Lamar Dodd

No visitor to the University of Georgia, or, in fact, the state of Georgia, can avoid seeing the name Lamar Dodd plastered in all kinds of locations: The Lamar Dodd School of Art (University of Georgia), The Lamar Dodd Art Center (LaGrange College), Lamar Dodd Professional Chair (a real job title), and even "Light one for Lamar" (a real anti-smoking ban protest). With his name being such a part of Georgia vernacular, Lamar Dodd’s actual identity eludes many – wealthy benefactor? Ancient regent?

Lamar Dodd at the Georgia Museum of Art

Dodd is actually one of the South’s most important and influential artists, contributing more than just his name to buildings, schools, and strange protests. His paintings are held in the collections of the Smithsonian, the Whitney, and Metropolitan Museum of Art – and of course at the Georgia Museum of Art – as exemplary pieces of Southern art. He enjoyed commissions from the likes of NASA, and his prolific output still permeates Southern culture, and particularly the Athens community, which Dodd made his home until his death in 1996.

Dodd’s beginnings are rooted in the region. He studied architecture at Georgia Tech, and then taught for a while in Alabama, but finding his greatest interest in painting and developing his own practice, he headed to New York in the late 1920s/early 1930s. This was a wise move – his stylized scenes of Southern landscapes and daily lives charmed New York crowds. Often dark in color, and with heavy black shadows, Dodd’s paintings of the American south appear sombre, yet romantic. This combination led to his first solo show in the city in 1932, and toward a name for introducing a renaissance in Southern art. He soon won the Norman Walt Harris Prize for his painting, “Railroad Cut,” which is now on display at the Georgia Museum of Art. 

Lamar Dodd, "North of Pratt City"

Following this, Dodd was invited to become the artist-in-residence at the University of Georgia, and so gladly returned to Georgia, and the South, to make art and advocate for its inclusionary sharing. He began giving lectures and teaching painting, and was appointed head of an essentially non-existent art department at the university. He expanded its programs, introducing more classes and a variety of courses, funded scholarships, saw the opening of the Georgia Museum of Art, and founded the Cortona Study Abroad program that is still enjoyed by students today, growing the art school until it was the biggest and most influential in the South. He retired in 1967, 16 years after the original residency program that was only intended to last a year. However, Dodd's legacy doesn't just lie with the school – he never ceased painting throughout these years, and exhibitions of his work continue today. The Monehegan Museum in Maine is currently showing a series of his works in an exploration of his 'artistic history.'

Lamar Dodd is an excellent figurehead for our institution as a great leader of the concept that we still work toward today – art for everyone. His name is proudly used to reflect the values that he instilled in (what he didn't know would become) the Lamar Dodd School of Art, and that they maintain in his memory. The school was renamed after him in 1994, not long before Dodd's passing, in celebration and tribute to his contributions to Southern art and its community, and you can visit the Georgia Museum of Art to see some of the paintings from the beginning of this great movement.

The Power of Preservation

Mary Franklin, an Athens native, was born on February 25, 1842. Throughout her lengthy career as an artist, Franklin trained all over the United States and in Paris. After decades of being a student, Ms. Franklin She eventually returned to her roots and taught with the Athens Art Association in Peabody Hall. She loved the University of Georgia so much that, upon her death, in 1928, she donated her entire estate to the school.  Part of this donation included a series of paintings that were hung throughout campus.

Some of Franklin’s works were hung in Soule Hall, where they were respected and admired for many years. During World War II, Soule Hall changed from a women’s dorm to a school for the navy, and the paintings were put into storage.

In the 1970s, these paintings reappeared at the Georgia Museum of Art, with little paperwork. While they had been cared for at one time, they did not arrive unblemished. The paintings suffered from surface loss, cracks, stains and unstable frames with gaping holes. Fortunately, they were about to have a change in luck.

This good fortune came in the form of Hildegard Timberlake, 92, and her son, Tom, 52. Ms. Timberlake had been both the editor and president of the Art Association over the years, and Tom shared her love of the arts. The pair wanted to do something about the condition of Franklin’s prized paintings and decided to make the admirable commitment to restore them to their former glory. They hoped to have the rest of the world enjoy the paintings as they had and found a way to sponsor the conservation.

“My favorite painting is ‘Nomad,’” said Hildegard. “‘Nomad’ is compelling because she acts as a caretaker. But a caretaker of what? Is it nature, is it history, is it political, or is it bonds to the family? The purpose of the caretaker is suggested but not imposing. Mary Franklin's composition of the painting is well done. The color theory is well applied, even outstanding, with its blending method. The expression of the caretaker is sincere with some pride looking down on the observer. Shadows reflect the observance of nature, climate and sunshine. Her body structure shows that she is carrying a burden, but is ready to carry it with pride and strength. A great painting!”

Susan Jones, a conservator from Atlanta, restored the paintings. Jones has a range of experience working with older paintings, including one by Klaus Molenear, a 17th-century Dutch artist. She explained both the challenges and rewards of conserving the Mary Franklin paintings: “Outside of getting the paintings stabilized, I would say that the texture of the canvas was the most difficult part. [Franklin] used a very heavy linen, and although she did not mind putting paint on the canvas, it still left a very rough texture and was a challenge to clean. Aside from that, I loved finally getting down to the original vibrant colors that she used and seeing the paintings come to life.”

“Nomad,” the largest of the paintings, was the first to be restored. The Timberlakes provided funding, and the museum sent the framed painting to Jones in Atlanta. “Nomad” came back in incredible form, and the Timberlakes decided to fund the conservation of another painting from the series, “Tunisian Perfume Market.” The two restored paintings were publicly unveiled and put on temporary display for others to enjoy for the first time in more than 40 years.

Visitors, students and scholars at the Georgia Museum of Art are now able to enjoy the work of Mary Franklin due to the contributions and dedication of the Timberlake family. Franklin gave the University of Georgia the gift of her works, and the Timberlake family gave the gift of preservation, a gift that will last for years.

Hildegard Timberlake's deep affection for the paintings of Mary Franklin caused her to donate funds for the conservation of two paintings in the permanent collection. At this event, the results were shared with the Timberlakes, museum supporters and staff. May 21, 2015.

MFA Candidate: Zipporah Thompson

“'Cosmic Motherland’ is a bizarre exploration of the futuristic primitive, echoing the ideals and aesthetics of afro-futurism through a psychic, primordial landscape referencing mystical darkness, dream worlds and the cosmos. Dreaming, explored by Jung as a childlike state, correlates to beliefs concerning the primitive and its ties to the infantile. Jung also describes as adults our continuous desire to return to the womb, as home and source of sustenance and life," says Zipporah Thompson about her installation at the Georgia Museum of Art. 

Thompson uses an array of fabric and materials of varying color and texture to create this landscape of Cosmic Motherland. From a distance this mystical display has a ritualistic feel. In high contrast against the museum walls it is powerful while each individual piece calls for closer examination. These textiles form together in chaotic medley of experience for the subconscious. 

She continues that "The primordial, surrealist landscape of Cosmic Motherland echoes the cosmos, with its simultaneous potential for creation and destruction. The ever changing states of chaos and metamorphosis are present within the work. These objects are involved in a ritual of shape-shifting and evolution, and echo the inner workings of the womb, as well as the mind."

Thompson is interested in the process of creating such a diversity of compelling materials and colliding them together in one unified collective. Much of the meaning remains unknown yet mysterious to the viewer, beckoning more questions and causing them to search within themselves for their own sacred connection to another world.

"Alchemy, ritual, sacred places, other worlds, and subtle energy are explored within the work, in an effort to reconstruct narratives concerning identity, belonging, and the spiritual,” says Thompson.

Her work will be on display in the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://www.zipporahcamille.com

MFA Candidate: Lily Smith

A jewelry/metals student, Lily Smith says, “I’ve always been really interested in work that goes on the body. . . . I’ve also worked a lot with fabrics in undergrad and grad school.”

She uses the term “jewelry” loosely as work that goes on the body and talks about the body. She combines the ideas of jewelry with those of garment and fashion, finding an interest in the colliding of fields. For her piece that will be in the Georgia Museum of Art, she combines hand-dyed silks and thinned-down silicon with added pigment painted on fabric to create the textures of fleshy forms. The result is a wearable piece that recalls the feel and form of different parts of the body.

She explains her interest is not only in work that goes on the body but also is about the body. The garments she creates mimic natural forms of the human form but are exaggerated. With a skin-tone color palette and materials that resemble skin as much as worn fabrics, she makes voluptuous plump forms that hang around the figure when the piece is worn.  

“This work talks about our standards of beauty and the ideal female figure. They're like dresses but rather than accentuating a thin figure they're fatty forms with multiple breasts and bellies, celebrating the fact that maybe that can be just as beautiful as a thin more fit person. Celebrating the curves and the fat and flesh in general,” she says.

Her creations take beauty to a richly authentic level with their yearning to be seen and felt. These garments continue to evolve with her interest in the process of making as well as the intrigue of the final state. They hold the viewer captive while evoking feelings about their own personal connection to the human form.

Smith’s work will be shown at the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://handgrownjewelry.weebly.com/lily-smith.html

MFA Candidate: Louisa Powell

Trapped in Our Maps

Louisa Powell is a sculpture candidate interested in creating structural systems that explore spaces. Often starting with a single form, she lets the work transform itself and grow according to the space. Although most of her work is site-specific, for her show at the Georgia Museum of Art she had to find a way to be more flexible, creating it outside of the installation space. The idea for this work started with a bookshelf. 

“I have since decided to remove the actual bookshelf from the equation, but my form has boundaries and cut-outs in it that reflect its relationship with the bookshelf,” explains Powell. 

She says she hopes to do a second small piece that will interact with the architecture of the hallway outside the gallery. She wants it to be an iteration of the gallery sculpture and to react to the particularities of the site in which it is installed. 

Starting out as an environmental design student and earning her undergraduate degree in this field, Powell took her love for design and moved toward a deeper exploration of form. Preferring to work with her hands over the computer, her passion for installations took root and flourished. 

Powell currently has an installation on display at Creature Comforts. Previously she showed one of her installation pieces at the Bulldog Inn show, using the room to present an expansive breadth of shapes and organic forms. 

To see her newest installation, attend the Georgia Museum of Art’s “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://louisapowell.com

MFA Candidate: Patrick Brien

Patrick Brien paints images that portray the interference of digital imagery with the subconscious. There is no way to ignore the inundation of media in day to day activities. Just the same his work has been largely impacted by our technologically driven world.

“My work is concerned with the way in which the language of technological interfaces have come to mediate and possibly alter our experience of daily life. Acting as a veil or overlay upon our normative way of seeing the world, the nomenclature of these apps, software programs and digital graphics have become nearly seamlessly integrated into our most mundane or exciting experiences," says Brien.

Brien's work reflects the digital look of technology and the images that are constantly presented to us. He is interested in the effect that so much technology has on our daily lives. With so much change he feels there is a trade off in order to make room for so much progress. 

He continues, "These technologies have made our lives better in many ways. However, I am enthralled by the trade-off that takes place in order for us to engage with these new advancements. It seems that we are now willing to give up more of our privacy, personal information and exact location at any given moment in order to get directions from mapping apps or to interact with friends and family through social media. I am curious about how these new and changing habits will continue to impact the way we look and see.”

Brien’s work will be on display in the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

MFA Candidate: Joe Camoosa

Joe Camoosa paints with the need to create and express a feeling that lurks underneath the surface. He explains that there is a collective subconscious, something that can’t be found in looking at other sources of material or art. Rather, it is something that he must find within himself. He hopes viewers will be lost within the maze of color of his paintings and transcend into a world of their own, the way he has with some of his own favorite paintings.

He recalls a feeling he experienced with a specific work that really called to him, with an inexplicable need to be looked at. This experience inspired him to create that type of interaction for viewers, even when he cannot understand his own work. He aims to take them to a place where time freezes and all else is forgotten within the labyrinth of his creation.

With a variety of media, including acrylic, oil and even house paint, Camoosa is fascinated with the process of painting and how paints visually react to each other. He starts out with an abstract shape or pattern and continues adding to it as the canvas calls him. He treats his pieces as puzzles that must be solved by either adding or taking away until he is satisfied with the feeling it produces. When it is difficult to tell if a painting is really finished, he may step away and come back to it later to continue working. In the end, he leaves it up to viewers to interpret the content for themselves.

With the continuous layering of vibrant colors, his paintings create a battlefield of visual entrapment. He puts the canvas to the test to see how much it can hold as he works intuitively throughout the space. Camoosa takes full advantage of the chance to create what hasn’t been seen before, creating paintings that are fun, captivating and truly mesmerizing.

To see Camoosa’s work visit the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://joecamoosa.com

MFA Candidate: Luke Underwood

     

Relaxed and non-aggressive aren’t normally the expressions on the faces of tough wrestlers, but what about when they aren’t in a match? Luke Underwood, a former wrestler himself, found an interest in portraying male wrestlers after practice.

“I had been shooting the action of practice, but I didn’t find it to be interesting beyond a Sports Illustrated-type photo, where it was all about the sport. I was more interested in what they wanted to show me in the slow process of the portrait. . . . They started off initially with their stances and facial expressions much more stern,” explains Underwood.  

His work over the past year has had to do with masculinity and how it is represented in photographs. Underwood has documented his contemporaries, other artists, and friends displaying the ways they may not be in the same phase of adulthood as their fathers were at the same age. Continuing to explore the idea of masculinity, he found an interest in making portraits of wrestlers. 

He says that the point of wrestling is not necessarily to be the best wrestler but rather to test yourself and persevere. It was difficult initially for the wrestlers to pose in a way that did not aim to affirm their toughness further.

“I was trying to get at the idea of showing them as something more than what they were doing as performers on the mat,” says Underwood. 

He had to balance what they were trying to get across with what he wanted to get out of them. His aim was for them to look softer than how most people would think of them. After continuing to photograph them, he says they began to grow more comfortable and their faces began to soften. As a result, the photographs carry striking truths about masculinity and self-perception. 

Underwood’s photographs will be on display at the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

MFA Candidate: Jess Machacek

Jess Machacek says her work “all started with . . . noticing materials that have been made and are supposed to imitate the natural world . . . thinking about constructed nature and constructed landscapes. I started playfully pulling from the absurdities of things that are mass produced, rocks with spray paint, fake plants, and all the textures that people use to museumify our interior and exterior spaces.”

For her show at the museum, she is creating an installation derived from a greenhouse she created for her exit show at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center. She took these ideas of manmade and constructed nature to create pieces that exemplify the irony of taming nature for our own satisfaction. From the greenhouse piece, she made plaster molds of the windows and created a floor with the same footprint. White astroturf, white handmade rocks, white plaster window molds and a yellow hose are all incorporated.

“So much of it is about the look and the show; my original thoughts within the greenhouse were to stage it in a way that felt like a showroom. A greenhouse is supposed to be a container for keeping things alive and for natural things, like an artificial kingdom,” explains Machacek.

There is so much that humans do to the natural world to contain it and use it for their benefit. The desire to control nature has been present throughout history and into today’s world. Harnessing the idea of the man-made, man-ufactured, and man-ipulated, she intends for her piece to come across as a set-up utilizing the showroom aesthetic.

To see Machacek’s work for yourself visit the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://jessicamachacek.com

MFA Candidate: Mahera Khaleque

from 'Palimpsest to Palimpsestuous'

After growing up in Bangladesh and now having spent many years in the United States, Mahera Khaleque considers herself a diasporic artist. Her state of being present and absent in two distant places is echoed in the logic and structure of her interwoven paintings. Through her art, she feels she can express the culture that is fed through her. Like a filter, she catches moments and images that stick out in her mind and transmits them into her work.

“My bi-cultural status simultaneously permits and forces me to choose one practice over another or blend them on a daily basis regardless of my physical existence in one or the other geographical location,” says Khaleque.

For her upcoming show at the Georgia Museum of Art she worked with the idea of the Palimpsest. A Palimpsest is a manuscript where the original material has been erased and written on top of, though traces of the original show through. 

To execute this idea she layered paint with her dad’s journal entries, historical writings from political figures in Bangladesh, along with other manuscripts. These woven creations are like self-portraits from her subconscious representing her worlds intermingling with the past always showing through. 

Khaleque elaborates that, “While the first reason responsible for overwriting manuscripts reminds me of urban walls occupied with overcrowded posters and writings saturated with natural erosions, the latter reminds me of deliberate efforts in erasing as well as re-writing history throughout the historical timeline.” 

She is inspired by the additive and reductive process of creating and how history can be written and rewritten and covered over to allow for more. People are surprised to find that she works not on canvas but on cardboard. This material gives her art a raw, authentic feel, just like the collage work she creates.

“Depending on my physical existence in one geographical location, some cultural practices from one culture become more dominant over others. Very often I find myself blending them subconsciously in my work as well as regular interactions with my surrounding,” she explains. 

Khaleque tries to convey a sense of absence and loss through her paintings, which comes across in the way the layers may be peeled away to show what remains of the past. Her images show how culture can be seen through individual experience.

To experience these paintings, visit the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://maherakhaleque.com/home.html

MFA Candidate: Anna Gay Leavitt

Fields of Relics and Electricity 

Sherman's March

Having grown up in Georgia, Anna Gay Leavitt has always had an interest in the region’s history. She expresses her connection to the land and curiosity for stories that lie just beneath her feet through the medium of photography. 

Leavitt believes that photography is captivating in the way it deals with time. An image can be preserved and kept as a symbol of a moment, a moment that may have otherwise been forgotten. This physical representation of a memory carries different feelings that are entirely dependent upon our own perception. When a single instance becomes tangible it gains the power to transcend time. 

“As humans, we want so badly to stop time and to hold onto our generally inaccurate memories that we have engineered a process which shows a unique moment in fractions of a second, often represented in a way which is far from truthful,” says Leavitt.

With this mindset, she captures figures immersed in ambiguous environments, longing to last yet fading out. They appear frozen in time and convey a certain nostalgia evocative of the past. Intertwined with the land in a ghostly manner, it is clear they have a connection to the home surrounding them. 

“My current work seeks to explore our relationship to the landscape, the physical earth itself, which surrounds those of us living in this region. Throughout my life, I have contemplated the fact that, at times, I am standing exactly where someone else stood thousands of years before my existence,” explains Leavitt. 

Within the ephemeral scenes, viewers are made aware of their own connection to the past with a feeling of timelessness. Like photography, the land has a permanence that can carry itself through time and uniquely connect with the beholder. Leavitt expresses both a broad collective experience and personal reflection through her photography. 

“These images reference a shared history, but are part of my own personal folklore,” says Leavitt. 

Her photography will be on display at the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://annagay.com

MFA Candidate: Allan Innman

Voyage of the Ancient Sea Legs, oil on canvas

Allan Innman has been painting a series he entitles “Flights of Fancy” that is based on childhood make-believe. In previous work, he painted still-lifes of childhood objects and has since begun submerging them in surreal environments where they can interact and be brought to life. 

“I think they wanted to come to life then. I just didn’t give them the permission to. Now, I try to put them in their own world where they exist by themselves. Hopefully they are taking on a new life,” says Innman about his transition into more dreamlike scenarios. 

He says that a lot of it is about trying to imagine himself as a 5- or 6-year-old again. With childhood innocence and make-believe, there are no limits. Any objects can become toys. A lot of the toys he paints are his, but he finds others at places like the J & J Flea Market. 

“I start out with a visual collage or a photograph, and I paint it. While I’m painting, a lot of times my idea completely changes. It’s a lot of documenting, dropping back into Photoshop and collaging on top of that,” says Innman. 

In the laboratory of his studio, these toys come to life, immersed in a fantasy of bright, dreamy colors. Large canvases allow viewers to get lost within the nostalgic yet unfamiliar worlds he creates.

Innman’s paintings will be shown at the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://allaninnman.com

MFA Candidate: Andrew Indelicato

                  

Andrew Indelicato creates digital paintings filled with 1980s nostalgia and visual reminiscences of video game images. He uses photoshop to create vibrant prints that reference early computer graphics, neon, glitching, and computer manipulation. He makes gifs and is interested in new media, net art, and cross-platforming.

Colliding color fields with overlapping patterns make his prints bright and compelling. To create these images he seeks inspiration from grids. The idea of the grid is prevalent as a visual component for his work as well as a structural guideline. Whether or not it is shown, he says that it still plays a role in guiding his process.

“When the grid is integrated, it becomes a protagonist, and in other other imagery it is used as a launchpoint. It gives me a set of rules and a structure that I can manipulate from,” he explains.

Music is another influential component of Indelicato’s work. He listens to electronic music and lets it guide him through the development. The music and the repetition of the beat help him determine where to lay certain colors. As a result, his work appears very rhythmic and filled with patterns. 

In order to achieve even more visual vibrancy, he suspends neon over his prints. In his upcoming show he will be installing a six foot tube of turquoise neon over two ten foot prints.  The display will integrate new technology while using two different types of media.

“I have a lot of neon.… It makes everything ‘sexy,’ changes the saturation of the colors, and with nice paper the neon bounces off of the paper,” he says.

Indelicato’s prints will be on display at the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art from April 11 to May 3, 2015.

http://www.andrewindelicato.com

Athens Celebrates Elephant Six

The city of Athens, Ga., is accustomed to keeping a strong connection with its musical heritage, defined by artists like R.E.M., Lady Antebellum and the B-52s. This year, Athenians can experience a special tributary celebration of a prominent group in the formation of the local music scene with "Athens Celebrates Elephant Six," a series of exhibitions that spotlight the famous collective. Six cultural venues around town, including the Georgia Museum of Art, will be working together in a citywide effort to document different pieces of the Elephant 6 (E6) collective's influence locally and around the art world.

"Carnival Part I" was shown at the University of North Georgia, Oconee Campus until Sept. 24. The exhibition culled a number of paintings from individuals associated with the founders of E6, from classmates to fellow performers. "Carnival Part II" opened at the same location on Sept. 30 and runs for a month through Oct. 30. This exhibition will show a second group of these paintings.

Jill Carnes. Interstellar Rooster.  University of North Georgia, Oconee Campus.

"Reverberations" is on show at the Lyndon House Arts Center until Oct. 11. Visitors can see posters, album covers and their inspirations, photography, stop motion animation, props, costumes, paintings and other works by the musicians involved in E6.

William Cullen Hart, Painted Transistor Radio. On display at Lyndon House Arts Center.

At the Athens Institute of Contemporary Art (ATHICA), "Advice from the Oceans" highlights the alternative nature of Elephant 6. The exhibition incorporates interactive elements, such as "Ocean Telephones" by one of E6's founders Rob Schneider, that allow observers to become participants.

Sculpture by Robert Schneider. ATHICA.

"n[]cturne" is Hotel Indigo's contribution to the E6 theme. On view until Dec. 31 in Indigo's outdoor art area, the installation features a texture-centric collection of various items displayed in a segmented cube. Dana Jo Cooley, the artist behind the installation, has worked on stage and prop designs for bands.

Here at the Georgia Museum of Art, "The ... of E6" will be shown from Oct. 4, 2014 until Jan. 4, 2015. The exhibition includes artwork for album covers and others examples of visual art important to Elephant Six. Information about the museum's related events and more about the exhibition itself can be found on the Georgia Museum of Art's exhibition webpage.

William Cullen Hart,  Black Foliage. 1971. Georgia Museum of Art.

On Oct. 13, Ciné will have a screening of a portion of A Place We Have Been To, a documentary tracing the history of E6. The film, by Chad Stockfleth and Dan Efram, includes behind-the-scenes footage, performances, and interviews. Ciné will also screen a short film entitled Major Organ and the Adding Machine by Joey Foreman and have live performances by Circulatory System and Robert Schneider.

Movie poster for A Place We Have Been To

For more information on Athens Celebrates E6 and the specific events occurring, visit Flagpole's article Athens Celebrates E6 by Jessica Smith and the Athens Celebrates E6 website.

Georgia Museum of Art Celebrates Elephant 6

On October 4, the Georgia Museum of Art will be opening a new exhibition that, in tandem with other events and exhibitions at various Athens art locales, celebrates and unveils a group central to the heritage of the Athens arts scene. The Georgia Museum of Art's portion of this citywide commemoration, "The . . . of E6, Part of Athens Celebrates Elephant 6," will include art from album covers, works inspired by these individuals and their music, and other pieces influential to the artists honored and the culture they represented and galvanized.

The Elephant 6 Recording Company was formed in the early 1990's by Robert Schneider, Jeff Mangum, Will Hart, and Bill Doss, four friends from Ruston, La. who moved to Athens. The first EP from the recording company came from Schneider's band, the Apples in stereo, and began a new Athens aesthetic that has become ingrained in the town's artistic heritage. Other bands, such as Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel, were borne out of the movement, with band members often switching between groups. A sub-genre of music can still be traced back to these origins today, with bands such as of Montreal and Elf Power.

Lynn Boland, curator of the exhibition, said in a UGA news article, "For many of us, the scene surrounding the collective defined Athens of the 1990s; not just the music, but the entire creative endeavor and its collaborative spirit. I would say it largely defined my formative years and it has been a great honor and undeniable pleasure to work on this exhibition."

The exhibition will be shown from Oct. 4, 2014 to Jan. 4, 2015. During this period the museum will host a number of events focusing on this topic. On Oct. 8 at 2 p.m., Boland will present a public tour; museum event 90 Carlton: Autumn will feature the exhibition (free for members, $5 for nonmembers) on Oct. 10; Oct. 11's Family Day will be music-themed and children will be able to create their own band posters; at Museum Mix on Oct. 16 DJs will use this collective as inspiration; on Nov. 6 a film screening of "The Past is a Grotesque Animal," a documentary about Kevin Barnes, of Montreal's frontman, will be shown; and the exhibition will also be the theme of Teen Studio on Nov. 6, where teenagers can workshop with a local artist.

Tonight: You, Me and the Bus Art Rocks!

Ever notice that several of the bus stops around Athens are a bit more than your average steel and plexiglass structures? You’re witnessing the results of a national design competition by the name of “You, Me and the Bus Art Rocks!” Tonight, the Athens Area Arts Council (on which GMOA participates) invites you to celebrate the installation of four new bus shelters with specialty cakes, punch, arts and crafts and bus tours.

The Athens Area Art Council, in partnership with Athens-Clarke County and Athens Transit, began this project with the aim of decorating Athens’ streets with unique works of public art that pay tribute to the Athens music scene while also serving a functional purpose. To see the eight new winning designs chosen for round two as well as the four existing bus shelters and their locations, please click here.

The reception and ribbon cutting will be held tonight, October 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Lyndon House Arts Center. Bus tours depart every half hour, and attendees will have the opportunity to meet the artists behind the designs. This event is free and open to the public.

Don’t miss out!

I Art Athens

I Art Athens is a new-ish organization in town aimed at helping local teens express themselves through art. It just produced this video, in which several local artists who work in a variety of media (painting, photography, spoken word, jewelry making) are interviewed about who encouraged them. I Art Athens also has a wishlist section of its website in which it's soliciting in-kind donations of art supplies.

Old Building, New Look

Please join the Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation’s Athenaeum Club for a tour of the Urban Sanctuary and Spa on Thursday, May 27, 2010, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. During the tour, you can see and learn more about the historical building.

The Urban Sanctuary and Spa, located at the intersection of Chase Street and Boulevard in Athens, was renovated recently to its current state after becoming run down from disuse. The building, which houses the spa, was built in the 1930s as a Sunday school annex for the Young Harris Memorial Methodist Church (presently located on Prince Avenue). Chris Peterson, board member of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, bought the building after the exterior had been improved and continued to work on the interior renovations.

With a changing history, this building makes for an interesting landmark in Athens’ timeline. Plan to meet at the main entrance a little before 6:30 pm; from there, the tour will go throughout the building, with Peterson in attendance to answer any questions. Happy-hour drinks will be provided following the tour.

Please RSVP to the event by emailing athenaeumclub@gmail.com. The event is free to ACHF members/ $10 for non-members. Call Jan Levinson at 706.542.5788 for more information.