The heart's art
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Sep. 22—"I could do that in about five minutes," says Olivia, the precocious little pig and star of the late writer-illustrator Ian Falconer's 2000 book, Olivia.
She's on a museum outing (presumably at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art) with her mom, when she leaves the traditional Degas ballerinas for the abstract expressionist works of Jackson Pollock.
As soon as she gets home she gives it a try.
The scribbles Olivia made on her wall at home resulted (naturally) in a time-out, but here's the lesson: Olivia saw some art, was exposed to and challenged by art she was unfamiliar with, and then found a way to express and reinterpret the art.
That, in a nutshell, is the goal of the Vladem Contemporary, which opens this weekend. Not that Santa Fe is an artistic desert or anything, but I think many contemporary artists who live in and/or love New Mexico don't always get the same levels of audience eyeballs that more traditional or Southwestern artists do.
The Vladem wants you to be challenged. It wants you to think about the experiences and perspectives of others. It wants you to ponder and question and tilt your head sideways as you gaze upon a canvas, a sculpture, a video, a panel of flashing lights. It wants you to lean in and sniff and listen to the sounds the artist generates and experience it through senses that tap into deeper gray matter.
It wants you to ask the very question that often arises among audiences of contemporary art: "Is this art?" and to adjust your sensibilities.
And yes, it wants you to draw on the walls.
In the same ways that Meow Wolf and SITE Santa Fe and other spaces have pushed us past our comfort zones and into realms that explore other dimensions and forms of expression, the Vladem wants us to open our eyes and our hearts and help completely reshape the New Mexico arts landscape, possibly in the same way we might push up a new mountain behind the Sangre de Cristos or change the Gothic profile of the St. Francis of Assisi church that anchors our plaza.
New Mexicans, embrace it. Welcome it. Visit it. And like Olivia, question it.
This issue is packed with everything you might need to know about this new space — why it happened, who the artistic players are, why it's important, and how to engage, among other topics. It's a big day for Santa Fe, and it kicks off a new era that will continue to evolve and create, in the way we need contemporary art to continue to evolve and create. And all of this information is brought to you by yet another group of artists whom we should continue to celebrate: a stellar lineup of New Mexico writers (see column at right) who love and desire a deep understanding of New Mexico's art and artists.
So forgive the nostalgic foray with a book that was a favorite of my kiddos', who are now mostly fully grown but grew up to love and appreciate art museums because of artists like Falconer and Pollock.
And to spoil the ending: Olivia ends her adventurous day by asking her mom to read a bedtime story about Maria Callas, yet another favorite artist of a different genre.
When they've finished reading, Olivia's mother gives her a kiss and says, "You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway." And Olivia gives her a kiss back and says, "I love you anyway too."
We're handing you the crayon; all you have to do is use it.
Carolyn Graham, Editor
