February 26, 2023
1st Place Ribbon For 'Along The KATY'
Never take a first-place award for granted.
The Places You Will Go exhibit currently on display at Capital Arts features outstanding works by local artists, both new and established. Every artist pours blood (figuratively for the most part) into each work they create, and each work they create reflects a piece of their humanity. When a work is singled out for an award, that artist is carrying the creative visions of every artist with them. It’s an honor; it’s also a responsibility. Art in society requires critical mass.
‘Along The KATY’ is actually quite an old work, created something like fifteen years ago, well before I was exhibiting. Though I’d been creating photo art for many years by then, I was doing so strictly for my own enjoyment, using much less sophisticated software. The tools I was using then aren’t even available anymore. The effects of those tools was actually quite profound simply because of the lower resolutions of the works. Friends reacted quite well to this work so I knew it was good, but it just sat in my portfolio for many years. Then about a year ago artists began creating works in support of Ukraine; works that mimicked the Ukrainian flag with harvest yellow on the lower half and sky blue on the upper half, and it occurred to me that I had done a similar work years before. I brought it back, smoothed it out, increased its resolution, and posted it online as part of showing Ukrainian support. The reaction was so positive I decided to produce it in a framed metal print for exhibition. I actually think most people missed the Ukrainian connection, but it’s ironic the blue ribbon came for it on the one-year anniversary of that invasion.
Appreciation for art is subjective. Awards draw attention to the collective. Spend some time at Capital Arts and see the complete exhibit of outstanding art.
- CH
The Places You Will Go exhibit currently on display at Capital Arts features outstanding works by local artists, both new and established. Every artist pours blood (figuratively for the most part) into each work they create, and each work they create reflects a piece of their humanity. When a work is singled out for an award, that artist is carrying the creative visions of every artist with them. It’s an honor; it’s also a responsibility. Art in society requires critical mass.
‘Along The KATY’ is actually quite an old work, created something like fifteen years ago, well before I was exhibiting. Though I’d been creating photo art for many years by then, I was doing so strictly for my own enjoyment, using much less sophisticated software. The tools I was using then aren’t even available anymore. The effects of those tools was actually quite profound simply because of the lower resolutions of the works. Friends reacted quite well to this work so I knew it was good, but it just sat in my portfolio for many years. Then about a year ago artists began creating works in support of Ukraine; works that mimicked the Ukrainian flag with harvest yellow on the lower half and sky blue on the upper half, and it occurred to me that I had done a similar work years before. I brought it back, smoothed it out, increased its resolution, and posted it online as part of showing Ukrainian support. The reaction was so positive I decided to produce it in a framed metal print for exhibition. I actually think most people missed the Ukrainian connection, but it’s ironic the blue ribbon came for it on the one-year anniversary of that invasion.
Appreciation for art is subjective. Awards draw attention to the collective. Spend some time at Capital Arts and see the complete exhibit of outstanding art.
- CH
February 15, 2023
Going Places At Capital Arts
The original call for submissions for ‘The Places You Will Go Exhibit’ opening this week at Capital Arts sought works of locations that had inspired the artist. At least that’s what I remember about it, or how I interpreted it at any rate. I selected works that are more than just a travelog. These pieces each reflect an aspect of myself. Arguably, everything an artist does is no different, but I can draw a conscious connection to each of these.
‘Along The KATY’ has been exhibited a couple times already over the past year, though under a different name. I’m fortunate enough to live close to Missouri’s famed KATY Trail – a biking and hiking trail that now runs all the way from St. Louis to Kansas City over what used to be the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, for the most part in close proximity if not immediately next to the Missouri River. It’s an often gorgeous vista upon which I once spent hours and hours riding over. All the time I spent peddling along, I didn’t grab nearly as many photographic captures as one might think. Riding, not shooting, was the point. The mind/body connection that came with miles and miles of miles of physical exertion. Finding my Chi, as it were. The captures I did make, though, led to some striking works.
I created ‘Beach Dreams’ just last summer, but it recalls many years ago on the islands of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines as a member of U.S. Peace Corps, creating education materials for the Ministry of Agriculture there. It was a confusing time – everybody goes through confusion when they’re young – trying to figure out who I was and where I was going, transitioning from one time to the next. And, yes, I spent a lot of time on a beach, staring out to sea, musing the nature of the universe. BTW, never really did figure it out.
An earlier and smaller version of ‘Front Straight’ sold out of a gallery in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis a number of years ago. I decided to update it with a few new techniques and produce a larger version for this exhibit. If we’re looking for inspirations, this place ignited all manner of boyhood dreams and adult fascination. Events there are like ballets; poetic verses of motion and color. Intricate, improvised dances on the edge. To this day, pretty much every Sunday from March through November, I’m tuning my video receiver to an event somewhere in the world that simulates what this place inspired. Oh, yeah, what the hell is this … it’s the infield pagoda on the front straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The exhibit runs through March 18, with a reception the evening of February 23. See you there!
- CH
‘Along The KATY’ has been exhibited a couple times already over the past year, though under a different name. I’m fortunate enough to live close to Missouri’s famed KATY Trail – a biking and hiking trail that now runs all the way from St. Louis to Kansas City over what used to be the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, for the most part in close proximity if not immediately next to the Missouri River. It’s an often gorgeous vista upon which I once spent hours and hours riding over. All the time I spent peddling along, I didn’t grab nearly as many photographic captures as one might think. Riding, not shooting, was the point. The mind/body connection that came with miles and miles of miles of physical exertion. Finding my Chi, as it were. The captures I did make, though, led to some striking works.
I created ‘Beach Dreams’ just last summer, but it recalls many years ago on the islands of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines as a member of U.S. Peace Corps, creating education materials for the Ministry of Agriculture there. It was a confusing time – everybody goes through confusion when they’re young – trying to figure out who I was and where I was going, transitioning from one time to the next. And, yes, I spent a lot of time on a beach, staring out to sea, musing the nature of the universe. BTW, never really did figure it out.
An earlier and smaller version of ‘Front Straight’ sold out of a gallery in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis a number of years ago. I decided to update it with a few new techniques and produce a larger version for this exhibit. If we’re looking for inspirations, this place ignited all manner of boyhood dreams and adult fascination. Events there are like ballets; poetic verses of motion and color. Intricate, improvised dances on the edge. To this day, pretty much every Sunday from March through November, I’m tuning my video receiver to an event somewhere in the world that simulates what this place inspired. Oh, yeah, what the hell is this … it’s the infield pagoda on the front straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The exhibit runs through March 18, with a reception the evening of February 23. See you there!
- CH