Paris Gibson Square Art Auction reception, Jan. 18

Last night I attended the Paris Gibson Square's opening reception for their annual art auction.
This year's reception had a new wrinkle with the inclusion of a quick finish by four prominent local artists: Brenda Wolf, Ron Ukrainetz, Brian Morger and David Powers.

Painting by Ron Ukrainetz

The Square also displayed its selection of art it will auction off in February.

The collection was impressively diverse, both in types of art, subject matter and influences which the artists drew from.

Perhaps they could have included more artwork that you don't hang on a wall. That's true for almost any art show, however, I think. Still, anytime you can include more pottery or any kind of three-dimensional art, it's good to see.

I will say, I heard people comment several times throughout the night that they were amazed at the range of artists and pieces. All told, the Square did a nice job in that regard.

My critiques of the show start with the flow of where things were happening.

Upon walking into the building, I was not sure where I should go or where I wasn't allowed to go. As the night wore on, I started getting more familiar with the surroundings. A map, or signs showing what was where, would have been useful.

Similarly, I was most excited about the show because of the quick finish artists. It's not often you get to see an artist work on his or her craft in front of you.

My issue was that they seemed to be a bit isolated from the rest of the show. Two or three of the artists were upstairs painting in separate rooms. The rooms did have signs on them, but as I have not attended many art receptions, I was never quite sure how close I could get to the artists.

I later discovered they're all pretty approachable. I dropped in on three of the four artists, but unfortunately couldn't find the fourth. Better signage might have helped solve that.

I did end up visiting with several of the artists as I've spoken with them before and felt comfortable saying hi.
People new to the area, or to the Square, might not have been as forthcoming, though.

Artwork by Monte Yellow Bird

Perhaps the artists chose to be spread across the museum for personal reasons, but I would have much rather seen them all in the same large room. That may have changed the dynamic of their pieces, but I feel the quick finishes where the artists are together make for a more dynamic display.

As for the pieces they were working on, I feel the Square could not have found better artists to participate in the quick finish.

Each of the painters are outgoing and friendly, insanely talented, and well-respected in our community.

The theme of the night for the artists seemed to be painting animals.
Ukrainetz was painting a fantastic looking bison in his colorful style and Morger was finishing a painting of a fish leaping from the water that almost seemed as if it were flying off the canvas.
Wolf was putting the finishing touches on a deer or elk that, as is her style, is surrounded by a sense of warmth. Many of Wolf's paintings feature animals and seem to be soaked in an aura of something that's hard to define but unique to her.

I did not get to see Powers' piece, but I'm sure it was amazing. If I had been able to stay longer and knew where he was stationed, I would have loved to drop in.

The second main critique I offer is how the appetizers were presented.

The food itself was as tasty as it was varied. A part of me wished, though, that there were cards telling guests what they were eating.

There was one plate with a card marking a "glutton free" selection for people who cannot eat glutton.
As a person who needs to watch how much sugars I eat, however, I would have liked to know what I was choosing from.

Also, while most of the selections were finger foods, I did find the need to use a fork. Some plastic forks set out for people would have been nice, also.

 I will say that many of the issues were resolved by finding a person with a Paris Gibson Square badge. Each volunteer was more than willing to help find whatever I needed to find. In that sense it was a relief that even if I seemed a bit lost at first, there were people there willing to help me find what I was looking for.

Painting by David Powers

Seeing as this was an art show, I do have a few critiques on the art, as well.

One of the pieces that stuck out for me were LA Hoffman's silk-screen, wooden chest piece.
One panel showed an empty chest outlined on what I believe was mahogany wood. The panel to its left was the same chest, now open, outlined on the same wood, but with a gold-type material of some sort, which was meant to represent the shine from whatever was inside the chest.

Another was Monte Yellow Bird's piece. One of Yellow Bird's predominant styles is to draw colored penciled horses and natives on old official pieces of paper, be it a land deed or store ledger or official invoice.

The piece at the Square also included what looked to be an animal's teeth stylized to match the drawings. Yellow Bird's paintings are much beloved, so it's fantastic to see one at the Square.

Like many art shows, not all of the pieces reach you as much as others. The beauty of art is that 20 people can look at the same painting and can feel 20 different emotions. While I might not have enjoyed some pieces, other people may have thought of them as their favorites.

One of the pieces that stumped me was "Winter Writings" which featured nine separate pieces all with bright silver frame matting around them.
To me, it felt like the frames were more impressive than the art itself, which included nothing more than some squiggly lines. I tried finding some deeper meaning behind the lines, but for the life of me I could not. Maybe that was the point, or maybe if I had a chance to talk to the artist, I would have understood it more.

As a viewer, however, it made me feel like I was looking at someone's scribbles put in beautiful-looking frames.

Another questionable piece was the one titled "Heart Attack."
I'm a bit torn on this piece. On one hand, it's unique and amazing. It features what appears to be a human heart with random items sticking out of it like forks and broken light bulbs.

It catches your eye. I like the boldness of it. At the same time, however, I can't help but wonder where one would hang that if you were looking to purchase it.
It's a conversation starter, no doubt, but if I'm sitting in my living room, I really would not want to be staring at a human heart with forks sticking out of it every day. Perhaps there are such people, and if so I guess that piece is for them.

Again, I applaud the Square for experimenting with different types of art you might not see anywhere else. One could not fault them for playing it safe and featuring many pieces that one would "expect" to see in a Montana gallery.

And, indeed, there were several what you could call "safe" paintings, but there were many, like the heart attack photo, that were not. It's a bold step and one I'm happy they chose to take.

As I was getting ready to leave, I heard Laura Cotton, chief curator of the Square, tell someone that it was one of the larger turnouts they've had for an art reception.
I'm happy that the number of people chose to show up for the reception. It's a great indicator that people here do care about art and culture. People here do take notice of what's happening in our creative community.

As I was not able to stay for the quick finish auction, I cannot comment on that portion of the night. I do hope, although, that all of the pieces were sold. Part of me thinks they almost certainly were. If I find out I will update this post.

Finally, most of my critiques of the evening, I feel, have simple solutions. If for the next reception they have more signs showing what's happening where, that would be useful for visitors. That, I feel, would be a big improvement, and make the evening more accessible for people who have never visited before.

The take-home message of the night, I feel, is that the arts are alive in Great Falls. The momentum continues to build and there's about to be an explosion, even more than what's already come. I anticipate it's arrival.

If you'd like to read more about the show, check out my Great Falls Tribune article here