This is Sandy Brown Jensen, and you’re listening to Viz City, KLCC’s arts review program. If you haven’t been out to see the special juried show at Maude Kerns Art Center–it’s called “Home Team: World Stage”-- it’ll be open through this big weekend until July 22. You still have some time to take out-of-town visitors to see what amazing talent we have right here, right now.
This is such a varied show, but I want to give you a few related images to look for when you go–it’s more of a treasure hunt that way. Look for these similar but very different landscapes that convey the sense of our local Peaceable Kingdom. The first is by Tara Kemp called “Golden Gardens Pond,” one of my favorite Eugene City parks off Barger Road. Kemp has painted oil on aluminum. The clouds in the sky, the low berm hills and trees are reflected in one of the Golden Gardens ponds. The aluminum gives a silvery radiance to the sylvan scene.
The other image that seems to be a companion to Kemp’s is actually called “The Peaceable Kingdom: The North Umpqua River.”. It is an autumn photograph taken from the North Bank Road. It is printed on transparency film then backed with 24K gold leaf. Like the aluminum, the gold gives luster and glow to the landscape.
Linda Devenow has another landscape called “Near Monmouth” that uses infrared photography, yet a third way of capturing that special quality of light that illuminates the world.
As I’ve suggested before, it helps you cut down on the art gallery overwhelm factor when you go into a big show like this with one kind of image to look for at first–like landscapes or portraits or maybe look at all the sculpture first before opening up to more. Having your own personal treasure map secretly in mind amps up your personal excitement and makes visiting the art center more fun.
And don’t be afraid to think about spending money on art. If you fall in love with a work of art and buy it, you’ll live with something you love for the rest of your life and will never miss the money over the long term. Go for it! And enjoy our big weekend!
This is Sandy Brown Jensen for KLCC.
