NC Institutional Galleries - Carolina Arts

Pickens County Museumcontinued from Page 27Work by Carol HasBrouckthe Carolinas and Georgia, working in theplastic mediums (painting, drawing, sculpture,etc.), to submit work to be consideredfor inclusion. All entries were to fall withinthe theme of “Patriotism”, whatever thatartist’s interpretation of the word may be(pa·tri·ot·ism pā-trē-ə-t-z-əm, noun devotedlove, support, and defense of one’s country;national loyalty. Origin: 1720–30; patriot +-ism).In curating the exhibition MuseumDirector Allen Coleman tried to keep a coreconcept to the selection process. He said,“The core of our understanding of just whatis ‘Patriotism’ resides in diverse culturallynegotiated understanding - the perceptions,contradictions, questions, problems andissues that continue to be challenged andredefined around the ideal of freedom andlove of country. It may fixed in a persistentstruggle to define and achieve freedom andexpression or it might exist in a comfortablezone where one is simply sure of their ownfeeling. The American narrative has overthe centuries reflected a striving towardpersonal or communal success and individualfreedoms within social, economic andpolitical fabrics of shared rights. The movementtowards these ideals has sometimebeen unsteady, sometime heroic, sometimecontroversial… but the concept continues toinspire.”Work by Frank McGrathThe wide range of artists who submittedwere all inspired to reflect their own senseof patriotism through their artwork. Ofthose the thirty-nine selected for inclusionin the exhibition are: Kathy Bell, StanleyBermudez, Greg Bowling, Vickey Brickle-Macky, Linda Hyatt Cancel, Brad Carraway,JJ Casey, Clinton Coleman, AshleyDavis, Melody Davis, Darryl DeBruhl,Trent Frazor, James Greene, Chris Hartwick,Carol HasBrouck, Ernesto Hernandez,Mary Lou Hightower, Lauren Hill,Amanda Illian, Lynn Ingram, DiarmuidKelly, Lauraette Kirkland, Tracy Landers,April M. Leland, Dabney Mahanes, HamedMahmoodi, Mark Malmgren, Eve Martin,Frank McGrath, Donna N. Minor, JohnMoore, Mark Mulfinger, Kevin Pang, GraceScherer, Sara Dame Setzer, Kirkland Smith,Tom Supensky, Wendyth T. Wells and JaneWoodward.J. Michael Johnson was born and raisedin East Tennessee and has lived in the southeastUnited States all his life. He begantaking images and working in his darkroomPage 28 - Carolina Arts, July 2013over thirty years ago and has traveledextensively across the United States and theworld to capture images. His love of photographingthe motorcycle lifestyle and othersubjects, and his self-taught methods alongwith formal courses and in-field seminarswith nationally known photographers, havetruly defined the subjects he has photographedand written about over the years.These experiences have provided acollection of work that documents bikersand biker ladies riding on Daytona’s MainStreet along with the serious side of theseriders as they remember the Vietnam era,showing them riding from the Pentagon tothe Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington,DC, on Memorial Day to remembera fallen comrade, a brother, a sister or afather whose name is now engraved foreverin the black granite of the Vietnam VeteransMemorial. Johnson captures the images thegeneral public never hears about or sees.His color and black and white photographscapture the Spirit of America and its preciousFreedom of Speech.When asked about his work, Johnsonsaid, “The Nam Era: Never Forgotten, isa veterans photo tribute that I started in1997 at ‘The Wall’ (The Vietnam VeteransMemorial) in Washington, DC. It shows usthat “Freedom Is Not Free” as another partof my photojournalist journey into the motorcyclelifestyle that is so often shied awayfrom by so many civilians and journalists.”Work by J. Michael JohnsonJohnson continued, “The early Sundaymorning walks into the depth and quietnessof ‘The Wall’ lets me digitally capture veteransvisiting names on ‘The Wall’ that representthe real ‘Human Cost of Freedom’. Thenames of young boys and girls growing uptoo fast, fighting a war on foreign soil and inso many cases giving their lives fighting forAmerican freedom in a land that some sayGod forgot - Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.These digital images show friends and familymembers touching loved ones’ names andmaking a rubbing of the name so they canremember, honor and keep their loved onesmemory alive. It also serves to remind usthat we still have POW-MIA’s in Vietnam.”Johnson concluded, “There are still partsof this exhibit that live only in my head as Isometimes must make the decision as whento let an award winning image go becausea Vietnam vet’s personal privacy was muchmore important than a photograph.”Since 1997, Johnson’s photographic andwritten work about Daytona’s Bike Week,as well as many other motorcycle ralliesand events, has been repeatedly featuredin Easyriders, Biker and In The Windmagazines. He has provided commercialphotography services to various companiesin the motorcycle industry, including LehmanTrikes of Canada publishing Johnson’swork in their Pride Matters magazine.Johnson’s renowned motorcycle lifestylephotography has resulted in his givingslide shows to numerous motorcycle clubs,churches and civic groups. His most requestedimages are of the Vietnam veteransvisiting the “Moving Wall” and the “VietnamVeterans Memorial” in Washington,DC, during “Rolling Thunder” events.Johnson is a co-founder of the SpartanburgPhoto Guild, a member of the AmericanImage Press/Today’s PhotographerMagazine, and served two terms on theBoard of Trustees, of The Spartanburg ArtMuseum, Spartanburg, SC.Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, MelodyMeredith Davis considers herself fortunateto have studied art at Carnegie-MellonUniversity receiving a bachelor’s degreein painting and drawing in 1982. With herchildren grown, she moved “halfway back”to Salem SC in 2009 from the Tampa Baycontinued above on next column to the rightTable of ContentsKing Snake Press15 Yearsthrough July 18, 2013Congaree Variation II, 2007, by Mary Gilkerson, monotype/chine colle3110 Wade Hampton Blvd. Suite #10 • Taylors, SC 29687864-268-2771 • sandy@hamptoniiigallery.comwww.hamptoniiigallery.comHours: Tues. - Fri., 1 - 5 pm; Saturday, 10 am - 5 pmWork by Melody DavisArea to be near the mountains. Melody’scurrent situation allows her to focuscompletely on her artwork for the first timesince college. She also enjoys meeting otherartists and getting involved in arts organizationsin such a beautiful area of the country.When asked about her work, Davis said,“Art has been a necessity of life for as longas I can remember. Emotional expressionthrough the human form in any media hasThe Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg inSpartanburg, SC, will present Upcycled inthe Upstate, featuring works by artist LouWebster, on view in the Guild Gallery locatedat the Chapmen Cultural Center, fromJuly 1 - 28, 2013. A reception will be heldon July 16, from 6-8pm, with an artist talkat 7pm and again on July 16, from 6-8pm,during the Spartanburg ArtWalk.The exhibit allows the viewer a glimpseof how art and creativity play an importantrole in the pursuit of living a “green” lifestyle,especially in terms of recycling and“reimagining” items that no longer “serve apurpose”. Upcycled artwork not only reusesold materials, it tells a story that becomes apart of history.Webster describes her art process andwork by saying, “As a native of NorthCarolina, my love of texture and materialsstems from a fascination of the dilapidatedfarmhouses and barns that dot the rurallandscape. Structures long abandoned fallslowly to the earth. Broken and twistedalways been my passion and I find endlessinspiration in those closest to me.” Shecontinued, “I love the challenges of paintingand the immediate energy of digital photography,but it is the clarity of pencil drawingthat is the best therapy.”Recognized by the National Endowmentfor the Arts, Blue Star Families and theDepartment of Defense as a 2013 Blue StarMuseum, the Pickens County Museum ofArt & History is funded in part by PickensCounty, members and friends of the museumand a grant from the South CarolinaArts Commission, which receives supportfrom the National Endowment for the Arts.For further information check our SCInstitutional Gallery listings or call theMuseum at 864/898-5963.Artists’ Guild of Spartanburgin Spartanburg, SC, FeaturesUpcycled Works by Lou Websterthey evolve into mixed media sculpturesof rusted metal, weathered planks, anduntamed vegetation. I am drawn to the quietbeauty of these ragged forms and worn surfacesand most important, to the individualitythey exude.”“In the South there exists a stubbornfrugality - that use what you have mentality- that drives creativity in many ways. Likethose rural ‘sculptures’ I admire in the landscapethe items that comprise my art havebeen discarded too,” adds Webster. “Mostwere once useful household articles, nowupcycled and reimagined. Found objects areevaluated for form, symmetry and balancein relationship to each other. Having agreen perspective allows me to reap doublesatisfaction from my work. Each finishedpiece becomes something greater thanmerely the sum of its parts; it has character,whimsy and a new story to tell.”Webster earned her Bachelor’s degree inEnvironmental Design at NC State Univercontinuedon Page 30