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>>> And now, an Eight special
presentation.
>>> In this edition of "Artbeat
Nation," we get a look into the
secret lives of musicians.
>> I think it gives them a
different background and
approach of where they're
coming from.
>>> A feminist painter breaks
down gender barriers in the art
world.
>>> I'm thinking about women's
work and how women have been
making artwork forever.
>>> An artist captures the
darkest hours of a prisoner's
life.
>> It makes you to think about
something you don't want to
think about.
>>> And we meet an artist
grappling with notions of
conformity.
>> Going back indoors is like
going backwards a little bit to
me.
Your audience is -- it starts
reducing the audience.
>>> It's all ahead on this
edition of "Artbeat Nation."
>>> Funding for "Artbeat
Nation" is made possible by
contributions to Eight from
viewers like you.
Thank you.
>>> What started as the
Scottsdale Baroque Orchestra
has morphed into a chamber
orchestra known for its
collaborative and experimental
concerts.
Reporter Lorri Allen attended a
recent concert and discovered
that not only is Arizona Pro
Arte unique, some of its
members are, too.
>> Word is getting out about
the valley's chamber orchestra,
Arizona Pro Arte.
Its most recent concert
attracted a full house.
By night, these musicians are
rock stars.
Well, make that orchestra
stars.
But by day, most support
themselves with another job.
Sure, some play in a band and
others teach music.
Then there's this guy.
[ Singing ]
>> He's Robert Lee.
He's been playing the french
horn since he was eight.
By day he's in information
security.
>> I worked as a penetration
tester for a number of years
and even had my own penetration
testing company.
And if you're not familiar with
that term, it means essentially
I got paid to break into
companies, all legal of course.
I got paid by the company that
I was breaking into but we were
testing how good their security
was.
So in that part, the patterns,
the logic, the mathematical
part of music definitely
translated.
>> And if I'm thinking of a
problem I can go play music for
a little bit and by the end of
a session, maybe come up with a
solution that I was struggling
with.
>> And so when you think about
a typical day in the life for
you three years from now what
would it look like?
>> Debbie Exner is a coach and
a speaker, except when she's
playing the bass.
That's right, the big
instrument.
>> At the time in high school,
I think it was exciting that it
was such a large instrument and
that I could carry it and that
appeal's gone now.
The most commonly asked
question is “don't you wish you
played the flute?”
I like the really low sounds.
I think it's Gary Karr that
talked about it sounding like
chocolate.
And I just really love that
warm, rich sound and the role
that the bass plays in any --
first of all, it's a very
versatile instrument used in
lots of different kinds of
music, and the role that it
plays in the orchestra kind of
is the foundation so I just
enjoy that process and that
role very much.
>> Speaking can be a lonely
job, so Exner appreciates the
collaboration of Arizona Pro
Arte.
>> Playing with an orchestra is
just a magical experience.
You're a part of this huge
tapestry of sound and it's
really fantastic to see it all
come together.
>> Exner says being a musician
makes her better in the
workplace.
>> You're listening to what's
going on in the orchestra.
You're watching the conductor.
You're looking at the music and
what's on the printed page and
you are adapting and adjusting
as you go along and I think
those skills are really helpful
as a speaker to read the
audience and see where things
are going and as a coach to
hear the changes in someone's
vocal inflection, or the way
they're breathing, or to get
sense cues about how they're
sitting with whatever it is
you're talking about at that
time.
So I think it does help.
It sharpens your senses and
helps you to use all your
senses, so you can do a more
effective job.
>> The conductor says the
unusual professions found in
his orchestra can be an
advantage.
>> It gives them different
background experiences because
we find in music, even through
composers like Charles Ives who
was an insurance agent and
Alexander Borodin was a
chemist, they were still able
to produce wonderful music and
just amazing works while still
having a different day job.
So really, I don't think in
terms of better or not better
really applies here.
I think it just gives them a
different background and a
different approach from where
they're coming from.
>> And different defines not
only the musicians' day jobs
but Arizona Pro Arte itself.
>> Some of the other things we
do are collaborations with
silent films, we work with
different artists that are
singers or actors.
All throughout the season we
have a large variety of what we
do but at our core we still
have a really great musical
ensemble that everything is
built around.
We have a reach that's just
even beyond the valley.
We have an international call
for scores.
We're composers from around the
world in our competition.
We received one today from
Brazil and another one from
Japan.
So we're not only just making
an impact here, we're making an
impact globally.
[ Applause ]
>> For more information, visit
azproarte.org.
>>> Artist Stephanie Rond is a
painter, curator, and punk rock
musician.
She describes herself as a
feminist painter and often
incorporates messages from
1950s advertising in her
work.
Up next, we hear about her
journey as an artist and social
activist.
>> I actually got started in
art probably in 10th grade is
when I became very serious
about it.
I've always been into art.
That's where I felt like my
voice was strongest.
I always like a new challenge
of how to say what I want to
say in a new way.
I use paints that are manmade.
There's something about the
esthetic of that plastic
quality that I am drawn to.
And I also do a lot with old
advertisements from the '50s.
It's already something that's
in our culture, and I like
taking that and making a new
story with it.
I've researched probably
thousands of '50s ads to find
the ones that I wanted to use.
To me, that search helps bring
in the story.
With the new work that I'm
doing, it's very text involved.
I was in a punk rock band for
five years, and that kind of
changed what I thought about
the written word, as a way to
get people to start the story
where I want them to start the
story in my paintings and then,
jump off from that text.
I have been a feminist painter
for the past, probably 17
years.
I feel like that's where my
voice is, and my artwork is
talking about the inequalities
that still exist between men
and women.
Discussing gender and humor go
together because I want people
to be comfortable with the
artwork right away, and then
kind of see that there's an
underlying topic there.
I've always been interested in
the female aspect of art making
and the idea of handmade
crafts.
I'm thinking about women's work
and how women have been making
artwork forever.
It's not really considered an
art form.
I really like the idea of the
labor behind lace or
cross-stitch or embroidery.
Street art and graffiti is
actually the other half of the
artwork that I'm making right
now.
That's a very male-dominated
art style.
But I like taking the styles
that they're using and
incorporating it into my work.
So it's kind of two separate
things that talk to each other.
If I can make artwork where
people can have discussions
about inequality, it doesn't
matter: Race, gender, ***
preference, we should all be
considered equals.
I enjoy making art spaces where
they don't exist to kind of
give quality back to the
community.
There's definitely an art to
putting a show together and
making sure that this piece
that's next to this piece is
talking correctly.
The first place I started
curating at was the Carnegie
Gallery, which was at the main
library.
And they had built a gallery,
but they weren't putting art in
there, so I asked to start
getting non-profits to come in
and have shows.
With 2,000 people coming into
the library every day, that's a
huge audience.
The kind of art that I bring to
the Carnegie or actually large
organizations, large
non-profits, for example, the
Ohio Art League or Roy G.
Biv.
And what we do there is we put
out a call for entry, and we
will have 40 to 50 artists look
at a theme to go into the show.
Holy Craft is actually a newer
venture.
It is a handmade goods store.
It's actually part of the DIY.
The punk rock culture goes
along a lot with my artwork.
It's got a lot of wit and
humor.
It's not your grandmother's
craft store.
We wanted to have this gallery
because there isn't much
difference between craft and
art, so it was just a natural
progression to put art and
craft together.
Some of the challenges that I
face working as an artist today
is the economy.
The art world is getting very
hit by that.
People don't realize that it's
not a luxury, that it's a
necessity.
It is what we are as human
beings, it's how we communicate
with each other.
It's about human expression.
Anybody should have the right
to be able to express
themselves.
>> To learn more, visit
stephanierond.com.
>>> In this next segment,
artist Julie Green tells us
about her thoughtful and
provocative exhibit, The Last
Supper.
Green discusses her method and
gives viewers a tour of the
over 500 plates that comprise
her exhibit, each with its own
unique, dark story to tell.
Take a look.
>> I wanted to make something
that brought the viewer in,
that had a degree of beauty so
they would look at the place
and go “oh, that's what they're
about.”
>> Each of these plates
represents the final meal of a
prisoner on death row.
Julie Green was teaching art in
Oklahoma when the idea came to
her while reading the paper
over breakfast.
>> In Oklahoma at that time
there were many executions,
highest per capita in the
United States, still is, and so
I just started saving these
clippings.
They bothered me.
Oklahoma, 8 July, 1999.
Six tacos, six glazed donuts,
and a cherry coke.
Texas, 22 October, 2001.
A bag of Jolly Ranchers.
>> The project, as you can
tell, has many different shapes
of plates.
They're all basically white or
off white, most are porcelain
summer stoneware.
Different sizes, they're almost
all second-hand.
When Martha Stewart was in
prison, I did go to Kmart and
buy a Martha Stewart plate that
I happened to notice.
I wanted them all to be
basically white uniform, look
like a system, but not in that
set because they represent
individuals.
This is a Florida plate and for
lobster, shrimp, baked potato,
cheesecake, and a drink.
And the information came back,
he enjoyed his last meal, ate
every bite.
This is a North Carolina plate,
one honey bun.
>> When you walk into the
gallery, it's this beautiful
display of plates.
It's almost homey, and then the
content is just a big flip.
>> This is an Indiana plate and
the word “mother” on the front
from 2001.
German ravioli and chicken
dumplings prepared by his
mother and prison dietary
staff.
So his mother actually received
clearance to come into the
prison kitchen and cook that
meal.
>> Julie's work draws from an
approach to art in Mexico
called “Retablo.”
>> Retablo in Mexican paintings
is like remembrance of
something that will otherwise
go unnoticed.
These are Mississippi menus, 23
July, 1947.
Same, fried chicken,
watermelon.
He was only 16.
He was only 15.
>> They were two boys quickly
convicted of ***.
>> And executed by a traveling
electric chair the next day.
>> A traveling electric chair?
>> I ordered those special from
the china painting catalog
because they were appropriate
for those two meals.
>> Because they were so young?
>> Yeah, because they were so
young.
They're very small plates.
They're palm of the hand size.
This is an Indiana plate and
the information from the
department of corrections came
back, he never had a birthday
cake so we ordered a birthday
cake for him.
>> It's very important.
It is important in a sense that
it fulfills one of art's roles,
there are many, but it makes us
stand still and think, think
about something we don't really
want to think about.
>> Texas represents a third of
all the plates, about a third
of all the plates in the show
and these five Texas plates,
consecutive in fall of 2001,
had no final meal request, had
no final meal request, had no
final meal request.
This tells me that the inmates
are aware of what other inmates
are eating or not eating.
>> The variety of the plates
also reflects the different
ways the states implement the
death penalty.
Oklahoma dropped its final meal
allowance from $20 to $15.
This plate represents the last
final meal request granted in
Texas.
When the prisoner returned his
meal untouched, the state
stopped the practice.
>> Many states are limited to
what's on hand in the prison
pantry, so you can really tell
in Oklahoma you get a
restaurant meal, same with
California and so those are
more varied.
This is an Oregon plate.
The request is five eggs,
sunny-side up.
It's a breakfast meal.
Pancakes, and the request
closed with “I would appreciate
the eggs hot.”
>> One plate centers around
pecan pie.
An Arkansas inmate with brain
damage ate half before his
execution, thinking he could
eat the other half after the
execution was over.
He didn't understand.
>> He didn't understand.
There is misery in this whole
process from the crime that was
committed.
Somebody was generally
murdered, so there was victim's
family, so many levels of
suffering.
Part of my motivation for the
project is that it generates
conversation on our system of
capital punishment and has done
that to a far greater degree
than I would have ever
expected.
>> The Last Supper depicts the
most humane moment in a long
chain of misery that starts and
ends with death by focusing on
the mundane, limited choices of
food by putting them on
grandma's china and by staying
true to the individual details
of each meal.
Julie Green hopes her art will
cause more and more people to
notice.
It's one of the many reasons
why she's still painting
plates.
>> I paint 50 a year.
That's my plan, to keep doing
that until we don't have
capital punishment anymore.
Everybody has an opinion about
capital punishment, actually it
seems like, and even my mom,
it's changed my mom, so I
figure I can't go about
changing people on capital
punishment, but if it happens
that's fabulous.
>> For more information, visit
theartscenter.net.
>>> Over the last several
years, street or graffiti art
has made its way from the sides
of buildings and bridges to
museums across the country.
Jared Bowen sits down with
famous street artist Barry
McGee, whose work renowned for
its anti-establishment
perspective, is on display at
the Institute of Contemporary
Art in boston.
>> Find artist Barry McGee in
the galleries of his
retrospective and you find a
man in conflict.
He's in tension with his life's
work.
>> it's maybe like seeing an
old friend that you never quite
finished the relationship with
right.
Or it's a little bit awkward.
>> He's at odds with particular
pieces.
>> I wish it would go away.
It's so obnoxious.
Was it the Branch Davidians in
Waco, Texas?
Remember when they were using
music to get them to try and
come out of the compound?
This thing's been going for the
last two days.
>> And for the man who whose
acclaim is derived from very
public street art, the confines
of the museum confound him.
>> Going back indoors is like
going backwards a little bit to
me.
Your audience is -- it starts
reducing the audience.
>> There is a palpable
sensitivity to Barry McGee, a
onetime graffiti artist who
made his mark in San Francisco
beginning in the early 1990s.
Much of the show is populated
with his melancholic figures, a
reflection of the city's large
homeless population, one he
encountered working, he says,
late at night on San
Francisco's fringe.
>> And that would be the
population you're in touch with
a lot when you're behind
buildings and stuff.
It was interesting to talk and
find out how people kind of end
up in situations.
>> I think in his work, there's
a sort of homage or sort of an
honoring of another culture
that's in the shadows, or
community I should say that's
in the shadows.
>> The Ica's Jenelle Porter
curated the McGee show which
takes us from the artist's
earliest days, a time saturated
in earthy brown and red tones
to a vibrant venture into
abstraction.
>> he also is maturing more,
looking at more art, thinking
of more histories of painting
and of art.
But also trying to find a way
to incorporate all of the
excess of the street.
In a way that was perhaps more
abstracted.
>> Here he comments on and uses
excess, that blaring video
tower, the dumpster bin which
has been inhabited, all created
from found or discarded
objects.
>> I like to use anything
outside of the art store for
material.
Not going into art stores, it
just became a material for me.
>> Just as his life and culture
is.
For all of the darkness in
tone, the biting commentary on
consumption, the artist also
has a crafty comedic side in
the guise of animatronics which
Porter says is McGee at his
deadpan best.
>> I also think of it as a sort
of diorama, like this is the
habitat of the graffiti writer,
but as well, I think there's
something quite primitive.
One could say in doing
graffiti, like if you want to
trace all the way back to cave
paintings, leaving your mark.
>> And now, it's also the mark
of the mainstream, in museums,
troubling as that may be for a
man of conflict like Barry
McGee.
>> For more information, visit
icaboston.org.
>>> For more arts and culture,
visit azpbs.org/artbeat, where
you'll find feature videos and
information on the Arizona arts
scene.
Funding for "Artbeat Nation"
was made possible by
contributions to Eight from
viewers like you.
Thank you.