Gender in Art

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I went to meet Terry at the Orlando Museum of Art for a discussion about the new exhibit at the museum which focuses on Gender in Art. There was a wonderful spread with Salmon, spinach dip , crackers, chips and deserts. A fairly large crowd filled the central atrium with the blue Chihuly chandelier. As I was eating I noticed that another crowd had gathered in the central gallery. No food was allowed inside so I gulped down my soda and crackers and dashed inside. A woman was giving a talk and she moved people around the room explaining the art. There was a Warhol print of Marilyn Monroe and some paintings of women throughout the ages. There was a long line of women’s slips suspended from the ceiling presumably to hint at a woman’s closet being a work of art. A small fabric doll from china had bright gold beads and pins sewn on one side and the other side had black beads in an intricate pattern. This was supposed to indicate how women are perceived and then how they are actually treated.

I sat opposite this wedding dress created by LesleyDillin. The dress is made from acrylic and thread on a mannequin. In 1994 this dress was worn by a model who read the Emily Dickenson poem, “The Soul has Bandaged Moments.” The poem is written all over the dress in bold black paint. As the model read, she ripped the dress off, shredding it to pieces. Lesley later sewed the pieces back together with black thread.

The Soul has Bandaged moments –
When too appalled to stir –
She feels some ghastly Fright come up
And stop to look at her –

Salute her – with long fingers –
Caress her freezing hair –
Sip, Goblin, from the very lips
The Lover – hovered – o’er –
Unworthy, that a thought so mean
Accost a Theme – so – fair –

The soul has moments of Escape –
When bursting all the doors –
She dances like a Bomb, abroad,
And swings upon the Hours,

As do the Bee – delirious borne –
Long Dungeoned from his Rose –
Touch Liberty – then know no more,
But Noon, and Paradise –

The Soul’s retaken moments –
When, Felon led along,
With shackles on the plumed feet,
And staples, in the Song,

The Horror welcomes her, again,
These, are not brayed of Tongue –

– Emily Dickenson

Face Forward

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On the first Thursday of November, the Orlando Museum of Art hosted a group exhibition called Face Forward. Every first Thursday the small gallery next to the lobby is opened to a themed group show. The work in Face Forward was predictably mostly portraits. I arrived early so I could case the space and decide where I wanted to sketch. In one corner, Paul Austin Sanders began playing guitar. The opposite corner is what finally caught my eye. Ashli Szymanski and Sarah Okun from CSStudios, were arranging makeup and foam latex masks. They had to duck tape down some plastic to protect the museum carpeting. Ashli cut off lengths of tape and handed them to Sarah who crawled under the table to tape the edge of the plastic. Facetiously Sarah said, “You are getting better at that Sarah.” Sarah replied, “Thank you, I went to school for it.” A custom blood red mask was glaring out with his face chiseled and skeletal. The model for the night, Jess D.P., arrived with a large backpack full of dresses. After much discussion, the black dress with purple trim and lapels was chosen. Black boots with plenty of buckles completed the ensemble.

As soon as the latex mask was placed on the models face, I began to sketch. They were planning to turn her into a very creepy porcelain doll. The model was beautiful but with the mask her features became swollen and strange. A long time was spent getting the edge of the mask to flow seamlessly into her skin. The model held the small dish of latex or glue that held the mask in place. A young girl complimented my sketch and then sat and watched the makeup transformation transfixed. After she finished her plate of food from Cafe Tu Tu Tango, she started to squirm.

As I was putting the last of the watercolor washes down, they started spreading white make up all over the model’s face, neck, chest and arms. The transformation was almost complete. By now the museum was packed. Allison Stevens was offering Shipyard beer in the main gallery and we spoke for a while about the new brewery coming to town. I am hoping to do sketches as the brewery takes shape. I spoke to Pam Treadwell who had several pieces in the show. She explained that one image had been achieved by pouring chocolate on her son’s girlfriend’s face and watching how it dripped over her features. In the painting the girl looked like she didn’t enjoy the process. Anna McCambridge announced she is now engaged to Marabou Thomas. So much to celebrate!

Happiness Hurts

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Performance artist Brian Feldman put out a call on Facebook for anyone with a video camera to record his performance of Happiness Hurts at the Orlando Museum of Art. I happen to have a video camera, so I sent him a message and he made arrangements to get me into the event. He created this performance for 1st Thursdays at the Museum. 1st Thursdays is a monthly event where artists are asked to exhibit work along a similar theme. I couldn’t make out the theme by looking at the art hanging on the walls. Then Tisse Mallon finally realized that they must all relate to happiness. Brian’s performance piece was the key to the puzzle. I spent some time getting the camera ready and there was some panic that the cord to the projector might not be long enough. At the last minute a longer cord was found.

Brian began to smile and the museum slowly filled up. Some people got the idea of the performance right away. I overheard one woman saying, “Smiling that long must hurt.” I was the sketch artist and cameraman. I turned the LCD display so Brian could see his closely cropped face in the viewfinder. This allowed him to focus and remain perfectly still. I set my watch timer to go off in an hour and at that time I would have to replace the tape.

While I was working Sultana Fatima Ali introduced herself to me. She had helped organize a bicycle giveaway program called “Wheels for Kids” that I had sketched. On that day, she had seen me working and she asked a policeman who I was. He told her about my blog and she started reading. She has started following Brian’s performances so she has started to appear in my sketches. As I sketched, I kept meeting people I know. I don’t disappear into the woodwork the way I used to. I am slowly learning to balance the work with the socializing.

On the wall, Brian’s smile was quivering; he was having trouble keeping his smile consistent. He had to keep smiling for three straight hours. With my sketch complete, I wandered around a bit and looked at some of the art. I had to leave early to go sketch another event, so I asked Tisse if she would pack up my camera and tripod and she agreed.

Analog Artist Digital World 2009 Retrospective Opening

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The opening for the Analog Artist Digital World 2009 Sketchbook Retrospective was a lively and crowded five hour event at Dandelion Communitea Cafe. The ten sketchbooks created last year were framed in shadow box frames I had built myself. I had Frames Forever frame several assignments I had done for Orlando Home and Leisure as well. The number of pieces framed was just enough to fill out the space, and one sketch wasn’t hung.
On opening night I arrived early to set up a tablet PC, which I hung on the wall to play a flickr slide show of all the drawings posted to the blog in 2009. Patrons who were from the various arts boards were some of the first people to show up right after work. The band called Hymn for Her set up to play alternative folk music for the people arriving later. The cafe is used as an unofficial after party for the people who go to First Thursdays, which is a monthlt themed art event at the Orlando Museum of Art.
Dandelion Communitea Cafe was packed all night. People who I had sketched during the year kept arriving and introducing themselves. Once the music started it became impossible to talk, so at that point I got the sketchpad out to document my own opening. An artist/author from the last Sketch Crawl also stood in a corner of the room furiously working in his pad. The little child at the table playing with the crayons is the performer’s child. He had a large headset on to protect his fragile eardrums. The rest of us experienced the music full blast. I asked the performers to place one of my framed sketchbooks on the amplifier behind them. It frames Pierce’s head in the sketch as he plays banjo. Maggi is playing a cigar box with a broomstick attached. The instrument actually has a really good sound.
When I finished this sketch, someone showed me a sketch on their digital camera and he said it would be a blast from my past. He said the sketch was mine, and for the longest time I didn’t believe him. My eyes started to tear up from the strain of staring at the musicians and drawing. Julie Norris, co-owner of Dandelion, asked if I was Okay, as I kept rubbing my eyes with my sleeve. Perhaps there was an emotional reason for the tears as well, rediscovering a sketch from a vibrant and exciting time in my life. The lines on the sketch he was showing me digitally, were vibrant and flowing, dark and confident. I really liked the sketch, yet couldn’t believe I had done it. It showed a New York City street scene with a crowd of people. He finally explained that it was from a sketchbook which had been passed around the Florida Disney Animation Studio. I had done that drawing on the backlot of MGM (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) more than fifteen years ago. Darn, I was a good draftsman back then!
All night, people offered new ideas on places I could sketch in 2010. By the end of the night my head was spinning. I only had one white wine. With all the conversations and activity, I never had time to take a sip. Eventually, a large crowd of us had to be asked to leave so the place could be cleaned up and closed down for the night. What an exciting night! The show will hang at Dandelion Communitea Cafe at 618 North Thornton Avenue Orlando through January 30th. Go by, grab a tea, and enjoy the events, places and people that defined Orlando culture in 2009.

Music Meets Art

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I went to 1st Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art to see “Rach”-tober: Music Meets Art. From Rachmaninoff to Rockabilly. How do sound and vision unite in our world? The focus of the show was on music, musicians and art influenced by music. Considering the theme of the show I felt I had to draw the musicians, Orlando-based gypsy jazz band, The Cook Trio, who were hired to play during the event. In the sketch you can see the large Dale Chihuly glass sculpture which rises up to a skylight.
In the front gallery of the museum there were 18 artists whose work was on display. I was most impressed by the work of Plinio Pinto who had large watercolor portrait paintings of rock stars. Food at the event was available from Infusion Tea and there was a cash bar. Most of this evening was spent watching Brian Feldman “Under the Covers“. I didn’t linger too long at the event. Once my sketch was done and I had seen all the art on display for the evening, I headed home.

Brian Feldman – Under the Covers

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At the first Thursday of this month Brian Feldman held a cabaret by request called “Under the Covers” at the Orlando Museum of Art. Back on the first Thursday in May, Jeremy Seghers performed, an act by the same name, singing cover songs requested by the audience for a Fringe Festival Preview. Brian used Jeremy’s performance as inspiration to literally go under the covers.
Accompanying Brian was Isaac Schankler on a Kurzweil SP-76. The performance was developed and first presented in July of 2009 at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach Florida. When the audience entered the theater, they could faintly make out the form of Brian lying under the covers on a mattress on stage. Isaac introduced the act and sat at the piano. Brian explained that he didn’t actually sleep on a mattress himself, but instead slept on the floor of a friend’s house. He was recently separated from his girlfriend, Jessica, and many of the songs in his first set seemed directed to her. An unexpected development towards the end of the first set was that Jeremy Seghers got on stage and joined Brian to sing a duet. At first, Jeremy just sat on the bed next to Brian’s form hidden by the covers. Then, Jeremy lifted the covers and joined Brian underneath, singing “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues”. This song was a show stopper.
I returned to see his second performance which featured a Queen song requested by Katie Windish from Frames Forever titled “Fat Bottomed Girls”. Don’t ask why she needed to hear that song at this time in her life. After the last song, Brian had to explain that the performance was over since he was still on stage, though under the covers. I am sure some people like myself lingered to see the performance artist in person. But Brian consulted with stage hands and shouted out, “No really, the show is over! Get out of here, people!” When everyone had left, he sprinted into the wings.

Orlando Museum of Art

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I went to the OMA last night for “First Thursdays”. Every first Thursday of each month the museum hosts art created by local artists for one night. The evening usually has live music, food and booze. The cost to get in is $10. Food and booze are extra. I thought Terry might want to go but she wasn’t picking up her cell phone. When I got to the museum I decided to sit on the edge of a fountain and sketch the entry. I liked watching the various individuals waiting for dates and the warm welcomes when people are reunited. Like myself many people were on there cell phones trying to figure out why they were left waiting. The event only lasted till 9PM so by the time I finished sketching I discovered that there was only 15 minutes left to go before the museum closed. I had totally lost track of time.
The exhibit fit neatly into a small room right off the lobby. One artist had really nice resin sculptures of a dragon and werewolf. Another artists acrylic paintings of movie characters were really fun and quirky. I should have taken cards.
Brian Feldman of “txt” fame was also exhibiting himself as a performance piece. Brian stood with his back against a wall being filmed by a video camera which projected a large image of his face on the wall beside him. Brian was practicing method acting by trying to make himself cry. His face was contorted in a harsh grimace but I didn’t notice any tears. Either he was cryed out or he was unable to tap his inner sorrow in such a loud party atmosphere. I unfortunately didn’t have time to get a decent sketch of him, but once again he held my attention far longer than any painting or sculpture in the room. His performance reminded of a short story entitled “The Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka, it has a surreal disturbing quality, that I liked. Bravo!