Calendar of Events

129 North Main Street
Greeneville, TN 37743
(423) 787-0195

www.james-ben.com

"LARGER THAN LIFE" Exhibit at NPAC Displays Great Talent and Inspiration

As a prelude to the holiday season, the final 2011 exhibit in the lobby of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center by James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center is set to open Friday, October 7th. "LARGER THAN LIFE" features work from 4 of the Art Center's most gifted artists who are expressing themselves in large format images. Barbara de Saussure, Medha Karandikar, David Daus, and Lorna Paquin have all been represented in previous NPAC exhibits but "LARGER THAN LIFE" brings together some of their more striking works in a group show of larger images. The exhibit is open free to the public and can be viewed during lobby hours at NPAC,10:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday, and during scheduled performances.

For further information about "LARGER THAN LIFE" or the Art at NPAC series, contact James-Ben Stockton at (423) 787-0195.

Justin Randolf Thompson's "The Pits" is a multi-disciplinary installation and performance that investigates the political employment of sound, both in realm of propaganda and as protest, and the visual hierarchies of the architectural organization of theatre space. The work involves a direct collaboration with sculpture, architecture and music department students and can be broken down into four interrelated parts:
-A raised stage supporting a faux marble inlay floor
-A pit orchestra performance
-A chandelier
-A series of three freestanding sculptures

This orchestra will be a collaboration with students and faculty of the UT music department. Jazz musician and composer Jason Thompson (a Knoxville local and UT Graduate) will work with this group to create an 8-10 piece pit orchestra that will be conducted to perform a score that shifts from classical, triumphant marches, into the drum and flute sound of Black Power poets, through folk styles of spiritual praise, and finally into abrasive Hip Hop. The score will be recorded with each instrument taken separately, and following the opening performance; the orchestra will be replaced (in each of their seats) by their recording. The mix of sound references is meant to associate triumph with climax and climax with ascent and the skewing of the elements geographical and cultural identity addresses sound's social transcendence and simultaneous role as entertainment.

The stage and sculptural elements will be created as a collaboration with the artist, UT's architecture department, and UT's sculpture department.

Opening Reception: October 7, 5-9pm with live musical performance as part of First Friday opening.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Wednesday-Friday: 11AM - 6PM; Saturday: 10AM - 3PM. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

Norman and Ethel Thayer return for the forty-eighth year to their summer home on Golden Pond. Ethel is the perfect foil for an aging Norman, who suffers heat palpitations and a failing memory—but is still as tart-tongued and observant as ever. A visit from their middle-aged daughter and her fiancé leaves them with a teenaged boy, who, for the summer, becomes the “grandchild” the elderly couple always longed for. A touching, funny and warmly perceptive study of a spirited and lovable trio brought even closer together by incidence.

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

Norman and Ethel Thayer return for the forty-eighth year to their summer home on Golden Pond. Ethel is the perfect foil for an aging Norman, who suffers heart palpitations and a failing memory—but is still as tart-tongued and observant as ever. A visit from their middle-aged daughter and her fiancé leaves them with a teenaged boy, who, for the summer, becomes the “grandchild” the elderly couple always longed for. A touching, funny and warmly perceptive study of a spirited and lovable trio brought even closer together by incidence of a heart attack.
OCTOBER 7-23
TICKETS NOW ON SALE !
ONLINE SALES ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY.

PHONE AND WALK-UP sales at BOX OFFICE
(Monday - Friday, 12 PM -5:30 PM, Mon-Sat)

Voted one of the South’s most popular fall events, Gatlinburg readies itself for the 36th Annual Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair. Over 180 craftspeople will be exhibiting and demonstrating their crafts at the Gatlinburg Convention Center this October 6-23. During these dates the Gatlinburg Convention Center transforms into an enormous multi-level community of craftspeople from all over the U.S. The 36th Annual Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair will host some of the country’s finest artists and craftsmen that offer their unique art for sale.

Hours are 10am to 6pm daily and 10am to 5pm on Sundays. Music shows are 12, 2 and 4pm daily 12 and 2pm on Sundays and are included in the admission cost ($6 for Adults and children 12 and under free. Group rates available). For additional information call 865/436-7479 or visit our website at www.craftsmenfair.com

By Molière, Translated into English verse by Richard Wilbu. At the Lab Theatre.
A classic comedy by one of the greatest playwrights of all time. A "man of the cloth" worms his way into the gullible heart of a rich family man and tries to take him for all he has. Molière skewers religious hypocrisy, mindless piety, and sexual deceit – all in glorious rhyming verse.

Clarence Brown Theatre 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Elaine Barnes, Lauren Karnitz and Annamaria Gundlach will present their works October 3 through October 28 at the Denso Gallery at the Clayton Center for the Arts. There will be a reception during Last Friday Artwalk 6-8 pm, Friday, October 28, 2011.

Elaine Barnes has a BA from University of Florida and MA from University of Central Florida. She lives in a beautiful, rural setting in East Tennessee, where the natural beauty that surrounds her inspires and influences her artwork in both clay and glass. Her education continues through classes by local artists, as well as national and international workshops with renowned artists. She has won awards in juried shows and her work is exhibited in several galleries in Tennessee.

Lauren Karnitz earned a B.A. in English Education and Russian Literature from New York University in 1992, taught English in New York City, then accepted a job in Seattle. In 2001 she returned to academia to pursue her first love, painting. In 2004, while completing her Fine Arts degree at University of Tennessee, Lauren opened Three Flights Up Gallery in downtown Knoxville, where she was founding partner and curator through 2009. Lauren remains active in Knoxville's art community, while exhibiting her own work and raising two boys. Her work is in private collections around the country.

Annamaria Gundlach creates pieces that are on-of-a-kind, hand-sculpted forms with figurative overtones. Many are large, slab-constructed or sculpted. Gundlach uses numerous coats of oxides, engobes and paints to get her patinas and finishes. Her figurative pieces reflect her Italian/Greek heritage and love of myths and nature. She has received numerous grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission to study sculpture in the United States and Italy and exhibits her work in fine arts exhibitions, museums and galleries.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

In observance of the Civil War’s 150th anniversary, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is hosting an exhibition from the Tennessee State Museum, Common People in Uncommon Times: The Civil War in Tennessee. The exhibition focuses on how the war affected the lives of Tennesseans through personal stories of participants whose sagas illustrate a land divided.

The narrative of personal struggle and endurance during the Civil War is presented on 10 graphic panels taken from the State Museum’s collection of photographs and artifacts from the era, as well as from other collections across the state. Each panel portrays a different theme: Confederate leaders, Union leaders, African-Americans, civilian home front, common soldiers, war on the water, reconstruction and commemoration.

Admission to the special exhibition is included in the museum admission price, and free for Heritage Center members. For current hours and admission rates, visit www.gsmheritagecenter.org

At the Palace Theatre, 72 South Main Street in Crossville.

www.isiksonmez.com

Isik Sonmez, whose oil paintings are done with a palette knife, is exhibiting at the Palace Theatre in Crossville during the month of October.

Born in Turkey of a noted military family, he went to Military High School and became a soldier in the Turkish Army and became an apprentice to Professor Dr. Gulbin Yalim and began his study of abstract art. Later he was mentored for a year under the instruction of Nesin Us, a well known abstract artist.
He has been accepted and won prizes in prestigious exhibits both in Turkey and the U.S. In Tennessee, this includes the Oak Ridge Art Center Open Show and 1st in the landscape category in the Art Guild’s juried show.

Sonmez described his work as his own versatile blend of impressionism and surrealism. The exhibit theme at the Palace consists of horses, clients at a café, and Turkish peasants, great fields, storm clouds, and a piece that comments on both joy and pain.

The Palace Theater, 113 West Broadway, Maryville TN 37801. Information: 865-983-3330, www.palacetheater.com

Photographer Molly Harrell is exhibiting her photography series "The Nudes" at URBhana. This recent collection of nudes, photographed over a period of several months, will be on display throughout the month of October.

A graduate of The University of Tennessee 1986, and The Art Institute of Atlanta 2002, Molly currently resides in Columbia, SC, as a commercial photographer specializing in portraits. Her fascination with the beauty of the human body has led to a continued love of photographing people in the nude.

For this show, Molly works primarily with black and white images. A mix of framed works, images printed on canvas, and mixed media will be featured.

The Oak Ridge Art Center announces their annual juried, mixed media exhibition. The exhibition is intended to showcase exceptional work produced throughout our region.

The opening reception is September 17 at 7 PM. A gallery talk will precede the opening at 6:30. Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9AM-5PM; Saturday-Monday, 1-4PM. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org