November Issue 1998
Tri-State Sculptors Meet in Greensboro
by Tom Starland
Perhaps Greensboro, NC, got its name like Charlotte, Raleigh or Charleston - after some British monarch, lord, or explorer. Maybe it was named after the Duke of Greens Borough of Scotland or perhaps someone saw a mule grazing in a green meadow there one day. I don't know, but if you drive around that city enough, you'll agree it's truly a city of green spaces. A lot of those green spaces where created for people to enjoy and that's exactly the kind of space that causes a sculptor to say, "I know what would go perfect right there!"
The folks at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art figured this out four years ago when they started the annual MASS: Exhibition of Outdoor Sculpture, which places sculpture throughout Festival Park, on the grounds of the Greensboro Cultural Center where the Green Hill Center is located. The sculpture exhibit remains there for a year.
Those green spaces caught the attention of the Tri-State Sculptor's Educational Association too. It might be why they chose Greensboro for the site of their 20th Anniversary Conference and Exhibition. And, what happens when you get artists who create sculpture together with people who like to present sculpture? - a major sculpture event! Greensboro will be the host of, not only the expanded annual MASS exhibit, but a conference and several indoor sculpture exhibits.
The fourth annual MASS: Exhibition of Outdoor Sculpture started on Aug. 8, 1998 and will continue through June 29, 1999, at Festival Park and this year expanded to the Greensboro Arboretum located off West Market Street at Lindley Park in Greensboro. The exhibit, Tri-State at 20, is taking place at the Green Hill Center for NC Art and the gallery of the Greensboro Artists' League, both located in the Greensboro Cultural Center and at the McIver Building Gallery located on the campus of UNC-Greensboro. This exhibit continues through Nov. 15, 1998. The 20th Anniversary Conference of the Tri-State Sculptor's Educational Association, including sculptors from North and South Carolina and Virginia, will take place on the closing weekend of the exhibit, Tri-State at 20, on Nov. 13-15, at the Greensboro Cultural Center.
The Tri-State Sculptor's Educational Association began in 1978 as the Tri-State Sculptor's Guild. The organization was started by a group of sculptors from Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina to promote public awareness and appreciation of sculpture in the region, and to exchange ideas and information among its members. In addition to publishing a newsletter, the group holds an annual open exhibition and conference each Autumn featuring presentations of interest to sculptors. The group also maintains a slide registry of member's work and a traveling exhibit of small sculptures which is available for the cost of transportation. The current membership of the organization is approximately 200.
The MASS: Exhibition of Outdoor Sculpture at Festival Park and the Greensboro Arboretum includes sculptural works by: Carl Billingsley, Bill Brown, Mark E. Brown, Mayrose Carroll, Jan Chenowith, Don Creech, Bill Donnan, Jim Gallucci, Roger Halligan, William Harrington, Frank Holder, Janis Hutchison, Erik Johnson, Hanna Jurban, Hunter Levinsohn, Sharon Licata, Gretchen Lothrop, John McComb, Harry McDaniel, Ann Melanie, Jim Meyer, Dan Millspaugh, Carolyn Owen, Ann Rowles, Rudy Rudisill, Tom Severa, Sandy Wilcox, and Lisa Woods. (See Some Photos of Exhibit)
The Greensboro Arboretum is a good example of how Greensboro keeps the green in their name and reputation. They have taken three usual eyesores found in most major cities and turned them into a wonderful green space. In an area that includes a crosstown parkway, high-voltage transmission lines and a major drainage ditch, the City of Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department in conjunction with Greensboro Beautiful, Inc., and the Greensboro Council of Garden Clubs have turned a 17-acre space into a living museum including over 2,500 ornamental trees, shrubs, vines and other plants that are found in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina. It is truly a wonderful space to spend time and view works of sculpture.
The Festival Park at the Greensboro Cultural Center is a great space to spend a lunchtime or a break from hectic city life in Greensboro's downtown area.
The exhibit, Tri-State at 20, features sculptural works by: Mark E. Brown, Robbie Barber, Nick Batounis, Janet Campbell, Jan Chenowith, Sarah Clover, Carol Cole, Sharon Collings, Claire Cooperstein, Jim Davies, Martha Dunigan, Mark Dixon, Faye Foster, Richard Gans, Jock Gault, Mickey Gault, Terry Godfrey, Nan Gressman, Roger Halligan, Will Harrington, Jimmie Haynes, Susan Hise, Frank Holder, Jayna Hutchinson, Janis Hutchinson, Hanna Jubran, Dorothy Joyce, Bob Kowski, Shirley Holler, Pat Levitin, Lewellen, Robert Levin, Hunter Levinsohn, Gretchen Lothrop, Mary Mintich, Dan Millspaugh, Richard Montgomery, Tim Murray, Linda McCune, Harry McDaniel, Michele McIntosh, Nelson Nichols, Carolyn Owen, Ralph Paquin, Robert Porter, Shirley Rau, Joyce Ruess, Jay Rothberg, Rudy Rudisill, Marya Roland, Ann Rowles, Molly Sawyer, Beatrice Schall, Tom Severa, Greg Sheinutt, Ed Shewmake, Mitzi Shewmake, Rosie Thompson, Marta Tornero, Virginia Tyler, Paul VanZandt, Barbara Wheeler Smith, Heith Walters, Sonia Wilkins, Sandy Wilcox, Lisa Woods, and Lyde Zaveleta.
This exhibit will also include work by Joyce J. Scott and Luis Jimenez, who will be keynote speakers at the Conference. Scott is an African-American artist who resides in Baltimore, MD, and Jimenez is a Hispanic artist who resides in New Mexico. Admission to this exhibit at the Green Hill Center for NC Art is $2.
The annual conference includes several social events, panel discussions, demonstrations about specific techniques, slide presentations, lectures and many more events. Joyce J. Scott will give a talk and show slides of her work on Fri., Nov. 13 at 7pm, while Luis Jimenez will give a talk and show slides of his work on Sat., Nov. 14 at 2pm. Both events will take place at the Greensboro Historical Museum located at the Greensboro Cultural Center. Admission to these two events will cost $5.
All of these events are sponsored in part by Tri-State Sculptor's Association, NC Arts Council's Grassroots Arts Program, Greensboro Beautiful, Inc., Center for Creative Arts, Green Hill Center for NC Art, American Express, Greensboro Cultural Center, Greensboro Parks & Recreation, Greensboro Artist's League, UNC-Greensboro, Greensboro College, and Greensboro Historical Museum.
For further information about the exhibits involved check our NC Institutional
Gallery listings or call the Green Hill Center at 336/333-7460. For info
about Tri-State Sculptor's Educational Association call Mark E. Brown at
336/333-7475.
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