Tonight’s Artwalk was actually written a few weeks ago while visiting Chattanooga with our good friends Jud & Suzanne. I apologize that it is not “live” but the night I wrote it, it was well past midnight and I wasn’t finished. Then the holidays were here. So grab a cocktail and pretend this all happened tonight!
Usually I will start my Art Walk with what I’m “drinking and listening to” at the same time I’m writing and sharing. However, I was writing this post, in my head, a few minutes after we stepped into the eclectic Flying Squirrel. If I had to summarize this place I would have to say it charged all five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Art isn’t solely about the visual… it encompasses all facets of what makes us feel alive, happy, energized and inspired.
Sight: We decided to spend our final night in Chattanooga at the Flying Squirrel Bar which, according to the Times Free Press, is the best designed bar in the nation (See here for more info).
Sound: What we were listening to: Gramatik (a.k.a. Denis Jašarević, is a musical artist from Slovenia whose genre falls under a mixture of hip-hop, glitch and electro… think late-night groovy jazz). The music wasn’t too loud and not too soft… it simply surrounded you whether you were upstairs, downstairs or at the long bar.
Taste: tonight I started off with a “Queen of Hearts” fancy cocktail while we sat on the couches at the upstairs lounge. Suzanne had a glass of wine while Eric and Jud chose a beer from their lengthy list.
Touch: Lots of textures in this bar — metal, wood, fabric, glass… And lots of arms around good friends taking pictures.
Smell: After our first round of cocktails, we headed downstairs for dinner, continuing to soak in the ambiance. All I can share with you about our dinners is that the locally-infused ingredients tasted and smelled incredible. I have no photos because I completely got sidetracked after one of the casual-yet-professional waitstaff members placed a beautiful oblong plate in front of me.
So this final night at the Flying Squirrel Bar really summed up our whole experience in Chattanooga which really was a five-sensory experience!
Following are some of the visual highlights I chose for tonight’s art walk.
Chattanooga’s art district is known as Bluff View. And all of the establishments appear to work in unison, sharing their creations. For instance the bakery supplied all the fresh bread and pasta to the restaurant and coffee house located in the “Bluff”.
I love the headline on their sign, “Art Baked Daily.”
And what was cool about many of the establishments was that you could see the creators working… like in the bakery. Below is a rack of bread just brought out from one of the bakers seen beyond the wall of glass in the kitchen. Off to the right here, below, pasta is being made from scratch.
Here’s Mr. Basketmaker carrying some of our freshly-baked bread purchases back to the car.
Other than how cute my Mr. Basketmaker is, I also chose this pic because after I was reviewing my photos, I noticed this cool sculpture in the forefront on the left. I totally missed this! (Well, in my defense I was focused on the man carrying the bread!) But it visually describes how much ‘art’ is around Chattanooga. It really is everywhere. You have to keep your eyes open!
In the heart of the “Bluff” was the River Gallery which was first rate. Honestly. It featured artisans from all disciplines. I have no photos since I’m sensitive to displaying other artist’s creations that are ‘for sale’ while not having specific permission. But click here if you want to learn more about them.
In the afternoon we headed over to the Hunter Museum of American Art. Following are from the areas where pictures were allowed.
Below is a painting from an artist I admire…
Her name is Helen Frankenthaler and she died a few years ago. She was in her early eighties and had a successful career as an abstract painter. Title above painting is “Around the Clock with Red” and it is acrylic on canvas, painted in 1983. Her colors sort of disappear into the canvas because she doesn’t use any primers to seal it.
Next is a pic Mr. Basketmaker snapped of me looking at all the details of another abstract painting…
This one was painted by Andy Saftel, titled “Under the Sun”. It is acrylic and mixed media on panel and finished in 2007. It’s also the same year the Hunter Museum purchased this piece for their permanent collection.
The next piece is for my father-in-law Bruce who restores old boats and my mother-in-law Joanne who paints with watercolors…
Titled “Listings and Sailings” by Robert Stackhouse. Medium used is watercolor and charcoal on paper.
Here’s Jud and Eric. At first glance I thought they were admiring the Mora painting in front of them. However, they seemed to be talking about the bench they were sitting on…
Think I’m misinterpreting? Check out the next photo…
Totally looks like they are talking about that bench! Anyways, the painting in front of them is by Francis Luis Mora and titled “Out of Town Trolley” done in 1916.
Another abstract artist I like is Willem de Kooning and here’s one of his Untitled paintings from 1969…
This next painting is an homage to an American painter, Mary Cassatt.
The artist is Tom Nakashima. He painted this in 1979 and titled it “To Mary Cassatt.” It is oil on canvas. This painting was located upstairs in the “Mansion” house which is attached to the museum, in a room dedicated to Japanese-American artists who were part of a movement called “Japonisme”.
I’ll end it with this pic of Mr. Basketmaker trying to figure out what he is looking at…
I’m an abstract artist and tend to enjoy the modern art section of museums but I have to admit, this one baffled me as well! The museum purchased this installation titled “In the Returnal” in 2007. The artist is Radcliffe Bailey. Materials: Photograph, acrylic, plant material, wax, Georgia red clay, glitter and oil stick on wood.
Have a great night!
Uber Kitty, that was so good I read it twice.
Stop calling me Uber Kitty!
Thanks for the Art Walk. Very nice.