The Fresno Arts Council sponsors ArtHop, an event which educates the community about the local arts. In this column, freshman Ryan King chronicles his twice-a-month visits to ArtHop.
Both the white walls and the futuristic look this ArtHop showed everything it should and more. Shown downtown at Gallery 25, this South ArtHop featured artists Joy Johnson and Lynne Anderson.
The funny story of how these artists met is that the ArtHop event was hosting two local artists per month, and they were the only two left. This, however, could not have been a coincidence. I found out that, not only do they both have a special talent for art, but also complement each other’s works very well.
This ArtHop was not only the best I have seen so far, but was the most crowded I have seen. I later found out that Anderson invited her students from California State University, Fresno, to visit her ArtHop.
One thing you might have not known is that artists do not always start as artists, but sometimes in other professions. Johnson, for example, first started out as a nurse who only created art in her free time. Eventually, she decided to turn it from a hobby to an occupation. Also, Anderson went to college twice; once for another job and the next for an art degree.
Different from other ArtHops, this gallery was extremely creative, housing art ranging from human sculptures to giant-sized flowers and collages of pencilled drawings. The art felt new and looked like it was very much inspired by ingenuity.
I have never in my life seen art as tall as it was at this ArtHop, but it still didn’t take away from the detail. Though there were huge pieces like “Guardian of the Wilderness,” a twelve foot sculpture that went from the floor to the ceiling, the substantial sizes actually enhanced the pieces’ look with more detail than I have ever seen in a large art.
One of my favorite pieces actually consisted of two different works of art from the two featured artists. Molded together, they formed “Ties that Bind-the Sisterhood,” and its complimenting piece, “The Backdrop.” The really amazing thing however, was that this piece could be 2-D and, at the same time, 3-D. Because of the nature of the work, from afar I saw one piece, and, when I took in every detail, I saw that it was created by two different people with the same ideas in mind.
I found it very interesting that this ArtHop juxtaposed everything into its gallery instead of just setting a bunch of art into a room. This really created a great feeling of importance, as if every piece in the gallery had a specific purpose.
When an ArtHop is this creative in its design, it makes the gallery come alive and become art itself. No longer did I try to depict each art piece, but now thought of each wall and how it went along with the gallery’s showcase.
As the night grew closer to the end I felt a fulfilled feeling in myself for picking this great of a show.
All of the photos for this report on the ArtHop were inexplicably lost in a technical complication. The Feather apologizes for the inconvenience.
For more information on ArtHop, read the Sept. 29 article, Animal preservation distinguishes Milne’s ArthHop.
Cassidy Hutchins • Jan 7, 2012 at 12:02 am
One of my favorite things in math class was getting to play Set everyday. I still play every once in a while when I have time. Thank you, Mr. Fenton, for instilling a love and appreciation for math and the games that come with it 🙂