Spoletoblog

Off-the-beaten-path tip

From an e-mail:

Sleeper of Spoleto arts is certainly Jeff Foster's knock-out impressionist reproductions created with minute beads and even smaller cross-stitch grid, which from a distance could be mistaken for oils. On view now at the WadsworthDock Street Theatre's upper story Wadsworth room. More hidden talents from the retired French professor at C of C, who as DST manager and ushers' guru has so brilliantly held things together for Spoleto chamber since its inception. -- NSA, a fan.  

 

Halsey Gallery/Simons Center

The Halsey Gallery at the Simons Center for the Arts (Coming and George) is always an artistic wildcard. This go-round it offers "Alive Inside: The Lure and Lore of the Sideshow," curated by Mark Sloan (apparently it's spread all over town, so I've got some other venues to check). The downstairs room offers history, for the most part; upstairs you get the modern stuff, art inspired by the sideshow.

As a David Boatwright fan (remember his stuff from the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in 2004?), it was a pretty safe bet that I was going to enjoy this one, and I did... in a vague, not particularly moved way.

A fun concept, yes -- but something I'd like to keep around and look at more than once? Probably not.

Hamed Mahmoodi at City Gallery

Yesterday's visit to the Gibbes left me pondering that whole "representational v. non-representational" dust-up from the early 20th century and how it was still the subject of debate when I was a kid. It was nice to look back on it with the benefit of time.

Today's visit to the Hamed Mahmoodi exhibit at the City Gallery beside the Dock Street Theatre (which is located, of course, on Church Street) was colored by that line of thought (which, though interesting, is a great way to end a conversation at your favorite bar). The combination left me with a distinct realization: Though old art is more famous and snooty, I really like the new stuff so much better.

Exhibits at the Gibbes

There's a remarkable juxtaposition at The Gibbes these days, and if it wasn't intentional, it should have been: Two exhibits, one an exhaustive look at an early 20th century second-tier American master, the other a smattering of abstract canvases loosely themed around "the South."

Both "Beyond Representation" and "The Art and Life of Alson Skinner Clark" opened last month at the museum on Meeting (the Clark exhibit opened exactly a week ago); both start on the second floor. And that's about all they have in common.

Either would be a decent exhibit on its own, but placed side-by-side, the two force observers to reconsider the most important artistic debates of the previous century. Visual arts get short shrift at Spoleto, but maybe the festival should take more of a cue from the Gibbes and make its visual component a more meaningful part of its identity.

Hey, where's the cool stuff?

Most locals won't go to a festival performance, but in previous years even the most disconnected resident could get a taste of the Spoleto/Piccolo experience thanks to their often-panned "site-specific art"  installations... stuff that would go up around town and alternately delight and/or freak-out spectators.

Last year we had rice growing in pans at Memminger Elementary... people were all excited about it, but I never understood why... we had a sod maze at Waterfront Park ... and a very strange thing at Marion Square in which one participated in a childlike mythical quest, moving from plywood installation to plywood installation, eventually being rewarded with a glimpse of something attached to a parking garage, viewed through a hole in a piece of wood.

And yes, it was strange. But here's a clue: We like strange.

Found art...

Joan Perry sent this one in with this comment:

Okay, so it's not a people shot
but from my collection of 
Charleston's sidewalk messages! 
This one is on Vanderhorst St. 

Thanks Joan, and in the spirit of link-love, click here to go to her EXCELLENT photo journal/blog. Be sure to note the funny shot of a hung-over Marion Square puppet...

By the way, if you're new to the idea of "found art," we recommend "Found Magazine."

Marion Square, first Saturday

Spoleto may be the engine that drives the festival season, but Piccolo is its heartbeat. You can feel it at Marion Square, particularly on the first weekend. That's when the moms and dads and kids are out in full force, when there's music and dance and all that energy...

In our family, we've been taking the kids out to Piccolo at Marion Square for years. They complain about the heat, the traffic, the crowds. We buy them drinks. At some point, one of us says "Fine, if all you want to do is complain, you just sit there and we'll go enjoy this without you." And then they say "Oh, we're just kidding."

Meanwhile, back at the Gibbes...

Kelly Linton, who does marketing over at the Gibbes Museum, digs the blog: "This is great - what fabulous coverage of the festival."

She points out that there's already festival-related stuff at the museum ("Beyond Representation: Abstract Art in the South"), and has another exhibit, "An American Impressionist:The Art and Life of Alson Skinner Clark," ready to open on Friday.

To see examples from the exhibitions, click here to see the Visual Arts photo album.

 

2005 festival poster

This year's first star?
In case you missed it, here's Dottie Ashley's April 20th piece, "05 Poster captures lively essence of Spoleto."

Dottie wrote:

The zest for life that permeates Charleston during Spoleto Festival USA served as inspiration for the 2005 Spoleto poster, "Porch, Party, Charleston," to be unveiled today at the Gibbes Museum of Art.

Using vibrant color and a whimsical style, internationally known artist Red Grooms depicts a Charleston-single house piazza overflowing with artists, socialites and festival-goers enjoying a late-night party.

The original artwork is a gouache (opaque watercolor) on 26-by-38-inch paper. It is part of the Gibbes Museum's permanent collection and is provided to Spoleto courtesy of the artist and the museum. During the festival, the original will be on view on the first floor of the museum... (Read the full story)

We've been hearing good comments about the 2005 poster ever since it came out, and overheard people on King Street admiring it this past weekend. A quick glance at some of Grooms' other work is here.