People go to the Heard Museum to see woven blankets, turquoise jewelry, and ancient pots. Joe Baker tried to change that. Although he left late last year (part of the near-constant game of musical chairs the local art world likes to play), Baker may just have a lasting impact on…
Living knee-deep in this postmodern world means a constant flux of meaning and connectivity. What was rigidly defined for previous generations is now a junk drawer of ideas, overlapping and blurring traditional boundaries. Just think of your baby boomer mother’s definition of “family” versus your own. She sees family as…
The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art dug into its permanent collection for the sculpture show “Not Really So Simple.” At first glance, the pieces really are simple. But as I shared space with each one, I found myself wanting to fondle some of them to explore their properties. It was…
In his final exhibition for the Heard Museum, curator Joe Baker asked a group of artists to deconstruct their modern American identity, specifically, their mixed heritage. Baker is a mutt himself, as an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians with Dutch and English lineage, and the 15 artists…
We wasteful Americans adore plastic. Cups, plates, and vessels don’t require cleanup after use — we can just pitch them and ignore the environmental ramifications. That makes breakables downright retro. It’s no wonder that ceramics has experienced a breath of new life as artists have adopted it as a legitimate…
Maybe I’m just a sucker for scandal, but it wasn’t until the recent squabble over the Downtown Chandler Artwalk that I became jazzed to drive out there. The East Valley Art Guild used to be in charge of the monthly event, held on first Wednesdays but rubbed out by the…
I have a vague childhood memory of being in an art museum while on vacation with my family. I don’t know where we were, but I remember approaching an old oil painting and sneakily running my finger over the rough, cracked texture of the dried pigment. I sort of knew…
Too often, looking at sculpture — spying on a silent figure unaware of our voyeurism — is a static endeavor. But the blown glass and multimedia sculptures in “Figurate Esto,” influenced by Catholicism, American consumerism, and Mexican folk art, are much more engaging. In many ways, the works by brothers…
Every once in a while, no matter how good life is, you just want to get the hell out. Sadly, many of us resort to booze and drugs for our mental vacations. But if you’re wanting to put the bottle on the shelf, good art can provide an excellent means…
When I first heard the title “But It’s a Dry Heat,” Tempe Center for the Arts’ inaugural show, it was mid-August and I was automatically turned off. In my sweaty misery, I was in no mood to hear any excuses for summer’s jerk behavior. But despite my surly outlook, I…
When I was 14, my best friend and I stayed up all night in her parents’ backyard, sprawled on the trampoline, discussing the relevance of time as we stared into the night sky and chain-smoked a pack of stolen cigarettes. While I don’t remember the details of this long-winded conversation,…
Okay, ladies, what’s your number one complaint about your man? He takes you for granted, right? I knew it. But don’t be so hard on him. It’s human nature to take things for granted — and you do it all the time, too. Not necessarily when it comes to your…
The front door to my very first apartment sat a whopping 70 feet away from the train tracks, on the west side of ASU not far from the neighborhood bar Casey Moore’s. A half-dozen times a day, my walls would vibrate and my cat would hide under the couch as…
Paintings by Scooter LaForge at Antoine Proulx Design Studio: As far as turnoffs go, self-absorbed pretension is right up there with stained teeth and halitosis. And sadly, our own arts scene is rampant with artists who take themselves too seriously. But Scooter LaForge is the equivalent to teeth bleach and…
On a recent Friday night, I made the most unattractive facial expression of my life — on purpose. I was imitating my pedophilic middle-school bus driver, complete with underbite. Later, I traveled across a parking lot with a hideous limp to illustrate a story about my best friend who once…
Tawni Shuler and Alex Kutchins at Shemer Art Center and Museum: If youve ever reminisced with an old friend or family member, youre likely familiar with the pitfalls of memory: Some moments are bold and clear while others have weakened to become translucent shadows. Tawni Shuler works with pastels and…
Ashamedly, one of my favorite parts about visiting a museum is hitting the gift shop. I’m a filthy consumer and I satiate my purchase thirst with postcards and cheap knockoffs of the invaluable art on display. If you happen to stop by just about any local art museum gift shop…
Walk outside and take a deep breath. That’s the smell of our city, set to broil. After months of breathing the aromas of melting blacktop and hot garbage, it’s only fitting that five15 gallery’s “What Smells So Bad?” will be up for the most miserable summer month. The olfactory-inspired group…
A 21st birthday usually means bar-hopping, endless rounds of shots, and plenty of post-partying puke. Thankfully, Lisa Sette decided to skip the debauchery and celebrate her 21st year in business with “7+7+7=21 Summer Group Show,” in which an excellent medley of artwork is displayed by 21 of her gallery’s represented…
I’ve always been a sucker for the graphic print. Today, printmaking is considered a valid process used by high-end visual artists. But the medium hasn’t always been held in such regard. Because they could be produced quickly and in mass volume, prints were often considered throwaway street art. But if…
With all this talk of going green and cleaning up our carbon footprints, it’s no secret the world is knee-deep in trash. Changing old wasteful habits can prove difficult, particularly in a world of heavy industry. But leave it to an artist to find a way to appropriate scrap metal…
Fausto Fernandez at The Latin American Art Gallery: We all need a little instruction — something to give us direction and guidance. Without it, wed be flailing aimlessly in this life, accidentally screwing each other over in a nonsensical world of no consequence. Fausto Fernandez taps into the need for…
