| Sherrie Carris received her B.F.A. from the University of Texas, and her M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa 1n 1972.
Along with her husband Tom they have owned and operated Carris Pottery for over 30 years.Sherrie's floral pottery has been widely collected including a large carved porcelain planter in the TN governor's mansion. The State of TN bought one of her pieces to give to Patricia Neal.
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| 2-20-08 |
New Exhibition at the Brooks Highlights Pop Art
The Pop Environment, on view until July 13, 2008.
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Andy Warhol
American, 1928-1987
Electric Chair, 1971
Portfolio of ten silk screens10 each measuring
35 1/8” x 47 7/8” (89.2 cm x 121.4 cm)
Signed: verso
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The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has an exhibition, The Pop Environment, which will remind many of us of exhibitions and films we saw in the 60's. Chief Curator Marina Pacini and Professor David McCarthy of Rhodes College were curators of the exhibition The Pop Environment which is on view until July 13,2008. The exhibition has "diverse works, ranging from paintings and photographs to mixed media installations, which can all be linked to the Pop emphasis on looking beyond the confines of one's studio for inspiration and guidance. Artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Allan D'Arcangelo, Jim Dine, and Tom Wesselmann took their inspiration from comic books, advertisements, newspaper headlines, film stills, and popular magazines." They used mass media images to blur or destroy the distinction between high and low culture. You can see a picture of Roy Lichtenstein's Moonscape and pictures from other exhibitions currently running at the Brooks on their page on Art Museum Touring.com. There is also a major Warhol retrospective starting June 14, 2008.
 Marisol is one of the outstanding Pop sculptors. The work shown is mixed media: wood, plastic, neon, glass. The artist used figures, usually in family groups like this one.
Left:
Marisol
American (b. Paris), b. 1930
The Family, 1969
Mixed media: wood, plastic, neon, glass
I remember seeing a picture of a sculpture the First Family ( the Kennedy First Family) in the 60's.
 "March 5, 6-9 pm 1st Wednesday: Popped Art! At 6:30 pm there is gallery tour of Pop Enviornment by MCA art history professor Adrian Duran. At 7:00 pm there is a film: Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow Up: a hip fashion photographer in 1960s London accidentally shoots a murder. Starring Vanessa Redgrave (111 mins). Groove to the tunes of the Lynn Drury Band. Free for members, $6 for not-yet members."
This event is a steal! What is to not love: art, a neat film, a band and you can buy drink and snacks or a meal without have to drive all over town. I attended a number of Pop Art exhibitions in the 60's and 70's and a Warhol retrospective in the 80's and each time, the art was always more interesting and so much different in person. The Warhol pieces have so much texture and are more painterly than expected, even the silkscreens. We saw Blow Up at an art theater in Dallas. It was a great film that I have not seen in a theater setting in years. Hope you have a chance to see Blow Up.
Take the opportunity to go and see this exhibition.
Support Your Local Museums!
They Are Economic Engines for Your Communities.
Sherrie Carris
Art Museum Touring.com
Sherrie@artmuseumtouring.com
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2-16-08
I know that there are a lot of quilters in this area. Well, here is one interesting exhibition. The Museum of the American Quilter's Society (National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY) has a special regional exhibition "Quilts of the Pacific Rim". This exhibition answers the basic questions: "How do quilt designs differ when made in various regions of the United States?"and " Do Quilts made along the Pacific coast have a certain west coast style".
 Quilts of Pacific RimCurrently on exhibit through March 25, "Quilts of the Pacific Rim" showcases the artistry of quilters from Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. The Museum invited guilds in these states to select quilts made by current members that represent the guild's best craftsmanship. The exhibit illustrates how deeply quilters are involved in their communities and how that involvement flourishes at the guild level.
It would be interesting to see the show in person. No photograph can do true justice to a quilt. Only looking at one in person does the texture, the needlework and the fabrics that are part of the artistry, be seen. You can see other quilts from the show and the National Quilt Museum's (the largest quilt museum in the world) other two current exhibits on their page on Art Museum Touring.com. A friend who has been there told me it is a terrific place to visit especially for quilters and quilt lovers.
Sherrie
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2-13-08
Two Exhibitions Opening at the Frist, in Nashville
Friday, Feb. 15
Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the
Cleveland Museum of Art
Feb. 15–June 1, 2008
Ingram Gallery
This exhibition brings together 84 acclaimed European paintings and sculptures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including works by Paul Cézanne, Salvador Dalí, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Auguste R enoir, Georges Seurat and Vincent Van Gogh. Together, these works illuminate the spirit of innovation and creativity that marks one of the most extraordinary epochs in the history of art.
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890). The Poplars at Saint-Rémy (Les peupliers sur la Colline). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1958.32. © The Cleveland Museum of Art
Curator's Perspective: Surprise Me!: A Closer Look at Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art Friday, February 15, Noon in the Auditorium, FREE (Information, also, available on the new Events page of Art Museum touring.com)
Dr. William H. Robinson, curator of the Monet to Dali exhibition, will present an overview of the Cleveland collection, as well as aspects of his new research on the works of Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso.
Since 1992 Dr. Robinson has served as Curator of Modern European Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and was appointed as Head of the Department of European and American Painting and Sculpture in 2003.
This exhibition has been organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Angelo Filomeno
Feb. 15–June 1, 2008
Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
 New York artist Angelo Filomeno employs embroidery and appliqué on shantung silk in the creation of shimmering images, in which sharp-fanged skulls and prancing skeletons interact with such beautiful elements as peacocks, feathers and butterflies in modern versions of the danse macabre. Filomeno’s work is on view in the 2007 Venice Biennale, the theme of which, “Think With the Senses, Feel With the Mind: Art in the Present Tense,” perfectly encapsulates the sensuality and intellectual depth of the artist’s embroidered images.
Image: End of Presumption, 2003
Photograph courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York
© Angelo Filomeno
Organized by the Frist
Ongoing exhibition:
Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist
Jan 18-April 13
Upper-Level Galleries
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2-4-08
Major Exhibition at the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery
Nobel Laureate and Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchu will speak in honor of the inauguration of the exhibition Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamin. (Retrato (potrait) Rigoberta Menchu, 1996 shown left.)
Lecture will take place at 7:00 pm in Benton Chapel (overflow room in Buttrick Hall 101).
This landmark exhibition presents the work of one of the most highly regarded Latin American artists of the twentieth century, Ecuadorian painter and graphic artist Oswaldo Guayasamin (1919 - 1999). Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamin opens with two concurrent receptions on Thursday, February 7, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Fine Arts Gallery and at the Sarratt Gallery at Vanderbilt, with the former to be presenting the artist’s paintings and drawings, and the latter his graphic production. Both the lecture and the reception are open to the public. All events are free and open to the public.
Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamin will be on view from February 7 through March 20, 2008.
If you are in the area and have the time, it sounds like a terrific opening to attend! How often do you get to hear a lecture from a Nobel Peace Laureate?
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1-28-08
The Daisys ask where is the bathroom????
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 1-11-08The docent was showing some Daisys (kindergardeners)around the museum. When it came to the minature doll house, the docent told the girls that the house was just like a house of 1912, the year that Girl Scouting started. She asked the girls is there anytning different in houses today. The girls said immediatly "Where is the bathroom". The girls and women were not allowed to vote at that time. There are more pictures in the Girl Scout Museum page and Fay's Page in the blog section. The Girl Scout Museum has one of the premier Girl Scout Museums in the country. |
Selections From the Permanent Collection - Oak Ridge Art Center
This is a gem of an exhibition from the permanent collection of the Oak Ridge Art Center. There are pieces done by major artists that are in museums around the world. The exhibition closes Sunday at 4:00 PM, January 13. The only thing bad about the show was that it was too short. In case you don't know, the majority of the items in the collections had been collected by Mary and Alden Gomez and was purchased and contributed by Jack D. Walls in 1978. There are benefactors who have added to the collection.
This show has some of the strength in the prints collection: a beautiful print by Matisse, Odalisque; the Richard Lindner print, Portrait 11A; the Victor Vasarely print Unknown; the wonderful print by Rufio Tamayo, Dream Figure; and the two Karel Appel prints, la hune/paris and Epreuved' Artiste. The paintings are strong and varied in style and school.
The Matisse photo of the Odalisque can be seen in the Oak Ridge Art Center page on Art Museum Touring.com (www.artmuseumtouring.com).
It is well worth the trip to see the exhibition if you haven't seen it! But, you need to hurry!
-Sherrie
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12-18-07
Tennessee art viewers have had the chance to see three interesting photography exhibitions this fall from October to December : New Photography from the KMA Collection, 59th Annual Juried Photography Salon at the Oak Ridge Art Center, and Rosemary Laing: Flight at the Frist. The KMA and Frist exhibitions are still open. The Camera Club of Oak Ridge exhibition at the Oak Ridge Art Center has closed. These exhibitions show three different historical directions in photography. One direction is straight photography. "Straight photography refers to photography that attempts to depict a scene as realistically and objectively as permitted by the medium without the use of manipulation." (handout from the KMA). One direction is to explore the technology and manipulate the technology. The other direction is to use the media combined with, or referenced to another media.
When I have the opportunity the go to an exhibition, I will be posting my thoughts about exhibitions in my blog. I went to the Oak Ridge Art Center to see the photography exhibition of the " 59th Annual Juried Photography Salon presented by the Camera Club of Oak Ridge. The photographers showed such skill and sensitivity that I wanted to go to some of the places in the photographs. As my old photography professor would tell us, it isn't the place but how well the photographer sees the place. My prof was Russell Lee, a member of an outstanding group of WPA photographers. For the most part, the photographs were done in a straight photography direction. There were a few photographs which were manipulated in the darkroom. I really appreciated : "Gilbert" by Bob Stephenson, "Kathy&Rick" by Doug Hubbard, "Bridge to Nowhere" by Joey Stewart, "Blue Door" by Hal Smith, " Biltmore Gardens" by Hal Smith, " Car Capers"and "Me on a Motocycle" by Peggy Turner. I'm sorry I was not able to get any photographs to send along. Don't miss the next years exhibition!
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David S. Allee
(American, 1969)
Stadium Light (The Bronx, NY), 2002
Chromogenic print
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The Knoxville Museum of Art exhibition "New Photography from the KMA Collection" shows some interesting examples of working the three directions of photography. Do pick up the info pages about the photography exhibition. The information will enhance your appreciation of the work. There are photographs done in a very straight photo style such as " Chengdu Monk" by Mark Abrahamson. There are some artists who do work in a straight style about "places or settings that were invented, or staged by the artist" such as "Untitled (ladies' man)" by Sarah Hobbs. Sarah Hobbs makes prints in large format photography. There are two artists who alter the images by exploring darkroom techniques by Christine Patterson in "Swinging Bridge" or by using digital software as Loretta Lux did in "The Rose Garden". The Lux photographs are done in a straight forward way and then altered with the software. The images are haunting and unnerving in a beautiful way. Joel Whitaker's piece "Essential" is an example of a third direction in photograph which uses a very straight images in a multi-media piece. This exhibition and this collection is very interesting in that the viewer will see the stylistic history and maybe the future of photography. I plan to see it again.
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Rosemary Laing
contemporary Australian artist
bulletproofglass (2002)
large-scale color photograph
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The "Rosemary Laing : Flight" photograph exhibition at the Frist Center is a series of large-scale color photographs created from 1998-2006. Laing plans the setting very carefully to invent, or create the image she wanted. The Laing series has the same female model in bridal gowns to dresses that could have been used in early Australian colonial days. The woman seems to be defying gravity in a very evocative manner. She appears to be in midair, but you don't know how or why. The images are strong and disturbing and create many questions within the viewer.
After seeing these photographs, as well as the ones in the Student Exhibitions at the KMA, the viewer well want to know what is the artist trying to tell us. The nice thing about art is that there is no "correct" answer and that the answers change from year to year. I will be talking with you about the KMA's " New Directions in American Drawing" exhibition in a couple days.
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MEDIA PREVIEW AT THE FRIST AND
VISIT TO VANDERBILT FINE ARTS GALLERY
When Tom and I went to Nashville for the media preview of the exhibitions “Societe Anonyme: Modernism in America” from the Yale collection and “Rosemary Laing: Flight” at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, I knew I was going to see something special. Jennifer R. Gross, the Seymour H. Knox, Jr. curator of modern and contemporary art at Yale University Art Gallery conducted a guided walk through the “Societe Anonyme” exhibit. She gave information and insight about the artwork and the artists in the exhibition. http://artmuseumtouring.com/Frist.html
Walking in to the exhibition was like being back in my art history classes in college while studying for my MFA. There were paintings and artists I had studied, but never seen in person; Josef Albers, Alexander Archipenko, Arthur Dove, Max Ernst, Arshile Gorky, Wassily, Kandinsky, Man Ray, Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Stella, Constatin Brancusi, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, Piet Mondrian. I had heard about the suitcases of Duchamp with miniature copies of his sculpture (the Urinal - the 1913 Armory Show) and paintings, etc., but, I had never seen one, nor a photograph of one. Well, there is one in this exhibition. Societe Anonyme fills in not only the information that I had forgotten as a student, but the modern art artists and the role of the avant-garde from 1920 - 1940.
One of my fond memories of doing the Philadelphia Craft Show years ago with our pottery (other than having work commissioned by Henry McIlhenny then Chairman of the Board of the Philadelphia Art Museum) was going to the Philadelphia Art Museum and walking into an area that was full of late 19TH century and 20TH century art. I have not had the experience of seeing so many of the artists and their work that I had studied in one place again until the “Societe Anonyme”. This exhibition is terrific.
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The Frist Center Curator, Katie Delmez, gave a walk-through for the media preview of the “Rosemary Laing: Flight” exhibition. She gave a lot of insight about Laing’s series of large- scale color photographs created from 1998-2006. |
Using the same single figure against the background of the sky seemingly defying gravity, we see the photographs over the years transition from optimistic to chaotic. The images are strong, evocative, and disturbing. They made me wonder: Why is the woman there? How did she get there? What is she trying to tell us? Laing leaves it to the viewers to draw their own conclusions.
While it was a privilege to be part of the media and get the guided tour (and great coffee), the downside was that the museum closed at noon (We later discovered the upstairs of the Frist was open). I could have spent hours there and am planning on going back as soon as I can. However, that gave us time for us to go see the “More Than One” print show at the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery, a small but very nice gallery in the Old Gym.
Two small prints were the first pieces of art that I purchased for myself. I have since purchased and traded for many more. I even took a printmaking class at the UT Knoxville while getting my teaching certificate for Art and History.
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Vanderbilt had an interesting variety of prints including a large multi-media print. There were some really interesting prints with political statements. I especially enjoyed seeing in person the Ron Adams’ “Blackburn - 2002” which has a printmaker making a litho on an old press with a Magritte type figure behind the press. It is a neat print. |
The pieces really come to life when you see them in person. I would never have
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realized that the Duchamp’s “Tu’m” painting has a bottlebrush sticking straight out from it to create an extra shadow. |
I hope you enjoy my newsletter. I will be sending one out again from time to time as I have more to tell you about the my trips to see the exhibitions at the various museums you can see on Art Museum Touring.com. www.artmuseumtouring.com
Sherrie Carris
Art Museum Touring.com
P.S. To see the pottery we are primarily known for visit:
www:carris-studio.com.
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Art Blog 10-4-07
When I was in Jr. High and High School, we were given free tickets to the State Fair of Texas. I started going to the Dallas Museum of Art which was in the Fair grounds. I had started taking private art painting class in grade school and Jr. High. Aunt Jewell had started taking classes and mom and dad let me take classes. We didn't have any art classes in grade school, or Jr. High. So the painting class was really important to me.
When I had a chance to go to the museum, I was able to see some really nice work by artists such as Henry Moore, Daniel Smith, Mondrian, and many others. Each time I came to the museum I and got to see the art, I learned new things. Since I didn't have art classes in school until high school, the museums became my art history class.
I had never seen any art until that first trip to the Dallas Museum of Fine Art. I have loved going to museums ever since.
I will be telling you about museums I have seen through the years and thoughts about art exhibitions each week We will be delighted to carry blogs and/or thoughts from other art lovers. Send me an e-mail to put your thoughts up.
Sherrie Carris
e-mail: sherrie@artmuseumtouring.com
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