2010 November Nashville Arts Magazine

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26 | November 2O1O | Nashville Arts Magazine

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26Robin & John Gumaelius at Gallery One

New Gallery one artists John and robin Gumaelius create

award-winning narrative clay and mixed-media sculpture. “Together, we make something better than either of us could make apart,” says Robin Gumaelius, who taught ceramics at Brigham Young University in Idaho, where she met her husband and collaborator, a sculptor. “We work together fluidly. We talk about it like we talk about everything. We build our birds and figures using clay slabs. When the pieces are leather hard, we paint them with under-glazes and then carve through the painted surface to the white clay.” Each work—hand-built using ceramic, hand-fabricated steel, and wood—often incorporates found objects.

Robin, who grew up in Collierville, Tennessee, says images and concepts for the sculptures she creates with her husband come from “a secret storage place inside,” where “random things sidle up to each other and come out stitched together, sometimes seeming like new discoveries and sometimes seeming like old truths newly remembered.” The narrative works are sometimes rooted in literature but more typically in personal, daily experi-ences. “Radio stories, history books, biking adventures, garden-ing notes, neighbors spied, strangers watched in stores and parks and cars all jangle together in our heads and come so freely to our fingers that when we see the pieces finished we are often delighted, as if we are not their creators.”

robin and John Gumaelius’ work can be found at Gallery

one, located in belle Meade Galleria at 5133 Harding Pike,

Nashville, tN 37205. www.galleryone.biz

In The Gallery

this page: Long Necked Fish Dreams, Ceramic, steel, wood, 32” x 13” x 8” $2,200

top left: Crossing with a Strange Family, Ceramic, steel, wood, 21” x 13” x 5” $2,000

top middle: Man Receiving Counsel, Ceramic, steel, found object, 32” x 16” x 16” $2,800

top right: They Found Her on the Way, Ceramic, steel, wood, 15” x 13” x 6” $1,900

bottom:Performing for the Caged Bird, Ceramic, steel, wood, 19” x 25” x 9” $2,500

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31Disney actually came to town; we have a recording of him on Wormwood Forest, supplying the voice of Mickey Mouse, which is outrageous! Ultimately Tichenor did the puppets for Carnival on Broadway. These days Phillip Huber, who lives in Cookeville, is a giant. He travels the world doing marionette shows. He did the puppets for Being John Malkovich.

DK: you can clearly make a real statement in this art form.

bH: Oh yes, it’s a lot more than teaching kids ABCs. In fact, mari-onettes started out as ways to tell Bible stories in church to poor people . . . with puppets on strings called “little Marys.” That’s where the name marionette came from. Then the church decided they were evil, and the gypsies took them over, and in the people’s hands, often they were the voice of protest. I went to a town in Germany and saw their puppet festival, and that’s really what changed things for me. I saw a show called Schicklgruber: Alias Adolf Hitler. Imagine, a Hitler piece performed in Germany,


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32no children in the audience, amazing. Very dark. One puppeteer dressed as a storm trooper manipulating the characters of Hitler and Eva Braun as the Allies bomb and the seats are rattling in the theater.

DK: the Centennial Park gala piece—are you worried a black-

tie adult crowd won’t be the good listeners children are?

bH: No, because we know how to grab them. But I will say if you’re not paying attention you might as well not be there. We’ve done a number of shadow puppet plays, and it always surprises me. The simplicity of it is powerful. The Centennial Exposition and birth of the Parthenon was so fascinating . . . there is so much to inspire. The storyboards are already in the works.

DK: you don’t hide behind the curtain like oz; we see you.

BH: Yes, the puppeteers are seen. You’re not watching television; we’re not gonna pretend we’re not here, so it becomes something else. It’s a different kind of art form. But something happens, and you believe.

DK: tell me again your philosophy?

bH: Actors act, and puppets are. You might say, well that’s really Meryl Streep, but when you see Cinderella, by golly that’s Cinderella and no one else.

DK: in all the shows you’ve performed does one stand out?

bH: Yes. In Caen, France, we were doing selections of our regu-lar shows, and there was a girl in the audience with glasses. She was about 9 and had never spoken at school or at home. But she came up after the show and wanted to talk with me. They later told us she is now talking. What happened in the puppet show that made her want to communicate? And this has happened to a number of puppeteers I know. There’s a connection made.

DK: Without giving too much away, will we hear you sing in this

piece, as you do in many shows?

bH: Maybe. I haven’t decided yet. With this piece, anything is possible. I like to say why do the obvious? Picasso could paint anything, even make it look like a photograph, but why? I’d like to think like Picasso. And as long as it’s fun, I know I am doing it right.

brian Hull can be seen performing at the Parthenon on November

6, 2010, during the Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial

Park first annual black-tie fundraiser. His original piece, devel-

oped exclusively for this event, promises to be extraordinary.

www.brianimations.com

“ . . . marionettes started out as ways to tell Bible stories in church to poor people . . . with puppets on strings called ‘little Marys.’ That’s

where the name marionette came from.”


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36Though his values are lofty, Decker does not tilt at windmills. He is as edgy as he is polite. “Art,” he claims, “is just like rock ‘n’ roll. It instantly historicizes itself. I feel like as an artist, it is incumbent upon me to understand the history and technique of my craft. It is alive, but, paradoxically, you are only individual when you absorb it all. Otherwise, you are just a result of your own limitations.”

Greg’s pursuit of technique has taken him around the world. Far from the African Congo where he grew up, Decker has studied paint-ing at Oxford and taught at the MOMA and the Met in New York. After twelve years in Manhattan and two in Asheville, he settled in Nashville permanently last year. Having lived here in the past, Greg considers Nashville and its community of artists his home. It is a gift to call a painter of his caliber one of our own, and it is a true pleasure to talk shop with him about painting. Greg holds not one but two master’s degrees in fine art. He believes strongly in the study of form and the importance of training and technique. He is no Jackson Pollack: “I believe in passionate form rather than expression. There is always expression of the individual and the culture, but expression, to me, is emotion—and that is transitory.” When asked if his adherence to formal methods is limiting, Decker smiles. “I love the Ramones . . . but Itzhak Perlman was much more free. That control is freedom.”

Greg’s mastery of form is evident at first glance. His figures have weight, volume, balance. His compositions are harmonious and dynamic. Yet Decker’s images are not held back by technical constraints—the expert application of paint on canvas and the brilliant use of pure color achieve a virtuosity that embellishes—no, spirits his paintings.

Decker’s paintings move me. They draw out emotions at the same time that they transport me to another psychological space. From Arcadian landscapes to the hidden sea cove of the mermaids, these works describe another world and evoke

left: Golden Peacock, oil on canvas, 33” x 48”

below: Family, oil on canvas, 52” x 72”

middle left: Rider, oil on canvas, 24” x 34”

bottom left: Fool’s Gold, oil on canvas, 48” x 90”


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37a constellation of feelings. Pure, but not uncomplicated, they narrate a poignant reality. In them, I watch young lovers fly over rooftops in a leaping gallop, well aware of the impossibility of such a feat. Experiencing Greg’s work, I fall in love, lose love, carry the burden of loving, sail on emotion, and fall with the sinking pull of death.

When asked about art that moves him, Decker recalls an exhibit of Otto Dix paintings at the Neue Galerie in New York. Hinting at the painter’s harsh wartime experiences, Decker relates,

“There is going to be some beautiful stuff there, because he is seeing the underbelly of the sublime.”

It is that observation of hardship and heartache in his own work that lends Decker’s paintings their maturity and strik-ing grace. This same quality characterizes its most dynamic tension. Joy abounds in these canvases. Heralded on bright horns and daubed in dancing patches of color, Decker’s emotional highs are practically incandescent. However, they are always offset by the gravity of longing or their own implied ephemerality. However cloaked in brightness or festooned with color, their ultimate theme is one of solemnity. It is this rich contrast that ascribes depth to both the artist and his art. Serious and insightful, Decker asserts that his most definitive trait is an attitude of gratefulness.

right: Solace, oil on canvas, 30” x 48”


above: ChooChoo Drummer, oil on canvas, 33” x 48”


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38Won or lost, love arcs through his narratives and emanates

from his compositions.


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39As a symbolist painter, Decker’s works are often compared to those of Gustav Klimt because of their textural patterns and mosaics of intense color. Greg acknowledges the association but claims that his true inspiration derives from African art, German Expressionism, and Picasso. He synthesizes numerous traditions to create an art that is powerful, sophisticated, and enigmatic. When asked why he paints, Decker points to his childhood: “When you don’t have a lot of toys in life, you make up your own.” Similarly, his constant uprooting from one place to the next shapes the haunting dreamscapes of his paintings:

“Maybe it’s because I’ve been transported around so much. If it’s an actual place, I’m not always trying to locate it. I rarely think about an actual place . . . I boil it down—like making a roux when you’re cooking.”

Most of Greg Decker’s paintings revolve around the theme of love. Won or lost, love arcs through his narratives and emanates from his compositions. It also sums up his attitude toward his craft. He shakes his head and admits, “It’s like being in love with a demanding muse. I’m obsessed.” With an oeuvre of hundreds of paintings, Decker works for long hours, unable to stop. “I can’t wait for two hours. I need a lot of time. I never tire of it.” His symmetry of desire and talent, hard work and critical thinking produces an engaging and seductive collection of work. Just like his beloved poetry, Decker’s paintings are rewarding, surprising, and a joy to read—yes, I said “read.” Take the time to drink these in, pour over them. You might just fall in love. Greg Decker is represented by leQuire Gallery.

www.gregdeckerstudio.com

bottom left: DreamBoat, oil on canvas, 30” x 48”

below: Mosaic, oil on canvas, 28” x 40”

bottom: Friends, oil on canvas, 48” x 60”

middle: Dawn, oil on canvas, 30” x 48”

left: BlackBird, oil on canvas, 18” x 24”

bottom center: Angel, oil on canvas, 68” x 90”

top left: White Peacock, oil on canvas, 33” x 48”


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44and whatever we could give. Kevin played on two different fundraising telethons with other musicians who had, like him, lost almost all their instruments and gear. Much was lost, but for us, gratefully, much was also gained as seen through the eyes of the true eternal optimist that is my husband. In a strange way we were grateful that circumstances and timing put us here so that we could pitch in and help in this place that we plan to call home for a very long time.

When I was asked to do this article I began secretly interview-ing Kevin. Truth is, he is not a big fan of doing interviews and publicity. Although he has plenty in the way of bragging rights, including three Grammys, several more nominations for the same, numerous W. C. Handy awards, ten critically acclaimed albums released, film roles, television roles, many producing and writing credits, and the respect of his peers, he would never be the one to tell you any of this. In fact, if asked by a person on the street, “What do you do?” he responds with a shy grin and says

“I’m a guitar picker.”

Guitar picker indeed. He has been honored with his own signa-ture line of guitars from both Martin and Gibson, and he has recently played at Eric Clapton’s famous Crossroads Guitar Festival with some of the best on six strings. But his musical vision is much greater than simply being an accomplished guitar player. Keb’ Mo’ is known for the consciousness of the music he creates. He has been placed categorically in the blues for his excellence in the genre, but he most enjoys blurring the lines around what is commonly known as “down home blues.”

How does he do that? Well, maybe it’s partly because of his musical beginnings playing the French horn and the steel drum, then going on to learn guitar and picking up piano, bass, harmonica, banjo, and mandolin along the way. Maybe it’s his musical history, being involved in everything from R&B cover bands to musical theatre, from a steel-drum band to playing with Papa John Creach. Maybe it’s the influence of his spiritu-ality, growing up in the Baptist church with fine gospel music all the way to chanting in the Buddhist temple with musical mentor Herbie Hancock. Whatever he does, he brings a lot of soul and experience to it.

We were looking for a wonderful city in which to raise our child, and Nashville with its deep and diverse

musical community seemed an obvious choice.

This is the most fertile ground to grow in creatively, and that suits Kevin just fine. He loves to operate on the edge of his ability, and he is meticulous in learning all he can, whether it be diving into music composition for television programs as he currently does on TNT’s Memphis Beat and CBS’s Mike and Molly or “tussling over the details” with his friend Gary Nicholson while writing a new song.

“You can’t even have an attitude in this town. They’ll laugh at you,” he says to me one night as we clear up the dinner dishes during one of my “secret” interviews. We laugh about the contrast with the Los Angeles scene where Kevin is better known as “Keb’ who?” That’s OK. He actually likes it that way, but he also loves the down-to-earth attitudes and camaraderie of the Nashville community. “A quality that I’ve really noticed in the people I admire the most,” he says, “is their constant use of the question ‘what can I do for you?’ I notice a whole lot of that here, and I try to do the same.” That helpful attitude is not just lip service. We have experienced it firsthand—everything from our neighbors Kim and John feeding us the most amazing brownies to Vince Gill giving us a ride on his tour bus from


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45“ I’m ready for another chapter

in my life’s work. I’d like to do something that will enrich the music and social community in

a profound way.”Chicago and then a personal shuttle and bag service to our front door. My favorite has been looking out the front window and seeing Kevin’s new workout partner, Lee Roy Parnell, good-naturedly watering our flowers for us after helping him with the mulching. Now that’s service.

If you work with Keb’ Mo’ you can expect to dig into the details, big time. Just ask John Schirmer, Keb’s sound engi-neer and right-hand man. They formed an alliance three years ago in L.A. through mutual friend Bonnie Raitt and now have a unique and great partnership that continues into Nashville. “John has learned to be a great studio mixer, and he now takes those sensibilities on the road with us in his front-of-house work. We are committed to a great-sounding show.” That comes from a man who is not afraid of a two-hour soundcheck and has an acutely discerning ear. Whether you hear his album, his solo show, or hear him with his full band rockin’, it’s going to sound right, every time.

It is the fall now, and again we are sitting out on that back porch. This time under the harvest moonlight we talk with Keb’s photographer and website designer, Meghan Aileen Schirmer, on the night before Keb’s photo shoot. We talk about the intention for this project and for the ones to come, because that is always required when working in Kevin’s world. He does nothing without examining the greater purpose and meaning behind it. What motivates him is a sense that he can be a beneficial presence on the planet, and he challenges those around him to do the same.

“The way I see it, I’m ready for another chapter in my life’s work. I’d like to do something that will enrich the music and social community in a profound way. And besides that,” he grins widely and says in his best Baptist preacher voice, “I wanna add a touch of color up in here.”

And so for many years to come we will continue to expe-rience pink and orange sunsets, lush green and then golden-red trees, and Keb’ Mo’ and his music. If you haven’t heard his work yet, my guess is that when you hear it for the first time you will say to yourself “Why didn’t I do this a lot sooner?” www.kebmo.com


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55attempting to rescue a friend from a carbon dioxide leak. “It teaches you a lot about reality and loss, so after that I’ve never had a hard time of living in my own head and trying to make sense out of things that you see,” he says of his father’s death.

“It’s probably one of the main reasons why I started, to remake my own reality, to create something beautiful around me, some-thing inspiring and uplifting.”

During junior high, Williams carved faces and bodies into the hillside’s red clay. “I was thinking like Mount Rushmore,” he says. “Of course, any rain storm would erode it all away, but it

“ I would love to be involved with other artists who I’ve always adored and to be a part of the movement of

art, a part of the language.”below: Pink Slip, Crayons, wood, fiberglass and epoxy resin, industrial adhesive, 68” x 18” x 18”

below left: Frist Element, Crayons, wood, industrial adhesive, 24” x 16” x 2”

left: White Chanel Poodle, Crayons, wood, industrial adhesive, 13” x 18” x 7”

opposite page: Falling Color, Crayons, wood, fiberglass and epoxy resin, industrial adhesive, 148” x 162” x 4.5”


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56was beautiful for the small time that it was up. It really impressed upon me the brevity of life. I wanted to make things that are impactful, that are bigger or greater than I am so that they will be here after I’m gone, because I never expected to live this long. I’ve got to get over that.”

From ages 12 to 18, he worked in construction, which provided him with an understanding of form and materials. He received a B.F.A. in sculpture from Birmingham-Southern College, where he apprenticed under three professional sculptors in the area. After graduation, he worked at a bronze foundry in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he helped cast hundreds of sculptures with the atelier Popliteo and the last piece of work by photo real-ist Duane Hanson, Man On Riding Lawnmower.

He moved to Nashville in 1998 and received the Joan Mitchell Foundation Museum Purchase Grant in 2004 and the Next Star Artist Award in 2008. His influences include H. C. Westermann, Fiona Rae, Jasper Johns, Jim Dine, Cai Guo-Qiang, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Robert Rauschenberg, and Marcel Duchamp. Williams’ reputation and stature in the local art community grew through his association with Anne Brown and The Arts Company.

He became a partner with Jeff Rymer in The Rymer Gallery about three years ago, so he also curates shows for the Fifth Avenue gallery. “I don’t want the gallery to be about me,” he says.

“I want it to lift up the whole arts community in Nashville to have a larger scope.

I think Nashville is worthy of interna-tional recognition, and our arts scene

is a great platform to do that.”He created his first crayon piece, a September 11-inspired flag that now resides at University School of Nashville, in 2002. He realized that crayons were a full-fledged artistic direction in 2005, when he created the Blues Room, a full room with crayon walls, floor, and musical instruments that he sold for $18,000. He has created more than one hundred crayon pieces and has become one of the few individuals globally who have an account with Crayola, which ships him fifty-pound cases containing three thousand crayons in a single color. “I like taking something that you are familiar with and reimagining it, changing it, and giving it a new life,” he says. “We could all use that. I need it.”

His philosophy behind creating art with crayons is simply to create things that are relevant and engaging. “I try not to take myself too seriously. But I still want to create works that I want

below: First Nude (Marilyn), 250,000 Crayons, wood, fiberglass and epoxy resin and industrial adhesive, 73” x 73” x 6”

left: Wall Flower (Yellow Dahlia), Crayons, wood, industrial adhesive, 17” x 17” x 3”


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61this simple yet profound observation

defines the soul and nature of the artist Paul Harmon. For Paul, there simply were no other choices. Art and life became one and the same, each seam-lessly weaving into the other like an intricate, flawless tapestry.

I have known Paul for over thirty-five years, first as a client and then as a friend. What I like most about him is his willingness to share without pretense. He brings a light to our conversations, brilliant in understanding, directed with sincerity because, for Paul, art is not a competition but a sacrament. His accep-tance of me early in my career fortified me with the courage to cross my own borders. His advice was never technical. He was too wise for that.

As for his art, I applaud Paul’s use of color. I think he is one of the best color-ists in the country. The colors are so rich they have a taste, and they satisfy my tactile needs for texture, making me feel like I am about to sit down to an elegant feast prepared by a fine French chef.

I approach Paul’s work the way I listen to a symphony. At first, I am captured by the complexity of the composition until the rhapsody of the piece overwhelms me and takes me down a path to a far distant, purer, more vibrant world than the reality it temporally holds at bay.

Paul HarmonThrough the Looking Glass

by John Guider

In a town where often the first ques-tion asked is “Where are you from?” Paul is unique. He is one of the rare born-and-bred Nashvillians. Over the years Harmon has not only watched the city grow and change but has helped effect that change as well. In 2005, the Nashville Advertising Federation awarded him their high-est honor, noting his significant contributions to both the local advertising industry and his commu-nity. Remarkably, the same year, Montgomery Bell Academy celebrated Harmon with their Distinguished Alumnus Award.

At an early age, Harmon received from his grandmother, herself an accomplished artist, the inspira-tion and materials necessary to help him develop his muse. His sister, Georganne Harmon, credits their parents for not only offering guidance but also showing a genuine interest in

their children’s lives. They read what their children were read-ing. Talks at the dinner table were lively and thoughtful, much of the conversation inspired by Paul’s love of art and literature. Georganne, a noted poet herself, remembers an older sibling who was curious about everything, an avid collector of ideas and artifacts. The young Harmon was fused with so much natural talent that his parents could do little but observe and guide, but definitely not contain, his enthusiastic curiosity.

“It is no accident that an artist becomes an artist any more than a lion tamer becomes a lion tamer.” – Dorothea Lang

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62Years later, while in college, Harmon decided to go on his walk-about. Vagabonding through Europe, nearly penniless, surviving on his wits, he gained a coveted introduction to meet the great painter Pablo Picasso. However, the night before the arranged introduction, Paul found himself in the company of three young women who offered to take him down to the Italian Riviera.

Feeling confined, Paul didn’t see the need to finish college. Instead, he started his own successful business and raised a family, all the time trying hard not to wander too far from the artist’s path. Accolades came early in his career. The enigmatic artist Biel-Bienne, asked to view a group show at the Parthenon, was taken by the young artist’s work. The Tennessean quoted Biel-Bienne saying, “His drawings struck me as being the work of a mature artist, handling with great skill the complex problems of black and white and colored line drawing. To my surprise, I found the artist was only 21 years old.” Harmon later summoned the courage to meet with the acclaimed master, and the two of them became lifelong friends, with Paul crediting Biel-Bienne as being an important mentor for his artistic development.

Paul’s reputation grew with one-man shows not only in Nashville at Cheekwood, the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Center, and the Tennessee State Museum, but also at major venues in New York and Washington, with work being shown and honored in Europe and South America.

left: Every Day, African Woman dey Cry, 2009, oil on wood, 24” x 20”

below: Lilac Wine, 2008, oil on canvas, 30” x 24”

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“How could I refuse?” he later protested. “They had the wine. They had a car. They were girls!”

Needless to say, Paul never met Picasso.


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63above: The Dance of Life (for Munch), 2008, oil on

canvas, 36” x 48”

right: Muhlenberg County Waltz, 2005, oil on canvas, 48” x 60”

below: Parque de Cervantes, 2008, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”


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64In the early ’80s, the structure of Paul’s work took a notable new direction with the advent of his use of stencils. Gleaning the idea from the markings on shipping crates, Paul first used the device as a way to encapsulate and thus distinguish the subject from the rest of the painting. His taste for the intermittent lines grew until soon they were framing the entire canvas and much in between. His use of the stencil became so profound that the style of his work became immediately recognizable in much the same way as Warhol’s posterized portraits or Calder’s bold use of brilliant primary colors.

In Harmon’s book Crossing Borders, art scholar Robert McGrath credits Paul’s work with possessing “a unique aura, the product of no other artist.” The critic also marvels at the artist who is

“so grounded and yet independent of the Grand Tradition of art.”

His sister, Georganne, offered the possibility of an underlying psychological motive behind his provocative element. She saw such a brilliant, complicated man with so many divergent inter-ests that the stencil provided a structure both physical and intel-lectual. Boundaries were formed. All hell could break loose on the inside as long as the chaos was contained at the palisade of his sharp-edged lines.

In 1986, Paul extended his working environment by opening a studio in Paris. For the next eleven years he ferried between his studio in Brentwood, Tennessee, and his studio at 1 Boulevard Saint Michel, spending equal time in each. The motive for him was more for revitalization than inspiration. He could have gone anywhere, New York, Berlin, L.A., etc., but the minute he arrived in Paris, he knew he was meant to be there. From previous jour-neys and his extensive readings of art literature, he felt he already knew the storied, timeless city by heart. Walking into the Les Deux Magots Café, he spotted the exact same booth where Jean-Paul Sartre debated existentialism with Juliette Greco. Harmon thrived and flourished in this culturally rich environment.

The decade in Paris created a cachet of experiences any artist would envy. Harmon garnered numerous awards and honors, including two major awards at the XXIV Prix International d’Art Contemporain de Monte-Carlo and the Art Contemporain, Saint-Martin du Tertre, Val d’Oise, commemorative medal. His work was seen in galleries throughout France, including a major Harmon exhibition in the city of Caen as part of the city’s remembrance of the fiftieth anniversary of the Allied troop invasion of Normandy.


left: The Love Song, 2005, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”

center: I Rode the Wheel of the Galaxy (for ted Hughes), 2010, oil on canvas, 48” x 72”

bottom: A Chair for Spinoza, 2005, oil on canvas, 40” x 30”


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65He also had the opportunity to expand his horizon by befriend-ing and engaging numerous art luminaries not within the reach of Nashville. Jean-Michel Folon, Arthur Secunda, Henry Moore, Jean Cavaliero, Julio Siva, and Pierre Marie Brisson all appear on a list of notables. With his good friend, photographer/film maker Jean-Louis Bloch-Lainé, he co-authored the award-winning book Dante’s Stones.

Presently, Paul is back in Brentwood full time, happily married to Karen Roark, a woman he truly cherishes. Now in his seven-ties, he maintains a painting regimen that amazes even his clos-est friends. The work flourishes, transforming with his spirit. The hard line stencils have disappeared. Painted lines continue to define the painting, but they are not as restrictive. Subjects are even allowed to roam beyond the lines, “crossing borders” so to speak. He stays in tune with the twenty-first century by incorporating visual elements such as pixelation and selective coloring, offering his own interpretation of popular digital photographic effects.

With over a staggering 1900 finished canvases to his credit, Harmon expresses some surprise as he states that his new work is his best yet. However, that seems to be the way of art. Renowned critic Clement Greenberg once famously stated, “In visual arts, prodigies don’t count. In music and literature, yes, but not in art.” It is through strong will and intellect that Harmon has managed to fly out of the turbulence of youth, over the moun-tains of success into that rarified air where the pilot has turned off the seatbelt sign while bidding the artist’s subjects to move about the canvas freely.

Zeitgeist Gallery will host a solo exhibition of Paul Harmon’s

work February 3 through 26, 2011. www.paulharmon.com


above: Sentinel, 2007, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”

below: The Death of Braque, 2008, oil on canvas, 40” x 30”

left: A Far Country, 2008, oil on canvas, 30” x 24”


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69Bob Sherman

Waves of Light

For his day job, bob sherman is a clinical psychologist in

Brentwood, Tennessee. Nationally reputed for his therapy, he searches the depths of the human psyche and the far-off reaches of the spirit to help his patients. Could there be a more ideal person to take up art? Sherman’s photography reflects his awareness of personal interiority, human connection, and cultural ritual.

Interested in photography since childhood, he has seen his craft evolve from a beloved hobby to a flourishing mode of expression. When he finished graduate school years ago, Sherman claims, he knew he needed more. Setting off on a grand tour of coun-tries abroad, he recognized, “There was a void within me. I felt it. I knew it.” His mixture of Eastern philosophy and Western

psychology helped him trace out a theory on humanity. “I believe that our essence is one of love.” Years of travel and immersion in different cultures have filled out his views. Through his photo-graphs, Sherman demonstrates his personal philosophy: “I want to capture that loving connection.” Long periods of time in India have led him to call it “my spiritual home and certainly my second home.” He sojourns across the globe, documenting human connections and the beauty of nature. His intense inter-est in others and his natural friendliness seem to open up his clients and photographic subjects. He captures them at ease, letting themselves be vulnerable. It is this candidness that lends authenticity and pathos to his informal portraits of the world. www.bobshermanPhotography.com


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71below: Pacific in Gold, i'm drawn to sunset shots with interesting rock formations in the foreground. the color is not enhanced.

above: Three Horsemen, the fierce power and beauty typifies my experience of afghanistan in the ’70s.

right: Indian Mikvah, this scene is replicated by thousands along the Ganges every morning. this spiritual vitality is manifested by many devotees.


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left: Hands, these weathered 9-year-old hands stood in direct contrast to the innocence on her childlike face.

below: Piercing Beauty, she had no idea why i was taking her picture or how gorgeous she was.


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73below: Saffron Swirl, this moment captured my experience of many of the monks in Cambodia. they retain a wonderful capacity to play and have fun.

left: Hands, these weathered 9-year-old hands stood in direct contrast to the innocence on her childlike face.

above: Ganges Glow, the dawn of a new day in my spiritual home is punctuated by the 24/7 cremation smoke.

below: Lama’s Glow, an enlightened being can exist in both spiritual and material realms. the Dalai lama has been the clearest example of this for me in my lifetime.

left: Bye Mommy, the child looks back for reassurance as life takes her forward towards independence.


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86Lithographics

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96

96Anything Goes Who is your favorite artist?

While I find myself collecting mainly abstract and abstract expressionism, my favorite artist is a French impressionist named Paul Signac.

What do you like most about the city? There’s a positive energy in Nashville, a very comfortable feeling here. I feel that moving to Nashville brought me back to who I am. I am a big advocate for this city.

What do you like least? I sometimes feel like an outsider but not too often. I have always lived in large, fast-paced cities, so I’m learning to slow down a bit and smell the flowers more often.

are you happy with where you’re heading? Yes I am. I love living in Nashville, the new friends and clients that I have made in such a short time. I find the people in Nashville to be full of true substance and simply real. I love being in the heart of Music City.

What’s it like being you these days?My life is consumed with work and creative outlets. I recently bought a house in Forest Hills, so I’m settling into social suburbia, but I am extremely excited to have recently launched King Jewelers’ new web site as well as the Rock Royalty custom guitar brand.

What’s your motto/your mantra? Live one louder. I believe in karma and doing the right thing by people.

What talent would you most like to have? I wish I could play the guitar. Being one with the instrument. Like Hendrix or Beck.

What is your most treasured possession? Two little hand-carved and painted wooden Asian figurines given to me by my grandfather.

What are you most proud of?My charity work with Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. I’m hoping the Champions Foundation will make a difference in lives for many generations to come here in Nashville.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?I’m really proud of the organization I’ve established and spent the last ten years growing.

How do you revive and recharge?Vitamin B with folic acid goes a long way! And sometimes you just need to chill.

What’s an extravagance?While I love collecting watches and art, my true pleasure is trav-eling and exploring new places.

What would surprise people to know about you?

That I’m a workaholic homebody. I love my house and being there.

if you could do something else for a day or year, what would you do?

I’d love to own a boutique resort in the Caribbean.

www.jewelrykings1912.com

David King, Ceo King Jewelers

When and where are you most happy?Sitting in my back yard at night by a fire with a glass of wine.

What characteristic do you most like about yourself? I really care and am passionate about what I do. I’m a sincere and honest person.

and what do you like least? I have two speeds. I’m either really on or really off.

What was the last book you read? I just finished The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway, and right now I’m enjoying The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

What is a movie you can’t live without?I love comedies, anything with Will Farrell.

Who would you most like to meet? Jack White. I think he’s an amazingly talented individual.

Who in your life has most inspired you?My mother, a very strong woman, very creative, very passion-ate, and loving. Nothing in my life ever seems to feel completely accomplished without her stamp of approval.

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98

98My Favorite Painting

Carla ChamberlainArt patron and volunteer

in a home full of artwork, it wasn’t easy to select just one “favorite.” With works by Paul Harmon, Butler Steltemeier, Jonathan Richter, Herb Williams, Anna Jaap, Bob McGill, Jim Sherraden, Brother Mel, Werner Wildner, and Bob Ransley, as well as originals from Egypt and China, the task was doubly hard.

I finally selected my most recent acquisi-tion, Queen Anne’s Floating Ruby by April Street. I already have one of her earlier works, Silencing the Leaves, but to see the change in her work, how it has evolved over fifteen years, is simply amazing. As soon as I saw this piece hanging in the gallery, I knew I wanted it. It just draws me into it—the complexity, the delicacy, the beautiful use of color and pattern. Deciding where to hang it was another matter. The light needed to hit it just right, and I had to be able to see it every day. I think it has found its perfect home on the staircase.

I have many artist friends in Nashville, and it’s so rewarding to watch their talents grow, to see where their visions take them, and to be able, in some small way, to support them.

about tHe artistapril street is from the coal-mining region of the appalachian Mountains. she currently lives and makes her work in los angeles, California, and bristol, tennessee. she has ex-hibited her paintings and sculptures in Chicago, austin, santa Monica, los angeles, and in Nashville, where she exhibited with the arts Company in april 2010 and shows annually during Nashville’s “artrageous,” a benefit for aiDs education and services. street has cu-rated national exhibitions and was the developer of southwest Virginia’s first permanent sculpture garden and outdoor sculpture competition Blurring the Lines. april street’s educa-tional background includes the art institute of Chicago and east tennessee state university (b.F.a.), and she has studied bronze casting and art history in italy. Her recent paintings are watery and space-like wonderscapes, created from her own tech-nique of layering paintings that combine curious saccharine-like colored stains and sym-bolic gestures with investigative narratives that she sets up, erases, overlaps, and retells.www.aprilstreet.comPh

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Queen Anne’s Floating Ruby by april street

Documents

2010 November Nashville Arts Magazine