When you're giving an artist talk at your own exhibition reception things are mostly a blur that are going on around you...however from what I'm told there was a "record number" of people attending the opening reception for my exhibition at Siena College yesterday afternoon! My perception of it was a loaded gallery of students, friends, professors, Friars, administration...all engaged, all talking, all looking and asking questions. To me this was the biggest success of it all. I know every other artist would agree with me that we don't make these pictures for us, we make them for everyone else...So, to see all these people engaged with this series of drawings that dominated my past year was the best that I could hope for.
.
.
Patricia Trutty-Coohill eloquently introduced me and she has even provided it to me to post on my blog for others who weren't able to attend to share in the evening. I'm afraid my "artist talk" never made it in print...only onto a few scraps of paper that were stuffed in my pants pocket before the reception and forgotten about after that. Tom Coohill took these pictures during the reception--please click on the images for larger versions. More pictures will soon follow.
PATRICIA TRUTTY-COOHILL'S INTRODUCTION SPEECH:
AN INTRODUCTION TO BARBARA FUGATE’S INSTALLATION
TWENTY-TWO PORTRAITS, ONE COMMUNITY
We are fortunate indeed that last fall John Caputo invited Seattle artist Barbara Fugate to have an exhibition in Yates Gallery at Siena. We are fortunate that when Barbara Fugate saw the gallery, she was flooded with memories of her profound experience of the Munich Glyptothek, the sculpture gallery of ancient portraits. We are fortunate that she envisioned bringing such an experience to us where we live.
Barbara began her training as an artist at the Art Department at Western Kentucky University where she was one of our best artists. I remember when she was in the midst of the BFA the buzz that went around the department because a Lexington collector had come to the department to buy one of her paintings. I was sorry that I hadn’t gotten it myself as I saw it being taken into the elevator! I made up for that mistake later, though, when Barbara was a colleague for a year after she had earned her MFA from Miami University of Ohio.
What has always been obvious is Barbara’s commitment to making art. She thrives on it; art is the focus of her life. Her energy, her intensity, her concentration are apparent in what you see here. And what you see here is the result not only of the individual drawings, but the fact that she presents, not just an exhibition of her work, but a site specific installation that takes into account the ambience of the gallery, the Franciscan ideal of the college, and of the temperament of those who devote themselves to its call. Her goal was to re-present that strange sense of community over time, the sense that, despite everything and everyone, we in the deepest part of our hearts have a singular seriousness of purpose.
As we sat for the portraits – 3-4 hours – we hardly felt the beauty of her goal; we felt achy, tired, bored, itchy, long-suffering. When would she ever finish? “I can’t hold this face another minute.” This in spite of the fact that she provided ample snacks and drinks (no alcohol, it would break our concentration), and pleasant breaks. Even bubbly Fr. Dan would go completely meditative when he sat in the model’s chair. Only Brother Brian was able to smile throughout; he said he felt lucky to be part of it. Now, I think, we all share that feeling.
We are proud to be part of this window into community life. We are proud to be shown as strong, handsome individuals who have contributed something of ourselves to an ideal. We are proud that you have captured some part of us in artist’s chalk and watercolor, and built us up on that beautiful, fleshly ivory Fabriano Rosapina paper with its luscious texture and weight.
I know the effort and planning this installation took. I saw you worry about how to hang the show. I saw your joy when, just in August, a University of Washington sculptor invented the system we see here. And lastly, I saw how appreciative you were to those who installed the show, Margot Stavros, Jamie Downs & Bob Grace.
Did you know in advance, that our discomfort would read as endurance, did you know that the rhythm of the hanging would iterate the rhythm of the windows opposite, did you know that from the middle of the quad, our heads would look like a bright frieze across the library? Did you know that that frieze would read, like all friezes should, as a sign that noble causes demand the commitment of individuals, even random volunteers like us?
PATRICIA TRUTTY-COOHILL
Professor of Art History
Creative Arts Department
I am priveleged to have seen the show at the Siena College library-gallery and also to have met a number of the sitters at a fabulous post-opening bash at the Coohill estate. I cannot put into words how impressed I am with both the wonderful people involved in this project and of course, Barbara's glorious work!
The drawings look spectacular in their new home - they were designed to fit that space so beautifully - and I really hope the college has the sense to purchase the entire collection to show the world how progressive its vision is, and how supportive it is of the arts. Barbara has created a collective masterpiece over the last year; imagine the public's improved view of the college if the collection was purchased as a whole!
Barbara - your personal vision is so apparent when one witnesses your work in person, as a collection, as a whole. As Pat Trutty-Coohill and I were saying, the more you look at each fantastically-executed piece, the more mesmerizing and breathtaking they become.
Superb work, visionary project, superbly brought to life over the last year. You've pulled off a sort of miracle here, I believe, Ms. Fugate!
Kudos to all those who sat for Barbara, too. Modeling is no easy job, although Barbara makes it much easier by supplying her models with almonds, olives, fruit, cheese, and the occasional naughty cookie. :)
If you haven't seen the show, may I recommend you drop whatever you're doing right now and high-tail it to Siena College in Albany, New York. This is too important to miss.
Posted by: Kathleen | 05 October 2005 at 06:43 AM