Spring Break
Artists converge on the Plaza
Kelley Kates
Issue date: 9/28/09 Section: Culture
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The Country Club Plaza loves to embrace the changing seasons with ornate displays: the Plaza lighting ceremony signifies the holiday season, the Easter Bunnies bouncing in for spring and the Plaza Art Fair to celebrate the coming of the fall.
The Plaza Art Fair always generates a lot of buzz in Kansas City for it is known as a premier art display and attracts artists from all across the country.
For three days, display tents and vendors lined several blocks of the Country Club Plaza while visitors, tourists and art enthusiasts filled the streets.
The artists were of all types and it showed through the mix of media used in their work. Various styles of art were marketed throughout the fair.
Wood carvings and pottery, beaded pieces, blown glass, clothing and jewelry were the non-traditional items displayed that one might not expect to find at an art fair.
The more traditional elements such as oil or acrylic paintings, photography and drawings were all prevalent as well.
The Plaza Art Fair did a fine job of breaking the art fair monotony by bringing in such varied artists.
Each artist brought something unique and special to the table.
For instance, Xavier Nuez from Fremont, Calif. brought a very different and intriguing design to his photographs of tagged buildings and fire-escapes.
He transformed his photographs of them into alluring and colorful urban-scapes.
Nuez said he does this by using the building's own lighting, while adding some of his own twists, such as a filter or even a red flashlight, to enhance the color scheme.
Nuez's composition card explains his artistry as, "An exploration of urban decay across America." But do not be fooled, the decay is engaging.
To view Nuez's work, visit www.nuez.com.
Some of the artists were extremely quirky and modern, while others were just quirky.
Artist John Charbonneau displayed his "Birdmen," images of humans with bird heads doing a number of general human activities. Artist Keith Grace presented his art work of "hip" dogs and "cool" cats in all sorts of odd, vibrant clothing.
Grace's work can be viewed at www.hipdogcoolcat.com.
The fair also offered the more laid-back and traditional forms of paintings, such as streetscapes and landscapes by John Scanlon, as well as pastels and drawings from local artist Don Coons.
Most of the artwork was rather pricy, but many artists had reprints and smaller versions of their works on hand for those who did not wish to spend a fortune on the new piece they loved.
The fair was set up to accommodate most of the spectators.
The Kemper Art Museum had a display tent with children's activities for worn out parents.
Celtic music from a Native American flute filled the streets as ambiance for the shoppers. Live music as well as beer and food vendors from well-known Plaza restaurants made the event a pleaser for the boyfriends and husbands who were dragged along.
kkates@unews.com
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