D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
June 2005
D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
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Creating a Crowd
People and their response to "personal space" are the subject of a new installation exhibit, "Interaction," in the Director's Gallery of the Las Cruces Museum of Fine Art, June 2-29. Donatucci's 31 abstract pieces are representations of people. The metal armatures with wire wrapping suggest the manner in which people wrap themselves in "metaphysical cocoons" when their personal space is invaded. She says her inspiration for the exhibit came from conversations with people about their comfort or discomfort in crowd situations. The installation allows visitors to interact with the "crowd of people" as they walk through the spatial environment of the exhibit. "Wall people" on the periphery of the exhibit symbolize the "baggage" we all carry through life. An Erie, Pa., native, Donatucci first visited New Mexico when she came west to participate in an internship on a Navajo reservation in Utah. Since 1999 she has lived in Santa Fe, because nowhere else offered "such a sensation of home," she says. She holds degrees from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and West Virginia University. She has exhibited most recently at the Grand Junction Art Center and Aspen International Art in Colorado, and the Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Fe. The public is invited to a reception for Donatucci and sculptor Ho Baron, whose work will be shown in the museum's Main Gallery, on Saturday, June 4, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The museum is located at 490 N. Water St. in the downtown mall, Surreal Icons in Bronze
Surreal imagery and personal motifs are the inspiration for a solo exhibition of sculptor Ho Baron's "Surreal Icons," which will be on display in the Main Gallery of the Las Cruces Museum of Fine Art, June 3-August 6. Intricate, tactile and visually intriguing, Baron's works are large iconic sculptures in cast bronze. He defines the figurative works as "gods for future religions," as they are primal and surreal at once, looking into various aspects of humankind: the obvious and the hidden, the haunting and the humorous. Born in Chicago, Baron was raised in El Paso. After earning a MA in English at the University of Tucson, he taught in the Peace Corps in Nigeria and Ethiopia. He went on to travel and live in New York City, Philadelphia, Austin, the Virgin Islands and Belgium. Baron's international travels inform his primitive, yet contemporary, sculptures. He says that his personal expression is intuitive and has grown from writing into the visual arts. Since 1989, his work has been exhibited across the country, most recently at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. An opening reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, June 4, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at the museum, 490 N. Water St. in the downtown mall. All museum exhibits and receptions are open to the public and free of charge. For information, call 541-2137. Border Artists Show at White Raven White Raven Studios in Las Cruces will host the Border Artists and Friends Show opening Saturday, June 4, and continuing through July 7. An opening reception will run from 5-7 p.m. at 425 W. Griggs Ave. The show highlights the talent and variety of artistic styles and mediums these artists bring to the community. Each member of the Border Artists brings their own work to the show in addition to the work of a friend. The artists participating in the show include: Paula Van Overbeke Voris with Shirley Crain; Joyce Macrorie with Brad Hart; Dan Tapper with Grace Dobson; Bob Willis with his son Kyle Willis; Georjeanna Feltha with Pamela Lyles; Tom Gerend with Mark Hohnstreiter; Annetta Hoover with Jo Ledbetter; Carolyn Bunch with Earline Barnes; Julie Ford Oliver with Joan Shepack; Jo-an Smith with Roxanne Rodwell; Rosemary McLoughlin with Colleen Hennessy; Sandy Zane with Roberta Cohen; Jackie Mitchell Edwards; and Sherry Doil Carter with Lisa Barren. The Border Artists are local independent artists who have organized to support and inspire each other in their work and find venues for exhibiting their work. For more information on the show, call 525-9543. White Raven Studios will also begin a series of summer art classes starting the first week in June. A wide variety of adult classes, children's classes and a workshop taught by local artist Valice Raffi will be offered. To register or for more information, call 525-9543 or e-mail artravem3@aol.com. Navajo Weavers Return for Workshop Sarah H. Natani and TahNibaa Naataanii will be returning to Silver City to teach a traditional weaving, dyeing and spinning workshop at WNMU Fiber Arts Studio, June 27-July 1, hosted by the Mogollon Rim Fiber Guild. Natani is an acclaimed weaver who has taught for more than 37 years throughout the US and in Europe. Her workshops are filled with stories of the Navajo deity, Spider Woman, who taught weaving and etiquette to the Navajo people, as well as personal stories of her life as a weaver. TahNibaa, her daughter, follows the rich tradition of her mother and teacher. She has exhibited in the Santa Fe Indian Market and other exhibits, demonstrating her expertise in traditional weaving. The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and will afford participants time to complete a small weaving. Participation is limited to 12 and advance registration is required. Visitors are welcome at the studio with the understanding that instruction will be taking place and there may not be opportunity to visit with the instructors. The cost of the workshop and supplies is $410. Participants provide their own beater and loom, or may rent a loom for an additional $15. Register through the Mogollon Rim Fiber Guild, PO Box 2653, Silver City, NM 88061. For more information, contact Jacque Cusick, 538-3138 All About Arts The Grant County Art Guild is hosting the 20th Purchase Prize Award Show, "Southwestern Realism in Art." Artists who are residents of New Mexico are eligible to enter the show, which includes works in oils, acrylics, watercolors and pastels. Prize for the Best of Show is $1,500. Entries are due by August 1. Write to the Grant County Art Guild at PO Box 456, Silver City, NM 88062, or e-mail gcag@silvercity-nm.com. Local artist Laurel Weathersbee will exhibit a collection of small works in watercolor, collage, hand-pulled prints and mixed media at Java Junkie, 850 N. Telshor Ave. in Las Cruces, during June and July. The public is invited to an artist's reception on Friday, June 3, 6-8 p.m. For more information, call Artist Phil Yost will present an exhibit of his watercolors at the Tombaugh Gallery of the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2000 S. Solano Drive, through June 24. The paintings celebrate the expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1805. In 2003, Yost and his brother recreated a 50-mile portion of that Missouri River journey by canoe, taking photographs along the way. The paintings were made from those photographs. Yost has a Master of Forestry degree from Duke University, and worked as a professional forester in Idaho. Two years in the Peace Corps in Paraguay preceded his 30-year career of teaching high school science in Las Cruces. He is a self-taught watercolorist and has been accepted to several major juried shows. Following the Las Cruces exhibit he will take his works to four venues in Montana. A juried exhibition entitled "Beauty in Human Form" will showcase artwork involving the human body, nude or clothed, at Gallery 1, 109 N. Bullard. The exhibit opens June 12 with a reception from 6-8 p.m., and continues through June 22. For information, call 388-1260 or 388-2079.
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