Design by Genna Yusman Greene

 

By Keith Waits

Entire contents copyright © 2015 Keith Waits. All rights reserved.

We live in an age where the violation of the body defines our identity in profound ways. We have become accustomed to seeing body modifications: tattoos and piercings are now both ubiquitous and taken to frightening extremes, while hair color is changed on a whim. The body is also scarred almost as often through accident and injury rather than caprice. Society has encouraged us to hide these uninvited imperfections through fashion, by wearing make up or long sleeves, emphasizing that we should never let people see the imperfections.

It is this theme that occupies glass artist Lea Ann Druck as she organizes the event/exhibition Scars: Ribbons of Truth, taking place at The Tim Faulkner Gallery on September 2 beginning at 6:00pm. The evening will include a fashion show, live music, and a visual art exhibit that will remain on display through September 8.

Druck had nurtured the idea for nearly two years, then, beginning with a series of informal “meet and greets” earlier this year, she reached out to individuals, some of them artists, who bore the demarcation of pain and disfigurement. With her own C-section scar informing her interest, Druck was not certain where the journey would take her. The exploratory sessions quickly became emotional encounter sessions in which attendees opened their hearts to reveal that the exterior scars were, as Druck puts it, ‘…constant reminders of who we are inside.” The confessional aspect of the meetings was profound, and pushed her to expand the notion of an exhibit.

Aaron Perry

Artwork by Aaron Perry

Support came from PopUlar Magazine, whose Creative Director Genna Yussman Greene helped produce videos with Videographer Marshall Shartzer III and coordinate a fashion show as a part of the event. The concept has started out small, but rapidly grew into something much bigger. “I’ve barely had time to breathe,” says Druck, “but the pieces are beautiful!”

As a child, Lea Ann Druck grew up in the Portland neighborhood and attended Louisville Visual Art’s Children’s Fine Art Classes at the Louisville Water Tower and The Portland Museum. She eventually began working in glass, largely self-educated, although she did apprentice at Flame Run Glass Studio and Gallery. Her curatorial efforts on Scars comes from a highly personal place, and took on an even greater personal significance when her boyfriend, Vernie Moore, lost the tips of two fingers in a work-related accident.

“I couldn’t believe it happened in the middle of working on this project,” says Druck. It was a bracing reminder that scars are a constant and pervasive part of the human condition and the society at large, evidence in equal measure of both the fragility of our existence and the resilience of our survival.

“We carry scars on our body, but buildings also carry scars – architectural scars,” explains Druck, couching the theme in a wider context than immediate human experience. Our natural world is constantly, inexorably evolving, with landscapes scarred by forces of nature and the encroachment of man. The scars on our bodies, whatever their origin, can be seen as simply a part of that larger evolution.

Andrew Wright, Zach Dunn, Aaron Perry, Jaclynn Hamilton, Tony Dixon, Amy Pender are among the visual artists that will are expected to be included in the exhibition.

Besides the Scars: Ribbons of Truth exhibit, the September 2 even will include a fashion show of designs by Genna Yusman Greene entitled, “Primitive”. The title is suggestive of ritual scarification as cultural identification that still occurs in less industrialized parts of the world. There will also be a performance by local band Jazz Fusion

Scars: Ribbons of Truth

Primitive – Fashion Show

September 2, 2016

6:00-9:00pm

Tim Faulkner Gallery
1512 Portland Avenue
Louisville, KY 40203
Timfaulknerart.com

 

KeithKeith Waits is a native of Louisville who works at Louisville Visual Art during the days, including being the host of PUBLIC on WXOX-FM 97.1/ ARTxFM.com, but spends most of his evenings indulging his taste for theatre, music and visual arts. His work has appeared in Pure Uncut Candy, TheatreLouisville, and Louisville Mojo. He is now Managing Editor for Arts-Louisville.com.