Set against a background of shades of gray, bright, vivid colors and shapes pop. Deep blue circles, squares filled with the colors of a warm red sunset, and sharp triangles fill the canvas. Maude I. Kerns’ “Composition #57” feels very reminiscent of works by Kandinsky. In contrast, on […]
READ LOCAL First is the world’s most extensive library of Utah-related poets and writers. For this final publication of 2021, we introduce Steven Johnson, who writes as RG Halleck. Halleck lives in Utah with three others, two of whom share his DNA. Although he’s worked in three different […]
On the third Saturday of each month, Vis., an optical shop and eye clinic in Salt Lake City, stows away its designer eyewear and opens its doors to the local arts community for intimate evenings of art curated by 801 Salon. November’s installment featured dance works by Jasmine […]
Together, two paintings hanging side by side in the Alice Gallery illustrate the paradoxical nature of language in general and titles in particular. Each features a large, single figure juxtaposed among smaller ones, and each is identified by a particular word. In “Society,” scale separates the lone figure […]
A quiet man with a sincere smile and a great handshake, Sam Stewart was a wizard financier, admittedly “hooked” on stocks but unattached to money itself. Instead, he gloried in what he could make money do for nonprofit organizations, to aid museums and change the lives of artists, to further […]
There’s something appropriate, even impressive when a newly-minted author chooses to write about auspicious beginnings, as Darrell Spencer does in the stories collected in his first book, Our Secret’s Out. When those stories go on to recount how often such promising openings falter, how anticipation of a grand […]
This past weekend (Nov. 19-21), Junction Dance Company director Megan Adelsberger welcomed the audience to their first show of the season. The program notes explained the symbolism of each character in the show and gave a storyline synopsis and a definition of the show’s title: Hypnopompic. The “hypnopompic” […]
A towering, light purple mountain range punctuated with intermittent white waterfalls cascades powerfully down the top half of the canvas. The pastel purple, pink and blue of mountain and sky draw the viewer into a mystical, dreamy world. But, as the viewer’s eyes descend down the canvas they […]
There any number of ways of looking at the painted world of Russell Case, but perhaps the most important one is that he paints real places. This fact was brought home to me while visiting his current exhibition at David Ericson’s splendid new gallery in the Avenues. First, […]
Shari Lyon is an encaustic artist who paints with beeswax and damar resin in her American Fork studio. She also incorporates the use of oil paints, pan pastels, oil sticks, photography, and drawings. She says the dreamy, ethereal image with texture and appeal, is unlike any other art […]
When I remember my favorite movie scenes, it’s often because of something particularly revealing that an actor does. But in the hands of a really good director, there is always another actor in the scene whose work I may not remember — may not even consciously notice — but whose work precedes those I do notice and may be far more telling. Perhaps the camera holds a shot for a several seconds, until I become aware that through its lens I am fixated, staring at something. Then it wheels about and fixes on something else, and I understand what the character sees and how they are thinking. The camera in those minutes reveals itself as the most important actor.
Working in a digital print medium, Jiyoun Lee-Lodge draws figure outlines — sophisticated cartoons, so to speak — of figures set for the most part in only slightly more detailed settings. Often she borrows the overall composition from an almost too-familiar image, like Edward Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks,’ a Manhattan […]
JODI GRAHAM FEATURED IN NEH HUMANITIES MAGAZINE
The quarterly Humanities Magazine, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities, featured Utah Humanities’ Executive Director, Jodi Graham in the most recent issue.
The highlight gave Utah Humanities a national platform for sharing our deep, statewide work and Jodi’s vision for the influence the humanities can have in our communities.
From the article: “Ask Graham about Utah Humanities, and you’ll hear about building bridges through collaborations. Elevating and amplifying the work of its partners is key to Utah Humanities’ mission, as the council aims to make connections across racial, demographic, and geographic divides.”
And when asked about her humanities philosophy, Jodi responded with her true-to-form insight that “The humanities bring people together,” she says, “and I really want everyone to be a part of it.”
Humanities Magazine highlights the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils, their impactful programming, and Executive Directors, emphasizing how relevant the humanities are in public life.
Our own programs and events are featured in every issue of the “Around the Nation” section of the magazine, and are just a glimpse of the transformative work Utah Humanities offers.
Dana Costello: Myths in the Headlines
Costello, a California native, says that though she was considered the “class artist” she never pursued any formal art studies, which she found too “limiting.” She had a “varied liberal arts higher education” and graduated from the University of California/Santa Barbara with a BA in Sociology and Psychology. After graduating, she worked in a number of different professions but remained unsatisfied. During this time, she began to paint more regularly and felt the drive to pursue her art more vigorously…”
Paul Heath is a graduate of the University of Utah and lives and works in Salt Lake.
“I characterize my work as “Pop-Nostalgia”. As a lifetime Salt Lake City resident, I draw inspiration from the awesome neon signs we have around us. I see my work as playful documentation, looking at objects and neighborhood niches through a lighter lens. I also paint images of older antique toys… to elicit a smile or friendly smirk. My art heroes are Andy Warhol, Red Grooms and Wayne Thiebaud.”
To discover more artists, visit our Utah Artists Directory
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