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2010 "A Natural View"
Juror Statement
It
was a pleasure to judge the Gaston County Art Guild exhibit, “A Natural
View,” which celebrates the artists’ response to the natural environment.
The theme of the exhibit has invited a wide range of submissions that
address a variety of subject matter (landscapes, rural homesteads, animals)
in a diversity of styles, from almost pure abstraction to highly detailed
realism and everything in between. In selecting work to go into the show, my
concern was to maintain this diversity as much as possible, while choosing
pieces I felt were strongest in concept, expression, composition, and
technical skill.
In terms of diversity, the awards
mirrored the show as a whole. The best of show winner, “Metallic Sunset,”
was among the most abstract, while others that received merit awards or
honorable mentions responded to nature in surreal, symbolic, impressionist,
expressionist, and highly realistic ways. They also employed a wide spectrum
of materials, including metal, fabric, mixed media, even an actual gourd, as
well as more familiar painting media. Works of art like these, and others in
the exhibition, provide more than just a pleasurable viewing experience.
They help us to renew our connections with the natural world, teaching us
what to look for and how to see it. They also suggest ways that we should
feel about the environment -- as it is, or as it might be in the future.
This brings to mind two other important
reasons for a diversity of vision such as is found in this exhibit. First,
each artist draws attention to a particular facet of the natural world that
might otherwise go unnoticed, and so, potentially might be neglected.
Second, each artist’s unique approach to the subject may open viewers up to
a new way of seeing or imagining nature. This, in turn, might then be
applied to the viewers’ personal experiences of the world or to their own
creative work. Without such objective and imaginative visions reminding us
to appreciate and value the world in which we live, we might all too easily
ignore it, to our peril. For all these reasons, I want to thank the artists
who submitted their work, and also Scott Boyle who invited me to judge the
exhibit.
Sincerely,
Seymour Simmons, III, Ed. D.
Associate Professor
Department of Fine Arts
Winthrop University
Rock Hill, SC 29730
2010
Award Winners
Best of Show
Jan
Craft
For Metallic Sunset
Mixed - Media
4 Merit Awards
Robert Brooks
For “Mountain View”
Watercolor
Elizabeth Caveny
For “Creekside”
Mixed – Media on a Gourd
Nancy G. Cook
For “After the Frost”
Textile
Gary Freeman
For “Fish Tale”
Acrylic
4 Honorable Mentions
Chris Beaver
For “Blue Crow”
Acrylic
Virginia L. Dauth
For “Mountain Gems”
Oil
Terry Thirion
For “Drawn Within II”
Mixed – Media
Erin Whitener
For “Mast General Store as seen from Alta Vista B&B”
Colored Pencil
We also want to thank our Purchase Award participants for
this year's exhibit
Citizens South Bank
Sheriff Alan Cloninger and Cathy
Jay & Christi Falls
Ashley Jenkins, Painting Contractor, Inc.
Suzanne and Randy Riley
Dr. & Mrs. Steven Yates
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