Calendar of Events

The Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight the work of two member artists, Lisa Kurtz, clay and Diana Scott-Auger, paintings. The Gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on Friday, March 5 from 5:30-9 p.m. with light refreshments and music by Webford Brown & the Town.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

String quartets from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will travel to local libraries during the month of March to read stories and play music for pre-school aged children as part of the orchestra’s Story Time Program. The theme for this season’s program is dancing animals. Musicians will read books such as Giraffes Can’t Dance and When Cats Go Wrong and explore different types of dance music including the tango and the Hokey-Pokey. These performances will help to highlight the connections between music and literacy and introduce the string instruments to young audience members. KSO Library Story Times are made possible by the Arts Fund of the East Tennessee Foundation. All Story Time performances are FREE and open to the public.
March 2, 11:00 AM - South Knoxville Library
March 3, 11:00 AM - Carter Library
March 12, 10:00 AM - Caryville Library
March 16, 4:30 PM - Lawson McGhee Library
March 17, 10:30 AM - Halls Library
March 17, 2:30 PM - Murphy Library
March 24, 11:00 AM - Lawson McGhee Library

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, 100 S. Gay St, Ste 302,Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

To say that Gary Paulsen leads an adventurous life is an understatement. Knox County Public Library is pleased to partner with the Center for Children's and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee to present an evening with Gary Paulsen at the University Center Auditorium, 1502 Cumberland Ave. Three-time winner of the Newbery Honor, Paulsen will be discussing his life of adventure and his newest book, Wood's Runner. The event is free and open to the public. Paulsen will be available to sign books after the talk. Born in 1939, Gary Paulsen is one of America's most popular writers for young people. With more than 200 books and as many articles and short stories to his name, his own experiences form the basis for many of his stories. He got the bug for adventure at an early age. At 14, Paulsen ran away from home to join a traveling carnival. He has dabbled in farm and ranch life, worked as an engineer and a construction worker, and has crossed the country as a truck driver. While sailing around the world and racing the sled dogs across Alaska, he also manages to write award-winning children's books. Three of his novels-Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room-were Newbery Honor Books. His books frequently appear on the best books lists of the American Library Association and, in 1997, Paulsen was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement.

Providing visitors with a fascinating glimpse into aspects of Appalachian culture that are fading from the scene, among them some that were infrequently practiced but that nevertheless came to be associated in the public consciousness with the region. With camera and recorder in hand, photographer Don Dudenbostel and field recordist Tom Jester documented places, practices, and personalities, such as churches where they “take up the serpent,” moonshining, Mennonite communities where life is lived much as in the mid-1800s, religious symbols, and the less savory aspects of cockfighting and KKK meetings. Also included are roadway scenes, such as tourist courts, ferries, filling stations, peanut stands, and grocery stores. The exhibit also examines the concept and stereotypes people often have of Appalachia by placing the featured subjects within the larger historical context. Among the several items featured are a game cock transport box, male and female serpent-handling dolls and folk-art by the Reverend Jimmy Morrow, the hat of Popcorn and a half-gallon jar of moonshine autographed by him, wood-carved crafts, a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe c. 1920, a tent revival sign, and more. A catalog and CD of recordings featured in the exhibition is available for $10 in the Museum Shop. Both the exhibition and catalog are made possible through a grant from the Gene and Florence Monday Foundation.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: Monday-Friday: 9AM-4PM; Saturday: 10AM-4PM; Sunday: 1-5PM. For information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

At the O'Brien Art Gallery. For specific dates and updates to exhibits: 865-882-4649, wilkersonbs@roanestate.edu, or www.roanestate.edu/art/gallery.

by Charles Busch, Directed by: Jim Richardson
Performances: April 23–May 9, 2010, Rehearsals: TBA (Mar 2010). Audition Times: Monday, Mar 1, 7-9 pm, Tuesday, Mar 2, 7-9 pm
Available Roles: Nine men and women, ages 20's - early 50's, for various roles. Three will play duel roles. Also seeking a Stage Manager for the show. Auditions will held at the theatre, 319 N. Gay Street [directions]. For more information, call 544-1999 or email info@theatreknoxville.com. Please bring a headshot or recent phot, if possible. Resumes are helpful but not required. No prepared monologue is needed; auditions will be cold readings from the script. www.theatreknoxville.com

SYNPOSIS:
A free wheeling satire of patriotic 1940’s thrillers such as Notorious and Escape, The Lady in Question tells the suspenseful tale of Gertrude Garnet, the most glamorous concert pianist on the international stage. On tour in 1940 Bavaria, her colossal self-absorption is challenged when a handsome American professor engages her aid in rescuing his mother from a Nazi prison.

Reception February 26, 6:30-8:30 PM
213 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityart.com

RACHEL CLARK, BRIENA HARMENING, and JESSICA KREUTTER. Reception on March 5, 5:00-9:00 PM.

RACHEL CLARK: I consider the contemporary artist a deejay, mixing eclectic signs of culture and art. Using this analogy, I’ve created a painting index of one hundred paintings using personal and cultural icons to construct a range of associations within a grid installation. Rachel Clark received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. That same year she was an artist-in-residence at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan. In 2009, Clark curated a group of forty-two art students and professional artists to form the exhibition “Seven Times Standard”. Clark is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and lives between Knoxville, TN, and Athens, OH.

BRIENA HARMENING: The alter ego has been used by many performance artists to explore alternate personalities or to investigate identities other than themselves. Two years ago I created an alter ego, “Ilene”, as a way to explore autobiography through storytelling. Ilene’s character is a combination of my southern heritage, the southern stereotype, and myself. The stories, not always flattering, are nonfiction and comment on the diverse personalities of family members, relationships, class, and the belief systems within family units. Briena Harmening is an autobiographical, narrative artist that works in multi-media. She received her BA from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Recently, her work has been exhibited in Video Artists Explore Southern Identity, at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee, and the 2nd Annual Narrative Shorts International Film Festival at California State University, Chico, California.

JESSICA KREUTTER: I am interested in the discarded object that retains a trace of time. These objects hover on the rim of what is acceptable and what is not, of life and death, of remembering and forgetting. They connote a time of transition, an intermediate time where another realm is absorbing the previous. It is also a place of fantasy and imagined time, where the histories buried in the object are invented and the future is anticipated, yet unknown. In this atmosphere, I want to imagine what forms materialize from the shadows left behind. Jessica Kreutter graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a degree in Anthropology and Sociology, and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Before enrolling in her graduate studies, Jessica worked as a ceramic sculpture artist and art teacher in Portland, Oregon. Her work can be found at Guardino Gallery, Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, and Beet Gallery. This year, she will take part in a group exhibition at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, as well as Clay? III , a show that investigates the increasingly important role of ceramics in contemporary art. Last year, Jessica was a visiting artist for the ceramics department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as working as the summer ceramic studio assistant at The Mendocino Art Center


Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday & Thursday: 10AM-8PM; Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 10AM-5PM; and Sunday: 1-4PM. For information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

Each year the Sevier County Arts Council organizes the exhibit to showcase the talent of students from all grades, including those who are home schooled. All media is represented in this year’s show, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and glass. This year’s entries were juried by Karen Green, the Gallery Coordinator at Arrowmont. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. For information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Opening night, February 19

1714 Andy Holt Avenue on the UT Campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.org

It’s a rusty old machine gun, with tattered strap and battle-scarred wooden stock—not even very large by today’s standards. By itself, it’s not that impressive. But mention the name Sgt. Alvin C. York, and this war relic takes on special meaning. It represents “the flag on the hill,” a brave deed by a backwoods soldier who remained cool under fire, silencing machine gun nests that were raining a firestorm of bullets on Allied troops. York was the leader of seven men who captured 132 German machine gunners on October 8, 1918, in the Battle of the Argonne Forest in northern France. For this heroic deed, York received the National Medal of Honor and became the most decorated soldier of World War I. This M1908/15 Maxim light machine gun is documented as one of the German weapons confiscated on that day. This historic artifact will become the centerpiece of an already extensive exhibit at the Museum, revealing the man behind the medals—a simple and honest East Tennessee backwoodsman who used his fame to help others. A special exhibit at the Museum will include items on loan from the York family.

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy., Clinton, TN 37716. Hours: February: 10 AM to 4 PM weekdays, 10 AM to 5 PM weekends; March: 10 AM to 5 PM weekdays, 10 AM to 6 PM weekends.Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

Open house and reception with the artist on February 5 from 6-8 PM. If you’ve visited the Performing Arts Studio lately, you’ve no doubt been drawn into “The Mind Mapping Project”, Zach’s exhibition of vibrant, intriguing mixed media paintings. We hope you’ll join us for a night of art appreciation! Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center, 1127 Broadway Suite B, Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-523-1401, www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation/arts