WPLN News Archive; 100 Years of Tennessee Painting (Adrienne Outlaw) 7 12 02; News Archive 7/12/02-9/23/02

american art curator so you walk or got the idea that features century tennessee painting a few years ago when the tennessee historical society asked her to write an essay on the subject as walker traveled across the state in search of pieces to include in her essay she realized how little scholarship existed on tennessee artists or wanted to have the visual version of that book was coming out i believe in original documents paintings original documents are places where you can understand someone's story what they're trying to tell you walker's the center of progress twenty century painting a tennessee teacher sixty eight pieces by fifty artists the show opens with paintings from the eighty ninety seven tennessee's centennial exposition held in nashville which was really the first time that are from around the country was brought here tennessee and could see what was happening around the country at the time few articles existed in america and those they did when the east coast artist who could afford to travel to europe when they returned they brought with them the atmosphere painting style of the french artisan school romney

cc that really brush strokes typically derek brown how it's a lot of hours were studying in paris in munich at the time and the influence from those areas was to paint a darker kind of a type of work that would reflect the old masters one of the painters able to travel to europe was east tennessee and lloyd branson when i returned to knoxville influence apple younger painters such as catherine wiley catherine became an american impressionist was some acclaim her sister eleanor is also in the show made a living painting portraits eleanor's diaries reflect the difficulties artist had as they try to make work in tennessee media descend awaken your pretty thing you wanted and she's got these meticulous notes about spent two dollars today too or markers to buy a brush and waiting for it to common you know i paid it and so it's as portrayed in hope she likes it and global one you just think gosh these people struggle so and you read it in these original materials while women struggled to make it as artists they played an

active role in the establishment of art schools clubs and museums are at the herbert potter is best known for arranging contemporary art exhibits for the parthenon museum she was also a fine regionals painter who captured daily life in the south a lot of women in this region was period painted african americans because they were the people who were around them at the time in most places they were denied access to a lot of miles walker selected potter's lulu and john sherbert as the main image for the show it's a painting of some servants working at potter's home we was out hanging laundry on a line and john has come back from caring wood into the house and you see john looking at lulu and you find out later that they were actually korean during this period and they later married as tennessee universities began pounding are departments in the nineteen thirties progressive painters move to the state burton teletype join them in this college of art in nineteen thirty two harlem renaissance illustrator aaron douglas founded fisk universities are department in nineteen thirty nine and charles kermit ewing moved to the university of tennessee knoxville to become director of their new art department in nineteen forty eight

with the invention of acrylic paint partisan of fifty five of a faster than ever before three painted with regret and love of mine to pushing the limit for new therapies for and so from that group we move into the contemporary artists and that's when all bets are off their normal rules necessarily for what's happening after that's a war were to and so it's more difficult to define what these artists are doing painter is currently pushing the limits in nashville include such well known says barry berke skipper carry mcgee and bob durham is very typical i think of a lot of what's happening in contemporary today as i see it because he has this multi disciplinary approach to his work but he's got a strong background in english lit and it knows history and he brings that type of material to his paintings durst peace called someone to watch over me features an extremely thin bald fashion manic and perched on a love seat a young man plays an accordion and a feat wine beer bottles

and overturn cups litter the coffee table dern says he considers himself a narrative painter with a deep appreciation of turn of the century painting i like using a more acceptable an older style in how imprisoned because people tend to relate to that time maybe people of sergeant so and so given him in suits so it's a push pull on the view a century of progress twentieth century painting in tennessee opens tomorrow and runs through october thirty at the cheek with museum of art for national public radio i'm eating along