Making Marks:
Jacksonville Creates
September 19, 2008 — January 4th, 2009
Click thumbs to enlarge images
Making Marks: Jacksonville Creates is an invitational survey that takes a closer look at the ways in which art is being made locally, and how these creative individuals are making their mark in the art scene today.
Many of the artists featured in Making Marks are nationally recognized and are exhibiting on a national level, yet remain relatively unknown in their own city. Displaying their work in a survey allows their creative efforts to be seen side-by-side, invites comparison with their contemporaries, and presents motives and methods that are open for question. This survey also allows the viewer to trace the evolution of the local scene, from more figurative and painterly approaches to more conceptual and atypical works.
We found several emerging themes in this survey: landscape as a metaphor for industrial farming and development, figuration as narrative and social commentary, found objects reconfigured to reflect global/societal issues, surf and skate culture appropriated into fine art, and more traditional, autobiographical works. You may find others.
It is important to note that these artists are additionally engaged in important creative roles in the city, from teaching to designing, fabricating to tattooing, as well as other jobs based on their individual skill sets. These influences of commercial and fine art, together with the novel interlacing of high and low culture, point to continuing change in what it means to be a contemporary, practicing artist in our community. Instead of over-romanticizing the artist’s life, these individuals have found ways to straddle the line between responsibility and fulfillment. It is not always a perfect process, and the path is not easy, but it helps dispel the marginalizing myth of the starving artist.
By presenting these artists together, MOCA Jacksonville is able to act as a catalyst and hub for the contemporary arts community. As the largest local venue for contemporary art, the Museum is the logical choice for such a large survey show. Making Marks is not an attempt to codify or quantify a scene or group of artists; instead, it is a point of departure for discussion, a forum for debate, reflecting the diverse and provocative nature of work being made in Jacksonville today.
Curated by Matthew Clay-Robison, Gallery Director, University of North Florida, Madeleine Peck, Arts Writer, Ben Thompson, MOCA Associate Curator and Registrar
Partners in Excellence provide generous support for MOCA’s changing exhibitions.
Season Sponsors
Season Sponsors
CSX
Haskell
Teresa de B. and Arthur W. Milam
River Branch Foundation
WJCT Public Broadcasting
Contributing Sponsors
AT&T: The Real Yellow Pages
Clearwire
Mrs. Donald M. Cox
The Dalton Agency
Fogle Fine Art & Accessories
Jacqueline Holmes & Associates
MOCA Jacksonville is funded in part by the City of Jacksonville; Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs; The Florida Arts Council; National Endowment for the Arts; and through the generous support of our members.
Credits
Image 1: Sarah Crooks Flaire, Guantanamo, 2007
Acrylic, ink, graphite, with collage on Rives BFK, 36.5” X 57.5” inches
Courtesy of the artist
Image 2: Emily Arthur Douglass, Dark Bird With Trumpet Vine
22 × 30 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Image 3: Sean Mahan, Drawing Girl
Painted luan, 24 × 24 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Image 4: Paul Karabinis, The Ocean Within Me, 2008
Salt print, 12.5 × 17 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Includes sample artwork and information
Avant Garde Preview Reception
Thursday, September 18, 2008
6-7pm
(Avant Garde Members only)
Members’ Preview Reception
Thursday, September 18, 2008
7-9pm Members: Free; Member Guests: $30
(may be applied toward membership)