Star City Blog

"Chopped & Stretched" Exhibit at Drift Station on First Friday

Explore "Sounds at the extremes of duration” this First Friday (), with “Chopped & Stretched”, a sound art exhibition at Drift Station Gallery, 1746 N St.

With their strong interest in sound, Gallery Owners Jeff Thompson and Angeles Cossio put together a show featuring 17 sound artists from England, Serbia, and across the United States.

“We face the pragmatic problem of being an artist-run gallery with no budget for shipping,” Thompson said. “We’re interested in exploring alternative means of transmission and dissemination that sees this challenge not as a hindrance, but a chance to try something new.”

Pieces featured in the show include an ultra slow-motion video, the sound of ceramic bells breaking, ultrasonic recordings of insects, and natural sounds slowed down into the range of human hearing.

A contender for slowest piece is Bryant Davis' "1212_40", a circuit-bent electronic instrument meant to mimic Buddhist chanting. Its speed is controlled by a light sensor, so as the sun goes down, the sound gets slower and slower.

Two pieces exemplifying extreme brevity include Diana Salazar's "Colour #1924 (Icy Grape)", made from tiny bits of recordings of the ball in the bottom of a spray paint can. The other is by Pol Malo, a sound and visual artist who records under the name Orange Head. His piece, "Right Into the Sun", was made by cutting up bits of recordings of Japanese children's choirs.

Patrons will be able to hear the sound pieces with iPods, headphones, and through various speakers. You may be able to enjoy what you heard in the future at your leisure by acquiring one of 150 free compilation CDs of all the works in the show. The CDs have hand screen-printed covers made by Lincoln’s Scott Cook, and include an essay by Thompson. The compilation will also be released as a free digital download at www.driftstation.org .

“Chopped & Stretched” also includes two video pieces played on monitors with headphones.

Thompson said the show’s title engages a variety of historical and contemporary music, ranging from John Cage to Curtis Roads, to punk rock, and to a sound collage form called “plunderphonics.” The title also references “chopped & screwed”, a technique of remixing hip-hop developed in Houston in the 90s, marked by slowing down tempo, skipping beats, record scratching, and stop-time.

When asked about their favorite sounds of all time, Thompson cited "anything with lots and lots and lots of reverb, cicadas (the louder the better), and ping pong." Cossio fancies "white noise, seltzer, and his coffee percolating."

Started in the summer of 2010, Drift Station has become known for its innovative exhibitions of art, music, and performance. Thompson and Cossio said they work to create provocative exhibitions challenging the typical gallery format, along with rethinking how art can be transmitted, not transported. They strive to have worldwide artistic projects displayed in locations that may not otherwise have access.

“Drift Station is not a location, but a curatorial activity that sees our primary location in the Midwest of the United States as a challenge rather than a liability,” Thompson said. “Any venue can become Drift Station.”

The “Chopped & Stretched” First Friday reception runs 7-11 p.m. The exhibit will be on display until Oct.1. You can make an appointment to visit the gallery during the month by e-mailing mail@driftstation.org.

Below are links for each “Chopped & Stretched” artist:

www.tinyurl.com/bryantdavis

www.philipmantione.com

www.philipreeder.com

http://cmx.org.uk

www.colabiovanni.net

www.melissahaviland.com

www.ronlambertart.com

www.dianasalazar.co.uk

www.michaeljamesolson.com

http://gregory.incident.net

www.brittanyransom.com

www.photoflounder.com

http://zoricacolic.blogspot.com

www.sophiabrueckner.com

https://sites.google.com/site/polmaloworkdocumentation/home

Jar Schepers to Exhibit at the Parrish Projects

By Joe Younglove

Adventurous sculptor Jar Schepers offers a blast from the past (and present) this First Friday at Nolan Tredway’s Studio in the Parrish Projects, located on the northeast corner of 14th & O Streets.

Titled “Miscellaneous Relics,” the 7-10 p.m. show is Schepers’ second exhibition since returning to Lincoln early this year, following his time teaching art in Texas and Maine.

According to Schepers’ mission statement, the collection consists of physical and conceptual relics from other times and places. With multiple materials, he created human and animal forms associated with various metaphors and analogies pertaining to the condition of life.

Despite the small size of Tredway’s Studio, Schepers was able to successfully prepare 14 pieces for display, all available for purchase.

“Part of my aesthetic is to overwhelm people and create a sensory overload, so I don’t mind the smaller space,” Schepers said. “My main goal is for the objects to burn an image into people’s heads, and hopefully the images reoccur after they leave.”

The piece entitled “A Post-Apocalyptic Nuclear Family” is a prime example. Schepers has wall-mounted the rather large sculpture’s heads and hands, a choice that aims to highlight relics from different times and places in his life.

The show also features three new pieces, including “Banished Demigod”. The foot-tall figure resulted from Schepers’ interest in ancient culture and religion. Also known as a “half-god”, the mythological demigod is the offspring of a god and a mortal, and may have animal features.

Schepers sculpture features glass wings, goat horns, a platypus bill, and two-fingered hands.
“The concept lies in how he’s looking over his shoulder with his fingers crossed, because he’s hopeful of being let back into society, or whatever he was excluded from,” he said. “Demigods are known to be pretty wicked.”

Experimental painting added dimension to the figure. Instead of painting it all around, Schepers’ use of directional-painting demands that people see the piece from all angles.  Other mediums used for the show include aluminum, cast-iron, and Raku-fired stoneware with masonry nails (shown above). Entitled “Senseless,” the piece remarkably captures the look of an ancient unearthed artifact.

Schepers pointed out that his work is also about the future.

“There’s always an element of time in my work, whether it’s pushing forward or pulling back,” he said. “I react to how I see both the past and future in a state of collapse.”

Schepers said the catalyst for this collection’s work includes potential societal collapse, the pitfalls of genetic engineering, the lingering effects of ancient religions, and the future of life as we know it.

A Lincoln native, Schepers left Nebraska to attain his Masters of Fine Art from the University of Texas-San Antonio, where he also spent time as an instructor. He recently spent two weeks assisting a clay figure sculpture workshop at the Haystack Mountain School of Craft in Maine.

Schepers is currently working on creating a fully-functioning studio at his house, a necessary pursuit considering his work ethic. He made 18 pieces in 2 1/2 months for his recent exhibition at Screen Ink, where he is employed as a screen printer.

Two of his pieces will be included in The Bemis Center’s 13th Annual Art Auction, to take place Oct.15.

“All I want to do is make art, and I’ve got so many ideas that I only end up making a small portion of what I’d like to do,” he said. “I’ll work on up to 15 sculptures at a time, and just keep cycling through the work until it reaches a completion level at the same time.”

Schepers plans to keep Lincoln as his home base indefinitely.

“People say we’re in the middle of nowhere here, but it’s actually in the middle of everywhere,” he said. “I sense a major upswing of art happening in the Midwest.”

Kris Lager Band's Van Catches Fire

The Kris Lager band has performed well over two hundred shows just since ‘the new guy’ Brandon joined the band. Their van Ruby has been a workhorse and the guys’ home away from home. She has been from coast to coast, from Minnesota to Texas, and countless places in between. Her wheels have seen a lot of hard miles, but somehow KLB manages to fix her and keep getting to the shows.

Sometimes it is miraculous when Ruby makes it, and often times because of her misbehavior, the band barely makes it. Ruby has given her all to make sure the show goes on.  Recently the band was making their standard 3AM drive home (this time from a great little music fest in Alcester SD), and they knew something wasn’t quite right with Ruby.  She hadn’t been willing to go into Park for quite some time, so the E-brake had been getting a lot of extra use.  They made sure it wasn’t ON and kept on truckin’.

As the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon, smoke started to fill the cabin and the smell of burnt brakes was sharp in the air. When Kris slowed down, he noticed sparks trailing the van down I-29. Ruby was still moving when Miah opened the side door and saw flames leaping out of the tire and lapping up the van wall.

Some friends and fans of the band have started the Kris Lager Band Transportation Fund page on Facebook to raise money for repairs or help with a down payment on a different vehicle. They noted that 2,029 people have “Liked” KLB and hope that many of those people will make a donation—large or small or anywhere in between—to help keep the music coming.

For donations search for Kris Lager Band Transportation Fund Facebook page- there is a paypal link you can click that will take you right to the donation page.  You do not need a paypal account to donate, you can use a credit or debit card.

Story continues:  Miah hollered, “We’re on fire!” as he jumped out with a bottle of Vitamin Water in his hand. KLB friend and publicist Laurie hopped out of her seat so fast that when Kris pulled to a halt,she was thrown onto the dash. (It was every man for himself, and Miah was already out the door!)  He threw water on the flaming brakes, but the blaze rose as everyone piled out of the burning vehicle. Kris came around back and saw the seemingly doomed van going up in smoke.  Kris’s first thought was likely about his new baby daughter waiting for dad to come home safely, but the first words out of his mouth were, “What Do We Do? RUN?!?”

Having the van on fire was bad enough, but more importantly, their gear was attached to the burning vehicle. Miah said, “Unhook the trailer and get the gear away!” Brandon dialed 911, handed the phone to Laurie, and started digging through the van for water. John and Miah unloaded the Leslie, and then Miah had John wheel his amp up the interstate to safety.

At this point in time, one of two things was going to happen. Either Miah was going to film a very large van fire from a mosquito-infested ditch in northern Iowa, or somehow they were going to have to put out that fire.

The show earlier that night had been a real good time with big sound, big lights, and a lot of sweat! Fortunately, the stage cooler still had quite a few bottles of Vitamin Water in it after the show, and the guys cleaned it out.

Brandon came out of the van with an armload of liquid as Miah went back in to look for something to help fight the fire. He saw Kris’s beautiful Navajo blanket that Farrah Slim had gifted to the band, but just couldn’t bear to use it, knowing it would be destroyed in the process. Instead he grabbed the old black comforter that had been his bedding so many nights out on the road.

So there they were on the side of the interstate, with Brandon and Miah throwing Vitamin Water on the burning brakes.  As soon as the liquid hit the white hot metal, it immediately evaporated into steam. Miah soaked the blanket with water and wrapped it around the wheel, praying that the tire wouldn’t explode in his face.  He heard Kris say something about the gas tank and asked, “How much gas is in this thing?”  Kris replied, “A lot.”  Hard as it is to believe, Miah couldn’t help but chuckle a little at this point.

The blanket smoked and hissed as Miah repeatedly soaked it and wrapped it around the stubborn blaze.  They were running out of Vitamin Water, and Laurie, who had been handed the phone, was heard saying, “No, I don’t know what highway we are on.” The guys yelled their location to her as Miah went in one more time with the wet blanket.  It worked! As Brandon got down to the last third of a bottle, only a small fire remained on the axle. “Be strategic with that,” Miah said as Brandon crawled under the van and hit the final flames with the last few drops of precious Vitamin Water.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh…..  A cloud of smoke and steam rose from the van as Miah pulled the ruined blanket off the still sizzling metal. The fire was out!  Brandon and Miah high-fived just as the first police vehicle arrived on the scene.  The guys were all standing on the side of the road laughing and saying, “What do we do? Run?” as the sun came up that beautiful Saturday morning.  

They all loaded into police cruisers and followed the tow truck and the gear down the road to Onawa, Iowa.  They were still giggling, giving Kris and Laurie a hard time, and asking what all the buttons in the cruiser were for when Officer Darren said, “You guys must do this all the time.”

Yes, that is exactly what KLB does. They travel. They play music. They watch each other’s backs. And they try to keep their spirits up no matter how hard it is to get to that next show . . . and they will get to the next show.  They aren’t sure about old Ruby though.

For donations search for Kris Lager Band Transportation Fund Facebook page- there is a paypal link you can click that will take you right to the donation page.  You do not need a paypal account to donate, you can use a credit or debit card.

 

First Friday Spotlight: Shannon Claire's Photography at the Black Market

By Joe Younglove

Fresh off shooting the photos for local band The Betties' debut album art, Shannon Claire will show what else she can do with photography this First Friday at The Black Market, 1033 O St.

The 6 to 9 p.m. event will include musical entertainment by local experimental pop outfit The Green Trees, refreshments from Nebraska Brewing Company and food from Emma’s Catering.

Claire’s exhibit consists of 15 to 20 photos, primarily taken during a road trip to California last summer. She said a lot of the show’s photos are desert-themed, and feature an abandoned water park off California’s Route 66 called “Rock-A-Hoola.” Claire said the site appealed to her because she finds it interesting to see how things disintegrate and fall apart, as well as seeing what manages to remain.

Featuring a '50s and '60s theme, the water park was ideal for Claire’s love of creating photos with a vintage look.
A self-proclaimed “Nikon girl,” Claire said she eventually began the habit of “popping in the car and taking random roadtrips with her camera.” Her six-week roadtrip last year, in celebration of her 30th birthday, spawned most of the show’s photos, including a particular favorite taken in the mountains before driving into Arizona.

“There was no one around, and there was a vast sea of sharp cliffs with the sun setting,” she said. “For shots like that, I’ll pull over instantly, or turn around and race back to the spot if needed.”

First Friday Spotlight: "2nd Annual Biiklops" at Screen Ink

By Joe Younglove

A fun celebration of art and bikes in a chill atmosphere awaits you at the 2nd Annual Biiklops Event, taking place this First Friday at Screen Ink, 416 S.11th St.

The print studio, art gallery and apparel outlet will display 20 posters, designed by 17 local artists. The 7 to 11 p.m. event kicks off fundraising efforts to repair the Bison Trail Bridge in southwest Lincoln.

All proceeds of the bike-themed, hand-screenprinted poster exhibit go to the Great Plains Trails Network, a non-profit organization working to maintain and improve Lincoln’s bike trail system.

Screen Ink owner Jason Davis said his staff worked for weeks on the locally-designed posters. He suggests everyone visit “for some ridiculously awesome and stupidly cheap artwork.”

First Friday Round-Up for May 6, 2011

 Compiled by Star City Blog staff

To help you navigate your First Friday artwalk, download the Star City Blog First Friday Art Walk Guide  here. The guide contains a map of many of the galleries listed below in the downtown area, as well as a list of coffee houses, food establishments and hotels in the vicinity.

Or, check out the Google Map, which is also posted at the end. (Jump to the map)

9 Muses studio, 2713 N. 48th St.

Photography by Liz Bird, papier mache sculpture by Les M., textiles by Lana Gabel, and pen and ink drawings by Kerin Bunstock.  This is the one-year anniversary of 9 Muses Studio being open in University Place.

Opening reception: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The 815 gallery, 815 O St.

"Artist on the Edge"

Opening reception: 6 to 9 p.m.

First Friday Spotlight: "Nebraska Hominid Effigy" by Heidi Bartlett

Editor's note: Every month, Joe Younglove interviews an artist opening a new exhibit on First Friday and highlights his or her work.

By Joe Younglove

What’s possible when the shadows of a rabbit, elk, bison, coyote, antelope and deer get together? Perhaps “Nebraska Hominid Effigy” will shed some light upon the subject.

 Heidi Bartlett’s First Friday exhibit is bound to stop many a passer-by, as she and five others stage the performance from the behind the draped windows of Gomez Art Supply, 120 N.14th St. The one-night-only show will take place from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

For the performance, Bartlett assigned each performer an animal, and directed them to personify their creature, become themselves, then play with the difference of when they are an animal and when they are not.

“Each actor is their own creature, but we may make more creatures out of our bodies,” she said. “It’s an exploration of our animal self versus our symbolic or intellectual self.”

She said the idea came about after her experiences at Aurora, Nebraska’s Art Farm and the New York Center for Arts & Media Studies.

With a background focusing primarily on drawing and performance, Bartlett thought, “Why not combine the two?” She sought to create a reflection of her drawings with figures and shadows.

First Friday Spotlight: "Passages" by Clara Kucera and Alex Borovski

Editor's note: Every month, Joe Younglove will interview an artist opening a new exhibit on First Friday and highlight his or her work.

By Joe Younglove

The fruits of collaboration will be on display this First Friday with “Passages,” featuring the works of Clara Kucera and Alex Borovski, at Inkspot Gallery in the Parrish Building, 14th and O streets.

The opening reception will be held from 7 to 10 p.m.

Kucera said the show’s title will be revealed in a myriad of ways, whether it be highway travels, an inward exodus or an actual corridor.

 “We collectively ‘pass’ through ‘ages’,” she explained. “This show is a portion of our visions combined as an experiment in visual rhythm.”

The show came about after Kucera approached Borovski after seeing her Tugboat Gallery show this past winter. Then Borovski got a phone call from Kucera in early March asking if she'd like to collaborate for this show, which is based on their reactions to each other’s work. Kucera specializes in writing, and Borovski specializes in painting.

Although the show’s pieces were created individually, Kucera said they have decidedly interconnected their styles to create an enhanced experience rooted in thoughtful improvisation.

First Friday Round-Up for April 1, 2011

Compiled by Star City Blog staff

To help you navigate your First Friday artwalk, download the Star City Blog First Friday Art Walk Guide  here. The guide contains a map of many of the galleries listed below in the downtown area, as well as a list of coffee houses, food establishments and hotels in the vicinity.

Or, check out the Google Map, which is also posted at the end. (Jump to the map)

If you'd like to see your event added to this monthly collection, send an email with "First Friday" as the subject line to events@starcityblog.com.

9 Muses studio, 2713 N. 48th St.

Pencil and ink drawings, illustrations, printmaking, and photography by Kerin Bunstock

Opening reception: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Against the Wall Gallery, 6220 Havelock Ave.

Against the Wall Gallery presents the artwork of Lincoln wildlife painter Jim Miklavcic and several of his students.  Miklavcic has taught students of all ages and skill levels from his studio for 20 years.

Opening reception: 6 to 8 p.m.

Outpost12 Studios Unveils New Space

By Beth Sacthjen

From a basement studio to their first office with two card tables as computer desks, Outpost12 Studios has come a long way.

The only full-service production studio in Nebraska, Outpost12 will be celebrating its newly renovated office and studio space, along with six years in business, with an open house tomorrow from 3:30 to 10 PM. The modern-futuristic-themed event will offer Outpost12 Studio’s signature cocktails served by fashion models; dancing; and sushi catered by Blue restaurant of Omaha. Also on display will be the new office facilities, designed by Outpost12 Studio president Michael Domgard, with the remodeling help of Ken Inness of Skyline Homes.

 Renovating their headquarters on the sixth floor of the Gold's Building at 1033 O St. hasn't been too far off from Outpost12 Studios' work in visual production; the 7,100 square feet have been painstakingly designed, down to every minor detail. The company also drew renovating design inspiration from their expertise in video production. For example, much of the lighting and color selection is based in the RGB (red, green, blue) color model that makes the display of electronic images possible. A highlight of the renovations is the custom designed whiteboard: Backlit with RGB LEDs and cleverly maximized by mirrors, it is more akin to a futuristic nightclub than an office conference room.