Artrageous Friday takes stuffiness out of art

By Kristin Torres

Published Jan. 29, 2008

While Columbia has never gotten a bad rap for being a town lacking in art, there was more of it than usual downtown Friday thanks to a plethora of artists coming out of the woodwork for Artrageous Friday. Artrageous organizer Jennifer Perlow isn’t shy about having no formal background in art because, as she’ll tell you, she’s an appreciator. And she said she’s in awe of artists’ talent, which is why she wanted to do something to showcase the expanding art community. “I think people are intimidated by art,” Perlow said. “This event hopefully shows that it doesn’t have to be stuffy and unapproachable.” Art enthusiasts and those interested in checking out the work of local artists could do that at Friday’s three-hour art tour, with more than 15 venues to pick from. From expert felt maker Ruth Walker demonstrating the felting process at Bluestem Missouri Crafts (if you get it just right, anyone from cats to people can enjoy the resulting products) to wire hanger trees, Artrageous proved that there really is something to peak the interest of anyone. She and fellow organizer Chris Teeter set up the event through the Artrageous Web site, where local artists can get in contact with them. “We hope to show the public that there is something for everyone,” Perlow said.

Wire sculptor puts new twist on sculpture

Local metal and wire sculptor Michael Marcum works with wire hangers, a pair of pliers and, at least on Friday, a cookie. Sitting in a corner hunched on a stool over a sculpture made of gnarled hangers, he alternates twisting the hangers onto the sculpture and eating his cookie. The cookie is white chocolate macadamia nut. The sculpture, a tree, is his art. It’s just one of a variety of trees he’s made for Columbia’s True/False Film Fest, specifically for the Forrest Theatre at the Tiger Hotel. But for his own front yard, he’s made a throne — a throne so big he can sit in it — though nowadays it’s usually his kids who do the honors. It started with an idea and a supply of hangers from an unlikely source — the Arkansas Motel 6 where he used to work. As motel visitors came and went, their wire hangers sometimes stayed behind. Inspiration struck when he was unhappy with the drawings he was producing at the time. “I was always fond of sculpture, and when I found the discarded hangers I was, ‘Hey, let’s see what I can do with these,” Marcum said. And the wires keep pouring in. “Drycleaners and a lot of people know that I work with hangers,” Marcum said. “I come home and people have put piles of hangers in my driveway.” Though his sculptures vary in size from huge to handful, Marcum doesn’t count the number of hangers that go into a particular piece. “I tried to count one time how many hangers I’ve put in a sculpture and it was so daunting I just stopped,” he said. For now, Marcum will continue working mostly with wire and metal, and he has plenty of ideas to keep his art going. But every now and then he finds himself in need of a hanger for its traditional purpose: hanging up clothes. With a laugh, Marcum said, “I do go ‘Oh, I need a hanger,’ and just go out to my garage.”

KOPN shows off artsy side

To most of Columbia, KOPN means one thing: radio. The station has provided the community with an array of programming for nearly 35 years. But for Artrageous Fridays, the station proves that it can get artistic, too. Since the station relies on volunteers to keep the operation going, it’s only natural that the artwork on display comes from the same place — its volunteers. “These are people that would be here anyway,” KOPN volunteer Barb Peterman said. “They just have art to show.” In KOPN’s Cope Ashlock room, art of all kinds adds a new element to the room’s usual decorum - shelves of records on each wall. “We’re showing a different aspect of us,” Peterman said. Looking at one piece depicting a spaceship on a foreign planet, KOPN general manager David Owens notices an ambiguous hook sticking out of the ground. “This looks strangely like a croquet wicket,” he said with a laugh, “or maybe the St. Louis arch.” While the content of each work differs from each display, each one reveals the personality quirks of its respective artist, Owens said. For this particular night, Owens has pinned up a pen and ink composition he made himself. Giving it a closer look, Owens tugs at the composition’s right edge to reveal that it’s actually the cover of a publication he and a few friends put out in September 1976. Owens said there were about 1,000 copies made. The pages have slightly yellowed with age, but the publication remains remarkably intact. “It’s probably the last existent one,” Owens said as he took a closer look at his own work. “That’s why we should keep it,” Peterman said with a smile.

Summer program inspires young artists

Over at Orr Street Studios, art educator Amy Meyer is giving children demonstrations on how to make paper snowflakes — intricate ones. Allison Keys, 9, is fully appreciating the demonstration. She makes snowflake after snowflake, each one with a hidden picture cut into it instead of the usual diamonds and fringe. “Can you put this on the wall?” Keys asked Meyer in her little voice. Meyer took it a step further. She put Keys’ creation on the studio’s door. “Everyone can see it as they come in,” she said to Keys. Meyer said art has always been a part of her life. A teacher for the last six years at Christian Chapel Academy and Heritage Academy, she started her summer program, ArtEdventure, out of her desire to have more time with students to work on various projects. “Since the sessions run every day for a week, there is more time to do that,” Meyer said. “ArtEdventure is meant to supplement what students are already learning in schools.” Meyer said children enrolled in ArtEdventure benefit from an “open-ended” atmosphere where “no one is going to grade you.” Students are encouraged to learn and explore art at their own pace. “Anybody can create art. People think you have to be born with a gift,” she said. “I don’t buy that.” Another young artist completed a snowflake, but before hanging it up, Meyer said, “You’ve got to autograph it if you’d like to leave your legacy behind.”