If happiness is found in the present, then photographers must be the most optimistic people on earth. Their focus, literally and figuratively, is on the moment. Results of that camera click can be more or less manipulated, or simply serendipity, but the moment is memorialized. Photography as a collectible art form is becoming more and more popular. Auction prices have risen consistently, and more galleries are stocking photography as part of their regular inventory. Whether the image records historic happenings, fun and frivolity, or artistic abstraction, we all can identify with this medium.

Art & Antiques' annual photography contest is a popular forum for both amateurs and professionals. This year's winning images (page 51) were not the result of expensive equipment and fancy machinations. The humble pinhole camera created half of the winners! Simplicity ruled the day, with one entrant stating as her technique: "Nothing beyond focusing and shooting."

Other February issue delights include a fascinating look at some contemporary artists who explore the portrait in unique ways (page 62). Art critic Edward M. Gomez chooses six artists to make his points. From the almost confrontational full-faced views of Richard Piloco to the psychological studies of Teun Hocks, these people portraits are impossible to ignore.

Pet portraits appear also (page 86). Then & Now presents both antique and contemporary versions of this muchloved genre.

Serious art collectors don't have to have a serious setting for their art. Debbie and Mitchell Rechler have a delightfully comfortable home for their surprising mix of the latest in art with the most sedate of antiques. Skillful interior designer Irwin Weiner devised a Love the Moment formal, traditional interior with minimalist furnishings to showcase the fine quality of both art and antiques. This creative team brings a new respect to the oftused and misused term "eclectic."

The reflective image on this page is by professional photographer John Duckworth, one of his "Landscape Abstracts" series. The judges were enamored of his entry in our photo contest, but the winners edged him out in the final minutes of deliberation. His technique is interesting: He "paints" with his camera, moving it as he would a paintbrush. He's also a painter, by the way. The result, as he describes it, "straddles Realism, Abstraction and Impressionism, and reflects an appreciation of the natural beauty of the landscape, cityscapes and human interaction within these environments." His fusion of camera, computer and paintbrush achieves his intent, which, he says, "is to blur the lines between photography and painting."

One of the recommendations that BusinessWeek Online journalist Thane Peterson cites in a recent article on "The Art of Buying Art" is to buy photography. Though his tip is based on value considerations, you can never miss if you buy for love, not money.

EDITOR'S NOTES
"Folly Beach 19509, early spring,"
by John Duckworth, was an almostwinner
in our annual photography
contest and a personal favorite.

Barbara Tapp
Editor Art & Antiques

 

The CSO's first film competition marks a win for the symphony as much as the filmmakers
By Leslie McKellar

Wes Anderson supposedly compiled the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums long before he shot the movie. Perhaps that's where the Charleston Symphony Orchestra got its latest outreach idea.

This summer the CSO challenged local filmmakers to create short, silent movies based completely on a piece of music from their repertoire (think baroque, not Beatles), which the orchestra would play live during the film's public premiere. The four big-screen debuts last week at the Gaillard Exhibition Hall found a diverse, sizeable, enthusiastic crowd who seemed to enjoy the casual, slightly campy atmosphere -- a bar kept busy all evening and members of the Theatre 99 family mock-interviewed filmmakers and judges as they arrived in limos at a red carpet prior to the screenings.

New resident conductor Scott Terrell steered the casually-dressed orchestra through the four films, which were projected onto the City Paper's giant screen. The movies were as diverse as the moviegoers: the first, from Brad Jayne, set to Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess, simply featured a little boy lying in the grass, staring up at the clouds as a thunderstorm came and went. Manon Husman's European Vacation was a less-painful version of the classic post-vacation video show, also set to Pavane. Steve Lepre and Mark McKinney paid tribute to the old Cooper River bridges and the new Ravenel Bridge with a montage of sometimes stunning photographs of both from local photographer Jack Alterman, set to Corelli's Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No.11.

Due to a technical glitch midway through, the audience saw the winning film -- Kevin Harrison and John Duckworth's The Untuning of the Skies -- one and a half times. No one seemed to mind. Duckworth describes the film, which was set to local composer Richard Moryl's contemporary work of the same name, as an "abstract painting made with a video camera."

The pair acknowledge being influenced by Godfrey Reggio, a monk turned filmmaker who directed the classic film Koyaanisqatsi in 1983, with a memorable score by composer Philip Glass.

"I saw Koyaanisqatsi when I was 18, and it has stayed with me until this day," says Harrison, who edited the film using footage that both men shot, "weaving together surreal images to create a subtle narrative."

According to Duckworth, the moody, multi-layered film is a visual discussion -- like Koyaanisqatsi -- on modern communications and consumerism. One of its many inspirations is the "life-changing experience of fatherhood," Duckworth says, something both directors have experienced recently.

Though Untuning's directors took home the CSO's version of an Oscar -- a pair of gussied-up bowling pins -- the real kudos, says Duckworth, go to the CSO and personnel manager Tony Pierce for taking a chance like this when many orchestras across the country are in the red.

"I'm pleased that so many people showed up for an inaugural event like this; it's really a feather in his cap," Duckworth says of Pierce. Even so, he says, "In my mind, the potential for success was much greater than it was for failure."

The Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) wants to expand its reach. Into the movies. On Wednesday, the orchestra will perform for its first Symphonic Film Contest to be held at 8:30 p.m. at the Gaillard Exhibition Hall.

Participating filmmakers chose from a selection of five widely divergent symphonic works, each averaging 5-15 minutes in length and ranging from the baroque to avant-garde, as the inspiration for an original silent film.

The four finalists whose work will be screened include Brad Jayne ("Untitled"), who employed the music of Ravel; Manon Husman ("European Vacation"), who also selected Ravel; Steve Lepre ("Bridges"), whose film was inspired by Corelli; and Kevin Harrison and John Duckworth ("The Untuning of the Skies"), informed by Moryl's composition of the same name.
The CSO will accompany each screening.

Contestants submitted their final works in September. Judging of the films was conducted by a panel composed of stage and screen actor-director Rodney Rogers, co-founder of Pure Theatre; Patrick Sharbaugh, arts and entertainment editor of the City Paper; Greg Tavares of the Have Nots! improv company; Scott Terrell, resident conductor of the CSO, and Kenny Z from the "Storm and Kenny Show" on 96 WAVE. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults.

 

Every art show has a mood, an atmosphere that hits you as soon as you walk into the gallery. Robert Lange Studios' latest group show,Yellow Versus Blue, is full of sunshine and optimism. Even the darkest, bluest clouds in these paintings have silver linings. With 20 artists appealing to a wide range of tastes, the exhibition provides an illuminating look at our local art market.

Some of the artists are talented up-and-comers from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Others are hard-working veterans, putting in 15-hour days in their studios. Whatever the breadth of their experience, all the participants have produced high-quality material, steadily inspiring each other to create more detailed, refined pieces. As gallery owner Robert Lange puts it, no matter what theme he gives them, they always deliver.

This year's topic is broad but simple. The artists have been asked to make two same-sized pieces, one with a yellow color scheme and another that's predominantly blue. Some of the resulting references are subtle, as in John Duckworth's photographs. He emphasizes the dark walls of a building in "Rise" and the yellowness of artificial lights in "Chicago Morning." They're both out-of-focus urban scenes, best viewed from a distance. They're the latest in a lengthy series of indistinct shots, part abstract vision, part vacationer's mistake. Duckworth uses size (a 20" x 30" canvas) and splashes of light to find extraordinary beauty in his ordinary surroundings, all seen through a myopic haze.

John Westmark also takes an understated route with his illustrative "Blue Anti-Belle" and "Yellow Anti-Belle." He uses acrylic and paper sewing patterns on linen to build up towering, spiraling feminine shapes. His colors are pale, accentuated by darker backgrounds of blue and red respectively. Strips of paper flow like moving limbs, and the blend of paint and patterns is seamless.

Lange is expert at making his oil paintings seem to flow from one side of the canvas to the other. He demonstrates this in "Satin Swell," a smooth study in yellow with a wee goldfish suspended from the upper left hand side.

Like Lange, Charles Williams is confident about his work. His "Shades of Silence" marshscapes are hyper-realistic, but he reminds us that they are oil paintings by allowing his paint to dribble off the lower end of the canvas. A cocky comment on his skill or an acknowledgement of our polluted waterways? It's up to the viewer to decide.

Unlike Howard, none of this show's participants overreach. They stick to what they do best. The prolific Fred Jamar provides more evocative street scenes for "Yellow King" and "Blue Queen," both triptychs. Adam Hall has created two moody oil paintings, "Rwanda Skies I & II," set in a gallery corner like storm-browed children. Michael Brown's "Squidly" and "Sea Monkey" feature alien octopi living in lava lamps, surrounded by psychedelic amoeba. Liquid glass is an extremely difficult artform to master, but Brown has done it.

Surprisingly, nothing seems out of place amidst the trippy acrylics, solid oils, fabric collages and abstract images on display. The regulated color scheme helps. Even more surprisingly, the most traditional paintings are also the most memorable: Kerry Brooks' cinematic close-ups, Amy Lind's portraits, and Joshua Flint's Grand Central Station scenes are full of life and feeling.

Brimming with vigor and confidence, this show has deservedly become RLS' most popular group show so far. A sequel is in the planning stages. Is anyone up for Brown Versus Pink?

Yellow Versus Blue
On view through April 30
Robert Lange Studios
151 East Bay St.
(843) 805-8052
www.robertlangestudios.com <http://www.robertlangestudios.com/>

 

Musician, artist combine talents on multimedia 'Art Moves Jazz'
AUTHOR: JACK MCCRAY

The first thing Quentin Baxter did after coming off the bandstand was to ask John Duckworth, "Did you hear any landscape abstracts in there?"

It was April 21 and the occasion was Baxter's regular Thursday night gig at Coast Bar & Grill. His band's music had been very intense that night, producing pure, palpable energy that charged the atmosphere. He, like everyone else in the place, was feeling good. The music had poured out of the band, just like the sweat dripping from Baxter's forehead when he made his way through the crowd of well-wishers to tease Duckworth.

Baxter and Duckworth have been working for months on their much- anticipated multimedia event, "Art Moves Jazz," set to hit the stage Saturday at the Charleston Music Hall. This show has the same band interpreting images by Duckworth, a painter, graphic artist and photographer.
In fact, Duckworth has produced an original film for the show that features his digital photographic series, "Landscape Abstracts."

It was that body of work Baxter was referring to when he queried Duckworth at Coast.
The question was fitting, too. Baxter, bass fiddler Delbert Felix and tenor saxophonist Kebbi Williams played way outside the box, hinting at what is to come Saturday. While they played jazz standards, such as Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and "C-Jam Blues," the individual and collective improvisations abstracted the melodies, harmonies and rhythms into something completely unrecognizable but irresistible.

The music set to Duckworth's film is all composed by Baxter, except for some real-time improvisations he left room for in the program.

Baxter is gaining fame around the world for his music. He has played most of the major cities in the United States and has performed in Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.He is a creative force in bands fronted by pianists Monty Alexander and Takana Miyamoto and emerging jazz diva Rene Marie.

Duckworth's paintings and photographs have been sold to collections in New York, Charlotte, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Canada. Baxter said last week of Duckworth's career, "He's only at the beginning of being as good as he's going to be."

The images in the "Landscape Abstracts" series are based on Duckworth's impressions of the four seasons as seen in the Lowcountry. Baxter's accompaniment will have four movements, one for each season.

Duckworth is inspired by bicycle sojourns along the coast, seeking solitude, communing with the natural world. He said he calms and centers himself, his vision eliminating all but the essential matter of color and light. This is the same thing he has done to the images in the series. He shoots only digital now, a medium that lets him gradually alter the image captured by the camera.

He said, "I started taking design courses at (Trident) Tech to learn the programs. I got a digital camera and started playing around with it. Digital programs freed me up tremendously, much more than traditional photography. I've put film down completely. You get instant feedback from the digital camera."

Duckworth said the landscapes in his pictures are distilled down to their essence, hanging on to realism just before it falls apart.

"Jazz tends to live in those areas as well, the place in time that exists just before things fall apart," he said. "You never really know where the limits are, so sometimes you go past the limits, but then you pull back. I pull back just enough with this stuff so you can still see the landscape."

The stigma some attach to manipulating images in art means nothing to Duckworth. The need to express what an idea means to him outweighs any reluctance to change things. Like a jazz musician, he makes the subject matter his own.

Baxter's trio uses the same ebb and flow around the limits of recognizable melodies. Like Duckworth with his images, Baxter uses his music to express to others his feelings based on memories. He well remembers the abstracts series.

He said he was leaving a meeting at FIG restaurant in September and noticed the art on the walls now included images from Duckworth's series. "I said to myself, 'This is really cool,' " Baxter said. "Duck's stuff sneaked up on me. I looked closely and realized it wasn't a painting. So, I called him up and asked what was up with the photo. The more I saw the pieces, the more I knew I had to write some music. I asked him if he would be interested in doing this (Art Moves Jazz); he said yes. I would stand there and look at the pieces a long time. From then on, when I closed my eyes, the images would pop into my mind."

The pair, both in their 30s, has known each other a long time. They both graduated from the College of Charleston's School of the Arts, neighbors in the Albert Simons Center for the Arts. "I was on the first floor and he was on the third floor," Duckworth said. Michael Tyzack, chairman of the studio art department at College of Charleston, is floored by the talents of Duckworth and Baxter. "Duckworth was a painting student of mine," he said. "He was incredibly versatile. That's his strong suit. He has a very broad reach."

Tyzack is a working jazz musician as well as a professional abstract expressionist painter.

What he likes about Baxter is that he's a very contemporary player who's not only grounded in the masters that came before him, he has incorporated the traits of the legends -- Warren "Baby" Dodds, "Big" Sid Catlett, Max Roach, Jeff "Tain" Watts, et al. -- into his own sound.

This trio is the most experimental group Baxter is playing with right now, and they're all pumped for Art Moves Jazz. Baxter said of this ensemble, "I have no creative inhibitions whatsoever. Because the vision is always there with them, I have the ability as a practitioner to achieve the ideas I want to express. There's no fear. ... All three of us are natural musicians. Delbert dances on his ax, he's so in tune to what he and the rest of us are playing.

"Then there's the spirit that we all play in. The spirit is about playing with one another, listening to one another. We all respond. There are no snap judgments. Everybody just responds."

There's a growing buzz around about the show. Both artists have wide networks, and a lot of activity has been unleashed toward the goal of bringing this event to the stage. Friends, family and colleagues have pitched in with help administering the event, marketing, supplying materials, and giving moral support, a particularly key ingredient in planning something as avant-garde as Art Moves Jazz.

Prints of Duckworth's pictures and recordings of Baxter's music will be available for sale. Portions of proceeds from prints will go to benefit the Gibbes Museum of Art and those from recordings to the Charleston Jazz Initiative.

 

Catch world-renowned local jazz drummer Quentin Baxter (pictured) and local artist John Duckworth as the two team up to create a multimedia celebration, featuring live jazz, an original film and an atmosphere where art moves jazz and vice versa.

A jazz trio will play four original compositions by Baxter as an oversized screen displays an original film by Duckworth featuring his "Landscape Abstracts" series.

The result is a musical and sensory journey through the four seasons of Lowcountry landscapes.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of Duckworth's "Landscape Abstracts" will benefit the Gibbes Museum of Art, and a share of the sales from Baxter's "Art Moves Jazz" CD will benefit The Charleston Jazz Initiative.

The event takes place Saturday at The Charleston Music Hall. The performance will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $17.50 and are available at the door, online at www.artmovesjazz.com or www.etix.com.

 

The Charleston Jazz Initiative and the Gibbes Museum of Art partner together to bring you "Art Moves Jazz: A Sensory Journey Original Artwork & Jazz Interconnect." Drummer Quentin Baxter and artist John Duckworth depict the four seasons in the Lowcountry with live jazz and an original film featuring Duckworth's artwork series, "Landscape Abstracts." Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $17.50. For more information, visit www.artmovesjazz.com.

Imagine seeing what a jazz composition would look like if it had physical form - and what artwork might sound like.

This synergy is what world-renowned jazz drummer Quentin Baxter and acclaimed artist John Duckworth aim to create with their upcoming show ART MOVES JAZZ.

Set to take place at the Charleston Music Hall on May 7th, 2005 the celebration will depict the four seasons in the Lowcountry - with live jazz composed specifically for the event by Baxter and an original film featuring Duckworth's artwork series, "Landscape Abstracts."

"We're going to take people on a sensory journey..." says Duckworth. "Our aim is elevate our individual art forms through collaboration - to morph jazz and art into a truly unique performance."

A jazz trio, featuring Quentin Baxter on Drums; St. Helena, South Carolina's Delbert Felix on Stand-Up Bass; and Atlanta, Georgia's Kebbi Williams on Tenor Saxophone, will play four original compositions (one for each season; with some improvisation) in the foreground, as an oversized screen displays an original film by John Duckworth, featuring his "Landscape Abstracts" series, behind the band.

With this series, and his film, Duckworth focuses on the reduction of photographic images to the bare essentials - eliminating the details and leaving only the essence of the scene. The resulting images blur the lines between photography and painting. The images are abstract, but the reference to the landscape, the changing of the seasons and the subtle shifts in color and light is readily apparent. And according to Baxter, the music composition incorporates these elements - and highlights the emotional essence of Duckworth's landscape abstracts.

"It was a wild experience to depict each other's work through our own art form," says Baxter. "I can't wait to share the finished product with an audience."

In an effort to celebrate both the visual arts and the musical components of the event, ART MOVES JAZZ has partnered with the Gibbes Museum of Art and The Charleston Jazz Initiative. A portion of the proceeds from sales of Duckworth's Landscape Abstracts will benefit the Gibbes Museum of Art, and share of the sales from Baxter's ART MOVES JAZZ CDs will benefit The Charleston Jazz Initiative.

ART MOVES JAZZ will take place on Saturday, May 7th at The Charleston Music Hall. Doors will open at 6:30pm, with the performance set to commence at 7:30pm. Tickets are $17.50 - and are available at the door, online at www.artmovesjazz.com, at area Millennium Music stores, and through ETIX - (800) 514-3849 or www.etix.com. For more information, please visit: www.artmovesjazz.com

Charleston artist John Duckworth's latest series, "Landscape Abstracts," are Abstract impressionist renderings of the Lowcountry landscape, blending his passion for painting, photography and nature. These limited edition prints are available on paper and canvas - in series or as standalone works of artwork. Over the past five years, Duckworth's paintings and photographs have been sold to collectors in New York, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, Charleston, and Canada.

Imagine seeing what a jazz composition would look like if it had physical form - and what artwork might sound like... This synergy is what world-renowned jazz drummer Quentin Baxter and acclaimed artist John Duckworth aim to create with their upcoming show ART MOVES JAZZ. Set to take place at the Charleston Music Hall on May 7th, 2005 the celebration will depict the four seasons in the Lowcountry - with live jazz composed specifically for the event by Baxter and an original film featuring Duckworth's artwork series, "Landscape Abstracts."

"We're going to take people on a sensory journey..." says Duckworth. "Our aim is elevate our individual art forms through collaboration - to morph jazz and art into a truly unique performance."

A jazz trio, featuring Quentin Baxter on Drums; St. Helena, South Carolina's Delbert Felix on Stand-Up Bass; and Atlanta, Georgia's Kebbi Williams on Tenor Saxophone, will play four original compositions (one for each season; with some improvisation) in the foreground, as an oversized screen displays an original film by John Duckworth, featuring his "Landscape Abstracts" series, behind the band.

With this series, and his film, Duckworth focuses on the reduction of photographic images to the bare essentials - eliminating the details and leaving only the essence of the scene. The resulting images blur the lines between photography and painting. The images are abstract, but the reference to the landscape, the changing of the seasons and the subtle shifts in color and light is readily apparent. And according to Baxter, the music composition incorporates these elements - and highlights the emotional essence of Duckworth's landscape abstracts.

"It was a wild experience to depict each other's work through our own art form," says Baxter. "I can't wait to share the finished product with an audience."

In an effort to celebrate both the visual arts and the musical components of the event, ART MOVES JAZZ has partnered with the Gibbes Museum of Art and The Charleston Jazz Initiative. A portion of the proceeds from sales of Duckworth's Landscape Abstracts will benefit the Gibbes Museum of Art, and share of the sales from Baxter's ART MOVES JAZZ CDs will benefit The Charleston Jazz Initiative.

ART MOVES JAZZ will take place on Saturday, May 7th at The Charleston Music Hall. Doors will open at 6:30pm, with the performance set to commence at 7:30pm. Tickets are $17.50 - and are available at the door, online at www.artmovesjazz.com, at area Millennium Music stores, and through ETIX - (800) 514-3849 or www.etix.com. For more information, please visit: www.artmovesjazz.com

Charleston artist John Duckworth's latest series, "Landscape Abstracts," are Abstract impressionist renderings of the Lowcountry landscape, blending his passion for painting, photography and nature. These limited edition prints are available on paper and canvas - in series or as standalone works of artwork. Over the past five years, Duckworth's paintings and photographs have been sold to collectors in New York, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, Charleston, and Canada.

Internationally renowned drummer Quentin Baxter regularly plays venues across the United States, Japan, Australia, Europe and South America. His recent major label recordings include work on Telarc and MaxJazz with pianist Monty Alexander and vocalist Rene Marie, respectively. Baxter is an Assistant Professor of music at the College of Charleston.

The Charleston Music Hall is located at 37 John St, in the Wraggborough district of historic Charleston, SC. The original building was constructed between 1849-1853 as part of the South Carolina Railroad Complex, which was the largest railroad operation in the world at the time, and was the first passenger train terminal in the U.S. The current structure underwent an extensive restoration and renovation after it was purchased by the Bennett Hofford Company in the early 1990's. Today, the Gothic Revival building operates as a state-of-the-art music and performing arts theatre.

The Gibbes Museum of Art, located at 135 Meeting Street, is dedicated to the cultivation of arts and arts education in the greater Charleston metropolitan area. Featuring artists and images from the Colonial period through today, the Gibbes's permanent collection of over 10,000 paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs provides a dynamic history of the visual arts in the Lowcountry. From 1905 through 2005, the Gibbes Museum of Art has emphasized building connections - between art and life, between the past, present and future- through the visual arts.

The Charleston Jazz Initiative began in 2003 as a multi-year research effort of The Avery Institute. The initiative's mission is to research, document and interpret, and archive the African American jazz tradition in Charleston and the S.C. Lowcountry, and it's movement throughout the jazz world between the late 19th Century and today. The Charleston Jazz Initiative fulfills this mission by recording oral histories, collecting documentary material, presenting public programs and archiving its findings.

Author: CATHERINE BRENNAN HAGOOD

Robert Lange Studios Fine Art Gallery will present the "Small Works 2005" exhibit through April 30. In contrast to bigger being better, this exhibits parades the belief that better things come in smaller packages.

The "Small Works 2005" show is an assemblage of tiny works created by well-known artists from around town.

All of the artists chosen for the show are active fine art painters and photographers using a variety of styles, colors, mediums and subject matter. For this show, each artist submitted three to six pieces that represent their stylistic approaches to art, and their ability to paint on a small scale.

"The show itself is very collaborative, very Charleston. We wanted to bring together all different artists with contemporary to traditional styles. We needed a theme that would tie them all together; why not small," says Robert Lange, artist and gallery owner.

"This show is a testament to the true nature of Charleston, it may be the only city where, under one roof, 15 artists from different galleries can hang their work in an eclectic show. The camaraderie between artists and gallery owners is unlike anything that I have seen before," Lange says.

For the show, the gallery will display smaller works no larger than 16-by-20 inches priced from $200 to $2,000.

This lower price point allows collectors and art aficionados a chance to buy smaller, affordable pieces created by some of their favorite artists.

Participating artists include: Robert Lange, Allan Hall, John Duckworth, Jeffery Lange and Wade Lawrence of Robert Lange Studios, Mickey Williams of Mickey Williams Studio, Fred Jamar of Charles II, Gary Grier of The Wells Gallery, Harriet Zabusky of SOHO Myriad, Charles Ailstock of Artizom, as well as Michael Tyzack, Kara Hammond and many others.

Gallery hours at Robert Lange Studios Fine Art Gallery are Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information, call 805-8052.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Author: Nick Smith
Two new exhibits stand out in a busy week for galleries

Small Works
On view through April 30
Robert Lange Studios -151 East Bay St.-805-8052

The size of a canvas can have an effect all its own, as evinced by the Small Works show that opened last weekend at the new Robert Lange Studio. Lange opened the shotgun-style gallery back in December, and for this show he invited several of his favorite local artists to contribute some little gems. The sizes range from Michael Tyzack's 7-x-7-inch abstract "Skylark IV" to Wade Lawrence's ethereal 21-x-21-inch "Drayton Hall Fog," and all of the artists involved have enough savvy to keep their images simple.

"A small sketch or painting can have a few strokes and be just as beautiful as a larger piece that seems more distant," says Lange. "As a painter doing one of these works, you're excited the entire time. They're quick to create - they take one day to two instead of two months - so they stay fresh, live, full of energy. They capture the moment they were made, a breath of fresh air."

The show includes J.B. Boyd landscapes, graphite studies by Charles Ailstock, richly manipulated photographs of land and sea horizons from John Duckworth, and figurative oils by Gary Grier. His "In Key," a glimpse of a glinting sax and an expressive musician, sold even before the studio's opening reception had begun.

"We got nine more offers that night," says Lange, pointing out that he intended Small Works to have a large spectrum of price points, "from $200 photographs to $2,500 Mickey Williams landscapes."

Charleston's no stranger to small works of art, with innumerable oils of Rainbow Row and other picturesque landmarks around to tempt tourists. This means that Lange's guest contributors have had to work extra hard to make their tiny tableaux stand out.

If Val Kilmer had developed his painting skills in Top Secret!, the result might have been something like Duckworth's ethereally distorted landscapes. They capture the beauty of our surroundings, impossible to ignore even when we're rushing through life. Harriet Zabusky-Zand uses colors that help her tasteful abstracts stand out and grab the attention of viewers. Lange himself uses the small form to good effect with still lives of everyday objects; "The Misplaced Tea Bag" is one of the most successful, with the subject taped to a wall, dangling and lonely.

This show is a gamble for Lange, but judging by last Friday's reception, it's paid off. "It's out of the ordinary because it's a little bit more contemporary," he says. That contemporary feel is enhanced by the venue, with its hardwood floors and leather sofas.

"We're trying to bring some New York style to Charleston," Lange explains, "and maybe persuade some other galleries to be a little more social." If Small Works encourages them to try competitive new approaches to the work they sell and the way they engage their visitors, it's been well worth the effort.

FIG restaurant will host a tribute dinner for local farmers on Tuesday evening.

Several local farmers will be the guests of honor at the celebration, which will include a four-course meal featuring local produce, a wine flight, live music by jazz artist Gradui Lean, and a silent auction of the fall/winter series of "Landscape Abstracts" by Charleston artist John Duckworth.

The evening will begin with live music at 6:30 p.m. The live auction and dinner will commence shortly after.

The cost is $75 per person. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Slow Food Charleston. For tickets, call FIG at 805-5900. FIG is located at 232 Meeting St., downtown.

 

SPRING HARVEST DINNER: Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Slow Food Charleston is hosting a Spring Harvest Tribute Dinner celebrating local farmers and the Charleston landscape. The four-course dinner at FIG restaurant will highlight local produce, and the evening will include live jazz by Gradual Lean and a silent auction of the fall/ winter series of "Landscape Abstracts" by Charleston artist John Duckworth. (A portion of proceeds will benefit Slow Food Charleston.) Duckworth also will introduce pieces from his spring/ summer collection that will be on display at FIG. Dan and Karen Kennerty of Kennerty's Farms, Celeste and George Albers of The Green Grocer and Ted and Susan Chewning of Sweet Bay Acres will be on hand to talk about their work.

Despite its at first docile vibe, It was actually a violent scene. I was met by Max. A kid with two broken wrists. The bikers couldn't have done it. The casts on his arms were covered with the illegible scribble of high-school kids using fat permanent markers. Besides, the bikers looked pretty passive. But I've learned you never can tell. The guys were lying around on the asphalt next to what would likely add up to about $250,000 worth of chrome twin-Vs and custom uni-frame steel. They were lying there like the parking lot was a giant, black Serta. Good for the back, I suppose. All of a sudden, the bikers jumped to their feet as master of ceremonies Kevin Harrison showed up with his associate, John Duckworth. Duckworth looked no worse for the wear and tear. He handles stress like an earthquake bolt. Harrison looked like Frankenstein - head stitched up, arm in some sort of cast, blood staining the gauze. Could these docile bikers have beat him up for not paying? Protection isn't cheap, even for popular, wealthy, cutting-edge artists like these two. Evidently, pain wasn't going to shut him up. He had the Bullhorn. The bullhorn has always been a symbol for authority, especially in third-world revolutions I've never been involved with. Chaos begs organization, blood loss or not. Harrison pointed his maimed hand in no particular direction. He shouted through the horn at limo drivers, bikers, the driver of a child molester-style van with a large talking dragon strapped to the roof. And that's not the drugs talking. Groups of VIP's swilled liquor from flasks while hiding behind umbrellas and the brims of hats. The bikers revved the engines. It sounded like thunder, but that's cliche. Never forget, bikers are good at stealing girls. If I had a bike, be it a Vincent Black Shadow or a Hongdou four stroke, I'd steal girls, too. While Harrison organized, I came to the sudden realization that I was no match for these bikers. My on-call-supermodel girlfriend jumped on the back of a custom Roger Bourget and roared off to the show. How terribly emasculating, but I am a proficient stalker. Never one to be abandoned by my heart's affection, I jumped into a limo that I was told was bound for the show. I tried to act like I was invited. "Hagood, U.P.N., Unnamed Press Network" I muttered as a fellow with a digital camera took a shot. I tried to cover my face, but to no avail. "I'm being tailed by the CIA," said a dapper gentleman sitting in the very back of the limo. He was dressed in black, much like the late Johnny Cash, and I wondered if his walking cane hid some sort of dagger. "Dick Cheney put them on to me. Some art I produced, or something. CIA agents can only lie two times to a civilian about being an agent. Then it's name, rank and serial number." The couple sitting in the limo to my left didn't care about the CIA. They were making out like two high-school kids in a closet. Never mind. I was here to cover this art show. The CIA, tonsil-hockey and my missing, on-call-supermodel girlfriend would have to take a back seat. Focus. That was the name of the game.

The 13th Hour
Broad Street, downtown Charleston. We pulled up to the gallery. The protesters surrounded the limo. They rocked it back and forth. "It's Evil," screamed one woman with hairy-armpits with a small diamond piercing her nose. "Save yourself. The end is near," screamed some guy in a blue tuxedo jacket. The limo driver rolled down the window to our compartment. He turned to us and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry," he said. "This baby is bullet-proof. Black Armor, customized. Protection Level III-A. Complete with a global-satellite voice communication. They'll never get in." I've never been the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I knew the protesters getting into the car wasn't going to be the problem,. My concern was getting out of the rocking limo before the protesters flipped it. I pulled my small pencil sharpener from my pocket and sharpened a wooden no. 2 Sanford American. I could at least take an eye out before my lights went out. All of a sudden I'd wished I'd brought the blue "PRESS" flack jacket the Times had provided me for Iraq. I let the gentleman with the CIA problems go out first. He must have experience with this sort of thing. They felled him before he was two steps out the door. I jumped from the limo and cleared a snarling Great Dane puppy, stumbling towards the door of the gallery. "It's fine for you, but you have to know someone," said a women blocking the gallery door with her arm. She was wearing a European sports bra with a red handkerchief tied around her neck. I slid by her. The crowd inside was already getting thick. I could tell my press credentials weren't going to get me anywhere in this crowd. Is that Ice Cube? There's Debbie Harry, or is it? It was hard to tell who was who, and who, who was not. Suddenly, There was a rush to the door. I was crushed against the glass of the gallery, as those inside tried to get a gander at the action outside. The distinctive roar of the twin-V and the screaming of protesters rattled the windows of the gallery as a silver '68 Impala backed on to the curb. The protesters screamed, traffic was snarled for miles on Broad Street. I actually saw mayor Joe caught in traffic. Serves him right. The bikers parked and dismounted, spreading their arms and forming a human chain to keep the protesters from beating the night's featured artists. The artists covered their faces from the cameras. They stumbled along with the bikers, who pitched a short and very drunk groupie from the doorway. The artists were immediately swarmed by the VIPs attending the 13th Hour. The artwork was what the crowd came for, and that's what they got. "As I Remember it" there were "Rat Players," among those with "Identity Crisis." Anyone who thinks "I Am the Internet - No I really am" must be crazy. As, "Lady Luck" would have it "Time," was running out, so I headed over to The Blind Tiger. I needed a drink, and wanted a chance to check out the show's expatriates. Then, like darkening ash of the cigarette butts meeting their demise on the pavement of Broad Street, the show began to wind down. It was another coup of staged madness and mayhem. What is madness and mayhem if not real? Must be The 13th Hour.

Bates Hagood
UPN (Unnamed Press Network)

 

Author: Dottie Ashley

The work of contemporary artist John Duckworth will be on display at McCrady's Wine Bar, 155 East Bay St., through Oct. 21.

"The words of Joseph Campbell really inspired the work in this show," Duckworth says. "His (philosophy) is a constant reminder that: 'It's not the destination that counts, but the journey.'"

Having co-created "The Entropy Show" and "The Great Art Caper" at Piccolo Spoleto, Duckworth notes that this latest collection reflects both physical journeys depicting scenes discovered during bike rides throughout the Lowcountry, as well as intellectual journeys, which are explorations of color theory and image deconstruction.

The artist says viewers may notice that his artwork, characterized by his intense love of movement, color and a fascination with the "captured moment," changes noticeably depending upon the intensity of light surrounding each piece.

Duckworth studied at the University of California at Davis, with painter David Baze in San Diego and with ceramic artist Les Lawrence at Grossmont College. He earned his B.A. in studio art from the College of Charleston.

Having traveled the United States extensively, Duckworth says his work reflects his interest in other people's lives -- the diversity of personalities, appearance and geographical areas. He feels he also has been influenced by the writings of Hoyt Sherman and Gyorgy Kepes and by the work of artists Edward Hopper, Roy Lichtenstein, Chuck Close and James Rosenquist.

As well as working as an artist and photographer, Duckworth is working as a graphic designer with a local marketing firm.

Want to be added to the newsletter mailing list, please email John Duckworth at john@jduckworth.com.
Copyright 2006 John Duckworth Artist & Photographer. All Rights Reserved.

 

Charleston artist John Duckworth will unveil his latest works at McCrady's Wine Bar, 155 East Bay St. The dynamics of Duckworth's paintings, which are often inspired, physically and intellectually, by his bike rides around The Holy City, change dramatically, depending on intensity of light and the distance from which the art is seen. For more information, call 343-6414. or e-mail jrd327@comcast.net.
Opening reception -- 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Want to be added to the newsletter mailing list, please email John Duckworth at john@jduckworth.com.
Copyright 2006 John Duckworth Artist & Photographer. All Rights Reserved.

 

With apologies to our Homeland Defense czar, GMLc made it to the yellow level of excitability Tuesday... Any event with an accordion, a 5-foot python, a red-tail hawk, balloons, tulips and Mayor Joe is sure to suit our taste... oh yeah, and there was free food...

We're talking about the Piccolo Spoleto press conference (the story is on Page 1B).
The promise of food got us there, but The Great Art Caper 2002 made us stick...

ART CAPERS: Piccolo artists Kevin Harrison and John Duckworth appeared at the podium with their Secret Service-type bodyguards (who said they could tell GMLc who they were, but then they'd have to kill us... soooo, we left them alone and picked up the python) and their "lawyer," Isabelle de la Toutec Savante...

She (very French) explained something about stolen art and a smear campaign and lawsuits, was badgered by the press, was interrupted by a maniac, and then urged everyone not to attend her clients' art show on May 25 at 6 p.m. at Fountain Walk on Concord Street...

Yeah, right...

That night, the Underground Artists Association (see Harrison/ Duckworth) will hold an elegant-attire, red-carpet Hollywood premiere of its visual art... Joan Rivers could be there... angry protesters will probably be there... you never know.

It involves dressing up, but it's GMLc's favorite price...

If none of this makes sense, consider the source... The Harrison/ Duckworth axis of art pranksters has been gleefully foisting phony controversies and guerrilla theater on Charleston for some time.

Their "Great Art Caper" can be viewed as something of a follow to last year's "Entropy Show," which transformed the Elan Gallery on Broad Street into a faux media circus.

We could keep talking about this as if it were a serious topic, but as Isabelle what's-her-name said, "Life is what you make of it. The saddest thing is people who wince their way through it."
Or, as William Hurt said in "The Big Chill:" Sometimes you just have to let art flow over you. Want to be added to the newsletter mailing list, please email John Duckworth at john@jduckworth.com.
Copyright 2006 John Duckworth Artist & Photographer. All Rights Reserved.

 

Say hello to Shane, Art Conoisseur.

That's right, I'm one step away from going the ranks of the prententious elite: I have purchased A Work Of Fine Art. I'd better start trying to stomach wine and cheese, as I'm now one turtleneck away from joining the ranks of high society.

I've always struggled with my appreciation of art. As a life-long audiophile, I've always held a deep and substantive appreciation for recorded music. You name the album, I can likely talk your ear off for a half hour as to why it's either (a) an historically under-appreciated yet vital addition to one's record collection (see: a-ha's "Scoundrel Days,") or (b) $13.99 better spent on dog feces (see: Dion, Celine.) My opinions on music are well-reasoned, well-researched, and incredibly elitist.

Visual art, on the other hand, flies over my head on a constant basis and leaves me creatively cold. I've been to a handful of art museums, and I always leave with the same thought in my head: "Hmpf." I can stare at a painting -- even a classic one that's garnered centuries of critical acclaim and fan worship, and not have one iota of appreciation for the thing. As far as I'm concerned, Grant Woods turned pretty Iowa cornfields into ugly, bulbous cartoons. Picasso drew doodles like a child. Andy Warhol photocopied soup cans and colored them in like a Paint-By-Numbers book. The Mona Lisa? That's one ugly chick.

I can understand music. I've been around bands, I know what it takes to play an instrument and write a song. If given enough time, I might be able to do it myself. But even if I were handed the infinite amount of canvas, brushes, and time, I could never paint a realistic (or even surrealistic) bowl of fruit. It's voodoo magic to me.

As a result, my sense of home decor has been lacking throughout history:

THE EARLY YEARS: Ahh, when life was easy and the artistic essence of my soul could best be captured via posters of baby cougars and assorted wee fuzzy nature. This would be evenly tempered by the other side of my room, clad floor to ceiling in Stormtroopers and Imperial Battle Cruisers. Nothing used to rule harder than animals and Star Wars.

THE NERD YEARS: Yes, junior high, when Star Wars was joined by its nerdtastic counterpoint, Dungeons & Dragons. Orcs, wizards, and paladin rangers adorned my walls, while my bookshelf held the latest and greatest in decorative ninja weaponry. And the coup de grace? Over my Apple IIe computer hung a poster... of an Apple IIe computer. It's a wonder how I ever developed ANY social skills whatsoever.

THE ROCK & ROLL YEARS: It didn't take long to realize that, despite it being super sweet, girls just didn't seem to appreciate my replica Scimitar of +2 Undead Resistance. Besides, who needed a warlock on their walls when I had the Gods of Rock to look up to? From then on, my interior decorating skills resembled your average issue of Rolling Stone. Even in college, the first thing to grace the walls of my dorm was a beat-up picture of Pete Townshend, post-gig, looking quite serene while blood drips from his guitar-string-mauled hand. It said it all, really. Rock & roll is pain. Rock & roll is life. Life is pain. And I am one dangerous dude. Ergo, you should date me.

ADULTHOOD: It really kinda stinks that, as a proper adult, you're too old to be hanging up Radiohead posters with well-used gobs of Fun-Tak. Honestly, I'm still that same music geek -- and under my bed, you'll find about 20 rolls of band posters that nowadays serve as little more than Habitrails for dust bunnies. A while back, though, I realized that an autographed CD + a cheap frame makes for an acceptable collectable, which explains the 24 frames hanging in my living room today. I had no eye for anything else -- until two years ago.

I was returning from a vacation in Florida when we rolled in to Charleston, SC in the wee hours of the night. Hoping to scope out some family friendly culture (in the form of cute girls and dance clubs,) my friend and I got out and wandered around the downtown area. That's when we stumbled upon it. A small, unassuming art gallery housing the work of a local Charleston photographer. I peered inside. On the walls hung image after image of what I later discovered to be "landscape abstracts."

For all I know, they could be the easiest photos in the world to take, or perhaps the most difficult. Imagine a sunrise over the ocean, but manipulated and blurred to a point of near-indistinction, where every element -- the ocean, the marsh, the beach, the sky -- becomes little more than a perfect line of nature's perfect colors. The fuzzy pictures match the fuzzy memories of days gone by and fuzzy dreams of days that never were. For the first time in my life, I was transfixed by pieces of art.

I took snapshots of the studio that day so I wouldn't forget the artist's name -- John Duckworth. You can see for yourself at jduckworth.com. When I got home, I sent him an e-mail and told him how much I loved his work. He graciously sent me a kind letter of response and a portfolio catalog. After two years, I finally found myself in the possession of some expendable cash, so I did it. I bought one of his pieces. It now hangs in the entryway of my apartment and makes me happy every time I walk in the door.

I still don't know if I appreciate visual art on the level that I should. I don't get anything particularly "deep" out of my new acquisition. I just know I like looking at it, and that's victory enough for me.

-Shane Brown