Artistic Planet

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

By Sabra Ayres

As northwest Wyoming’s only alternative newsweekly, the Planet has become a go-to source for music, art and dance in Jackson Hole. Our coverage includes previews and reviews of both local and imported talents, from painters and sculptors to bluegrass bands and swing stars. Our calendar listings have something for the older set and the valley’s hip, young scene.

This week, we’re taking a look at the valley’s heart of performing arts, the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. An imposing building in the center of town, the structure’s design took some getting used to by much of the population. In the beginning, it seemed you either loved its sharp lines or hated them.

But a year has past since the Center’s opening, and it’s now clear the town has adopted the Center as the main stage for important community and arts events.
Just last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stood behind a podium on the Center Theater stage and told a crowd of internationally recognized filmmakers that it was time to focus on the world’s most unfortunate victims of poverty, disease and hunger.

This week, in addition to our usual coverage of the valley’s hottest goings-on, we take a closer look at where the Center is taking performing arts in Jackson Hole. With a growing population and a plethora of arts patrons willing to make sizable donations, are we living up to our potential? Is Jackson’s new, elegant performing arts venue getting the audience it deserves? As our reporter, Ben Cannon, discovers after many interviews with the Center’s directors and fundraisers, it’s not as easy as it would seem to bring in big name acts and fill up the all the seats.

Keeping in the genre of art and local interests, this week’s Artbeat section has an exclusive one-on-one with Jackson artist Tom Woodhouse. The Michigan-bred artist has been a long-time Jackson resident painter, sculptor and art teacher. He was recently asked to complete a large mural in Denver. Henry Sweets, our art reporter, talks to him about what he’s been up to lately and where he’s going creatively.

We also have a very special Q&A with Mattheiu Ricard, a visiting Buddhist monk who is also a best-selling author, photographer and the French translator to the Dalai Lama. Teresa Griswold talks to Ricard about why some scientists have declared him the ‘’happiest person in the world.” On Saturday, Ricard will be holding a meditation workshop, a subject Teresa takes up in our Living Well column this week.

Perhaps the, well, hottest event this weekend will be the Jackson Hole Fire Festival from Friday to Saturday. Learn about all the happenings in our Galaxy section, but don’t miss the biggest flames on Friday night on the Town Square. The festival is a cultural celebration of the unofficial but active sisterhood formed between Jackson and the Japanese city of Fujiyoshida.

As with every issue, we welcome feedback from readers. Got a problem with what we said? Disagree with what we wrote? Or generally would like to see the Planet writing about something else? Let us know. Visit us on the web at www.planetjh.com, or send us an email at editor@planetjh.com. Many reader responses – negative and positive – end up on our letters to the editors page, so don’t be surprised if we contact you for permission to print.

In addition, look for our special, pocket-sized Summer Nightlife Guide, available anywhere you pick up your weekly copy of the Planet.
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Artistic Planet | Planet JH News Article: Editorial

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