Calendar of Events

The foremost song parodist of the MTV era, "Weird Al" Yankovic carried the torch of musical humor more proudly and more successfully than any performer since Allan Sherman. As an American singer, musician, actor, satirist, parodist, songwriter, accordionist, and television producer, Yankovic is known in particular for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. The success of the single "Amish Paradise," a takeoff of the Coolio hit "Gangsta's Paradise," catapulted his brand of music to a new level. The follow-up, Running with Scissors, appeared in 1999, with Poodle Hat landing in 2003. Straight Outta Lynwood appeared in 2006 with the single "White & Nerdy," a suburban parody of Chamillionaire's hit "Ridin." He has sold more than 12 million albums, recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, and has performed more than 1,000 live shows. His works have earned him three Grammy Awards among nine nominations, four gold records, and six platinum records in the United States. Audiences of all ages will laugh and sing along when Yankovic brings his weirdness to the Tennessee Theatre. Yankovic's latest release is "The Essential 'Weird Al' Yankovic," a jam-packed two-CD 38-song collection of Al's best work from his 12 studio
albums remastered and packaged with a 24-page booklet. The "Internet Leaks" EP was released in August 2009, and is a preview to a forthcoming full-length album. Tickets are $49.50 and $39.50, plus applicable service fees, available starting Friday, April 23, 10 a.m. via the Tennessee Theatre box office, all Tickets Unlimited outlets, by phone at 865-656-4444 or online at TennesseeTheatre.com.

Boone, NC artist Sandy Adair has been creating custom weavings, off-loom weavings, and macramé wall pieces for over 28 years. The Blue Ridge mountain landscape surrounding Adair's home has been a continuing source of inspiration to her. Tapestry weaving is a slow process of layering in one needle of yarn at a time until an image is formed. Once completed, the weaving is stretched across a frame, secured and backed with muslin. Adair's award winning tapestries have been collected internationally.

Kim Nixon, a traditional rug hooker, believes in artwork that reminds us of our past while transcending the present. She uses pattern to bridge the gap between what is background, where we have come from, to what we see in front of us. Her rugs, foot stools and stair risers are hooked with strips of hand-dyed wool. Nixon's works mesmerize with their mosaic beauty and set up their own rhythm, offering images that stir universal associations.

Hanson Fine Art & Craft Gallery, 5607 Kingston Pk, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: Monday-Friday 10AM-5:30PM; Saturday 10AM-5PM. For information: 865-584-6097, www.hansongallery.com

Reception on July 10, 7-9PM with gallery talk at 6:30 PM.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9AM-5PM; Saturday-Monday, 1-4PM. For information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

Professional aerialist Jayne Bernasconi is coming to Knoxville this summer for a week-long aerial workshop. Come for the whole week or as many days as you want. Visit her website at www.airdancebern.com for more information on her aerial art. Workshop will be held at Premier Athletics of Knoxville West, 11250 Gilbert Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932. $500 full week (20 classes); $150 one day (4 classes); $60 single class. The week will culminate with an informal student performance.

For information: 865-951-5454, www.urbhana.com

Appalachian Arts Craft Center: 2716 Andersonville Highway, Clinton, TN. Hours: Monday-Saturday 10AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-494-9854, www.appalachianarts.net

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition entitled “Forms and Figures”, featuring work by seven artists:
+ Alan Finch (Knoxville, TN) – Finch is a visual artist and independent curator whose current digital photography focuses on the abstract in nature. www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/photographers/?inc=details&id=116603
+ Kathy Frankford (Morristown, TN) - Frankford is a visual artist with landscape and natural happenings as the focus of her photography series. http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/kathy-frankford.html
+ Carl Hill (Knoxville, TN) – Hill is a landscape/nature/travel photographer whose current panoramic photography emphasizes the forms and structures of the horizon.
+ Scott Lee (Knoxville, TN) – Lee is a film director/producer/artist and photographer. His “Dirty Bride Series” is a photographic conceptual set that includes six images of a woman dressed in a bridal gown. www.35degreesnorth.com
+ Ross Mol (Clinton, TN) – Mol’s main interest in photography is getting “the shot” with as little editing as possible.
+ Carole Usdan (Florida/North Carolina) – Carole is a fine arts photographer using a photographic dialogue to describe the ubiquitous push and pull among solitude, alienation and intimacy. www.usdanphoto.com
+ Dennis Usdan (Florida/North Carolina) – Dennis is a fine arts photographer and retired lawyer focusing on the clarification of observed details. www.usdanphoto.com

“Forms and Figures” will be on display in the Balcony at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from July 2-30, 2010. An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on July 2 from 5:00-9:00 PM. The Emporium Center is located at 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, July 3, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, July 5. For more information, call (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present “A Celebration of Color", an exhibition featuring new oils, acrylics, and watercolors by Larry S. Cole. Cole’s eclectic works range from realism to the abstract and reflect the use of an intensely colorful palette. The exhibition will be displayed at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from July 2-30, 2010, and an opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on July 2 from 5:00-9:00 PM.

Larry S. Cole is a Knoxville native who has had a life-long interest in painting. Although primarily self-taught, he studied art at the University of Tennessee and was influenced by the works of Andrew Wyeth and local artists Carl Sublett and Xavier Ironside. “Artists want observers’ senses to be drawn to their works, and they employ various techniques to create that connection,” says Cole. “I try to develop that relationship primarily through color. Light falling on a face or landscape continually transforms the mood of that subject as the light’s intensity strengthens and wanes. I try to capture those colors in a way that invites the observer into an emotional bond with the subject.” Cole’s painting subjects range from interesting people he meets to settings in Greece, Italy, the Eastern U.S. seacoast, and his native South. “I feel a sense of adventure with each new work I undertake,” says Cole. “Starting a painting is like embarking on an exciting voyage, one in which I always make new discoveries. I agree with Pablo Picasso who said, ‘Art washes from the soul, the dust of everyday life’.” In addition to the works displayed in his gallery, Cole also paints commissioned works for private and corporate collectors. In the last year, he has begun participating in regional exhibitions and competitions. His painting “April Showers” was selected as a finalist in the 2009 Dogwood Arts Festival Limited Edition Print competition. He was a juried participant in the 2009 Artsclamation! (Fort Sanders Foundation benefit and exhibition), and Artsclamation! subsequently chose his works for their 2010 and 2011 benefit calendars. For more information, visit Cole’s studio at The Gallery House, 4050 Sutherland Avenue, in Knoxville. www.larrycolegalleryhouse.com

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, July 3, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

Photographer, visual artist and independent curator Alan Finch will be at Bliss Home (29 Market Sq) from 5-9pm on Friday, July 2 to meet and talk about his work. His current digital photography focuses on the abstract in nature, and was recently included in ArtScapes at the KMA, Arts in the Airport, and Through the Lens at the Oak Ridge Art Center.

bliss home 29 market sq, knoxville, tn 37902
865.558.5677, www.shopinbliss.com

205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. Regular tour schedule: Monday - Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (April - December); Monday -Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (January - March). Information: 865-525-6514, www.jameswhitesfort.org, jameswhitefort@aol.com

August 2nd, marks author, James Baldwin's 86th Birthday. Knoxville-based artist, Gary Elgin is celebrating by donating his recent work: "James Baldwin, Always Welcome At The Table" to the Burlington Branch of the Knoxville Library system located at 4614 Asheville Highway. Elgin, who's work "Keegan Eating Biscuits" was recently featured as a finalist in the 1st Annual International Biscuit Festival art competion, is a new and fresh face on Knoxville's established art scene. The Burlington Branch Library will host Elgin's new exhibit "Familiar Faces: Old & New" in their media room/gallery. On Tuesday, August 10th at 12 noon, a special reception for the unique portrait exhibit will take place. The celebration will include readings from Baldwin's work, as well as a formal presentation of Elgin's Baldwin portrait to the Library. The Library hopes that this donation may be the start of a growing permanent collection by local artists. The "Familiar Faces" exhibit includes 12 works, from 1989 to the present, and includes a number of Knoxville's "familiar faces" as well as a few of celebrities, such as television's Queen of Comedy, Lucille Ball and comedian, Ed Wynn, but it will be Baldwin's portrait that will take center stage on Tuesday August 10th. The exhibit event is open to the public and free of charge. There will be refreshments as well as a birthday cake to help celebrate "Jimmy's" special day. For library/exhibit hours or information on this or other library events, please contact the Burlington Branch Library at (865) 525-5431. Gary Elgin can be contacted at (865) 803-9756.

Monday-Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Visit James White's Fort to experience what life was like in East Tennessee more than 200 years ago! James White’s Fort is the home of James White who settled in Knoxville with a 1,000-acre land grant from the state of North Carolina. Includes White’s first home, furnished with original tools and artifacts from the period. Penny Performance students may enjoy a self-guided tour of the Fort for free with paid Adult admission.
Advance reservations required? NO.
How to obtain admission: Admission is free. Groups of ten or more should call the Fort with advance notice.
Contact: Robert McGinnis, 865-525-6514, jameswhitefort@aol.com
205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915 | www.jameswhitesfort.org

The Clayton Center for the Arts on the Maryville College campus presents “Bain Butcher: Recent Paintings” through July 31. The exhibition in the Blackberry Farm Gallery in the Clayton Center’s Recital Hall building features oil paintings by Knoxville artist Bain Butcher. A reception will be held July 30 from 6-8 p.m., in conjunction with Maryville’s Last Friday Art Walk. “I explore conflicting notions of truth and reality,” said Butcher, a conceptual figurative artist who exhibits nationally and maintains a studio in Knoxville. Born in Kingsport, Butcher received his MFA in painting in 2006 from the New York Academy of Art, where he studied with leading contemporary figurative painters. Prior to that, he studied at Davidson College, the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the University of Cincinnati, where he received his MD degree. Butcher has received numerous awards and was recently named a semi-finalist in the 2009 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. He also teaches continuing education courses at the University of Tennessee, as well as private courses in his Knoxville studio.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center Box Office M-F 10AM-6PM or by phone or online: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com