Looking Back and Pressing Forward

originally published February 13, 2008

This week, the Athens art scene offers up a retrospective of Professor Emeritus Rocky Sapp, and the studio musings of MFA candidates, with works so freshly created that they haven’t left the studio, by artists so brand-new, they haven’t left the school.

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Last Chance to See Selective Retrospective: William “Rocky” Sapp, UGA Professor Emeritus, has work at Athens Academy’s Myers Gallery. The artist has covered the walls with charcoal and graphite drawings, pastels and watercolors (even three portraits of the Dr. Max Heeb family from 1971), an advertisement of his diverse skill and true technical ability, but it is the multiples in grids that draw the viewer's eyes: “Pacing ‘dogs’” (2004) and “Speechless in Samaipata” (1998). “Pacing ‘dogs,’” instills a mysterious sense of place. The artist has created what he calls a photomural out of a repeatedly photographed image of a sculpted dog, similar to the process used in creating Claymation. The photographs are printed on small squares of paper forming a grid. The dog(s) seem almost confrontational, on a distorted red background with a green-grey ground floor; the animal appears to walk, hungrily awaiting… something. Like “Pacing ‘dogs,’” both “Speechless in Samaipata” (1998) and “Scapedogs of Samaipata” (1998) are woodcuts printed on small squares of paper in a grid pattern. On each woodcut of a man/dog crawling on hands and knees, a sticker is added, creating a target on the abdomen or chest, suggesting a double vulnerability. “Speechless in Samaipata” ironically has words written across each square, one name repeated in each square like Sally Mann, Andres Serrano, Tag Purvis or Michael Betancourt, like a dedication, or an artist paying homage to his influences. William Sapp is scrawled across the top middle square. The handwriting solidifies the image and provides a sense of completeness.

“Clay Pigeons” (1976) and “Infant Burial” (1976), both acrylic on watercolor paper, show an interest in abstracted design. “Infant Burial” hints at the subject/title, mortality and the body, with the dark earth color and reddish highlights surrounding a repeated symbol that could be read as a baby. “Clay Pigeons” and “Jonathan Creek” use similar symbolism, adding concentric circles to the repertoire. The artist shows a refinement of both technical skill and subject matter. Though his bronze works are finely crafted, so are his paintings and drawings. (For example, the subtly beautiful “Musing (study),” a graphite drawing, waits quietly in a corner inviting the viewer to rest with it.)

With 14 sculptures and 60 wall-based works, this retrospective focuses on Sapp’s career as a figurative and portraiture artist. The varied media the artist has used to explore the figure shows a freedom found in the sanctity of 40 years of teaching. As gallery coordinator, art instructor and artist Lawrence Stueck states, the exhibit is organized with teaching in mind. Students can see how Sapp’s studies on paper led to three-dimensional sculptures. “Selective Retrospective” will be on display through Feb. 15. Work by Larry Millard will be on view during March. Barbara Mann and Beth Cyr will have work in the Bertelsmann Gallery during March. These galleries are located on the Athens Academy campus at 1281 Spartan Lane. See www.athensacademy.org for more.

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In the Studio: The University of Georgia’s MFA candidates will host an open studio at Cedar Street Studios on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. Fifteen students, including Jon Barwick, Joshua Bienko, Kim Deakins, Judson Duke, Jennifer Hartley, Nick Helton, Brian Hitselberger, Bart Lynch, Erin McIntosh, Samantha Mosby, Robert Peterson, Jon Roy, John Stidham, Susan Vaclavik and Jessica Wohl, will open the doors of their typically private studios for viewers to glimpse the creative process in action. The Cedar Street Art Annex is in its last year, after enjoying 20 years of use by the Graduate Drawing and Painting program. The studios will relocate upon completion of the new Visual Arts Building in the Performing and Visual Arts Center, adjacent to the Georgia Museum on East Campus. The slightly decrepit, slightly confusing maze of studios carved from a larger space, will be replaced with an efficient and modern design. It will be interesting to see the effects of the change.

What to expect at this year’s Open Studio? Bienko spoofs advertising with Gap ads and Faux Pods, with a philosophy similar to Pop artists plus an added political element. His “Girls of Delta Zeta,” in which he drew a portrait of each of the sorority members, was on display at Mercury Artworks last summer. He worked with Michael Oliveri, Sean Mills and Robert Peterson on “Nanostructures Unstructured.” (See Art Notes "Designing a New Reality," Apr. 4, 2007.) Peterson and Katie Howell will be “performing” during the open studio event. As an act of endurance, they will be painting for 24 hours straight, and visitors may witness a portion of this act on the evening of Feb. 15.

McIntosh’s paintings are abstract and layered, while Hartley uses imagery from around her New Town neighborhood in her rich and mysterious paintings. Duke graduated from the UGA BFA program. Lynch and Vaclavik abstract the figure in their paintings. Stidham studies mysticism with a repeated image of the Virgin de Guadelupe floating in a starry night sky. Hitselberger’s thick paintings of traditional-ish subject matter seem to have been replaced with an exploration in yarn. The graduating students involved in the open studio will be included in the upcoming "MFA Thesis Exhibit" at the Georgia Museum of Art, which opens on Mar. 29. For directions and parking info, visit www.visart.uga.edu. Food and drink will be provided. For more info on the show itself, see www.ugamfa.blogspot.com.

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Highlights not to miss: Flicker on Valentine's Day? Bring home a broken heart… in a frame, from the second annual Valentine's show by local artists Ty Lytton, Rizzy Gallego, Joe Havasy, Mike Groves, Chris Parry, Keith Rein and Radar. Don’t forget the opening reception for the Lyndon House 33rd Juried Exhibition is on Thursday, Feb. 21, 6–8 p.m.

Beth Sale

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