Novice Artwork Ignites Firehouse with Fresh Flair Firehouse Center Welcomes First 50 Artists to Test Their Talents on the Public

Author: Suzanne Mozes

A uniquely egalitarian art exhibit opened Friday, Oct. 10 at the Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts in Burlington. Giving artists of all abilities an opportunity to display their work, "The Fourth Annual Firehouse Open" now showcases the first 50 artists that arrived at the Firehouse doors on Monday morning, Oct. 6 and runs through Nov. 16.

Toting single pieces of artwork prepared for installation, artists began assembling at 5 a.m. on lower Church Street. When the Firehouse doors unlocked five hours later, the line had wormed its way down the street with approximately 70 to 80 pieces of artwork in tow.

The artists' range of ages - 20-something college students to an 80 year-old woman - bridged a gap as wide in years as the show itself bridges the breach between diverging styles, materials, subject matter and artistic messages. The purpose of creating "The Open" is "to support a wider range of artists, with diverse disciplines, styles and backgrounds," according to the mission statement on the gallery's wall. Despite its arbitrary "first come" submission process, the system yielded representation in almost all medias - painting, sculpture, photography, sound installation, cartoon and pen and ink.

For six hours following the morning registration, Jessica Dyer, director of exhibitions and curatorial services, designed the exhibit with her staff. Emily Currin, a member of Dyer's staff, explained that the artists' "high energy" that morning made it particularly exciting to "find the flow" of the show.

In spite of the indiscriminate collection of artwork, many of the pieces found natural connections among themselves that allowed for a predominantly easy installation. For example, Emily Kalina's oil painting of a female nude with her head bowed in shame, entitled "Don't Look at Me," perpendicularly faces Jonathan Wolloch's collage piece, "Wreckless Abandonment," made of acrylic, watercolor, marker, pen, pencil and whiteout pen. The two yards separating the works almost suggest that Kalina's nude abandoned Wolloch's unorthodox, wild piece in shame. Moreover, Joshua Highter's untitled monoprint strangely reiterates the female profile of Gampo Wickenheiser's granite sculpture of a female bust, "Heather," on a flat, two-dimensional surface.

Dyer told The Burlington Free Press, "In some cases, it may not be a style of work that we typically accept at this particular gallery for a show, as we focus on more avant garde, contemporary pieces." While the show undoubtedly does present a contrast to The Firehouse's characteristic exhibits, many contemporary pieces made the cut.

Jennifer Pond's "Dark and Stormy," placed in the front of the gallery, lures passersby in from the street. Chiefly using blues and whites, Pond creates a tension of soft lines, reminiscent of a sea anenome, pulling the viewer into the disturbingly dark depths of the piece. By assuming an intrinsic human emotion expressed through body language, the line work exceeds artistic motion and illuminates an emotional storm beneath the waves of the flailing activity on the canvas' surface, suggesting a depth of despair that the viewer still cannot access.

Neth Urkiel-Taylor's "Mother's Womb" proved to be a highlight at "The Open." A bulbous rustic basket encloses a handwritten letter from a birthmother asking to make contact with her son. The piece, dated 1998, echoes the same year as the letter. Quietly letting viewers draw their own conclusions, "Mother's Womb" passively evokes emotion by establishing unique maternal connections through identification with a nest and its feminine counterpart with natural materials. While the artist could simply be making a statement, the letter seems to be written by Urkiel-Taylor's own mother, as he now has appended her last name onto his own, reinforcing the importance of the mother-son relationship that resounds inside the belly of the basket.

The liberal acceptance process allowed for several pieces that failed to actually communicate with its audience such as Brian Guercio's untitled sound installation. Emanating from a plastic tub covered in cloth, the listener, aided by a stethoscope, hears a heartbeat interrupted occasionally by a voice whispering "I'm going to share some personal information with you." This submission failed to interact on either an intellectual or artistic level and seemed to have been presented simply for the sake of submission.

While engaging the viewer with images like little girls playing in the water, the photography submissions were slightly lacking in originality. However, Kate Rower's "Speedqueen," an Iris print featuring dryers in laundry facility, stood out as a positive example of experimentation with angle and composition.

Despite the range of ability displayed, "The Open" has given the somewhat inert artistic community in Burlington a chance to display its work, discuss its ideas and interact in the process.

Marketing and Public Relations Director Ted Fisher told The Burlington Free Press, "It's a very democratic way to have an art show. It's based strictly ont drive, enthusiasm and persistence."

Essentially, the Firehouse has eliminated any pretentious undertones in the exhibit. By arbitrarily accepting artwork on "first come first serve" submission basis, the gallery has chosen to let the art speak for itself.