26
Sep
Turned On, Turned Up
On September 26th Michael Bellar and the AS-IS Ensemble performed at our 103 Gallery as a part of their fall tour. On sale at the show was their newly released CD “Turned On Turned Up”.
To make the evening even more special, some young musicians from the Art Institute and elsewhere came out of the woodworks to see the show. Several made comments to the staff and even the musicians themselves about how much they enjoyed the night and how impressed they were with the performance. This kind of interaction reminds us of the magic and intimacy of a small venue employed for an art event. There’s something to be said for huge concerts with thousands of people sharing in the same music and experience, but nothing compares to the energy generated a room.. say.. the size of the 103 Gallery. The music just sounds better when it bounces off the walls, and there’s room to bring lawn chairs and enjoy the music with your friends, does it get better than that? Ever?! Plus, if your lucky, you might get a hug from Michael Bellar! - TO
“I need an escape from the humdrum of routine!” said Charleston.
“Follow me! I will save you!” said the crew at ELA.
"Godzilla Rocks Art!" by Philip Hyman
Then we created a holy mess—uploaded the scene to the internet—and invited the Holy City to feed off our energy.
What is this I speak of? The Art Lock In!
20 Artists with their art supplies, creativity, ideas and dreams entered the 103 Gallery on Friday Afternoon; 20 hours later, all that remained was a hulking amount of artwork, complete with a life size Godzilla sculpture made out cardboard.* All through the night a camera rolled and a live feed of the gallery played on our website; people watched over the artists from home.
A small group of relatively less sleep deprived people cleaned up from this inspired and visionary storm the following afternoon. They did their best to make sense of it all, and that night the city of Charleston was invited in to see the installment.
[A word on “all-nighters”: Personal experience and not-so-extensive research taught me this—sleep deprivation is bad for one’s health, both mentally and physically. But, come on, who doesn’t find a reason to skip the good and healthy routine from time to time?
After all, Chuck Palahniuk begs a good question, “Did perpetual happiness in the Garden of Eden maybe get so boring that eating the apple was justified?” It’s seems it’s in our nature to seek out variety and to test out our limits.
So people of Charleston, in the spirit of doing something “wrong” in the name of the excitement and transgression from routine that we so much need, chew over this: what in your life are you willing to sacrifice a night of sleep for?
We imagine you’ve stayed up to dance, to party, to plan, to travel, to make love, even to agonize and brood, to finish a book…
Well, here at ELA, we think the creation of artwork is worth the sacrifice, and due to the Lock In a night that could have been like any other—full of dreams and warmth and stillness—became instead a night worth noting.
We hope that in addition to exposing you to an awesome exhibit, we have inspired you to reflect on the possibilities that lie within the confines of a single night. – TO
*While this sculpture was, in fact, true to the size I would imagine an average dinosaur to be, it was not true to the size of the fictional “Godzilla” character, who is taller than buildings. We imagine that the artist chose this smaller version because it fit inside the 103 gallery.
See more photos from the Art Lock In.
12
Sep
103 Swings with Gradual Lean
"Swimming Upstream" - Chris Dotson
Charleston’s notorious jazz quartet Gradual Lean reunited for a One-Night-Only show at the 103 Gallery on September 12, attracting a crowd of local jazz connoisseurs (including The Post and Courier’s Jack McCray and the New Music Collective’s Ron Wiltrout) and younger music lovers alike. Featuring jazz legends Quentin Baxter on drums, Charlton Singleton on trumpet, Lee Barbour on drums and Kevin Hamilton on bass, the elusive band brought the crowd to its knees… and then some!
Though the gallery came up with the brilliant idea of also projecting the concert onto a screen on the gallery’s lovely green (so that people could catch the show outside, as well), the audience insisted upon crowding around the stage, no one wanting to tear themselves away from the awesome jazz beats. The gallery echoed with cheers and howls as the band played some of their popular songs and a couple of older jazz tunes.
Local artists Chris Dotson and Scott Debus each created live, timed paintings throughout the show. They picked up their brushes as the first chord struck and had until the music stopped to create their masterpieces. Debus created a very abstract piece, while Dotson crafted a marine-themed work.
I, for one, couldn’t keep from dancing at my spot by the front door (much to the chagrin of others, I am immune to any form of dance-induced embarrassment). The show was scheduled to end around 11 p.m. but, at the request of their many adoring fans in the audience, the guys kept on grooving until close to midnight.
All in all, the gallery was packed and the room was hot, but everyone was amped and clearly had an awesome time. Hopefully my epic dance moves didn’t scare off the band—we’d love to have them back A.S.A.P.! – LR
Chris Dotson’s “Swimming Upstream” (pictured above) is currently available for purchase for your own art collection for $600. The painting is on view at Fish on King St.
