The Annual Show of Banana Factory Resident Artist is up now and it looks to be an improvement over last year’s showing. For this year we artists decided to have a single show rather than splitting the exhibit into two shows. This means that the show is a little more crowded this year. But it also means that the show will be up for longer and receive more publicity then it’s had in the recent past. We’ve received assurances from the ArtQuest administration which runs the Banana Factory that there will be a well catered opening complete with a meet and greet with some of the higher ups and other patrons before the event which will hopefully generate some art sales. The opening will be in the first week in October and I’ll blog about it when it happens, I think.
I did a walk through of the show yesterday to document it and I feel that Hillary Harper, the staff person who hung the show, did a great job with a challanging assortment of works to curate. With photographers and painters and sculptures, ceramicists and whatever Bobby Zeik, our latest banana-factorian, does I would have ran for the doors if asked again the arrange the collection. Last year I nearly flipped after some last minute entries were brought to the show after everything was already hung. Given the apparent success of this install I’m sure we’ve seen the end of resident artists hanging this exhibit. With large work like mine acting almost like pillars in the space the show feels somewhat monumental which takes away from the crowded wall. The color pallet this year seems upbeat also, almost as if we were all reading from the same playbook. All in all with the exception of the density the show looks like it’ll be a hit and flows about as well as can be expected given all out various styles.
Here are an assortment of pics from the show:
And here are a couple of close up shots of my work along with my friends Michelle Neifert and Khalil Allaik:
I’ve been slowing down a little with my music lately. Not listening to much new and letting Pandora or Amazon pick for me, which I don’t mind. Usually I’m just trying to find something that sits in the background while I paint anyway. I was on the porch a couple days ago and did hear a CSNY song I liked and never heard before. I probably shows my mere 40 years that I haven’t heard it. Here’s a YouTube of “Déjà Vu” from the record of the same name.
Okay its First Friday this week, the first in two months, and I’ll be blogging on that. Actually wondering what I’ll show this time around since most of my stuff is away in other shows right now. Also I’ve been sitting on a blog about Obama and his arts agenda since taking office. What I’ve found is there is precious little to assess him or any president on which is shocking considering the revenue generated by the arts industry nationally. Anyway I’ll report what I’ve found in an upcoming post. Until then be well!
Anthony Smith Jr. 