St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 22

4C ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 1992 THE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT ART LONDON gOut Checkin Top Art Oecause it costs so much money to attend it is not the place to see the so-called cutting edge. In these economic times, many galleries showed drawings by big-name artists. air Refreshing diversity at Chicago exposition By Patricia Degener LONG with such attributes as the Cubs, the Bulls and the Blackhawks, Chicago is also a A great city for art. And May during the Chicago International Art Exposition is the perfect time to go.

And at least during my stay, the weather was perfect: clear, cool, bright blue, with Lake Michigan sparkling and the air heady. All the Chicago galleries make a special effort for the influx of collectors and dealers who come to the art fair from around the world. And the Art Institute, after years of renovations, is ABOVE: Art students from the school of the Art Institute of Chicago were among the browsers at the International Art Exposition. LEFT: Business was done in booths such as this one, where prints were on show and for sale. is known for its constructivist works but which impressed me with a handsome sculpture by David Nash; Marlborough, New York, which was showing several wonderful small bronzes by Red Grooms.

In "H.M. Near a Grove of Trees," Henry Moore is transformed into one of his typical sculptures, resting along a grassy knoll surrounded by placid sheep and a shepherd. The Greenberg Gallery was its usual elegant self, with a wall of white Ellsworth Kelly wall reliefs and a Calder, of course. Some galleries put on a one-man show. That was the case with Thomas Segal Gallery of Boston, whose space was devoted to the lush, romantic landscapes in oil and pastel by Wolf Kahn.

At Chicago, I finally got to see the work of Elizabeth Newman at Galerie Lelong. Newman, along with Ann Hamilton, created installations last year at the Spoleto Festival's "Places With a Past" that dealt with female concerns. From accounts and pictures, that work seemed the most fascinating and evocative of all the many works in Charleston. Hamilton's installations, dealing with the repetitive, traditional work of women, have been popping up all over the country this past year. I saw one that involved her own performance in New York at Christmas.

Objects taken from the Newman installation, which was in an empty, 17th-century house in Charleston, were shown at the gallery's booth at the art fair. The installation's title, "Honey in the Rock (Got To Feed God's Children)," explored the nurturing physical and emotional bond between women and children, specifically black nursemaids and their white charges. A rusted metal chair, hanging on the wall, held on its seat a stack of what looked like pancakes made of wax. A metal armature held a fragile child's gown, the slip for a christening gown, beneath which a tumescent egg lay nestled in mud. I am sure that in the actual installation, a series of almost empty rooms one with a bathtub filled with steaming water, another with a tray holding See CHICAGO, Page 9 even more of a marvel that it was before.

Seeing its great 19th- and 20th-century collections, even one's old favorites, rehung in refurbished settings, is like seeing them for the first time. Unfortunately, the fair itself has moved from the glamorous Navy Pier, which is now being renovated, to Donnelly International Hall in McCormick Place, which is your basic convention center, a two-story box. The fair is celebrating its 13th year this spring and remains, because of the prestige and quality of the galleries from around the world that participate, the No. 1 art fair in this country. This spring was no exception.

In fact the collapse of the worldwide art boom has served to weed out a number of peripheral galleries. Economics has eliminated a lot of junk. If there was far less visual static, some regulars such as Holly Solomon and Gemini were absent, and I missed them. The fair was smaller than in the old days at Navy Pier. Although the number of European dealers was down from the heyday, it was bigger than last year.

And there was refreshing diversity. Spain was represented by four galleries reflecting Spain's designation as the cultural capital of Europe during this Olympic year. Germany was strong. Australia sent two, Korea and Russia one. Among new faces at the fair were the Morgan Gallery from Kansas City and Matthew Marks-Glen McMillan Inc.

from New York, showing Richard Serra's tough new drawings among other things. The importance of the fair to dealers, of course, is to see and be seen, to renew Art Center, London, had a rare, moody, somber, richly patterned room interior by the late Francis Bacon, a wonderful painting from 1933, a period in which Bacon destroyed most of his work. "A national treasure," the dealer said. Outsider Art (a new fancy name for folk or naive art) was being shown at a number of galleries, including the most important dealer in this art form, the Janet Fleicher Gallery in Philadelphia, whose exhibition space was a delight. One reason I find Chicago such an interesting art city is its openness to the idiosyncratic.

This is true of both collectors and dealers, and it affects the art made in the city. The reasons lie in'the past, influenced by Chicago's great collections of avant-garde art, surrealism in particular. There are certain galleries where you always stop because of the quality of what they bring galleries such as Richard Gray, Chicago, (and more about it later); Danfel Varenne, Geneva; Waddington Galleries, London; Annely Juda Fine Art, London, which i i. i -ii inMnnfrr-fin inritTiriinwfmiiB ri'iffflrimifiniTii Europeans it is not the place to see the so-called cutting edge. In these economic times, many galleries showed drawings by big-name artists such as Picasso and Matisse and so forth, which is always a pleasure.

Prime works can be seen before they disappear into private collections. The New contacts. For the Greenberg Gallery here, it is "imperative" to attend, said gallery staffer Sissy Thomas. For the visitor, its importance is in the opportunity to see so much outstanding art under one roof. Because it costs so much money to attend especially for the MUSIC Indigo Girls Bring Literature To Songwriting i- I "0 ill 1 A Indigo Girls Where: Fox Theatre, 527 North Grand Boulevard When: 8 p.m., Friday, June 19 How much: $19.50 Opening acts: Matthew Sweet, Jerard McHugh Information: 534-1111 i I ST th re Jfitt 71 -m Ql How did you get together? We were at the same elementary school, but we weren't really friends.

I ws 11 and she was 12, but we didn't really become friends until I was 16 and she was 17. Then we joined the high school chorus, and we started playing music together. At first, we played together just to have fun, and to be friends. We went to parties together and played guitar. Then we started doing talent shows, and it built up from there.

We started doing open-mike nights at a couple of bars. We were doing covers, the standard stuff: "Fire and Rain," "Please Come to Boston," Elton John, Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor. Emily went off to Tulane while I was still in high school, and when she came home for the summer, we played together. Then I went off to Vanderbilt, and we'd get together on holidays and play. Both of us decided to transfer, and we ended up at Emory University in Atlanta.

At that point, we started doing a lot of original music because we were playing all the time together. The stuff we were listening to really took a turn, and we started playing in rock clubs instead of folk places. I think things just kind of went from there. it first of all helps me to finish a song I'm writing, even if the song has nothing to do with the book. What I'm doing is reacting on an emotional level to what I've read and writing whatever comes into my head.

Ql What are the differences in the ways you and Emily Saliers approach songwriting? A. Emily is totally inspired by what she reads. That's the main thing that's similar about us. But she sits down at one point, in one area, and writes music. I write songs as I'm going through life, no matter where I am: She'll sit down in her house for two hours and work on one of her songs because she has to discipline herself and because we're always on the road and she can't write when she's on the road.

She probably takes more imagery directly out of the stuff she reads. I think she had some imagery from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott" in that old song "Left Me a Fool" from the 1989 album "Strange And in the song "Virginia Woolf," she uses some of the images that Virginia Woolf used. I think that happens more often in Emily's songs. She's more verbose than I am not in a negative way. I mean her vocabulary is just larger than mine.

Micnaei Lavine The Indigo Girls: Emily Saliers (left) and Amy Ray. By Paul A. Harris f-W-HE INDIGO GIRLS, who 1 emerged from the acoustic JL rock music scene that took hold in the early 1980s around Atlanta, have created songs that reach into several cultural traditions of the American South. The plaintive, largely unadorned vocal harmonies of the Grammy-winning duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers emerge from the white Protestant church singing of Appalachia, while their acoustic guitar style bears traces of rockabilly and its antecedents. Lyrically, the Indigo Girls, who will perform June 19 at the Fox Theatre, bring academic backgrounds in literature to the singer-songwriter tradition.

For inspiration, they sometimes draw from such Southern writers as Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner and James Dickey. On their recent album "Rites of Passage," the Indigo Girls took a more sophisticated tack than in previous efforts. The album had more elaborate production, plus guest appearances from Jackson Browne, David Crosby, violinist Lisa Germano (from John Mellencamp's band), John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter's guitarist and producer) and bassist Sara Lee from the B-52s. Tn a recent interview, Amy Ray was asked about the beginning of the Indigo Girls, their songwriting styles and the recent changes in their approach to recording. 1 "Rites of Passage" seems to turn a corner on the Indigo Girls' sound.

R.E.M. producer Scott Litt produced your last two albums, but this time you used Peter Collins who has produced albums for Queensryche, Rush and Alice Cooper. On the surface, his background seems poorly suited to your music. 'AS Peter actually came from a folk background, a long time ago. He's a folksinger himself, but he wouldn't tell anybody that.

Did your record company Epic encourage you to use him? Friends of ours at the company kept saying, "You really ought to interview with this gUy Peter Collins." And we kept saying, "No, we don't really want to." At the last Southern. I'm pretty Southern. I'm from Atlanta originally. So are four generations of my family, on my negative ways, but I mean I used to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd and drive a Camaro. When I get home to Atlanta with my friends, hanging out in bars and drinking, my voice changes and I start to sound really Southern.

mother's side. You don't sound particularly I'm kind of a redneck. Not in minute, we did it just as a concession to the company, and we loved him. It was hands down I mean, there was no doubt, because he had listened to our demo tapes and had already come up with some really great arrangement ideas. Everything was just right in the pocket for us, so we picked him.

Some of the ideas I've encountered on earlier Indigo Girls albufhs ideas about religion, for instance seem to emerge more forcefully on "Rites of Passage." One song, "Jonas Ezekiel," deals with native American land rights and questions the way some people hide behind apocalyptic Old Testament prophecies as an excuse for not acting to correct today's injustices. Was there something different in your approach to lyric writing for this album? It was a special time. We were reading a lot and experiencing a lot on the road. I think that the channels were more open, probably, to whatever puts lyrics into my head, because I think these lyrics are actually more mature. I've always wanted to write songs that were more topical, but I never want to force anything.

Things come as they come. I just had some really good inspirations for this record. Ql You make direct references to Virginia Woolf on "Rites of Passage." You also cite a poet named Frank Stanford as an influence on your song "Three Hits." How does a poem a novel bear on your songwriting? As I get a lot of ideas from what I read more from what I read than from what I hear. I'm not going to listen to a song and be as inspired because it's the same medium I'm working in. For some reason, that doesn't work with me.

The books really get me going. When something I read moves me, PT AND OT: i MWft ft admen Through July 5 A Special Exhibition that takes visitors beyond the traditional images of African art to an experience of Africa today. Special Lecture Cross River Writing: A Black Atlantic Visual Tradition with Robert Farris Thompson Sunday, June 7, 2:30 pm, Free, Auditorium Films Ceddo Tuesday, June 9, 5:30 8 pm, Fee, Auditorium St. Louis Artists' Guild CALL FOR Choose a career with the new Barnes Department of Rehabilitation and you'll benefit from the resources of both Barnes Hospital and Irene Walter Johnson Institute. After years of exceptional service to the St.

Louis area, these two great institutions have merged to offer an even higher level of patient care. Career opportunities are also better than ever. We can offer a world class rehabilitation environment, professional development opportunities and continuously improving benefits. Our rehabilitation professionals also enjoy flexible hours, competitive compensation, and tuition reimbursement. Join us in one of these positions: Full-Time, Part-Time, Per Diem Occupational Therapists Physical Therapists Certified Occupational Therapist Assistants Physical Therapist Assistants If you want to be a part of an exciting future in the Barnes Department of Rehabilitation, call our Recruiters at 362-0701, or send your resume to: BARNES HOSPITAL; EmploymentRecruitment Department; One Barnes Hospital Plaza; St.

Louis, MO 63110. Equal Opportunity Employer MFDV. A Career With Barnes. There's Nothing Quite Like It. BARNES 3 Special Family Afternoons Exhibition tour followed by an art activity! Wednesdays, June 10, 17, 24; Free, Sculpture Hall Registration required.

Call 721-0072, ext. 298. PRINTS, DRAWINGS PASTELS JURIED EXHIBITION Open to all artists. $20.00 entry fee for any two items by artists who are not Guild members; free to members. All works must be framed, under glass or plexiglass and have a wire hanger on the back.

Receiving dates at the Guild are Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14, noon until 3:00 p.m. Cash prizes and reception for participating This exhibition was organized by The Center for African Art, New York. Funding was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Rockefeller Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Forbes Foundation, the Aaron Diamond Foundation, the Anne S. Richardson Fund, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. The exhibition in St.

Louis is supported in part through a generous gift from the Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. artists. A OB; Fundd in part by: Arts Education Council of Graatar St Louis: Missouri Ails Council; tha St. Louis Regional Arts Commission. 227 E.

LOCKWOOD, WEBSTER GROVES, MO. 63119 314-961-1246 Open Daily: 12-4; Sunday: 1-5; Closed Tuesday; Admission FREE 7.