Found art sculpture by Lee Deffebach. Courtesy Phillips Gallery.
“Is this art?”
Have you ever asked yourself this question?
“But that’s not art!”
Does this declaration sound familiar?
If so, you may want to pack your lunch this Friday and join the Salt Lake County Art Collection Committee’s new panel discussion, “Art Too! Art Not!”
This new brown-bag panel discussion series came about due to Committee member Jay Stone’s interest to see lively discussion about the visual arts. Stone is an assistant district attorney for the County who serves on the Art Committee and is currently the chair of the Brown-bag Subcommittee.
The brown-bag series has been going on since 2000. In the past, artists were asked to come and discuss their work. Stone wanted something different this year.
“I enjoy listening to artists,” Stone explains, “more in private conversations than in public discourse, but my favorite vehicle for understanding a subject is in the give and take of a discussion of knowledgeable persons. I enjoy listening to smart people challenge each others’ ideas. It’s one thing to stand up and sound smart when you are alone. It is a completely different experience to stand up and express an opinion, knowing that an equally qualified expert is going to critique your ideas.”
Stone hopes the discussions will be a hit with the public.
“The public enjoys the format, just look at the half-time shows during the NFL games. Worn out, has-been quarterbacks and fired coaches argue the calls, judgments, and rules with each other to the delight of millions of viewers and a bunch of advertizers. The television networks utilize media-person as panelist and energetically discuss money, politics, and current events — so why not ART?”
The County’s brown-bag series will continue every third Friday of the month (Gallery Stroll!) at 12:00pm at the Rose Wagener Performing Arts Center.
Stone, who will be moderating June’s panel, is excited to see what will happen: “What I hope will come out of the event is passionate and articulate debate about aesthetics, that will help the audience form, or re-form, their own opinions about art.”
Will he be right? Will “Art Too! Art Not!” become the Utah visual arts version of The McLaughlin Group, Wall Street Week, and Washington Week in Review?
Or will the Jerry Springer mentality prevail as security personel attempt to keep Dave Gagon and Shawn Rossiter from assaulting each other over whether or not a velvet Elvis is art?
To find out, tune in (brown-bag optional) Friday June 20th at 12:00pm at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 West Broadway.
UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: Visual Arts
