icon ::: and a trip to NOLA

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i·con (kn) noun
1. also i·kon (kn)
a. An image; a representation.
b. A representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified Christian personage, traditionally used and venerated in the Eastern Church.
2. An important and enduring symbol
3. One who is the object of great attention and devotion; an idol: "He is ... a pop icon designed and manufactured for the video generation" Harry F. Waters.
4. Computer Science A picture on a screen that represents a specific file, directory, window, option, or program.

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I was recently invited to participate in the Attic Gallery's annual theme show. I'm inspired every time I walk into Lesley Silver's space. This is not your typical gallery. The vision I think most of us have when thinking of a gallery -- uniform presentation, pieces lined up perfectly on the wall, wide open rooms with modern-style sofas in the middle -- is so far from what this gallery is. To me, the Attic Gallery is exactly what art should be.

The work is everywhere. On walls. On the floor. In drawers. Hanging from the ceiling. Up the stairwell. In the windows. Around the corner. Inside. Outside. Everywhere. It's almost as if you are invited to touch the work. To sort through it. Interact with it. Find the one painting or photograph or sculpture or woodwork or pottery or jewelry -- or whatever! -- that is just right for you. I get lost for hours when I go there. I always find a new artist to admire. And I'm always energized and inspired.

So when Lesley invited me to take part in the upcoming show (the opening will be Friday, February 2) I was excited to get started on whatever theme she presented. I find I work so much better when given a starting point -- and a deadline! And this show certainly does that for me. The theme for this year's show, as I'm sure you can tell by the heading, is "icons".

I've got lots of older images from years ago of musicians. Most are blues musicians, but not all. It occurred to me that I could use those. But that would mean I didn't come up with anything new. Didn't explore and push myself. So I decided to create a new series of images just for this show.

I didn't want to explore the term icon in the sense of fame. So musicians didn't work there anyway. I thought about religion. But I did a lot of that in my New Orleans project, and even when I don't intend to do it, it seems like there is always some type of religious undertone in my work anyway. So I decided my attempt at visually defining "icon" would be through things we see everyday, that in some way symbolize a life -- an America, a world -- that seems to be slipping away. And I don't intend that to be stated in a bad way. I think change is often good rather than bad. It is certainly inevitable. But it is what it is. And I hope when others see these images, they see part of what I saw and felt, but also have space to insert their own thoughts and passions.

I was in New Orleans for a few days last week, and managed to find some free time Friday to wander around a bit and see what was there. These are a few of the images I created. Some will make it in the final collection. Some might not. And I'll do some exploring up here in the Delta as well in a few days. I'll be sure to post some of those images when I do.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Not just on the images, but on whatever "icon" means to you -- or any other thoughts you might have and would like to share.

Take care.


~wj