At the time of this writing, the Missoula weather forecast for Friday, August 2 calls for a high of 77 and a chance of thunder storms. Let’s celebrate the end of the heatwave with some great friends, awesome art and lively conversation. It’s First Friday!
This month’s First Friday is full of events hosted by current and former students from the School of Art; we are very excited for this one!
The Art of Total Fest XII:
The fine folks representing the above pictured Audio Visual Club will probably not be in the alley behind the Old Post Pub on Friday, but plenty of others will! Join the Art of Total Fest for art inspired by music and alternative aesthetic. There will be live t-shirt printing, so bring one of your own to be customized by the artists on hand.
Visual Audio Club will expose the under, arguably un-represented group of art punks and amateur artists inspired by music, beer, drugs and sex. //The things that really inspire us\\ The history of punk visuals is defined by the handbill, poster, album cover, patches, ransom note, ‘zine, anti-fashion, high contrast, self-published, Xeroxed, art-school-sux statement. The exhibition will remind viewers of the intimacy of art and music, especially as part of an event like Total Fest.
The location of the show is the band practice space right next to Frontier Space. We are calling it “The Final Frontier Space”. There will be music from 8-9pm by locals J. Sherri, and a stage designed by Jack Metcalf. Don’t forget to bring a t-shirt to be printed upon by one of the artists!
The alternative gallery space started by School of Art graduate students a few years ago continues to thrive in the alley behind the Old Post Pub. Undergraduate alumnae Molly Clevenger and Cait Finley say this about their joint exhibition opening on Friday:
“There exists a new hybrid species of organism that has the characteristics of a fungus and bacteria called Pseudoalteromonas. It spreads through spores, but once it has found a food source multiplies like a bacteria. This species has evolved quickly and is wreaking havoc on “roundup ready” corn crops.
We created this exhibition to bring attention to this strange new species, which has evolved alongside man’s ways of “progress”. It builds upon itself continuously and spreads quite rapidly in what seem like stacks of material used as a defense mechanism.
We chose to work in the plastic medium to develop a new way of working, that if well executed might benefit taking the work outdoors and be easily movable and weather resistant. In our way of working so does the new hybrid species.”
The Brink Gallery:
Over at the Brink, School of Art alumni David Lusk and Jonathan Marquis present their collaborative exhibition, “Wilderspiel” for First Friday. Of the show, Jonathan said, “Exploring the ranges between the internal and external wilderness landscape. Somewhere at some time someone put nature out there somewhere and us somewhere in here. Thats a lot of in here somewhere.”
Here’s a picture of David hard at work:
Dane Hansen, recent graduate of the School of Art’s BFA program, invites us all to, “Bad Bad’s Super Saver Art Show” which he describes as, “…a series of works composed in his woodland shack (AKA “The University of Montana”) over the last four years. Laugh, cry, and eat the healthy dining options provided. Works on display have been produced in photography, collage, and de-collage. Save big. Save Super. Bad Bad hearts you.”
Art major John Ryan promises “A multitude of assorted art” will be on display at the Union Club bar for First Friday. The Union Club promises free food. Sounds perfect to us!
The Western Montana Community Center:
School of Art alum Joseph Kellogg returns to exhibiting on First Friday for the first time since 2010! Join him at the WMCC this Friday with his exhibition, “Dreamscapes.”
Traffic Signal Box Dedication:
Join Art Major Abby Sweet as her newest work is celebrated as part of Missoula’s Traffic Signal Box project. The signal box is located on the corner of Higgins and Pine, and Abby will speak about the project at the Dana Gallery hosted dedication party beginning at 6pm. See you there!
MAM is proud to present this previously unseen body of work by St. Ignatius, MT artist Louise Lamontagne. Lamontagne has been featured in group exhibitions at MAM which have included her luscious, expressive, and colorful landscapes. This is her first solo exhibition at MAM. Lamontagne is an experienced artist with an obsessive approach to making art. And like many of her contemporaries she does not shy away from using whichever language and art-making process it takes to accomplish her objective. This reflects the need of the artist to record the observations of the natural world, but to also explore that which is unseen. The artist will speak at 7pm.
“Stacked, work by Perry Haas“ opens this First Friday at the Clay Studio. Perry has been working in ceramics since 2003. He holds a BFA in ceramics from Utah State University. Ceramics has taken him to China and Korea, where he spent his time studying their unique ceramics history and processes. His work consists of functional wood-fired ceramics. The functional forms Perry creates are influenced by human shapes and inspired from the nature that surrounds him. He states “the firing method of wood kilns has captured my interest because of its ability to record the symbolic elements of the fire and clay relationship. A minimalist approach to the glazing process allows the ware to form a reflection of textured skin, a combination between humanity and the movement of the landscape.”
This Blog:
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