Mile of Music

I spent my entire Saturday afternoon wandering around Appleton, stopping into bars, coffee houses, back patios and public squares to see what music was playing. There was a lot of music, because it was the third day of the inaugural Mile of Music Festival, that ran from the 8th through yesterday, the 11th.

The brainchild of local musical darling Cory Chisel, of Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons, who is currently touring as part of the Wild Rovers Tour with The Candles and others, Mile of Music was a slightly different type of festival. More like a gallery walk with performers in bars instead of pieces in art galleries, visitors were able pop in and out of wherever the music was playing. The turnout was pretty huge, too, especially for it being the first time the festival was on, and also being Appleton, which is not huge at 70,000 people -- but not small either. There was an official lineup and schedule for the entire weekend, so visitors knew where and when everything was happening, but unlike a big festival in a park somewhere, one could be downtown and enjoy lunch at a favorite cafe, that may or may not have been playing music, but then walk outside and join in on a performance somewhere else.

There were headline and feature shows every night as well, which were the only performances where a ticket was required. Cory Chisel was one of these, and the rumor mill was churning well before the event with speculation that Norah Jones would appear during the concert. She did, in fact, appear, and hung out in Appleton during the weekend. She's involved in the Wild Rovers Tour and has been making unannounced appearances during shows along the way. I'm sure that was a nice little treat for those at the show, and not too shabby of a thing to have a Grammy award-winning artist appear in a small-town music festival in its first year. Somebody knows what they're doing... ;)

I went over in the afternoon as things were starting to get going, to see Charlie Parr, a well-known Minnesotan folk-country-blues performer. I had a great seat in the makeshift setup in the atrium of the downtown mall, and then afterward went down the street to a coffee shop where I ordered some much needed caffeine and waited for another Charlie Parr set. I caught the tail-end of an artist named J.E. Sunde, who hails from Eau Claire, WI and is part of a group I've heard of called The Daredevil Christopher Wright. I liked what I heard enough from J.E. Sunde that I later followed him down to another bar (a sports bar I never would find myself in otherwise) to sip an Angry Orchard cider and listen to his unique voice.

Among other groups, I also heard quite a bit of the band PHOX, out of Madison, who were on their way very shortly to the UK to play their first shows overseas. I was extremely impressed with them; the lead vocalist's voice was haunting and gorgeous, and the various instrumentation and rhythms were unique. I could describe them only as "indie" for lack of a better term. I think they're on their way to something awesome.

Some performers who I have seen previously, from our area, played small shows as well. I was really impressed with everyone I saw, and having seen a variety in the five-or-so hours I hung around, all were well worth the trip in and of themselves. I probably won't be around to make it to next year's, so I wanted to be sure to see it now. They have a good thing going!

Art at the Park

My entire day yesterday was spent sitting in a park pavilion, checking in volunteers for The Trout Museum of Art's Art at the Park festival (53rd!). Art shows are interesting events to be a part of, and I've seen them now from all three perspectives: a visitor, an employee, and a vendor. One thing that doesn't change, whether you're selling your work/edible delicacies or working in some other capacity, you arrive as the sun comes up.

  

Art fairs, for me, are nostalgic things. I enjoy being a part of them in some capacity, even more than I like to simply visit them. My experience comes from travels to such art fairs with my dad, who has been a painter for almost my whole life. When I was a teenager, many of his summer weekends would be booked in various locales, both regionally and in places such as Florida, Oklahoma, California, and so on. He still does shows occasionally (like this one, because it's local and therefore very easy to do), but I would argue that the 90s, pre-economy nosedive, was the zenith where art festivals were concerned. At least when it came to people actually purchasing art. Things have changed, but people still visit them, so they keep on keeping on.

However, turnout to these sorts of events is always buoyed by the amazing food and snacks. Like last year, Art at the Park had a sparnferkel (pig roast), along with the requisite egg rolls, lemonade, and kettle corn. This year we finally had funnel cakes back, and I hope they stick around from now on.




The show is located around the square block of Appleton, Wisconsin's City Park, while all the food vendors, kids' activities, community projects and music are hosted inside the park. The artists used to be inside the park, too, following the walkways, but one year it rained so badly that the grass was soup, so they moved it to the street and it stuck. Everyone seems a lot happier this way, and it makes crowd control a breeze.

Not to mention that visitors to the event can hang out inside the park where there is plenty of room to sit and chill, and spread out. One of my favorite things is the large tree that was struck by lightning a couple of years ago, is dead, but hasn't been removed. Instead, there's just a gigantic gash in the middle and a line of stripped bark. And, of course, an Appleton native would recognize the City Park fountain immediately.





As the volunteer coordinator, I was essentially stationed at a table all day long, however I managed to function as information booth, lost and found, and lost-kid-mom-finder too.




It felt like lunch to me, but at around 10am my mom stopped by (she was volunteering!) and brought some cajun cookin' for sustenance, from local Jambalayas. Sausage and rice, and alligator bratwurst. !! I know, right? It was excellent.

It started raining a bit in the middle of the day, and things calmed down for a little while. Happily, it lightened back up and the crowds picked up a bit more in the afternoon. I kept myself amused with people's choice in umbrellas.



Overall it was a really long, exhausting day (not to mention I had been there for a couple of hours the night before -- after working at the bookstore! -- to set up) but it was a great success. Artists were happy, volunteers were happy, and most of all, visitors seemed to be happy. So we event-putter-onners were happy. :) So much planning goes into something like this, and my little piece of the pie was very little indeed. So I have to give credit where credit is due: the Trout Museum of Art staff and all of their board members and affiliations did an amaaaaazing job.

Okay. End blubbery.

I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely weekend!




Days to Edinburgh move-in: 40

A painter is a kind of poet

I've been wanting to do this post for some time because I find this artist and his work pretty exciting. The artist would be Tobias Keene, and the work would be monumental! Generations, on display through July 21, 2013, is something a little bit different for this area. It's an exploration into the work of three generations of English artists, Arthur Keene, Sr., Arthur Keene, Jr., and Tobias Keene. Tobias's work is generally more exciting and appealing to me personally, but seeing all three generations' work up in one place makes for a really interesting exhibition.

The show is at The Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, WI, a small museum established in 2010 from what was previously the Appleton Art Center. It is now housed under the umbrella of The Fox Cities Building for the Arts, consisting mainly of the museum, but also now an official home and gathering places for other arts organizations in the area. 

Tobias Keene's work is what I want to focus on, largely because it's much different than what one typically finds in this part of Wisconsin. And that's because he's not from Wisconsin! Well, I never. ;)

Tobias Keene is currently based in Los Angeles, where he has lived and worked for several years. It might be an understatement to say that his work marks a departure from that of his father and grandfather. Tobias's work has an immediacy about it, a sort of run-stop quality, exemplified by the bright colors, thick textures, and juxtaposition of still-standing figures in environments that are innocently empty, abstracted, and sometimes harsh. He clearly recalls painter Francis Bacon in works such as The Orange Pope (below, top of frame), and in his use of diptych and triptych compositions.

The reason I like these works so much comes down to three things: color, scale, and expressions. The colors, for one, are vivid and explosive, and they draw you in immediately. The scale approaches architectonic, with canvases such as Black is the Beauty of the Brightest Day (Winged Victory) that span entire lengths of wall and reach from floor to ceiling. Some of the paintings clearly indicate some sort of open room, such as in The Girl in the Golden Chair #4, or Standing Red Man (not pictured). And lastly, the expressions on the faces of the subjects are just wonderful: to look into the eyes of the slouching girl in the golden chair, or the small, solemn face of the Forgotten Saint, we are drawn into their worlds, wherever they may be, past the bright colors and uneasy terrain or space they find themselves in -- we're drawn to their humanity. Even The Queen with Umbrella has a thousand words written upon her face.

And not only do you have Tobias Keene's large-scale pieces hanging around the gallery, but you get to see them in the context of his previous generations' work. His father and grandfather both subscribed to a method best described as academic--more interested in the studies of figure and movement with numerous sketches to back up that pursuit. Tobias claims he's mostly interested in painting on canvas, frankly skipping the academic drawing aspect, and it's clear that he takes a more visceral approach to his paintings. Therein lies the immediate strength, which comes through in the thickness of the paint and the expressions on his subjects' faces, or the positions of their bodies.

A few walls of the gallery are focused exclusively on Arthur Keene Jr. and Sr., and their more academic sketches and drawings. Also featured are numerous sketchbooks that visitors can page through with cotton gloves.

I strongly urge everyone interested in contemporary art, as well as drawing, to check out this show. Information on museum opening hours can be found at troutmuseum.org. Tobias has shown in numerous solo and group shows in New York and Los Angeles, including "Fresh" at MOCA Los Angeles and Earl McGrath Gallery. For more information on his exhibition history and other cool items of note, please check out Tobias Keene's website at tobiaskeene.com, where you can also find lovely images of his work.

All images taken by me; all original work by Tobias Keene, Arthur Keene, Jr. and Arthur Keene, Sr.

Appleton Summer Concert Series

Before the rain and storms blew in overnight, we had an utterly gorgeous evening to enjoy -- and the local summer concert series! Normally the Summer Concert Series, held in Appleton WI every Thursday during the summer, is located in Houdini Plaza, an open square in downtown. But Houdini Plaza has been under construction for the last few months, and wasn't finished in time to pick up with the concerts quite yet. So, they've held them in Jones Park, merely two blocks away, and wow. Why doesn't the city hold more events there?

Jones Park is like a bowl, a natural amphitheater if set up the right way, and was such a perfect location for a concert. The musicians last night, Grand Union, were a local country band -- I admit I know little and care even less for country music in general, but it was entertaining and they weren't too bad.

My favorite part were the zeppole, or "zeppoles" as they are apparently called in Wisconsin, an Italian doughnut (singular: zeppola). My mother and I ordered a baker's dozen of them for some reason, I guess not realizing that they were about twice the size of your typical doughnut hole. But they were fried fresh while we waited, and it's not the first time time my mother and I have seriously overdone it on the doughnuts--within the last two weeks! (The last was National Doughnut Day, when we sort of bought a dozen Dunkin Donuts.. for ourselves). Anyway. I digress.

Turnout was amazing. I don't know where they would ever find the room for as many people downtown, even in the newly refurbished Houdini Plaza, and even then, there isn't a playground and a lot of grass for kids to run around. And there were a lot of kids. So, parents can be adults and drink a beer or two while their kids dance along to Kenny Chesney covers (I don't know if there was one of those, just guessing).

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

If you're in the area, the schedule of musicians for the Summer Concert Series can be found here.

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 78

The Rabbit Gallery

I hopped to downtown Appleton to check out the city's first pop-up gallery, The Rabbit, which is organized by Lawrence University students in conjunction with local artists in order to use vacant shop space on College Avenue, and to forge a much-needed/appreciated connection between Lawrence and the community. Organizations, galleries and artists in the Appleton area have been working more diligently over the last couple of years to bring the arts to the public... and if one is even remotely acquainted with Appleton, it's clear that College Avenue is the place to pull this off -- at least to start.

And things are happening. Houdini Plaza, which connects to my workplace, The Trout Museum of Art, is undergoing a major overhaul and should be finished soon. The Trout Museum itself has become a house for many major arts organizations such as the Makaroff Ballet, White Heron Chorale, Fox Valley Symphony, and more. Lawrence University has the Wriston Art Center Galleries, and their own set of music and theatre programs, but it has been rare indeed that the events of Appleton and those of Lawrence have been brought together cohesively. That's what I like about the Rabbit Gallery: it's a small scale, trendy and classy little gallery space that puts Lawrence students in the community, gives them arts management and entrepreneurial experience, and brings the community into Lawrence's world. 

Not to mention it's a pop-up, and I love pop-up anything!

There is a pretty solid mix of student and local artist work, and some of it is quite interesting! The old art store space provides a great setup. It's up through June 8, so if you want to check it out, and you're in the area, it's in the space where Avenue Art Co. used to be, in the City Center shopping mall at 10 E. College Ave. (access from the street on Sundays).

And on my way back out of town, I happened across this Sunday afternoon demolition, which was striking to see from a couple of blocks away -- a big, gaping building. I actually never knew what this place was, but apparently it was a low-income senior apartment building. I have no idea what's going to happen in this space, and I don't think the city knows either. It's going to be turned into green space, according to the local newspaper, until development plans are made.

Okay then! Happy Sunday!

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 104