose I am able to convey ideas visually better than I would be able to through music or writing simply because I am not a writer, nor a musician. I am a visual thinker. That’s what makes sense to me.
EU: Do you have a specific audience in mind when you create?
Wood: I wouldn’t say that I necessarily have a specific audience in mind when I am painting. I’d like to think that my work has no boundaries of that sort. However, I suppose if I had to choose, I would say my work is most relatable to a younger generation of twenty and thirty-somethings.
EU: What do you hope viewers will see when looking at your work?
Wood: I use a lot of symbols. My hope is that anyone viewing my work would be able to pick up on that, and relate it to his/ her own life, good or bad.
EU: What do you think would further improve the art scene in Jacksonville?
Wood: I have spoken in depth with several artists in the community about the arts and its role in Jacksonville, and they are all on the same page in regards to this. This kind of thing has happened in Jacksonville before. A buzz starts because a couple of galleries open up and things seem like they are starting to happen. Eventually, it fades away, and Jacksonville looses the momentum that started building.
In knowing this, my suggestion would be to just keep going– pushing forward until we all get what we want. Big steps are being made, with more to come; and I hope that Jacksonville doesn’t lose steam on this again.
Galleries seem to be popping up more frequently over this last year (Opaq, Bogda, and Pedestrian Projects to name a few), all with visions of supporting young artists in hopes of bettering the community. Magazines and blogs promoting arts in Jacksonville are plentiful now, with new ones entering the picture each week. More choices mean more opportunities for artists in Jacksonville.
The next step is working towards building a stronger sense of community within the arts, not just for artists, but for everyone. Artists need to engage the general population through community-building events, such as outreach programs, free workshops, artist and curator lectures, etc. Now is the time.
One of the more innovative visual artists in the Jacksonville art scene, Ian Chase has achieved critical success where most artists only achieve simple mention. His work has been shown all over, including the Jane Gray Gallery and MOCA Jacksonville. He is capable of producing a wide array of artwork, such as paintings and assemblages. Before his foray into visual art, Ian was known for being an accomplished musician and later a successful entrepreneur, so when he took the art scene by storm it was a surprise, but his work has clearly proven that he is equally as talented at this endeavor. Look for Chase’s work to be on display in December at the Opaq Gallery at TSI with Eric Gillyard.
EU: Why do you make art? In other words, what is your inspiration or most prominent subject?
Chase: One of the reasons that keeps me producing art is a desire to understand myself and, in the process, it helps to keep my mind clear and moving. It makes me happy when someone enjoys the work, but is not the reason I created the piece.
EU: What is it about your chosen mode of artistic expression that conveys your ideas better than, say, writing or music?
Chase: I’m not necessarily trying to convey my ideas, but rather to understand myself and develop new techniques for future work.
EU: Do you have a specific audience in mind when you create?
Chase: I don’t have a specific audience, but I realize that the “art world” itself is a specific audience.
EU: What do you hope viewers will see when looking at your work?
Chase: Hopefully the viewer can find something in the work that they can relate to.
EU: What do you think would further improve the art scene in Jacksonville?
Chase: The art scene in Jax seems to be continually evolving and taking shape with more artists, galleries, art walks, education programs and press coverage.
Jacksonville is a great place to produce work, it’s affordable and medium-paced. Everyone has, or should have, a different set of values and expectations in regards to their work. It is important to have independent thoughts and ideas from which to draw, these things are solemn and personal.
Showing work at a gallery or museum involves many people, so understanding on both sides is needed. Some galleries give you their space and say, “go nuts,” while others have a specific vision for their gallery. Sometimes the “go nuts” artists are frustrated by the “specific vision” curator; sometimes the other way around. So I think understanding is needed.
I was blown away earlier this year when George Kinghorn, the curator at MOCA, took such a beating on several blog sites over his/the museum’s lack of involvement/interest in the “local art scene,” when George has worked hard to support “local artists.”
Creating the work is personal and independent, showing and selling art is business, not evil, greedy and corrupt, but just plain ol’ “let’s communicate and have a shared vision” kind of business, and that is hard to do. Perhaps this is where art education has fallen short. Instead of teaching how to draw a circle or an eyeball, maybe teach a little marketing and business, both will serve the artist no matter what the individual expectations are. There are no magic bullets in the art world. Art school, moving out of town or spending a lot of time checking the barometer of the art scene can be counter-productive, I think time can be better spent in the studio making art.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt seen the work of Mark George somewhere. His work is a premier example of Pop Art – a colorful and simple display. His work has been exhibited at countless galleries and is always hanging in the popular Avondale Breakfast joint, the Fox Restaurant. It can be easily distinguished by its middle-century, Kandinsky-esque, cartoon-like characters. Unlike Kandinsky, his paintings appear strokeless, as though they were printed onto the corrugated poly-vinyl. in a strokeless fashion that looks more like printing onto a corrugated plastic roofing material. When you see a Mark George, you know it. No one else has work quite like his.
EU: Why do you make art? In other words, what is your inspiration or most prominent subject?
George: Art is a great form of release. It’s also my contribution to society, a responsibility of sorts. In the pop genre I work with, it’s a reflection of a very temporary society based around shallow issues like vanity and greed, while at the same time addressing more primal urges like love, anguish and pain.
EU: What is it about your chosen mode of artistic expression that conveys your ideas better than, say, writing or music?
George: There is no hidden meaning behind my work, it’s presented at face value and is all fairly specific about their topics, usually centered around human emotions. The viewer will always have their own take on what the painting means to them, however, the work should be pleasantly easy to grasp.
EU: Do you have a specific audience in mind when you create?
George: At this point, I would love to be viewed by all audiences, publicly. I love the idea of presenting an unconventional format to people who are not even familiar with art or have no appreciation for it at all. That way, you really tap into the human psyche with work that focuses on factors of everyday life, by people who are not jaded to an acceptance of what art is supposed to be or look like.
EU: What do you hope viewers will see when looking at your work?
George: Themselves. It’s the beautiful simple things in life we all take for granted and often forget all about in hot pursuit of instant gratification– fast food, disposable razors, temporary jobs, apartments for rent and one-night stands. Human emotion will be the last thing we will always have. After all is said and done and the earth takes back what is rightfully hers, we will once again be faced with the fact that love and compassion really is the most important part of our existence.
EU: What do you think would further improve the art scene in Jacksonville?
George: Breaking down walls that hold stifled ideas of what a preconceived notion of art is supposed to be. Why do we continue to want the same thing over and over again? Artists who appeal to the masses regurgitate congested boringness for shallow people who are trapped in their own conflictions of keeping up with the Joneses. Mail-order catalogs that are considered to be art periodicals reflect this dull nature that hangs over Jacksonville like a dark cloud and keeps the beautifully refreshing light of newness out.
EU: Why do you make art? In other words, what is your inspiration or most prominent subject?
Mulrain: I enjoy expressing myself as an artist and author. I have been blessed to be able to take a brush once again in hand and put onto canvas some of the beautiful natural beauty of Northeast Florida and, on watercolor paper, some of my photographs, which inspire my paintings. I choose cattails for a number of reasons. One, it could become somewhat of a signature for me, an iconographic image. Two, cattails are beautiful, willowy, wispy, and in many places throughout the world. They are used for many things, including food and weaving material for baskets. Third, nature is the ultimate inspiration for us all- its symmetry, colors, and smells are a connection to the earth and sky above us. It is something to celebrate, preserve and protect. Light, air and water are the primary elements, and we must be more responsible for ourselves and our environment. It is an ultimate expression of my concern of what we are doing to our land, our water and our air- we must come together so we can give our children part of what we have enjoyed during our lifetime.
EU: What is it about your chosen mode of artistic expression that conveys your ideas better than, say, writing or music?
Mulrain: I write. I can read music, play the piano and guitar. I do not write music, but perhaps one day I will. I have chosen acrylic to paint my canvases. I often use large canvases, 3’x6’ or larger. I guess I see the world with a large perspective. It gives me a larger voice, perhaps. I want my work to “stop” people and make them think about the images they see. I want them to respond to the vibrancy of the colors I choose and the scenes I paint. I like to use large brushes and large brushstrokes to show meaning and give clarity to my subjects. I hope to please the eye and open eyes wide to my world. I want to engage the viewer and start a conversation. I want to receive a smile from the viewer and smile back, knowing they “get” what I’m trying to say. I speak on multiple levels- color and space- with hidden meanings through images only I know are within the lines, and vibrancy to open eyes wide.
EU: Do you have a specific audience in mind when you create?
Mulrain: I have the family in mind. The individual. The corporation. The neighbor. I create for those who would like to come along with me on this particular journey in my life. I painted decades ago, and I have just reconnected with what I loved to do before I took the corporate train and worked hard to make it possible for me to have this time to do my creative work. It takes me to many places. When I paint, I have no minutes or time, no night or day. Sometimes I paint for a dozen hours or so, or even through the night. I go with the paint and into the levels of the work. It has been a great healer and a place I can share with others. If I have a specific audience in mind, it is a commission that is specific to a subject matter. People buy my work because they connect directly with the image and/or with me on the level I bring them to visually.
EU: What do you hope viewers will see when looking at your work?
Mulrain: I hope they will see me as I am today, not as I was in the past, but as an artist. I am working hard and setting new goals. I have enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones who enjoy my work. First, I paint for me. Then I paint for those who find my work interesting and hope they find a connection to it, so that they want to own a piece and be a patron. I balance my home first, then my consulting work, then my art. It’s a balance; all of life is a balance. If someone enjoys and sees what I see in my photography or paintings, then great. It’s all about the experience of art.
EU: What do you think would further improve the art scene in Jacksonville?
Mulrain: Conversation. It’s all about networking and connecting the different parts of the community- museums, sponsors (banks, etc.), corporations, non-profits, galleries, Downtown Vision, Jax Beach Art Walk, cultural councils and cultural centers- with the artists. It’s about making sure that when someone asks for an artist to “donate” a work, they understand that we cannot take off the retail price of the painting on our IRS statements- we can only take off the canvas, the brush, and the paint - not our time or the retail value thereof! There needs to be more understanding regarding the role of the artist in a vital community. When a significant piece is given for a cause, the artist should be thanked and made part of the event, not just given a letter in the mail thanking him or her for a major piece. Sometimes the value of the piece of art is higher than the cost of a VIP ticket, or even more than what most donors even give to the organization in a year. The artist IS a donor. Non-profits should understand that we are asked dozens and dozens of times to “give” and many of us do give, and give, and give thousands of dollars every year. We must work together, not separately, in order for us to reach a threshold in the community where artists are respected for their work and dedication to their craft. We depend on our patrons, and our patrons depend on us. It’s symbiotic, and it takes balance and mutual understanding. You have to work hard to make this relationship work in a community. Museums should have a special “artist” level of membership- just show your business license, and become part of the artists supporting our museums. If a museum is an art museum, then talk to, have a conversation with, plan with, and be sure to connect with regional artists for a variety of purposes, including education. An art museum can only benefit from a direct connection with the artists in its region. It’s all interconnected. How art is positioned in a community is a barometer for values and quality of life. It’s hard to find a single seed of listing for art happenings- they are exploding, like in the 70s. We have so many outlets, including YouTube.com, for getting our work “out there,” and artists have made a valuable impact downtown by building up Art Walk to where it is today. They should be thanked for creating synergy in buildings for lease, because otherwise, nothing would be there. Now, nearly 4k people are expected for September Art Walk. Artists are part of the fabric of a city, part of its voice, and that’s why it’s important to connect with the art community and listen to their needs and work together, all adding to our quality of life.
At the end of the day, it’s about telling the truth. Telling the truth about what our city and our people want from artists, and what the artists want and expect from our city and its people with regard to support and patronage. We should celebrate those who have worked so hard for so many years, from teachers in all areas of education to professional artists who depend on patrons to make a living. Artists are CEOs of their own business, and they should duly be given the respect owed of such a position. There’s not a new building going up that does not call an artist directly or work through one of Jacksonville’s many fine galleries to fill a wall. Our work is a company’s or individual’s visual signature.
People can learn more about the basics of art by becoming a member of our cultural institutions. Artists who want a voice should become members of our cultural institutions. It’s all about conversation- learning from one another and building interpersonal relationships.
Stephanie Shieldhouse is a local artist and part-time drawing instructor at the University of North Florida. Her work is continuously on display at the Butterfield Garage Gallery in St. Augustine.
EU: Why do you make art? In other words, what is your inspiration or most prominent subject?
Shieldhouse: I have an idea that can only take shape on canvas. The idea rises to the surface, grows and changes as the painting develops. It becomes a conversation, back and forth, between me and the canvas and the demands and rejections of my inner critic.
EU: What is it about your chosen mode of artistic expression that conveys your ideas better than, say, writing or music?
Shieldhouse: I’m unable to express my ideas in music or writing. I’m most comfortable with visual language.
EU: Do you have a specific audience in mind when you create?
Shieldhouse: I struggle – like most artists - between creating art as a personal exploration and creating art that will match somebody’s Rooms to Go sofa. Right now, I’m following my own siren call.
EU: What do you hope viewers will see when looking at your work?
Shieldhouse: I suppose I really have no expectations– and that may be a defense mechanism. But when I sell a canvas, I’m surprised and gratified that someone responds to my vision– because often their interpretation of my work is unexpected.
EU: What do you think would further improve the art scene in Jacksonville?
Shieldhouse: Well…I have a complaint about the Art Walk. It has become a venue for radio stations, real estate agents, sandwich shops, etc. to peddle their wares. The art is there only in the service of these other enterprises. The Art Walk should be dedicated the art and artists in our city.
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