Calendar of Events

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.

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

Opening night, February 19

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

By Terrence McNally and directed by Biz Lyon. Winner of the Dramatists Guild Hull Warriner Award. A critical and popular success, this bittersweet comedy combines poignancy and laughter as it traces the unlikely romance that begins to develop between two middle-aged "losers." NOTE: This production contains mature themes and language that may be unsuitable for children. Parental discretion is advised.
Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 plus fees for Thursday & Sunday; $15 plus fees for Friday & Saturday. For more information on the show: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

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

The Town of Farragut Arts Council announces Hugh Bailey as featured artist for February and March. The exhibit features a variety of woodcut prints that are both whimsical and charming. Hugh Bailey is a native of Virginia. He earned his BA in art from Berea College and a MFA from Indiana University. Mr. Bailey was employed with the University of Tennessee for 41 years as a graphic designer. He is currently a member of the Southern Highland Handcraft Guild, Foothills Craft Guild and the Knoxville Watercolor Society. Each month the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in the Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist of the Month application, please contact Anne LaGrow at anne.lagrow@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057 or visit www.townoffarragut.org/artscouncil. The Farragut Town Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office.

China is viewed by most in the Western world as a homogeneous country with a single culture. Its land mass is similar to that of the United States, but it is inhabited by 1.3 billion people, making it the most populous country in the world. This population is composed of more than 56 official ethnic groups, each with its own customs, traditions, language, foods, and in some cases, religious beliefs.

In the many centuries of China’s history, numerous ethnic groups have ruled, and each has made contributions to the art and culture of what we have come to view today as “Chinese.” In this exhibition, the museum presents a brief glimpse into China’s history, with 80 examples of art from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 A.D.) and several contemporary works. Panels introducing each of the dynasties provide historical, geographical, and economic background.

1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Mon - Sat: 9:00A to 5:00P, Sun: 1:00P to 5:00P. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Visual artist Anne Wilson has been at the forefront of artwork connecting conceptualism and handiwork, activism and aesthetics, investigating new possibilities for what has been called "relational aesthetics." Discussion with the artist on January 23.

Wilson's practice extends the relational in terms of labor, collaboration, and identity construction, blending pedagogy with aesthetic production. Her work has been exhibited extensively including exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and as part of the 2002 Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Anne Wilson: Wind/Rewind/Weave is an exhibition organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art, installed by Wilson to investigate the crisis of production and skill based textile labor. Included is Rewinds, a new work created entirely in glass; video documentation of Wind-Up: Walking the Warp, a 2008 performance in Chicago; and a large site-specific project, Local Industry, that takes the form of an active weaving/winding factory set up in the museum space. Run over the course of several months, this project will involve the Knoxville community in the collaborative production of a unique bolt of cloth. http://www.annewilsonartist.com

Free admission. Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5; Fri 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org, info@knoxart.org

Sundays at 8:00 PM. 17th-18th Century Dancing with live music. A performance group, newcomers are welcome. Rapper sword and morris dance teams. Free. At the Laurel Theatre in Knoxville, 16th Street and Laurel Avenue. Information: 546-8442, www.jubileearts.org

A new show performed by an award winning troupe new to the Smoky Mountain Palace. The cast offers the traditional Chinese cultural acrobatics but in a very fast paced, and at times breath taking, manner. The costumes are absolutely gorgeous; the music selected not only is appropriate for the acts but actually enhances them, and the skill of the acrobats is extraordinary. There are traditional acts such as the Chinese Yo-yo, and these ladies not only show off their skills but their stunning costumes as well. The men hoop divers take it to the extreme by diving through hoops that are in motion. A simple schoolyard seesaw, or springboard, is the vehicle that catapults a young lady from the board to the shoulders of another acrobat three people high in the air. A new act that is rarely performed outside of China is the Face Off or Mask Changing. It is a form of Chinese expressionist theater that is documented to be at least 300 years old and is impossible for the audience to explain after seeing it. The face mask on the beautiful young lady changes from one mask to another, without being touched, in the blink of an eye. To the absolute joy of everyone who has seen them, The Jungjo Drums all girl ensemble is back after spending last year preparing for, and participating in, the Beijing Summer Olympics. After two extremely successful seasons of Chinese acrobats, the third version has been highly anticipated and has proven to be exciting and entertaining beyond expectations. It again reinforces the opinion that the Smoky Mountain Palace’s Cirque de Chine is the best theatrical production west of New York and east of Las Vegas.

Cirque de Chine, 179 Collier Dr, Sevierville, TN 37862. For information: 865-429-1601, www.smokymountainpalace.com