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News:
November 2009
November, a time to take stock of the blessings of life, a time for thankfulness—a long list for me.
One item on the list is friends. I made a new one last month, Arthur Bacon. He lives in Loa, UT, and is a photographer and art critic. See some of his work at www.arthurbacon.com.
Three days after meeting Arthur over dinner in Teasdale, UT, I lost a friend. The intimate banquet (“Babbetts’s Feast” comes to mind) where I met Arthur and his partner was provided by Susan and Doug Snow. Painter Tony Snow and art collector Nick Gosdis completed the table of seven, plus the Snow’s pug, Moki.
The following Tuesday, Doug was coming to Salt Lake City for a visit, among other things to bring Tony’s forgotten pillow. He had a roll-over accident and died at the scene on Highway 24 near Siguard. He was 82. I’ve written and spoken about Doug several times, including a tribute in this November’s 15 Bytes, also provided here in pdf:
· “Artist in the Country [V. Douglas Snow],” The Salt Lake Tribune, November 13, 1994.
· “Paintings, Photos ‘Due South’ [Wulf Barsch, Robert Marshall, Doug Snow, Brian Kershisnik, Clay Wagstaff, John Reese, Michael Plyler, Alan Schmierer, ViviAnn Rose],” The Salt Lake Tribune, February 4, 1996.
· “Painting the Cockscomb: V. Douglas Snow in Capitol Reef Country,” Salt Lake Magazine, July/August 2000.
· “The Red Cliff Upwarps of Douglas V. Snow,” Utah Arts Festival catalog essay, 2003.
· “V. Douglas Snow,” Lecture, Utah Arts Festival, Salt Lake City Downtown Library, 2004.
· “Painting the Cockscomb: V. Douglas Snow in Capitol Reef Country,” Entrada Institute, Ward Roylance Recipient ceremony, October 2006.
· “To Be In This Country ~ V. Douglas Snow, a Tribute,” 15 Bytes, November 2009 (a culmination of the above-referenced writings).
I hope to get around to some year-end website house cleaning this month and update many of its sections. I’m sure Shawn Rossiter who helps me with it will be pleased. Reviewing Arthur’s website and reading his thoughtful and clear essays caused me to think about posting some of my reviews and feature articles, like the one last month about art auctions. Salt Lake-based arts writer, Ann Poore, talked with me recently about possibly updating and adding to them as a publication on contemporary Utah art. We’ll see.
October 2009
It's already mid-October and I'm just now getting website "News" updated. It's been a busy time, mostly sorting through studio detritus, repacking finished pieces, installing a new shelving system, and consolidating supplies from two into one semitrailer (don't ask) in the back of my studio in a World War II warehouse.
It has, though, been a good Fall season, with drives into the Rocky Mountains around the Great Salt Lake to see the leaves turn and feel cool breezes, spend time with the family, even see sights in Washington DC.
It's also been a time when I've received several requests to donate artwork to charity art auctions, as well as make a few solicitations myself. This prompted me to take a look at an article I published in The Salt Lake Tribune, "Art For A Cause: Fund-Raisers For Charity Help...and Hurt," September 3, 1995. I've updated it and think it may be of interest to artists, dealers, and charity organizations -- read here.
September 2009
Since September is a marker for me to contemplate the airplane-as-weapon attacks of 9/11, I’ve posted an interview I had in September 2006 with Shawn Rossiter, editor of 15 Bytes and the person who helps me keep this website going. He published it in a now-defunct art blog, Head of Shiz. It is revised and updated on the Spontaneous Memorial section of this site, where you can also view images from past iterations of the installation.
Last month I mentioned that I’d post a few comments from Spontaneous Memorial “Fence” tags and “Ledger” pages, just a few from the hundreds:
· I’ve read parts of each portrait & am dismayed at cruelty in the name of politics or religion. May the 21st Century find more peace than the 20th.
· No one may speak for the dead; no one may interpret their mutilated dreams and visions. And yet, I sense their presence . . . The presence of my parents, that of my little sister. The presence of my teachers, my friends, my companions. . .
· If we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.” – From Ele Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo on Dec. 10, 1986.
· Love in its essence is spiritual fire.” Emanuel Swedenborg.
· Faithful, innocent, we all are responsible, we all too must be faithful and help each other so we may be ready for a day such as this.
· In the time span of human existence, we have learned almost nothing about how to get along with each other. The struggle for power, and dominance, and the redress of grievances ends in violence and death.
· Diplomacy Rules: Violence is an effective method of complete destruction. It isn’t creative. That is all I have to say to the terrorists!
· I would hope all this loss of life gives us a greater appreciation and respect for our lives and what we do with our time left here.
· What a shame so much time & money is dedicated to the destruction of the world.
· If the Christians of the world all practiced Christianity and the Muslims practiced Islam all these tragedies would be prevented. – Roger Fitt.
· Life as we knew it cannot be taken for granted anymore. – SE.
· September 11th brought great pain to our nation, but at the same time brought a sense of union between people of all races, religion, and cultures. – Nickolle Carter
· As long as the sky holds and baseball is played, some of the things you loved – and so you – will never truly vanish. “So long lives this and this gives life to thee.” – Shakespeare.
· I read this and at first the words seemed random and made no sense. I found it difficult to look past the paint splattered across the tag. Then I realized this tag isn’t about what’s on it physically. It’s about the life that was cut short.
· It is often good we do not know what is ahead of us or we would not have the courage to go on and face it.
· Be prepared spiritually. Things don't seem to be getting better.
· To think he [Paul K. Sloan] didn’t expect anything but his life to continue is indeed sobering. It makes one question their selfishness and self-awareness. It’s one thing for chance to take your life, but for men to take it is something quite different.
· I was impressed by how the community came together for the sake of consoling and preserving lives. My hope is that we recognize the value of life on a daily basis and especially in our politics.
· I was so busy that day. I hadn’t even seen what happened. All I saw was the faces of those who had seen. I felt like I should cry, but I didn’t understand why.
· Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never seem to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee – John Donne.
· The attacks of 9/11 have left a real and lasting void in America and shown us that our enemies will no longer allow us to be a sleeping giant.
· This morning, before work, I briefly turned on my television. I saw the planes fly into the WTC towers. I saw the huge balls of flame. I thought ‘what great special effects they can create nowadays!’ Only after I arrived at work & was informed that all ‘non-essential’ state employees should go home, did I understand: it was real . . . from Guy Lebeda’s journal: 9/11/01.
· I thought it was a movie, but I couldn’t believe it was real.
· I was sitting in biology when the phone rang. My teacher came in & turned on the T.V. We all watched, awestruck with no real idea what was going on.
· My roommates were gathered around the television, and one was in tears. After shaking the sleep out of my head, I was wide awake to watch plane #2 smash into the towers. It made me instantly ill, thinking at first I was watching a horrible film.
· On 9/11/01, my roommates were watching TV. I came in and thought they were watching a movie. Just then the 2nd plane hit the tower. I thought it was cool until I found out it was real. Then I was horrified. Why does religion inspire such hatred and malice in the hearts of men and stir them up against those who have done them no harm? – Bryan McEntire.
· I heard of the attack in the morning on the radio. Later in the day I saw it on TV. At first, I thought it was an accident, pure and simple. As the day went on the monstrous evil of the attack began to soak in. By nightfall, I knew I had witnessed vicariously a tragedy. What sadness!
· Tragedy begets tragedy. It’s time to work together to end this cycle through compassion, not violence. The free world’s ready to get on board or get Bush out.
· BUSH IS A LIAR.
· A vote for Bush is a vote for Revolution.
· Somehow it didn’t become real for me until 11/2 years later when I went to NYC [by] myself. What a hole. What a loss. We have suffered. I love President Bush. Go get ‘em.’ Everyone should be able to feel safe . . . Love, AOC.
· As I watched the towers come crashing down in horror and disbelief, I also felt that we were at an end of an era. / I am angered that our government has used this horrific act to justify its own horrific act against a nation uninvolved in 9/11 and not a threat to us anymore. Many thousands of Iraqi civilians have lost their lives plus our soldiers, FOR A LIE.
· I afraid of Americans.
· September 11 was a horrible moment in the history of our country, but it illustrated the character of our citizens. Those who died were doing their jobs for America – businessmen, firemen, policemen. Everyone involved, was doing their job and their duty, they died honorably. They died for America. They died Americans.
· No one who dies is truly dead until there is no one left who remembers them. May each victim of 9/11 be remembered always and thus live.
· Gone, but not forgotten.
· Never will I forget the helpless, desperately infuriating feelings I had when I heard about plane one … these feelings amplified when the next two appeared … then the next. Never will I forget.
· Private lives become public lives when terror and horror snatch them away. Someone remember the newborn’s cry when these lives entered the world. Choose this day to remember their cries when they left this world. Tomorrow may be your day to cry. Our heritage is to remember. – Jess, Boise, Idaho
· I remember someone telling me that she saw the first plane hit in the rear view mirror of her car. Such a small image of such a large tragedy. – B. Boolar
· I will always remember 9/11 for two reasons. (1) Because 9/11 is the day my wife and I celebrate our anniversary. (2) The feelings I had when I heard our nation was under attack. I will always remember the people who died that day. May God bless them and their families. – Tom G.
· Let us always remember: Events – esp. such tragic events – are part of larger processes. How can we better shape and guide this unregrettable process? “There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.” M. Gandhi – William C. Seifrit.
· August 6, 1945 / Hiroshima, Nola Gay / 130,000 people died / then Nagasaki / Please pick a hanging tag and tell us how you feel about the events of that day.
· I echo Ken Brewer’s statement that we need acts of goodness on a scale as large as the great tragedies we’ve seen. The efforts of good people providing service can counteract the devastating acts we see. We must continue to choose right.
· My son’s birthday is tomorrow 9/9 so it has become forever linked to the 9/11 attack on the Towers and the Pentagon. Though I was stunned by 9/11, I was even more stunned by the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Building 4/19/95 because my daughter Kim lived just outside of Oklahoma City and sometimes went to the Murrah Building. I remembered watching the television images the morning of 4/19 as the blown-out remains of the building still smoldered. I remembered how I tried to call my daughter but couldn’t get through to her for two days. Then 9/11 hit and I saw that on television, too, even the actual moment the second airliner flew into the second tower in a moment of surreal reality. What we need more are acts of goodness on such a scale as 4/19 – acts of goodness that can touch everyone as powerfully as such acts of terror. I suppose such goodness must begin with each person’s smallest acts and grow like raindrops into an ocean. – Ken Brewer [former Utah Poet Laureate]
August 2009
We’re approaching the eighth anniversary September 11, 2001, the date of the terrorist attacks that took almost 3,000 lives. Although adults throughout the world have vivid memories of seeing footage of airliners crashing into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and seeing the crater in a Pennsylvania field made by Flight 93’s crash, the youngsters of that day may not. A twelve-year-old, who was three in 2001, knows about the event through stories, books, and news accounts, but probably not from memory, which reminds me of an often-quoted statement by George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is one of the reasons in 2004 that I put together the first installment of “Spontaneous Memorial,” an evolving participatory installation shown each year* until 2011. Next month I'll post a few comments from Spontaneous Memorial “Fence” tags and “Ledger” pages. For more information on the project:
http://www.artistsofutah.org/15bytes/06sep/page8.html and http://net.lib.byu.edu/art/McEntire.html
On a different subject, I’d like to thank curator Jason Lanegan for his fine work organizing “ReAppropriated Passion” at Gallery 303 on the Brigham Young University campus.
July 2009
The opening reception of ReAppropriated Passion at Brigham Young University in Gallery 303 was preceded by a panel discussion with insightful presentations by the exhibit curator and director of the gallery, Jason Lanegan, Jay Heuman, curator for the Salt Lake Art Center, and Dr. Joseph Parry, assistant dean of Humanities at BYU. I hope to have audio of the event for you soon, if editing goes well. Also to come is a film walk-through of the exhibit. So, please visit this site again. The exhibit also received a thoughtful review by 15 Bytes art critic, Geoff Wichert. And, thanks to Shawn Rossiter, editor of 15 Bytes, an announcement about the exhibit was posted on its blog, with reference to Jason Lanegan’s curator statement .
I was invited to show work with my friend, Hyunmee Lee, for the inaugural exhibit of the Pleasant Valley Library in Ogden, Utah. Hyunmee's paintings strongly reflect her disciplined upbringing in South Korea and demonstrate lyrical, calligraphic-like agility with an inner Buddhist driven sensibility.
The exhibit, Of Silence and Shadow: Two Views, allowed me to select older assemblages and make new ones that demonstrate Buddhist and Hindu influences in compliment to Hyunmee's paintings (see below).
This exercise was in contrast to ReAppropriated Passion shown at the same time at Brigham Young University with works derived from Jewish and Christian influences (see installation views here).
It is my fortune to have curated two exhibits of Hyunmee's work—When Gesture Finds Its Power, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University (see the exhibit catalog, chunji-changjo [heaven and earth]: the “Creation” Paintings of Hyunmee Lee, 2005) and Intimacy Without Restraint, Museum of Fine Art, University of Utah, 2006.
This is the second time we've exhibited together. The first was in 2004 at Utah Valley University where I initiated the construction of what is now an annual 9/11 commemorative installation, Spontaneous Memorial (the gallery for this work is coming soon, please return to this website next month).
 Another multi-talented friend, Trent Alvey, invited me and several other artists living in Utah to show new works in her curated exhibit, Shelf Life: Preserving Artifacts, comprised of paintings of and configurations assembled in canning jars for Art Access/VSA arts Utah. "Mason Jar Jesus," seen here, was made for this exhibit.
One series I've been working on for a while deals with Nicola Tesla and electricity, influenced by my painter and writer friend, Alex Bigney (see my February 2009 entry). Some of these works were exhibited in ReAppropriated Passion (Code Messenger, Prayer Coder, The Ohmite Almighty, Disconnect I and II) and another, Tesla Temple, in the 85th Spring Salon in Springville, Utah.
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June 2009
May 2009
Jason Lanegan, curator for my upcoming "ReAppropriated Passion" exhibit, wanted to be reminded of two large prints stored in the studio, so, I reviewed with him a few recent iPhone shots (shown here--also, see Kimberly Silcox photos at 15 Bytes ). I used the workbench photo as desktop background—a reminder to get some workspace carved out of the 1,000 sq. ft. studio (got clobbered once by my spouse when I said: "You hoard, I collect."). The constant flat screen monitor confrontation, however, became overwhelming and I found it easier to replace the background photo than to feng shui the place, especially now when I'm trying to get several shows off the ground at the same time.
April 2009
The month of April started with an excursion to Santa Fe, NM. Although the galleries seemed dampened by the MegaRescission, there were many strong works scattered among them. Hats off to all the gallery owners who, as usual, were gracious and anxious to show a stranger new works by the artists they represent. The area around Site Santa Fe is reinvigorated with new galleries and landscaped grounds around the rail yard, including an indoor farmer’s market.
· One of my favorites, The Box Gallery, was closed due to construction.
· The new (since my last visit) Gerbert Contemporary showed paintings by Dirk de Bruycker, drawings and ceramics by Jun Kaneko, sculpture by Xavier Mascaro, and a small Jennifer Bartlet (Utah artist), among other works. Their Canyon Road location had a Johannes Girardoni wall sculpture that was particularly nice and three large photographs by Misha Gordin.
(Don’t worry, I’m not going to give a blow-by-blow of all galleries, just a few with works of particular interest to me.)
·  In the Plaza area, Jean Arnold (Utah artist) had a couple of pieces exhibited at the LewAllen Gallery. The Peyton Wright Gallery never fails to satisfy my desire to see good historic devotional works, such as this Christ figure, as does Linda Durham Contemporary Art for works by some of New Mexico’s finest. Linda invited Marjorie and me to her wonderful digs in the Santa Fe Opera area--an amazing place for an equally amazing and caring person.
· A new gallery for me was Martha Keats on Canyon Road. Surprisingly, Martha is not only from my hometown of Houston, but also attended my same junior and senior high schools. Her husband and photographer, Doug, also attended Lamar High School. Martha gave us a white glove tour of Doug’s four-box set of old black and white church photographs and shared a map showing where some of the out-of-the-way buildings were located, prompting a day excursion. Not exactly Doug Keats photos, but, here are a few from our cellphones.
Otherwise, the McStudio in Kearns, UT is hosting the completion of works for exhibits listed to the right, some featured in the Recent Works section of this website.
March 2009
ReAppropriated Passions, a solo exhibit this summer at the Gallery 303 in Provo, Utah, is coming into view (see "Upcoming Exhibitions" in the right-hand column). Depictions of the Passion of Jesus Christ and his Crucifixion in paintings and sculptures have a long, distinguished place in Western art, from the earliest Byzantine to present times, from cathedrals in Milan, Italy to studios in Kearns, Utah. I've been adding to my ongoing Crucifix Series by making thirteen new crucifixes out of old doorknobs retrieved from George's Architecture Salvage in Salt Lake City. The prototype will be in the exhibit, to be borrowed from the collection of sonosopher Alex Caldiero who hails from Sicily and New York City before arriving in Utah and now fills the post of poet-in-residence at Utah Valley University. After some welding and finding the right Christ figures for them, probably purchased from my best supplier of such items, August Antiques in Houston, Texas, they'll be ready for the gallery entryway. I'm anxious to see the entire series up at the same time, with other Christian-related works (to the exclusion of other themes). It will also include pieces from my Teslan Series; inspired by discussions about Tesla with Bigney (see examples, "Visitation of the Divine Other" and "Olmite Almighty").
 A dozen small Hindu- and Buddhist-centered works, including "Scripture Writer" (depicted here), will be exhibited in Ogden, Utah, for the summer, beginning in April. They will show with abstract paintings by Korean artist Hyunmee Lee. The occasion is the opening of a new library and its exhibition and performing space.
February 2009
I've been reading a couple of opposite-end-of-the-spectrum books the last few weeks. One is an interview –rant –discussion–style book by Gordon Burn on Damien Hirst (On the Way to Work—Amazon and other book stores) and the other, a dream journal/mystical adventure/art processing introspection by friend and painter, Alex Bigney (Talking to Tesla: The Mirror is the Door—purchase through talkingtotesla.com). Both are thoroughly self-disclosing, more so than I'd ever have the courage to reveal. By chance (if there is such a thing), I came upon a box set in three volumes of the Sotheby's auction catalog in the Springville Museum's bookstore for $14 the same week Hirst's recent works went for bid—$200 million in a down-turn economy. That's as much a mystery to me as Bigney's multi-year dream visits with Nikola Tesla.
If you’ve visited this website before, you know it’s been out-of-date for two years. Thanks to Shawn Rossiter for helping me get it back on track and to Mike Anderson and Bryan McEntire who made it happen in the first place
January 2009
Last summer, developers and city officials were salivating for the property where my studio is located in Kearns -- over 40 acres filled with motley structures to rip down and make way for a shopping mall. The studio is a rented bay in an old warehouse used during World War II to house equipment prior to shipping. There are several of these facilities still in use. My 1,000 square feet is filled to the gills with supplies, tools, and works in various stages of completion, not quite the detritus heap left by Francis Bacon, but could come close if I don't get a grip. I'd have a hard time replacing the space if mauled by the mall. I'm hoping the Big Recession will put the skids on developer plans. Besides, I'd miss the smell of tire retread (next-door-neighbor) in the morning and onions (McDonald's food processing across the street) in the evening.
– News Archives –
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Upcoming Exhibitions:
The Spiritual Image in Contemporary Art
Curated by Jim Edwards
Southern Baptist University Fine Art Gallery, Houston, Texas.
Postponed to 2010-2011, hurricane damage to the campus.
Recent Exhibitions:
Spontaneous Memorial (Solo Show)
Gallery 208, Provo, Utah (in the offices of LDS Philanthropies)
September - October 2009
Curated exhibit for the Springville Museum of Art:
Open Secret: Undisclosed Works by Kent Wing and Alex Bigney
September 11-October 16, 2009
Of Silence and Shadow: Two Views
Paintings by Hyunmee Lee / Assemblages by Frank McEntire (Two artist show)
Pleasant Valley Branch Library
5568 S. Adams Avenue
Ogden, Utah
April 25 - July 15, 2009
installation view
Spring Salon (Group Exhibit)
Springville Museum of Art
Springville, Utah
April 26-July 5, 2009
ReAppropriated Passion (Solo Show)
Gallery 303
Provo, Utah
June 17 - July 14, 2009
installation view
Off the Shelf: Urban Artifacts (Group Exhibit)
Art Access Gallery
Salt Lake City, Utah
June 19 - July 10, 2009
The Truth of Abstraction (Group Exhibit)
Patrick Moore Gallery
2233 S. 700 E.
Salt Lake City, Utah
April 17 - May 8, 2009
Worlds in a Box (Group Exhibit)
Art Access Gallery
Salt Lake City, Utah
October-November, 2008
Spontaneous Memorial 2008
The Library Gallery
Brigham Young University
August 19 – September 30, 2008
Exposed (Group Exhibit)
The Pickle/TRASA urban arts
Salt Lake City, Utah
October-Novembe 2007
Contemporary Reliquaries: Housing the Mementos of Our Day
July 2007 at the Northern Arizona
University Art Museum in Flagstaff, Arizona
curated by Jason Langan
Included are traditional reliquaries and contemporary ones by Barton Lidice Benes (NY), Steve Brudniak (TX), Daniel Essig Ashville (NC), Al Farrow (CA), John Hodge Covington (LA), and Becky I. McDonah (AZ).
Open Secret: Undisclosed Works by Alex Bigney, Kent Wing, and Frank McEntire
Central Utah Cultural Center
Ephraim, Utah
May 26-June 28, 2007.
Artist's Grantee Showcase Exhibition
Rio Gallery, Rio Grande Depot Utah Arts Council January-February 2007 "Spontaneous Memorial 2007"
Salt Lake City, Utah
82rd Annual Spring Salon
Springville Museum of Art April-July 2006 Springville, Utah
21st Annual Religious and Spiritual Art of Utah
Springville Museum of Art October-December 2006 Springville, Utah
Small Works
Terra Nova Gallery
November-December 2006
Provo, Utah
Spontaneous Memorial and Other Works
The Gallery at Library Square
Downtown Salt Lake City Public Library
Solo Exhibit
August 19 – September 30, 2006
Salt Lake City, Utah
Constructing Self: Thirty Self Portraits
May 13 through June 25, 2006
The Gallery at Library Square
Downtown Salt Lake City Public Library
Small Acts of Devotion
David Ericson Fine Art Gallery
Solo Exhibit
October 14 – November 15, 2005
Salt Lake City, Utah
Small Acts of Devotion Opening Reception
October 21, 2005
7:30 pm – Interactive performances by Alex Caldiero (sonosopher), Harold Carr (bassist), and Flavia Cervino-Wood (violinist).
Spontaneous Memorial
Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
Partial Installation
September 11, 2005
In Conjunction With The National Association of State Arts Agencies [NASAA] Annual Conference In Boise, Idaho
Regions of the Mind
UVSC Woodbury Gallery
September 1-30, 2005
Hidden Text
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum
Solo Exhibit
December – March 2005
Logan, Utah
Portraits
Utah Valley State College
Exhibit with: Hyunmee Lee
September 2004
Orem, Utah
After the Tree Had Fallen
Art Access Gallery
Exhibit with: Alex Caldiero
September 2003
Salt Lake City, Utah
Sight Unseen
Cordell Taylow Gallery (now Plus Gallery)
Exhibit with: Nick Silici
June – July 2003
Denver, Colorado
What Cannot Be Spoken
Kimball Art Center
Exhibit with: Alex Bigney
February – March 2003
Park City, Utah
– Exhibition History –
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