The Art rises from the Dead.

A casual glance at the dates of my posts will show quite clearly that I haven’t exactly been keeping up to date. As I review my posts, I realize that this lack of diligence has a bit of an inaccuracy. On July 26 2009 I posted that the future of the Art Theater in Champaign was in doubt. I can happily report that the Art is alive, well, thriving, and has been for some time. In January of 2010 Stanford Hess took over operation of the Art. The focus of art and foreign films remain the same with some upgrades to the whole experience. The first thing you will notice is the concessions have significantly improved. Yes, the popcorn is much better but what is more is that you can now wash it down with wine, beer, or liquor. The Art Theater is the only theater that offers alcohol. Along with this are, the aforementioned improved popcorn, Cookies and Brownies from Pekara Bakery, Hot Pretzels from Kim & Scott’s out of Chicago, Coffee, gourmet Hot Chocolate, and Tea. Fresh brewed Iced Tea, Water, and Fruit Juice is available along with you normal selection of movie snacks.

It’s not just the selection of concessions that has expanded. Besides an excellent selection of Art and Foreign films the Art now presents Friday and Saturday Late Night Movies and Wednesday Movie Club. The variety of films that you can see during the Late Night Movies is amazing. I recently got to see a 35mm print of The Evil Dead. For any follower of cult films you realize this is a rare opportunity at best. They offer a good selection of grindhouse films and cult favorites. The Art is truly back from the dead and let’s hope just as hard to kill as the Deadites.

Here's a link to The Art Theater's Website http://www.thecuart.com/

The Tattooed Women

I'm pleased to announce that I will be having a show of my newest series of photographs in March of 2011. The exhibition will be in the South Gallery of the Halcyon Contemporary Art Gallery in Terre Haute Indiana from March 1st through March 26th. There will be an opening reception on Friday March 4th from 7:00pm until 9:00pm with free food and a cash bar. This newest series of photographs are the beginning of my exploration of controlled lighting. With these first photos I have I have used shadow and light to control what parts of the female form I choose to reveal or concealed. As is with most things, what you leave out is more important that what you put in. Conceptually I am approaching portraiture through the artistic choices of the models themselves. The choices they have made for their own body art reveals as much about them as anything I could photograph. With the push and pull of light and dark I've tried to entwine the body with the art. In the exhibition you will be able to see the progression from natural light, to single source artificial light, and then to two source light. My photographic exploration will continue with controlled lighting. I have recently applied for and received a research grant for the purchase of lighting equipment that will allow me to further this exploration. The Halcyon Contemporary Art Gallery is located at 25 S. 7th Street in Terre Haute Indiana. The hours are 12:00pm - 5:00pm Tuesday - Saturday EST.