Embarrassing as it is, this is the first video I’ve ever made. I am immersed in the world of film production each day, yet focused on the Education side of Art21. It’s been a long journey to connect the two.

Where does an idea start? I don’t think it was just mine, but I was interested in some way to better articulate and share what was happening out there in the world when people actually saw and used Art21. How does one go about making a film of that moment when teachers, students, artists, and the casual viewer are confronted with artists talking about their work, the ideas behind it, and then attempt to DO something with that experience?

We needed a willing guinea pig for our first attempt to capture one of these stories. Joe Fusaro, Senior Education Advisor and weekly contributor to the Teaching with Contemporary Art Column, proved willing and more than able.

Joe told us about a unit he was teaching his 9th grade studio art classes at Nyack High School on the theme of Power. We jumped at the chance to be flies on the wall, with very large cameras and sound equipment. And it was not easy. We stumbled through interviews, and many of them. We awkwardly wrangled equipment while trying to remain unobtrusive and unintimidating. Room schedules were changed. Much paperwork was signed. We drove over the Tappan Zee Bridge countless times.

But the process was part of the journey and well worth the results. We are eternally grateful to Joe, his students, and his colleagues at Nyack High School for their patience, their generosity, and their continual support of this fledgling idea. We’ve gotten the production bug and we’re itching to make more. And on these next ones, we’ll be a little less nervous. We’ll keep it conversational. We’ll enjoy the process even more.

Susan Rothenberg, "Galisteo Creek", 1992

This week I’d like to breathe a blissful sigh after a quiet vacation AND take on the Flashpoints question for August…

Does art expand our ability to imagine?

My gut reaction is Yes, but it can deaden that ability, too. Let’s face it, bad art or art that has become wallpaper over time can prohibit the imagination from taking off at all. I’m thinking of classrooms or studios that hardly ever change. The same things hang on the walls and take strategic positions in the floor plan year after year. The same posters and the same, um, motivational banners (you know… YOU CAN DO IT, etc.) become a brittle yellow after semesters of hanging on for dear life by four pieces of masking tape.

Art studios and classrooms where students and aspiring artists learn have the opportunity to inspire and nudge the imagination through their very presence in the space. For example, having two different places in a room dedicated to visuals related to the current unit of study and to new art and artists being “discovered” by students and teachers creates a scenario where very different art is often being juxtaposed and discussed. This leads to students asking questions, and we all know good questions is what it’s all about. Obviously, having another area or separate gallery display space for student work samples from the most recent unit can provoke ideas and possible options for the current theme or question students are exploring.

Gabriel Orozco, production still, 2003

Now, if you’re working in a classroom on a daily basis, I know what many of you are thinking:

• What if I don’t have the space (or a room!)?
• Where do I find visuals?! I’m lucky to have a computer, and the only visuals in my classroom are bad freebies from conferences in 1986 and 1992, respectively.
  

Let’s look at each of these questions, at least one of which probably apply in a vast majority of classrooms all over the country.

If you do not have the space or are faced with the huge challenge of traveling to different classrooms to teach art, visuals can be “stored” (and sometimes, in a way that’s even more organized than having a space in the classroom) on flip charts and displayed when required on a simple easel. The flip chart pad can be arranged by units of study. While it may be cumbersome to carry around, it’s certainly better than shuffling magazine cutouts and trying to “share” these with classes of 30 or more.

If you are in a position where your school, district or university simply doesn’t have funding to update print and poster samples (and at this point, who does?), then slideshows shared in the classroom and later e-mailed to students can have positive effects as far as expanding student thinking. As a matter of fact, some students will appreciate the opportunity to linger on images outside of the classroom. Teachers can also make good use of free resources from museums, alternative spaces and galleries (press kits, anyone?) in order to keep the images hanging in the classroom thought-provoking rather than mind-numbing.

I think most art educators believe art can absolutely expand our ability to imagine. We just need to steer clear of the wallpaper.

Both Susan Rothenberg’s “Galisteo Creek” and the photograph of Gabriel Orozco were compared in a classroom conversation about taking “artist walks”.

Endless thanks to our hilarious, talented, and devoted guest blogger for the last fortnight, Adrian Duran. We have a hunch we’ll be able to lure him back to the site soon, so stay tuned.

Up next is Daniel Fuller. While his official Art21 blog debut took place several months ago (read his Flash Points-related posts here), we’re excited now to welcome him back in an official and prolonged capacity.

Daniel is the Senior Program Specialist at the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative. As part of this position he works as a funder and curatorial consultant, often as curator of curators, on behalf of the region’s visual arts community. He has written frequently for Art on Paper and this site. This summer/fall, his articles and reviews will be included in Art Lies, D (is for drawing), and an essay on Jon Pylypchuk for his solo exhibition at the Blaffer Gallery, The Art Museum of the University of Houston. Daniel has worked in curatorial positions at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY, and Peres Projects, LA.

William Pope.L, Sketch for "Yard Reinvention" at Hauser & Wirth New York, 2009. Ink on paper. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth. © William Pope.L

• On September 23, Hauser & Wirth will open its first gallery in the United States with a reinvention of Allan Kaprow’s 1961 environment Yard by artist William Pope.L. Described as “a veritable mountain of black rubber auto tires and tar paper-wrapped forms through which visitors jumped and crawled,” the installation/happening will take place at 32 East 69th Street in Manhattan, the site of the work’s original creation and the address of the new Hauser & Wirth Gallery. Josiah McElheny (Season 3) and Sharon Hayes will each create their own versions of Yard at public sites in downtown Manhattan and Queens.

• Works by Kerry James Marshall (Season 1), Kara Walker (Season 2) and other artists were lost in a tragic fire at the home of collector Peggy Cooper Cafritz, who is said to have amassed one of the most important collections of African American art.

• A 2007 black-and-blue collage by Arturo Herrera (Season 3) is one of the many pieces from the collection of the defunct firm Lehman Brothers that will soon go on auction.

• The weekend of August 15-16, get a sneak peak of the publication Walton Ford: Pancha Tantra (Taschen Books) at the Norman Mailer Writer’s Colony and The Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Ford (Season 2) is being honored by both organizations. The popular edition release of the artist’s book will be available nationwide on September 10.

• Through August 21, works by Robert Ryman (Season 4), Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol Lewitt, and Robert Mangold are on view at Andrea Rosen Gallery. An exhibition of works on paper by John Currin runs concurrently.

• Vandalog and Juxtapoz both report that Alleged Press–the publishing company of artist, writer, musician, film director and independent curator Aaron Rose–will publish a Barry McGee (Season 1) monograph this Halloween.

• Also in October, works by McGee, Raymond Pettibon (Season 2) and Lari Pittman (Season 4) will make their way to Gagosian Gallery in New York City as part of the Stages exhibition, organized by cyclist Lance Amstrong.

Dwayne Butcher, "You Don't Understand Liberty," 2009. Acrylic on paper, 11 X 9 inches. Courtesy the Artist.

Since my stint here is winding down, I’m going to ask your indulgence as I write about Memphis. My suspicion is that many of you haven’t been yet, or weren’t intending to come, or plain don’t care about what goes down in our neck of the woods. I must admit, I know where you’re coming from. I’m an East Coaster, born and raised in New Jersey, who left for college and traveled all over the place, determined to avoid that vast bland-o-sphere we call middle America. I just couldn’t figure out what would be compelling about anything more than 50 miles from an ocean that wasn’t Chicago. I know this makes me sound like a jerk, but I also know that there are scads of people who think the art world exists only in New York, Berlin, London, and wherever the present Biennale du jour happens to have set up the big tent this week.

But let me assure you, I was wrong. Necessity being the mother of invention, we in Memphis have more than a few goings on and an art universe that keeps me constantly intrigued and entertained. What I find particularly compelling about the way things happen in Memphis is that everyone is everywhere all of the time. The city is too small for it to be otherwise, so we actually have what I can justifiably call an arts community. Everybody ends up at the same bars, the same openings, the same panel discussions, the same backyard parties, and so forth. I know for certain that people show up at art events when they have other things to do, other places to be, or just don’t feel like it simply because we all know that we are our own audience and the more we do for one another the more we do for everyone collectively. It’s a nice way to go about it, actually feeling involved in things, participating rather than observing. I’m well aware that Flash Art may not set up a branch office, but I think you should give us a try. Hell, all of your FedEx packages come through Memphis. So should you.

To help you along, I’ve made a little primer to some of the core nodes of our art world. To be honest, I was shocked at how long it was, but heartened to know that each of the below is an integral part of our machine.

Full disclosure: I know, work with, and/or patronize every one of the below.

Levitt Shell, Memphis, TN. Photo: Adrian Duran.

Dwayne Butcher’s Blog. Start here. Dwayne is an artist and graduate of both the University of Memphis and the Memphis College of Art. His blog is the most up-to-date resource for all things artistic in Memphis. Galleries, museums, panels, whatever, Dwayne will find out and let you know. It is also a forum for his own art, which is well worth a look.

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, in Overton Park, is our city’s museum. A comprehensive collection, strongest in European and American art. Our African and Native American collections are smaller, but strong. The Brooks also hosts films, performances, lectures, and all of the other events one would want their local museum to host. And their restaurant is particularly good.

The Dixon Gallery & Gardens were once a private home and now contain a small but immaculate collection of late-19th century European (mostly French) paintings. They also host travelling exhibitions which are not to be overlooked. The gardens are best on a Spring day and are proof that nothing finishes a day at the museum like a snooze on the grass.

The Power House, which is downtown in the South Main arts district and serves as the umbrella organization for both Delta Axis and Marshall Arts, is a bit like a Kunsthalle in an old power station.  Exhibitions of international and local artists rotate through here, panel discussions, etc. Recent shows include Glen Ligon, local photographer William Eggleston, and Alec Soth.

The Urban Art Commission is exactly that. It serves as the central node for public arts funding and commissions in Memphis.  Murals, sculpture, performance, architecture, it all happens here.

The David Lusk Gallery, along with L Ross, and Jay Etkin spearhead the commercial gallery scene in Memphis.  Downtown’s South Main arts district is a hub, as is the stretch of Poplar Avenue between the Public Library and the Davis-Kidd bookstore.  Don’t be fooled. Just because some of our galleries are in strip malls doesn’t mean they don’t have quality art.

Each of our three primary institutions of higher learning have their own art spaces as well. The Memphis College of Art, where I hang my hat, has galleries both in the main building, Rust Hall, and in the South Main district, where we run our On the Street Gallery.  The University of Memphis has a small museum, and Rhodes College houses the Clough-Hanson Gallery.

What is perhaps my favorite aspect of Memphis’s art scene is that we often do for self, and we do it well. Instead of languishing in the reality that Memphis isn’t one of the usual stops on the art train, local artists take matters into their own hands. In the few years I’ve been in town, galleries and collectives such as these have been central to keeping things fresh and forward-thinking. Collective studio and exhibition spaces such as the Medicine Factory, VINI (Five in One), and the Rozelle Artists Guild (bragging rights: founded and run by current and former Memphis College of Art students) offer younger artists exhibition space and remind us all that the official structures are not the only means of building a career.

What they’ve done with studio spaces, others have done with gallery spaces. Material, which is run out of what appears to be painter Hamlett Dobbins’s living room, is always jammed to the gills with good work and everyone artist, critic, and gallerist around town. Odessa, nearby Material on the Broad Street art strip, has been a welcome recent addition. Performances, bands, panel discussions, and art exhibitions make up their menu, which never fails to satisfy. A personal favorite is the P&H Artspace, housed in the P&H Cafe on Madison Avenue. In truth, this is Memphis’s smokiest bar, but it’s filled to the gills—floor, ceiling, walls, table tops, you name it—with works of art. One wall is dedicated to a rotating series of exhibitions and poetry readings happen about once a month or so.

At the risk of stating the obvious, Memphis is responsible for much of American music. W.C. Handy invented the 12 bar blues downtown on Beale Street, some white kid from Tupelo made rock acceptable to the mainstream, and the Stax sound more or less perfected soul music. And we’ve got some damn good Hip Hop as well.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music may be the best museum in America, if you like soul or have one.

Graceland, you’ve heard of. It’s owner was a guy named Elvis Aaron something.

Sun Studios is where the King launched his reign, Johnny Cash recorded more famous songs than I can remember, and even U2 came to worship.  Maybe the most important room in the history of music.

A recent rebirth has been the Levitt Shell, which has hosted Elvis, Johnny Cash, and the Dead. Housed in Overton Park, adjacent to both the Brooks and the Memphis College of Art, the Shell has two concert series each year, in May/June and September/October, when the heat and humidity are low enough that sitting outside is sensible.

So please, come by. We’re on the way to just about anywhere, and fully worth a whole trip to ourselves. Eat BBQ at Cozy Corner and fried chicken at Gus’s. Let me know if you’re on the way, and I’ll find out what’s worth seeing.