IMITATION KNOTTY PINE
Stephen B. Crump, Tom Lee, Kele McComsey, Scott Rix, Andy Saftel, Floyd Shaman, Leslie Snoke, Rob van der Shoor and William T. Wiley
Greeley Myatt , Curator
Imitation Knotty Pine was the eighth in a series of exhibitions organized by local artists. The show will feature the work of artists from Memphis, California, Mississippi and Amsterdam. Imitation Knotty Pine ran at Delta Axis @ Marshall Arts from January 23 through March 6, 2004. The opening reception for the show was at 639 Marshall Avenue on Friday, January 23rd from 6-9.
In his curator's statement Myatt writes:
“He played a song I'd never heard,
Poignant and absurd,
and to this day it leaves me wondering.”
These lines from the song Blue Guitar, co-written by Roger Guth and Peter Mayer, sum up my aims when making art. Likewise, these are the qualities I look for when viewing art. When asked to organize an exhibition for Delta Axis, I wanted to find a way to reflect these thoughts in an exhibition. I decided to arrange the exhibit around H. C. Westermann's sculpture Imitation Knotty Pine from 1966. The piece gives the exhibit its name as well as its spirit.
I am drawn to Westermann's piece, because when I first saw it, it made me laugh. It was so absurd, but the care and love that went into it made it more important (or poignant) than simply being funny. Here is a work that carries serious attention to craft and process, as well as material, while it plays with concept, introduces eccentric design and uses humor as a vehicle to engage the viewer. Qualities that would allow me to organize a varied show that could be both poignant and absurd and will hopefully leave viewers wondering.
The artists in this exhibition use these same traits in their work. Craft concerns and the box form itself are readily apparent in the work of Stephan B. Crump and Tom Lee. Rob van der Shoor and Leslie Snoke consider the production of lumber from natural and, in some case, unnatural materials therefore pushing imitation. Also using imitation, Floyd Shaman and Scott Rix use the figure, perhaps self-portraits, in seemingly different yet compatible points of view. While Kele McComsey actually uses the knot in the construction and conception of his work, Lee and Rix play with the pun of knot/not. This use of humor is consistent throughout the work in the exhibit, but is perhaps most evident in the work of William T. Wiley. Additionally his work adds layering of ideas, as does that of Andy Saftel. Both leave their hand evident in their work. All leave a visible trail of the mental and physical processes of the making of art.
Memphian Stephen B. Crump is a sculptor, woodworker and furniture maker.
Tom Lee is the Sculpture Professor at The Memphis College of Art. He lives and maintains a studio in Coldwater, Mississippi.
Kele McComsey is a sculptor living and working in New York City.
Arkansas native Scott Rix lives and works in Memphis.
Andy Saftel is a painter, printmaker and sculptor living in Pikesville, Tennessee. Saftel's work was recently included in the Century of Progress: One Hundred Years of Tennessee Painting traveling show organized by the Cheekwood Museum of Art.
Floyd Shaman is a retired Sculpture Professor at Delta State University. He continues to live and work in Cleveland, Mississippi. As Greely Myatt's teacher, he introduced Myatt to Westermann's work in the 1970's.
Leslie Snoke recently received her MFA from the University of Memphis. Snoke's paintings were recently featured in the 2003 Southern Edition of New American Paintings.
Rob van der Shoor is a painter. He lives and works in Amsterdam and has a long relationship with Memphis. His work has been shown at Marshall Arts in the Dutch Connection 1 and 2, and shows his work regularly at Jay Etkin Gallery downtown.
California artist William T. Wiley is a nationally known for his drawings, paintings, prints, and sculptures.