The Girls Are Back --

Is There Going To Be Trouble?


Yes, billion-eyed audience, here they are again. Many of you long-time listeners already know the story. But, for those of you who don't: this image was taken, and not by me, at an exhibition opening several years ago at the vanished Three Miles Gallery and this space, and the adjacent one, is today the bustling Tarrant's Café.

Richmond's First Fridays Aftwalk begins its new season in earnest tomorrow evening. You can see it all in colour here. Here at the Blue Raccoon, these young women are emblematic of the social verve and creative energy -- a Dyonisian jumbalaya, well, not in the radical True Blood way -- that First Friday Richmond represents in ye olde Richmond Towne.

This pair of Richmond lovelies display the classic duality of Greek tragedy/comedy, and the predicament of existence, and how in general conditions are one or the other -- depending who you are and where your viewing booth is.

But is the representation of enjoyment that seems to unnerve some people. Or at least, after eight years, suddenly the civil administration here gives the appearance, anyway, of being shocked, shocked! to see art galleries on Broad Street, and droves of people trooping in and out of them. This, too, is reflected by the haranguing of corner preachers on milk crates with PA systems who are persuaded that wine and cheese are the gateway drugs to hell.

The fear and anxiety was portrayed in the current issue of the city's weekly tab.

As often happens, the comment train following the article is more illuminating - and for bad reasons -- than the article. Like a particularly bad morning on C-SPAN, the snipes and quips aren't so much directed at the issues raised but bent on grinding particular axes or slapping around artists, whom even in 2009 in Richmond are viewed with suspicion as potential subversives and condemned as useless drains. Never mind that without the arts schools and institutions devoted to them here that Richmond would just be another whistle stop on the way to Atlanta. I'm beyond fed up with people who a) Don't read articles all the way through and b) Comment with knee-jerk responses to a headline, picture or captions. This is why we as a civilization in decline: lack both attention and discipline. So there, corner preacher, stick that up your righteous indignation.

And so there are belligerent, bullet-headed nihilist hipsters who'll profusely and obscenely decry Richmond as some kind of portal to, I don't know, boredom or hell or hellish boredom but that's because they insist on wanting Richmond to be New York or L.A., or any other place that it is not. Let Richmond be Richmond, and if you're not willing to roll up your sleeves, expose your baroquely tatted forearms and do something constructive, then why are you here anyway? In a way, these types are just as annoying as that street corner preacher who is just there because he likes to hear himself preach or the suburbanites who, from the safe distance of the cul-de-sac, toss their grenades of ignorance and fear. And their shrapnel unfortunately sticks in all of us.

Which gets me to the presence of uniformed officialdom that was meandering among the galleries during August's First Friday, with their clipboards, clickable pens and curious expressions. I understand the need to monitor safety regulations for buildings, without question.

However, there is a way to do things. Can we not go to the spaces and look at them before they are packed with people to see about proper egress and lighted exits and such? You do want to see them under the times of most stress, too -- and that doesn't make city officials bad guys, but, there should be a better, less invasive way.

So. I guess we'll see.

Some of the highlights I intend to hit:

Little Creatures, a 1708 Gallery satellite exhibit at the historic Linden Row Inn and curated by my personal Grand Louvre, Amie Oliver. The show features sculpture, painting, drawing and photography inspired by animals and the natural world.

For more information on the artists please visit the links below:

Joan Gaustad:
http://www.adagallery.com/Joan_Gaustad.html

Leah Jacobson:
http://www.leahjacobson.com/

Rob McAdams:
http://www.supporttrike.com

Jamie Pocklington:
http://www.jpock.com

Gordon Stettinius:
http://www.eyecaramba.com

Rob Tarbell:
http://robtarbell.com

Paul Teeples:
http://1708gallery.blogspot.com

Another show I've quite desirous of seeing is Thomas van Auken's exhibition, sponsored by Art 180, at the Schindler Satellite Gallery at 8 W. Broad.

I snagged this image from van Auken's Facebook. I enjoy his confident lines and Germanic textures. Figurative work has had its ups and downs in terms of general acceptance these days. VCU tends toward the Abstract-Expressionsits, and around the country, drawing itself isn't considered as important.

So it's great to see somebody who somehow not only learned to draw but paints, too, and the overall effects are pleasing and even sometimes a bit startling.

I'll be buzzing into Ghostprint, Gallery5, and Metro Space Gallery, too.


I'll see you on Broad or nearby, on Friday.

We shall return to Phil Gotz's tour of Richmond during the weekend.

May First Friday: The Girls Are Back



If you are late to the billion-eyed audience, you may not know that these two women, displaying the classic Greek tragedy/comedy duality, represent -- well, here at the Blue Raccoon, anyway -- the arrival of yet another First Friday High Art Hike throughout midtown Richmond. And the ladies will enjoy fine weather, suitable for their mode of dress.


[Little did we know, but Catherine Keener, (above?)perhaps with friends, has visited...]

If you know the story, please repeat along. The topmost image was taken, and not by me, at an opening several years ago at the vanished Three Miles Gallery and that this space, and an adjacent one, is now the busy Tarrant's Café.

Before you head into the Presidential-named streets of midtown, though, you need to check out two exhibits by friends of ours across the street from each other, Louis Poole at Page Bond, 1625 W. Main St. and Steve Hedberg's new work at the Glave-Kocen Gallery, 1620 W. Main St.

Both painters create environments in their pieces; Louis' houses verge on the abstract, Steve's buildings, streetscapes and landscapes are rendered with a realistic vision, but he also presents abstract elements.

The Poole here is via the Richmond Federal Reserve site.

As they say, the Glaves and the Kocens, on their site about Steve:

Steve Hedberg - harley on lombardy

Steve Hedberg - street parking on floyd

Steve Hedberg - untitled

new works by Steve Hedberg

May 2 - May 31, 2008
Opening Reception,May 2, 2008
6:00 until 9:00

With his latest body of work, Richmond artist, Steve Hedberg continues to divide his time between two styles: realism and abstract. He takes a slightly gritter approach to his realism, focusing on Richmond's Fan neighborhood, old automobiles and local haunts as subject sources. His work in abstract furthers his exploration of a seemingly alternative universe, using compositions of geometric planes balanced by course texture and color.

By the way, A.d.a Gallery, 228 W. Broad St., turns five years old with this First Friday. Gallerist John Pollard has made a definite mark here, and come June, he'll will be hieing off to Scope Basel in Switzerland. This month, members of the collaborative FEAST are exhibiting.


Below are further directly ripped-off blurbs of some of the premiering events:

Quirk Gallery
Chuck Scalin: Rush: Explorations in Glass

We’re SO excited to see what Richmond based (hum, legendary) artist Chuck Scalin will pull out of the kiln for his upcoming first solo show at Quirk. Kiln? Yes, kiln! Chuck has been working with local legendary artist herself, Jude Schlozhauer, learning the secrets of glass. Taking his exquisite collages to the next level, Scalin creates unique (yeah, you’ve heard it before, but it’s true here) works of art by fusing glass and found objects. Each one a mystery until it emerges from the heat, Scalin then works the surface with addition of objects and by working the surface with graphite or paint. This is a not to be missed show!

Exhibition Statement: The creative RUSH comes after the piece is removed from the kiln, with the challenge of where and how to take the piece to completion. Inspiration for these pieces is derived from the irregular textures, color alterations, and accidents that occur during the firing process and result in determining the direction of the final abstract composition.

Rush opens at Quirk on May 2 and continues until June 21.

VCU MFA Thesis Show!
It’s May and that means a city filled with more art shows than you can shake a paintbrush at, thanks to the many end-of-semester shows presented by art students from across the City.

The VCU School of the Arts Department of Sculpture presents their MFA Thesis Exhibitions at two annex locations that are in the First Fridays area. We’re sure you won’t want to miss the works of these exceptional emerging artists!

Terminal: VCU Sculpture MFA Thesis Annex Exhibition
Featuring: Sami Ben Larbi, Lily Cox-Richard, David Grainger, Eli Kessler

Opening Receptions: May 2, 6-9pm & May 9, 7-9pm
2 Locations: 5-7 West Broad St and 209 N Foushee Street
Exhibition continues: May 2-18, 2008

1708 Gallery 319 West Broad St. Richmond, VA 23220 (804) 643 · 1708 1708gallery.org Tuesday - Friday: 11 am – 5 pm Saturday: 1 – 5 pm and by appointment First Fridays hours: 7 – 10 pm

Forgotten Constellations Artist Paul Cantanese presents projected installations First Fridays: May 2, 7-10pm Exhibition: May 2-31 1708 Gallery was founded in 1978, and is a nonprofit exhibition and performance space committee to expanding the understanding, development, and appreciation of contemporary art.

Gallery 5 @ VA Fire & Police Museum 200 W. Marshall St. Richmond, VA 23220 (804) 644 · 0005 gallery5arts.org Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11am – 5pm, and other times by appointment First Fridays hours: 7 – 11 pm Exintrinsic: The Art of Ebony Patterson, Lisa Kellner, Brooke Hine An exhibition that embraces the fine subtleties and details of the surface and texture of the human body, Extrinsic features Ebony Paterson from Kingston, Jamaica, and Lisa Kellner from Richmond. Both artists create an exquisite visual dialogue about the body as a receptacle or vessel for passage while dissecting the discrepancies between what is perceived and what is visible. Lisa Kellner's work ranges from delicate drawings and paintings exemplifying the topographical qualities in the landscape of the skin to installations that explore the qualities of flesh and bodily structure, juxtaposed with the aspects of personal sanctuary. Ebony Patterson creates large scale mixed media prints that seek to reference specifically female objectification from an autobiographical perspective, while making cultural references to her own experiences with her own body. First Fridays: May 2, 7-10pm; Featuring live entertainment Exhibition: May 2-28 Gallery5, one of Richmond’s newest and most innovative visual and performing art centers, is located in a National Historic Landmark known as Steamer Company No. 5. Gallery5’s mission is to help promote a new understanding of the arts in an interactive atmosphere by combining multiple mediums under one roof. Our monthly exhibitions include a collaboration of both visual works of art, live music, film and a wide array of performing arts.

Ghostprint Gallery 220 West Broad Street Richmond, VA 23220 (804)344-1557 www.ghostprintgallery.com Wednesday - Saturday 1 – 7 pm or by appointment First Fridays: 7-10pm First Fridays hours: 7 – 10 pm Peter Fowler - Let the Paint Speak Fowler is a prolific painter whose bravura brushwork and luscious use of paint convey a sense of joyful energy, whether his subject be impressionistic landscapes or romantic figures of women. Peter may be booked for portraits at his First Friday Opening. First Fridays: May 2, 7-10pm Exhibiton: May 2-31 From the cutting edge to established International artists, non-traditional media to oil painting, Ghostprint Gallery synthesizes disparate elements in an enlightened perspective on art itself.

The Girls Are Back (But they made need umbrellas)
First Friday Goes Global


Yes, if those members of the billion-eyed will repeat along for the benefit of those who are new to the Blue Raccoon: it's First Friday in Richmond, which means that we take to the sidewalks and troop from art gallery to art gallery on Broad Street and the tributaries. The image above was taken, not by me, during a long ago opening at the now-defunct Three Miles Gallery now part of the busy and expanded Tarrant's Cafe. Back in the day the place at Foushee and Broad was a pharmacy and lunch counter where city government denizens and interested parties gathered to swap gossip and they themselves "The Gutter Club."

The ladies may want to pack fashionable galoshes and carry pretty umbrellas because there's a 30 percent chance that the high art hike could get a soaker. But that shouldn't dampen anybody's enthusiasm, much like the excited art-goer on the right.

Tonight is bursting at the seams with all manner of exotic entertainments. At the Richmond Public Library will perform the Gamelan Raga Kusuma. The University of Richmond's own Balinese Gamelan Orchestra will perform traditional Indonesian music and dance with their enormous, hand crafted gamelan, an ensemble of bronze gongs, chimes, cymbals and drums housed in intricately carved wooden cases. The Gamelan Ensemble will be joined by Brazilian capoeira musicians and dancers led by Mestre Panao, and Kevin Harding’s Bossa ensemble.

Over at Gallery 5 there's a blow-out party celebrating its and RVA Magazine's third anniversary, it's five bucks, it'll be crowded and loud, and exuberant.

But the Partner-In-Art-For-Life and I are intending to scramble up stairs above Gallery6 to see new work by our friend and Art Cheerleader Kendra Dawn Wadsworth showing at the Todd S. Hale Gallery.

Kendra's paintings and drawings are informed by her time in Arizona, of the native mixed with the pop culture, and a passion for living that is reflected in her ardent enjoyment of the equine. This is all new work. The reproduction below isn't very good, came from a thumbnail, but.





Meanwhile, over at The Ghostprint Gallery are paintings of Anna Kaarina Nenonen. According to the gallery's description, the Finnish native "is a figurative painter with a provocative and ironical approach to female sexuality. Combining elements of expressionism and photo-realism , eroticism and intellectualism, her work is ambiguous and thought provoking."



Over at the 1708 Gallery, celebrating its 30th anniversary as an artist-run gallery, is a full house of varied and intriguing work by artists for the 18th annual art auction, April 19.

The non-profit space for the art of now hired a new executive director; a from-here in a way as a opposed to a come-here, with the lyrical name of Tatjana Franke Beylotte. She was until of late Arts Education Coordinator, Publications Manager and Webmaster for the Virginia Commission for the Arts. She comes to Richmond by Charleston, S.C. and the Spoleto Festival, Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian Institute. Taking the reins of an arts organization in the best of times is courageous, but now as we get the feeling we're on the downside descent of not even the highest rise in a surreal roller coaster, is in the realm of Joan of Arc, or Art, as the case may be. We wish her all the best. It's going to be a wild ride.

1708 is poised to do some huge events, not the least of which is "In Light" on September 5th beginning at 7:00 p.m. an running until midnight, a light-inspired celebration of the gallery’s 30th anniversary.

The idea comes from such concepts as the "Nuit Blanche" that originated in Paris, wherein art institutions and museums remain open all night. Richmond’s first contemporary arts“happening” of this magnitude will be free and open to the public.

Also tonight, an opening reception at the Valentine Richmond History Center between 7-10pm for Battle for the City: The Politics of Race 1950s-70s, an exhibition featuring imagery and artifacts focused on citywide conflicts over integration, civil rights, urban planning, transportation, and political representation - the outcomes of continue to affect Richmond’s physical and social landscape.

If you want to see the outlines of why my fair city doesn't have an effective mass transit system, can't lead a cooperative and fundamental region-wide administration, nor a consolidated school system (anti-busing protest at Capitol Square, below left), and can't seem to manage running itself, here's why.

Due to race and its socio-economic implications/ramifications, the black and white leadership class was chased from the city into the suburbs and beyond, and engineers and businessmen carved up Richmond like a pumpkin. The 21st century has got to be better. It's just got to be. Those bad days are a while ago, and the perpetrators dead or very old. But the sins of the fathers, as the Biblical injunction goes, are visited upon the last generation.

Some of the noteworthy artifacts included are part of the Woolworth’s lunch counter (image above; the store was demolished to make way for the upcoming Richmond Haus von Kunst and Kultur), a seat from Parker Field, a Klan robe, and the office chair used by Mayors Henry Marsh, Roy A. West, Geline B. Williams, and Walter T. Kenny.

And, yes, it's off the main corridor, but, never fear. They've done a smart thing to provide a free shuttle at either the Valentine Richmond History Center or at the corner of Madison and West Broad Street, near Quirk Gallery. The history bus'll make a continuous loop from 7-10pm between the First Fridays area and the History Center.

Gotta Get Cool, Babe

Photographer, poet, scribe, and adventurer Elli Morris has made a contribution to one of my favorite kinds of bookshelves; the one used for Obscure Niche Events That Alter The Course of History.

Her book is Cooling The South: The Block Ice Era (1875-1975) and this handsome, wide white pages of the well-written self-made volume will be good to open up during the torporous days to come in August.

Artificial ice--like most items in the catalogue of the Shock of the New--was considered heresy. Down here in Richmond, the Yuengling/James River Steam Brewery used ice chopped off Lake Erie shipped down here and loaded into underground cooling tunnels (still extant, amid the Rockett's Landing business). But the problem with natural ice, as Elli told me, was it often contained things you didn't want in your drink, much less your ice.

Here, Mrs. Jane King rose to prominence as the city's Ice Queen, at a time when few women ran their own business, or, as Morris points out, dealt with sailors and dockworkers. In 1911, the heat was so dreadful that there was fear of an "ice famine" and near riots broke out as those in need crowded ice trucks to get at the blocks. Demand exceded production.

Block ice transformed how the South went about work and play and presaged the Sun Belt made possible through air conditioning (the downside is we got "Atlangeles," Georgia. ) Elli was brought up in this business, she's from Mississippi, and that makes her both cool -- and hot. Part memoir, part history, part travelogue, Cooling the South, with 209 photographs in both color and glorious black and white is available through the book's website and finer local bookstores. Thus summer, she'll be on a publishing tour, so look for her nearby. I would, if I was you.

An excerpt:

"Crinkling, crunching, shattering ice is what I still remember most from the storage room. As an adult, the beauty of the glacially-blue blocks of ice stuns me, but as a child, the sound of walking on white frost and broken chips of ice was beyond cool.

Everything else in the rest of my Mississippi world, the mud, grass and pine straw, was a soft, muffled quiet under my feet no matter how hard I stomped. But in the ice room I became a giant from another world, from the moon or Mars or an undiscovered galaxy, a ferocious monster capable of huffs and puffs and heaving ho.

Contrary to my mighty feet, my squeals and screams were stopped in mid-air by the thickly insulated walls and dense blocks of ice. This altered transformation was fantastic. It was freezing. It was short-lived when my uncle shooed me out of the workers’ way and pulled me back into the normal life of trees, sun and sky.

Hebron was generous with me and the gaggle of cousins underfoot, imparting his father’s, and his father’s father’s passion for a business that impacted their region of America as deeply and creatively as it impacted four generations of the Morris family."

Hey Y'aa-aalll: It's First Friday


Yes, billion-eyed audience, if you've visited here often, you know what this image means: these two ladies, of opposing expressions but exuberant attitudes, shown here during a long ago opening at the defunct Three Miles Gallery which is now Tarrant's restaurant -- it's First Friday in Richmond.

The Weather Channel says' "Soon It's Gonna Rain" so, ladies, carry a bumbershoot and slip on a pair of cute but functional galoshes.

The printmakers (Southern Graphics Council) are coming to town, thus there's a number of galleries dedicated to one of the oldest, and newest, art forms. Check out Transmission's exhibition of the Women of Studio 23, and visit the gallery with the most appropriate name this month, Ghostprint.

Now, further uptown, actually in Uptown, as this strip of Ruchmun' styles itself, at the Red Door Gallery is work by five artists, including Amie Oliver, my partner-in-art, in an exhibition called Sugar and Spice. You have until the end of the month to see the work of these unique makers and creators.

Another Oliver, Rebecca Goldberg Oliver, has new paintings up at Gallery6. She's an Art Cheerleader, you know, and they won a Muse award last night at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Gooooo- Art!


Another friend of the Blue Racccoon was celebrated in the Marble Hall; developer Tom Robinson, whose Vacant Spaces = Artful Spaces program makes waiting for the bus in midtown even more of an an aesthetic experience, and also provides attention for empty and neglected interwar storefronts. He's a caution, that Tom, as they used to say.


By the way, for those of you who've anxious about the second printing of True Richmond Stories, it'll be in the finer regional book shops as of March 28. If your Little Shop Around The Corner doesn't carry it by April, demand that the slender volume be stocked. Or -- you can go to Amazon.com.

Last night I spoke with a book group hosted by Katie at the "Dooley Mansion" and had a splended time. They didn't mind my three-cornered hat.

In other unrelated news, Charlie
Wilson's War has arrived at the
Byrd Theatre. We're going.

Walking And Talking: January First Friday


This is Art6, but the September show, but it was about the same temperature. And, I like pink and a woman's right to bare arms. Via Art6 archives, Danielle Nilson, for Jimmy Warner Design.

A non-wintry evening, and fair temperatures, brought the faithful out for First Friday though without Virginia Commonwealth University's students and faculty back in full force from the holidays, the crowds weren't as thick downtown but still notable. These days, we've become accustomed to packed sidewalks as platoons march from gallery to gallery but this way, we actually got to spend time with art and the people who make the work.

Despite the fewer numbers, seemed to me there were petitioners everywhere on Broad Street, for whatever political cause and ballot-qualification; and flyer distributors for this band or that performance. Two of these were for WRIR's upcoming third birthday party at the Renaissance Center, 107 W, Broad St., February 1, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., and it's always a great time. Slam Richmond's third season is also beginning.

And the annoying and young street preachers were out in number with a freaking bullhorn. They are persuaded that cheese and red wine are the transubtantiatives of those borne for perdition.

The Partner In Art For Life and I enjoyed dinner at home then walked arm and arm to the Glave-Kocen Gallery on Main to see a group show of which friend and colleague Steve Hedberg was a part. We got there too late to see Steve.

We departed to walk zig zag across the Fan to Franklin and joined up with the main art event on Broad and 1708 Gallery. There, I walked around and underneath Kai Richter's installation which reminded me of several things: in observing recent renovations of downtown buildings, the sluice of timbers that come sliding down from flumes placed at second and third story buildings; an arrested collapse of a wooden structure as though frozen in time, and, the mixture of needles for an old Ker-Plunk! game. [As seen here via lauriekendrick]


There we teamed up with Katherine Henry and continued our progress though conscious of how we'd gotten a late start. By time we got to art6, we'd missed Marsden Williams. A former student, Marsden's work is bold, in terms of line and and color, and Matisse-like.

I was also impressed not just by the size of Gayle Lowry's landscapes but how I was reminded of the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands.

We then hied over to Transmission where for a few moments we stood outside and watched a puppet show in progress. Transmission is a small place, and crowded by an audience enjoying themselves, and we were motioned in and found room to stand toward the door side.

Here, we watched artist/puppeteer Sean Samoheyl. He is someone who seems informed both by South Park and Philip Guston and Bread & Puppet Theatre, so that's quite a combination. He straps his stage to himself by means of an ingenious apron device that both obscures the mechanics of his puppet manipulation and transforms himself into a living theater. We got into the story mid-plot, but Matt McDonald who works on a farm had come into a thrift store run by a friend Seth and accompanied by a guy named Ernest who spoke only through a megaphone and possessed great knowledge of conspiracy theories and a willingness to discuss them.

Matt seemed concerned about Seth's thrift store habits, admonishing him, "I don't know much about like interventions and stuff, but Seth, you're addicted to trifting!" Seth admitted to owning some 400 pairs of pants that he doesn't wear, and that he'd organized them according to straight leg, flat front, etc. But now he managed the store, and in appreciation for Matt's concern, handed him a bag of clothes.

The presentation was quite amusing. There's a variety of work from a across the country, drawings and prints, in this Word Made Fresh show.

On the street, I could see the fire twirlers and here the whoosh of controlled flames in front of Gallery5.

We ske-daddled then for Ghostprint Gallery where a long-ago student of Amie's, Chet Naylor, has his Unified Field exhibition. I thought of a recent show I'd seen about galaxies and how his tumultuous forms and colors reminded me of images taken in space of other whirling cosmic bodies.

Amie caught up with Chet, meanwhile I got a very nice call from Katie and Heather at the New York Deli, as they'd already done Gallery5 and retreated to Carytown. Tempting, but I'd just had my Annual Nativity event there--and they'd missed the gathering by probably a half hour. Though my feet were hurting a bit and I was sitting in the window when Katie Ukrop came by and joked that this was where I was holding court. Jason ambled in and there was amiable chat.

We ambled past ada but what we back was John's back as he talked with a couple whose backs were turned our way. The hour was advanced; Amie sought to take pictures of the art we could see through the windows as she doubted she'd get back here to otherwise see the work.

But it was time to go! Pushing on past toward 11 p.m.. Katherine was kind to give us a ride home.