Ongoing Art Events That You Can Attend By Friday

My apologies. I received an e-mail yesterday that reminded me that I had forgotten the post of art events that I promised you on Friday. I have been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks, but that is still no excuse. I try hard to be a "do what you say you'll do" kind of man, and I dropped the ball on this one. So, here are some ongoing art events that are open and available for you to attend between now and Friday morning...

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens Permanent Collection

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens

4339 Park Avenue

Memphis, Tennessee 38117

The original collection of paintings, on view in the Dixon residence, is devoted to French and American Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and related schools. The core of the collection was acquired with the guidance of the late John Rewald, a leading authority on French Impressionism. The collection also includes 18th and 19th century British portraits and landscapes in keeping with Hugo Dixon's English heritage.

In accordance with the Dixon's interest, the museum has over the years, acquired excellent works by the French Impressionists who showed at one of the eight group Impressionist exhibitions. Also a priority are the works by other top-flight artists of the period, both Impressionist and Realist, who have not yet received the recognition of Degas, Monet, or Pissarro. An example of this commitment is the Dixon's recent acquisition of 56 works by the French artist Jean-Louis Forain, this making the Dixon a major international repository of the artist's work.

In 1996, in conjunction with the museum's 20th anniversary, the Dixon acquired 23 paintings and sculptures in a gift purchase agreement with the Montgomery H. W. Ritchie family of Palo Duro, Texas. The Ritchie Collection greatly enhances the museum's holdings of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works.

In 2006, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens celebrated 30 years of excellence with a special exhibition highlighting its fantastic permanent collection.

Today the Dixon continues expanding its collection, while also advancing art education in both the Memphis community and the world.

I AM A MAN

Now showing through October 24.

The Pink Palace

3050 Central Ave
Memphis, TN 38111-3316

The Ernest Withers Portfolio records Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy and other prominent civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 60s, including their ride on the first desegregated bus in Montgomery, AL. He also documented the Little Rock Central High desegregation crisis, the Sanitation Workers Strike in Memphis, as well as many other catalytic events in the Civil Rights movement.

This exhibit is part of the Pink Palace Connections Exhibit Series, which is aimed at building our African-American collection of artifacts. Ultimately, may of these artifacts will be part of our new permanent exhibits.

Reel to Real with Chris Herrington

Thursday, October 7 | 7 pm

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

1934 Poplar Avenue

Memphis, TN 38104

Chris Herrington, music and film critic for the Memphis Flyer, screens one of his all-time favorite films, Ernst Lubitsch’s 1940 comedy The Shop Around the Corner. Selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry, The Shop Around the Corner stars Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart as coworkers in a Budapest shop who detest each other in real life yet fall in love via secret correspondence. The film has spawned numerous remakes, including the 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime, the 1998 rom-com You’ve Got Mail, and the British television show, Are You Being Served?. Prices: $6 mem/$8 non-mem

Before the film, enjoy dining in the Brushmark restaurant, for reservations call 901.544.6225 or click here to make reservations online.

Also at the Brooks:

Remembering a House Divided: Robert King's Photographs of Civil War Re-Enactors

On view through January 2, 2011

Robert King’s (b. Memphis 1969) photographs from war torn Bosnia, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Rwanda, and Iraq have been published in The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, and USA Today. His career as a photojournalist, chronicled in the documentary Shooting Robert King (2008), began in 1993 in Sarajevo. The film captures King’s transformation from ill-prepared to highly-regarded photographer. Not all of his images, however, document actual warfare; one of his more powerful series is of Civil War reenactors.

The origins of military reenacting are open to debate—some historians note that the Greeks and Romans staged elaborate public battle scenes, while others point to Shakespeare’s depiction of wars. Nevertheless, the phenomenon is practiced widely (England, Romania, Greece, and Australia to name a few countries), and spans recreations of the Greco-Roman period, Medieval Europe, and the Russian Revolution to the South African Border Wars (1966-89). Civil War reenactors outnumber them all. For the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1913, veterans recreated Pickett’s Charge. Many advanced on crutches and canes and met their former enemies with handshakes instead of muskets. Interest in reenacting has waxed and waned ever since, but has steadily increased since the 1990s with estimates of over 40,000 men, women, and children participating. Recent surveys claim that it is the fastest growing hobby in the United States.

There are various categories of participants. Farbs are inauthentic reenactors who wear polyester uniforms and wrist watches. At the opposite end of the spectrum are hardcores or progressives, individuals who go to great lengths, some would say extremes, in their quest for accuracy. They aim for a total immersion experience, trying to live exactly as the soldiers in the war did. In between the two groups are the mainstream, those who focus on exterior details but are not as concerned by what is invisible. There are many different reasons given for participation. In some cases, individuals are tracking their ancestors, others enjoy the experience of temporarily immersing themselves in a simpler time, while still others believe they are expanding public awareness of a significant period of US history. Additionally, the battles took place in this country making the history more immediate and the sites easy to visit. Regardless, these reenactments take place across the North and South, and underscore that the bloodiest war fought by Americans continues to resonate even 150 years after its conclusion.

Robert King, American, b. 1969
Battle of Missionary Ridge
Digital C-prints
Courtesy of the artist
Valley Head, Alabama, November 8, 2009

In the Between, The Courthouse Co-op Art Exhibition

Friday, October 1 at 3:00pm - October 31 at 9:00pm

The Courthouse Co-op
1577 Court Ave
Memphis, TN

The exhibition will open to the public from 3:00pm to 9:00pm every day during the month of October. The closing reception will be October 30th, and you can meet any of the artists that night, we'll all be there! The show will include work from such Memphis College of Art chums as:

Danita Barrentine
Caroline Brooks
Dr. Rob Canfield
Paige Colwell
Mitchell Dunnam
Andrew Edwards
Qaaim Goodwin
Leanna Hicks
Katy Luxion
Maria Manes
Howard Paine
Cora Pugh
Vincent Tabor
Trista Vercher
Arwen Warner
David White
Brian Evan Witmuss

and many others...