Drawing Through to the Other Side

Sarah Napier, Mars Cafe

December 2012

Excerpt from Napier’s installation of drawings. Photo: Tim Mitchard

Interview from contributor Jennifer Mitchard

December 13, 2012

Sarah Napier is a 26 year old Iowa native. She primarily works in colored pencil and pen on paper creating innocent, bright, and hallucinogenic illustrations. Her work is currently being shown at Mars Cafe where I sat down with her to talk about her new collection.

A quote from her Artist’s Statement:

Much of the influence for this body of work is from her bipolar disorder. …. Many of the pieces in this set were created as therapeutic works meant to help her express herself through the manic and depressive waves of her bipolar. 

Excerpt from Napier’s installation of drawings. Photo: Tim Mitchard

Jennifer: Tell me a little about your work.

Sarah: My work is therapy on paper, it’s what I did to keep the crazy under control.

How long have you been working on the pieces in this show?

About 6 months but the bulk of it was created over the last 3 months.

What are your ideal working conditions?

I totally watch Rosanne or some other 90’s sitcom and make stuff on my couch. I’m usually by myself…. watching Rosanne.

I’ve noticed an interesting progression from your older, more innocent pieces compared to these. Can you explain this evolution?

6 months ago I had a manic episode and drew throughout the whole thing. My art evolved quickly over that time. You can still see the old stuff in it but it’s darker and has more depth now. My collages are new and were brought on by a project I was working on before the manic episode.

Napier’s “Pixelated Girl Face (self portrait)” Photo: Tim Mitchard

Which piece is your favorite and why?

Pixelated Girl Face, self portrait. I don’t know where I got the energy to do that one. I haven’t been able to do a piece like that again. It was a piece that was how I felt when I made it. I felt like it represented what I was feeling.

What do you want people to take away from your work?

I want to make people happy and have fun with mental disorders.

Do you have any major influences? Now or past?

My bipolar definitely affects my work. Being raised in a bible camp, it is hard to break away from happy things and present something to the public that isn’t all butterflies.

I wouldn’t want my family to come and see this. My grandma is not allowed.

What do you feel like your work is about?

Memories and feelings about them. Trying to recall childhood feelings of discomfort. You know when you’re little and you feel awkward in a situation? Like that.

How do you see your work evolving?

That’s the problem with bipolar. I’m sure it will, but I have no idea how or why. I can’t plan it.

I’ve noticed that your work has a lot of repeated imagery. What do these images represent?

The arrows are the flow of emotion, they direct you up and down, like the polarization of my disorder, they are pixelated and not smooth. I like to break things apart.

The girls were different versions of me on different days… However the little girl inside of me wanted to dress up.

Space is everything. It’s the most imaginative thing I can think of, there are so many possibilities out there that we don’t even know about yet.

Excerpt from Napier’s installation of drawings. Photo: Tim Mitchard

What are your plans for tonight?

Writing my artist statement and I need to make dinner, I bought macaroni and cheese. I’m lazy.

Meet the artist from 6-8pm on Friday Dec. 14 at Mars Cafe for her opening reception.

Jennifer Mitchard is an artist, photographer, graphic designer, and writer, living and working in downtown Des Moines. She is the co-owner of JeTim Art Photography and a designer at RAYGUN. She studied Art and Writing in Central Iowa and Northern California. Find her work at www.jenmitchard.com.

13 December Permalink

The Monopolization of Myth

Jordan Weber, Fluxx Gallery

October 2012

North wall, Fluxx Gallery

Review and Interview by Jon

In a triumphant and heart tugging new show at Fluxx Gallery in the East Village, Jordan Weber dives into the iconic and messy world of professional athletics. To take things even deeper Jordan infuses the show with an impending sense of dread and hyperbole by creating shrine-like installation work. The show is scattered throughout with images of the renowned basketball superstar Michael Jordan. Mostly the images are found in the form of relics, such as basketball cards, Jordan shoes, and even a dinner plate with the player’s image on it. The images juxtaposed with Weber’s use of space and mass media detritus such as cartoon imagery and corporate logos, eschew the purported deification of athletes.

Detail of west wall installation

My own adolescence came into play as a viewer and I was drawn back to the times where without question I held basketball stars in high regard. As a player myself I was enamored with Michael Jordan and his untarnished and mythic veneer, both on the court and off. I collected artifacts, such as his shoes, and his basketball cards, in essence consuming the crumbs of his persona. In recent years, I have continued to relive and relink to my adolescence by watching old clips and games that Michael Jordan played in. I actually own a box set of dvd’s devoted to him.

West wall installation

I asked Jordan Weber a few questions about this show…

You’re working more with 3 dimensional form, along with found objects and objects from personal collections in your current show, talk about that progression in your work.

As far as progression goes, it has happened so organically that I don’t really pay much attention to it.  It feels natural working more locally and personally. I feel refreshed working this way.

When you begin to work on a piece where do you start? Your work seems to move in and out of the conceptual realm really freely, at times ambiguity takes over, whereas other times the concept is front and center. What’s your process for idea management? 

I always start with concept stemming from research or in this body of work, with reflection from my personal past. I pretty much flip a switch to auto drive when I’ve reached a boiling point conceptually. Aesthetically I rely on ambiguity at times. I don’t like to put a death grip on the materials through out the art making process. For me, it is very important to let the materials be and act on their own at times. It’s more interesting this way. If something falls too far from the original concept, I tear it down partially and rebuild it to fit the ideology of the piece. When the dust settles I abandon the piece and live with it. Reflecting back on the original concept to fill possible voids I may have created unintentionally.

With this collection of work there seem to be many questions regarding the ideologies that we form as youth, race relations, the over-arching theme of the “league (NBA),” and idolatry. Could you please talk about these themes, and other themes that surface in your current show?

Material idolatry is the oil that permeates black youth and corrodes the social-economic landscape in the city, not to mention environmental apathy. There is a great failure in this. This lack of seeing what is extremely transient, this short-term gain is what Paul Hawken calls “The Final Loss”.

South wall installation

Jordan Weber has advanced over the last year or so in his work and is now using more installation based techniques to play with space and found artifacts. This show finds Weber searching through the debris of corporations and their manipulation of people who are set up before us as heroes. There is a painted image of multiple Porky Pigs playing pan-flutes, circling a sawed log with an NBA insignia emblazoned on its side suggesting some apocalyptic ritualized dance around a corporate totem. This show suggests that fame is a flawed pursuit, that no matter how high your star sails, there is always someone above you reaping the benefits of your talent, or below you consuming your crumbs. The show begs me to question the pursuits of my own heart and what my need is for a hero to worship, or a sport to religiously consume. When appreciation gives way to over-consumption and comparison we are all sold short.

23 October Permalink

What are they building in there?

The Fourth Annual South Des Moines Art Festival

September 22, 2012

The Fourth Annual South Des Moines Art Festival is Saturday, Sept. 22 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the South Des Moines Sculpture Park on the city’s Southside. The family-friendly event will feature 20 local art vendors, kids activities, live art demos, including a pottery wheel, airbrush art, ice sculpture, plus great food. New this year is the Nathan Weeks Middle School student art exhibits. The event is free with free parking at First American Bank.

Interview by guest contributor Lori Brookhart - Schervish

September 14, 2012

What does the South Des Moines Sculpture Park have that the other sculpture park doesn’t? Well a giant clothespin for starters. Not to mention the pièce de résistance of this year’s annual festival: the alien egg. This multi-media sculpture has a few surprises in store for visitors, which sounds a lot like the original War of the Worlds. There are no multi-million dollar price tags, but a priceless vision of two men happy to give back to their community.

The South Des Moines Sculpture Park’s installations reside on a corner lot of SW 8^th and McKinley – just one block east of SW 9^th — where the bold and colorful artworks reminiscent of Alexander Calder, Claus Oldenburg, and Jasper Johns can’t be missed. The giant clothespin, Calder-esque mobile, and oversized target are just a few of the sculptures juxtaposed against the constant flow of two-lane traffic nestled in an aging neighborhood. Founders and sculptors Phil Barber and Chuck Mettler are a testament that public art is truly for the people, by the people.

“This is a recycled project – a cultural green space — and people really like it, especially the neighbors,” says Barber, who bought the land with Mettler about five years ago, which was just an empty lot collecting trash. “And knock on wood it hasn’t been vandalized and people have been respectful of it. They stop and take wedding photos, it’s been great to see.”

Thanks to the Abraham Lincoln High School alums, the South Des Moines Sculpture Park has become a landmark on the Southside. Both have contributed works to the park, and with the help of apprentice Brant Moon seem to be tackling bigger and bolder projects. They’ve also welcomed other artists’ works and encourage local sculptors to contact them about contributing installations.

Although the festival is not officially included in this year’s ArtStop, it runs on the same weekend and is getting some attention from ArtStop organizers to help spread the word. Barber and Mettler are hopeful that the sculpture park will be included as an ArtStop destination next year.

“We’d like to take this from a South Des Moines festival and branch out with city-wide exposure,” said Mettler, a former student at the Art Institute of Chicago.

This year’s event will celebrate and feature student works for the first time and aims to raise money to establish a high school senior arts scholarship. Donations will be accepted at the festival to contribute to the fund. Barber is also exploring how to incorporate performance art in the future.

Restoring Southside Pride

The sculpture park’s home is in the same neighborhood that watched the once-bustling business district of SW 9^th give way to abandoned buildings and disappeared patrons. The same Southside that not long ago thrived as the heartbeat of this city. Growing up, there was community, business, expansion, and promise. As an adult, I watched as this district dilapidated a little more with each visit home from my new life in California.

Then I drove down McKinley one day as I’ve done thousands of times in my life and there it was: ART. It was a poignant and deliberate expression — a manifestation of the creative process that celebrated the extraordinary amidst the mundane. The very essence of art. I had goose bumps imagining the residents and people in their cars that have never taken notice of such art. And yet here it was, right here for them, with no apologies, no explanation, no excuses, in a welcoming barrage of shapes and colors.

Barber and Mettler have turned on a light for the next generation of budding artists, critical thinkers, innovative engineers, and future organizers -– provoking a reincarnation of Southside pride.

A writer and editor, Lori covered the Des Moines music scene before venturing out to Los Angeles. She continued to write about music but quickly fell in love with the vibrant art scene after being exposed to a diversity of painters, sculptors, and muralists and the creative energy of Venice Beach. After a series of events, Lori moved back to Des Moines after graduating from Mizzou with a journalism degree and a minor in art history. Her favorite artists include Frida Kahlo, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Tarsila do Amaral, and Henri Matisse. 

14 September Permalink

Interview With the Artist: Robert Braune

Robert Braune, The Lift

June/July 2012

Interview by Jon

August 8, 2012

Robert Braune recently hit the scene in Des Moines with his first solo showing at The Lift. I had the opportunity to interview the artist about process, inspiration, and his relationship with art history. Below is an account of our interview interspersed with images of Robert’s work.

In looking at your work it seems that you are dwelling in the in between land of portraiture and abstraction, why do you paint people in the way that you do?

” There is this desire that I have, to want to paint people the way that they are seen. The way that I see them.  But if I am honest with myself, I find that I lack a talent that is needed to achieve such an image.  So while still attempting to do so, part way through I am reminded of the difficulty that is involved with this task.  So I find this medium ground where I can still portray human without it being pure representational.  They become these monster like humans, but retain human qualities.  Thus becoming less monstrous and more humanly relatable.  Or I would like to think so.  I’m not other people so I cannot speak for them.

More so, I am ultimately trying to create memorable images.  Ones that people will one day want to put in some college students art history book.  So, the images I paint, I try to make them as representative of my work and the way that I plan to continue to work. “

Talk about the materials that you have used and the way that you have constructed your surfaces for this show. What is important to you about using paint?

” Painting is the medium that I chose for art because of it’s history as art.  Painting is just a form of drawing.  I’m not exactly sure of the difference between the two.  Just different names for the same thing I guess.  Paint is just a specific drawing material.  But painting and drawing have existed since the beginning of man.  From cave drawings to street art.  It’s come full circle at this point. 

With this show there is a mix of old and new.  Anything that is on canvas is old.  Four or five years old to be exact.  Those pieces to me, although old felt to be representational of where I came from but also seem to embody what I am currently doing.  The newer pieces are all done on panels of wood. 

I choose to use wood to paint on mainly because of the costs when compared to buying stretchers and canvas.  Also, the prep time is greatly reduced when dealing with wood.  I can have it cut down to the size I need before I even pay for it, take it home and paint right away.

The thing that I strive to achieve with these new paintings is a sense of unfinished.  There is a level of incomplete that has a very finished look.  But there is a fine line between something being completely unfinished by being over worked, and something that is just under worked.  Trying to find that in between is tricky.  It takes a lot of starting and stopping.  Sometimes the decision comes a month after you stopped working on a piece with the intentions of going back into it.  I’ll put a piece back on the easel and have paint on the pallet, but after 5 minutes of staring it’s clear that there is no more that can be done.  “



There are many references in your work to iconic artists such as Francis Bacon and Pablo Picasso, why do you reference these figures, and how does that feed your creative process?

” For the most part the references are an homage to other great artists that I look up to.  At the same time, it has become this competition between myself and these greats.  Who the hell are these guys?  Dead, that’s for starters.  So it should seem that I have the upper hand in this competition.  That would be wrong considering their place in history and my place in anonymity.  Regardless of our living status, I feel that this competition is a healthy drive for my work.  I set my standards high, so I feel like the work that I produce has the potential to be important. “

We talked a little bit about abstraction versus realism and the realm in between the two the other night…Would you have any comments about where your work fits in a larger context?

“  I would say my work is abstracted realism.  Often I paint from something that is real but it becomes abstracted through the quality of my work.  By definition I would be abstract.  But abstract is an abstracted word.  It’s been simplified to the point that it’s to easily applied to things.  For example, I have a plain white coffee mug.  You have a coffee mug in the shape of Bart Simpsons head.  Is the Bart Simpson coffee mug an abstract coffee mug? I’m not a fan of putting things in to categories or genres.  Honestly, when people ask me what I paint, I usually just say still lifes and portraits.  Then I just show them some photos of work.  People can make up their own minds on what my paintings are. “

Keep your eyes open for more showings of Robert’s work in the coming months. Also you may contact the artist here .

8 August Permalink

Body of Work: A Conversation With Emily Svec

Body by Svec, 80/35

July 6-7, 2012

Painted Ladies and Gents of Body by Svec working the crowd on stage

Interview by Alissa

July 5th, 2012

When I returned to the Des Moines area after 14 years away in Chicago and San Francisco, something had changed: the city had taken on a cosmopolitan character that it had not previously possessed.  Entrepreneurialism was prevalent, fine cuisine was available in abundance, and live music could be enjoyed multiple nights of the week.  It was at a gallery opening that I learned that my hometown now had its own body painter, Emily Svec, and knew that the art scene was also coming into its own. 

The metro area has enjoyed numerous events featuring the Painted Ladies and Gents of Body by Svec.  Last week I sat down with the talent behind the paint to chat about her passion and and her philosophy about beauty and the human form.

Alissa Sheldon: Body painting is such an unusual career to have.  How did you get started on this path?

Emily Svec: I come from a very artistic family.  My parents had this body paint book by Veruschka, who was a very well known model in the seventies, and I remember when I was about seven or eight, we talked a lot about yes, she was naked, but her body is a work of art.  A light went on, and from that point on, I was always the little girl who would decorate her arms with gel pens. I also drew a lot - usually female figures like mermaids and fairies.  My life has been an ongoing doodle.

My parents were very supportive of my art and gave me lots of training and classes.  So when I went to college, I decided rather than study art, I would study communications.  I felt like I knew how to create art, I needed to learn how to sell it. 

I was always the artsy person in the dorm.  I had tons of projects all over my walls and would paint my friends’ jeans for them.  One night we were snowed in,  and I was supposed to paint this girl’s pants, but instead I wound up painting her stomach: a flower with her hand blending into the design.  Other girls started wandering in, and I painted them.  We posted photos on MySpace which was all the rage at the time, and it blew up.  I started getting contacted for shows.

The Inkblot Series, Photo by Robin Svec Photography. Hair by Amber Hathaway. Make-up by Lindsey Ritland. Model: Rachel Glaza. Art Director: Emily Svec

AS: So, Des Moines was ready for a body painter?

ES: Well, what’s cool about Des Moines is that I don’t think Des Moines knew it needed a body painter until I started doing it.  So I’ve found all of these different avenues that body painting can take: maybe you want to get painted for your birthday.  If you’re a band in town and want to get people talking, if you put painted ladies and gents on your stage, you’re going to get people talking. 

There is still a very small market for it here.  What market there is, I’ve had to create.  I’ve tried to integrate this body art, this appreciation for the human figure, into such things as a brew fest.  I love doing it.  The outcome for me is so rewarding, it’s worth the challenge of trying to find a place for it.

AS: So, of all these outlets for your work - photography, live art, concerts, film, dance - which is your favorite?

ES: I love working a big event where we’re treated well, but I also love photography.  The thrill and the adrenaline rush of doing something like 80/35, where you have six models and a limited amount of time to get them ready and out there, but you’re treated so well - they find you a space, put you in the VIP section - is fantastic.  Being shown that kind of respect for my art form is really important to me.  On the other hand, with a photo shoot I can take my own sweet time.  We can hang out, there is no set allotted time, and people are really willing to go the extra mile to be a part of the art piece.  I love the energy that comes from collaboration with other artists that is possible with a photography shoot.

AS: What’s involved in preparing for an event like 80/35?

ES: It started over two months ago, with trying to line up the models.  Since it’s an annual event, I try to stagger my models who have done it before so it is a different mix each year.  It can take weeks to put the roster together.  Next I line up my assistants, crew, and body guards. I have six models to paint each day, so I really need the extra help.  Then we start brainstorming and conceptualizing, bouncing things off my hair stylist and my makeup artist.  Finally we get into the logistics: do we have water bottles and umbrellas for the models?  Where will we work?  At whose sets will we appear?

AS: Who are some of your favorite artists?  Whom do you draw on for inspiration?

ES: Joanne Gair is a makeup artist/body painter whose stuff is totally wild and fantastic.  She’s collaborated with Pamela Andersen, Demi Moore, Madonna, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, and more.  I love Brian Froud’s art.  His fairies and gnomes are beautiful.  Locally, I am a big fan of BONES (Matt Welbourne), who has a show starting at The Eye next week.  His work is so detailed and clever.  It’s very intricate.

AS:You’ve had problems more than once with being censored by Facebook.  Why do you think people have that reaction to your art?

ES: I feel that these are the same people who resist change, even if it’s for the better.  They see something like my art, and they view it as improper.  They don’t view it as an art form, they view it as obscene.

My models are totally comfortable in themselves - any part of them that they aren’t comfortable with, when they get painted and made up, with their hair done, all of a sudden they recognize themselves as the pieces of art that they are.  I watch them transform. They become very elegant.

I don’t know how the people who report my photos view their own bodies, but I assume it is not in a positive light, and certainly not as an art form.  I’ve been fighting for a very long time to try to reach out to those people, and I think that some people are just set in their beliefs.  So I’ve kind of given up - I’m not disregarding them, I review my projects very sensitively before making them public - but I don’t put a lot of time into trying to change their minds  anymore.  There are a lot of people who love and appreciate my art. I’d like to focus my energy on them.

AS: What sorts of private commission projects have you been doing recently?

ES: Something I’m really excited about lately, I’m doing belly painting of pregnant women.  I don’t plan on having my own children, so I feel this is my chance to lend something to this huge job of motherhood.  I’ve never done the same thing twice - it’s very personalized.  Sometimes the babies will move, and it is so beautiful.  The paint we use is paraben free, organic, and hand painted so there’s no chance of inhaling anything.  I’m a big believer in the idea that when a baby is in the womb, everything that the mother does affects the baby - whether it’s what she ingests, or what she listens too, or how she feels.  And if she happens to feel beautiful and unique, then I think that can only be good.

Commissioned belly painting by Body by Svec

AS: What are your hopes for the future of Body by Svec?

ES: A lot of people in my family are entrepreneurs.  It very much runs in our blood.   It’s a difficult economy in which to make a living and live well with an independent business right now, but my ultimate hope is to travel, take the business on the road so that Body by Svec is known in other cities by name, and sustain myself with this business that I love.  It’s a lofty goal, but with the amazing assistants, models, and collaborating artists I work with everyday, I think it can happen.

Visit the website for Body by Svec for more information about Emily Svec’s work. Follow her work on Facebook.

5 July 2 Permalink

Capturing the unusual Royal Shrovetide Football Match

Rules of the Game, Interrobang Film Festival

June 22-24, 2012

Rules of the Game - Official Trailer from Shift Key Films on Vimeo.

29 June Permalink

Talking with collaborators behind the Meth Project

The Meth Project, Des Moines Social Club

June 14 - 24, 2012

Chris Ford, Matthew McIver, Chris Peterson

Interview by Chad

June 18, 2012

I had the opportunity to interview 3 of the 4 writers of CoLab: The Meth Project currently performing through June 24^th at the Des Moines Social Club. The following are selected quotes from these interviews:

Chad Michael Cox: How does this play fit into the DMSC mission to use the arts as a catalyst to create unprecedented community engagement?

Matthew McIver (writer and director):

·      CoLab was formed as a way to tell Iowa stories.

·      These plays are original pieces of theater.

·      Our first play told the story of Evelyn Davis who created Tiny Tots Daycare and touched so many parts of Des Moines.

·      We started thinking about what else impacts multiple areas of Iowa.

·      The Meth Project provides multiple perspectives…a 360 view of the subject

·      The play tells 3 different stories and asks the questions, “What is the context?” and “How do we view drugs as a society?”

·      I think people will emerge from this play thinking differently.

CMC: How did you get involved in this project?

Chris Peterson (writer and video):

·      I’ve done video production for DMSC in the past.

·      The video provides context for the stories in the play.

·      I was drawn to this project because a friend of mine was on Meth…she eventually got away from it.

·      I wrote the druggy scenes based on her experiences.

·      These stories are based on recent issues. They’re informative and real – factual tales with creative license.

CMC: Describe the collaboration process during this project:

Chris Ford (writer and music):

·      We didn’t really know what we were writing at first.

·      I got involved initially as a music director.

·      Wrote environmental music, conceptual in nature. This music is different from my typical style because it’s focused on thematic interpretations.

·      I’m really proud of the result!

MM: We wrote a ton of material that never made the stage.

MM: I think the end result of collaboration is more interesting. It’s also a way to share the work load and keep each other accountable. We all have full-time jobs, so it helps to work together.

CF: We were meeting weekly, but there was also a lot of downtime. We had to push the project back a few times.

CP: At one point I don’t think we did anything from September to February because of one thing or another.

CF: We initially wanted to produce a commercial.

CP: We didn’t restrict ourselves. We spent the first three months just spewing ideas. I wrote this whole scene based on a Marilyn Monroe character in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, but we eventually threw it out…we discovered we had three story arcs.

MM: Three stories without any forced cross-over of stories. Everything comes together naturally.

CMC: What should people know about this play?

MM: It’s funny, sad, moving, dramatic…

CF: It’s important that people understand what kind of drug Meth is…the Meth issue is still a real issue in Iowa.

MM: It’s not about good guys vs. bad guys. Yes there’s consequences to the decisions each character makes, but we can connect with all of these characters.

CMC: (To Ford and Peterson) As first time playwrights would you do it again?

CP: Yes, I would do it again!

CF: Definitely!

18 June 1 Permalink

Interview with Jordan Weber

Young Bloods: The First Anniversary Show, Fluxx Gallery

June 2012

Young Bloods group show currently on view at Fluxx.

Interview by Alissa

June 13, 2012

Well, Des Moines, Fluxx Gallery, best known for its innovative, activist art shows, recently blew out the candle on its first birthday cake.  Ambitious young owner and artist Jordan Weber found a few minutes in his busy schedule of curating and creating to chat about the current show, “Young Bloods”, as well as what his vision is for year number two.

AS: Why did you decide to do a group showcase for this milestone?

JW: This show is like a big party.  It was spur of the moment.  We knew there were a lot of people who wanted to show again, and this was a way for us to open the doors up and not go through the whole portfolio process.  It’s more laid back.  It is a showcase of what we’ve had already as well as what’s to come.

Jordan Weber in Young Bloods

AS:  You have a couple of pieces of your own in the show.  What can you tell me about them?

JW:  They are work for a few shows I have coming up in Denver and Peoria, IL, that focus on this idea of spirituality being taken over by the capitalist and conformist ideology that we live in, with spirituality taking a back seat to everything.  I’ve always done work that is against capitalism and consumer culture, but now I’m delving deeper into the reasons why we think that way.

Michael Watson, 5:AM, Jon Pearson, Ben Gardner & Emily Newman in Young Bloods

AS: How does this collection of pieces represent Fluxx - both where it’s been and where it’s going?

JW: I think it’s a view of the past and the future for Fluxx.  Initially we wanted all activist shows.  We found quickly that there are probably only three or four strong activist artists working in Des Moines right now, so we had to do some shows that weren’t really backing up our mission statement.  In the future we will book more activist shows.

Secondly, we try to get artists in here who aren’t as worried about making money off the work as they are about getting their ideology across.  We really want to be somewhere in between a gallery and a museum. 

AS: Why Des Moines?

JW: I grew up here, and my mom studied art at Drake.  I don’t believe there’s ever been a truly contemporary museum here.  The Art Center does stuff,  but there is nowhere for everyday people to come in and feel welcome and get some sort of philosophical view on art.  Normally, if it’s too deep for people, they have a tendency to be turned off.  We felt it was important to melt everything together: to do important work that people can relate to, that they can eat up, and not feel unwelcome when they walk through the doors, or pressured that they have to buy something.

I came back to Des Moines after spending time in Europe and all around the U.S., really immersing myself in the street art scene.  I think it’s extremely important for people from Des Moines to try to grow the scene in some way, and I think it’s extremely frustrating when you have people from outside the city and from the smaller towns around that don’t really know Des Moines that well.  It’s important for us to take responsibility and take the art scene into our own hands.  It’s up to us.

AS:  I don’t think many people realize that you actually live here in the gallery. What’s it like having the public just be able to walk into your home?

It took some getting used to, but the energy of people is great.  We’ve had only a few people walk in and not want you to talk to them, but the majority of people in Des Moines are pretty friendly, so when people walk in and you approach them in a friendly way, they respond. It’s fun to get to talk to people in such a random way.

Edward Kelley in Young Bloods

AS: What is in store for the second year of Fluxx Gallery?

JW: We want to continue to be a place that artists from all over the world want to show at, to be one notch on their belt, a strong gallery they can present to other places to get into larger and larger galleries and museums.

I also want some expansion.  I like the idea of shipping crate containers being dispersed throughout Des Moines, with open studio space available to be rented out and the artists can present a show at the end of their residency.  Either that or some sort of huge space we could offer residencies or some sort of space that artists could really sink into as studio space.  That’s the goal right now: Expansion of the scene.

Fluxx Gallery is located at 333 East Grand, #104, in Des Moines. 

Phone: 515-864-8216. Web: www.fluxxgallery.com.

13 June Permalink

Lee Ann Conlan: Sou.ve.nir

Sou.ve.nir, Thee EYE

June 2012

Review by Alissa

June 5, 2012

Lee Ann Conlan’s latest show, “Souvenir”, opened at Thee EYE on Friday, June 1.  A sardine-packed crowd of art lovers and well wishers turned out to get a glimpse of Conlan’s new work - intensely intimate pieces which expose the painful, powerful, and cathartic moments of the artist’s life to public scrutiny. 

Some ominous, some heart wrenching, many inspiring, Conlan’s new collection - the very definition of “remarkable” - aptly demonstrates the old adage, “Hindsight is 20/20”.  The pieces tell a tale of the losses, lessons, catharses, and ultimately the survival of a brave, reflective female.  I had the privilege of spending some time with the artist, who took the opportunity to share the origins of a selected few of her “Souvenirs”.

The Red Flags

These are letters I’ve kept from a relationship.  I’ve sewn them all together, and I call them “Red Flags” because maybe if I’d paid better attention to them, I would’ve done things differently, but they went ignored.  Sewn in among them are my medical records - different things that happened that had to do with the story of the letters. For instance, there was a car wreck that took over five hundred days of healing, including recovery from a skull fracture, and then a back surgery. 

I love the texture of the notes.  This guy was crazy - he would write on anything and everything, so there is great texture to the piece.  I took them and sewed them together on a sewing machine. It ended up being over eighty feet of souvenirs, and it worked to transform the dramatic vertical space of this gallery.

Souvenirs

I had a relationship end and I tend to just purge art when that happens, so this body of work started in mid November, and by January 1, I was having this book printed.  There are 70 pages to the book of these digital collages, so there are more than are shown on the gallery walls.  It tells a story: you get hurt, you feel sorrow, that turns to anger, and then you go into humor and have to laugh.  It speaks to how when someone is so ugly on the inside, it is comical to me that the outside can be so important.  All of the words are copied and pasted from emails or texts.

Containment

This is a self portrait with a quote.  I have terrible social anxiety, and there is a song with the lyrics, “Just want to stop and catch my breath, spend one second on this earth not scared to death.” I took different lyrics of the song, printed them on newsprint with each phrase being a headline.  I wanted this to illustrate that feeling of being scared and how paralyzing that anxiety can be, so I took the lyrics and wrapped them around the vase so you could really get that feeling of being contained. The only time I can get rid of it is at a show, because I know people come to support, so they’re here for good reasons, and I can calm myself that way.  I get through the night and then go back in my shell.

Sou.ve.nir is currently showing through the month of June at Thee EYE, 333 E Grand Avenue, Unit 108. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, Noon-5 and Saturday, 11-5.  Appointments may be arranged outside of normal business hours by calling 515-864-9832.  Website: www.theeyeopens.com.

5 June Permalink

Van Holmgren delivers titillating visual appeal at Mars Café.

Van Holmgren’s ”Solid Ground”, Mars Café

March/Apirl 2012

Review by Jon

March 15, 2012

This show, as with most shows of Van’s I have seen, pushes pleasure buttons left and right. His use of color is immaculate and the stencils are executed with the simplest fluency. His constructed surfaces are composed with care using scrap lumber primarily. There is not a whole lot of intimacy incorporated into the compositions, neither through the use of fine detail work or subject matter. What we get are the broad aggressive strokes of a designer/artist that knows how to make shape, color and line come together to titillating effect.

His work will be on display through March and April at Mars Café 2318 University Ave.

Below is a short interview that I conducted with Van.

Jon: So the title of the show is “Solid Ground,” what were you striving for in making this collection, and where does the title come into play? 

Van: I was looking to show some of my strongest work. I often get questions from friends and people in general wondering how I am doing with just making art and not being paid “on a schedule”. The title Solid Ground is a nod to that aspect in my reality. I try hard every day to make work that I am pleased with and that represents some of my strongest attributes.

15 March Permalink