First Friday Art Walk - January

I decided to attend the First Friday Art Walk on Santa Fe Drive here in Denver yesterday evening despite the snow and cold temperatures (12 degrees Fahrenheit ).  With the side streets still snow packed, I figured I would park directly on Santa Fe Drive, and if no spots were available, just go home.  I didn't have to worry, since not too many people seemed to want to walk around in the 12 degree weather.  And as you can see from the photo on the left, there were not too many people perusing the Center for Visual Arts' Collective Nouns exhibit, a Metropolitan State University Denver faculty exhibition.  And yes, that gold baby carriage is actually an art piece.  There were also three photograph on display, each with a title that had absolutely no relation to the photograph itself.  Could legalized marijuana be having a negative effect on the Colorado art world?

The musical act in the next gallery I visited didn't seem to have much of an audience either, and yes - that white mannequin with the removable peace sign stomach in the photo on the right is also another work of art.  However, as I looked around the place, I actually saw some really nice photographs, especially the ones on display by Kevin McMahon.  One his photographs was of a very colorful wall in Moscow, with a drunken man lying on the sidewalk right in front of it.  It was a pretty powerful image, as were many of his other photos.  And in point of fact, I must say that I saw a lot of really nice photography in the other galleries I visited, too.  After looking at the various collages, mixed media, and hand colored pigment prints on display, it made me want to explore these alternative forms of photography when (or if?) I retire.

Among other photographers I was impressed with were Jeff Carter and Carl Scofield, whose works were on display at John Fielder's Denver Photo Art Gallery (https://www.johnfielder.com/gallery-location/), and three spectacular, lighted cityscapes by photographer Fred Hodder.  I was especially impressed with the lighted collaboration with wife Monroe titled 42nd Street Times Square (check out that photograph as well as others at http://frederickhodder.com/).  I also was very impressed with the work of Jim Stevens, on display at the Habitat Gallery on Santa Fe Drive.  He describes his work as monofilament and abstract linear paintings that float in empty space.  I would swear these portraits are photographs, but they are just realistic representations  in acrylic paint using up to 8 layers of monofilament 129 lines across, suspended in empty space.  Most amazing of all is that Sullivan is legally blind.  He was shot in the head in Vietnam and as a result suffered from severe migraines, one of which resulted in a stroke in 1993 that caused blindness.  Eventually he decided to take up his artwork again with the assistance of special lenses.  Check out his paintings at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jim-stevens.html?.tab=artwork.  In summarizing the evening - cold? What cold?