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Willie Cole's works offer searing look at history (20 hits)

African-American artist to hold talks in region

By Dorothy Shinn
Art and architecture critic

Published on Thursday, Apr 15, 2010



The iron, a longtime symbol of domestic drudgery and an unofficial American caste system, has become a tool for making art in the hands of Willie Cole. The artist has converted scorched canvases into statements about domestic labor, masks, African tribal markings, slave ships, flowers and personal family history.

Cole, whose scorched canvases are included in the Akron Art Museum's Pattern ID exhibit and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland's From Then to Now: Masterworks of African American Art, will be in Northeast Ohio today and Friday for three speaking engagements.

He speaks first at 6 p.m. today at the Akron Art Museum's Charles and Jane Lehner Auditorium, 1 S. High St., Akron, in a free art talk held in collaboration with the University of Akron Myers School of Art and MOCA.

Cole will discuss his life and art, including the ''scorch paintings'' and his sculptures, built from recycled objects like high-heeled shoes, hair dryers and bicycle parts that also reference a broad range of cultural practices, especially African art traditions.

For more information, call 330-376-9186, ext. 229 or 230.

At 1 p.m. on Friday, Cole will give a free lunchtime talk at the Cleveland Clinic's Art Program, Arts & Medicine Institute, which loaned some of its collection of Cole's work to the MOCA exhibit. The Arts & Medicine Institute is also organizing a tour of the MOCA exhibit in April. Call 216-448-0232.

Then at 6 p.m. Friday, Cole will give a gallery talk at MOCA Cleveland, 8501 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, about his work in that exhibit. Call 216-421-8671.

Cole will also visit with students at the University of

Akron, where he is artist in residence.



Friday

Opening — The Canton Museum of Art opens Form, Figure & Function: Contemporary Ohio Ceramics to run through July 25. Curated by Charlotte Gordon, curator of the Springfield Museum of Art, and Lynnda Arrasmith, curator of the Canton Museum of Art, the exhibit has just ended its debut at the Springfield Museum of Art, and next will be on view at the Zanesville Museum of Art. 330-453-7666.

Art Showcase — The 78th Street Studios Experience opens five new exhibits in the former American Greetings Creative Studios building, 1300 W. 78th to 1305 W. 80th St., Cleveland. http://www.78thstreetstudios.com or 440-503-5506.


Saturday-Sunday

Invitational — The Orange Art Center, 31500 Chagrin Blvd., Pepper Pike, holds an Invitational Fine Arts and Craft Market from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. 216-831-5130.


Sunday



Warhol — The Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown, opens Andy Warhol's Wild Raspberries, featuring illustrations created by the Pop Art legend for a cookbook spoof. On view through June 27. 330-743-1107.

Capitol Snoop — The Cleveland Restoration Society holds a Snoop of Cleveland's restored Capitol Theatre, 1390 W. 65th St., Cleveland, at 10 a.m. Built in 1921 but vacant for the last two decades, the theater is now a state-of-the-art movie venue with historic wall murals and vaudeville stage restored to recreate the atmosphere of the 1920s-era movie palace. The Snoop begins with a viewing of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, then a behind-the-scenes tour to see the story of its $7.5 million rehabilitation. Open to members of Cleveland Restoration Society at $25. 216-426-3110.


Wednesday

Watercolor Seminar — The Ohio Watercolor Society sponsors Stretching Boundaries for Creative People VII on Wednesday through April 24 at The Lodge at Sawmill Creek, 400 Sawmill Creek, Huron. 440-708-1704 or 304-242-6831, e-mail mhphillis@yahoo.com or go to http://www.ohiowatercolorsociety.com/.


Deadline

April 22 — Submit works between noon and 7 p.m. to Summit Artspace's Fresh Art exhibit, an annual juried show to be held April 30 to June 5. Artists who live, work or attend universities in Summit, Portage and Medina counties are invited to enter. http://www.summitartspace.org or by calling 330-376-8480.
Dorothy Shinn writes about art and architecture for the Akron Beacon Journal. Send information to her at the Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640 or dtgshinn@neo.rr.com.



The iron, a longtime symbol of domestic drudgery and an unofficial American caste system, has become a tool for making art in the hands of Willie Cole. The artist has converted scorched canvases into statements about domestic labor, masks, African tribal markings, slave ships, flowers and personal family history.

Cole, whose scorched canvases are included in the Akron Art Museum's Pattern ID exhibit and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland's From Then to Now: Masterworks of African American Art, will be in Northeast Ohio today and Friday for three speaking engagements.

He speaks first at 6 p.m. today at the Akron Art Museum's Charles and Jane Lehner Auditorium, 1 S. High St., Akron, in a free art talk held in collaboration with the University of Akron Myers School of Art and MOCA.

Cole will discuss his life and art, including the ''scorch paintings'' and his sculptures, built from recycled objects like high-heeled shoes, hair dryers and bicycle parts that also reference a broad range of cultural practices, especially African art traditions.

For more information, call 330-376-9186, ext. 229 or 230.

At 1 p.m. on Friday, Cole will give a free lunchtime talk at the Cleveland Clinic's Art Program, Arts & Medicine Institute, which loaned some of its collection of Cole's work to the MOCA exhibit. The Arts & Medicine Institute is also organizing a tour of the MOCA exhibit in April. Call 216-448-0232.

Then at 6 p.m. Friday, Cole will give a gallery talk at MOCA Cleveland, 8501 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, about his work in that exhibit. Call 216-421-8671.

Cole will also visit with students at the University of

Akron, where he is artist in residence.
Posted By: October Gallery
Saturday, April 17th 2010 at 6:57PM
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