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Dayton Artist United

Dayton Artists United First Group Show Kicks off Friday

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A group show of work by the members of Artists United Dayton opens Friday, March 6, 2020 at the Orphanage Gallery, 73 N. Dutoit St. Dayton, OH. The group show at the Orphanage Gallery is offered by Bill Cunningham and curated by Bill Cunningham and Samantha Mang. The show features work by more than 40 visual artists, and because Artists United is a network for artists in all media, the show also includes writers, a fashion artist, musicians and a magician.  The opening is Friday March 6, and the show will be open on March 7 for Saturday after, and March 15 for third Sunday. 

Curtis Bowman

My name is Curtis Bowman. I am a member of Artists United Dayton and I’d like to share with you how  Artists United Dayton came about. Artists United is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, CA. It was founded by my friend Holly Million. Holly is a filmmaker. When she started making films, she discovered that there are things she needed, location contracts, employment contracts and forms for use of copyright. She thought these things would be easy to find. She was shocked to discover that there was no central clearing house of filmmaker forms—not even on the internet.

In 2016, Holly Million started talking to artists. She talked about sharing opportunities. She talked about sharing resources. Many artists were taken aback, many artists were excited. Many artists couldn’t believe there could be a network of artists willing to share information and opportunities.  But Holly kept talking. She talked about artists as the catalyst of the creative economy. She talked about shaking off the scarcity mindset that keeps each individual artist thinking they have to hoard what they have because there is never enough to go around. She talked about the power of the arts to heal, to strengthen, to unify.

Artists United was founded on December 6, 2016.

When Holly told me about Artists United, I told her “come to Dayton. We have a great artists’ community here. I have been a grantwriter in Dayton for more than 2 decades. I have worked with a lot of artists. We’ve got the goods!” Last year,  she came. In July 2019, Holly Million traveled to Dayton for a week . She toured artist’s studios. She premiered her latest film *A Permanent Mark.* She spoke to Dayton’s film community at a Film Connections Meeting. She attended an Artist’s United Networking event hosted by Jes McMillan in The Mosaic Institute Studios at Tend and Flourish, a collaborative retail and studio space on Brown St. At that event, attendees video-conferenced to an Artists United member in New Orleans.  Every where she went, Holly talked about artists, the power of the arts and the creative economy.

Artists United’s Dayton chapter was on its way. The artists have  been having monthly gatherings, an open meeting for artists to meet and talk to each other, at Wholly Grounds Coffeehouse, which is owned by an artist, Amy Williams.  Amy puts up local art, and kindly offers Artists United space to meet. At the January meeting, the group was tossing around the idea of having a show. Bill Cunningham stood up and said, “I have space available.” Artists began to sign up on the spot. A show was born.  It sounds simple, and it was. But behind the scenes, there is Bill Cunningham and Samantha Mang, who have put a ton of work into organizing the show.

I founded the Artists United Dayton chapter with Jes McMillan, who is chapter captain. But Artists United Dayton has become its own thing: artist driven and artist run. The goal of Holly Million’s  Artists United was to build a worldwide network of artists.  She’s done it. Artists United has 35,000 members worldwide.  My goal for Artists United Dayton has been to connect our thriving network of artists to each other and the world.   It’s about artists—all artists. filmmakers, writers, visual artists, dancers, musicians, magicians—it starts with the artists. When artists lift each other up, when we share resources and opportunities, we enrich ourselves and our community. There is no fee to be a member of Artists United, its not a club, or a school. It’s what you make it. And the Dayton Artist Community can make it great. We’ve got the goods.   

 

Last July, Dayton pulled out all the stops to showcase its artistic talent. On March 6, at the Orphanage Gallery, we’re doing it again. The Artists United group show will remain up until after third Sunday, March 15.

Join Artists United by email to [email protected]

Look for us on Facebook, Artists United Dayton Ohio,  at https://www.facebook.com/groups/351991622115865/

Join in the next gathering at Wholly Grounds Coffeehouse, 825 Wayne Avenue, Dayton, Ohio on March 11, from 6pm to 8pm.

Dayton Artists United: William Cunningham

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Photo by Alex Kamanandi

Artist United interview with William Cunningham, artist and curator of The Orphanage Gallery, 73 N. Dutoit St., Dayton Ohio 45402

DAU—So, Bill, are you from Dayton?

WC—I am. I lived other places, like Atlanta back in the early 90s and I travel a lot, so I get to see many different things.

DAU—What do you like about Dayton?

WC—I’m kind of funny about Dayton. I know a lot about Dayton and its history. I used to run Gallery 257 back in the late 80s, it was located where Press Coffeehouse is now.

But Dayton frustrates me. The Dayton art community frustrates me. There is so much potential there and it languishes as it has no supporting infrastructure for artist cultural production.

DAU—Talk to me about that. What do you mean by infrastructure?

WC—Mostly, I mean exhibition space. There is not enough open exhibition space for the artists we have, and we have a tremendous number of artists here in Dayton. As artists, we need places to see lots of various styles of art. We don’t get to go see each other’s work as it evolves over time,  unless you drop by another artist’s studio, which are usually not open. Most artists have to get a show for their work to be seen. It’s hard here to get shows.

There are few galleries that will show newer artist work or even established artist work for that matter. Let’s say an artist creates say 30-40 works, maybe 5 of those are actually show-able.  Art is a process, and not everything you turn out is your best work, work that as an artist you would be willing to show. Sometimes you have something to say and it doesn’t come across in the first 20 attempts. Or in 20 works the language for the work is not developed enough to be understandable for the viewer. But if you could get those five-good works into a group show for example, you could start to build up to something in the form of a conversation based on the viewer feedback of the work.

DAU—So, if someone came to you and said “Bill, we want to foster the arts in Dayton, and we need some guidance.”

WC—I’d tell them  1) Set up an exhibition space that is open for emerging artists. A pop-up sort of thing. Something that turns over rapidly, once a week or once every two weeks. Just a wall with two works on it would work to increase visibility of an artist work. By alternating the space so there is something new every week, say 50 weeks a year this way there is always new energy in the art space. 2)  Have a looser curatorial process, don’t try to control what hangs to much let other people sign-up to curate shows of other artist work. This really helps as one person should not be allowed dictate what is good or bad. 3)  Don’t control the artists. Don’t put your finger on them and tell them what kind of art they have to show. But do guide them in matters like pricing. Every gallery is different every art space is also different over time pricing patterns will develop which provides a range which art sells well at that venue.

DAU—I’m hearing that you don’t like to be told what to do.

WC—Hell No! Anybody will tell you that. I’ve been called a renegade. I’ve been called worse than that. I speak my mind. I’m not going to say I like something if I don’t and there are a lot of things I don’t like. Some of the things I don’t like are based on my experience. Like, I’ve got a bias against juried art shows. I hate all juried shows.

DAU—Why is that?

WC—Most of the juried shows collect submission fees and then they give out a prize that’s worth a fraction of the money they collect. The rest goes to paying for the show usually in a space that is already paid for. It’s a cash machine that exploits the artists. It’s really nothing more than a cash grab scam that preys on artist. And the jurors are laughable in most cases. They get someone that’s high profile, not high profile in the art world, but someone that people recognize, or a person in the government to walk around and give out a prize to the winner based on what? And then the emerging artists have to explain to that person about the value of their art and what it’s about. Then the show just becomes a personality contest.

Some time ago, I had a work in an abstract show. The juror comes in, he’s all pompous and talking about “post-modern abstraction’ in this way that showed he has no idea what he was talking about. He walked around and talked down to all the artists. Then, he awarded the prize to landscape painting. A landscape, a plen air landscape at that,  with a duck at a pond.  A landscape painting won in an abstract show! Turned out the person who won was related to the juror,  go figure.

Most jurors are friends of the curator—it’s a scam to make money as they oftentimes get paid as well. How does a young artist know which juried show is legit? At the galleries I run we will never do a  juried show.

DAU—No juried shows ever?

WC—Well, there is an exception. We were in ArtFest in Beavercreek last year. That was a juried show done right. The judges were people who knew what they were about. Michael Roediger; Director and CEO of Dayton Art Institute,  (3rd year as a judge), Lisa Seibert; with Dayton Local (4th year as a judge), and Amy Kollar Anderson; Internationally recognized artist, MCACD 2018 grant recipient. Samantha was one of the staff members for ArtFest. And, in my opinion,  this show was fair in its judging.

The booth I worked with won Best Interactive. We showed Front Street artists and had a second half that gave away spun art t-shirts. I ran the gallery side, which also had a little gallery that was interactive. All the works inside were free, provided by artists in the area. It was a good event.    

DAU—Samantha? You mean Samantha Mang?

WC—She’s part of ArtFest. She’s good people.

DAU—She’s co-curating the Artists United group show with you.  Thank you for that. I really liked what happened at the Artists United gathering where you offered The Orphanage for a group show.

WC— You wanted a show. I have an art space. I like what Artists United is doing. It’s like what The Orphanage does in some ways.  Artists United doesn’t charge a fee to be a member, right? The Orphanage has a zero-profit gallery model: $0 submission fees and $0 commission fees. Our mission is to provide a place for artist to show and sell work. Sales of  any work from an artist help support the artist. Our rules are simple: the artist must be present at the show’s opening. The artist, especially emerging artists, needs to mingle with other artists and art patrons. See there’s the network thing we have in common. Artists need to meet people in the public places away from the art studio. How else are they going to sell art? The gallery is supported by the art community attending the shows. We don’t handle any sales of artists’ work: the artists sell their work. But last year, at the galleries, artists sold over 600 works. We don’t take a cut all of that money, it all went into the pockets of the artists.

Let’s say you’re an artist, and you have your work in a group show, like the Artist United show that is coming up. You meet people, maybe you sell some art. If people like your work, they’ll  come to your studio. When you’ve built an audience, you can host an open studio event. People buy more art at events.  Group shows at The Orphanage broaden the exposure for everybody involved. This Artist United show already has 45 artist signed on and I expect a few more before it opens.

One of pieces from Pseudo Bibliography of Imaginary Friends a series of work from a couple of years ago where Bill Cunningham mixed two forms of bad art vintage snapshots and public domain clipart to create a new work.

Also, when you have your work in a group show, like the upcoming Artists United show on March 6, you see the work of other artists. You get to talk to each other about art. I love to talk to other artists about art. When artists talk about art, they don’t put a value on it, like “Hey, that could win a prize at a juried show with that work.” No, they talk about the work. The process. What brush did you use to get that effect? What inspired this thing? These sorts of things. Which helps artists expand what they are already doing. As they gain new information, their work becomes better, even if they do not use the ideas they learned about. The conversations, the exposure to other artists still had an influence on them. 

When artists participate in a group show they learn how a gallery operates. How to interact with the public. How to price their work. They watch what sells and what doesn’t. They look at how the show is put together—why did some works hang together? There are a lot of things that aren’t being taught. We have great art programs here. Sinclair has a strong art department, so does Wright State, so does the University of Dayton. The University of Dayton is the only one that teaches the business in some of its art classes.

The starving artist concept is a myth and based in propaganda. We need to stop selling it. Let’s stop charging $80,000 per year to teach kids how to copy some dead artists. We don’t need more academic art that says nothing. I want to look at art that says something. Art that says something I have never thought about before. Even if the work is reductive,  I am looking at art. Folk art, unschooled art, raw talent with things to say. These are the works that end up in museums. Original thoughts. Fun art. Art should be fun. It should be interesting. It should have something to say.

Art schools should teach how to mount a show, how to preserve work, how to pack and ship something like a painting. How to pay the bills as an artist. Every artist has a market. How do you find yours? This is what The Orphanage is exploring. It’s an entirely new gallery model.

DAU—How did you come to start The Orphanage?

WC–We had the space, in between the studios the hallway was just wasted space. We decided to treat those walls as pop-up art space in the beginning. The early shows at The Orphanage were all new local painters who had never shown work before. Those early group shows let more artists gain the art showing skills and gallery skills I mentioned earlier. These shows let them meet each other and broaden their networks. People coming to the gallery got to see some stuff they’d never seen before. We showed some of the Front St artists who hadn’t shown before. We introduced them to each other and the public. Since opening Front St. has energy. People are coming to see what’s new each month. There was a time when first Friday had only 20 people walking around now some of the shows have almost 1000 people. It’s growing all the time.   

Front St. used to be a factory, the space where The Orphanage is was the daycare center, so it seemed right, you know, to start showing new artists here. We do 12 shows a year, one a month. We’re open, technically open, not just unlocked, three days a month: First Friday, Saturday After First Friday  and Third Sunday. Last year we sold 600 works, and that doesn’t include the Christmas gift show.  Most of those 600 works sold during First Friday,  and the rest for the most  were Third Sunday. This year we have some big Saturday events in the works. I expect that day will pick up as well.

All in all,  I would say around 450 plus works sold during those 11 First Fridays last year. This year, since January and February are slower, I can say the number of works sold has doubled from last year. The Gallery is actually two galleries The Orphanage and Us and Them. Us and Them also contributed to those numbers and sold about 150 works last year. Us and Them only shows new artist work. But look at those numbers and tell me people are not buying art in Dayton. 

Photo by Alex Kamanandi

DAU—Those are impressive numbers. You’ve talked about The Orphanage, let’s talk about you for a bit. Tell me about your work.

WC–  Me? I do a little of everything. I’ve done sculpture, painting, writing. I’m well known in stage magic and mentalism. I’ve been an artist all my life, I have been doing art all my life. I didn’t study art in school. I studied history, philosophy, psychology, anthropology and archeology, but I couldn’t walk away from art.  I started buying and collecting art before I was 18. Art has always been there, in my life. Art makes me ask the question – why? Why spend your life thinking about whether you should do something or not? Art says, “why not?” So, do it.  Art is all about doing stuff, as an artist. Doing, not talking about it. 

DAU—Tell me some of your favorite artists.

WC–Peter Gallo, Mike Cockrill, Chris Martin, Thomas Nozkowski, Stanley Whitney. These are NY painters for the most part. I also like the work Sharon Butler, she writes a great blog called “Two Coats of Paint,” you should read that.

I like NY for art. The cost of living there is astronomical. That’s one thing about Dayton, you can live here. Of course, it effects your thinking. If your living in NY and  have to make 8-12 grand a month to pay for your studio and living expenses, you don’t mess around. You work in your studio; you network and talk to people in the industry. Art is a business, there’s no way to take the money out of it and still eat.

But art is more than a way to make money: it’s a cultural commentary, its documentation, its ideas in action. That’s why I love The Little Gallery, which is a micro gallery movement that is free to use by anyone who likes art.  The Little Gallery motto is make art, take art, leave art.  I built these galleries with two other artisans,  Greg Seitz and Cayman K. We’ve placed eight in the surrounding communities. These galleries are helping people by giving them an outlet for small works and getting people to collect art. All of the works at The Little Gallery are provided by artists for free.

DAU—Greg and Cayman K are artists here?

WC—Yeah, Greg Seitz is here in The Orphanage, Cayman K is across the way in The Front St complex. Anyway, the first Little Gallery is hanging outside The Orphanage on the building.

If you want art, it’s around and some of it can be found for free. A small work by a local artist you picked up at a Little Gallery is way better than going out and buying some formulaic painting that looks like something Picasso did, something that has been copied for 90 years. The work does not always need to be big to have importance and wall power. Some of the works I have seen in The Little Gallery have these traits.

DAU—But, just a bit of argument here. Sometimes people want something that is just pretty, and maybe matches their couch.

WC—No! If you start down that road, you’re done, and it will cost you more in the long run. Let’s say,  you have a gorgeous oriental rug, you don’t put a crap coffee table on it. You get a better table. Don’t just put something pretty on your wall to fill a space. Put Art on your wall.  Look at art, not pretty pictures. I am not saying art can’t be pretty. It can be pretty, but it shouldn’t be a pond and a duck pretty. It has to be authentic. It elevates you, having art around you makes you better, more thoughtful, more a part of the world. If you surround yourself with crap, all you’ll be able to see is crap. You won’t be able to see the difference. Treat yourself as something valuable, surround yourself with art.

85% of people think art is expensive. This way of thinking needs to be changed.  There is work you can buy, here at The Orphanage gallery, at every show, that is not expensive.  The sale of those works helps local, emerging artists. There is work you can take from The Little Gallery that is free and you’re welcome to take it just because you like it. People can have real art in their life. Speaking of which, Samantha Mang, who we spoke about earlier, just added a dozen of small salt paintings to the Little Gallery.  Those are available right now, for you to just take if you like them.

DAU—Bill, how can people find you?

WC—I’m on Facebook Bill Montana Artist and the William Cunningham Page and Instagram @bllmontana

DAU–William Cunningham, Thanks for taking the time to talk with me.  Thanks for the work you do for emerging artists and for hosting The Artists United group show, March 6 at The Orphanage. 

Dayton Artists United: Cayman K

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Artists United Interview with Cayman K, a visual artist.

DAU—So Cayman K, are you from Dayton?

CK—I’ve been here a long time. My family lived in California. I was born in Las Vegas, but lived in California until I was about 7, I guess. We all migrated here, and now some of the family has moved on to Florida.

DAU—too cold here for that California blood?

CK—Maybe! I know I like hot weather.

DAU—and you mostly grew up here?

CK—Yeah, I went to Wayne High School. I went to Sinclair.

DAU–did you study art?

CK—yeah, and general education classes.

DAU—Since you’ve lived in Dayton a long time, tell me some things you like about it.

CK—The restaurants. Lucky’s, Lynn’s Bistro, Thai 9, the Trolley Stop.

DAU—and Wholly Grounds.

CK—and Wholly Grounds! I also like the culture of the city.  Art in the City is a great event. And there’s gallery spaces, like Sideshow  at The Yellow Cab, and The Orphanage. I think Dayton is so receptive to art. It’s a great city. 

DAU—So when did you know you were an artist?

CK—I’ve always been an artist. I have always drawn and created stuff. I have this comic book I drew in pencil, its written in like my third-grade cursive—it’s not in great shape—but it’s about my dog. I made my dog a superhero. Then, I knew I wanted to be an artist.

DAU—And that was it?

CK—It wasn’t that linear. You know how it is, you go to those family dinners where everyone is asking you what you’re doing and how are your classes. You kind of say things, like “It’s good, A’s and B’s,” but what you really mean “I dropped that class because it was too hard.” Your family worries you won’t be able to make a living, so you tell them stuff to make them  less worried.

DAU—And they worried about your being an artist?

CK—Yes, a little. I don’t mean they haven’t been supportive. They have. It’s just that being an artist didn’t seem like a workable job. Once I started selling stuff and making money, they got less worried.

DAU—Cayman K is the name you use for your artwork. How did having a “pen name,” come about.

CK—Cayman K comes from a position of whimsy, having fun for fun’s sake. People nowadays are pretty serious. My art is fun. My art is not political, or controversial—it’s spontaneous. I make it for its own sake. Like most of my work is devoid of background, just a cut-out. I made a character, a cowboy cactus. He’s just random.

I think the world is more divisive. People are willing to write people off. There’s a disconnect. Even if you don’t like each other, do we have to be so hyperbolic?   My art isn’t part of that. It’s playful.

Spike the Gator

DAU—Talk to me more about your art.

CK— I found something that I am really liking doing. I’ve been making art out of salvage wood, inspired by folk art. I have a day job.  I drive for a delivery service.  I drive allover and see a lot of stuff. I see the signs that people put up in their yards, and their garden gnomes. When I go into my studio, I let my mind run over those things, I see them altered. I play with them. I create these characters that exist in one plane. I leave the interpretation of what they mean to other people. It nothing subversive.

DAU—It’s interesting to me that you say your art isn’t subversive, but you call it a “cut out.” In all the spy books, you know,  a cut out is an operative that has no connection to either end of the message. That sounds subversive. And you have a pseudonym you use as an artist, which seems sort of like a spy with an alias. Also, you talk about Cayman K as separate from your everyday self, like an alter ego.

CK—Not a spy. He is different from me, I guess. I started Cayman K as an homage to my grandmother. She always supported me, and she died last year.  I told you how I would tell my relatives stuff at holidays. I told my grandma I was going to be an artist, and I was going to have a studio and do really great work. I was just blowing smoke. I mean, I wanted— I want— that stuff. But I wasn’t doing anything to make it happen. My grandma believed me and believed in me. She always loved anything I did, even when I was just messing around. The name I use, it lets me work. It gives purpose and makes me less serious. It’s cathartic. I am really turning out the work now.

DAU—Do you see the contradiction in being more purposeful and less serious?

CK—Yes, but I am not talking about subject matter. Or maybe I am, but I am not talking about only subject matter. I mean, I was blowing smoke before, and now I am not. I was lazy about working, and I invested working with so much import that I couldn’t work. So, I am working more, I am turning out more work. But I am also less inhibited about how I work. I am not investing every piece with such import that it prevents me from finishing it. I work a lot and I am a lot more productive. There’s a style difference too, you can see it if you follow an idea from work 1 to work 20. 

DAU—and now you have a studio.

CK.—I do. When I started working with salvage wood last year in March, I was just making it work. I had always fooled around with being creative. But the visual arts always appealed to me most. And the wood, it seemed like the right thing for me. So, I started with the salvage wood thing, making it work. I had a folding table and a jigsaw on the patio of my apartment. My early stuff was large, and the works were rough—it’s nearly impossible to make a small piece with a jig saw. But it was so appealing. I took some things to shows, sold some. People liked it; they liked the playfulness of the pieces. I like the playfulness.

DAU—And Cayman K lets you be playful?

CK—Cayman K is playful. He captures an element of my personality, the part of me that I showed my grandmother, maybe. I don’t let Cayman K take on serious stuff. He has a lightness that he needs to keep.  I choose deliberately to avoid cultural controversy in my Cayman K work. I don’t make personal stuff under our name—my personal work is less considered and more intentional. Cayman K exists in a place of imagination, where I don’t take myself seriously. The world is in a shambles, but Cayman K picks up the pieces and makes art. He turns his salvage wood into characters like the giant gator. With Cayman K, I can recapture the state of being I felt when I drew my comic book in 3rd grade.  It’s not sentimental, it doesn’t have any messages—it’s just a purely creative place.

DAU—Is that why you helped create The Little Gallery?

CK—Sort of. I got the idea from a guy in Wisconsin that I follow on Instagram. Dickie, that guy, shared how people were engaging in the art share. I thought it was interesting. I showed it to Bill Cunningham at The Orphanage Gallery. Bill contacted the guy. We had a lot of email exchanges. He sent us some art.  We sent him some art. Bill, and Greg Steiz, in The Orphanage, and I built The Little Gallery. Actually, we built a couple of them. There’s the one outside The Orphanage, and there’s one in The Heights Café in Huber Heights. There’s like eight of them now.

DAU—You put work in The Little Gallery. Bill showed me one, a little purple sculptured head.

CK—I do put work in The Little Gallery, but that one isn’t mine. I took it from the Huber Heights gallery and brought it down. I think the idea of the art exchange is that the art should move around, so lots of people can look at it. It’s one of the things I liked about Artists United when I came to the gathering, the idea of exchanging work.

DAU—That’s one of the things that appealed to me too. It’s why I do what I do for Artists United. Your exchange with Dickie in Wisconsin is like what we did last summer. Artists in Dayton created 3 artworks, and a few artists worked on them. Then they traveled to Pittsburgh, where more people worked on them. They were supposed to go on to Brooklyn, but that event was moved, so it hasn’t happened yet. I’m excited that the collaborative works artists in Dayton and Pittsburgh made last summer will be on display in the group show at The Orphanage. Are you putting a work in the show?

CK—Yeah, I am. I think the show is going to be great. There are a lot of things going up—I think we’re up to almost 50 artists. There is going to be a range of stuff to see. There are so many points of view. You’ll see my work—it’s standout. I’m not saying it standout better, I‘m saying its standout bright. My work is bright. Really bright and quirky. It doesn’t have any message or anything, it’s just loud.

DAU—Another contradiction. Your work is the quiet shouting man.

CK—I guess so. I hadn’t really considered the contradictions before. I’m focused on the color, the fun. I take my inspiration from things I see. I’ve been inspired by anime, in terms of color, I mean. Although,  I’ve done some of that pop-culture thing, you know making work with cartoons and things like that. It’s how I discovered how to talk to people. I would make these pop-culture works and show at festivals—set up a booth. People would come in and talk to me about the work. Cartoons get people to come in. Then, I got comfortable talking to people. It’s the driving force behind selling a lot of pieces, networking—talking to people face to face.

DAU—And you sell online?

CK–  I’ve tried online sales, I still do some, but face to face is the best way I’ve found to sell art. Networking is vital for artists. Twenty five percent of my income comes from my art now, since March. I’ve been able to upgrade the studio. I added a band saw and a belt sander. I can make more work, better work because I have better tools. As an artist, there is so much to manage. You have to make the work, you have to manage yourself, and market yourself. There is no one more self-directed than an artist.

DAU—That isn’t the image most people have of artists.

CK—I know. People think we sit around and dream. We’re inspired to create, and then we create.  You can’t be a working artist and fool around. As a creative person, you have to grow your art. You have to indulge your creativity, but that comes from work, not fooling around.  I still fool around with other things–music a bit, and writing. I like writing, its more ethereal than visual art. But visual art is my creative place. Those other things are fun, and they contribute to my art. I think of things while I am fooling around. But, in my studio, I am working. And not just making art but selling.

DAU—So, Cayman K is an expression of your personality. He is the playfulness of your art, but he is also work.

CK—Yeah. I think he is.

DAU—And what does your family think now?

CK—I think they are relieved I have a direction. I am making money. They can see I’m serious. My fiancé is really supportive. There’s a barrier to people thinking you’re serious when you’re an artist. Having the person closest to you believe you are serious helps you see yourself as an artist.

DAU—And how can people get in touch with you?

CK—They can see my stuff at my Front St studio. I’ll have a piece in the Artists United Show at The Orphanage in March. I’m on Instagram @caymankart and Facebook Cayman K Art.

DAU—Cayman K, thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I think your grandmother would be proud.

ArtsDEEP Connects Schools and Artists

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Culture Works, the united arts fund and arts service agency for the Dayton region, has launched an online portal to connect schools to the arts. Culture Works believes that creating and maintaining a vibrant and attractive community filled with quality arts brings both measurable and immeasurable value to the citizens in its service area. Dorie Watts, Manager of Strategic Initiatives, says “arts and culture reflect all the best and most beautiful parts of who we are, they enrich our lives. Culture Works wants to make sure that our youth have access to those riches.”

ArtsDEEP, a searchable online database, is how Culture Works is helping to bring the arts to area youth. The database, connects teachers to arts programming through a searchable directory. “The database is up and rolling, it’s all about getting the word out to the users now.” Watts says. “A database is only as good as the information it houses, and we want our database to be comprehensive. Culture Works is offering free user workshops for teachers and provider workshops for artists and arts organizations to make that happen.” 

The next provider workshop is Thursday, February 20, 2020 from 6 PM – 7 PM at Wholly Grounds Coffeehouse, 825 Wayne Ave Dayton, Ohio 45410. Amy Williams, a local artist, and an owner of Wholly Grounds is a supporter of local arts programs. She hosts the monthly Artist United Gatherings and exhibits local artists work. “As soon as Culture Works called me about the workshop for providers, I wanted to help,” Williams said.  “Hosting the workshops helps me too. I want Wholly Grounds to be an art hub, a place where creative people feel inspired, a place where creative people share opportunities.  ArtsDEEP is a great opportunity for artists and art organizations to publish their programs. I wish we had an educational program to upload,” said Williams.  Provider workshops are open to arts groups, arts organizations and individual artists. ‘You don’t have to know everything about your programming to attend a workshop,” says Watts. “The workshop walks you through what the schools need to know. If you are thinking about a program you might like to offer, the workshop will help you decide whether your programming fits school parameters.”

The first providers began to upload programming in October. Jes McMillan of The Mosaic Institute was among the first to post programs. “I love the idea of a searchable arts database,” McMillan says, “I’ve been advocating for an online arts directory for a long time. I wasn’t thinking specifically about educational programs, but when I found out that Culture Works was offering a searchable education database, I jumped at the chance to add The Mosaic Institute.” The Mosaic Institute has offered educational programming for five years.  “I am excited about having another way of getting our programs out there,” McMillan said. “The user interface is straightforward and easy to use. I created a login and filled out my provider profile. Culture Works sent me a provider access code, and I started uploading programs.”

Amber Harris-Reed has specialized in bringing the history of powerful African American women to life through reenactment for over 35 years. “I  gave a performance for teachers to demonstrate the kind of programming the portal will house. I did Harriet Tubman,” Harris-Reed said. “The teachers were very excited when I told them that I offered different character portrayals.”   Harris-Reed has performed throughout Ohio and Indiana, and as far away as California. “I have lots of characters I can do, my goal is to teach students about these remarkable African American women, their lives, the times they lived in and their mark on history.”  Amber Harris-Reed’s provider page on is up on the ArtsDEEP portal, and offers details about her performances of Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Coretta Scott King. 

The Decoy Arts Center has also been uploading programming to the ArtsDEEP portal. “What I like about the ArtsDEEP platform is that it’s fully engaged in connecting schools with artists, art educators and art experiences to bring into the classroom,” says Kristin Bailey, program director at the Decoy Arts Center. “I believe it is especially important for outreach where art programs might not be available. ArtsDEEP can provide access to those looking to supplement.” Bailey says, “It’s a great tool for k-12 school programs.”

The database makes provider programming available to more than 50 school districts in Dayton and the surrounding areas. “In the Dayton area, we have a thriving arts community: an opera, a symphony, multiple professional dance companies, a fine arts museum, thriving theaters and many small arts organizations,” says Lisa Hanson, Executive Director of Culture Works, “and many of these organizations, and individual artists too, offer educational programming, outreach, and enrichment activities for free or at a greatly reduced fee, but teachers and the organizations that serve youth have limited resources, and limited time. It takes time to research what’s out there. This database not only shows available programs, but shows educators planning details like cost per student, curriculum areas covered and the grade levels that the programs best serve.”

The ArtsDEEP program was developed in collaboration with school districts, universities, teachers, administrators, parents, arts groups, art organizations and individual artists through-out the Miami Valley. As artists and arts advocates, Culture Works believes that art experiences will change the way our youth view the world, increase their happiness and foster creativity. “The goal is to increase the number of “touches” there are between the schools offered the platform and participating arts organizations, “ says Dorie Watts. “There is overwhelming evidence that the arts improve academic performance, lower the number of disciplinary disruptions, raise self-esteem and lower stress. Every time arts programming is added to a class curriculum, it’s a win.”

The ArtsDEEP,  the education exploration portal, is  provided by Culture Works through the generous support of The Dayton Foundation, the Mathile Family Foundation, Vectren/CenterPoint Energy Company, the Reynolds & Reynolds Associate Foundation, Lockheed Martin, and the Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District. If you are interested in ArtsDEEP portal workshops for users or providers, or if you have questions about the ArtsDeep portal, contact Dorie Watts at  [email protected]

Dayton Artists United: The Blue Heron Trio

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The Blue Heron Trio is a jazz band in Dayton, Ohio. Elisha Frontz is their vocalist, Phil Myers plays saxophone and guitar, and Dave Santucci is on keyboard.  Dayton Artists United had the pleasure of visiting with them in their studio at the Davis-Linden building.

DAU—You’ve been together 9 years. I’ve read your bio on your website, “three close friends came together,” tell me about that.

Phil—I guess it started with me. There was this gala at St. Christopher Church in Vandalia and the organizer approached me about kicking off the fundraiser with some music. “It would be great to have live jazz, he said.” I don’t know how he even knew I played an instrument, but I said yes and then I said, “Hey Dave, you busy.”

Dave—And there you go.

Phil—We played about a 30 minute set. It wasn’t too bad.

Dave—They asked us back the next year. We asked Elisha, “Do you want to sing? Do you like jazz?”

Elisha—I always loved jazz. I’d been wanting to do jazz forever. I’d been doing punk, and it was fun, but I’ve always loved jazz. I was thrilled.

Phil—We’d all been doing other stuff, performing in special projects with Nick Atkinson called ArtistPlaylist.  Elisha and I were covering the Pixies album Doolittle when I asked her join Dave and I.

DAU—And now you’ve been together 9 years. Where did the name Blue Heron come from?

Dave—That was me. I was walking along the path by Carillion Park, along the river and I saw a heron flying and watched it land. The Great Blue Heron looks so majestic at a distance, and so crazy up close.

Elisha—That describes us.

DAU—Let’s talk about your first album, named for the band. It’s a great compilation of your best covers, but I want to talk about the original tune, 1913. It’s a gorgeous song, really evocative.

Dave—Thanks.

Elisha—Dave came up with the melody and the arrangement. He does this amazing sort of mumbly talk to fill in where the lyric goes.

Dave—I put the shape of the lyric there, you know, sort of counting syllables in the tune.

Elisha—Then I picked apart the mumbles and started to write down what I thought would fit in those spaces.  At the time I was reading a book about the 1913 flood, because it was the 100-year anniversary. The book was written right after, about the experiences of people who were there. Patterson changed his entire factory space to accommodate flood refugees and to make rescue boats. I took inspiration from that.

Dave—So, when I went to work on the song, I was just thinking about the melody and filling in the lyrics, kind of loose.

Elisha—And I listened to it and wrote it out…”here’s what I think you said,” and I kind of polished the mumbles.

DAU—I like that “polished mumbles.”

Dave—The mumbles just give me a structure for the song. When coming up with a melody, if you just play it without an ear to how it will be sung, it can be difficult to connect the lyrics to the melody once you finally have them. I try to capture the spirit behind singing the lyrics, even if there aren’t actual words yet.

DAU—So you record yourself?

Elisha—Right, and then we decode the mumbles, fit the ideas together.

Phil –and build out the harmony.

DAU—and which of you does the background vocals?

Phil—both Dave and I.

DAU—And its been a long time between your first album and your second.

Elisha—Yes.  It’s hard to justify putting out an album in a world where people stream music for free. But, it is very rewarding to have a really nice product.

Phil—That first album was —not rushed—but the project was put together fairly quickly.  The first album was created so that we could get people acquainted with how we sound, what we do.  We took a lot more time with the our second album, Other Side of the Tracks.

DAU—so it raises the bar?

Elisha—I think in general, we try to raise the bar all the time.  Since we started Blue Heron Trio, each of us has sought more musical instruction. Dave did a lot of work in a local jazz studio, and Phil started taking vocal lessons.

Phil—That’s true.  I realized if I was going to sing behind Elisha, I better not suck. And the harmonies on 1913 are kind of high. There at the beginning I approached it every time as if I might not make it.

Elisha—I am really proud of you. As we get older it’s harder to learn new information.

Phil—Elisha learned to play the bass.

DAU—really?

Elisha—Yeah, I play on a few things.

DAU—So do you see any holes in your repertoire? I mean, I have a song list here.

Phil—Let me see it—oh we don’t play a bunch of these anymore. The Scientist—off the list; Tainted Love—off the list. The song list isn’t static. We each bring things we’d like to try. Like Round Midnight, or Rock songs converted to a jazz arrangement.

Elisha—Or Freebird.

DAU—You’re kidding?

Elisha—No, so many people heckled us at concerts, yelling out “Freebird,” so we tried it once or twice—it didn’t feel good.

Dave—And it has to feel right. That is really why we do this. Some of the gigs feel really good. Like the one we had at a retirement home in Indiana that specialized in dementia care. The residents’ response was really fulfilling.

Elisha—and weddings. We like weddings.

Dave—There was one wedding where the couple had timed-out our sets and arranged digital music to play between our sets. Everything was timed-out and ran perfectly.  It’s rare that things stay on schedule with a wedding. That was a great gig. And the groom was so happy that he cried.

DAU—Do you have to learn songs for weddings? Like “this is our song, will you play it.”

Elisha—Sometimes. We have done it.

Phil—Usually when people hire us, it’s because we already play a song they like. 

Dave—looking at the song list, I don’t see any holes in our rep. I would like our music to take on a more modern approach. Arrange them in a more modern way. Like “Unforgettable, ” that’s a familiar song, but our arrangement is ours.

Elisha-It’s funny you should say that. When I am playing the original versions of the songs we have covered, sometimes my kids will say “Is that the original? I like yours better”. They could be flattering me, but they’re teenagers, so I take the compliments when they come.

Dave—When we decide on a song, I do a basic arrangement. I play with the things that capture my attention.

Elisha—Then we personalize it, sometimes unintentionally, by building around the parts that Dave has focused on.

Phil—I don’t— didn’t— know a lot of vocal jazz. I played sax in the army, most of what I’m familiar with is instrumental. I’d like to think that I approach the songs with a fresh perspective. I don’t have to unlearn anybody else’s version.

Elisha—In contrast, I research every song thoroughly. I listen to every previous version so that I know other people have done with it.  Then I blend together the aspects of the versions I like the best.

DAU—Talk to me about rehearsal. Is your schedule dictated by upcoming gigs?

Elisha—We try to practice pretty frequently, no matter what the gig schedule. We play 20-30 gigs a year and because we play a lot of events like wedding and Holiday parties, we have seasons where we’re busier.

Dave—And then we practice more. We want to get better all the time

DAU—are there particular things you want to improve?

Elisha—For me, it’s patter!

DAU—you mean the talk between songs?

Elisha—Yeah. My son says that I’m embarrassing.

DAU—Do you all have kids?

Phil—I do, Elisha does.

Elisha—Phil’s kids aren’t at all embarrassed by him. They think he’s cool.

Dave—and Elisha’s daughter sings with us. She did some background vocals on Other Side of the Tracks, and she tends to perform on our open studio nights.

DAU—You have an open studio coming up.

Dave— February 7 at the Davis- Linden Building 

DAU—Tell me some things you like about Dayton.

Phil—I like the restaurants. Really great things happening with food in Dayton right now. I like Wheat Penny and Amber Rose.

Dave—I like how the food community is evolving, actually the whole community. It feels like we’re on the move in a good way. So much is happening here. The Brightside is hosting a Battle of the Bands, Yellow Cab is having concerts—they just put in a new stage…there is a lot happening. Music artists in the community have a place to work, to make music.

Elisha—I love the tradition of innovation; things are invented here. It makes me feel like Dayton is always looking toward the future. And we have a solid sense of preservation and conservation too. The park system here is amazing. 20 minutes in any direction and you’re surrounded by nature.

Phil—and we’ve got sports. I am a sports guy. I appreciate that we’ve got a great minor league stadium here. My wife and I always buy a Dragons game package.

Dave—you took me to a couple of games.

Phil—and the University of Dayton. The Flyers games are great to go to—it’s exciting to have so much so available.

DAU—If you could see any band, what concert would you like to see?

Dave—Living or Dead?

DAU—Anybody.

Dave—Oscar Peterson, Gene Harris, Diana Krall, Cory Henry, Snarky Puppy, Pink Floyd, The Who.  Hmnn…I guess I’ll leave it at that.

Phil—Glen Hansard, Damian Rice. Rice is like the poster child for minimalism. I saw him live in Indy and he had a guitar, a microphone, and 2 lights.

DAU—Last Question—What has been your favorite gig so far?

Dave—I love playing at Second Street Market.

Elisha—We’re doing that again on April 18th.

Phil—And the Square is Where, those are fun.

Dave—And the DAI.

Elisha—One of my favorites was at the Miami Valley School. We played for the Middle Schoolers who were learning about jazz.

DAU—OK, last question. I want to ask about your new CD.

Elisha—Other Side of The Tracks

Phil—We spent a lot of time on this one. We asked other artists to contribute. Nick Atkinson added percussion, Elisha’s daughter Penny does backing vocals, and Chris Suttle from In The Red Recording and Encore Studio did a fantastic job with the production.

DAU—I love the photos on the cover.

Elisha—My daughter, Penny, took the photograph on the cover. The one of us on the back was taken by my friend Kelly Crabtree.

DAU—The release was in October?

Phil—October 10

Elisha—The launch party was very magical, very personal. We had it at the Brightside, surrounded by our friends.

DAU–and if someone wanted to get your cd, they would …

Elisha —The easiest way to get either album currently would be to see us live and buy it at the concert.  However, our first album is available on all the major music streaming services (like Apple Music and Spotify), and Other Side of the Tracks will be available at all those places soon, as well.

Blue Heron Trio performs all over the Miami Valley and beyond at concert, festivals, and special events.  Look for them at 2nd Street Market on April 18, as well as lunch time appearances at Dayton’s Court House Square as part of the Square Is Where series. The trio is going to be performing as part of several summer concert series, including the upcoming Dayton Art Institute’s Jazz & Beyond concert series, where you can see them on July 9.  They are also playing at the Eichelberger Amphitheater in Huber Heights on August 22.  For more information and upcoming performances check out their FaceBook page or their website at www.blueherontrio.com.

  

Dayton Artists United: Neal Gittleman

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Photo credit: Andy Snow

Neal Gittleman  has led the Orchestra to new levels of artistic achievement and increasing national recognition. During his tenure, the DPO has received nine ASCAP Awards for adventurous programming, the prestigious Governor’s Award for the Arts, and the DPAA now joins four other U.S. orchestras as a recipient of a prestigious Music Alive grant from NewMusicUSA, supporting Stella Sung’s three-year term as the Alliance’s Music Alive Composer-in-Residence.

Before coming to Dayton, Gittleman was Assistant Conductor of the Oregon Symphony, Associate Conductor of the Syracuse Symphony, and Music Director of the Marion (IN) Philharmonic. He also served ten seasons with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, first as Associate Conductor and then as Resident Conductor.

Son of an English professor and a public school music teacher, Neal is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Yale University in 1975 and then studied with Nadia Boulanger and Annette Dieudonnй in Paris, with Hugh Ross at the Manhattan School of Music, and with Charles Bruck at both the Pierre Monteux School and the Hartt School of Music, where he was a Karl Bцhm Fellow.

At home in the pit as well as on stage, Neal has led productions for Dayton Opera, the Human Race Theatre Company, Syracuse Opera, and Milwaukee’s Skylight Opera Theatre. He has also conducted for performances of Dayton Ballet, DCDC, Rhythm in Shoes, Milwaukee Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Chicago City Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and Theatre Ballet of Canada.

When not on the podium, Neal is an avid player of golf, squash and t’ai chi ch’uan and does yoga, too. He and his wife, Lisa Fry, have been Dayton residents since 1997.

Neal recently took the time to chat with Dayton Artists United.

DAU—Neal Gittleman, you’ve been interviewed a lot. Is there any question you’ve always wanted to be asked that hasn’t been?

NG–“What’s the secret of comedy?”  Actually, that’s a component of one of my favorite jokes.  People who know the joke will understand…  (I suppose that’s a way of answering your question with a “No.”  But looking backwards from further down the line, your “What’s your favorite Metropark?” is a pretty good question that I’ve never been asked before!)

DAU—You and the DPO have won multiple ASCAP awards for adventurous programming. Thinking about programming,  what’s your starting point. Do you start with a piece or a theme, give me an idea of your process when you are putting a program together? 

NG–Every concert program is different.  Sometimes (but rarely) a theme comes first.  Sometimes I build a program around a particular piece, asking myself, “What other piece—or pieces—fit well with _______?”  But no matter where I start, the bottom-line question is, “What music can we play on this concert that can make for an involving, engaging listener experience?”

DAU—What has been your most challenging piece to date?

NG—That’s probably down to two fairly recent performances:  Richard Strauss’ opera Salome (with Dayton Opera in May 2019 and Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla (DPO, October 2019).  They’re both incredibly complex pieces, where a conductor has to concentrate at 100% for a 90-minute stretch.  They’re both very difficult for the musicians, which means the conductor needs to be continually high alert, ready to step in with the look, a cue, or a particularly clear beat that any musician might need at any given moment.  But both Salome and Turangalîla are very beautiful pieces, so all the incredibly hard work that goes into performing them is well worth it!

DAU—Everyone has a song that bugs them. What is your least favorite song?

NG—Funny you should ask that, because it just came to mind recently.  A couple of weeks ago the DPO had a “Nat and Natalie” pops concert, with two guest artists who sang songs from the Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole repertoire.  Great singers, and a great concert (which I got to enjoy from the audience, since DPO Associate Condcutor Pat Reynolds was on the podium).  And also great because if I have a least-favorite song, it’s a Nat King Cole song:  “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer”.  Fortunately, it wasn’t on the set list!  And one of my favorite songs (also by Nat King Cole) was on the set list:  “Straighten Up and Fly Right”.  Plus I got to know a new favorite song:  Natalie Cole’s heartbreaker, “No Plans for the Future”. 

DAU—Part of your adventurous programming has been the Halloween concerts, and you dress up in costume. What is your favorite Philharmonster costume?

NG–Each Philharmonster costume is always linked either to some schtick or to a particular piece.  So, the costumes that involve flying (Superman, Spiderman) are always fun.  Yoda is another perennial favorite (partly because my old conducting teacher kind of looked like Yoda).  Another one that was really fun was the PhilharMonster concert where the premise of the whole show was that I was Mozart, sharing with the audience my favorite pieces by my fellow dead composers.  For that one, I was in full Mozart regalia (wig, etc.) but about 20 minutes before show time the stagehands brought me out onstage in a coffin.  Then I had to lie there in the coffin until the concert started…and leap out.  Lots of deep breathing and maybe even a catnap.  But nothing dramatic like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill…

DAU—Speaking of how you dress for concerts, it’s an odd thing for a performer to spend his time onstage with his back to the audience.  Do you ever worry about what you look like from the back?
You know, “Does my backside look big in these pants?” sort of thing.

NG–Not really.  But as my hair has thinned over the years, I sometimes joke about the “spotlight” that I shine up at the patrons in the balcony!

DAU— Are you a Harry Potter fan? You know, the wand chooses the wizard…does the baton choose the conductor? Do you have more than one baton? Do you have a favorite? Does it have a name?

NG—Yes, I’m a Harry Potter fan.  More of the books (all of which I’ve read) than of the movies (only three of which I’ve seen).  But for me, it’s definitely that I choose the baton, rather than the other way around.  I tried many different ones over the years before I found one that was perfect—mostly because it was custom made for me by a baton maker.  I sent him one of the batons that I was using, plus another one that I liked but wasn’t quite right, and said “Can you make me something that’s like Baton A, but has a handle like Baton B?”  He sent me a demo, I suggested some tweaks, and we had a “NealG Model”. I had him send me a bunch of them, which was a good thing, since he went out of business or died or something several years ago.  So unless I work until I’m 107 years old or I go on a jag of baton-breaking, I should be set baton-wise for the rest of my career.  On a practical basis, just in case of breakage, I carry three batons in my baton case.  One’s “the good one”, which I only use for performances.  Then there are two others that I use in rehearsals and as just-in-case spares. 

DAU–You’ve lived in Dayton for 25 years, what is your favorite thing about the Miami Valley?

NG—If I had to pick just one favorite thing in the Miami Valley it would be the Schuster Center.  Having the Schuster Center, with its world-class acoustics, as the Philharmonic’s home was an absolute game changer.  And it’s great in every way.  Great for concerts.  Great for Broadway.  Great for opera.  Great for dance.  Great for the audience.  Great for the stagehands.  Just simply great. 

DAU—What is your favorite Metropark and why?

NG—I love to play golf, and Community is my “home course” (and the course closest to my home), so I supposed my favorite Metropark is Hills and Dales.  But each year my wife and I vow to walk in each and every Metropark.  I don’t think we’ve ever hit all of them, but we have committed to make 2020 the year that we pull it off. 

DAU—We have lots of public art in Dayton, much of it celebrates the great inventions in our patent history, which of the “patent project” pieces resonates with you and why?

NG—I’m not sure if these count as “patent pieces”, but two of my favorite pieces of public art in the region are Flyover on Main Street in Downtown Dayton and Michael Bashaw’s Wings/Lift Compounded (Defy the Impossible) on Shafer Avenue in Oakwood. 

DAU—You once said in a Daytonian of the week interview that Dayton needed to build a stronger sense of community, to develop greater pride and solidarity. The catastrophic events of the last year have built our community and we’re all together, have you any thoughts about what we can we do to sustain and build on this community feeling? What can artists do to help sustain and build community?

NG—The “problem” with the solidarity communities forge in the wake of tragedy is that once the tragedy starts to fade in the collective memory, the solidarity starts to fade, too.  So I hope people remember the sense of unity that we’ve felt at times in 2019, hold on to it, and build on it.  All artists can do is what we always do—try to speak to people through the art we do and try to bring people together through our art. 

DAU— You’ve conducted, and guest conducted in cities all over. Have you seen anything in your travels that you think Dayton should emulate?

NG—It’s more the other way around.  I’ve seen plenty of things in other cities where I thought, “You should be more like Dayton.”  (Of course, as a diplomat, I kept those thoughts to myself.)  Dorothy was right:  there’s no place like home.

DAU–Dayton and the Five River’s Metroparks are working to make use of Dayton’s rivers. Have you ever boated down the Miami?

NG—Never.  Canoeing or kayaking on the Miami would probably be fun.  Though I’m not sure if I’d trust my paddle skills…

DAU—You have said before that music should be “interesting, Involving,  and  transformative,”  as an artist, working in a collaborative, how do you keep that goal in front of you when you’re working on the details of performance? 

NG—You hit on it in the question.  For me, the performance is mostly about the details.  Getting a piece’s details right means getting the piece right.  And by “details”, I don’t just mean the little stuff.  The long arc of a piece of music is a detail, too.  But I think that the performer’s job is to work the details and make the interesting/involving/transformative happen by attention to the details and by absolute and fierce dedication to the performance itself.  Audience can sense when an orchestra and conductor are giving their all and when they’re “phoning it in”.  I don’t think we’ve ever phoned it in, and I hope we never do!

DAU—The DPO often collaborates with other community organizations—besides the formal collaborations of the DPAA. What collaboration was the most unexpected? What collaboration would you like to see happen in the future?

NG—Well, there’s never an artistic collaboration that’s unexpected, because they take so much planning.  But sometimes something turns out to be so magical that it is, strictly speaking, unexpected.  The one that sticks out the most in my mind was doing Bolero with Rhythm in Shoes in May 2010.  It was our last performance together before RiS disbanded.  I had come up with the crazy idea that we do Bolero with Sharon Leahy doing the snare drum part as a tap solo and where each phrase of the melody would be a snippet from one of the many dances in RiS’s history.  Sharon loved the idea and it was just incredible.  It nearly brought me to tears every time I saw it in the studio, and although I had my back to the whole thing in performance, I could tell that it was doing the same thing to the audience.  As for the future, I think it would be great fun to do a DPO/Rhythm in Shoes redux performance.  But beyond that, I wonder the best future collaborations are the ones you haven’t imagined yet…  Short-term, I’m really looking forward to our upcoming collaboration with Wyclef Jean.  “A Night of Symphonic Hip-Hop” sounds like a lot of fun to me!

DAU—Being the director of the DPO is more than just conducting the orchestra—you are a manager, a financial planner, a fundraiser, a performer, and I don’t know how many elements to the job there are. What part of your job is the most challenging? If you could go back in time and offer yourself advice about your job, what would say?

NG—-That one’s easy to answer.  The most challenging part of my job is time management.  The music work—studying scores and preparing for rehearsals and concerts—is critically important.  If we’re not giving great performances, then none of the fundraising or PR or planning is going to matter.  All that is important, but I always have to make sure I’m carving out time to get the music work done.  Sometimes it works out just fine.  Other times I’m getting up in the middle of the night to get some music work done while the phone isn’t ringing and my e-mail in-box isn’t dinging at me every few minutes.

DAU–Thank you,  Neal Gittleman, for sharing your time with us,  it’s been a real pleasure!

Dayton Artists United: Ben Baugham

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Dayton Artists United Interviewed Artist Ben Baugham at Ghostlight Coffeehouse, where he currently has work on display.

DAU—I haven’t seen you since the Artist United event last July, catch me up. What have you been doing?

BB—A little of everything, drawing, teaching.

DAU—Where are you teaching?

BB—I’m teaching at Clark State University, a class that combines learning to draw with art history. We immerse ourselves in the work of an artist, like Michelangelo, for example. We look at his work, we read his journals about his work, and we work like that. It’s a very renaissance way of learning.

We also talk about art as a vehicle for communication, where there is a sender and a receiver. The artist is an active part of the communication, even when he is not present with the work. We talk about the communication in Michelangelo’s work. How he painted on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel while there were services being conducted in Latin below him. The people in the church may not have understood the service, but they looked up and saw Michelangelo’s work, it communicated with them as an interpretation of the service.

DAU—I want to take that class. That is a unique way of teaching drawing.

BB—I have strong opinions about art and art making in the workplace. About art in general. I think there are two kinds of art. Service art and product art. I think most artists make both, do both at different times in their careers. Service art is focused on the viewer. How does the viewer respond to the work? It ties the artists to the viewers response in a personal way. The artist finds identity in the response of the viewer. That can be a very dangerous thing, it causes us, artists, to take critiques of our art as a personal critique. I tell my students all the time, “You are so much more valuable than what you create.” There is a romantic idea that an artist is fed by a viewer’s response—if the viewer likes it, the artist is in some way validated. No, an artist is fed when a work sells. Which brings me to product art. Product art is the art which exists without the artist—the product speaks for itself. There is an old-fashioned phrase people use, they say, “The piece spoke to me.” The distinction between the voice of the artist and the voice of the product is useful to me. It allows me to get better. It’s a catalyst that forces me to improve and takes me out of the equation at the same time. I think of Michelangelo, on his back, painting for something greater than himself.

DAU—You have been interviewed before. In 2017 you were interviewed for your chalk drawings in the Oregon District. In those days you were an ink and chalk  artists.

BB—Still am. It’s a great medium, both immediate and ephemeral. You chalk something, you create something,  and it is beautiful, or expressive, and then it rains. It’s a good metaphor for art, for life. I chalked all over the Oregon District after the shootings last summer. I handed out chalk to everyone I met, and we all drew. It was very healing, to be together, just creating. Chalk is underappreciated.

 

DAU—You are doing your bit for chalk. I know you competed at the Yale Chalk Festival.

BB—Yeah, that was fun. I won first place in people’s choice and in general in 2019.

DAU—Congratulations! An award-winning artist! And you’re a musician too, from a family of musicians.

BB—I am from a family of musicians. I can make music, but in a low-key way. When you’re surrounded by music, by instruments, you just kind of do it. My family is very innovative, very good at making what we need. I think growing up in a family that improvises and creates is a very practical art education. You make what you need, and the making of it gives you joy. Soon the question becomes not “how do I get what I need?”  but “how do I find joy?”

DAU—And do you find joy in your work?

BB—In the creation of it. The showing of it can be a different thing. When you put your work up and people criticize it, and they critique it on all kinds of grounds. Sometimes, when people are looking at my work they will say “where did you study art.” That is not a response to the art, it’s a response to the artist. But the art should speak for itself. I tell my students all the time, “The art is not you.”

Artists create art for themselves, for all kinds of reasons.  After the shootings, I came straight to the Oregon District to create. Something bad happened. But people came, then more people came. They were overcoming their fear, they were making art everywhere. There was a near spiritual aspect to the creation, like a church service. We were determined to reclaim our space, to protect those businesses and lift up the fallen. You could feel the determination in the quiet industry of the artists.

DAU—That event has inspired a lot of artists responses. Some people have said they would rather not see art created from such an event—they want to move on and have no reminders.

BB—But that is an artist’s job. Our basic function is to realign society. We talk about work having impact. What is “impact?” It’s a collision, a disruption—its something that hits you hard. Strong artists want to hit hard enough to change the direction. Artists create art for themselves because it gives them joy, but that act of creation can show the world as it could be, as it should be, and that is how artists create for the world. The two are not mutually exclusive. Art changes the world.

DAU—I want to back up and touch on something you said before. You said people ask where you’ve gone to school. I think that is because you are young and seem so knowledgeable.

BB—Thank for that. I went to a small private school. A very intensive education. I have taken classes at Sinclair. They have a great design program there. I want to give a shout out to Professor Jeanine Kincheloe, who teaches design drawing, she’s amazing. And I am taking some business classes there. I want to design art seminars with other artists. I am working on a business plan and building a portfolio of artists that want to participate. We’ll build a stable of artists who can teach or do certain kinds of work and match them with clients, sort of a matchmaker service. And I want to engage more verbally in the art world. I want to give talks and engage more in the philosophy of art.

DAU—If your talks are based on the History of Art curriculum, I’ll sign up. 

BB—I look forward to it.

 

For more info on Ben Baugham/Boy Blue:

Instagram: boy_blue

Facebook:  Boy Blue

 

Call For Artists

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WHEN: March 6 – 15, 2020 (per gallery policy, artist must be present at opening reception March 6, 5PM – 9PM)

WHERE: The Orphanage Gallery
73 N. Dutoit Street Dayton, Ohio 45402

WHO: The Show will exhibit the work of members of Artists United Dayton, Ohio. Submissions are open to all members of Artist United Dayton, Ohio. This includes all genres and mediums. **Applicants must be a member of Artists United.

VISUAL ARTIST: You are invited to exhibit one piece of work no larger than 15″ x 15″. There is limited space for work larger than this, and half the slots are already full. Submission must include measurements, media, price, and artist name as wished to be displayed.

WRITERS AND POETS: You are invited to submit one publication or visual presentation of your work. You are welcome to bring copies of your work to sell. Visual Presentation proposals must include media, display details, price, and authors/artist name.

Artists must be present during Opening Reception on March 6, 2020. Doors open to the public at 5PM.

There is still room for the Artists United, Dayton Ohio Group Show. See below for details.

SUBMISSIONS: Deadline is FEBRUARY 1, 2020

FEES: There are 0 submission and commission fees

EMAIL to [email protected].  Submissions that are NOT emailed are not guaranteed to be seen.

Artists who apply will receive an email on February 2nd with further details.

 

Dayton Artists United: Cydnie Deed-King

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Cydnie Deed-King is a visual artist, mother, teacher and gallery curator. She grabbed a coffee with Dayton Artists United to talk about art and being an artist.

 

DAU—How long have you been an artist?

 

CDK—My whole life. My entire family are artists. Both my parents and my sister Taylor are artists.

 

DAU: How is that? I mean, artists work to express an individual point of view. That seems like it would be harder in a family of artists.

 

CDK—I don’t know, it hasn’t seemed harder. In some ways its easier. We had an exhibition recently,  at Tend and Flourish, all of us together. That was really empowering, watching people react, placing our works together. They are really quite different. My sister does portraits. I do nature inspired scenes. Our works are unique but placed together they showed our bond.

 

DAU—In other artist interviews, the artists have expressed the difficulty in claiming the title artist, some say they feel like an imposter. Did growing up in a family artists make it easier to claim the title artist?

 

CDK—I have always felt like an artist, but I struggle with the business of art. I have sold work. That’s hard, it’s like giving away a baby, and I know what I am talking about, now that I am a mother. Each work is unique, an original. I won’t have that experience again, even if I paint the same subject. So, it’s hard to let them go, but I hug and kiss them goodbye and put on a happy face. They are going to a good home. Sometimes, people send me a picture of where they have put the work. I can see where it lives. Sometimes they write and tell me how much they love it, how people always admire it. That is nice. My work in someone’s house.

 

DAU—Have you sold a lot of work?

 

CDK—I have let go about 100 pieces. My husband reminds me that there are very famous, revered artists that never sold a work, or only one work in their lifetime. Being an artist has all these things attached to it. When you tell people, you are an artist you can see them thinking “You won’t be famous until you die.”

 

DAU That’s a scary thought.

 

CDK—For me its not about being famous. Its about living in art, about being inspired.

 

DAU—What inspires you?

 

CDK—Nature. Human connections to nature. No matter how much we try to separate ourselves from it, we’re connected. We’re meant to be one. In my imagination people are botanicals, and I show that in my work. Although, just lately I have been working more with digital images, blending nature and technology.

 

DAU—What artists do you admire?

 

CDK—Living artists? Local Artists?

 

DAU—Any—who do you admire and why?

 

CDK—I really admire Jes McMillan, the mosaic artist. She has helped me so much. She’s mentored me on how to put a show together. She’s given me opportunities and continues to invite me to participate. On January 11, the exhibition Women Strong Soul Session opens at Tend and Flourish., I have a work in that show.

 

DAU—This article doesn’t go online until after Jan 11th—how long will the works be on view?

 

CDK—Until the end of February. It’s a great exhibition. There are talented women in Dayton.

 

DAU—Other artists you admire?

 

CDK—Julie Mehretu. She’s a New York artist that does these larger than life drawings. She shares her process in the work, it’s amazing. And my sister, Taylor Deed. Her work is so bold. She uses herself as a model, her face appears in the works. I admire her versatility, the emotion she portrays on the faces. She’s powerful.

When it comes to dead artists, Leonardo DaVinci. He never stopped. He didn’t limit himself to one thing but followed his curiosity. I find him so interesting. He was a vegetarian, and ambidextrous. Someone recently interpreted his notebooks, they copied and flipped them—because he wrote backwards—and I love reading them they are so detailed and so random. On one page he wrote “learn to draw the muscles of the shoulder” and “make soup” right next to each other. He never stopped learning.

DAU—Let’s talk about Dayton.

 

CDK-I have only lived here about 5 years. I came from St. Louis. It’s interesting to move from a large city to a smaller one. Everything is so close. And I love the park system. The Metroparks are great. I haven’t visited them all, but I want to. Other things about Dayton….I love Young’s Dairy. And I love the art scene. There is a lot happening here.

 

DAU—Talk to me about the art scene.

 

CDK—The Contemporary showed me the art scene in Dayton. I started there as a volunteer, and now I am a curatorial assistant.

 

DAU—What does that involve?

 

CDK—A little bit of everything. I help marketing events, hanging works, I write up materials: I help everybody. I’ve learned so much working there. Eva has a great curatorial eye, so working with her I’ve learned how to look at art not just for its own sake, but also for how it fits a show idea or its marketability. There’s a lot to think about in that respect. If you want to sell your art, you have to have saleable art. How big is it? Huge works are hard to sell to an individual.

 

DAU—Let’s change direction a bit—if you could add anything to the Dayton art community—if price were no object—what would you add?

 

CDK—An amusement park for artists! A big workspace with all kinds of cool equipment. Something large. That would be fun!

 

What we need, though, really need is something to teach young artists about the business of art. There is more to being an artist than creating pictures. You have to be an entrepreneur. We need to be taught to mount our work. We need to learn how to respond to a call for artists—does my work fit the show?

 

The Contemporary did something like that—it was called the ArtSource Fellows program. It engaged about 25 artists in a business of art program. I enjoyed it and learned a ton. Eva talks about bringing it back, she wants to foster artists. Unlimited funds would help that!

And since we’re dreaming, we need a massive art store with good pricing. There is an art supplycoming, I read about it. Hue House. Its going to be near the Catfe. We need that.

 

DAU—What would you like people to know about art?

 

CDK—I live by this mantra: “Support living artists, the dead don’t need it.” We’re out here trying to make a living.

DAU—Time for another subject shift. If your life was made into a movie, who would you want to play you?

 

CDK—Lupita Nyong’o or Michonne from The Walking Dead, you know, Danai Gurira. Yeah, either one of those would be good.

 

DAU—Tell me one scene from your life that would have to be included in the movie.

 

CDK—Meeting my husband, Alex. We met on the 1st day of college at freshman move in. The RA made us play a getting-to-know-you game of musical roommates. He called out things like “back to back” or “head to head” and you had to stand with a different partner each time with those parts of you touching. Alex and I were paired for ‘head to butt.” We’ve been together for eleven years, married for five.

 

DAU—And what would our movie be called?

 

CDK—Oh, that’s hard. If my life were a movie, it’d be called “Art of Madness” because I feel that a lot of artists go crazy on some level, such as internalizing everything around them, questioning their abilities, their decision to become an artist—and some even go so far as to take their own lives unfortunately. However, even out of all that inner turmoil or “madness” if you will, something beautiful comes from it, and it’s something that will make someone else stop in their tracks to take a second look. All artists (the ones that I know anyway) have a method to their own kind of craziness and use it to fuel their art. I definitely went through several moments where I questioned everything about myself as artist and whether or not I did the right things at the right time. I felt like I was going crazy, but I worked through my mental roadblocks and created art that was better than ever!

 

DAU—I believe it. I’ve seen your work. Cydnie Deed-King, Thank you so much!

 

CDK—Thank you.

 

DAU-Cydnie Deed- King is showing at Tend and Flourish until the end of February and also atArt at the Trace https://www.centervilleohio.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/2304/

starting February 1.

She will be artists of the month for the City of Centerville in August.

Her website is www.artisticspyder.wix.com/cydnie-deed

Instagram: @cydnie_ld_king

Email [email protected]

 

To read about other Dayton United artists, click here.

Dayton Artists United: Yetunde Taiwo Rodriguez

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Yetunde Taiwo Rodriguez is a textile artist and designer. Her medium of choice is block printing. She says “this work is directly connected to who I am as a person. I would design blocks, carve, print, and sew even if I never sold another piece.

My work arose from a desire to see my aesthetic reflected in a way I had not previously seen it. At the time I started creating textile prints, I saw a limited scope of African inspired design represented in home decor. As a lover of color, I wanted lots of joyful color in eclectic combinations!”

 

Visual artist Yetunde Taiwo Rodriguez sat down with Dayton Artists United at Reza’s Coffeehouse on Wayne Avenue to talk about creativity, Dayton and making it as an artist.

DAU: Thanks for meeting. Tell me about yourself.

YTR: I was born in Nigeria and came to the states when I was 13. I was in the Navy for five years. I lived in Virginia until 2007 when we moved to Dayton.

DAU: Have you always been an artist?

YTR: Yes. No. I have a degree in graphic design, but when I got out of college, I took the first job I was offered, in customer service, and it kind of put me in a path I didn’t plan. I haven’t ever held a “graphic design job.” Over the years I have done a variety of creative things, like made and sold soaps, but I didn’t call myself an artist until later. I have always seen patterns, and everything I do has to be visually pleasing to me. I started making my own print designs, indulging my passion for home décor and incorporating African designs. I had not seen that aesthetic anywhere, especially not in home décor textiles, at that time. I started block printing and screen printing as a way to bring my ideas to life. I make designs that draw on who I am as a person, and pulling in all the color I loved.

DAU: And now you are creating and selling textiles?

YTR: Yes, and I love it. The printmaking evolved from my artist side. I love seeing things in my hands that I imagined. I like asking myself “what if” and following that curiosity.  And I feel like I’ve come around to what I am supposed to be doing. I am an artist. I claim this work and it has claimed me. Its work I love doing. But it is work.  It takes a lot of work for an artist to make it. I have a web page, an Etsy shop, an Instagram page and sell stuff at events like the Craftin Outlaws show in Columbus. I teach workshops too, and am teaching at Midwest Craft Con. February 28 to March 1, 2020. As an artist, if you want to sell your work, you have to keep up on posting and reaching out for opportunities to share your work.  To be successful as an artist, to earn your living from your work , discipline and hard work are more important than talent.

DAU: Talk to me about being an artist in Dayton.

YTR: I moved here with my family in 2007, and it took me awhile to love Dayton. It’s not an easy city to know. It’s a good city for artists, there are lots of arts events and it’s central to the arts events all over the state. I live on the west side and am excited to be part of changes happening there. I was artist-in-residence at the Northwest Branch Library in the summer of 2019. I am working with architects Matt Sauer, Alexandra Bohler, and Hannah Peterangelo on designs for the Gem City Market. I am working on decorative pieces for inside and a mural on the exterior of the market. I am really excited about this project. I think the west side needs development and investment.

DAU: I agree! I drive around the neighborhood and imagine what I would do for us if I won the lottery.

YTR: One of the things I love about the Gem City Market project is how the input of the people who live in the neighborhood have been actively sought. I worry that someone will just come in and tear down and replace the things we have. I want to live in a nice neighborhood. Everybody wants to live in a nice neighborhood, but I think we’re all afraid of what will happen if too much development comes in.  I don’t want to be driven out by gentrification. 

DAU: I love my neighborhood too. I live in the University Row district, not far from you. I am so excited that I will be able to walk to the grocery!

YTR: I think Gem City Market will make a big difference to the west side. I have just been looking at the city. I drove a woman around, an architect who just moved here. I was showing her the city, talking about the different neighborhoods and all that Dayton has to offer. I think showing the city to someone else really helps me appreciate what we have. You go on day to day, working, running from one thing to the next and you don’t think about the impact of things you’ve done, like a mural or a design. Artists make such a difference to this city. I am glad to be part of that.

DAU: Talk to me more about Dayton. What is your favorite thing to do here? 

YTR: There is so much to do here. I love all the coffeehouses. I like Reza’s, Wholly Grounds and Ghostlight. I am really sensitive to spaces, its part of the whole design thing, I think. I like how these spaces invite me to be part of them. I like that the owners include local art. My family and I just went to the Dayton Art institute, and I think we’re lucky to have such a beautiful museum. Dayton has a lot to offer. My family has been granted some wonderful opportunities here that we might not have had so easily in a bigger city. I want to help other people see that. I advertise classes on Airbnb for visitors and locals. When people visit Dayton, they can book a workshop where they make their own textiles with block printing . Its really fun to connect with visitors and make art. I will also be giving a series of talks at the Dayton Metro Library between February and March. Check out the most recent Library Highlights publication, you just might see me there!

DAU: So, what’s next?

YTR: I am going to network with more artists this year. I want to help grow our artists community.

DAU: So, will we see you at The Artists United Gathering?  January 8, 6-8pm at Wholly Grounds Coffeehouse?

YTR: I will be there with bells on!