Woodhouse documents life at Brew Pub; Center, Miso Hungry, Ciao, PSB hang new shows

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

By Kate Balog

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Artist Tom Woodhouse opened his show Thursday night at the Brew Pub with a small group of friends and a few pitchers of beer. The party could have been much larger, but it was barely publicized. Marketing himself does not rank high on Woodhouse’s list of priorities. In fact, at this point in his life, that list has one entry: produce art.

Woodhouse is often described as that guy at the Brew Pub who sketches on coasters. It’s interesting for many to see the end result of his voyeuristic pursuit hanging on the walls. The patrons and servers he draws are an essential part of his current study of “the energy created by people, their interactions and movement,” which he eventually captures in acrylic on canvas.

He first sketches scenes in pen and ink on coasters or in small books. He later transforms the best ones into larger paintings. The challenge for him has been retaining the spontaneity of the scene, which he feared was lost from the translation of the gesture drawing onto a larger canvas, in paint, in another studio. After a few years of practice, he says, “I feel that I’ve finally succeeded in bringing time and place together.”

He does not think about what he is drawing. He reacts to the scene in front of him – sometimes outstretched, reaching arms and hand and sometimes breasts. Why the occasional abstract breast image? “Have you ever gone out here at night? They are out there. I draw what is in front of me. The work is honest.”

His subject matter at the moment is the same as it was in college, but the practice and experience show a transcendence of style. Figures are much less detailed than before; they are now elongated with abstract faces. His palette has become darker and more muted, partly because he has switched from neon ink dye-based paint to earth-toned mineral-based paint. He also experiments with size, painting murals and coasters. Once he feels there is nothing more to learn from this cycle, he plans to return to woodcut prints for a while.

Before this current cycle, Woodhouse painted abstract landscapes with rich color blocks and his trademark crop circle “donuts.” He used to paint in oils, but switched to acrylics. “The two are completely different, certainly in terms of color. I had to re-learn how to paint with acrylics.”

Woodhouse grew up in Michigan in a large, close-knit family, threw pots in high school, and attended Kendall School of Design as a printmaking major. He spent summers in Jackson Hole since 1982 and finally moved here to work at Wilderness Ventures, a travel program for teens in the summer. He moved here permanently in 1990.
A few years ago, he stopped teaching at the Center for the Arts and the Wildlife Museum and systematically liberated himself from all responsibilities so he could focus entirely on his art. Now, he spends most of his day in his studio and leaves only to eat and to sketch. A studio at Center of the Arts prevents him from slipping into total isolation. Other artists drop by often to discuss and critique his work.

“I have enough confidence in my ability, and I’ve been doing this for so long that I can edit the criticism. Some people like it and some don’t. That’s fine.”
His style is influenced by American modernists, Picasso and Basquiat. He credits the renegades who created art for art’s sake, not for commissions and portraits, whose risks paved the way for future artists by giving them permission to experiment. At the moment, his work is not accepted by the Jackson old guard.

It has too much energy and youthfulness and perhaps reminds them of graffiti. Right now, he only shows at Teton Art Lab – and the Brew Pub. He will not change his art for more acceptance, but he will change his prices. The smaller pieces at his show are listed under $200, far less than their value, but he does have to pay his rent, after all.

See his work at The Snake River Brew Pub, 265 S. Millard, and look out for the man in the corner who just might be sketching you.

                                                 •

In the next week, four artists’ receptions are scheduled in the area.

On Thursday, Miso Hungry, at 165 N. Main St. in Driggs, Idaho, will present Sarah Lott. Lott graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in fine arts, anthropology and African studies, and from the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Missoula. Now she lives in Victor.

The focus for her show is the natural world and the way one “sees” it.
“For my most recent set of black-and-whites, the apple tree in January series, I have been inspired by my own eyesight, which is poor without my glasses,” she said.
Her poor vision inspired her to experiment with small depth of fields and grainy high-speed film – techniques that show how she would see the world without the aid of her contacts. She shoots entirely with film, and participates in the entire process, from loading her camera to developing her film.

Lott’s control over the process has allowed her to perfect a special technique that results in an image like a watercolor painting. She primarily shoots with a macro lens to create Polaroid transfers. The transparencies are projected onto Polaroid film through the use of a Daylab, a machine that acts as a miniature enlarger. Then she uses either a wet or dry transfer process.

Her reception will run 6-8 p.m. and hang through the new year. Call Miso Hungry at (208) 354-8015. You can also see her work at Ciao Gallery in Victor.

                                                   •

Three shows open at Center for the Arts on Friday:  “Making a Mark: Works on Paper,” “Documenting America: The Farm Security Administration Photographs” and “Central Wyoming Faculty Exhibit.”

“Making a Mark: Works on Paper,” a juried competition for Art Association members, explores the interaction of disciplines on paper such as drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, mixed-media and paper-based sculpture. Twenty-six works by 14 artists were selected, among them Eliot Goss, Jennifer Landgraf and Jocelyn Slack. The winners will be chosen this week and labeled for the opening.

The Farm Security Administration started in 1935 as part of the New Deal and is famous today for the highly influential photography program that realistically portrayed the challenges of rural poverty during the Great Depression. Photographers Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Arthur Rothstein, Marion Post Walcott and Russell Lee were some of the photographers and writers hired to travel America to document the American farmer. The Information Division of the FSA was responsible for providing educational materials and press information to the public between 1935 and 1944. The Library of Congress presently houses the collection of 160,000 photographs. The work in “Documenting America: The Farm Security Administration Photographs” was selected from this collection.

And finally, Central Wyoming College instructors from around the state will display their work in the lobby. One big reception for all three shows will take place 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday at The Center for the Arts, 264 S. Glenwood. Call the Art Association at 733-6379 for more details.

                                                   •

Also, 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Ciao Gallery at 145 N. Main St. in Victor, Idaho, presents “A Trio” with works by Benji Pierson, Anika Youcha and Jesse Brown. The reception with food, wine and music will be followed at 9:30 p.m. by the “Triple Threat” party with kegs, DJs, dancing and door prizes. (208)787-4841.

And finally, 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday at Pearl Street Bagels, 145 W. Pearl Ave., Thomas Bradshaw will show his plein air paintings. His work will go up on Friday. 739-1218.

Courtesy Sarah Lott
Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala; Sarah Lott

PERMALINK:
Woodhouse documents life at Brew Pub; Center, Miso Hungry, Ciao, PSB hang new shows | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

Leave a Comment