For more than 20 years, James Patterson has collected fine works of contemporary art and loaned them to museums around the country. So when ArtsMemphis, the fund-raising organization for local arts groups, moved to its East Memphis location earlier this year, he saw the perfect showcase for pieces from his collection. >>>
"We have important artists who have worked here and international artists who are inspired by our city. And some of that work has come about because of ArtsMemphis' support," says Patterson of the organization (formerly known as the Greater Memphis Arts Council) that supports more than 25 arts groups and sustains educational programming in 40 city schools. So creating an exhibition on the walls of ArtsMemphis' open, airy offices seemed natural — and even necessary. "It was designed to inform and inspire people," he says. "Memphis is an important cultural center and this is a way to get that word out."
ArtsMemphis spokeswoman Lauren Boyer agrees: "By James giving us these works, we have an avenue to reach out to the public, to say, 'Come see what we're doing.'"
Among the artists represented is native Memphian Huger Foote, whose photo-graphs are developed using a pigment transfer process to achieve higher quality and depth of color. Foote, who has exhibited in international museums as well as in local galleries, credits a near-death experience after a carjacking for his artistic vision, and for seeing the mystery and beauty in everyday surroundings.
Also represented is photographer William Eggleston, whom Patterson calls "by far the most important Memphis artist." His work featuring an axe lying on an outdoor cooker on a bright sunny day "is very sinister," says Patterson. "His works have inspired filmmakers such as David Lynch, and this piece is truly cinematographic."
For some artists, Memphis race relations have sparked creativity. One is Paul Graham, whose work "American Night" features night footage shot in daylight. The scene — of an African-American man barely visible on the edge of a parking lot — "has to do with blindness," says Patterson, "about how we see the buildings behind him, the McDonald's arches, but we don't see him."
William Christenberry's photograph, taken from the Klan Room series, disturbs the viewer, and in an NPR interview several years ago, Christenberry explained why. As a boy in 1960, in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he had approached a man in white robes guarding a clandestine meeting. The man, peering from a doorway, had met the boy's eyes without moving his body. That "fascinating but repulsive" memory sparked the largest-ever exhibition on the KKK and a yearlong retrospective that would later be seen at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington.
On a lighter note is Nancy Burson's "Baby Elvis." In the early 1980s, Burson introduced a computer program that "morphed" faces forward or backward in time to account for age change. "So this is a computer-generated image of what Elvis would have looked like as a baby," says Patterson. "It's unique; she did only one." And what would mother Gladys think of the morphing? "Well, I wish we knew," laughs Patterson.
In Matt Ducklo's "Touch Tour" the artist — who graduated from the University of Tennessee and received an MFA in photography from Yale — demonstrates his interest in "how touching can function as seeing." In one photograph staged at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, a young blind boy is experiencing the power of art by hugging and handling a bust by Rodin. In another, staged at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, a grown man, also blind, explores a Lipschitz sculpture. "Visitors really love these," says Boyer. "They will come in and just light up when they see them."
Indeed the whole exhibition of some 20 pieces — which also includes works by Don Estes, Bo Rodda, DJ Spooky, and Mariette Pathy Allen — has generated questions about local arts. "We've had people come in just curious about what we do," says Boyer, "and I think they leave here knowing a lot more than they did about museums and artists in the area."
That's good news to Patterson: "People need to understand that we have great work being produced here and that we're inspiring artists everywhere. ArtsMemphis can be proud that this work would not be here except for them."
VISUAL ARTS and EXHIBITIONS
The Dixon Gallery and Gardens
4339 Park Avenue, 761-5250, dixon.org
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Overton Park, 544-6200, brooksmuseum.org
Memphis College of Art
Overton Park, 272-5100, mca.edu
National Ornamental Metal Museum
374 Metal Museum Drive, 774-6380, metalmuseum.org
Other art galleries:
Artists on Central
memphis.com/artists-on-central, 726-0330
The Art Museum at the University of Memphis
amum.org, 678-2224
Automatic Slim's Tonga Club (restaurant with gallery) 525-7948
Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art belzmuseum.org, 523-2787
Christian Brothers University Gallery and Museum
David Lusk Gallery davidluskgallery.com, 767-3800
DCI Gallery dcigallery.net, 767-8617
Delta Axis @ Marshall Arts Studio
deltaaxis.org, 578-5545
Jack Kenner Photography
jackkenner.com, 722-8877
Java Cabana (coffeehouse with gallery) javacabanacoffeehouse.com, 272-7210
L Ross Gallery lrossgallery.com, 767-2200
Lisa Kurts Gallery lisakurts.com, 683-6200
Memphis/Germantown Art League mgal.org
Memphis Jewish Community Center jccmemphis.org, 761-0810
Monty Shane Gallery montyshane.com, 413-8865
Otherlands Cafe (coffeehouse and gift shop) 278-4994
Perry Nicole Fine Artperrynicole.com, 405-6000
Rhodes College Clough-Hanson Gallery rhodes.edu, 843-3442
South Main Arts District:
southmainmemphis.org, 578-7262
Art Village Studio and Gallery 521-0782
Bennett Stained Glass 527-7568
D'Edge Art & Unique Treasures 521-0054
Delta Axis Power House 578-5545
Disciple Design 386-4299
Hollis Arts 522-8300
Jack Robinson Gallery & Archive 576-0708
Jay Etkin Gallery 543-0035
Joysmith Studio543-0505
The Majestic 260-9610
NARAS Recording Academy 525-1340
Powerhouse 494-6543
Rainbow Studio 521-0400
Rivertown Gallery 527-7573
Sue Layman Designs 527-2872
MUSIC AND DANCE
Ballet Memphis 7950 Trinity Rd., 737-7322, balletmemphis.org
Memphis Symphony Orchestra585 S. Mendenhall, 537-2500, memphissymphony.org
Opera Memphis 6745 Wolf River Pkwy., 257-3100,
Other music/dance venues:
Beethoven Club Series beethovenclubmemphis.org, 274-2504
Calvary and the Arts 525-6602
Concerts International home.midsouth.rr.com/ webs/ConcertsInternational/, 527-3067
Dance Works danceworksinc.org, 452-8811 / 333-5174
Lindenwood Concerts lindenwoodcc.com, 458-1652
Memphis Chamber Music Society artsmemphis.org/ detail2953, 758-0150
Memphis Vocal Arts Ensemble
memphisvocalarts.org, 458-9766
New Ballet Ensemble newballet.org, 726-9225
Project: Motion projectmotiondance.org, 274-7139
Traveling Performances / Local Venues
Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center 3663 Appling Road, 385-6440, bpacc.org
Buckman Performing and Fine Arts Center
60 Perkins Road, St. Mary's Episcopal School, 537-1486, stmarysschool.org/thebuckman
Cannon Center for the Performing Arts
255 N. Main, 576-1201, thecannoncenter.com
Germantown Performing Arts Centre
1801 Exeter Road, 751-7500, gpacweb.com
The Orpheum Theatre
Main and Beale, 525-3000, orpheum-memphis.com
THEATRE
Playhouse on the Square and Circuit Playhouse 51 S. Cooper (Playhouse), 1711 Poplar (Circuit),726-4656, playhouseonthesquare.org
Theatre Memphis 630 Perkins Extd., 682-8323, theatrememphis.org
TheatreWorks 2085 Monroe, 274-7139, theatreworks.org
Other theatres/theatrical groups
Bartlett Community Theatre bartlettcommunitytheatre.org, 484-2646
Germantown Community Theatre germantowncommunitytheatre.org, 754-2680
Hattiloo Theatre hattilootheatre.org, 502-3486
Our Own Voice Theatre Troupe 274-1000
Playback Memphis playbackmemphis.com, 881-9023
Playwrights' Forum 725-2040
Poplar Pike Playhouse ppp.org, 755-7775
Rhodes College McCoy Theatre
rhodes.edu/theatre, 843-3839
University of Memphis Theatre and Dance memphis.edu/theatre,
678-2576
Voices of the South voicesofthesouth.org, 726-0800
READINGS AND BOOK SIGNINGS
Barnes & Noble 794-9394 (Winchester), 386-2468 (Wolfchase)
Bookstar 323-9332
Borders Books & Music 754-0770
Brentano's 763-1945
Burke's Book Store 278-7484
Davis-Kidd Booksellers 683-9801
Java Cabana 272-7210
River City Writers Series 678-4692
Waldenbooks 373-5301 (Wolfchase)
Xanadu Book Store 274-9885
OTHER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
ArtsMemphis artsmemphis.org, 578-2787
Blues Foundation blues.org,
527-2583
Center for Southern Folklore southernfolklore.com, 525-3655
Harrell Performing Arts Theatre harrelltheatre.org, 853-3228
Memphis Black Arts Alliance, Inc. memphisblackartsalliance.org, 948-9522
Memphis Pink Palace Family of Museums Includes Pink Palace and Museum, Crew Training International IMAX Theatre, Sharpe Planetarium, and the Lichterman Nature Center, memphismuseums.org, 320-6320
True Story Pictures truestorypictures.org, 274-9092
UrbanArt Commission urbanartcommission.org,
525-0880
