READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN

Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Mayfest could learn a lot from "Oh, Tulsa!"
Published: 8/25/2011 2:32 PM
Last Modified: 8/25/2011 2:32 PM

Tonight is the closing party for the exhibit "Oh, Tulsa!" at Living Arts of Tulsa, 307 E. Brady St.

And while I hope that a lot of people will come out for this last hurrah of the show curated by Melanie Fry, I really hope the people involved with the Mayfest Invitational Gallery will stop by Living Arts between the hours of 6 and 9 p.m. to get an idea of what an invitational exhibition of Tulsa artists should look like.

The Mayfest Invitational Gallery started in the late 1980s, and the first couple were held in the Mayo Hotel, back before it was restored to its current glory. When Mayfest made the sojourn across the tracks in the early 1990s, the Invitational was housed in what is now the Mexicali Border Cafe.

And these were amazing, exciting, eye-opening, get-people-to-talking kinds of exhibits. The sheer variety of work on display was incredible -- everything from tiny, postcard-sized watercolors to two-story-tall automations, simple pottery vessels to performance installations.

Much of that -- oh, let's be honest, all of that -- has been missing from the Mayfest Invitational for years.

That is why I was so impressed when I first walked through Living Arts' "Oh, Tulsa!" exhibit. It was in one sense like stepping back in time, entering one of those original Invitationals for the first time.

The show has a little bit of everything: painting, photography, installation, sculpture, mixed media, video. Some of it is beautiful, some of it is disturbing, some of it is simply bizarre, some of it is bizarrely simple, some of it is captivating, some of it is easy to dismiss.

As a whole, it's a marvelous example of Tulsa creativity, dealing with the idea of what Tulsa means to each individual artist.

It's what the Mayfest Invitational once was, and should be again. Whether it will happen...let's just say I have my doubts.

So, spend some time tonight enjoying "Oh, Tulsa!" And hope that we well see exhibits like it somewhere, someday, soon.





Reader Comments 3 Total
220625 (last year)
You are 100% correct, Sir!
65164 (last year)
You are right on Jim. There are several reasons for this. One is the Living Arts is a vital organization and Melanie Fry did a great job curating the show. The second is that the artists in this community need to take back Mayfest and Mayfest needs to let them! Mayfest is a good idea run by a group of well intentioned people who NEED PROPOSALS from local Artists doing inventive things! And Mayfest needs to provide incentives for the Artists to return in full force! I think the Green Gallery was a good idea and I was pleasantly surprised this year to find the (in my mind quite controversial) painting showing a giant robot ripping up the Blue Dome District and it was prominently displayed in the invitational gallery! Many times it's not Mayfest's fault, it is the fault of our Artists not giving them something that is controversial! My advice is embrace and encourage "the other" and Mayfest will have a new bold image.
michaelfire (last year)
I couldn't agree more. Perhaps the best sign that Mayfest has drifted into stagnant waters was the instant and persistent success of the Blue Dome Festival. Blue Dome opened a parallel venue friendly to local artists and attracting crowds (and sales) to rival those of the Mayfest bazaar. What was its secret? It was artist-driven and artist-priced. Blue Dome, like the Oh, Tulsa! show, has a looser grip on "quality," but with that often comes a broader opening for interesting expression. Art withers within the constraints of curatorial heavy-handedness, narrow vision, taste control -- whatever you'd like to call it. And in Mayfest it is choking in the caution and laziness of handlers. And to Living Arts: Now you've seen that local artists can still do the amazing things they've done in the past. If Tulsa's prominence is to rise, it will be borne up from the inside.
3 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.

ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

 
James D. Watts Jr's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  








Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise | Privacy
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.