Culture Vulture on the Wing
Accidental Art, Part I
What a world of wonders we can enjoy if we keep our eyes open, especially on the road. Almost every day something new and wonderful appears, unexpected Art in Public Places included, but again, more about that later. Honest. But what a lovely surprise to find art two steps across a once-familiar sidewalk or casually tacked on a kitchen wall.
Finding a rare parking space on Franklin Street, the main drag through UNC-Chapel Hill, I went from nostalgia (two of my kids are alums; one even graduated) to oh, wow. It was a new gallery, FRANK. The name is a nod to its location. In the original, the A is upside down, both an attention getter and, unknown to the PR firm that thought up the design, a mathematical symbol indicating variety and diversity, according to Gordon Jameson, a member artist — there are 20 and an additional 80 consigning artists working in all media — and president of the board of the non-profit, four-year-old art coop.
There is one paid employee and a lot of donated volunteer hours, reported Jameson, who happened to be on site changing light bulbs. As a nonprofit, there has to be a lot of fundraising to support the 3,400 square feet of gallery space; in this way FRANK differs from Key West’s Guild Hall and Island Co-op. Rather more comparable, though certainly not an exact fit, would be the Gato and the Florida Keys Council of the Arts. A current FRANK benefit, Jameson said, involves a campaign to get supporters to adopt a light fixture for $20 in order to change out the old florescent bulb for a more economical, eco-friendly LED. The campaign is updated regularly on their website.
Much more impressive than FRANK’s structure is the variety of art on display. With the work of 100 different artists available, the result is a feast of art — not all delicious, but a whole lot of different courses.
The current featured member artist, whose work is up for a month, was photographer John Rosenthal, with a series of post-Katrina images of a decimated New Orleans neighborhood. Most chilling was the message spray-painted on a weathered wall: “400 people died so you could take this picture.”
Other work was more unique, most especially decal-decorated, translucent porcelain vessels by Mimi Logothetis. One on display was actually a table lamp. Another was not functional, but a striking image (on one side and among other images) of five men (one in underwear) and a large spider. The scrunched appearance, Jameson explained, was achieved in the kiln, the effect of the firing of the super-thin clay.
Jameson himself is a painter working in acrylic on linen. He describes his work as “readable abstract.” I would add that he is a masterful colorist. The two pieces on display result from a recent trip to India; among his photos was a pile of used saris for sale in a market. Each painting “calls on only a square inch” of the photo of those saris, he said.
What was hanging on a kitchen wall? Stay tuned. That’s all for now. Gotta fly!
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