Hannah Woodroofe at the Star Gallery

 Starting Friday,  September 5th,  at  8pm, the recent work of Hannah Woodroofe will be on display at the Star Gallery, Oakland Center for the Arts, downtown Youngstown, Ohio, in conjunction with the theater performance "Doubt".

 Woodroofe's collage's have a stark, post industrial, perhaps even apocalyptic tone. Drawing from sources such as antique Sears Roebuck catalogs and family snapshots,they strongly reflect American history, culture and the Great Dream not quite realized.  The unrelenting power of nature features prominently in her work as well, with images of mutated plants and trees growing up through floor boards of her melancholy, dreamlike houses.

 Woodroofe's work has shown in galleries in New York City, Chicago, London, and several traveling shows, including one aboard an Amtrak train. Many people I've spoken to say that this is perhaps one of the  strongest, most contemporary  and compelling shows  to be hosted at the Oakland for many years. 

 This show can be viewed during  "Doubt" theater performances from 8PM until 9PM, September 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, and 13.

 Woodroofe's work can be viewed online at: wow-wow-wow-wow.com

The Eagle in Mill Creek Park

In late July of this summer, while driving through Mill Creek Park,  I saw a mature Bald Eagle perched in the branches of a tall pine, high above the waters of Lake Cohasset.  I was able to get a few quick shots with my Nikon D-80 at a distance of about 200 yards. Later I cropped, enlarged and enhanced the photos. Unfortunately the pics are low quality because of these circumstances but are indeed authentic.

It was an amazing experience for me to witness an Eagle for only the second time in my life, and within the Youngstown city limits no less. To me this was a sign that bodes well for our city for many reasons. Perhaps the most notable is that our post industrial environment is getting much cleaner and our shrinking city is providing  additional habitat for these large, majestic birds.

 In my life, I tend to look at the symbolic and spiritual side of things. This creature represents freedom, strength and pride, 3 things that we as Youngstowners have struggled for years to achieve. I believe those virtues have now  come to our city on the wings of this mighty bird.

Jess Adkins

Showing at the Star Gallery, Oakland Center for the Arts, is an impressive body of sculpture by the artist Jess Adkins. This ambitious show features 21 carved wooden figures displayed on the ends of steel rods. Each expressively carved figure is approximately 12 inches tall and garishly painted. The rods are over 5 feet tall, which permits the viewer to look at each figure squarely in the eye.

In his statement, Adkins says that each figure is based on people from his Youngstown neighborhood where he lived during his childhood. He says that these figures are not necessarily true, physical renderings of these people, but rather vivid impressions distilled from distant, childhood memories. But as we can all attest, our memories from our childhood are often the strongest and still haunt us through our dreams and reveries.

I found this work to be very strong and compelling. It is well thought out and constructed, not only on an expressive level, but on a fundamental design level. Adkins very economically and esthetically combines the carved wooden figures with the welded steel rods and bases.

Adkins also states that his carving skills reach back into his Appalachian roots. With the high number of Appalachian Whites (a Federally designated minority) who live in Youngstown, it is no surprise (and is certainly a pleasure) to find this cultural expression arising in our city. Despite this obvious cultural connection, Adkins work strongly reminds me of the African tradition of wood carving, specifically the Colonial Dream-Spirit figures carved by the Baule people of West Africa. The Baule develop close relationships with the mystical people that inhabit their dreams and they honor them by carving likenesses of them from wood. In recent times these carvings have taken on the accouterments of contemporay society, such as uniforms or anything that would indicate the personalities and professions of the "Dream People". They can be policemen, firemen, doctors, soldiers, housewives etc., and each is carved in a close physical likeness.

Adkins carving are very much like this, the images having been molded by his deep, subconscious, childhood memories. Each carving bears a strong resemblance to the original person and each carry the accouterments of their lives, such as Bocce balls, six packs of beer and pans of fresh baked cookies.

This show can be viewed during the performance hours of The Full Monty which s now showing at the Oakland, Friday , Saturday and Sunday starting at 8PM.

Mei-Tai: an Exhibition of Ceramics

From March 31st until April 27th, 2008, Bliss Hall Gallery at YSU will be hosting a show of small scale ceramics. The work was created by YSU students and in 2007 was sent to the National Taiwan University of Art, Department of Craft and Design, in Biancou, to be displayed with the work of students from that university. The work is now back with the additional work of the Taiwanese students.

The Chairperson of the show, Po-Hsien Lin, describes the criteria for the show in the catalog stating: "The exhibition features small scale work that would fit within the dimensions of a shoe box. Convenience for transport was one of the important considerations. Additionally we encouraged our students to express the delicacy of ceramic creations using a limited quantity of material".

It is a privilege to see work from the Orient where ceramic art and technology reached the highest level in world history. It has also been great to see the talents demonstrated by YSU students who have access to one of the finest ceramic studios in America, namely the YSU Ceramics Department. Michael Moseley, Head of this department, deserves an immense amount of credit for his vision and efforts with the students.

Overall the show tends toward sublime beauty, featuring traditional work that is skillfully built and glazed. For me, the most aesthetically pleasing piece is by Johanna George entitled "Canopic Jar for Preserved Bluetooth". This a finely crafted Earthenware vessel is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian Funerary pottery. It is delicately glazed and has the appearance of fine porcelain. I enjoy the concept of our modern technology placed in the context of ancient artifact. Also I understand that Miss George made the wonderful strawberry shortcake that was served at the opening last night. Whether her art is baked in kiln or oven, she is definitely of substantial talent.

There is however, and artist who takes and extreme divergence from the traditional ceramic approaches presented in this show. My favorite work and obviously the most intellectually and spiritually challenging piece is by Jess Adkins. Entitled "Saint (insustainable) George W. Bush with Service and Sacrifice Rosary". An Earthenware figure of George Bush, painted in acrylic, wrapped at the waist with and American flag, bottle of oil in one hand and pistol in the other, looms over a child's toy battlefield surrounded by toy "army men" rendered in porcelain. A handmade Rosary, painted in "camouflage" style, encircles this diorama.

Congratulations to Brian Misavage, Curator of this show and YSU

student, for his successes. His emissary work on International levels has done Youngstown and all of us a tremendous amount of good.

Why I love Art Youngstown

When I first encountered Art Youngstown, I had my doubts. They were taking on a huge challenge with little money and human resources. While working with them however, I found a group of people with a level of dedication that rivaled the former Dutton Alley Art Community. When preparing a show, people of Art Youngstown work long hours, unpaid, sometimes under extreme conditions. Almost all the founding members have full time jobs and some have small children in their care. There were times some were very ill and after a hard day of work wanted nothing more than to be home in bed. Yet they came down to the galleries to work. When I say work I mean mopping large areas of floor, washing walls, basic carpentry work, painting large areas of walls, tedious computer work, dealing with the public and fund raising, to name just a small number of chores. These are jobs for which museum workers at the Butler and McDonough are highly paid.

And the efforts of Art Youngstown have borne fruit. So many unrecognised artists who cold not break into the local art venues were given the opportunity to show their work and build their resumes. Many of these artists made dramatic sales which they ploughed back into their art businesses.

The Inaugural Exhibition brought nearly one thousand people downtown on opening night. These people then visited the clubs and the restaurants after the opening. Art Youngstown has been creating a great deal of positive energy and good will amongst the Youngstown residents as well.

What was most impressive to me was the DEMAND by the public for original art. I saw a few incidents that almost amounted to conflict between art buyers over pieces for sale at the first Art Youngstown event. Those naysayers who constantly chant "You Can't Make Money Selling Art In Youngstown" really need to get out more and experience the reality of the art business in this city.

Art Youngstown is doing things right as well. On staff they have a Certified Public Accountant who handles the finances and a Lawyer who handles the contracts and legal matters. Two of the younger staff members are very skilled in promotion and Internet Technologies.

Artists, business owners and public, please respect and support At Youngstown. They have made the downtown a better place and you are directly benefiting from their presence.

Art Youngstown-Great Room Show

Dylan Weaver, my favorite Youngstown Artist.

Timmy, you need to wear that suit out more often!

I had no idea you could play, Mr. Terlecki. A True Renaissance Man.

Rock on Art Youngstown! The large, live potted palms were a very nice touch. The Music was great as were the professional ballroom dance demonstrations. The event was like one of those wonderful dreams but I didn't wake up. When it was all over I stepped outside into the misty night. The city was full of night life with people hanging on the corners outside the restaurants and clubs and the traffic pouring from the convocation center. This is how it's suppose to be. We are a REAL CITY.

James Pernotto at Trumbull Art Gallery

The Trumbull Art Gallery will host a show of recent work by the artist James Pernotto beginning Sunday, March 2nd at 2pm. So much has been said about Jim, his career and his place in our community that I risk redundancy in this blog.
Of course you can expect to see high quality work that has been tried in the fires of time and the unforgiving , sometimes brutal ,art world. You will also meet a man of extreme dedication to his work and to the Mahoning Valley.
Jim lived in worked in Youngstown during a time when many were fleeing the city for greener pastures, and when he did eventually work for a time in Manhattan as the director of Pacifico Fine Art Gallery, he made sure his peers from Ytown found art connections in his new home. Even while in NYC he still found time to have his hand in Youngstown art concerns.
I'd like to thank Jim for the time and effort he has put into helping me with my art career over the years. When I arrived at the YSU Art Department from the deep country side of Central Ohio, I was a young, brash redneck boy with a lot of energy and not a lot of brains. Jim saw my talent, encouraged me in his printing classes, and was one of the very few people I knew that took a real concern for my future as an artist. Throughout the years he has given me valuable and hard to come by art business advice and even today, when my stubborn redneckedness rears its ugly head, he has enough patience and vision to point me in the right direction.
We are very lucky to have such a high caliber human being as Jim living and working in our city and I urge all my dear readers to make it to the opening on Sunday. I suspect you will have a great time, not only for the promised "Chocolate Decadence" to be served but because Jim does indeed know how to host and art opening.