Atlanta




approaching the megalopolis



 Last week my friend Linda invited me to join her on a road trip to Atlanta.  We planned on visiting an exhibit at the Fulton County Library which included one of her wonderful painted scrolls, as well as exploring several art galleries.  I love looking at art and seeing what the galleries are showing, but I also anticipated the inspiration I would uncover in viewing what was on display.  I've often felt really "charged up" by visiting galleries in other cities, and come back to my studio with new vigor.  There is something about observing and contemplating either historical or contemporary art that just gets the juices flowing.

After seeing the show at the library, we headed to The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. The work on display was diverse and thought provoking, but what I responded to most was the outside of the building.  There is a section that felt like ruins, yet is truly beautiful.  Just the way the trees hugged the old walls made me want to stay there awhile, but we had a lot more to accomplish and had to move on.  



This view appeals to me on so many levels. I see the "writing on the wall" and the "black doorway" (a series I painted from 1996 to about 2005). But I also really like the subtle colors and the sign in the background, (which reads We Will, We Will, Feed You) gets a Queen song rocking in my head.



Moving on to a variety of other areas of the city, we stopped at no less than 7 art galleries.  One after the other of the galleries left me feeling sort of empty.  I couldn't get excited about what I was seeing.  Except at one gallery where I received permission to photograph their floor! Yes, the artwork was pleasing, but I was most moved by the peripheral sights. 

By the end of the day I did come away with gratitude for seeing some extraordinary works at Timothy Tew Gallery and Alan Avery Art.  And the exhibition of Scott Bellville's drawings at Moca Georgia was psychologically provocative.  But I realized, on reflection, that I don't have to look at art to find inspiration.  The way my eye perceives shapes and the way my mind makes metaphors and meaning out of seemingly innocuous objects, is what becomes important. 



do you see the angel in the washcloth I dropped in the shower?