Page 21 - the NOISE May 2015

‘STEM’ WALLS COCONINO CENTER
with an aRtistiC look at sCienCe, et al.
above, Shawn Skabelund’s striking Overburden: Stripping Away the Mountains and Their People is a centerpiece at “STeM City arts” at CCa thru June 6.
stoRy By ClaiR anna Rose
the lights in the gallery at the Coconino Center for the Arts are low as I walk inside to view “sTeM City Arts.” eerie sounds of the forest alive at night fill the room — the call of
Coyotes, the chirping of crickets and what feels like a buzzing vibration of various insects. The sounds could almost be mis- taken for the whirr of electrical wires.
At first glance of the exhibition, it wasn’t what I had been expecting. All my prior knowledge of the show was based on the call for artists that was advertised earlier in the year for Vit- ruvian Visions. some of the art — Sistine Madonna, a collage by Rhonda Thomas Urdang, Sacred Geometry, an encaustic painting of honeycomb by Sonja london-Hall and the as- semblage pieces by John Stebila were clearly about science, Technology, engineering and Math, and a few pieces even had a cameo of Vitruvian Man incorporated in their piece.
Shawn Skabelund’s piece Overburden: Stripping Away the Mountains and Their People, draws the eye to the open space in the center of the gallery where a raven with extended wings appears to soar, suspended on clear strings from the ceiling over a line of split logs. On either side of the install- ment are two large photographs demonstrating the removal of overburden: the soil, rocks and plants that must be re- moved in order to reach the desired goal of a mining opera- tion. Cherry Pond Mountain by Ami vitale and Keyenta Mine by Michael Collier show the end result of devastation after the “overburden” is removed from a site.
The pieces in the show are displayed with space between each installment, giving the viewer time and room to view the piece without its impact being crowded by nearby works. The low lights make the vibrant effects of Malena Grosz’s sculp- ture made from bicycle rims welded together and bright RGB lights stand out, just as the image of a woman projected onto pink fringe catches the eye in liss lafleur’s You Belong to Me.
The woods at night soundtrack is coming from Triggered, a two channel video installation projected on two walls fac- ing each other, by Dallas artist Dornith Doherty. The images projected on the walls slowly fade from frame to frame, as coyotes move among the trees.
Assemblage pieces by John Stebila incorporate the use of found objects to build his engaging sculptures that represent aspects of the theme of the show: science, Technology, en- gineering and Math. I catch up with Mr. stebila during his vacation in Florida. while we talk, the artist is enjoying the beautiful beach weather and a view of the ocean, and tells me about his art and the pieces that are in “sTeM.”
“I am drawn to the nostalgic things that are part of my per- sonal history,” Mr. stebila tells me. “The piece Radio Active is made from an old brass voltmeter. The shape of it reminded me of the R.K.O. radio logo/insignia. My second piece titled Einstein (Genius) is created out of a vintage tripod and theatre light. In one side of the lens is displayed a drawing of Leonar- do da Vinci, and the opposite side is a photo of Albert einstein sticking out his tongue. I chose that particular photo of him because it shows his playful side. Joy should be an integral part in all of our efforts. The third piece titled High Voltage is centered around an electric lightning bolt plasma ball. It is an iconic image of our ability to harness energy, and to do it in a fascinating way to see.”
High Voltage seems to be an alive and active piece, its fin- gers of color reaching out and moving around inside the glass orb. A print of Vitruvian Man is illuminated by an amber light in the bottom part of the clock casing. Other objects that are used in the piece are an old cash register grate, clock springs and gears, vintage rulers and copper hands. Metal tape winds up and down the sides of the clock in between gauges and spools. when Mr. stebila was creating the piece the idea to use the plasma ball he has had for decades suddenly came to him. It fit perfectly into the piece with just an eighth of an inch of space to spare!
“That kind of things happens all the time!” he tells me. we talk about the process of creating assemblage art, how some- times as artists we’re compelled to take home an object with- out really knowing why or seeing the use of it, and then it will turn out to be the finishing touch needed for a work in progress. “some people might call that serendipity, but I call it synchronicity. everything is made of energy and communi- cates on some level — when you learn to speak the language the Universe will help give you what you need.”
For Mr. stebila, finding assemblage art was life changing. “when I discovered assemblage art it was like I found a piece of myself I didn’t know was missing. It kind of completed me. The other day an admirer of my work said to me, ‘when I look at your artwork I feel like I’m getting lost in someone else’s
dream.’ That went straight to my heart is was so poetic.” Collecting, Mr. stebila tells me, is half the fun of what he does. On a trip to seligman, while searching for the right objects he needed for the concepts of works in progress, he happened upon a man on the street. when he showed the man the list of objects he was looking for the man said he had
all those things at home and was willing to part with them. Down the dirt road to his house they went. “It was like finding buried treasure,” recalls Mr. stebila. The pieces he obtained that day went into the next 20 projects he completed. syn- chronicity again.
For this show in particular, Mr. stebila worked with the orig- inal theme in mind. As an assemblage artist he says he had a wide range of subject matter to choose from that fit well into the theme of the show.
Erin Joyce, the curator of “sTeM City Arts,” brought in art- ists she’d worked with in her journalistic career before, such as Dornith Doherty, an experimental photographer and former Guggenheim Fellow. Ms. Joyce shares. “Doherty has exhib- ited at Blue Coats in Liverpool, Galería Arcimboldo in Buenos Aires, and is in the permanent collection of the Amon Carter Museum, and Crystal Bridges ... Also on display is the world premiere of new work by sao Palo-based artist, ColfAX, as well as video installation by Brooklyn-based 3_search in col- laboration with Budapest art group Glowing Bulbs.”
An innovative narrative is “sTeM City Arts” — the blend of science & art already shaping the 21st Century — only to find it showcased in such daring light; on display at Coconino Cen- ter for the Arts, 2300 north Fort Valley Road, through June 6. FlagstaffArtsCouncil.org
| Clair anna Rose does know her pythagoreans from her pythons, and there’s no parallelogram about it. editor@thenoise.us
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • MAY 2015 • 21
photo By Rene R. Rivas