Educate. Enlighten. Edify. Enjoy! - Longview Museum of Fine Arts

THEN and now
Longview Museum of Fine Arts
Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc on our original opening date. We didn't want our artists
driving long distances and possibly not having an audience once they got here. The
rescheduled opening for the next Saturday saw a good crowd who enjoyed receiving
copies of Bill Wright's book "People's Lives". We love the art of Celia Alvarez-Munoz
and her look at corruption in Mexico, Jean Cappadonna-Nichol's fabulously detailed
Exhibit will remain up
SEPTEMBER 13 - OCTOBER 19
sculptured figures, Vincent Falsetta's modern graphics, Judith William's amazingly
realistic fruits and paisley background patterns, John Hillier's smoothly divided and
twisted nudes, and Forrest Harrisberger's engaging crowds. Please come by and
see the show before it starts coming down on October 19, and join us that Sunday
afternoon for a little wine and cheese reception between 2 - 4 pm.
FORREST HARRISBERGER I am a people painter;
painter of crowds and sports stadiums – the flocking concept; also
people in action, repose, under stress and in acts of heroism. My
current interest is satire and ironical themes. Most painters like
to think that their concepts and painting style are original.
We all acknowledge influences of other artists. My favorites
of influential arts are: Rene’ Magritte, Edward Hopper,
Nicholas de Stael, Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Rauchenberg
and Franz Kline.
JUDITH WILLIAMS I love patterns. – In my paintings,
I have been working within the genre of still life, using patterns
of fruit and fabric in a nonobjective way. I try to balance the
objective fruit and the nonobjective patterns, so that you will
experience both perceptions as one.
In this show, you will see a progression from more traditional still
life to my most current concerns. I have been working with the
still life genre for the past five years. There are so many wonderful
patterns that already exist in fabric and wallpaper, I choose to
work with those, and always give credit to the creativity and
influence to those unknown artist…
VINCENT FALSETTA As much as my work resists
verbal analysis, it does continue to reference technology and
its interaction with both contemporary culture and traditional
painting. Though the paintings are planned and calculated to
a high degree, I eventually let go of the predetermined systems
that I have imposed, and resolve each painting intuitively.
Hundreds of on-the-spot decisions are made, with results that
form a strange blend between the appearance of spontaneity
and the appearance of control. My interest in bringing attention
to the painting as an object, as opposed to a flat image, is
achieved by using an idiosyncratic and labor-intensive means of
applying paint, which brings attention back to the plasticity of
the medium.
JEAN CAPPADONNA NICHOLS As with many
things in Life, we encounter contradictions on a daily basis.
Sometimes these contradictions occur because information
is being withheld, other times... because we refuse to see the
truth. This condition in ourselves frequently keeps us in a
somewhat ambiguous state. When I built this series, I was
interested in exploring that particular state of mind that leaves
us with a conundrum, a puzzle; without the ability to see clearly
that which we should, could or would choose if we could discern
truth from fiction. The images depict a variety of circumstances
that contain many nuances of pretense, make-believe, disguise/
sincerity, honesty, and frankness. I can’t begin to explain every
image, but I can say that my work explores the human condition,
our innermost fears (real or imagined), humor, autobiographical
experiences, and sometimes references to art history and my
concern for the environment.
CELIA MUNOZ In our teens, during the 50’s, Juarez, Mexico,
was an escape to an expanded cultural and night life. We shopped,
attended bullfights, social and cultural functions, tardeadas, and danced
in exotic night clubs. We crossed the border within minutes from El
Paso. Even at night it was safe. Our parents had done the same.
Juarez was a mentor to street smarts. We were urban and valued the
agility to barter for cheaper goods and good times. Half a century
later, it is not safe or “user-friendly.” It takes much longer to cross.
Things are more expensive.
The works in this exhibition respond to the lack of negotiating
tactics by both countries entering a global market, where the
abnormal has become the norm. Where women, life and our systems
of ethics and justice are valued incrementally less. A complex epoch
of opportunity and greed fueled by techno and substance opiates.
JOHN HILLIER As an instructor in the Visual Arts
Department at Kilgore College, John Hillier teaches sculpture,
drawing, design and art appreciation. He graduated from Odessa
High School, attended Odessa College and completed his Bachelor
of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin in 1975. After
completing his Master of Fine Arts at Texas Tech University in
1980, he taught at Odessa College. In 1987 he joined the faculty at
Kilgore College.
He is a sculptor whose primary medium is wood. For drawing, he
works in a variety of media. Trained as a printmaker, he has shown
extensively across Texas and in other states. His work is included in
the Longview Museum of Fine Arts and in the Texas Tech Museum,
as well as in numerous private collections across the nation.
BILL WRIGHT Borders are human constructs. In my
photographs, I try to cross the space that creates the border between us
and enter into your domain and learn about you and your life. If I am
successful, my photographs will tell you something about us both.
After graduating from the University of Texas with a degree in
Business Administration, I managed a petroleum marketing company.
Along the way, I photographed. In my travels, I made pictures of my
family, my employees, customers and strangers. I became interested
in people’s lives, wondering about their joys and despairs. I loved
looking at their faces and seeing the signs of strength and courage
that living their life had sculpted in flesh and bone.
I enjoyed photographing people where I encountered them - in their
homes, businesses, in their world wherever it might be. Many of my
subjects have become friends along the way. I have Christmas cards
from China, greeting cards from Cuba. I have been visited in Texas
by a cab driver from Grand Cayman and fellow photographers from Russia. From Uzbekistan
to Tanzania, my photographs were the icebreakers. Visual bridges joining our lives.
In these “People’s Lives” photographs, I want you to look at these faces and visualize their world
as I did. Bring your own experiences to the encounter and your own imagination. Think about
them, because what you see and understand will not only be a story about a unique person’s
life, it will be about every life. It will be about you.
BILL WRIGHT’s book PEOPLE’S LIVES is on sale at the museum for $5
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