“Art in Perspective”
by Victor Wishna (sp?)
the Independent
8/8/98
From a distance, there is something very intriguing about the 35 identical, light-blue, standard hospital-issue toothbrushes lining the wall. From a distance, the display stands with the stillness shown only by things that were once very much alive. Come closer, and the names engraved on each toothbrush become clear. This one says “Eric.” Another reads “Mitchell.” Over there is “John,” and here, another “Eric.” The 35 names on the 35 toothbrushes represent the 35 men (or perhaps, boys) that the artists has kissed in the last 14 years. Now, up close, the loosely dangling toothbrushes seem to sway with individual attitude. Stand back, and the toothbrushes again become very still, very identical. It all depends on the perspective.
Perspective: Kansas City is a biennial event, a professional showcase of local contemporary art that the Johnson County Community College Gallery of Art puts up every two years to show the growing range and diversity of talent that is working right here in Kansas City. The toothbrush-laden Trophies, by Shauna Alterio, is one of ten locally created pieces featured in the exhibit.
Gallery director Bruce Hartman says the driving motivation for the exhibition is to “export” the local art scene, to raise awareness in other cities that there is a very viable art community here in Kansas City. He says that visitors as far away as New York and Los Angeles have complimented the exhibit on its innovation and sophistication.
“First and foremost, this is a tribute to the artists of Kansas City,” says Hartman.
To make this local show global, he says, the Gallery wanted to find a curator with national influence and an openness to exploring the Kansas City art scene. Raphael Rubinstein—senior editor of the New York-based monthly Art in America, and a native of Lawrence, Kansas—seemed the perfect choice. After reviewing slides of some 72 local artists, Rubinstein came here in April to meet with 20 of them in their studios.
“That’s significant, for someone of his stature and accomplishment to be coming into Kansas City,” Hartman says. “We ran him all over the city, which was fantastic exposure. We went all the way out to Lawrence, we were visiting with artists who were in Johnson County, we were down in the (West) Bottoms, we were all the way up to Independence. He really got a sense of the city.”
And what he saw, Rubinstein says, he really likes. He was impressed with the sense of fellowship he found among artists in Kansas City, especially, he says, in the West Bottoms. “I think Kansas City has a very strong art community—in a way stronger than you would expect given the relative size of the city,” he says.
The ten artists he chose for the exhibit represent a diverse range of expression (abstract to autobiographical), mediums (painting, drawing, sculpture, film), and even generations—several of the artists are veterans of the local scene, while two of those chosen were still students at the Kansas City Art Institute when Rubinstein met with them. “That’s a very good sign for the future,” he says. “These are very young artsits, but they seemed to me to have developed their work enough and were mature enough to be included in a show like this.”
Overall, the show has been a great success, says Hartman. More than 200 people appeared for the exhibition’s opening—a significant crowd for a Sunday afternoon in the middle of the summer. Furthermore, Hartman says the relationship with Rubinstein gives Kansas City someone who can champion its art scene in New York. Already, Rubinstein has requested of Kansas City art shows for publication in his magazine.
The Gallery of Art, which opened in 1990, has a distinctly contemporary focus and hosts six to seven showings a year of modern art in all media. In addition, the College itself boasts a 300-work collection of contemporary art, which it began accumulating in 1980, as well as an extensive assortment of outdoor sculpture displayed around the campus. And, says Hartman, new works are being acquired almost every day. New sculptures are being installed and more are being commissioned.
The art boom on his own campus is merely a sign of the growth happening all around the city, Hartman says, and it’s impossible for someone in New York—or anywhere else—not to take notice.
“I really think that we’ve seen a renaissance in the visual arts in Kansas City in the last several years,” says Hartman. “It’s been fascinating to watch the evolution of things here.”
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To make this local show global, he says, the Gallery wanted to find a curator with national influence and an openness to exploring the Kansas City art scene. Raphael Rubinstein—senior editor of the New York-based monthly Art in America, and a native of Lawrence, Kansas—seemed the perfect choice. After reviewing slides of some 72 local artists, Rubinstein came here in April to meet with 20 of them in their studios. |
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