I am pleased to have had one of my paintings, Fort Life, selected for inclusion in the first Athenaeum Invitational (Old Town, Alexandria). Dates to be announced later in 2015.
The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the arts of Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia in the Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, VA. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, or Maryland.
Cole Porter’s 1934 song, “Don’t Fence Me In” served as the inspiration for the 2015 Athenaeum Invitational. ‘Wildcat Willie’s’ response to a sheriff threatening to send him to jail forms the base of the song. It is a heartfelt paean to great expanses of the wild west and open space, expressing an abiding hatred of being fenced in. The song was sung by Roy Rogers in the 1944 movie, Hollywood Canteen, embodying quintessential movie cowboy-ness. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters also made popular recordings in the forties. Artists including Willie Nelson and Leon Russell, David Byrne, and Chumbawumba have made creative covers.
Artists were asked to respond to or reflect on “Don’t Fence Me In” in a creative and aesthetically excellent manner.
The following core concepts were suggested:
- The tension between defined area and lack of boundaries
- Exploring what constitutes a fence
- An expression of the boundless joy Wildcat Willie feels in the open
- Considering the similarities and differences between public/external fences and private/internal/emotional fences
- Dealing with society’s inclination to assign labels, or fencing people in to a stereotype
- Political and sociological freedom – what are the fences that stifle them?
- The classic 1940’s cowboy movie – how does it relate to our experiences today – what has changed, what hasn’t?
My painting, Fort Life fit well with these concepts. While making it, I was influenced by Davy Crockett popular culture and by the thought of living a confined life amidst and despite the perception of vast freedom and open-ness.
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