Art Salon show a success
Mark McKeown
Issue date: 3/4/02 Section: Culture
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Former SAL president and Art Salon organizer Vien "Vinnie" Tran was very excited about all things Art Salon.
"We are very happy about the turnout and with the way things went," Tran said. "We are very thankful to MPress for letting us use their space."
The UMKC art exhibit took place Friday night, March 1, in the upstairs gallery of the MPress building at 1715 Baltimore near downtown Kansas City. Several gallery explorers visited the space and lingered for a long time in front of the provocative pieces done exclusively by UMKC students.
One such student, Jennifer Burns, whose piece “Hybrid” was a favorite of attendees, chose not to elaborate on her piece. The piece incorporates abstract strokes of acrylic paint on velvet. That's right, velvet. It reminds one of a kind of feminist Jackson Pollock.
Rob May's singular piece in the show brought about many positive comments from onlookers. His sensual line of both form and color attracts the eye in a soothing and voluptuous way.
Tara Mi Opitz contributed perhaps the most attractive of the pieces in the UMKC show. Her untitled piece of a cityscape used textual forms to show the claustrophobic scene of the back of a Kansas City building.
Tran had an untitled video installation that filmed entrants to the exhibit and will be a part of another future project documenting and commenting on the burgeoning Kansas City art gallery scene.
Many exhibits of photos were displayed, featuring two pieces by Brice Christman. Christman's photos were of highly magnified coral showing minute and contrasting topography. One of the photos is smooth and appears to have creatures growing on it. The other shows a mountainous plain of crusty coral. The two displayed together yielded a fine contrast of virtually the same subject and provided an interesting duality found in just about everything - representational, that is.
Perhaps the most thought-provoking piece was a performance installation from Daniel Miller. Miller's piece consisted of two individuals in an alternative space in the middle of the gallery "camping out indoors." The juxtaposition of found articles and established art in the galleries formed part of the conceptual idea. Miller was also inspired by "non-art" installations in trade shows - shows featured at Bartle Hall for outdoor enthusiasts.
"People set up their tents to display on the floor - indoors!" Miller exclaimed. "Camping is for the outdoors and bringing the [equipment] inside seemed… amusing. Like a fish out of water."
The performers were given instructions as to how to act and react to the attendees. They were not allowed to interact with participants unless the curious person stepped inside "the inner realm of the entire piece," Miller added. Indeed, it appeared to be an alternative universe; not of this world of art.
Other UMKC students displaying their art were Jacory Harold, Katherine Fiscus, Charlie Mixon, Dave Everson, Jessica Logsdon, Cynthia Vollard, Judith Winn and
Melody King.
