Public seems to have no issues with TNPS exhibit
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| Nude drawings are hung on the walls of the Jane Edgar Gallery at the Next Picture Show in Dixon. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvaley.com) |
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DIXON – Despite some worries, the first nude exhibit at The Next Picture Show is going well, its executive director said.
There have been absolutely no complaints, Bonnie Kime said.
The show, called “The Human Figure,” exhibits the work of two artists – photographer Peter Le Grand of Chicago and painter and sketcher Jane Cress Edgar of Grand Detour. It ends its run Saturday.
There had been complaints in the past about some pieces shown.
“Some people have a hard time with – I don’t even want to use the word risqué, because it’s not – even a suggestive-type photograph or painting,” Kime said when the exhibit opened.
“We’re treading into something for – I don’t want to say just Dixon. I think there’s other rural communities that probably deal with it as well. But here we are, a magnificent gallery, the highest caliber in probably northern Illinois, and it’s making that step.”
That’s why Kime wanted to make sure the exhibit was done tastefully.
“I am absolutely thrilled,” she said. “People have commented on how well it was done. It wasn’t in your face. It was about choice.”
Visitors to the nonprofit gallery could go upstairs if they wanted to see the exhibit, but otherwise they could just wander through the “Architecture and More” show in the main gallery downstairs.
About 90 percent of visitors choose to head upstairs, she said, and that other 10 percent didn’t mostly because they couldn’t handle the stairs.
The gallery’s goal is education, Kime said, and she wanted to expose the community to this type of art.
“I hope that it brings a lot more open-mindedness to the art world in a rural setting,” she said, especially when it comes to the juries that select which pieces fit the criteria of the various contests The Next Picture Show runs.
She is concerned the juries may be subconsciously censoring themselves, though, she said, and she hopes this experience may lead to more quality nudes making their way into the various shows, most likely the nonthemed open art contest.
The gallery also ran a one-day workshop the weekend the exhibit opened, and Kime plans to hold future workshops, perhaps some that run multiple days.
Next on Kime’s list is abstract art.
“Not everyone understands or cares to understand the abstract world, but it’s still part of the art world,” she said.
The abstract show “Artists Gone Wild!” will run from Aug. 3 to Sept. 8.
To see the exhibits
“The Human Figure” and “Architecture and More” both end Saturday.
The Next Picture Show, 113 W. First St. in Dixon. is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
Go to www.thenextpictureshow.com or call 815-285-4924 for more information.
In addition, 14 paintings from Jane Cress Edgar’s “Human Beings/Being Human” exhibit also are on display at Sauk Valley Bank, 300 Walton Drive in Dixon.
They can be viewed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in the bank’s conference room.
None are nudes.
Admission is free. Call 815-284-2300 for more information.
