First Friday Focus
Lori Hill's First Friday Hit List
Temple Gallery
Never mind the tongue-twisting title, "Re:Print Re:Present Re:View" is a tempting peek at the level of work Philagrafika will offer at its citywide festival in 2010. With three international artists tackling local themes, and an esteemed historian as its curator, the show is both ambitious and intimate in its scope. Cornell professor Salah M. Hassan conceived the show and chose the work of Afro-Cuban artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Algerian artist Rachid Koraïchi and South African artist Berni Searle, all of whom will show at Temple Gallery in addition to a couple of site-specific installations. Searle ruminated on Betsy Ross, patriotism and our city's reputation as the "cradle of liberty" and created a video (Spirit of '76) and a series of prints dealing with nationalism, gender and domesticity. Her striking imagery alludes to vortexes and the dangers of the all-consuming ideal while remaining artistically engaging and challenging. Across town, Campos-Pons was inspired by the life and work of Paul Robeson for her Corner/Opera. Rethinking a Site installation. Working with the Paul Robeson House's interiors and conducting interviews with the site's West Philly neighbors, Campos-Pons creates a flurry of wallpaper, furniture, projected images and prints to reflect on personal and historical narrative and Robeson's extraordinarily interesting life. Meanwhile, in North Philadelphia, Koraïchi's Homage to Love and Memory pays tribute to seven of the city's writers, poets and activists at the Church of the Advocate. Twenty-one banners will be installed in and around the church that reflect Koraïchi's dedication to Sufi symbolism and design. This far-reaching collection of work about Philadelphia by such diverse international artists is something not to be missed.
Thu., Sept. 6, 6:30 p.m., lecture by Salah M. Hassan, Temple University, Engineering and Architecture Building, Room 126, 12th and Norris streets; Temple Gallery, opening reception Fri., Sept. 7, 6-9 p.m., runs through Nov. 3, Temple Gallery, 259 N. Third St. See www.philagrafika.org for full schedule.
; "<i>He in Turn, Leaning over the Rock Stared Back into Martin's Face with His Immense Fishy Eyes</i>, by Dorothy Lathrop, part of")
He in Turn, Leaning over the Rock Stared Back into Martin's Face with His Immense Fishy Eyes, by Dorothy Lathrop, part of "Flights into Fantasy" at Bradywine River Museum. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION) |
Brandywine River Museum
Walk into the children's section of Borders and you'll find every manner of illustration. From Ian Falconer's elegantly simple line drawings of Olivia the pig, to local legend David Wiesner's stunningly detailed paintings, to one of my favorites, Mo Willems' goofy pigeons and fresh illo-photo collages. (You'll also see a lot of crap, but that's neither here nor there.) Time was, every page of every children's story was a bona fide work of art. At the Brandywine River Museum this fall, fans of classic illustration will be greeted with original works by Jessie Willcox Smith, Kay Neilson and others whose hands brought to life characters like Alice, Babar and Peter Rabbit. While illustrators like Maxfield Parrish and N.C. Wyeth were filling the pages of Harpers Weekly and Scribners, their contemporaries Elizabeth Shippen Green and Peter Newell were illustrating the great stories of the time with gorgeous color and meticulous detail. "Flights into Fantasy" includes the work of Ludwig Bemelmans (the Madeline books), John Neill (Frank L. Baum's Oz books) and Ernest Shephard (A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh). The show, culled from the private collection of Kendra and Allen Daniel, features one of the couple's favorites, Kay Neilson, who provided illustrations for Fantasia as a Disney staff artist (back when Disney meant more than annoying Elton John songs). Works by Wyeth and Pyle from the Brandywine's permanent collection will also be on view. A day trip to the Brandywine area in the fall should be required recreation, and this show is another excuse for the ride.
Sept. 8-Nov. 18, U.S. Route 1, Chadds Ford, 610-388-2700.
And Then There's ...
Seraphin Gallery offers a show of two Philadelphia teacher-artists with wildly different but wildly interesting styles. Temple prof Robert Goodman makes noisy, abstract canvases with hidden geometric structures, while PAFA instructor Hiro Sakaguchi works in quiet, controlled landscapes inspired by Philly and his native Nagano, Japan. Reception Fri., Sept. 7, 6-8 p.m., through Oct. 7, 1108 Pine St., 215-923-7000. ... You have a few more weeks to catch Jaime Treadwell's electrified paintings at Cerulean Gallery, and you'll have only yourself to blame if you miss out on the spiked-helmeted babies, cruise ship cheerleaders and post-apocalyptic undercurrents throughout the work. Gallery talk Sun., Sept. 9, 1-4 p.m., through Sept. 21, 1355 Ridge Ave., 267-514-8647.
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