1. Mountain Living in Western North Carolina
www.wncmagazine.com
MERC´I, MERC´I ME
by Gabriel Shaffer
Architect Robert Griffin protects
the past while looking
to the future
•RUNWAY-READY DRESSES
•ROAD TRIP TO FRANKLIN
•TOAST SPRING WITH LOCAL WINES
The demand for handmade goods
means big money for our economy
Designer’s Eye
Cashing in on Craft
10OF WNC’S
TOP EMERGING
ARTISTS
MAY 2009
2. B
EINGANARTISTINTHISREGIONHASITSBENEFITS,NAMELYA
communitythatembracescreativityandfellowshipamongthewealthof
imaginativeprofessionalswholivehere.Whilethereisstrengthinnumbers,
itcanalsobedifficulttobreakawayfromthecrowd.That’s
whyWNCmagazineandtheAshevilleAreaArtsCouncil
collaboratedtoestablishourfirstOntheVergecompetition,a
contesttoshinelightonWesternNorthCarolina’stopup-and-comingartists.
Submissionsfrommorethan150localartistswhoworkinamultitudeof
mediafloodedouroffice.Wereviewedeachpiecewithajuryoflocalarts
professionalsandsettled—withnoshortageofdebateanddiscussion—on10
winnerstobefeaturedinaMayshowtheAAAC’sgallery.Thoughmanyof
theseartistssupportthemselvessolelywiththeirtalents,nonehaveyethad
theirownmajorsoloexhibition.
Fromwoodworkingtofibertopainting,meet10peoplewhobringfresh
voicestoourartsscene.Artists,welcometothespotlight.
62wncmay2009wncmay200963www.wncmagazine.com
OFTHE
BEST
EMERGING
ARTISTSINWNC
10
58
1
2
67
3
4
9
WNCMAGAZINEWOULDLIKETOTHANKTHEFOLLOWINGPEOPLE
FORVOLUNTEERINGTHEIRTIMETOHELPMAKEONTHEVERGEPOSSIBLE:
ANGELAMARTINEZExecutiveDirector,AshevilleAreaArtsCouncil
ROBPULLEYNCuratoroftheexhibit;Director,MarshallHighStudios
SARAHMEYERGalleryAssociate,AshevilleAreaArtsCouncil
JURISTS:
ANNEBATCHELDERArtsWriter;IndependentCurator
ANNERAWSONExecutiveDirector,FineArtsLeagueofNorthCarolina
BRENTSKIDMOREDirector,UniversityofNorthCarolinaAshevilleCraftsCampus
YONAWADEOutreachCoordinator,QuallaArtsandCraftsMutual
PHOTOGRAPHYBY
PatrickCavanBrown
DETAIL-ORIENTED
1.Simmons:untitled
2.Brownlee:SpecialDelivery
3.Rosenthal:Gravity
4.Shaffer:BlesstheBeast
5.Maples:AirspaceAfterTurner
6.Johnson:SteelBlueSwell
7.VanDeusen:FailedDeception
8.Mijanovich:Solaris
9.Knight:ThievingMagpie
ONLINESTUDIOTOURS&MORE!Visiteachoftheartistsintheirstudioswithexclusive
videos,andseemoreexamplesoftheirworkonlineatwncmagazine.com.
3. MYTHSHAVEFUELEDARTISTS’IMAGINATIONS
forthebetterpartofhumanhistory—fromtheEgyptian
hieroglyphicstotheRenaissancerevivalofclassical
philosophyandreligion.Whilefolkloreandcreation
storieshaveuniversalappeal,theyprovidemorespecific
insightforartistIanBrownlee.“Mythologylaysout
people’sassumptionsaboutthemselvesandtheworld,”
hesays.
ManyofBrownlee’spaintingsinthecollection
AmericanMythsarebasedonoldphotographs,
chosenasstartingpointsforallusionstobiggerstories.
Childrendressedinarchaicfashions,farmboysposing
onthebackofacow,andsynchronizeddancetroupes
arewovenintofantasticalnarrativesunderhisbrush.
Forthewiryandserene32-year-oldfromAugusta,
Georgia,thesubjectsofhispaintingstakeonlife
outsidetheframeshefindsthemin.“Icameacrossa
pictureofthesekidsdressedupforaparadeinreally
ornatecostumes.Theywerejustdressedthatwayfor
aday,butinmymind,that’sthewaythesekidsalways
dress,”Brownleesays.“They’refromaculturelikeours,
butonlyslightlydifferent.”
Afull-timepainteratMinerva
galleryinAsheville—healso
createdthepastoralmuralatRo-
setta’sKitchen—Brownleespends
afairamountoftimefocusingon
naturalbeauty.Butlandscapesplay
asupportingroleinthisbodyof
work,addingmeaningtorepeated
motifsofchildren,music,ritu-
als,andanthropomorphicbirds,
whales,andfoxes.Thecontent
rangesfromplayfultosubversive.
IntheworldofAmericanMyths,
boystakethousand-milejourneysthroughmountain
ranges,craneswitnessachild’sbaptisminblackswamp
water,andfoxeslead(orpossiblylure)dancelinesof
younggirlsthroughthewoods.
Brownlee’shumorispresentineach,butsoisthehintof
danger.Inmostmyths,heexplains,“there’ssomethingkindof
magicalandsomethingkindofscary.They’redream-likeanddon’t
alwaysmakesense.”Andwhilehumanshaveusedmythstomake
senseoftheunexplainable,Brownleeleaveshisstoriesopento
interpretation.“Ifyoulookatitandyoucanseethewholestory,
thenyou’refinished.That’sit,”Brownleesays.“Iwantthemind
tomakeuptherest.”—BRIANGALLAGHER
64wncmay2009wncmay200965
AMERICANMYTHS
(clockwisefromtop)
FlightsofFancy
DyingWords
TheHeroes’Journey
Immersion
CoyoteCallstheGopis
IanBrownlee
“There’ssomething
kindofmagical
andsomethingkind
ofscary.They’re
dream-likeanddon’t
alwaysmakesense.”
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