Visions of the American West: Masterworks from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Contrary to what some may believe, Cheekwood is not only known for their beautiful botanical gardens and their extensive collection of Chihuly art pieces. In fact, starting on October 22nd, 2011 and going through February 26th, 2012, Cheekwood will have a very special event which showcases artwork, Plains Indian artifacts, Wild West show objects, and firearms all from the age of the famous/historical Buffalo Bill. Something different than the normal art gallery, this particular showcase may indeed be something that the ladies can easily convince their husbands or boyfriends to come to as well. Buffalo Bill was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for his service to the US Army and was one of the most colorful figure of the American Old West. So put on your cowboy boots, saddle up, and head on down to Cheekwood for an exhibit to remember.

Frist Center- Projected Histories

Starting this Friday, the Frist Center will be hosting a photography exhibit called Projected Histories. Although not nearly as big as the Warhol extravaganza, this exhibit will be sure to not disappoint. The artist behind Projected Histories is a Vanderbilt assistant professor by the name of Vesna Pavlovic. Pavlovic teaches photography and digital media classes. After getting her Masters in fine arts degree in visual arts from Columbia University in 2007, Pavlovic has showcased her artork in several different, very prestigious, venus. She has been featured in group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, Tennis Palace Art Museum in Helsinki, Carinthian Museum of Modern Art in Klagenfurt, Austria, Photographers' Gallery in London, and FRAC Center for Contemporary Art in France. The most current exhibit of hers, at the Frist here in Nashville, showcases series of "found" slides from the vacations of one family over the years. Mark Scala, chief curator at the Frist Center commented on the exhibit saying that "Vesna Pavlovic shows that photography's apparent truthfulness allos it to both conceal and reveal cultural attitudes." With a statement like that, and the given travel record of her artwork there is no reason why the lines should not be out the door for this exhibit.

Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work

Now through September 11th, Andy Warhol will be showcasing one of his projects titled Warhol Live at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. This exhibit presents a comprehensive exploration of his work as experienced through the lens of music and dance. Although Andy Warhol never actually composed music or choreographed dance, the influence of these two "live" art forms was felt in almost every medium he explored: drawing, filmmaking, graphic design, installation, painting, performance, photography, print making, sculpture, stage design, and television. From the time he moved to New York in 1949 until his death in 1987, Warhol illustrated nearly 50 record album covers, all encompassing very diverse musical genres. He also created memorable depictions of well known dancers such as Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham. This exhibit, encompassing almost 300 pieces, is one worth seeing. By portraying already known things in a new light, it can prove to be very interesting to even those least knowledgable about the art world.

Musica

The public art known as Musica in downtown Nashville was created by Alan LeQuire in 2003, which also happens to be his largest sculpture to date. The statue is located on a grassy knoll at the center of a roundabout where Division Street, Demumbreum, and 17th Avenue South all meet. Featuring nine nude figures, both male and female, the statue is approximately 38 feet tall. All the figures are in a circular pattern dancing together. There are five at the base and the remaining four rise up in the center. the artist LeQuire stated that his concept behind Musica was to "make a statement about individualism/diversity and racial harmony." In fact, using live models to help sculpt the people for the piece, he was accurately able to create two Caucasian women and one Caucasian man, an African American man and woman, one Asian woman, a Native American man, and a Hispanic man and woman. Although there was some early controversy over the nudity of the piece, the public artwork is now, and will forever be, a known landmark in the city of Nashville.