Newspaper Page Text
6
December 28, 1995
ARTPeat
Arts in Heartless Augusta
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
Arts in Augusta. Good idea, hut
audiences are dwindling, galler
ies are closing, and artists are
leaving. There are some nice craft
shops on Broad Street, but where
are the Michelangelos, the
Shakespeares, the Beethovens of
our time? Painting flower arrange
ments on china? Pail of the prob
lem seems to be that, around here,
the arts are considered nothing
more than so much window-dress
ing-’
For example, the Artists’ Row
project, featuring a handful of
craft-shop owners situated main
ly on,Broad Street, between 10th
and 11th. The idea behind the
venture, conceived by Mayor
Charles DeVaney, was to repair
somedilapidated downtown build
ings and get shop owners into
them, thereby drawing custom
ers and other shop owners. Which
it did. According to Annette Bush
of The Bush, a shop dealing in
paper sculpture and watercolors,
Artists’ Row had its eyes on 9th
Street, but was unable to expand
in that direction because other
entrepreneurs have scooped up
the buildings.
Will Fahnoe of Fahnoe/Weigle
Studio, the artist of the group,
considers Augusta a good place,
as far as the quality of the arts
available for willing audience
members, and immediately cited
the Augusta Ballet Company,
Augusta Symphony and the
Gertrude Herbert Instituteof Art.
About public response to his own
st udio/gallery, he said, “It’s'up and
down. It’s somethingthat requires
lots of maintenance.”
By that, he means advertising,
and advertising costs money.
“You’ve got to almost program a
counter-culture.
“You know,” he said, “we (Art
ists’ Row) got a lot of flak when we
first started the project.” People
complained, he said, about the
$175-per-month subsidy they re
ceived from the city for their first
year’s rent, which he called “a
drop in the bucket.” They also
received tax breaks, and breaks
on their water bills, which he tie
fends.
“These buildings were con
demned,” he said.
Though much of Mr. Fahnoe’s
work consists of commissioned
portraits and murals, which are
not particularly provocative, the
Fahnoe/Weigle Studio is a vehicle
for promoting the work of other
artists. In the past two years the
studio has hosted 16 guest exhib
itors. “We do a lot of charity work,”
he said, like providing exhibition
space for young artists from
Davidson Fine Arts magnet high
school.
Sharon Gruber, director of the
Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art,
agrees that Augusta is a “strong”
arts comm unity, as far as the num
ber and quality of artists. She said
the Institute’s mission is partly to
try and stir some interest into the
community with outreach pro
grams like “Arts in the Parks,” for
kids and providing free programs
for them and for senior citizens.
They keep an artist registry, or a
slide portfolio of local works for
browsing by local business own
ers who wish to decorate their
buildings.
In fact, she said, a lot of the
Institute’s funding comes from
corporations, as well as from pri
vatefoundations and individuals.
January Jazz coming
The AC Jazz Ensemble, All That
Jazz and the Hal Galper Trio will
be performing the January Jazz
at AC event at the Augusta Col
lege Performing Aits Theatre on
Tuesday, January 9, at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets are $lO per adult, $5 for
each student or senior citizen.
The AC Jazz Ensemble will be
lead by Dr. Michael Stroeher, fac
ulty of Augusta College.
The quartet All That Jazz has
AUGUSTA FOCUS
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Norman Hughes works in his downtown studio. Photo: j Carter
For instance, at a Dec. 6 exhibi- with the money to patronize and
tion, The Holiday Gathering of to contribute.
Artists, there were 350 people “who He cited Senator Charles Walk
came to look at original artwork er for going “beyond the call of
and buy.” duty by getting help from the state”
Arts in Augusta. Good idea, but audiences
are dwindling, galleries are closing, and
artists are leaving. There are some nice craft
shops on Broad Street, but where are the
Michelangelos, the Shakespeares, the
Beethovens of our time? Painting flower
arrangements on china? Part of the problem
seems to be that, around here, the arts are
considered nothing more than so much
window-dressing.
But the Institute has been here
since 1937, she said, and is very
well-known. She agreed that the
Institute’s “roots are deep.”
“That runs through everything
we do',” she said.
She said the Institute also re
ceives small grants from the Geor
gia Council on the Arts, a portion
of which comes from the state; and
the Greater Augusta Arts Coun
cil. It receives no funding from the
city.
The 20-year-old Augusta Mini
Theatre has also received gener
ous government support, accord
ing to founder and director Tyrone
Butler. But he is frustrated by
public apathy, especially in the
black community. He said that
the Mini Theatre, which is9B per
cent black, has received more sup
port from “other groups” than from
African-Americans. This, he said,
is because people are not taught
as children that the arts are an
important part of life.
He feels part of the role of the
Mini Theatre and similar groups
is to “educate the professionals.”
“They still don’t know the im
portance of it,” he said of many
doctors and lawyers, the people
performed for audiences as far
away as Japan. This recording
group equally appeals to audienc
es throughout the CSRA. The
synergy of Andy Reid on piano,
John Lamb on bass, David
L’Heureux on drums and lead by
saxophonist Wayne Hoey is un
surpassed.
Hal Galper has over 70 record
ings to his credit, 17 as a leader
(includingthose with Michael and
for local arts, as well as the city
and county governments for help
ing with grants, like the block
grant from the city that goes to
ward providing scholarships for
needy kids to attend classes at the
Mini Theatre. “But, he said, “even
that grant is decreasing.”
Sports, however, are very well
supported, he said. “Recreational
sites are going up all over the
place and are being funded.”
And utilized, no doubt.
He is optimistic about his chanc
es with the consolidated govern
ment, but realizes that, without
the support of the community,
without the help of civic groups
and individuals, theatres and oth
er artistic institutions like his will
not survive.
“People need to realize the arts
are more than beautiful staging,
beautiful moving,” he said. “The
arts are about our lives.”
According to Augusta Arts
Council Director Missy DeSouza,
there are “tons” of arts patrons, in
the form of businesses donating
money to the cause. And there is
grant money from local, state, and
the federal government, she said,
but only for well-established
to Augusta College
Randy Brecker). A pianist, com
poser, publisher, educator, author
andtouring artist, he isbest known
for his work with Chet Baker,
Cannonball Adderly, John Scofield
and the Phil Woods Quartet/Quin
tet (meriting a Grammy and a
Grammy nomination). Formerly
on the faculty of The New School
for Jazz and Contemporary Mu
sic, he regularly lectures at colleg
es while on tour with his trio
art • music • literature • theatre
groups. “No fly-by-night group can
come in and just get money.” But
even for the established groups,
she said, “the trend is reversing.”
“We are so far above most cities
our size for the quality of our arts
groups,” she said, but “way below
in financial support.”
Which means the arts are more
dependent than ever on their life
blood —the Audience.
The simple fact, she said, is “the
patrons don’t want to pay for it.”
They find it “easy” to go to Atlanta
to be entertained but refuse to
spend any money on the local art
scene.
Dr. Rudy Volkmann of the Au
gusta Jazz Project also lauds local
government for its efforts at pro
viding financial support for the
Project “when they were able to do
50... “
“The city has tried very hard at
supporting Arts in the Heart ac
tivities.”
But he, too, has found the com
munity itself less than welcom
ing. “In the main,” he said, “this is
a relatively apathetic area for arts
... It amazes me that there isn’t
more audience support.
“There’s a small and very moti
vated group of artistic support
ers.” But, he said, “the key word is
small.”
When asked for ideas about why
people are so apathetic, he re
plied, “Forty channels of sports
and entertainment right there in
their own homes.
“It may be just a sign of the
times; it may be America, It may
be the region. ... I know when I
visit Europe that’s not the case....
Nobody stays home, everybody
goes everywhere.
“I don’t think Augustans really
know how great the performing
arts are in Augusta.”
But local painter Xavier Jones
has had a different experience,
and describes the audience for his
first local exhibition, as “a slice of
America.” The group was a mix
ture of races, ages and classes, he
said, who enjoyed talking to each
other. “I think they received me
very well.” And he sold two paint
ings.
The powers that be are who he
has a problem with. Mr. Jones,
who deals with futuristic, science
fiction-type subject matter, doesn’t
feel he fits the image that those
with the power want to project. “If
it’s not classical art, or pots and
flowers and pigs...”
He said he remembers Freddie
Lott’s stint as police chief, and
how progressive artists from New
York came with all kinds of ideas
for making Augusta into an arts
Mecca, only to be shut down.
He said people should realize
that, when an artist creates, he is
only expressing himself. “There
are so many people in Augusta
who think for others,” he said, and
who superimpose their own ethi
cal and moral values on the art
that tries to thrive here. “Look at
all the Artists’ Row buildings and
tell me if you don’t see something
more patriotic and mainstream...
That’s not knocking them,” he said.
“Their styles are traditional.” But
he feels the mentality that says all
art has to follow that pattern is a
wall for anyone whose style is
different.
“We need to have a much more
open and a much more receiving
attitude toward difference,” he said.
“Progressive to me is having differ
ence:constantlychangingideas, con
stantly changing format. If we can
do that, we got it goin’ on.”
(drummer Steve Ellington and
bassist Jeff Johnson), which
records for Enja. He received a
Distinguished Alumni Award
from Berkley College of Music and
has been awarded grants from the
National Endowmentfor the Arts,
Arts International and the Lila
Wallace-Reader’s Digest Founda
tion.
For more information, contact
Wayne Hoey at (706) 868-0006.
Tour offered to film location in
picturesque South Africa
CH
7 1
7 ...JOS; % §
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The tour features a picnic lunch at the sight of one of the film’s
most poignant scenes (above) with stars Richard Harris (I) and
James Earl Jones (r).
New York-based tour operator
2AFRIKA presents Cry, the Be
loved Country, an exclusive tour
that takes you “on location” to
South Africa. The tour, which
traces the sights and sounds of
Darrell James Roodt’s new film
starring James Earl Jones and
Richard Harris, was introduced
to coincide with the film’s re
lease in the United States. Cry,
the Beloved Country, a Miramax
Films Release/Distant Horizon
film, is based on Alan Paton’s
book of the same title.
Ken Hieber, CEO of 2AFRIKA,
stated that “the remake of Cry,
the Beloved Country presented
an unusual opportunity to de
sign a tour that showcases both
the cultural and historical
themes of South Africa as well as
the incredible scenic beauty of
the country. For 2AFRIKA, this
is a natural extension of our best
selling Madiba Tour, which has
an historical focus on history as
it follows in the extraordinary
path of President Nelson
Mandela.”
The itinerary begins in
Johannesburg and takes you to
locations depicted in the movie,
such as Soweto, the city that re
placed Sophiatown, where much
of the action in the movie takes
place. Also included is a visit to
Pretoria, the country’s political
capital. Then it’s on to
Pietermaritzburg, the capital of
the province of Kwazulu Natal,
including a drive through the roll
ing Natal Midlands to IXOPO and
C ARISBROOKE with some of the
most beautiful scenery in the film.
A tour highlight is sure to be a
hillside picnic lunch at the site of
one of the most poignant scenes
Test your jazz music
knowledge each week
dr. johniiradley'
I I
i * 88l ■
1. Born in Toronto, Canada on
May 13, 1912 as Jan Ernest
Gilmore, he was the most prolific
arranger for the late, great Miles
Davis. What was his adopted
name?
2. What late, great saxophonist
did Gil Evans room with for a
year?
3. In 1961, Miles Davis performed
a concert at Carnegie Hall, in
which Davis’ quintet was backed
by a 21-piece band. Who was the
director?
4. Sweet Basil’s and Brecker
Brothers’ Club are two jazz clubs
located in what city?
5. What year was Gil Evans elect
ed into the Down Beat Hall of
Fame?
of the movie.
Of particular cultural interest
will be an overnight in
Shakaland, where visitors can
experience the vivid rhythms and
rituals of the Zulu people, whose
culture and language figure
prominently in the movie.
A three-night stay in Cape
Town — a city often compared in
beauty to San Francisco — fea
tures a cruise around Robben
Island where President Nelson
Mandela was incarcerated, and
tours to the Cape Peninsula and
to the famous winelands. And, of
course, there will be a tour of
Cape Town featuring the pan
oramic views from Table Moun
tain.
All tour participants will re
ceive their own paperback copy
of Alan Paton’s book Cry, the
Beloved Country, and a person
alized commemorative Cry, the
Beloved Country Tour Certifi
cate. ...
The tour starts at $1,522 per
person, based on double occu
pancy (exclusive of air) and in
cludes hotel accommodations,
tours and most meals. All
2AFRIKA programs are travel
agent commissionable.
2AFRIKA has headquarters in
Pretoria and associated offices
in Johannesburg, Cape Town and
Durban, South Africa.
For information and reserva
tions contact 2AFRIKA at 1-800-
2AFRIKA, or on TRAVELFILE.
The following systems and codes
go together: Sabre, XXORG/
2AFRK; Apollo, TD*TF/LINK/
2AFRK; Worldspan, XXTVL/
2AFRK.
On the Internet: http://
www.travelfile.com/get72afrk
6. Who wrote the liner notes for
Miles Davis’ album Miles Ahead?
7. Duffy Jackson’s father plays
the bass. What does Duffy play?
8. What other word/term was
sometimes used in the 1950 s as a
synonym for modern or contem
poraryjazz?
9. What is the name of Cannon
ball’s brother?
10. Who replaced Billy Higgins
in Ornette Coleman’s quartet?
11. What is the name of a tune
written by Charlie Parker named
after his step-daughter?
12. What is the name of the alto
saxophonist on Miles Davis’ Birth
of the Cool recordings?
13. Trumpeter Milton Rajonsky
is better known by what name?
14. This saxophonist wanted his
sound to be like a dry martini.
Who was he?
15. What should come to mind
when one hears the name
Norman Granz?
16. Who was Fats Waller’s men
tor?
17. What was the name of the
first jazz ensemble director for
Davidson Fine Arts Magnet
School of Augusta?
18. One of our late and great jazz
vocalists, he was featured on the
cover of NAJE’s official maga
zine in Feb./Mar. 1980.
19. He’s been called “the greatest
alto player since Eric Dolphy.”
20. Name the singer who mar
ried Nat King Cole.
answers on page 15