Ghost Ballet

After looking across the stadium during a preseason Tennessee Titans game last year I noticed this funny shaped, rollercoaster look-a-like of a statue. This public art piece is called the “Ghost Ballet”. This statue is located on the east banks in downtown Nashville. From a distance it simply looks like a rollercoaster gone bad, but close up you will view the 100-foot long, 60-foot deep, 100-foot wide monster statue. Alice Aycock created this model and it was said that she wanted to design the sculpture to symbolize Nashville’s past and its modes of transportation. The lighting and bright lights really enhance and make the statue glow at night. This creation attracts many viewers and is a commonly known piece of public art in downtown Nashville. A MUST SEE!

The Art Crawl!!

Mark your calendar for the first Saturday of every month when art galleries throughout downtown Nashville host receptions and art openings in the local Art Crawl! This event is huge as thousands of individuals attend this very popular monthly event. Most galleries serve free wine and other refreshments. The gallery crawl is a great free night on the town! The Art Crawl is mostly all about welcoming guests and visitors to see new artwork, and have conversations with artists. The Art Company, a local gallery downtown describes this even as quote, “A way to visit with friends and guests during an exciting and festive evening in downtown Nashville, admission free.”  It’s all about welcoming the community in to see what’s new and fresh in the world of art. Spending the fourth of July in Nashville with my boys, we got the opportunity to visit some of the galleries downtown such as, The Art Company, Rymer Gallery, and Estel Gallery. The galleries were full of fireworks to ignite the excitement for the fourth. Also, free transportation is provided by The Nashville Downtown Partnership as a free shuttle is ran between galleries. 

Musica!

If you some day find the urge to get out and explore public art in Nashville, and are interested in seeing giant green men and women, “Musica” is a must see! Alan Lequire created this massive statue. This statue is made up of nine beautiful nude figures that represent body structures of real humans. When first revealed in 2003, critics somewhat took shots at Lequire because of the nudity. One thing I love about this statue is the variety of ethnicity shown in each individual. The nine individuals consist of one white man, one African-American women and man, one Asian American woman, two white women, one Native American man, and one Hispanic man and woman. I feel like this statue symbolizes the city of Nashville being “one” and togetherness. Even though this statue can be controversial to some viewers, it is still one of the largest statues standing in the United States today. Head down 17^th one day and I promise you, you WON'T be disappointed!

Hello class and blog followers! This is just a brief discussion/review on The Andy Warhol art exhibit I recently attended. This show is located at the Frist Center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. I encourage all my Nashville blog followers to go check it out, as it runs through September 11, 2011. This exhibit is magnificent. In the early 1960’s Andy Warhol was proudly known as the leader of the “Pop Art” movement. Starting as a commercial illustrator by doing artwork in magazines, he quickly became popular as he switched to a more permanent role in fine art. Warhol also had a great interest in music. Throughout his career he explored his interest in music through almost every discipline in the visual arts: artist’s books, filmmaking, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. This exhibit is full of rich history in music, which goes hand in hand with Nashville being known as “The Music City”. Personally attending the exhibit myself, I can say this is a must see event!

Pricing: Prices to enter will vary between 0-10$ depending on the day you go. 

John Guider/Stacey Irvin Visit

1. The platinum printing process John Guider uses simply enhances the quality of the photos he takes. Guider is very unique and only a few photographers use this extraordinary method. While original prints of photos are very sensitive to light, the platinum Guider uses attain 100 values of light. This method does wonders to the photos!

2. The values (scale from black to white) that Guider uses in his photo are absolute extraordinary. He taught me that there are 100 color values when an image is created with the platinum printing process. The photos almost have a three-dimensional look to them because of the large range of colors the platinum printing process offers. They shades of the color grey he uses in some of his photos really stand out in terms of value.

3. Stacey Irvin is also a talented photographer with more of a different style than Guider. By listening to Stacey Irvin talk, her traveling around the world has definitely had a positive effect. She really loves exploring other cultures venues, and it shows in the lovely photos she takes.  

The Parthenon

1. What was the function of the Parthenon?

The Parthenon in Rome is functioned to display statues of the Gods and for the rulers to go sacrifice and worship.

2. What stories do the Parthenon metopes and pediments tell?

The metopes on the east side of the Parthenon show the battle between the Olympian gods and the giants. The metopes on the west end show the battle between the Athenians and the Amazons. The metopes on the Southside show the battle of the Lapiths. The metopes on the north side depict the sack of Troy. Pediments on the Parthenon show single scenes of mythology. The east pediment shows the birth of Athena from the head of her father. The west pediment shows the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the honor of becoming the city’s patron.

3. What style columns are on the Parthenon exterior?

The style of the columns on the exterior of the Parthenon is that of the Doric style.

4. Why is there a Parthenon in Nashville?

Nashville is home to a replica of Greece’s famous Parthenon. In the 1800’s Nashville was known to be one of the most refined and educated cities of the south. The city was also filled with wealth and culture. It had several theatres as well as plenty of elegant accommodations. “Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Naos are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 B.C. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London.”

5. What is your experience being outdoors at the Parthenon? ? Think about the height of the building, the play of light, etc.

The Parthenon was very interesting and huge! The columns are massive. I remember taking a fitness class and meeting at Centennial Park to do workouts, and I never looked twice at the Parthenon. I would have never thought that much history would be associated with the Parthenon outside of the building. I wonder what the inside looks like?

6. Does this monument feel relevant to you as a Nashville resident?

This monument honestly doesn’t feel relevant to me. The Parthenon really feels random because it seems like it is the only ancient model in Nashville. 

Followers

LeQuire Visit

1. Does it change your perspective to discuss a work of art with the artist himself? 

 Yes! Discussing works of art with Greg really opened my eyes to a lot of things. When Greg spoke about his creations I personally felt somewhat of a deeper connection to each piece of art. The effort and time he says he puts in his paintings and sculptures makes me appreciate art in general.

2. How do the Greg Decker paintings make you feel?

Overall, I enjoyed Greg Decker’s paintings mainly because each creation served a message and purpose. He has a unique style as his paintings aren’t really abstract, but at the same time aren’t realistic.

3. How does the way in which the exhibit is installed effect the way you experience it?

By incorporating slurries of different styles of art I was allowed to take in a lot of new things. I am not an art expert, however by experiencing multiple artists works at once I could appreciate the styles that I liked the most. I found out that I do not like abstract paintings all that much, and my favorite type of art are the realistic paintings and/or art renderings. I can honestly say that after visiting the LeQuire gallery, my favorite types of art are sculptures. I did not find the abstract paintings very interesting, however the realistic type paintings stood out.

The LeQuire Gallery consists of a room full of paintings and a room full of sculptures. With many different styles of each presented in the gallery, I found out what I liked and disliked. I was interested and amazed of the massive sculptures they presented.

4. Discuss one work of sculpture and one painting from LeQuire. Try to start with an objective description, then describe you personal response to the work.

I loved the sculptures of the clay heads. I honestly never have seen a head sculpture of that magnitude. My favorite painting was American flag. It’s almost like the painting resembled someone balling up a piece of paper of the American flag then unfolding it again. To me it symbolizes the strength of our country.