December Issue 2000
Karen Vournakis Celebrates 5 Years in Charleston, SC - As a Model Member of the Art Community
an observation by Tom Starland
It's
hard to believe that it was six year's ago when I was visited
at the headquarters of South Carolina Arts, at the time,
located at 132 East Bay Street, in downtown Charleston, by an
attractive woman, who at the time, claimed she was interested
in moving to Charleston and opening a gallery. I soon found out
that this woman was serious and that she had already talked with
several other members of the art community. Can you imagine someone
actually talking with members of an existing community about what
that community is all about and how they might fit into it? The
nerve of some people!
Actually, I was pretty impressed at the time and find that as time marches on in Charleston and the world, Karen Vournakis continues to impress me with how she has successfully integrated herself into a community that is not always so welcoming.
A short history on Charleston's art community over the last 10 or 15 years would reveal that although that community is growing steadily, there have been a lot of artists and art galleries (who/that) have come and gone. Some come to conquer, some come to take advantage, and some come with an attitude - many of them don't last very long, while others linger on, but never reach their potential. I'm not trying to say that Charleston's art community isn't friendly. If it wasn't, oh so friendly, it wouldn't be, oh so large, for a city of Charleston's size. So what's the problem? It's a matter of adapting to the climate. And, the climate has a habit of ruling over everything in the South.
I've developed a little saying over the years
to help explain this situation to newcomers. I tell them that
Charleston has experienced over 300 years of history and only
20 years of progress - get used to it. What that means is, don't
try and change Charleston overnight - let Charleston work its
magic and adapt to the climate. Which brings us back to Karen
Vournakis.
A lot has changed since Karen and I talked that day, six long
years ago. We're now Carolina Arts, that office is now
Eva Carter Gallery, one of the most successful "contemporary"
art galleries in Charleston (imagine that), and believe it or
not, I was totally wrong about Karen's chances at making it in
Charleston (believe it or not). You see, when she told me what
her medium of choice was six years ago, it was photography, and,
I went into my sad explanation of how Charleston and photography
just don't seem to match up. I thought, "If only it wasn't
photography," but Vournakis wasn't just a photographer -
she hand-colors her prints which gives them a painterly effect
- a horse of a different color - literally.
Well, a year later, Vournakis showed up anyway - even after my speech on the failure of photography to grab hold as an accepted art form in Charleston. And, by Dec. of 1995, she had opened her studio/gallery on King Street. A year after that, Vournakis was having a solo exhibition at the City Gallery, the City of Charleston's official gallery space. That same year, she join the courageous group of artists who present their work in an outdoor setting for 17 days during the annual Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Show - during the heat of late May, early June. Her work took Third Place during the judged competition. Not long after that, Vournakis took advantage of joining the Waterfront Gallery, Charleston's largest artists' owned gallery. In a few short years, she knew most of the artists in Charleston, many knew her as a friend, she also knew many of the non-artists folks in the art community and they knew her and her art. She was part of the Charleston art scene. Not because she came her to change things, but because she came her to join in - be part of what was happening and contribute. Some people just never figure that out.
Now all this didn't happen just because Vournakis came to Charleston a year before she moved here and talked with people. It happened because she adapted to the climate - she worked at it everyday. And, coming from Hanover, New Hampshire, that adjustment had to be a big one - not just in climate, but culture, politics and life-style.
Vournakis received her BFA and MFA in Photography from Syracuse University, in the Experimental Studios Department, Syracuse, NY. She taught photography while working as a visiting, assistant, and adjunct professor at several colleges and universities, including Dartmouth College, Colgate Univiersity and Syracuse University.
Vournakis had her works included in solo and group exhibitions throughout the Northeast and Midwest from Michigan to Maine.
When Vournakis moved her from Hanover in 1995, it was like starting all over again in some respects - all that she had built up in New England - connections, relationships, reputation - they didn't mean much in Charleston - a place with its own reputation for overriding everything. What she did have was technique, style, and savvy that was instantly attractive to Charleston's art community and the growing art market. But one adjustment she had to make instantly was lowering her prices from what she was used to getting in New England. Charleston, to this day, has a suppressed market compared to much of the rest of the country. Luckily, Vournakis says that the market has risen over the last five years putting her price range today, back to where it was before 1995. She expects Charleston's market to get even better in the future.
Another factor, which Vournakis credits to her successful transition was Charleston's open, friendly and cooperative commercial gallery community. " I experienced an atmosphere of excellent interaction with the other galleries here. If someone came into my gallery looking for something different from what I offered I knew what gallery had what they were looking for and was happy to send them there. They were doing the same for me," says Vournakis. " This open, friendly communication between galleries and artists, where everyone is helping each other, is the best kind of environment for an art community to grow, and Charleston offered that to me."
Vournakis also feels that she is lucky to have
her own studio/gallery which gives her a separate identity in
the community and being part of Waterfront Gallery, which was
a larger gallery with over 18 artists represented. Waterfront
also gave her work wider access, by being open during evening
hours when people are walking Charleston's streets after having
dinner at any of the City's popular restaurants. It also gave
her a place to refer people to see her work when she couldn't
be in her gallery.
Now, is Vournakis' experience in Charleston the norm? No! Everyone's's
experience is based on who they are and how they respond to things
presented to them, but she is a model of how anyone could make
themselves part of a community that they are new to. And, Charleston
is unique, because Charleston is Charleston. Vournakis has made
and found her unique place here - in the city where the Ashely
and Cooper Rivers come together to make the Atlantic Ocean.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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