Blowing Rock Art and History Museum: Pulp & Bind Artist Roundtable
Updated: 10:02 AM EDT Mar 27, 2024
HERE ON THE LOCAL VIBE, THE BLOWING ROCK ART AND HISTORY MUSEUM HAS A NEW EXHIBIT, AND THEY’RE INVITING ARTISTS TO TALK ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS. THEY PUT INTO THEIR WORK. THAT’S RIGHT. SO HERE TO TELL US MORE IS GABE WILSON, THE CURATOR OF EXHIBITIONS AND COLLECTIONS AT THE MUSEUM. GOOD MORNING, GABE. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. YEAH. OF COURSE. SO STARTING OFF, CAN CAN YOU FIRST TELL US JUST BROADLY WHAT THE FOCUS OF THE PULP AND BIND X EXHIBIT IS AND WHY YOU PURSUED IT. ABSOLUTELY. SO PULP AND BIND UM IS A GROUP SHOW THAT IS FOCUSED ON ARTISTS IN SOUTHERN APPALACHIA WHO WORK, UM, SPECIFICALLY WITH, UH, PAPER AND BOOK. UM, SO, SO THIS EXHIBITION IS EMERGING FROM A SERIES OF CRAFT FOCUSED EXHIBITIONS AT THE MUSEUM HAS DONE OVER THE LAST SEVEN OR SO YEARS. AND THIS IS OUR FINAL ONE. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE MUSEUM A COUPLE YEARS AGO, UM, IT DAWNED ON ME THAT THE ONLY MEDIUM WE HAD FOCUSED ON WAS PAPER. UM, AND NORTH CAROLINA, UM, AND THIS LARGER REGION IS SUCH A RIPE AREA FOR EXPLORING, UM, THIS, THIS FACET OF CRAFT BASED PRACTICE. UM, SO ALL THE ARTISTS IN THE SHOW, ALL OF THE WORK IN THE SHOW IS EITHER FOCUSED ON EXPERIMENTAL BOOK MAKING OR THE EXPERIMENTAL USE OF PAPER. WOW. FASCINATING. AND IF YOU COULD SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ARTISTS THAT ARE FEATURED, THEY HAVE NORTH CAROLINA TIES AS WELL. SO MANY OF THEM DO. UM, 12 OF THE 18 ARTISTS ARE BASED IN NORTH CAROLINA OR HAVE LIVED HERE AT ONE POINT. UM, I’VE ACTUALLY GOT TWO REALLY GREAT EXAMPLES BEHIND ME. IT’S A LITTLE HARD TO SEE WITH THE GLARE, BUT WAY BACK THERE, UM, AS A AS AN ARTIST NAMED NICOLE UZZELL, WHO’S BASED IN THE TRIAD, UM, SHE PRODUCED, UM, THESE SORT OF MONUMENTAL, LARGER THAN LIFE WISHBONE SCULPTURES OUT OF, UM, SORT OF BENDABLE STEEL AND ABACA PAPER THAT SHE HAS PROCESSED, UM, SO MUCH THAT IT’S ALMOST LIKE RAWHIDE. IT REALLY SORT OF DEFIES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT PAPER CAN BE. UM, AND THEN ANOTHER REALLY FANTASTIC ARTIST IN THE SHOW WHO’S BASED IN THE PENLAND AREA IS DANIEL ESSIG. RIGHT HERE. UM, HE IS A SCULPTOR, BUT HIS MEDIUM IS REALLY THE BOOK FORM. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS STURGEON BAY, THE FINS, THE SCALES ON THE BACK, EVERYTHING IS ACTUALLY SORT OF AN INDIVIDUAL BOOK. HE IS CREATED IN THEORY. YOU COULD PICK IT UP AND OPEN IT AND READ IT. I DON’T ENCOURAGE ANYONE VISITING TO DO THAT, BUT WOW, THAT’S THAT’S REALLY COOL. WOW. YEAH, SO MUCH TALENT. YEAH FOR SURE I KNOW. AND COULD YOU SHARE SOME OF THE WORKS THAT ARE PARTICULAR, REALLY INTRICATE AND COMPLICATED AND USE PAPER IN UNEXPECTED WAYS? ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY. UM, SO IF YOU CAN ONLY SEE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF IT TO, UM, TO MY RIGHT. UM, BUT THIS ARTIST, CHARLES CLARY, UM, HE ACTUALLY LAYERS HUNDREDS, SOMETIMES THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF PAPER, UM, INTO THESE SORT OF INTRICATE DESIGNS THAT ARE THEN EMBEDDED IN DRYWALL AND THEN COVERED IN SORT OF VINTAGE STYLE WALLPAPER. IT MAKES THESE SORT OF REALLY BEAUTIFUL, UM, COMPOSITE LINES THAT APPEAR AS THOUGH THEY’RE EMERGING OUT OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE GALLERY. UM, THEY’RE REALLY QUITE FASCINATING AND MYSTERIOUS WHEN YOU FIRST ENCOUNTER THEM. WOW. AND, GABE, WE KNOW THAT THE ARTISTS ROUNDTABLE EVENT IS TOMORROW. CORRECT? TELL US WHAT PEOPLE CAN EXPECT, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. SO TOMORROW IN OUR COMMUNITY GALLERY, WE’LL HAVE THREE OF THE ARTISTS IN THIS EXHIBITION, UM, ROSA, DARK AND POWERS FROM THE BOONE AREA. UM, GEORGIA DIEHL FROM ASHEVILLE AND LEILA ARRUZA FROM APEX WILL ALL BE IN CONVERSATION. UM, AND THE ROUNDTABLE WILL BE MODERATED BY MY CO-CURATOR, BELA LUGOSI. I THINK IT’LL BE A REALLY EXCITING MOMENT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS. AND THEN ALSO LEARN ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SORT OF THE CONCEPTS OF THIS EXHIBITION. THAT’S AWESOME. GABE. YEAH, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT’S GOING TO BE A BEAUTIFUL, UH, EXPO EDITION. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPEAKING WITH US THIS MORNING. I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY. THAT EXHIBIT IS AT THE BLOWING ROCK HISTORY MUSEUM. THE ARTI
Blowing Rock Art and History Museum: Pulp & Bind Artist Roundtable
Updated: 10:02 AM EDT Mar 27, 2024
The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum is hosting a roundtable discussion with three artists featured in our exhibition, “Pulp & Bind: Paper & Book in Southern Appalachia.”Lela Arruza, Rosa Dargon-Powers, and Georgia Deal will share their artistic practice with us and explore their approach to the medium of paper. The event will be at 159 Ginny Stevens Lane in Blowing Rock. It’s free for all to attend. Watch our interview on The Local Vibe to learn more.
The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum is hosting a roundtable discussion with three artists featured in our exhibition, “Pulp & Bind: Paper & Book in Southern Appalachia.”
Lela Arruza, Rosa Dargon-Powers, and Georgia Deal will share their artistic practice with us and explore their approach to the medium of paper.
The event will be at 159 Ginny Stevens Lane in Blowing Rock. It’s free for all to attend.
Watch our interview on The Local Vibe to learn more.
