Exhibition Opening
By Sandy Morris
The staff at the Old Jail Art Center has three new exhibits scheduled to begin in June, as well as a couple of other upcoming events during the Fandangle season.
The first two new exhibitions are set to open with a members’ viewing and reception at the OJAC on June 12 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Debuting at the opening will be Linda Blackburn: Borrowed Trouble and Michael O’Brien: Prairieland Portraits. Both exhibits will remain on display through Aug. 21.
Steve Parker’s Performative Listening will be showcased in the Cell Series June 26 to Aug. 21.
Those not attending the members’ opening party can view the artwork during the museum’s normal hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The local museum will stay open two hours later than normal on the performance nights of the Fort Griffin Fandangle, June 18, 19, 25, and 26, closing at 7:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m. each of those days.
In addition to this weekend’s opening, several special events are planned during the Fandangle season, including OJAC-sponsored walking tours and a family festival.
Historic Albany
Walking Tour
The general public is invited to join museum staff members for a free guided tour of the downtown area of Albany.
“Starting at the 1870s Ledbetter Picket House and ending with the 1920s Aztec Theater, participants can travel through Albany history through anecdotes and architecture,” said Whitmore. “Walk in the footsteps of the original settlers to this West Texas frontier!”
The tour will be given at 2:00 and again at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 19. Participants are asked to meet near the Georgia memorial fountain in the First National Bank Park.
Family Festival
The OJAC’s Family Festival – Fandangle Round Up on Saturday, June 26 from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. will feature free crafts, games, and activities for the public.
The annual Family Festival will offer activities, games, and crafts in the Family Studio Zone located inside the museum.
Fandangle-themed craft kits will be available both weeks and can be found in the activity trunk by the outside gates.
Linda Blackburn
Borrowed Trouble
Fort Worth artist Linda Blackburn appears to record vintage western film stills in her paintings, but her approach is more calculated and complex.
The individual subjects and objects within a painting may derive from a compilation of appropriated images that she combines to serve as a vehicle for her gestural paintings.
Blackburn’s seeming naive renderings depict disproportionate and hovering objects, odd perspectives, or awkwardly rendered horse and rider.
The viewer’s natural tendency is to create a clear narrative of the disjointed elements she presents. However, once the viewer abandons the deciphering or realizes the futility of a linear narrative, they are free to focus on the artist’s use of expression of color, gestural brush strokes, and areas of the composition that dissolve into pure abstraction. Ultimately, the viewier can appreciate and enjoy the painting for what it truly is – a painting.
Michael O’Brien:
Prairieland Portraits
In 2003, Austin-based photographer Michael O’Brien photographed the cast and crew of the Fort Griffin Fandangle. O’Brien’s images respectfully capture the essence of this truly Texas cultural phenomenon.
Over the decades, O’Brien’s subjects have included presidents, celebrities, professional athletes, ranchers, writers, as well as small-town Texans.
The portraits in this exhibit are from the OJAC’s permanent collection and will be accompanied by a 1950s scale model of the Fandangle, depicting sets when the show was performed on the local football field.
The exhibit also will include vintage films and song recordings related to the production.
Cell Series: Steve Parker
Performative Listening
The founders of the Old Jail were passionate about supporting and showing living artists and their work, and the museum continues this mission with the Cell Series.
The latest artist challenged with producing a site-specific installation in the upper galleries of the jail is Steve Parker.
The Austin-based artist and musician examines history, systems, and behavior through interactive sculptures.
Utilizing his background in art, music, and math, he creates elaborate listening and sound “machines” from found objects, electronic devices, and musical instruments.
Parker will engage not only visitors, but also the historic 1877 jail structure in which he will install his works.
Parker’s creative communal projects have made him a recent recipient of the Rome Prize as well as a Fulbright Fellowship, Harrington Fellowship, and the Tito’s Prize.
Parker is fulfilling his final obligations in Italy related to his prestigious Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize.
Programming related to his exhibition are planned later this summer.
