Readers have so much power. I’ll tell you why.
I picked up the Sept. 9 ET and flipped through the pages like I do every Monday and Thursday, smiling and reading the gems that my fellow writers had to offer. Everything was great – until I read the letters to the editor.
I read a letter from Mira Gerard that berated our paper for not having any “life” in Lifestyles. I took offense. I’m a Lifestyles writer and I thought back to my thrilling pieces dealing with UFOs and herbs. I thought about how I poured out my heart in the story detailing my horrific confrontation with the Easter Bunny and my on going recovery.
And most of all, I thought about the stuff other Lifestyles writers had written – both past and current.
If I had been outside, I would have been “spitting angry.”
Gerard suggested we focus on art and music. I remember saying to myself, “P-shaw. Who cares about art? If I wanted to read about art, I’d pick up a magazine, not the Lifestyles section.”
Let’s play a game. Can anyone tell me which part of the last paragraph was a contradiction? I’ll give you a hint – it has to do with “art” and “life.”
Art is life. That’s the contradiction. I realized this as soon as I had uttered those sentences, and I knew Gerard was right. I was ashamed.
I have ignored art as a subject for a Lifestyles piece. And it’s not my editor’s fault, either.
I’ve lived in my own world for long enough. I’ve decided that it’s time to stop writing about my definition of life and start writing about somebody else’s. Like Mira Gerard’s.
When I stopped being angry over the letter, I started being sad. Heart broken, in fact.
I decided to do my part to put the life back in Lifestyle. I decided to write about art.
Of course, deciding and doing are two entirely different matters. Shortly after my life-changing Lifestyles epiphany, again I bowed my head.
I remembered the other reason I’ve never written anything about art. I don’t know anything about it.
I am completely unfamiliar with the three-lettered beast. My knowledge on the subject can be contained in a small jar.
Art is an ocean and I can’t swim. I am ignorant.
I guess I could give up. I could go back to the keyboard and finish my story about kissing under the mistle-toe resulting from angry Frenchmen and a super-intelligent bull.
But I’m not going to do that. I’m going to better myself as a human being and write about art. I’m going to obtain some culture. I’m going to get a life.
Perhaps you’ve walked past the Carroll Reece Museum on your way to class.
Perhaps you’ve even been inside. It sits across from the Culp Center and could be mistaken for a classroom building or an ETSU gift shop.
I had never been inside before I decided to write this story. I wish I had written this story sooner.
Exhibits change like the seasons in the Carroll Reece Museum. From Sept. 16 to Oct. 31, the museum is showcasing some interesting stuff. “From Pandas to Rhinos: Fossils from the Gray Site” displays the finds from ETSU’s excavation site in Gray, a region seven miles from campus.
“Thoroughly Modern Medium: Art from the Tennessee State Museum” showcases select pieces from the Tennessee State Museum that demonstrate the styles of the 20th century. The offering is robust and offers an intriguing look at the minds of 20th century artists.
Finally, the museum is displaying “Gone but Not Forgotten: Photographs by Alice Anthony. The photographs portray Elvis Presley fans in all their honky-tonk glory at Graceland, Elvis’s home.
Anthony actually lived near Graceland as a child, so she has an interesting perspective on the actions of Elvis fans.
There’s the back-story. Here comes the hard part.
I will now try, with all my ignorance, to convey my opinion of the art on display at Carroll Reece Museum.
Remember that I have no concept of fine art. I haven’t had any classes that would teach a moron like me how to appreciate art.
I am simply writing about what I “liked,” the qualifications for this elite status being “interesting,” pretty” or “emotionally provocative.”
On the other hand, I am experiencing this world for the first time, so my opinions may be “fresh” and “unjaded.” Maybe my ignorance is really a blessing.
I’ll let you decide.
I’ll only deal with the modern art and the photographs in this article, not the fossils from Gray. They’re interesting and part of this “season’s” cycle, but you can go check them out.
First I’ll talk about the modern art. All of the pieces were interesting, and I saw a lot more landscapes and portraits than I thought I would.
I was under the impression that all modern art was vague – colors seemingly thrown onto the canvas and mixed with a reason hidden deep within the artist’s mind. I was wrong.
That genre was certainly represented, but there were more pieces that screamed, “Interpret me! Please!”
And there were also pieces that I just thought were pretty.
The first piece that sticks out in my mind is “Rabun Cove 2,” by George Ayers Cress. This landscape was blurry – the trees and mountains were formed without regard to accuracy.
The piece was also very blue. Not sad – just blue. And that’s what I liked about the painting. Each blue for each piece of scenery was different, and the contrast between sky, land, trees and mountains was very interesting.
Another piece I remember is “Tennessee Landscape # 206,” by William C. Houston. This work portrayed bone-like trees stripped of their leaves standing against a sunset sky. The silhouettes this paring produced were vivid. As the sunset sky fades into true night, specks of starlight burst through the canvas.
I also appreciated the scope of the piece – landscape and trees account for about 20 percent of the piece, while the beautiful sky makes up the rest.
Another work I liked was “The Lava Lady,” a piece that I would place in the modern genre. The predominant color in the piece is red – which of course suggest to me anger.
There is a form that somewhat resembles a lady – but she has no head and her insides are different colors. The different colors were jumbled together. These colors, to me, are not as important as their purpose.
Could they represent the lady’s scrambled emotions due to anger? Or could they represent some untapped potential? Or are they just organs? That’s why I liked the piece – it made me think.
Possibly the most interesting piece was “Red Guitar,” by Tom Root. The work pictured a man and his guitar, with his keys and his drink on a table beside him. Through a window over his shoulder we see a car passing by.
To me, these nuances describe the man’s desire to get on with his life – to stop sitting and drinking beverages and instead grab his keys and get in the car, driving on to better things like the car that just passed by.
But the most remarkable detail of the piece was the man’s eyes. They meet the viewer’s eyes immediately. They draw all the attention to the man and then he sits and waits. He’s expecting something. I think he wants to get on with his life, but first I think he wants you to pay him his dues.
The Elvis photographs were grand. Alice Anthony captured many emotions on her camera, and anyone who is a fan of something can appreciate the situations pictured.
My favorite photograph was “At the Grave Site,” which portrayed a child praying over the gift-laden tomb of Elvis. I don’t think the child understands what he is doing, and for some reason that makes the scene more poignant.
Many of the photographs show scenes at the “Wall of Love,” where thousands of fans go to leave messages and pay their respects to the icon.
One photograph, “Elvis Has Left the Building,” shows a woman bowing at the wall and probably crying, mourning her fallen hero. Images like this touched me, while the shots of the more colorful fans in their Elvis attire made me laugh.
The exhibits at Carroll Reece were great. If you walk pass the place every day, be cool and take a few moments to look at what they have to show you.
You don’t need to agree with my review, but you’ve got to agree with my next statement. Art is life.
I didn’t think I would find anything I would like to review but instead I found almost too much to cover.
What happened to me will happen to anyone who will give art a chance. The life of the art spoke to my life and we had a nice conversation. I’m a better person because of it.
Here’s my sage advice for the day: Be an art buff. Put some life back into your lifestyle.
Thanks Mira.

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