Saturday, Saturday, Saturday!

CHER cordially invites you to join us at Salon 1522 on Saturday, May 4th to enjoy art, music, free beer, and some prime time photo booth action. Did you miss your prom? No worries, CHER's got you covered. 

Click this for more details (or go to cherpopups.com)

Salon 1522

1522 N. Lawrence St

Phila., PA 19122

7-10pm!

100% Shawn Beeks released in Pittsburgh, PA

Living Without Labels: A review of Beyond Boundaries (at the Magic Gardens)

 Living Without Labels

Outsider Art has been getting a lot of coverage in Philadelphia over the past few months with exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and smaller events such as Interconnection: The Art of Social Change at the Asian Arts Initiative, and Beyond Boundaries at Magic Gardens. Having attended the majority of these exhibits, I began to wonder if labeling the work as "outsider" helps or harms the integrity of artists. I recently showed an acquaintance one of the drawings that caught my eye, providing no information about the artist or the venue. He responded, “I’d say it was genius if it were drawn by a 4 year old.” Granted, this person was intoxicated, but he spoke honestly regarding his opinion of work. This brief conversation provoked me to investigate two things: what the difference is between an artist on the inside and one the outside, and what makes a preschooler a genius.

Artists have been defined as those who are able, by virtue of imagination and talent or skill, to create works of aesthetic value, especially in the fine arts, while outsider artists are defined as untutored, working by themselves, for themselves, without recognizing themselves as artists.

On the surface, the differences between insiders and outsiders are not in the quality of the work, but the recognition and respect gained from others who see their work. By definition, outsiders are viewed as ignorant isolationists, unaware that they possess the same skills and talents of artists celebrated by the public. The differences become apparent when one’s focus shifts to the “aesthetic value” of the work, questioning what determines how much the work is worth.  An artist in isolation may be less aware of their work’s value because others are not present to attribute value to work and the artist. Having others acknowledging the value in one’s work often creates a sense of self-importance in the artist, and pressure to produce work worthy of the praise and labels like “genius” bestowed upon them. Therefore, it’s not the work that makes an artist a genius, but the viewer’s expectations of what the artist should make. The hypothetical four-year-old mentioned earlier is not expected to produce representational drawings with anatomically correct figures or accurate perspective, but adults exhibiting in public spaces are expected to achieve this, or consciously challenge these practices with strong visual arguments.

New Years 2008

The expectations we carry when viewing exhibited work determines whether or not it is labeled (insider) art or outsider art; therefore, individuals lacking academic training or recognition from others, who make challenging work, could be categorized as geniuses. Again, these expectations, not the work, are what form opinions of art and determine the artist’s label. Exhibits like Beyond Boundaries, showcasing the drawings and paintings by artists from Oasis and PDDC Cultural Arts Center (Philadelphia Developmental Disabilities Corporation) Art Centers, fall under the label of “outsider art”. While viewing the work on opening night, I noticed strong narrative qualities -- what some might call brilliance -- from Alonzo Troy Humphreys, Andrea Budu, and John Hoggan. Andrea Budu’s My Friends and New Years 1998 possess a reoccurring theme of overwhelming crowds in which figures are drowning in pools of pigment. Badu’s New Years contains a vacant street seen behind the crowd, which also serves as a spotlight on a green central figure whose significance is unknown.

Guitar Players

Located beside Budu’s work are the drawings of John Hoggan, entitled Guitar Players and Collection. Hoggan seems to have found a way to illustrate complete stories with just a few simple lines. His long-legged stick figures serve as springboards for viewers to write their own versions of Pitchfork documentaries about the best bands that never played.

Peckin’ On Seed

Of all the work at Magic Gardens, Peckin on Seed makes the strongest argument against the practice of labeling some artists as outsiders. Humphrey’s understanding of composition and color theory imply that academic training and self-awareness of ones artistic abilities may not be required to produce images comparable to fine art.  Furthermore, Peckin’s ability to prompt viewers to ask questions about the work and the artist, keeping their attention on the work rather than what someone else said about it, are what makes it valuable.

We can only speculate what inspired Dubu, Hoggan, and Humphrey to draw and paint. The complete stories behind their art may remain a mystery, but so would anyone’s inspiration for creating without talking directly to them.  What can be determined from viewing the show are their abilities, by virtue of imagination and talent or skill, to create works of aesthetic value. Whether or not they consider themselves artists is not of any importance when one’s attention questions the shadows cast by the right talon on a stump, or the mysterious source of light that also serves as a street, or the mischievous winking eyes of a singing stick figure.  These individuals have created work beyond the implied boundaries set by others through labels like “outsider”, and deserve to be recognized simply as artists.

Beyond Boundaries is currently on display at Magic Gardens through April 14^th, 2013, located at 1020 South Street.

Shawn Beeks 

  

Call for Art

The Champions of Empty Rooms invite you to participate in an upcoming group show at Philadelphia's Salon 1522.

Sometimes the world seems kind of, well, screwed. Economic upheaval is rampant, bee populations are dwindling, Earth's fresh water wells are running dry while sea levels rise, and it would seem it's suddenly acceptable to shoot adolescents just so long as one does so in “self-defense.” These factors alone are enough to squelch optimism in even the most fresh-faced youth of today.

And yet, somehow we continue to plan, make, build, and even laugh. We continue to create; acts of artistic creation are about as hopeful as you can get. These hopes range from quiet and unassuming to high flying and grandiose—what matters is that hope remains. Without further ado, ChER Collective invites you to submit work running the thematic gamut, from the most furious and hazy dark cloud to the puffiest, perfect white cumulus onward to blue skies shining on me. {No} Hope is to be comprised of work running the spectrum: from unabashed optimism to borderline Emo-eye-liner wearing-pessimism right on down to Apocalyptic despair.

Here is a link to the Facebook Event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/351511964969735/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

Jeremiah Johnson @ Kostabi World

Should you find yourself in NYC this February, mosey on down to west side and check out LITFO alumn: 

Jeremiah Johnson. 

@

Kostabi World 

(A Converge Gallery Pop-Up)

Opening Thursday Feb. 7th 6-9pm 

514 W. 24th Street New York, NY.

http://jeremiahjohnsonart.com/

http://www.convergegallery.com/

LITFO Alumn does it again

check out Shawn Beeks at Gleaner's cafe

(Italian Market area):

Ain't ova till it's ova...

What Remains: Traces of Poe has been extended! We will continue to grace Detour Gallery's elegant storefront until January 18th.

Here's a little essay CHER member Jessie Clark whipped up in honor of the installation:

For as long as I can remember, my thoughts of Poe have always stretched to include young cousin-wife Virginia Clemm. Such gossip-centric details do not color and cloak the reputations of similar figures with equal force or consistency; I’ve no comprehension of Melville’s personal life for instance. This inability to separate the Personal Poe from Professional is not unique: Poe’s romantic life has long been a point of fascination to even the most general audience. Why should this be? Though unconventional by today’s standards, first cousin pairings were not uncommon at the time (the age difference does stand out however). I believe the cause for persistent prying transcends a tendency towards sensationalism, the glossy tabloid-esque obsessions of today. These glimpses of a marriage, the circumstances of Clemm’s life and death offer us rare insight into Poe’s inner emotional life when taken in conjunction with his writing. This makes her essential to gaining a greater understanding of Poe’s work as well as his mental state. Two short stories in particular stand out in this regard.

While preparing for What Remains: Traces of Poe (an art installation I mounted in conjunction with a colleague), I listened to audio books of Poe’s work in order to fully saturate my artistic focus with Poe-ness. As luck would have it, audio renditions of Berenice and Eleanora appeared almost side by side. When taken in close succession, these tales create an interesting juxtaposition. While Eleanora and Berenice involve a somewhat similar set of circumstances each is executed in a completely different key. Our respective narrators’ romantic lives hold certain traits in common (as does Poe): all three fall in love with his respective first cousin(s) all three cousin-lovers fall deathly ill. It is here where the similarities end and these stories diverge.

While Berenice is easily pegged as a classic gothic tale (to this untrained critic), full of madness, obsession, horror, and a bit of premature burial for good measure, Eleanora is not so easily classified. Though the narrator claims madness, the tale is no dark and broody slog through the dim corners of one’s mind. It reads as a bittersweet song dedicated to love, loss, and moving on. Yes, there are trappings of the supernatural as well as some cyclical thinking from a deeply devoted narrator, but these bits are not pervasive. Where Berenice is dark and claustrophobic, Eleanora is fresh and free moving (aerated and unbound) much of the action takes place outdoors in the idyllic “Valley of the Many-Colored Grass.” Where Berenice’s Egaeus’ obsession sends him spiraling further downward into the muck and mire of madness (towards a grotesque end), Eleanora’s unnamed narrator (UN) is able to let go and move on with seeming success. Egaeus is fixed in his despair.

Berenice involves cousins unalike in temperament, Egaeus (our narrator) is “ill of health and buried in gloom,” while his cousin is “agile, graceful, and overflowing with energy.”

 “Hers, the ramble on the hillside/mine the studies of the cloister.”  

Though UN alludes to similar leanings in his love (“artless and innocent as the brief life she led among the flowers”), he is not separated from her as Egaeus is from his Berenice; he joins Eleanora on her romps through the valley. Their love is realized amongst trees and flowers, star shaped blooms burst forth as if answer to their passion. When Eleanora passes seasons change to note the loss. Egaeus’ love is stifled, trapped behind closed doors from beginning to end. When Berenice is forced inside by illness; she deteriorates, unable to survive in Egaeus’ preferred habitat. As her health recedes, Egaeus becomes distraught and takes refuge in the once was. He proposes marriage though he can hardly stand Berenice’s state of diminishment. “Either the memory of past bliss is the anguish of to-day, or the agonies which are have their origins in the ecstasies which might have been.” A debilitating fascination with past-tense perfection bubbles up forcing him to execute monstrous deeds. In a trancelike state, he moves to possess her last remaining attribute. His obsession is total.

UN’s devotion does not move beyond the verbal (he is not consumed as Egaeus). Despite his vow to “[Eleanora] and to Heaven, that I would never bind myself in marriage to any daughter on Earth,” upon moving to the city he meets Ermengarde. “What was my passion for the young girl of the valley in comparison for the forever and the delirium and the spirit lifting ecstasy of adoration with which poured out of my whole soul in tears at the feet of the ethereal Ermengarde?” Though he’d sealed his vows with an invocation of damnation from the Alimighty (should he renege), our man marries Ermengarde all the same. This new love overpowers any fears of this self-administered curse; it is just that strong. What fate should befall this impetuous lover? Utter torment? Ghostly harassment and all matter of punishment from a slithery nether realms? No, no--freedom is his fate. “Soft sighs in the silence of night,” bring word of his destiny from on high: “sleep in peace. For the spirit of Love reigneth and ruleth, and, in taking thy passionate heart her who is Ermengarde, thou art absolved, for reasons which shall remain known to thee in heaven, of they vows to Eleanora.” With these stories laid side by side, it would seem acceptance is to be rewarded while stubborn stagnation is worthy of punishment.

These stories appear to have been concocted in conjunction with key points in Poe’s own romantic life. Berenice was written the year Poe was married (1835), Eleanora the year Virginia fell ill (1842). While it would (most likely) not be accurate to take the relationships depicted in Berenice and Eleanora (respectively) as direct representations of Poe’s own life and marriage, they do offer a window into Poe’s stance on love. It stands to reason these feelings could easily be applied to Poe’s own romantic life.

Egaeus worships his cousin’s vitality, so too did Poe worship Virginia’s youthful blush. After consumption hit, Poe wrote in a letter to a friend (according to Wikipedia): “...each time I felt all the agonies of her death- and at each accession of the disorder I loved her more deeply and clung to her life with more deliberate pertinacity.” Just as Egaeus became lost as illness struck, so too did Poe: “But I am constitutionally sensitive--nervous in a very unusual degree. I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.” Written seven years before Virginia’s own sickness, Berenice seems a bit portentous in a way, though Poe’s own “insanity” could not contend with the addled mind of Egaeus. In all his grief, Egaeus took to his pliers while pen and paper served to channel Poe’s passion. In fact his construction of Eleanora in 1842 reads as a sad but phenomenally healthy act of meditation, a lesson in letting go. Though UN devotes himself to the dead in a fit of passion and grief, time and experience allow him the chance to reconsider. In the end, he chooses life (and Ermengarde). Poe himself made some efforts in this regard: he had taken up a few extramarital correspondences of an intimate nature during Virginia’s illness, supposedly with her encouragement and blessing according to one such pen pal.

When he passed away in 1849, Poe had been engaged to remarry. Were she to be his Ermengarde, we may never know. Definitive answers are rarely available where both death and art are concerned. After passing some time with these stories, mulling and milling about at easel and keyboard respectively, I feel as though I’ve struck flesh, bone, and perhaps just a snippet of understanding. Caricature is rendered corporeal and the pedestal has given way to personhood. As a maker of things, things to be viewed and consumed beyond my grasp and life span (possibly)--those feelings of connection and understanding that bubble up from the artistic ether feel all the more valuable. It gives me hope for my own creations. To be understood (even just a little) can be magic.