Page 19 - the NOISE April 2014

Torso by Viola Emerging Artist Award-winner Ben Jordan, exemplifies the artist’s skill, featured at Coconino Center for the Arts beginning April 12.
tion of the natural world, regardless of conse- quence, for the benefit of a few.“The gestural and animated nature of my recent ceramic forms suggest the human struggles and re- strictions we face due to the current social framework in our lives, while still conveying the purity and beauty of the natural world that is undeniably at the root of our being.”
Mr. Jordan’s work will be on display at Co- conino Center for the Arts beginning April 12, 2300 N. Fort Valley Road in Flagstaff.
FlagArtsCouncil.org
RE-THINKING ART:
THE RECYCLED ART SHOW CELEBRATES ITS 12TH YEAR IN A NEW LOCATION
You may have spotted John Rogers’ com- pany van around town — the kicking denim legs protruding from the end of a brightly painted transmission (the company’s slogan is “We get into our Work!”) are hard to miss and can’t help but elicit a chuckle. Mr. Rog- ers’ playful sense of humor carries over into all aspects of his life, including his art. Walk- ing into his shop is like entering an art and novelty gallery, and unlike even the most creative dentists, Mr. Rogers has managed to make getting the car fixed, fun. In the wait- ing area, which smells strongly of oil like any good garage should, is a plethora of objects to marvel over, from a two person seated kaleidoscope, to whirling car and computer part wind chimes, to the counter backdrop he created out of destination signs from an old San Francisco transit bus to hide unsight- ly construction.
Mr. Rogers has always had a knack for building things, but didn’t start making art until he was in his 50s. While working toward a degree from NAU, he took a prerequisite art class in sculpture. His first project, The No- tably Audible, rests on the shop counter and consists of a three dimensional scrap metal music note fitted with flutes (as a boy his mother taught him how to make whistles out
of bamboo) that culminate in a kazoo finale. The next assignment was to sculpt some- thing out of rock, so he carved a smooth ala- baster base for the piece. In 2008, Mr. Rogers’ piece Wind Chimes from Hell (whose large clanking transmission parts ironically sound like church bells) won Best in Show in Flag- staff’s Recycled Art Show, and he has par- ticipated ever since. Soon he tried his hand at making kaleidoscopes, a growing row of which, made out of wood from a baby crib, drawer knobs, rusty jacks, fabric, and mirrors from the back of an old TV screen, chronicle his developing skills.
“It all started with that seat,” he says, point- ing to the waiting room centerpiece. “It came off an old ancient exercise bicycle. I saw that chrome seat and thought I’d make a sit down kaleidoscope.” Pieces of an old pickle tray, marbles, broken reflectors and a kid-made sun catcher rotate on a crank to create the morphing pattern.
“It was just stuff I had laying around,” he says, “Everything I do is recycled; I don’t like throwing things away. And everything I do is to make people smile. And it has to do something — it can’t just sit there.” He points out a stars and stripes painted rocket that his grandkids rode in the 4th of July parade.
“I’ve always liked to make things out of other things,” he says. “I grew up a really poor kid and had to make my own toys — and I’m still making my own toys.”
In the garage is his baby — a 1951 Henry J Gremlin by Kaiser-Frazer he’s been working on for 25 years, and is very close to running. Refurbished into the sweetest kind of ride, I suggest he enter his masterpiece into this year’s Recycled Art Show, but he’s under- standably reluctant to let it out of his sight.
“It really bothers me when I go down the street and I see things people have thrown away that I could use for something,” he says. For another wind chime called Old Memories,
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thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • APRIL 2014 • 19