Teton Art Lab prints Obama

Here is another video from last week's First Friday event. This one was shot in the Lab-room. Show's you again just how much was happening and all the creative energy being generated that night. And they picked my favorite band!

LMC Obama Print Session from Tristan Greszko on Vimeo.

In Case You Missed February First Friday...

Thanks Tony! Another Being Creative just produced our February First Friday video, giving everyone a chance to see what it was all about. I love having a chance to relive the evening because it was a bit of a blur to me. Enjoy! Hopefully it will motivate you to make it to our next event...March 6.

LMC - Art It Forward (round 1) from another being creative on Vimeo.

Sanjayan Walks the Namib Desert

Journey with Sanjayan to the Namib desert from another being creative on Vimeo.

The Nature Conservancy recently hosted a board meeting here at the gallery. For the second year in a row, their leading scientist M.A. Sanjayan joined us and offered a glimpse into the driest place on earth. Sanjayan is one of these gifted individuals who can relay scientific information to the masses in a way that is both engaging and understandable. That is probably why he was invited to give a Ted Talk this year.

Click here to read An Egg is an Egg.

Stephen Colbert Weighs in on the Shepard Fairey Incident

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Obama Poster Debate - David Ross and Ed Colbert

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Funny Political News

Christian Bale Parody
Joke of the Day

Even Stephen Colbert is into art these days. Of course he is always entertaining and funny, and this clip certainly does not disappoint from that stand-point. But this is also a really good little debate about art and copyright issues. I will be following up with a bit more info about the Shepard Fairey arrest and what it might all be about.

Lyndsay's Interview

On February 3rd, Lyndsay met with Jackson's Pursue Balance for their Lights Off! radio show on KHOL. Lyndsay was highlighting her green initiatives for the gallery and the community.

To listen to the radio broadcast, follow the link below. It is also available on iTunes.

Lights Off! Radio show on KHOL

Enjoy!

Many Thanks...

As Natalie said below, First Friday was a great success! I couldn't believe our Art It Forward basket...so many amazing donations came from all sorts of artists. I hope that I don't forget anyone here: Jenny and Sam Dowd provided about 40 sculptures which we handed out as art/drink cups (cut our waste production down tremendously!), Steven Glass, Carrie Geraci, Arcy Hawks, Susan Thulin, Rich Goodwin, Alissa Davies, Rachel Kunkle-Hartz, David Gonzales, Matt Flint, Megan Stohridal, Jeremy Kusmin, Tom Woodhouse, Emily Boespflug, Ben Roth, Bryce Billings, Wendell Field, Babs Case, Emma Adkissson, Micah Richardson, Nicole Burdick, Ben Carlson, Brooke Kemmerer. DJ Mr Whipple must have handed out 50 awesome music mixes. Tony Birkholz's video installation added a whole other artistic element to the walls. Tristan and Travis from the Teton Art Lab were excellent partners for the night...creating Obama prints and encouraging participation. Anomaly Farm stars Mark Dunstan and Owen Ashley were handing out impromptu pocket-art pieces too. Clint Green was printing away and actively getting people involved in the community canvas.

Loved the public art petting zoo that Bland Hoke set up as the Center of Wonder's Public Art Ambassador. Juliet and Sarah were there from Pursue Balance enlightening everyone about the 10x10 initiative. Mareike and Tyler from Teton Literacy Program served up drinks and info about their fundraiser out at the village in March. Shannon from the Planet had a voting booth set up and was letting everyone know about their "Best of Jackson".

Thank you to all of our gallery-goers who were so enthusiastic about participating in the whole art experience. We will get photos up soon of the community canvas that was created. We are all looking forward to more events like this in the future.

Saturday after the First Friday

I hardly ever blog. In fact, I only blog when something really cool happens, (for example, my only other blog was about Barack Obama's election night). Last night's event at the gallery inspired me to sit down at work today and write.

The First Friday at LMC last night was truly incredible. As Lyndsay wrote below, we had a huge community event as a way to Art It Forward in these tough economic times. Although I'm always proud to work for Lyndsay, last night I felt that pride more than ever. Lyndsay has pushed the envelope of Jackson's art scene and constantly puts the arts community before her personal priorities. It has been an exhausting week, from squeezing in last minute art entries to the reorganizing and hanging of the entire gallery, but all those efforts were more than worth the outcome.

If I had to pick one word to describe the evening...it would be ENERGY. The gallery was bumping with art enthusiasts starting at 5:30. We had an early rush and people were so excited to take home their piece of free art (and promised me to art it forward!). I can say with 100% certainty that everyone who came by last night left with an authentic art experience. The community canvas far exceeded our expectations. It's amazing how each canvas can stand alone as a cohesive piece, considering there were probably 150 pARTicipants. What impressed me the most though was the immense variety of artistic efforts. Tony (another being creative) put together a video projection installation that somehow, through no effort at all, mirrored perfectly with DJ Mr. Whipple's turntables. The gallery was abuzz with the Teton Art Lab “guerrilla”/alternative space, as well as the huge guerilla painting hanging in the main gallery. Bland Hoke from the Center of Wonder had a public art petting zoo which provided an opportunity to discuss and eventually wear public art. Apparently, wearing a duck as a necklace is a great way to start conversations with strangers, (or so I hear).

Everyone was so excited to be involved and a part of something. I had dozens of people approach me thanking me for opening the gallery up to so many local artists. I replied with excitement and told them that Lyndsay was the mastermind behind the operation. Her ability to stretch the boundaries of creativity is beyond admirable. And on the other side of that coin, the artistic energy of this valley is so inspiring and refreshing. Each participant added their own flair of art to the gallery and for that energy, I think we should all be thankful. (If you took photos, don’t forget to send them to me so I can get them up on our blog! natalie@lmcontemporary.com)

So here I am at work, the Saturday after the First Friday. Usually this day consists of cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. I was semi dreading going into the gallery this morning but was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Save for the coat rack catastrophe and a plethora of hangers thrown around the gallery, it was remarkably clean. Even though we use corn-based cups, we had encouraged people to BYOC (bring your own cup) to limit the amount of trash that accumulates. I was shocked by the amount of people that came to the event with a cup in hand. I only had to empty 1/3 of the trash that I normally do, which excited me beyond belief. I look forward to less trash bags in the future!

February 6 First Friday event

It's First Friday time already and we are madly trying to get the gallery ready. The evening has evolved over the last month from an Inaugural Ball to Throw-Your-Shoe at Bush art-interaction to the one that stuck: pARTicipate for change. It will incorporate a public art canvas, local artists' work and installations, free art, a public-art petting zoo and the opportunity to sponsor Lyndsay to "Ski the Vill" to raise money for the Teton Literacy Program.

One of the things that is making this First Friday unique from the previous 27 we have hosted , is the responses that it has inspired before even happening. For example, the Art It Forward program has already started to self-generate. We asked our artists to send in and donate small works of art to put into an art basket and then given out free to everyone who attends First Friday. (many reasons that we are giving away free art, but I think I will address them in a separate blog) The response has been nothing but enthusiastic and infective. Matt Flint was so inspired by the idea and gesture that he is offering free art through his blog (if you need a little art in your life, send him a SASE and you will receive a special nugget of art!). Rachel Kunkle-Hartz brought in a huge jar of matchbox sculptures which are emanating inspiration, she was too, by the way. The uber-talented and creative Dowds have provided us with a ton of sculptural beverage containers...perfect for sipping wine at an art event! And the free art just keeps pouring in! I raided my photo drawer and sketchbooks to create mini-art pieces. It's the most creative I have been in a long time.

The other exciting facet of this project is the energy it is generating. There has been a steady flow of artists and visitors and supporters through the gallery all week. It has given me the opportunity to meet new artists and to finally put faces to names and art. I have had a multitude of inspiring conversations about art and the concepts of participation and change. I can't wait to see how this all flows and multiplies when all these creatives are gathered together on Friday.