Art & Cinema of the 1920's

As I said, I am going to provide tidbits of information about the 1920’s for the remainder of this week in conjunction with our Roaring 20’s party this Saturday, April 4th, at 8pm. (Come out, we’re gonna get the game on a big screen) Here is a little information about the artistic nature of the 20’s, as well as what it was like to trot on down to the cinema.

Expressionism and Surrealism

Painting in North America during the 1920s developed into a different direction than that in Europe. In Europe, the 1920s were the era of expressionism and later, surrealism. As Man Ray stated in 1920 after the publication of a unique issue of New York Dada: “Dada cannot live in New York”.

Related Topics:
Painting - Expressionism - Surrealism - Man Ray - New York Dada

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Cinema

The bulk of the 1920s cinema was silent. Late in the decade, early—and eventually, more advanced—sound recording technology was developed, leading into the age of what was known at the time as talkies. The first talking movie, Don Juan was made in 1926, also in that same yearmovies with Technicolor had arrived. Walt Disney produced his first cartoon during the Roaring Twenties. Al Jolson’s follow-up film to The Jazz Singer, The Singing Fool http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=110318 in 1928 made the talkies popular with a wider audience. The period also saw emergence of Charlie Chaplin and Valentino as box office draws.

Related Topics:
Cinema - Sound recording - Talkies - Don Juan - Movies - Technicolor - Walt Disney - Cartoon - The Singing Fool - Charlie Chaplin - Valentino - Box office

Basketball AND the Roaring 20's

We’re having a big party on Saturday.

Unfortunate thing is that everyone else is too. Well, it’s not unfortunate for everyone, just unfortunate for us, because people may be less inclined to attend OUR party. Either way, GO HEELS!

I was planning to reveal interesting facts about the 1920’s every day this week, in anticipation for Saturday’s Roaring 20’s party– and I suppose just because everyone is dizzy in anticipation for saturday’s b-ball game doesn’t mean I still can’t do that. Would be nice if there was a way to entwine the two.

Oh, wait.

Interestingly, the world of1920’s Lost Generation and Art Deco does connect to the sweet joy of b-ball. Read below for details.

Harlem Renaissance

The African American culture developed rapidly during the 1920s under the title of the “Harlem Renaissance”. In 1921, the Black Swan Corporation opened. At its height it issued ten recordings a month. All-African-American musicals also started up in 1921. In 1923, the Harlem Renaissance Basketball Club was founded by Robert Douglas. During the later 1920s, and especially in the 1930s, the basketball team became known as the best in the world.

So, if the 20’s never existed or weren’t as interesting as they were, we may not be celebrating the madness now. Having said that, we know that everyone wants to watch the game. That is why we are going to do EVERYTHING in our power to get the game playing at the Metropolitan Room, Saturday night, at 8pm, at good ol’ 109 Green Street, downtown Fayetteville. Be there or be balled. (You can buy your tickets online here.)

Stay tuned for more interesting quips and tidbits about the ROARING 20’s. (but i doubt there will be anymore basketball facts, sorry!)

assistant director statement

I thought I would share our Assistant Director, Michele Horn’s, statement about our exhibit, Raw Identity that premieres tonight from 6-8pm here at the Museum. Michele curates all of the exhibits here at the Museum and truly has a flair for bringing together artists that are vastly different yet remarkably complimentary. This exhibit is no different.

We document identity as a society through the various forms of portraiture that make up the fabric of our lives. Many of these moments we’d prefer were not documented– the dreaded grade-school portrait, the gritty & unrefined driver’s license, even an identification badge at your place of employment. These veritable mugshots can cause us to negatively reflect or provide static images of our own identities. Other moments of polished portraiture, stylized and thematic still-life settings of family, weddings, and baby portraits might reveal the identities we wish to present. In our technological world, we communicate through and sometimes behind chosen identity profiles on Facebook or Myspace. Stylized images, candid photo shots, and formal poses are choices we as individuals make to represent our identity. Encounter the works of artists Harry McDaniel, JJ Ohlinger, and Doug VandeZande as they deconstruct traditional portraiture to reveal a raw identity beneath.

Interesting, right? Something that might pull you away from your couch on a fairly cold and rainy Friday. Allow you to reflect on your own identity as you look at these art pieces– how do you present yourself? How might you like to present yourself to the big, bad world? Do you present yourself differently at work? At home? In the public eye? Just a few questions to think about before you come on out to the premiere tonight.

(remember, it’s from 6-8pm right here at the Museum, is FREE, and offers FREE beverages & food, live music, and ART!)

band to play friday at fmoa

Check out a review written of an album Birds and Arrows released in January of this year.

Recent Album Review in Independent Weelky
(a Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill Publication)

Birds & Arrows’ Woodgrain Heart
(self-released)
14 JAN 2009 • by Grayson Currin

The packaging for Woodgrain Heart, the debut EP from Chapel Hill duo Birds & Arrows, consists of a slim cardboard sleeve that’s been spray painted a deep cerulean shade, the band’s name written in a comfortable, slightly sloppy script across the top in coarse black marker. A rudimentary cutout of a human heart printed onto the sort of lumber laminate you’d use to line kitchen cabinets sits at the middle. Tucked inside, the liner notes are printed onto a single sheet of tawny paper with doodles and lyrics and acknowledgments packed onto one side, pictures of price tags and the band set in a grid on the other. It’s a decidedly handmade production, the sort of thing bandmates attached at the hip make while watching the sun come up, an old record spinning on a nearby stereo.

Indeed, Pete and Andrea Connolly (neé Nell) wed in October, becoming the most recent addition to the Triangle’s excellent collegium of married bands that includes The Rosebuds, Work Clothes and Waumiss. And their work—warm, emotional, poetic folk music played tenderly and gingerly—thrives on the relationship’s intimacy, spinning songs from domestic images like the blue flickering flame of a gas burner and the trove of persistent memories that remain like love’s kindling. Andrea, who sings and plays guitar in the bluegrass quartet Sweet By & By, takes the lead on three of the EP’s six tracks, turning in a slow-burning performance on opener “Garden Shed” and layering her reverb-tinged vocals over banjo and handclaps on the title track. With a voice that’s as workmanlike as it is worn, Pete adds a jangly lift to his tracks, like the mandolin-abetted “Old Man Winter” or the structurally convoluted “Black Shoes.” But, as things should be, the Connollys sound best when they sing together, their complementary voices wrapping together in rustic contentment and comfort, like a happy pair making music because that’s how love makes them feel. These six splendid songs beg for those feelings to continue.

Reading that, I totally want to check them out. Good thing you can check them out for FREE at this week’s Premiere Party for the Raw Identity exhibit. Mark you calendar– FRIDAY the 13th, from 6-8pm at the Fayetteville Museum of Art!

planning your family friendly visit to the FMoA

As we prepare to unveil a new exhibit, it seems an appropriate time to discuss what is involved when planning a visit to the Museum of Art— especially as you will most likely want to bring your little ones along— exposing them to an enriching world of art that they will want to come back for, again and again. Most aren’t fully aware of all the Museum has to offer once they open those double doors. Reading on will ensure you can make the most of your trip.

Firstly, become abreast of the Museum’s exhibition schedule. Many folks don’t realize that our exhibits change every 2 months– meaning you can plan a day of art and excursions and field trips right here in Fayetteville multiple times in a year. No reason to travel out of town! An added incentive is that the Museum is always free. Have a conversation with your children on the way to the Museum about expected behavior. Little voices, no touching, and no running are the most important instructions to pass on to your child. With a little planning you can have a full day of art at little to no cost!

Prep for your day. Bring snacks, drinks in closed containers to carry in a knapsack, something to keep print materials in, a camera (the Museum welcomes pictures with no flash). The Museum sits on a beautiful 5 acre lot with a stream, gazebo, bridges, and plenty of ducks. This will keep your child’s interest keen as their surroundings continue to change.

As far as the exhibits are concerned, you will first want to do your research. Typically the Museum has a three to four artist exhibit with a variety of different kind of works. Visit our website here- as this will be the most up to date resource on Museum programming (to include classes or workshops that may happen on the same day!). Additionally, making a phone call (910-485-5121) will ensure that the exhibit is actually open to the public (the gallery is closed during exhibit change-outs do to our limited space). You may also inquire to the friendliness of the exhibit to children. Some parents are more comfortable with their child seeing a nude or partially new art piece, others are not. (Though we don’t always or even often have such pieces. This way you can avoid surprise if we do.) We are regularly open Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm and on Saturday and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm.

With each new art exhibit we always have at least three print materials to make your visit to the Museum easier– these items greet you at the main entrance table. Please pick up our Gallery Guide (to review Artist Statements, price lists, etc.), a professionally designed invitation of the exhibit as a keepsake, and a youth activity to utilize during the visit. Typically the youth activity is a scavenger hunt. It connects the child with art in a fun and exciting way while also offering a small reward at the end. See the Receptionist after the activity is completed for a small prize (typically little notebooks, crayons, or beginner paints).

There are always other print materials available at the main entrance to include class registration brochures, our newsletter, or other event offerings. Take a moment to peruse to be sure if any catch your attention and perhaps offer another enticing adventure to the Museum. Exhibits will often incorporate sculpture, painting, mixed media, textiles, photography, etc into one themed show. This allows you and your little one to explore the different ways art can manifest itself to present a single, unifying theme of varying forms.

Once you and your little one have gone through the exhibit and completed the exhibit activity, be sure to drop into the Museum Shoppe for a memento or special art gift. Also, if you happen to make your trip during the week, our Hands on Art Gallery is usually open downstairs in our education department. This space provides art activities themed to each exhibit with the use of FREE art supplies. Your child can channel their inner Picasso and make their own fantastic works of art! You can also drop into the Art Library to continue the art instruction at home– even check out a Art Kit to use at home!(ALL FREE!)

Another print piece that is worthwhile to grab while in the Museum is our Sculpture Garden Gallery Guide. It provides a map with information about the 12 sculptures out on our grounds. Your child will love these larger than life size pieces of art and enjoy their own little “treasure” hunt for art!

Reviewing the current exhibit, perusing the wonderful works of art in the Museum Shoppe, enjoying the Hands On Art Gallery, scanning the shelves of the Library, and sharing a picnic or feeding the ducks after a tour of the Sculpture Garden seems like a thorough day of art for you and yours. You might even like it so much it becomes a family tradition!

AND, if all of this wasn’t enough, you can extend your art day by heading on down to Gallery 208 (208 Rowan Street across from Festival Park) and take in our satellite gallery’s terrific art. Typically this gallery (also the offices of Up and Coming Weekly Magazine) showcases two artists who call Fayetteville home.

Who said there wasn’t anything to do in Fayetteville?

Raw Identity

The title of this post is the title of our forthcoming exhibit, which is largely making its way here from out of town today. (Artists are coming from Raleigh and Greenville today to deliver their precious works.) The gallery is currently chaotic, being spackled and painted, prepping for Friday’s premiere.

I find this theme of this exhibit very intriguing, and I’ll pull from featured artist JJ Ohlinger’s artist statement to illuminate just why it is so intriguing.

“For the past several years my work has been an examination of the ideas and concepts of what “Identity” means and how I, as a contemporary artist, challenge the conventions of traditional portrait painting. Historically, we are all familiar with the grand portraits of world leaders, nobility and the great patrons of society. But in today’s age, they don’t serve much more of a purpose to us than decoration for currency. We are so inundated with imagery that it becomes difficult to recount something we may have seen only minutes earlier. We encounter so many people on a daily basis, that we rarely notice the individual sitting at the table next to us in a restaurant. My work is about taking notice and hopefully discovering the unique identity of the individual depicted not only in the image but also the people you will encounter today.”

We hope you will come out to the Museum of Art on Friday and challenge your own perspective of your identity and how it manifests itself, or how others close to you or even those people from a distance choose to present themselves.

PREMIERE PARTY IS THIS FRIDAY FROM 6-8pm-- THAT's MARCH 13th!