Join Norman Arts for a virtual artist talk with Douglas Shaw Elder and Richard McKown, discussing their exhibitions OKecoSCAPES and Fauxballes, which remains on display at MAINSITE Contemporary Art through Friday, October 9.
Though the artist talk will be broadcast on Facebook, patrons are invited to see the exhibit in person during open hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Masks are required of all guests, and capacity is limited to no more than 25 patrons at a time.
Douglas Shaw Elder’s SCAPES takes an abstract perspective, observing the cycles of nature that inevitably direct and influence all life forms. The series contemplates specific transformative forces in nature, principally creation and growth and their counterparts, destruction, and erosion. Organic and dark in character, SCAPES conveys the sense of the raw, unalterable power of nature – its splendor, its force, and its sheer magnitude.
Fauxballes is a multi-disciplinary project from the creative mind of Richard McKown and his daughter, Olivia. At the base of the project is a full-length screen play written by McKown. From the screenplay, McKown has selected characters and specific moments of action that are recreated in drawings and displayed in “arenas” in the gallery, guiding the viewer through the story – allowing the viewer to be embedded in a storyboard for a film. The full screen play is also displayed as part of the installation. Many local Normanites make appearances as the physical inspiration for many of the characters in the installation. With close attention one may also note the art historical references and inspirations within the images.