‘Dolly’: An Appalachian exhibition on a Tennessee icon

On Feb. 18, the Slocumb Galleries started their positive/negative exhibition with submitted artwork focusing on Appalachian icon Dolly Parton. The exhibit is a bit different from normal as the art displayed was selected by a juror.

“A juried show involves a juror or a group of jurors who select the participating work and winners,” Slocumb Galleries Director Karlota Contreras-Koterbay said. “As for the Dolly P/N 35, it is a national juried show as part of the annual Positive/Negative National Art Exhibition, where we invite one external prominent curator or artist to be the juror.”

The juror is selected either by the gallery director, chair of faculty recommendation or any of the members of the gallery committee. In this case, new media professor Vanessa Mayoraz, selected Logan Lockner for his significant contribution of promoting contemporary art in the region as editor of the Burnaway Magazine, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

“This year, Burnaway Magazine editor Logan Lockner from Atlanta served as external juror,” Contreras-Koterbay said. “Artist from various parts of the country were invited to send submissions online via Slideroom. This involves images of work and artist statement that was within the parameters of the call for entry.”

The entries poured in from all over, but one distinct thing about this exhibit is that it is the first time ETSU students and faculty could submit.

“We received 99 artists’ submissions from New York to Oregon and various states in between,” Contreras-Koterbay said. “However, this is the first time that we allowed entries from current ETSU employees and students, and due to the theme that is near the hearts of every Appalachian citizen, we received a lot of entries from the region.”

The media displayed in the “Dolly” exhibit ranges from sculptural installation to video, paintings, prints, photographs and fiber art. The exhibit will last from Feb. 18 – March 13 and is free to visit.