Age of Aquarius in Butler

The Art Center in Butler is a full-service community facility. In addition to the galleries (at least three), the Center offers workshops and classes (both children’s and adult), a gift shop featuring member’s work and a reading nook stocked with art books, magazines and instructional guides. And on most Friday evenings the Center hosts the “Spirit Café”—an alternate coffeehouse—providing a venue for aspiring poets and songwriters to hone their craft. In the midst of this flurry of activity the Associated Artists of Butler have mounted the Age of Aquarius—their fifth (and most ambitious) celebration of the art and culture of the ’60s and early ’70s.
The broad themed show offers artists a great deal of latitude in both subject and style. As in past years inspiration has been provided by events ranging from music and television to politics and social upheaval. The leaders in popular culture is the Partridge Family; one entry features the musical aggregation on a tambourine-clock while another converted a hi-fi consol into the Mondrian bus, replete with a vinyl album casually placed on the “roof.” Bridging the gap between pop culture and politics are a pair of tie-dyed fiber pieces by David Garlick. The “Ghost of Garcia” appears on a tee-shirt while “Dead, White and Blue” uses the image of the flag in the best tradition of anti-war protest. Alan Byrne’s “Kennedy Triptych” (first place award) is a purely political painting that incorporates contemporary computer effects with black and white news photos. The three images bookend the triumph and tragedy of Dallas with an iconic portrait of JFK.
Just as the art of the Aquarius decade was influenced by a variety of artists, some pieces in the Butler show are reminiscent of past trends. “The Judgment of Paris” has been a favorite with artists and Andreas Grotewold’s delicate pen and ink drawing brings to mind the highly erotic work of Aubrey Beardsley. The Nineteenth Century English artist enjoyed a revival in the ’60s and Grotewold’s interpretation captures the spirit of the age. “Day of the Dead” by Jesse McKinnis is a brightly colored painting recalling the “dia de los muertos” found in Mexican folk art. This “Pop” version seems right off a soup can label. Ruth White-Wetzel’s “Peace” is an exuberant expressionistic acrylic that captures the excitement and eclecticism of the ’60s movement. Having very much the feeling of a college dorm room (right down to the candle in the chianti bottle) the collage-like images and striking red background take use on a journey through the counter-culture.
The exhibition continues through February 22 with many activities planned throughout its run. Check out their website at “theartcenterbutlerpa.org”.

Graphica at the Butler Art Center

We’ve all heard—a picture is worth a thousand words—but for truly effective graphics the reciprocal can also be true. If the words and the images are mutually dependent then the combined effect will be greater than the sum of the individual parts. This is the case and the underlying theme at “Graphica”, the current show at the Art Center in Butler. Several years ago one of the guilds at the PCA hosted a similar exhibit—words and images—the Butler holds up very well in comparison.
The exhibitors in Butler range from high school students to seasoned professionals, the works from photographs and paintings to computer graphic design. Since the message and the media are so completely integrated in this type of show, I took special notice of those pieces that had an important and relevant theme and conveyed it in bold manner.
Louise Pappageorge’s “Flawed Logic” is a collage piece and makes a statement on many levels. The subtext--that society sets unrealistic goals for young girls in the standard that it sets for physical appearance. The use of glossy fashion magazines as a source for visual material only tends to reinforce this premise. The woman’s face, composed in a jigsaw puzzle effect is sadly reminiscent of the work of the plastic surgeon. And the captions further reveal the tragically unattainable ideal. “Think Before You Drink” is an advocacy poster by Joanie Wilson. The psychedelic imagery has the aura of the impaired perception brought on by alcohol. This is carried through in the style of type and even the bottle brings to mind the Absolut campaign.
Bill Perry is an accomplished watercolorist and a regular exhibitor at the Art Center. His Operation Iraqi Freedom trilogy grewout of his habit of working while watching news reports. The images he saw on the small screen gradually worked their way into his paintings. “The Combatants” is a multicultural montage

that takes us back several years and helps us reflect on the aftermath of those events. David (Bowman X) Wintermute has several pieces in the show that blend ideas of ethics and aesthetics with modern technology. His portrait of Ludwig Wittgenstein includes the quote: “The facts that the elements of a picture are related to one another in a determinate way represents that things are related to one another in the same way.” I hadn’t been to the Art Center for almost a year and I was impressed by the changes they’ve made. The physical changes—remodeling and improvements to the exhibition space were immediately recognizable. More importantly, the quality of the art and the professionalism of the organization represent great strides forward. As artists we all contribute and support our culture and society. I believe “Graphica” is an important step for the Butler Arts Center in acknowledging a creative art climate through education, exhibition and promotion of freedom of expression.