Photos (clockwise, left to right): Linda Echterhoff and her Honorable Mention ribbon next to “Seed Pod”; “Cherries Under Ice,” by Janet Collins, First Place; “Immigrant,” by Barbara Giorgio, Second Place; “Missed Fortune” by Veronica Day, Third Place; “The Passage,” by Gil Bruvel, Best of Show

Pagosa Springs artist Linda Echterhoff received an honorable mention in the “Gateway to Imagination” National Juried Art Competition at the Farmington Museum and Visitor’s Center at Gateway Park. The $50 award was for her mixed media work, “Seed Pod” an organic floral structure made of cardboard, fiber pulp and packing tape.

Juror Jill Chancey, curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss., said of Echterhoff’s sculpture: “I like this because it is a floral, but it’s scruffy. It’s sturdy, not delicate. I like the contrast between subject matter and material. It’s very clever.”

A Ph.D. candidate, the soon-to-be Dr. Chancey completed her dissertation on the abstract expressionist painter Elaine De Kooning. Her interest in abstract expressionism explains why Chancey selected another Pagosa Springs artist – Kathy Steventon. Steventon’s oil painting of a cow, “Standing Gaze,” was chosen for it’s strong, visceral texture and painterly technique. “How can you not love a picture of a cow?” Chancey said.

Surprisingly, Chancey chose few other works that could be considered abstract expressionism for the Gateway show. However, my personal favorites in this vein were both works by New York artist Ha Rhin Kim: “Rotte Tree 2005-11″ and “Rotte Tree 2005-03.” These abstract figurative works are black and white with shades of gray; only the black is almost purple. The work is acrylic painted on white Mylar. The Mylar provides a vitreous quality to the opaque areas of paint, which contrasts with the crisp, fine lines of organic forms that look like the veins of leaves.

The Gateway to Imagination show is all over the place. It features traditional landscape painting, plein aire work in big gilded frames, contemporary painting, quite a bit of different photography, some digital prints, some bronze and ceramic sculpture, some pottery, a fiber quilted wall hanging, some metal art, a piece of silver jewelry and a lot of diverse painting from figurative, to abstract, from oil to pastel to acrylic and water media.

“Not everyone is going to agree with my choices,” Chancey said, but then added: “The prize winners are of such clear quality that anyone would have picked them.”

Quality? Yes. I’ll agree with her on that point. But as I walked around viewing the work, considering what Chancey told me about her selection process. I found myself disagreeing.

Chancey made 105 selections from 342 submissions based on her belief that a successful work of art has two components: an interesting idea and successful execution. She said she was looking for “aesthetic quality and some evidence that the artist was thinking about something when creating the art. Good art represents an aesthetic resolution.”

More than that, she deemed work to be most successful that expressed the idea of the past as part of one’s present identity, of ancestor’s traveling with us as we move forward. “The U.S. is a nation full of immigrants and their descendants; several artist refer explicitly to their immigrant heritage, while other draw on Native heritage,” Chancey wrote in her statement.
I agreed with her selection for Best of Show: “The Passage” by Gil Bruvel of Wimberley, Texas. Bruvel’s work is highly skilled. “The Passage” is a bronze sculpture of a female head representing the ocean and atop her head is a boat and in the boat is an armored man riding the waves. The patina is a gorgeous blue and the face is exquisite. This sculptor has not only mastered technique and aesthetic, but explores ideas and communicates those ideas to the viewer. As Chancey said of Bruvel’s work:

“He has such a unique vision. I’ve never seen anything like this and the execution is excellent.”

Bruvel’s other sculpture, “Mask of Whispers” is a stainless steel female head, bound with other faces cut out and protruding from windows in the forehead and cheek. Bruvel manages this without stimulating the grotesque. The female face is beautiful, but bound by susurration.

I also liked her first-place winner: “Cherries Under Ice” by Janet Collins, Sedona, Ariz. The detailed colored-pencil drawing looked more like a photograph or a pastel painting than colored pencil. And the light glinting off the melting ice, dripping off the cherry is very nice. But this was a straightforward drawing of cherries covered in ice. I didn’t see the artist pushing any boundaries or exploring any interesting ideas. It was simply masterful execution.

“Cherries Under Ice” did not fit in with her other top picks, which all expressed the idea that the past is always a part of one’s present identity.

Her second-place winner, “Immigrant,” by Barbara Giorgio, Selma, Ind., and her third-place winner, “Missed Fortune,” by Veronica Day, Morris, Conn. both explore this theme using photographic techniques. Giorgio’s work is a digital print while Day’s work is a palladium print.

I found myself drawn to diverse works. In color photography, I loved “Fish Wanting to Fly,” by Jefferey Jue, Oakland, Calif., a playful, yet thought provoking and brilliantly executed photograph. For movement and texture I liked “Annexation of Control” by Jennifer Peel, Tyler, Texas, graphite and latex paint on paper mounted on canvas. For whimsy, David Edgar’s “Bluetail Reef Cruiser” and “Goggle-Eyed Swallow Tail,” fish made from recycled plastic containers. I found myself transfixed by the aboriginal detail and maze-like paths in “Satellite 781,” an acrylic and ink composition by Julie King, Nacogdoches, Texas. And I kept coming back to “Unified Theory of Forces” by Nancy Pollock, Santa Fe, a layered canvas of oil paint with a tree in a box on the left side of the canvas and mathematical formulas peeking through layers of paint are.

The Gateway show is an interesting collection of work from 85 artists in 28 states. I suppose, given the name of the show, “Gateway to Imagination,” I was hoping for more works that challenged existing concepts and ideas, for works that pushed the boundaries. I think that is why I liked the work of Ha Rhin Kim – because I’m not exactly sure how the artist achieved the technique.

However, I felt Chancey’s focus on immigration, a hot political issue, influenced her choices more than the aesthetic resolution of the work. Perhaps immigration is on many artists’ minds, or perhaps in the difficult challenge of trying
to rank diverse works of art, she grabbed at a theme and used it to award prizes.

Gateway to Imagination is on display through July 15, at the Farmington Museum and Visitor’s Center at Gateway Park, 3041 East Main Street, Farmington, N.M. (505) 599-1174. Hours: are Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Courtesy Farmington Museum
“Fish Wanting to Fly,” photograph by Jeffrey Jue, Oakland, Calif., at the “Gateway to Imagination” National Juried Art Competition in Farmington.

By Leanne Goebel | Special to the Herald

The photographers Jim and Eileen Baumgardt are the only Durango artists in this year’s Gateway National Juried Art Competition in Farmington. The husband and wife each have a picture in the exhibit: Mr. Baumgardt’s poignant still life “No Homework Today” is a color photograph. Mrs. Baumgardt’s “Winter Apple Trees” is a classic black and white, ($225 each).

This year’s National Juried Art Competition is filled with work that is of high quality and professionally executed, but the work is so diverse – the show includes painting, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, fiber, recycled art, metal, digital art and photography – that many works get lost in the salon style exhibition.

I’m not an admirer of single-juror art shows, especially those that don’t provide artists with a juror’s statement in the call for artist submissions. The selection process is highly subjective depending upon the juror’s background and expertise.

Jill Chancey, this year’s juror for the Gateway National Juried Art Competition, did a commendable job selecting the work. Chancey is the Curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss. A Ph.D. candidate, she has completed her dissertation on the abstract expressionist painter, Elaine De Kooning.

Surprisingly, Chancey chose few works that could be considered abstract expressionism for the Gateway show. My personal favorites in this vein were works by New York artist Ha Rhin Kim: “Rotte Tree 2005-11″ and “Rotte Tree 2005-03,” ($1,500 each). These abstract figurative works are black and white with shades of gray, only the black is almost purple. The work is acrylic painted on white Mylar. The Mylar provides a vitreous quality to the opaque areas of paint, which contrasts with the crisp, fine lines of organic forms that look like the veins of leaves.

Chancey made 105 selections from 342 submissions based on her belief that a successful work of art has two components: an interesting idea and successful execution. She said she was looking for “aesthetic quality and some evidence that the artist was thinking about something when creating the art. Good art represents an aesthetic resolution.”

She deemed work to be most successful that expressed the idea of the past as part of one’s present identity, of ancestors traveling with us as we move forward.

I agreed with her selection for Best of Show: “The Passage” by Gil Bruvel of Wimberley, Tex. “The Passage” is a bronze sculpture of a female head representing the ocean and atop her head is a boat and in the boat is an armored man riding the waves. The patina is a gorgeous blue and the face is exquisite. This sculptor has not only mastered technique and aesthetic, but explores ideas and communicates those ideas to the viewer. As Chancey said of Bruvel’s work: “He has such a unique vision. I’ve never seen anything like this and the execution is excellent.” Me either.

Given the name of the show, “Gateway to Imagination,” I was hoping for more works that challenged existing ideas. I think that is why I like the work of Ha Rhin Kim, because I’m not sure how the artist achieved the technique. The best photography in the show is “Fish Wanting to Fly” by Jeffrey Jue, Oakland, Calif. The most whimsical is two plastic fish made from recycled plastic containers: “Bluetail Reef Cruiser” and “Goggle-Eyed Swallow Tail” by David Edgar, Charlotte, N.C.

However, I felt Chancey’s focus on immigration, a hot political issue, influenced her choices more than the aesthetic resolution of the work. Perhaps immigration is on many artists’ minds or perhaps in the difficult challenge of trying to rank diverse works of art, she grabbed at a theme and used it to award prizes.

editor@artsperspective.com or lgoebel@centurytel.net

Pagosa Springs writer Leanne Goebel is an arts journalist and editor of Arts Perspective

“Gateway to Imagination” is on show through July 15 at the Farmington Museum and Visitor’s Center at Gateway Park, 3041 East Main Street, Farmington, (505) 599-1174. Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — While the Historic Preservation Board works with the town council to revise the Pagosa Springs Municipal Code, the board feels it is necessary to protect sites, building and other features that are of sufficient age to be designated as historic landmarks through the adoption of a temporary suspension of the demolition of such sites and buildings.

The ordinance is in direct response to recent demolitions of downtown structures including a more than 50-year-old gas station and three decrepit homes along Pagosa Street, none of which were in the currently designated historic district and none of which were designated as historic structures. Developer David J. Brown and Bootjack Management are working on a redevelopment plan for those sites, but in the interim the property remains fenced and vacant. Brown has stated that he is waiting for the adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan and master plan before moving forward with development to assure that his projects meet all design guidelines and criteria. Other developers, like longtime Pagosa resident Susan Winter Ward, have moved forward with projects along Pagosa Street that may or may not fit in with design guidelines and zoning that will be finalized through the comprehensive and master planning processes.

Ordinance 666 states: “Notwithstanding that the property has not been previously designated as a historic landmark or is not within a designated historic district, the Town temporarily suspends the issuance of all applications for authorization or a permit for demolition of any building or improvement that is fifty years old or older.” This temporary ordinance will be in effect for one year. The ordinance does allow for the town council to consider requests from property owners on a case-by-case basis to issue an exemption from the temporary suspension if the property involved has no historic significance based upon the criteria set forth in the current municipal code.

In order to qualify for designation as a historic landmark, the property must be at least 50 years old, determined to have historic significance due to one or more of 11 factors outlined in the municipal code, and must have the property owner’s written consent or application. The Historic Preservation Board reserves the right to waive any requirement.

David Smith, a representative from Bootjack, stated at the council meeting that he was “concerned about property owners rights and concerned about being able to continue working with town and have a say in historic structures.” Smith felt that the preservation board and town would be finalizing something that was still in process.

Susan Winter Ward, a member of the Historic Preservation Board, said she feels the recent demolitions were thwarting economic development, raising property taxes and raising rents because of a lack of commercial space available. She believes the ordinance will allow council and the historic preservation board to review demolition requests and not leave the land blank, “which does not do us any favors,” Ward said.

“We do not intend to stop demolition,” Sherri Pierce of the Historic Preservation Board added. “But this ordinance will allow a review of those properties.”

Pierce went on to explain that a recent test of the process came about when builder Bob Hart decided to tear down some old, decrepit cabins along the river on San Juan Street. Historic Preservation met with Hart and determined that two of the four cabins were not historically significant. Two had some historic features, but were in such poor condition they could not be saved. “We determined that those cabins did not represent any historic value and we would have approved demolition,” Pierce said. The policy was not in place and the cabins were demolished. Pierce did add that she was able to recover some elements such as doorknobs, which were given to the historical museum.

The historic preservation board plans to use the next year to write a permanent ordinance and address all facets of the historic preservation code.

Trustee Stan Holt felt that this was a stopgap measure. “I think it is needed,” Holt said.

Trustee Jerry Jackson was concerned about the length of the moratorium, citing that the big box moratorium was only for six months. Pierce and Ward responded by saying that this ordinance was different and that council could still consider demolition on a case-by-case basis.

The ordinance passed unanimously noting that the historic preservation board would only make recommendations to council in a similar way that the planning commission makes recommendations to council and that council was the final authority.

By Leanne Goebel

Journal Correspondent

PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — Angela Atkinson, paid consultant to the Town of Pagosa Springs on the Downtown Master Plan, consultant on the comprehensive plan, chair of the Big Box Task Force, interim chair of the Community Vision Council, member of the Town Tourism Committee, chair of the CVC Art & Culture and Economic Development Committees, recent facilitator of the town’s recreational survey, and former downtown business owner has added another project to her repertoire. The town council asked Atkinson to manage the feasibility study for creation of a downtown authority. Atkinson will receive $4,000 for the project.

The goal of the project is “to explore the various organizational and legal structures that may be appropriate given the current situation in Pagosa Springs.” According to Atkinson’s proposal, the town council has demonstrated support for exploring structure that might include taxation districts to fund capital improvements; support and promotion for businesses within those districts; special event coordination; general branding and positioning for downtown and other possible functions.

Atkinson suggests that her approach will be to look at the different models currently being used in communities throughout Colorado. Nine communities have Downtown Development Authorities or DDAs. The research fee will cover phone interviews, time studying Web sites and other documentation that Atkinson will use to form the case study. Additional fees will pay for Harold Stalf, director of the Grand Junction DDA, which recently approved a Business Improvement District, to offer insights and assistance, and for Andy Kudtsen of Economic Planning Systems (EPS) to provide details on the financing and legal aspects of each model. Last year, EPS completed the baseline economic study for Pagosa Springs.

Atkinson also suggests that the “practical implementation” element of the study will look at how each of these models may or may not apply to Pagosa Springs given the political and economic climate in the community. “This is of particular importance given the fact that any district formation will ultimately require voter approval thus impacting decisions on district boundaries, timing, public relations and outreach,” Atkinson writes in her proposal.

For just under $5,000, a report will be produced documenting the findings, including the pros and cons of different downtown authority models presented in narrative and matrix form; potential responsibilities of the entity; discussion and strategies including a timeline for implementation; and recommendations.

The council felt that this was an important step in supporting local small businesses, given that they may choose to allow large format retailers to enter the community. Trustee Stan Holt wondered whether the study should include a test as to the political viability by talking with downtown business owners and residents. “If the property owners don’t approve this, it’s a no go,” Holt said.

Atkinson said that she felt the study would include recommendations. The education component is critical. “Property owners have to understand tax increment financing. We have to be really clear on how this is rolled out to the public,” Atkinson said.

“I think this is a worthwhile study and positive step,” said Trustee Judy James.

Trustee Tony Simmons said, “This is a big step moving forward in a public/private partnership.”

Mayor Aragon agreed and council voted unanimously to move forward with the feasibility study. No specific timetable for completion was presented in the proposal.

Special to The PREVIEW

“The Lost Painting” by Jonathan Harr. Random House, 2005.

Jonathan Harr brings the world of art history to life in “The Lost Painting.” Harr takes the reader into the world of art history student Francesca Capelletti and the tedious and often mundane work of digging through archives to trace the provenance of a painting.

In 1989, Capelletti is working on a project with Giampaolo Correale, an art historian, researching paintings at the Capitoline Gallery in Rome. The project is an attempt to prove which of the two nearly identical paintings of St. John, attributed to Michealangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is the original: The one at the Capitoline Gallery or the one at the Dora Pamphila. During her research, Capelletti stumbles across information that nearly leads her to a lost Caravaggio painting known as “The Taking of Christ.”

Capelletti runs into a dead-end in Scotland and that is when the book shifts to tell the story of Sergio Benedetti an art restorer and amateur art historian, at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. Benedetti is asked to clean and restore some paintings hanging in the Jesuit, St. Ignacius Residence. Benedetti says that the large painting was dark, “it’s entire surface obscured by a film of dust, grease, and soot. The varnish had turned a yellowish brown, giving the flesh tones in the faces and hands a tobacco-like hue.” But even in the poor condition, Benedetti believes he has found a masterpiece.

With exquisite attention to detail, this non-fiction account of actual events between 1989 and 1993 reads with the pace of a novel. However, unlike fiction, this book has no evil antagonist. This is not “The DaVinci Code.”

“The Lost Painting” is creative nonfiction in the hands of a master. Harr won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction for his book “A Civil Action” and is a former staff writer at the New England Monthly and he has written for The New Yorker.

In telling the story of Capelletti, Benedetti and Sir Denis Mahon, one of the most respected Caravaggio scholars, Harr also gives the reader glimpses into the life of the seventeenth century Italian Baroque painter. Caravaggio was a genius, possibly mad, a drunken, violent man who happened to be a revolutionary painter.

Caravaggio’s paintings are lit with a strong, raking light that strikes across the composition, illuminating parts of it while plunging the rest into deep shadow. This dramatic illumination heightens the emotional tension, focuses the details and isolates the figures. Caravaggio insisted on clarity and concentration and firm vigorous drawing of the figures. But he used regular street models to represents religious figures and painted them realistically.

Harr has managed to write a book about Caravaggio using some of the master painter’s artistic techniques. Harr illuminates the life and work of Capelletti and Benedetti, focusing on the details of digging in archives, the types of cracks on a canvas, the new technology being used to determine the origins of a painting – infrared and x-ray technology and the medieval mixture Benedetti used to restretch the canvas and save the painting. Harr doesn’t focus on Caravaggio himself and there are several recent books written by scholars that explore in detail the painter’s life, but that was not the focus for Harr in “The Lost Painting.” Instead, Harr insists on firmly and vigorously drawing the figures of Capelletti, Benedetti and Mahon. And he succeeds.

Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She is the editor of Arts Perspective magazine and a correspondent for The Four Corners Business Journal. To read more of her work, visit her blog at http://leannegoebel.blogspot.com.

Pagosa Reads features book reviews of all kinds of books from the Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library, reviewed by local readers Š just like you. If you would like to review a book and share it in this PREVIEW column, contact Christine Anderson, library director, at 264-2208.