The Asheville Arts Scene
June 1, 2007
By Karen O. Lane
Art Openings/ Art Walks
Our spring summer session is here bringing fabulous warm weather, arts festivals and first Friday strolls. A wonderful way to start the month of June off is to participate in the Asheville Downtown Galleries Artwalk on Friday, June 1. Asheville’s thirty galleries will be open from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Some will serve lovely little food tidbits and perhaps a glass of cheer. It’s so relaxing to wander about with a friend, hear some music and look at the art. There are only two more Art Walks scheduled for 2007 after this one, August 4 and then again on October 6.
My personal favorite starting point for the Friday Art Walks is the Asheville Area Arts Council Gallery located at 11 Biltmore Avenue. The gallery was updated a few years ago and is the nicest space in Asheville in which to view art work. The walls are white, the floor is wood and the light is as true to color as I have seen in the area. In the proper spirit of a publicly funded municipal organization devoted to advocacy of the arts of the local community, this arts organization puts on shows that are of the most compelling quality and they deserve everyone’s support. Please stop by on June 1 for the opening of a new show of art works by Celia Gray, Constance Humphries and Kelcey Loomer. In the smaller Back Gallery the art work is by Rob O’Sheeran. If you pick up a Downtown Gallery Guide and go to the other galleries in Asheville and in Biltmore Village you will have a very nice evening of pleasant social, relaxing exercise and a cultural experience, too.
For the novitiate to art openings and my favorite group that being our youth, navigating art socials can be a disconcerting endeavor sometimes. So I have decided to address the issue in my pursuit of encouraging all those interested in participating more in our arts locally.
In art school, the students, who are very talented, idealistic, passionate, young creative geniuses, would question the food, festive atmosphere and ordinary conversations at art openings and rightly so. Great art is a very serious intellectual and spiritual experience and openings seem to, in some ways maybe, trivialize the art work. I would agree that the purpose for our being there and the atmosphere that ensues does create a confusing dichotomy, but that’s the way it’s done and perhaps to a good result.
If I may offer an explanation, it is this. The artists have worked very hard to put a show together and we as social creatures get together to celebrate, in a quiet way, the accomplishment of doing the volume of work it takes to mount a show. The whole process is pretty marvelous in that new work, therefore new creative ideas manifest, can be scary both to the artist, because of fear of negative reviews and other things I won’t address now and for the viewer, because of the challenge put forth to think about things in a new way. So we all join together mutually to support the endeavors of the artist and also the audience. We look at the work, have a little snack and express appreciation for the all the work that was involved in the production of the show. As far as showing our appreciation a respectful demeanor and / or a simple thank you is sufficient. Making remarks, other than positive ones, is not on of course, as in most social situations. And expressing appreciation for the all the work that was done is adequate, because a real critique is actually an accurate description which hardly ever expresses things in terms of good or bad, or right or wrong, or I like it or I don’t like it. Those sorts of remarks are for ice cream flavors or really simplistic things.
Enjoying the process of life is more possible when we understand the intricacies of why we do things and the way we do them. It helps us participate more fully and have a better life.
Special note : Spring Studio Stroll
The second weekend of June is the River District Spring Studio Stroll running Saturday, June 9 & Sunday, June 10. This is another Asheville tradition. It is such a privilege to be able to go into an artist’s studio and have the opportunity to see how the work is done and meet the artist. Having done both sides of that coin myself it is generosity of spirit on the artist’s part that is necessary when hundreds of people come through one’s studio. As an artist respect for the visitors goes without saying in that they are who we make the work for and the fact that they make the efforts to see the work is always appreciated.
River District Artists - Studio Stroll
Happy art viewing!