Britan Doe
Art History 2720
Spring 2011
Gallery Stroll Experience
1)
Some of the galleries that I visited included the Utah Arts Festival, the Art Access, and the
Cathedral Tattoo Company. The Utah Arts Festival Gallery showcased Dawn Bouvier’s collection of
architecture photography work and Stephanie Swift’s collection of digital illustrations artwork of wellknown signs. The Art Access Gallery showcased McGarren Flack’s oil painting collection called the Line
Up also, studio and plein air landscapes from Gary Smith and Jeffery Pugh. And the Cathedral Tattoo
Company Gallery showcased a variety of artwork from Tyler James Densley.
2)
At the Art Access Gallery the art was displayed in two rooms connecting to a gift shop and a
couple other galleries. The artwork was displayed eye level on the walls with lighting above the artwork
accenting the work so it was easier to view. In one room Jeffery Pugh and Gary Smith had their
landscape paintings displayed together. In the other room McGarren Flack had a portraiture collection
that lined the whole room. I think this gallery appealed to a variety of viewers that enjoy portraiture
and landscapes.
The Utah Arts Festival Gallery had the art displayed eye level around the walls also with lighting
that accented the artwork. The walls were place diagonally which added the element of leading the
viewer around and drawing you into the space. This gallery was a smaller space but, I think it was setup
well with the diagonally placed walls. I think this gallery was setup up for an audience that enjoys
photography and digital illustration artwork.
The Cathedral Tattoo Company Gallery had the artwork of one of their tattoo artist displayed
along one wall of the shop. This gallery hung art at all heights along the wall some were framed and
others weren’t. The artwork was displayed along the walls like a typical tattoo shop would present their
artist’s imagery. This gallery may have been setup to showcase the artist’s variety of styles and
displayed for clientele looking for imagery ideas and anyone who is interested in a variety of artwork in a
many styles.
I think the way the art is displayed is very important for the viewer to see it in the best possible
way. There are several things that should be considered to enhance the artwork such as placement,
lighting, spacing, layout etc. The viewer needs ample lighting, ease of movement to walk around the
work, and thoughtful placement so, that the art can be viewed as the artist intended it to be seen.
3)
In the Art Access Gallery, McGarren Flack’s Lineup portraiture collection of mug shots lined the
walls of one of the room by height of the people he painted short to tall. Flack’s work was titled in the
middle of each oil painting by a word and number with a criminal booking sheet on the side of all the
paintings. The criminal booking sheet was filled with fake information which added to his collection and
played with his work. On top of the sheet was a post-it note saying “bail $1000.00” which was a clever
way to write the purchase price of the work and tie it into his whole theme of his mug shot Line Up
collection. I think the art was displayed thoughtfully and it added an extra element to catch the eye of
any viewer.
One of the oil paintings, Unpredictable 140628, was a young woman with a crazy eyes and look
on her face, looking straight at the viewer. She had dark messy hair with red, purple, green, and blue
added which gave the hair movement. With the look on her face and wildly colored hair it emphasized
the title of the woman looking unpredictable in her mug shot. Another oil painting in his collection Tear
15031 was a portrait of young man looking straight out at the viewer. He was portrayed very dark and
edgy with a liberty spiked black Mohawk. He had a very sad look on his face and his eyes looked as if
they were tearing up. Flack seemed to focus on the person and the emotions emphasizing it with blank
backgrounds.
4)
At the Cathedral Tattoo Company gallery there wasn’t any information posted about any of the
art. Business cards for the tattoo artist were stacked on the counter that had his name and number of
how to contact him at the shop. At the Utah Arts Festival and Art Access galleries there were Gallery
Stroll pamphlets and business cards from artists, sponsors, and art magazines. The business cards
contained the artist’s name, websites, and email addresses. The Art Access gallery also had flyers that
had information about the artists and the artist’s collections that were displayed.
If I wanted to know more information about the artists or artwork I could check out the artist’s
websites and any other postings about them on the internet. There was email addresses for some
artists provided, allowing you to contact the artist for more information about their work as well. At
some galleries the artists are present and are willing to talk to you and share information with the
public.
5)
At the Utah Arts Festival Gallery Dawn Bouvier’s Location, Location, Location collection of
photography work had been displayed. The artist took a complimentary angle of her work Sanctuary, a
photograph of a building with a water fountain flowing into a stream around the building. The building
had a curvy wall with an accent of an orange and gold line on the building. The walls were built with
different sized rocks and fit together for an added artistic architectural look. The flowing water and
curvy lines gave the photo movement and drew the viewer’s eyes around and only cost $165.00 to
purchase her work. I really liked this work because of how she showed so many elements of movement
with lines and the pops of color from the plants.
I also liked Stephanie Swift’s digital illustration artwork that was displayed in the Utah Arts
Festival Gallery. Swift’s Dee’s Burger Clown for $50.00 was created in 2010 and shows a boldly colored
sign from Dee’s Restaurant that she designed. She takes a photograph of signage and redraws it with a
computer program to make the image’s colors bold and stand out. I personally loved looking at the
Dee’s Restaurant sign and the way she designed it. I use to hang out at Dee’s every day in high school
with friends and this work reminded me of the special times I shared at Dee’s.
Another work from Stephanie Swift’s digital illustration collection was Star Noodle for $150.00
to purchase. An Asian influenced dragon, place above a Star Noodle sign in very bright playful colors.
The Dragon was very curvy and was colored with a variety of colors that added texture and moved your
eye around the work. I enjoyed the Asian influenced dragon and the powerfulness it conveyed in her
artwork of digital illustration.
There also was an artwork at Art Access painted by McGarren Flack titled Pessimist 168831 that
really stood out to me. Flack painted an edgy punk woman, maybe in her twenties, with a pink and
black messy Mohawk with oil paints. She was looking straight out to the viewer as if we were in her
space and she was about to laugh at us. With a blank background you focused more on her,the title and
the emotion he was trying to capture in the painting. She had a smirk on her face with her hand poised
underneath her chin. Her face said to me that she didn’t believe anything that was going on and that it
was a joke. I liked the playfulness of her attitude and wildly colored messy Mohawk which gave a fun
element of diagonals and movement, and it only cost $1000.00 to purchase. I also loved this artwork
because I am a Cosmetologist/Barber and I love the details he painted in her hair. I like the movement
and shape it added to her face and it was very artistic. I really enjoyed the emotions he captured and
how easily they were to pick out even when you didn’t read the title that was written right in the middle
of each painting.
6)
As I walked through the galleries I noticed several things that I learned about in my art history
class and was able to pick out. Tyler James Densley had several styles displayed through his artwork. He
had several works that were a little abstract and dream-like with dark figures, people, cartoons, shapes,
and animals. We talked about dream-like and abstract imagery and I was able to find certain artists and
styles he may have had influences from.
In McGarren Flack’s collection of mug shot portraiture, I was able to look at his work and
understand more about what I was looking at. I can see that Flack thoughtfully put the people in blank
backgrounds so that you would focus on the person. He also titled his works with an emotion and
painted that emotion on the persons face. The emotion was what he was trying to capture and he
surely captured it in more ways than just the title. In class we talked about portraiture and how it was
more for religious, wealthier people and ventured on to people who were normal working class people.
We also talked about how the person poses for the portraits sets a different message. Some people
would look away and others stare straight at the viewer like they were there with them.
In Dawn Bouvier’s and Stephanie Swift’s collection of photography, I was able to see the
cropping work they accomplished. The angles of which they took their photos captured added
movement with diagonals, curves, and color. In class we talked about lines, colors, styles, cropping etc.
and how it helps bring more elements to the artwork.
With all the work that I viewed in the gallery I was able to view all of them with a different
perspective than what I had before I took this art history class. There are a lot of details in every
artwork that can mean so much and I have a better understanding of how to look at art now. I have a
new way to decipher each work I look at by what style, medium, perspective, colors, symbolism etc. that
the artist may be trying to convey.
7)
I was very excited to go on an adventure through the galleries featured in the Gallery Stroll. As
an artist, I love looking at other artist’s artwork because, I really appreciate the time, effort, and thought
process that it takes to make artwork. It’s also a great experience to look at other artist’s work for
inspiration and enlightenment on their outlook on what they consider art. I would love to visit more
galleries and I have already shared my experience with my family and friends. I think it’s a great
opportunity to see art through other artist’s eyes and I believe everyone should get the chance to
experience it as well.
I love to draw a variety of things especially portraiture in any medium I can get my hands on and
try. When I walked into the Art Access Gallery I was drawn into Flack’s portraiture because it’s one of
my favorite kinds of artwork that I like to work with. I was honored that I had the chance to experience
his work and how playfully it was displayed. I also fell in love with Tyler James Densley’s artwork since
there were so many works compiled together in a wide variety of styles that gave an extra interest of
surprise in my eyes.
8)
As an art history student, I think that being able to explore art galleries inside my own
community is a great experience to enjoy and share. Visiting galleries gives me another chance to view
more artwork and open my mind to more imagery, mediums, ideas, and meet artists. I’m also able to
look at art with a different eye and tare things apart to find what influenced the artists and what styles
or periods they reflect in their work. I really valued the time I spent experiencing more art galleries and
I’m thankful for the learning experience I went through.