A personal ad inadvertently draws four middle-aged singles together when Val and Andy arrange to meet on a blind date, dragging their best friends Nina and Matt along for moral support. Their relationships progress through the following weeks, setting off laughable plot twists and an unexpected hookup in the midst of the 1990s.

Cleverly written, funny and insightful, LOOKING shows us we don’t always get what we set our sights on, but what we end up with can be an unexpected surprise.

Tred Avon Players presents LOOKING, a smart, sexy and very relatable romantic comedy written by Norm Foster and directed by Alison Lynch. The show runs August 17-27 and will be performed in partnership with the Oxford Community Center at 200 Oxford Road in Oxford. The cast includes Dean Goodwin as Matt, Jennifer Pogoda as Nina, Mary Ann Emerson as Val and Paul Briggs as Andy.

The Spy asked director Alison Lynch and Dean Goodwin to stop by the Spy studio last week to tell us more.

LOOKING opens on Thursday, August 17 and runs for seven performances through Sunday, August 27. Thrifty Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons are at 2:00 p.m. at the Oxford Community Center, 200 Oxford Rd in Oxford. Tickets are adults $25 / students $15 (no fee added.) Thrifty Thursday (August 17) and Sunday matinees sell out quickly!

Starting at the beginning of the story, the caves at Lascaux in the Valley of Vezere on the Dordogne River in France were discovered by accident on September 12, 1940. Four boys and their dog Robot stumbled onto the entrance of the cave.  Since that time, historians, archeologists, and others wondered about and explored some of the earliest created images during the Paleolithic period (530,000-10,000 BCE). The cave contains images of over 6000 figures of animals, humans, and abstract designs dating from c.17,000-15,000 BCE. 

 

A tunnel, forty-nine feet long, connects the entrance of the cave to the large open space called the Hall of Bulls. Historians and archeologists believe the cave was not lived in. The entrance is too long and too narrow. Hunter-gathers of the period needed to live in a cave with an opening closer to the outside for easier access to water, food, and fresh air. Lascaux was a sacred, hidden space. The images serve as a record rather than art. With no identifiable language, these images recorded what was most important to life: food, clothing, and shelter. 

The Hall of Bulls, also called the Rotunda, is 62 feet long and 25 feet wide. The ceiling is covered with images of herds of animals. The two large so-named bulls are aurochs, an extinct cattle species, several brown horses and ponies, a group of deer, and a so-named unicorn, the last animal on the left. Images of animals were added over many years, thus the overlapping of drawings, paintings, and engravings. The Hall of Bulls is sometimes referred to as the Paleolithic Sistine Chapel. 

To the surprise of the discoverers, the animals are not simple stick figures, but relatively well developed and detailed images. Nine hundred animals are identifiable. Drawn in profile except for the horns, the animals are not stationary, but they appear to be walking, running, or swimming. They have a vital force. The aurochs have identifiable noses, mouths, and eyes, along with well-shaped bodies, four walking legs, and hooves. The auroch at the right side of the wall is 15 feet long.

The animals were drawn using natural pigments found in the cave or nearby. The red, yellow, and black colors were made from charcoal, hematite, geothite, manganese, and a variety of iron oxides and animal fat. In order to get the ground pigments to adhere to the wall, warm animal fat was applied first, and the color then was rubbed or blown onto the fat. Many hollow bones, wood, or reeds stained inside with color were found. The ground pigment was placed inside the hollow tube and blown onto the wall. Evidence of this technique can be observed in the horse head at the top of the wall. Also found were sockets in the wall where scaffolding would have been built to reach the ceiling. 

Among the animal images are abstract symbols: the small black arch with two dots under it at the foot of the deer, the three ochre lines next to the head of the auroch on the left, and the black lines of a spear that pierces the chest of the auroch at the right.  Many of these symbols represent hunting, but others cannot be explained. The abstract designs are straight lines, parallel lines, branching lines, nested convergent lines, quadrangular shapes, claviform signs, v-shaped lines, and dots. 

 

The paintings and drawings of deer provide an interesting comparison. The top red deer is missing its head. The next red deer has an elaborate but rather crooked set of antlers. Two black dots appear between the antlers. The depiction of the deer at the lower right is most unique. The elaborate set of black antlers spring from the well-shaped head. The front legs and hooves are placed in a forward position, although the deer does not appear to be running. The deer’s black head and neck flow into the modulated browns and oranges of the body. The deer is a remarkable image. She is also pregnant, as are many other animals in the cave.

Deeper in the cave, beyond the Hall of Bulls, is a narrow passage which leads into the Axial Gallery. It is not as wide as the Hall of Bulls, but is 72 feet long with a dead end. The herds of horses, aurochs, bulls, bison, and ibexes cross the ceiling. Most notable is the Black Bull, the largest animal in the cave at 17 feet long. The features of its face are well developed, as is the entire body. It is a massive animal for a hunter to encounter. The three-pronged shape in front of the Black Bull may represent a weapon aimed to disable it.

Among the horses in the Axial Gallery, the 56 inch long Chinese Horse stands out. The horse’s mane clearly exhibits pigment blown through a tube, even to the puff marks at the edges. The black outline is masterful. The placement of ochre, which runs from a reddish-brown to yellow, effectively defines her chest, back, and rounded rump. Her stomach bulges and hangs low in pregnancy.  Two arrow shapes are depicted in front of her and at her side. An abstract design, perhaps a trap or cage, appears to be ready to drop down on her. The unexpected skill of the Paleolithic artist is clearly in evidence here.

 

 

At the middle of the Hall of Bulls, a long narrow passage with animal images on the ceiling accompany the viewer to chambers called the Apse and the Nave. A hole in the floor of the Apse opens to the farthest and darkest part of the cave, accessible only by a ladder. Here is one of the most confusing images in the cave. A bison has been speared in the stomach by a hunter, and its entrails are hanging out. In front of the bison is the prone stick figure of a male hunter, with mouth open and bird-like head. This is the only human depicted in the cave, and it has none of the detail or sophistication of the animal images. A line symbol is placed on the ground next the feet of the dead human. 

The two remaining images offer no understanding of the scene. A long pole with the simple image of a bird is painted next on the wall. Beyond, the partial image of the body of a rhinoceros, with a horn, walks away from the scene. 

Returning to the Nave (59’ X 20’), two back-to-back bison can be recognized. The male bison’s thick hairy coat is best depicted in the bison on the left. 

The Nave’s ceiling varies in height from 8.5 feet to 27 feet. The irregular wall, or a patch of natural color on the wall, often has been taken into consideration in the placement of an animal’s body. The rippling texture of this section of the wall represents the flowing water of a river. The drawing of the four black deer, heads up and noses in the air, suggest they are swimming across the water. 

One explanation for the images in the cave is “sympathetic magic.” The hunters recognized that animals stay together in herds, and images of groups of the same animals appear throughout the cave. Although the law of mutual attraction, “like attracts like,” was not defined until 1906, it seems applicable here.  The drawings were intended to attract animals to the cave, making hunting easier. Spears and arrows account for the hunter’s success. The cave also may have been used to prepare young hunters for their first hunts. 

The study of primitive societies in the present day has reveals that reverence for the animals that were hunted is an important part of their culture. The careful depiction of the animals and abstract symbols in the caves also may be intended as praise for the animals and to show gratitude that they gave themselves up to be killed. The presence of images of pregnant females also reflects the importance of reproduction to the supply. 

Lascaux opened to the public on July 14, 1948. By 1955, the cave had attracted1200 visitors every day and was discovered to be deteriorating. Carbon dioxide, heat, humidity, and the like were causing fungus, black mold, lichens, and other forms of deterioration. The cave was closed to tourism in 1963. Lascaux was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. In order to allow the public to see the remarkable work in the cave, the creation of an exact replicas the cave was begun in 1983. In December 2016, the largest and most exact copy was opened to the public.  

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

As part of its Music for Maryland summer tour, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra returned Saturday night to the Todd Performing Arts Center at Chesapeake College for the first time since 2016 – an absence due in part to the COVID pandemic that shut down the concert hall.

An appreciative audience of more than 400 welcomed the orchestra led by guest conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, who, after taking a bow, turned on the podium to direct the musicians in Dvorak’s rousing Slavonic Dance, Opus 72, No. 7 in C major. This spirited seventh tune in his series, inspired by a Serbian folk tale, was an instant hit when it was arranged for full orchestra in 1887. It was easy to imagine why with the joyfully rhythmic performance by the BSO, dressed in summer white jackets and blouses.

Turning to introduce the next in the series of short dance numbers, the gregarious conductor, a native of Canada, told the story of Florence Price, the first African-American woman composer to have her music performed by a major U.S. orchestra. Her prodigious works were thought to be lost until discovered in a home near Chicago long after Price’s death in 1953. Her posthumous renaissance was celebrated Saturday night with “Juba Dance,” the third movement of Price’s ground-breaking Symphony No. 1, which made its debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933. The jazzy Juba movement takes its name from foot-stomping, hand-clapping dances performed by Southern plantation slaves. The BSO string section set a vibrant pace with bass and drum beats marking time in percussive syncopation.

Two distinctly different waltzes followed, starting with Tchaikovsky’s traditional one from the opera “Eugene Onegin.” Fittingly romantic with the undercurrent of love’s unrequited intrigue, the heartbreaking string-led melody closes with a torrid finish. The thoroughly modern waltz movement of “Four Dances” by Towson University music professor and composer Jonathan Leshner “sounds very expensive in its elegance,” Bartholomew-Poyser noted of the jazz undertones that switch to robust outbursts before settling on a stylish minuet in conclusion. Bartok’s even more variant Romanian Folk Dances followed with seven rapid-fire mini-movements – from tenderly emotive to urgently impatient to an even faster pace as if played by Transylvania fiddlers in a race to finish.

The aptly named “Polyphonic Lively” borrows its title from a painting by Paul Klee. Written in 2016 by Canadian composer Dinuk Wijeratne, who says that his piece – indeed lively – “conjures up high-vibration, high-intensity chatter,” expressed in sharp turns in orchestral “voices” that stretch a melodic throughline with instrumental touches and flourishes in disparate brief solos.
Far more familiar to most of us is Piazzolla’s 1965 “Summer” entry in “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires,” his answer to Vivaldi’s Northern Hemisphere “Four Seasons,” changing the order from that of the 18th-century Venetian-Viennese composer. Each Piazzolla “season” is written as quite different compositions rather than an all-encompassing suite. Chelsea Kim, BSO’s first violin, performed the extensive solo portion of this longest piece in the concert. The light accompaniment by the full orchestra grows more heated as if responding to the rising temperature of January in Buenos Aires. Kim’s expressive interpretation of the season’s variable moods – from restfully languid to breakouts of thunderous claps – on this evening echoed the thunderstorm that had just pierced the clammy humidity of the day.

The unpronounceable “Im Krapfenwald’l,” which translates roughly as the “Cuckoo Polka,” by Johann Strauss Jr., offered musical comic relief as birdsong chirps of the string section suggested a Viennese Woods setting. What begins as a standard polka concludes with
a bombastic surprise that scares the cuckoos from their perches.
Bartholomew-Poyser described the concert finale, the fourth and last movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, as “something like a perpetual motion machine.” In keeping with the dance idioms of the concert format, Beethoven’s thrilling finish to his masterpiece offers a whirl of dance-like energy, as reflected in a young boy in the front row who mimicked the conductor’s high-energy exhortations to his team of musicians. Besides the splendid and inspired performance that earned its standing ovation, the miracle of it all is that Beethoven’s 7th premiered in December 1813 when he was all but deaf.

An encore medley that included a Sousa march closed out the evening of highly varied and highly skilled performances of new and/or unfamiliar works, along with beloved classics. After two more concerts on this Music for Maryland tour, the BSO prepares for its 2023-24 season with its new music director, Jonathon Heyward.

Steve Parks is a retired New York arts critic now living in Easton.

MUSIC FOR MARYLAND BSO TOUR

Saturday night at Todd Performing Arts Performing Arts Center, Chesapeake College, Wye Mills. Remaining concerts on tour are at 3 p.m. Aug. 5, Dodge Performing Arts Center, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, and 4 p.m. Aug. 6, Garrett College Performing Arts Center, McHenry; bsomusic.org/calendar

Sunday, July 23rd marked the final day of the 19th Annual Plein Air Easton Art Festival and Competition, known to many as the largest and most prestigious outdoor painting competition in the United States.  Plein Air Easton organized by the Avalon Foundation announced today that art sales exceeded 500 thousand dollars over the course of the 10-day festival.  Throughout the pandemic, Plein Air Easton continued to persevere using creative solutions like drive-thru art parties to keep the festival alive.  In 2021 the Avalon Foundation announced art sales of $496K, just shy of the coveted half-million mark.  

“It felt like it might be a blip in data, fueled by pent-up demand post-pandemic.  We were uncertain if sales volumes of that level were going to be achievable again and in 2022 with sales of $463K, we felt like maybe the art buying market had stabilized again,” stated Avalon Foundation Chief Operating and Finance Officer Jessica Bellis.  “This year we are proud to announce that Plein Air Easton sold $537K (451 paintings) during the festival and that this preliminary data does not include plein air works sold through our partner exhibition with the Working Artist Forum (Local Color) or artwork that we know sold through our wonderful galleries downtown Easton.”  

Proceeds from Plein Air Easton support the artists, the Festival itself, and the work of the Avalon Foundation whose mission is to inspire, enrich, and connect diverse audiences through arts, educational, and cultural experiences inside the historic Avalon Theatre and throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Plein Air Easton is a juried competition, with artists from across the globe applying to participate each year. This year’s juror was acclaimed plein air painter Nancy Tankersley.  The festival’s juror from one year becomes the judge the next providing a new look each year, which results in a competitive and changing roster of competing painters.  Tankersley was specifically chosen to serve as the judge for the festival’s 20th year in 2024.  Nancy Tankersley was a founder of Plein Air Easton and a major force in its early success.  

“The 58 nationally and globally acclaimed artists who are selected to compete at Plein Air Easton work hard all week to create great paintings they hope will win awards and appeal to the people who come out to buy beautiful works of art.” explained Avalon Foundation Board Chair, Denise Grant.  “There was such enthusiastic support for the week’s artistic festivities in Easton, Talbot County from people in our broad community – from NYC to Philly, Baltimore to DC and beyond!”

Mother Nature also gave the festival a boost this year.  Plein Air Easton’s Quick Draw Competition, open to all ages and skill levels was held on Saturday, July 22.  While known for its grueling and excessive heat, humidity, and dense crowds, this year temperatures remained in the low 80s with a gentle breeze resulting in 82 plein air paintings (all produced during the 2-hour quick draw) to be sold directly off of their easels.  

“The Quick Draw is yet another opportunity for local artists to produce and exhibit their work alongside the competition artists.  It was a fun time for all!.” stated Grant.  “Everyone came together in support of the Avalon’s Plein Air Easton this year in exciting ways.  The entire community is proud we are celebrating our 19th year.  There is such excitement for Plein Air Easton and we look forward to our 20th anniversary in 2024!

See a summary of the week’s events and a list of competition winners below:

A week of painting in Talbot County kicked off with a canvas-stamping event on July 13th where artists were given an orientation for the week ahead before setting out to find painting inspiration. Friday the 14th, downtown galleries and merchants celebrated the arrival of artists with specials, a shop-to-win raffle, live music, and Storm Productions rendition of a Midsummer Night’s Dream as storm clouds rolled right past the heart of town. Saturday, competition artists could be found at the party of the summer known as the Meet the Artists Party. This event, for Friends of Plein Air Easton who support the event through charitable giving, is a true celebration of art where easels dot the landscape of a private estate in Talbot County. This year the event was held at the picturesque Gross Coate Farm.  Art collectors, supporters, and onlookers were ferried through gardens and throughout the grounds in golf carts to watch paintings progress before their eyes. The evening culminated in an exhibit and sale of the day’s work while the easy sounds of the Janet Paulsen Trio played in the background. For dinner, guests were presented with a gourmet picnic dinner crafted by chef Jordon Lloyd and Hambleton House Catering to enjoy either by the water’s edge or to take away and enjoy with friends in the comfort of their own homes.

Paint-outs in Oxford and Tilghman, were held on July 16th and July 17th respectively, and are a way to engage neighboring towns in the excitement of Plein Air Easton by bringing the magic of plein air art to these charming, working waterfront towns. Paint Oxford experienced a deluge of water and found artists tucked in and under the eaves of workshops, garages and boatyards.  While the challenges of the day had a negative impact on sales and spirits that evening, the day of painting produced several of the paintings that ultimately won major competition awards. 

The Tilghman Paint-out, by contrast, brought sunny skies, stunning artwork, and strong sales into the Wylder Hotel for an exhibit and sale on the evening of July 17th. 

All week the exhibit in the PAE Headquarters was dynamic as new art flowed in as the week progressed and art that was purchased went to new homes. In addition to the exhibit of hundreds of paintings, the Headquarters was the place where visitors could enjoy artist demos, interviews, and discussions on topics related to art and beyond.

The 58 competition artists handed in two completed works each on July 20 to be considered by event judge, Master Jove Wang, who focused on selecting the award winners from a spectacular body of combined work. Plein Air Easton’s Collector’s Party, July 21, was live-streamed and will remain available for viewing through our website and Plein Air Easton’s YouTube Channel. The Grand Prize: Timothy Dills Memorial Award (sponsored by Ellen Vatne) was awarded to Charles Newman for his painting “Toolin’ Around Again at Cutts and Case” and the honor of an award by their peers, the Artists’ Choice Award (sponsored by Hali and Scott Asplundh) was awarded to newcomer Martin Geiger for his painting “Reflected Storefront”. {Link to awards show.} 

On Saturday, July 22, the weather was untypically Easton-like with temps in the low 80s, blue skies and a summer breeze kept the mood light and fun while nearly 200 artists took to the streets for the Quick Draw Competition.  Zufar Bikbov won First Place overall, Charlie Hunter won Best Alumni Painting and Chris Rapa won First Place in the non-competition artist category. Fun fact – at least two artists who were subsequently juried into the main competition have won awards in the Non-Competition Artist category at Plein Air Easton’s Quick Draw competition in recent years. Quick Draw Awards are sponsored by September First Partners.

Finally, on Sunday, July 23, the festival culminated with Small Painting Sunday (held in honor of Suzan Estelle Brice in celebration of a life well-lived and sponsored by Ellen Vatne and Denise & John Bode) and the Judge’s Talk, during which Wang explained his award choices, and bestowed the final round of Small Painting Sunday awards to the 2023  competition artists. Patrick Lee took home Small Painting Sunday First Place, followed by Qiang Huang, Bernard Dellario, Rhonda Ford and Henry Coe with second, third and honorable mentions respectively. The Judge’s Talk is available for viewing through our website www.pleinaireaston.com or Plein Air Easton’s YouTube page.

Plein Air Easton is a juried competition, however, winning First, Second, Third Places; Artists’ Choice; First Place Quick Draw and the Alumni Quick Draw awards also come with the honor of an automatic invitation to the 20th  Plein Air Easton competition, scheduled for July 12-21, 2024.

2023 Plein Air Easton Competition Awards

 

Grand Prize: Timothy Dills Memorial Award Sponsored by Ellen Vatne	$5,000 + Invitation to participate in #PAE2042	Charlie Newman ‘Toolin’ Around “Again” at Cutts and Case
Artists’ Choice  Sponsored by Hali & Scott Asplundh	$5,000 + Invitation to participate in #PAE2024	Martin Geiger ‘Reflected Storefront’
2nd Place  Sponsored by the Academy Art Museum	$2,000 + Invitation to participate in #PAE2024	Tim Beall ‘Shore Pride’
3rd Place  Sponsored by September First Partners	$1,000 + Invitation to participate in #PAE2024	Gary Tucker ‘Timbers’
Life on the Farm  Sponsored by the Talbot County Farm Bureau and Talbot Extension Advisory Council	$1,000	Joseph Gyurcsak ‘The Watermen’s Welder’
Life of a Waterman  Sponsored by Anonymous	$1,000	Richard R. Sneary ‘Ship Wright Shop’
Best Marine  Sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum	$1,000	Jim Laurino ‘Cutts and Case Yard’
Best Architectural  Sponsored by the Historical Society of Talbot County	$1,000	Durre Waseem ‘Building Future’
Best New Artist to Plein Air Easton     Sponsored by Wye Financial Partners	$1,000	DK Palecek ‘Red Lipstick on a Green Barn’
Best Nocturne     Sponsored by Eric Timsak & Leslie Lobell	$1,000	Zufar Bikbov ‘Oxford Quiet’
Best Watercolor      Sponsored by The Trippe Gallery	$500	Orville Giguiento ‘Morning Rush’
Best Painting by a Maryland Artist Sponsored by Kate Quinn	$500	Stewart Burgess White, AWS ‘Just Let it Go’
Best Use of Light  Sponsored by Betty Huang at Studio B Gallery	$500	Olena Babak ‘Morning Light’
Judge’s Choice (1 of 3) Sponsored by Margaret Wrightson & David Bellis	$500	Martin Geiger ‘Reflected Storefront’
Judge’s Choice (2 of 3) Sponsored by Margaret Wrightson & David Bellis	$500	Patrick Lee Wright Angle (Cutts and Case)
Judge’s Choice (3 of 3) Sponsored by Margaret Wrightson & David Bellis	$500	Daniel Robbins ‘Smolder’

 

Quick Draw Awards  Sponsored by September 1st Partners
First Place		$1,500 + Invitation to participate in #PAE2024	Zufar Bikbov
Second Place		$750	Neal Hughes
Third Place		$500	Qiang Huang
Alumni Award		$500 + Invitation to participate in #PAE2024	Charlie Hunter
Honorable Mention (1 of 3)		$100	Durre Waseem
Honorable Mention (2 of 3)		$100	Bernie Dellario
Honorable Mention (3 of 3)		$100	Rokhaya Waring

 

Quick Draw Awards for Non-Competition Artists

 

First Place	$500	Chris Rapa
Second Place	$250	Jared Brody
Third Place	$100	William Schulze

 

Donations from Friends of Plein Air Easton ensure that the high standard of excellence for which the event is known continue into the future. 

Plein Air Easton is the work of the Avalon Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster a strong community on the Eastern Shore by creating accessible, uplifting arts, education, and cultural experiences that appeal to the interests of a diverse population and to ensure the long term viability of the historic Avalon Theatre. The event is supported by the Talbot County Arts Council, corporate donors, Friends of Plein Air Easton, and strong community support. 

Visit pleinaireaston.com for details, upcoming events, recorded events, and galleries of competition images.

As July gives way to August, the Academy Art Museum turns the page on most of its gallery space with three new exhibits, including one by its 2023 artist-in-residence and a triplicate exhibit tracing the influences on three 19th-to-20th century European masters who, in turn, changed the spatial perspective of the next generations of painters to pave the way to Modernism, Cubism, and Post-Expressionism. The third new show mocks contemporary notions of luxury, high fashion, and interior design with an abstract sensibility.

“Spatial Reckoning” features pioneering works in the evolving careers of classically schooled artists from France (Jacques Villon, 1875-1963), Italy (Giorgio Morandi, 1890-1964), and Spain (Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973). Each was inspired by the works of Paul Cezanne, who turned early from Romanticism and, looking past 19th-century Impressionists, pointed toward a new way of seeing and then painting it that way.

Morandi painted still lifes throughout his career, depicting household bottles and vases, landscapes, and occasional figurative portraits. His style progressed gradually toward more subtle coloration, with objects emerging from a haze. At first, a devotee of Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, Villon tilted toward Fauvism and Cubism at the turn of the century, creating multiple perspectives on the same flat plane. At the same time, Picasso sought to evoke an emotional response to his novel artistic liberties with what might have been representational paintings in other hands. “Spatial Reckoning” opens Aug. 1 with artworks on loan from the National Gallery of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and other collections.

First up among the three new AAM exhibits is Baltimore-based Amy Boone-McCreesh’s “Visual Currency” on July 28, with an Aug. 3 reception for each show. Working in sculpture, collage, and mixed media, McCreesh presents visual critiques of arbitrarily shifting tastes that rule high-end adornment, decoration, and fashion while speculating on what might lay in store for what could be considered posh in future abundance.

AAM’s 2023 artist-in-residence Laura Letinsky, a native of Canada now living in Chicago, is a still-life photographer who specializes in layering effects of human presence in the scenes she captures. A Guggenheim Fellow whose art comments on the role of women in domestic settings while questioning their context. Letinsky’s art is held in the collections of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the Getty and Guggenheim museums, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. As part of her residency, Letinsky will present an August masterclass on how the camera can shape a greater understanding of the world.
academyartmuseum.org
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If you’re suffering from writers/actors strike withdrawal – or even if you aren’t – you might enjoy seeing and hearing the Emmy and Writer’s Guild award-winning wordsmith, comedian, and host of the HBO show “Last Week with John Oliver.”  Now on forced hiatus from his weekly gig, Oliver gets a chance to return to his roots as a touring stand-up comic. He comes to Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre in the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center for one show only at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 2. From 2006 to 2013, Oliver made his TV mark as a correspondent on another multi-award-winner, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” guest-hosting for a long stretch near the end of its run.

If you miss the Hippodrome show or prefer to see him with another prime-time talk host, you can catch Oliver with the host of “The Late Show with Seth Meyers,” also sidelined by the strikes. Oliver and Meyers appear together in three shows at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, Aug. 17-19.
france-merrickpac.com, msg.com/beacon-theatre

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Following the lead of Plein Air Easton, which just completed its 19th annual festival, Artists Paint OC: Plein Air 2023 opens on Aug. 9 as artists spread out along the Boardwalk, streets, harbors, the bay, and its marshes and, of course, the ocean beach to paint in the open sea air starting at 9 a.m. until whenever. Fifty invited artists will continue painting scenes all over Ocean City and Assateague Island until Aug. 12, when they show their works at a free reception for the Wet Paint Show & Sale, 5-7 p.m. at the OC Performing Arts Center. You can enjoy live music, hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar while you peruse the paintings and maybe take one home (don’t forget your credit card). Artists Paint OC winds up Saturday morning, Aug. 13, with a quick-draw paint along the Boardwalk near Division Street, plus a Kids Paint OC Art Show at a closing reception, 1-3 p.m.
artleagueofoceancity.org
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The Mainstay in Rock Hall brings the classic rock sounds of the Blake Thompson Band to its backyard stage – weather permitting – as July starts to make way for August at 6:30 on the evening of Sunday, the 30th. A Kent County native, Thompson’s musical taste ranges from classic rock and pop to blues, soul, and R&B, having toured with Little Feat, David Crosby, and the namesake bands of Steve Miller and Dave Matthews. Best known for his electric guitar chops, Thompson counts Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Alvin Lee among his heroes. Together with his wife, singer/songwriter, and violinist Kate Russo, the pair mixes in original songs of their own. 
mainstayrockhall.org 
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The Chicks, a dozen-time Grammy-winning trio – most of whose awards came when they were known as the Dixie Chicks – bring their 2023 world tour to Columbia’s Merriweather Post Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 2. Joining them on the Maryland tour stop is the Canadian band, Wild Rivers. On June 25, 2020, in response to the Black Lives Matters movement and the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, the Dixie Chicks changed their name following criticism that “Dixie” bore connotations of American slavery. In July that year, the Chicks released “Gaslighter,” their first album in 14 years. A month later, they performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which nominated now-president Joe Biden.
merriweatherpostpavilion.com

Steve Parks is a retired New York arts editor and writer now living in Easton. 

 

The International Culture Collective (ICC) and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) are thrilled to announce the tremendous success of their inaugural joint project, the compelling documentary titled “The Long Shore.”

In recognition of its exceptional storytelling and production, this 21-minute film has been bestowed with the prestigious Emmy award from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS-NCCB).

“The Long Shore,” which aired during Maryland Public Television’s Chesapeake Bay Week in April 2022, takes viewers on a journey through the history of the Chesapeake Bay through the eyes of CBMM’s Curatorial team and the shipwrights of its working Shipyard.

Drawing on present-day scenes and historic footage and photos, this poignant documentary sheds light on the invaluable role played by CBMM in preserving this cherished heritage and the significance of this mission for the region and beyond.

Craig Fuller, Chairman of the ICC and Chairman of the CBMM Board of Governors, expressed his admiration for the documentary, stating, “It is so rewarding to see ‘The Long Shore’ receive an Emmy from NATAS-NCCB. This film, created by YO Productions in close collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, tells the story of one of the nation’s great treasures: the Chesapeake Bay. By better understanding our past, we can make more informed decisions about the future. ‘The Long Shore’ presents important messages for all of us in a beautifully crafted film.”

 Kristen Greenaway, CBMM President and CEO, added, “What a tremendous achievement for everyone involved in bringing ‘The Long Shore’ to life. The film was conceived as a new avenue to share CBMM’s mission and why we do what we do. We’re grateful to YO Productions and International Culture Collective for their support and care in sharing our story. And we’re delighted that it’s been enjoyed by so many people and now recognized by NATAS-NCCB with a Capital Emmy award.”

Franmarie Kennedy, President of the ICC and Executive in charge of Production for “The Long Shore,” added her sentiments, saying, “This prestigious recognition signifies a milestone achievement for the International Culture Collective. We are truly honored to receive this Emmy award, which reflects our commitment to presenting historical content in innovative, artistic, and unique ways, ensuring that history comes alive for the next generation. Working on ‘The Long Shore’ has been an incredible experience, and I want to express my gratitude to the exceptionally talented YO Productions team, including Trey Terpeluk as the Executive Producer, Max Loeb as the Producer, Tyler Ford as the Director, and Drake Pierre as the Assistant Producer.”

“We’re all incredibly proud to see ‘The Long Shore’ recognized with a Capital Emmy award,” CBMM Chief Historian Pete Lesher said. “This film’s success is a testament to the collaboration that went into crafting a snapshot of life on the Bay over time, and more than anything, we are thrilled to be able to share these stories, and why they’re so vital to our mission, with a growing audience.”

In addition to the Emmy award, “The Long Shore” has also been celebrated as the Best Documentary Short at the Maryland Film Festival 2022, the Chesapeake Film Festival 2022, and the Ocean City Film Festival 2021. It also was named a Best Documentary finalist at California’s Venice Shorts film festival in 2022, a further showcase of the documentary’s excellence and widespread appeal.

Born in 1964 in Glendale, Arizona, Alyson Shotz is the daughter of a United States Air Force pilot and a teacher. Shotz studied geology and physics, but turned to art, earning a BFA in 1987 from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in 1991 from the University of Washington in Seattle. She moved to New York to begin her career in art. Her work has been influenced by science. She began using photography as her medium, capturing the motion of an object with a series of photographs and putting them together in prints and videos. From 1996, her work has included three-dimensional pieces made of materials such as mirrors, optical lenses, and piano wire. She explores natural phenomena such as space, light, gravity, and patterns found in nature that are invisible to the human eye, and she makes them visible. By 1999, her works received wide notice and approval.

“Mirror Fence” (2002-2014) (138’ x 36”x 4”) (Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, NY) was made of Starphire glass mirror and aluminum. Starphire glass transmits 5% more visual light than ordinary glass, and it eliminates distortion and altered colors. Sections of the picket fence appear and disappear as visitors walk by, the color changing from day to night and season to season. 

“Mirror Fence” was in the company of such well-known sculptures by David Smith, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Alexander Calder, and Maya Lin. Storm King is an outdoor museum opened in 1960 that contains works by some of the most acclaimed artists of the 20th and 21st Centuries.

In “Wave Equation” (2010) (120”x144”x117”) (stainless steel wire, silvered glass beads, aluminum) (Nasher Sculpture Center, Indianapolis, IN) Shotz draws on her knowledge of physics: “There are things that I see happen when I’m working with a material that tells me something about gravity, space, force. I’m interested in showing that idea through the artwork.”

Shotz’s sculptures are fascinating; they are large and continually changing. Visitors respond to their beauty and energy, and that is enough. However, appreciation of the ideas that influenced their creation requires some explanation. A wave “is a disturbance that travels through space and matter transferring energy from one place to another. When studying waves, it’s important to remember that they transfer energy, not matter.” (Physics for Kids, duckster.com) “Wave Equation” is constructed of two sets of four aluminum ellipses, connected by shiny piano wire. Cylindrical, mirrored glass beads are attached intermittently to the piano wire. The movement that is generated depicts the rise and fall of gravitational forces. Writer Rebecca Cater describes her observation of “Wave Equation”: “In my 360-degree tour of the sculpture, it is as if the wires are in fact broken, held together by a space of emptiness. Take one more step, and the illusion vanishes.”  (DMagazine, November 23, 2010)

“Standing Wave” (2010) (25’ long) is composed of thousands of acrylic dichroic strips that are fastened with tape side-by-side at stepped intervals to the gallery wall. The dichroic acrylic is clear; the surface reacts, reflects, and transmits rays of color depending on the conditions of the gallery and the passage of viewers. The result is an undulating wave of colors.

Dichroic acrylic is made by vaporizing quartz crystals and metallic oxides with an electron beam in a vacuum chamber. The resultant particles condense on the surface of the acrylic sheet, forming a crystal structure. Dichroic comes from Greek meaning “two-colored.”  The earliest known example comes from 4th Century Rome in the “Lycurgus Cup” which appears red under normal light, but when a flash photo is taken, the cup is green. In the 1990’s NASA developed dichroic glass for use as mirrors and re-entry tiles on space shuttles. Since then, the ever-changing color of dichroic glass and acrylic have played a major part in jewelry making. 

Shotz continues to explore natural phenomena in “Entanglement” (2022) (206”x207”x206”) (165 feet in length) (stainless steel and paint). The sculpture was commissioned by the Billi Tisch Center for the Integrated Sciences at Skidmore College in New York. The 750-pound sculpture is suspended from the ceiling of the atrium of the building. What are entanglements? Shotz explains that “entangled structures are fundamental to DNA proteins, turbulent plasmas, fluid dynamics, and the quantum-mechanical foundations of nature itself. When two particles become entangled, they remain connected even when separated by vast distances. I like to imagine this sculpture as the pathway between two connected particles in space.” 

According to Shotz, “Entanglement” explores the idea that a shape can be defined by space rather than mass. There is more space in this sculpture than steel. It also asks, ‘How does perception define the experience of space?’ If you look at the sculpture from only one point of view, it might be difficult to understand, you have to move around it to experience it fully. As your point of view changes and the light changes, the shape itself changes. These concerns flow through all of my work.” In motion, the color will change from gold to green to blue.

The stainless-steel structure was made by MX3D, a process invented by a company in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A robot printed the work in two-to three-foot-long sections by dropping a single drop of molten steel at a time. Paint was applied after the steel frame was completed. The sections were then welded together and installed in the atrium of the Tisch center.

“The Robes of Justitia” (2022) was commissioned for the ceiling of the Fred D. Thompson Federal Courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee. Justitia was the Roman goddess of justice introduced to the pantheon by emperor Augustus, who reigned from 27 BCE to 14 CE. She was one of the four virtues, often depicted blindfolded and holding scales and a sword. She is the prototype for America’s Lady Justice. Shotz chose to represent her with folds of a classical Roman tunic. The ceiling installation is composed of eight panels containing very small glass mosaic tiles. Each panel is 25 feet wide and 13.5 feet tall. The domed ceiling is 50 feet in diameter.  Shotz describes the effect she wanted to create: “In this mosaic the folds of her robe sweep around the central oculus like the wind and space that surrounds us–a metaphor of the protection of justice and the work of the law as it is supposed to be enacted in this country.” 

Shotz’s “The Robes of Justitia” was one of the winners of the Honor Award, presented in 2022 by the U.S. General Services Administration for highest achievement in art. The award is presented annually to recognize excellent design in a federal building.

 

In May 2023, the Academy Art Museum in Easton added “Density of Air” (2023) (144”x59.5”) to the permanent collection. The sculpture consists of thousands of small stainless-steel discs. The work references the mixture of gases and air that expand and compress, but are invisible to the human eye. Stotz stated, “There are things that I see happen when I’m working with a material that tells me something about gravity, space, and force. I’m interested in showing that idea through the artwork.”

Shotz’s work can be found in museums and collections world-wide. Closer to home, her work is in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Phillips Collection. She continues to explore multiple mediums and new technological break-throughs to advance her knowledge and the viewer’s experience of the unseen but very present phenomena of nature that surround us.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.