conversations with Tony Luensman

Image: Tony Luensman at Herron Galleries next to his piece Literalization of Transubstantiation (A Child's Vision of the Sacred Heart)

Last week, we at Herron were fortunate to have Cincinnati-based artist Tony Luensman with us for a lecture and studio visits with MFA students. Luensman has two pieces up in the current group show at Herron Galleries, which is called Between History and Memory and is open through November 20. He has a solo exhibition up at Clay Street Press in Cincinnati called ABRADE. Luensman was educated in painting and sculpture at Kenyon, has had multiple residencies in Taiwan, is a recipient of the 2008 Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship among many other awards, and his art is held in many public collections. He has been widely exhibited both nationally and internationally in group and solo shows, including a 2007 exhibition entitled Arenas at the Cincinnati Art Museum where his art was placed throughout the space so visitors could revisit the museum's collection while seeking out his art.

Luensman believes titles are very important, and often thinks through words rather than images in his art. "My ideas come verbally," he says. A lot of his art straddles the line between innocence and a darker reality quite poignantly, but through the the more adult-like themes that exist within his art he is also trying to restore the sense of innocence in experiences that would not traditionally be interpreted that way. He views some of his art as "a way of making sexual issues not so serious" for himself. His art's ability to embody completely different meanings and situations simultaneously is its greatest strength. "I like setting up that tension where people may be unaware of what they are doing," he explains in reference to viewers' interactions with his art.

I recently had the pleasure of having some conversations with Tony here at Herron Galleries. See the videos and also some photographs of some of his art with his explanations at Outposts From The Material World

Weekend Preview, Take 2 (scaled down)

Well, it is quite late here but I am going to give this ago once again. Thanks for those who helped contribute some previews already. Much appreciated. So, with the knowledge that some of the weekends events have already been posted I have scaled this back some. And while I failed to send out notice in time for the opening at christopher west presents, I will lead with that one, just note that it opened on Thursday and not on First Friday. Anyway, I hope you all have a good night out. Looks like some interesting shows.

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cristopher west presents

Women:
New work by Craig Doty

christopher west presents
646 Massachusetts Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46204

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Bootleg Exhibitions, Vol. 2

Araan Schmidt
Stacey M. Holloway
Aaron Leif Nicholson

Friday, 6pm - 11pm

“Bootleg Exhibitions: Vol. 2,” at 1656 English Ave, across the street from the Mt. Comfort gallery. This exhibition will be showcasing the work of Araan Schmidt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Bowling Green State University, Stacey M. Holloway, Sculpture Technician and 3D Design Instructor at the Herron School of Art and Design, and Aaron Leif Nicholson, Visiting Lecturer at the Herron School of Art and Design. Come join us for our opening reception on Friday, Nov. 6th from 6pm to 11pm and our closing reception on Saturday, Nov. 21st from 6pm to 10pm.

“Bootleg Exhibitions: Vol. 2” will display the work from three artists that attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Araan Schmidt will be creating a site specific multi-media installation in the basement gallery. Stacey M. Holloway will be displaying three-dimensional landscapes about home, memory, and the Midwest. And Aaron Leif Nicholson will be exhibiting photographs and relief sculptures that he created during his residence in New York City from 2007 through 2009. All three artists will also contribute to a collaborative piece in the Barber Shop.

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Mt. Comfort (a space for champions)

Public Works
New works by Tyler Meuninck

Friday, 6pm - 10pm

Is Tyler Meuninck the best painter in Indianapolis? yeah, most people think so.
Please join us, and most people, this Friday Nov. 6th for the opening reception of public works, brand new work by Tyler Meuninck.

mt.comfort (a space for champions)
1651 English Ave
Indianapolis, In 46201

While you're in the neighborhood check out the bootleg show across the street, it's going to be a great one.

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Harrison Center for the Arts

Historical Fiction
New work by Kyle Ragsdale

Friday 6pm - 9pm

Kyle Ragsdale will exhibit new work in the solo show, Historical Fiction this Friday. Inspired by his interest in films of the Merchant-Ivory genre, this work looks at how one time period interprets another based on its values and even reinterprets styles based on the fashions of the moment. His figures are romantic, ethereal, celebratory, but tinged with sadness - in some cases shifting from participants in a parade to mourners in a funeral procession on the same canvas.

In the Gymnasium - Civil War Ball with live music and re-enactors of the era in costume.

In Gallery No. 2 - Memories in the Making presented by American Senior Communities and Alzheimer's Association.

In Hank & Dolly's Gallery - Amateur Surveys by General Acres

The work hangs through November 28th.

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Big Car Gallery

Both Sides of the Beat and Dead Zone Boys

Friday, 6pm - Midnight

Nov. 6, 6 p.m. to midnight

Dead Zone Boys art show inspired by the new album by Jookabox.

Artists in the show: Jessica Sowls, Jim Walker, NERS, Liz Janes, John Clark, Erin Drew, DM Stith, Ryan Irvin, Craig McCormick, Casey Roberts and Tom Streit.

Also that night, Pattern-Hungry Records will be presenting a night of hip-hop, spoken word, and everything in between. Exploring the art of poetry on and off the beat, Both Sides of the Beat will showcase hip-hop and spoken word artists presenting their most adventurous work. Featured performers will include Pattern-Hungry Records recording artists Lorax, Ligyro, and Yeti One appearing together as Twin Monster alongside spoken word artists TJ Reynolds, Ace One, Neil Cain and Dan Marquis.

Stutz Art Space Preview: Sight/ Insight: Artists & Places of Inspiration

Sight/ Insight will be at the Stutz Art Space from November 6-25, 2009. The show incorporates a variety of styles ranging from abstract slashes of paint, abstract quilted fabric, exaggerated recognizable forms, jewelry, and paintings and photographs that display clearly recognizable subjects. The artwork is juxtaposed leading the viewer to flow back and forth between the styles creating a dialogue amongst this diverse set of visual ideas. It is a conversation between eleven different artists, with different modes of visually communication, and different perspectives on the same subject.



The curator, Carol L Myers, chose artists whose work fit the theme of 'inspired places'. Carol herself has lately focused on drawings. She states that her "vocabulary is natural form, but inspired place happens between pencil and paper." She finds that drawing is a form of praying. I was attracted to one of her quilted painting pieces entitled, Boardwalk. The painting in the work gives the piece a sense of space and light. On top of the painting, sewn rectangular shapes overlap and break up the space, while the process of sewing the material draws the fabric and adds slight texture.

Artists in the show:
Susan Brewer
Lydia Burris
Leigh Dunnington-Jones
Karen Land
Colleen Lauter
Susan Mauck
Carol L Myers
Kate Oberreich
Jerry Points
Ginny Taylor Rosner
Martha Vaught
Julia Zollman Wickes



Visit RachelSteely.com for reflections on a few individual works from Sight/Insight .

Join the conversation about inspired places starting this coming First Friday, November 6th.

Friday Preview: Wug Laku's Nerve

First a short introduction

I have always been drawn to natural, organic objects and choose to portray them with oil on textured surfaces. I often present my subject in “dynamic still life” with a shift of time through movement or growth-decay. I am an emerging Indianapolis visual artist attempting to multitask without pulling myself too thin. I try to breathe in by experiencing other artists’ art and the created world. I breathe out by painting, drawing, photographing, teaching and blogging. Presently, I am working on a butterfly series (Fluttering Cosmopolitan, at left) that makes use of motion and pattern to walk a line between abstraction and realism. You can view my work as well as read reflections on art at my portfolio site and blog, RachelSteely.com. I'm also on Twitter @rachelsteely where you can follow me to get your weekly artist birthday with exemplary work.

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A Preview of Nerve

During the month of November, stop by Wug Laku’s Studio and Garage to see, Nerve, a collection of some of the gallery owner’s personal work. His drawings and paintings are worth an extra trip downtown when his gallery is not crowded with people and conversations, but if one only has time to view them during a First Friday, stop by the opening on November 6th.

The drawings and paintings deserve more than a cursory glance. Do not pass them by as minimalist renderings of form, but envision the works as simplified mirrors reflecting both physical and metaphysical thoughts. Open and honest communication is at their core. Parallel to his work, his artist statement is a simple poem that opens Laku up to the viewer and leaves room for abstract ideas to breathe.

Main Gallery

In the gallery’s main area, he has work from 1993, inspired by a county road north of Zionsville, IN (and a Burger King cup). Within this group, he juxtaposes negative/positive space, layered paint, planes of solid color, and value transitions. One can see a simplification of nature–very direct, concrete but beautiful in Butterfly Clover. This piece has three sections. 1) The background is a completely smooth green color. 2) The butterfly is a simple triangle that contains a slight amount of brush strokes. 3) The purple clover is the focal point. Here alone, the color changes in value and the strokes are free and visible. This group is connected to his later work (mostly from 2001) that is found in the red room through the conscious simplifying of nature.

The Red Room

The later work refines the simplification. The work’s referent is less obvious, but not less important. The color palette and texture of the images are limited, yet they are not minimal–only simplified. Three Daisy Jazz (located in the red room) represents the continuity, journey, and conversational quality of the entire show. This medium-sized painting shows process with its un-erased graphite lines, leftover tape, straight and jagged edges, and additive pieces.

Based on my visits to Laku’s gallery over the past year, he appears to enjoy displaying multiple stages of an artist’s work. This both contrasts and unites one body of work to another to showcase the development that defines an artist’s style. Laku continues this practice with two prior bodies of his own work.

While you are viewing Nerve, be sure to check out Nancy Lee’s beautifully designed metal jewelry.

A small disclaimer: Laku has represented my work at his gallery, so I am not a complete stranger to him.

Up Next: A Preview of Site/Index

My next post will be a preview of Site/Index at the StutzArtSpace. The show concerns inspired places such as gardens, farms, art studios, abandoned spaces, and urban settings. Participating artists include: Susan Brewer, Lydia Burris, Leigh Dunnington, Karen Land, Colleen Lauter, Susan Mauck, Carol L. Myers, Kate Oberreich, Jerry Points, Ginny Taylor Rosner, Martha Vaught and Julia Zollman Wickes.

Weekend Preview, or not

Well folks. After having spent the last two hours plus, on organizing and putting together this months Weekend Preview, moments before posting it, I lost it all. Blogger's oh so timely, auto save function (in a true case of bad timing) saved the moment I accidentally erased everything I had written, while simply attempting to delete a single line of html. Go to highlight a single line of text to delete not realizing you actually highlighted everything written, and Poof. Gone. Certainly not a first but pisses me off to no end each time it happens. I am uncertain if I will now get a Weekend Preview up this week, if so it will be later in the week. If I do not, be sure to visit the IDADA home page to view a map of this First Friday happenings. Sorry everyone. I will see if I can muster up the patience to redo it but not promising anything... Have a good First Friday anyways!

Know No Stranger Presents Optical Popsicle

Last Friday and Saturday, everyone who attended Know No Stranger's Optical Popsicle was treated to a visual feast. It was advertised as a visual variety show, and it did not disappoint. Comprised of a wide variety of seemingly disparate skits and vignettes, Optical Popsicle left the viewer with a sense of unity and empathy with the human experience. The show felt very contemporary in its scope of thematic material while maintaining a deeply ingrained sense of nostalgia. The skits were evocative of National Film Board of Canada Vignettes in the sense of being short, lighthearted and whimsical bursts of creative energy. It was a lo-fi look at a hi-fi life, evoking the feeling of facing current life issues through the guise of warm, fuzzy memories and "technology" (think projectors) that has become so outdated that it is nostalgic. There was lots of optical trickery incorporating overhead projectors, and although simple it was amazingly fun and effective in stimulating viewers.


I recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Know No Stranger's Michael Runge regarding the show and what the future holds for Know No Stranger. Read the rest of the post and what Michael had to say at Outposts From The Material World.

Linda Adele Goodine

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Charles Fox and I want to thank Scott for the opportunity to join On The Cusp as a contributor. I am finishing up my MA in Museum Studies at IUPUI, and I also work for Herron Galleries. I got my start blogging at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago this past summer.

I will be posting content to On The Cusp that is linked from my own blog, Outposts From The Material World. If you are interested in something that I post to On The Cusp, you can view it in its entirety on my personal blog.

I will start out with a post about Linda Adele Goodine, who has taught at Herron School of Art + Design for 20 years (photography, installation, sound, video, performance) and also teaches distance learning classes at Vermont College. She is trained as a modern dancer and also teaches yoga and sings.

On Wednesday, Goodine gave a lecture, "The Constructed Journey: Fine Art, Photography + Video" as part of IUPUI's Cutting Edge Lecture Series. Her artistic practice encompasses dance, poetry, performance, video, photography, images produced using scanners. During the lecture, Goodine screened images and video from her Seneca Honey series, produced between 2007 and 2009. Goodine states that she is "thinking of honey in terms of healing" in this body of work. "You can't live a life without suffering," she muses.

Image: Ghat from the Seneca Honey series

Read the rest at Outposts From The Material World

Goodbye Indianapolis, Hello Berlin!

By the time most of you read this I will be aboard a jet set for Berlin, which shall be my home base for the remainder of the year. I will continue to post off and on while abroad and giving you all some insight into my stay at the artist residency I am attending. I also hope to show some images of some of the artist studios I am planning on visiting. In the meantime, a handful of people have offered to help out and contribute to the blog while I am away. So, for now, auf wiedersehen!

Tuesday: Lawrence Rinder at the IMA

Lawrence Rinder talk at the IMA tomorrow evening in the DeBoest Lecture Hall.

October, 27th at 6pm


From the IMA's web site:

In March 2002, a Newsweek headline regarding Lawrence Rinder proclaimed "This Man Will Decide what Art Is.” Join Rinder, Director of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art on October 27 as he converses with Maxwell Anderson, The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO, about ways in which museums can champion diverse art forms, engage new audiences, contribute to lifelong learning, and stay ahead of the digital curve. Before his current role at UC-Berkeley, Rinder was Dean of the College at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco. From 2000-2004, he also served as the Anne & Joel Ehrenkranz Curator of Contemporary Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he organized exhibitions including The American Effect, BitStreams, the 2002 Biennial, and the award-winning Tim Hawkinson.

Friday: Know No Stranger at Earth House

The Middle Drawer is a collection of sketchbook drawings from local and not so local artists which include:

Davey-K
Austin Reavis
Diana Means
KatieLynColes
Erin K Drew
Ners
Casey Roberts
Jessica Sowls
Emily Janowiak
Paul Pelsue

Come join us at the Earth House this Friday for the Opening. Enjoy catering by Jenxie's Cafe and music by Dougy-Fresh. Participate in drawing games which include, but are not limited to:
exquisite corpse
sentence picture sentence picture sentence
bad tattoo
blind pilot
grandma's dirty mind
squiggle start
hangman
pictionary
blind contour contests
smell-o-drawing

Friday, October 16, 2009 from 5pm - 9pm

Earth House
237 East Street
Indianapolis

FRIDAY: Carla Knopp at 4 Star

"MOUNTS"
ARTIST: CARLA KNOPP
4 STAR GALLERY
OCTOBER 16 - NOVEMBER 14, 2009
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 5-9 PM

4 Star Gallery is pleased to announce "Mounts", a exhibition of paintings by
Indianapolis artist Carla Knopp. Works from this series were recently shown in
"Giganticism" at the Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY, and are featured
in "New American Paintings" (#83), juried by Lynne Warren (scheduled for
release in early October). "New American Paintings" is a national exhibition-inprint
competition, featuring 40 artists from each regional competition. This
exhibition at 4 Star Gallery is the first public viewing of the entire "Mounts" series.

Carla's work often explores metaphysics through myth and metaphor. The
Mounts series initially read as a quirky group of ridiculous structures. They
suggest some archeological mystery. These are earthworks of unknown origin,
and of unknown, but undeniable purpose. They may be monuments, they may be
poignant memorials. They may be of human or alien or supernatural creation, but
they strongly demonstrate the presence of sentiency within a corporeal world.
This "constructed by some constructor" metaphor extends even further, for the
images themselves are "built" in paint by the artist, through an intuitively guided
process.

4 Star Gallery
653 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis 46204
Gallery Hours: Thursday-Friday 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 2 – 5 pm
Contact: Shawn Miller (317) 686 - 6382

For Sale: Litho Press and Stones

Well, in order to earn some more funds for my trip to Berlin, I am regrettingly selling my litho press. Know that if I was not needing the cash I certainly would not be parting with it. I am also throwing in three stones. If any of you would be interested in purchasing the press, I have placed it on Ebay. You can see the listing at this link. While the press could use a new paint job it is a solid piece of machinery and has a nice wood press bed. If you are interested in the press, please visit the link above and place your bid. The brass plate on the press reads as follows:

Robert Mayer & Co.

Lithographic

Machinery & Supplies

New York

The press bed is roughly 35" x 26".

The Litho Stones measure:

15" x 11" x 2.5"

12" x 10" x 2.5" (has a broken corner)

12.25" x 9.5" x 2.5"

Do to the weight of the press, the buyer will need to arrange for local pick up.

Thinking About Chicago

While reading my latest emails, I came across the latest ArtLetter by Paul Klein, who in his way, once again states things in such a wonderful way that I feel it is worth sharing with our readers. Through the connecting factors between Klein's article and a wonderfully written history of the artist-run spaces of Chicago, I recently read at Pr, [(Pr) is a free arts broadsheet newsletter put out by the folks at proximity magazine. visit us online at proximitymagazine.com.] I began contemplating the numerous similarities and differences between our neighboring city. 


Paul Klein in his article linked above writes:

Chicago artists are making a difference. There are more artists taking initiative than I've seen in some time. More artist-run, alternative spaces are emerging. Some appear with the intent of only lasting for a few months and some only for a single show.

Obviously there are not enough galleries here to address the quantity of quality art that's made here. And though that appears to be an indictment of our galleries, there is also an insufficient number of collectors (even just buyers) to adequately support the gallery scene.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-klein/fresh-art-breadth_b_314267.html

Now Chicago has had a long and vibrant history with artist-run spaces and projects. Something that I have long loved about their art scene. When you can't find the scene you want, build it yourself. I had a conversation within the last 24 hours regarding a comment made by a local artist/patron whose apparent disdain for the local arts community intrigued me. In their perspective art and artists in Indy are basically irrelevant and not going to be noticed or make any noticable impact. This includes not only our galleries but also the IMA. While in some regards I do feel we have a way to go on many platforms, it is this blanket disregard to the talents and efforts being put forth by those of us who do what we can to help to elevate the scene in some way. The two biggest things that take away from Indy from having more of an active and vibrant local art scene, and both are actually interrelated are a lack of art buying/collecting public and a lack of established blue chip galleries. I have long felt that these two things are connected. But even in such circumstances, I feel that it is short sighted and narrow minded (in my opinion) to dismiss things out right. There are a number of local artists who make some excellent works that I would stack up against artist in any other city. Several of our local artists have participated and show with galleries and art fairs around the world. Perhaps this number is lower than in some cities but they are there. Artists and galleries need to try new models of practice to help get their work and their aesthetic seen, not only locally but beyond.


While we still have a long way to go, I feel it is possible to make an impact both as an artist, an arts blogger and a curator. As they often say, "if you are not part of the solution, you are a part of the problem." If you feel as if you are simply stuck here in Indy and you can't readily leave, then perhaps its time for you to step up and do something to make a change. Throw out old models of thinking and ideas about what a gallery is or should be. Reconsider what you think is success as an artist or venue. Try something new. 

Blog Contributors

Well, we have had some success in our call for some assistance in posting here at OtC while I am away on my trip to Berlin. So over course of the next few weeks I imagine you will begin to see some of their posts popping up. I will leave it to each of the writers to introduce themselves and hope you all enjoy some new takes and perspective on the local art scene. I will continue to contribute a series a posts about my stay in Berlin (I leave at the end of this month and will be gone for 2 months) for those interested.

Although a few people have offered to give us their assistance, we are gladly still welcoming more volunteer contributors. The more strong content we have coming in the better. Take advantage of the opportunity to get your feet wet and get some arts writing practice in. Your contributions will be welcomed. I want to thank those who  have already contacted me regarding their contributions and look forward to hearing from more of you. Enjoy!

Phenomenon

I have been looking forward to tonights opening at iMOCA, where they will be presenting a two person exhibition surrounding the alien, cryptozological, magical, or simply wonderous worlds of local artists Lori Miles and Casey Roberts. Two artists I have written about here in the past. I have seen some of the pieces for this show along the way and imagine you will enjoy seeing the presented here. This show welcomes you with a sense of playfulness that I think will be warmly excepted. But, do not take my word for it. Come on out and see for yourself.  iMOCA presents:Phenomenon

From iMOCA's Press Release: Join us on  October 9 from 6-9 p.m., to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibition, "Phenomenon," featuring Indianapolis artists Casey Roberts and Lori Miles. The show includes their interpretations of unexplained phenomenon such as UFOs and Sasquatch and is linked with a series of events featuring internationally known experts on these topics.. The The show runs at iMOCA through November 21, 340 N. Senate Avenue. It is linked with the Big Curiosities series at Central Library that features lectures by internationally known Bigfoot expert Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum and UFO expert Stanton Friedman.

Art Talk: Lori Miles and Casey Roberts on "Phenomenon" Miles, an assistant professor of art at DePauw University who works in sculpture and installation, has a long-standing interest in exploring the unexplained and the unexplainable. "I love information that can't be acquired by traditional methods of inquiry - religion, art, and marginalized ideas/ideology like UFOlogy - those things that can't be proven or verified or studied into existence," she said. Roberts's work, which is created through a photochemical process called cyanotype, often illustrates a fantastic landscape and represents nature's subtle way of dealing with the peculiar aspects in the relationship with mankind. For more information call (317) 634-6622 or log on to www.indymoca.org.