Celebrating ArtSPOT; SoBo; JHCS at Muse

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

By Henry Sweets

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary (LMC) is hosting an event from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday to benefit the ArtSPOT and celebrate what might become a new movement in Jackson’s art world.

The ArtSPOT is a public exhibition space located on the old Chevron sign, next to the Best Western Lodge. Bland Hoke Jr. was driving by the sign last year while it was draped with black plastic and he thought it should be re-purposed as an art exhibition space. The project was then picked up by the Art Association and the Center for Wonder, and it now serves to inject a little art into thousands of passing motorists’ days.

In a recent project inspired by artist David Edgar, Wilson School 5th graders have reworked would-be waste with heat guns, scissors and grommet tools to create a sculpture depicting fish, flowers, and other things from the earth. The sculpture will hang Thursday, weather permitting, and will remain on display at the ArtSPOT through June.
Ryan Haworth made large banner prints of his colorful bird paintings to hang at the ArtSPOT, and they will be auctioned at LMC’s Friday event with bids starting at $400. In addition to these funds, McCandless is giving a percentage of her April sales to the Artspot.

The opening is not just about the Artspot, but is an opportunity to channel some recent publicity and embolden a movement in Jackson’s contemporary art scene.
A piece in the April edition of Outside magazine reads, “Be sure to drop into SoBo (South of Broadway), reputed to be Jackson’s most happening art scene, anchored by the hip Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary and the galleries and performance spaces at the JH Center for the Arts.”

While talking with a friend about the challenges of owning an art gallery off of the Town Square the idea of SoBo came up, McCandless said. She was always trying to explain to people where her business was located, a few blocks south of Broadway on Jackson Street. After she came up with the name, she realized that there was potential in it to flesh out a movement that was already happening.

“It’s sort of something that evolved … it can help the whole community, whether it’s my neighborhood or even more of Jackson,” McCandless said. “The concept of SoBo, being another sort of new cultural experience of Jackson, can only add another level of interest for people coming in to Jackson.”

The SoHo District in New York came into its own after factories were vacated and artists moved in. Eventually the artistic character blended with old industrial iron facades and rendered the streets south of Houston (SoHo) one of the hippest ’hoods in the world. McCandless drew inspiration from that historic transformation and the way it re-generated old character with new creativity.

“The square will always be the square … but only certain businesses can survive there due to financial reasons, or the type of business they are,” said McCandless. She wants to “hold on to the western image or myth, while also trying to embrace the changes” of our iconic western town. As the vacant lots and older buildings on the outskirts of our town center are developed, the changing neighborhoods will have a chance to form their own identity.

Ideally a SoBo event would be more like a “block party”where multiple galleries or businesses host people, McCandless said - and watch out for those sorts of community-building events this summer.

Gallery-goers are encouraged to wear their favorite art viewing outfit, whether formal, funky or downright casual. McCandless calls it is an opportunity to get dressed up for a night on the town, to express creativity or just to feel relaxed.

Local band Lo-Fi featuring Andy Calder, Karee Miller, Mark Longfield, Ed Domer, and Jeff Eidemiller will be providing some funk tunes at the party, and refreshments will be provided. Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary is at 130 S. Jackson Street.

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On Thursday night the students of Christian Burch’s Visual Arts II class from the Jackson Hole Community School will hang sculptures for an installation at the Muse Gallery titled “Elevate Yourself.” A press release from the community school said “with the installation, students hope to show that education can be used as a tool to achieve personal goals, break boundaries, and surpass expectations.”

The chicken wire and papier-machè figures, employing old textbooks and literature as part of the mache matrix, will be interacting with the Muse Gallery’s space.
These sculptures already have personalities, and even names. Check out the opening exhibition from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Muse Gallery.

Courtesy Ryan Haworth
Momentary Reverence by Ryan Haworth.

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Celebrating ArtSPOT; SoBo; JHCS at Muse | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

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