A&E Feature

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

By Henry Sweets

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Last Friday, I stretched out in the sunshine on a small loveseat on the third floor of the Center for the Arts.

The space had been occupied for years by a clutter of easels and folding tables, and the blinds on the wall of glass behind me were often drawn. But this Friday the sun was soaking in, music was playing and four people were busy making art - looking up occasionally to answer another’s question about the use of a certain color, or where to place the next image in a mural.

It is the new Teton Artlab; housing a collective of artists who were temporarily homeless after funding dried up and they decided to stop paying rent on their cramped, leaky and expensive quarters on north Cache St. When they tried to get a space in the Center, where subsidized rent was their only hope of survival, they were turned down.

But the Art Association had to sublet some of their space to pay the bills and director Karen Stewart contacted Walker to see if Artlab still wanted a home. Now Artlab pays $1,200 a month, about half their old rent, for twice as much space.
Inviting the homeless collective of artists was something Director Karen Stewart said she was provoked to do by the poor economy, but was something that probably should have happened a while ago.

 “I think people finally looked at what we were doing, and it turned out we had donors behind us and had programs that would benefit [the Center],” Walker said.
After their first year, Artlab published Field Notes, which documented twelve shows in a lab notebook format. Self-publishing company Blurb put out the book. It became a staff pick on their Web site, which brought in hits to the Artlab Web site and sold dozens of books. The revenue from those sales, combined with the money Artlab earned at their last print sale, are paying a significant portion of their first two months rent.

The space will have a library, and comfortable chairs. Films will be screened and collaborative art events will happen; but the details on exactly how Artlab will bring the public up to the lonely third-floor is yet to be determined.

They will have help. The Center of Wonder has just scored an office catty-corner to Artlab. Wonder’s director Carrie Geraci said the timing was perfect, because tough economic ties require collaboration and resourcefulness, which will be easier now that they are in the Center.

For now, Artlab consists of a core group of member-artists, but others can join in if they have respect for others, a good attitude, positive energy and a “clear vision” of the type of art they want to make, Walker said.

“What we are going for is enhanced by the amount of people we can have in here,” Walker said. “It costs less money and is in an environment that will encourage collaboration between ourselves, the Art Association and the Center of Wonder. Some people will come in here and make art or crank-out prints, and others are just going to come in here and crank out ideas.”

A new Web site, creative marketing techniques and other books like Field Notes will help supplement Artlab’s revenue, but for now participating artists are splitting the costs with a few anonymous benefactors. The Web site will become a running record of the state of contemporary art in Jackson.

“It’s time to present something where people can take a look at all the art that’s going on here that’s taking place under the radar,” Walker said. “Not just in this building but a ton of stuff that goes on in studios in corners all over this town.”
Artlab is an ongoing experiment that documents itself, Walker said, and bringing in visiting artists will add a new variable to the equation. But he said the residencies would not only to tap into other idea streams, but to refresh Jackson artists’ perspective on their own backyard.

“I think that’s a vital part of the whole experiment … that foreign element that’s reacting to Jackson like we did when we first came here,” Walker said. “On a good day, when it’s sunny outside, it’s an amazing moment … usually, that first week [spent in Jackson] is mind blowing, totally mind blowing.” PJH

Teton Artlab is located in the Borshell Studio at Center for the Arts, 240 S. Glenwood. Additional reporting by Matthew Irwin.

Courtesy photo
Ben Carlson renders an Obama as Wendell Field and Travis Walker work in the background at the new Artlab.

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A&E Feature | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

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