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HUMAN AND KIND
The light is changing. Soon, the world will hibernate. Seek
inspiration before the temperature drops; there is art to see, with
content as diverse as the impact of human activity on the environ
ment, the roles of men, and the work of women and children.
Nature Vs. Man?: Cathy Ehrter's watercolor exhibit titled
"Environmental Reverberations" is currently on view at the
Georgia State Botanical Garden. The series of 20 paintings, il
lustrating patterns of repetition found in natural and human en
vironments, is testimony to Ehrter's stance as an "avid recycler."
The beautifully executed transparent watercolors compare a scene
from nature, untouched by man, with a man-made "mess." Rocks
are compared with Styrofoam, highlighting the similarities of
forms. Bottlecaps are compared to grapes; grass is compared to a
pile of newspapers. Sunflowers and aluminum cans, pinecones and
cigarette butts, stark trees and batteries, crumpled paper and fern
fronds. The overhead view of massed objects of one type helps
them read like a natural form, such as leaves on a forest floor or
sand on a beach. Attention to detail remains constant through
both the natural elements and man-made forms, suggesting man
as an integral part of nature, much like a bee building a hive. To
avoid confusion about the artist's intention, each piece is ac
companied with facts and statistics pertaining to human impact
on the environment. Ehrler states "man has garishly changed the
materials." She refers to letters on cardboard, glass
and aluminum as a "stamp of words and language."
Ehrler is President of the Georgia Watercolor Society.
She studied at Washington University in St. Louis,
the University of Louisville, and the Atlanta College
of Art. The exhibit, which has traveled to venues
throughout Georgia, will be on display through Sept.
26. See www.cathyehrler.com for more info.
this exhibition approach fiber art with a contemporary attitude,
creating intriguing compositions in cloth, and depicting complicat
ed abstract ideas. Each of the artists in the show has represented a
female character from the Bible, whether figuratively or abstractly.
The Cotton Patch Quilters, who meet monthly at LHAC, were re
sponsible for bringing this exhibit to Athens. "Women of Biblical
Proportion" will be on view through Oct. 9.
. "Artists of Note: A Visual Celebration of Music and Dance"
is an exhibit of students' work from Clarke County and Oconee
County school systems, inspired by "the world of music and dance
and taught collaboratively by art and music teachers." The large
exhibit fills most of LHAC, with media as diverse as the age groups
represented. Magazine collages, cardboard cutout puppets, dancers
made from aluminum foil, flaming guitars and dancing robots are
among the eclectic images you can expect to find. There will be an
artists' reception to accompany the exhibit on Sunday, Sept. 23,
2-4 p.m. "Artists of Note" will be on display through Nov. 3.
Hear Me Roar: Don't miss the opening reception for "Animal
Instincts: Allegory and Anthropomorphism" at Athens Institute
for Contemporary Art (ATHICA) on Saturday, Sept. 22, 7-9 p.m.
The exhibit, curated by Melissa Link (see this week's cover for a
fine example from the show), features a 30-foot-long inflatable
sculpture of a dead mouse by Billie Grace Lynn of Miami, FL.
► The Land of Painted Men: Will Eskridge received
a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 1999 and
his paintings have been on display at various venues
around Georgia. He participated in the 2007 AthFest
Artist Market and the Lyndon House Arts Center
Gypsy Art Market. A portrait of the artist's father
graced the cover of the Flagpole in April of 2007.
Eskridge considers his recent solo exhibits at the
Contemporary Arts Exchange of Macon and The Point
of Art Gallery in Union Point both great successes.
His work was included in the August exhibit "Various
Artists: Collected Works from a Collection of Friends,"
curated by Kevin E. Taylor at Youngblood Gallery in
Atlanta. Currently, Eskridge has portraits on display
at Five Star Day Caf6 on the Eastside.
Eskridge uses pattern and takes liberty with color
to complement a traditional approach to the figure.
Exaggerations in proportion, such as a large hand in
"Ian," give the paintings a feeling of unique charac
ter. Of the 11 oil paintings on view at Five Star Day,
10 are portraits of males, perhaps subconscious self-
portraits. Only one differs drastically in subject mat
ter. "We Don't Need a Television" is a double portrait
of a man and a woman, dressed in 1950s attire, casu
ally embracing. "Part of the Family" is a portrait of
a man in a hat and overcoat standing like a modern
Napoleon Bonaparte with his hand tucked inside his
coat. Pyramids dot the landscape, and the foreground
is embellished with stripes, a repeated motif in
Eskridge's paintings. Lines in "The Schoolmaster" re- "We Don't Ne
fer to ruled paper; circles in the background, denot
ing wallpaper, are another mainstay of Eskridge's visual vocabulary.
"Wayne in Nashville" utilizes the same circle motif as a couch
covering pattern. The paintings will be on display at Five Star
Day through September. Eskridge's work will be included in the
"First Annual Locals Art Exhibition" at the Pecan Orchard Gallery
in Greensboro, and "Hauntings," a group exhibit at Blue Bell
Gallery in Comer in October. Eskridge says his most recent works
are "chunkier, and a little more expressive." Look for his "weeklies"
and time-lapsed videos on his website: www.willeskridge.com.
Women and Children First: The Lyndon House Arts Center (LHAC)
has two exhibits on view: "Women of Biblical Proportion" and
"Artists of Note: A Visual Celebration of Music and Dance."
"Women of Biblical Proportion" is a traveling art quilt exhibit cu
rated by Ruth Harris and her daughter Chantelle Cory. Presented
in Athens by Athens Neurological Associates, the exhibit is intend
ed to raise awareness about Multiple Sclerosis, and all donations
collected will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The quilts,
which are uniform in size, were created by emerging female quilt
artists specifically for the exhibition, and demonstrate a departure
from traditional notions of quilt-mixing. The works included in
a Television’’ by Will Eskridge
Half of the artists in the exhibit are local, including Kenny Aguar
(The 8-Track Gorilla), Jill Carnes, Andrew Cayce, Joe Havasy,
Rosemary Menderino, Dan Smith, Beth Thompson and Jeffrey
Whittle. ATHICA will host several affiliated events throughout the
run of the show. Check Out There! :n coming weeks and see more
at www.athica.org.
Like a Brick House: The Brick House Studio is hosting a spe
cial photography exhibit titled "The World at Large: Modern
Portraits" on Sept. 20-23 and Oct. 7. It features the work of
Rinne Allen, Dana Downs, Ella Grace Downs, Henry DuVall, Jim
Fiscus, Curtis Knapp, Michael Lachowski, Bryan Redding and
John Martin Taylor. An artists' reception on Saturday, Sept. 22,
12-5 p.m. will also feature the films of Betty Alice Fowler. The
Oct. 7 event will be a music festival and more. Stay tuned for more
details. Visit www.lamarwood.com for more info and directions.
Beth Sale
Let us know what’s coming out of your studio. Email your art news to outthere
©flagpole.com. Please put "Art Notes" in the subject line.
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SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 • FLAGPOLE.COM 19