Artists Talk with LVA: March 2, 2023

Moon-he Baik was a Professor of Interior Design at the Hite Art Institute in 1991-2021. She received her BFA from Ewha University in Korea, and her MFA from the University of North Texas. Her research focuses on Textile Design, Multi-Cultural Interiors, and Sustainability & Environmental Design.

Since 2018 she has been working to develop the Korea Fiber Form Biennial, which took place in South Korea in 2022 and is unfolding now in Louisville at LVA, KMAC, Asia Institute-Crane House, 21c Hotel & Museum, and the University of Louisville. She has now been invited to bring the Fiber Forum to the 2024 Venice Biennale.

In April 2023 Baik will once again be a featured designer in the KMAC Couture event!

Korea FiberArt International consolidates leading artists in Korean fiber arts to organize symposiums and workshops in correlation to exhibitions. The objective of KFAF is to shed light on Korea's creative endeavors using a wide range of fiber-based materials. The scope is broad from artistic narrative expressions to practical approaches that encompass function.

Artebella On The Radio: October 15

Brian Hinds plays the title character and Jennifer Pennington Lady M in the new Kentucky Shakespeare drive-in production of Macbeth that runs through October 31. They are also both teachers so they came in to talk about the first live theatre with an audience since March and how teaching online or in a hybrid model is working right now. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on ARTXFM.com this and every Thursday at 10 am to hear Keith Waits speak with artists on LVA's Artebella on the Radio.

Originally from Maine, Brian Hinds spent ten years with The Children's Theatre of Maine where he served as an actor, instructor, and director. He was also a member of Mad Horse Theater Company. Since moving to Louisville Brian has worked as an outreach artist with Kentucky Shakespeare before joining the faculty at YPAS (Youth Performing Arts School). He is also a member of the Louisville Improvisors and has worked as an actor and director with several local companies, including Kentucky Shakespeare, Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company and The Liminal Playhouse.

Jennifer Pennington is currently Manager of Student and Alumni Engagement at Commonwealth Theatre Center. She holds a BFA in Acting from University of Michigan and an MFA in Theatre from the University of Tennessee’s International Actor Training Academy. In Scotland she studied Voice/Speech with Kristin Linklater and Louis Colaianni. Jen, having transplanted from Los Angeles, has worked with companies all over the country including: South Coast Rep., P.S.Arts, EastLA Classic Theatre, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Michigan Theatre Festival, Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, Tennessee’s Clarence Brown Theatre, Arizona Shakespeare Festival and many local companies. Currently, Jen is an actor with The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, serves on the board for PAL Coalition (Federal Drug Free Communities Support Grant) and is a member of VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association.)

The Academy at LVA 2018 Senior Showcase: Amy Gue

Amy Gue took Developing Concepts with Miranda Hale in the Fall 2017 semester, and just finished Drawing and Painting 1 with Leslie Shell. Both Academy at LVA classes were at the Holy Trinity/Clifton Community Center.

 “I have been competing in speech and debate through the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA) for the past 5 years, and I have placed in multiple events. I have gotten 2nd place in duo interpretation and 3rd place in illustrated oratory to name a few. Last year, my design won NCFCA Region 6’s t-shirt design contest.”

Amy has been accepted at John Brown University, Lipscomb University, Taylor University, Cedarville University, and the University of Louisville, and was awarded generous scholarships at Lipscomb, Taylor, and Cedarville. She will be attending Cedarville this fall, and is planning on majoring in graphic design.

“I have volunteered for the past 3 summers at a family camp for military families called White Sulphur Springs. That experience required me to interact with and welcome guests, clean the hotel, help serve meals, and work on a team to carry out certain tasks. It has been such a good and influential experience.”

“I walked into the Developing Concepts class not appreciating conceptual or modern art, and came out with a new understanding of those art forms. I no longer scoff at that type of art, but I am now able to appreciate it. Although modern art forms are still not my favorite, I can still appreciate them. Drawing and Painting 1 taught me all the little principles, and I learned a lot of practical tips. I made some of my best work in that class. I would definitely recommend LVA classes. Ms. Miranda Hale, the teacher of Developing Concepts, really helped me learn a lot about the art program at the University of Louisville. She contacted influential professors there, and organized a private tour of the Hite Art Institute for me! I really appreciated her help, and she taught me a lot about how to build an impressive portfolio.”

Amy's work will be included in The Academy at LVA exhibition, which will be on display May 9 - 16 at Louisville Visual Art, 1538 Lytle Street in the Portland neighborhood. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 12-4pm, or by appointment. There will be a reception Friday, May 11, 6-8pm.

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Vignette: Mitch Eckert

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Art ,“born out of frustration,” — Mitch Eckert

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Like many artists, Mitch Eckert works in several different veins. Here we examine some examples from his Translations series. Eckert explains that he has been exploring the genre of still life for 25 years, and in these images we see him emulating the lighting in Flemish paintings. At one point Eckert had sought to discard the project and placed the work prints in a recycle bin – a purging action more common than the lay person might assume, but familiar enough to working artists. Eckert explains the process in his own words:

“Still Life with Cherries and Blue Bowl” by Mitch Eckert, 30x49in, Archival Pigment Print (2006), $1200 | BUY NOW

“Still Life with Two Nectarines” by Mitch Eckert, 38x26in, Archival Pigment Print (2006), $850 | BUY NOW

“The Translations series was born out of frustration. I wanted to participate in a dialogue with the rich tradition of the Dutch masters of still life painting so I set out to learn compositional strategies of creating still lifes in that manner. I set up the floral arrangements (my wife made the bouquets from our garden flowers) and using natural light made probably 300 photographs of different still life. After printing them all on an inexpensive inkjet printer to pin them on my wall and contemplate, I came to the realization that perhaps they were too commercial, too pretty. As a student in the heyday of Postmodernism (1980's) I became anxious and nervous about making work that was too pretty. I didn't know how to talk about them. I didn't want to make commercial work.”

“Out of frustration I wadded up the prints and threw them into the recycle bin. After a couple weeks had gone by I was getting ready to set the crumpled photographs into the alley for the recycle to be picked up. I unraveled one of the balls of photographs and to my surprise there was an immediate visceral reaction of delight when my eyes looked at the creases, folds, and torn edges of the photographic paper. In an effort to preserve the image I scanned the crumpled still life with a flatbed scanner and then, using a large format printer, made enlargements on a wonderful printmaking paper that wonderfully complimented the aged wrinkles.”

“Still Life with June Bouquet, Cherries and Figs” by Mitch Eckert, 24x18in, Archival Pigment Print (2006), $450 | BUY NOW

The results blur the lines of the medium by removing the slick surface and detail of photography and exchanging them for a distressed visual texture. Without intending to do it, Eckert brought his images even closer to the aged and brittle tactile reality of their inspiration.

Examples of this series can currently be seen in Altered Perceptions, an LVA Photo-Biennial Exhibit at Metro Hall, which runs through January 12, 2018. Some of the images we see here are featured in that show, which also includes work from C.J. Pressma and Jenny Zeller.

The artist currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky where he is an associate professor or art in the Hite Institute at the University of Louisville. His work can be found in permanent collections of 21c Museum, Butler Institute of American Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Photographic Archives at the University of Louisville, and Swope Museum of Art.

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Education: BFA, Photography & Sculpture, Herron School of Art; MFA, Photography, Printmaking, Art History, Ohio University
Website: http://www.mitcheckert.com

“Still Life with Hydrangea (in blue)” by Mitch Eckert, 30x28in, Archival Pigment Print (2006), $750 | BUY NOW

“Still Life with Lily and Figs” by Mitch Eckert, 24x18in, Archival Pigment Print (2006), $500 | BUY NOW

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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