In the end it is a sight to behold. That is, the transformation from a workaday, poorly conceived upper gallery blank slate into a thoughtful exhibition of great beauty and striking talent. Feast your eyes on this…
The (almost) final instantiation of digital psychedelic art by ulluh
This is the first formal showing of ulluh’s art on planet earth, and it is an incredible testament to the power of digital art and artistic vision.
Here’s how the show went up.
Stands for the digital displays (seven of them in the show, all told), five on these rolling stands.
This window required covering, and the space could use some chopping up and conceptual clarity.
That’s more like it. The blue leaks into the great hall like the glow of an old school TV. All intentional design.
Screens booting up. Each of these displays show three pieces in a six minute cycle. They are synchronized. The art gets an opportunity to speak for itself.
Romey’s couch and a 10.5 by 8 feet divider create a space for more intentional viewing. This is where the absolutely stunning builds are shown in an 18 minute loop. Watching the artist’s creative process is both informative and captivating. Wow. Once again, the blue light brings the space an altered reality.
Shadow box frames hover off the wall.
The rest of the space creates a natural eddy, flowing around the room, drawing the viewer in.
The prints go up, each its own reflection of a digital display.
A build caught in early action.
This art is the result of hundreds of hours of painstaking and thoughtful work. Each piece has a deep story to tell. Lean more here.
The show runs at the Barns of Rose Hill through July 2nd.
The kids they danced and shook their bones. There is no way to see Moon Hooch without dancing. And sweating. Through your clothes. YES.
The best part about seeing Moon Hooch perform at the Bright Box is the sheer intimacy of being 2 feet from the performance. Invigorating. Life affirming. Danceable. Fun.
We’re sad that James Muschler has moved on, but Moon Hooch still rocks the house.
The best way to garden in the Fall is apparently to go to Norway. Then when you come back, it is actually Fall and time to move wood and gather in the last of the garden.
Farm Truck
First Load of Wood
The garden is quite the disaster.
But hiding behind all of those brown corn and sunflower stalks is a bunch of good stuff: pumpkins, sweet peppers, cayene, jalapeño, habañero, carrots, beets, and watermelon. More to come too!
On an art-filled weekend, we travelled down to Union, WV to play the Civil War show. A stop off on the way back home in Staunton led us to an artist coop where we found the Manor House painting.
Manor House by Karen Rosasco
Karen Rosasco taught art for years in an upstate NY high school. She now resides in Staunton, VA.
Karen explains how the piece was implemented
It always amazes me how artists handle their own work
This work has a glaze treatment by knife first, followed by acrylic. One of Karen’s tricks is to put the very darkest spot in the painting right next to the very lightest part to capture your visual attention. I like how the focal point is enhanced with the oval in the middle of the painting which seems to me like a photographic artifact.
In context of other work by Karen.
More modern work by Karen
The gallery also had a student space. One student paid attention to shadows with their work, which was very cool indeed.
So you start with Belgian waffles and bacon, but between the waffles you put puree of paw paw picked a few days before on the farm. Besides butter, you also need some Hickory syrup made nearby.
Then comes some shooting on a pretty Fall afternoon. Shotguns (12 and 16 gauge; no shells for the 20 gauge) for skeet. Then some plinking with 22’s and a glock 9. We decided to shoot a couple of osage oranges with the 243. Blooey. Much fun was had.
Followed by a quick dinner and shower before going to see a world class Dublin-based pianist play Beethoven’s Emperor concerto (so weird about the between movement key change). Gorgeous night and fantastic concert.
Maybe three years have gone by since we last did the run from Locke’s Landing back home on the river. We’ve been heading downstream into West Virginia instead. It’s absolutely striking how much more development there is on the river in Virginia than West Virginia. Wild and Wonderful indeed! Fewer motorcycles, cars, roads, campers, motor boats, and people. More eagles, cows,and trees. Looks like the WV run from now on.
The Shenandoah River between Watermellon Park and Route 7