Arts
Tucson Art: Does Kokopelli Really Say It All?
By Sally Krommes, Tucson Arts District Partnership
any visitors and residents think that Tucson art is about pictures full of cactus, skulls, cowboys, buffalo hunts, sexy señoritas or other ethnically unflattering images. However, if you roam the region of the Tucsonan, you know this stereotype is as much a myth as Barraza-Aviation Parkway opening in 2007.
So, what is “Tucson Art” and who is creating it? Upon closer examination, the word “contemporary” is heavily associated with the art scene here. Contemporary galleries, contemporary museum, contemporary artists, contemporary art, the list goes on. So now, the questions becomes, what is contemporary art and who are the contemporary artists?
According to my handy Random House Dictionary, “contemporary” is defined as 1) Occurring or existing at the same time. 2) Of the present time. But what is Contemporary Art? I posed this question to the Internet and learned that there are 21,372,390 entries available. To summarize, it is art that captures the emotion, the narrative, and the essence of NOW. It is art that asks the viewer to enter the composition to feel, to react, and to ponder what the artist’s visual statement means to you personally and to your world. Artists hope, at the very least, that people will connect on their own level in their own way.
Contemporary art can be representational or abstract in presentation. Nowadays the range of mediums and images represented in the art world has vastly expanded due to the wonders of petro chemicals, hi-tech trash and digital imagery. Contemporary art is acceptable on molded aluminum, built out of old shoes or latex resins, cheese or chicken feet or giant photographs altered through the wonders of a computer. A fun example now in Tucson is a life size model of a Hummer, wrapped in netting and filled in with a bazillion gumballs. What could be more contemporary than that? The work by Heidi Hesse called Sugar-Coated 2004 is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Secondly, who are these Tucson artists that boldly venture beyond cowboys and cactus (and most tourist sales) to bring us great contemporary art? According to Sol LeWitt, an internationally famous American artist born in 1928, “Contemporary artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.” This sounds like our fabulous lot, especially the motley artists of the downtown Arts District. They are making art almost in defiance of the stereotypes. The current urban environment has nurtured an ever-increasing number of artists who create art forms that reflect their own contemporary cultural backgrounds. Their images express new ideas about being Native American or Mexican American, or being gay, or being politically awake, or realizing the full potential of being alive.
Since the beginning of art, a primary role for the artist has been to express the emotions of the masses and validate our joys and horrors. Many of our Tucson artists may challenge middle America’s concepts of “couch art” or art that would look fabulous on a tote bag, but when it comes to capturing the heart of now, we are blessed to have so many talented visual, and performing artists. According to my hero, Wassily Kandinsky ( Russian Expressionist Painter, 1866-1944) “Every man who steeps himself in the spiritual possibilities of his art is a valuable helper in the building of the spiritual pyramid which will some day reach heaven.”
So…where does one find contemporary art and artists? Luckily, the Tucson Arts District Partnership will be sponsoring the Open Studio Tour, March 13th and 14th from 12 to 5 p.m. Over two hundred artists will be in their studios and available to share the wonders of their magnificent work. You can begin at one of three information sites around the downtown, pick up a map (and a shuttle bus if you like!), and get a behind-the-scenes tour. The info sites are located at:
Tucson Arts District Partnership Offices & Gallery
125 South Arizona Avenue
Downtown in the Julian Drew Warehouse
Tucson Arts District Studios
549 North 7th Avenue
In the Warehouse Historic District
Armory Park Del Sol
475 E. 16th Street
In Armory Park Neighborhood
If you’re hooked and want to find contemporary art any day of the week, check out these fabulous galleries around town:
Etherton Gallery, Davis Dominguez Gallery, Dinnerware, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Raices Taller 222, Joseph Gross Gallery, Phantom Gallery, Temple of Music and Art, Liz Hernandez Gallery, Studio 180, The Tucson Museum of Art, 3 Falk, Jane Hamilton Fine Art, Vanier Galleries, Obsidian, Philabaum Glass Gallery, MetroForm Limited, MUSE, Ascencio Design, WomanKraft, and the Drawing Studio.
Call the Tucson Arts District Partnership at 624-9977 for more information, or refer to the Galleries section in this issue for addresses and contact information.
