MARCH 2010
March 27, 2010, Fireball, Firehouse Theatre Project
This annual fundraiser is not only a great place to get excellent silent auction and raffle items, but also a great place for networking and meeting new friends. The small, intimate venue, combined with conducive ambience, makes for smiling conversation all around. Plus, of course, is the always-expected element cutting-edge poignancy and surprise that the Firehouse Theatre offers. At this event I met and talked a 34-year veteran of the Fire Department of New York – also a Ground Zero veteran of 9-11 – who wore his uniform and helmet from that day.
March 27, 2010, Artworks by Richmond Public School Students, Richmond City Hall
Franklin Military, Armstrong High, Fisher Elementary, Blackwell Elementary, Reid Elementary, King Middle, and all the others are here. Brown Middle School student Christina Peters’ portrait of a seated woman gets my attention because of the eyes – hard to explain but they look sort of like those in those mystery movies where someone on the other side of the wall is spying through the cutout eyes in a portrait. I haven’t before seen portrait eyes like these. George Mason Elementary School’s Tiyell Sineus has a colorful work that gets my attention because it’s Muhammad Ali in the exact pose that I used for a portrait of him 40 years ago – gloves up with a long-reaching left jab. There are maybe 200 works in this exhibition – including a pair glorious color photographs of butterflies alighting on plates of food, by Thompson Middle School student Douglas Smith.
March 26, 2010, Murals of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Richmond, administered by Art On Wheels, Children’s Museum of Richmond
This is my kind of art opening – smiling children, bright innocent artworks and murals, and cookies and milk for refreshments. The artworks were created using a surrealist game from the cafes of Paris of the early 19th Century: one artist create a head and then cover it and pass it on to the next artist to create a body and then cover it all for a third artist to create legs. The results will raise your eyebrows and make you grin.
March 18, 2010 – “Epiphany 50 – One for the Road,” Firehouse Theatre
This is actor/director Bill Patton’s living wake – his compelling, one-person, spoken-word memoir about his life. Loved it that his last line was asking me to play a couple of sets of tennis with him tomorrow.
March 16, 2010 - Bon Air Artists exhibition, James Center Lobby
There are a few dozen works in ail, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, colored pencil, photography, and mixed – by a few dozen artists, priced from $145 to $2,500. The great thing about Bon Air Artists exhibitions is that you can always count on an extremely wide variety.
March 12, 2010 – “Petersburg Photography,” Petersburg Area Art League
This exhibition features works of a handful of photographers including the compelling April 3, 1865 Petersburg panorama (a month after the city’s fall). PAAL continues on its mission to present important exhibitions while providing a wonderful facility for education in the arts.
March 12, 2010, “The Land We Live In, The Land We Left – Virginia’s People,” Library of Virginia
At this exhibition is the original letter that former slave Jenny Brown wrote on June 18, 1882 to the Sherriff of Mecklenburg County seeking information to help in her post-war search for her relatives – a search that included trying to track down records of slave sales. “I was sold before the War by someone named Phillip Love . . .” she writes. This exhibition, complete with a complementary catalog that looks like a passport, contains stories about our state’s immigrants and the lands they left behind – and begins to answer the question, “Who are we.”
March 10, 2010 – Paintings by David Skinner, Glave Kocen Gallery
Well, once again I am pleasingly stunned by some gorgeous paintings; these are expressive landscapes by David Skinner – acrylic on paper and acrylic on canvas, from 18x18” to 46x46”.
March 5, 2010 – “The Songlines of Richmond,” presentation by Brooks Smith and Wayne Dementi, Richmond Public Library
What a great 90 minutes! Not only hearing Brooks and Wayne tell some of the stories from the book, but also with surprise presentations by cover mural artist Ed Trask, and “Sweet Virginia Breeze” singer/writer Steve Bassett. And a bonus magic show by Jonathan Austin! It is of course hard to know how to prioritize your time on a downtown First Friday, but I can’t imagine that anyone made a better choice.
March 4, 2010 – “Glass Ceilings: Highlights from the International Archive of Women in Architecture,” Virginia Center for Architecture
Great exhibition, and once again a reminder that the Virginia Center for Architecture’s wonderful home on Monument Avenue is worth visiting just for the home itself.
March 4, 2010 – Art of All Kinds, General Assembly Building
Well, if you want to see a building full of art by all sorts of artists – from young students to mature professionals – go to the General Assembly Building when the Assembly is in session. There is art everywhere – seemingly on every corridor, every wall, every floor. I don’t know where to start – and won’t – except to say congratulations to our state’s elected officials for making this happen.
March 3, 2010 – “Surface Tension – Pattern, Texture, and Rhythm and Art,” University of Richmond’s downtown Wilton Companies Gallery
This exhibition includes works by Fox, Carver and Overby Shepherd Elementary Schools as well as by University of Richmond design students. The title of the exhibition is an accurate description of the interesting works on display.
FEBRUARY 2010
2/28/ 2010 – “Vanitas,” paintings by Helena Wurzel, Russell/Projects, Plant Zero
This is a new sales/exhibition space at Plant Zero, and it’s terrific - enjoyed meeting/talking with Heather Russell.
2/25/2010 – “Crumble (Lay me down, Justin Timberlake),” Firehouse Theatre Project
This play – akin to experimental theatre of 40 years ago – confirms why J.C. and I have been regulars since the Firehouse’s founding 15 years ago. This is strange stuff, and the Firehouse never lets the lure of box office get in the way of artistic vision. My hunch is that everyone felt strongly about “Crumble” – one way or the other. I loved it!
2/22/2010 – “Sit-In Stand Out,” Richmond Marriott
This special luncheon, entitled, “Courage to Stand Up: Yesterday’s Lessons for Today,” was worth every penny of the $250 price. It honored the 34 Virginia Union University students who, 50 years ago to the day, sat in at the segregated Thalhimer’s lunch counter – a courageous act that precipitated actions that ended segregation in Richmond. Many of the 34 were there (as were members of the Thalhimer family) and this was the first time they had ever been together to reflect on and celebrate what they did. A nationally significant occasion – then and 50 years later.
2/21/2010 – John Jasper Day, Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church
Artworks on the walls, inspirational dance during the worship service, a history lesson on John Jasper delivered by church historian Benjamin Ross, and some stunningly amazing keyboards by the church’s young choral director Andrew Miles punctuated this annual event to honor “John Jasper Trailblazers” – persons who blaze trails in racial equity. This year’s awardees are Dr. Leonard L. Edloe, Mr. T. Somananath, Mr. Michael Paul Williams.
2/20/2010 – Paintings by Tobin Garth Karicher, Richmond Public Library
These oil-on-linen landscapes hang in that lobby just outside the Gellman Room. The paintings’ browns and blues are expressively Turneresque in the way they mix and clash and define an interesting perspective.
Past CultureWorks Happenings.
2/17/2010 – Paintings by Ning Lee, Gumenick Family Gallery, The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen
This is a perfect gallery – crafted with that careful balance that makes any sort of artwork, from conceptual to classical, look its best. But the oil on linen paintings by Ning Lee can do the converse: make any gallery look its best. These still lifes are (with an appropriate jumble of metaphors) right up at the top of my personal alley: deft brilliance with a brush. You just must see these paintings. “Eggscape” will make your knees buckle. So will “Rose With Egg Shell,” “One Painted Egg,” “Apple on Brick,” and “Gathering” (which is a pear sandwiched by two light bulbs) – all titles that admittedly don’t sound all that compelling. But it’s the paintings’ LOOK that’s compelling. And even if the look could be described in words, you wouldn’t believe the words.
2/16/2010 – “Willie Nelson and Family,” The National
It began with Willie’s son Lucas walking to the microphone with his hands in his pockets and saying “Hello.” Then, accompanied only by a minimal bass guitarist, he sang “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” . . . and brought the house down with his piercingly and surprisingly gorgeous voice. The even better surprise came next when he picked up an electric guitar and led the whole band into some explosive high-voltage rock and displayed honestly passionate licks that would have surpassed both Ralph Macchio and Steve Vai. Lucas Nelson’s vocals and instrumentation had me for every second of his 30-minute set, and by the time he closed with “Hoochie Koochie Man,” I had already voted him such. Willie Nelson followed with a 90-minute set that was a homerun. (But Lucas was the out-of-the-park grand slam.) But the real theme of the evening was of course The National – which you have to experience to appreciate. No chairs (except in the balcony), a happy and friendly close gathering of upright sardines, lots of cold beverages, and plenty of hollerin’ . . . all in a beautifully restored old performance hall.
2/14/2010 – “Romeo & Juliet,” Richmond Ballet, Richmond CenterStage
Next year I’m going to wear a white puffy shirt and a flowing lavender/pink cape on Valentine’s Day. At least that’s what Igor Antonov’s Romeo has inspired. And his dance with the seemingly dead Juliet (Valerie Tellman) was a weirdly perfect combination of beautiful, creepy, and passionate. For future reference: you can’t go wrong with Richmond Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet on Valentine’s Day.
2/13/2010 – Paintings by Scott Phillips, Eric Schindler Gallery
My first white collar job was heading an art department for a small college in rural south Georgia where the fishing was great and where I did much of it. A student at the college was a fishing enigma. His name was either Scott Phillips or Phillip Scott. I never could get it right. His fishing abilities were what confounded all of us. He had a magical skill that I couldn’t understand. He did things that I couldn’t fathom. He reeled in trophies. Likewise with this painter on display at Eric Schindler – Scott Phillips. This is my first encounter with his work. He has something special.
2/12/2010 – “Sweethearts for the Arts: A Blush-Worthy Event,” fundraiser for Art On Wheels, Gallery5
Chocolate covered strawberries fed to you by the Taboo Girls, blush-worthy interpretive dance by Sugar Shack Burlesque, and “other juicy surprises” flavored this event benefitting Art On Wheels that provides so much service to so many persons who are so underserved. Another in an ongoing string of events hosted at Gallery5 to benefit worthy causes and organizations. (And, as always, a big crowd of bright youthfulness.)
2/11/2010 – “Facing East,” Richmond Triangle Players
First production in Triangle’s brand new facility, and featuring two of my favorite actors (Melissa Johnston Price and Daniel Moore) along with newcomer Peter O’Shanick. Great reviews for the play, and equally great reviews for this theatre that’s comfortable, accessible, and welcoming. Way to go!
2/10/2010 – “Coming Out – Coming In,” Emmy-winning documentary film
As co-executive producer, Richmond Ballet’s Keith Martin accepted the Emmy for this one on January 30 in Nashville. The film’s subtitle is, “Faith, Identity, and Belonging.” It’s important. I’m glad I purchased a personal copy at www.coming-out-coming-in.net
2/8/2010 – The Future of Richmond’s Past – “The History and Creation of the Black Church,” Union PSCE
This is part of the continuing community-wide conversation accompanying preparation for the sesquicentennial of the Civil War – the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and of Emancipation. Moderator Sylvester Turner opened the event by observing that the audience was indeed diverse – contrary to what he often encounters at gatherings to discuss diversity-related topics. Highlight of the evening was the keynote presentation by Dr. John Kinney, Dean of the Samuel DeWitt School of Theology at Virginia Union University: scholarly, energizing, and soul lifting.
2/7/2010 – Gay Community Center Gallery
There are new works up by a handful of artists including the latex “paintings” by Henry Clay – zillion-layered “dimensional sculpted work” unlike anything I’ve seen before: latex on canvas, on burlap, on board, etc. Good stuff. And good gallery.
JANUARY 2010
1/31/2010 – “The Jag,” Firehouse Theatre Project
Put the Firehouse’s annual “Festival of New American Plays” on your list. They present staged readings of the two finalists of this national competition, and “The Jag” was the winner. I already knew Bill Patton, Morrie Piersol, and Amy Sproul from their track records of personal-favorite acting and directing, but this was their first-ever time to share the stage. Mark it as a don’t miss if these stars ever again align. We got to meet and talk with playwright Gino DiIorio – who had driven down from his home in New York and whose first words to the audience afterwards were, “You need to get some plows” (because of the snowboundness). Great guy, great play, great venue.
1/29/2010 – “Twilight Carniball: Destination Italy,” Children’s Museum of Richmond
This was the Museum’s first such event sans children. (Children were included in the daytime portion.) Beautifully decorated facility with lots of bells and whistles for this party. (I bought a glass of champagne that came with a diamond that I can verify as real or not when I take it to Carreras Ltd.) The theme of this event was the youth and enthusiasm of the attendees – parents of small children.
1/28/2010 – “Spirit of Transportation,” Philadelphia Amtrak Station
This grand frieze which was created in 1895 by Karl Bitter – 30 feet wide, 12 feet tall, and 3 feet deep – has for a long time been one of my favorite artworks and I always spend some time with it when I take the train to Philadelphia. But here’s the thing: it’s located right there on the wall of a cavernous room (60 x 150 with 30-foot ceilings) that nobody uses. The room serves as the passageway from the station’s lobby to the restrooms. Again, nobody uses it. And as folks walk through it they don’t glance at Bitter’s artwork. I know, I watch them. Herb Henze told me about the artwork. If you know saltwater fishing, you know Penn Reels, and Herb’s the longtime Penn person who designed the reels – one of the icons in the fishing industry, but an icon who is overlooked. The frieze is “the triumphal procession of progress led by a little child carrying a model of an airship – a prophetic vision of a mode of transportation to come,” and includes horses, oxen, a chariot, 18 persons, and all sorts of other stuff. If you go, take a look at that glob of stuff below Bitter’s signature and see if you tell what it is. The context of, and attention to, public art is almost always interesting.
1/27/2010 – “Safe Enough,” art by Ann Bradshaw, Quirk Gallery
Most of us who have been involved with making art for a lot of years have been through the marbleizing phase – discovering and marveling over the process, creating our own stuff, and then moving on. But Ann Bradshaw’s marbelization is something else. (Makes the rest of us wish we hadn’t “moved on.”) Bravo.
1/23/2010 – “Lights Up,” – Richmond CenterStage
This was the all-hands-on-deck free open house for the CenterStage Education Program headed by Janet Krogman, and it was a first-time-at-bat home run. I don’t yet know the head count, but there were a zillion kids of all ages at CenterStage enjoying a couple of dozen classes and workshops and participation events all over the place. I watched tiny tots stroking strings at the Richmond Symphony Orchestra’s Petting Zoo, all-size kids watching wide-eyed as puppet master Christopher Hudert revealed the thumb-and-lower-jaw secrets of all sorts and sizes of puppets, and raised-browed youngsters observing a Richmond Ballet Masterclass. Sessions were everywhere: Theatre IV/Barksdale, Elegba Folklore Society, Richmond Shakespeare, Latin Ballet, Virginia Opera, SPARC, African American Repertory Theatre, AART – all multi-tasking for the young multitudes. Bravo to the whole CenterStage team!
1/22/2010 – “A Servant of Two Masters,” Henley Street Theatre Company – Pine Camp Center
This was my first time to see Richard Koch perform (star role, Truffaldino), and boy oh boy am I looking forward to the next time. I have sort of a private, mental list of my top-shelf personal favorite actors in the Richmond region, and he’s now on it. Full house, lots of fun.
1/18/2010 – A Celebration of Unity Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
For years my friend Joan Oates had been waving the banner for this annual event that features a variety of choirs – this year the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir, the Riverview Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir, and the Grace & Holy Trinity Adult Choir. A feel-proud concert with a fully diverse audience and singers of all ages. The finale – “Hope for Resolution, A song for Mandela and deKlerk” – featured the joining together of all 143 voices of the three choirs along with special percussion instruments. The choirs clustered in the aisles, in the wings, and in the front – all facing, from four directions, director Hope Armstrong Erb. This finale grew to a grand swaying chorus of celebration and hope. The event was a fundraiser for Haiti, and the music engendered hope.
1/17/2010 – City Singers Children’s Choirs – Ginter Park Presbyterian Church
This 501c3 group was new to me. Their mission includes: “to inspire the highest level of artistic choral performance while bringing together youth of the greater Richmond area in a joyful appreciation of their ethnic, religious and cultural diversity.” The concert included three groups - City Singers, Junior City Singers, and Neighborhood Singers – and music selections spanning 1,000 years and a range of cultures including an unusual Japanese piece, “Joban Tanko Bushi,” that required interesting vocalizations.
1/17/2010 – “Uncommon Denominator: Diverse Works Unified by Purposeful Manipulation of Material – ArtSpace
A dozen or so artists working in metal, clay, textiles and wood. Most attention-getting for me were Jill Rich’s intricate creations of silver plated copper that could have been at home in Camelot.
1/16/2010 – Virginia Gubernatorial Inauguration
I viewed this event from the tall-building offices of the Virginia Network of Nonprofit Organizations – VANNO – on the north side of the 1100 block of East Main Street. A few things added to historic nature of the day. One was the sign I read on the exterior wall of an adjacent building: “This wall was once a part of the Treasury Building of the Confederate States of America.” Jefferson Davis’ office was there. And on the street in front of the building – just as was probably the case back then – was horse manure (I assume resulting from mounted officers). And just 100 feet away – perhaps as was back then – were scattered shells of peanuts. And then just after the Governor completed his vows, there were several blasts of cannon fire that were followed by thick clouds of smoke that drifted across the Capitol grounds. Of course all was put immediately back on course with the booming flyover zooms of four tandem black jets.
1/15/2020 – “Fragments of our Imagination,” Visual Arts Center of Richmond
These are the artworks of Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet, and they are in the category of “don’t miss.” It’s a disservice to try to describe these precious and intricate artworks, but they are carefully tooled and combined and manipulated and crafted miniatures that include all sorts of stuff from precious metals to ephemera. The gallery provides magnifying glasses to aid the viewer’s visual delight and amazement. The other amazing thing about this show is the presentation – the pedestals, the wall décor, the arrangement – simply magnificent but in a way that showcases the artworks and doesn’t draw attention to itself. A significant exhibition.
1/15/2010 – “From Africa and Beyond” – Pine Camp Center, Spotlight Gallery
Two dozen visual arts pieces ranging from oil to photography and created by many artists. Earle Taylor’s color photo, “Essential Adam: Eden; Bahia,” was particularly compelling – a black man with lemons and limes. There were no other visitors in the small Spotlight Gallery while I was there (7:00 pm on a Friday evening), but there were 60 cars parked in Pine Camp’s parking lot – all involved with the smorgasbord of learning/participating activities in process at Pine Camp.
1/8/2010 – Metro Space Gallery
When you’ve been immersed in visual arts for decades you think you’ve seen it all. Josephine Durkin’s framed works on paper - “Excerpts in Conversations” – are new to me. Using the term collage is a disservice, because that’s not what they are even though the description – “digital print on archival rag paper with color pencil, and acrylic and latex paint” – implies something similar. You just have to see them. Josephine studied at VCU, then at Yale, and is now teaching at a university in Texas and exhibiting well beyond.
1/8/2010 – Gallery5 – “Say Love”
This is a gathering of visual works that address the meanings of significant-other-related love, and includes a lot of photo portraits of persons combined with their own definitions of love. My favorite photo is Andrea Olsen’s photo of Kevin Orlosky (the only black/white photo in the group), and Kevin’s meaning of love is also my favorite: “Giving everything you have and asking nothing in return.” J.C. and I participated in the live videotaping of persons saying their own comments about love – supposed to be viewable on gayrva.com.
The signature piece of this exhibition – right in the middle of the gallery – is James Robertson’s life-size wet clay person sitting on the side of a real bed. Entitled, “Soiled Sanctity and a Moot Point,” the piece speaks about the disappointment of departure after a morning after. I talked with James and learned that he does conservation/preservation type work on monumental sculptures in Richmond and beyond – including being the person who installs a new scabbard on the Virginia Historical Society’s horse each time one is stolen or damaged. J.C. was with me and James reminded her that he was one of her students at VCU’s School of the Arts and that he still remembers the first day of her class and that he still has all of the works created in that class.
1/5/2010 – Ashland Artists Network, Ashland Coffee and Tea
I was just an observer at this get-started meeting of this fledgling organization of artists – 17 and growing. A compelling/interesting group. Met Chip Mitchell – the photographer for those Dominion ads with the worker and the ballerina, and also for the 2008 “Nekkid Men from the Center of the Universe” calendar that raised $20K+ for Ashland Christian Emergency Services, Inc. Also met Susannah Wagner, jeweler and owner of Ashland’s Gallery 606, and whose own commissions include the official maces of a few colleges including Virginia Wesleyan. She trained in Edinburgh. Also interesting meeting/discussion with Petie Bogen-Garrett – former STYLE cover, and who has a variety of curatorial involvements including with the art exhibits at Westminster Canterbury and now with the new Listening Room Gallery that she created at Ashland Coffee and Tea. Talked with facility owner Moya Parmele who offers Ashland Coffee/Tea as a gathering place for groups like this as well as other arts/culture groups.
1/3/2010 – Social Gathering for Six
It was nice starting my new year by meeting and talking with Alexander Brusilovsky – a piano builder who moved here from Russia 15 years ago. Made music instruments as a child, did advanced formal education in Russia, then engineered/supervised at a Russian piano factory until it closed during Perestroika, then responded to a need advertised by Richmond Piano, now works independently including – I have learned - working on pianos of a friend of mine. Also likes to fish but has much to learn about fishing the James River – which hopefully I’ll get a chance to mentor.
1/2/2010 – Art Works Studios & Galleries
I have of course been there before, but this visit was a purposely leisurely one to just browse: 75 different artists in active studios, artworks displayed everywhere, all sorts of stuff. I’ll mention four artists that were interesting surprises for me. Rob Mir creates creepy-fantasy sorts of things out of clay, some of which would be at home alongside GWAR, and one of which is an evil, real-looking possum in a real wire cage. He does drawings and paintings too. I had been unaware of the paintings of Terry Lynn Smith – big, bright colorful self-portraits in all sorts of poses and characters. BUT, many of the works contrast the cheerful color palette with an unashamed unmasking of her physical struggles including a mastectomy and several other surgeries. I don’t know photographer Mundy Hackett, but her big close-up color photos of big cats have some effects that I’d not seen and that got my attention. And while at Art Works I introduced myself to photographer Michael Bailey who has been in the building almost since it opened and who has what might be the facility’s premier studio – worth seeing. Art Works’ feature exhibition, there in the entry gallery, is a juried show entitled, “Simply Photography.” A thirty-something couple entered as I departed, and I overheard her say to the staff person: “What do you mean by ‘juried photography’? That’s a new term for me.” I vote yes on visitors asking questions at arts/culture venues.
DECEMBER 2009
12/4/2009 – “Small Wonder,” 1708 Gallery
Saw two nice oils by Andy Bality that he painted on-site along the James River; last year I watched him do one there. Rob Tarbell’s “Rabbit Warren” done only with smoke on paper is intriguing.
12/4/2009 – “It’s All For Sale: 30 Years of Trade”
My attention was immediately drawn to a colorful screenprint that turned out to be by the late Nell Blaine whom I knew and whose studio I’d visited in NYC. And near Nell’s screenprint was a screenprint, “Inferno,” by “J.Gilmore.” That’s Janet Gilmore-Bryan, my wife – learned that it came from a portfolio from ONE/OFF – her professional printmaking group.
12/4/2009 – Cannonball Press Printmakers, Metro Space Gallery
Met and talked with owners/printmakers, from Brooklyn, Mike Houston and Martin Marosa – learned that they create the prints at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Studio. When Janet and I lived in NYC she was Blackburn’s assistant at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Now deceased, we both knew him well.
12/4/2009 – “Anatomy of Drama,” Gallery5
Introduced myself to the artist, Sandra Doore, from Canada. Compelling work – stuffed and stitched fabrics of all types. She found and connected with G5 during her explorations of galleries on the web.
12/8/2009 – Virginia Network of African American Heritage Museums, Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church
My second exposure to research presented by Elvatrice Belsches, this time with an original check from the first African American owned bank in Richmond (Maggie Walker’s was the fourth). Last time I saw her she had discovered the first primary documentation that Virginia Union University’s first classes had been held in the building that had been the Lumpkins Slave Jail.
12/11/2009 – “The Winter Ball,” Firehouse Theatre Project
The event featured Sugar Shack Burlesque: magic, music, comedy, and female strippers. Sugar Shack Burlesque is one of Richmond’s singular arts/culture things: the nation’s only 501c3 nonprofit burlesque company. They perform in Richmond, D.C., NYC, and elsewhere. The emcee stripper paused at one point to remember the two fundamental words of wisdom from her father – one if which is, “Don’t take anything too seriously.”
12/12/2009 – “Jingle on the James,” Rocketts Landing
Organized by Tyler Snidow of One SmART Gallery, this event featured 110 artists including me. It was fascinating meeting and learning about the artist stationed next to me: Jorge Diaz. Jorge was born/raised in Peru, and although a compelled artist from birth, he made his career in the military. In 1996 at age 35 and with the rank of Major in the Peruvian army, he moved to the U.S. He now works in IT for Bank of America in Richmond, but spends most of his away-from-work time painting. His signature works are his large canvases of sunflowers. Jorge is a member of Bon Air and Tuckahoe Artists Associations. www.DiazFineArt.com
12/18/2009 – Holiday Studio Party, Shelly Bechtel Shepherd, Visual Arts Center of Richmond
Shelly is just one of Visual Arts Center’s teachers who do special things for their students. Her annual Holiday Studio Party features food and drink and a free raffle for one of her paintings. (I won last year!) Shelly’s a fine artist, teacher, and person, and the evening’s blizzard didn’t keep her students and friends away. www.bechtelshepherd.com
12/22/2009 – “The Nutcracker,” Richmond Ballet, Richmond CenterStage
You of course can’t go wrong with this annual production, and it complimented the newly completed Richmond CenterStage wonderfully. It was 45 minutes into the performance – almost intermission time – that I noticed something: the two small children on either side of me and the four in front of me and the many scattered around me were being quiet, attentive, and non-fidgety. And these were small children: mostly lap-sitters and seat-sitters whose heads were lower than the chair backs. It takes a mighty production to cause that. Near the end of intermission the mother next to me said this to her daughter (maybe four years old), “Do you feel like a big, grown-up girl now?” Then they clicked their cups of hot chocolate and the mother said, “Cheers.”
12/23/2009 – Neighborliness Jazz Quartet, Youtube
My favorite youtube of 2009, this video is part of ad campaign for Vladivostok (Russia) and features four Richmond jazz players – one of whom, John Winn (vocals and sax), played with his father Jack Winn at the grand opening of CenterStage. I like all six minutes of this one. The quartet also includes Daniel Clarke, piano; Curtis Fye, bass; and Rob Sinclare, drums. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKQHmF75L4
12/31/2009 – “Avatar,” MovieLand
“Like it or loathe it, the new year in movies will be dominated by one thing: 3-D,” wrote columnist Robert W. Butler. He calls “Avatar,” “the least bothersome 3-D I’ve ever experienced.” “Avatar” is going to generate conversation in arts/culture circles, and I saw it so I’ll be able to participate. And of course MovieLand itself gets both of my thumbs pointed up.
NOVEMBER 2009
11/6/2009 – Janis Ian, Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen
(Get her book and read it. Hint: Dollar Tree has it.) These were tickets for my wife J.C.’s birthday and I had not anticipated that it would be one of the memorable concerts of my life. But it was. Ian’s 58-year-old voice is spectacular and the songs are important. But the ongoing exclamation point for the concert was Ian’s poignant patter throughout – engaging storytelling that revealed ever-valid truths about all of us. Continually urged to write an autobiography since she was 16 years old, she finally gave in a couple of years ago when she was told, “Lesbians are hot now, and they aren’t always going to be.” Entitled Society’s Child (from the title of her breakthrough song at age 14), I’ve purchased the book and it’s good.
11/7/2009 – Quux Collective, Swift Creek Mill Theatre
My longtime desire to see an up-close performance using a Theramin was fulfilled gloriously. This four-person ensemble -Sheri Oyan on sax; James Oyan on marimba; Roland Karnatz on Theramin, didgeridoo, and kyma sound processor and Michael Straus on sax - explored musical regions that were experimental and new to my ear. Australian Roland Karnatz was educated at VCU and is the technical director for VCU’s Opera Theatre Workshop. I’ve been around saxophone players, but sax player Sheri Oyan has a PhD in the instrument and does stuff that I’d never before heard – good stuff. Ditto with her brother James on the marimba. The other sax player, Michael Straus, lives in Amsterdam. I’d never heard of Quux, but they now have my vote!
11/8/2009 – Melissa Burgess, Martin McFadden and John Shuptrine, 1212 Gallery
Painter Melissa Burgess makes part of her living by waiting tables at Perly’s and that’s how I met her, and that’s of course a common scenario for independent visual and peforming artists. Her paintings (19 at this show) are up my personal alley – naturalistic descriptions of her urban surroundings. Five stars. Martin McFadden’s photos are full-color although I mistook them as being hand-tinted. This mistake provides their compelling interest. They are photos of broken/abandoned urban scenes – scenes that offer a monochromatic dullness except for a single exception such as a lime green window pane. Again, I was fooled – thought these were hand-tints. Martin showed and explained to me their reality.
11/10/2009 – The Future of Richmond’s Past, Virginia Union University
Public interest was confirmed by the full, diverse house in spite of nasty rain. Wonderful surprise of the evening was Elvatrice Belsches’ presentation of her new discovery of first-time primary source information confirming that Virginia Union University’s first classes took place at Lumpkins Slave Jail. Most fun of the evening was Michael Gorman’s photo show – including a 360-degree panorama of Civil War Richmond from atop Pratt’s Castle. (Photographers used that vantage point often, and Gorman used Photoshop to create a compelling panorama.)
11/13/2009 – “This Is How It Goes,” Firehouse Theatre Project
Of course any cast and play that are directed by Bill Patton are right up my alley, but the surprise of the evening for was Tyhm Kennedy in the role of Cody – not a Richmonder and new to me. He’s now a “don’t miss” on my theatre list.
11/14/09 – “Gems of the Choral Art,” One Voice Chorus, St. Michael’s Catholic Church
You never know who might next join this diverse chorus of 100+ voices or what they might sing. A couple of special treats for me at this concert: first, three selections composed by my Uncle Charles (Charles Faulkner Bryan, 1911-1955); and second, new choral member Chris Burnside (former chair of VCU’s Department of Dance and Choreography).
11/27/2009 – Snow Queen, Serendipity
Stopped by this relatively new shop (art gallery and consignment) and encountered the Snow Queen – Donna Strother Deekens, the woman who appeared alongside Santa at Miller & Rhoads for 20 years – signing copies of her new book, Christmas at Miller & Rhoads: Memoirs of a Snow Queen, and dressed in her Snow Queen outfit – of course an enduring part of our region’s culture.
11/28/2009 – Ed Shelton, Jr.
Interesting meeting Ed – hearing about his years-ago relationships with the Arts Council of Richmond, including winning Best In Show at an indoor/outdoor Arts Council exhibit at Byrd Park. Ed’s in Studio 27 at Plant Zero.